Jessica's work is always marked by power, reverence, and grace. She is radically accountable and radically honest. I have complete trust that she can lead any group or person that she declares - and create any result she believes she can, be it spiritual or material. You are in good hands with her. I recommend you get as much time as you can as a student of hers.
~ Bryan Franklin, Senior Partner, California Leadership Center
Thank you very much. This is a very nurturing and holding place for women - important for women in transitions, women who seek clarity and better relationships with themselves and others – A place for self-nourishment and to slow down and connect with oneself and others.
~ Elsa Ng, LMFT – Crisis Specialist
Jessica opens up herself and her home to our women's group in such an amazingly warm and genuine way. When I first joined, her kindness and welcoming presence immediately set me at ease. The circle is by far one of the most fabulous I've ever attended -- juicy, intimate, real, and truly supportive on so many levels.
~ Alexandra Davidson, student of clinical psychology
Thank God you are doing this work...you are doing it for all women. I honor you and send you support and encouragement as you take these bold and transformative steps. The world needs you to do it! Bless you!! With love,
~ Caitlin S.
I have been working with Jessica for well over a year. Her coaching and teaching skills are remarkable. While always competent, knowledgeable, and profession she also has the gift of being very personal, making me feel like I am working with someone who truly cares about me as a person and has a genuine interest in helping me grow. Through our work together I have come to know myself better, have grown in self-confidence and come to see more clearly my own potential for growth. I find Jessica to be personable, inspiring, insightful and totally fun to be with. Wise beyond her years!
~ Norm, Ordained Unitarian Minister
I took a workshop with Jessica and I found her to be extremely personable, caring and efficient in all her communications. She created both a safe container in which to explore and the opportunity to challenge oneself. Her attention to detail and her time management was truly impressive!". I look forward to working with Jessica again in the future!
~ Namita Caen, Independent Professional Training & Coaching Professional
If you are doing battle against personal demons, Jessica is the one you want by your side. She allowed me to be completely honest about what I want and who I am. Talking with her, there is never any need to hide. She gave me the perfect mixture of empathy and nuts & bolts advocacy...Now I am much more confident in the "rightness" of my path, and my ability to stay on track towards my goals.
~ Harmony Niles, Facilitator & Coach
I can count on Jessica to listen and take in new ideas without judgment. I know she'll try it on, even if it seems foreign. I can also count on her for emotional support. I know she will listen to me. She will have intelligent insightful feedback. Jessica has a beautiful way of listening to people. Really listening.
~ Paget Norton, ESL Teacher, Playwright
Keep it coming, girl! I love hearing you and your sharing so publicly. It's not something I play with much anymore so I appreciate getting your edgy revelations. Maybe someday again I'll play with that again...in the mean time, thank you for the vicarious blessing! Take care, sister.
~Kathryn T.
Jessica - I acknowledge you for your love and commitment to be the best mom you can be for your son Shayen. Love,
~Laurie Parle
I met Jessica almost one year ago, I was taking her amazing yoga class at the YMCA and she invited me to participate in a woman circle....I didn't know what was exactly that invitation means but I said yes. She has been a blessing in my life she have helping me to go through and understand many aspects of my life, career, passions, love, emotions, growth, self confidence....she is just great, I'm so thankful that she crossed my path, I was needing someone like her and she show up....I have an infinite gratitude to Jessica. And since then I have seen her in many other projects as a great professional woman and I realized that all the people that know her feel the same as me.
~ Marina Ubaldini, Facilitator, Doula
I have always thought you are an amazing potent goddess!
with love and respect,
~ Lauren
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Hello! First of all thank you to all of my friends, so much for your amazing support. Those of you who know me well know that I had some very challenging times, especially during these past two years. It feels so freeing to now and wonderful to feel and have felt your support. Thank you…
My interview on Phil Cisneros live radio show, “Business Adventures.” http://www.blogtalkradio.com/business-adventures is now available for you to listen to anytime :)
In this really fun and relaxed interview Phil and I speak about . . .
- The power of Collaboration & “tribal marketing”
– Goal setting: what actually works
– Beliefs & Success: family, cultural & gender
– The Gift of fear in business
– Secrets of entrepreneurs who do it ALL
…Continue reading this post: “My “Business Adventures” radio interview w/ Phil Cisneros”
The Feminine model for Success = collaboration (vs. domination or competition)
So many of us are still operating under the “I have to do it all on my own!!!” (“in competition with the ‘Other’”) mentality, which is old-school, outdated, and “so last-paradigm!”
My friend Beth Allen (http://meetbethallen.com) writes about the power of tribe syndication (Click here to see her article) – a type of online collaboration, when a group of people/women come together to promote one another, with these benefits:
- each woman within the group becomes known as a resource of amazing information/events/ideas
- each woman’s information/events/ideas gets spread far beyond their own network – possibly to thousands of people they would otherwise be able to reach
Create your Tribe:
1) Find other practitioners with skills that compliment yours and create events, workshops, interviews together!
2) Create a marketing plan together where each woman commits to who/how/when she will promote each woman in her syndication “tribe”
…Continue reading this post: “What is Success? Really? – part 2″
Hi! I’m always here to talk to you about small business success…
What is success?!?
We hear this word all the time.
Success IS having the business, money and nice things you want . . . it is common to day-dream and even consciously vision our ideal car, home, contributions to the world.
But I really believe, that a business is NOT successful unless it is actually bringing you closer to
your children * your friends * your community * even your health
I am a business coach. I work with women, like you; who want to grow your business and achieve ALL of your goals in ways that are
fun , feminine & actually bring you closer to
…Continue reading this post: “What IS Success? Really? – part 1″
Over the years women have asked me “How do you do it all?”
At first I really could not answer – The owner of three businesses, I teach yoga and dance on the side, I am a mother, I have a relationship, I enjoy being social, I stay in pretty good shape…
I notice that much of the business training and business coaching out there, is NOT very family or mom friendly: “Go, go, go” and “Make it ‘till you Break!” are the underlining messages of many weekend seminars and business coaching that I have received. The vast amounts of business training I experience does not really work for me realistically as a mom. 
So a while back, I had the thought,
“I should really break down;
what I do,
how I work…
How I do it ALL -and- teach THAT to women…”
That is what I did. Over the years I have “unpacked” what I’ve learned – I got RID of the stuff that did not work – and transformed the stuff that did to match my lifestyle and MY time-frame.
So from where do I get all of this time to do all of these things? (and still honor Family Time by turning the phone and computer off in the evenings and weekends?)
Can a woman own a business(es) and thrive in the realm of holistic, sustainable and nurturing?
…Continue reading this post: “Bringing home the bacon – 3 tips for women doing it all”
Growing a business is more often than not, a dance with the unknown, and therefore with Fear. Grow your relationship with the Unknown…and to Fear
Fear is actually taking care of us. Part of an ancient mechanism for survival. Forging means, to use heat to bring the material to a malleable state. As we expand our businesses our cycles of fear and stretching into the unknown are the heat which forges us into stronger and more malleable beings
Let’s look at fear. Fear is omnipresent in the process of growth. Just as babies become more needy and in need of more attention the week before they start to walk – Fear is a part of our experience of S T R E T C H I N G – cycles of stretch and then relax, stretch and relax – like the movement of the Earth’s crust, like the movement of breath flowing in, and breath flowing out – the experience of stretching is often synonymous with our experience of fear.
I think of fear in business as The Stretch between the the parts of ourselves that want to be more fully in the light and the parts of us that are working furiously to hide:
- The stretch between The Shadow (which is always at work to bring isolated aspects of yourself into the light) always brings up newer, richer material for you to work through – your Soul’s life lessons.
- And the Negative Ego (the idealized self – what we wish we could be) what we effort and strive for / against
So what to do with all of this?
…Continue reading this post: “Harness your Fear. Grow your Business”
I have named the post below, “Growing your Network while Being a Mom” 4 How-To’s based on my personal experience of being a mom and growing my network of clients and collaborators – But, the How-To’s below are really applicable to any person who is on a time crunch or just can’t make it to a million networking events (which tend to be in the early morning or the evenings – not great times for moms!)
Growing your Network while Being a Mom (or just a busy person!)
Those of you who are also moms know that, depending on your child’s age – motherhood can be a full-time job. I have to say, I really did not have much time or energy for business (or sex, or beauty for that matter) until my son was past the age of two. Though I certainly appreciated the time with my son, I was exhausted and just did not have a lot of energy to go out in the evenings to network, etc…
I did use those years to do relaxed growing of my contacts lists – and my relaxed approach worked!!!
Even as a tired and not-getting-enough-sleep mom, I was able to expand my contacts lists. And the contacts whom I met during that time are still faithful, supportive and partake in my current offerings
Here is How:
1. Every few months I
…Continue reading this post: “Grow your Network without Networking!”
What NOT to say when someone asks you “So, what do you do?”
Remember what I said in Part 1: “The MOST important part of the Verbal Logo is the ‘Felt Experience’ portion…” One of the most common mistakes you could make when telling someone what you do is to tell them what you do! (“I balance hormones by applying needles to these places, and use breath work to relax the system” – this may sound great to some, and too much info for others – remember, they have not yet decided that they want detailed info)
Be honest, be clear, and know that as soon as you go into the nitty gritty of WHAT techniques or systems you use (if they have not specifically requested this info) you will be taking them OUT of the realm of the Felt Experience and into their analytical thinking –
…Continue reading this post: “Say “elevator pitch” w/o rolling your eyes! -Part 2- Advanced techniques”
How to answer when someone asks you “So, what do you DO?”
You are all aware of “the elevator pitch” or Verbal Logo. Most of you have probably practiced or recited these many times at networking events, etc…
In any case, using your Verbal Logo as a way to really connect with a potential client or lead-referrer (a person who send clients your way) is extremely important: it is the basic template from which we speak about the work we do in the world; it is the second paragraph of our “Word of Mouth Now” marketing letters. It is the first segment/part of the “Heartfelt Sales” conversation. It often inspires the content and tag-lines of our websites and marketing collateral (promotional materials).
The MOST important part of the Verbal Logo is the “Felt Experience” portion (number 4 below). The decision to pay money or commit to a new business relationship with you is a very personal decision; often even unconsciously emotional for your prospective client. There is likely a sense of risk or a “taking a leap of faith” that goes with their decision to hire you.
…Continue reading this post: “Say “elevator pitch” w/o rolling your eyes! -Part 1-”
“All of the facilitators created such a warm, safe haven to explore & express my shadow side. I discovered that my power, wholeness and authenticity comes from tapping into and embracing this side of me. The variety of exercises allowed me to go into and express my big emotions and passion! I feel empowered and liberated to offer my gifts to the world as a result of this wonderful weekend. Thank you!”
~ Margaret Sladewski, Integration & Life Coach
“I discovered what my darker parts really look like and how to embody that in ways that empower me. I appreciate the role model instruction of the facilitators – they were loving, confident and authentic in a divine way”
~ Michelle, Organizational Change Consultant & Coach
Wild Woman at the Edge
What is at the Edge is always the beginning of new directions
There is no “Right Way” only the way that we choose
There is no “Right Time” only that which feels timely
there are no “Consequences” only the ways things evolve
Dancing at the edge is a delicate dance of balance…
of merging and emerging in the “No-Place”
Between words and images
Between silence and sound
Between what is dying away and what is coming to be.
In this birthing place of the future
Remember to be gentle and kind and tender with yourself.
Shadow Women,
Thank you for ushering the Spring with your passion and unwavering presence. I am in complete awe at the vulnerability, trust and rawness that you each brought to the weekend. Because of you bravery and transparency, this weekend stirred up the whisperings of future offerings; I am left utterly inspired to create more weekends dedicated to the shadow.
…Continue reading this post: “A letter for thank you to “Shadow, Expression & Harnessing Emotions” women!”
An event is not simply a happening. And a product is not just a thing sitting on a shelf. Events, workshops and products are potent communication instruments with which you can reach, illuminate or unite a group. A product (audio, video or goods) well packaged, can also be a milestone business.
Planning and executing a successful event or product launch is both a creative orchestration and one that involves precision in setting in to motion all of its steps, phrases and sequences.
A. Spark Curiosity
2 months before event -or- official product release: This is like a press release, and should be short and clear
…Continue reading this post: “Event / Product Marketing that Sizzles!”
 A brand encapsulates your identity, instantly conveying your message. One generally wants to hold on to your brand’s look and feel as long as possible because it’s so familiar to you and your customer base. You don’t want to risk losing recognition or spend money needlessly. And sometimes brands need a refresh. Does your logo or tagline say enough about what you provide?
Know your targeted audiences as well as what defines you and makes you stand out among competitors, so clients come to YOU.
You can begin your process of creating or refreshing the essence, look and feel of your business with these 7 Branding Questions:
…Continue reading this post: “7 Essential Questions: the Essence & Feel of your Business”
The exerpt below was taken from this original webpage: rubayathasan.com
“Finally!! A permanent solution in order to prevent Wordpress from filtering line breaks "<br>" from a post.
…Continue reading this post: “Finally!! A permanent solution for Wordpress formatting issues”
 What you accomplish in one month or one year, is directly related to the small, seemingly insignificant decisions you make every day. In the end all of your daily tasks are part the greater journey you are creating for yourself.
M. The Daily Mind Cleanse:
Find 5 or so minutes at the beginning or end of each day to jot down your “Intended Tasks for tomorrow” that need to attending to during your next work day. Some tasks will pop into our awareness which may need to be placed on an “Intended Tasks for the next week” page/section.
This daily Mind Cleanse allows you to empty your mind of nagging to-do thoughts, freeing you up for sleep (if it is an evening Mind Cleanse) or an experience of starting with a clean slate.
I. Intended Tasks:
…Continue reading this post: “Stay the Flow! – 4 steps to “No Distraction” workdays”
 Hello ladies!
Last nights circle was really amazing for me; I got some really concrete things to implement in 2010 toward my vision of conscious partnership and conscious finances – Thank you for your listening and also for your sharing.
One thing that is precious to me about the women’s circles is that I get to become very good friends over time with women I would not have otherwise connected with, or in some cases never have met…I very much appreciate the way you all show up in circle, you commitment to transparency and each other’s growth.
…Continue reading this post: “Appreciation for my Newest Womens Circle”
I have been a user and supporter of Quickbooks for years. I used Quickbooks professionally as an office manager and have also used it for years in managing my own personal and business money. I know Quickbooks inside and out, with the help of not only lots of experience, but also LOTS of one on one training through Conscious Bookkeeping and Serenity Bookkeeping.
…Continue reading this post: “Mint.com – like Quickbooks, but Free & online!”
 The garden would not be Eden without the Serpent…
~ How might it be important for you to harness the power of your strong emotions to fuel your passions?
Discover how your current state is your gift and know new steps you might take to live with courage, willingness and self-love. Practice to be the warm, feminine woman in touch with your feelings and your power…Find ways to support yourself with new tools that will be useful to you in your path at this time.
~ What would it mean for your life if you could re-cast your inner demons as your inner allies?
We learn to fear our bigger emotions, not only because it brings disapproval from others; we may begin to ask ourselves questions that serve to block or invalidate our own expression of our bigger emotions: “are my big emotions legitimate?” “Do I have the right?” “What is even useful about my big emotions?
…Continue reading this post: “Women’s Weekend: Shadow, Expression & Harnessing Big Emotions”
 (This message was sent out to me today to the December Path, Power & Potential women’s weekend participants and facilitators…)
A thank you note to you all,
Thank you so much for such an profound and moving weekend. Saturday was go, go, go and Sunday was like a thick sweet molasses. I am still swimming in it all…
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”
-Mary Oliver
I so loved exploring your wildness and most certainly your preciousness.
…Continue reading this post: “Much love to the Path, Power & Potential women’s weekend participants”
 Some of the most powerful tools for us entrepreneurs to have are feedback and testimonials.
For some of us hearing or reading what others are saying as praise about us is edgy and uncomfortable. We might even believe that asking a client to write a testimonial for us is arrogant or presumptuous.
These are bits of mind-chatter worthy of acknowledging and then ignoring.
…Continue reading this post: “4 Elements of a Great Testimonial (& the edge of asking!)”
http://FreshBooks.com
Here is a wonderful easy to use Online Invoicing, Time Tracking and Expense Service. My own CPA and coach uses this service and recommended it to me. It is perfect for invoicing my private practice clients and has other great features similar to QuickBooks or Mint.com
From the Author’s Note:
“Whenever a woman has a problem, I believe that she herself can find the answer, provided she is given adequate information and support. I firmly believe in women’s strength and resourcefulness; I’ve witnessed these time and again. Women care about the continuation and continuity of life; they are intrigued by relationships, how things fit together. Women’s Sexual Passages is an attempt to honor these attributes of women by presenting an overview of women’s nature in which the sexual aspect is not separated from everything else.”
Link: Books by Elizabeth Davis.
“I am very impressed with this work and find it not only medically accurate but visionary in scope. There is nothing else like it on the market.”
–Christiane Northrup, M.D., author Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom
My colleague Mireya Alejo, MFT is an expressive arts therapist, astrologist and Hollotropic Breathwork facilitator. The link below connects you to her upcoming events and to her amazing work. As well the link leads you to some amazing videos she has compiled and information about her womens groups.
Click here to go to Mireya’s Website: Find out more about Fall Holotropic Breathwork and other events…
The High Art of the Mundane
I have been thinking a lot about the sacred of the mundane a lot these past few weeks. And then I saw this…
This excerpt was taken by some writing that my gals at Spiral Muse wrote recently:
“We’re Asking Ourselves: Could ordinary life itself be the most sacred journey of all? Can mundane existence yield a magical inner dimension that’s normally hidden? Perhaps our hearths are really divine lungs for the sacred to breathe…”
The practices of being present and being accountable, which are the foci of my circles for the first few months, are often very mundane. They feel different and more ordinary than the practices of being clear and powerful. Yet power piled upon, or combined with anything other that presence and accountability becomes thwarted and un-sustainable.
…Continue reading this post: “The Art of the Mundane”
Hi There! Many of you know that I teach Brazilian Dance (every Friday at the Berkeley YMCA) and Latin Dance. Here are some wonderful classes/events to look forward to. I’m not teaching any of these, yet wanted to pass along the info to you all.
Listing of Classes:
SalsaSF.com: Salsa & Latin Dance, Bay Area
BrasArte.com: World Dance Center, Berkeley
…Continue reading this post: “Festival Brasileiro & Brazilian Dance class resources”
This list of must-haves was posted to Facebook by one of my dearest friends Karin Wertheim.
Karin writes: I often find myself recommending my favorite parenting books to parent friends of mine. Today I wrote an annotated bibliography for a friend, and thought I might as well share it with everybody.
Just so you’re aware, I did the attachment parenting thing (co-sleeping, breastfeeding and carrying the kid in a sling as opposed to a stroller, working part time instead of full time, etc.), so the books I’ve read and agree with are generally in that vein.
…Continue reading this post: “My Favorite Parenting Books”
In a deceivingly simple process I practiced recently with a few of my women’s circles, one woman holds up a mirror in front of the woman seated just next to her.
When the woman holding the mirror feels that the woman being reflected really sees herself, the mirror holder and then the rest of the circle gives that woman appreciation for both her inner and outer beauty. Some of us have known each other for a while; The appreciations often go on organically for ten minutes or longer. Women all have different and sometimes edgy experiences of receiving this directed attention and reflection.
In one circle we were all joking about the mirror that we were using, which was partially cracked – That old saying that broken mirrors lead so seven years of bad luck
…Continue reading this post: “Breaking the Mirror…”
Most women think it takes years of therapy or hard work to move more and more powerfully in their life. They believe in cause and effect where the past influences our present. Some of this might be true; we do code our memories as metaphor. Through creative visualization, self hypnosis, meditation, nlp, positive spiritual practices, to name just a few you can actually create new metaphoric stories with which to influence your life powerfully.
The processes we do in this circle, like the modalities mentioned above, all tap into the right-brain, where time and logic do not exist. That is a good thing :) We consistently disengage from the Newtonian realm of rules and cause/effect and engage more fully in what I call Source or the Source realm; the dreamlike arena of creative thought, intention, visualization & manifestation…
…Continue reading this post: “Beliefs and the Magic of the Womens Circle…”
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