"If plan A fails, remember there are 25 more letters in the alphabet!"

We live in a world that is obsessed with success.  We struggle and strive to be greater, bigger, faster, stronger and wiser.  Success is like a carrot that dangles before us and we often run ourselves dizzy, going in circles just to get a taste of it. 

Munch munch! 

Well bugger that I say!  Striving for perfection and so called success is over-rated.  I would much rather playfully fail, learn, laugh, get back up, try again and see where that takes me.  Give me a big fat face plant any day! Ha! 

Splat and grow! Yeah! 

I know... not what you were expecting to hear!  Fear of failure is one of the human races biggest fears but failure is my new best friend and I can't wait to tell you why!

Can you imagine what it would be like to spend a month not seeing or talking to anyone?

Would you enjoy the retreat from your life?  Would you go stir crazing mad?

Some years back I spent a silent month alone in a little hut in a remote part of the himalayas meditating.

My hut was perched on the side of a steep valley and faced the majestic snow capped mountains of northern India, close to the Tibetan border.

There was no one to talk to, no phone, no email, no internet, no electronic gismos,  no music, no books and no human support.  Zip, zilch, nada distractions.

There was just me, my mind and the mountains.

To me it was like a human experiment to see what would happen when I removed all of the things that I usually identified with and relied on for my happiness.

I was scared that I would go bonkers but I was excited to be challenging myself and curious to see what would happen.

The result of this human experiment was a complete surprise and it taught me some of the most valuable lessons I've learnt in life!   

Do you ever feel guilty for having too much fun or being too successful?

Do you ever feel guilty when having a rest and taking time out for yourself?

Does guilt stop you from speaking up for yourself and expressing how you feel?

Is guilt stopping you from diving to the depths of joy?

Guilt is a deep seeded emotion that secretly dictates how much joy we allow to enter our lives.

Guilt is the yardstick of how BAD we feel inside and how much joy we feel worthy of.

Guilt and joy are often directly proportional. The amount of joy you experience is related to how much guilt you carry. Drop a few bags of guilt and joy rushes in to replace it!

Sooo it's time to get up close and personal with guilt and put it under the microscope so that you can see how much it is affecting your life. Your joy depends on it! Let's go on a 'guilt trip' to master this powerful emotion.

" Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings." Thich Nhat Hanh

Our culture is obsessed with romantic relationships as the ultimate expression of love... yet love has many faces.  It hides in the darkest of places.  It appears when you least expect it.  It underlies all experiences.  In fact there is no place that it is absent... even amongst the bloody battlefeilds of war.  Love is the wellspring from which we are born, our life adventure is paved in it's glory and it is the ultimate destination.  Love is the glue that holds the entire universe and beyond together.

I would love to share with you a great love story that reveals the way I see love.  A tale of exquistite beauty.  The tale of a love that overcomes all boundaries.  A tale of love that guides you home.  

Once upon an eternal moment.....

Behind my words of wisdom and my weekly tips for peaceful living is my own sensitive heart....ooops I mean lioness heart!

Ok well it's both!

I've had a few people lately look at my photo's on facebook and read my weekly glowing words of wisdom and assume that my life is all peaches and cream but rest assured there are some bitter lemons in there too!

So this week I'm going to show you 'under the hood' and share some of the real truths about my life as an online coach/counsellor living my dream on a tropical island!

Have you ever met somebody who completely changed the way you saw life?  

Somebody who defied the usual perceptions of success, purpose and meaning?

A person who taught you a valuable lesson that sticks with you for life?

I have met many inspiring women on my life adventure, but one in particular stands out.

This lady deeply touched my heart and every heart she came into contact with.   She had one amazing skill that changed the lives of so many.

I wish I had a photo of this woman who inspired me so much.  Her face was like an angel.

Have you ever seen a person smile with their whole being?

Ever experienced someones smile burst out of them, pierce your heart and melt it into a river of joy?

One of the most precious gifts we can ever share is an honest, genuine smile that has bubbled up from the depths of our being.

In the west we are masters of the fake smile.  It is not so socially acceptable to take our sad face out in public, so we often pop on our fake smile instead.

We wear a plastic smile mask like a fashion accessory.   

For the 'perfect smile' we pay money to whiten and straighten our teeth.  

When we see some-one in the street, we lift our cheeks and show our teeth but our eyes are often sad, our heart is often heavy and our cells stressed.  

For many... the smile starts and ends at our lips.  

Soooo let's all learn to swallow our smiles, shall we?  Let's send ripples of heart bursting joy into our inner world so that we can smile with our gizzards... not just our lips! 

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” ~Norman Cousins

I give thanks every day for the years that I spent sitting beside the terminally ill.  It was deeply inspiring to see the strength people would show on their death beds to let go of EVERYTHING.

They would bravely let go of their old buried pains, their relationships, their hopes, dreams, their physical body and then finally their life as they knew it.... dissolving into the mystery.  

Watching the last breath of so many, inspired me to live a life dedicated to the dance of surrender and letting go, rather than waiting til my own death bed.

Much of my work today is centred around guiding people (and myself) through the letting go process so that we can truly enjoy the present moment... letting go of old patterns, letting go of stored emotions, letting go of relationships, letting go of rigid beliefs that overshadow the vast magnificence of life.

Our reward for the courage of letting go is.......FREEDOM... with a capital F!

Just like water flows fearlessly over the waterfall cliffs and continues down the river.  We too need to let go and let flow!

"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it." Mark Twain

When did some-one last step on you, dear one?

When did some heavy heel squish the gorgeous flower that you are?

When did they squash you into smithereens with their clumsy misstep?

SPLAT! 

Who left you crumpled, 'damaged' and in pain?

Tell me dear.  I offer you my loving ear.  Off load your burdens.  Put down your heavy baggage.   

The question on the tip of my tongue is... have you forgiven them?

No... really.... honestly... don't pretend it's all good.... "yeah for sure Courtney I'm over it!"

You can't fool me!  I can see it in your eyes.

Really really truly... have you let it go?  It's a super dooper important question!

Unforgiveness and it's buddies resentment, bitterness and animosity are like slow releasing poisons in our system.  

They underly depression, anxiety, cancers, self sabotage, addictions and the list goes on and on.

To be truly free and at peace in our lives we need to look those bad boys in the face!

Sooooo who's ready to forgive?  Yay, let's do it together... right here... right now!