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HOPE Academy Logo

Personal development and personal empowerment workshops, courses, programmes and retreats.

Hope is an optimistic attitude of mind based on the anticipation of positive outcomes related to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.

Definitions:

1.  To look forward to something with positivity.

2.  To believe with confidence and an optimistic feeling of fulfillment, that events will turn out well.

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These transformational workshops are based on the principle of Metanoia (n.):  The journey of changing one's mind, heart, self and way of life.  

You are not here to be average....

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Introduction to Meditation & Mindfulness - 6 Week Course
Introduction to Meditation & Mindfulness
6 Week Course

Learn what meditation is, what it isn't, how to do it and develop your practice.

 

The greatest misunderstanding about meditation and the reason why so many people either don’t start, or give up on it and never fully develop the benefits of the practice of meditation is the misconception that you need to clear or empty your mind of all thoughts.

 

Meditation is not about clearing the mind; it is simply about being in a relaxed state in which the mind is free of scattered thoughts or over-thinking.

 

Psychology, neuroscience and medical research on the topics of meditation and mindfulness has been increasing exponentially over the past 25 years. Science has proven that meditative brainwave frequencies stimulate the relaxation response. The Harvard Medical School has been one of the pioneers in scientific studies of the benefits and healing impact of meditation. What they have discovered is that relaxation changes the chemistry of our body, balancing the body to its natural state, the key state for healing on all levels - mental, emotional, physical & spiritual

 

Meditation is just like exercise, but it’s a form of mental exercise. And just as exercise increases health, helps us handle stress better and promotes longevity, meditation provides those same benefits.  It is deeply restorative for the mind, body and spirit.

Scientifically proven benefits of meditation include:

• Reduced stress

• Improved sleep

• Improved focus and concentration

• Improved memory

• Improved function of the brains decision making centres

• Helps control mood

• Helps reduce anxiety

• Helps manage depression

• Helps regulate blood pressure

• Enhances the immune system

• Helps with pain management

• Promotes emotional health

• Increases your sense of wellbeing

"Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. Peace is not found elsewhere, it comes from within."

You will learn:

• The science behind the benefits of meditation

• How our thoughts affect us physiologically

• Meditative breathing techniques

• How anchor your focus to remain in the meditative state

• How to quieten the mind from scattered thoughts and over-thinking

• How to handle distractions

• How to be in a place of inner peace amongst the noisy confusion of life

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Creating a Vision Board
Creating a Vision Board
1 Day Workshop

What is a Vision Board

 

A vision board is a collage of images, words and affirmations of your dreams, desires and goals, a visual representation of your desires and aspirations. It is a Law of Attraction tool designed to help clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal or goals and to serve as a source of inspiration and motivation to enable you to attain those goals.

 

If you have a burning desire to realise a long-held dream or aspiration, a clear vision is a must. A vision board can help you develop the skills to define and shape that vision.  

 

How does a vision board work

 

An article in the Huffington Post about vision boards states: 
“Creating a space that displays your dreams / desires / goals actually does bring it to life. What we focus on expands. When you create a vision board place it in a space where you see it often. By placing it in your constant awareness you essentially end up doing short visualisation exercises throughout the day."

Visualisation is one of the most powerful mind exercises you can do. Creative visualisation uses the power of the mind, and is the power behind every success. High achievers use vision boards to help them attain their goals.

An article in Psychology Today states: 
"Mental practice can get you closer to where you want to be in life, and it can prepare you for success. Research has revealed that mental practices are almost effective as true physical practice, and that doing both is more effective than either alone. Brain studies now reveal that thoughts produce the same mental instructions as actions. Mental imagery impacts many cognitive processes in the brain: motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory. So the brain is getting trained for actual performance during visualisation. It’s been found that mental practices can enhance motivation, increase confidence and self-efficacy, improve motor performance, prime your brain for success, and increase states of flow – all relevant to achieving your best life!"

According to the popular book The Secret, "The law of attraction is forming your entire life experience and it is doing that through your thoughts, emotions, actions and beliefs.

A vision board helps you to examine your desires, stay focused on those that truly matter to you, consistently reminds you of your life goals and helps drive you to achieve them. 

In this workshop you will learn how to recognise and overcome any limiting beliefs that may be holding you back from going for it with all of your heart, create an effective vision board and step onto the pathway to obtaining your desires.

 

Day by day your vision board is a constant reminder - to both your conscious and subconscious minds - of where you intend to be.   It cultivates an emotional connection to your aspiration, keeping you inspired, focused and motivated, with your attention on your intentions and your life headed in the direction of your goals.

 

Vision boards are fun to create.  When you create a vision board with others, you can feed off each other’s inspirations and positive energy.

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Dream  *  Tune In  *  Believe  *  Do  *  Repeat 

You are capable of wonderful things!

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Understanding Chakras
Chakras
Two Half Day Workshops
9 Week Course

The word chakra translates to wheel or disc.   Chakras by definition are spinning energy centres within the human body that help to regulate all its processes.    Within the chakras is prana.  Prana is the vital life force energy that is all around us and within us.  Prana enters the body via our food, water, breath, awareness, consciousness and intention. 

When prana is prevented from flowing freely, the chakras become blocked, imbalanced and unaligned, bodily systems become hindered, our life force sluggish and we do not function at our optimal level.   When the chakras are balanced and aligned, our vital energy is free-flowing.

 

The 7 major chakras are positioned from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.  Each chakra has its own colour, shape, frequency and associated mantra and correspond to specific organs and systems as well as physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual states of being,  which influences all areas of our life. 

 

WORKSHOPS

 

Part 1 will provide you with an initial understanding of all aspects of each of the 7 main chakras and the part they play in our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Part 2 will provide you with further understanding of the influence of the minor and micro chakras and nadis.

9 Week Course

The 9 week course will delve deeper into the chakras, nadis and their influences, how you can tune in to and understand what you are experiencing at all levels of your being and therefore bring more balance and harmony into your everyday life.  

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There is deep wisdom within our very flesh,

if we can only come to our senses and feel it.  

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How to Raise Your Vibration
How to Raise Your Vibration
Half Day Workshop

Everything in the universe is made up of energy vibrating at different frequencies.  We all vibrate energetically at a particular frequency and we all pick up on each others vibration.  Hence the expression good vibes and bad vibes.

 

As vibrational beings, we all have a core frequency, a core vibration, but in every moment we are either increasing our frequency and vibration or our frequency and vibration is lowering.  Change is constant, there's no staying the same.  The pattern of our thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and actions is what creates our reality and our vibration fluctuates by our own influence.   If you are experiencing difficulties in life your frequency will be low, your energy will be dense and the heavier your problems will seem.  The higher the frequency of your energy or vibration, the lighter you feel in your physical, emotional and mental bodies.  You experience greater personal power, clarity, peace, love, and joy.  

 

This workshop will inform you about frequency principles, how to identify your vibrational state and provide you with simple practices and steps you can take to raise your vibration.  Learning to manage your own energy state can help keep you in a more harmoniously balanced way of being.

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You cannot perceive what you are not in the vibration of.

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Introduction to Breath Work
Introduction to Breath Work
2.5 Hour Workshop

Our breathing adjusts to the circumstances we are faced with in life.  The constant barrage, busyness and stressors of the modern world overwhelms our Sympathetic Nervous System - responsible for the fight or flight response, which in turn affects our breathing or the quality of our breathing.  Correct diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the relaxation response which activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System - responsible for the rest and restore response.

 

Breathwork refers to breathing techniques that improve mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.  With breathwork you are breathing more deeply so are taking in alot more oxygen and releasing alot more carbon dioxide.  Oxygen levels increase and carbon dioxide levels decrease within the blood.  This changes the pH level in the blood making it more alkaline.  Breathwork is also a workout for your breathing muscles (diaphragm) and helps increase your lung capacity.   

 

During breathwork you intentionally change your breathing pattern in a conscious and systematic way.  Breathing in this way stimulates the relaxation response, brings about improvements in emotional state, decreases stress levels and improves focus and mental clarity.  

 

Breathwork can either promote deep relaxation or can leave you feeling energised.   In this workshop you will learn various breathing techniques for both relaxation and energising.

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A healthy mind has an easy breath.

Smile, breathe and go slowly.

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Introductin to Shadow Work
Introduction to Shadow work
Half Day Workshop

In the field of psychology, our shadow self is a term used to refer to the aspects of ourself that we don’t acknowledge, may try to hide or can't see in ourself.  Anything incompatible with our chosen conscious attitude about ourself becomes our shadow self, including inherent positive qualities.  Yet we often only outwardly acknowledge our positive side, but because of embarrassment, guilt, shame or denial the majority of us avoid the aspects of our personalities that are lurking in the shadows.  It’s easier to observe another’s shadow than it is to acknowledge our own. 

 

We suppress these aspects that are part of who we are; yet they remain in our subconscious.  This can result in feelings of inferiority, superiority, self-consciousness, anxiety, cynicism, arrogance, social inadequacy, selfishness, greed, envy, unfairness etc. which are results of our our challenges and wounds.  Ignoring or suppressing these aspect can profoundly impact how we experience life. 

 

In order to touch the very depths of our being and be fully present in life we must be ready to explore our self through shadow work.  Exploring your shadow can lead to greater authenticity, positivity, creativity, energy, and personal awakening.

With shadow work you cultivate a deeper self-knowledge, communicate more constructively, find that you respond to situations rather than react to them and break the cycles of seemingly unfairness. The more conscious your shadow self becomes, the less affect it has on you and the more self-empowered your life becomes because your shadow self no longer sabotages your conscious intentions.

 

This workshop is an introduction to shadow work for personal development.

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The depth of a soul is not measured

by what appears on the surface.

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Connecting to the 6 Elements
Connecting to the Six Elements
1 Day Workshop ~ & ~ 7 Day Residential Retreat

It is believed that the universe is formed by four elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water.  Each of the four elements contains its own unique properties and each has both positive and negative qualities.  The fifth and sixth elements are Love and Spirit. 

We need fire (from the Sun) to grow our food and keep us warm.  We need water to drink and to sustain life on our planet.  We need air to breathe, and the Earth supports us and everything else.  We need Love that nurtures and guides us and Spirits as our driving force.  These are our fundamental requirements for life.

The elements have their own personality traits and can overlap and intermingle.  People never fall into one element, though usually the main one is apparent.   So understanding the elements is especially helpful in understanding personalities.  Reading and understanding their elemental make-up can give you a quick and effective way to know how to interact with them. 

The 6 elements can be applied to all aspects of our lives and personalities through how we interact with each other and work with nature and her laws to improve our lives.  Forging a deep connection between human and nature.

The 1 day introductory workshop will provide you with an understanding of the 6 elements and how to work with them in your daily experiences and overall life.   

 

At the residential retreat we delve deeper into each element.  The retreat starts on a Sunday night and ends on a Sunday morning.  We open circle on the Sunday night, Monday to Saturday are dedicated to each element and we close circle on Sunday morning.

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Earth my body * water my blood * air my breath * fire my spirit

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Tuning in to Yor True Potential
Tuning in to Your True Potential
1 Day Workshop

If you have ever felt a longing or desire to do something or achieve something but your inner critic keeps telling you that you can't, despite how deep your longing or desire is and despite knowing deep within that you could, then guess what....  you actually can.  It all comes down to the power of self belief.  

Our thoughts influence our emotions, which in turn influences our self beliefs.  Our ‘Inner Critic’ is the negative part of us that sabotages our ongoing development. A hostile, judgemental inner advisor conjuring up negative thoughts and self-defeating beliefs about ourselves that oppose our best interests and can diminish our motivation and self-esteem. These belittling self-criticisms are born of subconscious self-sabotage which can have a huge impact on how we live, and how we succeed in all areas of our lives.

The beliefs we hold about ourselves make up the fabric of who we are and strongly influence what our experiences will be.  Many of our deeply rooted limiting beliefs that we hear from our inner critic have simply been influenced by the words of others. We have subconsciously inherited those words as our own thoughts and beliefs, which end up becoming self-fulfilling prophecies that force us to live a mediocre life that is far removed from our true potential.

Think of this analogy:  When an orchestra of musical instruments are not in tune, they are not in harmony and it creates a discord. They don’t make music they just make noise, so you don’t enjoy the benefits of a symphony.

The same goes with our aspirations and self-beliefs and the way we conduct and orchestrate our lives.  When our thoughts, emotions, actions & beliefs are not in tune it creates a discord, when they are aligned and in tune with one another they are in harmony.

When you are in tune with your authentic self, when your thoughts, emotions, actions and beliefs are in tune and in harmony you are tuned in to your true potential.  And from that place of being you anchor in your own frequencies for a new and empowered way of being.​
 

This workshop is about tuning in to your true potential by:

  • Identifying your core self-beliefs

  • Distinguishing the difference between authentic & inherited self-beliefs

  • Silencing the inner critic & collapsing disempowering limiting beliefs

  • Paying attention to what has heart and meaning

  • Setting simple, realistic and achievable goals

  • Creating a vision-board

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Turn your dreams into plans and your can't into cans!

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Our 9 Basic Needs
Our 9 Basic Needs
9 Module Programme

The force of life is the drive for fulfilment; we all have a need to experience a life of meaning.  All living things have basic needs in order to survive, and in order to function affectively and effectively, and flourish. 

 

Our basic needs are the fundamental requirements that serve as the foundation for survival, fulfilment and a sense of purpose and meaning. 

 

Fulfilment can be achieved through a pattern of living in which we are mindful to tend to our basic needs and most basic needs are inter-connected.

 

We need to look to replace any disempowering ways of meeting our needs with things that empower and support us, and others.

 

Our 9 Basic Needs is a programme consisting of a series of workshops enabling people to achieve self-actualisation by:

 

  • Identifying whether their basic needs are being met and if not how to achieve them.

  • Identifying their qualities, strengths and abilities.

  • Learning how to release themselves from self-defeating behaviours and limiting beliefs.

  • Setting goals and find meaning and purpose.

 

“Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are....

But only we are responsible for who we become...”

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 Reiki Whangarei   |    Chakra Balancing Whangarei   |   Sound Healing Whangarei   |   Sound Bath Whangarei

Meditation Whangarei   |  Hypnotherapy Whangarei   |   EFT Whangarei   |   Deep State Re-Patterning

Past Life Regression Whangarei   |   Soul Retrieval Whangarei   |   Medicine Card Readings Whangarei

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