Silke and Patricia's Bulletin Board

One End, Two Beginnings

2010-10-28T00:42:00.000-07:00

This blog post marks the end of the Silke & Patricia endeavor. We’ve decided to go our own separate ways. Although we still very much believe, live and share a passion for what we’ve developped over this past year, our personal endeavors will take different shapes and forms.

It’s been a real adventure with (mostly) ups and (a few) downs where we’ve met amazing people. We’re happy and grateful that we’ve been able to help people and organizations along the way. That’s really what matters in the end and that’s what we take with us.

To those we have helped, we want to say this : continue meditating, continue exploring what you love, continute going towards your dreams, continue to open up. That’s what we commit to continue doing on our end.

We’ll be around so look us up! Right now, you can find us on www.silkezanker.com and on www.patriciaschwarz.ch.

Much love, much hope, much happiness,

Silke & Patricia

Notre dernier article: Alice et ce vieux rêve...

2010-06-14T03:18:00.000-07:00

Voici notre dernier article paru le 11 juin 2010 dans l'Echo du Gros-de-Vaud, le journal de la région d'Echallens. Voici l'article. Nous espérons qu'il vous vera rêver un peu (ou donner envie de regarder Alice au pays des merveilles!!!)

Alice et ce vieux rêve

- Mais c’est impossible! s’exclame Alice.
- Seulement si tu le crois, lui répond le chapelier.

Avez-vous vu « Alice aux pays des merveilles » au cinéma le week-end dernier? Ce film fantaisiste nous a inspirées parce qu’il a l’audace de suggérer que notre réalité est créée par ce en quoi nous croyons, les rêves d’enfance y compris. Il nous a donné envie de nous pencher sur les vieux rêves que nous n’avons pas encore explorés pour un milliard de bonnes raisons ou simplement parce qu’à un moment donné de notre vie, nous les avons jugés «impossibles».

En interrogeant les personnes qui nous entourent, nous nous sommes rendues compte que beaucoup d’entre nous ont envie de faire quelque chose de remarquable dans notre vie, mais nos rêves nous paraissent tellement grands qu’ils deviennent inaccessibles. Alors bien souvent, nous les remettons à plus tard. L’envie reste ancrée au profond de nous et des événements leur font parfois refaire surface.

Un de nos rêves était d’avoir notre propre entreprise qui aide les gens à voir plus grand et qui apporte une contribution positive au monde. C’est une série de bouleversements dans nos vies qui nous a donné l’élan initial pour nous lancer: des mois d’insécurité au travail, des traversées de l’océan atlantique et surtout des problèmes de santé. Ce sont des moments douloureux qui ont été les catalyseurs de changements de style de vie, d’introspection et de reconnexion avec nous-mêmes qui nous ont permis de découvrir ce que nous voulions vraiment.

Ce que nous avons appris en chemin, c’est qu’il n’y a pas besoin de bouleversements aussi grands, d’autant de douleurs, ni de traversées d'océan pour se lancer à la conquête de son rêve. Cela peut se faire par étapes, progressivement et naturellement.
La première chose à faire, c’est de se demander «quel est mon grand rêve ?» et «à quoi ressemblerait ma vie si je le vivais?» En le mettant sur papier, on réalise qu’il y a des parties de notre vieux rêve que nous avons déjà réalisées et d’autres que nous sommes en ce moment-même entrain de réaliser! Nous n’avons peut-être pas tout mis de côté après tout…

Ce film, nous a offert un moment de rêverie et de contemplation que nous voulions partager avec vous. Peut-être qu’à vous aussi, cela donne envie de penser à ce que vous aimeriez vraiment dans la vie et de vous ouvrir à la possibilité qu’il n’est peut-être ni trop tard, ni trop difficile de réaliser ce bon vieux rêve.

Tout commence avec une simple volonté, une intention. Et ensuite, lorsque nous nous concentrons sur ce que nous aimons et que nous vivons en accord avec nous-mêmes, de nouvelles portes s’ouvrent. Nous rencontrons des personnes qui nous aident en chemin et, petit à petit, les barrières se lèvent. La montagne infranchissable devient une série d’étapes gérables et accessibles.

Un jour, nous réalisons que notre rêve est plus proche que nous l’avions imaginé…
Bienvenue au pays de merveilles! Qui aurait cru qu’il soit juste là?

Silke & Patricia

Silke et Patricia sont coachs. Elles aident les professionnels stressés et déboussolés à se reconnecter à ce qu’ils aiment vraiment et à se sentir libres et pleins d’énergie.
www.silkeandpatricia.com

All places from here

2010-05-18T05:27:00.001-07:00

"Life is an exciting surprise. I wake up in the morning looking for positive experiences, and I find them in the most unexpected places."
- Louise L. Hay

Gosh, imagine waking up every morning thinking that???

We're giving it a try. We each wrote it on a post card which we will read every morning for 21 days. (That's how long it takes to build a habit.) We'll see what happens... Will you join us?

Stamp Contest Winner Announcement

2010-05-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

The correct answer was: the silhouette on the far left on the last row!
Here is the picture it came from as proof:

And for our grand winner, Marylin from Miami, we'll send her a stamp and an original Swiss souvenir: a cow bell! Can't get any better than that, right? Congratulations Marylin!

Thank you everyone for participating. Much love to all from Switzerland! Have a wonderful weekend!

Silke & Patricia

PS: to download the Big Dream workbook, click here!

Win Swiss Stamps with Patricia on Them!

2010-05-05T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

As you may have read on Facebook, we got a little excited because Patricia is on the new Swiss stamp collection. It’s not everyday that one is on a stamp.

We’re also very excited because the stamp was designed by our communications agency Hauser-Schwarz in Basel. The same guys who have designed our logo and website have also won a nation-wide contest for the new Swiss stamp. As we say in French, c’est pas rien! Two thumbs up for Simon and David.

We like contests so we thought it’d be fun to have you guess which of the silhouettes is Patricia’s. Put on your Sherlock Holmes’ hat, pull out a magnifying glass and a pipe, and find Patricia.

Hint: she doesn’t have any children so it’s not the 5th person on the top row and she doesn’t have a dog so it's not the 5th person on the second row either. (That’s her father, by the way!!!)

The winner will be announced on Friday, May 7th. If more than one person wins, we’ll do a live draw on video, which we will post on this blog.

The grand prize is:
If the winner is Swiss: a book of stamps of a CHF 20.- value.
If the winner is not Swiss: we’ll send you a stamped letter with a surprise gift inside. ;)

To participate, simply submit your answer as a comment below.

Have fun and may the best (wo)man win!

Much love,
Silke & Patricia

PS: And while you’re at it, go ahead and download our free “Big Dream” workbook and get started on living your dream on www.silkeandpatricia.com

PSS: To Simon and David, we’d love to be on the Swiss CHF 100 bill next. We’d like to be the next Swiss Benjamin. Thanks.

The Big Scary Dream and Being 30 (and free tips on how to start living your dream)

2010-04-30T05:22:00.000-07:00

We’ve talked to many people in their 30’s lately and there seems to be a pattern amongst us 30-something people. And it revolves around the Big Scary Dream.

Most of us have had a couple of serious jobs where we’ve invested ourselves. We’ve reached financial security. We’ve also probably had a couple of serious relationships, maybe even marriage, maybe even children. We’ve also had the opportunity to travel quite a bit over the years and to come into contact with various cultures. We’ve formed a pretty good opinion of our world for ourselves right about now.

So we’re thirty-something and this question seems to be spinning the heads of most of us: What next? Shouldn’t I be pursuing my big dream at this point? Travel the world. Do humanitarian work. Start my own business. Be a full time artist in New York City. Or something of that nature.

And immediately after asking ourselves the big question, another question comes to mind: Is it worth the risk???

See, we really don’t like to admit it to ourselves because we’re still young, cool and carefree, but we kinda like our comfort; we kinda like the financial security; we kinda like the routine and the BBQ’s with our friends. Is leaving all of that behind to pursue the big dream really worth it? And for those of us who have families, how can we pursue the big dream while still tending to them? We have to face it. We’re not in our carefree twenties anymore and to be perfectly honest with ourselves, it’s quite o.k. We like, shoot, we love our thirties. We wouldn’t really want to go back.

So how can we compromise? (Such an ugly word – even for the Swiss) And don’t get us wrong, by compromise we don’t mean forgetting about the big dream. We mean, how can we use what we’ve built, learnt and experience until now and still go for the big dream.

Here is our experience with it.

We both got shaken up quite a bit a while back. It was high time for the big dream. We weren’t 100% satisfied with our careers and our lifestyles. Life has its ways of shaking things up when it’s time to change and go for something new.

Silke had severe back problems that led to an emergency back surgery – leaving her with plenty of time to reflect on her life and on what she really wanted to do. Patricia had been battling with a painful disease for two years and the threat of a third surgery got her to seek the alternative route, look within, find the root of the problem and heal. We both crossed out the American dream for then, moved back to Switzerland and started fresh.

And the big dream was to start our own business that would make a positive contribution to the world by helping people be happier and healthier while being more at peace. That took a complete rearranging of our lives, the crossing of an ocean and a change of career.

The good news for you is that along the way, we’ve realized that it doesn’t have to take all of that. It doesn’t have to take so much pain and fear, and such drastic changes.

Here is how it can also work:

- It all begins with a conscious decision to live up to your dreams. Nothing more. Just that willingness begins to shift things.

- Then it’s a re-alignment. A realignment to your values, to what really matters to you, to what you love, to who you are.

- And finally, it’s not so much about changing the big things; it’s the addition of all the small things you can change in your current environment. By changing, adding, removing or adapting a small thing in your life as it currently is, you naturally see if and how you want to go further.

Suddenly, your big dream becomes a series of natural steps that add up and that are fulfilling. Your big dream doesn’t appear so scary and unattainable anymore. It’s within reach. It’s right here actually. You’ve been living it all along.

So if you’re at a place where you want to access your big dream and you need a little help, the little push to get started, we’d love to help you. We’ve been there and we got help along the way. We’re happy to pass that knowledge on.

To help you right now, since you’re already thinking about that topic, here is a good way to get started. Ask yourself these questions:

- What is my big dream? Write it down. In full detail: what does it look like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? Write it as if you wanted someone else to be able to live it in their mind.

- How do I know that I don’t have it right now? (Sounds like a silly question? Answer it anyway and put it on paper. You might just be surprised that it’s not that silly after all…)

- What is the very first step to living it that you can do right now? Do it right now.

Then, go for a walk, a run, a yoga class: whatever floats your boat. The point is to get the energy moving.

When you’ve started and if you’re on your way, please let us know. Leave us a comment! Tell us how you feel and tell us about your big dream. Make us dream. Hearing about people’s dreams is so inspiring.

Much love,
Silke & Patricia

Conférence chez Holmes Place

2010-04-15T09:37:00.001-07:00

Bonjour à tous, bonjour à toutes!

Vous n’avez peut-être pas encore une idée très claire sur ce que nous faisons concrètement ou peut-être que si, mais le thème de notre conférence risque d’accélérer votre programme de fitness avant l’été...

Alors voilà, nous vous proposons de nous rejoindre le 27 avril 2010 au Holmes Place de Lausanne de 19h30 à 21h00 pour:

Conférence PASSION & PURPOSE:
Comment utiliser votre état d’esprit pour influencer les résultats de vos efforts physiques

Lors de cette conférence gratuite, nous allons travailler votre esprit en douceur. Au programme, un peu de stretching pour commencer et pour gagner en souplesse. Ensuite, nous allons faire des exercices pratiques garantis de vous apporter des résultats. Par contre, on ne propose pas de courbature de l’esprit pour le lendemain – juste des changements bénéfiques!

Inscrivez-vous ici au plus vite. Les places sont limitées.

Nous nous réjouissons de vous voir le 27 avril à Holmes Place!

Chaleureusement,

Silke & Patricia

The Slump and Freedom

2010-03-30T01:55:00.000-07:00

We haven’t been very active on this blog because to be perfectly honest with you, we’ve been in a slump. A big slump. Now that we are out of it and breathing again, we’re ready to share what happened and how that’s going to impact you.

After being busy bees for a couple of months to paint the office, buy furniture, throw the inauguration party, fill up our first workshops and launching our website, we began “going to the office.” Like we had a 9 to 5, where we had to clock in and clock out. Slowly but surely we worked ourselves down a routine that resembled nothing to why we had started our business in the first place. It no longer felts like our mission to “guide and inspire individuals who want to integrate sustainability, values and balance into their lives and activities.” We sure were not very inspired so hardly inspiring.

It took a while to put our finger on what was wrong. We were getting a few clients and we were putting in place the business structure for upcoming projects. We felt awkward and had a few of these very constructive conversations:

“The office is too small. I can’t breathe.” (Patricia)

“What do you mean?” (Silke)

“We need to think bigger, act bigger, and have a bigger office. We’ve outgrown all of that!” (Patricia)

“Yes, we do need to think and act bigger, but with the office thing, I don’t quite follow you. And first, we have to put the structure in place, then we can start moving around.” (Silke)

“Yes, we have to put the structure in place and yes, having it will enable us to grow and move around. But I can’t continue this way.” (Patricia)
“Me neither, but we’re almost done and we’ve said we’d get it done, so let’s be patient.” (Silke)

“Yes, but no.” (Patricia)

“ . “ (Silke)

“I’m going for a walk.” (Patricia)

Both of us were clearly frustrated with feeling stuck and with each other as well…

Then, after many walks and moments of loaded silence, it hit us: in an effort to get the business structured and organized, we had compromised two of our values: FREEDOM and PASSION. (Read about them)

Once we figured that out, it became easier to walk out of the slump. We didn’t need to re-invent or change our business inside and out: we needed to shift our focus and think out of the box (or out of the office) so that both of us could get a sense of freedom and passion (and still get the business organized).

Knowing that, we set out to revisit everything that gets us energized, passionate and inspired.

Books: we took a break from the personal development and business books and read some lighthearted books (“Committed” by Elizabeth Gilbert and “The Last Symbol” by Dan Brown)

Music: we listened to our favorite artists; some for the soul moving lyrics, some for the energy and some for the New York feel. (Piers Faccini, The Avett Brothers and Jay Z)

Comedy: we watched Hamish and Andy on youtube.com. Our favorite comedians from Australia. (If you ever feel down or simply want a good laugh, do watch Hamish and Andy.)

Coaching: we sought guidance and support from our business and personal coach Ernst Bechinie (solution coaching). We also made a bold move and joined the Enlightened Entrepreneur Club led by Max Simon so that we would be supported and inspired by Max’s energy and by other entrepreneurs who run their businesses consciously.

Travel: Silke took a last minute, unplanned, very un-silke-like trip to Paris to see some beauty, art and be in the midst of a vibrant city.

Yoga, runs and walks: we went for walks, runs and did some yoga to get the energy moving and get ourselves energized.

Family & friends: we spent more time hanging out and going out; surrounding ourselves with people we love.

Vision boards: we cut and glued away several magazine worth of pictures onto vision boards of how we see ourselves, how we see our business and how we see our lives.

Meditation: Patricia gave up on meditation for a while only to realize that disconnecting herself from the inner world wasn’t cutting it either. In the end, the stillness within (even if it’s really hard to get a tiny glimpse of it when everything outward is spinning) is what matters and when things are all over the place, might as well be in the center and watch the madness eventually quiet down.

Strengths: we both revisited what we’re really good at, what we LOVE doing and what we mastered in our past work and athletic careers. It’s all about who we ARE and not what we DO, so that was a most useful exercise.

Soul searching / give-up on soul searching: we spent a whole lot of time trying to “figure things out” and put an explanation on what was happening. One day, we got tired of it, thought “f*** it” and just went on with our lives. That very act of forgetting about it shifted something and suddenly we were re-connected with ourselves and our business and the next move came to light. Like it had always been there right in front of us. Our inner turmoil didn’t allow us to see it. (Like a wise man said to us: it’s like searching for your glasses when all along they’re on your nose.)

All of these actions helped and got us back on track with who we really are and what we love doing. The very powerful lesson, though, was the giving up part. The moment we were ok with the fact that we were in a rut, we got clarity. It’s that famous (and infamous) concept of “letting go.”

Now that we have given up on trying so hard to do we’re not sure what, we have this exciting project coming to life. We’ve decided to call it “Passion & Purpose” because it’s about helping people reconnect with themselves and what they really love in life. It’s about helping people get out of the slump and feel free again!

We’ll tell you more in a day or two. Right now, we’re setting up a few things on which we’ll need your opinion. Like when we first started this endeavor, we’d love to hear from you so that this project is not about Silke & Patricia, but about how we can best help you or your friends feel free, energized and focused on Passion & Purpose!

Stay tune and please share your thoughts, leave us a comment, tell us if, like us, this felt like somewhere you’ve already been (once, twice, many times?)…

Much love,
Silke & Patricia

women's basketball, inspiration & centered energy

2010-03-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we went to Fribourg to work with their women’s pro basketball team to mentally prepare them for the finals of the Swiss Cup and the semi-finals of the Swiss championships.

Fribourg is a team I played with for a couple of years and with whom I won my first Swiss Cup. It’s a team and memories I hold dear in my heart, so I was delighted to go back and bring my new set of skills as a mental preparation coach: it’s nice to make a give back to the sport that’s brought so much in my life.

Silke was extremely excited too: she’s been wanting to work with elite teams for years. At her previous job, she had the opportunity to work with a training center in Florida that works with player from the NBA, NFL, pro golfers, etc. She has been talking about how she would love to work with athletes to help them prepare themselves mentally, improve their communications skills in interviews with the press and comprehensively train both body and mind to be more efficient and healthier. She got her chance on Friday!

The workshop started off buzzing. There were close to 30 people in a relatively small media room: players from the pro team, players from the junior team, coaches and team manager. The energy was all over the room and there was lots of giggling from players who had no idea what to expect. We started off with a couple of exercises to center the energy. We did a simple yoga exercise that got them giggling even louder and topped it off with a breathing exercise that brought the energy down.

With everybody calmed down and focused, we worked on setting objectives for each player and for the team. It was interesting to see that team players are so focused on the team that many of them hadn’t put much thoughts into their own personal objectives and how having one for themselves could contribute to the whole.

We closed the workshop by having them visualize winning the Swiss Cup. It was so amazing to see their faces light up with pride and excitement. Took me a few years back to the best memories I have of my basketball career!

We both feel extremely inspired by this team: their number one objective as a team was to play as a team, to bring their energy together to make one. They are a solid group, they have the right energy, they’re on to great things!

Their big game is on April 10th: if you want to give them a boost, send them your positive vibes or come to the game. We’ll definitely be in Fribourg at the Swiss Cup finals, cheering them on!

To get us into the basketball mode, I dug up pictures of my basketball days. Here are a few that still make my heart beat a little faster because they reflect the excitement of the Swiss Cup finals. The crowd, the confetti, the press and that moment when the buzzer goes off and the entire team rushes to the floor and huddles: that exact moment when all these hours in the gym are so worth it!

Much love to the women out there!

2010-03-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

On this special day, we’d like to give some shout outs to the women that inspire us:

- Our moms for their unconditional support and for everything they have taught us about being women
- Our sisters for always both challenging and supporting us while growing up (and that’s ongoing!)
- Our girls from Lausanne, Stuttgart, Boston, Charleston, Houston, Miami, Baltimore, Santa Cruz and many more places for the many, many endless talks that us girls are so good at! Sharing, caring, helping, laughing and crying with one another, for one another, that’s what it’s all about.
- Oprah for showing us the amazing power of insipiring women!
- Marianne Williamson for “Women’s Worth” a must read book that talks about how being feminine isn’t only about how we dress and wear our hair, but about the qualities that are in each one of us (men and women, by the way): intuition, love, nurturing and receptivity.
- Jacquelyne Small for her teachings on Mary Magdalen’s Gospel and for her books that explain the feminine and the masculine principles in detail (also must reads!).
- And of course, Michelle Obama for her grace, her heart-felt power and her ability to juggle between being a mother and the First Lady.

Check out the “inspiration” section of our website to read more about these exceptional women! http://www.silkeandpatricia.com/en/start#/en/people-en

Happy Women’s Day to all! Much love!

WELCOME! BIENVENUE! WILLKOMMEN!

2010-02-18T08:57:00.000-08:00

(français ci-dessous; Deutsch weiter unten)

Et voilà! It’s live!

We’re extremely happy to present our new website. We intended it to be a place where you can come and rest a while. A place where you can come and be inspired. A place where you can come and find something for your body, something for your mind and something for your soul.

Enjoy the visit and come back whenever you feel like it: we’ll have new resources, free stuff to help you along the way and offers that may be just the thing for you right then.

This site is at its beginnings and it’s for you to enjoy and to feel a breath of fresh air, so please send us your feedback!

Warmly,

Silke & Patricia

PS: the blog section is in English only for now. We’re developing the languages. For today, French and German translations are below!

*****

Et voilà, c’est parti!

Nous sommes très heureuses de vous présenter notre nouveau site web. Notre intention était avant tout que ce site soit un havre de paix ; une source d’inspiration ; un espace où trouver quelque chose pour son corps, quelque chose pour son esprit et quelque chose pour son âme.

Visitez, découvrez, explorez. Et revenez quand vous en avez l’envie ! Nous aurons de nouvelles ressources, des petites choses gratuites pour vous accompagner sur le chemin et des offres qui seront peut-être juste ce que vous recherchez au bon moment.

Ce n’est que le début de ce site et on veut qu’il évolue et continue à donner envie de respirer profondément. Alors n’hésitez pas à nous envoyer vos commentaires ou vos suggestions.

Chaleureusement,

Silke & Patricia

PS : la section « blog » du site est en anglais pour le moment. Nous sommes entrain de développer les langues. Merci de votre patience!

*****

Wir sind online!

Wir freuen uns sehr, unsere neue Webseite zu präsentieren. Sie soll ein Ort sein an dem Sie ankommen und ein wenig verweilen können. Ein Ort, an dem Sie Inspiration finden und ein Ort von dem Sie etwas für Körper, Geist und Seele mitnehmen können.

Geniessen Sie Ihren Besuch und kommen Sie wieder, wann immer Sie sich danach fühlen: wir werden neue Inspirationsquellen und Ressourcen haben, gratis Downloads um Sie auf Ihrem Weg zu begleiten und Angebote, die dann vielleicht genau richtig für Sie sind.

Diese Seite steht noch am Anfang und ist für Sie gemacht, um Freude und frischen Wind zu bringen – bitte senden Sie uns Ihre Rückmeldungen.

Herzlichst,

Silke & Patricia

PS : Unser Blog ist momentan nur auf Englisch verfügbar. Wir arbeiten an den anderen Sprachen. Danke für Ihre Geduld!

Mission 2010 - still a few spots available

2010-02-16T05:10:00.000-08:00

Mission 2010 is only in a couple of weeks and we still have a few spots available!

If putting focus (and what you put focus on, GROWS!) on having less stress and more freedom in your life sounds good to you, Mission 2010 might be just the thing...

We've created this weekend to explore how you can approach life and personal objectives from a body, mind and soul perspective and get you where you want to get feeling:
- connected to your body, mind and soul
- centered (calm, peaceful and focused)
- filled with vital energy

Here are the 5 things you can expect to take away from the weekend:
1. A new perspective on your life: how you look at it, how you feel about it and how you approach it
2. A deeper look at your purpose in life
3. Practical tools to connect with your inner self
4. A clear vision of what you want in 2010
5. A weekend out of time to nurture yourself

We'd love to have you there! To register, please contact us!

Last month, we ran the same workshop in French and here is what participants said about it:

"A meditative time-capsule outside of time that makes you look at the positive side of yourself. A journey into the soul and a time of human sharing. It helped me listen to my own needs." - C., artist, Lausanne, Switzerland

“What I enjoyed the most was the vision board. It helped clarify and anchor my vision.” - Hervé, CEO of an aero-spatial company, Lausanne, Switzerland

“I really appreciated the fact that the workshop was both concrete and creative with the vision board. There was a good dynamic to the group. I also enjoyed the meditations and the yoga as well as the message cards we received each day!” - Géraldine, psychologist, Vevey, Switzerland

“I personally found it very useful to spend time reviewing every aspects of my life allowing me to put in place objectives and tools to realize them (texts, vision board, etc). I particularly appreciated the various practical exercises that enabled me to formulate concrete objectives and to put in place short, mid- and long term strategies to realize them.” - Sylvie, researcher, Lausanne, Switzerland

“This seminar enabled me to face what seemed like a huge mess and to look at it from a distance without the fear. And instead of jumping into it with both feet, to first sort things out, structure it and break it down into manageable chunks.” - Vincent, designer, Lausanne, Switzerland

“I found the workshop very interesting and both varied and tailored to the objectives of each participant. Silke and Patricia were always available. It’s also nice to participate to such a seminar to meet new people. Working in groups on certain aspects enabled us to share our experiences and to mutually give each other advice on how to reach our objectives.” - Anonymous (participant to Objective 2010)

Listen to your heart and feel if it is right for you! To register, please contact us!

More information on www.silkeandpatricia.com

Healthy Planet Healthy People Conference

2010-02-12T01:57:00.000-08:00

Last Friday, we presented at a virtual conference called "Healthy Planet, Healthy People" organized by life coach Joanne Luke. This conference was part of Melbourne, Australia's Sustainable Living Festival and we were extremely grateful to participate: our humble contribution to making our planet healthier!

Our topic was called “Bye-bye stress – hello freedom” and covered how to nurture your body, mind and soul to get in alignment with yourself and the environment.

Conscious living is the way to health, happiness and sustainable living. It takes your whole being into consideration and it aligns it with the Universe. Conscious living is about acknowledging and nurturing the needs of your body, your mind and your soul. When your needs are not being met, you experience stress and you are no longer in harmony with yourself and everything around you.

In the call, we discussed how we got into conscious living and provided practical tools to apply to your life.

* Listen to the presentation on-line or download it on: Live recording download

* Send us an e-mail to connect@silkeandpatricia.com to get our free tip book on how to establish a simple morning routine to connect to your body, mind and soul!

Thank you Joanne for having us on your pannel of international speakers and for making “health of both people and the planet” the theme of your conference: because in the end, if each of us realize that our health contributes to the Whole, the planet will be a healthier place!

* Sustainable Living Festival, Melbourne Australia - February 6-21, 2010 http://festival.slf.org.au/

Valentine's Day special: guest post by relationship coach

2010-02-12T01:11:00.000-08:00

We're delighted to offer you something different for Valentine's day: a guest post from our friend and colleague Daniela Koenig. Daniela is an expert relationship coach from California and a Swiss-native. We met her for coffee a few weeks back in Fribourg and felt a strong connection to her as a person and to her work. She'll appear on our blog from time to time to offer you her perspective on relationships as well as practical tools to make your relationships conscious and more loving. Enjoy!

Your Relationship Success Story

By Daniela Koenig, M.A. Relationship Coach

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner here in the United States I’m reminded that being aware of our stories and ourselves is a great way to be in authentic, loving relationship with ourselves and with our partner.

A few months ago I packed some warm winter clothes and my new black dress and flew to Switzerland for the weekend to attend my good friend’s wedding. I’d never traveled from California to Switzerland for a weekend. I felt like such a jet setter.

With a 9-hour time difference I was more than a bit jet-lagged. Friday night after the rehearsal dinner, I found myself lying in my hotel room, still awake as the wall clock passed midnight. I had to get up in six hours for the wedding preparations, which was three hours before my California-timed body actually wanted to go to sleep.

As I was lying there looking at the moon through the window I suddenly noticed I was saying to myself “My body is relaxing and rejuvenating” “I feel rested and relaxed”. This was a new experience for me. In the past I would have lain in bed, tossing and turning, worrying that I would feel tired the next day and not enjoy the wedding. This time, by continuously repeating, “my body is resting and rejuvenating”, I noticed that even though I didn’t sleep much that night, the next day I felt rested and had a wonderful time at the wedding.

I realized that the stories I tell myself shape my experience. Had I lain there in that hard twin bed worrying about how I was going to be exhausted that would have probably happened.

So what can you do the next time you are lying awake worrying? How can you ensure that your relationship stories are supporting you in shaping the kind of relationship you want?

Become aware of your story
Bring some curious attention to the stories you might be telling yourself about dating or your relationship. You can do this by noticing what you tell yourself when for example you are feeling nervous on a date. Do you tell yourself “Oh I’m just not good enough and nobody loves me”? Try saying the stories out loud when you notice them. In your relationship what is a repeating issue between you and your partner? If it is finances for example, notice if you are telling yourself ”the story that your parents or role models told you growing up?”

Changing your story
Byron Katie in her work asks the question “Who would you be without that thought?” I know that can be a daunting “Big Question” at first when you feel identified with your story. So take out a timer, set if for five minutes and ask yourself “Who would I be without my old Relationship story?” How would I interact with my date/partner? Write down any thoughts, images, words, and sounds as they pop into your awareness.

Create your new story
Now you get to create your new story inspired by the word you just wrote down. Byron Katie invites her readers to “Turn it around”, which is a great way to start to create your new story. So what is your turn around? My turn around with the jet lag was “I feel relaxed, rested and rejuvenated”. Write down your new story and for the next week read your “turn around” at least once a day. So next time you are on a date and you notice yourself starting to feel nervous tell yourself your new story and notice how your interaction with your date changes. The same in your relationship, next time you notice yourself heading down the path with your partner into an old recycled issue remind yourself of your new story, repeat it to yourself and notice how your interaction with your partner shifts."

To learn more about Daniela and how to live in Authentic Relationship visit:

www.AttractingRealLove.com or contact Daniela via e-mail at daniela@attractingreallove.com

Bye-bye Stress, Hello Freedom Virtual Conference

2010-02-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

As part of Melbourne, Australia's Sustainable Living Festival, life coach Joanne Luke is organizing a virtual conference called "Healthy Planet, Healthy People."

The conference features a panel of international speakers to discover how your personal power of choice can create a healthier lifestyle for you & your family whilst unlocking the key to a more sustainable world...

The conferences are taking place on February 8-12, daily at
noon (Melbourne, Australia)/5pm (PT, USA)/ 2am (Lutry, Switzerland)

We're excited to be presenting on

Friday, February 12, 2010 at 7am Lutry, Switzerland time,

5pm (Melbourne, Australia), 10pm (PT, USA).
We'll be discussing how to nurture your body, mind and soul to get in alignment with yourself and the environment.

Register to attend: http://www.healthyplanethealthypeople.com/

If you can't tune in at 7am, still register for the call and you'll receive the recording by e-mail!

We're delighted to have the opportunity to make a contribution towards a healthier planet!

Silke & Patricia

Sustainable Living Festival, Melbourne Australia - February 6-21, 2010 http://festival.slf.org.au/

an unexpected shiny gift

2010-02-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

When we were moving into our new office, a little girl walked by with her mom. She asked her mom what we were doing, so I answered to the little girl that we were coaches. Now, many adults don't know what coaching is and explaining what we do is challenging. Try explaining life coaching to a child. I simply said that we helped people to feel better.

And that was that: it was a satisfying answer.

Weeks later, I’m sitting at my desk while Silke is in the coaching room on a coaching call when someone knocks at the door. I see through the stained glass door that it’s kids. I open the door and the taller of the kids tells me that they have a present for me. It’s a small stone. One of the kids proudly announces that it’s shiny.

Then, the tall girl says to me that it’s a gift for helping people. I could show the stone to the people I help to make them feel good.

Today Silke and I did a long visualization on “abundance.” How about that for a response from the Universe?

Thank you for coming!

2010-02-03T02:36:00.001-08:00

Our inauguration marked an important step for our endeavor: it materialized months of preparation. That’s why we wanted to share a moment with our friends, our clients and our families. We would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts to have stopped by and imprinted this moment with your presence.

We have launched Silke & Patricia with the ambition to « make our world a peaceful place where everyone lives consciously. » What has particularly touched us last Friday was the atmosphere of peaceful and joy-filled energy. To us, it’s the proof that we are headed in the right direction!

We look forward to seeing you again soon and for those who couldn't make it, we look forward to welcoming you whenever you have a chance to stop buy!

Until then, we send you positive vibes from Bourg 4 Lutry. Our door remains open to you whenever you want to stop by from a cup of tea, to talk a while or to recharge your batteries.

INAUGURATION!

2010-01-26T02:28:00.000-08:00

Here we go!

Silke & Patricia is officially on the map! We’ve settled in our office and launched our business a couple of weekends ago with our first workshop “objective 2010”. The excellent turnout and the energy of the group got us inspired for the next steps:

*Bye-bye Stress, Hello Freedom: our individual and group program to discover what you're really yearning for, to identify and release blocks to your personal freedom and to develop tools to reduce stress in your life (more information soon!)
*Meditation group: Wednesday mornings from 7 :30 to 8: 15 in Lausanne starting in February
*Mission 2010: weekend workshop to define personal objectives for 2010 *in English* on February 27-28

To discover what we do and our lake-view office, we’re happy to invite you to our inauguration on Friday, January 29th, 2010 from 4-8pm in Lutry.

Location: rue du Bourg 4, 1095 Lutry
Date: January 29th, 2010
Finger food and drinks from 4-8pm

For later and for those wanting to enjoy what Lutry has to offer, we recommend the Café de la Poste for dinner (best to make a reservation beforehand) or the Caveau des vignerons to have a drink!

We look forward to welcoming you in our new office!

Warmly,
Silke & Patricia

Article dans l'Echo du Gros-de-Vaud sur la reconnaissance

2010-01-08T07:50:00.001-08:00

Coaching de vie

Entraînez la reconnaissance !

Ce matin, une amie partageait avec nous ses soucis de gestion d’équipe à son travail. « Le problème, nous confiait-elle, c’est la reconnaissance. Personne n’en reçoit assez ! Tout le monde en a besoin pour contribuer positivement au travail d’équipe et pour rester motivé. »

C’est vrai, on a tous besoin d’être reconnus dans ce qu’on fait parce qu’on le fait avec le cœur et on y met du nôtre. La bonne nouvelle, c’est que l’on n’est pas obligé d’attendre la reconnaissance : on peut la provoquer ! On peut l’entraîner !

La reconnaissance, c’est comme un muscle, ça se travaille pour être plus fort ! Nous vous proposons donc d’entraîner votre capacité à la reconnaissance avec deux exercices :

Exercice n°1 : appliquez la loi de la réciprocité.
Exprimez votre gratitude aux personnes qui vous entourent en leur souriant, en les félicitant de leur travail et en les remerciant sincèrement ; ils vous rendront la pareille. Faites l’essai avec vos collègues, vos amis, votre famille.

Exercice n°2 : dressez un inventaire mental des choses pour lesquelles vous êtes reconnaissants
Installez-vous dans votre fauteuil d’observateur avant d’aller vous coucher et passez en revue les événements de votre journée. Quels ont été les moments de joie, d’attendrissement, de partage, de beauté ou de franche rigolade aujourd’hui ? Cherchez cinq petites choses qui ont illuminé votre journée.

Petit à petit, le cerveau s’habitue à scanner la mémoire et à repérer les faits gratifiants. Au début, ça prend un peu de temps. Il manque d’habileté. Avec la pratique, il devient de plus en plus rapide et performant. Finalement, ça devient une habitude qui crée un changement de perception : on devient plus reconnaissant de tout ce qu’on a dans notre vie et on exprime instinctivement notre gratitude envers les autres. Et en plus, on attire la reconnaissance des autres !

Testez jusqu’à Noël, puis faites le bilan. Vous serez peut-être surpris de constater que non seulement vous vous sentirez plus reconnu et reconnaissant, mais vous aurez aussi plus de joie dans votre vie. Parce que finalement, la joie, n’est-ce pas l’accumulation de petits moments gratifiants ?

Patricia Schwarz et Silke Zanker

PS : partagez votre bilan avec nous en nous écrivant à patricia@silkeandpatricia.com. Nous vous en serons reconnaissantes !

Silke et Patricia sont coachs de vie. Les 16-17 janvier 2010, elles organisent à Lausanne un atelier qui traite de comment vivre avec moins de stress et plus de passion. Prix du week-end fr. 350.- Obtenez fr. 50.- de réduction à la présentation de cet article. Plus d’infos sur www.silkeandpatricia.com.

Tip of the day: Stop & Watch

2010-01-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

Conscious coaching office: chosing carpet!

2009-12-30T02:01:00.000-08:00

We hope all of you had a Merry Xmas, enjoyed the scent of the tree and the warmth of the fireplace.

In Lutry, the office is shaping up. The paint is done, the furniture is up, the Ganesh statue is overseeing that all obstacles are being removed: it's all coming along.

We're now working on the coaching room. We want it to be an experience as soon as you step in. We want it to be inspiring, yet peaceful and inviting reflection. We want it to highlight the view on the lake. So far, we painted it white and put a shelf by the window (there will be books in that room. Of course.). Today we courageously went to furniture stores looking for the perfect carpet for that room.

On a side note, can the sun come back so that people go skiing instead of shopping? Pleeeassse! Shopping cannot become the Swiss national sport over the Holidays.

We made a short video to present two options for the coaching room. Please give us your opinion, leave a comment!

1er article dans la presse!

2009-12-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

Presenting: The office (The conscious coaching version of it)

2009-12-08T07:59:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since we last kept you posted. We're not going to lie about it; we took a little break. Silke was in Cali taking some classes at Deepak Chopra's center (more info on that later) and Patricia rejuvenated in her favorite place in the whole wide world: Crooked Creek Plantation in Charleston, South Carolina.

Don’t think we rested on our laurels though. Far from that! We organized our first weekend workshop taking place on January 16-17, 2010 in Lausanne – in French. It’s a workshop designed to help participants set their objectives to live a less stressful and more passion-filled life in 2010. We called it OBJECTIF 2010. For those of you who speak French, you can read more on www.silkeandpatricia.com

We got hired by Patricia’s hometown’s local newspaper to write articles for “conscious women”. Our first article will be published on Friday. It talks about calm energy during the holidays and provides a few relaxation tips to the readers.

For the last but not least bit of news we have for your today, we’ve decided to try something different and share it with you in a video… So sit back, grab some popcorn, relax and enjoy our first production.

Rollercoasters & CONSCIOUS 2010

2009-10-22T01:17:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

The past couple of weeks have been like a roller coaster - not so much an emotional roller coaster (ok maybe a little with a moment of doubt!) - more like a slow, steady push up hill to lightening speed, head spinning glide down the hill. We'd work real hard, plucking away one notch at a time up the hill until we'd reach the top. Then we'd launch the project and let go wooooooooooooheeeeeeeeeeee! down the hill, upside down, hands up in the air, scream from the top of our lungs, eyes closed, flash (buy the photo at the end of the ride) and safely make it to the bottom, smiling. Catch a breath, unclench the jaws, relax the shoulders, fix the hair and back up the hill.

We've launched our facebook group and woooooooheeeeeeeee reached 194 fans so far! It's been such a fun ride to see people from all over the world sign up and post comments. The group stats display interesting, random facts:
- 48% women, 48% men. Leaving us to wonder what the other 4% are.
- 67 members from Switzerland (40 of them from Zurich. How did that happen?), 40 from the United States, 29 from Germany and people from all continents, except from Australia. Hello Australia, we'd love to have an Aussie representative in our fans club!
- 81% of our fans are between 25 and 44 years old and we absolutely do not interest teenagers or seniors

We've also had an excellent meeting with our web and graphic design agencies. We're preparing an overview that we'll share soon. We'd like to give a shout-out to Michael and his company www.thinktag.ch. Thanks for putting together our retreat webpage so quickly!

Finally, we've finalized our first body, mind & soul retreat "CONSCIOUS 2010" that will take place in Lausanne from December 28th, 2009 to January 2nd, 2010. We're particularly thrilled about this event because we truly believe there is a need to clear out old energies to enter the New Year focused, energized and passion-driven. For us personally, 2009 has been about letting go and learning (and travelling) and we want to launch 2010 the way we intend it to be: about connecting & sharing.

Visit our first web page and please share it with your friends who would benefit from attending this event: www.silkeandpatricia.com

And as usual, please comment! We love hearing from you.

PS: Anyone interested in going to EuropaPark for Halloween? Rollercoasters at night, that's gotta be something!

There it is! The result for the vote on our company name.

2009-10-06T04:33:00.000-07:00

First of all (we’d like to hold the suspense a while longer…), we’d like to thank all of you for participating. Your votes, e-mails, tweets, phone calls and visits have been such a source of inspiration. Some of you - and you know who you are - have been excellent at challenging us and pushing us to dig deeper. We expect no less (no pun intended) from you in the future!

We have also been amazed by the help and support that we have received since we launched this blog. We were laughing the other day that we don’t have a company name yet and we already have two volunteers working with us! We’d like to take the opportunity to give a huge shout out to Susi and Corina: your help is so appreciated.

Susi is helping us with our retreat organization, putting to contribution her experience in the event organization and travel industry. Her expertise, her enthusiasm and her unwavering faith in our project are truly a blessing.

Corina is kicking our butts with planning and accountability (loving that!) and most of all with the promotion of our retreats. She is an advertising specialist and we are delighted to be helped with that.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Before giving you the results, we need to explain that the votes you see on the right hand-side, do not include a lot of comments and messages we received from people, so you may be surprised with the final decision…

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the results.

In the fifth place, going home with a bouquet of flowers, live from the Netherlands, Nikkie for “Motivity” (Must be that NLP way of thinking. Nikkie got us certified last March. www.globalnlptraining.com)

In the fourth place, also going home with flowers, from Veveyyyyyyyyy, Switzerland, Less for “Life Balance” (Maybe it is the fact that we have been working together, challenging one another and arguing about slogans and such things for over four years that got Marlis inspired and vocal! http://www.less-design.com/)

In the third place, getting a surprise inspiration package, all the way from Miami, Tamara for “Equilibrium” (Thanks for contributing and good luck on your coaching business!)

In the second place, also getting a surprise inspiration package, from the U.K., Jo for “Inside Out” (after all, Jo is a book coach. She is all about inspiration! Check her out on www.joparfitt.com)

And in the first place - drum rolls please – coming with us to one of our workshops, from Basel, Switzerland, David with “Silke & Patricia” (It’s not a family thing. It just happens to be David who came up with the idea. It’s also why www.hauser-schwarz.ch will be designing our website. We like the way they think and create!)

So why are we happy with naming our company “Silke & Patricia”?

What we do is not about the product. It’s about the benefits you get from being coached by us. In the end, when you decide to hire a coach, yes, you want to know that they have the qualifications and get an understanding of what it is that they do; the final decision though comes from who that coach is, what she did in her life, her personality, what drives her.

In the era of new media, it’s all about what the company stands for: it’s reason for being and it’s values. Before its products. This whole endeavor is about letting you know what we are about and letting you decide what you think of us and what we do.

To those whose names didn't win, we want you to know that your creativity is not going to waste. We are taking in your ideas and integrating them in what we do. For example, the overwhelmingly popular second-place “Inside Out” is a perfect name for the services we offer to companies: we coach and consult them to reflect on their core essence and values and on how to make them transparent to their employees and to the World. So rest assured: your feedback is being put to work!

Next step on the path is the creation of our company image. Be on the lookout for another voting session soon.

See you soon and THANK YOU!

Love,

Silke & Patricia

Thank you and More to come!

2009-09-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for voting! We're excited at so much turn-out.

@Client Manifestation: to add a poll on your blog, go to Layout > Page Elements > Add a Gadget > Poll

@Mert: I knew you'd like it!!! I did like you're "lady cougs represent what what" name proposal. It didn't make the cut though. :)

@less: Thanks for your honest feedback. It's so appreciated.

Since the contest opened, we received some great new names. We're definitely going to throw them out there for a second round with the top names voted so far in the next few days.

Please keep checking with us!

Love,

Silke & Patricia

Time to vote!

2009-09-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you for participating and sending us so many inspiring names and cheerful messages! We truly appreciate your involvement.
Now is time for the next step : choosing your favorite name for our business!

To participate, simply post your vote on the right hand side of this page. Choose the favorite name amongst the list of 10 names.

If for some reason, it doesn’t work, simply send us an e-mail at psintegrativecoaching@gmail.com or post a comment to this post.

If you come up with another name idea, by all means, don’t refrain your creativity: e-mail us the idea!

Contest starts today and ends September 30th. Winners will be announced on October 1st!

Love, peace and may the best name win!

Silke and Patricia

Prizes for best names:
1st place: participate in a personal development weekend of your choice!
2nd and 3rd places: get a surprise inspiration package
4th and 5th places: receive flowers at home

Let's co-create our company name!

2009-09-01T09:55:00.000-07:00

We are setting up our coaching business based on values and sustainability. We are doing things in a slightly different way where we want to include our friends, partners and clients in the process.

The official launch is January 1st, 2010. In the meantime, we are working on our methodology, website, marketing strategy, financing and all of that good stuff. With this blog, we would like to keep you in the loop on the progress and get you involved.
Our first common project is to find a company name which will reflect our business, our values and who we are.

We would like to hear your thoughts and ideas! We have no specific guidelines besides encouraging you to read our mission, how we do business, why we are getting into this business and our projects overview. These elements will give you the flavor of our endeavor.

We appreciate and value your ideas and comments, so the most popular ideas will be rewarded! Unleash your creative power. It will be worth it!

Contest lasts from Sept 3-15th. The best proposals will be posted for popular vote on Sept 16th. Winner will be announced by Sept 30th.

To participate, simply post a comment on this blog or e-mail us at psintegrativecoaching@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Prizes:
1st place: participate in a personal development weekend of your choice!
2nd and 3rd places: get a surprise inspiration package
4th and 5th places: receive flowers at home

How we do business

2009-09-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

Before engaging in any project, we check with ourselves that we can positively answer to the four following questions:

Is it aligned with our core values?
- Universal love, peace, wholeness, higher purpose.

Is it aligned with our business values?
- Knowledge, balance, freedom, creativity, passion, intuition.

Is it ecological?
- Am I congruent with it ? Is it responsible?

Is it fun???
- Does it make me want to get up in the morning ? If not so much, how can I make it fun?

Three fundamental questions

2009-09-01T08:34:00.000-07:00

Before starting anything, we asked ourselves three fundamental questions.
Why us? What makes our project important? What is our project's contribution to the world?
We want to make sure that the business we start has a purpose that will make a difference and that will contribute to the world's evolution. It's about building a value-driven business.
Inspired by Google, who started a business on the simple and audacious idea to organize the information on the Internet without having a plan on how they were going to make money. Profit came because they brought a real value; they made a contribution to the world.
Not necessarily with the pretentious claim to become the Google of coaching, we went ahead and answered the three fundamental questions and made them the centerpiece of our endeavor. We want to share them with you. Please do send us your feedback!

Why us?
We are passionate, creative, driven, motivated, inspired, educated, compassionate, conscious, loving, peace aspiring, intuitive. We have come to understand and integrate, through our personal experiences, that there is a need to change the way we live our lives and do business. We need to look within, learn and align our actions with the Universe. We have gone through that process ourselves and now feel the desire, the mission and the energy to help others and businesses on their path. We have sought the necessary knowledge through education, books, bodywork and holistic therapies. We are committed to continually evolve and seek further balance, inner peace and love, and extend our findings to our clients and entourage. We want to make a peaceful contribution to the world.

What is our project's contribution to the world?
Each person who develops their utmost potential and journeys towards inner peace, and each company that conducts a value-driven, sustainable business contributes to the whole, thus becoming an actor in the world evolution towards peace. Our services guide them to integrate sustainability, values and balance to their lives and activities.

Why is our project important?
Because we help people and businesses to look deeper within and to make healthy, natural changes towards sustainability, solidarity and soulful living.

The right time is now. There is a global shift towards sustainability, personal development and values: people feel the urge and are pulling away from an overly materialistic and shallow lifestyle; businesses are increasingly teaming up with non-profit organizations and encouraging their employees to actively serve the community or care for the environment.

We have experienced and learned the new trains of thoughts and we have modeled our leaders. We have the knowledge and the passion to lead more people and more companies to make these changes themselves.

Mission & Vision

2009-09-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

Mission
To guide and inspire individuals who want to integrate sustainability, values and balance into their lives and activities.

Vision
To play an active role in changing our world towards a more peaceful and holistic place.

Patricia Schwarz

2009-09-01T08:23:00.000-07:00

Integrative coach. Communications specialist. Former professional basketball player. Book worm. Currently getting certified as a Breathwork practionner by the Eupsychia Institute. I’m inspired by Barack Obama’s communication campaign. I believe that everything is possible when we give hope to people. Creativity, intuition and peace are three of my values.

Silke Zanker

2009-09-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

Integrative coach. Marketing, public relations and new media specialist. Pilates instructor. Currently participating in the "Perfect Health" certification by the Deepak Chopra Center. I'm motivated by the freedom feeling I get from being an entrepreneur and the passion I have for our project. I want to share with you my conviction in doing things from the heart and in having a balanced lifestyle.