Where the Book Began
Last week, I was thrilled to let you know that I am serializing the first draft of my book on Substack starting in May. The first four chapters are free for all subscribers. Starting in July, the remaining chapters will be released on Sundays for paid subscribers only.
The paid subscription will continue to be available at the introductory rate of $6 monthly / $60 annually. The Patron level is $400 annually.
You may wonder why I wrote The Heart of Sacred Listening: The Key to Transforming Your Relationships, Your Work, and Your Life.
It all came out of a crisis I was in in 1972. The story of that crisis begins the book.
When my first husband stopped coming home at night, and I realized our marriage was over, I discovered I didn’t know who I was — that I had thought who I was were my roles — teacher, wife, daughter. So the “Who am I?” question — one of the greatest questions any human being could ask — led me into many new, surprising, awesome lands for awakening.
At that time, I participated in a training that transformed my life.
Over the next ten years, I rigorously embodied life-giving principles and dived into deep inner work. I trained myself to be a coach and enroll people in transformational and life-giving conversations, and I enrolled others in enrolling people in giving themselves transformational and life-giving conversations. In 1982, I began leading Communication courses for a large, multinational organization.
There I was, with 200 people in front of me, in a hotel ballroom, week after week; people of all ages, all professions, all out to transform their lives and their relationships through communication.
It was a great life. I was responsible for and reliable for transforming lives and making a difference in the world, and the course deeply empowered people. I still have letters from folks, some even famous folks, from that time long ago, sharing with me how moved they were and how their lives had opened up.
Except this: Early on, in every course, I encountered the same issue that people faced: they were “exchanging time for money.” That's called something, if you think about it.
It really bothered me.
Why? Because I had already, by that time in my life, traveled so far in shifting my own relationship with work, where I saw Work – the domain of work – as a privilege, an opportunity to serve, to make a contribution, an opportunity to fulfill my purpose in life – a place of joy, of meaning, of fulfillment, of satisfaction.
That was not the case for most people entering that course.
So, aside from leading this program, I decided to do something else about it: to create a business from that realization and to work on transforming people’s relationships with their work, their relationships, and their lives – whether they were entrepreneurs, health professionals, in the tech industry, the grocery industry, the food industry, the construction industry, or educators; corrections or public safety departments; leaders of organizations; managers knocking on the door of leadership, parents with challenging children; all just plain folks, who were out to lead their own lives well, people who were committed to creating a meaningful life for themselves.
People who had a sense that relationships and creating connections are the source of accomplishment.
People who had an inkling, or were open to discovering that diving into spiritual principles could transform their lives and organizations.
You get it. The clients and individuals coming into my own business were diverse, across many industries. The one factor that linked everyone who engaged and, by engaging, had life-long breakthroughs was a longing for learning, a longing for growth, and a commitment to “waking up.”
Through this work over 40 years, I have contributed to businesses and the people within them, making significant shifts, transforming workplace culture into one where trust and communication thrive, resulting in new hires and lower attrition rates. One early client, for example, reduced their attrition rate from 36 percent to 8 percent in one year and maintained that low level of attrition throughout my work with them. People’s lives, meanwhile, along with their businesses, transformed, awakened, and lit up by the work. If you want, you can check out specific results on my website: Here or Here.
Spiritual conversations—such as forgiveness or other healing dialogues—are often seen as inappropriate in business. I say, “Nay, nay.”
It is indeed possible to create businesses with souls.
One of the leading factors for resiliency, thriving, and sustenance is leadership’s commitment to growing and deeply developing their people. People who are empowered, collaborative, and in communication create healthy businesses. “Businesses without souls have a doubtful future,” the authors state in their book Firms of Endearment.
Good, authentic communication is rare. Why? Because there’s a myth out there: people think communication is rooted in speaking. It’s not. It’s based on listening. Real listening – the kind where you feel known, understood, and appreciated- can become the fabric of a culture, and when it does, breakthrough results occur consistently.
People appreciate that, honor it, and long for it. People long for relationships that endure over time, just like you do. People seek to discover their ability to create a fulfilling and meaningful future for themselves, just like you do. People yearn to understand who they are and let go of their disempowering stories in their heads about themselves and others, just like you do.
And now, out of my commitment to making a difference on planet Earth, contributing to the consciousness of the people on the planet, and impacting people’s lives, I’ve written a book to support you in having those breakthroughs. It is based on the work I have been doing for the last forty years, particularly the work of The Heart of Leadership, my foundational program.
I wrote the book both for people who have participated with me live and for those who have not. I realized I could only reach a limited number of folks unless I expand the teaching in different ways.
I wrote the book for people who are interested in entering into “beginner’s mind” where curiosity and discovery are the coins of the realm, interested in moving into developing themselves, and having their relationship with themselves, others, and life be a source of joy in their lives.
It's not a quick fix, not a recipe book, and then it will all turn out. It takes investing yourself and “rolling up your sleeves,” to use an old cliché, to create a future of your own choosing.
In June of 2024, just as I was starting my journey, I was fortunate (which is a backstory in itself, which will show up in the Founder’s level once we begin) to participate in an Author’s retreat with Jack Canfield, the co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. At the end of the retreat, each of us had the opportunity to have a short interview with Jack. Here’s what he said:
Ready to join this journey?
Free Subscribers will receive the intro to the book as well as chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4.
In July, my blogs of poetry, prose, and photography, designed to help you navigate your life, will arrive on your digital doorstep every other week on Wednesdays and will continue to be free for all subscribers, whether paid or not.
The remaining book chapters will be for Paid subscribers only and will be released on Sundays starting in July.
If you choose to upgrade to paid in May or June, you will be able to do so at the current discounted rate of $6 monthly / $60 annually
Paid Subscribers ($6 monthly/ $60 annually) will receive:
The entire serialized book
Community engagement
Give the author feedback, and be a part of the creation process
2 Zoom Q & A sessions in the course of the year for sharing, coaching, questions and answers
And for my Patrons ($400 annually):
Thank you for supporting this journey.
You will receive everything the paid subscribers get
My behind-the-scenes story of my book writing process
One 1-1 coaching session with Amba