The Core:: Spirituality & Daily Material Life

By Michael Assedo and Lara Sragow

Are you ready to fulfill more of your potential, for both inner peace and tangible success?

Are you ready to expand both your spiritual side and your practical, material world of mastering daily stress, money, relationships, and health?

Discover how to cultivate double the satisfaction with The Core: Spirituality & Daily Material Life, a handbook of higher wisdom made down to earth. Twenty-six simple universal truths dispel the most common yet limiting myths of personal freedom and enjoyment. And of course, every truth has its dare-your personal call to action-to awaken your life inside and out.

The Core imparts Michael's advising via Lara's writing to uncover:

The way and why to upgrade and update your lease on life now

The edge that comes from adding awareness to the daily grind

The easiest yet foremost breathing technique for daily practice

The golden rule for much more satisfaction out of any situation

The missing link that makes it easier to shift from victim mode

16 simple truths and dares to approach daily friction for success

10 simple truths and dares to approach critical topics for success

Learn more about the book and its coauthors at TheCoreBookstore.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452548128

Michael Assedo

Michael Assedo has been a modern spiritual teacher for 30 years in Jerusalem, and a contributor to the spiritual capital’s leading online magazines. He teaches simple higher wisdom for both internal and physical, material enjoyment. His wisdom is not a derivative of any tradition; he was born with the knowledge he shares. Without a single business card, but by word of mouth, his lectures, meditations, and consultations have lit-up folks around the world. Lara Sragow is a Columbia, Cornell, and UCLA trained health and wellbeing expert from New York City and Los Angeles. She has taught many walks of life (executives to kids) three main keys (meditation, nutrition, and fitness), through multimedia (speaking, writing, and television). Her longtime professional practice, Lara Life, helps unlock the potential in your life. She has also coauthored The Core, as the writer, capturing its higher wisdom in plain language.

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Copyright © 2012, 2015 Michael Assedo and Lara Sragow

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-4813-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-4812-8 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-4814-2 (hc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012905424

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Balboa Press rev. date: 02/06/2015

Contents

Preface from Lara

Preface from Michael

Introduction

PART 1

Awaken Your Core

Think Inside a New Box

Inhale

Own Your Reality Show

Meet Your Real Needs

Look in the Inner Mirror

Never Mind

Metabolize Not Visualize

Don’t Fear the Fear

Love the Now

Remember the Rest

Summary

PART 2

Reprioritize Money

Expand Your Circle

Don’t Push the Dancer

Meet Yourself

Open to Your Soul Mates

Agree to Disagree

Eat Light for More Might

Make Your Body Your Window

Lead without Carrying

Practice

Conclusion

Michael:

To my guiding force, archangel Michael, and to my bridge, Lara.

Lara:

To one of my greatest teachers, Michael, and to You, the reader.

Preface from Lara

Since I come from a conventional background, I admit that writing a spiritual book was initially out of my comfort zone. However, it has been said that this is where life begins: at the end of our comfort zone. I seized the opportunity, because I have found the wisdom contained within these pages to be effective.

Michael is no ordinary spiritual teacher. His approach is not laidback but electric and sometimes challenging, like a devil’s advocate who is an angel’s advocate. His persona is not low-key but overflowing with energy, enthusiasm, and true joy. His appearance is not like a yogi. At certain glances, he actually resembles the Happy Buddha, (usually dressed in white, with a splash of color).

My name is Lara. I am the coauthor and writer behind The Core, explaining Michael’s wisdom in plain language. As a longtime health professional based in New York and Los Angeles, I have taught a variety of health and wellness topics through a variety of venues. However, every coach or expert needs a set of coaches too. I have studied with Michael for fifteen years.

Despite all of the tools available to me in the field of life improvement, Michael’s work is something else. Any time I have wanted to improve my own game (so to speak), the simple principles within this book are what made the difference. And I’m not the only one. I’m just one of countless lives that Michael has ignited.

However, without clarification, the nuances of his teachings can get lost in translation from his native language into plain English. They can also get lost in translation from his enlightened, masterful, no mind mindset into the everyday mentality. His teachings are so vast that each chapter could become a book unto itself. A good analogy is college, ranging from 100 up to 400 level courses. In the school of life, Michael tends to teach at the tippy top.

One day, a few years ago, I decided to singlehandedly tackle the above obstacles. One typically sunny Los Angeles afternoon, although there was not a cloud in sight, the clear blue sky looked gray. (And no, it was not the smog in the background!) It was not something I was used to feeling. As I returned home, the phone rang. It was Michael calling from Jerusalem. He said, I see that things have become cloudy. By now, I was used to his ability to see through situations. I had always wanted to write his advice into a book. Now, it was time.

Over time, I identified, synthesized, and systemized 26 of his clever principles, which have inspired many people including myself. In order to capture them accurately while explaining them in plain language, I learned and lived them inside and out. Then, I wrote up my narrative of his teachings. In so doing, in my professional practice, I became a teacher of them as well. I have now incorporated them into my health and wellness programming.

As Michael helped pave a bridge back to my higher wisdom, I penned a bridge between his higher wisdom and the everyday mentality for others to enjoy. This book offers the resulting balance. It imparts his voice and advice through my words and writing—from his core, via mine, to yours.

Preface from Michael

When I was a little boy, I heard an angelic voice as clear as day. I thought it was an outer angel, but now I know it is the voice of my higher self. It used to scare me so much that I would pee in my pants. My parents certainly didn’t understand what was happening, but I did. Part of the wisdom I heard as clear as day, even at a young age, was that we are the creators rather than victims of circumstance. This was quite a novel concept and even controversial for the time. Another aspect of the spiritual wisdom I heard (or innately understood) from a young age was that life is not for survival but for thorough enjoyment. Again, this concept was far from the consensus, especially at that time in my hometown of Jerusalem (the spiritual capital of Western religion), as the knowledge I pass along is often likened to that of the East. I also understood that this is a special era involving a transition from one consciousness to the next, from a spiritual amnesia to a big awakening.

Even as a child, I found myself lecturing to groups ranging from other kids to older people in Jerusalem. Through simple storytelling, I would convey the weekly knowledge. Of course, my parents and other people tried to convince me of the opposite of what I taught and still teach. They would insist that we are the victims of circumstance, other people, and outer forces. They would also insist that it is not a good idea to tell other people that you feel good.

But I had all the confidence in the world to honor the stream of wisdom I used to hear. It required very strong discipline for me to carry the knowledge that was opposite from what 99.9 percent of people thought at the time. However, this knowledge made my life very special. I was a leader everywhere I went, including in school. By the time I was thirteen years old, I had already rented my own house near my parents. The knowledge got stronger every day. At age twenty, I started to officially teach groups and heal people. Ten years later, I was on television, on the radio, and in newspapers.

But again, at that time people were not ready to awaken the awareness within. My angelic voice told me to stop all the interviews, to actually remain hidden, and instead to focus exclusively on those who were ready. I continued to provide group lectures and private sessions in addition to other services. Through word of mouth alone (without even a little business card, never mind the Internet which didn’t exist yet), I had the privilege of developing a clientele from around the world.

Yet I never wanted to be a guru with a following. Instead I want to help awaken the wisdom within others. I have always said that you need me to know that you don’t need me. And I always knew that one day within this lifetime, people would be ready. Now, finally, that day is today. The universal alarm clock has rung, and the time has come. We have finally reached the long-awaited need and ability to awaken (which I will explain in the introduction and first chapter).

Part of my work involves giving monthly lectures and meditations on a different concept each month. They include the subtitles of the movie that we are living universally and personally, including how to optimize them to really thrive. Over time I will make them more available.

However, no matter what the monthly concept is, there are fundamental, universal laws, as well as layers of awareness within them, that remain consistent. Those are what I teach in this book. They are the laws for both spiritual and material expansion. Chapter by chapter, we will build the foundation to expand our spiritual side through our physical and material world, and to expand our physical and material world through our spiritual side… and most importantly, to let ourselves thoroughly enjoy it.

Introduction

Up until a few years ago, the topic of awakening our spiritual side was reserved for the occasional spiritual bookstore. Within the last few years, this concept has increasingly gained momentum in the mainstream. In order to understand this newly emerging consciousness, let’s first take a look at the last one that we are transitioning from.

According to many calendars, 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, there was a shift in consciousness from peace and harmony to conflict and separation. This shift was signified by the Great Flood, which was recounted by many cultures around the world. Using the symbol of Adam and Eve, this creation conceptually began when we ate an apple from the tree of knowledge. As we reached for higher truth, the reverse came true. Rather than becoming more united with the concept of the creator, we became more separated from it. It became an external force that punished us, rewarded us, and required newborn sheep on holidays as opposed to a kind of internal light.

Over time, reconnecting to this higher source seemed to require transcending rather than fulfilling our physical and material nature, desires, and potential (in money, sexuality, and even food). We often faced personal choices between our spiritual nature and our physical, material nature, as we had become fragmented. Collectively, spiritual wisdom built even more walls between people and brought even more wars between nations.

The fruit had become forbidden, symbolizing the common challenge of bringing our fullest potential to fruition in daily life. Thus began the separation (versus integration) of our two sides. This gap within each of us became the real struggle, conflict, and war of this last consciousness.

Then, a few hundred years ago, a period began that is commonly called the Age of Aquarius, meaning the age of more access. This age grew into the era of modern technology, eventually bringing the Internet. This movement grew into the access to anything and everything at all times, making the world one.

The very first symbol of this new age was the founding of America, bringing the home of the free and the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (As I explain later, this can be found more internally through awareness.) Then we witnessed other events of liberation, such as the French Revolution, the abolition of slavery, and the end of the Cold War, just to name a very few.

Despite some societal liberation, however, even more places in the world still suffered. Personally, many of us continued to get by without necessarily accessing the newfound freedom in our own lives. Through such separation between the spiritual and material, we continued to fall into a deep spiritual amnesia of kind of sleepwalking through life.

Let’s jump forward to the terrorist attacks on America on 9/11. Up until then, some parts of the world were considered safer than others, but afterward no part of the world felt safe. (We revisited this fear five years later on 8/10 with the threat of liquid bombs on planes.) This fear of terrorism, however, just served as a mirror for our own personal fears and nightmares. Between all of it, it remained difficult to access real personal freedom and joy.

A few years into the new millennium, a shift started taking place. The concept of awakening gained rapid momentum, shifting from the niche market into the mainstream. The spiritual aspect of the field of life improvement started emerging from hidden within the collective subconscious into the collective consciousness. But the same years that have brought a new consciousness have also brought more challenges from wars to floods to new issues like cyber bullying. This is because, subconsciously, each soul is at a junction of whether to accept the invitation to the party and finally awaken from the deep spiritual nap, or to decline.

Now the world is becoming divided. There are those who feel the need to awaken their spiritual side through their practical reality (from money to relationships to diet), as well as those who just do not. In turn, there are those who feel the need to awaken their practical reality through their spiritual side, as well as those who just do not. There are those who feel the need to be bigger than their fear (and the fear of the fear), as well as those who just do not, and so forth. There is no good or bad. There are just each one’s own needs.

Either way, the personal and universal alarm clock has been ringing. The dawn has been arriving, not overnight but over time. It is time to finally rise and shine. Even within the Mayan calendar, the new time (ushered in by 2012) has culminated not just a cycle of over 5,000 years, but also a larger cycle of 26,000 years. Now you know that this major completion was not doomsday bringing the end of the world. Rather it is the end of the need to be small. It is the end of the need to be a victim to the very challenges that are our perfect opportunities. It is just the end of the need to be separated from our spiritual side, our purpose, our soul mates, our health, and our true life, liberty, and… happiness, even in the daily grit and grind of life.

The newly emerging consciousness brings new needs, new abilities, and new rules for freedom. Just as this last creation symbolized a separation, this newly emerging time symbolizes integration. Now we finally have the need and ability to unite our two sides, the spiritual and the material, for more fulfillment. Now we finally have the opportunity to understand, expand, and become more ourselves, both inside and out in the real world. Now we finally have the long-awaited opportunity to find our real parking space in life, to meet the other drivers on our floor, (and to enjoy the free validation that comes with it). We even have the opportunity to