By Loads of Us Some of those who've long been part of the foundation community attended our London event in January. Here's what it meant to them. Some are writing from a very personal place, including degrees of nervousness, whilst others share their experience of a remarkable togetherliness, and how it left them feeling.
By Judith Seelig Most of us could greatly increase our capacity to receive. We can’t breathe out until we’ve first breathed in. If we attempt to give away, to service others, or validate our worth entirely through action, we’ll soon be spent. When I’m working with an individual client, we begin strengthening that capacity to receive by focusing on the in-breath and all that comes with it: oxygen, life-force, potential energy. It’s neutral. There’ s no other person involved. It’s free (though granted, quality variable). And the body naturally ensures inhalation follows exhalation. We take in, we receive, and then we give away, empty. Ready to receive again. We can choose to be more aware, to be more receptive, more thankful, and ultimately through that to feel more a part of the great flow of life: in/out, the gifting back, the receiving, circulating, growing, sharing, again receiving, and so on. We also circulate money between us. Whatever the source (savings, investments, payment for work, for skills and for time, a pension, money gifted, inherited or won) how we relate to money affects its presence in our lives. Imagine greeting your next payment - the new incoming energy supply - with tenderness. Hello, thank you, I really appreciate you would alter how you used those funds. You might cautiously, intelligently, endeavour to save, to hold some back for an unknown future, but to do so with tenderness would be to soften the perfectly natural fear of not enough. Less fearful, you’re more receptive. You’re better able to receive. Better able to fill up before spending, or giving away. Being Generous This begins with you. With being generous with yourself. With deepening the breath, slowing down, granting yourself time for absolutely nothing, even if only a handful of minutes, and fully emptying out, the better to more deeply receive. At the outset, this will be just the breath. Later, this practice will cover more aspects of being alive in human form. How we use money After we had paid for the venue for our first event in London (January 2026) we had sufficient funds to be able to offer two pay-£10-only bursaries for our A Deeper Connection event in March. We kick-started our ability to give away to those in need by personally gifting our time and resources at that first event. That’s everyone, including Judith and those of us who provided abundant refreshments. As money begins to flow into our community from individuals benefitting from what we have to share, we in turn can go out to communities and to those working towards the betterment of our shared existence and environment. Money facilitates. Tenderness gives it a gentle flow. We are not striving. We are not gobbling up energy, personally or collectively, in order to achieve. We do the work - the preparations, the logistics, the co-creating - with tenderness for each other. This continuously reminds us to be tender with ourselves. We are doing things differently in a very togetherly manner. We invite you to join us in what we already know to be a deeply rewarding experiment.
By Judith Seelig We can be deeply lazy from time to time. We put self-interests first, choose like-minded, similarly interested people to hang out with – the more likely they’ll agree with us - thus justifying our big- or small- world view. This confirms we’re “right”. Kind, gentle, considerate individuals, who might experience themselves, and be experienced by others, as “sensitive” often do their best to avoid confrontation. A different view threatens or challenges comfortable “niceness”. Someone fundamentally uncertain whether they are of use/of value, or are loveable just for who and what they are, might need to blow their own trumpet just to feel they have a place among others. Combine a degree of inertia or laziness with the longing for certainty and anyone saying “it’s this way” will find willing followers. Until the very singular expectations of those followers are not met, when there will be objection and possibly revolt. Our Fears Fear of aggression or confrontation, fear of being found wanting or unlovable, fear of, or violent objection to, feeling manipulated or deceived, rage at not being heard as you have come to expect, outrage at unexpressed misogyny (not hating women but presuming them to be secondary to men) and fear of division into factions… all these and more we have faced among the company of people who all together created Altogether Different. Our fundamental premise, write only what you feel, not what you think, to and for everyone , takes care of avoiding any of these situations becoming a sinkhole. We avoid our collective attention being drawn into, and getting absorbed in, any one person’s self-preoccupation. No Judgement Critically, this happens without judgement. Share your opinion, what you think, and there’s always space for judgement, and for someone else to feel judged. Share what you feel in response to what someone else has shared – how that has affected you – and you are sharing more of yourself. This only works if everyone is alert to anyone failing to follow those two rules. Two not entirely simply rules. ‘Not entirely’ because most of us find sharing thoughts less revealing, less intimate than sharing feelings. And therefore safer. But when everyone is honouring those two principles, there’s less threat to any perceived personal vulnerability. It might even be that being that better known, and not rejected, possibly even more warmly accompanied and enjoyed, the sense of belonging, and of community, grows the stronger. Inspiration and the Beauty in you A company of people needs inspiration. Literally, a shared inhalation, breathing in together what feels good and nourishing. On song. In tune with individual and collective interests. I provide that. Not so much in what I say, though that is part of it, but how I live and what I embody. That last part sometimes expressed as sound, as frequency. I accompany each body, irrespective of how the person is living. I’m really interested in the parts of each person I find to be beautiful. Where their desire for love, to love and be loved, to care for others, all kinds of other, and to participate in something that brings meaning and both personal and collective pleasure, rings on, regardless of circumstance. In my experience, those parts are delighted to be known, met, respectfully saluted, loved. In this sense, I lead. I am not, therefore, someone to follow. But I am someone who might nourish, nurture, help you to cultivate, the beauty in you. What is already there, waiting perhaps for a little more breathing space. Sustainability Do that in the company of others, each bringing their widely varied and ever-changing life experience, and you have something sustainable. Sustainable because it doesn’t rely upon conformity. Nor upon perpetual growth. Like the very many different-season life cycles in an ancient hedgerow, we are each rising and falling in energy, and in capacity. Living as we do, we are not strained. One of us is on the rise, strong and energetic, another needs rest, or time to contemplate. The force of habit, of cultural ties, of learnt so-called best practise, is strong. It needs interrupting. Gently. This I do. Without expectation, but offering to each person that falls into habit, another way. Do this in the company of others, and others will be able to suggest another way. Our collective capability, our ability to do this without attitude, without judgment, is undoubtedly growing. Clarity, kindness, gentleness and care… these are all on the rise. Light-heartedness But because life is messy, because we are messy, we also cultivate play and humour. Sustaining light-heartedness together, especially when things go frankly tits up – that is our super-strength. Hence, the playful, almost childlike, images on our website.
