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Before there were books, before there was a Dojo, before Clearing The Attic...
There was simply someone trying to make sense of life while carrying boxes that had been hidden away for many years. The audio below is a personal excerpt from my book, Healing The Child Within. It shares the beginning of that journey and the experiences that eventually led to everything I embody today, because every conversation I share begins with one simple realization: The greatest freedom isn't found by trying to heal the past... It's found by seeing that what we are has never been defined by it. |
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If you've ever wondered why the attic became such a powerful metaphor in my work, this is where the story begins.
My Philosophy of Teaching
A Sensei does more than demonstrate techniques.
A true Sensei shares a way of seeing.
Everything I offer comes from my own lived experience - not as something you must accept, but as an invitation to explore for yourself.
I have no desire to tell you who to be, what to believe, or how your life should unfold.
Instead, I simply share what I have discovered along my own journey of awareness.
Take what serves you. Leave what doesn't.
If something awakens a deeper truth within you, then we've both received a gift. Every conversation, every question, and every insight continues to deepen my own understanding as much as I hope it serves yours.
The greatest lessons are never simply shown.
They are shared.
That is the kind of Life Sensei I strive to be.
A Sensei does more than demonstrate techniques.
A true Sensei shares a way of seeing.
Everything I offer comes from my own lived experience - not as something you must accept, but as an invitation to explore for yourself.
I have no desire to tell you who to be, what to believe, or how your life should unfold.
Instead, I simply share what I have discovered along my own journey of awareness.
Take what serves you. Leave what doesn't.
If something awakens a deeper truth within you, then we've both received a gift. Every conversation, every question, and every insight continues to deepen my own understanding as much as I hope it serves yours.
The greatest lessons are never simply shown.
They are shared.
That is the kind of Life Sensei I strive to be.
The Journey...
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The secrets I was keeping led me in search of a way to stop feeling powerless; that way led me to study Martial Arts.
In 1998 I started my own business teaching self-defense to women and as my business transitioned into the work I do now, I created my signature program of Mastering Your Beliefs. Mastering Your Beliefs is a way for changing any circumstance in your life because whatever you believe to be true, is the path you will follow mentally & physically. |
A Turning Point
I believe we're always awakening to the true nature of what we are however, there was one season of my life that became a profound invitation to remember what no longer defined me. That invitation came during my divorce after thirty-two years of marriage.
For decades I had immersed myself in the martial arts - as a student, competitor, and teacher. Martial arts taught me discipline, focus, courage, and the strength often associated with the masculine.
My divorce invited something different...
It invited me inward.
It became an opportunity to embrace qualities I had spent years overlooking - reciprocity, compassion, self-love, trust, to choose myself without guilt, to complete the inner work I had been avoiding, and to discover that loving myself wasn't selfish...it was essential.
As I changed, not everyone understood. Friends, family, and coworkers would say things like:
"You've changed."
"You're not the same anymore."
"I don't think you know what you want."
They were right.
I wasn't the same.
Not because I had become someone different, but because I had stopped trying to be someone I wasn't.
What surprised me most was that the more authentic I became, the more peaceful life felt.
I found myself explaining less, defending less, and experiencing a steadier sense of peace - even when others couldn't understand the changes they were witnessing.
I didn't outgrow people because I became more spiritual - I outgrew patterns because I finally recognized what was never true and that same knowing exists within each of us.
I believe we're always awakening to the true nature of what we are however, there was one season of my life that became a profound invitation to remember what no longer defined me. That invitation came during my divorce after thirty-two years of marriage.
For decades I had immersed myself in the martial arts - as a student, competitor, and teacher. Martial arts taught me discipline, focus, courage, and the strength often associated with the masculine.
My divorce invited something different...
It invited me inward.
It became an opportunity to embrace qualities I had spent years overlooking - reciprocity, compassion, self-love, trust, to choose myself without guilt, to complete the inner work I had been avoiding, and to discover that loving myself wasn't selfish...it was essential.
As I changed, not everyone understood. Friends, family, and coworkers would say things like:
"You've changed."
"You're not the same anymore."
"I don't think you know what you want."
They were right.
I wasn't the same.
Not because I had become someone different, but because I had stopped trying to be someone I wasn't.
What surprised me most was that the more authentic I became, the more peaceful life felt.
I found myself explaining less, defending less, and experiencing a steadier sense of peace - even when others couldn't understand the changes they were witnessing.
I didn't outgrow people because I became more spiritual - I outgrew patterns because I finally recognized what was never true and that same knowing exists within each of us.
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The sensei picked up the teapot and began to pour tea into one of the cups.
When the cup was full, she kept pouring and soon tea was running down the sides of the cup and into the tray.
The student pointed to the cup and said, “Stop, can’t you see the cup is full and no more will go in?”
The sensei smiled and said, “Like this cup, your mind is full of what you believe and don’t believe.
Before you can learn more, you must empty your cup to make room.
When the cup was full, she kept pouring and soon tea was running down the sides of the cup and into the tray.
The student pointed to the cup and said, “Stop, can’t you see the cup is full and no more will go in?”
The sensei smiled and said, “Like this cup, your mind is full of what you believe and don’t believe.
Before you can learn more, you must empty your cup to make room.