Spiritual Practices Therapist Elina Kadaja: “Lessons from personal experience are always up to date!”

“I want to inspire people to let go of the limitations designed by the mind, so that we can all live the life of our dreams according to the truth of our heart,” says Elina Kadaja , who has published a book that teaches the user, through experience, to find inner peace, confidence and trust that dreams really can come true. But there is much more to life than that!

“I’ve always been a big thinker and a brave go-getter. I believe that the first step is half the battle and you have to take it while the idea is still warm,” Elina begins her fascinating story, adding that even as a child she was interested in subjects that were not taught at school. “I wanted to share what I had learned from books and trainings with my peers, and so my journey as an activist started in school. By the end of high school, I had already experimented with different strategies to make my dreams come true, and it gave me the confidence to go abroad.” says Elina.

It wasn’t long before she was selling books door to door in the US, then tasting university life in Copenhagen, and then bouncing to LA. “There, I developed a desire to be a tough businesswoman, and following my own strategy, I ended up working in Iraq, where I was an administrative manager in a construction consulting company and was able to use all the business wisdom I had learnt earlier,” recalls Elina, who returned to Estonia and started to listen more deeply to her heart. “I came to healing therapies and self-development through a personal need to get rid of insecurities, anxiety, depression and other conditions that inhibit happiness, and so, after many courses and teachings, I became a therapist for personal development, inner work and spiritual practices.”

Elina, who daily helps people get in touch with their innate nature through breathing and bodywork practices, also divides her attention between making space for her inner world and sharing the wisdom she draws from it. “Since October, I’ve been spending time at a school in Ecuador, where I’m learning tantric yoga in a shamanistic context and practicing the art of healing in an ever deeper way. From there, I’m going to Guatemala and plan to go to other exotic countries for further training.” She has decided to travel alone and on a one-way ticket, so it is not known exactly when and where she will return home.

The book as a faithful companion

“I remember as a child feeling a strong sense of inadequacy and not belonging. I looked cheerful, but in fact I was often depressed and I would dive into books to get some vitality from the world around me,” recalls Elina, who says she used to go to the library like a candy store. Asked how her own book, The Successful Lifestyle Handbook, came about, she quickly and concretely answers that the idea for the book was born out of a need for someone or something to show her what she needed to do to be happy and move towards her life’s purpose. “I needed a tool that would constantly remind me of what to do and how to behave, so that life could always be at the peak of happiness, possibility and quality. I had a lot of information in my head and books on how to do it, but I knew that theoretical information is of little use if you don’t have a plan on paper and have it under your nose all the time,” says Elina.

The book teaches its user, through experience, to find inner peace, confidence and trust that dreams really can come true. “Once you have put this book into practice, you will understand the laws of the universe well and realise that after every high there is a low and happiness depends on inner balance, not external factors,” Elina points out the usefulness of the book and adds that the outside world can be perfectly manipulated through inner ordering. “Once you start taking small steps with this book, the results are fantastic and the lessons from personal experience are always up to date.”

For her daily life, she strives to create the vision she has manifested in the “Successful Lifestyle Handbook”. One of the biggest lessons has been the time factor. “Sometimes I’m in a mad frenzy because I know it’s working and I want it all right now. But if I don’t allow enough time, then neither I have time to take it in, nor the universe has time to reorganise so that it all comes to me with light and brightness.”

Lovely people on every continent

Doing international business and travelling makes the world a very small place, according to Elina. “In the end, it’s just a matter of which continent you work with. Having lived in several countries, I feel at home where it’s safe, inspiring and with people I love. Homesickness only arises for people, and that too often enough finds solace or release,” Elina muses, adding that fortunately she has loved ones on almost every continent.

Each time a woman settles into a new country, a complete rebuilding process from scratch takes place, requiring the abandonment of any previously illusory identity, established perceptions, habits and sense of security. “As a great storm of fears is about to hit the inner world, this is the best way to educate myself, because anything that doesn’t support my wellbeing has to be let go in order to survive.” He has faced many challenges along the way. “In Copenhagen, for example, I was in a situation where my entire salary went directly to tuition fees and I had no home and no food. When I moved to Los Angeles, all my savings were stolen on the way. I had to put my trust in the universe that everything was going to work out for me.” It’s the same with fulfilling your goals – you have to get rid of anything that doesn’t support that goal. “I’ve seen that the universe wants to make everything possible for us, as long as we don’t cling to things in our thoughts and actions that are not on the same frequency as our desire. That’s why, in addition to setting a goal for yourself, you need to be clear about what you are willing to sacrifice and commit to.”

Children come to teach

Elina’s message to the world is to be mindful of yourself. Each of us is already a perfect model for doing the things that make us happy, he says. “I would like to encourage parents in particular to take note of the lessons their children have come to teach them. For parents to be mindful of projecting their pain and fears onto their children, because they are here to teach us unconditional love and happiness without fear, complexes and anger. I want parents to put their egos aside and connect raising children with creating a safe space for that already perfect soul to grow up and do its own thing. If we are instilled with self-worth from childhood, it will stay with us for life,” Elina says, adding that she has always had a special bond with her children. “We understand each other. Children are also my best battery chargers, because they are fully present in the moment and don’t think about the pain of the past or the fears of the future. The only time they are not in the moment is when they are looking for the next thing to be happy about.” In addition to her children, she always chooses people around her to tell her things she doesn’t yet know and to give her experiences she doesn’t yet have. “Open-hearted creative souls and children,” Elina sums up the theme succinctly.

Trust your heart!

Elina’s greatest wish is to motivate people so that her own living environment among them can be more and more vibrant, positive, abundant and supportive of self and each other. “I would like to encourage everyone to trust the voice of their own heart and to forget the lore of parents, teachers and other opinion leaders about happiness, which often stems from their own personal, and unfortunately limited, experience and knowledge. There is a little truth in the heart of each of us that is unique to ourselves and needs to be trusted so that we can play the game of life with lightness and ease in love.”

Elena is most motivated by the moments when a written wish presents itself as an opportunity in real life. “Once I’ve given a physical form to a dream, or written it down, it becomes like a creature with its own energy that starts to attract the right opportunities,” she says, describing a “magic moment” that makes you realise you are indeed the creator of your own life.

Boredom is not comfort

But how does she feel about the well-known suggestion to do something every day that you haven’t done before, or that is uncomfortable for you today? “It’s awkward for me to take a picture of myself or have someone else do it and then upload it to the internet,” she laughs, adding, “I still do it, but with such a funny feeling.”

But every moment is unique and an opportunity to change a pattern that has become comfortable. “Boredom is actually not very comfortable for most people,” says Elina, as today’s dopamine addicts can’t cope with more than three seconds of new information. The woman herself has been a lifelong comfort-zone jumper, and it suits her because she herself is a big information junkie. “But now I’m on a journey where I consume information at the level of emotional experience through the heart. Sometimes I encounter extremely uncomfortable emotions, but I am grateful for the brightness of their presence, because it also makes the brighter colours of the emotional spectrum available to me. Everything is balanced.”

Elina takes five simple steps to take control of everyday life:

NB! The most important part of the day is the morning!

I sit with my back straight on the ground, on a chair or wherever, so that my spine is straight and my sitting bones are against the ground. I choose some nice lyric-free meditation music to wake myself up and listen to the silence in my head. The blog has a “Simple 10-minute listening meditation” to help you in this process.

Duration: 10-30 minutes

After the meditation, I’ll write down three to five things I’ll do today (at least one of which could support your big dream) and three to five things I’m grateful for. In this way, I raise my vibration and create the perfect conditions for small goals to be met. I put the handbook with the written tasks in a visible place, so that it would still bother me.

Duration: 3-5 minutes

I definitely avoid social media and the news. I’ll spend my morning in the presence of some mood-altering instrumental music. That way, I don’t clutter my consciousness with unnecessary information that would dictate my day.

It is also very important that the act of making and enjoying food is done with respect and gratitude. Food is energy and fuel for my body.

Duration: 20 minutes

My favourite physical walker is the yoga of the five Tibetans. This quick and easy practice keeps my body toned and energised.

Duration: 10 minutes

NB! Bonus tip for the day: find a reason to feel love, gratitude and compassion in every experience and see opportunity in the challenges!

The article was published in Buduaar magazine November-December 2018.