A New Simplicity

I attended an awesome women’s retreat yesterday with the fabulous Anita Johnson and the divine Elissa Shapiro.

What came through loud and clear for me at the retreat was a desire to yes, simplify and do less (read more), but also to use less energy in all that I do. 

I feel a calling for what I’m terming “A New Simplicity.” Not a fluffy, this-would-be-a-nice-way-to-live where we purge our closets and garages, but a New Way of Being that is coming from necessity. The necessity to purge and streamline our thinking, our doing, our giving and receiving, and of course, our stuff.  We’re entering a time of the unknown—a whole new frontier—that I believe requires us to have more space to breathe, think, dream and digest.
 

Daphne Rose Kingma, author of the beautiful The Ten Things To Do When Your Life Falls Apart says, “When we live simply we are able to rest in the peace that simple living brings: a quieting of the endless mental chatter and the agitation to have more, a simplicity of movement and action in the passage of each day. Time to sit still, to talk with your children, to stare into your lover’s eyes, to read a book, to water a tree, to pray.”   And, I would add, to just be--so we can  actually integrate into our hearts and souls what we’re experiencing moment to moment.

So this week simplicity may look like calling a friend and changing a previous “yes” to a “no,” to create more space and flow, voicing clear boundaries to my clients around my time, consciously building in “unscheduled” weekends and evenings on our family calendar, reviewing February commitments and seeing if any course corrections are needed, skipping my regular Sunday yoga class so I can be rest in stillness for a precious hour, standing up for what I need in the moment, and serving black beans and tortillas for dinner.

As part of my book research I keep running across studies that share our level of happiness and contentment takes a nose dive when we have too many choices OR are faced with making too many decisions in one day.

Here’s to a week imbued with simplicity. I’ll let you know how it goes and would love to hear how you keep it simple.

P.S.  Are you a parent and looking for some top-notch, high level support and inspiration this year?  I love to partner with other entrepreneurs and expand their success and am excited to be involved in Carrie Contey's new Evolve 2012 program and Lisa Byrne's wonderful free MAPP spring series.

Join us and CHOOSE LOVE in 2012: The I Choose Love public service campaign is a reminder that when we come from love--one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces on the planet--we have the ability to transcend fear and remember what we're really hear to do: give and receive love. Learn more and order a tshirt (at cost).

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

• Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Personal Renewal Groups for women
• Attend a retreat/event including my Feb. 10th Empowered Entrepreneur Retreat and my April Esalen and June Kripalu retreats
• Learn about Live Inside Out and receive weekly inspiration on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
• Pick up my life balance title The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
• Read past issues of my Life Balance newsletter
• Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
• Empower Others: Schedule Renee for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization

Subscribe to The Journey,  a weekly blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to creating balance from the inside out.  

Photo: Black beans--simple goodness and highly nutritious! What my family will be eating this week.

Gifts from 2011

As we move into 2012, I find myself feeling more quiet and at ease than I have in many years past. While there are many wonderful things coming to fruition around my work, more than anything, I'm just content with being with what is. And whatever may come.

As I close out 2011, what kept circling back for me was the many gifts I received over the past twelve months. Gifts of joy, learning, hardship, friendship, difficulty, perspective, compassion and the invitation to step into a New Way of Being.

I have a tendency to often move too quickly and not fully take in the moment.

So before I fully embrace 2012 and whatever it may bring, I pause to gratefully acknowledge just a few of the gifts I received from 2011 which were catalysts for my growth:

• many beautiful meditation sessions with my Moon Sisters Meditation Circle
• mentoring and support from many dear authors and colleagues including Jen Louden, Laura Berman Fortgang, Linda Bloom, Denise Barack and many others
• sweet gatherings with my Freedom Mastermind group and the work of Don Miguel Ruiz that guided many of our conversations
• my son's incredible, sweet friends, his soccer tribe and patient piano teacher
• the hundreds of divine yoga classes I enjoyed through my yoga home--Yoga Yoga--and my beautiful new friend that I met through this community
• the always nourishing Town Lake hike and bike trail AND the healing Texas hill country that is just steps away from our back door
• the amazing students in the New Way of Being program and how they supported my ability to step into more freedom at work!
• a new book deal with mind/body/spirit icon and publisher New World Library, my wonderful editor and my talented new book agent
• the amazing staff, students and communities at Esalen and Kripalu that make it possible for me to share teachings around the power of self-care
• all the brilliant graphic design/web support I received from the fabulous Amy Hufford/Stellar Planet and the divine Bella Guzman/High Wire Creative
• the Austin Women's Conference and all the wonderful women/men who made it possible for me to speak/participate in this inaugural event (hope it continues!)
• the changes at Primavera Montessori School (and brilliant, adaptable teachers) which brought us many gifts and opportunities for learning and ah-has
• the wake up call around our family's diet and what best supports each of in coming into greater harmony with our bodies (becoming GF was one!)
• my dear friend's generosity and her desire and commitment to our friendship's growth and evolution
• the opportunity to refinance our house at a historically low rate and to explore where we want to be in our fifties and beyond
• my summer writing sabbatical --the space, the time, the insights, the discipline it required
• my husband's unconditional support for my work--and his always interesting, helpful perspective
• the various tribes and communities that support my husband and son including the Austin Samba School and our church community
• my husband's great job (3 miles from our home)and the great team he works with--things which have allowed us to have more flow and space in our days
• Deb Kern's gorgeous spirit/heart and Daring Divas, Claudia Welch's approach to hormonal balance, Carolyn Scarborough's writing coaching, Dianna Amorde's move to S. Austin, Terri Moser's parenting support, Saudra Goldman's writing retreat --wonderful women and friends that support my heart's work
• Lost Pines Hyatt Resort and the Crossings for helping me teach and serve others so graciously
• our dear friends who accompanied us to Big Bend last spring--the place where I received inspiration for my new book
• the thousands of women worldwide who participate in and lead Personal Renewal Groups--for reminding me again and again of what really matters
• my five siblings who always challenge me to question and re-examine how I see the world
• my wondrous son who is my greatest teacher--whether he's sweet, sassy or surly--he's always happy to hold up a mirror to support my personal and spiritual growth!
• my beautiful aging body--which teaches me so much about self-love, self-compassion, the journey called life and my boundless soul

These gifts all asked me to stretch, fully show up AND many required a shift on my part. They gave me opportunities to live from the inside-out. And to let go of that which no longer served me. And so with gratitude I let the dead limbs from the past year fall away as I direct my energy to the new growth that now needs my care and attention.

May I attend to what's before me with grace and power.

Have you heard about the I CHOOSE LOVE public service campaign? It's a reminder that when we come from love--one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces on the planet--we have the ability to transcend fear and remember what we're really hear to do: give and receive love. Learn more and order a tshirt (at cost).

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

• Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Personal Renewal Groups for women
• Attend a retreat/event including my Feb. 10th Empowered Entrepreneur Retreat and my April Esalen and June Kripalu retreats
• Learn about Live Inside Out and receive weekly inspiration on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
• Pick up my life balance title The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
• Read past issues of my Life Balance newsletter
• Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
• Empower Others: Schedule Renee for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization

Subscribe to The Journey,  a weekly blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to creating balance from the inside out.  

Photo: Renee Peterson Trudeau, a field on the outskirts of Taos, NM. Taken on our family vacation last August. 

Reflecting

It's Thursday morning, December 29th. I'm sitting in front of our fireplace in my floral pajamas with a mug of chamomile tea and an inspirational Osho Zen card deck.

I've arranged for my son to attend an all-day winter nature camp so I can write. I have agreed to deliver a first draft of my manuscript to my publisher by January so the holidays have been a mix of book deadlines interspersed with family time (an interesting cocktail!).

But today what is calling me is not my unfinished chapters (that still need a lot of massaging), but my old journals, my colored pencils and sketchpad, drawings from the last 12 months and scribbled insights and musings from 2011--all scattered across my dark wooden coffee table.

After the guilt around not "getting busy" subsides, I give myself permission to surrender and embrace my natural rhythms. I settle into a comfortable spot near the fire, wrap myself in a soft blanket and allow the signal to travel through my body that yes, I agree, it's time to slow to a snail's pace.

My desire for reflection this week is so strong, it feels like the pull you experience while standing in a strong tide. Constant, persistent and visceral.

I don't want to produce, I want to pause. I don't want to create, I want to dream. To observe and take note of what needs to whither and die--and what needs to be allowed to grow and bloom.

I want to simply be. To take sweet time to gently acknowledge all the lessons learned in 2011 and to sit quietly with all the joys, suffering, light and shadow (read more), achievements and failures. I want to invite all of these experiences and emotions to sit close by my side, like a small child before they finally wiggle away and run off to play.

So often it feels like we're "speed living" --moving quickly through the motions, skimming the surface--instead of allowing ourselves to drop deeply into the moment. 

Later that day while savoring a walk around the lake with a dear friend in 70 degree weather, I knew I had made the right decision. The time for writing will come. But the opportunities to be quiet, reflect and go inward are precious and deserve to be heeded when they call.

Reflection exercises: Some of the things I'm doing this week during my time of reflection include creating a "Gifts from 2011" list, writing a letter of forgiveness to someone I want to make amends with and reflecting with my partner and friends on ways we can all simplify our lives even more. I'd love to hear any rituals you do during reflective time (and of course, doing absolutely nothing is best of all!).

Have you heard about the I CHOOSE LOVE public service campaign? It's a reminder that when we come from love--one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces on the planet--we have the ability to transcend fear and remember what we're really hear to do: give and receive love. Learn more and order a tshirt (at cost).

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

• Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Personal Renewal Groups for women
• Attend a retreat/event including my April Esalen or June Kripalu retreats
• Learn about Live Inside Out and receive weekly inspiration on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
• Pick up my life balance title The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
• Read past issues of my Life Balance newsletter
• Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
• Empower Others: Schedule Renee for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization

Subscribe to The Journey,  a weekly blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to creating balance from the inside out.  

What Really Matters?

Yesterday morning I found myself standing at my open front door staring out at a beautiful oak tree. Bathed in sunlight, I held a cup of lemon ginger tea in one hand and my to-do list in the other.

I was waiting for a friend that I was helping out of a financial jam, and wondering how crucial this hot list of tasks I was holding--that had seemed so important earlier in the day--really were. (This week is a big one for me as I’m attempting to wrap up all my projects so I can begin finalizing my manuscript which is due in January.)

The moment felt big and pregnant (ever have those?) and I had the strong sensation that I was being asked to stop everything … and become present to what life was trying to tell me.

Over the last few days, I’ve been surrounded by close friends and dear acquaintances who are struggling with big stuff. Life or death stuff. Fork in the road stuff. Questions that don’t have easy or quick answers stuff.

One of my son’s teachers lost her 19 year-old son in a fatal car accident right before Thanksgiving (this touched me deeply as my brother was the same age when he died). A close colleague is struggling financially to pay even her basic bills. Another friend has been battling depression and is in limbo around her life purpose and direction. One of my childhood friends is navigating the holidays with her kids after the loss of her husband 5 months ago. Another dear friend, a mother to two young kids, is working herself to the bone and having a hard time seeing a way out of a never ending cycle of overwork.

As I'm standing here in the doorway, I'm racked with the questions, "What can I do? How can I best help?" And as I write personal notes to them, leave messages and emails, offer prayers and resources--I'm reminded that this work, however small and insignificant it may feel--is more important than any task, deadline or to-do. Being here for each other is the most important thing there is.

So my prayer as I move through the week is “Guide me how to best serve and help my brothers and sisters who are in my life right now." Because we don't have to go to Africa or a low-income area or a disadvantaged school to find people in need.

Help is needed right here, right now and often those whose paths we cross daily are hurting and in dire need of a kind word or deed. But unless we drop the "Gotta get it done" mentality long enough to be fully present and *really* see those around us, we'll miss the call for help altogether. Like I almost did this past week.

Have you heard about the I CHOOSE LOVE public service campaign? It's a reminder that when we come from love--one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces on the planet--we have the ability to transcend fear and remember what we're really hear to do: give and receive love. Learn more and order a tshirt (at cost).

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

• Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
• Attend a retreat/event including my Fri., Dec.16 Reflect & Re-Imagine Small Business Owners Retreat
• Learn about Live Inside Out and receive weekly inspiration on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
• Pick up my life balance title The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
• Read past issues of my Life Balance newsletter
• Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
• Empower Others: Schedule Renee for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization

Subscribe to The Journey,  a weekly blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to creating balance from the inside out.  

Photo: Texas oak tree bathed in sunlight, Dreamstime.

Do It Different

Over the past two weekends I saw some amazing art at E.A.S.T. (I feel so lucky to live in Austin--a progressive oasis in the center of Texas; our tourism plug for years was "Austin, what the rest of the country had in mind!") 

Having the opportunity to visit these artists' avant-garde work and home spaces and be reminded that there is no "right way" to live or work was powerful. And, drinking in this visual feast of multimedia, oil paintings, woodwork and sculpture, pottery and glassblowing inspired me to re-visit one of my favorite slogans: "Do it different." 

Do it different: meaning shaking life up, looking at it sideways, turning things upside down, changing how you do and see things, challenging how you've set up your life and trying on a new perspectives or way of being. 

Whether it's small (driving a new route to or from work or school) or big (starting to walk or meditate each morning before work or eating different foods)--"doing it different" makes me feel more vibrant, grateful to be alive and appreciative that I get to create the day (and life) I desire. 

There's a lot of research around how much our brains benefit when we "do it different." We actual create new neural pathways when we mix it up (ever wonder why your 65-year old friend who is always signing up for new cooking classes and loves to learn the latest dance moves is sharp as a tack?!). 

Much of our daily routine is rote. We've fallen into habitual, unconscious ways of doing, being and seeing (from what we eat for breakfast and how we start our day to how we approach work or parenting and relate to our partners and family members). 

During our New Way of Being course, 70 women and men from around the world explored what a "New Way of Being" would look and feel like. For five weeks we asked ourselves, "If we dropped our old ways of thinking and seeing and released habitual ways of being, what would it be like to step into a higher, more evolved version of who we are?" 

It was quite a powerful experience--even just asking the question proved to be a catalyst for many. (Note: It's not too late to participate; you can download the classes and listen anytime from anywhere.) 

As I prepare to return to my manuscript and begin work on my new book next month, I'm curious how the New Way of Being journey will affect this new project. I'll keep you posted on what unfolds.

P.S. Every year, I really enjoy "doing it different" around how we celebrate the holidays. Interested in joining me? Read more.

Have you heard about the I CHOOSE LOVE public service campaign? It's a reminder that when we come from love--one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces on the planet--we have the ability to transcend fear and remember what we're really hear to do: give and receive love. Learn more and order a tshirt (at cost).

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

• Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
• Attend a retreat/event including my Fri., Dec.16 Reflect & Re-Imagine Small Business Owners Retreat
• Join the dialogue and receive weekly inspiration on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
• Pick up my life balance title The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
• Read past issues of my Life Balance newsletter
• Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
• Empower Others: Schedule Renee for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization

Subscribe to The Journey,  a weekly blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to creating balance from the inside out.  

Painting/photo: Darvin Jones. One of the many amazing artists exhibiting at E.A.S.T.

Surrendering

This past week I participated in an amazing one-day conference for 2000 women.  It was an inaugural event and I was delivering the closing keynote, a workshop session to 300 women, my organization was staffing/working a booth and I was signed up to do two book signings (I know, too much …next year I’ll scale back!).

Everything was cruising along fine. The afternoon before the conference began, I was at the convention center unloading boxes and setting up our booth with my assistant, coordinating details for the next day, preparing for sound/AV checks and getting ready to go home, wrap up work and change for a speaker event that evening. Then, my phone rang.  

“Your son has lice, you need to come get him from school,” said his sweet teacher. Ugh! I could feel my chest tighten and body stiffen as my mind raced to all I had yet to accomplish by 7:30 a.m. the following day.

The next morning, after a late night of helping my husband de-louse our son (and doing preventative treatments on myself), working late to catch up from losing the afternoon and four hours sleep, I awoke and thought, “There is no way I’m going to be able to physically pull off this ten-hour day and be ‘on’ at this level for this long.”

So, I surrendered. This is not a new concept for me. I’ve surrendered before and like to think I “surrender” all the time (surrender meaning not giving up, but releasing something to a higher power), but if I’m really honest with myself, I find there are some areas of my life I surrender more easily than others. Interestingly, when this blog post came to me, I thought,  “Oh I’ll just go pull up all the posts and newsletter articles I’ve written on surrendering—I talk about this all the time. But I couldn’t find a single one with surrendering in the title.

After a sleepy early morning meditation session with my husband, we held hands and I asked him to say a prayer with me that I would be able to take my hands off the wheel and surrender this day to the Divine. And by the time I got out of the shower, my perspective had gone from complete stress and overwhelm to seeing what a gift and opportunity this day could be.

Yes, I was exhausted beyond belief and scared about whether or not I would have the stamina to function—let alone be energized--for the closing keynote to 2000 women at the end of the day, but I also felt this unshakable calm and kept hearing a kind reassuring voice whisper, “All is well.”

So I took a lot of deep breaths that day, kept acknowledging and thanking God for being present with me physically, emotionally and mentally and for guiding every thought, word and action, I practiced self-care, conserved my energy, and embraced “good is good enough.” 

Guess what happened? Everything flowed and went phenomenally well (so I’m told!).

This morning when I awoke I thought about the wonderful women and men that are participating in the New Way of Being tele-course I’m leading. Together, we’re releasing old habitual ways of being and stepping into new ways of thinking, being and seeing.  We began this program by challenging each person to define what a New Way of Being feels …and then looks like …for them.

For me, I articulated early on that a New Way of Being feels like FREEDOM. A “have to” free zone. And this week, I got that what a New Way of Being looks like to me is SURRENDERING.

This past 24-hours taught me that I’m finally ready to open up to experiencing “surrendering” at a whole new level. Wednesday was life-changing and if this is what is possible when I surrender and let go, I’m headed back to the buffet line for another serving.

Interested in a New Way of Being? Read 7 Ways to Embrace a New Way of Being and join me and like-minded men/women for my 4-week New Way of Being Telecourse . Registration is ongoing through Nov. 30^th. Learn more.

Have you heard about the I CHOOSE LOVE public service campaign? It's a reminder that when we come from love--one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces on the planet--we have the ability to transcend fear and remember what we're really hear to do: give and receive love. Learn more and order a tshirt (at cost).

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

• Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
• Attend a retreat/event including my Fri., Dec.16 Reflect & Re-Imagine Small Business Owners Retreat
• Join the dialogue and receive weekly inspiration on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
• Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
• Read past issues of my Life Balance newsletter
• Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
• Empower Others: Schedule Renee for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization

Subscribe to The Journey,  a weekly blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to creating balance from the inside out.  

Photo: Carly Daniel Photography. May we all allow ourselves to surrender and let go at this level. I'm so excited! Two of my brothers are expecting babies next year. I've got babies on the brain and can't wait to welcome these beautiful sweet souls to our family.

Shifting

Friday I got triggered.

One of my team members told me they wouldn’t be available to help me this week as I prepare for several major events.

I translated this into “I’m not supported in the world." 

And I immediately felt a strong tidal wave of emotions sweep through my body. 

But then something interesting happened.

Thirty minutes later—after ten minutes of slow, deep, conscious breathing while I was sitting in my car outside my hair salon preparing to go in for a trim--I heard a clear, kind voice say, "You know that’s not true. You are abundantly supported.”

This truth landed internally like a 100 pound anchor, and as I resonated with these words, I felt something inside me “dislodge.” It was like a re-patterning was occurring in the moment—as if my internal blueprint for how I see and respond to life was shifting.

It was quite powerful.

I’m in the middle of facilitating and participating in a tele-course where we’re challenging ourselves weekly to let our old, outdated habits and ways of thinking and being “fall away” (what better time to do this than autumn, especially after this past summer).

This morning I’m feeling deep gratitude for the opportunity to step into a New Way of Being with my class. Because this—releasing, stretching, evolving, coming into the highest expression of who are while in the good company of others—is what I believe this “thing we call life” is all about. 

Interested in a New Way of Being? Read 7 Ways to Embrace a New Way of Being and join me and like-minded men/women for my 4-week New Way of Being Telecourse . Registration is ongoing through Nov. 30^th. Learn more.

Have you heard about the I CHOOSE LOVE public service campaign? It's a reminder that when we come from love--one of the most powerful yet underutilized forces on the planet--we have the ability to transcend fear and remember what we're really hear to do: give and receive love. Learn more and order a tshirt (at cost).

I love to hear from, connect with and meet The Journey readers at our events. I invite you to:

• Find Your Tribe: Join or become trained to lead Self- Renewal Groups
• Attend a retreat/event
• Join the dialogue and receive weekly inspiration on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
• Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
• Read past issues of my Life Balance newsletter
• Take Action: Contact one of our career or life balance coaches for 1-on-1 support; receive an initial complimentary consultation
• Empower Others: Schedule Renee for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization

Subscribe to The Journey,  a weekly blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to creating balance from the inside out.  

Photo:  Me hiking "au natural" in Big Sur last year with my husband. This week, one of my team members shared with me how different I look now than I did 10 years ago (more youthful and vibrant now). It seems when we begin to have shifts and our inner landscape becomes lighter and more alive-- our outer landscape follows suit.