I was the quintessential tom boy. I would take on any boy in a pick-up basketball game, delighted that he had no idea what he was in for. This lasted well into my 30’s… I thrived in masculine model environments. I welcomed competition from every angle.
This energy served me well… until it no longer did. After career and personal upheaval, I found myself starting down a spiritual path… and it was rather uncomfortable. There were no more measurable standards – no billable hours – no competition with office mates to see who could collect more revenues. I felt like I was caught in an undertow of feminine flow – that was completely foreign to me!
I had always been more comfortable in the world of ascertainable standards. I didn’t really know how to allow myself to receive and to ebb and flow with tides of nature, the moon and the universe. That was the definition of amorphous in my mind. But I had always been good at that which I decided to be good at – so I jumped into that sparkling river, feet first… I was now subject to the flow, whether my logical mind was on board or not.
Building a business based on spiritual tenants really stretched my comfort zone. I started to create and cultivate a strong connection with a few other women who were spirit-based entrepreneurs, when one of them called me and said – I got an email and we HAVE to go to this… it was a retreat for Feminine Leadership. I wasn’t sold. But it was February in the Northeast and the event was in Texas… I could definitely use a little change in scenery…. so I went.
That choice to go, completely altered the trajectory of my business. I met women who held space for me and made me feel like a part of a community. I garnered more ideas and inspiration from the conversations we held over a glass of wine sitting on the living room floor than I had cultivated in business groups with all the experts. I felt like I was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.
I fully expected never to hear from or connect with these women again – but I was wrong. I still text and chat with them on a regular basis. And the woman who sat next to me on the second day, undoubtedly was the catalyst that has given me the permission to claim the success that was mine. She gently and intentionally led me down the path to receive all that the world had in store for me, and MORE!
For the first time in my life, I was able to step back from the judgment (mine and everyone else’s) and know that I was safe to be exactly who I was. The women at this retreat were my soul sisters. They were exactly who I needed to be with in that moment. As I grow, they continue to grow with me.
The power of creation and vibration that is magnified in this sacred setting has never been replicated elsewhere in my life. Since that retreat, I have been to a number of others and without fail – the same experience. Each time I return from a retreat, my business seems to grow wings of its own. Last spring, I was at a retreat and I noticed that my opt-ins for a meditation were off the charts – like 600-700 a day (which is phenomenal for me!).
I have now had the privilege of hosting my own retreat and bearing witness to the transformations of every woman there. One of the most treasured responses I have received was that one of the women feel more “whole” than she had in a very long time. It was pure magic!
I have learned not to question, just express my gratitude for the gift and honor of sacred sisterhood and safe space that retreats offer to support growth, expansion and evolution of my business and myself.