Day Tripping to Villa Escudero

As many of you know, my friend Karolanne is in town for 6 days, following her 2 week tour of China.  Given the short duration of her stay, we’ve been cramming in the fun double-time.  We’ve already checked off haircuts, the 1st massage, eyebrows, a historical tour, the Mall of Asia, a movie experience and a day trip.  Still to come in our last 48 hours: massage #2, a facial + diamond peel, acupuncture/acupressure and pedicures.  Wish us luck!

Today I’m going to tell you about our day trip to Villa Escudero.  The traffic Gods were with us and allowed us to make the trip in a little over 2 hours.  A comparable trip with Sarah J to the same area took over 3 1/2!  We arrived in a good mood and were delighted to find that the place actually looked like the website (never assume anything!)

Villa Escudero is a self-contained coconut plantation that was founded in the 1880s by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Dona Claudia Marasigan. Originally planted as sugarcane, the crop was later converted to coconut by their son Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. A pioneer in many ways, he built the country’s first working hydro-electric plant to supply the coconut factory.

One of my favorite parts of the day was getting to enjoy lunch next to the hydro-electric power plant.  The water was dammed up above and flowed down a 20 foot “waterfall”, at which point it cascaded over our feet as we sat partially-submerged at picnic tables enjoying our lunch.  Coolest damn feeling ever (pun intended)!  Of course lunch wouldn’t be complete without playing in the waterfall a bit.  The wall had a nice curve to it, so there were hundreds of fun ways to interrupt the flow of the water by laying against it.  We had a blast, as evidenced by these great photos…

When we weren’t busy getting wet, we took time to explore the rest of the plantation.  The scenery was stunning – lush and green with a gorgeous lake to enjoy.  Definitely a feast for the eyes!

We tried our hand at paddling a bamboo raft and determined it to be even more stable than canoeing (which is shocking considering that it looks like it should sink instantly).

And we even managed to get in a ride on a carabou-pulled wagon (doesn’t he look fake?)  Karolanne kept giggling at the band of 3 singers who’s job it was to ride on the cart and provide music!  Only in the Philippines…

All in all, it was a memorable day.  Stay tuned for a blog post from Karolanne about all the pampering experiences she’s had here.  In the meantime, feel free to peruse all the photos I couldn’t include here at the SMUGMUG site!

USA may be out of the World Cup…

but we’ll always have this FAB Shakira video to cherish.  I swear, the way that woman moves her hips is mesmerizing… it should be illegal!

If you’re more into live performances than music videos, then this one’s for you (from the opening ceremonies):

Warning: You’ll find yourself singing strange African lyrics like ‘waka waka’ as you walk around your house later today…

Sri Lanka: Now on My List of Must-Visit Places

A week ago I couldn’t have even told you where Sri Lanka was (right of the Southeastern tip of India, by the way) but now I’m checking out flights there.  Why, you ask?  This beautiful picture!  Doesn’t this look stunning?!

Katie (of Rock Star in Dhaka) posted it on her blog recently and it’s now been upgraded to a must-visit destination for me.  Doesn’t it look like Africa?  But it’s not!  It’s the Pinnewala elephant orphanage actually.  Just thought you’d like to know so that YOU can add it to your list of future travel spots!  You’re welcome…

Sarah Survives Acupuncture!!!

Wow, big day for this girl.  First ever Acupuncture treatment!  Truly, I’ve been wanting to do this for years, but never had the courage.  Maybe I was just being cheap too because now that I’m married to Sir Nicholas our kick-a** health plan covers 40 massages and 40 acupuncture visits a year!  I heart preventative care!

Okay, let’s get to the details because I know you’re dying to hear all about another crazy Sarah adventure.  I feel like I’ve been kind of boring lately, so I’m excited to have something to share with you!  Here goes…. So I first heard about this Doctor through one of my Cancer patient client/friends and she just raved about him.  I also liked that only MD’s can practice Acupuncture here (I didn’t want those needles going in the wrong place, you know?)  So this morning she sent me the info and I decided that today was the day.  So I called up and was sitting in the office 3 hours later.  Love that!

The office was itty bitty and all sorts of things were crammed into it – reclining chairs, beds, knick-knacks, screens, etc.  It was very full.  Kind of reminded me of my Grandma Bev’s house in that the assortment of things was both random and disproportionate for the space.  That being said, I took to the place right away (probably something subconscious with the Grandma-related aspect).

The treatment took 3 hours to complete!  Holy crap, huh?  It was $55 for the entire thing.

Here’s how the time was spent:

First up, a chat with the doctor to learn about what was going to happen to me.  He gave me a basic overview of the treatments I’d be receiving including meridian balancing, acupressure and acupuncture.  He then had to determine my greatest ailments.  He pressed six different points simultaneously on my left and right hand and I had to tell him which point was the most painful and then identify if it was worse in the left or right side.  He then did the same thing for my feet.

Turns out my kidneys are overworking (translation: I take too many bathroom breaks) and my hormones are in hyper-drive (translation: I cry too much).  Pretty sure my husband had diagnosed those problems during my last period…  :)  But still, it was nice to hear it from a professional!  Now, what to do about it?

I started with a 15 minute foot-soak in salt to release the toxins in my body.  It was a great way to start.  After that I went and laid face-down on a bed.  One person did Reflexology on my feet while an assistant moved these heavy, heated pads around my legs, arms and back.  The combination of the two felt AWESOME.  I was still doing great at this point, feeling very relaxed.  Little did I know what was coming…

So here I was scared about the Acupuncture, when what was really the killer part was the Acupressure!  Damn did that hurt.  I didn’t think my body was that out of whack but as he worked from top to bottom, it was very clear that I had some MAJOR opportunities.  There is basically a right meridian and a left meridian that go from head to toe.  The acupressure essentially is a rhythmic pressing in a line up those meridians.  I don’t mean to sound like a wimp but I swear he was pressing with all his weight on my poor little muscles.  They didn’t stand a chance.  So I just winced and grunted and asked questions like, “Is it going to hurt this much next time?” and “Is this normal to be in so much pain?”  His response?  Laughter.

Next up was the Acupuncture, which I had made out in my mind to be even worse.  As you can see by the video, I couldn’t even tell when it went in!  So now that I’ve been through the process once, I’ll know to prep myself mentally for the Acupressure part more next time….

The Acupuncture was really a non-event.  There was only 1 needle and it went in painlessly and just rested there for 30 minutes while a therapist gave me a facial massage.  I only felt tingling by it once or twice.  On the whole, the entire experience left me feeling a deep sense of calm.  I’m curious to see if my body will have improved by next week when I go again.  We will see!

This definitely was a cool experience.  I’m supposed to get a broader variety of treatments next time, so I’ll make sure and do a follow-up post.  I notice that I’m much more able to embrace non-traditional therapies now than I was a few years ago.  I really feel like I’m developing a more intuitive connection with my body, which is changing the kind of treatments I choose (I now see the Doctor a lot less and incorporate more alternative therapies).  I do appreciate having the choice with my health care (and did I mention that I LOVE that my insurance encourages these alternative treatment methods??).  Medicine still has a long way to go but at this moment I’m feeling grateful for new treatments that have become an affordable option for me in recent years…. YAY FOR CHOICE!

Any ideas on what I should try next?  Possibilities include: ear candling, cupping, reiki, emotional freedom technique.  Let me know if you’re a fan of something!

Crazy for Comments

Hello my wonderful blog readers.  Sarah here.  Lately I’ve been craving more online interaction with my peeps.  In fact, on Facebook I actually got rid of 200 friends that I wasn’t active with.  I realized that I’m not into having lots of friends or followers for the sake of having lots of friends and followers.  Call me old-fashioned, but I want to have actual honest-to-goodness relationships with people, no matter if we’re in the same city or across the globe from each other.

It’s not fair to expect you to do something if I never ask, so I’m putting my request out there.  I‘d like you to interact with me more.  Quite simply, PLEASE LEAVE MORE COMMENTS! Many of you do regularly, but I know that there are so many more of you out there who remain silent observers even though you have interesting things to say!

I hope you will assist me in my quest to strengthen my online relationships.  Someday I hope to be at the level my friend Tia is at, where she blocks off an hour each day on skype for her online connections to have a get-to-know-you conversation with her!  Whoa, huh?

As a thank you present, I leave you with a YouTube video that’s been rocking my world for the last week.  Take 5 minutes and check it out.  I promise it will delight you too!  Enjoy…

PS-  If you’d like to connect with me on Facebook, just CLICK HERE and make sure to leave a introductory note letting me know you’re a blog reader.

Good Times at Friendship Home

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.  These kids derive so much joy from the simplest things in life and it is so amazingly heart-warming!  I just love being with them.  Screw expensive toys – just give them a wood box and a few washers…… This week I brought one of our favorite games from the MN cabin, creatively titled “The Washer Game”.  To say it was a hit would be a gross understatement.  I’ve never seen the kids move so fast.  Check out this great 30 second video and share in the joy!

Expat Rebellion

I.  Do.  Not.  Want.  To.  Be.  A.  Veteran.  Expat.

Zoom in on me kicking and screaming as I’m metaphorically pulled to the one year mark.  ”Noooooooo, we just got here!  Am I really saying good-bye to my first batch of friends and sponsoring my first incoming Embassy employee??  How is this possible?!”

I suppose you want to know WHY I am adamantly refusing to cross the one year mark?  It’s quite simple actually, because once we cross the one year mark, it’s all over with.  I’ll have to acknowledge that 1/20th of our Foreign Service experience has already passed even though I feel like we just arrived yesterday.  And the next thing you know I’ll blink and the other 19 years will be behind me too!

Never mind the fact that once we hit one year we have to start bidding on our next post (Note: We bid in September).  And with that comes the start the Expat good-bye dance of “Must get one last visit in to X” and “Must find time to get the perfect pearls” and “Must see J & N before they leave for Timbuktu.”  And what will surely get lost in all that is the quality of the experience, the “Must Enjoy Every Minute of Our Last Year In Manila”.

They say that once you know where you’re going next, it’s just a matter of ticking off the days at your current post.  I hope and pray that I’ll be different from other expats and will be able to stay present in my remaining moments, but I fear that the excitement of the new place that lies ahead of us will sweep me up in its siren song.

And that’s why I’m  rebelling right now, before I cross the line of no return.  Because I have unequivocally fallen in love with Manila and IT’S JUST TOO SOON TO BE LEAVING!!

And don’t give me your platitudes for why it will all be okay.  I know them all:

• There’s still a whole year left!
• But you’ve done so much already!
• You can always come back!
• There will be other great places!

Because in my heart I know everything’s about to change.  You see, Manila “birthed” me in a sense.

I came here wide-eyed and curious, newly married and unsure of how I would fare in my new global playground.  And in the last 12 months I’ve blossomed.  I became intertwined with my partner in a way I never thought possible.  I cursed my business and the initial frustration it caused me, finally surrendering to what I knew was my greater calling.  I marveled as my needs and desires changed as a result of experiencing poverty first-hand.  I discovered my own unique brand of spirituality.  And I came to peace with the fact that my life was never going to look like anyone else’s and that different was, in fact, good.

You see, I will never again be the same girl that came to Manila.  I now play on a bigger stage and I know I’m being called to do grander, more magnificent things.  But it’s scary to step onto that stage and stand in the light.  I already miss the comfort and safety of the world I used to know, where everything was familiar and largely risk-free.  Yet I also know that I’m finally ready, that this one year mark (which coincides closely with my 30th birthday), is the beginning of another chapter for me.  It just happens to be one of those “Choose Your Own Adventure” type novels and I’ve yet to select my ending.

So stay tuned.  If there’s one pattern I’ve seen in my life, it’s that I always have a major breakthrough after periods of intense resistance!  And I do not plan to give up this fight easily…

Diplomacy in Action!

As I wrote yesterday, Nick has been gone for the past 5 days on a work trip to the Southern part of the Philippines.  During his visit he got to give a speech at a University, visit a prisoner, and do outreach for Americans living down in that area.  Here are some pictures from his trip to make up for the lack of details I have about it (sorry!).  Just know that I am one proud Diplomat’s Wife!

The Anatomy of a Perfect Husband-less Day

So, you all know that I’m a big fan of my husband and the time we spend together.  But once and a while it just so happens that I’m on my own for a few days when he’s on a work trip.  Now, I could easily choose a mopey, lonely perspective from which to while away the hours…. or I could decide to see this time as a gift – a chance to re-live my single girls days, so to speak.  And that’s exactly what I did.

But first, a little background on the wife-ification of Sarah which will help you understand why this was such a big deal for me.  Back in the day, I was known for my ability to go from sun-up to sun-down.  With 8 hours of sleep to fuel my energy, I could easily do a workout at 6 AM, a 9 hour workday and an MBA class or social outing at night.  You see, in the Miller family we were conditioned to be “doers”.  And this was fine and dandy up until I met Mr. Nicholas.  You see, Nick was more into “being” than “doing”.  As you might imagine, this created a bit of tension in our new relationship….

I remember some of the first weekends we spent together dating.  Being the planner that I was, I’d propose some elaborate 12 hour date idea that left him reeling.  He on the other hand, would propose that we watched the Master’s all day or perhaps took a nap and read our books together.  No seriously, I was actually offended by his suggestions at times.  Why would we do something together that would be just as enjoyable doing on our own??!  It made no sense to me.  What a waste of perfectly good time that could be spent in deep conversation or at an art museum!

I was starting to become a bit anxious about our time together, especially on Saturdays and Sundays when we had big blocks of time to fill.  One day he suggested a compromise.  Saturday would be “My Day” and I was allowed to schedule anything I wanted between the hours of 8 AM and 8 PM and he would do it without complaining.  But on Sunday or “His Day” I had to sit my behind on the couch ALL DAY and do nothing with him (and not complain about it).  My only choices at this point were to agree to the plan or stop dating him, so I gave it a try.

It’s hard not to laugh when we look back on this period in our history.  For example, Nick would take Friday night to “prepare” for the big Saturday of events.  And on Sunday I unpacked my backpack full of things to keep me occupied on the couch, including my journal, a book, magazines, homework, cell phone etc.  I would spread it all around me and meet the requirements of the deal without actually having to learn how to “be”.  We were quite the pair.  Eventually we began to ease up and I scheduled naps into the Saturday routine and he let me add in breakfast out on Sunday.  We’ve now found a very comfortable mix that we continue to tweak over time.  That being said though, the max number of activities that can now be scheduled in a given day is 2, preferably 1!

So imagine my delight when I realized I could fill my entire Saturday!  Oh JOY OF JOYS!  Here’s how it ended up playing out, for those of you that are curious:

9:30 AM: Leave the house and go to the Farmer’s market (one of my favorite Saturday traditions)

10 AM: Stop by a friend’s house and watch their baby eat her first bit of apples

11 AM: Proceed to the next friend’s house for a morning of girl talk

1 PM: Cross the street to get a 90 minute massage with the same friend

3PM: Return to the house to indulge in a late lunch (still with the same friend)

4 PM: Say good-bye to my friend and head over to an Ice Cream Social happening at another friend’s house

5:30 PM: Return home to fit in a quick Skype date with my husband so he doesn’t think I’m ignoring him

6:15 PM: Transit Time

7 PM: Enjoy an all-you-can-drink Wine Bar & live music with another Gal Pal at the Shangri-la EDSA Lobby Lounge

11 PM: Hug my friend good-night

11:30 PM: Tumble into bed exhausted after the perfect “husband-less” day

And that’s how you maximize a day folks!  I’m pretty proud of myself…

A Letter To Sam

Dear Sam,

I’m afraid I must let you know that your singing makes me weak.  How can you be so talented and barely even able to legally drink?  And just when I thought I’d heard your best song yet, you go and release one that’s even better.  SIGH.  Yup, this is my new fave.  But here’s the problem, I MUST stop crushing on you because a.) I’m happily married, b.) You’re barely 21 and c.) it’s becoming an addiction.

Of even bigger concern is the fact that you auditioned for Glee and given how talented you are, I know it will only be a matter of time before your symphonic voice is entrancing me from the TV too.  And when that happens, I’m really screwed, because I know I’m going to need treatment by that point.   I’m pretty sure I’m regressing because I’m now experiencing the same kind of schoolgirl crush that I had on the Musical Theatre boys in High School.  If you could stop being so amazing, that would really help me out.

Adoringly Yours,

Sarah

PS- And by the way, my readers are getting sick of hearing about you too (although I’ve converted at least 2 new fans).

A New Video from the Treadmill Dancers (aka OK GO)

Hey, remember that great video by the band OK Go where they’re dancing on the treadmills?  Click HERE if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a must!  Well, they’re at it again with another creative expression of their music (this time minus the treadmills).  Enjoy!

A Weekend at the Bohol Bee Farm

Bohol has long been at the top of our list of “Favorite Places in the Philippines”.  We love so many things about it: the undeveloped nature, the quality of the diving & snorkeling, the friendly people… the list goes on and on.  The only thing we weren’t so hot about was the resort we picked on our first visit over New Year’s.  Happily, last weekend the world was righted when we found ourselves perfectly at home in our “cottage by the sea” at the Bohol Bee Farm.

This charming place is the closest darn thing to a cabin that I’ve been at in a LONG TIME and let me tell you – IT FELT GOOD.  Truly, I loved every minute of it.  The veranda area overlooking the ocean, the open-air living room, the outdoor dining – it was the Anti-Manila!  For only $150 a night, we were able to share this lovely 2 BR place with our friends Andrea and Brian.  What a steal, huh?  Nick’s parents are already eyeing it for their visit here… any other takers?

We didn’t do much of substance all weekend – it was mostly composed of eating, napping and reading and snorkeling (check out those sea urchins below!).

The Bee Farm has a unique story.  The owners are a Filipina and an American (a married couple).  The place began with the cottage we stayed in and a small restaurant.  Due to the high-quality nature of the organic food they were producing, more and more people started showing up.  Eventually they started asking to stay overnight.  This led to the building of more overnight lodging and you could say it has grown organically from there (pun intended!)  It’s a wonderful example of a self-sustaining livelihood project.  The Filipino families that staff it are provided with stable jobs for all members of the family and they also get a place to live.  You could see on their faces how much they enjoyed working there.

So as I was saying, not only do they have the resort, but the organic food and product production as well.  They grow all the herbs and vegetables they serve at the restaurant and make a variety of food products as well.  They also do weaving and crafts, both of which are sold in the store.  It’s a brilliant concept that’s hard not to fall in love with.

Our good friends Andrea and Brian joined us for the weekend, along with their travel-savvy baby Leni.  Let me just say that Nick was more than a little bothered by the fact that we DID NOT blend when we had that adorable baby with us.  And here’s the wild thing – perfect strangers would just walk up to her and put out their arms and try to take her and hold her.  Ummm… we don’t do that in America!  UNCOMFORTABLE.  But that’s the thing, this is a baby-loving culture, so of course you would hand your baby over to any interested party…. glad I wasn’t the mommy making that decision!

My camera absolutely LOVED this baby.  She’s just so darn photogenic!  Here are a few of my favorites…

And here’s the part where we try being “fake parents” and then decide it’s exhausting and hand her back as soon as the crying starts…  :)  Doesn’t Nick look the part though?  Check back at a later date and see if we feel like forfeiting our nap time yet…

The low point of the weekend would be when Brian lost his wedding band snorkeling!  BOO.  Our hearts were warmed though when the local dive shop came and spent 90 minutes in the water looking for it, FREE OF CHARGE.  Did I mention that this place rocks?  Alas, it wasn’t meant to be found…

I think I’ll leave you with one of my favorite shots of the weekend – yet another stunning Philippines sunset.  The beauty of this place never fails to astound me!  And if you like these, you’ll definitely want to check out the remaining 200 pics at SMUGMUG.

Glee on the Tony Awards

You know I’m a nut for GLEE, so I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this video from the Tony’s on Sunday night!  Go to minute 3 if you only want to see Rachel singing….. and stay tuned tomorrow for a recap on our weekend trip to Bohol!

Look Joe, You’re Famous!

Holy crap.  I couldn’t be more proud!  My old College friend Joe (who I studied abroad with in Greece and Italy) is starring in a Best Buy commercial!!  I love it when good things happen to good people… way to go JOE!

I Will Not Die an Unlived Life

I will not die an unlived life.

I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days to allow my living to open me,

To make me less afraid, more accessible,

To loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance;

To live so that which came to me as seed goes to the next as blossom,

And that which came to me as blossom, goes on as fruit.

– Dawna Markova

Photo Credit: Johnny Jet from Creative Commons

A Request from an Expat Researcher (Regarding Early Returns Home)

I was contacted and asked to post this, so I’m passing it along:

Have you and your family ever returned home early from an international assignment? Do you know someone else who has? Dr. Nina Cole, an Associate Professor from Ryerson University in Toronto is inviting early returnees to participate in her study of early returns from home from the perspective of the families involved. This information is critical in order to help reduce the often-painful circumstances behind early returns through better pre-assignment preparation.

Please visit www.ninacole.net before June 30, 2010 and click on ‘Expat Questionnaire’ (short, anonymous and confidential).

Questions can be directed to Dr. Cole at n2cole@ryerson.ca. Your participation would be very much appreciated.

A Little Injection of FUN for Your Day

Party Like It’s 1999!

Turned out to be a BIG party weekend for this girl.  Felt like I was back in my early 20′s, not 1 month away from the big 3-0!  Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I went out for both Friday AND Saturday (Does that mean I’m getting old or just pitiful?).  I guess this was long overdue.

The fun began on Friday night when I ended up back at Redbox singing Karaoke for the second straight Friday in a row!  A new tradition perhaps?  I could definitely handle that.  Too bad I’d have to drug Nick to get him to go there.  Oh yeah, did I mention I flew solo both nights?  I felt like a single girl again (that fiercely independent one that I used to be).  It was all good.  I managed to rock the mic again, performing a perfectly selected mix of show tunes and 80′s hits.

The highlight of the night for me was dueting with one of my favorite gal-pals, K.  We took the house down with our rendition of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”.  Sadly, it was her last weekend in Manila so we won’t be singing together again for quite some time.  In the foreign service we never say goodbye for good though, because we always assume that we’ll be thrown together again!

K and her husband B managed to draw quite a crowd for their going-away bash, so we were able to get the mega-party room at Redbox, complete with a pool table!  Seriously, this concept needs to come to the US.  Karaoke at the VFW is so 90′s.  Anyone want to be my angel investor and bring this to MN?  :)

And that was just Friday night!  Saturday involved a glam girls night out with dinner and a showing of Sex and the City 2 (hereafter referred to as SATC2).  Now, I cannot be considered an avid fan of the show, but I love a good excuse to gather with the girls.  In fact, I wasn’t so hot on the movie.  But oh did we have a good time though!  I wore way more make-up than my husband likes, pulled out an old bar-going top and found a little shimmer.  In staying true to the movie, we knocked back a healthy number of Cosmos and even had a contest to see who could pull off the highest heels (I was never going to with that one!)

Check out these monster heels!  If I would have attempted these, I would have ended up back at Makati Med with a broken ankle.  I’ll leave it to the pros, thank you very much!

I can’t tell you how thankful I am that we have such a robust, welcoming expat community here.  It has never been easier to make friends (shocking considering that I came from MN)!  The groups that have embraced me have modeled the most wonderful example of hospitality, something I know that I will carry with me for the rest of my Expat life, especially when I’m a ‘Veteran Expat’ down the road.  Cheers to Global Friendships that know no physical boundaries!

A Bold New Path: Sarah Novak, Cancer Coach

Hi Readers- I’m feeling very revealing this week, so here’s a big announcement that I’ve been hanging on to for awhile, waiting for the right moment to share it…. and I’ve decided today’s the day!  Here goes: This update is in regards to my business, Envision Life Coaching.  As you know, when we moved overseas, I made the decision to focus on the expat population.  While I believe there is great need for this population, I found that I wasn’t attracting enough of the right clients.  I was very frustrated with how little I was coaching and decided that if I couldn’t find paying clients, then I would just do pro-bono coaching for a worthwhile cause (link to post about that).  No sooner had I set that intention then Carewell showed up in my life.

Carewell, as I wrote about in other posts, is a Cancer Resource and Wellness Center, a place for individuals to gather that are facing the Cancer journey.  Carewell provides a variety of activities for its members (membership is free) including Reiki, Qi Gong, Yoga and Art.  As many of you know, in March I began offering Group Life Coaching to its members.  While I am no longer working with Carewell on a weekly basis, a transformational shift took place for me during the 8 weeks I was with them.

It was during those spirit-filled, emotionally-challenging sessions that I was awakened to my higher purpose — that I was being called to coach Cancer patients.  I knew with every ounce of my being that I was supposed to be a Cancer Coach.  And for weeks I was shaking in my booties, wondering how I could coach something that I’d never been through myself.  And so I did what I do best, I reached out for support and opened myself to insights from the Universe.

I put out an email request to friends and family to do more pro-bono sessions, this time on an individual basis.  The response was incredible and I began working with 10 complete strangers in a matter of days.  This initial response and the coaching sessions that followed solidified for me that not only was there a great need for this work, but a consistency in the results that I saw in both the group and 1-on-1 sessions.  Additionally, I reached out to 8 different coaches that were currently working with Cancer patients.  Over the course of the next month they helped me realize that I had what it took to do this work and that YES, I did need to act on the calling, despite the massive amounts of fear standing in the way!

Through these conversations I realized the following:

1. That I have a tremendous capacity to be with people who are suffering because of the painful two year depression period I pulled myself out of in my mid-20′s.
2. That at the core of my being I know that painful experiences serve as a catalyst for deep transformation.
3. That my best coaching is intensely emotional and deep in nature (the type of coaching that most coaches prefer to do on a limited basis because it is so emotionally draining)
4. That although we CANNOT always control our circumstances, we CAN ALWAYS control how we choose to be with our reality.  And THAT is where the real power lies.
5. That I am able to connect to an individual’s strength and hold the belief for them that they will come out other side, even when they can’t fathom it (just like someone did for me when I was in my darkest moment).

In my coaching work, I intend to empower Cancer patients to use their illness as a catalyst to step into their higher purpose and help them commit to making their remaining days on earth their most inspired and impactful ones yet.

I intend to work with 3 populations for now:

• Cancer patients who have had the disease for 6 months or more and are moving towards either death or remission,
• Caregivers, and
  
• Cancer survivors who are in remission and looking to redefine what life looks like for them post-Cancer.

Over the coming 18 months I will be launching a variety of programs at varying price points, so I believe there will be options for all individuals, no matter their financial situation.  I will be re-vamping my website, launching a new blog and starting a monthly newsletter full of resources.  I will keep you posted on my progress so that those who are interested can get linked in to my new tribe.  I’m fully expecting it to be a wild ride!  Here we go…

Real Life Experiences in Tithing

In yesterday’s post I articulated my recent revelations about tithing and the HUGE 180 degree mental shift that happened for me when I embraced Edwene Gaines’ views on tithing.  I felt it necessary to lay that foundation in order to give you both my ‘old’ and ‘new’ views on this topic.  Now that we have that out of the way, I’d like to metaphorically take you “Behind the Music” and share my personal experiences with tithing over the last 30 days.  Disclaimer: Results are based on the individual.  My experience may not look anything like yours!

When I first came across this new perspective on tithing in late April, I knew immediately that it was a spiritual practice I wanted in my life.  I could see that the focus on gratitude, spiritual connection and abundance would support the vision of how I want to show up in the world each day and keep it top of mind.  It was a must-do in my mind.  Now there was just the small matter of convincing the hubby.  Surprisingly, this was much easier than expected (have I mentioned how much I ADORE my husband?)  He listened to the recording as well, asked me questions about why I wanted to do it and then gave me his blessing.  So we were agreed – I was going to give away 10% of all the money that came in through my coaching business.

Me and Money

Money and I have a twisted relationship that goes back through the years.  My desire to have money is rooted in a deep need for security.  My greatest fear has always been finding myself in a career or health situation and not being able to get out of it.  Consequently, I have saved like a maniac since I was 10.  My family even called me cheap at times.  And I was actually proud of it, because I had cash in the bank.  But it never felt like enough, even though I knew I was always doing financially better than the majority of people my age.  Yup, despite what seemed like plenty, I was stuck in a scarcity mindset.  And I knew it had to change.

Getting married brought more security, but I still attached too much of my identity to how much money I made.  The elusive question of “what is enough?” always hung out in the air, just out of reach.  I didn’t want to do this my whole life, so I started learning about different mindsets on prosperity consciousness.  And that’s when Edwene showed up…thank you Universe!

What Changed for Me

One of the immediate shifts I noticed when I mentally committed to tithing was that I found it much easier to receive money.  In my line of work, clients often pay me in person at the beginning of the month.  It always surprised me to find how difficult it was to receive those checks.  I would quickly whisk it away and stick it in my purse, blushing bright red.  Not anymore.  First off, the guilt attached to receiving the money disappeared.  In fact, I started to get excited about days I would get paid because I knew that meant I had to get a tithe out.  It also changed how I received the money.  I noticed that during the exchange I looked them straight in the eye and openly received not only the money, but their gratitude for the valuable service I was providing.  It was the coolest damn thing, I tell you.

Now if that wasn’t big enough in itself, I also started attracting more money than I ever had before.  In fact, $1100 more dollars of business came in during May!  And that’s after 10 months of the EXACT same amount coming in.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Edwene encourages getting out your tithes right away, because if you don’t it sends the message that you’re not ready to receive more.  So I was all about receiving the money and sending it on its way to do more good in the world.  Simply, it’s about cultivating a flow of money in your life, not a blockage.  That way you can trust that whenever you have a need, the flow will always be great enough to provide (thereby eliminating the need to worry about what is enough).

In order to determine who was to receive my tithe, I’d always go into meditation and ask the question, “Who is to receive my tithe this time?”  The answer has always come to me within moments and I just go with that first intuitive hit I get.

Then it’s time to gift the tithe, which I’ve come to view as a sacred ritual.  This is actually my favorite part, as it’s long been a joy of mine to acknowledge the people who have made an impact on my life.  I still believe that the act of delivering the “why” behind the tithe (via words) is the most critical part, but the transfer of the money seems to make it more formalized somehow.

My Tithing Ritual

In *MY* tithing ritual, I do the following:

1. I begin by stating that one of my spiritual practices is tithing and that today I’m there to honor them with a tithe.
2. I explain what my practice is all about (most of the stuff in yesterday’s blog post) and emphasize that I really need them to accept this, no matter how awkward it may feel.
3. I then go into explaining exactly how they fed me spiritual food (again, see yesterday’s post for an explanation) and express my deep gratitude for the way in which they impacted me.
4. I end by handing them the money and letting them know that there are no constraints on the spending of it.  They do not have to tell me what they did with it.  It does not have to go back to charity.  And it most definitely cannot be used to take the two of us out to dinner or something like that (refer to the part yesterday about where I said I can’t receive a benefit in return).
5. I then leave a quiet space for them to receive it and respond if they’d like.

I have tithed two times thus far and both were equally satisfying spiritual experiences for me.  Truly, sacred is the best word to describe this exchange.  My recipients responded in far different ways.  As you can imagine, this is an incredibly intimate moment that often overwhelms the receiver.  For that reason, the responses can be quite varied.  I had one receiver that sobbed throughout the entire exchange and seemed a bit in shock.  The other receiver giggled uncontrollably and kept staring at the money (and even trying to put it back in my hands).  I have no doubt that each exchange in my future will be both sacred and unique.

I know that this won’t resonate for all of you, but for those that it hits a chord with, I’m happy to get you more resources to help determine if you want to bring this into your life as well.  A few options:

• I can send you the recordings that inspired me.  Just leave your email address in the comment section.
• Buy the book, The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity.
• Check out Edwene Gaines’ site, Prosperity Products.

This practice is radically changing my mindset around money.  I’d love to hear from those who are currently practicing or those who feel inspired to take it on.  I hope it changes your life as well!  Sarah