CONNECTION + COMMUNICATION Page 2 of 13

Join me for a restorative wellness retreat at River Cottage!

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It is with real delight that I can reveal I will be hosting the first ever wellness retreat at the famous River Cottage HQ, deep in the English countryside here in Devon from 17-21 June 2019, and I would love for you to join me.

Your home for the week will be the 17th century farmhouse and 100-acre smallholding made famous by the long-running TV programme featuring chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

This very special intimate residential retreat will be an opportunity to step away from the rush and chaos of daily life and reconnect – with nature, with food and with yourself. Spending five days in this utterly gorgeous part of the world, you’ll have the opportunity to relax, recharge and explore what you really need in your life right now. I would love to spend this precious time helping you get a fresh perspective and practice self-care.

Through expert nutrition advice from gut health specialist Naomi Devlin, yoga with Barbara Mella, guided reflection, mindful outdoor activities, fireside conversations and more, you will get clarity on how to create more space, and make choices that support your own physical and emotional wellbeing. All this while being nourished with delicious organic food prepared by the River Cottage chefs, and hosted by… me!

If you are feeling stressed and exhausted, overstretched and overwhelmed, or lacking focus and direction, you will find this retreat to be a healing tonic. You will be pampered with attention, food, friendship and time, and leave rested, centred and inspired, with new wellbeing tools and renewed intention.

Every detail of this retreat has been designed to support and nourish you. You will laugh, you will probably cry, you will learn, you will connect, and you will go away feeling like a freshly revealed version of your true self.
Over the course of the five days of the retreat (running 17-21 June 2019) you will be treated with:
• Delicious organic food: all of your nutritionally balanced meals and snacks are included
• Daily yoga
• Mindfulness
• Daily inner wellness sessions with me
• Two full days of hands on cookery classes covering topics such as gut health, fermentation, healthy breakfasts and lunches, mindful eating and flavour bombs.
• Coastal walk along the stunning Jurassic Coast
• Kitchen garden foraging
• Lunch cooked on the beach
• Herbal workshop
• Nutritional advice and discussions
• Reading, relaxing, reflecting by a roaring log fire or under a starry sky
• All rooms and bell tents have comfortable beds with luxury mattresses and bedding

I very much hope to see you there. It’s a small retreat so places are very limited, and there are only a handful left so if you want to be part of this magical experience, hop on over to the River Cottage website and book your spot now. Then be sure to let me know you are attending!

Beth Xx

 
 

 

It is with real delight that I can reveal I will be hosting the first ever wellness retreat at the famous River Cottage HQ, deep in the English countryside here in Devon from 17-21 June 2019, and I would love for you to join me.

Your home for the week will be the 17th century farmhouse and 100-acre smallholding made famous by the long-running TV programme featuring chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

This very special intimate residential retreat will be an opportunity to step away from the rush and chaos of daily life and reconnect – with nature, with food and with yourself. Spending five days in this utterly gorgeous part of the world, you’ll have the opportunity to relax, recharge and explore what you really need in your life right now. I would love to spend this precious time helping you get a fresh perspective and practice self-care.

Through expert nutrition advice from gut health specialist Naomi Devlin, yoga with Barbara Mella, guided reflection, mindful outdoor activities, fireside conversations and more, you will get clarity on how to create more space, and make choices that support your own physical and emotional wellbeing. All this while being nourished with delicious organic food prepared by the River Cottage chefs, and hosted by… me!

If you are feeling stressed and exhausted, overstretched and overwhelmed, or lacking focus and direction, you will find this retreat to be a healing tonic. You will be pampered with attention, food, friendship and time, and leave rested, centred and inspired, with new wellbeing tools and renewed intention.

Every detail of this retreat has been designed to support and nourish you. You will laugh, you will probably cry, you will learn, you will connect, and you will go away feeling like a freshly revealed version of your true self.
Over the course of the five days of the retreat (running 17-21 June 2019) you will be treated with:
• Delicious organic food: all of your nutritionally balanced meals and snacks are included
• Daily yoga
• Mindfulness
• Daily inner wellness sessions with me
• Two full days of hands on cookery classes covering topics such as gut health, fermentation, healthy breakfasts and lunches, mindful eating and flavour bombs.
• Coastal walk along the stunning Jurassic Coast
• Kitchen garden foraging
• Lunch cooked on the beach
• Herbal workshop
• Nutritional advice and discussions
• Reading, relaxing, reflecting by a roaring log fire or under a starry sky
• All rooms and bell tents have comfortable beds with luxury mattresses and bedding

I very much hope to see you there. It’s a small retreat so places are very limited, and there are only a handful left so if you want to be part of this magical experience, hop on over to the River Cottage website and book your spot now. Then be sure to let me know you are attending!

Beth Xx

 

On prioritising the important stuff

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On prioritising the important stuff nick hillier 3283721

Three times in the past week I have been asked how I prioritise personal projects, when there are so many other demands on my time, so I thought I’d share some ideas with you today.

Firstly, it’s important to be really clear on why you want to do the project you want to do. Sounds really obvious, but if your reasoning isn’t crystal clear, the project will slip and other things will eat the time you were meant to make available for your project.

Secondly, it’s important to block out a realistic amount of time to make progress on your project. I have two versions of this kind of time – one set of blocks is non-negotiable, another is moveable depending on what is going on. This gives me flexibility (because life happens) but also keeps a level of commitment (because if you keep releasing your blocks of planned time, you’ll never get anywhere new).

Thirdly, I try to focus on one chunk of the project in one given block of time. So, right now I am working on my second book (hurrah) to a very tight deadline (eek). I have found that getting super organised gives me just enough boundaries to then be creative and free within the chunks of time I have. I might pick one particular chapter or idea within a chapter to focus on, and only work on that in a particular 2 hour block of time. Ideally creative work needs even bigger chunks of time than this – a full day, or a full week, but when that’s not possible, even a couple of hours can be valuable if you can dive right into the heart of the matter.

Lastly, it really helps to share your plans with someone for some kind of accountability. Right now Mr K is that check-in person for me. At the beginning of each day I am working on my book I tell him what I’m going to focus on, and then report back at the end of the day. Sometimes I get done more than I expected, sometimes less. Sometimes I find I have gone off on a tangent, but talking about it really helps me realise whether I used my time well, and then I can adjust accordingly the next time.

If you don’t have anyone in your house to help you stay on track with your personal projects, try finding an accountability buddy in real life or online, or get a mentor who is invested in your progress.

With so much going on in our busy lives, and so many demands on our time, combined with our natural tendency to prioritise others before ourselves, it’s no wonder that our personal projects often slide. But these projects are where much of our joy and genius lies, they are stepping stones to a more creative fulfilling life as we explore what we are capable of, so this week I encourage you to try out these ideas and see what works for you. Let me know!

Beth

On prioritising the important stuff

PS This is the last call for our free Winter Writing Workshop, which starts TOMORROW! If you want accountability for a writing project, this is a great place to begin. With daily writing prompts, thoughts on the writing life and a community gathering space where you can connect with other writers, this will get you back into the rhythm of writing! I hope you’ll join us. Sign up here (it’s free!) https

How to find calm as a busy parent

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Prioritising self care can be completely forgotten about – perhaps even laughed at! – when you’re trying to balance work, life and parenting. But if self care is a fundamental part of yours and your family’s happiness – you must be healthy and feel fulfilled to pass on the same for your children – why is it we don’t make it a priority in our day?
Meet Shawn Fink, a woman striving to help mothers find the inner calm, mindful moments in their day. In a world that is so fast paced, when you feel like you couldn’t possibly steal 10 minutes for yourself and a cup of tea, listen to Shawn’s advice to help you savour those quiet moments you need to make more of…
 How to find calm as a busy parent Abundant Mama 1
1. Tell us about the work you do with Abundant Mama and how you came to start Doing What You Love?
Abundant Mama is a family and motherhood wellness program that teaches overwhelmed moms how to slow down, take care of themselves so they can take care of their families and how to mother from a place of abundance.
I started blogging in 2012 and sharing tips and tools for how to be more present, playful and peaceful and my blog took off. I ended up creating the Abundant Mama Digital Program in 2013 and it has been SO popular through word of mouth that I was able to quit my full-time job and focus on this project solely.
2. What is driving you to help so many mothers with the challenges motherhood can bring?
Creating a more peaceful world! I say it over and over again — peace begins with me. I have never found motherhood to be easy. And the more real conversations I have with other moms, the more I realize that there are many out there who feel the same way. We’re highly sensitive and deeply committed to doing this RIGHT and so we place a lot of false expectations on ourselves in the process. By helping moms face the challenge of motherhood with the right tools, strategies, self-care and support, I am helping to create a more peaceful world — one family at a time. That is my ultimate driving force.
3. How can any parent reading this silence the busyness and find calm in their day?
In my book, Savoring Slow, I talk about 12 habits to implement to really slow your life down. This doesn’t mean to no longer be busy. It means to create a sense of calm and beauty in your busy life. We’re raising kids — we’re BUSY. I’d like to share those habits here with your readers 12 Savoring Slow habits to adopt:
  1. Wake Up — Practice waking up every single day to see the beauty in your life. It’s everywhere!
  2. Release — Embrace the idea of letting go of what is not working for you any longer to create more time for what you love.
  3. Reframe — Accept that your busy life is your beautiful life and start telling yourself a different story about how you are living.
  4. Focus — Aim for a distraction-free life where you always try to do one thing or nothing at all.
  5. Go Slowly — Forget rushing through and start lingering more in all areas of your day.
  6. Do Less — Understand that the only way to have more time for the good stuff is to do less of the other stuff.
  7. Plug-in — Reject the notion that you need to unplug and start intentionally plugging in to be more efficient with your time and life.
  8. Unstructured — Create more free time in your family’s day to allow the wow moments to evolve and multiply.
  9. Go Quiet — Quiet your mind and feel time expand in the process.
  10. Savor — Take time to appreciate every little detail around you.
  11. Abundance — Start seeing time for what it is — something to be thankful for in your life.
  12. Make Space — Carve out physical, mental and emotional space in your life for the things you want more of in your day.
4. What do you think is the typical definition of ‘abundance’ for parents who join your community, and what practices are important to put in place to achieve that abundance?
Abundance often means FINALLY feeling like we are enough, we do enough and we have enough … and we can rest now.
5. As someone who is doing what they love, what does a typical day look like for you?
I’m writing this after my girls are back in school after summer break so my days are a bit different. But the idea is roughly the same. I wake early — often between 4 and 5 a.m. and take care of ME by doing my Rise and Shine Routine (I offer a free challenge on waking up early and taking care of yourself!). I then put all of my efforts into getting the family fed and out the door. Once everyone is gone, I get to work. I have about 7 hours a day on a good day to write, send emails, create products and manage my programs and clients. SO … no wasting time. In the late afternoon, I set my to-dos for the next day, take a walk and meditate before my girls get home from school. On a really good day I take a rest in my hammock! And then I try to put all energy into my family and home in the evenings … until I crash into bed often very early because I wake up so early.
6. How do you juggle being a mum with running a blossoming business? What challenges might you come across and ways to overcome them?
My biggest challenge is and always has been my schedule being so inconsistent. Summer break is hard because I don’t have much time to do my work — and taking time to do the work leaves me immense amount of guilt as it’s summer after all. The school year isn’t much better with half days, sick kids, holidays and appointments. I am a work in progress on finding the right way to let go and trust that it all will get done.
7. Do you have any tools/techniques to help mothers who feel stressed out/anxious/overwhelmed because they have too much to do?
I believe strongly in the brain dump exercise for overwhelm/anxiety and worries. This is when you write everything down that is on your mind. All fears. Worries. Tasks. To-Dos. And then you slowly cross off what you can release that is not URGENT. And often, most of it is not urgent. Here’s a post on that! https://www.abundantmama.com/ease-mama-overwhelm/
8. What’s your ultimate dream? And your dream for women/mothers as a whole?
My ultimate dream is to build the most helpful, loving support group for mothers around the world possible. If I could I would build us a REAL VILLAGE with real houses and we’d all live there together helping each other out. I’ve said — they say it takes a village to raise a child but I think these days it takes a village to raise a mother. My dream for mothers like myself — those who are highly sensitive, introverted and highly reflective — is to finally feel peace from the inside out because there’s no better abundance than a feeling of contentment.
Shawn’s snapshot
Your happy place: my hammock if I can’t get to the beach
Quickest way to find clarity: journaling
Mantra of the moment: I am strong as F@#$ 🙂
Best place to people watch: the Beach Boardwalk
Most inspiring books you’ve read recently: The Go Giver, The Hate You Give and Dial Down the Drama
Best ‘ah-ha’ moment this year: Realizing that just because everyone else is doing a podcast doesn’t mean I have to … in fact, I don’t even LIKE podcasts. I’m not an auditory learner. I tune them out. So, I quit my podcast and told everyone to follow my blog. It was a real coming home moment for me.
Biggest ‘proud ofs’ in life: Building my community, writing a book and self-publishing and, of course, becoming a mother.
Current passion project: ReKindle … I’m preparing to launch another round of this program that my community LOVES that is all about rekindling your marriage AFTER children. And, frankly, my husband and I always need to do better this time of the year after a busy summer. Wish for the world: For everyone to place being KIND over being right.
Quote you live by: “Coffee is a lot more than just a drink; it’s something happening. Not as in hip, but like an event, a place to be, but not like a location, but like somewhere within yourself. It gives you time, but not actual hours or minutes, but a chance to be, like be yourself, and have a second cup” ― Gertrude Stein
You can read more about Shawn and Abundant Mama at www.abundantmama.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter

How to find calm as a busy parent DWYL BLOG FREEDOMSEEKER 4 800X300PX LR 2

Sometimes we need a shining light. Sometimes we are that light.

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Sometimes we need a shining light. Sometimes we are that light. IMG 3519 e1499517524821Sometimes we need a shining light. Sometimes we are that light. IMG 3518 e1499517542772

How are you doing? I woke up at 5am this morning, feeling compelled to write to you even though my body clock is all over the place, having recently travelled 26 hours to Boise, Idaho, for an event, and sleeping at very strange times each day.

As soon as I awoke I wanted to go outside and sit with my laptop in the dark listening to the birds, watching the world wake up, and write to you, so that is what I am doing. The reason for this is that yesterday I spent a truly wonderful day here at Melody Ross’s beautiful Brave Girl Symposium, first telling a story of freedom to 500+ women, then having a Q&A with my soul sister Kelly Rae Roberts answering questions about life, love and business, and then signing copies of Freedom Seeker for over three hours. It was a love fest.

I felt bad for the people queueing up for so long, but treasured the opportunity to speak to each and every woman who so generously shared their story with me – where they are in their life right now, what they are looking for, and what resonated in my talk about finding freedom in our lives, whatever is going on.

Even though I’m still fairly new to the world of book signings, I’ve realised that it is one of my favourite things to do. There’s something about sharing your story in words, that seems to give other people permission to do the same back. I watch the women from the corner of my eye as they are waiting. Some chat among themselves, some are laughing, some are deep in thought. Some seem to be preparing what they want to say, others clearly have no idea what they want to say, but are trusting something will come when they get to the front of the queue.

I never know what someone is going to say when they get to me. I often ask them a question, and see what tumbles out. The truth is, often I go to events and people have no idea who I am until I tell my story and it resonates with them on a soul level, and they feel compelled to come and chat. Those are some of my very favourite conversations.

Anyway, what I woke up wanting to say to you is this. In every conversation I had yesterday, in every question I answered, in every pair of eyes I looked into while I was talking from that stage, I saw you. I saw you in the stories and hearts of those women, because in so many ways we are all the same. We are just doing our best. We are showing up for life in the best way we can, and sometimes we need support in doing that, and sometimes we can be the one to offer support. Sometimes we need a shining light, sometimes we are that light. And we are stronger and happier together.

If you were sat with me in a room right now, I’d ask if I could read you this paragraph from Chapter 17 of Freedom Seeker, as a gift to you today:

“Life is wild and glorious and hard and beautiful. We Freedom Seekers must keep choosing freedom with every decision, every detail, every dollar, every day. Because it’s the experience of it all that adds 
up to a beautiful life. Go now and live it with all you’ve got. Fly free, my friend, fly free.”

Much love

Beth

PS A quick round up of news from over here:

Why you and a Cirque du Soleil clown might have more in common than you think…

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I have a very special story to share with you today. It’s about the tallest person I have ever met, who revealed an important life lesson to me. You might see yourself in this story…

Here’s to recognising the power of the mirror

BethXx

Why you and a Cirque du Soleil clown might have more in common than you think… DWYL BK KSAWARD 3 800X400PX LR

PS We’ve been nominated for Mind Body Spirit Blogger of the Year in the Kindred Spirit Magazine Awards! We LOVE this magazine, so this is a huge honour, and I am so grateful to the whole Do What You Love team, who works so hard to bring you fresh and inspiring content every week. If you appreciate our blog please take a moment to vote for us here (under award number 3). And Kindred Spirit are entering everyone who votes into a prize draw so you might even win a prize! Thank you so much!

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Please vote! We’ve been nominated MBS Blogger of the Year in the Kindred Spirit Awards!

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Please vote! We've been nominated MBS Blogger of the Year in the Kindred Spirit Awards! DWYL BK KSAWARD 4 800X400PX LR

We’ve been nominated for Mind Body Spirit Blogger of the Year in the Kindred Spirit Magazine Awards! We LOVE this magazine, so this is a huge honour, and I am so grateful to the whole Do What You Love team, who works so hard to bring you fresh and inspiring content every week.

If you appreciate our blog please take a moment to vote for us here (under award number 3). Thank you so much!

PS Kindred Spirit are entering everyone who votes into a prize draw so you might even win a prize!

Let me tell you a story…. [Freedom Seeker audiobook is here + on sale on Amazon today

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Let me tell you a story…. [Freedom Seeker audiobook is here + on sale on Amazon today FS AUDIOBOOK 800X400PX LR

Greetings from Boston Airport where I am waiting for a plane to take me on the next leg of my USA tour, this time to Portland, OR. I’ll be spending some time with my good friend Kelly Rae Roberts out there, and we’ll be doing a Facebook Live together this coming Thursday. We’ll be talking about juicy things like life, friendship and freedom, so stay tuned for that!

For now I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say that Freedom Seeker is now available as an audiobook via Amazon/Audible! (and it’s only £4.62 on Amazon UK / $7.64 on Amazon.com today HERE, so that’s over six hours of goodness for less than two coffees!)

I really loved recording the audiobook of Freedom Seeker a short while back. I thought about you as I was reading, imagining you sat across from me, cup of tea in hand, as I shared stories and life lessons and laughs and tears and precious moments. It’s all in there. So if you’re ready, get comfortable because I’d like to tell you a story…

If you are an audiobook kind of person, I’d love to know where you listen to Freedom Seeker – perhaps on a flight, in the car, out walking in the woods, while you are creating a painting… let me know!

Here’s to flying free!

Beth

Xx

What we can learn from birds to navigate life

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[Health warning: There’s an AMAZING story in this video which might just blow your mind…]

Throughout the ages birds have been seen as a supernatural connection between humans and the gods. We have stitched their feathers into our folklore, and attached spiritual significance to their behaviour and movements.

Birds were on the earth long before us, so primitive humans looked upon them as powerful. Many early tribes and clans took a bird, whose characteristics they admired, as their totem.

And personally, I had the experience of birds appearing as signs in all sorts of guises (actual flocks, feathers on my path, feather jewellery, avian tattoos etc) while I was writing Freedom Seeker. When Hay House sent me a mock up of the book jacket to photograph, I discovered it was wrapped around a book by Teal Swan. Birds everywhere…

And it makes sense, for a book about freedom. But it wasn’t until I actually started researching and writing that I discovered some fascinating parallels between the mechanics of bird flight, and the human psyche. I even consulted an Oxford University Professor on the subject, who said he’d never seen those parallels recognised before, so it was all pretty exciting. You can read about those discoveries in Freedom Seeker, but for now I wanted to share a few thoughts on what we can learn from birds to help us navigate life. In this video I share a mindblowing story of someone I met on my travels whilst writing. I think you will love hearing it…

PS Monday is the LAST DAY to get the bonuses worth over $300 when you pre-order Freedom Seeker. Get yours here: www.bethkempton.com/book

We’re having a party and you’re invited!

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We're having a party and you're invited! dwylhq1

As you may have noticed, I wrote a book, so it’s only right to have a big celebration when it launches very shortly! As a beloved member of my community I would like to invite you to the launch event. Below you will find details of the in-person main event in case you happen to be within visiting distance of Southampton, UK, and also of the virtual online party for everyone else! I really hope you will join me and celebrate. (Did I mention there will be lots of giveaways?)

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In Real Life launch party: ‘How to be a Freedom Seeker’
Wednesday April 5 2017 at Mettricks Guildhall, Southampton, UK, from 7.30pm

We’ll have live music and a whole lot of inspiration. I’ll be hosting, and signing books, and I’ll be joined by three inspiring Freedom Seekers from the book, sharing their stories in real life.

This is a FREE event but you’ll need a ticket. You can get your ticket here.

Please share with anyone who might like to come along and meet other Freedom Seekers, get inspired and have some great conversations!

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Online launch party – Tuesday April 4 2017 on the Do What You Love Facebook page from 8.44am PST / 1.44pm EST / 4.44pm GMT

Freedom Seeker comes out on April 4th, which is also our 4th wedding anniversary, so it seems only right to have the party kick off at 4.44pm GMT! I’ll be online from 4.30pm so we can do a countdown. Mark your calendar and come and join me!

If you haven’t pre-ordered the book make sure you do that now to get your bonuses – worth over $300! All the details are here, and you can start connecting with other Freedom Seekers right away. Don’t miss this!

Thank you so much for being part of this amazing journey of life!

BethXx

Are you a ‘kindrovert’ too?

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I am curious, are you an extrovert or an introvert? If you think you are neither, perhaps you are a ‘kindrovert’. I am.

I used to think I was an extrovert. I like people, and I loved performing on stage when I was young. Parties were fun and I’d happily talk to strangers. But then I got older and wasn’t so keen to be caught up in crowds. I had no desire to be the centre of attention, and I found large gatherings quite draining. As I paid more attention to my stress triggers, I realized I needed quiet time more and more. I clearly wasn’t an extrovert after all.

Then it became trendy to come out as an introvert, so I tried that label on for a while, but it didn’t fit either. I needed time and space away from the noise to recover, but my ideas would come to life in conversation.

So I looked for an alternative and I discovered that there is a middle way called an ‘ambivert’: a bit of extrovert, a bit of introvert, not really sure about either. From the moment I heard the word I didn’t want to be one. It sounded like some kind of cleaning product and felt like a manufactured option to describe the space on the spectrum between extrovert and introvert. It didn’t work for me.

I thought about when I am at my most energized and creative, fizzing with potential, and realized I come alive in small gatherings of kindred spirits: people who are both practical and spiritual, challenging and yielding, gentle and strong. People who are smart and funny, but not ‘in your face’. People who listen and share, but don’t try too hard. People who’d rather say nothing than talk about nothing, but come alive in real conversation. And I know I’m not alone.

So I invented a new label for myself: I’m a ‘kindrovert’, and I suspect you might be one too. Find out more about what it means to be a kindrovert, and what difference it makes when you know you are one, in this short video:

I’d love to know if you are a kindrovert too – let me know on social media using #kindrovert.