Interview by Mary Mckeone
AWARENESS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19
‘Awareness is a route to wholeness,’ says Ruth Rochelle, an Insight facilitator for over twenty-five years, who did the first Insight I in 1979 in the Café Royale in London with Arianna Huffington and which was facilitated by its creator, Russell Bishop.
‘Insight I, for me, was very powerful,’ she says. ‘It was a life-changing shift in [my] consciousness where I became aware of connecting with my heart and all of humanity…and when for a moment in time, the separation of individuals no longer existed.’
During those four days, she discovered that by being in self-awareness, we have a natural knowing, and that her inner wisdom was something she could rely on. She, also, learnt about the power of intention: how when we focus on a goal with a singularity of mind and then take action towards it, not only are we more likely to realise the goal but we feel stronger and more confident in the process. This, Ruth found was the case, even after the seminar was over. In discovering she had more courage to go for what she wanted, she found she was willing to go outside her comfort zone and achieve results which were stretches for her. She cited one example of going for a job in mental health which her heart called to her to do, but for which she had no experience. Notwithstanding, she got the job. And loved it.
After Insight I, she knew she valued this work enormously and was clear she wanted to do more of it. A few months later, she did Insight II. That too, was ‘amazing, powerful, profound and exciting.’ But it was not until some time afterwards, she fully appreciated the power of Insight II, and better understood how our deep-rooted, conditioned fears and beliefs can limit us living fully from our hearts. ‘Insight II gave me a clear powerful perspective on my beliefs and resulting habitual behaviours,’ she tells me, and ‘by being able to view those limiting beliefs more objectively, I realised they were not the truth.’ This realisation provided more expansive choices, so she was better able to change things in her life no longer working. Even today, she says, Insight II, still has a huge impact and she regularly uses its tools.
Over the last year, she has had plenty of opportunity to use the Insight tools. Like many of us when the pandemic struck, her life, as she knew it, was turned on its head. Early on, not only were several big projects cancelled but all her regular work stopped. She didn’t qualify for government financial support and suddenly it looked like she would have no income. Familiar limiting patterns were triggered – old fears, feelings of unworthiness, a sense of exclusion, and mental negative scenarios of what if: ‘I can’t pay the bills, the mortgage, buy dog food, etc’. What liberated her was being very present and compassionate with herself and not denying what was happening for her, mentally or emotionally. ‘Living on my own in lockdown,’ she says, laughing, ‘there was no escape from my experience so I might as well learn and grow from it!’ ‘Participate in your experience’ is a recommendation from Insight I. ‘Simple Awareness is often curative.’ said Fritz Perls – quoted in Insight I. ‘In allowing my awareness into those deeper places of pain without resisting, I was able to flow with it and ride my own familiar wave until I found myself naturally moving back into my heart and into my loving and from there, I could ask: is what I am thinking and feeling really true in this moment?’ In the centre of the HEART CHART presented in Insight I there are the words ‘LIVING IN SELF-AWARENESS NOW’. Moment by moment awareness is such a powerful key! What she found was an opening up of gratitude for all that she did have: a home; plenty of food for her and her dog; the support of family and friends who love her dearly, and much, much, more. Depletion was transformed into potency and confidence which grew along with self-trust and lightness of heart. ‘I am being more creative than I have been in a long while, and as a result, I have attracted more work! What I have been through in 2020 has been priceless. It has been an opportunity to deepen my love for myself from the inside out and allow my gifts to [further] blossom.’
The current restrictions, of course, mean Insight workshops and seminars are now taking place online. As a successful executive, leadership and team coach, (see more at www.creation-uk.com) who has often facilitated online, I ask her view of the upcoming Insight I which will be held online between the 4th-7th March 2021. She acknowledges being online is different to being in the room but says that there are definitely advantages and that this new development for Insight, in her opinion, is very exciting. Not only does it give the organisation the ability to provide a service beyond boundaries (the global Insight I, there were participants as far afield as New Zealand, Africa, the UK, the US, and South America,) but she knows from her own experience, connecting with other participants, whether in the room, or not, is equally possible. People now can have profound and meaningful experiences in their own homes. As someone who is a big fan of exploring ways to do things better, Ruth finishes our conversation saying: ‘What is so wonderful about the Insight experience is that because a participant works with their current reality, and what stage they are at in their life, each seminar will be different, even if the same seminar is taken for a second, third, or fourth time… So, anything, at this point in history, that connects nations and brings diverse people together in a loving, uplifting and accountable way must be a good thing.’ I have to say, I agree.
FREE EVENTS
We have free events scheduled for the next few weeks and you can find all the details and register for them here.
