Janet Cohen Consulting, LLC

Love the simplicity of this.

Please connect with me personally if you are interested. I hope you can join us.

What glimmers did you have today?

For me, it was regaining the use of my right thumb after surgery. I have a better grasp on things now - in more ways than you can imagine.

I am a meliorist. How about you?

So true. Whose life did you influence today?

Good is there. Find it. Share it.

It’s this simple. Not always easy, but simple.

Someone asked me last week about how I manage my life intersecting at many junctions. I replied, “I’m old enough and bold enough to own all parts of myself.”

As I accept and embrace all of the parts, my life has integrity and wholeness.

I’m so excited. I received my favorite writing teacher’s latest memoir this week and listened to it on the drive to my sister’s house today. Since I’m in the process of writing my own memoir, listening to Natalie inspired me and I got a new idea for the structure of my own book.

True dat…

Sometimes we need a setback in order to have a comeback. Tell us one of your stories. There is power in sharing.

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Choosing Yourself: How to Prioritize Your Personal Well-Being - Tiny Buddha These are the 5 steps I took when I heard the call to choose myself, which I continue to take every day to attend to my own well-being.

Today, I honor the memory of Brad Brown, my friend and teacher, cofounder of the More to Life program. Below is something I wrote about him several years ago, He would have been 95 years old today.

One night I went to dinner with some friends who volunteered at a weekend training session. It was an exciting time for the volunteers who worked to support the event because we were being acknowledged by the leaders. It was a special occasion because the co-founder of the organization who designed, developed and delivered the program was in town. It was a relaxed environment and we had time to chat easily with each other.

I arrived late. One of the first to greet me was Brad, the co-founder. He intrigued me from the moment I met him, and we worked together a few times on volunteer activities for the foundation.

I admired Brad’s intelligence as a clinical psychologist, and I was in awe of his ability to listen in a way I had never witnessed before. He had a way of reading people and leading them to reach their own conclusions as they discovered new things about themselves. I watched them transform lifelong beliefs so they could step more powerfully into their futures, unrestricted by the old, negative beliefs that would have held them back.

I was in awe of Brad’s spiritual connection as an Episcopal priest while showing respect for people of all religious backgrounds. This was a man who not only taught about spirituality, but he demonstrated ways that people could connect their own spirits to whatever they believed in and embrace all of humanity no matter what their pasts and without judgement.

He had something I wanted. I knew that Brad understood me on a level I never felt I was received, and vice versa. I could see into Brad and we partnered in some very strong, unexplainable ways that didn’t require clarification. I watched him walk into a training room and witness the energy of the entire group change just by his presence when they didn’t even know he was there. Brad trusted my psychic connection with him and affirmed it was true for him.

I shared with Brad that on some level I believed he was a spiritual teacher of mine, but I didn’t even know what a spiritual teacher was. Brad responded, “a spiritual teacher is another spiritual teacher who is ready to learn.” We agreed that whatever this was, it was clearly a mentorship developing that continued for the next 22 years.

Brad and I studied closely together (without any religious books). I’ve heard myself say that Brad was the most important man in my adult life, and I felt guilty for saying that because I spent more intimate time with him than I did with my own father, who died shortly after I turned 10. In my years with Brad I never saw him as a father figure. I learned to forgive my father for dying and my family members for the way they handled it, interpret my own definition of the God I believed in, and began to feel a deeper connection to life.

I learned to embrace my womanhood and my role in society which allowed me to step into larger contributions of service locally, nationally, and internationally. I loved Brad. He understood my struggle with the impact of AIDS in society coupled with institutions that discriminated against helping people as dozens of my friends died. He honored my professional work to change access to the health care system in America and he comforted me at a time when many people could simply not understand the enormity of that work because they were so fearful and judgmental of others. He taught me how to find and experience gratitude.

Brad encouraged me to step into larger and larger arenas because he saw my creative leadership abilities, and when I got scared he simply told me, “I give you a lot of rope.” He believed in me in a way that taught me to learn to believe in myself.

Over the years, Brad and I had many meetings outside of the organization where we worked. We sat together in airports, restaurants and hotels, cafes, our offices, and his home in Port Richmond. We watched birds in his aviary from his condo overlooking San Francisco Bay, talked on the telephone when he was in the US and online when he finally allowed me to teach him about AOL, where we began instant messaging and sending emails for the first time.

Brad wrote a series of books and introduced me to my favorite writing teacher, Natalie Goldberg, with whom I later studied. I am forever grateful because he encouraged me as a writer. When I shared with him that I thought I was too young to write a memoir about AIDS, Brad thought it would take too long to publish. He suggested writing shorter pieces that I could assemble later, which I did, Over the years, I began teaching writing practice retreats like those Natalie led.

Brad was the man who heard and encouraged me to step into my full self, embrace my abilities, forgive when necessary, deepen my relationship with Spirit (which also deepened my commitment to Judaism). The last time I saw Brad was in his condo, where he handed me the first copy of his latest book, Guidelines to Feelings, just back from the publisher. A gift I’ll forever treasure. I think my father would have liked him.

Brad had someone type his letters for him, and he was hesitant to learn how to use computers. And he, too, was trainable. I have a drawer full of handwritten letters from Brad and I am so grateful for that. Brad allowed me to assist him in his development and his aging. I was so blessed by him choosing me as a student/mentee. He shared deeply personal things with me and he knew I would honor his confidentiality.

Brad impacted thousands of individuals around the world with the techniques he developed and copyrighted. I grieved his passing from Lewy Body, a form of Dementia, and helped a community to grieve his loss. I was so grateful for his many contributions to my life in a way that extended beyond training rooms, prisons, living rooms and retreat centers where the foundation did its work.

I was blessed to co-plan Brad’s Houston memorial service with Ann McMaster at the Houston Quaker Center with the amazing roof so we could see both birds and sunset through the roof. To this day, I am committed to share stories about Brad so the institutional history of this man’s legacy continues to live in the foundation.

It’s been about 10 years since Brad’s passing, yet he is still alive in my heart. I once did a coaching session with Ann in her bedroom at home. I had never been in her bedroom before. I felt so comfortable, so embraced by the chair in the corner of her room where I sat, and I had a cathartic healing from an old childhood trauma. I was held by that chair. After our session, Ann told me that the chair was Brad’s meditation chair, and she received it after his death. No wonder I felt so comforted. His energy was still alive in it.

When Brad died, I called Laura DeNuccio, a friend who I met in California in 1993. I studied and taught with Laura at Esalen Institute in the 90’s. Laura had previously studied for nine years with Dick Price, one of Esalen’s Founders, and grieved the death of her spiritual teacher. Laura understood my grief in a way that nobody else could.

But Laura is another story.

I just returned from Philadelphia, where I attended my 50th high school reunion, met the people who now own the house here I grew up, interviewed some family and friends to complete research for the book I’m writing, played with my great niece and great nephew, and visited my parents’ graves. I’ve got a working title for my book, but I’m curious about yours. Do tell.

I so love this! How do you consciously create the space in your life?

June is Indiginous History Month and Pride Month. Let us celebrate all who live on the planet.

A few words of wisdom from my teacher’s teacher.

There are so many ways to show kindness.

May is the month to celebrate

Happy Cindo de Mayo today!

Just completed my Texas tour. Taught the Power of Self Esteem and the Power of Writing Practice in Galveston. Beautiful, shining beings evolving in my presence. What a gift!

I wish you all celebrate your freedom, the message taught in Passover. For you, I say Chag Pesach Sameach.

This is one of my favorite courses to facilitate, and I’m excited about offering it in Galveston April 27-28. Feel free to call me to see how this can benefit you specifically. I hope you’ll consider joining us.

I remember that my friend and teacher, Brad Brown, said “You can’t be alone with guilt. It’s married to resentment.” This reminds me to be authentic with life as it is.

I hope you’ll consider joining one of these offerings. Feel free to contact me. The purpose course is on Zoom.

Got Power? You don't want to miss these Powerful Retreats Spring 2024 in Galveston and on Zoom You are receiving this email because you've either taken one of my courses or expressed interest in what I'm offerin

Believe this…

You matter. Your life matters.💜

So many ways to celebrate!