June 2016 | Integration for Life

Worthy Women, Sixth Edition: Heather Lindemenn

June 10, 2016 0 Comments

Who: Heather Lindemenn

Occupation: Spiritual Guide and Bullshit Slayer

Location: Vista, CA

The first time I remember meeting Heather, it was about 7 years ago with a good friend in Lotus Cafe and she(pretty randomly) said to me that I had dark circles under my eyes and that I probably had a thyroid issue. If that happened to me now, I think I would be more intrigued than anything and (hopefully) say, ‘Cool, thanks…I will have that tested.”

At the time it really threw me off, (who knows, maybe it was the pendulum on her necklace she seemed to be referring to for answers?!) …and I was so astounded I don’t think I said anything!

I ended up having some things tested about a year later, totally unrelated to her comment, and low and behold…my thyroid was off. My first thought was of her and the courage it must have taken to think that and then say it to someone you barely know.

So…as much as I’m sure she’s not using the pendulum anymore…this is Heather in a nutshell. She is pretty much always right. Not in the “I told you so” way. Don’t get me wrong, you might not(think you) want to hear it; but she is not so concerned with that. What she IS concerned with is truth and healing and breaking through the well, err…bull shit(those would be her words, and frankly there is no better way to say it). And it’s normally with ourselves.

What you see is what you get; she’s a straight-shooter, and will tell you every embarrassing story in her life in an effort for us all to laugh and grow from it. She is what I would say almost every single one of us needs, especially women! I felt close to her since I sat in one of her Women’s Circles long ago. I loved that she cussed and was sometimes loud and not always on time or “perfect,” it made me relax and feel welcome and relax enough to absorb what she had to say. And you always want to hear what she has to say…TRUST ME. She has the gems! And she always shares!!!

I credit Heather for the beginning of me opening up to the Feminine, Women’s Groups and the power of women in general when we bond together. I credit Heather for a lot of things, and you will surely see why in the interview…by the way, you might want to take notes on this one!

Sat nam,

Elise

1) Who are you?

I am bullshit slayer.

I am a beach born baby, raised on VG donuts from Cardiff By The Sea, Ca.

I am a crusader for the voice of the HEART.

I am a wife to the kindest man alive.

I am a daughter of a beautiful mamma who died from cancer when I was 23.

I am a sherpa to women who are being called HOME to themselves.

I am a stepmom to a brave young Goddess.

I am a devoted servant to the FIRE of real deal, life changing, HOLY SHIFTING, Transformation. (Mine and yours)

I am a fiercely loving and protective friend.

I am a Seducer of TRUTH. I use humor, love and maybe a few curse words to call women into a sacred SEEING of themselves that transforms their lives from the inside out.

I am a doggie mamma of two yummy rescued fur babies.

I am available to SEE myself fully. (and that means ALL parts not just the fun beach baby, donut eating, fierce sherpa, seducer of truth, good friend, happy doggie mamma parts.

2) What is the greatest challenge you have overcome/are overcoming?

SEEING that “I” burden LIFE with carrying the face of my wounds.

Experiencing the TRUTH of this statement was and IS a total game changer for me.

SEEING that my unresolved stuff is actually playing itself out in my life delivers me back into the driver’s seat, INSTANTLY!

No it’s not easy, and YES it’s worth it…

You see, I’m not much into wasting time and money and I like my “medicine” STRONG. So when my life started to completely crumble (divorce, failed business, total lack of faith in The Divine and myself) I realized that the core of my BIG repeating issues might just be in me…

At that pivotal point in my life I screamed to the universe, “I’m fucked and I need to get un~fucked… NOW”.

That’s when my first teacher arrived in my life and fast, fast, forward I was initiated into this POTENT way of experiencing myself. I was quickly SOLD on this navigation because not only did “LIFE” start showing up differently, my relationship with myself started to heal + my intuition was ignited and MOST important of all, my difficult, exhausting, repeating patterns began to disappear.

Now the challenge of this is that I will always have something inside I can’t see or feel, so when “stuff” arises ultimately I MUST arrive back in ME. (This IS my constant “walk my talk” practice)

And THIS is the foundation of the work I do with other women. No it isn’t a self blame game. This is a return to oneself where we experience a deep intimacy within… Dare I say Oneness within ourselves.

And from this place of oneness those well sought after experiences TRULY arise… You know those ones we affirm ourselves to death with, those experiences we “practice” ourselves into a dither about: like, Forgiveness, acceptance, gratitude, authenticity and the ability to be PRESENT. These experiences begin to “happen” without effort or practice…

3) What have you learned?

I have learned that an intimate relationship with “Life” (money, partnership, God etc.) starts with an intimate relationship with myself.

If “He’s not there for me” If “they won’t listen to me”, If They don’t love me” then I go directly to ME..

I am I there for me?

Am I listening to ME?

Do I LOVE ME?

It all starts and ends with me…

I have learned that Forgiveness, Gratitude, Acceptance of self and others and true Compassion, are all Grace filled, hand of The Divine style “happenings”, that start with me SEEING that I DON’T, Forgive, that I lack Gratitude, that I CAN’T Accept myself or others…

It’s a “start where you are, not where you want to be conversation”.

THEN the fullness of the experience we desire can arise. (key word FULLNESS)

I have learned that RESISTANCE will rear it’s ugly head whenever I set out to do anything that that results in me living my dreams.

The bigger the dream the bigger the resistance! Like writing this Blog for example. I’m living my life with a passion to help women wake up and finally live life instead of merely existing… Elise invited me into the Worthy Women series and it IS A HUGE honor for me and an amazing platform to share my gifts AND I have resisted sitting my ass down to write for WEEKS!!!!

Having you here with me right now IS a huge GIFT! Thank you Elise for this amazing opportunity!

Amen, and a fanny spank…

Things aren’t always what they seem…

June 1, 2016 0 Comments

This photo was from when I owned a fashion boutique called JEP in La Jolla, about 10 years ago. It was taken for Riviera Magazine, I think because my store was on the Top Hot List (or something like that). JEP made a lot of money, was recognized in Vogue as one of the best Beach Boutiques in the world, and I was awarded one of the Top 40 Professionals under 40 during that same time frame… I was 26-30 years old. My life seemed incredible from the outside. In many ways, it was.

But my point is that things aren’t always what they seem, as hopefully we are all aware of. I had worked a full time job, plus full time school during most of my college years. I pushed things in all areas of my life, including exercise and even socializing/partying. At the time of the photo, I was working 70+ hours a week for five years straight. I was “successful” but overwhelmed, exhausted and anxious. My adrenals were tanked, I had a parasite and started getting auto-immune issues. I didn’t know what any of those things were at the time and thought myself too busy to learn or care. I am not saying that we shouldn’t push ourselves or be motivated, but that stressful time in my life, combined with an absence of tools to deal with it in balance, sent my health into a downward spiral. Even though I have been working on it since then, I am just now, ten years later starting to feel truly healthy again.

I got into Holistic Healing(to help others as well as myself) and started Rolfing around 9 years ago. I have been a Nutritional Counselor for about five years. But even as I was eating healthy and “doing all the right things”, my health issues were slowly getting more serious, as were many of my clients’ challenges that were coming my way. This pushed me to complete my credential in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition and brings this story to the present… where I facilitate most of the tests your doctor would give you, but interpret the results and give different recommendations. There were some things going on internally with me that it didn’t matter how well I ate, how much I exercised or meditated… deeper issues needed to be addressed. The main theme is getting to the root of the problem instead of blindly addressing symptoms.

I wish I had made the time to learn about this type of work back in the day when I wasn’t feeling good but didn’t know why. I made the time and spent money on so many other things, but not my health. I would have saved so much time and suffering and money later on. We are meant to feel vibrant and we are meant to thrive. If you are not feeling this way, I encourage you to contact me and get some basic testing done to quit the guessing game and telling yourself maybe this is just what getting older feels like.

Healing from the inside-out often takes longer than putting a band-aid on the situation, and takes behavioral modification and dedication, but true healing frees you up for a healthy life for the rest of your life!

I hope you have a thriving, happy life… and if I can help, let me know 🙂 I work from Skype and can organize the testing anywhere in the U.S. and many other countries too. Just DM me or email: [email protected] with questions.

❤

Sat nam,

Elise