Trust That When You Know, You Know

Trust That When You Know, You Know

Last October, I was asked to participate in a collaborative book project by Jenny McFadden, the leader of our Soul Circle, a group of amazing, powerful women who meet regularly to share, challenge, support, love and nurture each other to BE all we can BE in the world.

As soon as Jenny asked me to contribute a chapter to our group’s book “The Seed of Intuition” I knew this was perfect for me. I was excited and a bit nervous and yet I knew I could and would do this.

Pretty simple really … it’s a book about intuition so I will just trust my knowing/my intuition to write this.

Then we had our first group zoom meeting with Steph Ritz and I realised that this project and process was not going to be what I was expecting! There were weekly zoom sessions, worksheets, proofreading and editing deadlines and of course the writing itself. Wow! My mind went nuts … I do not write or work this way and I began feeling overwhelmed by how much there was to do, how little time, how hard it was going to be for me to stick to such a rigid schedule and on and on.

So after a bit of internal drama … I reminded myself that I am creating the whole of my own reality and I can trust what I know. My feelings are not facts, they are there to be felt … so stop, take a deep breath, and let the energy-in-motion move and release … breathe and let go and let the process unfold as it will.

The next step was to share with the group how I was feeling and how I saw the process unfolding for me. What I received was unequivocal support to do it my way. Steph was very clear that her role was to support me to put me on the page and however I did that was perfect.

What a relief. I had 4 months to get my chapter written. Plenty of time.

I chose once again, to trust my process and trust my knowing and trust I would write 3,500 words on Intuition by Feb 28.

By the time I went on holidays in early January, I was feeling a tad anxious … although I had planned to write while away, I had not written one word and I still had no clear idea, no “ah-hah … that’s it!” moment. Nothing, nada, emptiness …

So keep trusting … keep breathing and let go of what you think you should be doing, stay present and let it come.

I did and it did!

When I knew it was time to write, I sat down and 4 hours later had written my 3,500 words. The process flowed with very little editing or rewriting, and I am still high-fiving myself for what I have created in collaboration with this group of beautiful souls.

Today, May 22, 2023 “The Seed of Intuition” is live on Amazon, ready to buy!

The Seed of Intuition | Lorna Patten

To give our book the best start in life, the optimum time to purchase it is between 9am and 11am AEST TODAY (22 May)

The current time is:

And you can also get “The Seed of Pure Potential” and “The Seed of Destiny”, which make up the three books in “The Seed Series” by Steph Ritz.

Steph is a world-renowned writing coach and publisher who is known for turning what you’re saying into what you meant to say. She guides you to voice your passions with words that change the world.

Yes she does. Thank you Steph. Your gentle touch and firm guidance are gratefully received.

And to my soul sisters: Jenny, Lee, Louise, Agnes, Sorcha, Linda, Rosa, and Pat, thank you for Being, for your support, insights, encouragement, and love.

Enjoy “The Seed of Intuition”.

Love Lorna

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Shameless Sales and Marketing Blog!

Shameless Sales and Marketing Blog!

That’s right … I have no shame in putting together this blatant sales and marketing blog because my poetry book, opened up is once again available to buy on my website.

The purpose of this blog is to encourage you to buy my book … just click on this link and hey presto, you can purchase it!

I am clear that my intention with my work and my life, is to share myself and my personal insights about who am being and what I am doing and through this support you to see yourself in all your perfectly, imperfect messy humanness and splendour.

One way I can do that, is by sharing my poetry with you.

I wrote this book of poetry, during a time in my life when I was experiencing a lot of turmoil in a lot of my relationships with both family and friends. I was processing a lot of different emotions so writing down the jumble in my head and heart was very powerful and healing.

Believe me when I say, I was surprised to see I had written a whole bunch of poetry! I didn’t consciously intend to write a book of poetry, I was just writing down all this stuff that I was thinking and feeling…and knowing.

The result: opened up.

Since then, I have written a lot more poetry, I have completed my chapter as part of a collaborative book project with my Soul Circle Sisters titled The Seeds of Intuition which will be published in the next few months and I am in the process of writing another book about my life and my work, which will also be ready for publication later this year.

I am delighted to be able to share my writing and musings with you.

Enjoy.

Love Lorna

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Choosing Peace in Uncertain Times

Choosing Peace in Uncertain Times

Sounds a bit like an oxymoron!

I struggle to be at peace when the world around me is so uncertain, so tumultuous and so unpredictable. I find myself challenged by my feelings and thoughts and the relentless pace of change within me and without.

As I have said before, I am a perfectly, imperfect messy human being … just like you. And although I have a great deal of experience in the paradigm of cause, I have my blind spots, and deeply ingrained ways of thinking, feeling, and doing that often run contrary to everything I know.

When things get bumpy and I don’t know what’s going to happen, I am tempted to go down the rabbit hole … feeling scared and uncertain and frustrated and powerless. Then I start agreeing with my infernal ego mind “Just figure out how to fix this/stop this/prevent this/change this … and then you will feel ok”.

This strategy can bring some temporary relief … yet it doesn’t ever deliver the experience of inner peace I actually seek … no matter how many times I go down the rabbit hole!

Over this past year, I have become more aware of this pattern and have taken conscious steps to intervene BEFORE going down the slippery slope of agreeing with my thoughts and feelings.

I know I do not control my external reality, and I also know I do have some control over the thoughts I think, the feelings I feel, the choices I make and the actions I take.

So whenever I catch myself about to slide down the slippery slope (and it’s not every time!) … I stop and take a breath and acknowledge what I am choosing to think, what I am choosing to feel and what I am choosing to make it all mean …
then I remind myself it’s ok to think these thoughts and ok to feel these feelings and I can choose to keep doing this … or I can choose again.

So I choose peace.

I choose to remember I am ok, even when I don’t feel ok; that whatever has happened, has happened and I get to choose, right now how to respond from love.

Love Lorna

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So Long 2022 and thanks for all the gifts | Lorna Patten

What an extraordinary year it has been … again!

The gift of uncertainly has certainly been the main one for me and I bet for many of you too.

I have also received many other gifts – often disguised as challenges or conflicts – and yet when I remember and recognise the inherent love and wisdom in everything, I have accepted the gifts and am glad I did.

In all of it I have been loved, supported, nurtured and challenged by my fabulous family, my amazing friends and by my extraordinary clients and my dream team:
My Personal Angel Maxine, my bookkeeper Jane, and my cyber queen Rae.

Without all your love and support I would not have been able to do what I have done this past year … so from the bottom of my heart … thank you much.

I wish for you and yours, a festive season filled with laughter and love and gorgeousness. And a new year ripe with possibility, creativity, deep inner peace and love, love, love.

See you again in 2023!
Love Lorna

It’s NOT a Breakdown

It’s NOT a Breakdown

I cried the other day.

Not for any particular reason other than I felt sad … so I took a deep breath and let the tears flow.

It was uncomfortable and not easy at first … I kept breathing and reminding myself “this is a feeling, let it move” and as I allowed myself to feel the feelings, to allow the energy-in-motion, emotion, to move through me, I felt the tears on my face and the ache in my heart.

I became aware of my thinking mind and how tempted I was to tell myself a story about WHY I was crying. I wanted to find a “good reason” to justify my tears and yet I knew, I didn’t need a reason because I was already feeling sad.

Once again I took a deep breath and I reminded myself “focus on the breath and keep letting go … keep letting go … keep letting go.”
After a while my breathing slowed, the tears stopped and I began to feel less constricted … more spacious.

When I reflected on this experience I realised that in the world today we tend to view someone shedding tears (particularly in the public domain) as a “breakdown”. Given the definition of the word means failure, malfunction, crash et al … categorising any public display of tears as a breakdown implies that there is something wrong with the person expressing sadness, pain, hurt, grief hence the oft used “sorry” which accompanies tearful displays of sadness.

Well guess what? I didn’t have “a breakdown”, I let myself feel and let the energy flow and although it was uncomfortable, it was also liberating,

There is nothing wrong (or right) about expressing your feelings. Every human being feels things and the key is to accept that when you feel something, it’s ok to feel it.

Feelings are not facts … they exist to be felt and they let us know what we are feeling about whatever is occurring so we can respond. This means we can change our mind and think something different, we can breathe and allow and let go, we can cry and laugh and sit and be still … and we can feel.

When we can feel, we can heal.

Love Lorna

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An Experience Over Which I Will Never Get …

An Experience Over Which I Will Never Get …

I first heard this after a particularly powerful personal development seminar I attended in 1983.

I didn’t get it.
I just thought it was bad grammar!

Since then I have had numerous experiences that have shown me time and time again what it means … to me.

And nothing I have ever experienced comes close to last weekend.

It was an experience so powerful, so deep and so profoundly loving that it blew my mind.

I had the great honour and privilege to facilitate a client Leadership Retreat over 3 days, with 40 people (mostly men) in the rainforest … in the pouring rain.

My client (coach, colleague and friend) gave me the space and permission to BE all that I am and to DO whatever I chose to DO in Love. Another client/coach (buddy and colleague) held the space in the room and assisted me with everything from tissues to hugs.

I chose to create a liminal space where everyone could make the choice to open up, let go and accept, allow and appreciate all of WHO THEY ARE … whatever happened.

I focussed on BEING rather than doing, a truly ontological space of remembering WHO I AM and WHO YOU ARE and it was wonderful.

I let go of having to do anything in particular or prove anything, or make anything happen and allowed myself to BE there fully … open hearted and willing to say what I saw, to share what I know without any attachment to being right.

The more I opened up and told my truth, the more each and every person there did the same. Old wounds were acknowledged, feelings felt and expressed and then….enormous relief and endless love filled the space time and time again.

I was humbled and moved by each and every beautiful, messy human in the room, myself included.

It took a willingness to feel uncomfortable, courage to sit in the discomfort and the choice to let the energy move and release … and boy oh boy … we did it wholeheartedly!

Blessed I am to BE who I am and DO what I do.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Love Lorna

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