CURRENT MISSION

Finding a volunteer or teaching job in Latin America.

ABOUT ME

It says I live in Norway. Well, I moved to Austin, TX, in Feb 2014. I lived in Europe more or less for the past 30 years, with a couple stays in the U.S. I love to travel, meet people, have fun (!). Authenticity and respect are key for me. And being optimistic! I am a lover of wine and good food. I'm into healing and intuition. I'm a life coach. I've worked mainly in international education and in the healing arts... I am passionate about what I do, and more and more I want to do what I'm passionate about. I'm constantly working on becoming the person I believe (hope) I am on the inside (and consistently failing! But ok, nobody's perfect! :-/). I really love getting to know new people and spending time with friends. I also love spending time with my own kids, the reason I moved back to Norway!

PHILOSOPHY

Life is an amazing experience to be lived to the fullest. Being true to oneself is absolutely essential. And I'm still learning how! Forgiving oneself and letting go of judgment are just as important.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I have surfed and have hosted surfers. I have met people for coffee and drinks, and suggested sight-seeing areas.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I was in Asheville, NC, in Feb 2007 and was hosted by an outstanding couple (TandemTravelers). I also got to meet some other couchsurfers while I was there. It was a fabulous experience.

I've hosted a few people now, and it has been fun! I recommend it highly! Really wonderful people have passed through my home.

When I was younger, I traveled a lot and slept on a lot of floors and couches. I always appreciated the hospitality and kindness of the hosts. It made my life easier. My home has always been open to friends and friends of friends, if they needed a place to stay. I love the philosophy behind Couchsurfing, and am happy to participate!

Interests

Personal growth, music, good food and wine, dancing, authentic exchange of ideas and feelings, and lots of fun.

• arts
• beauty
• dancing
• education
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• coffee
• coach
• drinking
• traveling
• socializing
• music
• teaching
• volunteering

Music, Movies, and Books

Movies: I'm a sap, and love romantic comedies, and movies that inspire like Harold and Maude, and Roberto Benigni's The Tiger and the Snow, and thought-provoking dramas. I avoid violent movies, I don't care how good they are reputed to be.

Music: I'm a fan of 60's, 70's -- well, any decade of -- melodic rock, jazz and classical. I avoid heavy metal, hiphop, rap and any music that does not have a melody you can sing to (again, the violence factor...?) and ABBA. :-/ As I love to dance, anything that gets me going...

Books: Spiritual growth books (authors: Abraham Hicks, Neale Donald Walsch, Paolo Coelho, Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, Alberto Villoldo, Susan Jeffers, Laurence Simenot (in French only for the moment), Janet and Chris Atwood, SARK, Dan Millman, Eckhardt Tolle, Don Miguel Ruiz, more, more, more). Novels: Harper Lee's _To Kill a Mockingbird_ is by far and away the best novel I've ever read. Also Barbara Kingsolver. For great vacation/airport reading, Diana Gabaldon's _The Outlander_ (gets the "I wonder" imagination going, not to mention a few other things) -- NOT to be confused with a series of science fiction novels with almost the same name. And for a good, a bit outlandish soap opera laugh, _The Reluctant Landlady_, by Bernadette Strachan (you have to like British humor -- which I love!).

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Given birth. Amazing.

Teach, Learn, Share

"When you are clear, what you want shows up in your life, and only to the extent you are clear." Janet and Chris Attwood, _The Passion Test_

"Your playing small doesn't serve the world." Marianne Williamson (quoted by Nelson Mandella)

"The Invitation"
-- by Oriah Mountain Dreamer
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.

What I Can Share with Hosts

I am a good cook. I have lived in a lot of really interesting places, and visited others. I'm truly interested in who people are. I'm nice! :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands, British

Countries I’ve Lived In

France, Norway, Sweden, United States

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