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Lifting the Veil of Illusion  It's really quite simple. When my mind is at ease, I can see "what is." I notice an instant so-called synchronicity. I get a glimpse of the master illusion that we are all separate. In these moments of extreme clarity and understanding, I know the truth: there is only One of us. Everything else is just a projection of ourselves. Our filters project onto the screen of our sensory field that which we have ignored, distanced ourselves from, or chose not to be at one with or over. My quest is to capture my many moments of "getting the real picture" with photography and journaling. Here are two examples from the past two days.. Example one: Thursday morning, I went to the NJ Association of Women Business Owner's Bergen Chapter meeting at Panera Bread's on Route 4, Paramus, NJ. Photo 3 shows the cup they had given us for our coffee. After the meeting, I went to the nearby Van Saun County Park in Paramus for an extended walk. Along the way, I found many interesting objects which concurred with my Path of XPR studies. One was a clown sticker and another a Happy Face sticker. Reminders to "lighten up" and be the child of wonder and light that we are all, underneath our sometimes tiresome personalities. Within 30 minutes, I spotted a red cardinal (male) and started to take some snapshots. Within a moment or two, I stopped an entire tree of cardinals... at least 5-6 males and females (10-12 birds). I couldn't believe this wonderful sighting! See photo below... 
Yesterday morning, while washing out my Panera's coffee cup (I could reuse it, afterall), I spotted the red cardinal. It hadn't registered on the morning I used it and then saw the cardinals. I saw it a day later. What was real? The cardinal drawing or the sighting of the cardinals? 
The cardinals were probably at the park all along (while I was at my meeting), and yet, I saw them with my eyes. The cup was in my hand, and, who would've known that I would go for a walk in the park and NOT to Feminine Fitness in Hackensack for my tour of duty on the elliptical machine? It was cold that day as it were! You decide. In my estimation, there was a moment of clarity. I saw the cardinals, image and real, when I was ready to see it/them. And not a moment before. Awakening comes in all sizes and at any time. Funny, the keyword for cardinal (according to Ted Andrews' Animal-Speak) is Renewed Vitality Through Recognizing Self-Importance. I venture to say, when I take my (self-absorbed) self out of it, I CAN see the importance of all. And THAT revitalizes me! The burdens of preconceived ideas and self-limiting (or uninvestigated) beliefs is lifted. :) My second example has to do with recycling and shower curtains. I live in a duplex on the second floor and a really ancient lady lives on the first. When I put my recycling into our bins outside, I typically sort my downstairs neighbor's stuff because it's always bagged and not sorted. While doing this, I found a seemingly new shower curtain still in its plastic wrapping. I couldn't resist. I took it out of the bag, cleaned the exterior, and had the laugh of my life. It seems that this particular shower curtain (pictured on the left below) is in the same genre, color range (blue/green/white) except for some orange, and it's all CIRCLES, as is mine (pictured on the right side).  I don't know about you, however, I find this highly amusing. How many millions of shower curtains are available? How is that ours are so similar? Who would've known? (By the way, upon closer inspection, the one I found had been gently used but there were no grommets and the loop holes had torn). First floor/second floor. Parallel universes. How close is THAT for a so-called synchronicity? Finds like these really give me a giggle. They may seem trivial, and they are. Do they matter, who knows? Does it help me see the silver lining (pun intended) behind the other events of the day that seem to be so heavy? Yes. Helps me to remember that there is a much bigger picture than I usually see. As the saying goes: Is there another way of looking at it?" Oh, yes! What simple joys. My mother would call these simple pleasures "freebies." What are yours? If you'd like to share one or two with us, for possible future publication, please email me at: verena@vibrantcoach.com. Happy Spottings! Eagle Laughing (EL) Photo1:Marvelous horse that came over after I sang to it... Damascus, MD. Photo 2: Multiple male (visible) and female (invisible-camouflaged) cardinals-Van Suan Park, Paramus, NJ Photo3: Coffee cup from Panera's Photo4: two sets of shower curtains (left-first floor resident; right-second floor resident-Verena), Hackensack, NJ |
| Quote of the Month
"Wonderful" Lyrics by My Morning Jacket
It matters to me
Took a long time to get here
If it would have been easy
I would not have cared
Like a tropical forest
Like a cop on the beat
When all is in order
You get lost in the heat
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
Doesn't matter to me
I could take it or leave it
I could learn from way back when
And still live right now
With the sun on my shoulder
And the wind in my back
I will never grow older
At least not i n my mind
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
So wonderful,
wonderful the way I feel
I feel so wonderful, wonderful, wonderful the way I feel
I'm going where there ain't no fear
I'm going where the spirit is near
I'm going where the living is easy
And the people are kind
A new state of mind
I'm going where there ain't no police
I'm going where there ain't no disease
I'm going where there ain't no need to escape from what is
only spirits at ease
Photo: Peacock Blue Fairy Princess
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Indigo-Rainbow-Crystal
Children Magic
Photos 1, 2, 4, 5 by Delphine, 10
Photo 3 by Mikah, 10
Photo 6: Tom James, Tom James Gallery
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Vibrant Visions International's Calendar of Events & Top Picks
Scroll down to see Verena's Top Picks from our VIBRANT VISIONS INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CALENDAR which is updated daily*. NOTE: All events are subject to change. Please call and confirm event details prior to traveling. Contact us if you receive conflicting dates or data. Thanks!
*Go to the Vibrant Visions International LLC website and click on "Calendar of Events" and scroll through our calendar. Contact information and registration information is also listed per event. Calendar listings also includes  events hosted by professional associations such as the New Jersey Professional Coaches Association (NJPCA), New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO), Institute for Sustainable Enterprise (ISE), etc. Please also check their websites for latest details.
Newsletters are now archived: Check them out via "Newsletter Archive" on our new website.Appointments: Please feel free to make your private coaching appointment or complimentary assessment with Verena directly via our Online Appointment Scheduler. Please note that Verena's Vibrant Visions International LLC offerings are listed and described separately above in this newsletter and maybe listed below in Purple. Additional listings are in red.
Photo1: Verena petting friend's kitty, Bergenfield, NJ
************************************************************** 2012 Astro-Overview with Professional Aquarian, Kathy Biehl January 17, 2012 (Tuesday): 9:00 - 10:00 pm ET Telebridge or January 19, 2012 (Thursday): 7:30 - 9:00 pm ET In person: Goddess in  Eden Organic Living -inside Blue Lotus, 20 Church St., Montclair, NJ 07042. Store Contact: Robin 973-919-3600. Kathy, a professional astrologer and Tarot master, will discuss the year season by season, from the times of growth and the retrogrades to the outer planet sign shifts and the first big clashes of the Uranus/Pluto square. There will be time for questions, too. (Feel free to email questions in advance.) Fee: $20.00. RSVP: Click on this registration link or call Kathy Biehl at 862-209-0581 or Robin Mansfield, Owner, Goddess in Eden at 973-919-3600. Photo: House of Water by Kelley Loftus **************************************************************
"10 Steps to Successful Business Writing for HR Professionals" with Jack E. Appleman, CBC - North Jersey-Rockland Chapter of Society of Human Resources Management
January 18, 2012 (Wednesday): 6:00 - 8:00 pm ET (5:30 pm registration opens)
Location: Holiday Inn - Hasbrouck Heights, 283 Rt.  17 South, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604. 201-288-9600.
Enable your staff to get better business results from their writing! Poor writing could be stifling your company's productivity! CEOs and HR professionals rank business writing among the most critical skills for success. Learn how to take your employees' writing to a new level and maximize their productivity.
RSVP: Registration Form. $40 Prepaid/received Members, $20 Student Members, $50 At the Door, $25 Chapter Members in Transition, $50 Non-Members & Guest
Photo: Verena and Doug Cohen, Sustainability Catalyst
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WinterFest Inter-Cultural Dance Spectacular - co-sponsored by Mahwah Reg CC & Hindu Samaj Community Center
January 21, 20 (Saturday): 3:00 - 4:30 pm EST
Location: Hindu Samaj Community Center, 247 W. Ramapo Avenue, Mahwah, NJ
Performances by the Shubhanjali School of Performing Arts (Scotch Plains, NJ, Indian classical dance, Bharatnatyam), Infinite Motion Performing Arts Academy (Mahwah, NJ, Spanish Flamenco, Italian Tarantella & American Tap), McLoughlin School of Irish Dancing (Allendale, NJ, Irish Dance), The Dance Loft (Suffern, NY, French Ballet & American Tap), and Arthur Murray Dance Studio (Ridgewood, NJ, American Swing). Refreshment s to follow.
Fee: Free admission. A free-will offering will be appreciated to support the Mahwah Marine Moms-North Jersey Military Moms, the Chamber's Organization of the Year. For more information: Mahwah Chamber.
Photo (right): Indian classical dancer
Photo (left): Brenda Leon and Rita Martinez of Ballet Folklorico "Xochiquetzal" preparing for performance, Hackensack, NJ.
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Art Connections 8 Exhibition Reception featuring the international juried art of artists such as Chrysoula Lile, Greek Artist
January 22, 2012 (Sunday): 2:00 - 5:00 pm EST
Location: George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, 1 Nor mal Avenue, Montclair, NJ, USA 07043, phone: 973-655-4000
Art Connections is the Annual Fund-Raising Event for the George Segal Gallery at the Montclair State University. This Exhibition runs from January 17 - February 18, 2012. For more info about Chrysoula Lile, Greek Artist: www.Lilecreations.com.
Photo: Chrysoula and Verena at NJAWBO meeting, Panera's, Paramus, NJ.
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Joint New Jersey Association of Women Business Owner's (NJAWBO) Bergen Chapter - Fort Lee Chamber of Commerce Networking Event
January 26, 2012 (Thursday): 5:30 - 7:30 pm EST
Location: Silver Pond Seafood Restaurant, 230-234 Main Street, Fort Lee
(note: street parking in front; municipal lot directly across the street-bring quarters!)
Join Us as we Celebrate the Year of the Dragon with the Fort Lee Chamber of Commerce. Plenty of new connections and delicious dim sum! This will be our first meeting as reciprocating networking partners. Members of NJAWBO-Bergen and the Fort Lee Chamber can now attend each other's events at the member rate. Make new business connections for the new year and enjoy an elaborate dim sum presentation by the chefs at Silver Pond. We have some fun planned for the evening so we hope you can make it! Guests and visitors welcomed!
RSVP: Please note that the Fort Lee Chamber of Commerce is handling the reservations; RSVP by Wed., Jan. 25 to assistant@fortleechamber.com or 201-944-7575. Fee: $20 each; cash bar. Photo: Winter Solstice Meditation (far right: Lois Kramer Perez), with Crystal Healing (far left: Linda Lindemann-Gros), Paramus, NJ. Artwork by Tom James, Tom James Gallery.
****************************************************************** "Taking Care of Yourself: Body, Mind and Business" featuring Being Well Within: From Distressed to De-stressed co-authors, Loren Gelberg-Goff and Carmel-Ann Mania of Being Well Within at NJAWBO Network at Noon Meeting
February 7, 2012 (Tuesday): 12:00 - 2:00 pm EST
Location: Ethos Fitness Spa, Midland Park Shopping Center, 85 Godwin Avenue @ Goffle Road, Midland Park NJ 07432.
Take a Break in Your Day... Sleep Better tonight! If you are Uncertain about your Job/Career... If your Finances are out of control... If you're Looking for balance in your life... If you're Dealing with health challenges... Attend this powerful and empowering 1 hour seminar as we explore causes of stress and proven methods you can use to effectively deal with the dangerous stressors that we all face just living in today's world. You'll learn 5 easy, beneficial, effective coping strategies so you can better handle all the stressors in your life and thereby reduce your overall stress levels in general. You'll also learn new ways to increase you overall resiliency and "bounce-back" abilities. In lieu of our brown bag lunch, Ethos Fitness Spa is sponsoring this event and will be providing lunch at no cost. Reservations are still requested. For information and reservations: email Lunch Coordinator at lunch@njawbobergen.org. Photo: Verena at Great Falls, Maryland
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International Coaching Week Salon - Featuring Northern NJ members of the New Jersey Professional Coaches Association's (NJPCA) such as Verena Visser Aibel of Vibrant Visions International
February 8, 2012 (Wednesday): 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST
Location: Blast Art Gallery & Coffee Bar, 445 Cedar Lane, Teaneck, NJ 07666, 201-530-5666
This community wide event is a mixer featuring ICF-member coaches (NJ or NYC chapters) and the general public. All Coaches, Coaching students, and all those who are interested in meeting local coaches are welcome to attend. The Tony Calabrese, NJPCA President, and Carole DeLaOsa will speak about the general profession of coaching. They will point out the featured Coaches who are present. Possible coaching demonstration between two experienced coaches. Then, we'll go back to mixing. People can speak to Coaches informally and coaches can engage with potential clients.
Fee: None. Guests will receive a discount off of drinks and food.
RSVP: For questions, call Verena at 201-487-6910 or email Sarah Jack, sarahcoaches@gmail.com, 201-530-5850.
Photo: Northern NJ coaches meeting at Whole Foods, Paramus, NJ (Left to right: Lynne Roe, Carole DeLaOsa, Verena Visser Aibel, Sarah Jack, and Pearl Mattenson).
*************************************************************** New Jersey Professional Coaches Association's (NJPCA) Bergen County Group Meeting (new monthly meeting on the 2nd Tuesday) February 14, 2012 (Tuesday): 10:00 am - 12:00 pm EST Location: Whole Foods Paramus, Rt 4 East, 300 Bergen Town Center, Paramus NJ 07652, 201-670-0383, www.WholeFoodsMarket.com. This special group has been on hiatus for a while, let's get together to meet each other and discuss how we can support one another. Meet other coaches and individuals seeking to become coaches. RSVP: Call or email Sarah Jack, sarahcoaches@gmail.com, 201-530-5850.  Photo: "Above All - Keep Your Colors Fresh!" Edouard Manet (an image in one of Verena's mixed media collages) ************************************************************** "Super-Charge Your Coaching Business with Blogging" - Loraine Kasprzak - New Jersey Professional Coaches Association's (NJPCA) Meeting
February 15, 2012 (Wednesday): 6:00 - 9:00 pm EST
Location: Hilton Garden Inn, 50 Raritan Center Parkway, Edison, NJ 08837
732-225-0900.
Like a double espresso macchiato that wakes up your sleepy brain, a well-crafted blog can rev up even the most sluggish marketing and help generate client leads for your coaching business. A blog - which allows you to self-publish content to the Web - can be an effective way to communicate your viewpoint and expertise to your target market. CCEUs: 1.5 CCEU credit pending by the ICF for Business Development
To Register, go to NJPCA website.
************************************************************** New Jersey Association of Women Business Owner's (NJAWBO) Bergen Chapter Breakfast Networking  February 16, 2012 (Thursday): 8:00 - 9:30 am EST Location: Panera's Bakery Cafe, 165 Route 4 West (in Kohl's Shopping Center), Paramus, NJ Join us to for networking and help us brainstorm solutions to a member-presented challenge. Fee: Members: $10.00; Non-Members: $15.00 cash only. For reservations and information, e-mail Joanne Clark at jcwills@optonline.net or check out New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners-Bergen Chapter. Photo: Verena and daughter at a celebration for the Lady of Guadalupe, Holy Trinity Church, Hackensack, NJ.
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Institute for Sustainable Enterprise (ISE)/CHRMS Breakfast
February 17, 2012 (Friday) 7:30 - 9:30 am EST
Location: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Lenfell Hall, The Mansion (Bldg. #1)
285 Madison Ave, Madison, NJ 07940.
Register: www.fdu.edu/forms/chrmsregister.html or email your rsvp to pniewski@fdu.edu. Information: Call ISE/CHRMS at 973-443-8577. Fee: $40 ($25 non profit organization members).
*************************************************************** "Naturally Finding Your True Voice" 4-week course with Verena Visser Aibel, instructor
March 29 - April 19, 2012 (4 Consecutive Thursdays from 7 - 9 pm EST)
Location: Women's Institute, Bergen Community College, Moses Center (Dept. of Continuing Ed.) 400 Paramus Road, Technology Building, Room T-119, Paramus NJ 07652-1592
Do you feel that you have gone through life not being heard? Have you always been there for others and lost yourself in the process? Have you come to the point of enough with your suffering? If so, join us to discover leading-edge strategies that will enable you to "Be the Change You Wish to See." Find where you lost your keys and get back into your home - where your "heART" is. Learn how to better hear and thus speak the voice of your genius through powerful explorations and playful transmissions. Experience a natural sense of grace and serenity, no matter what your life circumstances may be.
To register for WI 022 - Session 002: Naturally Finding Your True Voice, call BCC: 201-447-7488. See Catalog PDF (p. 141): www.bergen.edu/continuinged. If you have questions, please call Verena directly at 201-487-6910 or 551-486-7365. Fee for 4 sessions; $85 plus $6 materials fee to be paid directly to the the instructor. Instructor: Verena Visser Aibel, Vibrant Visions International.
Photo: Eagle Laughing (see Animal of the month video below), Van Saun Park, Paramus, NJ
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Animal of the Month
 | | Three Eagles Laughing LOL |
Eagle
This past December, right after cooing to three bald eagles at the local zoo, they started "laughing" right back at me, one following the other's lead. Cool to see and hear with my Canon PowerShot SX 230 HS on zoom. I made this my first uploaded YouTube video. According to Ted Andrews, author, Animal-Speak: eagles communicate "Illumination of Spirit, Healing, and Creation." Eagle Laughing. The following is an excerpt from Animal-Speak.
...The Eagle is also a symbol of the rediscovery of the inner child.
There are several needs for those with an eagle totem:
1. There must be involvement with creativity. Three is the number of new birth and creativity.
2. A willingness to experience extremes in a controlled condition and thus facilitate the alchemical process within your life.
3. A willingness to use your passions to purify (flying into the sun) and to use your abilities even if it means being scorched a little.
4. A willingness to seek out the true emotional aspects of oneself and immerse yourself within them, and by doing so rediscover the lost child and awaken a higher sense of purity, passion, creativity, healing, and spirituality.
An examination of the individual characteristics and behaviors of the eagle will reveal even more of the medicine and power attunement will bring you.
The feet of the eagle have four toes. Four is the traditional symbol for keeping oneself grounded and laying a solid foundation for oneself. Even with the eagle's magnificent ability to fly, it stays connected to the earth. The talons of the eagle are meant to grasp and utilize the things of the earth. Without an ability to grasp powerfully and utilize what it grasps, it will not survive.
The sharp beak is designed to cut, tear, and crush. Eagle has strong jaw muscles. The jaw is important to digestion and sp eech with humans, but there is a difference with eagles. Although vocally the eagle is weak, its jaws are one of its most powerful muscles. For those with eagle totems, it will be important to remember that unless this is controlled, it will be very easy to inadvertently hurt someone with words (cutting, tearing, or crushing).
For those with eagle totems, new vision will open.
This vision will be far reaching to the past, within the present and to the future as well. The eyes of the eagle are set closer to the front of the head, and they have a 3-D or binocular vision, just like humans. Meditation on the number 8, especially its figure ( or the symbol of infinity) will reveal much about the kind of vision that eagle can awaken.
To Align oneself with eagle medicine is to take on the responsibility and the power of becoming so much more than you now appear to be. From a karmic aspect, it reflects that the events will now fly faster, and the repercussions for everything you think, do or say (or fail to think, do or say) - positive and negative - will be both stronger and quicker. To accept the eagle as a totem is to accept a powerful new dimension to life, and a heightened responsibility for your spiritual growth. But only through doing so do you learn how to move between the worlds, touch all life with healing, and become the mediator and the bearer of new creative force within the world.
Photo: Two Eagles listening intently while I was singing to them, Bergen County Zoo, Van Suan Park, Paramus, NJ
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Vibrant Visions International provides Corporate Development
Training and Coaching
A Change Agent, Verena's open and enthusiastic demeanor quickly disarms and engages even the most recalcitrant of traditionalists or rebels. Being an excellent listener and communicator, Verena excels at finding common ground as she readily hears, and reflects back, the "still quiet voice" that eludes so many. Her highly diverse background and global perspective has provided Verena with the opportunity and the privilege of assisting a wide range of leaders and organizations.
Verena's key brainstorming strategy is to ask: "Is there another way of looking at it?" She also employs a highly successful and interactive "Top Ten List" approach at capturing salient ideas, messages or material for training, educational, or promotional purposes. In less than four years, Verena's Top Tens articles have appeared in over 260 publications and have reached an estimated 800,000 online subscribers around the globe.
Verena's lifelong commitment to knowledge underscores all her endeavors. She was one of the first students at Pennsylvania State University to pursue the Communication Studies Major and subsequently graduated with a BA/Communication Studies with Honors. Her area of specialization was Interpersonal and Organizational Communication from. In 2001, Verena became a Certified Coach Training Program (CTP) Graduate from the Coach University (CoachU), an International Coaching Federation (ICF) approved program.
Verena is an active member of the International Coaching Federation, New Jersey Association of Women Business Owners (NJAWBO), New Jersey Professional Coaches Association (NJPCA), and the Women's Institute of the Bergen Community College.
For further information or to schedule an appointment or complimentary "Power to Change" conversation, please contact Verena Visser Aibel, President & Founder, Vibrant Visions International, a global coaching and consulting enterprise, via Verena@VibrantCoach.com; 201-487-6910; or www.VibrantCoach.com.
Photo: Verena, Vibrant Visions International, and Eleanor Reiche of Pyramid Imprints at a NJAWBO meeting, Panera's, Paramus, NJ.
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