Tuesday, May 29, 2012

An Interview With Jodi Chapman of Soul Speak

Jodi Chapman
A few weeks ago we were honored to be featured on Jodi Chapman's Soul Speak. Jodi is developing quite a name for herself and for good reason. She does a wonderful job writing about something that matters so much: listening to your inner wisdom and pushing through your fears. And she knows how to build a vibrant community of like-minded souls.

Here's the complete post:


And here's the question and answer part with us both - hope you enjoy:

I think it’s wonderful that two best friends wrote such a beautiful book together! Can you share a bit about your friendship?

We grew up five miles apart from each other and went to the same pediatrician, but didn’t meet until well into adulthood. When we did, we quickly became friends and discovered that we shared a passion for travel. That discovery led to the creation of At Your Leisure, a small company (just the two of us) that specialized in planning honeymoons and personalized European itineraries for clients.

After a number of years, life moved us in new directions. We closed the travel business but remained best friends. Now, almost twenty years later, we find ourselves in a new partnership together, that of writing books. As we continue to navigate our lives – with two homes in Connecticut, two marriages and four kids in different phases of life between us – we have embarked on a journey to live a spiritually-based life and to share what we’ve learned with others.

What inspired you to write this book together?

We really wanted to share what we had learned and experienced with other women. We wanted to share the tools that have created such profound shifts in our own lives. It’s our hope that this book will guide others to step into their own power and connect to the Divine.

Can you tell us about your spiritual journey – how you began, your beliefs, and your individual practices?

It really began with Victoria. Six years ago, she began reading books on spirituality and never stopped! Inspired by what she read, she trained in various spiritual traditions and energy healing modalities. During this period of time, she began sharing what she was learning with Lois. Somewhat apprehensive at first, Lois soon realized that spirituality had nothing to do with religion. As she began to open her heart, and as she began studying and practicing herself, her life began to transform. Both of us are deeply committed to our spiritual practice and use all of the tools we write about.

Which of the practices listed in the book are your favorites?

Beginning each day at our personal altar in prayer and meditation – and ending the day writing in our gratitude journals.

How do you define the soul?

The soul is your true essence and spirit that was created long before you arrived here in physical form and will continue to live on long after you leave this physical world. It is eternal.

What does your soul want you to know?

The soul wants each of us to know that in every moment we are one with the Divine. That it is the place from which we receive our true guidance. That we must live from that place.

Because May is our Month of Meditation here on Soul Speak, could each of you please share your meditation practices with us?

We have found that keeping it short and simple works well for us. The most important thing is to make sure that you quiet your mind every day and be open to receiving the guidance the Universe is always sending you. Breath work is an essential part of any meditative practice.

Lois writes:

I meditate for ten minutes in the morning at my personal altar in the bedroom. I sit before it, light a candle and ask God to join me. When I feel God’s presence, I begin to meditate.

Victoria writes:

I prefer to meditate two or three times a day for five minutes at a time. My favorite is a walking mediation. When I walk in solitude, I can truly quiet my mind and feel Divine presence. Guided meditations on CD have also been a favorite, especially when I was first starting out.

I love how you alternate sharing your personal stories in each chapter. Was it difficult to share such deep, personal parts of yourselves?

This really was the hardest part of writing the book. Our personal tales may be rather short and to the point, but they reveal very intimate parts of some of the places we’ve been in our lives. We realized rather early on that, in order to help others who might be struggling, we really had to dig deep and give of ourselves. This meant going into our shadows and sharing them with the world.

You write about the difference between intentions and goals: intentions come from the heart and goals come from the mind. I love that! Do you set daily intentions or do you set them when you feel called to do so?

The most important thing to remember about intentions is that they come from the heart and reflect who you are, not what you do. We set our main intentions for the year on New Year’s Day and refer to them often. In addition, we set intentions when we feel inspired to do so. It may be on a particular day at the start of a new project. It’s all about following your own heart. There really is no right or wrong way to do this.

Victoria mentioned that Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is a great way to release limiting beliefs and stale emotions. For those of us who are just learning about this, where would you suggest we go to learn more about it? How has it helped you in your own life?

YouTube is a great resource. It has lots of “tapping” videos that are very instructional and will help you get started. You can learn lots about the process from Carol Look, an EFT master. Visit her webpage and subscribe to her newsletter here. Nick Ortner is the producer of “The Tapping Solution,” a documentary that came out a few years ago. Order the movie online or take a look at his great website here. As the number of EFT practitioners is growing rapidly, you’re sure to find one in your area.

Victoria writes:

EFT has helped me to release blocks from past issues that I didn’t realize where impacting me at the time. It’s helped me to work these issues through and release them. It’s really one of the main tools that guided me and allowed me to write our book.

What do you hope that everyone will take away after reading this book and trying the exercises in each chapter?

Learning how to create a spiritual practice and incorporate it into your life need not be complicated. But there’s such an abundance of wonderful material available on spirituality that figuring out what to do or where to begin can feel rather overwhelming. Our intention in writing this book was to condense and share, from all that we’ve learned, what’s really resonated and worked well for us. We know that every journey begins with that first step. Our hope is that this book provides what’s needed for other women to take that step on a long, fulfilling journey to creating a life of peace, purpose and abundance.

I see that this book is the first in a series that you are writing. What’s next?

We’re presently working on a couple of projects. The first is a short workbook designed to help others discover and live their true life purpose. In addition, we’re outlining the second book in the series which will be about taking readers deeper into their spiritual journey.

Anything else you would like to share?

We’re very grateful to all those reading this post.

Thank you, Jodi, for giving us this wonderful opportunity to share our message with others!

4 comments:

  1. Hi Lois,

    Thank you so much for being the first one to comment on my new blog. What a lovely comment it was! I like e.e cummings also, but had never read that poem before and it is absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with me.

    I enjoyed reading the interview that you did with Jodi and I think it's great that two best friends wrote a book together! It definitely sounds like a book I would want to read and I've put it on my "to read" list.

    Blessings,
    Heather

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    1. Hi Heather - it made me so happy to be the first! I think you have a lot to share and I look forward to reading more. Glad you liked the poem as well. I find e.e. cummings poems very moving.

      Yes, this journey with a book and a blog with my best friend has been something special.

      Will talk to you soon,
      Lois

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  2. Hi Lois,

    I just purchased the kindle version of your book today and can't wait to read it!!

    Blessings,
    Heather

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    1. Hi Heather. You have put a smile on my face! Both Victoria and I hope that you enjoy it. Thanks for the purchase.

      Blessings,
      Lois

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