Author Archives: Bonnie

Awakening Your Soul’s Joy: A Writing Retreat

Leave a reply

AF_logobanner

Presents

 

Awakening Your Soul’s Joy:  

A Writing Retreat

 

Welcome in the Spring Equinox and New Moon Window With a Powerful Journey to a Newer, More Joy-filled You

 

Hosted by:  Bonnie Salamon and Nancy Gnecco

***Early Bird Discount***

Total Cost $399 (double occupancy)

If Paid in Full by January 15, 2015

 

Featured Speakers: 

Nanette Littlestone - Author, editor, publisher, owner of Words of Passion
Ruthanne Warnick - Certified Legacy Advisor, owner of Capture the Journey
Nancy Gnecco - M.Ed, LPC, DEH Practitioner, EFT Master, ACEP Diploma, Educator, Energy Psychotherapist
Bonnie Salamon - Facilitator, Coach, Spiritual Companion, Life Cycle Facilitator, Life Cycle Celebrant, owner of Autumn’s Fire and Sunflower Ceremonies

Whether you are writing to be published, or putting your thoughts down on paper for your eyes only, this workshop will bring new awareness, depth and clarity to your efforts. In addition to trained writers and editors, there will be exercises to invite your muse and open your imagination. And, you will have plenty of free time in the beautiful north Georgia mountains to write to your heart’s content.

When:  Friday, March 20, 2015, 1:00 pm through Sunday, March 22, 2015, 2:00 pm

Where:  Unicoi State Park in picturesque northeast Georgia – only two hours from Atlanta

unicoi 1unicoi_streamunicoi 2

For more information, or to reserve your place, contact Bonnie at bsalamon@autumnsfire.org or call 404-502-0497.

Plan now to join us for these informative and instructional creative sessions:

  • Friday Afternoon: Awakening Your Soul’s Joy - Bonnie Salamon
  • Friday Evening: Calling in Your Muse: Automatic Writing - Nancy Gnecco
  • Saturday Morning: Letters for a Lifetime: Writing Your Words of Wisdom, Values, Gratitude, and Love - Ruthanne Warnick
  • Saturday Evening: Bringing Forward Your Courageous Heart (film)
  • Sunday Morning: Rev Up Your Story With GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict) - Nanette Littlestone

***Early Bird Discount***

Total Cost $399 (double occupancy) 

If Paid in Full by January 15, 2015

Or Reserve your place with a $100.00 non-refundable deposit (applied to total cost) no later than 2/10/15; balance due by 3/10/15

Cost: Includes all workshops, lodging, and lunches on Saturday and Sunday; coffee breaks; gratuities and taxes; all workshop supplies

  • Double Occupancy: $449 (king or queen beds)
  • Single Occupancy: $575
  • Day Rate: $295 (workshops, lunches, refreshments, and supplies included; lodging excluded)
  • Payment plans are available upon request; call Bonnie for details
  • Handicap accessible
  • Dietary restrictions honored (advise if gluten or dairy free or other restrictions)
  • Checks should be made payable to Autumn’s Fire and mailed to: Bonnie Salamon, 921  Canterbury Rd., Gainesville, GA  30504
  • PayPal also accepted (major credit cards are accepted through PayPal); PayPal account bonniesalamon@gmail.com
  • Private sessions during free time will be available from the facilitators for an additional fee

For more information, or to reserve your place, contact Bonnie at bsalamon@autumnsfire.org or call 404-502-0497.

Program: The retreat will feature these workshops and will include free time to explore, write, journal – or just relax.

Nanette Littlestone is an intuitive writing coach and CEO of Words of Passion. She helps authors overcome writers block, master correct grammar, create strong structure, and write with clarity and passion by blending the technicalities of writing with intuition, emotion, and heart.

Rev Up Your Story With GMC (Goal, Motivation, Conflict)  This workshop takes a two-part approach to the age-old dilemma of developing a good idea into a good story. Using the principles of Goal, Motivation, and Conflict (GMC), you will learn how to identify the five elements crucial to every story, how to construct an outline using those elements, and how to create the tension crucial to every good story.

Ruthanne Warnick has a long history of interest in people’s experiences and stories, whether they live across the street or across the world . . . and whether their stories are of everyday life or exciting adventures. When Ruthanne realized the importance of capturing her own family’s stories, experiences, and wisdom, she combined her personal passion and professional experience to create Capture the Journey.

Letters for a Lifetime: Writing Your Words of Wisdom, Values, Gratitude, and Love  A legacy letter is a message from your heart – in your own words – that expresses your core values, life lessons, wisdom, gratitude or love. In this workshop, you will explore how to identify your core values, which life lessons are most important to you, and ways to express your thoughts in writing with no writing experience.

Nancy Gnecco, Educator and Energy Psychotherapist, holds a Master’s Degree in Education and is a Licensed Counselor. Before becoming an Energy Psychotherapist in 1996, Nancy taught at the college level as well as in elementary schools where she introduced her students to creative writing. She started her first writing group 20 years ago and remained an avid participant until her recent move to Georgia.

Calling in Your Muse: Automatic Writing  Automatic writing, the process of recording material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer, is a great, non-scary way of channeling your Higher Self or Spirit Guides through writing. Automatic writing is also used as a tool in Freudian psychology and in related “self knowledge” studies, where it is seen as a means of gaining insight into the mind of the writer through subconscious word choices. We will explore this method of writing in our workshop.

Bonnie Salamon is an author, entrepreneur, life coach, and owner of Autumn’s Fire and Sunflower Ceremonies. Bonnie is a facilitator of women’s groups through the processes of working with the Elements and by assisting women in finding new paths to their Essence and to the Divine by means of the Priestess Process.

Awakening Your Soul’s Joy: A Writing Retreat  This writing retreat takes place on the Spring Equinox AND the new moon. This is the time of beginnings; the sun is awakening and bringing fresh life into being. What a perfect time to plant our seeds for the growing season ahead. In our opening session, we will meet one another and be in meditation. Then we will connect with the Elements: Earth for our internal and external foundation, Water to open our heart space, Air to bring intention and clarity, and Fire to spark our creation. In Spirit’s loving embrace we will meet our joy and begin our journey together.

Private sessions during free time will be available from the facilitators for an additional fee.

 

Goddesses in Older Women

Leave a reply

Many of you are familiar with Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD, who revolutionized how we think about our archetypal selves in her blockbuster book, Goddesses in Every Woman.  As she has reached the s-aging part of her life, she wants us to know that we are STILL the goddesses we’ve always been…only now, we come with a wellspring of wisdom.  I could hardly put the book down this past weekend.

In her book Goddesses in Older Women, Dr. Bolen points out how we become invisible in our society as the years pass.  I’ve personally seen it in sales people, customer service representatives, and yes, even in the medical community.  If we are mindful, and we see this change in our place in society, we realize that we cannot buy into the hype of the stereotypic way we are seen (or not seen) in our world.  Our new role is to carry on as the magnificent mid- and later- life goddesses that we have grown to be.

In our Wisdom years, we find significant representations of who we were, and may still be, in many of the early goddesses .  Metis, mother of Athena, is swallowed by Zeus, as many women have been swallowed up by raising families, supporting a mate’s rise to success, or even being pushed aside by the patriarchy in business.  Athena, born from her father, Zeus’ head, is still ‘of’ him, and though she carries similar wisdom, she is not given the status that her intelligence deserves. Eventually, in her wisdom years, Athena sheds the desire for the goals of power and conquest, and gains her rightful place as a beacon of wisdom.

We are beginning to realize, at this stage of life, the fulfillment that comes from releasing ego and allowing our wisdom, our s-aging, to shine through.  We anchor our energies of compassion, giving, and joy, realizing that they are what really matters in the life we have always wished for.

Perhaps we must first become Kali (Hindu) or Sekhmet (Egyptian), to destroy the old belief system, the old status quo.  This is what Dr. Bolen calls the “enough is enough” archetype.  Then there is room to call on the Kwan Yin within us, the compassionate, selfless heart.  Alongside Kwan Yin is the archetype of the Virgin Mary, through whom the goddess is returning.  And, finally, Uzume, the Japanese Goddess of Mirth and Dance, takes her place as a crone-aged woman.  With Bawday Baubo, from Greek mythology, they create the axis of joy and humor.  For, what is our life, at this stage, if there is no humor, no joy?

It is the spring of our wisdom years.  We are beginning the connection to our goddess selves in the S-aging part of our lives.  Would you like to know more about replacing fear, disconnection, and doubt in your wisdom years?  I hope you will join me on Monday, March 31, for my FREE visioning session, S-aging Well:  Spirit-ed Living for Advanced Grownups.

Sage-ing: Spicing Up Your Life

Leave a reply

sagingSage is such a versatile aromatic, especially at this time of year. Its uses are varied, from spicing up sumptuous holiday meats and veggies, to clearing out well-used sacred spaces. It’s a must-have for coaches, facilitators, and those of us who want to create sparkling energy fields.

But, sage is also a description of a discerning person, AND a noun expressing wisdom that goes deeply to the bone. When you SAGE, or are SAGE-ING, you are expressing your inner insightfulness, your truths gained from years of experience. YOU are a SAGE, SAGE-ING in a world that needs prudent and perceptive insights.

Many of us second guess our innate intelligence and thoughtfulness. We may fear judgment if we express our innermost guidance, and it is rejected. Or, we just don’t trust that the messages we carry are impactful enough! We may even feel that because these insights are a natural part of who we are, that they are not really special enough…we don’t recognize our gifts as such.

SO NOT TRUE!! . We fail to give credence to the impact of our thoughts on our family, friends, communities, and mass consciousness as a whole. Your energies influence the world!

In 2014, it’s my goal to help my clients dive into their pool of SAGENESS and step out into the energies of SAGE-ING. Your keen awareness is needed in our world tormented by fear, anger, and retaliation. Now is the time for speaking up and speaking out in your SAGENESS.

No matter how you celebrate this time of year, may it be peaceful, meaningful, and include a large serving of joy and SAGE-ING.

Where Are You in the Holiday Season?

Leave a reply

I am convinced that we can reach the end of the holiday season feeling energized and renewed, rather than exhausted and out of sorts, bloated and fatigued.  This is, after all, the time when the Wheel of the Year tells us we are beginning to move inward, beginning the descent into ourselves.  Are we really compelled to run around, exhaust ourselves, and begin the New Year with more bills and more weight then we had anticipated?

Here’s a couple of suggestions that you might consider.  

The first one is what I am going to ask of my friends and family to do for me. Maybe you might consider the same:  Women all over the world, in developing countries, are fighting desperately to make their own living and support their families.  Organizations like Women for Women (www.womenforwomen.org), Kiva (www.kiva.org), World Vision (www.worldvisiongifts.org), and Heifer (www.heifer.org) give women  the opportunity to support themselves and their families.  You may consider donating to these causes in the names of friends and families rather than buying another sweater or kitchen gadget.

It is unconscionable that so many children in our wealthy country are going hungry.  Feeding America gives almost 98% of what comes in to them to feed the hungry in our own country, according to Charity Navigator, a highly rated, independent charity rating organization, and Feeding America has a 4 star (out of 4 star) rating.

If you give, you may wish to spread your holiday dollars around or choose one place to give.  Want to donate closer to home?  Consider your local food bank, a women’s shelter, or a friend or neighbor struggling to meet recent doctor bills.

You can handle most of these donations easily on line, or with a check sent to the organization’s headquarters.  Use the time and energy you save to find wonder in the holiday season, and in your own heart.  Send a loving letter to each person in whose name you have donated, and tell them why they have been important in your life.

Sound pretty good?

Oh, and while we are at it, here’s a quote from John O’Donohue, the award winning Irish poet:

May you be blessed;

And may you find a wonderful love

In your self  for your self.

And, so it is!

Coaching the Coach: Remember the Love

Leave a reply

Stone HeartI’ve long known that, YES, coaches, teachers, and spiritual workers need a coach! As we expend our energies outward, we also need to feed the inner-ness in order to stay whole. I am feeling especially fortunate to have found my new coach. It’s been a serendipitous find for me. With all that I plan and hope to do over the next year, it was imperative for me to find someone who can help me keep my foundation strong.

Dr. Michael Scimeca has helped me in so many ways over the past couple of months. I wanted to share just one of the many ideas we have worked on together that is simple – and profound. It is about when things in my life become heavy, and I am saddened by loss or feelings of defeat, I am to ‘remember the love.’ This is a 2-way remembering: it is the love that I have for a person, a situation, my work, or an experience. But, it is also the love that has come to me from so many different directions and sources. It is the love of Spirit for us that I see in everyday things. It’s the love I have for Spirit and things wonderful that grace my life each day.

Over the next 3 months, we are all going to become extremely busy with plans for autumn experiences and holiday trips and company. We will probably begin to feel the beginnings of stress right about NOW. It’s my plan now to ‘remember the love’ that fills my life as I pick up the pace.
When I may find it challenging to remember the love, I can also ask Spirit to help me connect with what is there – has always been there, and will always be there – the love.

If you want to learn even more about busting the stress so you can ‘remember the love,’ join us either in Roswell or northeast Atlanta for time with Nancy Gnecco, and her Practical Magic, a free workshop to learn how EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) can help you move through the holidays in peace and love.

I’m excited to also announce that we will begin a NEW Practical Priestess 100 group in January 2014. So many of you have asked for an opportunity to tap into the teachings of Nicole Christine that we are moving forward to make this happen. Interested? Click here to learn about our COMPLIMENTARY introductions and how this wisdom can intensify your connection to your inner wisdom and to your highest self.

Wishing you illumination during this time of Autumn’s Fire.

Being Bold : Standing Tall for Your Life Purpose

Leave a reply

In my last 2 newsletters, we explored Principles on Purpose from  dailygood.org.  Many of us stand quietly in service to our Life Purpose.  Others are more outspoken and direct in stating what they are about.  Whatever your ‘stand’ as regards purpose, it’s time to be Passionate and Powerful in boldly following the Purposeful Path.

Here are the last 4 Principles of Purpose to consider:

  1. Bold Immersion – Come to really KNOW the work you have been called to do.  Read, research, study.  Then, meet others of like mind, connect with the ‘gurus’ in that arena, join the most helpful organizations.   Truly make this work yours!
  2. Fear Means Go – Are you holding back from being bold in your statement of purpose for fear of being judged?  Are you allowing your insecurities to hold you back?  Go TO the barriers holding you back, and move through them.  Imagine if the “what if” ends in “everything works out better than you could have dreamed.”
  3. Gall to Think Big – Each of us  carries that “inner knowing” that it is the touchstone of all the work we do here at Autumn’s Fire.  So, what if no one else has tried your approach, your tactic, your method?  You are probably the one on the cutting edge of new thought.  The article from dailygood.org states that if you haven’t failed in a while, you need to take on bolder challenges.  That’s how you learn!

  4. Think Like an Entrepreneur – You may be an entrepreneur, or aspire to be one.  Perhaps that is not your cup of tea at all.  However, WHATEVER you endeavor to do, make sure that you bring an ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ to your Purpose.  What does that mean?  It means you apply focus, energy, excitement, and positivity to whatever you do!

Live your Life Purpose with in joy and delight in discovery.

Good for the World

Leave a reply

ID-10016416In my previous article, I shared with you some interesting perspectives on Life Purpose , from dailygood.org, commenting on an article published by Echoing Green. This article was entitled 10 Principles of Work on Purpose.  

As promised, I want to share with you 3 more of their Principles on Purpose. These are entitled “Good for the World.”

4. ________ Is What Matters

By selecting a social problem (or more than one) that matters to you, and staying focused, these become focal points in your life. Then, it is easier to have the freedom to say no to those things that fill your precious time, take your energy, and do not bring you closer to fulfilling your own life purpose. For those of us working as helping, healing, or spiritual guides and advisors, it is all too easy to be distracted by sights and scenes around us. Find that problem that you want to solve for yourself and your clients, and stick with it.

5. Act on Moments of Obligation

Once you have determined the social challenge that is pivotal for you, find an aspect of that problem that you can, AND WILL, work with. Once you have identified it, find the small steps (or big steps) that you can take to make a difference. If you are working with clients who face obstacles, large and small, depending on life experiences, this is the time to take your message to them, and to the world to assist in shrinking the challenge, one person at a time.

6. Take Perspective – Someone Else’s 

Echoing Green challenges each of us to seek out and understand other populations. We often pay lip service to being ecumenical, but know little of the cultures, peoples, and customs of these populations.

Take time for a deeper study and make space for some new perspectives each week. Many other cultures are so rich that they will enhance your life, your work, and reaching your Life Purpose.

Do you think it’s time for you to really connect more deeply with your life purpose? Join us on July 24 and September 11 for Life Lift! (Click here for more information) 

Next time, we will finish these 10 principles with the section BE BOLD. Have a great holiday and see you soon!

Principles of Purpose

Leave a reply

IMGP9263My visit to Lake Louise (and other amazing places in Canada, and its inspiration, brought me back to refocus my energies on helping my clients work with Purpose. Then, an article serendipitously showed up in my email yesterday, from dailygood.org, commenting on an article published by Echoing Green. This article was entitled 10 Principles of Work on Purpose.

The first 3 principles are labeled Right for You. The other 2 were What is Good for the World, and finally, How to BE BOLD in reaching out for purpose.

To summarize, you should seriously consider journaling with these concepts:

1. Heart + Head = Hustle 
Simply stated it’s critical to align your heart space with the ‘ideas’ you have for your life’s purpose. In Natural Rhythms, that’s aligning the masculine and feminine axes to make sure that your ‘doing’ doesn’t over shadow your ‘being,’ and that your heartfelt love and compassion permeate the ‘work’ you plan to do in the world. Where have you allowed your head to overrule your heart’s desire?

2. Know What You’ve Got – Know What You Need
Do you feel as though the knowledge, understanding and insights you possess aren’t enough, and that you feel lacking in what you need to accomplish what you believe your purpose to be? If so, partner with someone, gain a mentor, take a course. You’ll soon find that you know more than you think you do! Your wisdom goes deeper than you think. You just need to access it. Plus, you’ll have a sounding board with whom to bounce ideas around.

3. Mine Your Past
Dialog with your past to learn what motivates you, what your long buried dreams are, what you have forgotten you know how to do. Even your most difficult times yielded teachings and learnings that have helped you through those challenges and made you the person you have become.

Because we sometimes feel that memories are too painful to bring into present-day consciousness, we have set aside the meaningful teachings that are there to be gleaned. Then use journaling time to reflect on these and see how they affect and magnify the present moment. In this way, you never stray far from the present moment, the place where you find joy and transformation.

Building Your Emotional Money Muscle

Leave a reply

MONEYNo question that each of us has a money persona when we talk to our clients, and others, about money.  In the early years of running my collection agency, I developed Delores Bell, my alter-ego, who would help me handle tricky money conversations that I needed to have to collect money for my clients.  So, Delores was born.  She gave me the strength to have sensitive dialogs with more confidence.

Now I coach entrepreneurs who face these challenges today.  Here’s what happens…

  • You develop an amazing, content rich program that is really exciting and can help your clients/prospects with important life or business challenges.
  • You share this passion and joy with those clients/prospects, and they are enthusiastic about working with you.
  • You outline the program in detail, and then it’s time to tell them what it costs and ask for the sale.

Who Do You Become?

  1. The Mumbler who covers her mouth and squeaks out an indistinct utterance that has to be repeated to be heard.   Outcome:  the client/prospect no longer sees you as the person in charge – the one who can be strong in helping reach their goals.
  2. The Chameleon – You manage to tell your client/prospect the price, but when they express inability to pay, you’re ready to lower the price to make the sale.  Outcome:  the worth of what you offer then comes into question.  Not just for the client, but you yourself begin to doubt what your services are worth.
  3. The Head Nodder – Your client is all in, but says that she can only pay a lesser amount.  You nod your head and go along with the new price point.  Outcome:  Once again, you have abdicated control to your client, making accountability difficult for you to control in your program.  The client feels an ability to ‘slide’ through the program as they were able to slide down the price.
  4. The Silent One – You are so uncomfortable discussing fees that you bury your head in the sand, and do not pursue the clients who will build your business and boost your confidence.  Outcome:  You are mired in insecurity and back away from the myriads of opportunities coming your way.  You retreat to the hills for safety.

Isn’t it time to step out from behind these personae and step into your prosperity and abundance?  Click here to learn more about how to build your Emotional Money Muscle through my program Transforming Creativity into Cash, and see if you will qualify for a 25-minute COMPLIMENTARY coaching session with me.

Do Not Spend Your Money

Leave a reply

waltroy1928-mTimes are tough.  The economy is uncertain.  Bank accounts are slender.

The natural human response is fear. Fear of lack. Fear of suffering. Fear of going without. Fear of the unknown.

Thanks to the amygdala part of the brain (that performs a primary role in processing memory and emotional reaction), we begin to hear the monkey start talking over our shoulder: “You can’t afford that.” “Don’t spend your money! What if…” “Don’t do that! You don’t know what will happen!” “Hold on to every penny!” “Don’t take that risk!”

Thankfully, not all of us listen to the little monkey. Thankfully some of us hand him a banana, say ‘Thank you for sharing’ and go on about our lives, pursuing our Life’s Purpose and creating new and different things:

Three years after a major investment firm collapses – causing the NYSE to shut down for days and an ensuing financial crisis that lasts six years – a 29-year-old scientist opens a laboratory. Economic conditions would remain poor for another 20 years. Yet during that time, Thomas Edison’s lab at Menlo Park grew to occupy 2 city blocks, created numerous patents and in 1896, Edison’s General Electric Company earned a spot on the newly formed Dow Jones Industrial Average, and remains there today – the only remaining company of the original 12.

After living in his company office, then his firm filing bankruptcy, a 22-year-old man moved 1,600 miles away to join his brother in founding another company. The brothers worked out of their uncle’s garage for 3 years. Then, in 1929 – the middle of the Great Depression – the brothers reincorporated under the name Walt Disney Productions.

During a period of rising unemployment and inflation, stagnant GDP and huge spikes in the price of gasoline, two friends found opportunity in creating a company to sell operating software to the new market of home and personal computers. Have you ever heard of Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Microsoft?

Odds are, you are viewing this message and conducting your business on a personal computer of some sort, that is being powered by electricity, and at some point in your life you have found joy, laughter and entertainment from the Imagineers at Walt Disney.

Aren’t you glad they didn’t listen to their monkeys?

So what does this mean for you as a Third Act entrepreneur?

A recent article from USA Today notes that in the recession of the early 90s, 25% of downsized executives over 40 started their own companies. One might think that, perhaps, recession is a natural way to clean house and restart the economy anew, even if it can be very painful.

Maybe you spent years tinkering with a product in your garage. Maybe you have an idea for a special service or heart-based business from home. However, until now, you have been holding down a full-time job, raising children – doing the Done Thing. You have never had time to go ahead with your inventions or ideas.

Now, your children have moved out of the house, starting their own lives and careers. During this most recent recession your job status may have changed, that security net of stable employment and benefits is no longer there.

Welcome to your Third Act. Time to get serious about your business and why you are here. You have plenty of life to live and it is NEVER too late to open that laboratory, move 1,600 miles away, or create that next household product. Of course, creating your business does not always require such huge and drastic measures and yes, you can start, and even up level an established small business during a recession.

Do you realize that a business that YOU run will have the same struggles and the same issues that YOU have in your personal life? Can you look back and see perceived ‘failures’ and ‘issues’ in your business that parallel the same type of events in your personal life?

Darren Hardy shares: “This poignant distinction was once shared with me: Before you build your business plan, build your LIFE plan. Figure out what kind of life you want to have FIRST – where you want to live, what type of people you want around you, whether you want to work nights & weekends, how you want to dress, etc. THEN build your business plan around these criteria. I was once doing this all backwards… you?”

Ready to ignore the MONKEY??  Join us at The Nourished Soul:  Caring for Your YOUniverse, April 12-14, Atlanta, GA by going to www.thenourishedsoul.com.

Article courtesy of Heather Harmon, Event Coordinator for The Nourished Soul