A Journey of Self-Discovery: Cultivating Unconditional Love and Spiritual Purification
For the past eight months, starting from December last year, I've embarked on an unexpected yet deeply transformative journey of self-healing. This period has been so absorbing that it has shifted my focus away from my work at the crystal shop. However, I'm immensely grateful for this experience as it has allowed me to reconnect with my true self—my divine essence—more effortlessly than ever before. I've achieved this through a blend of somatic healing exercises, emotional management, and spiritual purification via prayer and meditation.
**The Beginnings**
This journey began in an entirely unexpected manner. Curious about plant medicine healing to uncover the lifelong sadness I carried, I stumbled upon a facilitator who could offer the ceremony in NZ and found he was going to attend the Spirit Festival held in Warkworth. The timing seemed almost serendipitous, with the festival in just two days, and only 1.5 hours drive away. Prior to this, I hadn't even been aware of such gatherings. Coincidentally, a Qi-Gong workshop caught my attention, scheduled early in the morning. Initially hesitant due to the early hour, I felt an inexplicable pull to attend.
Little did I know, this decision would lead me to Master Sunyong, whose teachings rooted in ancient Korean esoteric practices have since become an integral part of my life - He has pretty much changed my life. His teachings and exercises were quite alternative which made me feel uncomfortable as it required me to really come out of my shell. Despite initial skepticism and slight resistance, I continued attending his classes at Body & Brain centre in Rosedale daily, for the past four and a half months. Master Sunyong's teachings, though unconventional and VERY different (initially I was like wtf is this place), have proven invaluable in my physical and emotional healing journey. If you are interested in alternative healing exercises with Master Sunyong you can visit the website for Body & Brain. The website really needs to be updated and the email on the website is old so you can try this: master_sunyong@bodynzbraintraining.com. He also does classes on Zoom for those who are not in Auckland.
**First, the Physical Healing**
A year and a half ago, I was plagued by sudden muscle stiffness and debilitating pain in my shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists, and right knee and leg. Medical professionals were unable to diagnose the cause, with one even suggesting it might be psychosomatic. Despite the distress, I resigned myself to living with chronic pain until I started Master Sunyong's practices. To my own surprise, within three months, the persistent pain in my shoulders began to dissipate, and within four months, my wrist healed, restoring balance to the right side of my body.
**Achieving Emotional Balance**
Master Sunyong emphasized that physical health and emotional balance stems from restoring and harmonizing energy flow within the physical body. Through Qi-Gong-inspired somatic healing exercises, I experienced a profound release of stagnant energy, particularly from my heart chakra. This newfound emotional stability enabled me to navigate lifelong emotional challenges with clarity and composure. The theory behind this is explained pretty well in the book "Water up Fire Down" and I have personally experienced what is described in the book. It is available on Kindle as well so it is easy to access. ***Just noting that I don't get anything for promoting this book or the Body & Brain Centre.***
**Emotional Sovereignty - Emotional Management**
Once I achieved better energy balance within my body, managing my emotions became significantly easier. Adopting a mindfulness practice of observing emotions without judgment, I learned to locate and acknowledge emotions like sadness, frustration, or anger within my body. It is very important during this process that you don’t try to change the emotion, analyse the emotion, or get rid of the emotion. Just simply observe the emotion that you feel, usually in the stomach, chest, or head area, and accept that this is the emotions you feel. It almost feels like you are detached from your body and watching from outside. Once you observe your emotions for a few minutes, it simply disappears, and you realise that it was all just a fleeting feeling.
This mindfulness practice becomes much more accessible when you've gained some experience in meditation and have begun releasing stagnant energy held in your body through physical exercise. Therefore, I highly recommend beginning a meditation practice and incorporating somatic healing exercises. These exercises need not specifically be Body & Brain techniques, although they were particularly effective for me. Practices like yoga, Tai Chi, or Qi-Gong can also be beneficial. Choose what resonates with you best to gain better control over the emotions that influence your daily life.
**Discovering My True Self**
As you gain more control over your emotions through consistent practice, you begin to catch glimpses of your true-self emerging. Embrace life's stressful moments as opportunities to refine your emotional management skills, drawing yourself closer to your authentic essence. In my view, uncontrolled emotions pose the greatest barriers to accessing your true-self, your divine consciousness.
One incident stands out vividly during my drive home from work after an exceptionally challenging Monday: my cat fell ill, my husband was unusually difficult, I had a disagreement with a colleague, and my workload tested my limits. Despite it all, I persisted in practicing emotional management and attending my somatic healing classes at Body & Brain. Later that week, a sudden realization washed over me in the car—a profound sense of stability, calmness, and inner peace amid chaos. It was then that I recognized my true self, untouched by external turmoil. This deep serenity and groundedness affirmed my divine-self surfacing—I realized this is who I truly am. This clarity prompted me to begin cultivating unconditional love, recognizing it as our inherent state of being, absolutely crucial in spiritual practice.
**Cultivation of Unconditional Love**
Cultivation of unconditional love is paramount in spiritual practice. In the spiritual community, there's often a strong emphasis on manifestation, analyzing planetary influences, channeling higher beings, and receiving messages from Spirit, yet cultivating unconditional love doesn't always receive the same spotlight. It might not be as magnetic or popular a topic, but through the practice of unconditional love, one can unlock and enhance spiritual talents. Unconditional love has a profound purifying effect on our bodies, minds, emotions, and spirits. When we achieve this purification, divine light flows through us effortlessly and gracefully.
After gaining glimpses of my true self, I began embracing all experiences and emotions that previously I would have avoided. Welcoming these so-called "negative" thoughts, feelings, and situations allowed me to deepen my practice of emotional management and gain greater insight into my divine self. As I experienced more of my true divine essence, I encountered the profound sensation of unconditional love for the first time in my life—towards myself, loved ones, and even strangers.
** The Ego is Just Habit **
Ego is a barrier to cultivating unconditional love if one is unaware, but becomes an essential tool once you do become aware of its presence. I became acutely aware that the negative thoughts and feelings I harbored were often habitual responses, inherited from familial, societal, and media influences that model to us how to react with ego. Recognizing this allowed me to detach from these patterns. For instance, when negative feelings surfaced towards my husband, I understood it was a habitual, conditioned response (modelled through how my mother reacted to situations). I became aware that “oh this is just my old habit, and it’s just how my mother modelled to me. I don’t need to feel or think this way.” Because you can manage your emotions and are aware of your true divine self, thus gain the ability discern what stems from ego, you have the inner strength and discipline to CHOOSE another way of thinking and feeling.
When you have emotional sovereignty, you start understanding the situation from the other person’s view, and become aware that they are also acting the way they do because of the way they were modelled to think and act as a child.
Self-awareness and self-introspection allow you do develop this crucial aspect of unconditional love, which is understanding where others are coming from without your ego being triggered.
Whenever I sense that I'm being treated unfairly, whether it's something as minor as always being the one to unload the dishwasher, I recognize it as my ego reacting. Growing up as the youngest daughter, I internalized the belief that such menial tasks diminished my importance within the family. This realization has led me to understand that many of my negative thoughts and emotions stem from triggering my ego. The ego, disconnected from our true divine self, seeks validation and can easily become upset or fearful when its perceived status or reputation is threatened or disregarded—such as when a coworker fails to greet you, or when faced with a challenging project at work that you think is beyond your ability, or when your children or spouse don't fulfill your expectations.
** Challenges to Unconditional Love**
From a young age, we've all operated within an ego-based mindset, making it habitual to think and feel negatively. Changing these ingrained patterns requires discipline and ongoing practice. Often, people struggle because they harbour years of stagnant energy within their physical bodies, hindering their ability to manage emotions and connect with their authentic selves. But when you can finally experience your true self, through somatic healing exercises (very important), meditation & mindfulness, you can consciously select your thoughts and emotions, rather than being enslaved by habitual reactions. You can begin to actively choose unconditional love, even towards those who might seem unlovable. It takes practice and discipline, which I know does not sound sexy to anyone!
**What is Unconditional Love?**
To me, unconditional love resembles warm, golden rays of light without expectations. When I wish to extend unconditional love to someone, I envision them surrounded by this radiant light, without praying for them to change their behaviour or circumstances. During a profound meditation session with Master Sunyong, I encountered my aggressive neighbor—an individual often challenging to love. In my inner vision I saw his aura devoid of light, enveloped in darkness. I understood this darkness stemmed from his inability to love himself and the lack of pure love received from others. Then I heard that we need to send pure, unconditional love to those who are deemed unlovable because that light acts as gentle catalyst which invites them to experience light and healing. I saw pure golden light penetrating through the dark aura of my neighbour. During this process I was also advised that the light we send must be pure and unconditional with no expectation for the person’s behaviour to change, otherwise it will get deflected.
** Purification of Mind, Body & Spirit**
Currently I am integrating the practice of unconditional love into my daily life for the first time in my existence. I still have much to go, but I've come to understand that this practice purifies not only the body, mind, emotions, and spirit but also enhances clarity in my inner vision. My experiences have led me to appreciate Tibetan mantras, which seem very effective for purification when your heart is in the right space. I love mantras sung by Drukmo Gyal, whose voice is incredibly healing. You can find her on Youtube.
** Prayer of Love **
For the first time, I felt a profound, genuine desire to pray for all living beings, and I was inspired to pray the below each day:
"Divine love and light,
May you bring comfort to those who are suffering,
Heal those who are in pain,
Soothe those in anger,
And send love to those unloved.
Please bring light to those in darkness,
and peace to those in grief,
May your divine light spread,
And touch all on earth this day.
Bring peace to us all."
Initially, I questioned my authenticity, wondering if my ego drove this newfound urge to pray to feel like a superior awakened being. However, I soon realized it stemmed from a genuine place within my heart—a feeling I had never before experienced. I think it is really important to question our authenticity and genuinity when it comes to cultivating unconditional love.
Since embracing unconditional love, my spiritual journey has deepened. My inner vision has sharpened, and I've noticed an increase in my claircognition and clairsentient abilities. I've even experienced physical sensations during meditation, where my entire body and organs felt like they were burning up in flames but akin to a menthol burn, which my teacher attributed to purification.
**Conclusion**
So, in conclusion, cultivating unconditional love is crucial as it leads to the purification of our body, mind, and spirit. Yet, few teach us how to attain this profound state. From my own journey, I've found that achieving energetic balance and releasing stagnant energy from the physical body is the crucial initial step. This process enables us to manage emotions through detached observation, a pathway to connecting with our true selves. By becoming more attuned to our authentic essence, we gain clarity on when emotions and thoughts stem from ego-driven habits. This heightened awareness empowers us to consciously choose unconditional love over reactive responses. As we nurture unconditional love, the purification journey commences, marking the beginning of our spiritual ascension.
Cultivation of unconditional love and self-purification isn't a once off exercise, it is a lifelong practice and journey.
As I continue on this path of self-discovery and spiritual purification, I extend my heartfelt wishes to you all, with sincerity and gratitude.
Warm regards,
Diana