One peculiar thing about my line of work — coaching and mentoring — is that if I do my work well (which I do), then at some point I become pretty much irrelevant as my client goes from doing true and deep work to shift into the body/mind/soul/life she is longing for to, well, actually LIVING it.
Another extraordinary thing is that my client not only invests in HERSELF (as opposed to her business, an IRA, or a new addition to her home, all of which can be a lot easier to justify putting money toward), but she also invests in her FEMININE — a set of strengths that the rest of the world either overlooks entirely or discounts as utterly loony.
I recently caught up with Deborah two years or so after our work together, and her responses to my “how’s it all settling in for you?” knocked my socks off, and so I’d love to share some of Deborah with you:
When I started coaching with LiYana and joined her mentorship program, I was heartsick at the thought of giving up on ever becoming pregnant.
For six full-time years, I had done everything and I mean everything — from IVF to Chinese Medicine to retreats in the tropics — to no avail. I knew it was something I couldn’t “figure out” or apply my same go-getter energy to, but I had no idea what else to do.
I was dissatisfied in my marriage and felt disconnected from my husband and my own body. I worked my tail off in my career as a film composer, Broadway music director, and recording artist, as well as in my wellness business with Arbonne. But making rent was often an exercise in creativity and I was in over-drive, worrying constantly that my best days were behind me and the money would never come in again as it once had.
Little by little the work of mind-body-soul connection started to seep in, and something loosened in my heart. During some of our work on how in the world to make sense of my infertility — as well some painful beliefs passed down to me from my family — I got very clear that “I have yet to birth my greatest creation.” And that filled me with peace, inspiration, and hope.
I noticed a shift in my judgmental voices of right/wrong and win/lose that engendered (so to speak) great conflict and anxiety in myself and in my marriage. I developed an affection and acceptance for my body that wasn’t there before. I no longer felt betrayed or alienated by my own being. I realized I actually like or even love some physical parts of myself that have made me nuts for years.
My marriage emerged from a “darkest before the dawn moment,” and although my husband is going through some serious personal and professional transitions right now, we as a couple are more connected and clear about our future.
I am enjoying a better sex life (mostly as a result of asking for what I really need and often getting it). Because of the connection I now have to my own body, I am able to honor my hunger as holy, revel in my sensual energy, and handle my needs around touch, all from a place of sacred longing and empowered desire, rather than the small, scared, resentful “neglected wife” role I often took on in the past.
In my career and business, I am LIT UP like never before, able to be vulnerable and real with my friends, colleagues, and audiences, building a new tribe that actually wants my most authentic, present self, warts and all. I am making music with the ease and flow I always wanted, blessedly free of the constant self-doubt.
I am sleeping better. I look better and am getting complimented all the time. And I am making CRAZY money while also enjoying WAY more free time. I refinanced my home and got my long-term investments on track. In fact, I am feeling like there is less effort all over the place, where before there was intense struggle and doubt all the time.
2017 has actually shown up like a total freaking miracle — and I believe 100% that my work with LiYana was the beginning of this transformation. I’m going to be 50 and FABULOUS come December, with barely a twinge at turning over a new decade.
I now know:
• I have yet to birth my greatest creation.
• My body is a curvy, feminine, strong, luscious, pretty playground — an ironclad fortress and a bowl of warm caramel.
• I’m going to be OK.
• Pleasure — real pleasure, anchored in the soul’s deepest desire — is a valid guiding principle.
• I will be debt-free within a year, and financially independent for the rest of my life.
• I believe in miracles. Instant, profound, transformative miracles.
• Generosity truly begets abundance — the more I can give completely, the more I share authentically, the more I receive to fill my cup.
• I have everything I need to be deliriously happy.
LiYana recently asked me how it had been worth it for me to invest a substantial amount of money in my “feminine.” I’ve been a fan of feminine empowerment work since it helped me call in my husband, so I recognize that investing in my “feminine” is just as valid, important, and far-reaching as an investment in my “masculine” (like a business course or other practical investment in expertise or tools).
I see that this is only the beginning, and that while there are already major transformations in my own consciousness and my ability to solve external problems, I will be blossoming and growing for some time to come. So, amortized over the next year or more, it’s actually quite reasonable! 😉
It’s almost impossible to put a price tag on this “direct line to the divine” that LiYana has helped me connect with, because it extends to all areas of my life, not just my body or even my personal well-being.
I now have a way home, from anywhere. I need only to lay hands on my heart and belly, close my eyes and breathe, and ask what’s so. The answers lie within, and beyond lies peace.
And that’s how it goes … in this world that seems to be built to burn us out, another bright light has come back on. We’re so glad you are here, Deborah, you convention-defying, feminine genius you.
To your light,
PS: Come and check out “A simple way to boost your confidence you probably never considered,” a Facebook Live video from last week. In it, I talk through a practice that Deborah has pretty much mastered and is part of her ability to make miracles out of her life.
See you there!