When was the last time you took a break from your business and spent a substantial amount of time (at least 3-4 days) away from your work, by yourself, to completely unwind? Recently? Last year? Never?!

Many conscious entrepreneurs have an awareness of the need for time to reflect and relax, but dedicating extended time to do so (outside of our personal daily spiritual practice) can seem like an impossible indulgence. Family obligations, budget constraints, or simply addiction to our workaholic, entrepreneurial tendencies often stop us from making the effort to “get away from it all” and restore ourselves body, mind, and spirit. Spa days are great, family vacations are wonderful, long weekends a treat, but none of these is a substitute for a full-on, multi-day, retreat by yourself!

I took a 9 day personal retreat recently and during my planning process was surprised to hear feedback from people that suggested that I really should be “focusing on my work,” and “haven’t you been traveling a lot as it is?” and just flat out incomprehension that I would “treat” myself to such an experience. Because I had such clear intentions for my retreat, I was a little taken aback by these responses. After contemplating it though, I realized that our general mindset as entrepreneurs is too often one of personal sacrifice rather than reward.

I think this attitude needs to change!

We can get so caught up in our daily routine that it’s hard to step back and realize that we need a break. This is especially true when we are in the habit of regularly meditating, journaling, getting bodywork or similar. We can trick ourselves into thinking that that is enough. Although these practices are vital to our ongoing well-being, and keep us focused and centered from day to day, they are substantially enhanced with the occasional, well-timed retreat.

Heart-centered entrepreneurs give of themselves volubly, every day. Replenishing that well we serve from deep in our soul is truly critical if we want to avoid burnout, resentment, and most of all to be able to continue serving from the highest and best place possible. It may seem like a financial luxury, but if it results in deeper thinking and more powerful programs and services, then really, you can’t afford NOT to take this time for yourself!

After my recent experience, I have concluded that a regular (at least annual) retreat is necessary for me personally, but if you are new to this concept or struggling to “justify” the time and expense, here are 3 ideal times to give it a try and see what magic manifests for you!

1. You are about to create a significant new program or product. Just before you begin a major new creative project is the ideal time to take a personal retreat. Oftentimes we approach new projects from a place of “gotta do it” rather than being completely open to the possibilities that are about to manifest. Our eagerness to jump right in can lead to snap decisions, cutting off of possibilities, and incomplete thinking.

If you are ready to embark on an important new project, consider setting aside at least a few days to completely clear and refresh yourself — and reconnect with your higher self — before leaping into the actual work. Tapped in and turned on to the bigger picture allows space for the full potential of your project to unfold.

2. You are struggling or stuck in your business. This may seem like the hardest time to take a break, especially if you are squeezed financially. When the going gets tough, we have a tendency (and an historical and cultural predisposition) to think we can just willpower our way through a slump, and sometimes that may be true. More often than not, however, what we really need is to untangle and remove ourselves from the environment we are trying to work from and get a new perspective on ourselves and our current challenges.

Conscious entrepreneurs are usually engaged in non-stop personal development and so we believe that we should be able to self-coach ourselves around our problems. But sometimes what we really need is to do something completely different and give our brain (and our ego) a break from focusing on the issues at hand. A personal retreat away from your day-to-day responsibilities is the perfect way to halt the mind chatter and allow flow and synchronicity back into your experience.

3. You are contemplating a major business transformation. This may seem like an obvious time to take a break — and it is. If you have been contemplating the need for a big change but haven’t committed to some time alone to allow the ideas to really flow, might you really just be trying to avoid what it takes to undergo a major transformation?

It’s really easy to come up with reasons why now is not a good time to spend time and money away from your business. But if your soul is calling you in an increasingly louder voice to start shifting in a profound way, there is no better place to quiet yourself and really listen to that voice than on an extended personal retreat.

Each of us will have different ways that we go about a personal retreat – whether it’s in a luxury resort or spa, a rental home, or a cabin in the woods. The key element is that you take yourself away from your daily routines and responsibilities and shift your attention onto simply caring for yourself and healing yourself at all levels. When you open yourself up to this experience you allow new energies, new ideas, and new possibilities to flow!

Next week, I’ll be writing about my top tips for getting the most out of your personal retreat!

Relationships are the very fabric of our lives. Every person we come in contact with creates a relationship, whether we simply meet their eyes in passing on the street or we choose to spend the rest of our lives with them in partnership. Actually, everything is relationship, and that is why we spend so much time thinking about it, worrying about it, wanting it, needing it, repelling it, healing it.

I recently had a relationship experience that was incredibly frustrating. The crux of it was that another person was behaving in ways that were hurtful and upsetting to me. The situation was such that I was not able to adequately express my frustration or defend myself, which really challenged my need for open communication. And the emotions around this issue were sufficiently distracting to me that I dwelled frequently on how to “fix” it.

After wrestling with this frustration for a while, I eventually realized that it was not really necessary to have the closure I desired and that in fact, demanding it was nothing more than an ego stroke. Yes, there are times when we truly must speak up or risk sacrificing our integrity — amongst other things. This was not one of those times. I’ll admit, though, that letting go of the urge to “speak my truth” took a bit of work to fully embrace. Exhausted mentally and emotionally, I turned it all over to the Divine.

And through that act of surrender, came the gift of Ho’oponopono.

For right at this very same time, I received a call from a woman I had recently met, Georgina Sweeney. During our conversation, Georgina mentioned to me that she sometimes uses a Hawaiian technique of forgiveness to assist her clients. I had heard the term Ho’oponopono before but didn’t know anything about it. What I was about to learn profoundly transformed the way I experience forgiveness and I’d like to share it with you now.

Ho’oponopono means “to make right” or “to rectify an error.” Essentially, it is a spiritual cleansing ritual, the main purpose of which is to reconnect with our own divine identity. The process clears toxic energies that are blocking our healing. These toxins take the form of negative emotions, memories, stresses, and fears that lodge themselves deep within our body, our psyche, and our spirit.

Because all souls are really one, what affects one of us, affects all of us. So when we are struggling and in pain, at some level everyone else is affected by it. Likewise, when we heal ourselves, we heal everyone else as well (all souls — not just the people involved in a particular situation). Can you see how powerful Ho’oponopono would be if everyone were doing it on a regular basis?

Here’s the tricky part: Ho’oponopono is a practice of taking 100% responsibility for all of your thoughts and actions — as well as everyone else’s. Yes, you read that correctly! There is no divvying up of responsibility for who said what or did what. You must accept FULL responsibility. But when you do, coupled with the technique I will describe below, the result is pure magic — healing at a profound level.

The alchemy here is of allowing LOVE to transmute the negativity, LOVE to neutralize the emotions and memories, LOVE to free them from the soul, and LOVE to fill the space we have cleared. As we release the painful emotions and memories and fill ourselves with love, so are we doing for all others. What an incredible gift to ourselves and the world!

The process is surprisingly simple but deeply transformative. It goes beyond just asking for forgiveness (from yourself as well as others). There is something about the combination of taking complete responsibility and using love to heal that makes this a particularly powerful technique.

Ready to learn the process? It’s very easy. You simply repeat the following four magical phrases with focused and positive intent. Georgina mentioned that she uses the other person’s name as well, and I liked that idea, so I used that too.

The process goes like this:

I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
I love you.

That’s the basic method. Ho’oponopono is an ancient technique and there is more to it than this. If you are interested, I strongly encourage you to learn more about it!

However, at the time I began using it, I knew nothing more that what I am relating to you here. I simply repeated these phrases over and over to myself like a mantra — while I was shoveling snow, doing the dishes, taking a break from work, sitting in meditation. I even wrote it in my journal. It was the last thing I did before I went to bed. I repeated the mantra as many times as felt right in the moment. And I would stay present while I was doing it, holding the intention of love and forgiveness.

Holding intention is an important key to this process. You can’t just say the phrases mindlessly. Put your heart and soul into it. Really feel the emotions of love and forgiveness while you are doing it. Fill yourself with light. Surrender to what is. Remember that you are healing all other souls too!

There is nothing else for you to do. No analyzing, no processing, no picking apart the situation piece by piece. That’s the mind trying to take over the process. Your higher self knows what needs to be healed. Let it do the work for you.

Ho’oponopono can be used to heal all sorts of emotions, from complex to relatively mundane, recent experiences or past traumas — and in all sorts of relationships, from our families and friends to our clients and vendors.

Here are some answers to questions you may have right about now:

Did I do this for weeks? No, actually just a couple of days. And I began feeling peace with the very first “session.” However, this was not a deep-seated problem with long-term history, so it may not be reasonable to expect such quick results with something you’ve been carrying around since childhood.

Did I do anything else special? No, I just repeated the process and stayed present in the moment, really feeling the emotions of forgiveness and love as completely as possible.

Do you have to “love” the other person to use this technique? Well now, that’s an interesting question, isn’t it? We all know the English language is ridiculously bereft of words to describe all the various forms of love that we can feel. My answer is: No, the other person doesn’t have to be someone you would say “I love you” to in the way that we typically use those words. If you consider that the Ho’oponopono process embodies the concept of oneness of all that is, and that “love” is the same as “God” or “the Divine,” then there should be no question or hesitation about using the word “love,” regardless of the relationship.

What finally happened? I reached a place of complete release and complete peace. I no longer have any desire to explain or defend myself. I accept my responsibilities fully but without the self-destructive thought patterns that were plaguing me. Whether or not the other person accepts any responsibility at all is now irrelevant. I don’t have negative feelings toward the other person either. In fact, everything about it feels completely balanced and in harmony. Like all is right with the world.

Fascinating, eh?

So how can you use Ho’oponopono in your life today?

Those who walk the path of spirit, practice the art of fearless surrender.

-Ana Brett

You don’t need me to tell you that we are living through unprecedented times. Every soul on this planet is experiencing both the blissful highs and demoralizing lows of rapidly shifting new energies.

As conscious entrepreneurs, it can feel very difficult to keep walking your path in faith when the intensity of simply existing makes one feel as though all is lost. Your mind plots and schemes 24/7 to rescue you from the perceived danger — and the mind is usually in control, reminding you constantly of your deepest fears. Even if you’ve developed a level of proficiency with your intuition, separating the voice of the ego from that of the soul can become extraordinarily difficult. How do you run a business in the midst of all of this?

Here’s the thing: when these powerful waves of energy become overwhelming, even terrifying, it triggers our instinctive reaction of fight or flight. Highly-driven entrepreneurs frequently opt for the “fight” route, trying to muscle through the tough times with the same sheer determination that used to work exceedingly well in the past. More sensitive types may find themselves buckling under the pressure and turning to avoidance tactics to try to stop the onslaught. Guess what? Neither reaction works in times like these.

So what to do when the perpetrator of all this unpleasantness is unseen and indefinable? The answer is actually exquisitely simple. Although you may desperately want to fight the good fight or flee the scene for safety, the best path is the one of surrender.

Surrendering to the Universal currents doesn’t mean giving up or giving in. It’s more like giving over. As in giving over to the Universe your mind’s need to control everything and be willing to follow Divine guidance from your heart instead. It’s not about doing nothing, it’s about getting very centered and tapped into your higher self so that you can make conscious choices and take inspired action.

Here are 3 ways to practice the fine art of surrender when you feel yourself being pulled under by invisible currents. Don’t dismiss these simple but powerful tools for strengthening your spirit! The temptation is always to find a way to maintain control, but resistance is futile my friend. When the pressure is on, yield to the currents by practicing these techniques and begin gliding through these energies with more ease!

1. Meditate Lying Down
When we are wound up from stress, it can be hard to sit still in meditation. So the next time you feel yourself reeling, lie down in Savasana pose and breathe deeply in and out of your heart center. Allow yourself to sink completely into the floor as you feel the fears draining from your body.

Don’t berate yourself if you find it harder than usual to quiet your mind. This is about the HEART. So when your mind starts to argue with you, pressure you, or confuse you, consciously keep coming back again and again to your heart center and eventually the mind will surrender. And if you fall asleep, well, your body needed it! Honor that and revel in the energy that is created when you awaken.

2. Write It Out
Just grab a pen or pencil and let everything flow out onto the paper in whatever way you want. When your mind is frantic I find that it is most helpful to just let it dump whatever it is churning through rather than putting a specific process on it. Rant and rave, pray, ask for what you want. Whatever you are inspired to write, do it without judgement. Your goal here is to release the mind’s fears, not give it another challenge to solve.

Write until you are breathless, until you’ve written all that you can. At some point your ego will step aside and your higher self will come in. Suddenly you will be answering your own questions, solving problems, and even creating new ideas. It’s really quite miraculous. You may want to keep a notebook next to your computer and do this whenever the mood strikes you.

3. Dance (like there’s nobody watching)
There’s nothing like dancing to get you out of your mind and into your body! So when the energies start to move you, move them back and dance away your fears. Physical movement will help shift your focus back into the present moment, activate your solar plexus chakra (the seat of your power), and really make you feel ALIVE!

Put on your favorite music and sing along and practice the dance moves you’re afraid to do in public. Slow or fast, funky or exotic, play whatever suits your mood in the moment. Try shaking your arms and legs and consciously visualize releasing pent up frustrations and negativity. If you are up for it, spin gently with your arms stretched out. Spinning is wonderful for rebalancing your internal systems.

And of course, don’t forget to breathe — DEEPLY and often. Don’t beat yourself up when you have a particularly bad day. Forgive yourself always, and keep striving to look at each moment, each breath as a new opportunity. Before you know it you will be surfing the currents of change again with a smile on your face and joy in your heart!

Transformation: We are all going through it on Earth right now. Massive, potent changes are visibly permeating every layer of our lives, from the mundane to the sublime. My question to you is: “Are you approaching these shifts consciously and with gratitude or are you resisting them?” Did you know that stepping into the flow of life and allowing these changes to unfold will bring you incredible experiences and a lightness of being you might not be able to imagine from this place right now?

There was a time when I was a big resister of change. Not on the small, daily stuff. No, I’ve always loved to try new things and explore new ideas. But on the really big things, like relationships, career, my own behavior? I dragged my feet for years and let fear of loss, criticism, and failure keep me from making the critical changes in my life that my soul was increasingly crying for me to make. But make them at last, I did. I’ve challenged myself with a tidal wave of changes in the last few years: ending a long-term marriage that had run its course, leaving a lucrative career of nearly the same time that no longer fulfilled me, selling what I thought was my dream home, even changing my name — first, middle, and last — because it had long since stopped feeling like it fit me. In short, I let go of virtually everything I once believed was essential to the very fabric of my life.

Why did I make such massive changes? What would possess me to leave behind all that had defined me for most of my life? The truth is that I DID have a beautiful life – from an outsider’s perspective. I was not, and still am not, unaware of the immense blessings in my life. I am phenomenally healthy, as are my children. Materially speaking I have never lacked for anything of any importance. But those blessings are wasted if the only way to “keep” them is by hiding who I really am, what I am really feeling, and what I most desire to do and to be. It becomes a squandered half-life. We will not find bliss or peace, we will not expand into our highest potential by sitting around being grateful for external comforts while withering away at our core because we fear to express, to create, and to live from our deepest truths.

So how did I finally find the courage to break through the walls of resistance I had built up for years to avoid making these changes? The answer is that the call of my soul became stronger than any fear, any perceived loss, any pain of criticism, resentment, or rejection. And I listened. Essentially, I yielded to my desires; or rather, I finally allowed them to find outward expression. For the simple truth is that I really wanted these changes. I came to a place where I embraced them; ran toward them with gratitude and full belief that it was the direction I needed to go for my very survival, if not physically, then most certainly spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. I was ready to fully explore, feel, breathe, express, and BE ME, whatever that meant, whatever it took.

Are you feeling a similar call for transformation? We all are, you know. It’s just that some are ignoring the call, perhaps even people closest to you. Those in denial are the ones who would say you are selfish or unrealistic or downright crazy to make the changes you desire in your own life. How dare you put yourself first? My answer to these naysayers is this: You are here for a reason, you have a purpose, your soul has an agenda. The pull to express the real and authentic being inside you is your clue to the direction of that agenda. Follow it and you will find yourself living on purpose and in joy. Ignore it and you risk living someone else’s version of your life.

I will not fluff this up and tell you that it’s all hearts and flowers being on this journey to inner peace, purpose, and freedom. You will probably have to take actions that at times will feel downright terrifying. Absolute faith in those actions may be your only companion in those moments. Nor is this purely a path of “your way or the highway.” We are all interconnected, all of one source, and to ignore that fact is to isolate your soul and fall out of purpose. The magical challenge of your life is to weave all of these pieces together, remaining true to your soul while embracing and flowing with the truths of all the other souls. Could there be a more fantastical journey?

Now, not everyone needs to create such tremendous upheaval in their lives as I did in order to live their truth. (Although some may need to create more!) I felt fairly far off course, but you may feel you need to make only some tweaks. The important piece here is to get in touch with what YOUR soul desires, and then take action on it — consciously. Don’t wait for others’ decisions, actions, or inactions to define the course of your life. You must take responsibility for your own life, whatever that means for you.

The key to breaking through barriers to deep change is to be willing to peel back the layers of societal expectation, personal blind spots, and perceived limitations and to seek the magnificent truth of your existence. Dig deep and you will find a radiant light that pours forth from your soul, rising up through your physical being, and extending out into the world. We ALL carry this light. Over time you will begin to see how it flows not only from you, but to you. We are all beacons of light for each other, here to create, expand, and inspire through our infinite, divine love. THIS is what is transforming the Earth right now, as each soul awakens to the realization that radiating our unique essence is not only NOT selfish, it is the purest act of service to all that is and shall be.

What a spectacular time to be alive! While the past is crumbling down around us, we are finally freeing ourselves to creatively express our true desires! We are entering a new phase of business and entrepreneurship that will be a cornerstone of future human endeavor. I for one am thrilled to be working with open-minded, consciousness-seeking entrepreneurs who are ready to step up to this challenge in their businesses and their lives.

Are you ready to embrace what you truly desire to create? I’d love to hear from you!