It's my birthday and I'm scared!

I turn 65 today. I'm not saying that for you to wish me happy birthday. If you do, thank you in advance! It's not something I would normally admit, but it seems like a bit of a milestone.

And, just to say, wow. It's so cliché, but if I'd known what I know when I was in my 20s and 30s, I think life would be very different. 

Or would it? 

Are we all so bound to our habits that even when we 'know' we still don't make those changes that in our hearts we know we should/could make.

When I look back on the times when my life took a leap, a giant step forward, into another paradigm, another way of being that actually stuck with me, that changed me forever in a positive way, it was when I was in a retreat container. A safe container that made sense to me, that I resonated with. 

A container that wasn't just about information. It was TRANSFORMATION. 

It's so easy to slide into habitual ways of being, into our comfort zones, and spiritually fall asleep there. It's not so easy to step out of our comfort zone and challenge those sleepy ways.

The thing is that is where LIFE is. That is where LOVE is. 

Today I drive several hours away to an art retreat for a week. It's a big deal because art was always my thing at school. THE thing that I was naturally good at. I even went on to become a qualified art teacher. But in that process, one of my tutors shamed me, belittled me and my work, and at 18 years of age, destroyed my confidence in that natural ability for almost a lifetime.

Have I processed that? Yes. Even recently in the therapeutic space. You might think, you're over 60 now, it's time to get over it! The thing is, when trauma happens, it can remain as a memory in the body and psyche, and sometimes it can take a few different angles to unlock and free the body, heart, and mind.

But today? Today is different. 

Today I am challenging myself to physically show up, to step into a container of learning.

Am I scared? I actually am. Do I feel out of my comfort zone? Totally. Will I still do it? Absolutely.

Because in all my 35 years of psychotherapy and the therapeutic arts, showing up in the face of anything from fear to terror at times has been the complete game changer. It's actually been a pathway to freedom. Because that fear, that bind, no longer had me in its grip.

So today, now, as we stand at the beginning of a new year. What is it that you want to challenge yourself to create, do, or be in your relationship? For you?

The 'safe' place is to build walls around us. Around our bodies. Around our hearts. Around our minds. Safe and half alive. These can stay there for a lifetime unless we challenge them.

 If there is one thing I've learned in this last year, it's to take every day as an opportunity to breathe again, to feel again, to LOVE again. Every moment is a new opportunity to bridge the gap from disconnection to connection.

Are you willing this year to step into that space, the liminal space of learning, of transformation, and let your heart be whispered into love?

The pathway is through your own heart. And then letting it be met by another's, your partner's, whoever you wish.

If you are ready to step into this with your lover, your life-partner, to truly feel the transformation IN YOUR BODY, not through the mind, join me in May for The Making Love Retreat.

3 part payment is available until 28th January. Register here. 

Here's what one man said after the last retreat when asked how he feels now about himself and his relationship moving forward:-

"Ecstatic. I have formed a new level of calm within myself that allows space for my love to shine. yet also holds space for my partner to bring her love to me on her own terms. This is so much more than a retreat for 'making love. It's a process for looking deep within yourself to create a space inside and out that allows love to flourish. It's not easy, but nothing truly worthwhile ever is. The programme and team are brilliant. Caring, attentive, yet never too close. Janet, thank you with all my heart."

Book today the May Retreat here.

If you feel you need to chat with me before booking, I have some time available on Thursday the 22nd and Tuesday the 27th January. Book a Zoom call with me HERE.

OTHER RETREATS THIS YEAR - 

WOMANTIME RETREAT - 13th-16th August. Read more here.

MAKING LOVE RETREAT - 9th-15th October. Read more here. 

Many blessings for the BEST 2026! And may you step through that comfort zone and challenge yourself to grow in ways you may never have imagined!