About Mentoring and Lucy's Mentoring Program

Your journey, although a personal one,

need not be a solitary one…

Hi! My name is Lucy Lopez

For several years now, I have remained committed to helping people attain and sustain the kind of peace, joy and freedom that I enjoy. It is a commitment that I set out to fulfill everyday in every situation and in every encounter I have with another person using the skills of self-awareness and freedom of choice.

Something for you to think about…

Do you think it is possible to be ‘successful’ in some or several areas of your life and still feel dissatisfied, unhappy, restless, insecure or lost?

As a mentor in personal and spiritual empowerment, I know that the answer to this question is an unequivocal ‘YES’. In fact, the majority of the people whom I work with are people who enjoy many forms of success, professionally, socially and financially. Yet, they feel a need to seek help with particular ‘issues’ in their life.

Typically, many of them would have sought the help of other professionals prior to coming to me.

In my work with them, however, the first principle that is established is that their particular ‘issue’ is nothing more than a reflection of a mind conditioned to think, feel and therefore direct their actions in certain habitual ways, resulting of course, in the same sorts of outcomes/problems/situations that they experience.

Thus, the first key to the work that we do is an understanding of the way our mind works. This understanding is obtained through self-observation without judgment and compassionate self-reflection, resulting in unconditional self-acceptance!

The second critical key to our work is the ongoing discovery of who we truly are – that aspect of us that sits under, beyond, above, beside our thoughts, feelings, words, actions etc; all those things that are collectively referred to as the ‘personality’.

You see, your personality is something that has been constructed and shaped by your life experiences from as early as your existence in your mother’s womb.

But you are not your personality. You are infinitely more! And as you discover this ‘more’ that you are, you move beyond the limitations of your personality and your conditioned mind. You start to experience and express the qualities of your true nature, some of which are

Peace, Joy, Abundance, Freedom, Limitlessness, Fearlessness, Love, Creativity, Passion, Delight, Bliss…and so much more!

With these Two Keys:

· Understanding how your mind works

· Discovering who you truly are you now have everything you need to deal with any ‘issue’.

In fact, here are some of the empowering and liberating changes you will experience:

· You will find that things cease to be ‘issues’ or ‘problems’. Can you imagine that??? A life without ‘problems’!! You will begin to see things/people/situations as nothing more than harmless ‘events’ or happenings’ which no longer have power over you.

· You will develop a deep and powerful sense of truly knowing, i.e. feeling it on every level of your being (not just as an idea that you find appealing) that you are the creator of ALL your life experiences rather than a passive recipient/victim of other people’s words or actions or external circumstances.

· You will experience true, lasting peace and joy, finding delight in more and more. This will be your dominant, default state rather that a state you have so far had to engineer with the use of any number of strategies, from retail therapy to sex… :-)

· You will learn to recognize ALL your feelings, not just some of them, ceasing to be afraid of the ‘unpleasant’ ones so that you stop hiding them, resisting them, fighting them or ignoring them. Instead, you will learn to allow your feelings to inform and guide you as is their function.

· You will learn how to choose good feelings as the guide to the decisions you make and the actions you take.

· You will rediscover the glorious art of dreaming – something that you did instinctively as a child – and you will learn to follow your dreams because they are your true calling!

In short, you will start living the life you truly want to be living and being the person that you truly want to be on ALL levels – physically, materially, emotionally, mentally and spiritually!

Too good to be true? Not at all.

My 12 (or 6) week Mentoring Program (depending on your needs and where you are in your journey) is designed for

Happiness and Freedom through Self-awareness!

It is a journey of learning, self-observation, self-discovery and self-realization!

If you are reading this and have got this far, you can be certain that you and I share a common interest – your happiness and liberation and by virtue of that, mine too.!

Perhaps you could benefit from time with me. Perhaps, despite the 90% that seems to be going well for you, the remaining 10% is troublesome enough to make you want more.

Or perhaps, right now, its 90% of your life that needs a work over, or so it seems! And you may have reached a point where you feel that no one can possibly help you. To some extent that is true. You and you alone, are the only one who can make things happen for you. But, you may not necessarily know how. That’s where you could seriously benefit from time with me.

My process involves

Deep, heart-listening.

Silence which is where our deepest wisdom resides.

Entering with you into the field of infinite possibilities.

Gently and lovingly encountering your truth, no matter how painful, inconvenient or ugly it may be.

The logic of truth which is never the pseudo logic of the ego.

Learning, joyfully and effortlessly, skills that you can use instantly with powerful and seemingly miraculous effect.

A Reflection Sheet that I prepare addressing you and your particular situation and that you respond to following each session.

Recognizing, celebrating and re-establishing YOU as the creator of the destiny YOU CHOOSE and

Laughter, lots and lots of it, as I laugh at myself and you laugh at yourself and we both laugh over each other!

Talk to any of my clients. Let them tell you about their experience. Contact me for their contact details.

Talk to me. Sound me out. Determine for yourself if I am able to help you.

I am absolutely confident that I can and I say that without having met you or sounding you out. How am I able to do that?

Firstly, because the keys that work for one person work for all. Without exception.

Secondly, because when I work with you, my focus is not just on you as a person, but more importantly, on you as an expression of ultimate truth, god, spirit, love or whatever else you choose to call that ‘more’ that you know you are.

In fact, I offer you a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee that if you don’t benefit from my mentoring in the way I say you can, I will give you your money back.

But that’s not all. If you decide to do my mentoring program, whether for 12 weeks or 6 weeks, you will have my Life-long support and guidance.

This means that you can contact me at any time for the rest of your earthly life or mine (depending on whose ends firstJ) for ongoing support and guidance.

You see, from time to time, we forget what we have learnt and personally discovered for ourselves. At such times, it is useful to use your old mentor (rather like a trusted old reference book) that you keep going back to. Some of my ex-clients (who have since become good friends) have been doing this much to their satisfaction and my pleasure!

How can I afford to offer you a 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE and LIFE-LONG SUPPORT/GUIDANCE?

Three reasons:

1. Because as my track record shows, people who do this program experience an awakening that sets them IRREVERSIBLY on the clear and conscious path to happiness

2. Because no matter how many people do my program, only a few will need ongoing support which I am more than capable of accommodating

3. Because I cannot help but want you (yes, you whom I don’t as yet know personally) to live the life you truly want

You see, I know what it feels like to live from fear, anxiety, anger, guilt, despair, dissatisfaction and sadness, all of which are habits of the conditioned personality. And through my own study, self-observation and practice, I also know what it feels like to awaken to my limitless, free, peaceful, joyous, loving and unconditioned self. As some of my clients have said, it’s like being born again…given a second chance to start over!

To me, it is exhilarating! I step into each day quietly excited about possibilities that are bound to unfold, waiting to be delighted and thrilled and I always am, in one way or another! And I go to bed knowing that I have done the best I could, grateful for everything, without exception, and promptly launch into dreams for my future…!!!

Does this sound like something you want for yourself?

Don’t be afraid to say ‘yes’. You know, you could go on ignoring your true calling toward happiness and settle for less because it feels safe. Or you could take that first step and at least look at what’s possible. Then, if you still feel too scared to continue, you can always step back! On the other hand, if you decide that life is truly to be enjoyed and you don’t want to waste another minute, I’ll show you how…the fun, easy and guaranteed -to- succeed way!

Contrary to what most people believe,

the best things in life come in a joyful and effortless way!

Contrary to what most people think, it doesn’t take long to shift from the conditioned to the unconditioned. As my clients have frequently heard me say: Change is only a thought away! Literally.

I want to share my learning and my truths with you so that you may learn and connect with that your truths.

I want to see more and more people living the lives they truly desire rather than the lives they have reluctantly and resentfully settled for.

Wouldn’t the world as a whole be a much better place if there were more happy people in it?

So…. are you serious about wanting to be happy? I mean, dead-set serious?

Let’s not waste a moment more. Listen to your heart! If it tells you to find out more by getting in touch with me and/or visiting my website and/or contacting one of my clients, please do. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. (Remember I offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!).

Now, I know that you’re thinking that what I’m offering doesn’t come without a fee. You’re right. There is a fee.

You also might be feeling a little anxious about what the fees might be and whether you can afford them.

I am not going to try and persuade you that my fees are fair and reasonable. I generally don’t think in terms of ‘fair’ and ‘reasonable’. Rather, I think in terms of what is useful i.e. whether something is likely to help me achieve a particular goal, a goal that my inner wisdom recognizes as good and useful.

Neither am I going to try and persuade you that you can afford my fees. As a client of mine recently told me, if there is something she really wants, she will find the means to get it. That said, here are my program structures and fees:

12-WEEK MENTORING PROGRAM

EACH WEEK

1.5 hr face-face or telephone/voice-text chat (for interstate/overseas clients)

contact time

Pre-session notes

Post-session Reflection Sheet

Weekly practice

One-off $150 for Reflection Sheet + $100/week (fully refundable*)

Inclusive GST All Prices Quoted in AUD

6-WEEK MENTORING PROGRAM

EACH WEEK

1.5 hr face-face or telephone/voice-text chat (for interstate/overseas clients)

contact time

Pre-session notes

Post-session Reflection Sheet

Weekly practice

One-off $150 for Reflection Sheet + $120/week (fully refundable*)

Inclusive GST All Prices Quoted in AUD

Both programs are offered with a



100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE
LIFE-LONG SUPPORT/GUIDANCE

FULL CONFIDENTIALITY





Over to you now!

There is only one thing to do with Life:

Live it fully and freely!

In love, Lucy

Call/Email/Visit Lucy at
Mob: 0411 200 015
Email: lucy@lucylopez.net
Web: www.lucylopez.net

Which would you prefer? Happiness or the Perfect Relationship?

This was the question that you were asked. A total of 13 people participated in the poll and here are the results:

Happiness 53%

The Perfect Relationship 23%

Happiness even without the Perfect Relationship 7%

The Perfect Relationship even without Happiness 0%

I don't know. It's too confusing. 15%

What a wealth of information these results hold! For one thing, it is clear that some people at least found the question a difficult one to answer. That is a very promising place to be in! I shall talk more about that later.

What is also interesting for me is that, when stated in terms of a choice that provided 'the perfect relationship' but very clearly excluded the possibility of 'happiness', no one wanted that! So, at least we know that for those who took the poll, happiness was not to be sacrificed at any cost!

But it gets even more interesting. 7%, which in this poll equates to 1 person, chose to forgo 'the perfect relationship' as long as she/he had happiness. That, to me, is a very clear statement. In fact, it tells me that this person was choosing happiness regardless of any perceived 'losses'.

Of course it is possible that this person does not want a relationship, in which case, the choice would have been an easy one. But what if this person actually does want a relationship? Bear with me, I'll be discussing it later!

If you had chosen (or are now choosing) the first option, perhaps you have reasoned that within that life of Happiness, there is still room for 'The Perfect Relationship' since that option does not exclude it. It is a perfectly reasonable way to look at things. But let's continue and look at the remaining option, The Perfect Relationship.

Now, 23% chose this option. Once again, the same reasoning as above applies. People who chose or choose this option may reason that The Perfect Relationship will certainly bring happiness with it. Is this a reasonable way of looking at things? Is this valid? Can we be certain?

Alright, here is where I want to pull things together. The best way I can do that is by first telling you where I am coming from and this is it:

Happiness is not contingent upon anything. It is unconditioned and unconditional. In other words, happiness has no cause. Nothing causes happiness. Why do I say that? Because happiness, or joy, as some prefer to call it, is our natural state. And why do I say that? Because when I sit in the space of my ultimate reality, when I sit in that space where all my judging, cravings, attachments, aversions, thinking and fear ceases, I find myself in a state of pure bliss or happiness.

That's right. When all the effects of my conditioning are suspended, as happens when I meditate or maintain present moment awareness, my default state is one of peace, bliss, happiness. This is how I know in a very real, personal and direct way, that happiness is not caused by anything. It is who I naturally am.

Now that I have said that, let's look at the results again and let me share my deeper interpretations. I shall list each option and follow it with what I believe to be some of the possible beliefs underlying that choice. I shall also offer some questions that you could use for further consideration and clarification.


HAPPINESS
You believe that happiness is important. You may not necessarily consider it more important than the perfect relationship but you realize that choosing happiness provides you with a greater range of options and choices, one of which may be the perfect relationship. In this way, you feel that you are keeping as many doors as possible open.

Are you certain you have got both feet firmly planted in the happiness choice? Or have you got one foot there and another heading for the perfect relationship? It's difficult to travel in two directions at the same time. What do you really want to commit to?


THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP
You believe that the perfect relationship will make you happy.* In making such a choice, you have made your happiness conditional. You are effectively saying that you will only be happy if you have the perfect relationship. Put another way, you won't be happy unless you have the perfect relationship.

It is also likely that you believe your happiness depends on other people/things being just a certain way. You are likely to hold other people/things responsible for how you feel and the choices you make. By doing so, you are effectively handing over your power to be happy, successful, free, wealthy etc to other people and other things.

Is this valid? Do you not experience happiness in other areas or at other times of your life, outside of 'the perfect relationship'? More importantly, do you want to take full responsibility for your state of wellbeing?


HAPPINESS EVEN WITHOUT THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP
This would have been a very difficult choice to make especially if you do desire to be in a relationship, or if you are already in one, to have a 'perfect' relationship. Why do I say that? Because you are prepared to let go of something that you so deeply desire! That is a tough choice. But what is so remarkable about this choice is that you probably recognize on a very deep level that to be happy is more important than anything else! Put it this way, you have a sense that, "If I am happy, where's the problem???" Put that way, it seems so obvious, doesn't it?

Now the advantage of this choice over the first (Happiness) is that you have made the decision that your happiness is not going to be contingent upon having the perfect relationship. In other words, on some level at least, you recognize that your happiness does not depend on anything or anyone. It is a choice you make regardless!

This is a truly empowering choice. You are prepared to let go. Instead of losing anything, it is more likely that you are opening yourself up to infinite possibilities, one of which could be the perfect relationship!

As you may have guessed, I deliberately designed these options in order to force you (or at least encourage you) to recognize your beliefs and start to examine them!


THE PERFECT RELATIONSHIP EVEN WITHOUT HAPPINESS
No one in this poll chose this but we could still explore the beliefs underlying such a choice. Why would someone choose this? Only if they believed that a perfect relationship can exist without any happiness in it! And that surely makes no sense, does it? However, I would like to explore this just a little bit more.

Do we sometimes stay in a relationship without making a choice to be happy in it? I believe that is a really important question to ask ourselves. And while you're at it, consider this question too: Does our need to be in a relationship enslave us to it?


I DON'T KNOW. IT IS TOO CONFUSING.
As I said earlier, this is probably not a bad place to be! Confusion and uncertainty, contrary to what most of us believe, actually puts us in a place of fresh possibility. Our current beliefs don't seem to enable us to make a clear choice. It is therefore an opportunity to examine our beliefs and review them. Hopefully, all that I have already said will help you do that.

So, now that I have shared my interpretations and offered you some ways of thinking about these choices, I'd love to hear what you have to say!

And once again, thank you to everyone who participated in this poll!

Love always, Lucy


*In case you're wondering about that, here is the logic - Everything we do, without exception, (including choosing to be unhappy), we do because we believe that it will make us happy. Often this choice is made unconsciously. But conscious or unconscious, that is the underlying belief.

Working With You, For You

I have been mentored in a variety of areas, some arrangements a little more informal than others. For instance, I have been mentored in the use of counseling skills. I have also been mentored in conducting interviews, teaching high school biology, doing academic research and organizing my home. Some of this has happened face to face while others have happened through various combinations of contact using the internet, email and telephone.

My primary motivation for entering into the mentoring relationship was to get help handling situations that I had little experience in or that were proving difficult and sometimes overwhelming for me. Let me give you an example.

In recent months, I have been mentored in running a business. A successful businessman offered me assistance and the process began with a most appropriate and effective exercise. While taking notes, he asked me what I wanted to achieve in life. More specifically, he asked me what the 'ideal' life would be for me in a general sense and then specifically, in relation to running a successful business.

It was an extremely useful exercise despite the fact that I had done similar exercises in Personal and Professional Development workshops as well as privately on my own. Something different happens when you start to articulate certain thoughts, ideas and feelings to another person dedicated to your interests. When this is done with a mentor whose purpose is to elicit information from you rather than tell you what should or should not be done, it can be an extremely useful exercise. You feel encouraged to share things that you would otherwise not have been willing or able to share.

With gentle probing, the mentor is able to collect your thoughts, ideas, beliefs and feelings and lay them all out for you so that the two of you can look at them a little more objectively and fearlessly. I say fearlessly because sometimes, what you truly want can actually scare you! So having a mentor with whom you feel safe can encourage you to acknowledge these desires because you feel confident that she/he is on your side all the way!


Once my mentor had everything down on paper, we began piecing together a story. The story had several subplots, if you like. It covered the key areas of my life - family, finance, passions and interests and personal and business goals. However, in my story, the main plot revolved around running a successful business. Within this main plot, there were several threads that connected to the other areas of my life so that the story always held a quality of balance and practicality.


Having done this, we began to explore my passions and interests and how these could be directly used to generate money. This is when I really began to feel excited! For the first time, I felt that someone i.e. my mentor was actually listening to what I wanted and was committed to helping me turn my desires into profitable outcomes! The only other person who had listened to any of this previously was the person inside my head, who, unlike my mentor, kept shaking her head while telling me how impossible that would be!

We continued creating my success story, developing the main plot with creative imagination from both my mentor and I and insights from my mentor gained through his personal experience. I cannot tell you how good it felt to be collaborating with someone whose primary motivation was my business success! By the end of our session, I had a clear and specific action plan to act on and a much clearer sense than I'd ever had of the steps it would involve.

Now, it is true that many of the steps are ones I might have encountered in the numerous books, newsletters, motivational sites and self-development packages that I have seen or used. However, working one-on-one with my mentor who was becoming more intimately acquainted with my particular circumstances, desires, passions, interests and goals gave the whole process a degree of specificity and clarity that I had not quite been able to achieve previously. But even more important than that was the feeling that I was not alone in the process and that I had one of the best minds and hearts working with me for me! Now that is something that I don't think you can get in too many other relationships.

The story is an ongoing one of course. I continue to communicate with my mentor as and when I feel the need to. There are times when I need to communicate more frequently and other times when I don't.

One of the things that I realized early in the mentoring process that was happening to me was that I was acquiring many of my mentor's business thinking skills and his business perspectives. Quite often, when considering a particular matter, I would say something that my mentor would have said, reflecting a similar thinking process or perspective. I would almost immediately and with a big grin follow that with something like this:

"Look B, I'm thinking just like you. You see, you didn't have to tell me that. I know it now. See what a good learner I am"!

We would both share a good laugh over that!

Yes, one of the wonderful things I've acquired from the mentoring relationship is the skill of thinking from a different perspective, a perspective that opens up possibilities that my old perspective would not have allowed. It doesn't mean that I have become my mentor's clone. Not at all! It does mean, however, that I have expanded my perspective to include a different one and thereby opened up the field of possibilities for me. Now that is a true sign of growth, whatever the area of mentoring is!

Stay tuned. There's plenty more to come!

More Responses, this time from Hans

What do you think mentoring is?
Being a wise and trusted counselor.

What do you expect a mentor to do and be?
Be concerned, and practice listening, asking as few as possible of the right questions, and being honest.

What do you expect the person being mentored to do and be?
Learn to be open, to explore, discover, and change, and to be patient with and trust the mentor as well as the self.

Have you ever been in a mentoring relationship? What was your experience like?
Not formally, but in a way all my relationships are either mentoring relationships, or an exploration of what a lack of concern or trust will produce. - All kinds of experiences.

If you haven't been in a mentoring relationship, would you consider it? Why? Why not? -
Definately. Especially if it's free, or if there is any other way at all to fascilitate it.

On the first question "Do I agree, Mentoring is a more experienced person helping a less experienced person in an area of common interest ?" - Well yes and no. First, I don't think a mentor or councilor has to be more anything to be helpful. It's more a matter of intention, and focusing with kindness on the mentoree. On the other hand, anyone has more experience that another person does not have without them.

What do you think about this definition of a Mentor?

SUCCESS

"A more experienced person who guides and supports a less experienced person in an area of mutual interest"

How would you rate it on a scale of 1-5, 1 = strongly agree, 5=strongly disagree? Please click on 'comment' below to leave me your answer. Ta!

PS Don't forget to scroll down to my first post and answer my 5 Questions for which you could take advantage of a FREE 30-min session with me :-)

AND don't leave without doing my Happiness/Perfect Relationship poll!

Take care, Lucy

Thank You and More Answers to my Questions from Shirls

SUCCESS
It seems that some people are having trouble leaving comments. I hope you don't give up and try again. In the meantime, thank you for sending me your responses via email and thank you for coming to the site!

1. What do you think mentoring is?
2. Is a person who supports others in growing or developing in life depending what they choose.
3. What do you expect a mentor to do and be?
4. To give support and may be advice.
5. What do you expect the person being mentored to do and be?
6. Listen and be Guided
7. Have you ever been in a mentoring relationship? What was your experience like?
8. Yes Good experience , Confirming .
9. If you haven't been in a mentoring relationship, would you consider it? Why? Why not?
10. If need be I would, but at this stage in life i don't feel the need.
    

Response to my questions by Northern Quoll

wdw

The following was received by email in response to my 5 questions. I am posting it here because I am sure it will be of interest to many of you!

Lucy

I had some difficulties with the blog site, so decided to email this to you.. Hope that's OK?!

For me, mentoring is one person who has had certain life experiences and is a good listener getting alongside another person going through some difficulties, on that person's invitation, for a while in their life journey. The person who asks the other for mentoring may not be going through an expecially difficult time, but may simply respect the other person's ideas and wisdom and believe they can grow as a person by being 'mentored' by that person.

I have had the experience of being mentored by quite a few deeply spiritual people along my life's journey. When I say 'spiritual' I believe there is a spiritual aspect to living that is very important and fundamental to life.. It can be experienced in many different religions and cultures, for me I became a Christian when I was nearly 17 years of age. In my late teens I began attending a wonderful Uniting Church where three wonderful ministers, each gifted in their own way, mentored me for a number of years. There were also others in that congregation with gifts of being able to nurture, from whose store of wisdom I received.

After I married and had children in my mid-twenties, I experienced mentoring from other individuals, once again from churches I was then attending. One of these individuals is now my best friend and she and I have the privelege of mentoring each other (she is also my older daughter's god-mother). There has been much richness and personal growth for me in this relationship!

More recently, I have been mentored by two priests from the liberal Catholic church I attend. They have taught me the absolute importance of not only practising the Gospels in my personal day to day life, but being aware of the practice of the Gospels collectively in a social sense. In particular, they have demonstrated in words and actions the principles of taking care of marginalised people.

My most recent mentoring experience, are the teachings and gentle advice of a Buddhist woman who teaches the practices of Thich Nat Hahn, a greatly respected Vietnamese monk. At her groups I have learnt to a much deeper extent the practice of meditation.

Over the last twenty years, I have increasingly been priveleged by having quite a number of people invite me informally to mentor them. This experience has given me great joy, to see people's hearts find more peace in various situations and to discover what their inner voice (otherwise known as the 'Holy Spirit') is telling them. I have learnt much from the experience of mentoring others.

Lucy I hope this answers your questions. Certainly not dot point type answers (!) but as sincere and close to how I felt as I could. With love and blessings Northern Quoll