Desperation Turned Lifelong Gift, A Conversation with Helene Lerner “True confidence isn’t fearlessness; it’s having the courage to move forward while your knees are shaking.”

Overweight, exhausted, and distraught, Helene Lerner found herself hanging one foot out of a window, on the verge of suicide. It was that Saturday night, in her apartment on the West side of New York City, when Helene had an all or nothing moment. “I had all the potential in front of me, but it felt really dark…What happened was, inside of me there was a little voice, as I had my foot at the window saying, Don’t do it Helene, there is more to life. Go and look for it.”

A Moment of Desperation Turned Into a Lifelong Gift

So low, with no place to go, Helene began to reach out for help. “Desperation is a gift.” Listen to the podcast here: http://cbsloc.al/1w3vR0w

Having used food as a soothing mechanism, Helene began with her weight loss journey. An aunt shared a support group with Helene and the stories exchanged there began the healing process. “I kept reaching out. And, I began to say no to things that I didn’t want and yes to things that I wanted…I went deep inside, and I found that inner voice, that spiritual voice, that was saying live Helene, you have something to contribute. Keep going. It’s not going to be easy, but you can do it.”

The voices came often enough to sustain the journey forward… As the years passed, Helene met someone, married, divorced, had her son, met someone else and began her next journey into the world of media. Her passion became television that would empower. “I had this deep, burning desire to make a difference with women and girls.”

With her son strapped to her back, Helene embarked on a mission of service to other women. Knowing nothing about creating television, she left her corporate job and offered her marketing expertise in exchange for courses at the School of Media Arts.
*Great tip- when starting out, offer to exchange services you are good at for additional learning.
Many shows and much networking later, Helene was nominated for a national Emmy her first year with CNN Newsroom and Good Morning America. Helene’s website and social media following at Womenworking.com has grown exponentially. The kind of following that comes only from authenticity, from providing value that resonates with the audience. “I asked to be used in a deeper way. I asked to go out there in a bigger way.“

Change globally starts with personal change in each of us. “We need more women stepping up at every level; government, corporations, non-profits, we don’t want to blow ourselves up. We need women alongside the men.” Do you have the courage to step up and say, “Hey, I’m good at this. If not me, who?”

Do you have the courage to claim your accomplishments? What is Helene Lerner’s Definition of Confidence? In her new book, The Confidence Myth, Helene says that she is redefining confidence with a capital C. “My definition of confidence is moving forward when you think you can make a difference, you’re not sure of the outcome, even if your knees are shaking. You’re out of your comfort zone.” ~Helene Lerner

Playing it safe creates a small footprint and a small life. If you are too comfortable, you are in the danger zone. So, how do you fight against the comfort, against the complacency? Here are Helene’s tips:
• Learn to take calculated risks
• Navigate, rather than “balance” work/life
• Use your gifts “Talent is real and true, we all have it.”
• Discover your purpose
• Take the next right action
• Have the courage to step out in a new way
• Give yourself time to connect “What trumps fear, is to be of service.”

Be sure to listen in to the full episode of Change Maker with Helene Lerner, The Confidence Myth:http://cbsloc.al/1w3vR0w

Enjoyed this post and episode? Please share it. If you find yourself struggling to find your purpose and live it, head on over to Simon Says and watch the video: http://simonsays.com/Authors/Zhena-Muzyka

Thank you for tuning in, with me, each week on Change Maker. Use code “HELENE” for a discount on Time for Me by Helene Lerner at SimpleTruths.com

The Magic of Passion with Purpose: Jewelry Founder & Designer, Satya

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the single candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~Buddha

One night, at a yoga teacher training, Satya had a dream that she would create a line of jewelry and use it help children throughout the world. As a social worker, she didn’t have experience as a jeweler, but she called her best friend Beth, pitched her the idea and today, that dream has become a multi-million dollar business. To date, the Satya Jewelry foundation has donated over $1,000,000 to children’s charities.

High aspirations of philanthropy and giving back brought Satya to the realization that she could be more effective making positive change with more money. By owning her own business, Satya left behind her low paying job in social work, and steadily increased revenues. The profits empowered her to fund programs for the most vulnerable children in India. She married her heart of service to her mind for business—she’s a poster girl for change and social entrepreneurialism.

This holiday season, I bought my friend Patty a jade mala from Satya’s website and hate to admit how much I wanted to keep it for myself once it arrived…Satya’s malas are stunning, and the stones she picks are the most perfect I’ve seen used for a mala. When I later interviewed Satya for Change Maker in our CBS NYC Studio, she appeared with a gift for me. A larger version of the green Mala I’d given away. I laughed at my fallible nature, and basked in her generous presence. Satya is a gift to so many, and here are her gifts of wisdom for those of you considering taking a leap of faith in your own life.

1.) Business is a powerful force for good. Often more effective than government, it’s crucial to ensure the mission of a company you start or work in resonates with you.

“ I believe when you start anything, and it comes from your heart, I think the universe opens up every door you need.

” It is not a “make money” versus “doing good” scenario. You really can have both, being inspired while inspiring others.

2.) Trust your instinct & take swift action.

The morning after her powerful dream, Satya called her coworker Beth and said, “Quit your job, I’ve got this idea. We have to do this.” They took the action and got incorporated within one week.

Starting out, Satya and her partner designed private label jewelry for other companies while working on their own collections. This helped grow their revenue so they could build their own brand.

1) Begin where you are.

Satya Jewelry began in a little one bedroom apartment, in the West Village, for the first four months, then moved to a basement office, and up from there. Lack of a large studio or creative space did not stop Beth and Satya. They took the idea and made things happen. There’s a chapter in my book, Life by the Cup, dedicated to limitations being some of our greatest gifts—Satya and Beth are the poster girls for proving this to be true.

2) Be Fearless in choosing to make a difference.

“I tapped into that fearlessness that I think is inside of all of us. And the vision was so clear, and I was so motivated to make it happen, that it was effortless.” Don’t be afraid to listen to your intuition. Get quiet, tap in, and get fearless. Do what you do with heart, and the resources will make themselves apparent.

3) Collaborate & Create Beauty Satya and her team use these 3 questions when creating their beautiful jewelry… “Is it beautiful? Is it meaningful? Is it inspiring?”

A now 13+ year partnership with her best friend Beth, Satya has learned a thing or two about working and creating together. She recommends allowing each other the space to change and grow. When asked how they do it, Satya says, “…there is a little miracle in there, a little divine intervention. We’ve kind of branched out on our own a little bit more…You both have to find your voice.” It takes a village to do it all. Surround yourself with a community.

What’s Sayta’s motto for women who want to make a difference?

Become the fearless warrior, the fearless goddess that you are!

(Tweet us! (@satyajewelry @mistressoftea) “We’re the change right now.”

Did you miss this week’s episode of Change Maker? You can listen now… http://www1.play.it/audio/change-maker-with-zhena-muzyka/a-conversation-… Learn more about Satya and her gorgeous jewelry here: http://www.satyajewelry.com

“I was stuck. I was in the fire, not surrounded by fire, but in it and I was burning.”

It was Christmas Day of 2012 when Allan Lokos found himself caught in a burning plane…

A pilot error resulted in a crash landing that turned a beautiful day into a terrifying experience. Allan, his wife Susanna, and 71 other passengers were aboard that day. An experience that could have brought a lifetime of fear instead became a teacher of humanity’s resilience. Allan suffered burns so severe; doctors told Susanna that he would never survive. And yet, he not only survived, but also continues thriving. Allan now shares how being present with pain can be life changing and life saving.

How Can We Thrive in the Midst of Pain and Uncertainty?

Have you ever wondered how some can move through deep pain and suffering, coming out with greater love and compassion, while others struggle under the weight?
Allan has shared some amazing and time-tested keys to help us all move through the physical and emotional pains of life…

1)    Practice Mindfulness

Coming through pain begins with the courage to not bypass the “bare experience,” the ability to stay present in the moment and feel through it. Avoiding what Allan calls the “add-on.” You have a thought that starts a story of worry, what could happen, and it goes on and on. Instead, with the practice of meditation, “we learn to just be with that bare experience.” If an add-on arises, that is ok, but at least we are aware of it.

2)    Insight Meditation

Attraction and Aversion are both necessary, but clinging to them prolongs suffering. Becoming aware of the core reason for your suffering brings enlightenment.  Let go of the need to immediately end the pain. Stay with it.

3)    Explore the Nature of Pain

Know the true nature of pain. “Pain is a series of unpleasant sensations.” Rather than immediately being caught up in the pain, we can explore the sensations that the body is experiencing, clear the panic, and look carefully at the movement. Inquiry and curiosity changes our relationship with pain. Not denial- Awareness.
The pain may ease, it may not, but we’re there rather than avoiding.

Moving through pain begins with mindfulness, awareness, and exploration.

You Can Listen in as Allan shares his miraculous story from tragedy to recovery here:
http://www1.play.it/audio/change-maker-with-zhena-muzyka/plane-crash-survivor-and-meditation-teacher-allan-lokos/

Be sure to share this inspiring story of resilience, love and insight with those who may need it now.

Has a painful experience deepened your level of awareness and compassion? I would love to hear about it in the comments.

We are in a conversation about feminism. We are watching women step into the light. We just awarded a 16-year old girl the Nobel Peace Prize for her courageous survival of wounded masculine shooting a gun at her head. A couple weeks ago, I asked the cofounder of her fund what they will do now that Malala has won, Shiza said, “Well, first of all, she will stay in school.” This is the bounty of this moment in feminism. The feminine heroic is rising from the underground where she has been touring the dregs and now she is stepping into the light of day with wounds intact, more aware of the world than ever, and more responsible for it than ever.

I am the mother of a daughter. My son has shown me the tenderness of a male psyche. My husband is sensitive, an artist, he needs me to be softer with him. It makes him no less a man, but shows me the responsibility I have to raise my daughter to know the heart and mind of both the male and female—to respect them both, to cherish the sacred in each, and to balance the two within herself. This is the definition of balance now. Not about family and career, but about the energies of male, female and finally non-duality in all.

As I explain the world to her, I also explain it to myself, she’s my second chance at understanding the heart of a girl, she has illuminated the mysteries of my own youth and given me my first chance to be the mother of a daughter. I pray for grace as I rush to the airport, she cries for me not to leave her at school, but I must. To miss the plane would be to miss my dreams too. Without my dreams I cannot give her her own.

Mia is sensitive. We all are. She’s fierce too, going to school in a blue velvet cape, wild hair and eyes that see with ferocity and wonder. As my son pulls away from me, asking for more freedom, thinking high school is the end of my job, he’s mistaken. He needs me more than ever in the art of becoming an adult. To share with him is to open him up for his dreams, but he wants less time from me, so I have to be succinct, eloquent, and speak a language he wants to understand.  But Mia wants a lot of words, none are wrong, she is hungry for more, I take the words Sage rejects and turn them toward my little one, for her vocabulary is a landscape of possibility. As she works on her sentence structure, moving words around her mouth like a butterscotch candy, Sage cuts and edits his own language, aiming it away from me and into his social future. I jump from kindergarten books to conversations about atheism, from goldfish crackers to software engineering; it’s My Little Pony one minute, Silicon Valley the next. Watching Sage struggle with becoming a man gives me compassion for all men. Watching Mia leap from the couch with a toy sword in hand gives me faith in her strength to one day fly a plane, perform a lifesaving surgery or build a business. They are both all things at once.

I want both of my kids to understand feminism in the way it will heal and change the world. But, they know it better than I do. I am used to a fight. They are used to equality. I don’t want to take away their knowingness that male and female are in perfect balance. They don’t know anything but balance. I pray Mia won’t get asked how she “balances it all” just as I hope Sage’s conversations are more fruitful than trying to answer this question. He’s seen no classic idea of balance in my life; he sees me happy, busy, laughing, struggling, crying, grateful, sad, hopeful, and human in my expression of feminine and masculine. Mia sees a strong woman, we read books about anger and meditation, Dr. Seuss and Clarissa Pinkola Estes….while she practices mudras and art, Sage discovers the wonder of girls, his love poems in the form of texts.

Sacred, all. Life, the feminine, the masculine, the balance of doing and being amidst changing roles, shifts in focus, the rise and fall of energy like breath. My hope is that Mia will never make less than Sage for the same work. My dream is that Sage will never be wounded and lash out toward a woman. My vision is that Malala’s light brightens the dark edges of the world so there will be no more dangerous alleyways and scary boogeymen afraid of the power held in a woman’s heart. As we all dance between the lines, my request is that we continue to honor the divinity in each of us, and in turn brighten the path for all, male and female, one.

Dear Ones,

Our lives have a purpose: to love, to be happy, to serve others, and make the world a better place. But, what if that purpose is swallowed up by life’s little tasks? What if housework and our jobs make us so busy we can barely make it to the grocery store, much less the ashram, church or temple? What if our purpose was once glimpsed on a yoga mat, but we can’t seem to get back to yoga class because we’re so busy working and…working? I love Arianna’s book THRIVE, but when midnight email catch ups are all we have time for, who can sleep? Well, the answer is a change of perception, because EVERYTHING IS YOGA. And EVERYTHING IS YOUR PURPOSE.

A little background on how I’ve concluded this:
Last night, I opted to help my 4-year old brush her teeth instead of letting her do it as she usually insists. As she widened her cute little mouth, I peered in to find a pile of goldfish flakes cemented onto each of her molars. Not Goldfish crackers, but goldfish FOOD. Suddenly the past week of sleep-hell flashed before my eyes, she had been eating goldfish food before bed, which is full of red dye, and that’s why she hasn’t been sleeping and has been waking all night with nightmares. Mystery solved. When I asked her why, she simply replied, “Goldfish foooooood is deliiiiiiiiicioussssssss!” Gross.

Then, I opened my teenager’s door to be hit by a wall of laundry, again. I mean, this kid needs to hang up a towel. So, I went about doing another load. And then I saw the list of school supplies he would need on his desk–it was oh, I don’t know, like as long as a list of supplies needed to launch a Fortune 50 company in a day. Oh, and he needed it by morning. We live 30 miles from the nearest school supply store.

Early this morning, I awoke before anyone and headed to the kettle, I thought, “ahhhhh an extra long meditation…”  I walked out to the living room to sit with my perfect cup of tea, only to find our dog, Willow, had chewed up at least 1,000 legos and left them littered like sharp plastic bits of shrapnel covering every single square inch of the living room floor. Had she eaten a pound of espresso beans, I mean how on earth had she been so thorough in one night?! It took an hour to clean them all up. By that time, the family needed to be woken up and gotten ready for school, and it was time to make breakfast. Once Mia was at kindergarten and Sage was at high school, realized I could meditate…only to find my husband had unpacked and there was, you guessed it, a few more loads of laundry. My calendar appointments started pinging on my iPhone, and I wasn’t showered yet. Oh, and the cats had overeaten again and tossed their kibble all over my office floor. Yuck.

I’m boring you with all of this, I know, but I’m sharing it because I am in the midst of writing a curriculum for my publisher about how to find your purpose. The course was picked up by Linkedin and they are sending a film crew out next week to shoot a commercial about it. It’s based on my book: Life by the Cup. In that book, I found my purpose and built a business around it. But, look at me now. I’m writing a curriculum about purpose while my obvious purpose is laundry. Is it laundry, really? Or is it buried underneath the soiled linens?

How do you find your purpose when you are so damn busy? How do you pursue your dreams when there’s so much freaking demand on your time to manage the mundane?
“If I don’t do laundry today, I’m gonna have to buy new clothes,” -Anna Paquin

As I was asking these questions into the incense-filled air (admission time–when I don’t have time to meditate, I burn incense and listen to Snatam Kaur Khalsa chants to feel like I did), I heard a simple phrase. “Everything is yoga.” Everything is yoga? I asked…”Yes, everything is yoga. And everything is your purpose…” Without giving too much away about finding your life’s purpose, because my course is going to light that up in your mind and heart, I want you to ponder, consider and breath through these thoughts and ideas as you wade through your list of to-do’s this week. Perhaps your to do list is the action needed on the material plane, your fully present mindset is your purpose in the moment, and your intention to experience it as yoga is your spiritual path.

I can’t remember where I heard the story of the stone workers, but this may help.

A man walked by three workers shaping stones into bricks. He asked the first one, “What are you doing?” and the worker replied, “Making a brick.” He asked the second one, and he replied, “Building a wall.” He asked the third worker and she replied, “Building a cathedral.”

So, let’s think again about the laundry. My unaware self sees it as laundry. My industrious self sees it as keeping the house clean. My higher self sees it as yoga. The yoga of living is awareness and awareness creates moments of rapture and joy, and perspective. All of which are noble life purposes.

Laundry is tangible, but life’s purpose isn’t. Applying your life’s purpose to your tangible tasks means being in your purpose.

If you are busy being busy, is that yoga? Yes.
Laundry is yoga? Yes.
Cooking dinner is especially yoga. Yes.
Comforting a sick child is BIG yoga. Yes.
Appreciating your mate amid a crazy schedule is yoga. Yes.
Commuting is yoga? Yes.
Everything is yoga, and experiencing everything is your purpose. Here, now. Yes.

How will you experience your purpose today? I love conversing with you, a decade ago it would have been impossible, but now with the internet we can chat. I bet the architects of tech have to do a LOT of coding to get this line of communication going for the rest of us. That’s a lot of zeros and ones over and over again. Or, I guess it’s laundry of a different color.

Dear One,

Before I started my last business, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea, I was told I would need several things to be successful:
1. Money
2. Experience/ an MBA
3. A team
4. A go to market strategy

What I had reflected nothing on that list:
1. Debt & a credit score of 300
2. A 3/4 of the way done BA in English/Creative Writing
3. A Team of collection agencies calling every 40 seconds
4. A computer with no internet
5. No idea what a “go to market” strategy even was

I felt crappy about myself, but I needed to get my life together for my son. And through this, I began to take actions toward what seemed impossible: starting a business. So, I packed up my infant into my 3-tone Nissan Sentra and headed to Ventura (driving in the slow lane, I could get the old car up to 45 miles per hour), and camped out in the business section of Barnes and Noble as I nursed him.

I read every book I could find on starting up a business. I found a business plan template through www.score.orgthrough the computer at the library, and set to work writing what would become a simple plan with a big heart. When I wrote that plan, I had no idea it would end up being a business with products in tens of thousands of stores. I just saw a means to make tea fun and inspiring, and the trail led to what was seemingly impossible–a new life.

I had spent much of my life at this point feeling a lot of inadequacy and self doubt, but when Sage was born, the luxury of self-flagellation at the expense of my time was gone. I say luxury, because we often spend more time beating ourselves up than we do in taking action toward our dreams, and we use a lack of resources as proof of our inadequacy–and wasting this sort of time and energy is a luxury in a world where time and energy are all it takes to be successful!

This spell of not “being enough” causes us to freeze, or simply function at the level of safety we are used to. Instead of following the dream, we feel as though we are “not enough” and stop our potential in our tracks. So, how do we motivate ourselves to push past barriers, build a life of our dreams, and fulfill our potential when we are feeling like the world is too hard to manage and we don’t have the skills to change our circumstances?

Take action. Any action.
If you don’t know what that action should be, make a call to ask for help.
If you want to paint, buy a canvas.
If you want to dance, do.
If you want to lose weight, get a fitbit.
If you want to start a business, download a business plan template.
If you want to write, go out and get a shiny new journal and then schedule time in your calendar to write.
If you want to take your mom to Italy, get a canning jar and pour your loose change into it–keep it in plain sight.

Any action will do when taken in the direction of your dream. If you don’t know how or what that action should be, then take action to seek guidance. Action is the secret ingredient for changing our feelings of inadequacy, building confidence, being happier and igniting our destinies. By taking action, you are setting your world into motion, and your world will reflect back on you in new ways. You will start to see a path being laid out before you, all you need to do is step.

And then, tell yourself this, “I am enough. Being me is enough to make this dream real.”

What action will you take today? I’m ready to lose the weight I gained writing Life by the Cup (a sacrifice I made for art :), and I charged up my fitbit this morning. In the midst of launching my book, I am also going to get up and move, and that will help me feel like I am doing something to accomplish a new dream: getting in the best shape of my life. You see, we all have a dream, and by taking action you become enough to fulfill it.

What action will you take today? Let me know in the comments below. And if you need help taking action, ask me for help below in the comments. I’m sending you love and energy toward your understanding that YOU ARE ENOUGH 🙂 XXO Zhena

Imagine the gorgeous flicker of candles across a fun, yet elegantly laid out tabletop. The scents of bergamot, jasmine, and lavender are wafting through the air as joyful voices rise, then cascade into laughter. Your friends are relaxing into an atmosphere of renewal and comfort drinking rich tea from cups with exquisite designs.

Can you feel the excitement and joy of the moment?!

You see, “Women of a Gypsy Tea Party are mindful, transcending life’s daily toils for the celebration of their divine deliciousness.”

By hosting your very own Gypsy Tea Party, you can take part in this experience of nourishment, sharing, mindfulness, and togetherness while bringing empowerment to all involved.

To celebrate creativity and friendship with your tribe, there are some Elements you will need…

The Elements of a Fabulous Gypsy Tea Party

Invitations:
A fabulous party starts with fabulous invitations. Handwritten invitations are recommended to add that sweet touch. Sugercube Press has beautiful handwritten cards that leave room for your personal flair. (http://www.sugarcubepress.com) Be sure to inform guests that this is a dress-up event with a Gypsy Theme!

Adornments: Providing adornments to your guests when they walk through the door is a fun way to get everyone in that Gypsy mood.
A few ideas-
• Adhesive Jewelry • Scarves (The ones with coins on the end are the best!)
• Sparkles • “Fairy” Paint
• Henna Tattoos, etc…

Décor: From silky pillows strewn across the floor to ambient lighting, your goal is to create the atmosphere and vibe of the Gypsy lifestyle.
• Christmas Lights
• Candles and tea lights • Fresh cut flowers in old tea cans
• Moroccan poufs And
• Incense…creates an exotic feel!

Teapots and Teacups: This one is a given! Ask guests to bring their favorite cups and have extras for those who do not have one. You can exchange stories behind the cups of where they came from and what wisdom they hold.

Flower arrangements: Use wildflowers if you can, adding herbs into the arrangements. Use a variety of colors and sizes. Choose flowers that add to the wonderful scents and bring happiness to all. Be creative!

Entertainment: There are many options for entertainment at your Gypsy Tea Party. From musicians and belly dancers to henna artists, it’s all up to you. YOU darling are the Mistress of Tea after all. What vibe do you want to create?

Empowerment: The only essential rule for a Gypsy Tea Party? NO negativity, negative language, or gossip! You want to keep the party loving, inspiring and empowering for everyone.

The Sharing Circle: This is the time for each friend to share her dreams. Let each person share a dream and then ask how the group can support her in pursuing it. This allows everyone to voice desires out loud and begin to set them in motion. You can use a fun timer to make sure everyone has a chance to talk.

Gifts: It is always nice to have a little something to send home with your guests. A tin of tea with herbs and flowers are an excellent idea. Whatever you choose, just make sure it has that handmade touch filled with love and affection.

Menu: Now on to the drink and food, a critical part… Vary the flavors between sweet, salty, spicy, and playful. Match teas to certain desserts and offer a variety of milks, along with local honey for creamy sweetness. (There are great recipes to get you started in Life By The Cup)

Now you have all the essential elements you need to orchestrate a fabulous get together. Birthdays, showers, anniversaries and more lend themselves well to a Gypsy Tea Party!

“Sharing tea stories, empowerment exercises, and delicious foods with others brings you closer together. A Gypsy Tea Party is a fun way to express yourself and give your circle of friends a chance to do the same.”
Be sure to read Life By The Cup for extended ideas on Hosting Your Own Gypsy Tea Party along with loads of other life lessons and stories. Follow Mistress of Tea on Pinterest for more Tea Party Inspirations (http://www.pinterest.com/mistressoftea/)

Wishing you a Gypsy Tea Party full of healing, transformation, acceptance, and laughter!

Link to Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/articles/zhena-muzyka-celebrates-life-by-the-cup-with-gypsy-tea-party-1407286455

If you aspire to publish a book, or have published a book and want to learn best practices and create a plan for marketing your book, join me and other publishing experts for this weekend workshop.

You will learn writing secrets of published authors:

• How to write and optimize your book proposal for agents and publishers.
• How to create a marketing plan, even if you don’t sell your book to a publisher, this plan is your roadmap to self publishing success.
• I will share my precious writing resources that helped my book get bought by a top 6 publisher.
• I will empower you with the knowledge of the publishing industry–nuts and bolts, money matters, advances/royalties, how the business of publishing works in the 21st century
• Learn techniques for discoverability–how to get readers to your book The new paradigm of publishing–learning the ropes of online and bricks and mortar bookstores and how to get them to carry your book.
• Publicity techniques and pitches–learn proven methods of reaching press with a story they want to tell. And more…

If you are interested in this small group workshop, please email me at Zhena@Zhena.tv and either myself or Thomas will get back with you about payment and logistics.

To Purchase Tickets: Please visit our Zhena.TV store

Dear Friends,
In my 20’s, I got married, divorced and engaged 3 times. I also had Sage the day after my 25th birthday. At 29, after Sage’s surgeries and the tea company’s first million in revenue, I was engaged to someone I didn’t love but had lost hope that true love could be mine. And then I met Gay and Katie Hendricks. I took a 90 minute course from them at a conference and as they taught, they showed so much adoration (not the sappy, gross, contrived kind 🙂 for one another, and RESPECT for each other in a way I’d never seen a couple be together. Katie would say one of her sentences while Gay would focus lovingly at her and then as Gay spoke, Katie would watch him with so much appreciation in her eyes that I began to cry.

I was amazed. Love could look like that? After 25+ years? I’d never seen anything like it. I rushed out afterward to get their book: Conscious Loving and as I read it, I realized I couldn’t settle for anything less than what they had. I swiftly broke up with my then fiance and packed Sage up and moved. I would be single or have what they modeled, nothing in between.

Soon, Gerard came into my life and we fell in love (it’s all in my book, if you haven’t read it yet!). Marriage with him promised to be amazing, and it was, in moments and then not. We fought, or should I say I fought. I was wounded, angry and had become great at playing the unconscious roles of a victim, and then a hero (here, I know all the answers, and you don’t), and even a villain (meaning I ignored his needs at times to get my way– I know, bad girl). We fought over the same things for a few years. I felt myself in a deja vu cycle but couldn’t figure out how to break the patterns of my pain, and my past. I knew I had to for our marriage to be happy and healthy, but every time we fought, it felt like we would never make it.

And then I enrolled in Katie’s Conscious Loving Essentials course. 3 days of breathing, playing, and doing exercises to help melt fear and old patterns shifted me from entitled (I’m your wife, so you have to…). I was due to fly to Texas and receive a big national award from E-Women’s Network, but then I cancelled and stayed to take 5 more days of class–the Conscious Living Advanced Training. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. This is no sales pitch, I make no money from this, this is a seriously life changing experience I had that made my marriage BETTER, MORE FUN, and we haven’t fought since. Seriously, those days of worry, strain, and feeling like I am alone in a marriage are over. It’s been over a year of respect, appreciation and mindfulness, oh yes and if you’re curious and without sounding crass, the sex spark and experience has gotten more delicious in our new, conscious-loving marriage.

Katie teaches this course all over the world now. And she’s teaching one here in Ojai, CA this month (sorry for the late notice, I’ve been on book tour). What you learn is forever. It’s not like the workshops where you jump in and get all excited and then a month out you have forgotten, this sticks and lasts and makes the necessary changes in YOUR BODY, HEART and MIND.

Sign up here if you’re interested, and know that once you become this conscious in your relationships, you will have exactly what you need to achieve every dream: http://www.hendricks.com/trainings/

Sending you all tremendous love,
Zhena

Dear Ones,

It’s with great pleasure that I announce an exclusive, 2-day wellness retreat in beautiful Ojai, California during the weekend of October 11-12, 2014called Tea & Transformation- A Life by the Cup Retreat. During the 2 days, we will be nurturing our bodies with an array of rare teas from India, Sri Lanka and China with tea rituals. We will be learning mindfulness techniques for reducing stress and increasing productivity and peace. We will also learn easy, powerful techniques for removing blocks to success, eliminating fear, increasing trust, and strengthening relationships.

If you are in need of a soul-reboot, a weekend of me-time, a respite from a busy mind, a new perspective on your life or business, or a fresh new experience of meditative calm in a beautiful setting, then I invite you to join me for this exclusive retreat.

At the Life by the Cup Retreat you will:
Learn the power of tea rituals for daily relaxation, productivity, weight release, detoxification, peace and clarity.
Create a signature tea blend that embodies your soul, to take home
Learn simple yet effective meditation techniques to increase clarity, calm, and discernment in making important decisions.
Learn proven ways to melt fear and overcome doubt and move closer to your dreams
Embrace forgiveness of self and others so that you can have the freedom to move forward wholeheartedly into your bright future.
Learn Divining techniques you can use at home and in the office to quickly find answers to daily and lifelong questions

Included in the admission price:

2-days of ritual, relaxation, inquiry, connection & learning in a beautiful private, Ojai setting
A 1st edition copy of Zhena’s Bestselling book: Life by the Cup
3 daily tea rituals
A signature soul-blend tea -$100 value
Worksheets and online support -$500 value
A small, intimate setting with like-minded seekers
A one-on-one reading with Zhena (to be used within 6 months) -$500 Value

Admission Price:
$497 Early Bird for signups until August 21st
$597 for signups after August 22nd-September 21st
$697 for last minute sign ups September 22nd-October 1st.
Registration is limited to keep the setting intimate and private

To Join us, please purchase tickets here: https://www.zhena.tv/grand-opening-items/tea-tranformation-retreat-with-zhena-october-11th-12th-2014-ojai-california

With Love,

Zhena & Your Zhena.TV Family