Serge Benhayon the Family Man

Dinner with Love

6/10/2014

Eunice Minford on Serge Benhayon and having dinner with the family

by Eunice J Minford

Over the last few years I have travelled to Australia to see friends and partake in Universal Medicine courses and events. During my visits to Australia I have had the pleasure of being invited along with other guests to share dinner with Serge Benhayon and his family.

I grew up in a tradition that said, ‘put others before yourself’ - which for things like dinner parties translated to treating guests as ‘special’ and different to one’s family.

Beliefs like a guest should be served and waited upon hand and foot were just part and parcel of the culture – and that this type of behaviour was desirable and constituted being a good host who offered great hospitality. Polite conversation, exchanging pleasantries and putting on one’s best face or front were also par for the course. The house would be tidied even more than usual and special cutlery, crystal glasses and dinner service brought out for such special occasions.

I had never considered it to be any other way – being a good host meant putting yourself last and your guests first – they were put on a pedestal and treated better than one would treat a family member.

That is until I first heard the presentations by Serge Benhayon on this subject and then had the lived experience of a different way at his home. The nature of true love is such that it holds all equally – no-one higher and no-one lower. Therefore, with true love we cannot love one person more than another and any such differences just show how we are caught in human emotional love that is needy, rather than living from what love truly is. As such, the most hospitable way to entertain is to lovingly welcome everyone as an equal member of your own family (providing you truly love your family of course!). There is no need for creating difference or specialness or putting people on a pedestal to be served hand and foot. No need for special cutlery, glasses and plates.

The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less. Being met and held in and with that love is the blessing - and no amount of special plates, cutlery, glasses or super tidy house can usurp such a blessing.

And so it was with this quality of deep love, equality and appreciation that I was welcomed in to the Benhayon family home – as one of the family. No need for special airs and graces or put ons or pretense of any kind, no best face or false face, no elevation nor pedestals – but a warmth and depth of welcome that was natural, easy and free flowing. It was an extension of the grace and love with which Serge and his family holds everyone when attending Universal Medicine presentations. It’s not a case of one face for the workshops and another for the home – it is clear to me that the true respect, love and honouring that the Benhayons bring to the workshops is but a reflection of how they are at home with each other. These qualities are then just naturally extended to guests like myself as they are just how they live every day and so it is easy to relax and feel part of the family. It’s just ‘the way it is’ – the lived way of love in action in every day activities of making dinner, cleaning up or whatever the activity is.

It is unusual to find a family where there are no issues, no underlying tensions, no emotional exchanges be it even in a look or a glance or a word – yet that has been my experience every time I have visited. The family relationships are free, clear and clean – free of emotional entanglement. I have no doubt that even if an issue were to arise in the family home (as no-one is perfect!) the depth of love is so great, that it would be rapidly and lovingly resolved and harmony restored.

The Benhayon family home is a home where the fun, light-heartedness and harmony are palpable and it is a joy to witness a family that interacts in such loving ways. They take it in turns to cook dinner for the family so the work is shared and others willingly help out to do whatever is needed to prepare for dinner. I too will join in if there are any tasks needed – like setting the table or slicing lemons for the water. There are no battles over who is doing what or who did it last time or whose turn it is – indeed it seems quite ridiculous to even mention such a thing!

The food is always plentiful, fresh, nutritious and delicious no matter whom the head chef for the day has been – indeed second helpings are usually a must! A little indulgence perhaps but at least I know it’s with food cooked with love! And yes, I get up and help myself (as others do) just as one of the family. Of course, it’s not just that the food is cooked with love, but there is care and attention to detail every step of the way – not in an effort to please or to try hard – it is simply an expression of the love that is embodied and naturally lived every day.

In the world today, alcohol traditionally plays a big part in many dinner parties and of course the ambience and nature of the conversation is without doubt affected by the amount of alcohol consumed as voices grow louder and compete for air-time and I too was once a willing participant. I stopped drinking over ten years ago and thankfully dinner with the Benhayons is an alcohol free-zone – there is no need for any false stimulation, no need for something to ‘get the conversation flowing’ or ‘to be sociable’ or any of the other reasons that people use to consume alcohol. The conversation is easy, natural, and free-flowing with no competing for air-time and perhaps unusually for a dinner table it is void of gossip. Serious topics may be discussed and of course there is always some light-hearted banter and fun.

This is a family that in one sense is just like every other family, in that they go to work, pay their bills, cook the dinner, take out the rubbish, do the cleaning up and all the tasks that come with running a house and yet in another sense I have never met a family like it. Not because they are special or gifted but simply because they have all committed to making their lives about love in every way – and in the world today that is what makes this ordinary family extraordinary. How many families truly make life about love, about true love that loves all equally, before everything else?

The Benhayons dedication to live in and with love is reflected in everything they do and say such that my experience of dinner with Serge and his family is truly dinner with Love – pure and simple.

320 Comments

Bernadette Curtin

5/3/2015 04:07:45 am

Reading about your experience of dinner with Serge and the Benhayon family is inspiring Eunice. The simplicity and harmony and love that is lived is true and consistent at home as well as out in the world.

Michelle Ryan

5/3/2015 05:49:36 am

I fully agree about the Benhayon's "dedication to live in and with love is reflected in everything they do and say" for this is what I too have seen over the many times I have met them over a period of 9 years. And like you, my dinner parties of old were meant to impress and please and with the inspiration of this marvellous family I have dropped the need for that and now I enjoy sharing a meal with friends from the inspiration of my own heart.

Lorraine Harris

15/3/2015 06:01:27 am

I smiled when I read your comment Michelle about dinner parties of old! As an Army wife, it was expected to bring out the silver, offer 3 courses and provide plenty of alcohol. Competition and comparison was rife and I disliked the pressure to do things a certain way, which was all about making an impression.

How refreshing to read Eunice's experience of dinner with the Benhayon family. Everything they do is inspirational and I have enjoyed knowing them for nearly 9 years and making changes in my life, which is now much more honest and real and relaxed.

jennym

4/8/2015 06:54:27 am

So true Lorraine, I can feel the pressure and expectation of attending meals or functions when we are treated differently more special or not as important.

Rebecca Briant

3/4/2015 01:10:33 am

I agree Michelle, I remember going to dinner parties as a child and finding them uncomfortable and boring, because all the adults where so busy trying to sound intelligent and present this picture that to my ears they were all using a lot of words to say nothing. Now that I have grown up, I have dinner with my friends and its a beautifully relaxed and fun affair - no different to any other encounter with them not at the dinner table - and I know that this is because I have grown up with the inspiration of the Benhayon family, showing me that family is more than blood, but is love and its expression.

Kathie Johnson

27/4/2015 05:29:54 pm

Now that friends and family have got over the shock that I will just get up and help, (and not out of a sense of duty) sharing meals with them has become so much more relaxed and fun.

...and this all comes from the support of the Benhayon family to realise not only that we are all equal, but provide such practical examples in the way they live.

Gretel Willis

16/5/2015 11:24:40 am

Hi Michelle, I feel the same about my dinner parties or entertaining my friends... These days they are a lot more natural and heart-felt, coming from a desire to connect and share rather than a need to impress.

Michelle M Ryan

4/6/2015 02:55:11 pm

Yes Gretel, I agree much more ' more natural and heart-felt', I feel nourished after them and don't feel the next day like I've achieved something as no recognition was sought, just a joyful time with friends or family, all from simplicity.

Mary-Louise Myers

5/3/2015 06:39:47 am

Eunice you have so precisely captured dinner at the Benhayon home. I too have had the blessing of eating with the family on many, many occasions and what you have so beautifully expressed has been my experience as well.

Kylie Connors

12/3/2015 07:39:50 am

Yes, absolutely Eunice, you have shared every detail exactly as it is. Something that has touched me is the profound joy, and inclusiveness - the quality of the love that you are held in when with the Benhayon family. And, as you have shared, every part of life is about love - from dinner, to taking out the rubbish, to the way they make time for others - always. I have such a solid and true example of how family life can be - when we make it all about love.

Lorraine Harris

30/4/2015 08:34:01 pm

As I was reading through this article again, I saw your comment Kylie and what resonated with me is that 'every part of life is about love'. I have just taken my rubbish out and it felt loving to do so, rather than a chore that has to be done. A lovely blog Eunice, reminding me of how it used to be!

kevin McHardy

5/3/2015 11:52:45 am

The nature of true love is such that it holds all equally – no-one higher and no-one lower. This sentence sums it all up. Such a beautifully written testimony Eunice, the Benhayons show us a way that we can all live, if we are also prepared to live withe such dedication to love and equality.

Jane Keep

7/3/2015 01:47:25 pm

I so agree Kevin - such a beautiful testimony Eunice. The Benhayons have, ever since I met them 10 years ago, inspired me in so many ways. In how they hold everyone equally, in how they are consistent as individuals and as a family, in how there is precision, dedication and true care and attention to everything, and in their playfulness. Whether I have met the Benhayons in England, in Australia or in Vietnam the consistency is exactly the same. There is a story to tell here, one that would inspire families all around the world. One that shows there is another way where true harmonious family life is possible.

Esther Auf der Maur

18/3/2015 05:41:16 am

Hi Jane, I agree, this true account of what a meal time with the Benhayon family is like is truly inspiring for families all around the world - how we can be together - everybody as an equal - and with fun, harmony and loving playfulness at the fore. How amazing, and simple at the same time.

Shevon Simon

23/4/2015 04:23:58 am

I always find that when I am with any of the Benhayon family - time just stands still and there is a love and warmth and intimacy, like I've known them all of my life, even if it is the first meeting.

Natalie Hawthorne

1/5/2015 06:11:10 am

So true Jane what you say that there are some stories to tell... how living with Love as our foundation and being that with our families and everyone harmony is more than possible - it is lived and felt. Serge and the Benhayon family are the absolute prime example of this and it has inspired me very deeply with all my relationships and being the Love that I am.

Ingrid Ward

26/4/2015 03:37:14 pm

So very true Kevin; " the Benhayons show us a way that we can all live" but they leave the choice as to whether we live it, or not, totally up to us.

Jonathan Stewart

17/5/2015 02:21:35 am

So true, Ingrid, the Benhayons show us the way but it is up to each and everyone of us to choose it or not. Nobody can make the changes for us, we have to make that choice.

Golnaz Shariatzadeh

2/1/2016 12:24:32 am

And whilst it is up to each of us to choose to live with a dedication to love, truth and equality or not, the fact that the Benayon family live these qualities 24/7 has been an invaulable support for me. This is a real gift we can provide one another when we choose to live and reflect these qualities in a world that seems to champion the opposite.

Jonathan Stewart

3/5/2015 01:41:25 pm

You are so correct Kevin and I agree with you Jane that here is a story to inspire people everywhere. Not just families but also friends and associates for it shows how to be harmonious with everyone.

Vicky Cooke

4/5/2015 05:06:18 pm

Absolutely we can all live this way it is just a matter of choice. The Benhayon family are deeply inspiring and lovingly consistent in all they do. I have never known a family until meeting them that is so loving consistent in all they do, they do not 'drop the ball' or behave differently behind closed doors. In fact I did not truly know the word consistent and what it actually meant until meeting them.

Sarah Flenley

28/7/2015 04:20:11 am

Yes Kevin, that line particularly stood out for me today as well. It is the best gift we can ever give anyone. I love Eunice how you have described how a dinner can be - no need to frantically scrub the toilet before guests arrive (actually that one might be hard to give up) but really honouring them (and yourself) by welcoming your guests lovingly and equally into your home and all sharing what needs to be done.

Doug Valentine

5/3/2015 11:56:54 am

It is so true what you say about the norm being to put guests first. It always felt like a kind of self sacrifice to me. My mother would whisper "FHB" (family hold back) if anyone stepped out of line. How can you hold back and at the same time bring all of you to the table for the guests?

Eva Rygg

6/3/2015 11:50:41 pm

Doug, that is a great point - and something that I feel is happening within a lot of families "how can you hold back and at the same time bring all of you to the table for the guests?" The answer is simple - you can't.

Natalie Hawthorne

18/3/2015 02:18:25 pm

It really is the case the most people are brought up that you have to treat your guest like they are royalty and put yourself last. Where is the love for all in this? The equallness that has been shared by Eunice and all is the fundamental foundation to living together as one.

Deborah McInnes

21/6/2015 10:45:23 pm

Which begs the question 'where do we still put others first in our everyday life?'

Deborah McInnes

21/6/2015 10:43:07 pm

A deeply inspiring account by Eunice of True relationship and True Family that is lived, possible, palpable and heart warming. Puts the pleasing others behaviour, appearances, aires, graces and family pressure cooker precisely where they belong - out with the garbage.

Beverley Bulmer

5/3/2015 01:10:16 pm

Thank you Eunice for sharing the beauty of your time spent with the Benhayon family. A reminder of the consistency of their commitment to living lovingly on a daily basis in what ever activity that day may bring, whether it be a workshop or a family dinner, the choice of love is present and tangibly felt.

Julie Snelgrove link

5/3/2015 01:28:08 pm

Thank you Eunice and what an inspiration to read in how family life can be. Though this writing is around sharing mealtimes with the Benhayon family it can equally be applied to any time I have spent with any of the family and I love what is written here "Of course, it’s not just that the food is cooked with love, but there is care and attention to detail every step of the way – not in an effort to please or to try hard – it is simply an expression of the love that is embodied and naturally lived every day." This care, attention and expression of true love is there in every interaction I have experienced.

Ariana Ray

11/3/2015 06:46:59 am

It is true Julie, this is 'an inspiration to read in how family life can be'. We see most families are constantly competing or at war with each other, here we see a different way of living that is about building a loving relationship for all. it's a great read.

Jonathan Stewart

3/5/2015 01:46:38 pm

I totally agree Julie. My experience with any of the Benhayon family has been the same, "This care, attention and expression of true love is there in every interaction I have experienced". The living of Love is witnessed in everything they do.

Michelle McWaters

5/3/2015 02:14:38 pm

Thank you Eunice for sharing your experiences with this amazing family. I was smiling all the way through reading this as I was feeling the quality that is expressed each day and every moment by them as individuals and as a group, that translates into all areas of their lives -and beyond into the lives of others. This blog was beautifully written, and what I loved most of all was how it articulates the ordinariness and simplicity of these lives lived cradled in a depth of playfulness, stillness, joy and harmony. Knowing the Benhayons too has allowed me a deepening awareness of what family life can be, but also as an individual what my part is in creating it and sustaining it. I am nothing short of inspired!

Shirley-Ann Walters

5/3/2015 02:26:39 pm

Eunice this is a beautiful sharing, as someone who knows this loving family to be just as you describe but live too far away to drop in to dinner, I now feel that I have experienced it with you.
And the truth is I too have experienced this loving equalness with my friends and extended family here who have been inspired by this same loving family, as the effects of such inspiration are very far reaching. What you say is beautiful, yet no surprise, as the Benhayons are like that all the time in my experience.

Monica Gillooly

5/3/2015 02:52:37 pm

Eunice, what a beautiful testimony and an amazing way to live, and what I feel reading this, is this is available to each and every one of us in our own lives, it's about the commitment in us to make everything about love first, true love. And this then embues everything you do, as your story of your experience of dinner here shows. Thanks for sharing this.

Victoria Lister

5/3/2015 06:21:06 pm

What a gorgeous sharing of a gorgeous scenario. Thank you Eunice ~ and thank you Benhayons for bringing us, by lived example, true family life.

Matilda Clark

5/3/2015 07:35:02 pm

I remember Serge talking about the fact that for him, anyone who comes into his house is treated with the same care, respect and love as any member of the household. That comment continues to guide and inspire me whenever someone comes to our house and is just one of so many ways that the naturalness, integrity and completeness of the Benhayons' way of life affects so many.

Ariana Ray

7/3/2015 04:01:45 am

It is an inspiration that we all can learn from, to treat all guests with such care and consideration, with absolutely no agenda whatsoever. What a rare gift to be able to take and share with the world.

Eva Rygg

10/4/2015 04:35:29 am

It is indeed a rare gift Ariana - a lot of us have come from the ideal that the most important thing for a guest is what it looks like, not what it feels like.

Janet

5/3/2015 10:16:26 pm

Having shared many meals with Serge and the rest of the Benhayons, I feel you have summed things up beautifully, Eunice. I have never felt so included and embraced as family, and mealtimes are honoured as an important opportunity to learn, share and evolve together... and have fun!

Jinya Mizuno

6/3/2015 12:42:27 am

I agree Eunice. Whenever I have been in Serge's company in the 10 or so years that I have known him, he has never treated with less love or more formality than he would with his family. He lives the simple philosophy that all humanity is his family. A great role model for all genders and generations.

mary sanford

10/3/2015 02:40:34 am

Jinya this for me is true about Serge Benhayon...
" He lives the simple philosophy that all humanity is his family. A great role model for all genders and generations."

Shevon Simon

7/5/2015 03:55:42 am

To be with the Benhayon family - to watch and observe how they interact with everyone really breaks down the established view of family or only one set of people being your own kind. The Benhayons see everyone as their own kind and treat no-one with less love, care and appreciation. To be in their company is so warming. Thank you Eunice for a beautiful testimony - written with Love :0)

Esther Auf der Maur

6/3/2015 03:16:22 am

Thank you Eunice for sharing your experience of having dinner with the Benhayons, a family who is showing us the way how to make all of life about being the love that we all are and about expressing that love. The pictures here say more than a thousand words - it's easy to see and feel how much love this family shares, and not just between each other. Exclusiveness doesn't exist in their lives.

Amanda Woodmansey

6/3/2015 05:54:51 am

One of the things I love most in the world is sitting around a table for dinner. This experience you describe, Eunice, sounds beautiful. What a way to celebrate the love in your life each day, being with your family for that meal. This is such a simple thing we can all practise.

tricia nicholson

6/3/2015 06:07:48 am

Thank you Eunice for sharing so beautifully everything I have experienced with meals with Serge Benhayon and his family also. Serge and his family have brought their warmth ,joy and way of living to our home also for many years and it has been the greatest gift ever possible in the world to recieve and to share this with others also.

Hannah Morden

1/5/2015 03:30:11 pm

Absolutely Tricia - not only is it a loving way for him and his family to live, but Serge inspired everyone to choose to live this way too - seeing everyone as equal - no comparison, no special treatment - just constant steady love. What a different world we would have if we simply changed our dinner for guests routine!!

Meg Valentine

6/3/2015 06:53:26 am

Wow Eunice - a great sharing - and in line with everything I have ever witnessed from Serge - I've always felt he's treated me as an extended member of his family which has in turn inspired me to look at my own relationships with people.

mary sanford

24/3/2015 05:18:37 pm

Me too Meg, I too have always felt that Serge treated me as an extended member of his family, no matter that I see him a few times a year. I have felt that love that he has for all humanity and now where ever I am whomever I'm with I give back the love to others that I have felt from Serge it is a gift to share not to hold.

Meg Valentine

11/4/2015 03:40:24 pm

I agree - the love and inspiration I've felt is definitely a gift to be shared.

Mary Adler

15/4/2015 03:30:17 pm

So true Meg. Serge has always welcomed me as one of the ever expanding family and this inspires me to welcome others into our home and share this same welcome of love and family.

Amelia Stephens

6/3/2015 07:37:15 am

So true what you share Eunice - the fact that a family lives so much from love is just so simple and normal, yet needs to be written about because it is so not the norm. How beautiful to feel how a family can be - and how we all can be if we make life about love and people first.

Meg Valentine

25/3/2015 03:57:26 pm

I agree, the way the Benhayon family live, and the love that they have for each other is so simply and normal, yet at the same time in comparison to the rest of the world it's completely abnormal.

Stephanie Stevenson

16/6/2015 01:33:16 pm

This really is a marker for everyone, just how far away we, as human beings have chosen to live in a way that is so far from the simple and natural loving way the Benhayon family live on a day to day basis. Thank goodness for' role model of true normal' they consistently bring reflecting there is such a different way to live when bringing focus back to the internal connection of our essence rather than the emotional way of being governed by external focus.

Carmin Hall

6/3/2015 11:29:58 am

Thank you for sharing this story about Serge Benhayon and the true love he teaches and lives. Not needy, emotional 'love', but true care and respect for all.

Richard Mills

6/3/2015 01:05:53 pm

Very beautiful sharing Eunice thank you. I too grew up in a home where guests were treated as special, served first at dinner etc. The essence of equal-ness you bring through here is such a relief - such a healing of all that nonsense. Yes, absolutely honour guests but not by elevating them above everyone else, but by treating them as equals. That's true 'elevation' in my eyes - and is one of the most joyful revelations of my time spent listening to Serge and his presentations. When I feel and know equal-ness with everyone it is just like coming home - to sit at the table in absolute equality with my 'family.

Rowena Stewart

17/3/2015 06:38:46 am

That is so true Richard, it is very joyful listening to Serge and his presentations. Spending time in his company is such a gift as his steady and open manner put all at ease even when broaching difficult or unpleasant subjects. He is the most non-judgemental person I have ever met and his gentle nature belies the power of this man to adhere to love no matter what. A true teacher and philosopher in every sense of the word and a great friend and host in all circumstances.

stephanie stevenson

2/4/2015 06:27:30 am

There is a beautiful and inspiring song called "come and sit at the table with me" which confirms sitting in absolute equality with anyone and everyone.
Thank you for writing it Richard!

Shami Duffy

6/3/2015 01:39:29 pm

Thank you Eunice, you have shown that the Benhayon family are true role models for us all in how to live with each other, and that it does not matter about blood-lines or who is directly related, because everyone can be considered as part of the family when genuine love is the marker for what family is.

Stephanie Stevenson

6/3/2015 02:21:47 pm

Eunice - thank you for this beautiful sharing Eunice, you have captured the absolute essence of the equal-ness that Serge and the Benhayon family hold everybody in, whatever the situation or place. It is something I had never experienced in my life before attending Universal Medicine presentations and the different choices this has inspired for me in my life, it is beyond measure

Anne Hart

6/3/2015 02:32:21 pm

Eunice I love your summation that having dinner with the Benhayons is an experience of having dinner with love. That shows me that the love that is so evident in public is lived at home also ... that there is consistency and a seamless flow between working and private lives. That is inspirational!

Esther Auf der Maur

18/3/2015 05:27:39 am

Exactly my feeling - I know how Serge is on stage is how he is always. There is no public persona versus a private persona. He is just Serge, always and everywhere and anytime. I have never met such consistency in my life anywhere else.

Hannah Morden

16/9/2015 10:36:56 pm

I always knew people on stage to be very different to who they were off stage, actors, presenters, performers. It would always fascinate me how someone could simply walk on a small platform and become an entertainer. Change how they spoke and moved to draw more attention. But it was even more fascinating when I met Serge Benhayon and could not for the life of me find that difference. His very way of moving, the way he spoke, what he said and how he said it was the same no matter if he was talking to just me, or talking to a room of hundreds. How can one person be so consistent and steady? Because Serge has never preformed, he has simply delivered with no investment in his audience. And that is rare.

Felicity

6/3/2015 05:16:23 pm

yes Eunice, I can totally imagine what you share here. The way I have always been treated by the Benhayon family is as if I am one of them. I feel very valued genuinely so, by them in every encounter. They have taught me so much about valuing other people. i actually value others including my blood family so much more now since being exposed to the love that is so normal for them, every day.

mary sanford

25/3/2015 11:19:26 pm

I know what you mean Felicity, I was always the one that kept in touch with my family, we are dispersed all round the world. I can see now it was laced with a sense of obligation someone had to keep in touch and at times it was a bit of an effort. Now I feel the want to actually keep in touch from a greater depth of being aware of sharing. And some of the family actually say how much better they feel after chatting to me it brightens up their day. Serge Has taught me that it's all about me and my commitment to life and I am finding the more commitment I have to life the more of life I get back and it is the most pleasurable experience. It's like opening up a box of chocolates and finding everyone is your favorite one.

Eva Rygg

6/3/2015 11:41:44 pm

Eunice, this is so beautifully shared. I have been at the dinner table with the Benhayon family myself, and the feeling of not being 'a guest' but one and the same as the family, was deeply felt. I too have grown up in a family where 'crystal glasses and special cutlery' was standard when we had guests. The facade was crucial. How liberating to experience what being a guest (or a host) is truly about.

Rowena Stewart

1/4/2015 02:55:20 pm

Your comment Eva is so true. We work so hard to feign an image for others when we invite them to our houses, but because it is not real, it lacks the true love and honour that we are really wanting to bestow on our guests. The beauty of Serge Benhayon and his family comes not from wanting to make a show and treat others as special, but from simply being themselves and treating everyone and everything as special all the time. There is no front to maintain or image to prop up, just a life of true love to be lived and from this, we are all shown how to simply return to a life full of love and care for all equally so.

Thomas Scott

7/3/2015 02:42:25 am

What you describe in your experience with, “dinner with love “at the Benhayons, seems to be normal and natural. Yet it is unheard of in family dynamics where there is tension, competitive-ness and unexpressed hurts, this has become the norm.
How far from love and harmony have we travelled as a race of beings? It seems that everything else comes first, money, prestige, recognition and to be seen to be doing well. All this before love, brotherhood, harmony, and love for one another, which are the absolute basics of life.
Thank god for the Benhayon’s, showing us and living on a daily basis, there is another way of being, of love one another, harmony and Joy.

Rebecca Briant

11/3/2015 04:47:21 am

I agree Thomas - so few people have experienced a proper sit down dinner with their family, one where there is laughter and love, because we often get so caught up in life that the simple time to sit at the end of the day with your family gets put to the bottom of the list. The experience described by Eunice is so easy and simple, and yet so profound in its rarity. Thank god indeed for the Benhayons.

Vanessa McHardy

19/3/2015 06:25:41 am

Great point Thomas the Benhayons put Love and humanity first everything else like money, recognition doesn't even get a look in on whats important or not! Now that is really bucking the trends of what is considered normal! Awesome inspiration of how to live a life true and loving.

Rowena Stewart

22/3/2015 07:05:54 am

Well said Thomas, we have drifted so far from the things that really matter, true love, brotherhood, harmony, genuine care and concern for everyone. Serge and his family are like a beacon calling us back to our true values, teaching us through their lived expression what real love is and how we can bring it back into our lives again. What a blessing they are and what a gift to walk beside them and re-learn how to commit to love again.

Donna Gianniotis

7/3/2015 04:20:47 am

Thanks for this beautiful sharing Eunice of "dinner with love". The Benhayon family are a true inspiration for us all showing that there is a way where we can live in harmony and joyfully with each other, as equals, no one more, no one less. This equality is true love and is to be shared with all.

Monica Gillooly

7/3/2015 06:01:00 am

Eunice, what a beautiful testimony and an amazing way to live, and what I feel reading this, is that this is available to each and every one of us in our own lives, it's about the commitment in us to make everything about love first, true love. And this then imbues everything you do, as your story of your experience of dinner with the Benhayons here shows. Thanks for sharing this.

Hannah Morden

3/4/2015 08:33:20 pm

Absolutely Monica, we all have a choice when we invite guests to dinner :) I have certainly learn from experience that equality in absolutely everything in my life is key. That blows my 'special occasion' comfort out the water in a good way!

Dianne Trussell link

7/3/2015 01:02:22 pm

And what healthier way to eat dinner than prepared with and surrounded by love? Eunice, thanks for sharing your lovely ‘inside view’ of the life of Serge Benhayon and his family. Many families could take a page out of their book!

Stephen Gammack

7/3/2015 03:37:28 pm

What a true and valid point you make about dinner parties, it is much preferable to be met with a loving and warm atmosphere than to care at all whether special cutlery or the like is being used. I have never been comfortable being waited on and your writing Eunice has helped me understand more as to why. Your description of the Benhayon family dinner sounds like a model for all families.

Rowena Stewart

26/4/2015 03:40:05 am

So true Stephen, I too have felt the joy of being welcomed into a truly loving home for dinner, which can be the simplest of affairs. There is nothing that can make up for that warmth and love, no amount of silver service can do it, if the hearts of one's hosts are not open and welcoming. Serge Benhayon and his family really do know how to make one feel welcome in their home.

Gabriele Conrad

7/3/2015 05:06:09 pm

There is such an honesty, simplicity and joy in treating a dinner guest like the rest of the family and with the same equal love without the airs and graces and strange mannerism that are so often pulled out and plated.

Hannah Flanagan

7/3/2015 05:50:19 pm

Thank you Eunice for sharing your experience – I agree with you 100% when you write that “ The Benhayons dedication to live in and with love is reflected in everything they do and say..”. The unwavering commitment of each and every member of the Benhayon family is an incredible, constant inspiration that there is another way, a way to live truly loving and supporting oneself and those around you. It’s not an unobtainable fantasy or a “sometimes” way of being but something that is possible for everyone – with a little commitment, dedication and a whole lot of love.

Gina Dunlop

7/3/2015 07:07:53 pm

Thank you Eunice for this gorgeous testimony. I too have witnessed how the Benhayon family exhibit true love in all areas of their lives - no less no more. It is awesome to see a website where the Benhayons are totally claiming and celebrating this amazing way of living. I can understand how there would be some reaction or disbelief from individuals that it really is like this for them, even down to clearing up the dishes - because there is really nowhere else that true love is reflected to us in this absolute way. In our societies we may see little pockets here and there but nothing where true love is its totality. And if I'm honest I too have experienced jealousy to the amount of love felt here - again a reaction to the lack of love in my own life. But now, I am simply in celebration that there is a true way, true love does exist, and I am deeply appreciative of the reflection and inspired by this incredible family to bring more love to all areas of my life, my family, my dinner table, no area has be left out. Go the Benhayons, you rock; with much love back to you.

Rowena Stewart

29/4/2015 02:04:14 pm

So true Gina, the Benhayons do rock! I love your comment for I too have had a similar experience, feeling the lack of love in my own life and feeling a jealously towards the level of love I see consistently lived among them. However, the jealously was short lived, because the Benhayons do not keep this love to themselves, it is shared equally so with all they meet and has enabled me to re-build this in my own life too with all my relationships and I too am in celebration of this incredible turn around.

Michelle Ryan

7/3/2015 07:19:42 pm

Your description of a meal with the Benhayon's is nothing short of what I'd expect. Loved filled with everyone doing what they need to do, no facades, just extraordinarily normal.

Katerina Nikolaidis

7/3/2015 10:00:46 pm

Eunice what you describe here is the dinner date from heaven. No airs and graces, no trying, no need to impress, simply being held in the love that is already in the home and truly feeling as one of the family. Very inspiring Eunice, as any time with the Benhayons always is.

Joel Levin

3/5/2015 08:22:48 am

I agree Katerina, a dinner date from heaven. It is a million miles from what I have seen growing up and delivered as an adult. As with so many other areas of life a new benchmark is being set by the Benhayon family.

Rowena Stewart

27/11/2015 12:34:55 am

So true Katerina, Eunice beautifully conveys the ease and grace that the Benhayon family live in and naturally share with all they meet. This is the true grace that we all innately seek and have attempted to re-create in fancy ways and posh environments, totally forgetting that the real grace comes from within. Once we embrace our inner grace and choose to express that in all we do it gives rise to a very intimate, joyful and tender atmosphere that everyone can respond to that transforms the most simple meal into a very loving and special occasion.

Vicky Cooke

7/3/2015 10:57:54 pm

This was so lovely to read, the more and more I read of your testimonial the more I could feel my body relax. It was like saying thank god there is no need for pretence. It was lovely to read of the equalness within the home, no one was held higher or lower than another, and no polite conversation or pleasantries were needed or entertained, and no issues between people. But as you say a dinner with love; and from knowing the Benhayon's I know it will be just that and fun.

Kehinde James

8/3/2015 12:48:06 am

Dinner with love..how beautiful. What I love Eunice is when you say that in the Benhayon household no special effort is made for guests: no special room, cutlery, crockery. The love, attention and genuineness each person is given is for everyday, not an act, or for special occasions. We can all learn so much from this.

Alison Carter

8/3/2015 07:04:31 am

Eunice I too have been invited into The Benhayon home for meals and am always welcomed in as part of the family and feel very much at home. What is most remarkable for me is the absolute love, tenderness and equalness they hold for each other, it is a joy to see and feel. And the love, tenderness and equalness they hold equally for myself and my family - there is no difference because I am a visitor and not blood family.

Hannah Morden

8/3/2015 11:07:32 am

Eunice - spot on when you say 'As such, the most hospitable way to entertain is to lovingly welcome everyone as an equal member of your own family.'
Like you - this concept was very foreign to me - it was always about being nice and pandering to others needs.
But I absolutely know that there was such sadness that came from not seeing myself as an equal - and staying small just to play a role.
Thank you for this very simple example of how we can do that on a daily basis.

Mary Adler

8/3/2015 02:23:13 pm

Dinner with love - beautiful. I too grew up with and followed the belief that having people to share a meal meant 'pushing the boat out' and making a great effort to tidy up, produce a special meal and everyone be polite and put the guest first. It was all rather exhausting. With the inspiration of Serge Benhayon and the Benhayon family I have let go - not completely, if I am honest - of 'keeping up appearances' and we now treat those who share a meal with us as one of the family and it is so much more natural and enjoyable.

Natalie Hawthorne

8/3/2015 04:19:28 pm

What you share Eunice is so true and it is felt so deeply when you are around Serge Benhayon and the whole Benhayon family. The Love that they choose to live in is all encompassing and no matter where you are with them, courses, workshops or sharing a dinner it is the same every where. As you say one that I haven't felt before and it feels incredibly supportive and loving.

Lucinda Garthwaite

8/3/2015 04:31:29 pm

I have not dined with the Benhayon family but i have seen and felt the love that they live, as you say Eunice there is no one face for workshops and another at home. Through the 10 years that i have know this family I have come to understand the true meaning of inspiration, without pedestals, side by side, life breathed forth for all to know that they too are equally ordinary and extraordinary.

Ryoko Kimura

9/3/2015 11:18:36 am

What a fantastic comment, Lucinda. I just love the last 2 lines “the true meaning of inspiration, without pedestals, side by side, life breathed forth for all to know that they too are equally ordinary and extraordinary”.

Rowena Stewart

10/4/2015 02:51:39 pm

I agree Ryoko, it is a beautiful comment and very true. Serge Benhayon is unique in bringing this home to us, that we are all equal in essence and love. I have never met anyone who holds that so dear and important in their lives as Serge does and I have learn so much from him and his family as a consequence. As Lucinda says, this is true inspiration, that it is not about looking up to another, but meeting everyone in equality, discovering that we too are extra-ordinary and making the commitment to living an ordinary life in full.

Gretel Willis

8/3/2015 06:57:43 pm

Dinner with love.. living the love we are in everything we do... a very inspiring family... Thank you Eunice and Thank you Benhayons.

matthew brown link

9/3/2015 07:12:28 am

Thanks Eunice. Putting on an event like having dinner with friends seems so false when we try and make it 'perfect'. The effort is draining even before any guests arrive. I certainly prefer the effortlessness of just being yourself and loving everyone equally.

Joan Calder

12/3/2015 08:47:56 pm

And living life as it is lived every day, Matthew, with the same rhythm, the same love, the same embracing whatever and whoever arrives without trying to make it special. How obvious it is now to me, that making someone special and treating them differently separates them from everyone else, and then there is no way there can be a relaxed feeling or real communication. By sharing this beautiful experience of a Benhayon dinner, Eunice, you have given us all a deeper understanding of how we may choose a life of love before all else.

Richard Mills

26/3/2015 05:28:18 am

What could be more 'perfect' than sharing a meal with those who seek nothing from you because they are simply being the love that they are?

Monika Rietveld

9/3/2015 07:28:43 am

Thank you for sharing your experience, Eunice. It is the world upside down we have to experience something so natural (being loving with each other and treating each others as equals all the time) and something so special and yet we have completely lost this way of being and living with each other. How fortunate we are to have this back in our lives because of Serge and his family living and sharing this constantly with us.

Hannah Morden

13/8/2015 02:55:32 pm

Thank you Monika - yes we have been given a gift indeed by Serge Benhayon - a true reflection that is like no other yet something so familiar.
Consistency is the key here - and love is the lock. How beautiful it is for us to see this, know this and then live this.

Rebecca Turner

9/3/2015 03:00:45 pm

It is wonderful to read your testimonial Eunice. The Benhayon family are indeed committed to making life about Love in every way. It is inspirational to witness and observe.

Francene Cartaar

9/3/2015 05:03:21 pm

Eunice, I loved reading your account of dinner with the Benhayons. I realised how much tension we can bring to dinner if a guest is fussed over because they are the guest. Yet the ease of dropping this and holding the person as equal and with love takes dinner to a whole new dimension. Thank you for your story.

Anne McRitchie

10/3/2015 05:20:24 am

Thank you Eunice for reminding us that ‘the most hospitable way to entertain is to lovingly welcome everyone as an equal member of your own family’, so long as there is already love in a family. How different from the way that most of us were raised which was to treat guests as being different from family, to treat them as someone special. On reflection, this only creates a separation between family and guests. All that is needed is to hold a guest in and with the same love as the host loves their own family. As you say, “and no amount of special plates, cutlery, glasses or super tidy house can usurp such a blessing.”

rebecca wingrave

10/3/2015 05:25:28 am

This is so gorgeous to read Eunice, thank you for sharing your experience of dinner with the Benhayon family, they are true role models and I feel blessed to have them in my life.

Rowena Stewart

10/3/2015 05:43:34 am

Thank you Eunice, your description of dinner in the Benhayon house hold is the same for so many people and its true, there is no public face, private face with the Benhayons, every part of their life is treated with the same equal loving energy. As you say, they are just like every other famimly doing all those things that we have to do everyday, but the usual family dynamics do not have room to exist in this household. The love, respect, honesty, care and commitment of each family member to one another and all their guests is unique, but by no means beyond our reach. They offer us all a true way forward in life, a way to love everyone equally and to bring joy to our daily lives. I cherish the day I met Serge Benhayon and all his beautiful family and thank them deeply for showing me the way home to real love again.

Chan Ly

10/3/2015 05:45:16 am

Wow amazing experience and thank you for sharing Eunice. It is a great reminder for me to learn and practice being in true love with all equally in every moment of everyday. I am grateful to have this opportunity to reflect on my family life and see what changes are needed and work together to build a foundation based on Love consistently.

Judith Andras

10/3/2015 06:51:10 am

Thank you Eunice for sharing with all of us the experience of having dinner with Serge Benhayon and his family. Love is so simple but so profound.

jane keep

12/3/2015 03:48:27 pm

I love your comment here Judith - 'Love is so simple but so profound' - and one of the things I have experienced in observing and being with the Benhayon Family is the simplicity and yet precision with which they live their daily lives. The practical aspects of life are seen as important - whether cleaning, or washing as are the business, relationships and all aspects of life - all equally cared for. That has been a constant source of inspiration for me.

Amelia Stephens

21/4/2015 03:51:45 am

I agree Jane. Seeing and feeling how everyday tasks - like cooking, cleaning and other things - are able to be done with such love, and with the same dedication towards making sure every movement is done with equal love for all of humanity, and nothing is impeding on anyone. This example can always be with us when we are in our homes, or workplaces until it becomes just the natural way we too live - with this immense love at the fore.

David Nicholson

11/3/2015 11:08:51 am

Eunice its great to reflect on what you've shared, all the points are so simple yet so "different" to how the majority of households and families live "dinner with Love – pure and simple." What is so refreshing and deeply confirming is the fact that I now know what love actually is - being held equally with everyone whether a "guest" or not.

Jonathan Stewart

11/3/2015 06:29:47 pm

It is such a great observation that you make, Eunice, that the common good practice to put the guest first and the host last and by doing so we create inequality. I had never of thought of that before and all the implications that come with that. The Benhayons demonstrate in everything they do this quality of equality.

Luke Yokota

11/3/2015 07:53:21 pm

Thank you Eunice. For this first hand experience in the Benhayon household to confirm that indeed no 'on stage face' exists for Serge Benhayon. Just the on-going love and respect for everyone

Judy Young

12/3/2015 03:53:39 am

Eunice I feel like I have sat at the table with all the Benhayon family such is the depth of the sharing in your blog. Thank you.

Stephanie Stevenson

18/3/2015 12:30:45 am

I agree wholeheartedly Judy, I too feel as if I am sitting in the Benhayon house enjoying a meal with them just from reading this inspiring blog by Eunice. I love the 'pot luck meals' when Universal Medicine students come together and all bring a plate of food to share - prepared with love that can be felt in every mouthful.

gemma

7/4/2015 02:52:06 pm

Yes, I feel like I'm there too - what a blessing indeed. I can tell already that my dinner tonight will have a deeper level of love to it just from reading this.

Aimee Edmonds

12/3/2015 06:23:18 am

What you have shared Eunice is beautiful and normal but so foreign at many families dinner tables... I have never experienced a dinner like you described but reading this, I can feel how simple it would be. I can remember whenever we had guests over when I was young, it was an all out stress fest, the whole house would need to be cleaned and tidied from top to bottom and we were all a mess by the time the guests arrived. I have also put on many dinner parties like this and I remember at one Christmas years ago saying to myself I will never do it like that again. Its the different faces that are put on that create issues, instead of just being the same, as the Benhayon's consistently reflect. Such an inspiring article, thank you.

Rachel Mascord

12/3/2015 03:01:59 pm

You have reminded me of dinner parties of old Eunice...The "special" plates, the "special" knives and forks, and "special" house cleaning for the guests. The other thing I recall was the tension in the household, that would explode into anger if something was less than perfect. So stressful, no wonder so many people would rather eat out! And alcohol was mandatory, after all what would we have to talk about without it? It felt like it was essential to get people in the mood to be social and it took the edge off the tension and awkwardness.
The Benhayon family show that there is another way, a beautiful way that makes every meal and everyday naturally and truly special.

Gabriele Conrad

24/5/2015 07:12:58 pm

I also remember the incredible tension in the house when guests had been invited and how everything was done to create a special impression or paint a certain picture - how stressful! No wonder the alcohol then flowed freely to numb this unbelievable intensity.

Patricia Darwish

19/6/2015 07:41:33 am

Replacing the need to show off to our guests and be perfect with a deep and sincere love for them is all we need to bring to the table to have a great dinner party.

Steve Matson

12/3/2015 03:13:12 pm

What a poignant blog Eunice. Serge is the hallmark of equality with everyone all of time.

Anne Broadbent

13/3/2015 06:20:14 am

I was completely in awe as you shared about dinner at the Benhayons. I could feel the love in every word expressed. This is how all families could be but I'm afraid there are too many hurts within a lot of families to be this love. Thank you Serge and your family for showing the world another way to live with love and harmony. Thank you Eunice for sharing your experience.

Zoe Sherrin

13/3/2015 07:00:33 pm

It is so true that in general when having a dinner party we strive to make everything perfect – on the surface, physical level. But what must it be like for our guests walking into to this…a huge amount of pressure to show recognition would be one thing, plus the tension must be felt due to the crazy need to have everything perfect. How you describe dinner with Serge is the way I want to have my dinner parties from now on, not there to impress but to “express love that is naturally lived every day.”

rosanna bianchini

14/3/2015 09:38:10 pm

I agree Zoe, if the point of having friends round for a meal is to share time together and enjoy each others' company, then surely the focus would be on being with each other rather the performance of putting on a dinner party. Eunice your sentence "the most hospitable way to entertain is to lovingly welcome everyone as an equal member of your own family (providing you truly love your family of course!)". Spot on.

Joshua Campbell

14/3/2015 12:02:40 am

Feels so simple, and so loving. This is inspiring Eunice, thank you.

julie matson

14/3/2015 12:39:02 am

Thank you Eunice for sharing your meal time experience with the Benhayon's with us. This way of being with family and friends is truly inspirational to how a family can live and interact with each other, everyone treating each other with respect and equality.

Joel Levin

8/9/2015 03:37:21 am

There is certainly a banquet of inspiration to be had from this blog. Redefining hosting and family in one simple experience.

Giselle

14/3/2015 05:34:14 am

What an appetising account of partaking in the food of life lived in love.

Tony Steenson

14/3/2015 06:50:06 pm

Thanks Eunice for your insiders account of dinner with the Benhayons. More living proof that Serge Benhayon doesn't flick on the love switch when in public, it is permanently on. I recently was invited to stay with a friend in Sydney and was greeted with the equalness and love that you have mentioned. I have never felt so accommodated being in someone else's home, especially for the first time and not even knowing the person that well. We (my wife and I) were met with love and the house felt like we belonged there, no awkwardness at all. We are truly blessed to have Serge Benhayon as an inspiration.

Kathleen Baldwin

14/3/2015 07:32:29 pm

"The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less. Being met and held in and with that love is the blessing..." Thank you Eunice for so generously sharing your experience of dinner at the Benhayons'. When you think about it it really is the most natural way to be and yet we have all been caught up in in the falsity of entertaining at the dinner table some time or another; it is so exhausting to be anything but yourself.

Karin Barea

15/3/2015 05:17:41 am

Eunice I also grew up in a family where the best crockery and silver were there for special guests/and or events - like everyday use wasn't good enough or the people using them. It takes a while for them to relax and not worry about 'the state of the house' when I come to visit - like I'm some hotel inspector! And it's lovely when people do relax, myself included.

So to read how you felt the Benhayon's deal with issues that do arise - to see them and address them with love so that they get resolved quickly is very healing. When one's best face is only what one is brought up to show these issues get hidden under judgement and shame and never get aired. What happens is the opportunity for understanding and healing is taken away. A grand pretense that they don't exist occurs even denied by oneself. This is not healthy!

Family time becomes a pact between each other - I'll not mention your issues if you don't mention mine. But then issues fester and buttons are invariably pushed and things are said without love.

Reading how there is another way that everyone is treated lovingly is beautiful. Reading how each person is equally loved and how every occasion is a special one; that everyone is deserving of being treated with the best cutlery, so to speak, and everyday is so healing - it reminds me to treat myself lovingly in every second and not 'save' this love for a future, special event.

jenny hayes

16/3/2015 05:37:33 pm

Well said Karin. The beauty of each person in each moment can be felt and celebrated when life is lived in this way, a true healing, as you said. This is a much different experience than most of us feel and learn to accept, that we are not worthy of the best, that that it is reserved for special occasions or important guests. The difference is huge.

Stephanie Stevenson

25/3/2015 03:53:04 pm

o true Jenny - I can certainly relate to your comment here - 'most of us feel and learn to accept, that we are not worthy of the best, that that it is reserved for special occasions or important guests". Since attending Serge Banhayon's presentations of the Ancient Wisdom Teachings, I have been slowly but surely accepting that we are all worthy of the best. I have not seen Serge Benhayon and his family change their very loving way of living whilst in public and, no surprise that Eunice confirms that it is exactly the same when being in their home. What a beautiful and glorious way of living - 24/7 with the expression of love in its true way.

Rowena Stewart

2/5/2015 02:51:32 pm

"Family time becomes a pact between each other - I'll not mention your issues if you don't mention mine. But then issues fester and buttons are invariably pushed and things are said without love."

An experience I can relate to Karin. What is clear to me from this comment and Eunice's testimony is that when we invite another into our home, we are in fact inviting them to see who we truly are, as our home reflects the way we feel about and treat ourselves. When we have to excuse our house, in reality we are excusing our relationship with ourselves.

Serge Benhayon lives all aspects of his life with such loving care there is nothing he feels he has to excuse or be ashamed of. Every issue within the family is acknowledged, owned, discussed and dealt with, with true love, a love that does not impose a way but supports a person to resolve their own dilemmas. Nothing is swept under the carpet or left to moulder, so each day is kept clean and fresh.

What an amazing gift to spend time with a family living who live with such love and a real life experience to bring into one's own life. Forget the Country Living Magazines, if you want a truly beautiful home, start studying Universal Medicine.

Oliver Hallock

15/3/2015 05:42:27 am

Great testimonial Eunice. Plain and simple to share your observations and lovely experience. I've often 'played' host to friends and family coming over for dinner; perhaps glorified by years of working in high level hospitality. This is changing as I don't put anyone ahead of me, even around the dinner table. Great to read.

Mary Adler

16/3/2015 03:02:21 pm

Over the years I have attended many rather grand dinners when everything on show was of the best and the menu and presentation of the food on the plate was designed to impress. I always wondered why I never really enjoyed these events, felt disappointed that the glossy invitation and setting was somehow lacking and that I should have been more appreciative of all the effort that had been put in. I now understand that some essential ingredients were missing - LOVE and EQUALNESS.

Stephanie Stevenson

18/3/2015 12:27:14 am

It still makes me shudder to remember that when visitors were invited to dinner at my parents house, everything was in a state of anxiousness preparing for the event, all the 'correct' wines with every course being purchased and hours of intensive labour in the kitchen with my mother saying she disliked cooking! Then there was all the clearing up which had to be completed before they went to bed often around 3am then!

rosanna bianchini

18/3/2015 08:41:18 pm

Two crucial ingredients for a delicious, nourishing meal Mary! What can be more heartwarming than a meal prepared cooked and shared with Love and Equalness.

Lorraine Wellman

13/12/2015 01:32:26 am

Great point Mary, love and equalness are some essential ingredients when getting together for dinner.

Andrew Mooney

17/3/2015 02:46:53 pm

It almost seems unbelievable that a family could live together in such harmony consistently without any emotional dramas or tensions but from what I have witnessed from the way the Benhayons live, this is in fact the case. And this has led me to improve my own relationships knowing that it is indeed possible to live in such a way.

Shami Duffy

18/3/2015 06:31:19 am

I really love this part about the care and attention given to preparing the evening meal for the family. This creates a whole new perspective on dinner time, how the preparation for it can start early on in the day, and how the quality of that time together can also be prepared for, just as equally as the meal is chosen and ingredients are selected.

Samantha Davidson

18/3/2015 04:25:52 pm

I felt a deep warm glow of love and appreciation for your description "The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less." The "specialness', thank you for sharing with simplicity and true. I have not shared a meal with Serge Benhayon, however this has been my experience whenever I have been in his presence.

David Upfill

19/3/2015 08:24:02 am

Once again, an inspiring example of that it's how you are that matters, not what you do. No amount of crystal, silver, manners, pedestals, or alcohol can replace the lack of Love. Thank you for sharing Eunice.

Ingrid Ward

19/3/2015 03:45:17 pm

Eunice; re-reading this wonderful account of the simplicity and the joy you experienced dining with the Benhayons, reminded me of the very first workshop I attended in 2005. The groups were quite small back then and Serge would join us for meals. I can remember the first time he sat at our table being amazed at the feeling of equality I felt from him, even though I was a first timer and really had no idea, at that stage, what Universal Medicine and Serge Benhayon were all about. I had often placed others, who I thought knew more than me, on pedestals, making me feel lesser in the process, but sitting at that table none of those feelings arose. He was so open and honest and shared so much of himself. It was such a beautiful experience for me and one that really affirmed that I was definitely in the right place.

adam warburton

19/3/2015 04:32:59 pm

The issue is not that we take more care when guests come around with the house and with the way we go about dinner - for of course we take care - but why we don't apply the same detail and love to every day of our lives. We create high points in our life and hold onto them to make up for the fact that we see the rest of our life as mundane and almost an inconvenient passage of time between highlights. What the Benhayon family has shown me over the years is that every day can be lived with the same quiet consistent joy (with no perfection of course). There is a way.

Jenifer Swallow

22/3/2015 03:14:43 am

"An inconvenient passage of time between highlights" - how insightful and, honestly, a bit of an 'ouch' to read that as there is much truth in it. Time for me to start paying attention to the details - all of them.

Mary Adler

23/3/2015 02:35:56 pm

So true Adam. The Benhayon family are an inspiration to apply the same consistency, detail and love to every day of our lives and not save it for special occasions as when we have guests to share a meal.

Stephanie Stevenson

1/4/2015 06:52:59 am

I love what you have written here Adam - the utter simplicity and feeling of joy this brings - "What the Benhayon family has shown me over the years is that every day can be lived with the same quiet consistent joy (with no perfection of course). There is a way".
Thank you!

Ruth Ketnor

17/4/2015 04:13:57 pm

I agree Stephanie, the feeling of joy is really clear. Thank you deeply to the Benhayon family for showing us there is another way.

Joel L

18/4/2015 05:53:16 pm

This is great Adam, there is such a split between how many people treat guests, and how they treat the people that they live with everyday. Another myth blown apart by the Benhayon clan.

Janet Williams

21/3/2015 06:03:49 am

Thanks, Eunice. In my experience, every mealtime with the Benhayons is an opportunity to evolve, even if it is just sharing the practical details of the day, as everything and everyone is equally important and honoured with the same love.

Jenifer Swallow

22/3/2015 03:12:51 am

Wow, this sounds truly amazing and yet it also sounds so very simple and right. I am inspired to commit to bringing more of this to my own family home.

Judy Young

24/3/2015 03:20:17 am

I realise, although I never witnessed this at home, that I grew up with the belief visitors were special, we were not a family that had guests but my parents used to put on a once a year bash in a local hall and I remember how they did this to be 'right' for every guest. I certainly have been someone who treated guests as special and this blog blows the concept right out of the water, or in this case dining room! The truth of treating everyone with that same quality of love is just beautiful.

David Nicholson

24/3/2015 02:16:25 pm

Eunice your description, experience and feeling of "dinner with love" is exactly what I have felt with each meal shared with Serge Benhayon and family. It's certainly a very different way to have a meal, simple, with care and love compared to how I grew up with grab a bite to eat whilst watching tv. It sets the foundation for all meals

rosanna bianchini

24/3/2015 05:38:14 pm

That's gorgeous to experience being together in this way Eunice and making that harmony, equality and love the everyday thing that it has come to be in the Benhayon household – whether its around mealtimes, working together or spending time with friends.

Kate Chorley

26/3/2015 05:27:24 am

Thank you Eunice for your post 'Dinner with love'. I could really feel joy expressed in so many ways here, the joy of being with each other, the joy of sharing in equality, the joy of responsibility, and the joy of the commitment to true love in all ways. What a simply glorious way to live!

Greg Jordan link

26/3/2015 05:59:18 am

That's right Eunice , there is an equal-ness that is shared with all as the truth of what I witnessed over the years at universal medicine events.
The true understanding of this to me was at the first retreat I went to in Vietnam and seeing how easy people made it , The Benhayon family surely is an inspiration of love and harmony in everyday life.

Hannah Morden

26/3/2015 03:17:02 pm

' The nature of true love is such that it holds all equally – no-one higher and no-one lower. '

This sums it up for me and is so absolutely true in everything.
I never new love to be this, I thought it was being nice, putting myself last. But love as equality - thats a whole new level. And how can there be roles or jealousy or frustration if we all hold each other equally Thank you Eunice for sharing just one of the ways the Benhayon family live equality in every moment.

Rik Connors

26/3/2015 08:58:18 pm

Yes Eunice, It's so interesting what the meaning of Love truly is. Is this a part of our global and personal problems? .. We have lost the true meaning of the word Love and all it stands for.
Serge and his family and what they live and reflect is beyond words. It's a total complete turn around of nearly every thought you have ever had. It is exposing however, there is nothing more you want to live once you feel it (again).

Amelia Stephens

27/3/2015 06:47:08 am

It is beautiful that we have this family as role models in a way - to know that this sort of family life can exist, and it is something we can all work towards equally. If we have this quality of relationship at home - it would of course naturally spread out to our communities and to humanity on the larger scale. This is where we need to head as a humanity - start simple and in the home and dedicate life to being about love first and foremost. The expansion of this will happen with time and we can return to living as true society - without the pain, suffering and horrendousness we currently have as our norm in human life.

Janet Williams

11/4/2015 03:21:57 pm

I love this line, Amelia - "start simple and in the home and dedicate life to being about love first and foremost" and agree that from this foundation the love will shine out and is then for everyone.

tricia nicholson

27/3/2015 03:28:53 pm

The beautiful way lived so simply with love and equality for all with understanding and no judgement is clearly seen and felt by this amazing family and an inspiration for the World. Dinner with love is their normal everyday occurrence but it is abnormal by the rest of the worlds standards and the changing of this to love held for all is the only way forward for humanity to return to who we really are.Thank you Eunice for your joyful reflective post.

Joshua Campbell

27/3/2015 11:24:16 pm

Sounds amazing! Living this way is actually what most are truly seeking yet not a reality for many in their daily lives. The Benhayons never cease to inspire in their living way of simplicity and true love.

Simon Williams

29/3/2015 02:38:49 am

Like you say Eunice, I too was under the impression that having people round to stay meant getting everything especially tidy, cooking a special meal, and being particularly engaging in the conversation. But what could be better, or more special, than to be invited as an equal member of the family, and to share the love they share every day? Its an inspiration precisely because we are treated as equals, there is no pretending, and the love that is felt is real and tangible.

Stephen Gammack

29/3/2015 09:30:54 pm

When I first heard Serge Benhayon talk of how anyone coming into his family home is treated as one of the family it felt completely validating of how I have felt about visitors to my families home growing up. I never liked the idea of it being a master and servant relationship, it just feel so much more loving and real to have everyone muck in and share the whole experience. Imagine if all dinner parties involved all the guests clearing up, how much fun that could be?

Leigh Matson

25/11/2015 08:52:05 am

It would certainly change things around thats for sure! Having 'visitors' around while growing up it did feel tense and a level of resentment on having to follow some sort of (in my view) silly 'polite' rules. That changed after a few visits when those visiting were no longer waited on and put away their own dishes. 'First time a guest, second time - help yourself' was a common saying. The Benhayons however take this to a whole new level, one that can be felt in Eunice's words as that consistency is seen in public so how could it not carry on in private?

Penny Scheenhouwer

30/3/2015 05:53:20 am

'The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less. ' This is the key to all relationships and one which Serge has been presenting for many years and one which he so very obviously lives in truth.

Elizabeth McCann

31/3/2015 12:22:14 am

Eunice, thank you for sharing your experience of dining with the Benhayon family. It sounds, simply divine.

Elizabeth Douglas

31/3/2015 05:30:59 pm

Thank you Eunice for your loving sharing.Yes it is so true what you say about what we are all brought up to believe that others are to be made special and pampered when quests in your home when actually we do not treat our own families this way, true the Benhayons do all the life living things we all do yet reading the blogs from you and William we can all feel the loveliness of the sharing in the Benhayon home and we all truly want that as well.Yet until we have a reflection of how that feels which the Benhayon family has extended in many ways with a lot of us in group gathering,in sharing a meal it is hard to even fathom such a way of being.As many would agree we all can live this way it is always in our choice and making a change Just in reading your blog has raised the bar for me to step up more in my sharing whether in a meal or with a person whom I just met for the first time.

Mary Adler

1/4/2015 02:09:31 pm

Beautifully said Eunice. The warmth and depth of welcome that is natural, easy and free flowing is clearly evident in the way Serge Benhayon and his family welcome all as equal members of the family. No 'standing on ceremony' or 'pushing the boat out' to impress is needed because they already are and live everything that they are.

Gill Randall

2/4/2015 04:35:28 am

What a joy I feel with your description of supper with the Benhayon family. A beautiful natural family gathering with no issues, how it could be for us all.

Lisa Hansberry

2/4/2015 05:09:43 am

Dinner with love and the Benhayons, sounds delicious. I have absolutely no doubt that it is exactly as you say. This way of having meals with family and friends is delightful and completely nutritious on so many levels.

jonathan stewart

6/4/2015 02:35:43 pm

"The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less. Being met and held in and with that love is the blessing - and no amount of special plates, cutlery, glasses or super tidy house can usurp such a blessing."

This is such a beautiful observation. I can really feel how so much more loving it is welcome guests as a member of the family than as someone special.

Josephine Bell

6/4/2015 08:19:41 pm

How many families truly make life about love, about true love that loves all equally, before everything else? None else that I know of Eunice, and what is so remarkable is the love that they hold everyone in constituently really make you feel you are part of their amazing family.

Natalie Hawthorne

7/4/2015 05:58:04 am

It is an absolute joy to be in presence of Serge Benhayon and not once have I ever felt treated any different to his family, he's love with all equally is no doubt the first quality that I questioned as to why this man so different to anyone else that I have meet.

Judy Young

9/4/2015 02:14:37 am

I have seen the special things that are done for visitors and I love the fact that the only specialness which is felt at the Benhayon family table is 'The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less.' How beautiful is that, held in equality.

Janet Williams

10/4/2015 04:22:22 pm

Thanks Eunice, I love how you have presented the Benhayon family as having to the pay the bills, take out the garbage etc like everyone else, but that what makes them extraordinary is the quality of relationship they have with one another, and the 100% commitment to bringing love to the table, in whatever way that supports and evolves the whole.

Mary Adler

11/4/2015 02:51:47 pm

A very confirming article Eunice that expresses the true meaning of the food of love.

Kate Chorley

14/4/2015 04:31:29 am

What you describe here Eunice is a simple way of being that we all crave. In truth we are gentle souls that do not long for multi million dollar mansions and super fancy cars but true love, to be seen for who we truly are, to live in this harmonious way you describe but at the same time we run away from it, we fear our light, our true power. But when we can witness it lived we can see and feel what is normal, what is possible. I have enormous gratitude for the Benhayon family and all they choose to bring to this world, to show that this love we crave is actually who we naturally are and is simple and very accessible, we just need to choose it.

adam warburton

14/4/2015 07:02:24 pm

If there is one thing to be learnt from having dinner with the Benhayons, it is that their is true joy to be had in the simplicity of life.

Deanne Voysey

15/4/2015 08:37:46 pm

Eunice, having observed the Benhayon family overs several years and on many occasions the loving dinners you describe make sense and the consistency between their public and private life is again leading the way as a potential way for all to live. What stands out for me is the tremendous amount of love they hold each other in, giving space for each family member to develop in their own timing, not expecting perfection and balanced with not holding back gentle loving prods to evolve each other as needed.

Ruth Ketnor

17/4/2015 04:14:08 am

Eunice thank you for your beautiful testimony. The Benhayon family are such an inspiration, living love in every moment and loving everyone equally.

Shevon Simon

18/4/2015 05:14:57 am

What I love most about Eunice's write up is the level of appreciation felt in every word written and the very deep appreciation of the Love we all have been held in by the Benhayon family. Just reading this alone opens my heart.

adam warburton

20/4/2015 05:36:18 pm

It is amazing how we assume something to be true because it is traditional, and therefore to be of unquestionable worth for no other reason than its age.

Kylie Connors

22/4/2015 09:06:17 pm

It's amazing how much you can know about someone by simply sharing dinner with them. I have known the Benhayon family for 10 gorgeous years now; but even if my only experience was a shared dinner like you have described Eunice, I would know the depth of love and equality they live with because it is in every single detail and every move with each other. This love cannot be performed, but only comes from living it consistently, and sharing it with everyone equally. They continue to be my greatest inspiration of what family can be.

adam warburton

24/4/2015 07:17:50 am

What the Benhayons also blow apart is the illusionary facade of politeness and manners that poisons society's ability to see the truth of all things. What the Benhayons bring and showcase is a true and loving way of relating that is based on deep honesty, rather than learned behaviours that are based on ensuring that one complies with mould offered by society. Politeness and manners, whilst assisting to cushion the harsh edge of reality, actually serve to dim are awareness of the fact of the truly dysfunctional way most of us relate as human beings.

Mary Adler

24/4/2015 02:17:13 pm

"I grew up in a tradition that said, ‘put others before yourself’ - which for things like dinner parties translated to treating guests as ‘special’ and different to one’s family." This sentence is very familiar to me, all outward show and I can remember always feeling exhausted afterwards 'Had I succeeded in keeping up the facade?' And such a relief to stop acting and just be 'normal' again. For Serge Benhayon and his family 'normal' is a consistent and constant way of loving everyone equally.

Jonathan Stewart

26/4/2015 03:08:00 am

What you share Eunice is a true and evocative example of how Serge and all the members of the Benhayon family live their life - constantly the same whether at home, work or general, everyday activities. Treating everyone equally and with love.

Stephanie Stevenson

26/4/2015 10:47:45 pm

We have just had friends to stay who have not stayed with us before.
They really enjoyed being part of the family with 'no standing on ceremony'. We shopped, prepared food, cooked and cleared away together. Years ago, I would have been rushing around making sure everything was done beforehand - sharing together this way made it an enjoyable time for all!

Samantha Davidson

27/4/2015 06:09:42 am

A great question to ask..."How many families truly make life about love, about true love that loves all equally, before everything else?" The idea that 'love' comes first over being right or hurt etc may seem strange to some but just imagine if our issues were resolved in families and love become for the way of being. True connection, the purpose, just wonderful, the Benhayon's reflect this to the world and it is precious.

michelle M Ryan

27/4/2015 02:40:46 pm

'Beliefs like a guest should be served and waited upon hand and foot were just part and parcel of the culture – and that this type of behaviour was desirable and constituted being a good host who offered great hospitality."
I too grew up with this and from having been on both the giving and receiving end of this I am very glad to say it is no longer a part of my life. Being the recipient of such has felt very imposing and almost forces you to be polite if you are playing that game. Serge Benhayon has shown us how to be true to ourselves and others and that just by being natural and real makes for a much more joyous gathering when coming together with people for a meal - that is the celebration.

Tricia nicholson

28/4/2015 03:08:40 pm

Dinner with love is a beautiful reflection and testimonial of how every meal and every moment in every day can be reflected to us by Serge Benhayon and his amazing family! Lets all simply celebrate life from this inspirational way of living.

Joshua Campbell

3/5/2015 01:11:40 am

I can feel a lot of humbleness in a way of living like this. Surrender to an amazingness that is shared naturally with everyone. Such a beautiful way to live!

Natalie Hawthorne

4/5/2015 04:45:12 am

What an exquisite way to have a dinner with a family. To be treated as an equal, just like one of the family, to be held in absolute respect and to be given an opportunity to talk about what truly matters in life. I'm checking my letter box for and invite!

Stephanie Stevenson

20/5/2015 11:04:29 pm

I agree Natalie wholeheartedly with your words (and every one applies). What a beautiful experience to be treated like one of the family with absolute respect in such an exquisite and equal way.
Something we could all benefit from to feel and see love in action in such an everyday day......we just heard the postman at the door with a special delivery....!

Francene Cartaar

4/5/2015 07:39:33 pm

Even in what would be regarded as harmonious families there can be underlying tensions. To read of your dinner experience with the Benhayons Eunice allowed me to recall how family dining is to be - with an openness and equal sharing of love. This creates a relaxed environment and no alcohol is required to set the mood.

Simon Voysey

7/5/2015 10:56:55 am

Eunice I appreciate how you have made it very clear that the Benhayons are a normal family, who's normal is treating each other and guests equally and lovingly. I agree that true love is something that can only be shared equally with all. This is a marker of normal that is attainable by all, because it is naturally to who we all are. It is easy to forget this and believe that when there are issues or inequality between people, it is normal and therefore acceptable. The only way we can get back to our true normal, is by not accepting anything less.

Gill Randall

9/5/2015 05:44:19 pm

Meal times can often bring a tension with a large family gathering of multi generations. It feels lovely and true to read what you have shared about your dinner with the Benhayon family, thank you.

Victoria Carter

13/5/2015 07:55:49 pm

Remembering the 'effort' (days of food preparation, yes the crystal, the multitude of courses...) with which I grew up around the 'dinner parties' my family hosted, and the enormous 'extra effort' I myself then put in to hosting others for dinner for many a year... phew, this way of being is such a relief!
Beautifully encapsulated Eunice, and hear, hear, I can verify every word you have shared about dinner with the Benhayons – this is most certainly the 'real deal' of what love, and a loving family that embraces all as one of 'their own', is all about.

Simon Voysey

20/7/2015 11:18:27 am

Well said Victoria, Serge and all the Benhayon's have shown how you do not need to go out of your way in order to truly love, honour and respect others.

Smatson

20/5/2015 05:23:00 am

What a great sharing Eunice. Serge treats everyone, everywhere the same as he does with anyone that sits at his diner table with love and total equality. A living example of how we can all live.

Michael Nicholson

23/5/2015 03:57:14 pm

Everything that you say, Eunice, is so so true. The love is palpable and dinner is truly with love. And that is how Serge Benhayon and his family truly live. We are blessed.

Gabriele Conrad

24/5/2015 07:16:24 pm

A beautiful experience and beautifully described – thank you for sharing your time with the Benhayons and the love, warmth and equality with all of us.

Ingrid Ward

25/5/2015 04:18:50 am

I love what you say here Eunice: It’s just ‘the way it is’ – the lived way of love in action in every day activities of making dinner, cleaning up or whatever the activity is.” And as it is for the Benhayons, it can be for all, as they are no different from any of us, they simply choose to make different choices; choices to live to life to its fullest, with love, honesty, integrity and always holding everyone they meet in the equalness with which they hold each other.

Sandra Schneider

25/5/2015 02:22:01 pm

"Dinner with love", you called your experiences with having food with Serge Benhayon and his lovely family. I can relate to this. In the last 10 years I met Serge and other Benhayons quite often and what I've always got is Love as a presents. It was talking with Love, sitting with Love, eating with Love, being seen in Love, got challenged in Love, supported with Love - I am held in Love all the time what ever they, or I did. And I had to learn to deal with that first. It was not "normal" as we say because it is not a way of being like mainstream does - but boy oh boy is it normal in the way of being a precious, equal member of the family called humans. Do you get what I mean? What I was told as normal was not normal at all. True normal is that we are Love all equally so and that it's time to express like that. The Benhayons do a wonderful, amazing start here, they live how we can live. To study them, is to study me, because we are the same - just that they have more experience till now to express it because they live love.

Stephanie Stevenson

31/12/2016 10:16:37 am

Sandra, I love what you have written here - it is beautiful to feel the quality and consistency that the Benhayon family offer to everyone 24/7 - As we are love in our essence, this is what normal truly is, just not accepted as normal by the majority of humanity who are ingrained in their behaviours, ideals and beliefs and living far away from the natural and divine way of being that the Benhayon family reflect in their daily living way.
"In the last 10 years I met Serge and other Benhayons quite often and what I've always got is Love as a presents. It was talking with Love, sitting with Love, eating with Love, being seen in Love, got challenged in Love, supported with Love - I am held in Love all the time what ever they, or I did".

Joshua Campbell

31/5/2015 12:52:26 am

Food and dining are becoming a part of the day in our family which is more and more focussed on the connection and the love and sharing that with everyone and not just the deliciousness of the food. It is so gorgeous to experience and beautiful that we have reflections of this living way from the Benhayon's. They have been a deep inspiration for us.

Shami Duffy

5/6/2015 03:09:49 pm

I love reading about how there would not be tension between family members, and that harmony would be quickly restored should an issue arise. How often is it the case that we stay silent when hurt by a family member and allow for tension to be the norm, causing rifts within the family which can last for years.

Jenny McGee

14/6/2015 06:02:45 am

Yes indeed Shami when friends, guests or family members can lovingly support each other to address emotional issues or hurts when they arise rather than ignore or react to them harmony can be restored and lived.

Alexandre Meder

13/6/2015 04:57:32 pm

This is what dinner parties should be like it makes life's so much easier. I can always recall my mother stressing before, during and after dinner parties so scared of not meeting what her image of a dinner party should be like according to society in this world. But this would include family dinners or with close friends.

Felix Schumacher link

14/6/2015 09:03:22 am

The picture painted here is nothing short of how I'd write a recipe for a joyful dinner, for a true version of family and friendship - brotherhood. To witness this being lived consistently by Serge Benhayon and his family on a day-to-day basis makes me feel like sitting at the same table whenever I sit down.

Stephanie Stevenson

9/7/2015 12:07:06 am

Felix I agree, this blog is an absolutely gorgeous recipe for a joyful dinner - it also makes having guest to eat or stay so much simpler and they enjoy not having to 'stand on ceremony's feeling awkward with themselves and politely asking what can they do.

Jenny McGee

16/6/2015 05:52:38 am

I love that Felix the recipe of a joyful dinner, is living love in all that we do including preparing and eating our meals in the true version of family and friendship. There is such a sense of inclusiveness in this way of living which Eunice has so joyfully described.

steffihenn

16/6/2015 12:59:34 pm

I can so relate to the experience you shared about having guests and treading them special or cleaning up the house more than normal. Inviting people and letting them feel, that they belong to the family and actually including them is absolutely different than "normal" but so inviting and beautiful- it opens up a total different intimacy immidiately, what a dinner together with friends should offer, in my opninion, always.

Willem Plandsoen

17/6/2015 06:16:56 am

Lovely sharing Eunice. I could almost participate in the dinner you had at the Benhayon's. But this way of having dinner is not exclusive to them, it is accessible to everybody. It is coming from the livingness people are living in.

sylvia Brinkman

18/6/2015 04:35:06 am

By reading your experience eunice i was sitting there at the table? Thank you for sharing this. It completly fits the experience i have with the whole family Benhayon when i am with them during the courses. I love to watch them how they are with the family members and how with all the others. You don' t see any change. It is a constantly expression of love no matter what comes there way.

sandra williamson

24/6/2015 06:57:01 pm

As you share Eunice Serge Benhayon lives and shares his living with us all. He offers a way to re-imprint our choices so we discern what is true love and what is an ideal and belief that places us second or third etc. As you say the only seconds should be the delicious food prepared with love.

sandra williamson

30/6/2015 04:56:58 am

There is so much to be lovingly understood and learned by ALL Serge offers wether from his everyday livingness or presentations. Its a blessing to experience.

Joel Levin

5/7/2015 08:42:28 am

"It’s not a case of one face for the workshops and another for the home – it is clear to me that the true respect, love and honouring that the Benhayons bring to the workshops is but a reflection of how they are at home with each other."

This statement says it all for me. The reality that workshops are not a performance but an extension of how life can be lived.

Carola Woods link

6/7/2015 07:03:09 pm

Thank you Eunice for what you have shared. I love how you expressed that the Benhayons are just like any other family with the all things that they do but the extraordinariness is the quality in which all these things are done. That love is their first and foremost commitment and that this is their ‘normal’. With this it is natural and no ‘show’ is needed. As you beautifully said ‘It’s just ‘the way it is’ – the lived way of love in action in every day activities’. The Benhayons are a shining example of what is possible, that there is another way that can be lived, in love.

Hannah Morden

15/7/2015 02:49:27 am

I love what you have shared here Eunice and the way in which the Benhayon family share a meal together, and with guests. The simplicity of welcoming people in with open arms and having them as part of the family - a completely normal experience, yet so different based on the amount of love that is brought to the table.

Tamara Flanagan

15/7/2015 04:31:09 pm

Wow! Thank you so much Eunice - wouldn't it be fantastic if we could incorporate in our education system such simple but yet profound life skills!

Cathy Hackett

21/7/2015 06:57:26 am

I'd say it's pretty unique to read about a family that lives with such dedication, consistency and sense of equalness in their expression of love. Keeping up appearances is just as it implies - you have to keep something up - and the cracks can't help but show over time, because it's not real and the truth will out. But here, no cracks, no performance. Just themselves, every day, every dinner. The truth of it - that this is how life can be - is refreshing. Truly inspiring.

Shami Duffy

21/7/2015 03:29:49 pm

I especially enjoy in this testimonial by Eunice, the part about embodying love. How it, love, can be lived every day in the food that is prepared, the relationships between the family members and guests, everything is a part of this love, nothing is kept aside and no one is excluded.

Alison Moir

23/7/2015 03:13:42 pm

I used to dread dinner parties because they seemed so false. I avoided giving them because I lived in fear that I would not be able to produce something that was special and more than normal. I love your blog testimonial Eunice because it confirms what I have been feeling that a dinner invitation should be no different to what we cook every day, just shared with more people that usual. Thank you Eunice and the Benhayon family for showing us a true and loving way to invite people into our homes.

jonathan stewart

23/7/2015 08:43:51 pm

I, too, was brought-up to treat guests as special and thereby creating a difference between us (my family) and the guests. By doing so we were all playing roles. Treating guests as part of the family is treating everyone equally, allowing the opportunity for a truthful and loving relationship.

Amelia Stephens

24/7/2015 04:32:27 am

Living around this kind of dinner table ~ as a reflection of how life can be all the time, is definitely an inspiration. I have such appreciation for all I have learned from Serge and his family, that has inspired me too to live in a much healthier way in my relationships (and therefore at mealtimes). My family is whomever I sit down to eat with, and so they are always treated with the same love and care no matter who they are. This is a constant dedication to being the same level of love with all.

Naren Duffy

24/7/2015 02:40:49 pm

It is amazing to read this account of a family who are like every one out there, and yet are bringing a different quality to how they live together. The actions all are the same as any family who live together, but I love how Eunice has shared that the Benhayons are not going through the motions treating themselves or others as different from one another. That they invite people over to have dinner with them as a family with such a high profile among their community, and that it is not treated as a big deal, is once again redefining what 'normal' is.

Lee Green

26/7/2015 05:27:02 am

Simplicity in dining with the whole family. There is so much here presented Eunice - yet the foundation for this ease and simplicity is a deep commitment to Love and Truth.

Gail Fuller

1/8/2015 07:16:04 pm

How often have we cleaned the house and prepared it a certain way for guest when they arrive. Why the pretense, sure it's lovely to have a clean today house, but not for the sake of love and intimacy which can be felt as you walk in. Our homes reflect how we live and even the tidiest house is not necessarily a home that you feel warm and comfortable in.

Vicky Cooke

15/8/2015 12:47:12 am

This is a beautiful testimony about the Benhayon family, as you say 'How many families truly make life about love, about true love that loves all equally, before everything else?' In my experience not many .. meaning very few; they are normally fuelled with arguments, comparison or checking out with television, video games, food, alcohol and tablets. This has gone on for years and it seems to me the quality of the time people spend together is lessening vastly. We have a lot to heal and the Benhayons are showing the way in how this is to be done.

Adele Leung link

16/8/2015 03:50:15 am

Being treated as a guest in anyone's house is actually deeply uncomfortable. It is an unnatural feeling of a lack unity—a guest actually is never a part of the family, a guest is an outsider. There is no unity or equality felt when we play and accept the roles of host and guest. How did the world ever make it normal that we have to treat people as guests? There is no love in that whatsoever.

Adele Leung link

16/8/2015 03:52:57 am

Dinner at the Benhayon's family sounds like my kind of dinner too, I would feel right at home there.

Joseph Barker

23/8/2015 06:33:40 pm

A delicious testament Eunice to the quality of absolute inclusion the Benhayon family offer, reminding us we are all true family.

Rachel Andras

22/9/2015 08:21:52 pm

Family lines with the Benhayons do not stop with the name and bloodline. Family is understood and lived as brotherhood with the deepest integrity and respect. It is the quality that determines true brotherhood. I lived the openness of everybody is family and wouldn't take out the special cutlery for guests, dinner was often prepared together and everybody put in their part, but the time spend together was characterized by a toxic haze of alcohol, exhausting political discussions, gossiping and an absolute lack of connection between the people. There was no unity only togetherness with a deep longing to truly connect with everybody's personality trying to get seen and recognized for who they were. Spending time with the Benhayon's offers the opposite: connection, stillness and love for who we are and a deep understanding for every single human being in an absolute equalness without judgment and a deep interest in whatever we bring to support every second of the day everybody's evolution. Absolutely outstanding.

Stephanie Stevenson

15/10/2015 11:04:47 am

Rachel, your comment clearly highlights the difference between family mealtimes, even though there is a common denominator of openness and everyone sharing together in their family gathering. How different is the quality lived by the Benhayon family 24/7 - this is a joy to read.
"connection, stillness and love for who we are and a deep understanding for every single human being in an absolute equalness without judgment and a deep interest in whatever we bring to support every second of the day everybody's evolution. Absolutely outstanding".

Golnaz Shariatzadeh

2/4/2016 08:34:26 am

I love what Rachel has written "connection, stillness and love for who we are" remembering this level of honouring of the depth of our essence has completely turned my life round and "a deep understanding for every single human being in an absolute equalness without judgment" is something I am forever being inspired by the Benhayon family to deepen and "deep interest in whatever we bring to support every second of the day everybody's evolution" I am blown away by this family's dedication and am learning daily as I can see are hundreds of others.

Shelley Jones

26/9/2015 04:20:44 am

Thank you for sharing this lovely blog Eunice about your dinner at the Benhayon's. Serge Benhayon and his family show us what true relationship looks and feels like - in this we are all family and all equal.

Samantha Westall

26/9/2015 01:17:02 pm

What a beautiful opportunity to share a dinner with people who make everything in their life about love and holding you in such. What you have shared was really beautiful to read and a glimpse into how the extraordinary is made ordinary and achieved by all who commit to living this love in everything they do.

Suzanne Cox

1/10/2015 12:01:53 pm

What you share about dinner with the Benhayons makes so much sense Eunice. I never did understand all the airs and graces that came with having or being a guest for dinner. To be welcomed as a member of the family and treated equally feels so tender, welcoming and warm. When every member of the family is choosing true love it really does make the ordinary extraordinary in every way.

Gyl Rae

21/12/2015 10:08:49 pm

It feels very natural, as deep down we all know the truth, we are love, and this is our normal way to live with everybody.

Stephanie Stevenson

9/10/2015 09:24:05 am

The way Serge Benhayon and his family live 24/7 is a beautiful way to see the 'ordinary being made extraordinary' in every detail and aspect of life. A powerful role model for all relationships making it possible for us all to live this way if we so choose it.
"When every member of the family is choosing true love it really does make the ordinary extraordinary in every way".

Carmel Reid link

13/10/2015 12:16:37 am

This is a great testimonial to read, Eunice, especially where you highlight, 'there is care and attention to detail every step of the way – not in an effort to please or to try hard – it is simply an expression of the love that is embodied and naturally lived every day.' This is how the Benhayons live every day and they provide a beautiful role model for how we too can all live.

Gyl Rae

21/12/2015 10:01:50 pm

I agree Carmel, it reflected bringing this care and attention to detail to everybody and every part of life equally, whether around a dinner table, at work, with yourself, or talking with a person on the street.

Shami Duffy

1/11/2015 08:41:07 pm

When I read Eunice's account of dinner at the Benhayon family home, I get a sense that there is not an ideal standard of showmanship where everyone is on their best behaviour for the guests, shutting down who they are for the sake of a perfect home. I love this and I can tell how much this honours the people who live in the home as well as those who visit it because everyone then is given permission to simply be themselves - imperfect and beautiful at the same time.

Stephanie Stevenson

6/11/2015 10:17:56 pm

Giving ourselves permission to let go of perfectionism and just being real is exactly what Serge Benhayon and his family continuously reflect to us all as a simple new-normal, ordinary way of living, as shared in this blog.
“I love this and I can tell how much this honours the people who live in the home as well as those who visit it because everyone then is given permission to simply be themselves - imperfect and beautiful at the same time”.

Shami

16/11/2015 09:37:42 pm

Yesterday, during a shared meal, it was clear to see that we were this great collection of people, all unique in what we brought to the table, no less or more important even though it was the celebration of a birthday, everyone was equal in their contribution just for turning up and sitting at the table together as one big group. And this made me remember this blog, and it occurred to me how no one's home is any different to the Benhayon household, and how we all have the potential to live with such love.

Carmel Reid link

25/11/2015 03:11:36 am

This is a key statement, Shami, 'we all have the potential to live with such love' it is not reserved for any special family - the Benhayons show us all how it can be for all of us.

Gyl Rae

21/12/2015 09:56:07 pm

This in fact a very very normal and natural way to live, though may not seem so to some as we have made normal about the majority instead of what is true.

Vicky

24/11/2015 01:51:19 pm

It is great when we treat each other equally, simple and equally no airs or graces or polished way of how to things say things or how things are done just being honest, real, love and equal and within💕

Amelia Stephens

6/12/2015 11:49:07 am

I experienced an event yesterday, which I now realise I was able to get caught up in and could feel how I allowed expectations of how the event should be presented or what the 'done thing' was to govern how I spent my day. Ultimately this meant dishonouring myself, which is the antithesis to what the celebration was about. Due to my awareness that this is not how I know events - or anything in life - should be, I can now make the choices to come back to a place of complete self-honouring. True family and true celebration never asks one to compromise. This I will definitely be remembering from here on out.

Gyl Rae

21/12/2015 09:40:09 pm

I love reading this testimonial Eunice as it simply confirms everything i know to be true about family and love and how this can be lived. That it is not natural to have disharmony in families.

Amelia Stephens

4/1/2016 12:18:58 pm

The Benhayons as a family reflect to us much about how we can live in harmony with one another. This is truly supportive as it reflects to us what is possible not only in our family, but business life and therefore all of society also.

Shami

7/2/2016 08:28:50 pm

More and more I have come to appreciate meal times as an opportunity to meet another person in the eyes and sit quietly and listen to every word they have to say about their day, their experiences and their perception of it all. It seems like a re-gathering of the group and an important bonding time, where boundaries are confirmed, and group work is practised as everyone's words have value.

Leigh Matson

17/2/2016 11:33:49 pm

Same here Shami, mealtimes with others can be a great chance to be with other people and connect and re-gather. Likewise if eating alone it can be a great chance to be aware of the level of care and support we can bring to ourselves (or not).

Emma Danchin

22/2/2016 09:22:11 am

It is fabulous to hear your experience Eunice, which echos exactly how Serge Benhayon has described the family dinner in their home in his presentations. Just yesterday I reconnected to this and it inspired me to bring more unity, harmony and ritual to our household dinners, being more aware of everyone and not just the organization of it all. I consciously brought each family member together and involved them in the process and we talked about the healing potential of having this as a meeting point in our busy days.

It is the lived quality of presence and commitment to love and expression that each of the Benhayon’s live that enables them to live without dynamics in their home. They share with us all about how it is for them so that we can see that this is not beyond our reach. It is in fact easy, once we commit in every way to what is there for us in our day. Just beautiful and so inspiring.

Golnaz Shariatzadeh

25/2/2016 07:28:04 am

I love what you have shared here Eunice. Since I met Serge Benhayon and his family my understanding of deeply loving people has completely turned around. The way I used to consider love, care and support was with me reaching out and giving someone which may be nice, but now I know that is it nothing like the powerful confirmation offered someone if the exquisite, precious, divine, loving quality within themselves when I live that love and hold another in that equality. The Benhayon family have consistently provided this for me and through that I know without any doubt that how I used to consider love, care, hospitality and supporting others was a long way away from what true love offers.

Shami

24/4/2016 12:30:47 pm

There is a great responsibility that comes with treating everyone as equal who comes in to the home. Eunice Minford describes this beautifully in her account of dinner at the Benhayon household, and not to hold this family up on a pedestal, but to appreciate what they bring and know that responsibility is a choice made very simply by the will to choose it.

Danna Elmalah

8/5/2016 03:45:33 pm

Very real Eunice, I recognize the exact same. For how the Benhayon's are with each other in the family, is exactly like how they are with others. As many of us have joined them in whatever way, we can see clearly that this living way is joyful, loving, truthful and absolutely inspirational! Having had this shine of reflection in my face in so many ways - I am able to shine again too!

Fumiyo Egashira

13/5/2016 01:46:35 pm

What a joy to read this sharing. I particularly loved “…not in an effort to please or to try hard – it is simply an expression of the love that is embodied and naturally lived every day” – this is very beautiful. Love is already within us, yet we try so hard, and even ‘being loving’ can be an effort sometimes. The way of being we see and feel in the Benhayons is a simple letting out of what is already there within and being kept confirmed.

Heather Pope

1/1/2017 10:10:16 am

The re-presentation of what love is by Serge Benhayon is something that is longed for by every human on the planet.

Helen Giles

13/5/2016 02:03:45 pm

As I was reading I reflected on my experiences of the Benhayon family and they are indeed just as you say Eunice. Serge and his family have shown people around the world just what true family living actually means. The definition of 'family' has also been challenged because we have been shown that 'family' isn't just along blood lines; it's being open to treating everyone as our 'family'. This definition isn't the accepted version in our society at present but what we are being shown by the Benhayons is that not only is this possible - it's also natural.

Jade Jamieson

15/5/2016 12:35:21 pm

This sharing really makes me smile to know that such a family exists and lives this way but not only that, that they choose to so openly and lovingly share this way of living with us all. It is simply beautiful to know that this is a way we can also choose everyday, truly inspiring!

Jonathan Stewart

17/5/2016 12:44:38 am

As you so rightly expose, Eunice, to treat a guest as if he/she "should be served and waited upon hand and foot" is such hypocrisy. However, what makes it even more horrible, and therefore in truth evil, is that it is done with the intention of doing good and being caring but in fact is the complete opposite. This is highlighted so clearly with your description of dinner with the Benhayons.

Lucy Duffy

18/5/2016 12:02:46 pm

I absolutely love reading all the testimonials on these pages. They reflect completely my feelings for Serge and the Benhayon family, whilst also offering us a view of the future for us all being lived now. They show the potential for us all and pave the way for every soul to walk the path of returning back to the one love we are all from.

Heather Pope

1/1/2017 10:08:23 am

When the consistency of love offered by Serge Benhayon is also offered by the entire family including his ex-wife and her new partner, you know there is something very very special to learn from in this family.

Henrietta Chang

22/5/2016 12:12:23 pm

Eunice, I love how you have shared and busted some old ideas about dinner parties. I recall from when I was a kid, that we set the table with special cutlery and plates when guests came over, there was a lot of angst in making sure the place was clean - vacuuming and dusting and making sure everything was spick and span clean before anyone arrived. And of course the food, making sure there was an entree, a main meal and a dessert. All pre-planned and ingredients picked up from various destinations (often quite involved and needing specialty shops etc). Looking back now, I get to realise how this actually was almost like a show - not that our family meant to make it like that, but simply it was what we did and we did not question it. Thankfully over the years, our family dropped this as a habit and no longer did the 'show' thing but instead included everyone as part and parcel of the family. Which to me feels so much more 'normal'. And today, having left home years ago, and now with my own little family, I can gladly say that we delight in having guests over, but keep things simple and loving to the best of our ability, with not so much a focus on appearing perfect, but rather an openness and flexibility of taking things as they come.

Simon Williams

30/5/2016 12:49:55 pm

We had this expression in our family - FHB... Family Hold Back, if there were guests. To make sure there was enough for the guests, to put them first. But its the same thing Eunice is describing - we would change how we were for others, and how crazy that when people come we should hold back... much rather that we were everything we could possibly be!

Jonathan Stewart

4/6/2016 09:11:32 pm

"The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less." This is such a great point you make, Eunice. When we feel and experience this it so out-weighs all the other external factors for we feel deep inside that we are being met and appreciated for who we are not for what we do. That is so special, so confirming and expansive.

Jonathan Stewart

8/6/2016 09:15:52 pm

"It’s not a case of one face for the workshops and another for the home – it is clear to me that the true respect, love and honouring that the Benhayons bring to the workshops is but a reflection of how they are at home with each other." This consistency is the expression of love. It is transparent. What you see is what you get and what you get is being honoured in full for who you are and not for what you do. What greater love is that?

Shami

9/6/2016 01:02:56 pm

It would be possible to say that Serge Benhayon lives an amazing life, because he really does. But it is not without the constant commitment to his work and his family and all the people in his life, of which there are many. Never once have I known him to sit back and say, ok that's enough or now I've got what I wanted so I'm gonna stop. There seems to be a great deal of appreciation for what he has that supports both himself and his family, but also he is willing to go deeper, to explore more of what he can offer to us - all of us. This is rare because many of us are seeking the security of a comfortable life. I know I have been doing this for a long time. So it is refreshing and encouraging to meet someone who makes the quality of his relationships far more important than any material or business or social success. For me, it puts things in to perspective in a very humbling and real way.

Alison Moir

9/6/2016 09:58:05 pm

I love your blog Eunice it is music to my ears. All through my life I avoided giving dinner parties for the very reasons you mention the need for it to be special to bring out the best dinner service to push the boat out...making it about the food more than it is about the people around the table. This is what I love about Serge there is no pretence or false ways of being. This is a wonderful insight into how different a meal can be treating everyone as an equal and offering a true welcome into our homes. "The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less. Being met and held in and with that love is the blessing - and no amount of special plates, cutlery, glasses or super tidy house can usurp such a blessing."

Simon Voysey

16/6/2016 02:55:38 pm

Thank you Eunice for painting this beautiful picture of equality and to Serge Benhayon for living it.

margaret shadforth

7/7/2016 02:23:25 pm

The simplicity and harmony expressed consistently and with Love of the Benhayon family is consistently reflected no matter where they are and what they are doing in the world

mary sanford

9/7/2016 10:32:20 pm

I remember those dinner parties of old where everything was based on making an impression, the house had to be super tidy, and the best table cloth and cutlery was used and as you say out came the Waterford crystal glasses. It was all such an effort.
Now when people come for supper they often help prepare the food or set the table it is all inclusive as a big family and this feels so much freer as there is no tension or falseness at all and much more fun.

Heather Pope

1/1/2017 10:06:50 am

There is so much joy in having people for dinner, no airs or graces needed, just opening of our homes to share the love that is there every day.

Simon Voysey

28/7/2016 05:38:50 pm

Thank you Eunice I was reminded in your blog about dinner with the Benhayons of the warmth that you feel in your chest when in a loving environment and the conversation that it supports being as you say very free flowing, playful and enriching all at the same time.

Ariana Ray

3/8/2016 11:25:05 pm

'The nature of true love is such that it holds all equally – no-one higher and no-one lower.' That is the joy of Serge Benhayon and his family, they have no special status, they hold all equal. When we feel the power of this we can see how it lets us release judgement, jealousy and malcontent. It frees us to see we all have the same love within us, the same power of choice. Serge offers a hand to support us along the way, holds us all within that hand hold. This is power - to see the equal love in all.

Shami Duffy

25/8/2016 12:12:21 pm

It really is unusual to meet a family with no issues, and although I know that the Benhayon family are not perfect, I do trust that whatever arises is dealt with swiftly and with huge amounts of love.
It would be fair to say that in the past I would have associated that love with something soft and lenient. Something where one party gets there way and the other is left feeling less. But this is not the love I have come to understand love to be by the role models of the Benhayon family. In fact love can be very firm and uncompromising and whilst boundaries are super clear, the person that you are is never forgotten or disrespected.

Shami Duffy

26/8/2016 12:04:00 pm

Everyone being equal takes away the glamour associated with certain jobs or roles in society that are especially esteemed, such as leaders of countries or celebrities. Imagine having the leader of your country round for dinner and not putting on your best face, but just simply being yourself? giving them the normal table wear that you always use, and cooking a meal that you would normally eat, or even asking them to contribute a dish for the dinner? It seems crazy, but people are people no matter the job or the role, and everyone has to eat. So it is lovely to read about the equality of meal time at the Benhayon household because it is a real leveller for us, and brings meal times back to its basics.

Golnaz Shariatzadeh

30/8/2016 03:41:05 am

"The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less. Being met and held in and with that love is the blessing - and no amount of special plates, cutlery, glasses or super tidy house can usurp such a blessing." I love what is expressed here. In fact when I get the enormity of what it would mean if we lived every single relationship as such it brings tears to my eyes. Yes this love, honouring and cherishing one another equally is the way to live as one huge family.

Nikki McKee

24/10/2016 02:28:39 am

A consistent lived way is something remarkable, yet that in itself is crazy. How is it that we put one face on for our guests, our colleagues...and we have a different one for family members, our partners, children. The Benhayon family is a gorgeous example of living consistently with love.

Matts Josefsson

7/11/2016 12:39:46 am

One can feel the experience you had with the Benhayon's yet it is usually quite far away from what we are used to. It feels reassuring though to know there is at least one such point of light on earth to reflect true love in a family.

Golnnaz Shariatzadeh

27/12/2016 11:00:36 pm

I also grew up with the tradition of ‘put others before yourself’ championed in society. This is such a trap as an ideal, all my life I have either felt resentful and exhausted if I have subscribed to it, or felt guilty and selfish if I did not. It was such a breath of fresh air to see the real true way of living in Serge Benhayon & his family. The deepest level of care and honouring of self in every way, and then with the strength, clarity and power built from that offer THE SAME to other people. Now this makes absolute sense and is truly inspiring.

Heather Pope

1/1/2017 10:05:27 am

Living with that love in a family every day is something we all long for. The Way of the Livingness is how it develops and grows day by day. How precious is it that Serge Benhayon shares it all with the world.

Jonathan Stewart

11/2/2017 12:42:44 am

Being welcomed as a member of the family rather than an as a special guest may seem bland but in truth it is the greatest honour one can receive.

Stephanie Stevenson

12/2/2017 12:06:04 am

The Benhayon family consistently offers the most exquisite reflection of how simple, supportive and harmonious it can be to live with and from Love 24/7. From what you share Eunice, there are no labels of 'guests' for dinner - anyone who is invited is treated as family and joins in with all the activities of the meal - preparation, clearing and cleaning up. How absolutely lovely this is.

Golnaz Shariatzadeh

9/3/2017 10:55:29 am

I was also brought up with the ideal that a 'good' person puts others first. Then I started realising the error in such a belief, since if I do not take care of myself I would not be fit to take care of others, I started to revert to an ideal that I need to take care of myself first. But what the Benhayon's reflect is a different conversation altogether. It is never either or. When you put love first, then everyone and everything is taken care of beautifully, with simplicity, ease and grace.

Matts Josefsson

10/3/2017 12:27:32 am

What you describe feel like heaven Eunice.

Rebecca Briant

13/3/2017 03:58:39 am

I agree Eunice, I am personally always touched my Serge and his family's inclusiveness of people - you are not treated differently.

Christine Hogan link

7/5/2017 03:38:39 am

Beautifully said Eunice, especially your closing comment which summed up the truth of the Livingness in the Benhayon Household - 'Not because they are special or gifted but simply because they have all committed to making their lives about love in every way – and in the world today that is what makes this ordinary family extraordinary.

Fiona Lotherington

29/6/2017 04:16:09 am

This family is one that is going against all the trends in society. When most people go to a counselor or psychologist, it’s about the difficult or traumatic relationships they experience in their homes. Domestic violence, abuse, incest occurs far more in families than there is with ‘stranger danger’. And in families where everything seems peaceful there can be complacency, and a comfortable arrangement rather than true love. The Benhayons show me that truly loving relationships are not only possible but they are something we all know and want.

Lieke Campbell

6/7/2017 10:20:40 pm

Beautiful to read and it explains how what Serge Benhayon presents makes so much sense and feels so true: he truly lives it in every part of his life, its not just a put on on stage and that is what is very evident.

Nico van Haastrecht

6/9/2017 08:33:52 pm

True Lieke, and that makes clear to me now in what Serge benhayon presents that everything is one life, that we should be the same in all aspects of our life. No different at work and when at home or in another situation. Everything gets the same love, care and attention that it deserves.

Aimee Edmonds

2/12/2017 08:56:55 am

I can remember we all changed when visitors came into our home growing up and put on our best 'self' or what we thought that was but the tension always remained and everyone would have felt it. This is just what we thought was normal at the time, we saw it happen in other households and dynamics were just part and parcel of being in a family. I love how the Benhayon's and other families have debunked this way of being in families just by choosing love and living that everyday.

Shami

3/8/2017 01:17:56 pm

There is a real difference between genuine love and the loving appearances we can make.

Leonne Sharkey

1/9/2017 10:42:22 pm

It's hard to imagine a dinner more delicious than this, I feel welcomed to the family and the table just reading about your experience. Thank you Eunice.

Nico van Haastrecht

6/9/2017 08:29:00 pm

It feels actually so natural to live as one family like that what you share in this testimonial Unice. So the question comes to me what have we in general made family to be instead as in my experience it was far from what I read above but as you said, full with hidden agenda, false beliefs and pictures of how things should be instead.

Monica Gillooly

9/9/2017 03:01:24 pm

'The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less' ... this encapsulates how we can be with each other and how this family lives meeting all in the love they live daily.

Danna Elmalah

18/11/2017 10:50:19 pm

It is quiet rarely nowadays to see families living in harmony. Surely one that has a certain form of pretending that they are fine, whilst they are actually not doing so well together.. It is beautiful to have experienced having diner with the family Benhayon too, to see the level or realness, openness and warm-heartedness that they live with to each other and the guests I saw them receive. A totally new standard to see a family live like this -- welcoming people, not with any pretending, but a steady love that they just live with each other equally.

Carola Woods link

26/11/2017 11:17:36 am

Love this Eunice, and message you share through your testimony - that to truly honor your guests, or anyone that we meet for that matter, is to welcome them as an equal, held in the equal love that we all are. In embracing this loving quality for ourselves first, the foundation of all our relationships are then seeded in love, and from what we can all witness in today’s society this is exactly what the world is crying out for.

Melinda Knights

3/4/2018 07:09:38 pm

So true Carola, the office politics, bullying at school, family arguments and violence, etc, would all be eradicated if we were to base life on love.

Aimee Edmonds

2/12/2017 08:48:25 am

My whole body warms and drops tension just by reading this because in truth it is just so natural, yet very rarely lived by most families including my own. Again, the Benhayon's show by pure reflection that we are not going anywhere or getting to anything but actually coming back to what is true and the love in which we are.

Ray Karam link

13/12/2017 11:18:40 am

I remember growing up and the dinner parties that were hosted or we went to were always special occasions. You would put on 'good' clothes and be on your best behaviour. While it was always great to catch up with people the whole interactions always seemed put on or dressed up like we were. Like we were trying to make this picture of how it could be and yet it was only at these dinners this was for, it didn't make sense. What it would have been like if this was everyday, I don't mean the dinners necessarily but taking the time and care and the specialness for everyday, make this care the norm, that makes more sense.

Monica Gillooly

16/1/2018 01:13:00 pm

A family that makes it about love in every way ... yes I couldn't agree more and how inspiring is it to feel and know that this is possible. This is living love, one which holds all equally so and this is our natural way of being, it's both ordinary and right now also extraordinary as many of us do not live this. So having role models like the Benhayons is such a support for us all.

Samantha Davidson

28/1/2018 10:57:57 pm

We under estimate the power of being consistent in our lives and think we can get away with being different in one place and with someone and then change it all when we encounter someone else or a different situation...this is exhausting and dishonest, trying to fit in or show our good face instead of being consistent everywhere, undoes us and we get exhausted. We look for ways of changing our lives well this article clearly states how this can occur, through consistently ad responsibility in all areas of live, home, work, family friends everywhere, no difference concerning the care, attention to details and responsibility...this changes lives, a simple technique but it requires consistency are we willing to go there? I am getting there and the practice I have put in has been bountiful in terms of the quality I live and the energy I have, it is well worth giving a go.

Adele Leung

3/3/2018 01:51:39 pm

Dinner without alcohol served feels free where people can be themselves and truly connect and communicate. Every moment with someone is so precious and the norm of the world is to dedicate meal times to disconnect (too much food and with alcohol) but to read this is a cosistent re-imprint of this falseness.

Jonathan Stewart

30/3/2018 10:56:07 pm

The description of 'dinner with the Benhayons' is a superb reflection of the integrity, harmony and equality in which they live their lives in everything they do.

Melinda Knights

3/4/2018 07:06:33 pm

Thank you Eunice, love holds all equally and no part of the day need be greater either. I'm still learning this as I return to living from my soul, and very much appreciate the living example the Benhayon family provides.

Ariana Ray

7/5/2018 06:28:03 am

'The specialness comes by being held in and with the same love as the host loves their own family – no more, no less. Being met and held in and with that love is the blessing.' This is a very beautiful blog Eunice, thank you for sharing it . Being met and held in love is certainly a huge blessing. It was never an experience for me until I met Serge Benhayon and his family. Now I feel this holding love each time I meet or communicate with Serge Benhayon, and that is a huge blessing. Thank you Serge Benhayon for inspiring such love and truth in us all.

Jennifer Smith

7/5/2018 11:53:14 am

Gorgeous article Eunice. We get to see again that the Benhayon Family are amazing at setting new standards, and dinner time is no exception. Everyone participating, engaging and connecting - no one special or left out. Inspiring others through a way of living that is all about love. Gosh imagine a dinner discussion without any dynamics or issues?

Joshua Campbell

14/5/2018 04:19:43 am

It is absolutely ridiculous to consider that in the past family dinners were more like the dinners experienced at the Benhayon's. There may not always have been love but there was certainly less distraction, stimulation and it was common to make sure everyone ate together just like at the Benhayon's. Nowadays it is common for families to eat separately because of commitments, but also because of distraction from technology and general distaste of one another. The Benhayon's in this way are in no way special, they are just living with more common sense than most are choosing to.

Leigh Matson

25/7/2018 01:22:12 am

It’s beautiful to read and feel how mealtimes can be. I highly doubt that that joy is reserved solely for the dinner table though. It’s one example of how joyful and light life can be.

Michelle Sheldrake

31/7/2018 01:42:02 pm

Eunice your sharing of what you have experienced at the Benhayon dining table reminds me of another tradition around food that I've observed at Universal Medicine events and which was introduced by Serge Benhayon - the bringing of a plate of food to share with everyone. While this is not a new tradition, it is one that has been superseded by the time of dinner or event catering you describe where it is still all about the host. I absolutely love the sharing of food equally by and and with all. I've even attended a wedding inspired by this where the invitation included a call for everyone to bring a plate of food. So for me the re-introduction of sharing the preparation of food as a community is symbolic of Serge Benhayon's love of people and community and of course his very practical side.

Sue Queenborough

16/10/2018 06:31:29 am

Yes bringing a plate of food prepared with love makes hosting an event less work for the host and enables everyone to contribute. True brotherhood in action.

Inma Lorente

4/8/2018 06:59:48 am

Such a beautiful experience Eunice. When love is truly lived there is no need of anything else like putting effort in special occasions or working hard to impress anyone, for every single moment is a gift in itself to be fully lived and embraced. The joy of gathering together and sharing with honesty is a blessing that no abounds in this world. The Benhayon's family is making it possible in a very inspiring way.

Lorraine Wellman

19/8/2018 12:44:03 am

We have so much to learn in life, it is lovely that we have role models that reflect true love, 'Therefore, with true love we cannot love one person more than another and any such differences just show how we are caught in human emotional love that is needy, rather than living from what love truly is.'

Viktoria

25/8/2018 01:20:49 am

So true, of course it makes sense that the way the Benhayon's are on stage is a reflection of how they live their life at home as it is for every presenter and human being on the planet. When we observe our manager who is hard, driven and constantly pushing - we can see how they are within their own private life - we have a saying "It's just how they are", so if we see a person who is genuinely caring, of course it makes sense that they would be that way in their private lives as well.

Joseph Barker

1/9/2018 12:25:55 pm

A great example Eunice that aside from presentations and courses there is a great deal of healing we can offer others just through the practical way we live. We don’t have to subscribe to societies norms and as Serge Benhayon shows, it’s extrenely powerful when we don’t.

Sue Queenborough

16/10/2018 06:28:41 am

“... committing to make their lives about love in every way,” not something I’m aware any other family does. Thankyou for sharing your experience of ‘dinner with love’ and the Benhayon family. Being treated as one of the family, not a special guest really shows the equalness that Serge holds everyone in.

Ingrid Ward

22/11/2018 10:13:14 pm

I would say there are very few families in the world where their “family relationships are free, clear and clean – free of emotional entanglement”, and one of the few, from what you have shared, is the Benhayon family. I have not had the joy of dining with them, but I have seen them interact in life and it appears to me that how they live at home is exactly how they are in their personal lives, as to them it is all one life.

Leigh

18/11/2019 12:12:47 am

Before knowing Serge my family didn’t treat others as guests for very long. Even less so now (especially on taco night!) but since then there’s been a clear reflection that keeping others as guests and/or at arms length so to speak doesn’t truly work.

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