Click to read more about each upcoming workshop and course:

• Open Heart, Open Mind Online Course
• Joy from the Inside Out: An Exploration of The Book of Joy, Part 1

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OPEN HEART, OPEN MIND
Live, online 12-week course
Spring Dates TBA

“I recently took Ocean’s Open Heart Open Mind course, which she promised would change my life — and it did! I wholeheartedly recommend this course. Each week I was surprised by what I learned and the insights I gained.”  — SH, Registered Nurse OPEN HEART, OPEN MIND — SAY YES TO YOUR POTENTIAL For many of us, the architecture of our lives is built on stories and beliefs we learned from our families, schools and society. It is usually a narrative of fear and lack. We are taught to play small, stay safe and find security. We learn not to make a fuss and that our wants, desires and needs don’t matter.  To some degree, this strategy worked. You are safe, you have a job and you are well fed. But maybe you are burdened with anxiety, guilt, shame or debt or a sense of going through the motions—feeling empty. You might realize you are living out a strategy rather than living your life.   This course is an invitation to reclaim your life. It’s an opportunity to go to the edge of your narrative and discover what is possible from there.     It’s about developing a mindset to experience life as full of opportunities rather than a mindset of fear, lack and survival. You will realize you are the architect of your life and you have the power to change. The course is a radical reframing of what you thought life is to what you truly desire. It’s a shift from survival strategy to success strategy.   With mindfulness meditation, we realize we are not our stories or beliefs. With practice, we connect to a deeper current of life. AND if we are courageous, we will listen. We allow this impulse to guide us. When this happens, you are living life. You are living your destiny. (While mindfulness meditation will be a foundational tool, this is not a mindfulness course.)   We sense the enormous possibility that exists for each of us. What do you truly desire? Will you say yes to your potential? WHAT YOU’LL DISCOVER   In this live 12-week online course, you’ll learn to: 🧡 Align with your purpose 🧡 Make friends with the Big “C” — Commitment 🧡 Work with the narratives that direct your life 🧡 Know and claim your own worth 🧡 Manage fear and the inner critic 🧡 Recognize the insidious nature of resistance and overcoming obstacles 🧡 Create more wealth If you’re curious about how this course might help you … If you’re interested and ready for a change … If you want to determine if this course is right for you … Please contact me to set up a phone call at counsellingwithocean@gmail.com. TESTIMONIALS “I experienced so much personal growth through this course. I feel more empowered, more compassionate to myself, and less alone in my struggles. I had never done work like this in a group setting before, and I was both nervous and skeptical to try, but it turned out to be incredible.  I underestimated the power of group work. I highly recommend participating! For me, the experience was motivating, inspiring, and healing. It was so worth it.” — CF, counsellor “I recently took Ocean’s Open Heart Open Mind course, which she promised would change my life – and it did! I wholeheartedly recommend this course.  It works on many levels, integrating heart, mind, and body. It brought together an amazing group of people. I had no idea of the power of being seen and heard in a group like this. Practicing staying present with each person in the group as we shared our own triumphs and struggles brought the lessons of meditation and mindfulness home for me. We each created a vision for our lives, and now I have an evolving map to guide me on my journey. It is not an abstraction, an idea like “being happy,” but rather a living document I am excited to work on – for Ocean taught me I have been living my life and reacting to events based on old scripts I was taught, not based on my true self how I am today. That harsh voice in my head that tells me I am not good enough and not worthy of love is quieting as I learn to speak to myself as I would speak to a dear friend. I am being kind to myself in a way I have never been, and this is allowing me to feel my own gentle power and the positive influence my own light can have on others. I am curious, I ask more questions, and I’m learning I don’t have to control everything to feel safe. I am learning what it is to be human: complicated, imperfect, beautiful, passionate, messy, adventurous. All of it is okay, it is me.”  — SH, Registered Nurse “I was non-committal about the course — I had one foot in and one foot out. But each week, I was surprised by what I learned and the insights I gained. Over the 12 weeks, lessons and insights kept percolating. By the end of the course, I had turned my life in a new direction! I actually believe I can trust my dreams. Very powerful. I am beyond grateful to Ocean and the course.” — NH, Director, Province of BC INTERESTED IN THIS COURSE? Please contact me to set up a phone call at counsellingwithocean@gmail.com

JOY from the INSIDE OUT:
AN EXPLORATION OF THE BOOK OF JOY, Part 1
In-person 4-week course
July 5, 12, 19, and 26

What can we learn from the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu?

They’re both Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, they’ve each survived more than 50 years of exile, and they both have experienced the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.

In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu travelled to the Dalai Lama’s home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness’s 80th birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They spent five days together and looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life’s inevitable suffering?

The Book of Joy is a precious account of their time together.

My questions are:

• What happened to joy? 
• What gets in the way of joy? 
• Is it possible to cultivate and sustain joy in these times of great turmoil?
• How can we use their insightful wisdom to live a more fulfilling and joyful life?

To respond to these questions, please join me in a 4-week, in-person study course of The Book of Joy. Each week we will meditate, learn about a pillar of joy, and practise. There will be time for self-reflection and engaging discussions.

Each week we will  meditate, learn  about a  pillar of joy, and practise. There will be time for self-reflection and engaging discussions.

This course is ideally suited for anyone who:

• feels down on life
• struggles to find Joy or a sense of well-being
• is interested in meditation and/or Buddhist psychology

DATES: June 5, 12, 19, and 26th
TIMES: 6:30 pm to 8:15 pm
LOCATION: the Shambhala Centre 
INVESTMENT: $125, but if price is a barrier, please contact me. 

Note: You don’t need to read the book ahead of time; handouts may be provided. If you’re going to be absent for any session, it’s no problem as the content of the sessions will be recorded.

For more information or to register, please contact me at counsellingwithocean@gmail.com

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