What thoughts go through your mind when you hear the word “coma”? Do you joke about it, or do you take it seriously? At difficult times in your life, do you find yourself asking the question why am I in this situation?

If the answer is YES, then you are ready to wake-up your truth, from living an illusion and being in a “technological coma” that is stripping you off your true identity, your freedom, happiness, and most importantly the time you have left in this world.

Truth is, for many of you, the word “coma” is associated with someone who has had some kind of accident or life-threatening illness that stops them from responding to any outside stimulus such as touch, voices, other sounds, or any sort of activity going on nearby. Some of you may even jokingly use the word “coma” to describe people who don’t pay attention, are sleeping deeply, or not fulfilling their true potential.

But the kind of “coma2 I am talking about has nothing to do with effects of a physical injury. It has to do with:

The psychological, behavioural, and habitual changes that are happening at a speed of light due to rapid social, technological, and economic advancements are forcing many of us to be glued and married to our phones, ipads, and countless applications designed to rob us off or priceless time and give us an instant dopamine fix.

Recall the last situation that you were in. Where you on a date, with a friend having dinner, in a social gathering, family event, or at an important meeting at work? Now, see if you can recall how many times did you or the people you were with checked and did some kind of activity on their phones?

Do you or did anyone you were with took the time to switch-off from technology and the associated applications that increase your cortisol levels thus inducing more stress and anxiety in your life?

Did you know that by not doing so, the message you are subconsciously sending to the other person when you constantly check your phone for facebook updates, what’s up messages and Instagram likes is that of “ I have something more important to do, I value something else, I don’t value your time, etc.” The bottom line is, the other person may come to their own conclusion that being with you is a total waste of time and you don’t truly value their time and them.

Perhaps you have a friend who on moments notice cancels that movie-date, exhibition you were looking forward to seeing, or simply catching with them over a coffee and decides to honour another engagement. If you do, then you may want to look deeper within you the reasons this person is still in your life.

Over time I have let go many people whose behaviours and values were different to mines and the kind of meaningful, trustworthy and loving relationship I love enjoying in my daily life.

The countless dopamine fix behaviours we have developed are not only destroying the social fabric of a healthy society, business success and the relationships we have built over a lifetime, but they are also fuelling the global problems that mankind is facing and is looking to solve.

Some to mention are the threat of terrorist attacks, extremism, extreme levels of poverty, unfair wealth distribution, the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, supply of clean water, providing universal primary, secondary, and university education, managing cultural, generational and gender differences, dealing with high divorce rates and instilling the morals and ethics in the “millennials” that may save humanity from destroying itself.

In my multi-award winning book # Loneliness, I call this new phenomenon, the virus of the modern age. If not caught, stopped, and cleaned in the now, it will continue to spread globally at uncontrollable rates infecting everyone with behaviours, beliefs, and actions that may take mankind into an irreversible trajectory of self-destruction.

This new gold rush for dopamine fix is also affecting every family, every relationship, and every business across the world. Many business leaders and CEO’s that seek my help to address various personal, leadership and people problems felt that many of their workers are asleep.

Some event felt that the “millennials” are to blame because they are a generation of entitlement, narcissist, self-focused, and lazy people. Unless this problem is addressed and alleviated in the now, many people will lose their jobs, some businesses will stop to exist, and those who survive will deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Perhaps now is the time to wake-up humanity from this coma that pushes us to seek friendship in social networks with people we never met, create and buy AI pets, sex, sales, police and soldier robots to satisfy our endless needs.

Recently I gave a TEDx talk titled “Technological Armageddon: A Wake-Up Call” based from a chapter in my book #Loneliness that so far hundred thousands of people have watched and shared it across various social media channels. In a nutshell, this talk is a global call for us to remember what makes us human being and not human doings that we are more and more forced to become.

Last week two of my personal heroes and people who have had a profound influence on my personal development and healing journey were the great actor Robin Williams and the world’s greatest healer Martin Brofman crossed over into the spirit world.

All of you may know Robin, though few of you may know Martin Brofman despite touching and healing the lives of millions of people around the world. This got me thinking, reflecting and inspired me to write this blog not just to honour these two souls who crossed over to the other side but also to millions of people around the globe who suffer from emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual challenges.

Let me ask you a question, would you drive a car if you knew it was not safe for you to drive it? Probably not….So why do you think your soul would love to go on a journey with you if it does not feel safe being with you in any moment in time?

The sad irony of Robin’s life and untimely death is that he brought so much joy and laughter to so many people’s lives, yet he was unable to give himself the same gift he gave to others.

As an actor, i remember when i first saw him in “Dead Poet Society” and “Good Morning Vietnam” he was a genius at getting into role and putting on an amazing act in front of the screen to entertain his audience.

But what about his emotional wellbeing, who was Robin behind the many masks and facets by which the world knew him? He was just another vulnerable soul, he was you, he was me….Despite the many facets, he was a unable to step out of the role he was really playing in real life: a movie that was far from a comedy, but rather a tragedy behind the scenes.

Just like many of my clients that i help, from the outside, it seemed like he had it all: money, success, fame, family, friends and an outpour of love from millions of fans around the world yet from the recent news it’s obvious, there was something deeply spiritually missing in his life which kept him in the depths of depression.

Why is it that despite having everything one can have so many people suffer in silence?

This reminds me of my own journey, the pain, the suffering, and the abuse i was subjected for many years. The truth is that deep down I knew all of that, but it was the inner game within me that stopped me for years to take action and remove myself from people and environment which were not nurturing.

I never had the confidence to speak about it until the moment i decided to draw the line and promised myself i will do all that i can do to bring myself back to balance. My book “A Path to Wisdom-How to live a balanced, healthy and peaceful life” is all about taking people on this journey in which they feel empowered to listen to their own voice.

If we don’t listen to our own voice, everything we attempt and strive for will leave us feeling empty, unfulfilled, and a knowing that we have failed to recognise what is truly important to us; we’ve failed to interpret our own definition of happiness and our personal needs; we’ve failed to decipher who we really are; a price that can prove to be too costly for some of us to bare, as last week we saw this with Robin Williams.

Today is a chance for you to reflect and find out about the battle you may be fighting, make investing in your personal development your choice number one. That is exactly what i did 24 years ago when due to the atrocities of the civil war in Former Yugoslavia i ended up in the streets of London.

The truth is, there are many Robin Williams around the world right now who are silently fighting incomprehensible battles that we are totally unaware of, maybe you are one of them. Everyone’s battle is their own, it’s not for us to judge or compare because it’s not the size of the battle that counts, it’s the size that’s perceived by the person who is fighting it that matters.

Businesses and companies around the world are recognising more and more the importance of emotional wellbeing, the importance of getting help for stress, depression and the importance of cultivating a positive psychology.

Revealing my own experiences of loneliness, lack of belonging, abandonment, depression, emotional challenges and adversities I have been through in the introduction of my book led to inspiring thousands of people to come forward and seek help.

Let’s not shun away from the fact that we’ve all been through some hard times at some point or another! There’s no shame in it; it’s not a sign of weakness to share our shortcomings, we all have them, but rather it is a sign of courage, boldness and self-confidence because it’s a demonstration of having risen above our fears of being ridiculed, judged or criticised.

However, most people struggle to open up because the perception of our reality, we still live in a culture and society which has made it very difficult for us to feel comfortable about revealing our vulnerabilities, yet we all face them. This has led to people isolating themselves and wallowing in their own troubles without asking for help because of their fear of not good enough, judgement, and most of all failure.

Not acknowledging those fears lead people to wear many energy draining facades and people not feeling like they can really be who they really are.

Whilst this coping mechanism may give those individuals only temporary ability to face the world, in long term wearing different facades can have a detrimental effect on their wellbeing.

I faced this inner separation so many times, each time i tried to ignore it, the issues would come back, this is the time when i went ahead and booked few coaches and healers to help me with the obstacles that kept me away from my true self.

Before i came out to my family and friends, i was torn apart from living double life, living the small lies and living with the shame of my own incongruence and most of all stripped off the courage to even look at myself in the mirror to so the man i have become.

I knew this had to stop, as i made this decision my friend Sabine introduced me to Martin Brofman, a world class healer who helped me in my journey to self-love, acceptance, and freeing myself from living in the shadow o f my family’s image of who i must be.

If you are struggling to make that decision, not able to escape from your own grim reality, or feel powerless, it is time for you to draw a line, take action and invest in you.

Hence, more than ever before making time and investing in your personal development is not a luxury; it is a necessity to bringing your life back on track.

This is why I invite you to join my face book page, be a part of a inspired positive and supportive community where it’s safe to share your challenges, goals and dreams is more important than ever before.

The benefits of meditation are well known, you can download and use “Awaken and Open Your Heart ” guided meditation to tap into your heart space and center your inner self by helping you connect to the source of your awareness in its purest form. Release tensions, any disharmony in your body, and heal any parts of your body with healing white light. You will awaken into a conscious awareness feeling energised, loved, calm and loved.

You can also get a copy of my book from www.apathtowisdom.com, sign up to my monthly inspirational newsletter, attend my future workshops or book a one to one consultation and let me help you and be your mirror and the light that shines your path bright.

Just like if you don’t take care of your body on a consistent basis, you will inevitably invite a physical disease. In the same way, if you don’t nurture yourself emotionally and spiritually, slowly but surely, you will invite an emotional and spiritual disease.

The disease is a feedback mechanism from your body to you where you have not loved and need to love. It is the destination driven by the constant emotional neglect but the sad part of overlooking our emotional health is not just the eventual tragic destination, but the road there is also likely to be a path paved with pain and suffering if we don’t make time for emotional care on a daily basis; because besides our body, mind and emotions, the other home we can choose to live is our heart.

Therefore, we must take full responsibility for our own choices, happiness and wellbeing; nobody can do that for us, we must find our own definition of happiness and plant the seeds that enable us to blossom physically, emotionally and spiritually and water it daily so we are constantly growing and blooming because as the popular Personal Development saying goes: ‘If you’re not growing, you are dying’!!

On that note, I really look forward to see you at my workshops, socially, or at my next speaking engagement in September. Without a doubt, you will leave feeling inspired, energised and uplifted.

Helping you become healthy, wealthy and wise. To your joy, success and lifelong happiness,

Tony J Selimi
Elite Life Coach, Healer, Author and Teacher of Inner Wisdom.