Welcome, Welcome!

Welcome to our circle of FertileHearted Visionary Mamas/Papas/Parents. I don’t think there is any doubt that our children need every one of us to become visionaries.

This page aims to offer a list of general suggestions on how to make the most out of your participation in the circles. I’d say, wait to read it in its entirety when you can set aside some time to brew a cuppa tea and focus on it. If anything you read needs clarification, don’t hesitate to reach out and my assistant Rachel or I will be happy to respond. In case your question needs a more in depth answer I will let you know and look forward to engaging with it on the call.

You will also find more detailed instructions on working with the toolkit, Imagery, Body Truth, Food, in the Practice Section of The Fertile Female starting on page 159. Please take the time to read through them.

Some things to keep in mind as you embark on this awe-invoking adventure:

You can “meet your child halfway” at any level of practice. If at any point you’re feeling even a tiniest bit overwhelmed, it’s time to take a breath and slow down. You have access to a lot of material. Through the years of teaching, I conceived and co-created, with the many people who came before you, a pretty large apothecary of remedies.

They are meant to be provisions for the next stretch of your journey. Doorways to a new way of engaging with your challenges. Any challenges. This is stuff that can not only alter your family-birthing journey but become something you can lean on for the rest of your human journey.

The practice can be a source of deep nourishment on all levels. And similarly to the way we take time to chew and savor our food, the best way to be nourished with this practice is to bite off no more than you can chew. You don’t need to gulp it all down in order to make pregnancy, or anything else you’re aiming for, possible.

The longer I teach and the more “miracles” I witness, the clearer it is to me that the medicinal power of this work is contingent on our relationships. The space we co-create through our relationships with each other and our relationship with this simple and at the same time profoundly meaningful practice.

So once again, here is an invitation to each of you:

• During the time between calls, please watch the videos in sequence.

• As much as you’re able to, follow through on the Living My Longing assignments at the end of each segment.

• A day or two prior to each call, I ask that you email me a brief check in that includes the name of the video you watched and the Imagery you experimented with. If you’re brand new to the practice, that’s enough to get you started. These check-ins are meant to give you a sense of accountability and give me deeper sense of what works for you and what you’re struggling with. I will read each email, but I hope you understand that it’s not doable for me to suggest imagery, or respond to your check-ins in any meaningful way through email. But I’m happy to address your questions and guide you on the call. So be sure to flag me down and let’s see what we get to conceive together.

• If you have something specific you wish to work on, or just haven’t had a chance to work with me on the calls but would like to do so, send a separate note with “Burning to work on this,” in the subject line.

• If you have a specific question relating to food, or supplements send me an email a couple of days prior to the circle with “Food/Supplement Question” in the subject line.

Having said all this, another reminder: Please don’t let any of this overwhelm you. Do what you can and you’ll do more when you can do more.

Congratulations on this new beginning, welcome again and don’t hesitate to reach out if anything needs clarification!

Suggestions for First-Timers and Ongoing Reminders for All of Us:

• Make watching the videos, or sitting down for your imagery practice your “soul-lifting-time” for the mama/papa you’re giving birth to. Make it your quality time with the Orphan of the moment calling for attention. Or a “way-to-go-time” acknowledgement of even the smallest self-loving action you’ve taken.

• Your imagery practice, or Body Truth practice is meant to be a chance to chill, to let go and enter your inner happy place where you let the UM take the reigns, rather than some sort of obligatory checking off of the items on your to-do list.

• For the first timers, the Three Frames of Truth imagery is another staple to turn to when the Orphan of the moment needs mommy-time.

• A good way to stay in the loop, make a difference for someone else and offer your support:Instagram is the social media platform where I’m most active. It’s a good way for us to walk our talk of being Visionaries who are changing the conversation around this highly contentious subject. It’s also a good way to support our small team in being able to offer our services at the accessible level we’ve been offering them for more than two decades. Comments on my posts can make a huge difference in our outreach. Thank you, thank you!

A few more suggestions for first-timers and all of us:

If you haven’t had a chance to do so prior to joining us, please watch Segments 1 through 4 of the Meeting Your Child Halfway Video Series, making sure that you have a basic understanding of the OVUM model. Those first four videos are quite short, but they cover important foundational ideas of the practice.

Although in preparation for each circle, I will be asking the entire group to work with a specific segment, during the course of the series, you are most welcome to read through the titles and descriptions of all the video sessions, and check out the ones that address a most relevant topic for you at any given moment.

Then, by all means, email me the day prior to our call with any questions that have come up for you. I will ask you to repeat your question in the circle, but reading it prior to our call will give me a sense of the the kinds of things I might want to focus on.

Don’t hesitate to bring into the session anything you’re wrestling with and time permitting I will do my best to point you toward a specific video segment or other resource that might be helpful.

You will find it helpful, AT YOUR OWN PACE, to also familiarize yourself with Segments 5, 6, 7 of the series. Those are the segments that go into a more in-depth discussion of the central ideas of the practice.

We also will be covering some of those as a group.

The Fertile Heart OVUM Practice includes the following:

• One Imagery Exercise which we choose according to the need of the moment and do each morning and each evening (check The Fertile Female Imagery Practice chapter for more guidance.)

• Body Truth – checking in with our physical bodies, our “Holy Human Loaves” and giving them the space to “speak their truth.” (Check the Issues in Your Tissues Chapter of The Fertile Female or the Body Truth Audio Program for more guidance). If you don’t own those resources work with Session 12: Mixing the Batter of the Holy Human Loaf.

• Recording any dreams that come, even if it’s just a snippet.

• Conceive one Visionary-rooted action we intend to take each day, every other day, or whatever frequency we decide works best for us.

Depending on your level of experience with the ideas and the tools you can include as many of the elements of the practice as you’re able to. If you’re only going to do one aspect of the work, let it be the imagery.

This is worth repeating. Please remember: You can “meet your child halfway” at any level of practice. For many people this work becomes a lifelong love affair, for others it stops when we get pregnant or complete our families. I find that pretty much everyone who engages with these tools in a genuine way returns to it at different points in their lives.

Above all, go easy!

If you don’t get to do anything in preparation for one of the circles, that too is just fine. You will still get exactly what you need simply by being present with the rest of us. Notice I said, “one” of the circles. Without consistently engaging with at least one aspect of the practice you will be missing out. And I don’t want you to miss out.

Welcome again, can’t wait to hear what unfolds for you on this birthing adventure.

Questionnaire for those of you who didn’t get to fill this out earlier.

1. Your age, occupation and diagnosis if any (both partners, unless you’re embarking on this journey as a single parent.)

2. If you’re on this journey with a partner, on the scale of 1 to 10 how engaged is your partner with the physical, emotional, spiritual healing aspect of your journey. (10 being most, 1 being least)

3. If you’re on this journey as a single parent, on the scale of 1 to 10 how much support do you have from family and friends. (10 being most, 1 being least)

4. How long have you been trying to conceive?

5. Number of mainstream medical treatments.

6. Any alternative (integrative, holistic) treatments you have or are receiving and how long have you been receiving them.

7. Your familiarity with my work. Have you had a chance to read either of my books, or listen to the audio programs, have you watched any of the Meeting Your Child Halfway Video Segments? (NOT a requirement, just an orienting question.)

8. Will you be able to join us on video for most of the circles?

9. How did you hear about my books or Fertile Heart? If if was through a healthcare provider would you share their contact information with me? Thank you!