Returning to Oneness: The Seven Keys of Ascension

Returning to Oneness explains why and how limiting states of consciousness, common to all (for example, the fears of death and of loss), keep our chakras closed down, blocking the energy flows in the body and stifling our ability to function at our full potential. The eight keys are enlightened mental understandings, integrated states of consciousness, which have the power to open the chakras and restore the energy flows in the body.

When used as a regular practice, the eight keys become highly effective tools for awakening the movement of the life force throughout the whole being. We experience full mental clarity, emotional balance, and luminous presence in the body. Our perception of life radically changes. We are no longer drained by or driven by negativity, fear, anger, or victimhood. The flow of life force, or kundalini, ascends to the crown chakra, connecting us with higher intelligence, and down to the root, eventually removing our fear of death so that the whole body-mind system functions in synchronicity with the Self.

Leslie Temple-Thurston is a teacher of enlightenment, who has wholeheartedly dedicated her life to inspiring and guiding people towards their spiritual awakening. At this pivotal moment in humanity's evolution, her message is about love and living in a new, higher-dimensional paradigm of heart-centeredness. Through her events, books and extensive audio recordings, Leslie has mentored thousands of spiritual seekers worldwide who are committed to the work of transformation, helping them to become conscious of the luminous core of enlightenment within themselves. Vision holder and founder of the non-profit organization CoreLight, Leslie and her life-partner, Brad Laughlin, developed CoreLight's school of consciousness transformation. To assist people in their awakening, CoreLight teaches a unique and powerful set of mental-emotional processing techniques which release the patterned behavioral states of the ego that block the ability to fulfill one's spiritual potential. This simple yet potent clearing work can be done alone in the privacy of one's home. It teaches us that the guru (teacher) is within us-not an outside authority. By examining and releasing the egoic patterning, we can achieve higher states of consciousness. Leslie was born in South Africa and graduated from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg with a B.A. in Fine Arts. She worked professionally as a painter and art teacher while in her twenties and moved in 1977, with her family of two children, to the United States, where she broadened her studies of ancient wisdom through meditation, yogic teachings and spiritual psychology. Leslie's ever-deepening dedication to Spirit resulted in a two-year "cave experience," which culminated, in April 1988, in the dissolution of her old egoic identity and a profound awakening. Her transformation brought with it the ability to share with others a profound transmission of grace, unconditional love and healing energy, known in the East as shakti. This gift has uplifting, enduring, and transformational effects on all those who receive it. In addition to CoreLight, Leslie is the founder of the humanitarian aid organization, Seeds of Light, whose mission it is to assist with the awakening of the Global Heart, which Leslie perceives to be the interconnectedness of all life through tolerance, forgiveness, love and compassion. Seeds of Light offers sustainable, practical community programs to South Africa's marginalized communities, including AIDS orphans and vulnerable children.

Brad Laughlin is a spiritual teacher who, for over two decades, has assisted others to awaken and to step into lives of love, joy and inspiration. Believing that a global shift in consciousness can be accomplished through each person's willingness to evolve spiritually, Brad uses ancient Truth teachings, yogic practices and spiritual psychology to dissolve the limiting ego structures that keep us trapped in negativity, pain and fear. He recognizes that only by changing our personal state of consciousness-how we see and relate to one another, the world and nature as a whole-can humanity transition through these turbulent times in an optimal way. Our greatest gift to the world is our own awakened consciousness. Since 1993, Brad has held the position of Executive Director of CoreLight, the non-profit organization founded by his life-partner, Leslie Temple-Thurston. Brad's transformative books, audios, courses and events are based on the CoreLight principles of integration and unity consciousness. They are focused on helping us access and know who we truly are-our inner divinity. He is the author of Living with Enlightenment-A Journey of Love, a transpersonal autobiography which chronicles the profound spiritual transformation he experienced in his relationship with Leslie. He is also the co-author with Leslie of Returning to Oneness-The Seven Keys to Ascension and The Marriage of Spirit-Enlightened Living in Today's World, a worldwide bestseller and classic in its field. Since the 1990s, Brad has facilitated spiritual retreats and journeys to sacred sites worldwide, including: South Africa, Egypt, England, France, Greece, Brazil and the American Southwest. With Leslie, he is co-founder of Seeds of Light, CoreLight's humanitarian arm, which serves marginalized communities and AIDS orphans in South Africa. He has a B.S. degree from Duke University. When not with Leslie in South Africa, he is facilitating and guiding sacred retreats and events throughout the world.