(Note: This theme was adapted from one of Renee’s recent blog posts. Interested in receiving weekly inspiration from Renee? Sign up to receive her blog The Journey here.)

Dear Friend:

“Love the one you’re with … and that would be you.”  Byron Katie

I’m about to overflow with insights and revelations. If I didn’t have so many deadlines this week, I’d grab my journal and pens, head for the nearest cave with a bag of pistachios and a jug of water and write, write, write!

This month has been filled with opportunities for reflection: a solo personal planning retreat, a screening of the thought-provoking must-see documentary Race To Nowhere, a reflective Women’s Winter Self-Renewal Retreat, a Byron Katie seminar and last weekend I attended a meditation/yoga retreat with the beautiful Sarah Powers.  

A recurring thread surfaced time and time again: just when I think it’s time to give up teaching the self-care message and move on, the Universe presents me with one case after another for why this work is so key and how crucial it is to our relationships (with self and others), our career paths, our emotional well-being and our spiritual development.

Pick up an onion and hold it in your palm: to me, self-care would be the outer layer, then a few layers deeper, I’d find self-acceptance. Finally at the core: self-love. I see self-care as the doorway through which we must go through to truly accept who we are, and ultimately, to begin to love ourselves.

I’ve been on the self-care journey for close to 11 years and I still have a long way to go.

Yet, after reflecting on the gifts that have come to me from learning to love myself, I am grateful for where I am. (Recently after returning from a long day at The Crossings leading a retreat, before my head hit my pillow, I entertained a bit of self-criticism: “Your energy was really low today, you weren’t as focused as usual,” followed by a compassionate reminder, “And you didn’t get any sleep on Thursday night and received an abundance of positive feedback about how meaningful the day was for those who attended.”) Self-love is definitely an ever-evolving process.

Practicing self-acceptance and self-love has helped me to:

• be more easy-going and to learn to “go with the flow”
• see that little things stay little (my son not picking up his toys) and don’t become front page news
• have more space around my thoughts and become more present
• be kinder and more compassionate to others (whether it’s a waitress, family member, car mechanic or business partner)
• feel and connect more deeply to God as opposed to experiencing God as a concept in my head
• react less and Live Inside Out more
• sense my connection to everything around me and how interwoven we all are
  
  

Most importantly, it ’s helped me feel --more and more often--that everything is ok, no matter what happens. And ultimately, this ongoing sense of peace and well-being is what we’re all seeking, isn’t it?

Last night as I put my 8-year-old to bed, I played Long Time Sun for him (this version is from Snatam Kaur's Feeling Good Today kids CD). Whenever I hear it, I am flooded with feelings of peace and self-love. It’s my deepest desire that he feels the same.

Free tonight? Join me and my good friend intuition expert Dianna Amorde for our FREE Thur., Feb. 24th 7:30-8:30 p.m. CST Live Inside Out Teleclass on “Love the One You’re With (that’s you!): Finding Self-Acceptance.” Sign up here. Take good care.

Warmly—Renee and the RTA Team
512-459-6700 info@reneetrudeau.com

P.S. I hope to see you at one of our spring retreats or another event soon; the early bird rate for the Friday, March 4 Spring Renewal Retreat ends tomorrow 2/25!

Upcoming Events and Training:

• February 24 , Thursday:  7:30-8:30 p.m. CST Live Inside Out Life Balance Teleclass with Renee Trudeau  *Free* Theme: Love the One You’re with (That’s You!): Finding Self-Acceptance. An interactive, women-only teleclass with Renee Trudeau and special guest author/intuition expert Dianna Amorde, president of Inspired Leap Consulting. Join women from around the world as we reconnect with who we are, cultivate self-compassion and learn to live more intentionally. Learn more and register here.
  
  
• March 4, Friday: 9:00- 3:30 p.m.  Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance: One Day Self-Renewal Retreat with Renee Trudeau at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort and Spa. Nurture and nourish yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually. Led by nationally-recognized career/life balance expert, coach and author Renee Trudeau. Ideal for women in career/life transition. For more details and to register click here. Early bird rate of $199 ends 2/25!
  
  
  
• March 10    RISE (Resource & Information Series for Entrepreneurs) Austin Event/Women’s Track  “Balance and Your Bottom Line: 4 Strategies to Help You Reclaim Your Life and Work Less and Make More” led by Renee Trudeau. FREE. Learn more and register at www.riseglobal.org.
  
  
• March 25     Friday 9:00-1:00 p.m.  Envision, Align and Expand: A Business Planning Retreat for Empowered Entrepreneurs. Casa de Artistas, south Austin. Gain clarity and focus on your 2011 business goals, receive laser coaching/feedback, tap Renee’s favorite, most powerful exercises and tools, leave inspired, focused and ready to move into the New Year with renewed passion and clarity. Led by small business coach Renee Trudeau at a small, quiet, private retreat center in Austin. Limited to 8 people. Cost: $249. Details/register. Email info@careerstrategists.net to check availability.
  
  
• March 31, Thursday: 7:30-8:30 p.m. CST Live Inside out Life Balance Teleclass with Renee Trudeau. Theme: TBA. Join women from around the world as we reconnect with who we are, cultivate self-compassion and learn to live more intentionally. Learn more and register here.
  
  
• April 9   9- 5 p.m.  First Annual Conference for Mothers of Special Needs Children, Austin, TX  Renee to present “The Transformative Power of Self-Care”  Register/learn more www.specialmomsheal.com
  
  
• April 29-May 1, Friday-Sunday:  Reflect, Reclaim, Re-Balance: A Women's Self-Renewal Retreat , Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, The Berkshires, MA.  Nurture and nourish yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually. Tap the Transformative Power of Self-Care. Led by nationally-recognized career/life balance expert, coach and author Renee Trudeau at beautiful Kripalu. Ideal for women in career/life transition.  Details here.
  

• Are you a therapist, coach, doula or women's empowerment advocate who loves supporting women and helping them nurture their emotional well-being? Learn more about becoming a PRG Facilitator and join a national community of leaders who are changing women's lives through powerful life coaching groups centered around The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal.
  
  

• Private Customized Retreats: Renee is masterful at creating/facilitating empowering half, full day or weekend workshops or retreats for companies, organizations and groups (her recent Lost Pines Self Renewal Retreat and her Kripalu retreat sold out and had a waiting list!). You can learn more about private retreats here or about her speaking/workshop topics, here. We’d love to help you schedule a spring or summer 2011 event. Email Sara Bogan, events manager at sara@reneetrudeau.com or call 512-459-6700 to check Renee’s availability.
  
  

• Visit our online calendar to learn about upcoming self-renewal retreats and events.
  
  

• You may reprint this newsletter in its entirety provided you include at the end: Renee Peterson Trudeau is a life balance coach/speaker and author of The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life. You can download free book chapters, receive life balance tips or learn about upcoming events at www.ReneeTrudeau.com. Facebook: liveinsideout.