“ My story is how I got out of my story. ”
Since I was a child it was all about my story, it was all about the story of Francis Saliba. How I looked, how I was perceived, how I compared to others, how I was better or worse than others, my self-image, my reputation, my social status, about achieving my own agendas, acquiring positive experiences and escaping negative ones. It was all about me, me, me, my, my, I, I, I.
I had quite a conservative upbringing, but I was always encouraged by my parents, especially my mother to take on higher education. In my early twenties, I continued my postgraduate studies in Europe, away from my habitual environment which I was used to. Coming from the Middle East, finding myself in the Netherlands, felt like moving from one planet to another.
During this time, I underwent many experiences that swayed me towards a different orientation in my world perspective. Prior to it, it was all about fun for me. I was not yet explicitly confronted by the amount of emotional and psychological suffering that existed in the world until I myself underwent some of them. I will spare you the details because what emerged from these experiences is in a way much more important: It was a total halt, a sudden shift in the direction of whatever it was that I did not know I was pursuing. It was like a voice, echoing in the background of my mind, asking, what is it all about? Human-beings running from one problem to the next, relationship problems, loneliness, self-esteem issues, financial and career struggles, disappointments, confusion, hopelessness, self-doubt, health and sickness, fears, anxieties, conflicts, argumentations, hate, family feuds, heartbreaks, resentments, anger, jealousy, pride, addictions, egoic battles, personality and identity crises and the entire array of human political, socio-economical, personal and professional problems.
After some deep confrontations with some of these emotional challenges, I began to search deeper into different spiritual philosophies. And so, I started to look into various western and eastern teachings that can give me some type of answer. I first came across Eckhart Tolle’s book which opened the door for me, because prior to that I was totally unaware of the subject of the ‘Power of now’ and the ability to find bliss in the present moment.
I then encountered the teachings of Mooji which completely blew me away as I felt like they were piercing my deepest thoughts and feelings.
Afterwards, I was exposed to what could be called the ‘Direct Path Teachings’, which included teachers, such as Francis Lucille, Rupert Spira, and Jean Klein. Most of those contemporary spiritual Direct Path teachers followed the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj, Ramana Maharshi, and Sri Atmananda Krishna Menon.
Of course, by that time I was stepping into territories that were way beyond my traditional schools of thought. But I felt like, if there would be an answer to the existential questions and problems of life, then it must be something drastic and so I was willing to explore deeper and further. During my exploration, I also encountered Richard Rohr’s teachings that gave me some sense of security and confidence to continue the path.
I finally landed on Greg Goode’s teachings which opened an entirely different universe of information to me, and that was the door of Western philosophy and Buddhism.
The combined exposure towards all these teachings has really helped me deal with and find satisfactory answers to many questions in my life. I am by no means someone who has figured it all out, and I am still on this journey exploring and discovering, but many of these teachings truly helped me and hopefully it will help you, too.
For someone who is intrigued by this information and would genuinely like to create a change in their life, it can be confusing as there are many different self-development books out there. The nature of happiness and well-being becomes more and more a topic these days; unfortunately, so many people seek happiness in the wrong things (outside of themselves, rather than looking inside).
Most of the people are trying to get from here to there, only to realize that every time they are there, it’s here again – as Eckhart Tolle beautifully said. How many of us tried to find happiness outside of ourselves? “When I have the new car, I am happy. When I finally paid the mortgage off, I will be happy. When I finished my studies, my real life will finally start. When I lose the weight, I will finally find love” and so on and so on. Assuming the circumstance that these (often unrealistic) goals actually work out, I think you will agree with me that these short ‘highs’ you experience bring along a great, positive sense of achievement and happiness however for how long does it last? How long until you are searching for a new goal, a new target you can desperately reach for, just to realize that again, you haven’t found everlasting happiness and contentment which you are so longing for?
Revolution of Happiness teaches you to look INSIDE. I have pinpointed and carefully selected out of hundreds of books, some of the most important teachings that have profoundly helped me and others to break their self-limiting beliefs. With that, I created a revolutionary path: A unique guide that combines some of the most essential tools that you can use on your journey towards living mindfully. It can be applied to experts and those who are new to spirituality and mindfulness. This is because the level of involvement and understanding can continue to deepen to higher and higher amounts as you progress.
Revolution of Happiness will not only change your story; it will change your perception and outlook on life. Enjoy the journey!