In our previous email/blog I shared a phrase that prompted a lot of feedback -
“Real is Revolutionary.”
I didn't realise it would invite so many replies, or that it would also challenge so many people about the power of presence.
I'm so grateful for the personal messages that came in from so many of you.
I think that's a big part of why I am enjoying this process of writing so much - I get to personally connect with people on a very human level.
It's actually because of this feedback, and recognising that many of you are finding encouragement in the messages, that I've decided to claim a long held dream -
I'm writing a book...!
I've heard some people say that in the age of AI, books are irrelevant, and that they can be written in a matter of days, start to finish.
For me, those are books without heart, without soul, without transmission.
That is not my purpose.
I've committed to something deeply organic - to write from my lived experiences, distilled into something relevant for where the world is at, in a way that allows me to grow myself through the process.
I'm not writing a book because it's convenient.
I'm writing because I love the process of sitting down and feeling what wants to be said. Often as I write, I learn about myself, because it distils experiences into words.
And it seems those words are landing in unexpected ways, and making a difference in the lives of people.
This actually brings tears to my eyes as I write this, because it reminds me that we simply need to show up with a desire to be authentic, share from the heart, and meet people where they are at.
That's it.
I know within the world and the spiritual community there is a lot of concern right now.
But as Gandalf so poetically shares to Frodo in the Lord of the Rings, when Frodo is burdened with concerns and shares how he wishes the events need not have happened in his time, Gandalfs reply lands deeply ~
"So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
And it is that message that prompts where this email is heading…
Because the spiritual path is not a complicated one - it's about rising to the moment, in love, in trust, and truth.
And taking the next right step that will eventually, at some point, lead to the final step of one's journey.
Memento Mori. Memento Vivere ~ Remember you will die. Remember to live.
Remember to live - because you decide how the journey will shape itself…
Where you place your attention, who you give your energy to, and what you decide to trust defines that journey.
Trust yourself, and surround yourself with good people who live with integrity.
Make this human journey a memorable one.
Real is Revolutionary - and I feel we are all being invited to embrace this.
As always, when I have shared something in a message, I am immediately invited to practise what was said. And repeatedly over the last week I found myself having to get out of my mind, breathe, and come back into the moment.
After returning from a recent trip to see the family, I've found myself reflecting on one conversation in particular I had with my dad -
He was raised during the years of Apartheid. And he saw how unjust and morally misaligned the system was.
It prompted him to live life differently - working directly with the African population during most of his career in education. Together with my mother, they moved to a Zulu community, and this is where I was born.
In the mountains, hours away from "civilisation," surrounded by Nature. That is the land, and the people, of my roots.
As my dad reflected on the nature of control, narrative, and misguided agendas, something landed deeply, because it is something I am observing that is present in the wider world - and the spiritual world too…
The principle of division.
Of categories that create an "us" vs "them."
And this is the single most effective strategy of any control mechanism.
To paraphrase my dad’s and my discussion:
"The fastest way to know if people are being controlled, or lied to, is through the language that is used.
The moment fear enters the equation. The moment division is promoted. The moment levels of purity enter into the conversation.
The moment people are branded with an identity, class, rank, or percentage.
The moment people are given a label by any external authority… something that becomes a part of their identity.
They are being controlled, manipulated, and brainwashed."
My parents lived through a period that saw horrific suffering inflicted on people.
I have clear memories of this myself - of seeing children my own age living in camps so far below the poverty line that I can still recall the feeling it evokes inside of me.
The focus of our conversation was on the nature of being aware of what is occurring, and actively choosing to live a different way.
During the time of Apartheid, dad chose not to swim against the current, but rather to find a way to swim through it in a way that honoured his love for the people who were hurting the most.
My parents were counter-cultural because they chose to love people in the midst of their hardship, regardless of what the wider society said.
No division, no us vs them, just love for their fellow human being.
This is a foundation that was modelled to me. It's a foundation I continue to stand on.
And it's a foundation that sometimes requires one to draw a clear line about what we are willing to tolerate in our life.
In my parents life, there were those who felt that their support of the Africans was insanity - those are the people who they walked away from.
Not due to anger, but because of alignment to their values.
Alignment is a foundational value we seek to hold as a family.
And living in alignment means walking away from energies that undermine our values.
At multiple points during the year, I will come back to my foundational values.
Sit with them. See what they are sharing. See where they have changed.
Ask questions about what my priorities are.
And make the necessary life changes I am asked to.
When we know the true values within our heart, navigating the currents of interpersonal and global challenge becomes far simpler.
That does not mean easier - but it does mean more clear.
This is how we truly become the captain of our own life.
Because regardless of what anyone else is saying is "Right/Truth" you are listening and navigating to your innermost heart.
My parents' example of Apartheid is one example of this… The 2020 lockdowns and how individuals responded during this time, is another… 2026 is bringing similar choice points to many individuals…
Who are you in the midst of all the noise?
Each person must find the path that is true to their own heart - nobody else can tell you what that path is.
Only you can know what is true for you.
But there is a key to the whole equation that is often missed.
Discernment…
Life leaves layers - old wounds, inherited beliefs, the noise of other people's expectations.
And those layers have a voice too. And its often the loudest one.
The heart is our destination - and discernment is how you find your way to it.
Because the first impulse is often the wound speaking, not the true self.
Discernment is the practice of going deeper than the first response.
Beneath the reaction, beneath the desire, beneath the story you're telling yourself about it…
This is what I mean when I talk of inner knowing.
And inner knowing is being strategically eroded through the use of the weapon of ultimate convenience.
I believe there is a growing sickness in the world right now, which also includes the world of spirituality.
It takes form in the erosion of self trust.
The decay of self-referencing.
And feeds off the need for external validation.
Its foundation is built on a simple formula - comfort, convenience, and a false sense of certainty.
Fuelled by a wounded society that has no time for silence, little time to think, and so much noise that one can barely make sense of what is happening in their life.
This weapon is Artificial Intelligence.
Some will call it a tool, but one thing that has been shown throughout history is that with the invention of any new tool, we lose something of ourselves if we are not mindful.
GPS did not tell us it would erode our ability to navigate. Until one day people realised they were lost without it…
AI is rapidly altering the ability to think, question, be authentic…
And AI is rapidly disrupting the ability to navigate the soul…
Technotheism sees AI functioning as a digital deity - offering personalised guidance and absolute authority.
Mimicking spiritual advice that is tailor-made based on your data and shared belief systems.
It creates a tool of absolute convenience that steers one away from the hard questions, and into a lived hallucination in the real world.
AI appeals to the urge for instant answers without the effort - while eroding our connection to ourselves.
And this is the danger we see.
The moment anyone asks AI to tell them the truth of their soul, their reality, or their story…
You lose something of yourself.
Because those sorts of answers don't come from outside - they come from within.
They come from sitting in stillness, having deep conversations with real people, embracing challenging experiences, and the friction that inspires growth.
At some level, everyone is hoping to be seen, helped, saved, validated.
But the reality is that the only one who can save you… is you.
This sharing is a perspective built on my life experiences.
Many people don't know about the chronic depression that ate away at my will to live.
The debt that consumed our family, the continued doubts and battle with self worth.
And the decision one day, to change…
It was not because of anyone or anything in particular.
It was because I realised I had the power to choose.
Life gives us what we tolerate.
What we have grown comfortable with.
What we want to be able to justify.
It's convenient to point the finger at external factors, and say this is to blame.
But the truth is far simpler -
Life is a reflection of everything inside of us.
What we tolerate. What we tell ourselves. What we attach importance to…
This is what shapes our reality.
The lived experience you are having right now… is an echo of everything that led to this moment.
What you experience as the present is simply the result of everything that came before…
Which is incredibly empowering, because we can then ask - what am I laying down now that will lead me into a different version of tomorrow..
When we choose to change, it sets in motion a domino effect that we will only see years down the line.
I've lived this, and still have to remind myself of this sometimes…
And that is why I share this message, to say, that -
Anything whose intention is to erode your self trust..
Anything that attempts to place itself as the ultimate source of authority...
Anything that claims to be the only pathway to your truth...
Needs to be questioned.
How you navigate the space of AI is your own decision.
We are simply inviting people to be mindful of anything promoting AI as the solution to wholeness.
Come back to your heart. To stillness. Train yourself in discernment. Find the true knowing within.
At its core, spirituality is not complicated.
Pick a single day this week - and turn off your phone.
Sit with yourself. Walk in Nature.
Listen to what your innermost place is saying.
And ask questions…
"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
'Memento Vivere ~ Remember to Live'
This is our pathway - what is yours?
With love,
Jonathan and Shera
