Conscious Transitions » Lessons in Letting Go

I'm a devoted wife, a grateful mother, a little sister to three big brothers, a lucky daughter, and a soulmate to my soul-sister friends. I pray at the temple of nature and open in the presence of poetry. I'm inspired by the challenges and gifts of being in a human body, and I feel most alive when I'm connected to gratitude, to the present moment and, mostly, to love.

I’m deeply passionate about every aspect of transitions – from teething to adolescence, becoming a wife or husband, becoming a parent, moving, changing careers, etc. I’m endlessly fascinated by the cycles of death-liminal-rebirth that transitions follow, from the changing of the seasons to the arc of our lives.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by the breaking and renewal points in a human life, the cycles of nature, even the beginning and end of a new day. Through my early research I learned that, while indigenous and traditional cultures have elaborate rituals designed to guide their members through every life change, our culture leaves its members alone and bereft of the simple yet time-honored information that can make the difference between stumbling through transitions blindly and emerging on the other side as a more authentic, compassionate, and wiser person.

Through Conscious Weddings and Conscious Motherhood I’ve attempted to fill the gap around two of the most significant transitions in a woman’s life; with this site I hope to fill the gap around transitions in general, from the more obvious life transitions like moving, changing jobs, ending a marriage, and midlife to the more subtle changes like passing through the seasons and holidays, showing how transformational each of these can be when we approach them with courage and consciousness.

Transitions are one of the primary lenses through which I view and understand the world. Personally and professionally, the context and language of transitions help me make sense of life. Whether it’s my sons’ teething or my clients feeling anxious during their engagement, when I remember to contextualize the event through the archetypal pattern of letting go-liminal-rebirth, the anxiety and challenges are eased and I guide us into a more harmonious alignment with the transition at hand. This is what it means to walk through a transition with grace; we don’t fight it or resist it, but allow for the necessary emotions to move through us until we arrive at the other side stronger and wiser than before.

If you’re unfamiliar with my work, please take a few moments to read the tab entitled, “An Overview of Transitions.” It will give you a basic context for every transition you’re going through as well as a vocabulary for understanding my posts.

I look forward to connecting with you here! And if you’re enduring a specific transition that you’d like me to address, please let me know through the contact page.

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Sheryl Paul, M.A., pioneered the field of bridal counseling in 1998. She has since counseled thousands of people worldwide through her private practice, her bestselling books, “The Conscious Bride” and “The Conscious Bride’s Wedding Planner,” and her websites. She’s regarded as the international expert on the wedding transition and has appeared several times on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, as well as on “Good Morning America” and other top television, radio, and newspapers around the globe. Phone and Skype sessions available internationally.