Coming from loving and conservative family background I grew up playing tennis and other sports in Australia’s country music capital, Tamworth NSW before moving to Sydney as a restless teenager wondering what on earth I was meant to do with my life.  I was bright, intelligent and well liked but didn’t do very well at school for some reason.  At a young age and not knowing what I truly wanted to do or where my passion lay I worked in several different administrative jobs before getting married, purchasing a home and having two wonderful children, Nathan and Shane.  I thought this was it, life was really good and I would live happily every after.  Boy was I wrong! In the mid eighties my (then) husband and children moved to Canberra to experience a more relaxed way of living and to provide more opportunities for the children growing up.

Within a few years of moving I experienced incredible emotional pain within my marriage that led to a divorce and a family breakdown.  This left me questioning the meaning and purpose of life and why I had moved to Canberra feeling isolated from friends, other family members and, what was I to do next. Knowing that I had two wonderful children to care for inspired me and eventually I pulled myself together and realised that I had an opportunity to do something for myself. I set off on a journey that would help me discover who I was and what my capabilities were. At the time though, I didn’t realise I was trying to prove myself to me and to the world! I found some wonderfully supportive friends, attended training for women returning to the workforce, found a full time position helping jobseekers find meaningful employment (a reflection of myself), then went on to  study part time at university for two years and eventually became a teacher, teaching management subjects to TAFE students and a workplace trainer and assessor. All this insix years! At the same time I purchased my home to provide stability for the boys and dedicated much of my spare time to supporting them with their education and sports.

My favourite

On reflection I often wonder how I achieved all that I did while raising the two boys as the primary parent, but at the time I didn’t think about it, I just had a lot of positive self-talk and knew I had a job to do. During this time I met many inspiring and supporting people and my passion for life, learning and teaching ignited and my drive for self-transformation led me to further research into Human Development. I had a thirst for learning about topics relating to philosophy, personality, the brain, the conscious and unconscious mind and how all humans are connected in this magnificent universe.  I attended many courses in search of a deeper understanding of universal principles and how they might apply to everyday life. At the same time, I was advancing in my career and accepted promotions in senior management and executive level positions in the field of quality assurance to do with the business of pharmacy.  For the first few years this was exciting and rewarding but stressful and ever so time consuming. I began spending more time working and less time with my children and family and friends and definitely no time to consciously work on my own personal transformations. I started to loose my vitality and zest for life and began to realise the importance of being passionate about what I do on a daily basis and to be in an environment that supported my values and individuality.  I felt like a square peg in a round hole and all the regular massages, yoga and visits to the chiropractor kept me alive, but far from thriving. My children had established themselves by now.  Nathan was living in London and Shane was still living at home with me but very independent and fully supportive of a life change for me.

So I decided to free myself from the pressures of an unsatisfying career and go travelling. I flew to Honolulu and cruised the Hawaiian Islands with girlfriend that I had known for 25 years.  We had a blast!

We met lovely people and saw some stunningly beautiful places on all the islands including the lava flow on the big island, the majestic mountains along the coastline of Kauai, hired a convertible mustang and drove around Maui for two days …. a bit like Thelma and Louise!

My dream come true in Maui

Although this was a short trip, I returned home feeling that I had reconnected with a part of myself that I had lost.  The part of me that had been craving for some fun and adventure, meeting new people, seeing new places and experiencing a different way of living for a while. Within a few months of that trip, I resigned from my executive position and travelled overseas.  Initially I thought I would be away for six weeks, but craving the freedom that I hadn’t experienced for many years I travelled for five months.

I visited friends who I had met in Hawaii and were living in Florida.  Their hospitality introduced me to the Floridian lifestyle and I began to feel like a local.  So much that I stayed for nine weeks, just before my visa expired!  I travelled most of the east coast from Key West in the south to St Augustine in the north with frequent visits to Orlando.

Some of the highlights included the shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral, Mallory Square in Key West, Universal Studios in Orlando, The Breakers at West Palm Beach and of course being part of the North Palm Beach local condominium community.

Sunset from Mallory Square, Key West

After Florida I then went to visit my eldest son Nathan who was living in London. My experience of a shared house environment in SW London reminded me of my late teenage years flatting in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. It was a community and although much older (and wiser) then, I loved the freedom of being able to do things when I wanted to. Travelling on the Eurostar train, Nathan and I visited Paris together. We walked the pavements from early morning ‘til midnight, watching the sun set over Paris and the lights light up the Eiffel Tower and finally a day to rest in the beautiful Luxembourg Gardens.  I remember this experience vividly.  I was standing on the Montparnasse Tower thinking how grateful I was to have such great relationships with my two sons, both supporting me in very different ways. Nathan who I was travelling with and Shane who was back home taking care of the house and paying the bills… bless him. My journey continued.  I went to Berlin to visit a friend who I had met in Auckland NZ in 2005. Again, I was blessed with the hospitality given to me.  I walked the pavements of Berlin and experienced the beach bars along the river of this hip hop city.

Me at one of the many fountains in Berlin

View from my hotel in Spain

Next I was back in London doing the usual city and country tourist tours and after six weeks I had to start planning my return to Australia. But before I did I had a burning desire to experience some of Europe on my own so off I went to Spain.  I flew into Malaga, had a car pick me up at the airport and take me to the Hotel Riu Belplaya in Torremolinos.  That was my home for the next ten days.  I spent the time lazing by the pool and the beach, walking the promenades, frequenting local beach house restaurants, shopping and an excursion to Gibraltar. Oh what an adventure I had! I remember feeling grateful every day for the experiences I had created. My travel was almost over and I was psyching myself up for the long trip home.  But was I ready to step back into the life I had left.

NO, definitely no I heard an inner voice speak. It was time for me to do reignite the spark of learning and investigate the new mind technologies and quantum sciences that were emerging. And so I did. I returned to Australia and studied with Dr John Demartini a teacher, healer and philosopher. To help support my studies I worked with one of BRW’s fastest growing businesses for 2008 until I was retrenched late that same year and another blessing unfolded.

The same week I was made redundant my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer so I was given the opportunity to spend time with her and dad during this unsettling time. Since then I have renovated my house, continued to learn about quantum physics, Spiral Dynamics Integral®, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and set up my Transformation Coaching practice.

Today and everyday of my life I am inspired by what I do, the people I meet, the connections I make and the life transformations that I am part of.  By being the person I am today it allows me to do what I love, love what I do and have what I have. I know that I am a true manifestor and that I am in control of my destiny. As I reflect on my life’s journey which is made up of a series of events and personal perceptions of love, guilt, shame, fear and resentment, I recognise the blessings I have been presented with and the patterns that have led me to finding my purpose … understanding universal laws, living a life of transformation and inspiring others to find their purpose and live a fulfilling life. I am truly grateful to be alive and part of this transformational journey called life.

with love and gratitude

Lorraine

In addition to my life experiences, my qualifications include:

• NLP Practitioner and Coach
• Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi) level 1
• Trained Facilitator of the Demartini Method®
• Diploma of Training and Assessment Systems
• Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
• MBTI Accredited Facilitator
• Graduate Diploma of Social Ecology