Our first Theme is:
Why I need to keep on opening my heart especially in January is because I wish to embrace the full potential of the year ahead. Of course, what is to come will knock its way through anyway, but it is far more enjoyable to embrace it openly. :) The challenge in this is to not get caught in the busy-ness of days and so, I intent to listen more! :)
Please enjoy Lady Elizabeth's poignant sharing!
With all my love,
(BH)
Milen
~~~
My dear friends,
Happy 2026! A Happy New Year to each and every one of you!
While this year has been a tough one for many, I trust that 2026 brings you love, laughter, growth, healing, and peace. May you cherish time with those closest to you and carry that appreciation throughout the year ahead.
We have a beautiful theme this month – "Living with an Open Heart". For me this is a theme for Life 😊
"Living by the rule of the hunt, the warrior never takes pity on anyone or anything, but instead ruthlessly stalks his perception and the perception of others, so that the gifts of power can be extracted from each and every challenge. By taking this approach, the life of the warrior becomes a tight, but nonetheless open-hearted affair with all of life - an expression of his impeccability and of his great love for the world around him."
Volume VI, pg. 257
I met a lady online almost 10 years ago. We are fellow countrymen and at the time we met I was based in Greece and she was based in Thailand. We met and bonded over our respective emotional eating challenges, both of us committed to peeling (lol) back the layers to get to the cause of the triggers.
10 years later we still meet online every single week without fail, no matter where we are in the world. We have met in person about 5 times, each visit deepening our love and respect for each other. We seldom talk food 😊
A year into our relationship we agreed to include a cousin of mine in our weekly calls. T was 7 years into her recovery from alcohol and deadly drugs – she was at death’s door (with a 5 year old daughter) when her brother intervened for the last time. Putting down the drugs was one thing, replacing them with food was another. We have to eat to live after all. T wanted to be part of my journey so asked if she could join me in some way.
The three of us are all on different paths and yet our willingness to stay open and vulnerable with each other has meant that we are able to meet at a human level. Ironically, all of us coming from a very divisive apartheid background is now reflected in how we have learned in the past years to “code switch” culturally. Because diversity is routine for us, not exceptional.
I have observed over the years how my Warrior’s Path terminology has crept into our calls. Because it is so practical and comes from a place of true education and not academic schooling, my friends grasp the concepts at a heart level. And then search for the same truth in their belief systems.
This week T was acknowledging her learnings for the past year and that the strongest mirror she has had to inspire her in 2025 is my reflection of “surrender”. She explained that in her recovery program surrender is the be all and end all on the road to healing. She had observed how in the past half year as my body struggled with one mobility challenge after another, how I had surrendered to what is and did not lament on what used to be. Surrender, tackle the challenge and move forward from there.
I value the feedback as there have been times, after I have surrendered my mind lol, only to have it recoil and the journey of surrender begins all over again, hopefully on the next rung of the spiral.
“When you finally realise that the mind, as clever, and as cunning as it likes to be, reaches a point where it has to surrender, and say, "I can't. This is as far as I can go." Until of course it is given a little breathing space, and then it can regroup its energies, and it comes at you again!”
Have fun with our theme this festive season, my friends. I truly look forward to seeing you in person this year, online or for real!
With my love, my heart and my warm hugs,
Elizabeth
- Seventh ISM Global Online Retreat - 8th May 2026
- Living with an Open Heart - 1st January 2026
- The Power Lies In The Moment - 1st December 2025