The idealization of succeeding independently inherent to North American culture creates a major barrier for many people to reach out and ask for support through life coaching. Often when someone inquires about my life coaching services, the first thing s/he says is: “I know, I should be able to figure this out on my own.” […]
Recently I offered a Mini-Retreat course at Oaklands Community Centre. Two days prior to the workshop, I received an e-mail from Oaklands, asking whether I wanted to go ahead with the workshop despite the low number of registered participants. Only three people had registered for the course. Usually my minimum is six people. The logical next step would have been to cancel the course. I am [...]
On a beautiful sunny afternoon in Vancouver, I was riding my bike to the bus station. I was on my way to catch a bus that would transport me and my bike to the ferry terminal. I had just spent the weekend with good friends and was happy about the unexpected warm weather. As I stopped at a red traffic light a man, who looked like a homeless person, walked towards [...]
I received so many heartfelt messages, in response to my latest SPARK newsletter. Thank you so much for your encouragement! It was especially nice to hear about the positive difference SPARK makes in so many readers lives. That is my intention! […]
I hope this SPARK finds you well and enjoying the emerging spring! It has been a long and rough winter for me. My relationship with John ended. I moved into a place that did not work out for me; it was my worst experience as a tenant. I had a really bad cold that lasted over a month and weakened me so much that I had to ask my friends for [...]
Every now and again we all experience a really crappy day. One of those days where everything and everybody seem to have conspired against you and nothing goes right. Your car breaks down, your daughter has a temper tantrum, your spouse is upset, you forget your umbrella and get soaking wet in the rain and on and on it goes. Wouldn’t it be great to have a rescue remedy handy in [...]
When we think of gifts, we usually associate them with tangible objects or a favour we do for someone else. There is another kind of gift; it is a precious gift indeed, the gift of self-care. Every time you take good care of yourself, you are giving a gift to the people you love. Why is that so? Because taking good care of yourself, brings out your happiest self. Guess what [...]
How to shift from anger to compassion, when someone purposefully destroys your garden or something else you care about? When I was in grade 8, I took part in a gardening school project and was very excited about my first little vegetable garden. Every day I went to check, water and weed my little patch. It was pure joy seeing the little plants grow. One day I arrived at [...]
Today is the fall equinox, the day of perfect balance of darkness and light. On this symbolically balanced day, I invite you to join me in taking any new step towards your healthy life balance. Think about one small step you could embrace today and then, most importantly take it. I have committed to an evening Mini-Retreat that I will do everyday starting today until the spring equinox (March 20). This [...]
Feeling overwhelmed seems to be a constant in most people’s lives today. Too much work, endless to-do lists, too many demands, too many bills to pay, too much! This may lead to feeling helpless and unable to do anything. When faced with the challenge of too much, we often think that we have to take big steps according to the magnitude of how overwhelmed we feel. It may seem counter-intuitive; however, [...]
