On the way to my room to get my luggage before heading home, I ran into Ariel and Shya on one of the beautiful covered walkways and we started chatting.  When I outlined my dilemma, they pointed out that what I was actually doing was to ask my daughter for her permission to go to Costa Rica again and that it is I who is the mother who needs to say what’s going on – not vice versa. They said that I was trying to be Ayla’s friend instead of her mother.  It was not long before I discovered how true this really had been.

When I got home I found an eye-opening letter in the mailbox from Ayla’s school saying that she would be getting some 5’s and 6’s (which in the German school system is the equivalent of an F – it’s 1-6, 1 being an A and 6 an F) in her mid-year report card and that if she doesn’t improve she would not only be flunking the school year, but she would have to leave the school! This is based on the fact that the German school system is divided into three levels of schools; after fourth grade the children are sorted into different schools according to their grades. Ayla is at a “Gymnasium,” which means she had really good grades in Elementary school. With her language choices of taking Latin, English and Spanish (in this order), she is not compatible to go to a lower school level. I realized it was time that I got clear and took action! I still had my jacket on as well as my “Seeing Power” from Costa Rica when I called Ayla’s classroom teacher, spoke with her father and got an appointment with the school counselor.  We went through many different options, one of which was boarding school, which I found out I can’t afford. But the bottom line was: Ayla was not doing her work.

I reached out to get support and the best support I found was Ariel and Shya who said:

There needs to be consequences to her inactivity, just like gravity.  You don’t need to be “strict” or use force or be angry.  Just consistent.

So Ayla and I sat down and wrote down our plan of action and we found two great tutors for Spanish and Math/Physics. For every 5 or 6 she gets on a test, she has to stay home on the evenings of two week-ends… and in case she gets a 1, she gets to have one of the evenings back. Now she has a list of all grades she gets on her wall and I check her vocabulary and homework regularly.

So, like gravity I made sure we both stuck to this program. Even before she started with tutoring she got her first 1 in math! From a 6 to a 1. She hasn’t had a single 1 in math since starting at the Gymnasium! And that was not a one-time thing. She has been getting good grades in all sorts of classes like Chemistry and English. There was also an 5 in Latin, and when she and her friend tried to get me to let her meet up with some classmates at the café on one of the stay-home evenings, I was like gravity. No anger or upset, no feeling sorry for her or myself because I had to say no. Unaccustomedly I didn’t even feel guilty. We even laughed at all the funny ways they tried to get me to give in and we actually had some fun. That was not how I had expected it to be. The second week-end turned out to be one day less, because she got herself another 1.

I can’t say I understand this, but I do believe that just being honest with myself and seeing how I have tried so hard for my daughter to like me, instead of dealing with the possibility of her being angry at me, has helped. It took a few days of upsets from Ayla, maybe a week, for her to realize that this is how things are now and you know what? Our relationship has actually gotten a lot sweeter.

By the way, I signed up for Costa Rica 2011 while in Costa Rica this year without asking my daughter for permission, and have already paid my first deposit so that I can profit from the early registration discount. I invite you all to join me next year and if you sign up by April 26, 2010 and pay your first third you will also get the discount. It is so fantastic!

Sandy S, Munich, Germany

Since the last course and upon signing up for the next one (Step into Your Brilliance) for which I paid in full (and guess what, it was true what you said…the course started to happen then) things have shifted. I got home to California and my life as I knew it before was different. I was able to complete any task in the time needed. I was happier. I was lighter somehow, and the people around me became interesting and interested. My husband, Tony, turned to me at dinner one night and said, “I don’t know what your doing but don’t stop…I can’t get enough of you and love being around you, you look beautiful.”  So, of course I tried as best I could to explain to him what Ariel and Shya do… It was murky I am sure, but he smiled…this big smile and grabbed my hands tight.

My sister and I started to talk every morning and she said, “There’s something different about you and I want some.” I loved that! She lives in Florida so I sent her Working on Yourself Doesnt Work…every day we talk, she tells me what chapter she is on and what’s changing in her life. I invited her to the workshop… Maybe not this time, but, every day her mind gets blown away she is that much closer. So I sent the book to my mom and my brother…it was like things started to change so quickly between all of us without any of us labeling it…my boss called me one day and complimented me in a way he has never done on the 20 years we have worked together…and the conference calls I used to hate with a passion have become incredible. I actually listen, instead of doing emails, or dishes, or anything else I could do rather than get interested…crazy amazing!

I did wake up today in a temper trantrum and it felt so off, so wrong…and then… The email from Ariel and Shya came through…whoosh…I got interested in their story, and bam…here I am writing to all of you for the first time to say…thank you. You affect my life in a way that I never knew was possible And it rocks my world! Can’t wait till next week……!

Sandy

Ps… My daughter Lil said, “What’s up mom…it’s like your living your life for the first time”…YUP!

Dear Ariel, Dear Shya!

It was on a Friday, December 11th 2009 when I missed my train to go home.  Right at the train station there is a bookstore called “Rest seller” and as I had nothing better to do while waiting for my next train to leave I took a stroll through the store and looked through the books in the display.  A small, white book with a few butterflies on the cover caught my attention.  I love everything that has wings…such as fairies, angels etc. and there was something playful and light about this book. But being a person that had lost the interest in getting more spiritual books, I didn’t really wanna buy another book.  Besides that, I didn’t expect this book to tell me something new.  At the same time I liked the idea of getting really cozy on my sofa on a cold winter evening and reading short stories, after all it was not an expensive book, so what did I have to lose?  It was just a book with sweet butterflies.  I decided to get it – having NO idea that this book would be the starting point of true transformation and many blessings to come into my life!

Three weeks later I had read all your books and had listened to many many episodes of Being Here and had inspired my friends and family to do the same. I keep listening to Being Here, I get so many tips, insights and “Ahas,” it’s incredible, such a treat!

Last Tuesday I attended the first International call in Liestal/Switzerland. I have never met you in person and I am absolutely astonished and deeply touched to experience how my life has shifted and transformed since December 11th.

There has come a new lightness and cheerfulness into my life that I enjoy so much. It feels like my true self, my essence is expressing itself more and more. It’s blossoming. In one episode Ariel said how we so rarely say: “Hey, this is me! This is what I do! This is where I live, these are my clothes, this is my boyfriend!”  That was so important to hear for me!

Since I started to really listen, I enjoy other people’s company so much more and feel so much more connected and real.  The other day someone said to me: “wow, you really listen”.  Sometimes, I can feel how people actually relax when I am with them and how I relax as well, because I do not have to “do” anything special anymore, but to listen and just be there.  Before, I took lots of time to sit and meditate and needed time to myself to center myself, now being with people and listening has become my meditation as well and interestingly, I take far less time to sit and meditate anymore.

I would LOVE to come to Costa Rica with you guys in 2011!!  I am signed up for both of your workshops in April in Hamburg.

Lots of love from snowy Switzerland!
Evelyne

I want to thank you for the amazing and liberating experiences I had in Costa Rica.  That “Pura-Vida-feeling” has been established deep in me and is now always a part of my life, my everyday-being.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve had some unexpected requirements from life, but I can handle – and even enjoy – them all quite cooly

Both of you, and all the amiable people who were in your course in Costa Rica, showed me that it’s really always enough, just to BE as I am, to listen and simply to do what is needed in the moment…

I’m looking forward to seeing you in April in Hamburg. Wishes to you for discovering and relishing the new wonders of this boundless life!

Sunny greetings from the still gorgeous snow-covered Munich,
Carola

You know how transformation happens in retrospect? Well, since being back from Costa Rica for 2 weeks now, I can really see it!

Being in Costa Rica was such a gift.  Ariel & Shya created this course for us with such care, in a way that each of us – and all of us as a group – experienced magic. Being in that incredibly gorgeous and alive environment with everyone was like waking up on Christmas morning every day. From ‘big’ things to little ones…though I really can tell the difference between them now!  Like walking down the path to the dining area one afternoon. I really saw, and more than that, felt the beauty and glory of the world around me and of myself – I felt like Snow White, as if I was communicating with all the creatures around me by just being with and enjoying them We had some nights of singing after dinner and hearing people sing even a 1 minute song brought tears to my
eyes; or being on a horse who responded to even my thoughts (before I had to do anything to communicate my instruction), and being in that paradise-like place with some of the most incredible people from all over the world that I have ever met; it felt as if we were doing amazing & important work for all of humanity (though there was really no work involved).

And since I’ve returned the gifts have kept showing up!  The day I got back, my boss had booked an appointment for me with the owners of a company I have known for about 6 years who was ready to redesign their website. I had a great meeting with them and their entire company, which really just felt like chatting.   By the end of the week, I spoke with one of the owners who said that even though their budget was tight, they were going to make it work because they knew we were the company for them.  Actually, he said that it was his relationship with me that made them want to work with us…that really blew my mind!  That just being me made such a difference…that I actually don’t need to ‘do’ anything extra than just be with people when I’m with them.  Well in the last 2 weeks, sales opportunities have just been coming up consistently.

The thing I’m now noticing is that the gifts are actually around me (and all of us) all the time and it’s just about being there to see them. And there’s really no trick to it…in fact it’s when I try to do things, change the way I am, or basically work on myself that I lose sight of that magical quality. In addition to Monday Nights, International Calls, and weekend workshops, one AWESOME way to stay hooked into that magic is through Being Here, the Kanes’ weekly radio show. It was after listening to the episode “Networking Like a Pro” that the business connections started turning into sales and I really saw that the things I wanted in my life were so connected with the ways I could support other people in having what they want.

A big thank you to Ariel & Shya for creating such an incredible experience for us and to all of you for being who you are!!

Lots of Love,
Val

How are you? 14 days ago I  came back from Costa Rica.

WOW! There’s still this wonderful impact I feel in myself. What do I mean? Well, being in Costa Rica was a unique experience.  Pure self-discovery and adventure.  It was such a gift to discover myself, to discover the beauty of the moment, the wonderful nature, to meet the other participants and to be with them.

Ariel and Shya created a wonderful environment to discover Transformation. They are so wise and I am so thankful for this amazing adventure and happy to be part of this community.

Back in Hamburg, I noticed that I have no complaints about the circumstances in my life.  For example, lately I recognized that people around me complained about the snow and the ice.  In the past I stepped into those complaints.  Now I do not step into those complaints.  I enjoy the snow and the winter and share this with the people around me. I am really not better than the people around me, it is just such a feeling of happiness and calmness in myself that I had not discovered as deeply in the past. Yes, and this makes me so happy.

Another thing, today I feel more aware of my mechanical behaviors – e.g. I noticed at work that when I have to do something that I do not like to do, I focus my attention on something else.  I had seen this already in the past, but after being in Costa Rica and being back in Hamburg, something transformed.  Now I have a choice :) and I do what is right in front of me, no matter if I like it or not and it is so easy!  My boyfriend, my family and all the people around me, they all get a benefit out of me sharing myself and transformation.

It sounds too good to be real? Well, it is sooo real and alive!!!  Transformation is such an enormous gift and so much fun, too! I highly recommend Costa Rica and invite everybody to join me next year

My best wishes and warmly greetings from Hamburg,
Katja

Costa Rica was amazing! It was such a treat that I was there for two weeks!  My husband Jay, our friend Susan & I watched some of the video we shot in Costa Rica.  And I was amazed to see myself. I looked calm and comfortable in my skin.

Costa Rica gave me the opportunity to be me. To be me in a place with 50 plus glorious friends in a land of pure beauty. It was magical as we all transformed and relaxed into the moment. The two weeks in Costa Rica gave me the opportunity to relax into myself, as I kept dropping the thoughts that requested I work on myself. The old mechanics didn’t have staying power as I didn’t entertain & indulge in urges of self pity. It was amazing!! And this skill set got easier & easier as each day flew by.

I was the “logistics” person for Ariel & Shya. And I got to see how I operate when I’m “working”. It was such a gift and so valuable. I got to see how I would automatically fall into self pity if I would make a “mistake”. This used to be how I operated at my job at the Bank (which I immediately saw in retrospect – my boss didn’t appreciate it – and that’s an understatement). My boss would get so frustrated with me when I worked on myself. I didn’t see this until I was in Costa Rica. Here was the game: if I went into self pity while I was performing my logistics duties, I would no longer be the logistics person. I love doing logistics, so there was a great price to pay if I indulged in self pity. I saw that if I’m lost in self pity, I can’t take care of people & my surroundings. It was a trip to feel the self pity mechanics automatically rise up within me and in an instant
see it, feel it, not judge it, and then continue with what I was doing in that moment, bypassing the uncomfortable place that used to keep me from being brilliant.

Needless to say, working this past week at the Bank was AMAZING. I had moments where I made some mistakes and I flushed & blushed with unkind thoughts about myself – all in front of my boss of course. In a split second (due to my awareness training in Costa Rica) I saw I had the choice. I then spoke with my boss without punishing myself (or her), and she quickly moved onto the next moment, trusting that I would make the correction, knowing that I supported her. I was partnering her and this is a powerful feeling.

Jay and I are in a new place in our relationship. We are partners in a new and expansive way than we were before we went to Costa Rica. I got see how I wouldn’t allow men to help me (a vestige from my pre-transformational feminist days). Jay supported me & participated with the Logistics and it was such a sweet and loving experience.

I am a new person. Costa Rica is the greatest gift I can give myself. I signed up again for next year. So much magic happened. If you’re thinking about Costa Rica 2011 – give it to yourself! I am so grateful for Ariel &
Shya, and for all of you in this Transformational Community. What a gift we have. A gift to share with others who have yet to discover Instantaneous Transformation. I’m looking forward to seeing some of you tomorrow night (with all of our guests!). And to those of you around this world (not in NYC) – I look forward to seeing you soon!

Sending my love to all of you,
Colleen

Lately, my days are full of events. It feels like a day has more parts than it once had. Every time I see a clock, I’m amazed how early it is, and how many things I can do with my time.

Also, everything looks beautiful, and full of DETAIL and light and color! The tropical-ness of Costa Rica seems to have followed me to New York, and everything is looking exotic, and full of life.

Things have been easy, and I’m finding I am willing to do the things that need to be done, without even wondering if I want to do them.

I feel so loose and creative, and the things that are happening around me are ORIGINAL.

Today as I was on the subway, I could see that we are all so equal. I have a lot of love for people. I used to have an idea that I was a loner, and didn’t like people very much. It’s a bogus idea.

This workshop in Costa Rica was so special. There are no words for it. A gift from God.

Thanks Ariel and Shya from the center of my heart.

Love,
Gio