Dr Jana Wahl, a renowned doctor from the University Medical Centre in Ljubljana with very broad views and an advocate of holistic health, did an excellent interview with Boris Venet some time ago.
The topic of the discussion was, at first sight at least, quite unusual: how crises can help us to be more successful, happier and achieve our various goals in life. The starting point was the book “The Big Ugly Crisis” and Boris’ unconventional view on health, healing and achieving happiness in general.
Dr Jana Wahl: Boris, what is the main message of the book “The Big Ugly Crisis“?
Boris Vene: This book brings new hope to all those who are stuck or caught in a major crisis on their life path, offering technology on how everyone can turn their crisis into a stepping stone to freedom from practically everything that limits them.
It does not matter in which area the crisis has emerged. If I have been able to use these tools not only to rise from the grave, but also to free myself from long-standing and limiting patterns of thinking, feeling, attitudes, negative beliefs and so on, and to live in harmony for the first time in my life, then almost anyone can solve their problems.
The good thing is that all you need to complete the whole process is a notebook, a pen and a decision. The latter is the most important.
Could we then say that the crisis represents a kind of potential, a springboard for growth?
Absolutely. Anyone experiencing a major crisis has one of the most powerful tools at their disposal to make rapid progress in almost every area. The greater the crisis, the greater the potential to eliminate everything that hinders our development: things that make us feel overwhelmed … things that make us angry, sad, helpless … feelings of inferiority, guilt and shame … and so on.
This is especially true for issues that are difficult to face or where we see no way out. For example, when we can’t get out of the tangle of unpleasant emotions and negative thoughts, when we can’t break the bonds with our surroundings in terms of seeking validation and energy from other people, when we can’t shake the feeling that life is passing us by, that somehow we can’t fully integrate ourselves into social events and ride the wave that would carry us into a brighter future, and so on.
When Nicola and I were researching this area, we found that my approach to the crisis is not new, but has been used by sages thousands of years ago. They have consciously and deliberately summoned the greatest crises, because only after resolving them could they develop their true strengths and potentials. This hidden teaching is now available to all.
So what is the purpose of the crisis in terms of potential for personal growth? What does it bring us?
Before we say more about the resolution itself, I would like to give some background on how and why the crisis arises in the first place.
We tend to think that the purpose of a crisis is to sort out the area in which it has befallen us. For example, if we are hit by a financial crisis, we think that it shows us that we are not regulating that area and that we need to regulate it.
But this is only the first step or initiation. The key gift of the crisis is the opportunity to use it to put in order other areas that have nothing to do with the difficult situation.
When I first heard this thought, it seemed so strange and unimportant that it passed me by completely. But therein lies the solution to resolving even the most stubborn patterns and unconscious blockages that we cannot resolve any other way.
Let me repeat that thought again, because it carries great wisdom and potential. The crisis gives us the opportunity to use it to put in order other areas that have nothing to do with the crisis situation. We can even change or eliminate things that cannot be resolved in any other way.
The reason is. A crisis shifts us from our normal thinking and perception to an altered state of consciousness. The shock that comes to us takes us so far away from our involvement in everyday events that they lose their significance and character. We begin to perceive key areas of our lives from a distance and with more detachment – and therefore less emotional charge – and we see them differently than before.
Gradually, our priorities change, giving way to control or the desire for specific developments. As a result, our ingrained beliefs loosen and unconscious actions become more transparent.
We can perceive what is happening almost as if we were looking at someone else, not ourselves. The situation loses a sense of importance, and in such circumstances it is easier to let go of things that do not serve us.
Let me describe the whole process using my own example. As I was facing a health crisis, I initially thought that I would deal exclusively with things that concerned my habits and beliefs in this area.
In the beginning, I was very focused on the regulation and implementation of the treatment procedures, but everything else took a back seat. Since my main priority was to get well, I really didn’t bother much with other things. So I slowly withdrew my attention and energy from almost all other areas.
I realised that my perspective on things that were important to me until yesterday had changed significantly. I cared little about what my neighbour thought of me … what my haircut or clothes looked like … which car was in the garage … whether my business partner would agree with my new suggestion on a decision, and so on.
The need to be right, to prove, to validate and to applaud was fading.
The less I thought about other things, the more they lost their charge and their sense of urgency. The more they lost their charge, the less important they became in my mind. The less important they became, the less I cared about them. And the less I cared about them, the easier it was to let them go.
So one day I realised that even the things that until recently I wanted to control, but now had gone their own way, could no longer throw me off track. The most surprising thing was that I didn’t have to do any special technique for “breaking patterns”, removing unconscious blockages and so on. Sometimes I just asked myself a question and watched from the side as something shifted in me, a process took place and the old began to go away. Easy, painless and fast.
Such a thing would not have been possible if the crisis had not first loosened the views and convictions with which I was imbued. As long as the patterns were strong, I could not change them. In fact, I was not even aware of them. But in times of crisis – after they had lost their note of importance – they fell away like dry leaves.
When I drew the line, I realised that the health crisis had brought me remarkable gifts in many areas. I had resolved many financial patterns, I had changed the way I looked at business, I had clarified my relationships with friends and acquaintances, I had completely re-evaluated my priorities in life, and so on.
Could we then say that the crisis was, in a sense, a springboard for growth? Or even that the crisis is a blessing?
Absolutely. But we would not say that when we are in it. At the beginning, I perceived the crisis as if everything was conspiring against me. But eventually I realised that it was the only way to change. Besides, the health field was probably the only one that could shake me up.
If a crisis were to arise in another area – business, for example – I would respond with even greater activity and enthusiasm. As a result, I would not have been changed by the crisis, but at most would have been more entrenched in my established beliefs and activities. But because it put me to bed and separated me from my routine, I was forced to re-organise my schedule. And also my desires, values and goals.
A similar story, which illustrates the potential of the crisis even more clearly, was told by the US Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Paul Solomon.
In a state of semi-sleep or hypnosis, Paul was able to slip into a so-called prophetic trance. Then, without realising or remembering anything afterwards, he communicated with an intelligence – he called it simply Source – which gave surprisingly precise answers in various fields.
He was once visited by a husband and wife who lived on the American West Coast and were part of the upper-class culture. Their lives revolved around worldly goods – prestige, money, parties …
They had a daughter who was born with a brain defect. She was four years old and unable to speak or walk, so her parents were desperate. They had tried many approaches based on conventional and alternative medicine, but to no avail.
With the birth of their baby girl, their world was literally turned upside down, as they could no longer live according to a regular schedule; they slowly disconnected from social events and turned to themselves and the search for a deeper meaning of life. First they started looking for doctors, and later, when they couldn’t help them, for various healers.
At the same time, a new world began to reveal itself to them – one based on different, inner values – that they had never known before.
When they asked Paul if there was anything he could do to help the girl, he went into a trance. The answer he got was that the little girl had come into the world to say hello to her parents. This is part of a grand plan that will literally force the parents to turn inwards.
If the process of spiritual rebirth had taken place naturally in my parents, I would have had to wait twenty or thirty years, because only then would I have been ready to accept my daughter’s advice. But they are lucky because the little girl has chosen the perfect body with which to carry out her mission immediately after birth.
The key question was: who was sick … the parents or the girl?
This reversal came as a real shock to the parents, who had seen themselves as living a perfect life and perceived their daughter’s health as far from perfect. So they felt it was necessary to change their daughter so that she would fit into their idea of life – which they would then continue to live in the old and established way.
The source gave the parents advice on how the little girl can be healed: do not see her as imperfect or sick, but see her as a beautiful being in all her greatness, beauty and wisdom. They love her as she is.
The parents decided to follow the advice and set about the task immediately and with dedication. The same day, the girl spoke her first word and walked.
What happened? Solomon explained that the girl had done her job and therefore no longer needed symptoms. When the parents changed their minds, the girl was cured.
This example very clearly describes the potential that the crisis brings us. If we recognise it at the right moment, we can use it to great effect. What is more, for many people today, a crisis of this kind is the only way to get out of being stuck in fear, pain and suffering.
Very interesting. Let’s go back to the beginning. Can you describe what the Great Depression is or when we talk about it?
A major crisis usually arises when we are faced with an intractable problem in one of the most important areas of our lives. Until then, we have probably been looking for a solution in one way or another. First we have put more energy into that area, then we have tried other approaches, perhaps we have asked for help from acquaintances, friends or experts, we may have tried some unconventional solutions, and so on.
Not only have we failed to break through the invisible ring that is squeezing us tighter and tighter, but all avenues are closed to us. We no longer see a solution on the horizon, and the situation may even be getting worse with each passing day.
When we have exhausted all the possibilities, we have nothing to hold on to or build on. Left with no ideas on how to move forward, our energy and faith in a successful solution wanes. We lose the will and are left with the agony of waiting. We feel that we are finally stuck and only a miracle can save us.
This kind of situation, in which we feel completely helpless, vulnerable and completely at the mercy of the Universe, is the ideal situation needed to resolve our own patterns, habits, ingrained family beliefs and so on.
So how do we go about things? How do we take the first step?
In fact, we don’t have to do anything unusual or unpleasant, or force ourselves to do anything, but just follow the flow of events alertly, and respond to them with greater awareness or intentionality. But it is much simpler than it seems in a normal situation, where we usually resist change very strongly. In fact, when a crisis is severe, we usually also experience a shock, which puts us in a special, altered state of consciousness.
Even if we don’t perceive it clearly at the time, it is the shock that allows us to emotionally withdraw and energetically detach from certain situations that would otherwise be very difficult to let go of. Because in a crisis we focus most of our attention on this one area, which absorbs us completely, all other things fade away. Emotional attachments are loosened, or views of events, memories and people change. As a consequence, our attitudes and beliefs are also considerably weakened. This is why it is much easier to change our habits and patterns in times of major crisis.
Could you explain the matter in a little more detail?
The fact is that in ordinary situations, we see almost everything through specific filters of beliefs and expectations, and our view is distorted. For example, we worry about what our neighbour will think because we didn’t say hello to her on the street yesterday when we were lost in our own thoughts. As long as we look at the situation through the lens of everyday thinking, the concern seems somehow logical and out of place.
When we find ourselves in a major crisis, dealing with our neighbour seems completely irrelevant. But this view of the situation is difficult to arrive at by decision or by some personal growth techniques, because beliefs are rooted in unconscious patterns or programmes that we may have learnt at an early age and then repeated so many times that they have become part of our personality.
For example, if we consciously tell ourselves that worrying about our neighbour is completely unnecessary – or even use some technique of letting go, positive thinking, repeating affirmations and so on – it is unlikely that the bad feeling about our neighbour will just go away. It may be suppressed or masked somewhere, but it will not be resolved definitively. How do we know? Whenever we think of our neighbour or anything else connected with the incident, we will feel guilt or shame, perhaps a loss of energy, etc.
So these kinds of things cannot be dismissed out of hand, because they arise from unconscious programmes. We may not even be aware that we are deeply involved in them. But when we take a detached look at what we do and think in times of crisis, it becomes clear that we have invested too much energy in many situations, we have worried too much, we have often been frightened quite unnecessarily, we have been too preoccupied with trifles and so on. But it is only in this altered state of consciousness created by the crisis that we can see our own patterns and habits in a different light.
Many of the things that worried us or occupied our minds only yesterday have been sidelined by the crisis. What we invested energy in until recently now loses its charge. The sense of importance we attached to these things is also greatly diminished as the charge is lowered. Now that we no longer have strong emotions attached to these things – they are the glue that binds us to the situation – we see things more realistically. All the worries, fears, distresses and the like that we now perceive from a distance suddenly seem solvable.
We see situations more as an everyday event or as a sequence of specific activities, but we do not experience a strong emotional charge. Therefore, they can be perceived more as obstacles where some energy will have to be invested, rather than as a serious or even insurmountable obstacle. Above all, we do not feel paralysed when we think of finding a solution. This is often the reason why we do not start to resolve. When we think of all that needs to be done, we are overwhelmed by a sense of overwhelm and distress, so we tend to put the matter on the back burner.
In short, when we experience a crisis, our perspective on the key issues of life changes significantly. We see situations in a completely different light; almost as if they were happening to someone else.
But we can also see the other side: some other areas that we have not been working on (or not enough) can come to the surface in times of crisis and reveal their importance.
Read the second part of the interview here.