What I’ve learnt from Anita Moorjani

I want to share a few key messages which have impacted me from the two books of Anita Moorjani’s that I have read recently – ‘Dying to be me’ & ‘Sensitivity is the new strong’.

These are things which I would like to remember in my life & also talk to others about.

Just to give a little background about Anita Moorjani – her teachings & writings have mostly arisen from her near-death experience in 2006. Fully present in the ‘other’ realm in which she found herself, she chose to return to her body (which healed from cancer within a few weeks) & she began to integrate what she learnt from this profound experience.    

• We can allow our true spirit to shine through. As we are all an expression of universal love & consciousness, we are loved because we exist & can therefore trust in being loved, held & supported just as we are. This takes away the sense of needing to achieve or do because we can allow consciousness to flow through us, being true to ourselves. It means following our truth & our heart, not denying or suppressing ourselves for others.

As Anita says as reflected on her life before her NDE “just look at my life path! Why have I always been so harsh with myself? Why was I always beating myself up? Why was I always forsaking myself? Why did I never stand up for myself & show the world the beauty of my own soul?”

• It can help us to adjust to an inside-out view of reality. Most of us live from an outside-in view where what is happening to us in the outside world takes precedence & influences how we are feeling. However, shifting our focus to an inside-out view means tuning into & tending our inner worlds as a priority. This involves grounding ourselves within the awareness of our own being & trusting our inner guidance about what we need on a regular basis.

If we’re facing challenges, it is not about trying to change things in our external world, but going inwards to tend to our emotions, bodily sensations & intuition so we feel more grounded & centred. As Anita remarks, when she turns inwards, she finds that her external world also changes & many of the obstacles she was facing fall away without her doing anything.  

• For those sensitive souls among us, it is important to ensure we have a healthy sense of self-esteem. The heightened awareness from being sensitive & empaths means that we absorb emotions & energy from other people & environments. Because we are so aware of others’ feelings & needs, this can lead to a tendency to diminish our own feelings & needs, which can lead to ill health & overwhelm. Therefore, the gift of sensitivity needs to be balanced with a strong & healthy sense of self-esteem which allows us to take care of ourselves & our own well-being.

Anita recommends imaging that, as we are all beings of light, we do things regularly to protect & re-charge that light so that it can shine in the way that we want.

• Living in the moment, fearlessly. Whatever we’re going through, however hard, it is helpful to have the intention to focus on self-compassion & self-love, knowing that there is 80% of ourselves that we’re not consciously aware of. We can bring our attention to each moment, to accept all parts of ourselves & trust where we are without fear.

This is where becoming aware of what blocks us – through trauma, critical thinking or illness – can help us let go of whatever we have learnt about ourselves & start to learn what we know about ourselves from within. And therapy & healing can help with this!