I was Shocked To Discover This...

(La version française est disponible ci-bas)

When I was in the music business many years ago, I desperately wanted to produce and distribute an album. I sent my demos to record companies and did a lot of waiting and hoping. A couple big music producers made some promises (over dinner and wine) that never materialized. I wasn't willing to sell my soul (or other assets) to the music industry.

In 2003, I lucked out by winning first place at the Tremplin International de la Chanson Francophone in Paris (see picture above). The following year, I was touring 9 countries with my solo piano show even though I still didn't have an official, professionally produced music album! I got really tired of waiting, so I stopped telling myself that the task was unsurmountable and I rolled up my sleeves.

First, I incorporated my own company that became a small record label. This gave me access to grants, which I was lucky to receive from Musicaction. Then, I started to build a team of important collaborators: musicians, photographers, graphic artists, publicists, radio trackers and more. It was so satisfying to finally see things moving forward! 

Once the album was recorded, I had a strong urge to write a book, and I was confident I would have enough time to write it during the post-production phase of the CD. I wanted the album and the book to be released together, in one package. So, my small company also became a publishing house. I began to expand my team of collaborators with editors, printers, book distributors...etc. It was so exciting! The book industry was completely new to me. There was so much to learn and do.

A little while after I finished writing the first version of my book, I had a sudden realization. I was so close to the finish line, at last! After all those years of waiting, I had now achieved a major goal: an album and a book! Surely, this accomplishment would exterminate those nagging feelings of restlessness and unworthiness, right? 

What I realized was that for most of my life, I was working under the unconscious assumption that something I did or accomplished, could eliminate my uncomfortable feelings that kept resurfacing every now and then. Like many, I truly believed that "worldly success" was the key to feeling more peaceful and content. I became acutely aware of this thought pattern that had been motivating me for so long: "once I release this book and CD, I will be happier." I was truly shocked to discover how erroneous this belief was! 

With the gift of this new insight, I had to rewrite the entire book! I hadn't learned my lesson yet, and now I know that living and sharing the following message was the true purpose of my first book: "Enjoy the journey, it's much more important than the final destination you are trying to reach. Don't assume that something in the future will make you feel better than the way you feel right now. Find the joy of being in the moment, and this will bring true power to whatever it is you are doing."

Now that I am working on my second book (Conscious Kids), you can bet that I am applying what I learned! What are you working on right now? Are you able to find joy in the moment? What particular circumstances trigger uncomfortable feelings? Being aware of these gives you the power to make changes.

Thanks for reading!

Lise Villeneuve 

You can subscribe to my blog here: https://lisevilleneuve.blogspot.com/ (top of page on desktop version)

Quand j'étais dans le secteur de la musique il y a plusieurs années, je voulais désespérément produire et distribuer un album. J'ai envoyé mes démos à des maisons de disques et j'ai beaucoup attendu et espéré. Quelques grands producteurs de disques ont fait des promesses qui ne se sont jamais concrétisées. Je n'étais pas intéressée à vendre mon âme (ou d'autres actifs) à l'industrie de la musique.

En 2003, j'ai eu beaucoup de chance. J'ai remporté la première place au Tremplin International de la Chanson Francophone à Paris (voir photo ci-dessus). L'année suivante, je faisais une tournée dans 9 pays avec mon spectacle de piano solo, même si je n'avais toujours pas d'album de musique officiel. J'étais vraiment fatiguée d'attendre, alors j'ai arrêté de me dire que la tâche était insurmontable et j'ai retroussé mes manches.

Tout d'abord, j'ai créé ma propre compagnie qui est devenue une petite maison de disques. Cela m'a donné accès à des subventions, que j'ai eu la chance de recevoir de Musicaction. Ensuite, j'ai commencé à rassembler une équipe de collaborateurs importants: musiciens, photographes, graphistes, publicistes, trackers radio et plus. C'était tellement satisfaisant de voir enfin les choses avancer!

Une fois l'album enregistré, j'avais une forte envie d'écrire un livre, et j'étais convaincue que j'aurais assez de temps pour l'écrire pendant la phase de post-production du disque. Je voulais que l'album et le livre soient publiés ensemble, dans un seul paquet. Ainsi, ma petite entreprise est également devenue une maison d'édition. J'ai commencé à élargir mon équipe de collaborateurs avec des éditeurs, des imprimeurs, des distributeurs de livres, etc. C'était tellement stimulant! L'industrie du livre était complètement nouvelle pour moi. Il y avait tant à apprendre et à faire.

Peu de temps après avoir fini d'écrire la première version de mon livre, j'ai eu une prise de conscience soudaine. J'étais si proche de la ligne d'arrivée, enfin! Après toutes ces années d'attente, j'avais maintenant atteint un objectif majeur: un album et un livre! Certes, cet accomplissement exterminerait mes sentiments persistants d'agitation et d'indignité, n'est-ce pas?

Ce que j'ai réalisé, c'est que pendant presque toute ma vie, j'opérais sous la croyance inconsciente que des accomplissements quelconques pouvaient éliminer les sentiments inconfortables qui ne cessaient de refaire surface en moi. Comme beaucoup, je croyais vraiment que le succès matériel était la clé pour se sentir plus paisible et satisfait. J'ai pris pleinement conscience de ce schéma de pensée qui me motivait depuis si longtemps: « une fois que je terminerai ce livre et ce disque, je serai plus heureuse ! » C'était choquant d'avoir la réalisation que ma croyance était totalement erronée.

Avec la clarté de cette nouvelle vision, j'ai dû réécrire tout le livre! Je n'avais pas encore appris ma leçon, et je sais maintenant que de vivre et de partager le message suivant était le véritable objectif de mon premier livre: "Profitez du voyage, c'est beaucoup plus important que la destination finale que vous essayez d'atteindre. Ne prenez pas pour acquis que quelque chose dans le futur vous permettra de vous sentir mieux que ce que vous ressentez maintenant. Trouvez la joie d'être dans l'instant présent, et cela apportera un véritable pouvoir à tout ce que vous faites."

Maintenant que je travaille sur mon deuxième livre (Conscious Kids / Enfants Lucides), vous pouvez parier que j'applique ce que j'ai appris! Sur quoi travaillez-vous actuellement? Êtes-vous capable de trouver de la joie dans l'instant présent? Quelles circonstances particulières déclenchent des sentiments inconfortables? Prendre conscience de cela vous donne le pouvoir d'apporter des changements.

Merci d'avoir pris le temps de lire!

Lise Villeneuve

Vous pouvez vous abonner à mon blogue ici: https://lisevilleneuve.blogspot.com/ (en haut de page sur la version desktop)

I Wanted to Shout at Eckhart Tolle...

 Waking Up: Personal Insights From my Journey

I Wanted to Shout at Eckhart Tolle...

How are you? I recently took a break from blogging and social media because quite frankly, I felt a little drained. Facebook especially can suck the life out of me in no time. So I focused on doing things that recharged my energy, such as spending more time in nature, reading inspirational books, and I spent a lot of quality time with those guys in the picture: my family. Now I feel great, and I have some news I'd like to share with you!

This Fall, I took an online course with Eckhart Tolle. During the course, someone from Greece asked him "how can I help kids to become more conscious?" In short, he replied that the best way to teach kids about mindfulness and emotional literacy is through short stories and little activities. He went on to say that if anyone in our group had some talent for writing, this would be a wonderful project to develop for children. You can image my reaction! I wanted to shout at my computer screen to tell Eckhart "I've created that exact project already!", but unfortunately, he couldn't hear me. Bummer.

Nevertheless, hearing him say that - coupled with my frustration at not being able to share Conscious Kids with families in person anymore (Covid) - made me want to create a more tangible version of this collection of stories and activities. Currently, Conscious Kids is only available online as a downloadable file, which is fine, but I know it could be packaged in a way that is absolutely delicious for families. So, shortly after Eckhart's "pep talk", I decided to send my Conscious Kids book proposal to one American Publisher I particularly respect. Two weeks after I sent it, the Publisher got in touch with me and said that my proposal was being passed on to be reviewed by their Children's Books Editor! I was thrilled and am so eager to hear back from them.

Experts in the book industry say that authors have a 99.9% chance of being rejected by Publishers, but regardless of what happens with this particular Publisher, I am committed to moving forward with a bold new version of Conscious Kids, even if that means self-publication. I can already picture its pages filled with vivid and colourful illustrations. I think kids will really love that!

Conscious Kids would never have been possible without all the support and feedback I have received over the years from you, my community. Thank you for that. I look forward to the journey ahead, and if you'd like to share your ideas, suggestions or comments about bringing this new version of Conscious Kids to life, please do get in touch with me, I'd love to hear from you. In fact, over the next few months, I will be actively asking you for feedback about what your best version of Conscious Kids would look like. Together, I know that we will be able to make this happen for our children.

Thanks for your presence,

Lise Villeneuve

Creator of Conscious Kids

Can You Hear The Whispers of Your Heart?

It had been another deeply fulfilling, yet very tiring day. I was homeschooling my two children full-time back then - all in French. What a precious and joyful time that was for our family! I was also working with clients part-time on Saturdays, doing counseling, health coaching and giving various health and wellness talks. It was the Fall of 2015 and I was putting my sweet little boy to bed. The evenings were a time for rest and relaxation, and I was looking forward to doing nothing.

Suddenly, a thought zapped down into my awareness like a bolt of lightning. It was totally unexpected. The thought had an immediate effect on my body - which was instantly energized to the max. Somehow, I could not doubt or question this information that spontaneously downloaded into my brain at that moment. I just felt extremely motivated and inspired to get to work... pronto, despite my deeply fulfilling, yet very tiring day!

It wasn't the first time I experienced these sudden flashes of non-negotiable inspiration. I knew that I could trust that feeling, that rush of "yes, this feels so right, show me what to do next!" During my singing and songwriting years, this happened frequently. The feeling would come, then I would open my heart and let it guide me into birthing a song that seemed to want to be born at that time. So what exactly was the thought that struck me, back in 2015?

It was something like this, although it was not experienced verbally: "You are ready to write Conscious Kids, a mindfulness program for children. Start now. There will be 26 lessons. Follow the guidance." I know it sounds a little nuts, but I did it anyway. It took a while, but I wrote all 26 lessons. Every time I was writing a mindfulness story, I could tune in to the way I was feeling to assess if I was following the inspiration / guidance or not. If it felt easy and light, I knew I was open enough to receive the information that wanted to flow in. I had never written anything like this Program before. It was truly an amazing and humbling process.

So much has happened since 2015! The guidance has never left me. I am so grateful for that, because it has brought so many miraculous gifts into my life. I know what it feels like to try to push and make things happen, as opposed to just allowing things to unfold organically. These two ways of acting in the world feel very different. The ego loves to push and its motivation is generally fear, greed or power. The heart acts out of love, out of inspiration and sincerity. It's easy to know when we're following our heart because whatever we're doing has an energy that feels joyful, peaceful, loving and gentle. Anything we do that is inspired by the heart has greater power. Others will feel it, as it has a higher vibration than any ego-driven initiative.

The spiritual heart guided me to make the Conscious Kids Program available online, then it encouraged me to teach it to kids and their families in person, here in Edmonton. I had to work through a lot of personal fears and anxieties in order to do this, but I'm so glad I did. I am now teaching exactly what I needed to learn and practice the most. The heart certainly knows what it's doing! Back in 2015, I never would have imagined that in a few years I'd be training Instructors to teach the Conscious Kids curriculum, or that I'd be running a Mindfulness & Emotional literacy class for adults, but here I am, in complete AWE and gratitude.

Trust the guidance of your heart. It truly knows best what will bring you lasting peace and joy. Follow your feelings of inspiration, creativity and lovingness.

Kind regards,

Lise Villeneuve
www.lisevilleneuve.com

Two Quotes Every Parent / Teacher Should Read

"We all carry wounds in us that we received as children, and taking the path of healing these wounds makes it much easier for us to relate to and understand the children in our life. Whatever we haven't transformed, we're likely to pass on to our children and to our students. Our suffering will become their suffering. This is why practicing mindfulness in our daily lives is so important. It is not just to avoid burnout; mindfulness allows us to transform in the depths of our consciousness. If you are not at peace, how can you impart peace to your children and students?"

-Thich Nhat Hanh, Planting Seeds, Practicing Mindfulness with Children

"Children who are raised by parents who are conscious, and therefore both at peace with themselves and connected to their inner joy, discover the abundance of the universe and learn how to tap into this ever-flowing source. Viewing life as their partner, such children respond to life's challenges with curiosity, excitement, and a sense of reverent engagement. Brought up to be inwardly peaceful and to know their inherent joy, they in turn teach their children to live in a state of joyful abundance."

-Shefali Tsabary, The Conscious Parent

These two quotes speak volumes! I just had to share them here because I find them so incredibly important and inspiring. What do you think?

There is one more thing I'd like to share. The Himalayan Meditation Centre in Edmonton will be offering a 10-week mindfulness class for kids aged 5-13 starting next January (2019). One or more parents are invited to attend and participate. The class will be held on Saturdays from 1-2 pm. The Conscious Kids curriculum will be used, which means that all the concepts are taught through creative short stories and fun, engaging activities for families. The course is designed to help kids develop their emotional intelligence, lower their stress, boost their confidence & improve their mood and focus. You may have guessed that I will be teaching this class, along with my kind and very gifted colleague who came here all the way from Tibet, Dr. Kunga. Openings are very limited and are based on a first come, first serve policy. For more information and to sign up, please visit conscious-kids.ca. 

Warm regards,

Lise Villeneuve

www.lisevilleneuve.com

My Darkest Time Revealed in a Magazine!

I never would have thought in a million years that one day, I'd be sharing what turned out to be the darkest period in my life with the world - in a magazine recently published in India! Life is funny that way, and I don't regret a second of it!

Click on the link below to read the article. Special thanks to Suzy Singh.

https://www.lifepositive.com/the-wounded-healer/

Love,

Lise Villeneuve

Creator of Conscious Kids and Conscious Health

Free printable mindfulness cards

I Know Where You Can Get Free Mindfulness Cards...

So I have this thing for oracle cards. Emma was given angel cards for her birthday last year, and I have to admit that I sort of, kind of... stole them. Well, she knows where they are, but I seem to use them a lot more than her. Why do I like oracle cards so much?

I have no doubt that the divine, the spiritual realm, or whatever you want to call it, is constantly communicating with us. Sometimes we are open enough to get the message and at other times, a knock on the head with a hammer is still too subtle for us. When I'm in a spiritually receptive mood -and especially if I have a particular question or seek guidance, I'll pick up the angel card deck. Every single time I do this, the cards help me find clarity. These cards are a great tool to get in alignment with our higher Self.Very often, I laugh my head off because the message I get is so obviously clear!

 For example, about three days ago, I got this spontaneous idea. I wasn't anywhere near the angel card deck at that time. My idea was actually to make my own oracle cards for Conscious Kids (the mindfulness course I wrote this year). I thought to myself "hum, I wonder if this is a good idea? Let me check with the angel cards." Then I thought "It would be really funny if the one card in the deck that says 'Brilliant Idea!' popped up. Well you can guess the rest. I was shuffling the cards and one of them jumped right out of my hands. Yup, it was 'Brilliant Idea!' I laughed, then I realised I had no excuses to put off this divinely inspired project.

Some of you may think it was just coincidence, but for me, the sure sign that something is divinely inspired is that it takes form almost effortlessly. Here I am, three days later, and my 56 mindfulness cards are done, printed and fully available for free download on my website! Badaboom!

So there, if you've never tried oracle cards, you can try these mindfulness ones for free. They are good for kids and grown-ups too. Younger kids can play the game "memory" with the cards -matching the pairs of identical mandalas. By the way, Emma (who turned 12 just yesterday!) drew every single mandala on those cards.

Are you ready for a little divine guidance? Let's see what's in your cards...

All the best,

Lise Villeneuve
www.lisevilleneuve.com

My Obsession Finally Revealed!

Before we moved to Edmonton -almost four years ago- we lived in a small apartment in Montreal and I had never gardened in my life. I was a city girl and I knew absolutely nothing about gardening. I didn't know what I was missing.

Now that I've been gardening for almost 4 years, I can't imagine a life without it! I find gardening to be the most grounding (pardon the pun), calming, nurturing and creative activity! I love growing our own food, it tastes SO much better than what you find at the store. And the best part is that you don't even need that much space to grow plants -just a few pots can do the trick. Any other gardening enthusiasts out there? I thought I'd share a little bit about our gardening adventures this summer through some pictures.

Not only did we have our "regular garden" in the yard this year, but the kids each designed and planted their own gardens on the outside of our fence. I was amazed at their enthusiasm right from the start. They didn't mind digging out the grass even though it was a pretty big job.

Here is the vegetable garden inside the yard in May:

Vegetable garden in August:

Here are the kids' gardens outside of the yard (May and August):

I was surprised by how much the people in our neighbourhood loved the kids' gardens (that are in full view). Some mystery donor left us 4 lovely tomato plants. Two ladies came by with their chairs and started sketching the sunflowers. We called the police. Just kidding. Everyone who walks by comments on how well everything is growing. I love how the morning glories made a wall of leaves and gorgeous flowers all around the garden!

Somehow, the corn seeds I saw at the Dollar Store used their mind control powers to convince me to plant a corn maze on the outside of our fence. It's now getting tall enough for us to hide in it. Soon we'll be able to jump out and scare the heck out of unsuspecting neighbours walking by. I can also go there and curl up in a ball whenever I need a break from the kids -or not.

The weather has been absolutely perfect for the plants this summer -very hot, with a lot of rain. 

Here's Emma in her own personal jungle.

Needless to say, we have a LOT of food this year and just recently I've given myself a crash course on canning, freezing and drying the harvest. Yup, we bought a deep freeze and a water-boiling canner so were are SET for the apocalypse!

 Don't ask why Precious the cat is out there is her pj's.

I had a lot of fun painting these cement blocks one day, when it was about 400 degrees. There's Mitsy who jumped into the picture. She's a kitten we found back in April -the absolute sweetest kitten in the world! Precious (pj cat) hates her, she's SO jealous.

And here is the perfect ending to this gardening love story: delicious homemade goodies (hopefully!) that will last all the way through the winter months. I'm crossing my fingers we don't die from botulism.

We had to make some room for the jars so we pulled up this shelf from the basement. We may need a bigger house once the 15 tomato plants and gazillions of ground cherries ripen! I see a lot of salsa and jam in our future.

So there you have it. That's what I've been up to lately. Now for the philosophical part. You ready? It's deep, oh-so deep. I realised that I went from being a city girl to becoming a city farmer. Yup, it may not sound glamorous, but I'm a conscious farmer and I love it! I'm quite obsessed by gardening, actually. I admit it.

Planting seeds, tending to the garden, harvesting and canning are all wonderful opportunities to be fully in the moment and gently aware of all the mental chatter that may be going on inside. I look forward to practising mindful eating. Thanks for reading! What are some of your favourite grounding / calming activities?

Lise Villeneuve

Creator of Conscious Kids -an online mindfulness course for families

www.lisevilleneuve.com

Are You As Spiritual As You Really Think?

Are You As Spiritual As You Really Think?

I’d like to ask you an important question. Let’s see if you’ll pick answer A or B. Ready? Here it is: Who are you?

A)    I’m a physical being having a temporary experience in a physical world. 

Once my body dies, I stop existing.

B)    I’m a spiritual being having a temporary experience in a human body. I am eternal.

If you picked A, you derive your sense of identity from your body, your mind and your emotions. You see everything and everyone as separate from yourself. You are mainly driven by your mind and you feel the need to constantly look out for yourself and your kin to ensure your survival. You see the world as a competitive place where there is no room for miracles, or divine guidance.

If you picked B, you fully trust in a divine plan. You don’t see yourself as a separate, limited body and mind, but as an unlimited, powerful spiritual being that’s connected to all of creation. You are driven by your heart and you see life as an opportunity for your soul to experience joy, peace, healing and unconditional love. You honour the present moment and are able to surrender to what is.

So which one did you pick? A or B?

You may not consciously think “Who am I?” on a daily basis, but the truth is, the way you answered this question orients your entire life. An “A-type” will experience the world in a radically different way than a “B-type”. For example, if I ask you What is your purpose in life? What is real happiness? and What causes suffering? your answers will be completely different depending on who you believe yourself to be. Which type do you think will experience the most fulfilling life?

It doesn’t even really matter who’s right in the end, A or B, because we know that our thoughts and beliefs shape our reality. But before you pat yourself on the back for being a “B-type”, it’s important to recognize that the vast majority of humans today still adopt the behaviours of A’s: me versus you, ego versus heart, fear versus love and trust, separation versus unity, lack versus abundance, control versus surrender, past/future versus present.  Even individuals who see themselves as spiritual beings in a physical world fall back into the traps of the ego daily.

Why? Because our conditioning is so very strong, and we live in an ego-driven, unconscious world. Individuality and competitiveness are rewarded and the idea that who we are is our limited, physical vessel is constantly reinforced. Success is measured by wealth, power, status and influence, often at the cost of true happiness. The overwhelming influence of this physical, material world constantly distracts us from our spiritual essence. It seduces us into believing that we have something to gain from adopting the “A-type” behaviours of the majority. Unless we make a conscious effort to constantly stay awake and present, we will automatically fall back into the default sleepwalking ego-mode.

Spiritual awareness is like a muscle we have to train on a daily basis. There is no other way around it. It may sound like a chore, but once you start experiencing the benefits of a heart-centered, more conscious life, you will wonder why you didn’t start your training earlier!

If you’d like some tools and resources to help you with your spiritual awareness training, I encourage you to check out Conscious Health –for adults and Conscious Kids –for young families. These two programs are currently available at no charge (for a limited time only).

Wishing you all the best,

Lise Villeneuve

www.lisevilleneuve.com

www.conscious-kids.ca

A Story About True Happiness...

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Make sure you take some time to relax and recharge.

So...I decided to do an audio recording of one of the stories from Conscious Kids (an online mindfulness course for kids I've written). Just click on the video above to have a listen!

The deadline to sign up for the next Conscious Kids class is February 1st, 2016. You can register here: http://www.lisevilleneuve.com/#!consciouskids/ckgl

Don't be shy to tell your friends!

All the best,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com
www.conscious-kids.ca

Do You Get Daily Drama From Your Kids?

Lately, our house has been a Conscious Kids factory! We've been so busy preparing our free online mindfulness course for kids that starts October 5th, 2015. Emma has been doing the illustrations for each story I write -that gets reviewed by my ex-journalist husband Rob. Emma (who has loved to draw since she was a baby) illustrates the pictures inside mandalas that she also creates from scratch. All the children who are signed up for the course will be able to colour these, so that's pretty exciting for an 11 year old!

We have families signed up from all over, from Australia, to the UK, the US, across Canada, Bulgaria and more. The world is ready for mindfulness on a big scale, I have been feeling this for some time now. I feel extremely motivated and grateful to be able to share what I have learned about consciousness / mindfulness over the past few decades with others. I know how these essential skills can better the lives of children and their families, I see it with my own children. As they grow older, Emma and Theo increasingly need a roadmap to help them navigate the unpredictable waters of their emotions, thoughts and perceptions. Writing this course has given me the opportunity to really think about the best order in which to teach the basic skills to kids. The funny thing is, the majority of adults would also benefit from learning these! For example, here are some of the questions that are answered in the course:

-What creates your emotions?
-How can you tell if your thinking has been predominantly negative or positive?
-What can you do when you feel intense, overwhelming emotions?
-What are your emotions telling you?
-When you're stuck in a negative mood, what can you do about it?

Theo, Emma (and our cat Precious) participate in brief videos we make that explain what each weekly lesson will be about. I'm already pleasantly surprised to see how simply participating in the making of these videos has helped Theo and Emma deal with bursts of emotions and moodiness! It's one thing to teach them about emotional self-regulation with words, but it's an entirely different thing to teach them with real-life examples.

When Theo and Emma act out a scene for the videos, then watch themselves back and are asked "what would be a better way of dealing with this situation?" they really get it. When a daily drama outbreak happens in our home, as it inevitably does, I simply remind the kids of what they did in the videos, and they instantly calm down and remember what they can do to make themselves feel better! I honestly didn't foresee how these little videos we are making are probably going to teach Emma and Theo more about mindfulness than the weekly stories from the course! I read each story I've written to the kids and I carefully notice if they are looking bored, not paying attention, or loving every bit of it. They are my quality control process! So far so good!

Anyway, I won't be blogging quite as much for the next little while, there's just too much to do with Conscious Kids. You can still register for the course for FREE up until October 1st, 2015. We'll see you in virtual class! Thanks for sharing, the more the merrier!


Warmly,

Lise
www.lisevilleneuve.com