“I have done nothing all summer but wait for myself to be myself again.” Georgia O’Keeffe, Art & Letters, p. 213)

This past summer has been exactly that for me - an opportunity to give myself the time and the space to move into who I’ve always been. I’ve been waiting a long, long time for this version of me to emerge, but it’s been worth the wait.

For decades, I’ve played with a number of roles and titles - some were a fit and some were not. And yet, for a variety of reasons, I let some essential pieces of who I was drift away and held onto some pieces that really didn’t fit at all. And so it went for quite some time…until this summer - this unexpected, magical summer that gifted me with a pause. It was a pause away from a too-fast pace and a focus on work that didn't served me, and a chance to “wait for myself to be myself again.” And so, I waited: I took the time to reflect and to deeply consider the roles and the work that I wanted to intentionally be connected with moving forward. I didn’t rush, I didn’t give in to fear - I simply waited and listened for the knowing that was already inside of me to feel safe enough to speak.

As the summer began to move into fall, I began to move as well. I let go of ill-fitting identities that I had taken on, and embraced new possibilities - some that didn’t feel so new at all. More so, it felt as if I was coming home to myself. While I’m still settling in, summer has come to an end and autumn is calling me to share the gifts of my summer pause, to begin to speak aloud what I have been quietly cultivating.

I have returned full-time to offering my own coaching partnerships, facilitation services and training experiences. It is both a rediscovering of who I was and an honoring of who I have become: My offerings have shifted to more intentionally inhabit my space at the fire, to announce myself as a teacher and an elder and offer the gifts I have gathered over many decades.

Rediscovering who I was: I will be offering limited availability individual coaching partnerships and group coaching experiences. I have curated a list of my favorite offerings and plan to focus on these areas – offerings that feel aligned with who I am and have resonated deeply with those I have worked with.

Honoring who I have become: The core of my offerings will center on guiding coaches and facilitators who want to shift the energy of their own offerings from a focus on outer objectives to an exploration of deeper meaning and insights. I have been a coach and facilitator for over two decades – the time has come to share what I have learned and experienced with others. The centerpiece of this new path is a certificate program in soul-centered coaching & facilitation. There are also specialized learning experiences in design & facilitation, professional myth, and storytelling & mirroring, as well as mentor coaching for coaches, facilitators, and certified MBTI practitioners. I am excited by this shift, this opportunity to offer myself as a guide and a mentor, to embrace the role of elder.

Another expression of my call to teach and guide others is this very blog: living bits of soul. More on this title in my next post, but for now know that I will be writing a bi-monthly blog related to soul and soul-making. These writings will reflect upon the impact of an imaginal perspective on coaching and facilitation. They will embody the learnings I experienced during my coursework and dissertation research in depth psychology, the ideas and concepts that shaped my beliefs and understandings of psyche and soul-making.

And so, this is the gift my pause has given me: the opportunity to rediscover myself and to more intentionally give attention to the difference I feel called to make for others. I hope you’ll join me as I unpack my learnings and offer them to the world. I encourage you to let curiosity lead you, to read my bi-weekly blog posts and visit my website, and meet the “myself that is myself again.” I invite you to reflect on my writings as I explore what it means to rediscover soul and how the imaginal perspective of soul-making has shaped my own coaching and facilitation, and the potential it may offer to you as well. I look forward to connecting and reconnecting - to myself, to soul, and to all of you.

Keep sparkling,

Marta