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. 

I Want To Be Free From ...

Last night we gathered with a small group of friends for a Freedom Fest.

No fireworks, hot dogs or Tchaikovsky.

Instead, we enjoyed a lively international potluck (each person brought a dish from a favorite trip they’ve taken) and we asked our guests to bring one thing they wanted to be “free from” this summer: a habit, a worry, a situation, a concern, etc.

Curious who the most popular unwanted house guests were? Anxiety and worry, debt, overwhelm, fear about the future, taking on other people’s “stuff,” resistance to self-care, obligation, and pain and suffering were just a few that gathered around our table.

Originally, when I sat with the question, “What do I want to be free from?” what first came to mind, was email (like many, I’m trying to tame the email dragon).

But as I peeled away the layers of the onion and went even deeper, I realized that all of my busy-ness is caused by the need to produce or create.

We all have this drive and there are positive and negative aspects to this ingrained behavior, but some of us are in “over-drive” when it comes to creating and bringing things to fruition (even if it’s for a good cause, for family, in the name of service/healing/world peace or to create community and foster connection). There are many noble reasons to get busy, but even so--sometimes it all becomes too much.

During the soiree, we passed around a basket of freedom questions: What would happen if I was free from ____________? When was a time I felt most free? What does being free mean to me? What would feeling free at work (or in my marriage) look like? and heard some fascinating perspectives around the theme of “breaking free.”

Before we all said goodnight, we wrote down all the things we wanted to be free from and burned these outside in a clay pot as a symbolic release.

All morning long, I’ve been thinking about the theme of “freedom” and keep coming back to the realization that what we all want most is inner freedom. Freedom from our stressful thinking. From our own reoccurring negative thoughts. We want more interior space. We’re tired of living in a shanty with our own fears and insecurities. We want to live in a mansion---a wide open space where we roam free, react less and respond more. And can breathe. Deep, long, spacious breaths.

Interior freedom. Ahhhhh. Yes, I want to experience more of that for sure.

And, right now, the only way I know how to taste this is to meditate each day—-no matter what.

Dropping into stillness, staying with my breath. Surrendering to the present moment. Because even when my 20 minute sit feels like watching a race car circle madly around a track, I still finish feeling better than when I started. And more and more often, my interior space feels more like somewhere I’d want to actually hang out--somewhere I’d like to live.

At the last minute, we found someone to watch our son this morning and my husband was able to join me for a 9:00 a.m. yoga class. At the end of savasana, the thought appeared in my head, "What am I already free from that I'm not seeing?"

I don't think this freedom theme is ready to depart. I'll be sitting with this new question this week.

Namaste.

P.S. I'm out on a writing sabbatical this summer and we're surveying the Emotional and Spiritual Health of Families for my new writing project. If you have 5 minutes to tell me about your family culture, I’d love to get your input (and feel free to share with friends/lists): http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RXZ88GR

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 or workshop, including our July 29th Career Strategy Workshop: Find a Fit, Create a Plan, Love Your Work in Austin
>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 Teleclasses, join us for our Aug. 25 class on Going with the Flow While Still Getting Things Done! and 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 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.

Photo: This sweet guy was swimming in a creek on the Barton Creek greenbelt. My friend, son and I loved watching him dive in the water, enjoying the wide open space.

Feeling the Mystery

I just returned from a weekend yoga retreat at the rustic, quiet Margaret Austin Retreat Center, two hours east of Austin.

The weekend was led by two beautiful, gifted Vinyasa yoga teachers from Yoga Yoga (my yoga “home”). They did a wonderful job of creating a nourishing experience for all.

I attended the retreat with a dear friend and while I have to admit I had some misgivings about sleeping in a bunk bed in a room with strangers (initially at least), I fully embraced the experience: long, nourishing yoga sessions, time alone in nature, space to quietly meditate, out-of-this-world gourmet vegetarian food, the amazingly stunning full moon, the sounds of the wind/coyotes/owls/tall grass/birds/cows and time for heartfelt sharing with my friend.

I don’t know if it’s the act of unplugging for 48 hours, the immersion in a contemplative natural setting, the opportunity to slow waaay down and not have responsibilities tugging at my sleeve or my willingness to be open to whatever wants to emerge, but I always feel different and somewhat permanently altered after I take a retreat. It’s as if the experience brings me back to the “true” reality of life. My "lens" gets re-adjusted.

Last night I enjoyed a yummy dinner of veggie nachos on homemade corn tostadas and Asian arugula salad with almonds and oranges with my partner and son.

Afterwards I took time to really savor the experience of putting my eight-year old to bed—smelling his sweet,clean,just-washed wet hair, holding him tight and feeling his heartbeat, telling him a story about an adventurous wild boy in the woods (“make it scary mama!”) and kissing his sweet soft cheeks.

Going for a walk last night with a good friend, I shared with her how everything seems brighter, sharper and more vibrant after this weekend. Smells, sounds (the cicadas in the park next to my house sounded like they were preparing to launch into Vivaldi’s Four Seasons) touch, sight—all seemed amplified. I felt and still feel more alive (read more), more attuned to the nuances of my surroundings and more connected to the web of life.

I have always deeply resonated with the quote “Life is not a thing to be managed, it’s a mystery to be lived.” (Read more.)

As someone who has always liked to “get stuff done” and has danced her whole life with finding the balance between doing and being, it’s often easy for me to fall into the pattern of deriving a lot of my sense of accomplishment and worth from how I “manage life.” And, I’m sure like many of you multitaskers—we can do this quite well!

But the deeper invitation I feel called to respond to –at almost 45 years old—is to embrace, revel in and hang out as much possible in life’s mysteries.

Because, as someone who lost three family members early in life, I know that there will never be a time when I’ll lament not having finished a work or household task.

But if I’m not mindful, I might mourn the loss of not fully enjoying a big full moon in a dark night sky, the delicious, unmistakable smell a new baby’s head, moments of quiet stillness in the early morning mist or allowing my heart to fully open to those around me.

If you live in Texas (or are able to fly into Austin), consider joining me Friday, Nov. 5th at Lost Pines Hyatt Resort and Spa (on 400 acres on the Colorado River) at my Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance One Day Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat. It might just change your life. Or at the very least, your perspective on life.

FIND YOUR TRIBE, ATTEND A RETREAT/WORKSHOP OR JOIN THE DIALOGUE: Would you like support for reconnecting with who you are and focusing on your self-care? Join or become trained to facilitate a Personal Renewal Group, visit our calendar to learn more about upcoming events including our November 5th One-Day Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance Women's One-Day Self-Renewal Retreat (bring a friend and get a discount).

Also, check out our Live Inside Out community and read how people are living more intentionally.

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: Renee Trudeau--the morning mist hanging over the grasses at the Margaret Austin Retreat Center.

Support

This past week I attended an Ashtanga yoga class with a new teacher (yep, that’s the sweaty, rhythmic style of yoga).

I loved his approach. He was supportive and really encouraged students to ask questions and reach out for help. And, he gave you the sense that he believed in your ability.

He obviously inspired me as I moved gracefully—with his coaching-- into a headstand, something I haven’t done easily in years for fear of falling and injuring my neck.

It got me thinking about how much my life changed almost ten years ago, when I finally began to reach out and allow others to help me. The shift was so powerful, it was almost like moving from one planet to another (the planet where interdependence is a natural part of life and you don’t have to have all the answers!).

Extensive research has been done which shares the amazing health/emotional/intellectual benefits that come from having a robust support network. (Read more from my newsletter on this.)

One of the primary motivations for putting so much time/energy/resources into our global Personal Renewal Group (PRG) program for women (hundreds of facilitators are leading groups around the world based on The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal), is because I believe so strongly in the power of groups. Hear comments from PRG members about why groups are such catalysts for change.

For more than five years I have had the privilege of creating opportunities for women to have huge personal and professional shifts as they come together and allow themselves to receive support, relax into a “soft place to fall,” enjoy the company of others who are at similar life stages and are surrounded by a supportive circle of women who hold the highest and best for them.

Is it easy for you to ask for and receive help? I’d love to hear your experience. And, let me know if I can recommend a women’s group or retreat to you. We have a few spots left in our Oct. 2-4 Self- Renewal Retreat at The Crossings. Maybe a headstand awaits you?

AN INVITATION: Interested in how you can learn to leverage the benefits of a support system and tap into the power of self-care? Consider starting/joining one of our women's self-renewal circlesor attending our life-changing October 2-4 Fall Women’s Self-Renewal Retreat at The Crossings.

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. For more information on Renee’s upcoming events, click here.

Photo: Renee Peterson Trudeau. Sunflower field in western New Mexico.