Sovereignty Ireland is a movement for positive social change, which was birthed in 2020. In our Winter 2020/21 issue, our co-editor Alison McEvoy had the chance to interview Enda Donnellan, one of the original voices behind Sovereignty Ireland. Scroll on to read more!
Ireland
To celebrate Adyashanti’s upcoming visit to Dublin on August 19th, we are thrilled to share our interview with him from our Summer 2018 issue. Visit adyashanti.org to learn more about his work!
The Wisdom of Adya: Opening up and embracing what is
by Aisling Cronin
Interviewers: Daizan Kaarlenkaski and Paul Congdon
Adyashanti is an American-born spiritual teacher who is devoted to serving the awakening of all beings. He promotes non-dual teachings, based on recognising both the infinite spiritual possibilities and the everyday simplicity of our lives. He is the author of a number of successful spiritual titles, including The Way of Liberation, Resurrecting Jesus and Falling into Grace. We were thrilled to interview him recently and hear about his thoughts on the student-teacher relationship, his relationship with his wife Mukti, working with his father, and what Ireland means to him.
Could you tell us about the way you share your dharma teachings? For example, you never answer questions directly, but instead offer questions for people to ask themselves.
When I am dialoguing with somebody, my goal is to help them discover an answer or a resolution inside themselves, for themselves. All true realisations come from within the individual. In my style of teaching, I put a lot of responsibility on the students because I think that in the spiritual community, the students are far too often infantilised and treated like children. It is often encouraged for students to relate to the teacher as a child would, rather than interacting as two adults in a state of mutual trust. Grown-ups make their own decisions.
Do you think there can come a point when the student-teacher relationship needs to evolve for the student to gain true autonomy?
Yes, I think if a student has too much projection around the teacher – if they’re projecting all of their own holiness and light onto them – then the teacher does become a barrier. People put these projections onto the teacher because they hope that the teacher is going to be able to ‘save’ them. To the extent that we allow ourselves to become involved in that projection, the projection is what becomes a barrier. I was with my teacher for about fourteen years before she asked me to teach, and I noticed then that our relationship changed. I was still open to what she had to say, and open to her direction and guidance, but I related to her as an adult and not as a child. Teachers are best regarded as mentors, rather than as ‘gods.’
How do your teachings translate into your day-to-day life, in terms of your relationships?
Mukti and I have one of the most harmonious relationships that I know. I’m not saying it’s the most harmonious relationship in the world or anything, but it’s always been something that comes relatively naturally to both of us, which is really lucky. It has felt so natural for us to be together and part of that may be because we never imagined that it was the other person’s responsibility to ‘make me happy’. It has certainly matured over time. It had a lot of those effortless qualities from the very beginning, but nothing stays static – you are either maturing or regressing, one or the other. For twenty-two years, I have kept thinking to myself, ‘it can’t get any more profound than this’ and the next year, I find myself thinking, ‘wow, it did!’ Relationships can be one of the greatest areas of growth there is. To have a successful relationship, you’ve got to be a clear, adult, mature human being. That applies to relationships of all kinds: lovers, friends, family, even strangers.
It is amazing how different our relationships can be with different people: for example, you can be in a bad mood with your partner one moment, and the next, you can be chatting with your friends and you just light up – as though you are a totally different person.
That is an interesting observation, because I believe that we often reserve our worst behaviour for the people we love the most! There are a whole lot of subtle things going on in your most intimate relationships that can make them more charged, and I think one of the most predominant reasons for that is that we think when someone says ‘I love you’, they are somehow responsible for our well-being. When you go to your friends, you don’t have that pressure. You might love your friends, and be happy when you are with them – but you don’t think, ‘this person is responsible for making me happy or validating me in some way’. That expectation can creep into a lot of our most profound relationships, whether that be lovers, children or parents. With deep attachments can often come deep expectations.
How has that teaching come into play in your family relationships?
In the early years of my teaching, I actually worked with my father. He was a machinist and he had his own business. I would go to work, and I was his son and he would be my boss, and then he would come on retreats with me, and then he would be my student and I would be his teacher … It changed our roles. It was a great teaching for me, too. I saw that whatever role I play in life, it’s just a role. It’s something I can slip into and out of, like clothing. ‘Spiritual teacher’ is a role I play – it’s not who I am.
You have previously talked about awakening on different levels: the mind, the heart and the gut. Can you talk about that?
Awakening on the level of mind occurs when our identity is no longer enclosed in the level of thought. Awakening of the heart occurs when we have the intuitive capacity to perceive and experience unity and interconnectedness. The gut is much harder to describe – when I say ‘the gut’, I am talking metaphorically about the ground of all being and the ground of all experience. This is where we encounter the most existential point of our self. We can awaken at mind and heart, yet still not awaken at this very existential level.
In one of your books, you talk about how you experienced a sense of peace that lies beyond everything else, while you were grieving for your dog.
That moment I had over my dog when I was younger was really what precipitated a deeper experience of complete willingness to experience my own grief. As soon as that happened – as soon as I gave way to the experience I was having – a pinprick of peace and wellbeing started to grow inside me, until it was almost without edges. I had a sense of complete wellbeing, even while my grief simultaneously existed in the same space. There is a phrase I used to hear all the time during my Zen training that I didn’t understand – but I do now – which is: ‘always being, always becoming.’
Adya’s Thoughts on Ireland
I am really looking forward to coming to Ireland, which is unusual for me. I travel a lot and I don’t usually get really excited about going somewhere new, but I have very deep ties with Ireland. I have a lot of Irish in me – as well as a lot of Scottish and a lot of English, all mixed together – so it’s a deep part of my life. My wife Mukti’s father emigrated from Ireland and my mother’s father emigrated from Ireland, so there is a lot of Irish blood in the family. I had two of my most significant insights on St. Patricks’ Day – one year apart – so there is something about Ireland. I am looking forward to finally being in Ireland. I love Irish people’s great sense of humour. There is a lightness and a profoundness mixed into the psyche of the Irish, and as a teacher I really appreciate that because there is not as much of a facade in the Irish make-up as there is in America, for sure.
Adyashanti and Mukti will be visiting Dublin this August for a Special Intensive teaching event. This will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday August 19th, in the Gibson Hotel, Point Square, North Dock, Dublin 1. For details, go to: www.adyashanti.org
Sneak Peek: Our Summer 2018 Interview with Adyshanti
Our Summer 2018 issue has officially hit the shelves, and we couldn’t be more excited! We wanted to share an exclusive sneak peek of our interview with the world-renowned spiritual teacher Adyashanti (this issue’s cover star). He spoke to us about awakening on different levels of our being, the student-teacher relationship, and what Ireland means to him. Adyashanti and his wife Mukti will be visiting Dublin this August. To read the full interview, pick up a copy of the Summer issue in your local stockist, or subscribe online today.
The Wisdom of Adya: Opening up and embracing what is
by Aisling Cronin
Interviewers: Daizan Kaarlenkaski and Paul Congdon
Adyashanti is an American-born spiritual teacher who is devoted to serving the awakening of all beings. He promotes non-dual teachings, based on recognising both the infinite spiritual possibilities and the everyday simplicity of our lives. He is the author of a number of successful spiritual titles, including The Way of Liberation, Resurrecting Jesus and Falling into Grace. We were thrilled to interview him recently and hear about his thoughts on the student-teacher relationship, his relationship with his wife Mukti, working with his father, and what Ireland means to him.
Could you tell us about the way you share your dharma teachings? For example, you never answer questions directly, but instead offer questions for people to ask themselves.
When I am dialoguing with somebody, my goal is to help them discover an answer or a resolution inside themselves, for themselves. All true realisations come from within the individual. In my style of teaching, I put a lot of responsibility on the students because I think that in the spiritual community, the students are far too often infantilised and treated like children. It is often encouraged for students to relate to the teacher as a child would, rather than interacting as two adults in a state of mutual trust. Grown-ups make their own decisions.
Do you think there can come a point when the student-teacher relationship needs to evolve for the student to gain true autonomy?
Yes, I think if a student has too much projection around the teacher – if they’re projecting all of their own holiness and light onto them – then the teacher does become a barrier. People put these projections onto the teacher because they hope that the teacher is going to be able to ‘save’ them. To the extent that we allow ourselves to become involved in that projection, the projection is what becomes a barrier. I was with my teacher for about fourteen years before she asked me to teach, and I noticed then that our relationship changed. I was still open to what she had to say, and open to her direction and guidance, but I related to her as an adult and not as a child. Teachers are best regarded as mentors, rather than as ‘gods.’
How do your teachings translate into your day-to-day life, in terms of your relationships?
Mukti and I have one of the most harmonious relationships that I know. I’m not saying it’s the most harmonious relationship in the world or anything, but it’s always been something that comes relatively naturally to both of us, which is really lucky. It has felt so natural for us to be together and part of that may be because we never imagined that it was the other person’s responsibility to ‘make me happy’. It has certainly matured over time. It had a lot of those effortless qualities from the very beginning, but nothing stays static – you are either maturing or regressing, one or the other. For twenty-two years, I have kept thinking to myself, ‘it can’t get any more profound than this’ and the next year, I find myself thinking, ‘wow, it did!’ Relationships can be one of the greatest areas of growth there is. To have a successful relationship, you’ve got to be a clear, adult, mature human being. That applies to relationships of all kinds: lovers, friends, family, even strangers.
Adyashanti and Mukti will be visiting Dublin this August for a Special Intensive teaching event. This will take place from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday August 19th, in the Gibson Hotel, Point Square, North Dock, Dublin 1. For details, go to: www.adyashanti.org
Date: 16th – 24th October, 2017
Amber Spring Hotel, Gorey, Wexford, Ireland.
Start a New Career that will Love and transform your own live and the lives of others. Learn this powerful knowledge and experience the magic in your life. Join Amanda Collins for the Feng Shui Master Certification in Ireland her homeland for 6 days going deep into the knowledge of this amazing practice.
The training includes the Feng Shui manual, compass, 4 laminated charts and on completion becoming a certified Feng Shui Consultant at a Gold Level standard through the International Feng Shui School. Accommodation is not included.
Positive Life Optimistic October: Samhain Festival, Yoga gathering, Tantra @ Positive Nights & More!
Optimistic October! Autumn is here, bringing the beautiful colours in the foliage, the chills you feel when the wind blows on the early mornings and that lovely craving for the best hot cocoa in town! As every year, we get ready for Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve or simply Halloween and look forward to even more cozy nights next to our loved ones! Our Vibes this month is filled with beautiful events and as always lovely recommendations for your mind, body & spirit! Remember our Autumn issue of Positive life Magazine is now out! Sign up here to get a chilled copy in your postbox! Loads of love, from all the team. Join us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter if you haven’t already.x
Samhain & Yoga!
Samhain Yoga Retreat
Date: 27-29 October 2017
Location: Old Head of Kinsale, Cork, Ireland
Wild Atlantic Way Yoga invites you to celebrate the Celtic New Year with a 3 day relaxing retreat in Cork! The retreat includes vegetarian cuisine, accommodation and yoga classes.
click here to get your tickets and learn more!
Angel Therapy at Positive Nights
Corin Grillo / Angel Therapy
Positive Nights Event (Powerscourt Theatre)
Date: October 26th, 2017
This evening we welcome Corin Grillo to the stage. Weaving a combo of both traditional and energy/intuitive based therapies Corin provides an ideal environment for clients to make profound and often rapid positive changes. She works collaboratively with clients and help them tap in to their own inner voice, so that they can listen to their own wisdom on how to support and ignite their path towards healing.
Corin will also be hosting her own weekend workshop in dublin, find out more below:
You can learn more about Corin here!
Clothing with a Conscience!
Grown A clothing line with personal values that is conscious of the effects retail companies and their associated energy consumption has on the environment. For this reason they produce clothing with a shared responsibility for such impact. One TREE is planted for every T-shirt made. Their clothes are also very lovely! Slip them on this autumn and feel the vibes.
You can check them out and do a little shopping here!
Vitamin C for a Healthy Autumn!
Abundance & Health : fresh new product: Altrient Vitamin C sachets. This high strength nutritional supplement is made to pharmaceutical standards to crash through your body’s absorption barriers -to get high potency vitamin C where you need it most, to your cells.
Visit abundanceandhealth.co.uk to get them and stay healthy and ready this season!
Yoga Gathering 2017!
October 27-30th, 2017
Seagrave House, Dunany, Co. Louth, Ireland
The first annual Kundalini Yoga is a moment when the timing is just right for a big and beautiful experience to unfold! Kundalini yoga teachers, inspirational speakers and Kirtan musicians will come together to share an elevated consciousness with anyone who feels the call to participate.
For tickets & more info visit wellwithin.ie/yoga-gathering
The Organic Trust in Ireland
The Organic Trust was established as a voluntary not-for-profit organisation. The Trust is the centre of excellence when it comes to organic inspection and certification. They have a very broad range of organic technical expertise available within their organisation.
You can learn more about their services and their work by visiting organictrust.ie
Queen of Tantra @ Positive Nights!
Date: October 5th, 2017
Positive Nights event.
The Powerscourt Theatre.
7:30pm – 9:30pm
On this very special evening Paul welcomes back the queen of Tantra, Dawn Cartwright! We will for sure have another beautiful evening to enjoy her wonderful guidance and insights into love & relationships.
Join Paul & Dawn for an evening of love and intimacy that is sure to inspire. You’ll be guided through Tantra practices that open the heart. A journey into the far reaches of human sexuality and Tantra.
By Calodagh MacCumiskey
Just as the moon affects the tides and our own mental and emotional wellbeing, planetary transits have a powerful effect on everything, including the weather, the global economy, countries’ economies, and our own individual lives. Every event and being has its own unique chart, and is continually affected by planetary transits as life unfolds and time passes. In this article, I am taking a look at Ireland’s chart to see what is coming up over the next few months.
It has always been hard for the Irish economy to find balance. The economy is either very strong or very weak – a feeling of feast or famine – because of the position of the Moon in the second house in Sagittarius’ sign of the country’s chart. We have difficulty in maintaining steady, balanced growth. We also experience growth in different parts of the country at the same time. We are prone to economic extremes. For example, the economy around Dublin and other urban areas has been strengthening over the last few years, but many rural counties have a feeling that they are struggling.
The chart shows that more attention needs to be given to the youth, to solving their problems and developing them. Families need more support to stay together and maintain strong relationships. Ireland as a nation has wonderful strengths, and we will have ample opportunity to develop them and achieve strong results over the next few years. We will also see more women come into positions of authority, which will inspire positive change for society.
From July 22, 2017 – when we enter the Jupiter Mercury period – the next two years will be very promising for the Irish economy. Transit-wise, most significantly, Jupiter is moving from Virgo to Libra on September 12, 2017. Industries in Ireland that will do particularly well are food, medicine, hospitality, consultancy, education and tourism. All of these industries are related to the moon. It is a great time to boost trade and exports, and develop our strengths on the global stage in these and related sectors.
As well as the sectors mentioned above, it is an excellent time for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. A new shape will come to the Irish economy. New energy harvesting techniques will be developed. There is a lot of untapped potential and promise in Ireland related to developing teachers and education modules in the fields of construction, energy and other industries related to the planet Mars. These areas will all grow significantly.
Rahu will move from Leo to Cancer, and Ketu from Aquarius to Capricorn, on September 9. This will further strengthen Ireland and attract additional foreign direct investment. Foreign banks will buy more assets from Irish banks. Overall property prices will further rise around the country.
Jupiter’s transit is also going to play a very important role in strengthening and uniting the EU, which has been under more intense pressure as a unit since Saturn moved into Sagittarius in January 2017. This will benefit Ireland’s relative position in the EU and globally. Jupiter’s move to Libra will significantly affect the relationship between three major players on the world stage; China, the US and Russia. There will be more discussion, aggression and competition between these countries as they all jostle for power and try to influence the global balance of power in their own favour.
Calodagh McCumiskey is the director of Spiritual Earth in Rocklands, Co. Wexford.
hellenisticvedicastrology.com / calodaghmccumiskey@gmail.com
It is summer, and sharing is caring! We are giving away two tickets for two winners each for this fantastic festival! Simply follow Positive Life on Facebook or Twitter, share this post on your Facebook or Twitter page and tag @positivelifemag so we know!
By Aisling Cronin
If you have a passion for live music and natural wellbeing, the Groove Festival is perfect for you! This two-day summer festival is renowned for its combination of great food, fun activities, and high-quality performances by Irish and international music acts. It will take place in Kilruddery House and Gardens, Bray, Co. Wicklow, on the 19th and 20th of August 2017.
This year, Groove has introduced an all-new health, fitness and wellbeing precinct called Thrive. One of the many exciting events taking place at Thrive is a Yocella session on Sunday the 20th of August at 11.30 a.m, led by the experienced yoga and dance teacher Kitty Maguire. Yocella participants will be guided through a gentle yin yoga practice by Kitty, while cellist Anna Marcossi will provide live musical accompaniment. Ahead of her appearance at the festival, we spoke to Kitty to find out more.
What do you feel is unique about yin yoga?
Yin yoga is ultimately a self-acceptance practice – very different to the acrobatic, vibrant, yang yoga practices that many people are familiar with. Yin yoga is about ‘coming home’ to your body, in a sense. It’s not about striving for the best body, the best poses, or any other attachments that we don’t need.
How did you come up with the idea to combine yin yoga with cello music?
I always loved classical music, and I originally trained as a ballet dancer before moving on to teaching. I’ve been working as a yoga teacher for four or five years now, and as I began to work with yin yoga, I knew that cello music would be very supportive in that kind of space. I find the cello to be a very grounded instrument. Its music is very deep and strong, in comparison to other types of music that can really stimulate the body and become a distraction! Yocella is about completely accepting and nurturing yourself, and being in the present moment.
What are your future plans for Yocella?
Yocella is just one year old, and I hope it continues to grow! I’m holding a Yocella’s First Birthday event to commemorate that, from 3.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. on August 13th in St. Kevin’s Hall, Bloomfield Avenue, Portobello. It was a real honour to be asked to appear at Groove Festival, as there will be so many other fantastic teachers there. Being at the festival definitely won’t be a typical work environment for me, with so many exciting events going on!
To learn more about Kitty’s work, visit her website, www.kittymaguire.com. Enjoy 10% off tickets to Groove Festival (plus kids 12 and under go free!) Visit http://groovefestival.tickets.ie/ and enter code POSITIVELIFE. This offer is valid until July 31st.
It is summer, and sharing is caring! We are also giving away two tickets for two winners each for this fantastic festival! Simply follow Positive Life on Facebook or Twitter, share this post on your Facebook or Twitter page and tag @positivelifemag so we know!
Saturday 19th & Sunday 20th August, 2017 / Killruddery House & Garden in Bray, Co. Wicklow
Thrive, Groove Festival’s all new health, fitness and wellness quarter, offers festival goers the chance to relax, rejuvenate and re-energise the mind, body and soul through a jam-packed programme of over 35 free movement classes, wellness workshops and inspirational talks. Access to Thrive, Where Retreat Meets Music, is all inclusive in the incredible value festival tickets. Day tickets to Groove are just €59.50 (+booking fee) for the best in music on the main stage, including Primal Scream, UB40, Hothouse Flowers, Hudson Taylor, Jerry Fish plus lots more and also including the most exciting of emerging Irish music talent on the Sony Xperia Stage.
For our lovely readers our friends at Groove Festival would like to offer you all a 10% discount on tickets to Groove Festival (plus kids 12 and under go free!) Visit groovefestival.ie and enter code POSITIVELIFE. Code is valid until July 31st.
Learn more at groovefestival.ie
Date: Wednesday 21 June
Location: Ferrycarrig Hotel, Ferrycarrig, Co. Wexford, Ireland
When people are well, they do well. Rejuvenate Ireland brings together dynamic speakers from business, sport and media to highlight the challenges and opportunities in Irish society and showcases the why and how of putting wellbeing at the heart of your organisation and so you can be part of a campaign to create a well workforce and a thriving Ireland.
Join us in the Ferrycarrig Hotel, Wexford on June 21st, the 3rd United Nations International Day of Yoga (UN IDY) from 7-11pm for the Rejuvenate Ireland Wellbeing Conference. Speakers include Gordon D’Arcy, retired rugby player and investment manager with Investec, Terry Prone, Chair of The Communications Clinic, Tracy Piggott, Sports Broadcaster, Colin Regan, GAA Community and Health Manager and Steve Black, motivational speaker who Graham Henry, former All-Blacks rugby coach refers to as “the greatest motivator I’ve ever met”
The evening event costs €75 per person and includes a welcome reception and a fabulous 3 course dinner prepared by renowned Wexford chef Tony Carty.
Please visit rejuvenateireland.com for full details of our events. Tickets (including group discounts) are available through Wexford Chamber of Commerce (contact Roisin + 353 (0) 53 91 22226) or click here for tickets
In February this year we were able to gift one of our readers with a overnight stay for two at the wonderful Creacon Lodge Wellness Retreat in Co. Wexford, Ireland. The lovely Emma Cooper was the winner and she has some wonderful things to say:
‘Really loved my weekend at Creacon Lodge – it is a perfect choice for a relaxing, weekend escape! The facilities, food, staff and treatments are all excellent. Creacon has a lovely peaceful/chilled vibe and we were made to feel welcome the moment we arrived. The staff there are so warm and friendly and they really went out of their way to take care of us during our stay. I was really impressed with the standard of our accommodation – our bedroom was newly renovated, really stylishly decorated, spotlessly clean, really comfortable and we had a wonderful view of the garden. Although it is a wellness centre, I would describe the accommodation at Creacon as more ‘upmarket boutique style’ as it was of such a high standard. There are also so many lovely areas/ rooms to explore and chill out in while you are there. They have a beautiful hall where they run yoga and meditation classes. The garden is also very pretty and peaceful and it was lovely to just explore/spend time in it while we were there. The food was also fabulous – all natural, nutritious and very tasty! I booked a treatment while I was there too – a heavenly, deep tissue massage with Susanne, who is an excellent therapist. I highly recommend Creacon Wellness Retreat and would like to say a big thank you to all the staff there!’
Emma Cooper
If you would like to visit this peaceful and restorative place, check out their site here.