Overcoming all obstacles
Anthony Abis, of Bu-Evolution, the wellbeing platform with a difference, explains his journey and the importance of wellbeing and positivity in dire situations.
Some of us had a bad trip last year but here is a story of not only over coming the obstacles but using them positively.
Hi, I am Anthony. I am 55 years old, a serial entrepreneur and ex sales executive.
I have a son (24) Charlie in economics
The last 20 years have been particularly interesting in terms of turbulence:
I was married, divorced , lost a step son to Cancer, put everything I owned into an internet start-up in 1999.promise a £3m investment from a venture capital company just shortly before the big crash and lost everything.
I remember the day I moved into my home in Hertfordshire on a rainy day in February 2008. Barely being able to afford the rent but happy to be out of a narcissistic marriage.
Lonely, broke I veered heavily towards the question of “ what's this all about” and immersed myself in Philosophies and spirituality. I studied under the esoteric Gurdjieff and followed kabbalah, Vedanta, Osho & Buddhism and took on a course with The owner of NLP Richard Bandler.
I cleaned all the emotional toxicity from my system and slowly started building a clothing business, supplying clothes to corporations. It was ok but my heart was never in it, I needed something more fulfilling.
Having been in a few short term relationships in 2016 I met a Russian woman with whom I fell in love with and started a beautiful four and half year relationship.
Business however took another turn for the worse and I ended up working in an engineering company as head of sales.
I had suffered from kidney stones in the past and gout and all the above was nothing compared to what was about to happen.
Mid June last year within 2 weeks I lost my job, my girlfriend exited our relationship on the same night I ended up in hospital with what subsequently turned out to be 3 operations on a particularly stubborn kidney stone and a cancer the size of a tennis ball that was undiagnosed until January 2021.
In turbulence from the outside, there's really only one thing to do…...Surrender !
Surrender !
Surrender for me is by no means to give up. Let me explain, for me as a lay in hospital after the first operation I had the unexpected sense of Euphoria. I allowed myself to let fear dissipate and look positively into the unknown for the first time ever. I made some affirmations and had an image of a blank canvas and all i had to do was learn to paint my own picture.
The few friends I had gave me an epiphany, with their constant encouragement and positivity I became reflective.. THIS is what we humans need, connectivity it's that simple !
I managed to save a few quid and wanted to head for a new climate, I have previously been staying with friends in Portugal and decided to phone a friend in Uruguay that I hardly knew and convinced her to rent a flat with me in Tomar ( a medieval town in Central Portugal) she agreed. I grabbed my duvet and a toothbrush and hoped my old Passat would make the journey.
13th October 2020 I started my drive south.
This is odd, I never had the inclination to do anything like this before or undertake a drive like this on my own but nothing was going to stop me.
My instinct was good despite my friends and family worrying about my health and potential consequences.
For the first time in 20 years, I could discover me...whoever that was ..I could begin that journey
As i drove in to Tomar i had that feeling of excitement i hadn't had since being a child.
I was there 2 weeks before my friend Gabriela arrived from Uruguay.
The flood gates of the universe were open. My energy of attraction was high and soon visitors came from Russia and Italy. Life was full ….. AND … in this place of calm and objectivity I realised my life's purpose !
Connecting wellbeing practitioners together to create a platform of sharing affordable, diverse and inclusive classes live from teachers around the world.. BU-EVOLUTION was born.
Having a new location felt amazing, i felt free, alive and the the creative process was alive with possibilities. I loved connecting in the local coffee shop with a croissant and coffee for under 2 euros sitting in the town square, sun shining in mid November in a t shirt.
There was only one reason to come home ,only so that I could come home for tests that revealed cancer on the Kidney, an operation, recovery, and to build that platform to make my return to Portugal.
6. What gave you the idea for your business?
Us humans are pack animals and despite our fear, we need to connect with one another. Covid and Lockdown showed us this. If there is one good thing that we can strive for post lockdown, its connection and I want to do my part.
I have a renewed zest for living and our platform albeit in its early stages of development is like breathing oxygen again.. We have a great core of teachers from Malaysia, Portugal, UK, India, Italy,. Russian American. streaming live Yoga, Meditation, Nutrition, Life coaching, Visualising goals, Authentic Sharing Circling and breathwork.
As an inclusive platform, we are looking for more teachers and volunteers to help move the platform out to the masses.
Did you know that over 9 million days are taken off sick in the UK alone through anxiety and stress ? We want to do our part in redressing the balance.
In 5 years, i would like to be building a retreat for our collective and producing great live and documentary videos.
As my journey begins my vision is to continue to expand I'd like to go to South America for 3 months on a motorcycle, Caribbean , Asia, Italy and more Portugal. But first make sure my health is intact and get the platform to a reasonable size before working from the laptop on the move.
I would like to offer your readers 10 free classes on our platform over 10 days with this link :
https://sutrapro.com/bu-evolution/pricing/checkout/DvkeXqifKUOlTAUm11Ta
We are also looking for wellbeing practitioners and volunteers to help the mission
Full details can be seen here : https://www.bu-evolution.com
I can be contacted info@bu-evolution.com
I'd like to add that despite the intensity of the last few years, I never felt despair, its a mindset and meditation helped me through it all.
I feel more alive than I have ever previously felt. I'm not waiting for the next results of my scan, i'm living NOW !
I offer free meditation classes on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 07.30 am on our platform
Thank you
Namaste
Anthony