About Janet

I'm not an expert on joyful living. I'm more of an expert on working hard and "doing the right thing." I've accomplished just about everything I wanted in my life. And a few years ago I realized that I wasn't happy. Everything on the surface was great - I have a husband, a teenage son, a dog and a cat who mean the world to me, a home in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area and a fulfilling career with wonderful clients. I've been a Marriage, Family Therapist all my adult life, knowing at an early age that all I wanted to do was to uplift people. I practice yoga and hike and entertain a community of friends and family who are very important to me. So what's not to like? I discovered that I was trying too hard, caring too intensely, staying too busy, and I was definitely not in the flow. Reaching happiness felt like a distant dream, in spite of my best efforts.

About then, I happened across the book The Power of Now, by Eckhert Tolle. Shortly thereafter, I attended a training on a new approach to psychotherapy called Health Realization, which says that we are all innately healthy and whole and this innate health automatically comes to the surface as soon as we quietly notice that we are thinking. And then I came across Ask and It is Given by Jerry and Esther Hicks, which gave down to earth ways to practice what I was learning. By then, I was primed for a workshop on Coaching Happiness, given by Ben Dean, a Psychologist and Life Coach who started a program certifying other psychotherapists to become coaches. Therapists make excellent coaches because we already know how to listen from the depth of our being, and we have a professional ethic and integrity that are especially important when working with people. I joined the MentorCoach community and entered the world of phone conversations with people across the nation, sharing a vision of positive change and supporting people in living their lives with whole-hearted wellness.

In my mind, this wellness, this flow of well-being, of which we are a part, is seamless and all-inclusive. The energy that is Spirit is everything, including all that we are. This is the message of The Course in Miracles, which I have been studying all my adult life. I grew up as an Episcopalian, with a progressive understanding of Christianity, and at one time I considered becoming a minister. I value the common teachings of all the world's religions, and I have a very open and broad perspective on spirituality. I love, admire and trust the enduring capacity of the human spirit, and I see evidence of it everywhere. As I see it, I look for it, and as I look for it, I see more of it. And this makes me very happy.

To get more of a sense of who I am, check out my blog. I would love to hear your comments.