Dear Friends,
The new workshop we are introducing in March is called Saying Yes: Cancer as a Catalyst, with Julie Interrante, MA. I’ve been thinking about the many ways that cancer has been a catalyst for me. It was because of my experience of cancer that I started Healing Journeys 18 years ago. When I couldn’t find the resources I needed to address body, mind, soul, and spirit, I created the Cancer as a Turning Point, From Surviving to Thriving™ conference to meet that need.
Thirty-two conferences and 18 years later, cancer continues to invite me into transformation. Most recently, my diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer has been a catalyst for me to decide to laugh more, travel more, and discover what brings me joy. I’m not stopping my meaningful work; I am making an effort to balance it with more fun, with experiences that make me feel good.
I used to set goals for the future – a 5-year plan, or even one-year. My perspective now is that I can only know what I want from where I am currently standing. I can’t predict what I will want in a year because I’m not standing where I will be standing then. When I have a new experience, my perspective changes and my desires change. I can’t see what I will want in the future from where I am standing now.
Realizing this is helping me be more in the present and more flexible, trusting my intuition to make changes. The workshop Julie Interrante will be facilitating, March 22 & 23, was created from this perspective. When I heard her speak last year, I felt that my heart was responding and I wanted to attend her afternoon workshop. Even though I had to cancel other plans to be able to attend, I felt it was important to follow my heart’s longing.
Once I attended her workshop, I knew I wanted her to teach a workshop for Healing Journeys. She was so articulate in her teaching, expressing ideas that resonated with my deep and authentic self. And she led us in exercises that helped me get in touch with feelings that were buried, but that were so freeing and exhilarating when I got in touch with them. I left her workshop feeling lighter, more joyful, and more aligned with my true self. I look forward to experiencing her workshop in March, and am happy that some of you will get to share that experience with me.
I hope we will have a short video on our website soon of Julie speaking, so you can “meet” her. You can also experience some of her wisdom in her book, The Power of a Broken-Open Heart. In this book she says, “Thus even while facing loss or difficulty, we can remember that the darkness of winter is necessary for the breaking open of the heart. And we can have faith that everything in our lives helps us awaken to the truth of who we are.”
In the Spirit of Healing,
Jan Adrian, MSW
Founder and Executive Director