Pursuing Your Passion with Beata Alfoldi
Beáta is like a beautiful ray of sunshine beaming her love down onto the earth and warming the hearts of everyone she meets. It was divine guidance that led Soul Sister Circle to discover this powerhouse of compassion, wisdom, support and love living in Sydney Australia and boy-oh-boy, are we grateful for the many blessings that she has brought to our community.
Beáta is a noted teacher, workshop facilitator, shamanic & energetic healer, ceremonial leader and speaker. She has an intuitive gift for assisting individuals through deep transformation and facilitates private sessions, classes, workshops, national and international retreats and has featured at major events, festivals and conferences as a guest speaker.
SSC: At the young age four, you started training in classical dance and this was a catalyst for a long and successful dancing career. Now days, your work involves shamanic energetic healing, divine feminine embodiment retreats, workshops, ceremonies and regular women’s circles. Can you tell us about your journey from professional dancer to the work you are doing today?
BEATA: The journey from professional dancer to the work I am doing today was a very natural progression. My mother was my greatest influence as she was a deeply spiritual person at a time when I was exploring many ‘great truths’, so I grew up with a strong foundation for the work that I am doing today.
The career of a dancer is very short lived and at the age of 30 whilst I was choreographing and directing one of the largest pop concerts in Asia, I realized in a moment that my inner-life and outer-life were no longer congruent. This realization was so strong that I decided to take six months off to reevaluate my life and eventually move into the world of yoga, shamanism and healing.
The last 14 years have been a process of constant inner-evolution, extensive travel to study with indigenous elders from all over the world, and a continual journey of formal study and exploration towards the work that I am facilitating today.
SSC: What would you say was the biggest obstacle you faced when transitioning from the work you had known for so many years into the work that you do today? How did you find the courage to overcome it?
BEATA: The biggest obstacle I faced when transitioning from the work I was doing to the path I have found now, was my own inner fears of truly stepping into my soul-purpose. I knew that this work would come with an enormous responsibility to self and to others.
I found the courage to overcome this through realizing that it was more painful to remain in fear and to not step onto my path than to embrace the fear and fully step into my life’s work. I knew that a very deep part of myself would be unfulfilled if I didn’t fully embrace my fears and find the courage to move through them so that I could live my fullest expression and highest potential.
SSC: How has doing the work you do now, evolved you as a person?
BEATA: I believe that if you are a person who is constantly moving with inner reflection and willing to embrace all aspects of yourself (including your shadow) that life itself will continually evolve you as a person. However, this work has allowed me to step into my own life with a deeper authenticity, awareness and compassion ~ for self and for others.
SSC: What are your top 5 values are and how do these impact on the way you live your life?
BEATA: My top 5 values are; honesty, kindness, passion, courage and freedom.
The impact of these values on my life means that I am the kind of person who lives from my heart with a lot of courage, passion and joy. I understand the connection between everyone and everything and in that I practice kindness and compassion to all beings. I speak my truth and I try to live my life in a way that is a truly authentic expression and reflection of who I am as an individual.
SSC: Do you have any practices or rituals that you do to help keep you grounded and in your divine flow?
BEATA: I have many practices and rituals to help keep me grounded and in divine flow. I have small rituals every day of lighting candles, burning incense and being in meditation in a ceremonial way. It is vitally important for me to take time out during my full schedule to truly connect with myself and Spirit in very simple yet powerful ways. I walk in the bush or swim in the ocean as often as I can to feel the vitality, grace and beauty of Nature. I also love dancing as my own form of spiritual practice and embodiment. These practices and ‘ways of being’ bring me intense joy and keep me grounded and in the flow of life.
SSC: Obstacles and disappointments are a natural part of our life experience, can you tell us a bit about how you approach challenges in your lifeyou’re your business? What beliefs do you have that support you when overcoming adversity?
BEATA: I believe that all challenges are opportunities for growth. I always approach challenges with courage and a creative mind-set. I am fully aware that on some level I have created these challenges so that I can also learn how to overcome them.
We need to understand the many gifts that come with the opportunity of overcoming challenges; like strength, courage, resilience and stamina.
I have developed a deep trust in the process of life and I believe that Spirit is always working with us and not against us. I also trust that everything happens for a reason, even though it is not always apparent at the time what that reason might be.
SSC: Through your work you meet a lot of women who feel a readiness to awaken to their divine feminine energy. Why do you think so many women are starting to feel this way?
BEATA: I think that women are ready to embrace something very different to what has culturally been fed to us about what roles women should play in society and how they should be in their personal lives. This includes all the projections and stereotypes of what it is to be a woman at this particular time on our planet.
I am seeing that on a global scale women are ready to embrace and realize their full potential as powerful co-creators and I believe that we are ready collectively to step into a more authentic and empowering way of being ~ which is also deeply feminine, compassionate and embracing at the same time. Women are seeking a deeper connection to themselves, to others, to Spirit and to each other. Awakening to the ‘divine feminine’ principle is an important part of the process of the great change that is currently taking place in this world.
SSC: What would you say is the most common block or barrier that women experience when embracing their divine feminine power?
BEATA: I believe the most common block that women face in embracing their Divine Feminine Power is not trusting themselves and in the gifts of this feminine principle. The Divine Feminine is about instinct, receptivity, intuition, embodiment, fierce compassion, nurturing, community, and the wildly creative aspect of the Universe. We have been led to believe otherwise by the media, the education system and various religions. We have all been taught to mistrust this Divine Feminine aspect of Spirit because it is often seen as dangerous and wild. When sleeping women wake and form communities and networks of support, I believe that we will co-create real and lasting change on this planet for the good of all.
SSC: What keeps you motivated to continue doing your work in the world?
BEATA: The thing that keeps me motivated is the deep fulfilment, love and joy that I feel when doing my work in the world. It is knowing that I am being of service and creating real change in whatever way I can; not only in women’s lives but also in the community at large. I believe that we each have our part to play in this tapestry of life.
SSC: What advice do you have for other female entrepreneurs who have chosen to surrender to the call of their heart and pursue their passion in business?
BEATA: The only advice I could give other women who are pursuing their passion in business is to never give up! If you truly feel the call to your work, then pursue it with every ounce of your heart and soul and trust that you will be supported in the process. There will always be setbacks on your journey, but it is how you navigate these challenging spaces that will determine whether you are successful or not ~ both in business and in life.
Bec Van Leeuwen is a truth-seeker, devoted wife and mother, a globe-trotter, a nature lover and a human potential activist. Her mission is to support and inspire awakening women who are on a quest to create real and lasting change in their lives, their communities and the world.