Taking time for yourself with my online retreat could lead to the greatest transformation you'll ever have

During this unprecedented time, you will be under more pressure. 

You might be stuck at home with the Covid-19 restrictions, and having to deal with being around your family 24/7.

You might be trying to juggle work and family.

You might be a caregiver, responsible for your children or your parents.

You might be facing uncertainties in your career or future. 

You might be alone struggling to find ways to deal with loneliness and how to connect with others.

Either way, you're dealing with more pressure which is creating more stress and anxiety.

This makes it even harder to solve problems, be patient with your loved ones, and concentrate at work. It makes it harder for you to stop and listen to what it is you need and want right now.

This is where I can help.

My online retreat for women is designed to give you the structure,...

This week I guide you through an exercise that grounds you to the earth and helps focus your energy back inwards, to restore balance and calm. 

This is the second audio guide in a series that I have designed to support you through this challenging time. Listen to my first podcast on reducing stress.

I always welcome your thoughts, experiences and feedback, so please sign up (below) to my mailing list to stay connected. 

If you missed Part 1 of our adventures, you can read it here.

Back in Auckland and the country moves into lockdown

On Tuesday 24 March we landed in Auckland from Christchurch, a bit harried and very grateful. But our flight back to San Francisco wasn't for another five days, and New Zealand was preparing for total lockdown.

It was an hour by hour world we were in and no one seemed to know what would happen next.

Would planes fly? The response from everyone we spoke to was that no planes would fly in or out once the country was in lockdown, within the next 48 hours.   

We decided to go directly to the Air New Zealand counter and see if we could change our reservations to an earlier flight - maybe we could even get a flight out that night. (As stressed as we had been, it didn’t deter Thom from taking pictures.)

We had another surprise as we approached the international terminal. There was a long line at the...

Welcome to my first podcast in a series where I will be looking at ways in which you can restore some structure into your daily routine, find calm and reduce stress during this particularly difficult period. 

This week, I guide you through a self-visualization that will help you to solve problems and deal with anxiety more effectively. 

I always welcome your thoughts, experiences and feedback, so please drop me a line at [email protected]

It was February 25, just a week before we were to leave for Fiji, the trip to celebrate my turning 70, when my husband, Thom, said to me. 

“You know, Jo, this is dangerous and a silly thing to go on this trip. But I’m choosing to do it anyway.” I said, I know. I’m choosing as well. 

I had planned my dream birthday trip for a year. My request to my sons was this:

 “The only gift I want for my birthday is for all my grandchildren to be together and you guys, of course.” They said, “okay, Mom, let’s do it.” 

Just weeks before we left, COVID 19 made its ugly entrance into the world.

We knew it was risky. We tried to console ourselves by saying there’s not that many cases of corona. 

How could we know that we would be caught in another country as they closed their borders? And how could we know that we'd use all our resources to overcome some tough times?

Having the best birthday of your life on a...

 Africa was completely and utterly fabulous. It was the trip of a lifetime and I wouldn’t change a thing. I could write a book about my two-week experience on safari in Tanzania.

It was AMAZING.

Get a load of these pics!

At times it was surreal. Deep, wild, emotional. Being this close to animals in their natural habitat was beyond anything else I've done in my life. 

I came home from Africa with stars in my eyes, refreshed, and alert even after a 41-hour trip home.

I left again after two weeks.

First to Manitou Springs, Colorado, to be in a circle of 13 women from all over the country… the Green Women’s Leadership retreat.

We came together with our hearts wide open to learn about the climate crisis and how each one of us can make a difference. We talked, we cried, we connected and we realized just how desperate things are in the world. We each made a commitment to our own self-care so that we can be up for making...

This video was made while my good friend and mentor, Helene Van Manen, and I were camping last fall. We often have discussions like this one about life and how to live it the best way.  Keep in mind that we had been camping for 5 days without showering and barely combing our hair!

Learn more about Helene here.

Today, I'll be leaving on an adventure that I’ve dreamed of for years.

 I’m going on safari in Africa.

 As I write this, I’m pinching myself and realizing that in a few days I’ll be seeing elephants, tigers, giraffes and other animals in their natural habitat in Tanzania.

Last November a very dear friend of mine passed away from cancer. She was a healthy, vibrant 62 year old. After her death, I made a pledge to myself and to her that I would not wait to do the things that I want to do.

I’m not wealthy. But I found a way to do this safari.  I choose not to wait to follow my dreams.

When you listen to the video my friend ...

Four years ago today, my first grandson, Andy, was born.

Since then, I have a 2nd grandson, Rob, along with 3 granddaughters. I love them dearly and as their grandmother, there are things I want them to know. I especially feel compelled to make sure the boys are guided to respect and honor women. And I want them to know themselves and how to express their feelings. 

The following letter was written just after Andy's birth.

I sent the same one to Rob, my 2-year-old grandson when he was born. My hope is that I will be able to role model this wisdom for them but also verbalize it to them. Luckily, they have parents who will teach them these same ideals. 

Here's the letter I sent:

Hello Anderson.

I haven't met you yet but you are my first grandson.  You are the 4^th one to arrive and you are met with a sister and 4 girl cousins.  I can only imagine how you will be when you play with them.  As your Gran, I am thrilled because I think that you will learn a lot...

Part 2.

"To finish the moment, to find the journey’s end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom."

                                        Ralph Waldo Emerson

In case you missed the 1st part of this story, you can read how we started this adventure in Part 1.  Go here

We had been warned about altitude sickness…nausea, headaches, dizziness. The only way to get rid of it we were told was to come down off the mountain.  My head was starting to bother me now.  More Advil and more water. We kept going.

Indomitable.  Unable to subdue or defeat.  It was powerful to say these words to myself as I heaved my left leg up unto a huge rock. 

In-dom-i-table. I WILL NOT be defeated by this damn mountain.  

I...

Five years ago, my husband and I climbed Mt. Fuji, the highest volcano in Japan at 12,388 ft.  Mt. Fuji is actually a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1708.

This was an epic trip for me. In the telling of this story about our adventure, it’s important to give you some background on what it’s like to climb Fuji-San (Mr. Fuji).

It was a Buddhist monk in 700 A.D. who first climbed Mt. Fuji. A temple was built at the summit 400 years later. It became a pilgrimage site for Japanese. In 1860, the first foreigner climbed Mt. Fuji.

In 1868, Lady Parkes, an Englishwoman, defied a ban on women climbers and ascended the peak. The ban was lifted afterward. What a badass woman :).

It was my husband’s idea. Thom had dreamed about this climb even before we moved to Okinawa in 2013.  He’d always said, “I’m gonna climb Mt. Fuji.   

I really didn’t want to go on this trek. I heard about...