My name is Lorie, and I help people have amazing days. I’m a firm believer that bliss, joy, love—whatever word you want to use for that state of perfect peace—is always available to us. We humans, however, tend to get in the way of “what is.” Our fears, dark thoughts, irrational beliefs, negative images, illusions, and general life situations lead us astray; and we end up feeling yucky.
I conceived CalmUp® to help people empower themselves and be at peace. We can’t expect world peace, let alone harmony in the workplace and in our household, until we can experience personal peace of mind.
I developed the primary product, the CalmUp® Journey, after I became a licensed clinical psychologist. I wanted to help people feel better today, not six months or even six weeks from now. When I began my private practice, I didn’t want my patients to become dependent on me, and I strongly believed that, with guidance, they could solve their own problems. My intention was to have them accomplish their personal goals in fewer than ten sessions. Although some patients required longer-term treatment, “self-empowerment” remained the ideal to aim for.
Eventually, these questions emerged: What if I could create a simple, self-guided, written tool that integrated self-help knowledge, for my patients to take home and feel better on their own? What if I could find a way to streamline what I teach so that people who’d never even consider counseling might consider completing a simple daily worksheet? What if people who couldn’t afford one-on-one counseling could feel better by using such a tool? And what if people who were already feeling happy, content, and not in need of counseling could enhance the quality of their day and feel amazing?
Of course, the CalmUp® Journey doesn’t replace psychotherapy or one-on-one support if that’s what’s needed. There’s clearly a time and a place for counseling and coaching. But the CalmUp® Journey can definitely supplement other forms of treatment and care.
The name CalmUp® came somewhat like an epiphany. One of my residents at the skilled nursing facility, visibly anxious from having been transferred from the rehabilitation unit to the nursing home wing, told me that her family was telling her to calm down, but she didn’t know how. The next morning, I awoke realizing that she didn’t need to “calm down”; she needed to “calm up”!
You’ll find more about the development of the CalmUp® Journey in the preface of CalmUp® Journey: Your Daily Ascending Tool for Better Days. Here’s something personal I didn’t disclose in the book: When I came up with this concept, I believed that sharing this knowledge was my purpose, my raison d’être, or reason for being.
I later learned otherwise. Sitting alone under a tree during a silent meditation retreat, I realized that my purpose was actually to be in bliss myself.
“You mean I don’t have to help anyone else feel better?” I asked my higher self.
“No.”
By feeling wonderful myself, I could naturally help others—my patients, my family, my friends, strangers even—feel better, too! And…being in bliss myself is enhanced by my sharing the CalmUp® Journey via my books, workshops and webinars, and speaking engagements—each a vital part of the CalmUp® company.
IT’S ABOUT YOU:
- What simple shift can you make today to impact peace in yourself, your family, or the world?
- What’s your passion, purpose, raison d’être ?
- What step can you take today toward fulfilling your purpose?