The workshop, Venturing Beyond Existing Realities by Venerable Chang Ji, was an amazing way to learn about our global impact as individuals and a collective and how it stems from our internal conflicts. In this two-day workshop, we first learned how to “Wake Up” to the deeper truth about how we are in a poly-crisis, how we are connected to the earth and everything within it, and that “We cannot fix a problem with the same mindset that created it.” We are a culture driven by a system of indifference, and compassion for life is deteriorating, ultimately hurting our families and ourselves. Secondly, we learned how to “Grow Up” and evolve from an Egocentric to a Cosmocentric perspective. We created a soul profile and learned more about ourselves, our life’s purpose, and our desired contributions to healing our world. We then learned how to “Clean Up”, which allowed us to shift our perspective on our failures to wisdom gained and an opportunity to start something new with more knowledge. We addressed our shadow with a worry map, showing us some big assumptions we had deep down about why we could not commit to improving.
Venerable Chang Ji also shared with us how she experienced a breakdown that led her to a breakthrough, and how she expanded her capacity and retrained her psychological immune system from “I am nobody” to “I am somebody capable.” Finally, we learned how to “Show Up”. Our spiritual, social, living, and natural environments can transform from a death economy to a life economy by reflecting on ourselves and taking action. This workshop was very inspiring and was filled with insightful wisdom. It was refreshing to see shadow work being discussed since I believe it is the only way for us to truly evolve and heal ourselves, thus healing the world around us. Our walking meditations after lunch also allowed me to reflect on my gratitude for the delicious meals, the world around me, and how I can contribute to healing myself and expanding that healing outward. Since attending the workshop, I have been able to trust my own capabilities more, redefine my definition of failure and success, and be more mindful of my impact on the planet.
Yvette E.
