Passage to Freedom available to pre-order

Passage to Freedom is now available to pre-order at Amazon, cut from £9.99 to £6.59 (publication date 29th February 2008, O Books.) Having undertaken some lectures around the UK, the response has been very positive. If you decide to buy the book please leave me a customer review on Amazon. Below you will find an interview with myself about Passage to Freedom, why I wrote the book and what makes it different from all the other spiritual and self-help books on the market.

Q: What made you want to write a book about enlightenment?

D: I actually did not start off writing a book, I was writing some articles with various meditation based exercises and tips on becoming more intuitive. As I started to write, it got longer and longer and in the end I decided to write an entire book. In the work I do as a Reiki practitioner and teacher I am helping people all the time and on the courses my partner and I run we often help people with their spiritual growth. Learning Reiki and using it everyday is one way to eventually attain enlightenment. I wanted to write something that would be available to everyone, not just those who were going to undertake a Reiki course. My life has transformed so much since learning Reiki. I never knew the meaning of real happiness until I started to heal myself everyday. There are so many people out there who could benefit from fostering their spiritual growth. Writing a book was a way to reach more people and not just the ones who are typically considered to be 'spiritual.'

Q: Do you consider yourself to be enlightened?

D: I consider myself to be a spiritual person and I am enlightened as I need to be for where I currently am on my spiritual path. I have not reached complete enlightenment. I still have much to learn and I do so everyday.

Q: What life experiences had you undergone that have helped you to write this book?

D: It was not necessarily my life experiences per se that helped me write the book. I lived very irresponsibly in my past and did many things that I am not at all proud of. Through learning Reiki and self-healing I was able to become far more intuitive, trust in my inner knowledge and become more myself. The past feels like a bad dream really. However, I accept that my past has helped me to learn some very valuable lessons and I am able to empathise with other people's experiences.People might say, "oh she is only twenty-six, what can she have learned in that time?" but you can be one hundred years old and have learned nothing from all your life experiences, or you can be fifteen years old and have learned more in that short time than an older person has learned in an entire lifetime. Age is not necessarily a reflection on wisdom. I have had a lot of difficult and challenging times in my life and I think that helps me to understand other people more effectively. In terms of my spiritual knowledge, that comes from my intuition. You can have been through the mill a million times and learned nothing spiritually. Spiritual wisdom comes from a profound connection with your soul and constantly adhering to your intuitive guidance. This is the only way you can ever hope to work towards enlightenment.

Q: What makes your book any different to all the other self-help books?

D: I am of course biased, but I would say that there is a lot more honesty and sincerity in my work. I am not going to spoon feed people and tell them that life is suddenly going to become perfect because they read a book about spirituality. Throughout the book I point out that personal and spiritual growth require dedication and commitment. The techniques in the book have to be used frequently to work and the reader has to make conscious changes in their life. I am frank about the state of the world, to the point where some would probably consider me to be very pessimistic, but I would say I am just being realistic. The world is crumbling as far as I can see and I am not an advocater of one person trying to heal the world. We can help ourselves and those we are meant to be helping, but we cannot help everyone.In essence I do not provide easy answers. Anything worthwhile in life requires hard work and perserverance. This is how we learn and grow. Even with Reiki, you have to self-heal everyday for your life to transform for the better. In the Western world we often look for the easy way out, but the consequences that prevail are far from easy. It is better for us to put in the hard work and thus generate more positive consequences, even if the endeavour was not easy.

Q: Did you learn anything by writing the book?

D: I learned a lot by writing the book. I wrote from intuition and it made me consider a lot of things that I may not have even thought about had I not been writing a book. The answers just came to me, which is the wonderful thing about intuition. When you have that connection you always get the answers you need, when you need them. You will not always get the answers you want, because they may not be right for you at that time, but you get what you need. Eventually you come to only want the answers that you need, which is great!Writing Passage To Freedom was not cathartic because I use Reiki to heal my emotional traumas, but it helped me to trust in what I already knew and gave me a greater level of confidence in my awareness.

Q: What do you hope people will get from the book?

D: I hope that Passage To Freedom will help people to trust in their intuition and follow their intuitive guidance, above and beyond all else. I also hope that it will encourage people to question their own lives and lifestyles and to make positive changes.I believe that to progress spiritually we need to adhere at all times to two fundamental principles, right thinking and right living. Hopefully the book will encourage people to step onto their spiritual paths, find their true purposes in life and stick to these two principles. If everyone did this, the world would be a better place. Everyone won't of course, but some will and this book is for those people who are prepared to make the necessary changes.

Q: Who do you think will benefit from the book?

D: Everyone! In reality Passage To Freedom will benefit the people who are at the right point in their lives to start becoming more aware and trusting in their intuition. If someone is not prepared to graft then they will not gain anything, because great results require great actions.This book is not only for the people who say they are spiritual, it is for the people who do not even know they are spiritual. Some of those people are more spiritual than they could ever possibly conceive of, if they would just break free from their conditioning and listen to the voices of their souls. It does not matter what walk of life people are in. Anyone can take steps in the right direction with some considered effort.

Q: What do you like to do when you are not writing?

D: Many people would probably think I am quite boring because I do not go to to pubs, clubs, restaurants and such like. I am happy just sitting indoors doing some self-healing and relaxing. I used to drink alcohol, but I gave it up after learning Reiki. If someone needs to have their senses dulled to have a good time then they have some emotional issues that need addressing. We should be able to enjoy ourselves without the opiate effect of alcohol or drugs. These substances are just ways to avoid reality and the truth.Apart from self-healing with Reiki I also enjoy exercising, weight-training, Qi-Gong, web designing and playing my guitar and singing very badly, when I get the chance. I also like watching some really unspiritual television programmes, when I am not doing all the other stuff! I especially like South Park, it's hysterical.

Passage to Freedom extracts

My first book, Passage to Freedom won't be out until 29th February 2008, but to give you a taster of the book, here are a few extracts.

Chapter One - "When we are born into this world, we lay blissfully nurtured in our mothers' wombs, possessing completeness, perfection. We are one with ourselves and one with creation. The departure into a cold harsh world, is, our first rude awakening. The physical, emotional and spiritual bodies that held fast together in paradise begin a process of being tested and of receiving constant lessons..."

Chapter Five - "Everything in this Universe has a very distinct purpose that may be hidden from us, at the time, or indeed all of the time. We are often being shown a new direction to facilitate our heightened strength and courage of our physical, emotional and spiritual bodies. Genially, we are invited to change our lives for the better. If we embrace this opportunity, the journey to freedom will unfold before us..."

Chapter Twelve - "If we become unbalanced, one or two of our bodies start to dominate over the others. If our physical body controls us, we associate happiness with fulfilling all our worldly desires and getting everything we want in life, whether it is something we actually need, or otherwise. Our emotions become terribly confused and if we crave power, they become completely lost or buried under a blanket of pure adulterated ego. We go through life on a wild hunt for larger doses of authority, thriving on the weakness of others. Alternatively, we just search for happiness in all the wrong places, hoping that money and cheap thrills can buy us contentment..."

Chapter Twenty - "When you travel down the tunnel you will see a symphony of colours and a Light so bright that you can barely dare to open your eyes, but you will, and you will know that enlightenment is yours and forever your soul will remain in peace..."

"The Light of the Universe is within you, do not hide from the Light, but rather hold the Light in your hands like a precious jewel and carry it with you all the time, that you may always seek and speak the truth of that Light and be drenched in its beauty."

Passage to Freedom -
Dawn Mellowship

Reveal the real you

We all long to feel ‘complete’ in our lives, whether we acknowledge it outwardly, or push through our daily existence without a thought for nourishing our soul. The constant drive towards materialism, physical wants, setting high goals and looking for answers externally is ultimately the source of most people’s grief and indeed dwindling health. We need to stop going without our freedom and start looking within for guidance.

Freedom comes, not from our status, our achievements, our possessions, but from knowing our true self and being our true self. Many a time I have heard people exclaim, “You can’t change me. This is just the way I am!” This is a fallacy in many cases because most people’s true spiritual self is masked by their upbringing, emotional traumas, physical and material goals and their disconnection from their ‘higher self.’ Believe me most of the images we project are far from our true spiritual nature! We are too busy being people pleasers or clinging onto guilt or simply just neglecting our purpose for being here.

In saying this there are many people who do seek guidance and do wish to discover their true spiritual nature but are at a loss as to how to do this. As a Reiki teacher I often find that once people experience Reiki they say, “Oh this is how I become more intuitive.” Reiki is not the only way by any means we all have the capability of connecting to our inner self and receiving divine guidance from The Universe. It is very true that if you seek you will find, so never be disheartened if you are on a spiritual quest, just be in a state of awareness and be sure not to miss any signs. If nothing else remember that we all have the answers we could every possibly need in this life if we just access and abide by our intuition. Never ignore that niggling voice in the back of your head!

For those who find that their minds are clogged with the clutter of the daily grind, below I have cited a simple technique, from my forthcoming book, Passage to Freedom, published on 29th February 2008, that you can use to access your inner wisdom, find your higher path on earth and gain some much needed Universal guidance in life. Take some time out from your busy schedule each day to carry out this technique and you will soon find that subtle changes in your life transform into a deeper awareness and greater peace of mind.

Creating Connections

1) Sit down comfortably either on the floor in seiza (on your knees with your bottom resting on your feet), or cross legged or on a chair. Make sure your back is straight. Have your hands palms facing upwards in your lap.

2) Close your eyes gently and visualise yourself sitting in outer space with nothing else around you but the galaxies, stars and the dark skies. So in effect you are floating in outer space. Breathe slowly and deeply, breathing in through your nose into your stomach and out of your mouth.

3) Visualise a bright white light, so bright it is almost impossible to look at, coming down through space as far up as the eye can see. See the light enter the crown of your head from above like a radiant beam and allow the light to enter your entire body from your head through to the tip of your toes. As you breathe out feel the light pulsating through your body. Do this for a few minutes until you feel completely relaxed and lost in space!

4) As you are filled with light, place your hands in gassho (prayer position) in front of your chest, elbows pointing to the ground. Silently say to your self 7 times with meaning and purpose “I open myself up to the divine will of the universe.”

5) Move your hands still in gassho up over the top of your head and rest them on your crown. Silently say to your self 7 times with meaning and purpose “I open myself up to my true higher self."

6) Place your hands over your stomach, palms facing towards your stomach and with your middle fingers meeting each other at the navel. Silently say to yourself 7 times with meaning and purpose “I allow my mind, body and soul to heal, I am connected to the heaven and the earth.”

7) Repeat steps 4 to 6 between 3 and 9 times constantly remaining focused on the light.

8) When you have finished breathe the white light out of your body and back into the universe. Place your hands in gassho by your chest again and bow to the Universe.

12 ways to transform your life

1. Learn to stop thinking so much. Intelligence comes from taking the time to trust your intuition and making the decisions that are right for you. Trusting your higher self will enable you to make the best choices. To help yourself do this take up some form of activity which quietens the mind, such as; Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Reiki, meditation, yoga.

2. Stop trying so hard to please other people. You will never make yourself happy if you spend all your time pandering to others. Make your own mistakes and learn from them. If you spend your whole life trying to live up to the expectations of others you will end up blaming them for the direction your life has taken.

3. Stop punishing yourself. If you are truly sorry for your mistakes then let go of the guilt. If you make a bad decision, accept that it was the wrong thing to do, learn from it and move on. All that is asked from us by the Universe is that we learn from our mistakes and take a step in the right direction towards making a positive difference in our own lives and others.

4. Touch other people’s lives. In modern society it is so easy for people to become wrapped up in their own lifestyles and forget the many people around you that need help in one way or another. Be prepared to listen to other people as in many instances all someone will need is a good listener to make them feel that they aren’t all alone in the universe.

5. Don’t go by what people say, see beyond their words to who they really are. We often meet someone and feel repelled by that person, yet when they begin to talk to us and charm us, we blame ourselves for making a snap judgement. Trust your intuition. If you have a feeling that there is something not quite right about this person, be very wary. Try to avoid being around people that feel very negative to you.

6. Look at the bigger picture. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this here is your life and you are damned going to live it because as many say ‘Life is short’. This life may be short but the next one certainly won’t be. The actions and decisions we take in this life affects where we go in the next. We all have a place in the universe and at some point we all have to face up to our actions.

7. Follow your own path. We all have our own path in this life and we all are expected to follow it at some point. If you feel that something is missing from your life but you are not quite sure what, then now is the time to follow your path. Intuitively we all know this but as we get older we can stray away.

8. Take the right sort of risks. We are all afraid of taking risks, sometimes for a very good reason but if the risk involves you giving up something that will make your life much better and make you feel more happy and fulfilled, then it’s a risk worth taking.

9. Look after your body. It really is the only one you have in this life and if you damage it you will soon wish you had listened to your body. Eat foods that are healthy and nourish your organs. You won’t thank yourself later if you have a chronic illness because of the poisons you have subjected yourself to.

10. Learn to want the things you need rather than purely pursuing your physical desires. We live in a society very driven towards materialism and accumulating possessions. Before you head out in a rush to buy that expensive new outfit that you think will make you happy, take the time to think if it is what you really want or could one of life’s more simple pleasures like a walk in the park be a more happy solution.

11. Don’t be so competitive and envious of others lives. Everybody is walking a different path and if you constantly compare yourself to others you will only end up making yourself miserable. You need to do the things that are right for you and appreciate your own life instead of wishing you had someone else’s. The grass is not really greener on the other side.

12. Be prepared to put a lot of effort into life. The easy options are rarely the ones that are the best for us. Take responsibility for yourself and your own actions and look after yourself. Life is not meant to be easy and this is for a reason, because we learn so much more from the difficult decisions we take and the hard work we put in. There isn’t a miracle drug to make everything better we all hold the miracles within ourselves to change our lives.

Passage to Freedom

Passage to Freedom is being published on 29th February 2008 by the wonderful O Books. The blurb and endorsements for this book are below. I wrote it to help people discover the true path to happiness and enlightenment. I discovered happiness through Reiki and not everyone will learn this healing art, so Passage to Freedom offers pearls of wisdom and techniques to make enlightenment more accessible to the general populace.

Are you ready to cross the passage to freedom?

Thousands are seeking enlightenment but few achieve this ultimate spiritual goal. Passage To Freedom, A Path To Enlightenment is an inspirational book with practical techniques to help the reader attain true happiness through spiritual growth. Dawn Mellowship’s book provides meditations and healing techniques that work on a physical, emotional and spiritual level, to provide the perfect remedy for finding happiness and spiritual fulfilment. They combine visualisation, intention, affirmations, controlled breathing, universal energy and healing to assist you to manage your anger, release guilt and worry, let go of the past, boost your self-esteem and love yourself and others unconditionally. Learn how to connect to your intuition to make better and healthier choices in life, and ultimately to find inner peace and balance.

“Passage to Freedom” is an inspiring title that combines a spiritual treasure trove of wisdom with practical exercises accessible to all of us for use in our daily lives. Illustrated throughout with clear instructions, the information and inspiration emanating from Dawn Mellowship is a major achievement and will certainly help all readers gain insight into the way through and around life's problems, worries, and our own emotional, spiritual and physical difficulties."

Sandra Goodman PhD, Editor and Director, Positive Health - www.positivehealth.com

"In a world that moves faster by the day it is refreshing to be shown a path that slows down the pace of life and encourages reflection. Dawn writes directly, powerfully and eloquently on the fundamental issues of spiritual enlightenment and finding your ‘inner-truth'."

Adam Smith, Chief Executive –www.adili.com

"Dawn takes us on a deeply spiritual yet very grounded journey to finding our true path in life and being the best we can possibly be - written from the heart!"

Sara TurnerFlower Essence Consultant and MySpiritRadio Presenter

"For anyone on a soul-finding mission, this essential guide will help steer you on your journey to enlightenment."

Charlotte Smith, Editor - Natural Health Magazine