In 2007 I received my first invitation to enter into a space of sacred business. It was a surreal time. I’d had two miscarriages and my feelings were close to the surface. I recall walking from the train to my car after work and bumping into a woman I had met years prior. She asked how I was and my pain tumbled out. She then asked ‘do you want to come with me on a trip to Central Australia to do women’s business with our Indigenous?’ In an intuitive response I simply whispered ‘yes’.
Within months I was sitting on the red earth by day and sleeping in a swag under the stars at night. Surrounded by sacred wisdom, I experienced deep listening and received the support I needed to be present to the 6-week embryo in my uterus, who today is my 10-year-old daughter.
Remembering this story I’m struck by the way I heard the ‘yes’. I was a successful business person, established through good acumen and ethics, linear project management skills and enviable persistence. I certainly was not operating from a felt-sense, and making a decision without rational thought was out of character. But in my broken-heartedness, I had heard and acted on my inner ‘yes’ which began a developmental journey working with my whole self and connecting to something greater. I mark that time in the desert as the start of a critical transformation process, readying me for the next stage of my development, parenthood and the integration of my life, work and values.
When the invitation to work with Tjanara Goreng Goreng emerged, my response was a crystal clear, booming ‘hell yes’. Few of us have the time and resources to go to Country but remarkably Tjanara has offered to bring this wisdom to us. Now, more than ever, as our world becomes exponentially complex, rapid and fragile, we need to be able to slow down, connect with ourselves, each other and the earth. We need to be able to listen deeply, call forth our holistic skills and evolve our leadership practices. We need the means to become Sacred Leaders.
On June 19th in Sydney, in a space dedicated to experiencing Sacred Leadership, we will stop, listen and consider our aspirations. And this gathering might just mark the start of an Australian way of doing business that has the capacity to transform our workplaces, our communities and the planet.
Take a moment now to listen to your inner response to this invitation. Whether you hear a big, booming ‘hell yes’ or a more hesitant, whispering ‘yes’ we’d love to welcome you into this timely conversation. Will you join us?
Photo Credit: Women’s Story | Uluru 2007 | Elsie Wanatjura