(Editor’s note: Andrea’s letter on Dec. 20^th was too inspiring to keep to ourselves : ) )

Hi Everyone!

Last night marked a milestone for me and I feel compelled to share!

Last night I was disappointed to miss MNA because lately I’ve felt like humpty dumpty  who fell off the wall but I had class to attend and then found my mom in a tissy about how much she had to do before the holidays. So I sighed and stayed to help. I did everything she asked in the time she needed. Part of me wondered was I once again playing rescuer but my mom has done a lot for me so I felt like helping. I told myself I would do something nice for me afterward.

I didn’t have to because later that evening she asked if I was going to Costa Rica?  I said yes. Then she said ‘maybe at some point I will join you Monday Nite.’ Shocked I  double checked there wasn’t wax in my ear creating hearing impairment. So I said ‘to NY for MNA?’. Sure enough she answered yes. So I managed to keep my jaw closed even though it was really on the floor and said ‘Sure I’ll let you know when I can go up again so you can come too.’

This is a huge milestone for her and I’m really excited for her to experience the group and Ariel and Shya.

Last night all I asked for was to feel whole in the morning. At three in the morning I woke and felt all these bits and pieces of me returning to my core. And for the first time in a long time I feel whole.

Thank you Ariel and Shya though I wasn’t there I felt the experience still permeated through me.

I wish everyone a lovely holiday (for those celebrating) and a transformative New Year!

Hugs
Andrea

Today is the Christmas Eve. For my husband Christian and I, this is a very important day in a sense that we love to make it special for our children (3 and 5 years old). Christian and I have the most beautiful memories from our childhood of Christmas Eves; we would like the same for our children and try our best to make it happen.

We have protected all the “big lies” about Santa Claus, the carriage, the reindeers… etc. In the area I grew up in it is the Christkind (Christ child), not Santa Claus, therefore we sometimes have to make up stories to put them together (“well, Santa Claus prepares the gifts and the Christkind helps him deliver them”…etc). Santa Claus also brings presents to adults; he passes by the grandparents’ house, decorates the tree therefore the living room is locked till Christmas mornings. We place milk and cookies in the entrance of the house so that he can eat and once the things are gone (my father in law takes care of that while we are in church), we know that Santa Claus was there. It’s probably more familiar to the Americans than to the Germans, but now you’ve got the idea.

Today, we went to church around 3.30 pm. I had been in a very bad mood this morning, picking on “me”” and telling myself that I wasn’t good enough, I should be in a better mood… etc. It got worse and worse. Then I thought about the video that Ariel and Shya made for Christmas and I remembered them saying that it would be good to just be there and listen to people around us. Something inside me immediately shifted! Suddenly I had attention off myself, my feelings and it went to others. That was just so sweet! From that moment on the day turned into a wonderful day. I lightened up so much, took care of everyone around me and felt soooooooooo much better myself and it lasts!
When we drove back home from church that day, it was already dark and we were surrounded by that special atmosphere of Christmas Eve, in silence. Our children couldn’t be more excited when I told them that I was watching for the carriage in the sky and we were all looking. I got excited myself although it’s been a long time since I believed in Santa Claus. We got off the car in front of the house, looked up into the sky and I saw something I had never seen before. Something bright and white, with a long tail was crossing the sky from one side to the other very quickly but in a steady speed. Christian and I were stunned. It was really close, really low in the sky. My first reaction was this had to be a shooting star, but are shooting stars so long, so close, so clear to see? Then I thought it must be an aircraft because we live 20km from the airport and we are used to seeing planes. However this was moving much quicker than a landing aircraft. Then I thought it had to be a comet. Christian and I were standing still, not knowing what to say. Suddenly, my 5 year old daughter Luise started screaming with excitement, “Santa Claus, there he is, I can see the carriage, the reindeers, everything, there he is, he’s been to our house already!!!!” She was more than excited, and our sun Arne joined in. Had they ever had any doubts about the existence of Santa Claus, they were removed… I swear, in that special moment I was tempted, for an instant, to also recognize the carriage and everything in this phenomenon. It was really extraordinary (particularly as we didn’t know what it was). The kids ran up to the house, saw that milk and cookies had disappeared and got even more excited. We had the most wonderful, wonderful, wonderful Christmas Eve!!!

The reason I am telling you all this is because it was such a wonderful, special moment and although it is not directly a transformational story, tonight I became fully aware again how extraordinarily blessed I am in my life, how wonderful my life is, how much I love my husband and my children, and I am pretty sure that I owe very much of that to the great impact Ariel and Shya have had on my life ever since I met them a few years ago.

I wish you all the most joyful holidays and look forward to seeing many of you in Costa Rica.

Uli Schu
ps Later tonight we watched the news and they reported that the phenomenon, according to the experts, was a rocket launched by Russians a couple of days ago to dock on to a space station that had fallen back to planet Earth.

Our son Jonathan is here : ) : ) : )  Hurray!  He was born on the 29th of September. He is lying next to me inside his hanging-cot, looking very peaceful. He is very cuddly and sometimes I have a hard time just letting him lie on his own. It is such an incredibly nice feeling when he cuddles into me and falls asleep on my tummy. Up until recently, that tummy had been his residence.

It is crazy: up to the end of my pregnancy I could not imagine that there was a complete human being inside me; and now, I can’t imagine that he had been inside me with all his magnificence. Jonathan is a real gift!!!

In the hospital there was a poster reading “Patience is the beginning of happiness”.  That looked a little like our motto: Jonathan was in no hurry. My water broke on Tuesday at 11pm, then on Thursday at 5:45pm he had arrived.

As I didn’t have spontaneous labor, the birth was induced medically. My previous fear was that I wouldn’t notice when I went into labor.  After the induction, labor started very abruptly and it would not have been possible not to notice.  Jonathan is a little frog, and very nearly he would have been born in the bath tub.  However his naval cord was a little short.  I had to get out of the water and he was born on land.  It was a great birth and all the time I felt secure and taken care of.

Additionally, I was lucky that I was cared for by the midwife, with whom I had done the birth-preparation course.  We were a super team.  And my boyfriend could be there, too.  As he is living 4 hours away from me, we were not sure if he would make it in time.  So everything worked out as it was supposed to work out.

It is ingenious that with all the meetings with Ariel and Shya and all of you, I was allowed to experience that every moment is perfect as it is showing up.  Thus I have considerably more self-confidence and greater certainty that everything that happens is ok.  Based on this experience I had a super pregnancy, was able to organize everything in my practice (I am an occupational therapist) for it to run for half a year without me, and I had a great birth.  Above all, without this experience, Jonathan would not exist.  I would probably still be stuck in my old relationship, not wanting to see my own truth and I would not have met Jonathan’s brilliant daddy-  first of all, I would never have used the Internet to get to know men.  Secondly, in my previous life, Dennis would have been much too young ( I am 15 years older than him).  Hurray for transformation and you all : ) : ) : )

And now, I have the incomprehensible happiness to sit next to my son and marvel at him – wow, wow, wow.

When I read through the lines above again, I have given birth to a little “teddyhumanfrog” which I am incredibly proud of.  And I am proud of Dennis, Jonathan’s father.  He supports me in every aspect while writing his diploma.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I am proud of myself : ) : ) : ) !  This is a state I would not have reached without Ariel & Shya.

Thank you to you all.

The happy Mama,
Tanja

I wrote an e-mail to my Dad and his wife. As I was writing, I realized that it had become normal for me not to fight with them, and the choices have always come down to “being right versus being alive” !

My daughter Lilly and I recently spent a day and a night with my Dad and his wife. Little things happened before and during our visit, in the past I would have gotten upset about (I wanted to be right that my Dad’s wife was wrong!). And now everything is so smooth and it was sweet and lovely!

At this moment not having to fight seems to me the biggest gift of Transformation!!

Love,

Antje

I was just thinking about you in the midst of my wedding preparation- I wonder if you all know that Christian and I are getting married in August?  We are planning a civil wedding ceremony with the inner circle of the family this summer.

After Christian and I  moved in together last October things were great between us and we enjoyed very much being with each other. Another accelerator was my participation in the workshop with Ariel and Shya in Costa Rica. Ever since I returned, we had an incredible time together and Christian spontaneously asked my parents for my hand in marriage. We chose the date (Aug 5th) so our family could attend.

During our vacation on the Balearic Islands, Christian officially asked me for my hands. It was very sweet and romantic and it touched my heart so deeply! Good friends of ours happened to be around in a distance as it happened, so we have some good photos that I can share with you : )

Looking at those amazing photos, I feel as if we were in a movie. But the great relationship with him would never have been possible without the great workshops with Ariel and Shya and all the valuable feedback I got from them. Still today, there have been so many situations that I feel I can insist to be “right” about something; but I learned the idea from Ariel and Shya, “being right versus being alive”- it’s incredible how this small sentence can change/transform the situation so much!

So, for all the singles in our community:  keep going!! I also had to get to know quiet a few men to find the right one ; ) And if I can do it, you can do it! For all the couples: I just love ”being right versus being alive” and I am reminding myself everyday : )  But who am I to “give tips”? I just feel like sharing my experiences and quote Ariel and Shya’s brilliance!

Loooooove to all of you and lots of hugs,
Hilli & Christian (he says hi too!)

P.S. I will be changing my last name from that day on to “Koegler” (sorry, I know it might be hard to pronounce for the English natives!)

I have a little story to share.

My daughter is twelve now and cleaning up her room – as well as some other basics – is really a challenge at the moment.

So today I made her clean up her room and I stayed, because otherwise it would not get done.

All of a sudden, she started singing a popular melody and invented lyrics about cleaning and danced and sang while she was cleaning up her room. She had so much fun, she couldn’t stop singing even after it was done . We call it “The Clean-up Blues” now!

Thank you so much Ariel and Shya for showing me how to stay in the moment so I can pass that on to Lilly and she can learn to have fun instead of being upset!

Much Love,
Antje

A few weeks ago, I asked my son Milan how he wanted to celebrate his birthday this year. His answer was such a sweet unexpected surprise!

He said that for his birthday, he’d like to create a Business Meeting with his friends. He would set up an executive table (with tall red chairs) where he and his friends could talk about business. They would then create artwork and posters and sell the artwork in the park. He also may sell “Smash” – a drink he “invented” made of orange juice and seltzer.

What a fun, inspiring idea!

It’s moments like these, when I realize the amazing impact that the Kanes’ Workshops have had on my life, on being a parent, a mentor teacher & how they’ve awakened Milan’s dreams for himself. In the past, he sold “Smash” in the park, but this time he wanted to share his passion with his friends & create a possibility for them as well.

There’s such a sweet mix of fantasy (of what business looks like from a child’s point of view), & practicality (selling something to make money). I was so inspired that I created an agenda for the day!

This weekend, on Saturday, May 21st if any of you are in the Brooklyn area at around 1pm, Milan & a few friends will be at Carroll Park (Carroll St. & Smith St.) selling his “art work”. You’re very welcome to stop by.

I know that he’d love to see you! Me too!

Jodi

Here is one participant’s experience of the workshop last year. Why not create your own experience? You may be pleasantly surprised of who you are!

Intimacy
Dates: Friday – Sunday, June 10th, 11th & 12th, 2011
Time: Friday, 7pm-10pm, Saturday & Sunday: 9:45am-6pm
Fee: $425
Location: 630 Second Avenue at 35th Street, NYC

Click here to create the magic in your life.

I just attended Ariel & Shyas weekend workshop in Hamburg about “The Freedom to Be Yourself”.  It was truly fantastic:-))  I don’t know where to begin so I just begin:

My cousine Renate joined me for the first time! I invited her several times before and she never was able to make it, but this time she went with me to Hamburg.  It is so magical what is possible for people, amazing! She was soooo happy she joined me and signed up right away for the Cambridge seminar in July (Creativity & Intuition, you are invited!), the next seminar with Ariel & Shya in Hamburg in October (The License to Live, you are invited too) and for two weeks in Costa Rica….!! Isn’t that amazing?  That showed me again how important it is that we all share the gift of transformation! It is a blessing for the people who join us!  So I just started sharing trasformation with everybody and it is a great experience, it keeps me on track as well:-)

Yesterday my mom invited my brother, my sister, my dad and me to the musical “My Fair Lady”. Not only was the show great, but also the relationship between the five of us.  I guess I never experienced before such a lightness in the interactions between us:-) Wow!

I’m going to New York in June for the “Intimacy” workshop and I’m really looking forward to it!  If you have the feeling you want to join me, please do! I love to meet a lot of people there:-)

Love to you all from sunny Basel (it’s already summer here:-)
Andrea

Lately, I found it challenging to stay in the moment. There is a lot of chatter going on in my mind and my breath is shallow.  On one of this “lost in thoughts days”, it was while walking to my work place, I came up with a game (out of the blue) that I started to play immediately!