Ellen Anne Burns
Jennifer Bothast
Kara Johnstad
Kimberley Huxen
Laura Mozer Davis
Leah Schroeder
Loesja Klimczak
Neveen El-Gamal
Sadie Fulton
Vicki Willoughby
Ellen Anne Burns (Blogs)
My name is Ellen. I am Mother to 2 beautiful boys, an actress, a teacher and a student. I have just completed my PhD in Applied Drama – which is drama that can be used for a multitude of purposes, and in all cases it is used to empower individuals.
I began my spiritual journey when I arrived on this earth 30 something years ago, but it has only been in the past few years that I have fully embraced the path of the seeker and all that goes with that. As Marianne Williamson says “Love is what we’re born with, Fear is what we learned here” I think a lot of my adult life has been a search and a calling for a return to love, and for a long time I was looking in all the wrong places. I am a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up here in the height of the ‘troubles’, so I have seen my fair share of fear permeate an entire country. Religious fear, sectarianism and violence and bombs were almost daily occurrences for most of my growing up years. I have also been blessed to see the people and the country experience a renaissance this past decade, as the peace process has flourished.
Many times I had heard the concept: if you don’t love yourself first, you cannot truly love another. But I had never really understood what it meant. How is that so? Of course you can love and be truly loved, look at all those people who are happily married and they never had to go on a spiritual journey of self-love? If they can have it, why can’t I? And yet when I reached one of the lowest points in my life, I finally got it – I have to look inside, deep, deep inside and really sort this out.
My hunger for spiritual material increased. I discovered book after book, guru after guru, and devoured them all. I began to meditate every day. Toxic friendships, relationships and situations began to fade away. I began to experience a euphoria of awakening. I began to keep a journal. I keep returning to the page that says, ‘I am so full of joy and love. I have fallen deeply, completely and utterly in love with myself!’ I was full of divine self-love and that was a major turning point and a major miracle.
I finally realised that there is no magic cure to this life and these feelings of fear and doubt. It is a daily choice and involves daily work. I also discovered the power of gratitude. My aim now is to be so full of love there is no room for anything else.
I also discovered A Course In Miracles, which is the most amazing book – I am only a novice student but I feel so grateful to have it as a resource.
I would now like to share some of my realisations, lessons and learning with others. I would like to coach, teach new ways of being and perceiving.
I still have wounds that need to be healed. This is not a path for the faint hearted. It is the path of the brave, of the warrior. But I see miracles every day and sometimes I feel like I am in heaven on earth. Love is that strong. Stronger than anything else. There is so much love here for you. You just have to look, and ask, and it will surely come to you with such heat, warmth, kindness and compassion, you will drop to your knees with love and thanks.
Jennifer Bothast (Blogs)
A phoenix is a mythological bird who bursts into flame upon its death and then is reborn from the ashes. Though its been 42 years since my mother gave birth to me, it is only about 7 years since I have given birth to myself. The shell that I used to be died and I saw for the first time that I existed outside the conventional labels of daughter, wife, and mother.
This was no small task! I went from always playing it safe and being someone who was terrified of ever disappointing anyone to feeling like I was a destructive tornado, disappointing everyone all the time. I divorced my husband of 17 years and moved with my children 230 miles away to start over in north Florida. As I struggled to rebuild myself out of the ashes I returned to my love of poetry and painting. I found that anything that could be done with the purity of heart was beautiful and meaningful. I am no longer as afraid to make mistakes because I know each lesson pushes me further to the truth.
I met and fell in love with an amazing partner but I learned to love myself even more. I have stopped believing in a harsh and punitive God and have come to intimately know my connection to all living things and the energy that flows in and all around everything that is. I am a beginning student of Reiki and I hope to someday also help others find their balance. Joining forces with the positivity of the remarkable women in this group is like giving myself a hug every day.
Every morning before my 10 year old leaves the house for school we always say “Choose Love!” At the end of every fear, worry, anxiety or problem..that is all you really have to do in order to find peace. Choose Love.
Kara Johnstad (Blogs)
Kara Johnstad is a creative visionary, transformational catalyst and a powerful voice in the time and age of transition. She is a singer / songwriter, creator of The Essence Radio Show™, and founder of the Voice Your Essence™ Mastery Program.
During the 1980’s while still in her early twenties, Kara Johnstad was signed to the record label RCA. To this date Kara Johnstad has written, recorded and produced a total of five albums with RCA and as an independent producer.
Currently Kara Johnstad is working on three new productions: the intricate Jazz album “Le Grand Love” – a tribute to the music of French composer Michel Legrand, who is fan of Kara’s vocals; the classically orchestrated album “Moon In Capricorn” – that is presently being recorded in Rome and which, in an exemplary manner, displays Kara’s unique song writing skills, from New Age to Pop to Jazz; and the soon to be recorded unplugged “Naked Thoughts” album, comprising of a mixture of Pop and Adult Contemporary songs.
Kara is the embodiment of a “Soul-Based Entrepreneur”, living her life in full control of her artistic projects, co-creating and collaborating with many of today’s top artists. In 1992, Kara went “Indie” – way before creating an independent music label became a mainstream business model. Today, with the exception of the Legrand project, all of Kara Johnstad’s music represents original material of which she owns 100% of the music rights.
With KiteTailor™ Kara founded a record label and media publishing house that is catering to her diverse creative works and ideas a thriving productive home and is providing for herself and her creative partners a lively and supportive business platform that is ensuring the commercial success.
Kara’s music is played on FM and professional internet radio stations worldwide and actually has charted so exceptionally well in Europe, that she recently decided to re-release her albums “Paths X” (pronounced Cross) and “Pages of Sand” to the North American market where the albums have been well received.
In 2007, KiteTailor™ added media and radio to her production palate, and Kara is since then creating and producing the acclaimed “The Essence Radio Show”. Currently in its third year, the show celebrates her strong vision of global mind, global heart, and airing 5 hours weekly on every Sunday at Global Vortex Radio (globalvortexradio.com).
Building on her many years in the field, in 2011 – the year of her 25th music industry anniversary as an acclaimed singer, songwriter and renowned voice coach, it became a logical consequence that Kara eventually would develop and publish her unique and revolutionary voice coaching method, called “Voice Your Essence™.
Kara is passionate about empowering others to lead a creative and authentic life that is a true representation of them, and is devoting much energy for creating a peaceful and harmonic frequency for the earth. In short: Kara is always creating. Although, once in a while she takes a small break and then you might just find her in her favorite neighborhood café nibbling on a piece of dark chocolate and sipping a strong espresso.
Throughout her entire career Kara has been honored to be working with numerous world class musicians and is feeling very grateful for their energy, their inspiration and great learning opportunities they have provided her with over the years. Currently Kara’s permanent band is formed by percussionist Rhani Krija (Sting,), cellist Stephan Braun (Melody Gardot) and renowned German pianist and musical director for Le Grand Love Rolf Zielke. For her Orchestral works she works with the renowned Italia n Film Composer Fabrizio Pigliucci and has just released two singles with full orchestra Love Never Fails and Message of Hope. In 2012 in celebration of the year of the DRAGON, she is releasing one new song a month.
Leading change agents, healers, personal development speakers and others recognize her as being a unique source of powerful truth and wisdom. As a top voice expert she has helped thousands with her “break-through” voice techniques and shares with us the secrets behind this powerful instrument and the role the human voice plays in fine tuning our Mind-Body-Spirit systems.
Kara connects each and every week with subscribers from around the world via her Voice Your Essence™eZine.
Enjoy listening to Kara’s soulful music as part of your daily ritual of reconnecting to source or jump onto the next level and experience personally the power of your true authentic voice with Kara Johnstad’s VoiceYour Essence™Mastery Program. More info at: http://www.karajohnstad.com
Kimberley Huxen (Blogs)
Soul Searching by Kimberley Huxen – is the act of facing one’s inmost self with courage. My “soul searching” is a combination of searching for my own & for the souls I meet in this life & have met in former lives.
I am a single mother of 3, living in Texas with two people who believe deeply in me as an artist & as a vital individual. In my early 50’s out of frustration, desperation & determination I began to seek a new path. My intent was to walk in the light, to embrace my gifts as an artist & to become financially independent.
Most of all I wanted to be at peace. I had sought that feeling of inner peace and on two occasions thought it might be best achieved in death. Now I am finding peace by living life.
I felt that Einstein’s definition of Insanity was more than a clever insight. I chose to live my life differently and if that meant making new mistakes so be it, but I was determined not to repeat the old ones that had me trapped like a rat in a maze. I mapped out a new career that initially gave me hand to mouth substance but provided the first step towards financial independence.
I put my teens in the care of their Dad who not only refused to pay court ordered child support but bragged that he intended to drive me to financial ruin. To let the teens go was my toughest decision but a necessary one for each of us. Now alone & missing them each day, but I now have the GIFT of time to make a new way.
I began to read to find a spiritual path. Meditation became a daily routine & later a source of energy & communication. Slowly but surely my journey began to take shape, my destination became clearer, my path became more familiar, my life was taking on a new form from my waking hours, through days of willful acts to sleep filled nights. Nights now largely free of fears of the future and guilt shame & anxiety form the past.
Being a part of The Daily Sisterhood has given me hope, inspiration. Individual relationships provide new insights, encouragement, provided answers. I felt my value & usefulness as I too responded/corresponded to the discouraged & unsettled….emotions I had personally known as constant companions for too many years. But it has not been all “heavy stuff”, the postings, the stories, the pics make me laugh each day, nodding in agreement at irony & insights of the day-to-day. I feel the sisterhood that I have sought. A friend of mine recently shared with me that the Internet has been the latest phase in Liberation of Females. Allowing us access to unlimited options and free to choose various path of discovery or exploration.
Always a CHOICE and a choice with privacy & without judgement. While I would dearly love to meet “my sisters” for tea, or to walk hand in hand, I am blessed to have them in my life. I choose to have them in my life.
Now at this time in my life my eternal NOW, I know that we have come together in unison to raise the frequency of our jewel of a planet. There is power in numbers and I sense that all of us have the same vision and voice. Everyday I see us taking the hand of someone that has fallen and are disillusioned not knowing how to find their higher selves, there true voice, so I make a promise to myself now that I am connected, to be there and pass on what so beautifully has been given me.
Laura Mozer Davis (Blogs)
I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1953. In 1955, when my brother was just 6 months old, my mom moved us to Las Vegas, Nevada to divorce my father. Although I lived there for 42 years, it never really felt like home to me. I was very tired of the hot summers and the cold, windy winters, and I wanted to live in a place where spring and fall were longer than two weeks. At the time, gambling was only legal in Nevada. So, because I ended up working in the casino industry, being able to move somewhere else was a limited option.
I got married when I was 25 and had three children within four years, but we divorced when my youngest was just 2 years old. When my children were in elementary school, my mom and my step-dad became disabled. It was up to me to care for them while working full time and raising my children without a partner. It seemed that I was doomed to live in Las Vegas for the rest of my life.
In 1996, however, something wonderful happened. Gambling had been legalized for some Native American tribes, and a casino was opening in Washington State. By now I had almost 25 years of experience in gaming, and I was offered a job as a department manager. My step-dad had passed away the previous year, and my brother stepped in to care for my mom. I took my kids, our clothes, a TV, a lot of hope and faith, and drove 1200 miles to begin our new life. My mom passed away 6 months later, so I never had a reason to regret the decision.
I am still working in the casino industry, but now that my children are grown and have children of their own, I have had time to learn more about living. I have had time to pursue my own interests without always having to consider other people’s needs before my own. I am looking forward to learning and growing as a person, not just as a care giver, and am so very grateful to have the opportunity to share what I learn through my love of writing. If just one person finds either solace or joy within the words I write, my life will have greater meaning.
Leah Schroeder (Blogs)
My name is Leah Schroeder. I am a Reiki Master, ThetaHealing® and Integrated Energy Therapy® Practitioner from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I grew up in a moderately conservative, middle class Mennonite family, 2nd youngest of 7 children. Winnipeg is home to me, in the heart of the Canadian Prairies.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about my upbringing. My parents did the best they could with what they had and what they knew, with respect to raising me and my siblings. My oldest siblings moved away from home when I was still fairly young, so in a way we were like two families. I was married for a short time in my late 20’s. One of my sisters developed some serious health issues around the same time and passed away a short time after my marriage ended. The end of this marriage, the loss of my sister, and stepping out of my comfort zone into a self-employed role in the financial services industry, within a few years of each other, had a huge impact on my life. I experienced having thyroid cancer in my mid thirties. One of my brothers was treated for lymphoma around the same time and another brother passed away from another form of cancer a few years later.
I have struggled over the years with the pain of loss and with the feelings of not being good enough or not worthy of love. At times, I felt a deep sadness within me. All of these experiences have led me through a long journey of self-discovery, self-love, and self-acceptance. It has been a path of spiritual and personal transformation.
A desire to make a difference in the lives of others impacted my career choice and led me to serving children in an orphanage in Honduras. I have become passionate about serving children and empowering young women around the world. How I will best serve the world in this way has yet to reveal itself. Learning to trust my intuition and a fascination with energy has guided me to begin a Reiki Practise. Experiencing cancer and having other family members struggle with cancer has made me keenly aware of my health and my own energy. The opportunity to connect with and serve people using Reiki, ThetaHealing®,IET® and other healing modalities is a gift. I am excited to assist people with experiencing deep healing. I am grateful to be part of this community of women, birthed out of a desire to connect women around the world, share our stories and provide a loving space to hold each other along our journey together.
Loesja Klimczak (Blogs)
In the past 53 years of my life I walked, ran and crawled many roads on an ongoing journey to discover many values: the inevitable freedom of the soul, the joy of being alive, the value of the teacher we call pain, the depth of human wisdom and the meaning of human madness. I have been deeply touched by the kindness in the eyes, hearts, words and helping hands of friends, teachers, soulmates, … even strangers. I have been all of that and all of them.
The most important, life influencing event was first of all my psychiatrically ill mother who made my childhood a first class horror movie which made me strong and taught me how to survive with nearly no support at all.
The second most important event was my son who I gave birth to at age 21. He came to this world with the disease of Werdnig Hoffman (infantile spinal muscular atrophy). They say that in Belgium 1 child a year is born with that disease…no cure until today. His body gave up the struggle to survive 13 months later. I had been taking care of him every second of his life. At the funeral a catholic nun said ‘you should be grateful, for now you have an angel in heaven’! I was still so young and angry and hurt, but I woke up to my spiritual path there and then. I am so grateful to his soul for offering me his suffering life to bring me where I needed to be to benefit myself and later many others.
My journey to heal from my childhood wounds and the loss of my child – and the end of my marriage as a result of that – has thought me the most valuable lesson I have ever learned, and that is that ‘there is nothing to fear’.
For the next 50 years on my path I am committed to share this awareness in everything I do.
Currently I live with my lovely American Stafford lady-dog 🙂 and work at home as a practitioner and spiritual coach, offering different services in individual and group settings in different languages: Dutch, Polish, English and German. I also offer freelance translation services but only when the subject or project resonates with my soul.
I am grateful for the many skills and tools I have gathered over the years and to have seen so many people achieve life changing results after experiencing or applying them in their own lives.
The most important ones are :
· Psycho-energetic therapy : healing, (aura)reading, counseling
· Reiki Mastership
· Past life regression therapy (individual sessions and practitioner training)
· Spiritual awareness classes based on meditation
· Channeling the healing rays of Ama Deus and Violet Flame
· Facilitating and teaching All Love – SKHM workshops (Patrick Zeiglers ‘method’)
On my Dutch (Belgium based) website http://www.mayanatlantyda.be there is also a little English section introducing myself and some of the things I do more in depth.
I have been inspired by many esoteric teachers but the most important are Elisabeth Haich (author of the book Initiation), Omraam Michael Aivanhov (founder of theUniversal White Brotherood), Master Morya (Ascended Master) and the true teachings of Jezus (Christ Consciousness).
My ultimate teacher is and will always be Love.
Actually I am a lifetime student: currently I am still ‘studying’ The Mayan Calendar trying to integrate it in my daily life.
In spare time I like to research extraterrestrial life and having my fascination for SF confirmed in the amazing documentary ‘Ancient Aliens’ felt like a real validation for crazy stuff my intuition has been telling me since childhood.
My biggest next challenge will probably be to understand the work of Mr. Keshe at http://www.keshefoundation.com . My intuition tells me that his work will be of great importance for human kind, but for now it is hard for my mind to really figure it out. As I intend to translate some of the information into Polish and Dutch I will be free style climbing this new mountain this year …
My favorite motto is: ‘This world needs people who are specialized in the impossible…’ – so if you feel that I could add anything of value to your path please feel free to ask, I am sure we can find a way to bring that into your life in a way that will feel right for both of us.
It’s a joy and a dream come true to share the space of this blog with so many sisters so close to my soul.
And I am grateful for this opportunity to also touch you, dear reader, with my words. May they carry the blessing of love from my heart to yours.
Neveen El-Gamal (Blogs)
My name is Neveen El-Gamal. I will turn 39 on May 15th 2012. I was born and lived in Egypt. I’ve experienced loneliness up till my last years in high school when I finally met friends with the same wavelength.
I never learned to love myself up till my marriage failure. My divorce was my rebirth. My life started then, being a single mom of two young boys 1 and 3 years old (9 and 11 now).
My energy attracted men into my life in a way that and made me think I was cursed. I never dealt with this nature wisely and always ended up hurt and hurting others not understanding why! Or why I never met the right one. It took me years of self love and understanding before I finally got it and was in peace with my nature.
And I’ve got to mention how the Family Constellation, a German deep soul healing work had a HUGE impact in enlightening my path, a kind of work that I know no alternative of till today.
Ever since I was a child my mind’s been wondering about life and people around me. My major interest was observing incidents and people trying to find answers to my questions. I never understood why or how things were as I saw them: inverted! I always questioned myself if it was possible that I may know and see things that others older than I am do not see. I realized I have a mission but had no clue how it would evolve.
Days revealed that life coaching was a part of me and I’ve seen lives of friends transform as a result of me investing time and them investing deep true desire to move on along their paths. Yet, in a culture like Egypt with a nature like mine, I couldn’t turn that gift into a job which is actually a dream I would love to see come true.
I was guided through my life path to become a Reiki Master and an Emotrance practitioner and I’m fascinated with healing crystals. I’m also a writer with a published poetry book and another on its way. At the same time I am writing another book that summarizes my life lessons focusing on life’s misconceptions.
Sadie Fulton (Blogs)
At 23, I’m a relatively new arrival on this planet.
My name is Sadie and I’ve been a world traveller (they call us Third Culture Kids) since I was 6 years old. I grew up in Virginia, Bangladesh, France and Kenya, and am now living in Belfast.
When I think about what experiences shaped me into who I am now, oddly, the first time I moved doesn’t come to mind through my heart, only my head. I was six at the time. When you’re that age, “normalcy” and “the box” (you know, the one we’re constantly being encouraged to think outside of) haven’t had a chance to get their ugly hands on you yet. My parents said it was normal to move to Bangladesh after having grown up in a suburban neighbourhood in the US, so, it must have been.
I acclimatised to the cultural differences subconsciously. From day one, I loved Bangladesh – the people were friendly, the city accessible and we got to travel around on these cool tricycles that were all decorated beautifully. They told me they were called rickshaws. Nothing fazed me. I missed my friends, but I made new ones quickly, and I loved the little things. Things like henna, having my own tailor, watching the snake charmers walk by, my huge swing on the balcony, playing on the roof of the building. Through my cross-cultural experiences, I ended up being the girl sitting outside the box trying to figure out what’s inside rather than struggling to think outside the box.
As you can imagine, I also saw poverty on enormous scales. Even though I was going to a missionary school (for cost reasons – my parents weren’t Christians), I ended up having a sharp breaking from organised religion one day on a rickshaw crossing a bridge. My brother, two of my friends and I were on one rickshaw, while my parents were on a different rickshaw. Suddenly we were surrounded by a gang of lepers. What was left of their arms and legs were all tied up. There were groups like that on the street side all the time – they looked after themselves – but this time they came up to the rickshaw, stuck their arms and legs through the wheels of the rickshaw and informed my parents that we were going nowhere until they paid up. My friends, brother and I (average age 7) ended up in a huge discussion about why the school could just “assume” there was a god. I didn’t realise until later, but that day I stumbled upon a serious issue, one I’ve spent the rest of my life trying to answer, and then change.
If there is a god, or a supreme force, how do people end up like this? Leprosy is curable. There are inexpensive treatments available for it. Why have these people been forgotten? Did they do something wrong to have “deserved” it? I have since found several explanations that help answer this question, and I’ll address it in a blog entry later, which I’ll then link here 🙂
The places I’ve lived have shaped me to recognise from an early age how much healing is necessary on this planet, the extent of injustice and inequality – but I have also witnessed the power of love and the strength and courage of which humans are capable. We are truly remarkable beings when we allow ourselves to be.
I’ve developed to have a strong mission on earth. I long to touch people’s hearts and help the world be a safer, warmer, friendlier place. As such, I’m training to be a life coach (with a focus on self-actualisation and empowerment rather than material objectives). I’m also an active campaigning revolutionary socialist, because I believe that the system we live in is profoundly sick (rewarding greed, selfishness and exploitation) and needs to be replaced by one based on synergy, mutual support, and love. Overall, however, I feel like my key role is that of “marrying” the fields of personal development and social responsibility. I’ll be talking a lot about this on TDS.
I am currently working on balancing my life – my full time job, my calling, my personal and social goals, my relationships, my health. I ended my relationship with my first love last year and am working on healing all the leftover wounds from that experience as well as looking forward. I am in a ‘survival’ job in a call centre at the minute (which actually provides brilliant experience in managing energy), so core to my current goal is “launching” myself into a vocation and breathing life into my work setting at the same time. The future will be bright but we have our work cut out for us!
Vicki Willoughby (Blogs)
I was born number 8 of 8, baby of the family and my sisters still call me that despite my 51 yrs. I had the good fortune of being born to a functional family, which has ended up being a rare thing. Being born to a mother who was 48 yrs old and would be a grandmother in less than two years brought me up feeling like a bridge between the generations. My closest sib was 8 yrs older while there’s less than 2 yrs. between my eldest niece and me.
Born and raised in Central New York State, US, I have a hometown perspective but my 18 yrs. lived in Virginia Beach, VA gave me a much broader view. The passing of both my parents within 4 months of each other as I became a mother for the first time in 1982 propelled me into a search for truth that continues today.
In my quest to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up I discovered that I could not help but be a student and a teacher as I believe we all are. I continue to seek, that I may share, brightening my own light that I might light other candles, finding my own voice that others may join me to rejoice in this fantastic journey we’re all on.
I juggle a 19 yr. relationship, and our 9 yr old son with my physical obligations and spiritual evolution. The mother of a 29 yr old son as well, I’ve done my best to guide my boys to be heart centered humans.
My “Holy Trinity” of wellness tools consists of reflexology, I’ve been doing since I was 11 yrs. old, Reiki that I have been enjoying since ’98 and teaching since 2000 and aromatherapy using strictly therapeutic grade Young Living Essential Oils. For the most part we use oils instead of medicines, vaccines, over the counter preparations and the like, for 7 yrs.
With the evolutionary shift well under way I am continually refocusing on the NOW, that gift that was pre~sent for my chosen experience. The Sisterhood page that was birthed last July has become a great source of love, joy, compassion and community that I hope to expand upon here.
The Daily Sisterhood 