TALKING about AUTHENTIC EXPRESSION and LIVING FROM THE HEART with YVE @The path of the open heart

Hi Yve, can you tell us about yourself?

I was born in Hammersmith London, and spent the first few years of my life there, until my mother upped sticks and moved our family to Stevenage in Hertfordshire. There were six children in total and I was the youngest. My parents are Barbadian and moved here in the Sixties and like many from the Caribbean immediately found work with London Transport. They were very proud of their culture and we had many house parties as I was growing up, where rice and peas and chicken, souse (pickled pig!) and cuckoo (shaped cornmeal served with flying or salt fish, and a fiery sauce) were staples. A lot of Cockspur rum was usually consumed as well. Bajans like to drink! At age eleven I moved to Barbados for 4 years with my mum and two of my siblings and experienced going to school in a completely different environment ~ quite a shock to my 'British sensibilities' at the time. But I definitely benefited from seeing black people in such a positive light and in all walks of life, from policemen, to Prime Minister, to judges, which I feel many who are born in England don't get to experience. This gave me a sense of confidence in my colour and culture that permeates me to this day.

You used to live in London, but moved to Brighton, can you tell us the circumstances that underpinned this decision? what is life like there?

Yes as an adult I moved to London and stayed for many years. My move to Brighton was actually double-edged. I began a relationship at aged 17 that turned out to be extremely violent ~ physically and emotionally abusive, and that finally ended at the age of 24 when I was offered a place at Sussex University. I was also offered a place at London School of Economics, but my heart knew I had to leave London and get as far away from my abusive partner as possible, which is why I chose to accept the Sussex offer. I studied Development Economics in the school of African and Asian studies. The fact that I studied economics was hilarious as maths was my worst subject at school and our classes were full of charts and equations that drove me potty! Yet I'm glad I did it anyway.

I was also a really active member of our cultural group on campus. In fact it's where I started performing poetry and singing as we held various cultural events and I loved getting to shine in a different way, especially as I was struggling so much with course work! So I have many fond memories of that time.

Brighton, Sussex is a place of constant change. I find that many who move here are forced to go on inner journeys in many respects simply because the energy is one the encourages deeper exploration or creative expression. It has an inclusive feel precisely because it's a university town, with a large student population and those who come to learn English as a second language.

Then there's Brighton Festival which attracts people from around the world and both events are full of vibrancy and aliveness. It's called 'The City By The Sea' and it definitely has that vibe. All the restaurants, clubs and nightlife you'd expect, plus the feeling of possibility that living by the sea brings. Still it has to be said that us long term Brighton residents don't get involved as much in all the events as much as the new 'touristy' types lol. It's become our norm, so it's fascinating to watch people who've just come for a visit, and their 'newby' enthusiasm.

You do spiritual coaching, what life experiences lead you into this field of work? what does this entail and how does it impact others lives?

Yes I am a spiritual coach. I've come to see that spiritual coaching is not what I do, but who I am. I've always explored the depths and breadths of life from a very early age. Asking often uncomfortable questions of myself and others. Calling upon us to see beyond our culture, race, gender and religious conditioning, to see who we are without all of those concepts.

So spiritual coaching involves working with others to see where they are believing in stories about themselves that do not serve them, and calling for them to go deeper to discover who they are without their conceptual thinking or limiting stories. Once it's seen that the negative belief they are holding about themselves or their life situation is only a belief or an interpretation of an event, it frees them up to look at their lives with new and more affirming eyes. This allows greater possibilities to emerge in their experience and increases their feelings of self love, self honouring and self acceptance.

My gift is an ability to really see their stories and where they are holding onto old emotional wounds and supporting them to release their identification with those wounds and instead reveal the gifts inherent in all of our life experiences. I encourage them to see their innate worth and value and honour their most authentic expression. My own spiritual journey is about releasing my over-identification with my conceptual thinking or beliefs, so in working with others in this way, I too am freed.

You held the " heart speak telesummit " 2 years ago, in which you interviewed 12 powerful women about the links between their creative and spiritual lives. I was happy to be one of the women you chose to interview. It had such an impact here and internationally. Can you tell us about that and your new project HTTV?

Yes indeed and I was so happy to have you be a part of that event Yvonne. Our interview was a joyful experience because you are so full of light and positivity. Heart Speak Telesummit came about because I wanted to allow heart-centred women that I found inspiring, and who weren't so widely known, to have a platform to share their powerful stories of personal transformation.

I knew that in sharing their stories from the heart, that others would be moved and inspired. I also wanted to hear some of the struggles they faced when honouring their authentic expression and in their personal journeys so that listeners could relate and see themselves in those journeys. It was a little selfish too, because those are the kinds of conversations I like to have in general and there I was getting to talk with these amazing women on a topic I find endlessly fascinating!

As for HTTV it stands for Heart Talk Television (are you beginning to see a theme emerging here? lol.) Everything I do is about living from the heart. Exploring what it means to truly live from the heart and to inspire authentic expression and authentic success in others. Authentic success being success based on our unique standards and measure of success, not someone else's.

I am also fascinated by other's spiritual journeys, again loving to explore the threads of how life guides them in their work and in their lives, in ways that we don't often see or acknowledge except in retrospect. My current show on HTTV is The Heart Talks and it's where I get to honour my guest's unique journey, to honour the challenges and struggles they face as they walk their path.

I also get to celebrate the light that they are, which feels really good both to them and me. In fact I often get told by guests at the end of interviews how much they felt their unique journey has been honoured. They get to see how the threads of their individual experience were actually a divine weaving of the cloth of their life. That is the joy I get from doing the interviews: bringing to their conscious attention the cohesiveness of their journey as I pull those threads together to reveal the way the life was always calling on them to live their truth and honour their unique path.

You believe in digging deep and embracing the shadow self, can you talk more about this?

I'm ALL about digging deep! lol. It's my joy. Diving into the depths of ourselves and discovering that what we perceived as flaws and weaknesses are in fact our guide to our best life. The shadow self ~ the parts of us that we suppress or deny are particularly powerful spaces of healing. These shadows often show up as core wounds, those patterns and tendencies that we recreate over and over again in our lives. They generally show up as themes of fear of abandonment, unworthiness, rejection and self sabotage. So a lot of my work is about identifying and shifting those core wounds and revealing the gifts they contain.

For example one client I worked with had a core wound around abandonment (she had been brought up in a children's home even though both of her parents were still alive.) In exploring that abandonment wound with love and conscious awareness she not only got to feel her pain in an empowering way, but she got to see the gifts of compassion that she brought to the world. She also saw how those experiences fuelled her creative expression and inner drive to know who she really was without all of that 'baggage.' This is the work of embracing the shadow self. Diving deep with love, presence and conscious awareness, in order to see the gift behind the pain and feeling the joy of releasing that pain with love and deliberate intent.

You've written 2 books "Musings on the Path", and "Awakenings: Are you ready?" (which is free to download) where did the idea come from? can you tell us about this?

Yes I'd love to. "Awakenings" is a collection of short stories that explores the events that cause us to turn within and see how we're being actively guided on our path of Awakening to our true nature. Which to me is that we are divine beings on a human journey of remembering who we truly are. The stories are fictional and often light-hearted in style, while exploring themes of grief, insecurity, domestic violence, sexuality or abandonment issues. I wanted to keep the style light and simply expressed because the themes were so intense and I also wanted it to speak to people who were just beginning to explore their spiritual journey. Each story has at its end, words of wisdom from an angelic guide that deepens and clarifies the themes explored in the story.

"Musings On The Path" is about the foundation of my life and work: The Path of the Open Heart. These are five principles that I have come to understand underscore most spiritual teachings. They are:

1. We are Profound Loved, always, and getting to know and feel that Presence in our lives. 2. That Radical Forgiveness is seeing where we act out our pain or lash out at others because we truly do not know better at the time. 3. Radical Awareness is becoming more aware of what we say, think and do and why, in order to free ourselves from our conditioned responses. 4. Conscious Intention using our free will to allow ourselves to be guided by our hearts or by divine wisdom and surrender to the direction life is guiding us to take, trusting that it knows what we need. 5. Undefendedness. Meeting each moment or life circumstance from a fresh place without jaded eyes, being willing to be in that moment and see how life is wishing to unfold through us and as us in that moment or circumstance.

The book explores each of the 5 principles in greater depth and I also explore my own journey and some of the lessons I've learned on the path, through articles, poems and parables.

As for the 'how.' I only sit down to write or record books, songs or audios etc., when I feel inspired to do so from within. The voice that knows ~ that we have all experienced at some time in our lives, is what I allow to guide me. It's a 'voiceless-voice' and we feel moved from within to act on its guidance, or not. So both books came that way; as a knowing, a feeling, a sense, and were confirmed by outer experiences. For example someone visiting my site and seeing my short videos on The Path of the Open Heart and saying: 'You should write a book about that!' lol. It's worth stating that all of my intuitive 'hits' aren't always spot on, but that's the fun of the journey, becoming more discerning as refinements are made along the way.

What advice would you give to women who let age define or restrict them? What are your secrets?

I say: "Put down your concepts!" Put down your ought to and should haves and begin to give yourself permission to be authentically you. Trusting that you at your most authentic is a beautiful thing! And if you still feel a little afraid, look for or ask Life to reveal to you women who have gone beyond societal boundaries and thrived. Whatever your age, size, or sexuality, you have something to bring to the table. Find out who inspires you and why, and trust that inner inspiration, it's trying to tell you/teach you something. Listen to that knowing first and foremost, it knows. lol.

As for me, I say a sacred YES! to my heart's true and unchanging desires. I let Life confirm that I'm on the right path or doing what is most authentic for me to do. If it feels consistently good, if it allows me to tap into my 'gifts, talents and capacities' as Michael Beckwith might say, then it's for me to do. I let myself make 'mistakes.' Lots of them. I don't judge my creations anymore. I enjoy the creative experience above the end result. There's always room for improvement of course and I remain open to deepening my skills and skill sets whatever age I am. Age ain't nothing but a number baby!

You are a mother of grown children, any advice for mothers at this stage, redefining their role from parent to advisor? Also in finding time for themselves?

I've stopped calling my children, 'my' children and refer to them as my offspring these days. I truly believe I was a vessel for them to enter the world and learn about themselves through my life experience. The greatest gift I believe I have to give them is to learn to think independently, do nothing simply out of obligation or duty, and follow their authentic path. I have no desire to mould them in my image, nor to be constricted by the image they may have of who I 'should' be. I offer them the freedom to find out who they are in their own way as they grown and learn, and my role is simply to be a cheerleader, or a insightful and very honest ear when they need one.

My greatest wish is that we only hang out together because we like each other and enjoy the experience, not simply blindly following traditions and national holidays, because 'someone' once said that's what we should do to prove that we're family. So I say find your own path mothers. Trust yourselves and what feels good to you and your offspring. Don't let yourself be dictated to, and whatever happens it will all turn out right in the end. I truly believe that.

Whats next for Yve Bowen?

You know what I call myself these days? Yve Anmore. Why? Because I am not simply a name, a body, and mind, I am 'even more' than that. There's always even more unfolding to come, even more creative expression to explore, even greater deepening on my path to experience. So Yve Anmore is a play on that and I love it. My plans are to be even more creative and complete my current album, and following that up with a new one next year ~ for the sheer joy of it. To write a couple of books including my first novel (I started it years ago, but I feel it's started speaking to me again saying oy! when are you going to finish me?! lol.)

I've just started doing some more interviews for The Heart Talks and the first guest took me out my comfort zone because he's a tantra practitioner who is a bit edgy in his expression to put it mildly! lol. But I really enjoyed the interview nonetheless, so I'm really looking forward to stepping out of my comfort zone more in that way. What else? I've always had a desire to do a one woman show but have been putting it off, but I feel it bubbling up in me as life brings all the strands together. I also feel that the foundation of my work The Path of the Open Heart is a beautiful healing tool and it informs all of my creative and spiritual expression, so I hope to share that work with more people on bigger platforms as life allows. I could go on, but let's see what Life decides instead shall we? Love... Yve

http://www.yveanmore.com/