Why Am I Here If Not to Change Myself?

Earlier you said there’s nothing to change in yourself, you accept yourself, which moved me to tears. But we’re all here to fix ourselves, to grow, to change habits. Although I have started loving myself, there are shameful things I want to change. Rupert says: ‘You are not here to grow, Layla. You’re not here to change. You’re not here to improve yourself. You are here to know who you truly are – that’s it! Shame is something you feel, it’s not what you are. It’s just a feeling you have from time to time. When the feeling of shame (or compassion) are not present, you’re just here. And how liberating that is. If you spend this week coming back to your being, being here, and you really become established in that, when you go home, fewer and fewer experiences retain their seeming power to shame you. You will live this freedom.’

From event 07 - 14 September, 2025 Seven-Day Retreat at Mandali, 7–14 September 2025 – ‘Meister Eckhart and the Love of God’

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