Relationship Coaching

As Leif and I really step out into this ministry we are seeing more and more of a need for Relationship Coaching. SO MANY couples are in crisis right now be it financially, physically, emotionally, sexually, spiritually, etc. The past 5-6 years for most of us have been exceptionally difficult because of the economy and the amount of loss many of us have suffered. While we have been busy trying to repair our credit, our lives, our families, and our careers we haven’t done anything about our marriage or partnership! We just don’t put enough emphasis on it and think that it will all work itself out in the end. That end MAY be divorce court!

By NOT acknowledging what IS happening, right now, will end you up in divorce court. I know, and so does my “new” husband because we are both divorced. It isn’t anything I would recommend for anyone unless you have a situation that obviously calls for it. If you think you have experienced loss with the economy and your career, it fails in comparison to what you loose through divorce especially if you have children.

The number one thing I see today with couples is the FEAR to to COMMUNICATE about your commitment with each other. I don’t mean just the basic day to day conversation, I mean sitting down face to face, and having a CONVERSATION with each other about your feelings, concerns, ideas, and where this is going. Not yelling, not blaming, not finger pointing, and making excuses but TALKING, albeit passionately, about what is important to you and how you feel. When was the last time you had a conversation with your other half and really asked how their day was and truly cared? Or asked what you both would like to do in the next year, or 5 years, or even Saturday night?

Instead, we turn to friends, co-workers, family, the delivery guy and anyone else who has an ear. Anyone that is able to tolerate us telling the same story over and over again about how unhappy we are with our partner and if they would just do this one thing every thing would be ok bla, bla, bla!! UGH! How many of you do this? I did, for 17 years…and so did my current husband for 20 years!! His best friend told him “Look, until you deal with this, stop talking about it!” Alrighty then….’nough said.

What’s wrong with that picture?

While many of those people mean well with their advice, however, do they have your best intentions at heart? Do they not like your partner and use this opportunity to infiltrate their own agenda? Are they after your partner and are using this all as helpful information? What is their own relationship status like, what makes then an authority? Be careful who you share your dirty laundry with because there may be people looking to start trouble. Keep your family business between you and your family, always.

Now, I know that our partners may not be easy to talk with and often a simple discussion turns into a screaming match. It’s because BOTH of you are exhausted and frustrated. Both of you are like a match and when the other opens their mouth that is the fire to spark it. What once was a simple hello can quickly turn into a giant F*** Y**! The same argument surfaces time and time gain with each of you yelling louder and LOUDER so desperate to be heard!! You both just want to be heard and acknowledged, and the other won’t budge…you both HAVE to be right..sound familiar?

Yet we live in the same house together. We may not be in the same bed or share meals but we are in the house still….so….there may be a chance to turn this thing around. If not, then let’s get that out in the open as well. No sense on sitting on a divorce if that is where your heart truly lays. Coaching can also be a safe place to bring it up AND you may find the other person has been feeling the same way. or, you may find that it is an open window to begin dialogue.

Being a divorced couple, we know first hand the stresses couples face. We both were in long term marriages, we both have children, and we both thought we would never get divorced yet we both were the ones to file for the divorce. We understand your plight, we understand the complexity and we have been through MANY circumstances in our marriages and with each other and can address certain private matters safely and discreetly. It doesn’t matter your age, sexual orientation, race, or religion we all face challenges.

In an effort to expand our business and bring awareness to the world about the power of COACHING we are offering 2 couples a unique opportunity to enter your partnership into Relationship Coaching! You and your partner are eligible to receive 3 (THREE) 90 minute coaching sessions with my husband and I for 3 weeks. This way both sides feel represented and it isn’t 2 against 1! That is ONE session a week for THREE weeks. If you are interested please read the following and apply! We will be accepting applications for the next 5 days until March 11 and you will notified by email by March 13 if you were selected.

The Program

Are you LIVING AUTHENTICALY in your current relationship? Being AUTHENTIC means being who you truly are inside and outside of your relationship. That when you are either with your partner or out in the world you don’t have to change hats, you can truly be your happy and expressive self! You encourage each other to grow and expand. You nurture each other and take interest in their interests. You’re explorative and want to be adventurous. Being AUTHENTIC is not stifling your partners growth or possibilities while learning to create your own.

Does any of the following ring true for you with your partner:

• Have a spiritual connection.
• MUTUALLY satisfying sexual connection.
• Happy, successful, and growing TOGETHER!
• Truly able to express your love FREELY and without reserve.
• Share common goals, plans, desires!
• Happy to see each other at the end of the day!
• Have a direction that you are going in!
• Building a strong family foundation.
• Encouraging the other to follow their dreams.
• Being YOURSELF in all ways!

Or

• Lack of spiritual connection to each other
• Your partner doesn’t seem to understand you.
• You feel scared to talk about your true feelings.
• You feel humiliated in front of your partner.
• Your sex life is not satisfying.
• There is no sex life.
• You want to experience new things and they don’t.
• One or both of you have had an affair.
• Your growing apart and in different directions.
• Bringing up the past, playing the blame game.
• One of you is chronically ill.
• Parenting differences.

Why Coaching and not Therapy?

In certain circumstances traditional therapy does have its place. Relationship Coaching works differently than traditional therapy by not concentrating on the past but how do we move forward from here! The PAST IS OVER and we can’t go back and change it! So let it GO! If both members are willing, Relationship Coaching can help breath fresh, EXCITING life into a tired, worn out union! Traditional therapy keeps us in the “why”. Coaching is about action and we don’t care about the ‘why” we are concerned with the “how” and the “what”? How do we move forward and what steps do we take? That is coaching.

Directions

If you are interested in turning your current relationship around please send me and email at kristen@sacredcircleministry.com  with the basis if the problem you are having, your concerns and your desired result. This will be for 3 90 minute sessions, for 3 weeks. You both will be required to be present and have a desire to DO the work – no matter how dark and messy, and be willing to be vulnerable. BIG changes are going to occur! We are primarily looking for couples who would seriously benefit from this experience but could otherwise not afford it. To find out more about Leif and I and how we Coach visit us at www.scaredcircleministry.com and learn how we can help you!!

Thank you and Blessings Abound!

~Kristen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Become Who You Decide To BE!

WOW! This was very powerful for me~! Years of thought and figuring have been summed up in a matter of minutes. And I mean yyyeeeaaarrrsssss…..this has been the week of AWAKENING for Kristen. We go to a non-denominational church here in the valley every Sunday and the pastor had a very powerful message today, as always. He said that “We are the sum of all of our decisions”. We made a particular choice every step of the way in life to get to where we are right now! Every single step was made by us, calculated by us, decided by us, and fulfilled by us. “You are on the path to somewhere, when you are doing your path.”

I really let that set in. I can’t remember the exact analogy he used but it was similar to a man crossing the street and the series of events it took for this man to actually cross the street. Like taking a step, lifting one leg, then the other, turning right, turning left, etc. It was many small precise steps that equaled one large endeavor; crossing the street. He went on to say that is how our life is; we make very precise decisions to get to where we are today. To get from her to there, there is a series of events that have to taker place. There is no waking up and asking “How the hell did I get here?”  We know…we know how we got there. Whether be it using drugs, stealing money, or being unfaithful we made every decision. Whatever it is You/I/We knew EXACTLY what we were doing each and EVERY step of the WAY.  Even if we want to lie to ourselves and believe we were seduced or taken against our will, something happened in those events that we made a choice to be there, no matter how small. When we open ourselves up to even the smallest of opportunities we also open ourselves to the largest of circumstances. Good, bad, or indifferent. 

I have been in SO many predicament’s asking myself repeatedly either catastrophically drunk or agonizingly hung over:

• How the hell did I get here?
• What the hell did I do to deserve this?
• What the F*** was I thinking?
• What is wrong with me?
• Why do I do this to myself?
• Why does everyone hate me?
• God has it in for me!!

Ok, I’ll admit, even when I was sober I still asked some of the same questions…I’d be so overwhelmed with either guilt or surprise that I’d look for anyTHING or anyONE to blame it on. I’d blame my parents, my childhood, my ex boyfriend, a teacher, a bystander – anything to save myself from the stark realization that I have been the total demise of my life. I couldn’t stand to bear the fact that I could do this to myself. What was my motivation?Why would I create such a cluster****!! So much darkness, so much pain, and  so much self destruction….Why??

Well, for a long time I didn’t know. I’ll be honest up until Wednesday I still didn’t know. I thought I did, but after that hypnosis session on Wednesday I realized that it was the path I created was for my own lessons to learn, and the ultimate lesson was LOVE. In order for me to experience Love in it’s fullness and achieve the spiritual growth I desire, I had to work for it. Sometimes, the work is unpleasant yet everything worth having requires work we don’t quite want to do. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. I must have HUGE plans for myself in the Heavens after this life time because I tell you, I have done the work!

I’m ok with it now though, I Became Who I Decided To BE! I became HER in order to fulfill my life purpose. When I look back it all makes sense, and I have released the remaining parts of me that I was holding on to. I know this trip isn’t over but for the first time ever I am excited to be on it! I don’t worry like I used to. This week has changed me forever and for the good. I feel so grateful to be able to heal myself AND have a career that I can help others heal themselves! It’s a beautiful week!

I invite you to look at your life, what sense can you make of your it?

Who Did You Decide To Become?

In Light,

Kristen

 

 

The Power of Hypnosis

Being a Hypnotherapist I am fortunate to be a part of a client’s spiritual awakening or personal discovery. I love that aspect of being a part of their process and how they allow me to be there, facilitating this incredible journey! What a blessing I have! Well, yesterday I went to go see my teacher, Linda Bennett at South West Institute of Healing Arts. I was ready to experience Hypnosis on a higher level. I have been having some residual issues in my life and I wanted them gone. I was able to process out most of my problems through schooling but a few little things are still hanging on. We are never truly “done” healing in life. Linda is our mentor, teacher, and person who painted the picture of the power of Hypnosis. She has been studying and doing Hypnotherapy for about 25 years I believe. She is truly a magical, Spiritual Be-Ing.

Now, when I met Linda I was a bit intimidated. I was so new to all this kind of spiritual work I felt like a fish way out of water. I began my Hypnosis classes scratching my head thinking “I just don’t get this”. Linda would kindly say “Don’t worry, you will”. I kept waiting for that day even into Hypno III. I couldn’t grasp my mind around how the Subconscious worked right away and how we have the ability to access the information stored there from this life time and the previous ones. To become a Clinical Hypnotherapist you need to have 300 hours of classes in various techniques and styles. You also have to attain the knowledge of what to do during sessions if something goes wrong. Not that it goes “wrong” per say but people can have abreactions, or things that happen to them during a session. They may cry, they may call out, they may get up, they may do all kinds of things. We just don’t know ahead of time so we have to be prepared to handle these situations. There are a lot of classes we have to take in preparation for our certification:

• Past Life Regression
• Fears, Phobias, Addictions
• Subconscious Intervention
• Spirit Release
• Pain Management
• Weight Management
• Smoking Cessation
• Script Writing
• Dreams and Metaphors
• Hypnosis Clinic

In these classes we all get to practice on each other and while it’s beneficial it isn’t the same as getting a professional session. I had great moments of self discovery and healing, I still lacked that A-HA moment. When I originally booked my appointment with Linda I decided to work on some business blocks I had. At the last minute I decided to work these other things. In true Hypnosis fashion we don’t talk about the story just the symptom and how it is currently showing up in my life. What is happening when these feelings are occurring and what reactions do they bring up for me? That’s it, nothing more, and a few minutes later I’m stretched out on the chair in a light trance. She took me through Past Life Regression where I went through 3 lifetimes (that is some crazy stuff right there) and how these feeling’s effected me in those lifetimes. She was regressing me back and back in time to find out where the Original Sensitizing Event (OSE) occurred, the moment that my Subconscious mind became aware of these feelings. What caused it? When did first have those feelings? We couldn’t find it in those lifetimes, but we found the same reactions I was having.

Linda regressed me back to the beginning of THIS lifetime, and I saw myself, other spirits and she had me ask them what was my purpose here this time? What lessons did I plan on learning? I saw myself in spirit form it is incredibly crazy to see yourself and others like that. It was so amazing and breathtaking to see what the Other Side looks like!! I have seen glimpses, I have seen spirits, and I have had my Guides speak to me bit NOTHING compared to this, I still can’t believe what I saw…and how we communicated! That is for a different day.

After a series of events and questions it came down to the fact of me wanting to experience Love, I wanted to know what Love was. So I designed events that would cause me to learn that no matter what Love, is all that matters. If you don’t understand what that means read the book The Little Soul by Neale Donald Walsh, it explains everything in detail.

My life has been filled with so much pain, my heart broken again and again and I always wondered what kind of mess did I get myself into in this lifetime? The experiences I had that caused my heart to break caused me to experience unpleasant  feelings about a lot of things. I was beginning to question myself, question Spirit, question this whole existence. I was a strong, intelligent women with these silly issues hanging around. I discovered I am at the height of my Spiritual awakening and now is when everything will make sense. It is my understanding that before we come down here (earth or this realm) we sit with our Creator, the Angels, and our Spirit Guides to discuss and plan our Spiritual Purpose. We all have a purpose, no one has been born in vain, We may have gotten side tracked, we may have been led off our path but Spirit ALWAYS finds a way to bring us back. That nagging feeling about things, that sudden shift in thought, that brilliant new idea, that waking up in the morning deciding to do something different feeling is all Spirit getting your attention!! I thought I was lost forever. For years I felt like my life was a mistake, I felt like a joke and I felt like there was no way in the world I could ever be happy. I felt like I was being punished for something I didn’t know about. For al the work I have done in the past year and a half I still felt insecure and part of me was feeling undeserving. Why? Why couldn’t I shake those remaining feelings? What I found out during that session was I am exactly where I need to be…

That is the power of Hypnosis. In a 60 minute session we went into 3 lifetimes, up to the Heavens 2 times and had a little chit chat with my Guides and other helpful spirits,and back down to earth for the final wrap up. I wasn’t ready before yesterday, I wasn’t in the right place to hear those words that were told to me. To see Spirit on the other side; so pure, so clean and so full of love was just the medicine my little heart needed. Not only do I know why I have had these residual feelings, but I also know my life purpose and WHY I have had the life I do. I essentially planned it that way. When I saw myself on the Other Side in spirit form I was an amazingly excited spirit to come down here. We were all hooping and hollering and getting ready for the journey. My Guides reminded me of my decisions before coming here, and it warmed my heart and I was moved to tears. It gave me the courage I needed to keep going and doing the work of helping others discovering these amazing possibilities. Thank you Linda……

What a blessing! I am charged up and ready to go! I just wanted to share what a recent hypnosis session can be like. They aren’t all the same, but they can certainly bring something to the table we did not know before. It can be an intimidating or perplexing thought to go inside our Subconscious and root around for answers and ideas.Having the ability to be open minded, having a facilitator you can trust, and have the willingness to ACCEPT what you learn can be the key to turning your life around in ways that nothing else can. I invite you to be daring, to be excited, and to be willing to see what has been missing from your life!!

In light

Kristen

 

Love Addiction with Co-Dependency

I heard it in the movie Juno that the best you can hope for is to “Find someone who loves you for exactly who you are.” Maybe it’s slightly paraphrased but you get the point. Isn’t that what we all want? To be accepted and loved for who we are; good, bad, or indifferent? How many of us go searching in all the wrong places for that? Or try to change ourselves to fit into the mold of what someone else wants? I mean, really think about it and your past experiences in relationships. How many people did you actually date that were interested in you for exactly who you were and didn’t have some kind of personal agenda?  I’m sure there are a few of you who have been blessed early in life with finding that ‘once in a lifetime’ partner and I applaud you, sincerely! I’m glad you haven’t had to experience the heartaches and disappointment many of us have felt. I know I have dated some guys that….for lack of a better term were TOTAL LOSERS!! I don’t even know what I was thinking sometimes. Onward….

I dated men that weren’t emotionally available, I dated men who didn’t like women very much. I dated men that didn’t even like themselves very much. In my first marriage I ultimately married a guy like that. I thought, love was all I needed. I believed that if I found the right guy that everything would be ok. I thought I could change him and once we got married we would have this happy little family and all the bad stuff will go away. I put up with so much bad behavior from my boyfriends and then my first husband that I cringe just thinking about it now. I loved the feeling of falling in love; meeting that new guy and having that connection, and I would look for it often. The only time I broke up with someone was because I already had another guy in the wings. If I got broken up with I’d be on the hunt that night looking or a new love so I would feel better. I was highly codependent; thinking that I could fix any man with any kind of problem if I loved him enough. I believed I could change into what ever he wanted.  But I never received any love back and couldn’t figure out why that was. I would ask myself “What is wrong with me?” Am I too ugly? Am I too fat? Am I not good enough? I thought that if I became the perfect person that they would have to love me…..I thought love was the answer to everything and that if someone loved me enough and if I loved them that nothing else mattered.

I lost friends, rejected my family and lost interests in things that mattered to me. I allowed their world to become my world and took on behaviors that weren’t mine. I exchanged the person I was for the person they wanted me to be. I changed my style, my hair, my weight, and my image. I thought that if I were just “good enough” they would love me. When I was rejected (which was plenty of times) I took it to mean that there was something wrong with me, not that possibly the guy was a total a-hole, but that I had the problem. Can you imagine? Maybe some of you can resonate! I hurt so badly inside during these times, I just can’t believe that I was so desperate. I sacrificed my career, education, and chances to travel. I just lost any part of me that made Kristen who she was and I did it on purpose! I was out of control and my friends were just sick of me and my drama. Crazy with a booze bottle….that was me.

When I created this life coaching and hypnotherapy business I was so excited because I wanted to help so many people with afflictions such as mine. Yet as I began to lay out my business plan I saw just how screwed up in life I was. Truly. I mean, just look at my list of specialties!  How did I get this way? When did I loose my way in the world and end up with all of these problems? What kind of life plan did I lay out for myself before I came here because this lifetime has been a doozy. Maybe I am planning some kind of big  final exit. Maybe this is my last time coming around and I want to go out with a bang!! Yeah that’s it! I’m so glad I finally have a chance to heal my life, and heal those memories. It’s ok, because if I didn’t go through them I wouldn’t be able to help others who are suffering.

So what is Love Addiction and how do you know if you have it? It’s being addicted to that intoxicated feeling you get when you meet someone new and exciting! It’s that rush that someone finds you interesting and you find them interesting. It can be a sexual attraction, and often Love and Sex Addiction goes hand in hand much like Love addiction and Co-dependency. Here is the best description I found from Love Addiction Treatment Center:

*“While the desire to love and be loved is perfectly normal, the intoxicating feeling of being “in love” can be addictive for some individuals. If you’ve ever been in love, you know how powerful it can be. Suddenly your world is completely turned upside down. You feel an excitement – an energy, if you will – that makes everything seem new and wonderful. Some people describe it as feeling like they were walking on air. It’s natural to want this euphoric feeling to last forever.

Of course, most people realize that the wonderful initial feeling of new love doesn’t (and can’t) last forever. In healthy long-term relationships, the initial love gradually gives way to a more mature love – one that is perhaps less intoxicating and euphoric, but ultimately much more fulfilling and stable. For those prone to love addiction, however, the loss of that initial euphoria is akin to the crash that drug addicts feel when their drug of choice wears off. They crave the “high” and begin the search for another fix. Love addicts are no different, which is why they often go from one relationship to the next once the initial high wears off.”

Do you think you have a Love Addiction with Co-Dependency issue?

• Do you fall in love easily and quickly?
• Do you think that you are nothing with out a partner?
• Do you base your self worth on the fact of having a partner or not?
• Do you get jealous and feel possessive easily?
• Do you find yourself dating anyone who asks you?
• Are you always looking for your next relationship?
• Do you sabotage your relationships just so you can start a new one?
• Do you search for high risk partners thinking your love can fix them?
• Do you stay in unhealthy relationships because you believe your love is enough for the both of you?
• Do you equate sex to love?
• If you have sex with someone do you now believe this is a relationship?
• Do you have sex with anyone who asks, thinking it is because they like/love you?
• Do you believe you are unlovable?
• Were you rejected early in life from your parents or caregivers?
• When you go on a date you immediately size the person up for marriage?
• Do you sacrifice friends and family for your partner?
• Partake in activities you know are dangerous just to make them happy? (drugs, alcohol, sex)
• You loose interest in your friends, activities, and job?
• Do your friends and family cringe every time you have a new “relationship”?
• Are you mentally and physically exhausted at the thought of leaving a bad relationship?
• Do you tolerate physical and verbal abuse because you think you deserve it?

If any of these symptoms ring true for you, you may be suffering from Love Addiction with Co-Dependency. Hypnotherapy and Coaching truly worked wonders for me by getting to the root of my problems. I had very low self esteem and self worth. It made such a difference in my second marriage. I was already on the road to healing when I met him but going through the training enabled me to shed the remaining parts of me that were not healthy. My second husband and I have been working very hard on our issues because we want a healthy, stable, and rewarding lifestyle!

Please visit my website at www.sacredcircleministry.com for a complete overview of services to see how we may be able to help you! You don’t have to live like this, it may be hard work to transform behaviors but it is so much more rewarding. Relationships are meant to be an additive or a compliment to who we are, not something to change us. However, in order to find someone to love us for exactly who we are, we have to be ready. By being ready means being healthy and leaving the other baggage behind. Until we change we will live the same pattern over and over wishing we will get better.

In light

Kristen

*From www.loveaddictiontreatment.com

 

What Exactly Is a Life Coach? (part 2)

Fast forward just over a year, I’ve now completed the Life Coaching program, completed the Clinical Hypnotherapy program and successfully became an Ordained Minister!  Yes, during the process of the past 18 months I took a course in Spiritual Studies and became a minister. Not a “holy” minister per say but more like a Celebrant, or a person who does their work from a spiritual sense. I now believe in a Higher Power. I was at such a crisis during my ordination because I had this intense Calling to do so, although I didn’t have a particular path to follow. My current teachers assured me that this was ok, it was on it’s way, and that I was at the point of a spiritual awakening. This is just an incredible twist!  I was sitting in school last Spring in one of my psychology classes and I heard a voice that said “People need you, become ordained, it’s the only way you will be able to do it.” I kept saying “I’m not sure about my beliefs in God/Spirit! I think you have the wrong person here!” There was no way anyone or any Spirit would be asking ME to become ordained, I’m sorry. The only way I can explain it was afterwards a silent knowing had been placed inside me. Somehow I knew God/Spirit will speak to me again when the time is right and I will know the path to choose. I believe right now He is more interested in me developing my faith in Him, period.

A few weeks have past and there was some scuttle going around that my original teacher, Richard Seaman owner and creator of Seattle Life Coach Training, would be facilitating the Advanced Life Coaching class on this particular weekend at SWIHA. I looked at my schedule and breathed a sigh of relief! I had Reiki scheduled that weekend, no problem! I am off the hook! I was afraid of Richard, I allowed myself to be intimidated and I didn’t  feel that I could be myself in his class. I know now it was because I was hiding myself. Several of my friends were anxiously chatting about Richard coming to teach the class and they wanted me to join them and I said  “No, I have Reiki, sorry!” Secretly, I was smiling inside, thinking Thank God, I can’t face this right now. I can’t face Richard and have him know I have been a failure in my coaching. Not that he would care and make me feel bad, but my insecurities began to flow in like a river out of control. Fear welled up in my throat and I just wanted to run. I wanted to run as fast as I could from school and never come back. There were things I knew I had not addressed in school to heal from and they were holding me back, I knew this, I knew that they would be exposed in this class and I was not ready. I thought I could still have a successful business by not ‘coming clean’ all the way. See, if you don’t take care of your own stuff, how dare you think you can help someone with theirs. That is a coaching motto. I thought I did enough work so I could manage. I think I was wrong…

As the date crept closer, a school administrator and I were talking in another class when she mentioned to me that Richard would be coming back to teach. I told her about my Reiki class and how unfortunate the whole situation was and I couldn’t make it. She looked at me and said “Reiki comes around all the time, who cares!” She went on to say “Richard may not be coming back to teach this, you can take Reiki any old time.” Ugh. That shot through the heart and I almost choked on my own lack of air. This sickening feeling ensued me and I felt the world was slipping away. Horror grasped my body and I sat there suddenly realizing that I have to slay the beast! Not Richard but my fear. The next day I called my guidance counselor and reluctantly asked to be put on the list.

As the day drew closer I began to have anxiety, doubt, fear, pain, and bad memories of that first Life Coaching weekend. What if it was terrible again? What if I were embarrassed again? On that fateful Friday, I saw Richard in the hallway; he looked great, like a friendly face from the past. We chatted for a moment and I began to feel calm, like ok, maybe this will be alright. As the clock ticked and the minutes passed I sat in my seat over thinking all of the reasons why I shouldn’t be in this class and why I should run out the door. Panic swooped over me and held me tight, I almost started crying. I felt like I would be exposed for being a fake and that I really wasn’t a life coach, I was a failure. I lied, I hadn’t dealt with my demons, I have been keeping those last secrets in my chest, holding them close to me heart so no one could see….I hadn’t earned the right to truly help others.

Class began and as Richard spoke I felt my panic beginning to ease, I felt that possibly this wasn’t going to be so bad. I felt myself starting to relax and actually enjoy the class. I was paired up with a fabulous coach and I will blog about that incident another day. Every single person I interacted with was amazing! I told myself going in that I am laying down all my cards and expect the best. I am looking for peace of mind and a true transformational experience. I approached each exercise like it was my last. I threw my heart and soul into each session I coached and dumped out the rest of my baggage for my coach. It was a win/win! I felt happy and hopeful. I felt like maybe this whole Life Coaching thing wasn’t so bad, maybe I could be a good coach. Ok, so maybe not that far yet but I was thinking about it.

As the weekend progressed I saw a different side of Richard, he wasn’t intimidating as he was inviting. He invited us, rather highly encouraged us to let it all go, to not be afraid and do the work ourselves first! He admitted his own short-comings, his own mistakes, and his own ego incidents. He appeared human and humble and not what I had made up in my mind. He was inspiring us to find faith in our selves and trust our God/Universe/Spirit to do the work with our clients. He coached us into getting into connection with Spirit and let it fill us up. We don’t have to have the answers, we only need the questions and if we have enough faith the right questions will appear. That is what a Transformational Life Coach is; someone who is open to their Higher Power, being present, and asking the questions the client needs to hear in order make profound change. Wow! I wasn’t in the right place to understand that the first time around. My goodness, Thank goodness I went to the class.

The last exercise of the weekend was the best, I won’t give away too many details but it involves blindfolds, the dark, and faith. Richard is a man of Spirit; he works in synchronization with the Divine. Like a watchful father he sees his children’s fear and he shares his own to demonstrate we are not alone. He is caring yet passionately driven to see his students reach their highest potential. He is tough yet advantageous. This part of the class was the missing puzzle piece I so desperately needed to experience. For the first time I had that “AH-A” moment. I felt Spirit for the first time in my life and as I did I realized that at this moment, nothing else mattered. Whatever we had done in the past is over. I faced my fear and was set free. I am finally free. We were all hugging, crying, talking about Spirit being in the house, and Divine appointments etc. Only this time I was doing most of the talking (smile). I got it, I finally got it.

Richard did something very surprising, he acknowledged my achievements in front of the class. He noticed I wasn’t just ‘in my head’.He saw how hard I had been working and that our class time was not in vain. I began my journey with him and for the most part I am ending with him. How grateful am I to have this teacher, this experience, in fact I am grateful for ALL of my teachers! I can’t believe how good I feel this week, it’s like night and day! In the coming weeks I will be writing about some of my other teachers and classmates and the impressions they have left on me.

Thank you Richard, blessings on your continued journey!

~Kristen

Next: Stepping up and Stepping Out…….

 

It’s a Beautiful Day…..on the Road to Success!

I finally got my website published yesterday. What began as a quest to put together a simple synapsis of what my business would be like and services offered turned into an unbelievable experience I won’t soon forget. What did I really want to have happen? What type of business did I really want to have? I would go back and forth to the computer analyzing this possibility, thinking over that possibility, etc. I spent hundreds of hour’s researching websites from every Life Coach, Hypnotherapist and Tarot Reader I could find. I studied what worked for them, what didn’t, what I liked, and what I didn’t. It all made me begin to realize that this was for real! This was not just something to throw together this indeed was the face front of what I wanted my life’s work to be about! Start throwing words around like that and suddenly you begin to think like you are an important person or something, you now have “work”. The only “face front” I ever had was a drunk face front so…… I’m kind of behind the 8 ball a bit.

Moving on, it had become a daunting task, because now I had a purpose. Now it had to be really special and have the greatest representation of how my business would come across. Have you seen some of the websites out there? There are some really good ones and even more bad ones. I didn’t want to fall somewhere in the middle, I wanted to be in the top 10 of what I saw out there. I wanted people to know that “Hey I am serious about this!” But everyday I sat sown in front of my computer uninspired, unfeeling, and unsure of what it was exactly I would be doing with my business. I had been on this journey of self discovery through school for about 16 months and I still didn’t feel as though I had arrived. I felt like I was still out there in the ethers..floating.

After my ordination in early December I thought ok, this is it, now it is time to knock this out of the park. I have completed the bulk of my education and I am ready to roll. I sat back down in front of the computer once again but just stared at the screen. Nothing flowed from my soul into my fingers. I had a few rough ideas here and there but nothing concrete. I started to feel like maybe I had made a mistake, like all the times before. I would get so excited about a new idea and throw my life into it only to fail. My husband was kind of enough to remind me that Abraham Lincoln failed like a million times before he became president and everyone laughed at Thomas Edison and his light bulb. I said “That was like 10 million years ago, this is happening right now!” He said “It’s when you don’t try that you are failing.” I didn’t know if I should hug him or slap him. Maybe secretly I wanted to be a failure, I was tired of being embarrassed when something doesn’t work. All I ever wanted was my own business and each time I had it, it failed. I began to clearly feel that maybe I was better off being a worker bee instead of an entrepreneur.

My teachers and friends at school assured me that I was great at what I was doing and this was my true calling. As I would look at them though my eyes I would be saying “Are you kidding me? Don’t you know who I am? I don’t succeed, I fail miserably!” I have spent my life busting my ass to make other people money, and did it well Yet when it came for myself there never seemed to be enough money to start it up or enough time to do it right. That is the one thing about SWIHA I have to say is that from day 1 they drill it into your head you can and will succeed. They don’t question your ability; they naturally have faith that all of their students will be a stellar success. I thought that was pretty cool since some of us there have serious emotional and physical damage from past issues. Mostly everyone I met was either an addict, a recovering addict, in and out of abusive relationships, or can’t quite nail down what it is they want to do with their life. None of us really fit in mainstream academia. One things is for sure, it is a school for people who need a different way to get well in a way that nothing else had ever worked for any of them. At least that was my story. Remember, I only went the originally to see if I could get my hours for an Arizona massage license. I walked out enrolled in a 2 year degree.

I put it in my head that over Christmas break I would finish my website, my blog, and my Facebook page and have it all published and at least look like I had a business going. What happened next was nothing short of a miracle. One morning I sat down on the computer and magic words began to flow out of my fingers and onto the screen. I actually had a feeling like I knew what I was doing. I felt like someone else was possibly ‘driving the car’ but who cares, maybe Spirit knows better about these things. I remember that song by Carrie Underwood (I think) called “Jesus Take the Wheel”, maybe Spirit took the computer. However it happened it kept me clicking keys for 18 days straight. Out of that came every single aspect of how I wanted my business to be. What shocked me more is that I actually believe that this is a formidable business. I know it will be successful and last night I was telling my husband I expect to gross 30,000 a month in the first year. No I wasn’t drunk or high, I was being real. I said the more money we make with this ministry the more we can give it to the people who need it most. God knows we have been there. He stood there and while trying to remain calm about the prospect of 30,000 dollars a month he looked at me and said I “Well, now I guess you can buy that boat you’ve wanted for a while!” Then he said “I always knew you could do anything you set your mind too, I was just waiting for you to discover it too.”

Before I went to bed I went and looked at my website again. I have never taken a web design course and I am the worst touch typer ever. It took me many hours to get it perfect (in my eyes), but I think for the first time in my life I got it right. The more I typed and formulated the more the ideas and plans just seeped out of me and I don’t even know where it came from because I hadn’t planned it out previously. It was magic. My biggest challenge was getting all the my modalities that I am capable of  and love down to about 4. From there I figure with time it will get down to my number one service. I felt I would leave that part open to the Universe, that the people who need me the most will show up in that particular category. If I can trust Spirit to design my website I’m pretty sure They will send me the people I need to help. How wonderful is that? I get to help people heal and help them to feel god about themselves. It’s a beautiful day…I haven’t said that in years…Enjoy!!!

Blessings,

Kristen