"Circle of Stones" Interview with Heather of Shivaya Naturals

by | May 24, 2010 | Interviews, Parenthood transitions, Transitions - General, Wedding/marriage transition | 6 comments

It was truly an honor to be interviewed by Heather of Shivaya Natural’s Circle of Stones series, in which she interviews women who she wants to introduce to her beautiful online community. Her questions were so thought-provoking that they inspired a layer of answers that I’ve never accessed before in an interview.

http://www.shivayanaturals.com/2010/05/circle-of-stones-interview-with-sheryl.html

The title and concept for these interviews is based on Judith Duerk’s book of the same name (which my soul sister, Carrie, introduced to me years ago.) It’s a book every woman should read:

http://www.amazon.com/Circle-Stones-Womans-Journey-Herself/dp/1880913631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274714411&sr=8-1

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6 Comments

  1. Hi Sheryl,

    I came here after reading your interview with Heather. Your words were the ones I needed to hear today. My son is about to start school and today was a hard day for me. I am so glad you helped me put words on my feelings.
    It’s amazing that I read the post right after talking about it on my blog. http://www.imenesaid.com/2010/05/welcome-to-a-new-world.html

    Thank you!!

    Reply
    • Imene – Welcome to my blog and I’m so glad you found your way here! I read our post and the synchronicity is amazing. What a transition you’re both traveling through. I’m so glad that you were able to put words to your feelings. The roadmap and context for transitions is invaluable. I’d like to know how the last couple of days have been. Keep me posted.

      Reply
  2. Hi Sheryl
    I too came here after reading your interview with Heather. I am in a difficult transition period as my children are growing from toddlers into little boys and girls (aged 3, 5and 7), but I am also homeschooling them, so the normal space for grieving is just not there. I am at a loss as to how to deal with this. Last night I hyperventilated from the stress of trying to balance my life right now. I am not sure how to grieve properly, nor where to turn at all, and I fluctuate between reasonable calm and extreme anger and frustration.
    Any suggestions would be great!
    Thanks

    Reply
  3. Rachel – Welcome, and I completely understand what you’re going through. Homeschooling presents a particular challenge of finding the space and time to grieve, feel, vent, etc. I imagine that your anger and frustration is a result of the lack of self-time. Is it possible to find even five minutes in the day when you can energetically disconnect from your kids and turn inward? I know five minutes doesn’t sound like much, but sometimes it’s about intentionally turning your attention away from your kids and towards yourself. I blogged about this a couple of weeks ago in one of my Friday posts.

    Also, do you journal? If you can journal during those five minutes, it would go a long way. Do you have any time at the end of the day after the kids are asleep? Before I had my baby that was often my time to decompress and allow whatever feelings I had held at bay during the day to surface and release. I hope that’s helpful and keep me posted.

    Sheryl

    Reply
  4. Hi Sheryl
    I have built in exercise time, but they are for training for my events and are generally moderate to high load – so hard and fast 5 times a week. I have a big event in 4 months, so its only going to get harder. I think along with the lack of space for “me” time, I am trying to run our investment properties, breastfeed, do my training and deal with the body tiredness that goes with that, having loads of interupted sleep and trying to get declutter our house. Lots going on, but I would feel guilty actually sitting down and journalling. That said, I do waste time at night trawling through blogs and ravelry because I need to “unwind”. Would you recommend the book circle of stones for someone like me who isnt a “journally/wooh-wooh type”? 😉
    I just feel so angry all the time!
    I did like your post on the 5 minute time out for yourself and I will definitely be trying it.
    Thanks so much
    Rachel

    Reply
  5. Rachel – Believe me, I completely get it. The breastfeeding alone is enough to create burnout, and then add interrupted sleep and homeschooling and it’s enough to put anyone over the edge. But the anger is probably an indication that you’re not attending to a critical need of turning inward and allowing yourself to feel your feelings. Exercise is great but it doesn’t touch the same emotional place. Let me know how the journaling goes.

    You know, it’s been a long time since I read Circle of Stones but I don’t remember it being “out there” at all. Quite the opposite, I think it’s quite a grounded book. If you’re resonating with my blog and Heather’s blog, I’m pretty sure you’ll like the book.

    I also suggest you read through my other Friday posts about disconnecting from the internet and computer for a 24 hour period. The internet can be relaxing, fun, inspiring, educational, etc, but it can also suck your time away like nothing else. What about disconnecting from it for a few evenings a week?

    Also, you mentioned feeling guilty about journalling. I’m curious about that. Why the guilt? It’s so essential that you create pockets in the day when you can replenish. It’s actually very positive for your kids to see you attending to yourself. In doing so, you’re role-modeling self-care which is one of the greatest gifts you could give them.

    Speaking of self-care, off to bed…

    Sheryl

    Reply

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