What does it mean to love ourselves when things don’t turn out the way we expect? How can we find a little calm amid so many demands? These questions thread through the work of Isha Judd, the Australian spiritual teacher who has spent more than 25 years sharing tools to cultivate presence and inner peace.
Isha Judd achieved what she set out to do. But behind every goal reached, a new one appeared, along with the sense that she had to keep proving herself. “Nothing satisfied me, nothing was enough” she recalls. There was success, but also fear of not being loved, of being abandoned, of not being good enough. That became the starting point of a quest that transformed her life and gave birth to her work as a spiritual teacher.
Born in Australia, she was a horse trainer and a singer before dedicating herself to sharing her proposal for inner transformation. From animals she retains sensitivity and a connection to the present moment; from music, the possibility of expressing what she felt. Twenty-five years ago she created the Unification, a practice she describes as a connection between the head and the heart, and that today she teaches in various countries.
Her story resonates with a feeling many of us know: living busy lives, meeting all the demands, and yet feeling that it never suffices. In this interview with Para Ti, Isha invites us to reexamine that expectation and to consider what success means when wellbeing, relationships, and the capacity to enjoy are also at stake.
The next October 28 she will be at MALBA, where she will share her practice with the public. Before that encounter, she discusses the fears that cross us, the place of emotions, and humor as a way to look at ourselves with more kindness. She also revisits a question that runs through her own story: what happens when we stop looking outside for the certainty that we are enough? In addition, she invites us to pause on topics that touch us closely: how we navigate changes, what place we give to our emotions, and how we can build a more loving relationship with ourselves.
-Before becoming a spiritual teacher you were a horse trainer and a singer. What did you learn in those stages that still accompanies you?
-My sensitivity and my connection with animals have always given me a very meaningful depth to live in the present moment. Animals cannot communicate verbally, so, in a way, you have to guess what is happening to them. I had a very strong bond with them, and I continue to have a deep communication with animals. That made me tremendously sensitive, very present, and very capable of seeing beyond.
Singing was very cathartic for me. I used to write my own songs and, obviously, I was expressing my own experiences. And, as the author of several books, I certainly took all of that and carried it from one point to another. Now, obviously, everything has changed.
-Was there a moment in your life when you felt you needed to change course? What was happening then?
-Yes. I had always been successful in everything I undertook; I always achieved what I aimed for. But there came a moment when I began to see that once I achieved it, I immediately had to start something else. Nothing satisfied me; nothing was enough. I was always running, like chasing an illusory carrot.
That was a moment when I deeply felt I needed to change. There was a lot of fear in me: fear of not being loved, of being abandoned, of not being good enough. I was always running to prove more.
And there I felt I must discover the love within me, who I truly was. That led me to a very deep encounter with myself, to an expansion of consciousness in which I could see the truth of who I was. I could heal that illusion of separation we have and awaken unconditional love, that depth that showed me the truth and that waits in everyone. That inner voice that can point you to your own path.
-Twenty-five years ago you created the Unification. If you had to explain it to someone who had never heard of it, what would you tell them?
-It is the connection between the head and the heart. That is how we begin to live in the stillness of our heart, and that is an experience of love. Love is an energy. People think it is something you obtain or something you give, and while that is true, there is also a deep, internal experience. When we can settle into this place of peace, love, joy, and silence, the mind’s rumination begins to stop. And that rumination is always based on the future or the past, trying to change something, trying to achieve something.
When we live in the heart, we can begin to observe our repetitive thoughts, our negative thoughts, our destructive thoughts, and our fears; those belief systems that are not real. And we can do it from a place of deep inner silence and present-moment awareness. From there we can begin to change.
Humans suffer from not being present, and then they keep repeating the same patterns of behavior. Perhaps with different players in that play, but it remains a constant repetition. With Unification and that elevated-energy vibration, you naturally begin to live in praise, in love, and in gratitude, without forcing it, because it happens naturally and we start to live in that inner space.
What I teach is very easy, but incredibly powerful. We can begin to practice it at every moment and it is truly transformative: it gradually removes all those parts we don’t need and expands precisely what gives us joy.
-You speak of uniting the mind and the heart. How does that feel in a typical day, the gap between what we think and what we feel?
-Humans are very disconnected from their senses. We don’t really know what happens, because we have been taught to block everything, to ignore, and to keep going, doing. So, when we are in Complete Human Consciousness, we are very connected with our emotions, our heart, and our environment. And that’s where the magic begins.
Because when we live on the surface, we can’t see the beauty around us. We are usually caught up in some drama or mentally chasing something. But when we are present, we begin to resonate with everything around us, and that is emotional.
The connection humans have with the world is emotional. We are emotional beings and we have to be connected to our emotions. Normal emotions, that sensitivity, that beauty, that passion, those feelings are part of enjoying life. And they shouldn’t be isolated moments, once a year, like Christmas. Christmas should be every day. Humans have stopped living in their hearts and truly living in joy.
-At the Malba encounter you will teach the practice and do it with the audience. What can someone who arrives for the first time, with no prior experience, expect?
-The most beautiful thing is that this Unification system is completely experiential, incredibly simple and powerful at the same time. This tool they will take home and can immediately incorporate it into their life. And another thing they will receive is free post-session support: if something isn’t understood or a difficulty arises with the practice, we will support them so they can keep going.
Most people who learn begin applying it in their lives and start to experience changes right away, simply by starting to connect with themselves. Stress begins to ease and they become more present in each moment.
And this is not something vague, no! One begins to feel that deep connection with oneself and that is how change begins. People commit to practicing for a month, and I guarantee that their lives will have changed because they themselves will have changed: they will be more at peace, more internally connected, and more present in each moment.
As you walk around, you can think of the facets of Unification. Everything becomes simpler in life, and you begin to see the addiction to suffering, the addiction to control, and the fear involved. And even if you swear you are not afraid, you will be able to see that there was fear there and let it go.
-Many people seek inner peace while living with demands, hurry, and uncertainty. How is Unification integrated into such a routine?
-I have a super busy life: I fly around the world, teach, train my horses, ride, and organize everything, and I don’t find it difficult. First, I attract amazing people into my life and, second, I go with the flow of life. Demands don’t help us. We must be excellent, being present in each moment, and we have to act from a place that flows.
People associate success with high stress, but that no longer exists. Success must be more holistic: my health, my temperament, my ability to communicate, to empower people, to feel empowered, to be creative.
All of these things come from consciousness, not stress. And we have to make this change. Many people are doing it. It’s a new era and we are moving in a new direction.
Twenty-five years ago I was considered strange, and today everyone is opening up to this. Everyone is seeing that they must start enjoying their lives, being healthy, vibrant, and yes, we can be successful. But that does not mean reaching the summit of a mountain.
This Unification system is for modern people with very busy lives, and I am one of those people: a modern woman, with extraordinary experience and a very busy life.
-After 25 years of teaching, has what people tell you about their fears or searches changed?
-Not really. There are fundamental fears, fundamental attachments, and a strong attachment to suffering. We like being victims and we like blaming the external. I think culturally there is more awareness that there are other ways of living available, because people started to shift their paradigm.
But, speaking of stress itself, it hasn’t changed. They’re identical: children, partner, finances, death, work, health. Basically, everything is the same. What has changed a lot is the capacity to perceive that there is a solution.
–Your foundation takes this practice to vulnerable sectors. What did you learn from those experiences about the different ways of living and seeking wellbeing?
-All human beings want to be loved. As simple as that. And all humans have the capacity to connect with love. Some people have horrific stories, but everyone seems open to the possibility of change.
I have taught this in prisons, in various places around the world, in contexts of extreme poverty and climatic devastation, to people who have lost everything, after political upheavals, teaching in India, everywhere. And I can tell you that humans are the same everywhere: they want love, they want peace, they want to feel good enough. And this is something that only comes from within; you cannot obtain it from outside.
But what happens is that, once people start internally connecting with love-consciousness, it is so emotional and they begin to find a safe place within themselves. That is tremendously liberating, because it goes with you everywhere. I used to be very dramatic. I was an artist and suffered, loved too much, gave too much. And my life today is full of joy.
And that doesn’t mean that things don’t happen: people die, animals die, and all kinds of dramas occur in daily life. But the ability to let go, to allow everything to flow, and to remain highly sensitive and connected is a very beautiful way of living.
Not suffering and, at the same time, you have the passion of the moment, the beauty of the moment. And this is precisely what I want all people to have: the capacity to appreciate this unique and fabulous life we have and this planet.
-Humor has an important place in your way of communicating. Why do you find it valuable when talking about such deep topics?
-It’s so important that people realize it isn’t that important, either. Everything moves and changes. And if we can laugh at ourselves, we can begin to see: “Oh yes, I do that!” But there’s nothing wrong with me. It’s just a habit I have and I can change it.
I make people laugh because, really, we are all the same. We’re all a little crazy, we keep doing the same things and seek different results. There’s a bit of madness in humanity, isn’t there?
And you can see it everywhere, and sometimes even in leaders. But it’s just human experience, that’s all!
-If you look back at the Isha who started this journey 25 years ago, what would you tell her today?
-Great job! Well done! It’s funny you say that, because I’ve been reading my autobiography and, honestly, I hardly recognize that woman, with so much drama! Zero self-love, nothing was ever good enough, saving the world… And when I look at her, I truly admire that she got here, really.
