Informal Conversations: An Intimate Approach to Life

By Dora L. Restrepo Perez

This book acts as a guide for people who are filled with doubt and who constantly experience internal conflict in their life, for people who are uncertain about who they really are and who they would like to become. It aims to help readers ask themselves essential questions about their past, their sense of identity, and their future goals and aspirations. In short, it aims to help readers find purpose in life and take action in order to fulfill that newfound purpose. From the outset, the author insists that, as individuals, we should strive to transform our consciousnessthat is, the way we perceive the world. In order to do this, it is essential that we first switch our operating system (OS). Our operating system is a state of consciousness; it is our capacity to interpret eventsthe mental software, so to speak, through which we process every one of our experiences of the world. The following informal conversations offer us a practical approach to switching our operating system. They show us how to better understand our emotions, how to cope with them, and how to turn vulnerability into an advantage. Ultimately, they show us that it is indeed possible to live a life based on self-respect, self-approval, and self-discipline, one in which we can take effective action to both change our circumstancesour family, our friends, our relationships, our workand the way we perceive them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Aug 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781504384124

Dora L. Restrepo Perez

Dora Lucía Restrepo Pérez Dora is an attorney specialized in Commercial Law and Conflict Resolution and holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Marketing. As a consultant for Life Projects for over twenty years, Dora has supported thousands of people in their personal growth, evolution and healing processes. She is also a Yoga practitioner, a student of mystical and spiritual traditions, a certified Reiki practitioner and healer, and a specialist in ancestral medicines and floral essences. A keen traveler that has lived abroad over long periods of time, immersed in different cultures, Dora has developed an integral perspective and gathered the tools for personal growth and evolution that she offers in this book. Contact: [e-mail]

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Copyright © 2017 Dora L. Restrepo Perez.

Translation: Andres Segura R.

Translation Editor: Andres Segura R. - [e-mail]

Layout: Luis H. Mesa Ch.- [e-mail]

Illustrations: Camila Calderón - [e-mail] / Luis H. Mesa Ch.

Cover and Back Cover: Camila Calderón / Luis H. Mesa Ch.

General Assistant: Maricel Velásquez / Diego Escobar O

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 author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

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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.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8410-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8411-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8412-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017911035

Balboa Press rev. date: 08/25/2017

For my children:

José Camilo,

José Antonio,

and Ana Lucía

For Life

Contents

Part One

An Intimate Approach to Life

Introduction

The Beginning The Journey Consciousness

The Beginning: Opening up Our Senses

The Journey: The Adventure of Life

Consciousness: Living Profoundly, Attentively, Day-to-Day

The Self and the Non-Self Spiritual Contracts

The Self and the Non-Self

Spiritual Contracts

Family – The Wound

Family: The Essence We Must Honor

The Wound: A Consequence of Not Being Aware of My Individuality

Emotions

Emotions: The Key to Change our Operating System

The Relation among: Thought-Feelings-Emotions

Pleasure and Pain: The Emotions Managed by the New Operating System (OS)

Nutrition and Emotion: An Unexpectedly Intimate Connection

The Law of Attraction and Repulsion

The Law of Attraction and Repulsion: Becoming Paradise

Friends

Friends: A Personal Choice

The Couple Energies and Polarities

The Couple: In-depth Comprehension

Energies and Polarities

Love: Integration into the Environment as well as into Conscious Life

Action

Action: Achieving What I Set My Mind To

Becoming Peace

Healing: Sickness and Health

Sex: A Very Special Conversation

Seeing: Relinquishing Limitations

The Act of Listening: Means Loving and Committing

Respect: Paying Attention to Our Acts and Definitions

Death: Returning to the Flow of the Self

Mourning

Space

Becoming Freedom

Integration: Unity in Diversity

Spirituality: Experiencing the Flow of Life

Praying – Meditating: When Unity Dissolves into Totality

Awakening – Illumination: A Daily Endeavor

Part Two

An Approach to the Practice of Life

Introduction

Key Points to Remember, Strengthen and Integrate

Basic Tools to Keep in Mind, Experiment, and Incorporate

Readying the Physical Body

Inner Exercises–Practices

Essential Exercise

Coming into Contact with Nature: (Both Inner and Outer)

A Healing Exercise Par Excellence

Perception of Differences: Individuality

Recognition Exercise: in front of the Mirror

Knowing and Releasing Emotions: In line with Mystical Universal Teachings

Suggested Exercise: Healing, Harmonious Sex

Spatiality Exercise

Healing and Honoring: Your Ancestors

For your Health

For Calm and Harmony

Exercise to Learn How to Co-Create – Manifesting

Humility Exercise

Exercise to Cleanse your Vision

Exercises: External Practices

Maps-Charts-Follow-Up

Worksheets

1. Cleansing Myself

1. Getting to Know My Present Self (Guide)

2. Regaining Myself

2. Regaining Myself (Guide)

3. Personal Success

3. My Successes – Achievements (Guide)

4. Family Tree: Healing my Family History

4. Family Tree (Guide)

5. Healing my Life

5. Healing My Life (Guide)

6. Total Forgiveness

6. Healing My Life (Guide)

7. Finding Clarity in our Relationship with the Environment People or Situations

7. Finding Clarity in the Environment

8. Love and Gratitude

8. Finding Clarity in the Environment (Guide)

9. Mission

9. Mission (Guide)

10. Goals – Objectives – Ideals

10. Mapping out Goals and Objectives (Guide)

11. Emotional Management (Guide)

12. Gratitude

13. Daily Planner (Guide)

14. Affirmations

15. Consciousness in Action

Music: Certain Specific Pieces and Their Use

Epilogue

About the Author

Part One

An Intimate

Approach to Life

"Watch your thoughts;

they become words.

Watch your words;

they become actions.

Watch your actions;

they become habit.

Watch your habits;

they become character.

Watch your character;

it becomes your destiny."

Mahatma Gandhi

Introduction

Dear friend, who are now beginning to read this text and approach me with no special intent, only curious to discover what we are about to share, and to find out if we are of the same mind on the subject of the external world, as well as on that of our inner universe. Ultimately, you may assert yourself, identify yourself, and feel stronger as you are now, or else, you may come to notice that I am encouraging you to go further and explore something new.

I encourage you to reflect together with me, to consider whether delving into such matters could turn out to be positive for you. I encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone in order to redefine your life; also, to change the way you look at it, addressing your quality of life differently, perhaps from the vantage point of a new operating system (OS). I offer you a new vision of how to relate to others in your day-to-day life.

Through this intimate, personal dialogue, it is my wish that you be able to find a way to modify whatever you must, so that your operating system (OS) may grasp the world differently, impelling you to act in a well-balanced, harmonious, and coherent manner. I have fashioned these words so that your operating system (OS) may pick them up, assimilate them, question them, and, by dint of your emotions, turn them into life. My aim here is to help you find a space where you will be allowed to revisit what you have learned in the past, via an old, automatic operating system (OS), so that your new operating system (OS) may now take control of your actions. Our purpose is thus to set up and install a new operating system (OS). Therein lie the reasons for these words, for this contact, and for this communication.

Let us therefore show the qualities of a true friend, of one who is kind yet impartial, who, from his/her heart, listens carefully and attentively to what others might want to share with him/her. Let us remember that a friend is one who inwardly pays attention, who, at times silently, appreciates and understands us, and who, even if he/she doesn’t initially agree with what we have said, still doesn’t reject it: he/she listens, chooses to feel.

Hence, if you carry on reading, it is because you choose to accept my invitation to share a space/time of your life with me, to have an intimate conversation together with me, to set out on a journey through the outside world from within th3e self – a friendly, informal talk about issues that determine our instants, days, and ultimately life itself. One of those conversations that on a serene, quiet day inspire you to delve a bit deeper. I encourage you to perceive me as a friend who offers assurance, as someone who neither judges nor challenges you. A friend who is always there with you, in your heart, no matter what you are going through, and who accompanies you in harmony, joy, serenity, and peace.

To this and more I encourage you, to become friends with me, perhaps even close friends, because when you read my words, you are actually listening to me inside your head, and I, in and from my heart, listen to you too. You are in me and I am in you, intimately, within an order of immense love, since we are like cells in a body: distinct, and yet integrated into diversity, working in synchrony, from and for Unity.

Let us enjoy this adventure together. Listening to the sound of my voice resound inside your head, in the course of our conversations you will feel calm; in inner silence, you will find yourself intensely exploring yourself, acquainting yourself with your new self, which already exists within you and has been waiting for you to become aware of it, know it, and allow it to exist. All you must do is let the energy of our conversations warmly and tenderly flow between your senses and your perception. Breathe in slowly, serenely. You will enjoy this transformation. By consciously building character, you will experience in the outside world, as well as in everything and everyone, the abundance and generosity of life, which always bestows upon us beauty, truth, and kindness.

You will find that it is pleasant to enjoy these conversations in various different settings: a comfortable sofa, a beach during the summer holidays, a cold winter by the fire in your hearth, or else a lovely, sunny spring day at the park. Surely, we shall enjoy it. Yes, because whilst I have written this from my heart, you have also been engaging with me, and it is for you that I write. I accompany you. Remember to always breathe softly, consciously: let us have a conversation, then…

The Beginning The Journey Consciousness

The Beginning:

Opening up Our Senses

Everything has a beginning, a starting point. Yet, I speak neither of the beginning of time, nor of the Big Bang. I encourage you to converse attentively, silently from within and in a low voice without, so that we may have a talk about our beginnings, about how the conscious self-began, about you being yourself and I being myself, and about how different it is to exist, to be oneself, to perceive ourselves, you and I, as separate from each other, struggling for and within our boundaries. To that end, let us outline a field, a space outside, and let us gaze at that space/field in which life grants us the opportunity of beginning.

By dint of simple observation, we notice that Life, and everything in it, is in permanent motion. At every instant, Life recreates and renews itself. At times, when it does manifest itself, we find it takes the form of matter; at other times, it remains calm, removed, and latent, like an immense field of possibilities. Life exists as if in a seed, yet it waits to be sown in order to manifest itself in a particular size, form, species, and color – it awaits to expand, grow and convey the information contained in it. Everything exists in space, and everything, in every kingdom and super kingdom in Nature (mineral, plant, and animal; or else archaea, bacteria, protozoa, chromista, fungi, plantae, and animalia), has been magically created by means of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, aether), as well as of the phases of matter (solid, liquid, gas, and plasma).

The qualities common to all natural kingdoms are motion, learning, and transformation. Individual life, the self, comes into contact with this expression of outward life by means of the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch). It is so. If your senses weren’t alert, you wouldn’t be able to perceive life.

I encourage you to put each one of your senses to the test, to perceive both life and all the elements that constitute our world by means of the organs of expression and motion: the arms, the legs, the heart, and the digestive system…

Hence, you will realize that even if you are able to see the mountain, you will only experience it if you actually walk on it: you perceive it only by climbing it. Each sense has a different timeframe. Observe a bird in the distance, and you will notice that, when it sings, it’ll take you an instant more to hear it than to see it. And it will take you even longer if you reach out your hand to touch it.

Each sense has its own expression in time, distance, and motion. Yet, there they are, each and every one of them taking its own time, coming into contact, in its own way, with what lies outside the self. It is thus that the senses gather and organize in your brain, allowing you to connect with and perceive outward reality, giving you the opportunity to experience life.

The Journey:

The Adventure of Life

Dear friend: Life decides to set out on an adventure of feeling and knowledge. To that end, it chooses to inhabit a body (the means) during a historical moment of the species, as well as of Nature (the setting – the scenography). Life brings along with it a certain baggage (the senses, the organs of expression and motion), in addition to a powerful, unconscious, collective memory that, in the course of our conversations, we shall call the hard drive (HD).

The hard drive (HD) is that which contains everything that we, and most likely other beings of different races and conditions, have experienced. It comprises the knowledge of the species. Hence, we live connected to it. There is a part of the hard drive (HD) that is vital, that mustn’t change, for it is the result of thousands of years of perfection. It mustn’t be tampered with, because basic information, regarding indispensable mechanisms for survival, is stored in it: how to walk, how to breathe, how to shut the eyes, how to digest, how and why the heart beats, etc., as well as other automatic and reflexive conducts, themselves also predetermined programs. This is the vital part of the hard drive (HD) that only manifests itself by means of an operating system.

The operating system (OS) refers to the manner in which I interpret life’s events. It is that from which I relate myself to the world, as well as the language that translates both the information and the impulses that come from the hard drive (HD). The operating system (OS), as a mode of interpreting and translating life, can be quite basic, archaic, or else cutting-edge and efficient. The operating system (OS) is a state of consciousness – the capacity to interpret events. Therefore, the state of consciousness in which we manifest ourselves at an the evolutionary level is determined by how we transform ourselves.

Generally speaking, our family, our setting, and the society to which we belong, have installed the operating system (OS) in us. Many programs stored in the hard drive (HD) are only accessible via the operating system (OS), even if these programs are predetermined expressions of the hard drive (HD). For example:

a) The workings of the senses and their connection to the brain.

b) Internal physiological functions.

c) The emotions, which are the relation between both the senses and the self with the outside world.

d) Programs having to do with history, the past, and survival.

Having mapped out how we function, we acknowledge that we are beings that can indeed survive with our original operating system (OS) and its predetermined information. Or else, we may decide to build our own Unity, by choosing to install a new operating system (OS), complete with all the programs of help and support that foster a fluid, efficient, joyful, and creative functioning.

There exist other alternatives:

1) We decide to surrender ourselves to such predetermined programming with regard to our senses, our emotions, our family, the outside, plus whatever has already taken place, therefore choosing a tortuous life that we do not understand, because we lack knowledge.

This kind of life is based on what reaches me from the outside, on the opinions and judgments of others who, like me, experience the same situations, emotions, and feelings. As a result of these circumstances, I live a life of pain, barely enduring the kind of life that was allotted to me…

Or perhaps you opt for:

2) Accepting my invitation to set out on the hero’s journey, an inner journey, knowing that there’s a world outside teeming with possibilities, with situations of every sort, and that you are neither a victim nor a consequence of it. My life is now different because I, by means of conscious decision and personal will, have alertly begun an inner journey, thus allowing myself to change.

Consequently, from the standpoint of the RAM memory, which is the temporal memory, I attentively perceive each action or experience. I will now try out something new – I explore, acknowledge, feel, approve or reject it, according to what I wish for my life. Or else, I simply live