Hello, dear friends around the world!

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.

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Bill gives tips about how to have an active sex life after almost 50 years of marriage.

Fernanda reveals some useful dating tips. (Note: This podcast is in English and Spanish.)

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Bill discovers that he has stopped treating his job as a tenured professor at one of the world’s largest art schools as his “day job” and his 48-year-old marriage is the best it’s ever been.

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Dear Friends,

Hello! I’m in New York, about to attend the Art of Relating this weekend, which I’m very, very excited about!! Meanwhile, I have a little magical moment to share…

When I arrived in New York, I queued up to go through Customs. After taking my fingerprints the guy at the desk started asking me questions: “what is the purpose of your visit?” “how long do you plan to stay in the United States?”…

Now, I must admit, this is a situation (official, stranger, etc..) at when my shyness/holding back would usually kick in and I might lie and say something like: “I’m on vacation.” Because it would just seem easier that way. He would stamp my form, I would take it and no real interaction would be necessary.

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Hi Everyone,

Today Christina, Haydee, Susan Finch, Fernanda, Jodi, Madhu, Mike, David and Val put brochures and postcards (for either Monday Night Alive, Starting the New Year Right, Being Here Radio Show) in almost every shop and apartment building on 2nd Avenue from 42nd Street to about 30th Street and in neighboring areas as well. We had such a great time speaking with people about Transformation and the Kanes. Just our presence was enough to engage people, which made inviting them to workshops easy and fun!

The time flew and we met some lovely people and we intimately got to know the neighborhood where Monday Night Alive! happens each week. One restaurant-owner even took menus out of the menu holder to put our postcards in so they would be more prominently displayed (for next time we will bring our own!).

We are excited about the possibility of what we shared today, what’s possible for the people we met, and we invite you to be take part in sharing Transformation, too!  We will be sending a follow up email soon with simple, easy ideas about how each of us can do this.

Love,
The Postcard Crew

Today, as I was sitting on the train, reading a journal, I happened to look up and find myself looking directly and deeply into the eyes of a man facing me from a row away. It was a long moment of warmth and it filled my whole body, like there was a sun inside me, and it started to shine and warm me from the inside. I could not stop smiling and looked around a bit stupidly. The man also seemed to be unusually awake. I was quite shocked about my reaction, as my whole body seemed really large and warm- it was a very beautiful shock. And I realized that I did not have to have sex with this man and I did not have to exchange phone numbers nor do anything else that I didn’t feel like.
Realizing this was a relief from previous occasions when I would not even dare allow myself to look so openly into a stranger’s (especially a man’s) eyes, because of possible “dangers”.

As the train came to a stop, I told him how beautiful it was to just look into each other’s eyes and he replied, with a big smile, “ciao.” I then left (Actually, I flew!) because suddenly I did not know what to do. When I went up the stairs, I heard a voice behind me: “ciao, buona giornata.” I guess it was him, but I did not turn around- I was so shy about what happened and how much it touched me. This is my diamond of the day.

-Stephanie B.

On Saturday, Artur (my husband) and I headed off to visit his family (brother, Celso; sister-in-law, Steph; niece; nephew; and sister, Idilia.) Now, I have a confession to make: I usually dread these visits. I usually fail to implement the brilliant suggestion Ariel & Shya make about doing things as if they were your own idea. Instead, I usually sit in their living room, or in their garden, and make small talk while I count the minutes until we can leave. For, while I love Idilia very much and am very close to her, the rest of the family I have just never connected with at all. I’ve given myself many reasons for this, reasons that mostly allow the responsibility to fall outside of myself! : we’re so different, we have nothing in common, they’re not interested in me, I’m not interested in them, we don’t care about the same things, they’re boring, they just talk small talk, there is no chance to get deeper with them – no chance to make a real connection… So, every time I would go, while holding tightly to my judgments, my heart closed to any other possibility of what it might be like to be with them. Well, the weekend started out with me still like this, and, as we set off to drive south, Artur and I started bickering a bit, and I realised it was because I was resisting the situation and blaming him for it. So I stopped, right then, apologised, and made a commitment to myself to embrace the trip, the people and choose to actually have fun!

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Hello, Friends! Life is so amazing! Four years ago when I was still in the midst of searching for well being, I never could have imagined where I am currently at in this moment of my life. In 1995, I was hired as a receptionist at Société Générale (a French Investment Bank). Two years later, I was promoted to Administrative Assistant (Secretary), and I stayed in this position for the next 8 years of my life. So four years ago, while still a Secretary at the bank, I was a walking complaint. I am also a singer/songwriter, and I was constantly lost in the thought that “This isn’t it! I’m supposed to be a rock star performing at Madison Square Garden! What am I doing here?”

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About two weeks ago I had the great opportunity to chat with Ariel and Shya about dating. It was an amazing and eye opening experience… I am not sure what happened but suddenly and miraculously I have so many dates!! I have been scheduling meetings in open air markets, cafes, during my lunch hours, at museums, going to play tennis, cooking… And all the guys have been fun to be with! I somehow discovered how to be with each of them, not thinking if they were “relationship material” while at the same time I stopped putting pressure on myself to find “THE ONE”. Ariel and Shya masterfully hit the nail on the head when they explained that I had been conditioned to be “a good catholic girl” through my culture and I’d been approaching dating as a “mini-marriage” in hopes that the date would turn into a husband. The thought of just enjoying myself while meeting many men was outside of my realm of possibilities…I mean ‘What kind of woman dates many men?.. I am sure you and I came up with the same word..it starts with a W and ends with an E.

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