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. 

Letting Go

As I write the theme for this post in the subject line above, I can feel half my body applauding loudly and the other half saying, “Really?!”

Sitting at my desk at work right now surrounded by tax forms, to-do lists, contracts to review and pistachios--I’m juggling one of our cars being in the shop after a recent costly repair last month, my almost-nine-year-old in total disequilibrium (he confessed this morning he was taking “shots” of chocolate syrup from the fridge after his breakfast didn’t “cut it”), preparing to lead a teleclass this week with my brother, doing a TV interview tomorrow, managing hormonal ups and downs, responding to staff/clients requests, training 2 new staff members who started Monday and preparing for our Jan. 28th Winter Self-Renewal Retreat and several other events immediately following.

My theme for 2011 is playful (different than “playing” –which I do quite a bit).

This theme arose from my deep desire to really take both hands off the wheel and let go in all areas of my life.

I decided that for me, letting go completely would look like being “playful” at work, at home and in relationships. I’ll keep you posted how this unfolds in 2011!

So today, as I was driving back from yoga class, I asked myself what does letting go really look like? Today, it’s:

-Committing to keeping self-care at the top of my list, even on days like today, when I feel stretched way too thin
-Surrendering my relationships with my partner, child and extended family to Spirit—a source much wiser and larger than myself
-Trusting that I will listen, allow synchronicity to unfold and be guided exactly how best to use my talents, energy, time and resources to serve others
-Allowing myself to hit the “reset” button as often as I need to, and begin anew each day
-Remembering that I’m not alone and that asking for help allows me to release control and embrace “good is good enough”

I shudder to think how controlling I was in my twenties (I don’t think I’d want to be friends with her if we were to meet on the street today!).

I got a lot better in my thirties--having Jonah helped with this--and now at 45, I’m really ready to release the need to have things go my way. Because when things "look" like they're going my way, it's all a big illusion anyway. Isn’t it? (If you're in Austin, don't miss the opportunity to see Byron Katie Jan. 28-29. She taught me a lot about control.)

One of the quotes I love that's in The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal and always gets women laughing, is “For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the Universe.” Larry Eisenberg

Baby steps. Keep calm and carry on.

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 my Jan. 28th Self-Renewal Retreat or another retreat/event
>Join the Dialogue on our Live Inside Out Facebook Community
>Pick up The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal from the library or buy it here
>Download FREE Live Inside Out Telelcasses and read my January 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 Trudeau for a private workshop or retreat for your company or organization
>Subscribe to my life balance blog The Journey for weekly inspiration

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly. You can subscribe here.

Photo: One of my biggest teachers on the planet on the subject of playfulness: my younger brother Kert, a Qi Gong teacher. You can always count on Kert to find humor and silliness in EVERY situation! In this photo Kert and I (ages four and three) are discussing our next Life Balance Telelcass.

The Void

One of my dearest friends in in the void.

She is gestating “what’s next” in her life, but to her, it just feels like she’s stuck. And restless. And bored. And dissatisfied with everything-- work/relationship/home. And she might even be a little depressed.

Can you relate?

As a society, Americans in particular are not fond of being clueluess, without direction, not having the answers or being lost (even if it’s just in the grocery store parking lot). Read more on Living In the Unknown from my recent newsletter.

As I watch her—along with thousands of our clients, PRG Facilitators and members, friends and colleagues and probably many of the women that will be at my retreat at Kripalu—I find myself wishing things could be different.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had all evolved to a place where when one of our brothers or sisters was in the void and having a hard time seeing the big picture—that their “unknowing and dissatisfaction” are a beautiful, essential piece to their journey—we would all give them a big hug, say bravo, well-done, hang in there, you’re exactly where you should be on your path?

Or at the very least, we would stop what we’re doing to be with them, listen whole-heartedly to what they’re experiencing and reflect back to them who they really are? So that they don’t feel quite so lost and alone. And in hopes that they might even begin to relax, trust and allow themselves to believe that what is being born from the void is so beautiful and magnificent, it might just take their breath away.

JOIN A GROUP, ATTEND A RETREAT/WORKSHOP OR DIALOGUE WITH ME: Would you like to learn more about the power of self-care and how being kinder to yourself can change your life? Our Kripalu retreat sold out last week, but keep checking The Crossings web site and visit our calendar to learn more about upcoming events including my Aug. 27th Career Strategy Workshop: Find a Fit, Create a Plan, Love Your Workshop and our FREE September 9th Live Inside Out teleclass on Strategies for Balanced Living.

Also, check out our Live Inside Out community and share how you create balance in your relationship.

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

SPACE IMAGE: A beautiful new image of two colliding galaxies has been released by NASA's Great Observatories. The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light-years from Earth, are shown in this composite image. The Antennae galaxies take their name from the long antenna-like "arms," seen in wide-angle views of the system. These features were produced by tidal forces generated in the collision. They were born from the void. Read more.

When I Fill My Cup First

I spoke last week to a group of career coaches. Most of them were women. And, many of them came up to me after the presentation and wanted to talk about self-care.

I encouraged them to consider joining a Personal Renewal Group, attending one my spring retreats, or just taking some time each week for themselves. Most responded “I really need that, but I just don’t have the time …the money …the support from my family ….the space on my calendar.” And others simply said “Yes, I know it’s what I need but …..” and they looked down at their feet or across the room, as if I’d just suggested they climb Mount Everest.

Last month two of my girlfriends had extended breaks from their families/young children (their husbands were traveling with their kids). When I ran into them during this break, they were absolutely glowing. They had a sense of levity, aliveness and joy that I hadn’t witnessed in a while. It wasn’t that they had miserable lives or didn’t love being around their kids, but this break had helped them re-charge, reconnect with their essence and enjoy the incredible gift of being able to listen –and respond to—their needs.

Can you remember a time when you’ve had a break and felt the same way?

It’s been ten years since I first started focusing on my self-care. Sometimes I try and remember what it was like when I just pushed through my day, never pausing to check in with my needs. And, never believing that I was worthy of self-nurturance and self-compassion.

I know that my life now is not perfect and everyday is a learning experience, but my commitment to listening to and caring for my sweet self is so strong, I can’t imagine any other way. And, I know that I’m a radically different—and better---mother, sister, wife, employer and friend because of it.

If you’re in Texas (or have friends who are), I strongly encourage you to join me for a rare treat on Thursday, Feb. 18th in Austin for a FREE event. I’ll be facilitating an Evening of Self-Renewal and will be introducing this profound and sacred practice which has changed who I am. Bring a photo (see details) and come prepared to experience a shift in how you feel and think about yourself.

AN INVITATION: Interested in exploring and tapping into the power of self-care? Learn how you can join or become trained to lead a self-renewal circle for women. And, view all upcoming events--including March 26th and April 23-25 spring renewal retreats--here.

Also, visit Live Inside Out to register for our Feb. 23rd FREE evening teleclass on Good is Good Enough: Releasing Perfection. And sign up to receive weekly tips on how to live more intentionally through our Live Inside Out Facebook Community.

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

Photo: Flora in the Berkshire Mountains at Kripalu (where I'll be leading an August Self-Renewal Retreat Aug. 13-15).

Find Your Center

When you're feeling unfocused and find yourself flitting from one thing to the next, what do you do to get grounded?

This is the question I have been asking a lot of clients, friends, organizations—and myself-- over the last month. We’re living in unusual times and unless you have the option of spending hours a day meditating alone in a monastery, you’ve probably experienced some of the collective chaos that is present in our world right now.

For me, one of the anchors that supports my ability to find my center and remember what’s really important is taking regular retreats.

Whether that’s one day each quarter to step back and get clear/focused on how I want to direct my energy or a 5-day spiritually intensive voyage to help me birth a new era in my life-- I am a huge believer in the power of retreating (read more on ideas for retreats).

Interestingly, I recently completed a beautiful vision map outlining how I intend to experience maximum ease and flow in my life this fall and at the top of the list was quarterly retreats and monthly mini-retreats (minimum of 8 hours) in my schedule.

There are other things I do that are essential to my experiencing equilibrium and well-being on a daily basis—meditation, movement, eating high energy foods, volunteering, time in nature, regular heartfelt connection with my family/friends—but I have found over the years that nothing pulls me out of myself, helps me remember who I really am or gives me inspiration, hope and clarity like taking a retreat.

If you’re in career or life transition or just craving a deeply soulful, nourishing and restorative retreat experience, I encourage you to consider joining me at my Oct. 2-4 Self-Renewal Retreat at The Crossings. (I’m so excited to be including special musical and movement segments with nationally known creative divas Sara Hickman and Dr. Deb Kern!). Or, if that’s not do-able, ask a friend who has a vacation property if you can rest and rejuvenate there for a day or two.

My primary focus at my retreats is not to just create an amazing weekend experience (which we do, read more), but to support the attendees in bringing self-care into their everyday life and experiencing how life-changing this gift can be.

It may seem like a luxury in our current times to take a break to invest in yourself, but my experience has been that when I slow down and learn to be more present, listen to my intuition and get back in touch with who I really am--the payoffs are huge.

AN INVITATION: Interested in learning how you can learn strategies and receive support for finding your center? Consider starting/joining one of our women's self-renewal circles, signing up for our FREE September 17th Global PRG Sampler Teleclass on Reconnecting with Who You Are or attending our life-changing October 2-4 Fall Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at The Crossings (early bird rate ends Aug. 31^st).

Also, visit Live Inside Out and sign up to receive weekly tips on how to live more intentionally by becoming a fan on our Live Inside Out Facebook page.

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly. Subscribe here. For more information on Renee’s upcoming events, click here.

Photo: Renee Peterson Trudeau, north of Taos in north central New Mexico.

Choices

I often hear my coaching clients say they don’t have a choice. What they really mean is they’re not ready to make a hard choice—downsizing to a more affordable home, leaving a financially comfortable job, ending an unhealthy relationship, moving to another part of the country, taking a much needed sabbatical, changing their diet, living on a salary that is half of what they used to make, getting up early to exercise or meditate, etc. (Read my last post where I share about my struggle with this.)

It’s so easy to slip into the sleepy slumber where we think we’re at someone else’s mercy when it comes to how we set up our lives. But we’re not. We’re the masters (or at the least co-creators), not the slaves. And, our choices—big and small—impact our day to day experience of life.

I have many friends and colleagues around the nation who are making hard –and often uncomfortable choices--in order to support their larger life goals of more freedom, balance, simplicity, harmony, health, room for creative pursuits and time to be alone or with family.

The other night my husband I were sitting up late talking after our son went to bed. For us, like many, the year is unfolding differently than we had anticipated. Yet, our gratitude is growing for the choices we’ve made which support our values and allow us to:
*live in a home that is beautiful but modest and only needs one salary to cover the mortgage instead of two
*be five minutes from my new office which provides me more time to focus on the aspects of my business that really feed me
*live close to things that are integral to our quality of life: my yoga and dance studio, hiking trails, a farmer’s market, the Texas hill country, the Crossings
*be at our son’s school community in five minutes, which limits the time we all spend in the car each day
*spend more time together as a family playing music, dancing, being outdoors, talking (because the TV is off)
*enjoy relatively high energy levels, health and vibrancy due to the food we eat and things we do to feed our spirits and minds—not just our bodies
*live lives where we feel a deep sense of connection—to ourselves, our family members and our larger community

There is a story in the chapter on Managing Your Energy from The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal where my photography teacher challenged me in my twenties when I told him I was late to class because of my corporate job. “I had no choice,” I said. I really thought I didn’t. And now, I know I do.

AN INVITATION: Interested in reconnecting with who you are and getting support for the choices you need to make in your life? Check out our women's self-renewal circles, our FREE September 17th Global PRG Sampler Teleclass on Reconnecting with Who You Are, my upcoming The Empowered Entrepreneur Workshop on Aug. 28th in Austin, TX or our life-changing October 2-4 Fall Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at The Crossings.

Also, visit Live Inside Out and learn how you can live more intentionally (and become a fan on the Live Inside Out Facebook page).

The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly. Subscribe here. For more information on Renee’s upcoming events, click here.

Photo: Renee Peterson Trudeau, a field in the Berkshires in upstate MA. My choice: to pause and spend time in natural environments that feeds my body, mind and soul.

How does balance feel to you?

Although I enjoyed a long walk with a good friend around Town Lake Saturday morning and a relaxing dinner at home with my family Saturday evening (we made some wonderful fish tacos on fresh corn tortillas), I found myself feeling crabby and short-tempered off and on throughout the weekend.

Why? It could have been stress, but most likely it was because I had to work part of the time due to some important deadlines. And, this ate into any time I would normally have for myself.

Our family likes to play. A lot. And although I love my work—which often doesn’t even feel like work—I look forward to and relish my weekends for downtime, relaxation, hearing music or seeing art, being outdoors, taking pictures, trying new foods, hanging out with friends and family and going on new adventures.

It was a good experience to taste “contrast” (what many spiritual teachers call disequilibrium or feeling challenged by life) and to be reminded of what’s important to me, how I desire to live my life and how committed I am to feeling connection, community, meaning and joy—at least most of the time!

The experience brought me back to the opening chapter of my book where I share:

The life I desire is marked by a deep connection to my child and to my partner. It’s a life filled with joy and meaning. It’s a life in which I feel supported and nurtured by an incredible community of women—young and old. I experience regular, meaningful, heartfelt connections with people I care about. I am continually open to growth—as a woman, a mother, a partner and a spiritual being. I enjoy supporting and serving others in a way that feeds me rather than drains me. I feel that I always have enough time in my life for those things that are most important to me. My life flows, I trust my intuition and I expect good to come to me. I feel peaceful. I am loving, and I feel loved.

This is really how “balance” (the concept of having enough time, energy and resources to devote to those things that are most important to you), feels to me.

I’m curious, how does balance “feel” to you?

Posted by Renee Trudeau, coach/speaker and author “The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life.” Click here to read her latest Life Balance ENewsletter on Building a Support System or here to subscribe to her blog, The Journey. Learn more about her upcoming events and retreats here.

Photo: Open grasses on the east side of Enchanted Rock: Renee Peterson Trudeau.

Simplicity

One of our favorite family activities is to visit the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market each Saturday morning, choose some yummy things to eat for the day/week and come home and enjoy a wonderful leisurely lunch together.

This past Saturday, we feasted on a marinated, slow roasted free range chicken from an amazing German chef (my friend Kate calls it ‘crack chicken” it’s so seductively good), a jar of Hairston Creek’s delicious sweetly marinated bread and butter pickles, some fabulous organic, pasture raised eggs from Ringger Farm which we hard-boiled, a loaf of chewy Ciabatta bread from Sweetish Hill Bakery, some crisp gala apples and some organic winter greens from Gundermann farms which we sauteed in lemon zest and olive oil. Yum.

Life coach/author Cheryl Richardson says our quality of life is enhanced not by what we add to, but what we remove from our plates.

Each Monday, I start the day—no matter how busy I am—by attending this amazingly nourishing Hatha yoga class near my home. Often I see friends there and they ask, "So, how was your weekend?” I like this question, because it make me pause.

The weekends that are the most fun, the most soulful, the most satisfying, are those where didn’t do much. Where we allowed for expanses of time, to enjoy the simple things—a impromptu walk with neighbors, a family game of scrabble, hiking and exploring a new natural spot, sharing good food together, lying around lazily reading, etc.

My family is finding that we are enjoying the “challenge” of experiencing more on less (like most, we’re on a tight budget and are looking at creative ways to make our dollars go farther; read more from my recent newsletter on how this unique time in history is challenging us all).

What are the simple things that you find deeply nourishing? When was the last time you enjoyed these activities? I’d love to hear what simple things feed you and yours.

P.S. Thanks for all the great stories you emailed me about your personal spiritual journeys. Writer/intuitive consultant Jennifer Hill Robenalt recently launched an interesting spiritually-focused blog called Current Living; we sat down recently to discuss my path. Read more.

And, considering joining me April 24-26th at The Crossings for my Spring Women's Self-Renewal Retreat--a wonderful opportunity to nurture yourself, enjoy expanses of stillness and really explore how and where you find meaning in life.