(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

My girlfriend Sandy & I came home from Hamburg two days ago, where we attended two absolutely amazing workshops, “The Freedom To Breathe” and “The License To Live” with the Kanes.

Since the start of the first workshop I have felt really empowered, fresh, complete, clear and very calm at the same time – and this feeling lingers on, in all aspects of my live. I get things done and handled without any effort or stress, I just finish what has to be done and move on to the next thing without any complaint or thought that usually came up in my mind that told me I’d like to do something different or better.

And also my relationship with Sandy feels so fresh and close and precious again – it’s like falling in love with her for the first time, again and again, from moment to moment anew! I really love what has happened and is still happening for us two and all the others who took part in the “Hamburg Adventure” with the Kanes.

It is like Ariel & Shya told us from time to time and what they called “Happiness Amnesia”: I keep forgetting how absolutely wonderful the workshops are. That doesn’t mean that I don’t know and realize that they are great, it’s just a huge difference of “knowing” that something is wonderful and of “experiencing” it!

For me it was the first time (besides Costa Rica) that I took part in a “the Freedom to Breathe” workshop – and I was absolutely amazed again what a gentle, easy and effortless way it is to get connected to yourself and your breathing partner – it felt like beeing catapulted very smoothly right into the moment (which sounds a bit like a paradoxon, I know, but it is none, when you actually experience it . I also realized that I had a story in my mind, that the breathing in Costa Rica felt so smooth and easy because there I have already been super-relaxed and effected by the beautiful surrounding – and it would be a whole different experience in Hamburg. It really turned out to be a whole different experience, but only in terms of being a completly new, absolutely amazing experience. I realized that it really doesn’t matter at all “where” you participate in a breathing workshop with Ariel & Shya – it pulls you immediately and effortlessly into your body and into the current moment, no matter if you are in Costa Rica, in Hamburg or in New York.

So I want to invite you all to give yourself the gift and to join us for the next two workshops in Hamburg in Spring (no matter if you live in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the UK, France, the USA, Canada or even Hong Kong!); starting with a brilliant “Freedom To Breathe” workshop on the 29th of March 2012, followed by the “Secret Of Wonderful Relationships” workshop from the 30th of March till the 1st of April.

If you think about coming to either of the workshops or both of them, make sure to register now, because as you all know, the workshops already start when you register – and who wouldn’t want to have the “Freedom To Breathe” or the “Secret Of Wonderful Realationships” right now for the next 5 months in advance?

Love,
Benedict

Last week I came back from a 10 day vacation with a dear friend of mine at the Ligurian Coast in Italy. We had stayed with relatives of hers and had the best time: sun and rain, sea and countryside, beautiful encounters and conversations with people, lovely food (and ice cream!!) and a lot of fun. In the midst of all beautiful things something truly magical happened to me.

I have my own business as a PR consultant & an interpreter. In the last three years English became the predominant language that I have been called on to interpret. Recently I considered concentrating on English, and stopped working with the Italian language completely.

I was sitting by the water on the shore, reading an Italian book, looking at the children jumping into the water, enjoying the breeze, the sun and the water on my skin when I suddenly felt some sort of hate towards Italian people. I noticed it, quite surprised… I saw it and it was gone. Something really interesting happened next. It felt as if somebody took a lid off of me and all my passion, love and admiration for Italian people and Italian culture came bubbling up…

I could see, that this passion had been left behind somewhere down the road at the end of a relationship with an Italian guy two years ago that simply didn’t work. No one to blame. And yet, unbeknownst to me I had contracted after we broke up and somehow had begun to shy away from all things Italian as if “Italy” was somehow to blame.

It was an amazing experience. I dived into Italian culture again. Chatting for hours with the ladies at the beach next to us, connecting with people I met from the gelato man to the lady in the espresso bar… I enjoyed each moment. I rediscovered so many things I knew and loved (including how good my Italian is : ) and learned so many new things about these amazing people.

Coming home last Tuesday evening I found myself reloaded with passion in ALL areas of my life, from undoing my luggage to work, from minutia to dating. The lady that had covered for me did (as always) an excellent job. I found a lot of work, interesting jobs & requests for offers; a technical company I’m working with offered me a higher commission rate; things took care of themselves; I discovered exciting new perspectives for my second business (gift products)… and so on and so on. The list is long. I got an incredible amount of work done in a very short time, realizing that I’m focused and precise in my communications. Things went smoothly, one after the other. I participated in a amazing singing workshop last weekend which was great fun and had a lovely date on Sunday night. Things that I would have said before I can’t do within five days. YES I CAN…

Thank you, Ariel & Shya for the gift of transformation, and thank YOU ALL for being part of my life.

Transformation is incredible and a gift to share!

Let’s keep inviting people: To Monday Night Alives, to the International calls – September 20th is the next one.

And if you feel the impulse to participate in the upcoming workshop in NYC “Transformation in the Workplace,” give yourself the gift… and the workshop in October in Hamburg and Costa Rica 2012.

Ariel & Shya offer so many wonderful “tools” to have a truly magnificent life…. and the world is waiting for it.

Much love,
Karin

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!)

For the first time in my life I feel that my access to the moment is sustainable.

Lately, I’ve felt so much passion and sweetness in my life, I feel like sharing. After calling into “Being Here” for the “Infectious Nature of Thoughts” show, I’ve seen what a dramatic effect my attitude (and thoughts!) have on the people in my lives. Recently I’ve had a few really sweet moments with co-workers, where they shared a little piece of themselves, that was vulnerable and so honest. My music is going better then ever; I’ve been surprised by the expressiveness and creativity in my songwriting and the juicy, fun stuff that happens when I’m not pressuring myself to produce something. I’ve also started teaching art classes at a children’s art center. In addition, tomorrow I have an interview for a job at a company that specializes in metal art and decoration. It sounds like a really cool job, and I would have never had this opportunity had I not cleanly said Yes to my impulse to apply for it. And my relationship with my girlfriend Ali is becoming ever lighter and alive. A couple days ago, I looked at her face, looked into her eyes and there was this shocking moment where I experienced a completely new level of allowing myself to love and be loved. It is just amazing!

Above all, wherever I may be in my life, I’m finding that my access to the moment is becoming more effortless and more frequent. Stepping out of my thoughts, into the visual landscape of the cutting board I’m slicing vegetables on top of, or just being with a student, outside as we draw on the ground with chalk.

One last thing: Ali and I are coming to the Intimacy Workshop in June! See you in New York!

Shea

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

John

As some of you know, I attended my first Costa Rican Adventure in January of this year. It was an amazing experience and I enjoyed it immensely. It was great to spend time with such an inspirational group and I loved meeting so many wonderful new friends from the European community. I had just decided in December to attend and was so glad I did.

I have written before to talk about Transformational moments in the last year as I discovered Transformation. I attended three weekend workshops after reading the Kanes and listening to the radio show. My life was transformed by the experiences I had, by the inspiration of Ariel and Shya and by all of you.

After Costa Rica, I felt Transformation even more. My Transformation had been sort of building momentum in the last 16 months and Costa Rica helped it along that much more.

So in the past 16 months I have undergone moments of real Transformation and as we all know, those are magical gifts. Ariel and Shya are geniuses of enlightenment. I cannot imagine or really fully remember my previous life before Transformation. In these past 16 months I felt like an airplane that often found itself up in the air. With Transformation I often felt like I was flying rather than bumping along the runway wishing to be in the air. I would come back to earth and then I would soon return to the air, where my craft and my spirit belonged, thanks to Ariel, Shya and Transformation.

I do think about Transformation quite a bit, as is my nature. It is one of the more amazing phenomena I have ever come across, so it can occupy my mind. I was struck in Costa Rica that Transformation is a wonderful description for this amazing thing. But I believe Ariel in particular will also refer to it as a shift and I really felt that in Costa Rica and beyond. Shifts can be more subtle, but very profound. As simple as shifting your weight forward leading you to start to walk.

So a shift is what I felt. I feel like I am now leaning forward in the moment. A yes to life, which is movement.

Apart from this email to all of you, I have not been thinking about Transformation so much lately. I have been living it. My life in the last two months has been Transformed by the shift I experienced in Costa Rica. It has been nothing short of amazing. In the last year, my airplane would bounce from the runway back into the air, and then back down again. This was fine with me – those Transformational flying moments were magic – bumping along the runway was simply part of the journey.

In the last two months, I have been soaring, completely unconscious of the process. I have perhaps been more in the moment these past few months, than in the last ten years. Transformation is not so much a phenomenon any longer. It is simply a major part of the fabric of my universe – it has simply been woven into my life – it is part of me and I am part of it. This has occurred spontaneously by the shift I experienced in Costa Rica.

It blows my mind. The possibilities for the future are mind boggling and I have never had so much fun in my life and I have never felt so connected to other people and to life in general. The fabric of my universe is becoming a richer tapestry and the loom has never been busier.

So I have signed up for Costa Rica 2012 – I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones. When the registration forms were passed out at the end of the 2011 course, the first thing that struck me was that the deadline for early registration was April 18, my birthday – cosmic coincidence perhaps? I will never know, but what the heck, don’t mess with the cosmos. So I registered on my birthday – best present I could have given myself.

So that’s it. Transformations happen, shifts happen and moments happen and they are all great things to experience.

I will leave you with a bit of fun – a screen saver. It can be found at:

http://electricsheep.org/

It works on both PC and Mac. I have all my personal computers as well as two patient education computers loaded with it at my office – all PC’s It is based on fractal geometry and is a global phenomenon. I have never had a problem with the program.

The program produces the most beautiful and unique patterns I have ever seen. Your screen will become an ever changing, jaw dropping, inspirational work of art – just like all of you. Enjoy.

Thank you so much Ariel and Shya, and this wonderful community they inspire.

Cheers from Canada!

Much love,

John

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.

This week’s show, 5/11: Let’s Get Physical

It can be a challenge to discover true physical intimacy when your earliest conditioning has been to train you that “those” parts are bad and dirty. In this light and playful episode Ariel & Shya will support you in dissolving those old limiting ideas and inhibitions so that you can be free and natural with yourself and your partner alike. Callers welcome!

Missed Past Episodes? No Problem! Here is the awesome archive.
Click Here to Listen to or download archived episodes.

Enjoy!

Menna and Artur describe their journey from nearly divorcing to being in love and best of friends.