Ever been to an event where you felt reinvigorated and inspired throughout it and then floated out on a high, which went on to influence everything you did from that point onwards?
 
I was blessed to have this experience recently when I traveled to Brisbane for the Beautiful You Inspiration Day on the 21st of April. With the astronomical airfares, I decided to make it worth my while and went over for 5 days instead of just the one. I am so glad I did as not only did the event leave a positive imprint on me but the whole trip did.
I took away with me so much!
 
As life often does when you follow your heart, everything fell into place. Flying in and out of the Gold Coast allowed me to catch up with friends both on the way in and out. In Brisbane I got to spend precious time with family and then with my coaching buddy and fellow yogini Emma in Byron. It all flowed perfectly. Plus it felt like I’d come full circle as I returned to some of the sights between Brisbane and Byron I had last seen 3 years ago on my road trip up the coast to Cairns during a time of great healing for me. Many memories were revisited and new memories made. It was so enlightening to reflect back and see how far you've come.

But the icing on the cake was definitely the Beautiful You Inspiration Day.
 
Oh Inspiration day, where do I start?!
You were absolutely divine.
 
Every minute detail was planned perfectly by Julie Parker and the Beautiful You Team. It was a day full of care and love and it definitely didn’t fall short in delivering bucket loads of inspiration.
 
It all started with a bang, brunching with 18 of my fellow life coaching trainees. Talk about high vibrations. 
There’s something truly magical about meeting people in person after forming relationships online for 3 months. Especially when you’re sharing such a transformational journey and everyone is there to become their best.

Trekking uphill in heels together to the High Church we were rewarded with the excited energy of more gorgeous Beautiful You coaches from other courses and the most beautiful venue.

​A church especially redesigned for great functions. All white interiors finished off with gorgeous chandeliers and a simple stage. Inside which was a buzz as the first time meetings and reunions were continuing between the 60 life coaches gathered from all over Australia and overseas.

Broken up only with afternoon tea and completed with a glass of bubbles and nibbles in the evening, our 5 hours together flew past.  I felt like I was smiling from ear to ear the entire time. My cheeks hurt. We received wisdom loaded presentations from Amanda Rootsey from Shine From Within and Angela Simpson of the Gratitude Project, both well respected and highly experienced coaches.  And if that wasn’t enough to leave us inspired, we gained so much more from the invaluable experiences shared and advice given by Julie Parker, Naomi Arnold and Kate Caddle on the First Year Coaches Panel. We were encouraged to be vulnerable, to stay authentic and true to ourselves. We were taught to create healthy boundaries from the start, to make self-care and self-love a priority and Julie’s heartfelt closing speech inspired us all to "follow your calling" as coaches. Many a tear was shed as we all felt truly heard and seen by a most powerful woman who is most definitely leading by example and living out her soul purpose.
 
I walked away feeling incredibly honoured and blessed to be a part of such an amazing community and deeply grateful I followed my heart to become a life coach, and a proud Beautiful You life coach in the making at that!
 
A huge thanks to everyone who made the day (and my trip) what it was.

​I’m still buzzing from the energy and it was two weeks ago.

As they say, energy is contagious and that is definitely true for this day spent with so many amazing people who are out there doing the work, changing their lives and the lives of others!

If you have a dream or something tugging at your heart you can no longer ignore and want to explore the possibility of working with a coach to make it a reality click here for more information about coaching with me.

Also if you are considering becoming a life coach, I can't recommend checking out the Beautiful You Coaching Academy any more highly. As a proud Certified Beautiful You Coach, for anyone who chooses to enrol with BYCA through my affiliate link I am offering a bonus 3 months coaching which will help you on your own way to certification.
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For more information or if you have any questions about becoming a coaching or coaching with me  contact me here. 

Have you ever taken a trip overseas that opened your eyes to a new way of being?

 This has definitely been my truth for most trips I've taken.

Travel awakens us. It opens our eyes, our minds and our hearts. 

Bali at the end of last year did this for me.

It was just the right space and place to bring things back into perspective in my life.

And 3 months on, I find it's time for a little reflection.

This is what Bali taught me...

Though Bali is a developing country and many have very little, it was humbling to witness how sacred life is to them. It was common to see women placing handmade offerings at the entrance to their homes and businesses in the early morning as I walked to breakfast after yoga. I even heard about ceremonies held to bless their cars and was lucky enough to experience how whole families live together, young and old, all sharing their lives in the Balinese compounds.
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Offerings and ceremonies were just one of the ways in which I witnessed the Balinese giving thanks for the bounties they feel blessed to receive. As many had very little and yet were still outwardly so appreciative of what they did have, it definitely reminded me how much I take for granted in my life. One custom in particular struck me. The first time I saw this was in the Ubud markets, where a lady had just made a sale and proceeded to run the Indonesian Rupiah note she received over every item she had in her tiny stall. After seeing it done a few times I learnt it is a custom they do in gratitude for their first sale and as a prayer or wish of sorts for more to come.
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Every moment spent in Bali really drums home that true wealth is not material wealth. I met the most gorgeous souls time and time again who constantly wore the largest smiles on their faces whenever I saw them. From the little lady who acted as my motorcycle taxi to the lady down the road who owned her own little warung (restaurant/store). By the time I'd arrived at Ibu Dayu's shop after 6am yoga for breakfast, she had already been to the markets, set up shop and would be blessing her shop with incense and offerings she'd made the night before whilst smiling and greeting her neighbours. She'd always respond to requests with a hearty "no problem", laughter and huge smile. 
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  It may be the spaciousness we get when we travel and leave our worldly cares behind that allows us the space to heed this next lesson more...follow your intuition. I knew I had a calling to go to Bali last year and I'm so glad I answered it. The whole time I was there I sensed my intuitive guidance more clearly, going with the flow of the day, recognising signs and taking little known laneways to beautiful hidden away places. My time in Bali definitely reminded me that, intuition is like a muscle, the more you use it and act on what you hear/see/perceive the stronger it gets.
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And the biggest lesson that lead to all the others....we're called Human Beings, not human doings for a reason. We're not meant to be on the go 24/7 and our bodies, minds and souls need time to BE. These moments of stillness and "being" are important to replenish, heal and rebalance ourselves. It's also in those quiet moments taken that creativity is often born and we hear the inner stirrings of our soul (aka your intuition talking). Before Bali I was feeling the deep need for a break as I'd been working hard all year, teaching almost every class that came my way 6 days a week on top of a second job. Bali provided me with the perfect space to take that break. Lush greenery, yoga classes every hour, juice bars at every corner... nourishment available for the mind, body and soul.

Although it has been 3 months since returning to the real world, Bali's influence on me has been life changing. Life may be as busy as before, but I'm all the more conscious of my spaces to be and how I choose to fill them now!

If you've on my mailing list or been attending my classes in Melbourne, then this won't be news to you.

I actually left Melbourne on the 13th June 2014, my home of 10years, and I have been driving up the east coast of Australia solo with my heart as my compass in search of a new home for the last 30 something days.

I had every intention of blogging and posting pics along the way, but to be honest, once I hit the road…the words left me. 

The purpose of the trip from the very beginning was to reconnect with my Self, my heart and my soul.

#heartsmycompass 

And as I embarked on this great soul journey, I found my heart wanted me to …
Focus more on the present moment, unplug from the outer connections and turn within.

So I became ultra conscious of how I spent my time outside of driving. 

If I was with others, I was present to them.
 
If I had a great view before me, I took it all in.
 
And if I had a space in time, I became very aware to enjoy it and not fill it.

Standing there texting or pulling out the laptop to write a post felt out of place. 

And when I did try, no words came.

So much inner inquiry has been happening, there's no words to describe it….yet!

I made it to Cairns on the 17th July, 5 days later than originally planned but just the extra time my heart wanted to really finish the road trip leg of this journey off well. And here I have since been resting and finding my "land" legs again.

As the dust settles, another shift is taking place. It's tangible. 

Words are coming back. As is my desire to stoke the fire here in my virtual home once again.

The more stillness I seek, the more the desire grows.

But I find the " heart rules" of the road still apply now. 

Be present to the moment, disconnect from the outer distractions, turn inwards.

My heart reminds me of my motto on the road, 
"What is for you will not pass you."

And I repeat my mantra, 
"Faith, trust & surrender."

With a White Light Healing retreat this weekend,  I know the inner journey is to continue for just a little bit longer.

 If I've learnt one thing form this trip that I can share with you now, apart from the snippets above, it is that,…
We are so much more connected to one another and this world we live in than we realise and the more we tune in to ourselves the more we tap into the innate wisdom we hold.

It's been a beautiful realisation and one I am grateful to have had the space to experience. And I look forward to sharing with you in up coming posts.

But for now as the sabbatical continues, until the end of the weekend at least, 
I'd love to hear from  you and what you have been up to whilst I have been away.

Has turning inward energy of winter brought you some beautiful Self-realisations too?

I look forward to hearing from you and sharing more with you soon.

In love and light always,
Txx

Ps: Until the next post, here are a few of the highlights 
{Sydney Harbour from the Manly ferry; Yoga on the beach; visiting Fraser Island}
You can see more trip pics on Instagram or Facebook where I attempt to keep in touch ;)