Tag: takeittothenextlevel

Walk on Water

by The Author, posted in Blog

Lately, I have been wondering why the medical establishment doesn’t pay more attention to the cures that Jesus performed. My thought runs along these lines, If Jesus cured every person who came to him,[1] wouldn’t the medical establishment be at least—even slightly—interested to try to understand how he did it? If Jesus could heal people with all sorts of diseases without equipment—yes, he once used his own saliva and dirt to make mud to heal a blind man[2] if you even consider this ‘equipment’—then how did he do it and wouldn’t this knowledge benefit us planetarily? Wouldn’t the knowledge of how Jesus healed people while he walked the earth benefit all people in need of healing on our planet?

Walk on Water Perhaps one of the more impressive miracles was when Jesus walked on water. People are still trying to reproduce it today but can only accomplish this through artificial means that include Plexiglas. Remember, Plexiglas didn’t exist at the time of Jesus and the Sea of Galilee was much bigger than a swimming pool where such could be installed.

Jesus was up on a mountain praying while his disciples—whom he’d ordered to get inside a boat and cross the Sea of Galilee—found themselves in a big storm.[3] The waves picked up and the wind howled causing their boat to become unstable and rock back and forth. The wind pushed against them making forward movement impossible.[4] Water started to fill the boat and the disciples were very scared and perhaps thought they were going to die.

Have you ever experienced a storm in your life? A dark period where things seemed hopeless?

Jesus knew that this was going on and started walking down the mountain and toward the seashore. For Jesus, the path was one and when he reached the liminal threshold where land meets sea, he just kept on walking. So, in a way, to say that Jesus walked on water is a misnomer. Jesus just walked and there happened to be water beneath him.

A Higher Dimensional State When he got to the boat, the disciples thought that he was a ghost but Jesus reassured them that it was him. Then Peter wanted proof: If it’s really you, then call me onto the water.[5] Jesus told him to come. He did and it worked for a little while—being able to maintain the same land-or-sea path that Jesus could—but then—when Peter’s focus shifted away from Jesus and back to the storm around him that was continuing—fear set in and he started to exit the higher dimensional state that he’d been in, sink into the sea, after which Jesus saved him immediately.[6]

Faith is important This story tells us that faith is important if we want to take it to a higher level. Jesus, master of the elements, said that we would be able to do the same or, enter into the same higher dimensional state that he was in when he maintained the one land-or-sea path. Jesus said,

‘The person who trusts me will not only do what I’m doing but even greater things, because I … am giving you the same work to do that I’ve been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I’ll do it.’[7]

What might it feel like to walk on water? I wonder what it might feel like to walk on water—the real thing, not the Plexiglas magic trick? Another way to ask the question is, What might it feel like to unburden ourselves of those things that weigh us down and tread lightly? To release those things or relationships that are no longer necessary and move forward in spite of any storm that comes against us?

Let’s take it to the Next Level together. Book your appointment here today, Luba

Photo by Shawn McKay on Unsplash

[1] The one exception is in Jesus’ hometown, Nazareth, where people knew him since childhood and could not accept him as a prophet. See Mark 6:4-5.

[2] John 9:6.

[3] Matthew 14:22-32.

[4] Matthew 14:24.

[5] Matthew 14:28, my interpretation.

[6] Matthew 14:26-31.

[7] John 14:12 (The Message).

We need to Exit the Matrix Mentality

by The Author, posted in Blog

I hope this combination audio-text blog finds you well as we approach Christmas and Hannukah.

I have a new toy

I’m happy to finally get to test my new, wireless microphone. I’m like a kid about these things. Every new gadget makes me happy, and I’m especially happy if you can hear my voice clearly. (Click below for the audio version of this blog post.)

A big part of Take it to the Next Level has to do with feeling dissatisfied with where you’re at.

You have a gnawing feeling that you can be more, do more.

That’s why I’m striving to work on the primer, Take it to the Next Level, How to Rise in Life. I want to be able to have it ready for you.

I finished Module 13 most recently and am waiting on inspiration for Module 14.

Allow yourself to be inspired

That’s just it, I have to wait for inspiration to come before the next module ‘emerges.’

Next Level work happens within the messiness of life. It’s there—ready to access—waiting for you to pay attention to it. It really is that simple.

It happens in a quiet moment, when the sun suddenly appears from behind the skyscrapers, when you can and are willing to—for a moment—turn away from the business of life.

It happens while you’re doing the things you’re doing; while I’m busy being the part-time chaplain, and part-time student, and doing other activities.

We need to exit the Matrix Mentality

I recently became frustrated because of something bureaucratic.

It reminded me that we live in what some call a matrix because when things flow the way they’re supposed to flow, there is no bureaucracy. There isn’t that extra layer of ‘fluff’ that is completely unrelated to what you’re trying to achieve but suits others’ purposes.

The environment that surrounds us can—in and of itself—be an impediment to living our best lives, allowing our talents to emerge and moving up in levels.

I say it clearly in the primer, not everyone will cheer you on when you’re determined to Take it to the Next Level. Quite the contrary, we don’t want to be pushed out of our comfort zone. It’s so much easier not too make that extra effort, give ourselves that gentle ‘little kick.’

In a way, when you take it up a level, when you poke your head out of the ordinary, when you peer outside the matrix, you’re saying no to things that block you from utilizing your full potential. More importantly, you’re saying yes to the unknown and a certain level of risk.

Spirituality is squirmy, but good

Although spirituality—like something squirmy—is hard to put one’s finger on and can vary from person to person, we can all feel when we’re being limited.

The whole point of Take it to the Next Level is to shift our focus to what we CAN do, what we LIKE to do and what we’re inherently GOOD at doing.

It really is that simple.

Joyous festivities ahead and let’s Take it to the Next Level together,

Luba

Featured Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash

The Courage To Carry On

by The Author, posted in Blog

Life is hard.

It is the courage to carry on, however, that matters.

In the face of obstacles, disappointments and hardship, it’s important to keep the faith and remember that we’re not alone in this story.

Our Creator is always by our side, ready to help us at any given moment. Isn’t that a wonderful thought?

There is an expectation, though, that we reach out, make some effort. It doesn’t happen magically. There is an element of co-creative participation that reveals itself in our efforts to ‘get out of our shell.’ We are full participants in the enterprise of our own ‘rescue.’

When I returned to Toronto after having spent a decade in Bulgaria, I was stunned by how many people suffered in the midst of wealth. In the midst of great material wealth, I noticed that people were ‘spiritually atrophied,’ living in their personal, isolated wastelands, hungering for human contact.

I saw more spiritual poverty than I’d ever seen in Bulgaria.

It doesn’t have to be this way

I don’t shy away from saying that the entire purpose of Luba Rascheff Consultancy is to help people leave that ‘wasteland’ and enter into a completely new arena of hope and joy. Taking it to the Next Level is ultimately about personal transformation.

Next  Level joy is happy, fulfilled.

Next Level hope means that what you need already exists in the Creator’s storehouses and all you have to do is ask.

We fail to realize that it’s already been mapped out and that in the midst of our pain and despair lies the answer.

The gold is not at the other end of the rainbow, it’s here, right in front of our eyes. Can you see it?

A different way of seeing

In order to see the beauty that surrounds us, there has to be a change. Yet this change can only come when we courageously step away from that which drags us down and energetically drains us and move forward into our new ‘home.’

Home is Where the Heart Is

I’m using home as a metaphor to describe inner psychological processes. I’m talking about feeling at home psychologically.

Our new home is different from the old. It’s not a dark, damp basement. It’s elevated and spacious with large windows through which sunlight streams in. The sun is so bright that it makes us laugh, squint our eyes and shade them with our hand!

This home is different. The furniture almost seems ‘alive’ and whatever we touch ‘speaks’ words of joy and positivity to us. The very atmosphere of our Next Level home is conducive to helping us develop and grow our God-given potential to the level it was always meant to be.

Where can I buy such a home, Luba? You may be wondering.

You can’t. It’s not for sale. You won’t find it on RE/MAX.

The home I refer to is one that you carry with you. The home I’m talking about is inside of you. This home is the Next Level you.

Let’s Take it to the Next Level, book your appointment today.

Luba

The Heart of the Matter

by The Author, posted in Blog

Photo by Daan Stevens on Unsplash

Our hearts know much.

They inform us about what makes us happy, and what doesn’t.

They speak to us regarding what we are versus what we could be.

The ancient Maya believed that the heart could ‘think’ and, contrary to the brain, was the sacred center of our being. You can read an article I wrote about this in Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global called ‘The Power of a Grateful Heart.’

In a materialistic society, the temptation to fill the empty ‘hole’ in our hearts with ‘stuff,’ material goods, is strong.

The hole represents the dissatisfaction I refer to in the introduction to Take it to the Next Level. It’s the hole or emptiness—even in the midst of great material wealth—that, if it could speak, would say, ‘I feel really empty right now. I seem to have it all, yet I just don’t understand why I feel so depleted.’

The main image I chose for this article is a tunnel lined with hearts. The tunnel represents movement toward the center of your being; the hearts represent loving thoughts, feelings and attitudes; and the lights at the top are pointers to what is good and true. At the end of the tunnel is the center of your being.

The title of this blog post, the heart of the matter, implies that at the center of the matter is the heart. This can also be phrased as, at the heart of all material ‘stuff’ is the heart because without the heart, matter is mere emptiness.

Black Friday, Boxing Day

We are bombarded with advertisements that promise fulfillment. We are falsely led to believe that shopping is the panacea to loneliness and isolation. ‘The more things you own,’ the voice seems to say, ‘the happier you’ll be.’ But the truth of the matter is that buying stuff isn’t going to fill the hole. You’ll only start to feel better when you decide to talk about your feelings in order to know yourself better—the person you’re with 24 hours/day—and drop the pretenses.

Pretenses are the sum of those things, attitudes and facades that, together, make up the fake self that you present to the world.

The reason that we present a false self to others is because we deeply doubt that people will like us for who we really are. This is pathological thinking—or faulty schemas—that needs correction. That’s because the core of our being is, according to the Maya, filled with compassion, love and beauty. (Source: ‘The Power of a Grateful Heart’)

The truth is that the Creator equipped you with everything you need to be content and complete. That which you seek is within you, within the core of your being, the core of your being itself.

When you’re able to tap into the compassion, love and beauty that are the core of your being, you’ll be able to feel the same in the world around you. When you’re able to do this is when you’ll fill the emptiness on the inside. Doing so fundamentally has to do with finding real meaning in your life. Is your life meaningful? Have you discovered the true purpose of your life?

If you ever hope to rise in life, to move up in levels, you will need to drop the mask. You’ll need to cut out everything that is phony in your life.

Real Talk

I can only help you if you are willing to allow yourself to be helped. If you are able to admit that the life you’re living—although quite high by worldly standards—is an empty shell.

In a world where we like to hear sweet and lovely, ‘honey’ words of comfort, what I say in this piece surely sounds harsh and bitter to your ears.

Wealth is a perspective; growth is a direction; and non-manufactured contentment and satisfaction are the aim of taking it to the next level.

Let’s Take it to the Next Level, book your appointment today,

Luba

Take it to the Next Level: How to Rise in Life—The Book

by The Author, posted in Blog

Sun 1 | LUBARASCHEFFPHOTOGRAPHY

Book writing is not new to me.

I’ve independently authored and published numerous eBooks and Books: some under a pen name, and most recently 101 Gold Nuggets of Advice and its companion book under my real name, Luba Rascheff.

At the moment, I’m simultaneously working on two books. One is about dementia—a topic that both impacts and frightens many, and something I deal with on a daily basis as a chaplain—and the other pertains to this piece. My interest in dementia is tied to my role of Director on the Board of Directors of a dementia initiative and small, cozy, assisted-living home in Toronto, Ontario that can accommodate up to five women with mild cognitive impairment. (You can read more here.)

Writing is something that naturally flows for me which is why I decided to come up with a primer by the same name for what it means to Take it to the Next Level, the core of my business, Luba Rascheff Consultancy.

The book comprises a series of easy-to-understand modules. I completed Module 5 today; have more to write; and am allowing the muse to guide me.

Take it to the Next Level, the book, has a spiritual component which courses through it, as in all of my writing. In this case, I attempt to blend spirituality with practicality so as to ‘weave’ a blueprint of how to move to higher spiritual levels and rise in life in the context of the complex age in which we find ourselves.

Although the book merges my own religious faith tradition—Christianity and its associated Trinitarian belief system—with rising in life, the concept of Take it to the Next Level can be followed by anyone, regardless of their religious tradition or spiritual views. The purpose of the book is to act as a reference, a guide, to moving up spiritually—to higher and higher levels—in life.

Writing comes easily to me because I had the privilege to live for a little over one decade in Bulgaria. It was during this time, in a completely foreign environment, that I had the privilege to write.

Writing means taking pen to paper and writing until your ink runs dry, or mercilessly tapping on a keyboard until it needs replacement. That’s because there’s a physical effort involved in writing.

I remember writing one particular book with the TV blaring, dogs barking and people coming in and out of the house! Writing happens in circumstances that are often not ideal.

I am excited about writing Take it to the Next Level: How to Rise in Life because I believe that this book, which draws on my own knowledge, experience and beliefs, will help readers help themselves.

In the end, the only person who can Take it to the Next Level is YOU, dear reader. My book can act as a guide; consultative conversations can mirror your assumptive world(s); and following this blog will, hopefully, be encouraging. The real ‘moves,’ however, from level to level, can only be yours.

The fact that you’re reading this blog post means that you’re looking for something. You’ve landed here because you’re searching.

For those of us who earnestly search, the truth will emerge.

For those of us who seek with all our hearts, answers will come.

Let’s Take it to the Next Level,

Luba