Today I would like to introduce to you my friend Jodi Chapman creator of Soul Speak , we met through the Goddess Circle.

For those who are meeting you for the first time, please tell us more about yourself.

If you’re just meeting me for the first time, I would love to start by saying hello. J I’m grateful that our paths have crossed, and I look forward to getting to know you better!

I am an inspirational writer. (I still pinch myself when I write that because it’s such a dream come true.) I am definitely evidence that our lives can change drastically once we make our minds up and begin to leap toward our dreams. (More about that in a bit.) For now, I’ll say that I write the blog Soul Speak, and I am so grateful for the loving community there. I also co-wrote (with my amazing husband, Dan Teck) the bestselling Soulful Journals series – 11 writing-prompt books that make getting to know yourself fun. I am the author of the upcoming book, Coming Back to Life: How An Unlikely Friend Helped Me Reclaim My True Spirit, which is what my new ecourse is based on.

What inspired you to create the Coming Back to Life Ecourse?

I was given a helping hand when I needed it so desperately, and this course is my way of offering my own hand to anyone else who is stuck and needing to wake up to their own life.

Just two years ago, I was in a very different place. I definitely wasn’t awake. I was feeling lost and numb and completely disconnected from my soul and from all of life. Like so many of us, I was living my life on auto-pilot. I was alive in the sense that my body was functioning – my heart was beating, and I was getting up each day and going to work, but I wasn’t REALLY living. I was just going through the motions – sleepwalking through life – and I wasn’t even aware of it.

And it’s not like this numbing out happened overnight – it happened gradually over a period of many years. Throughout my life, when something or someone hurt me, it felt like a little part of me left. I’ve always been a sensitive soul, and sometimes it was just easier to retreat rather than feel the pain. I also have lived most of my life feeling afraid and stepping back rather than leaping when I was called to take a chance. Also, I had spent several years in survival mode – struggling to get by financially, and I if I did realize that I was numb and needed to wake up and start living, I would’ve seen this as frivolous and not a great way to make sure all the bills were paid. So all of these pains and fears and struggles piled up on top of each other – creating a dark cloud over my heart. It was just easier to go to sleep and not think about it or feel any of it.

Two years ago, all of the struggles in my life came to a head – my husband and I had to move under very stressful and surprising circumstances, we were having a hard time staying passionate about our struggling gift business, we were drowning in bills with no light that we could see at the end of the tunnel, and we had just lost two people who meant a lot to us.  So we were grieving and trying to put our life back together at the same time. All I wanted to do was crawl into my bed, pull the covers up, and wake up when everything was better again. I didn’t know how I was going to keep going.

That’s when the helping hand came. My loved one who had just died began communicating with me from the other side. He was my childhood sweetheart, and we hadn’t spoken in almost 20 years. I was definitely not open to this sort of thing at all, so it took an entire year of him sending me signs and me asking for more signs and on and on before we finally could get to work. And once we did, my entire world opened up. He helped me see that being here on Earth is such a beautiful gift – a gift that we have chosen to be a part of. He helped me see that I wasn’t really living. And he helped me wake up and step back into my life again.

Our journey together has been life-changing for me. Everything changed – all because I now saw things through a different lens. I now know that my time here is precious, and I can choose to come back to life. We all can.

That’s why I created this course. I was given this beautiful gift, and I didn’t want to keep it all to myself. I want to be the helping hand for anyone who wanted to start living again and wasn’t sure how to do it.

Can you tell us about the Coming Back to Life Ecourse? Who is it for?

I would be happy to!

The Coming Back to Life Ecourse begins on 1/21 and lasts for 6 weeks. It’s a helping hand, a set of concrete tools, and a loving support system all wrapped up into one heartfelt course!

This course is for those of us who have ever felt disconnected from life – from our soul. It’s for those of us who have felt our light dimming. It’s for those of us who know that there is more to life than simply getting through the day.

This course is for those of us who are ready to plug back into this magical universe, reconnect with our soul, and open our hearts again. It’s for those of us who are no longer willing to just “get by” and sleepwalk through our days. It’s for those of us who are ready – truly ready – to start living fully.

Why did you decide to invite so many other contributors? 

Part of my own coming back to life story was realizing that I didn’t have to go through life alone. I used to pride myself on being a solo act – never needing to ask for help – and doing everything myself. Once I opened up and allowed myself to be vulnerable and honest and realize that I could really use some help, my entire world changed. And that’s why I asked so many other beautiful souls to contribute to this course. We each are sharing the same core message in so many different ways, and each way is equally important. And what I love about everyone’s contribution is that each one is a direct reflection of who that person is – who they are at their core. My videos are pretty quiet and reflective, whereas others are more buoyant and lively. Some have concrete exercises and lessons, while others share heartfelt stories that pull you in even though you may just be meeting them for the first time. We all have so much to share with each other, and this course is such a great representation of how beautiful our world is when we open up and collaborate with each other.

A complete list of the 35+ contributors can be seen HERE

What do you hope that people will take away after completing the course?

I want them to see that there is another way to live. I want them to really know that we have a choice – we truly don’t have to go through life simply going through the motions and just getting through the day. There is an entire universe out there that we are only just beginning to tap into. Our soul is connected to such a beautiful world – and waking up is the key to experiencing this way of life.

What are a couple of ideas or applicable tips you would suggests to help readers start coming back to life today?

This is such a great question! First, being aware that you are feeling disconnected from life is such a powerful first step. Once you realize that you would like to live differently – more consciously – there are several ways you can plug back in:

• Be grateful for where you are starting from. We sometimes have a tendency to beat ourselves up for not being where we think we should be. And this just makes us feel even worse about ourselves. So accepting where you are right now in this moment and then being grateful for it is a great first step toward being able to truly embrace your life and move into where you want to go.

• Open up to the magic all around you. Once I opened my heart and remembered that there was so much more to life than what I was seeing through my own tunnel vision, my entire world changed. I began noticing beautiful signs that the universe would send, showing me that I was heading down a great path. I began seeing how I fit into this beautiful world, and how I was just a small part of the larger whole. I began to open up and let others in rather than trying to go through life as a solo act. And pretty soon, I noticed that my heart was fuller, and I felt so much more plugged in and alive!

• Take your fear out of the driver’s seat. My own coming back to life journey consisted of me continuing to say yes to life when I normally would have said no. It meant leaping toward my dreams even when I was scared that I would fail. It meant having faith that I would always be supported because I was living on purpose. And what I found is that each time I took a leap, it became a bit easier than the last. If you imagine that fear is a weed that can only grow if it’s watered, just stop watering it. Tend to the other flowers in your mind and heart, and pretty soon the fear will just wither up and leave.

• Finally, love yourself and know that you are enough. Seriously. This has been such an important piece to my own coming back to life puzzle. I was always trying to be who I thought I should be. I was always trying to be perfect. And I was pushing harder and harder, trying to reach this unattainable goal and becoming more and more miserable. Once I realized that a little self love goes a long way, I began taking steps to honor myself and take care of myself. And this has made such a difference!

To find out complete details about Jodi’s e-course and all the wonderful bonuses she is offering  please go to the Coming Back to Life page.

You will learn all about the course, including each week’s content, a detailed description of all that you’ll receive in the course, and a complete list of contributors!

Bonus! 

Jodi has generously offered a special discount to everyone who signs up through me: $20 off the course with coupon code: backtolife!

Give-Away!

Jodi has agreed to give one lucky reader a spot in Coming Back To Life.  To enter for a chance to win a spot in Coming Back To life please follow below:

Entering is super easy!

1. Follow both Petrea - Art Therapist.ca  and Soul Speak on Facebook.

2. Follow both Petrea and Jodi on Twitter.

3. Leave a comment below sharing why you would like to win this ecourse.

Contest closes Wednesday January  15th 11pm EST. One lucky winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Thursday January 16th.