What if the source of all the peace, clarity and joy you’ll ever need already exists inside you?
Here’s the thing…
Everything starts with you.
Your relationship with the kids in your life. Your significant other. Your family and friends. Your work life. Your dreams and goals. The way you move through the world — all of it starts with YOU. You know the cliche of putting your oxygen mask on first? This course is it. If you know yourself, trust yourself, can sit with yourself and feel what you feel, know what you know, you can show up for everyone else when they need you. By tapping into the core of who you are you can beam that powerful light back out into the world.
I lost my beloved in 2005 and as I traversed the fire of grief, I began building a long overdue relationship with myself. I’d spent my early adult years attached to someone else and it was time to get to know the woman in the mirror, the one I’d always avoided.
At first it was excruciating, but as I slowly unravelled my past and healed my pain, I began finding new meaning and pleasure in the time I spent alone. Rather than doing anything to distract myself, I started relishing my own company. Because being alone doesn’t have to mean being lonely — who knew?! These days I find I choose my own company first — it’s like having my best friend always with me!
And here’s the good news: you don’t need to be single for a decade to get there (did you just breathe a sigh of relief?). I’ve created The Sacred Alone to help you practice spending soulful time on your own in a structured nurturing way. Life is busy but at our core there is peace…
I’ll help you find it.
Sign up to get emailed when registration next opens!
Questions and Answers
HOW DOES THE COURSE WORK? WHAT DO I NEED?
Starting from the day you sign up you'll receive an email from me every day for 14 days. The emails will arrive in your inbox at roughly the same time each day - when that is will depend upon the time you sign up. For example, if you purchase the course at 2pm you should get your daily emails at around 2pm, but obviously you can work through the lessons whenever works best for you! Each email will contain a short essay on the day’s theme, a downloadable MP3 audio and a series of powerful journal prompts to work on. On the last day of the course you’ll receive a beautifully-designed ebook containing all the lessons (including links to the audios) to download and keep forever.
To do this course you simply need a journal and a pen, plus the commitment to find 20 minutes of alone time somewhere in your day for 14 days — it might be tricky some days but it’s not impossible. Headphones would be nice to listen to the audios, but they’re not essential.
CAN ALL OF THIS REALLY BE ACHIEVED IN JUST 20 MINUTES A DAY?
Yes! The key is to commit to doing the practice: 5 minutes to read the short essay, 5 minutes to meditate and 10 minutes to journal. We’re starting with 20 minutes because that’s do-able for most people, but if you wanted to spend, say, an hour devoted to you in the morning you can, of course! I predict that by the end of our 14 days together you’ll be ready to stretch your Sacred Alone time to an hour or more (if you haven’t already!)
I’VE NEVER MEDITATED BEFORE - CAN I STILL TAKE PART?
Absolutely! The meditations and visualisations are short and simple, making them ideal for the beginner. We don’t need to sit in silence for hours on end — five minutes is enough for our purposes. Plus they are audios so I’ll guide you every step of the way.
I DON’T LIKE SPENDING TIME ALONE - IS THIS GOING TO MAKE ME UNCOMFORTABLE?
Part of our fear of the alone is what might happen when we’re in it — what if I can’t control myself? What if I feel lonely and sad? What if I’m just flat out bored? So I’m inviting you to commit to spend just 20 minutes a day with me and I’m giving you something to *do* so you’re not just sitting aimlessly in silence. It’s like building a foundation for what might come later — once you know you can sit for 20 minutes with yourself, you’ll trust that you can handle more. Give it a try — I promise I’ll be gentle with you!
WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO GET OUT OF THIS COURSE?
I’m hoping that once you get a taste of how sweet the Sacred Alone is, you’ll get hungry for more of it. You may find yourself scheduling in afternoons just for you, or maybe a yearly weekend on your own. At the very least you’ll get 20 minutes a day just for you, which you can make as special or as simple as you like. You might want to read the emails and listen to the audios while sipping your morning coffee. You might prefer to find your Sacred Alone at the end of the day — or anywhere inbetween. Candles and hot drinks are nice accompaniments to this work.
CAN I CONNECT WITH OTHERS DOING THE COURSE?
No. There will be no Facebook group for this session - instead I'll invite all participants to email me (Susannah) directly as you go through the course. It's going to be a much more intimate experience!
Kind Words
“I've taken all of your courses and this one feels qualitatively different - deeper - an evolution. I liked the lightness and gentleness of the structure, the space for carving-out deep alone time. It perfectly suited and reflected the purpose of the course. I loved the guided meditations, the variety of them. A couple really opened me up and got me to some deep and painful truths that I needed to revisit... I love the challenge of touching on those difficult places that then move you forward. Like you, my home is my sacred altar. It's my soulful place of peace. I liked the opportunity to focus on this during the class, to turn-up the volume through thinking about it anew. The journalling was important but not more than the meditations - they worked together to spark a deep germination - a focused process of both conscious and unconscious reflection, always quietly running in the background. It was a great class Susannah, my favorite. Thank you.”
MELINDA
“I absolutely loved the course. I think that is because of YOU as a person first and foremost. The content is secondary. As usual your gentle, loving, fun self shone through. I thought there was a perfect amount of journalling... enough prompts to get me writing but not too much that I felt I had to answer or do. I ended up really valuing the journalling. I didn't actually write a lot but the content that came out of me was very meaningful. I LOVED your meditations...your voice is lovely. I love having the Facebook aspect of the course and can't imagine the course without this piece. I so enjoy connecting and sharing with others. In summary the course rocked, you rock and I can't wait to take another course with you. You are an inspiring, down-to-earth, lovely being. Thank you for being who you are!”
STEPHANIE
“Just wanted to send you a quick note of how amazing these past few days have been. I find myself seeking out little moments to work through the prompts, to journal (something I haven't done in years). Some days it takes all day to get through the whole thing, 10 minutes here and there. But, this sacred alone time truly feels like something I am doing just for me, which is very rare these days. Yes it feels very (!!!) self-indulgent - but to re-frame this as a form of sustenance - AMAZING!! Yes! Yes! Yes! I can't wait to see what the next 6 days bring. Thank you thank you for this amazing class. I am so blessed to be a part of it!”
ALISON
“I would just like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your Sacred Alone course, It was an amazing journey and will now continue to be one for the rest of my life. I loved every part of it, and now miss the morning emails. The meditations were so beautiful and safe. The journal prompts were so sensitive and really made me look and feel just that bit harder...but because they were so deep this now means they are a deeper part of me so will have longer lasting results. I am going to be totally honest now and the truth is I wondered if the course was going to be good value for money, I am so pleased to say it was worth every penny and more. I am now saving up hard to do as many of your courses as possible!”
TRACEY
“I simply loved The Sacred Alone. I found the essays enriching and thought provoking and appreciated the prompts to journal from the thoughts going through my mind reading the essay. I especially love, love, loved the final medi- tation. I found myself in tears and smiles talking to my future self. It was a powerful affirmation for me that I am doing the right healing work for myself and am on the right path for my life. I lead a pretty quiet life in the big picture of things, so for me the ritual of The Sacred Alone was a beautiful added benefit to my mornings to start my day. I followed with pulling a Grace card and then my yoga practice. Such a treat! A heart-felt thank you for such a beautiful e-course.”
BARBARA
“I loved, loved, loved the Sacred Alone course! I found the guided meditations to be so helpful and relaxing, and looked forward to hearing your soothing voice each morning before my day got started. I had not had a regular meditation practice, and your meditations made such a positive impact on the rest of my day. I also really enjoyed the emails. Although I didn't have an issue convincing myself that I not only deserve but need to take care of myself in the ways you described in your emails, I was still having problems setting aside the time and actually committing to it. Your gentle, compassionate instruction really set the tone and allowed me to make that commitment. That alone has made such an immediate positive impact on my days, making them more rewarding, more memorable (thanks to increased mindfulness) and more serene -- something I desperately needed THANK YOU for all the loving care, and soul, and attention to detail that you obviously poured into creating the daily lessons and audio recordings. If others shared my experience, which I can see from the group postings that they did -- overwhelmingly -- then I'd say the class is a brilliant success, and I hope you will repeat it for the benefit of future frazzled students.”
ALLISON
“Whilst I am still struggling to make space every day for my ‘sacred alone’ I am making progress. I struggled at first with the visualisations, I think I was too hung up trying to conjure a picture in my mind. However in the Future Self Visualisation something changed. I don’t know what I did differently, but it was powerful and moving... Thank you for this fabulous course. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Because it introduced us to different techniques and way of looking at things not everything will work for everyone. But anyone taking the course with an open heart will find inspiration and comfort here. In fact, I think I will be going through this course material again, to further explore some of the things that I didn’t quite have time for in those precious twenty minutes. Going over my journal for this course I’ve realised there are so many things I want to explore more, there is so much in here.”
SARAH
“This is the best online course I have taken. Period. I am amazed by its simplicity as well as your ability to create a safe container and allow for really deep growth and insight right away. From the first email and meditation to the last, I felt safe and grounded as well as connected to the larger group. Beyond that, it was a treat to read all of your very honest and generous sharing as part of the course. I want to particularly thank you for your honest sharing about depression and getting support. Please do know that the work you do does make a tremendous difference!”
CAROLINE