Chrysalis: Personal Transformation From The Inside Out

By Ann Vanino

This is a challenging time of change, chaos and instability – both in our world and in our individual lives. To thrive in this time, transformation of your life from what it was to what it will be is called for.

Ann brings the wisdom and insights she has gained from her own journey, her study of sacred arts and her years of experience coaching clients through their own transformations to the writing of this book. As you read Chrysalis your mind and heart will open to change and your transformation will begin!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ann Vanino
• Release date: Aug 6, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311612922

Ann Vanino

I am a career and new directions coach whose passion is supporting people as they create the life they want to live. My own journey has taken me from a childhood in New York City, to an environmental career working for government in Washington DC and New York City, working in the private sector and founding my own business in Los Angeles. Subsequently, I embarked on a second career as a coach and now live in the High Mojave Desert of southern California, where I continue my coaching and am inspired every day by the solitude, beauty and silence of the desert and mountains that surround me.Some highlights of my life so far: marrying Ermanno Vanino, a filmmaker and companion on my journey, managing New York City’s 24-hour Haz Mat Emergency Response Team, that responded to over 600 emergencies a year; participating in a team working outside of the established employment and education system to create an innovative credentialing program to prepare young people for work or further education; and co-founding The High Desert Region Green Jobs Initiative, with a mission of linking economic and workforce development to advance the green economy in our region.My writing includes: 4 books: Chrysalis: Personal Transformation From The Inside Out, Leadership on Trial: Lessons From The Apprentice , Power Stories and Coaching Corner Volume 1.It is my hope that my book, Chrysalis: Personal Transformation From The Inside Out is a catalyst for readers to bring their unique gifts to the world and, in the process, to create for themselves a fulfilling and joyful life.

Book preview

CHRYSALIS

~ Personal Transformation From the Inside Out ~

by

Ann Vanino

Smashwords Edition

Published on Smashwords by:

Ann Vanino

Chrysalis

Personal Transformation From the Inside Out

Creative Commons

Cover art by Michelle Taormina

michelletaormina.com

Formatted by B10 Mediaworx

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

For Ermanno

"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."

—Maya Angelou

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

Chapter One

THE CATERPILLAR

~ Living in an Ordinary World ~

Chapter Two

THE COCOON

~ Shedding Skin and Withdrawing ~

Chapter Three

GROWTH AND STRUGGLE

~ Development ~

Chapter Four

THE BUTTERFLY

~ A New Existence~

Chapter Five

OUR COLLECTIVE CHRYSALIS

~ The Transformation of the World ~

Chapter Six

POSTSCRIPT

~ Transformation from the Inside Out ~

THANK YOU!

RESOURCES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CONNECT WITH ANN VANINO

OTHER BOOKS BY ANN VANINO

READING GROUP GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

We are living in a time of transformation. Old ways are fading. New ways are emerging. There is an increasing focus within. Many of us are feeling a desire to create a new direction for our lives.

At the same time, our outer world is experiencing a quickening that promises to be powerful. This change involves construction and destruction, polarity and collaboration, creativity and retrenchment, fear and courage, confusion and certainty, and chaos and order—all occurring side by side.

Many have compared the changes we are experiencing to nature’s Chrysalis—a biological process through which a caterpillar transforms, within the recesses of a dark cocoon, into a butterfly. The inklings for this book began as I wondered if nature’s process of Chrysalis could serve as a guide for us as we navigate our own transformations. I think it can. Each stage of Chrysalis provides a jumping-off point, upon which to reflect about our own experiences, as the world around us and we as individuals transform.

I call this book a Journaling Stream. I use the stages of nature’s Chrysalis as containers for my writings—thoughts, musings, stories, and creations on personal transformation from the inside out. These writings form separate drops that come together and create a stream.

Writing this book has been a transformation for me. The energy of my life is shifting quietly and profoundly. My focus has moved increasingly within. Deeper parts of myself are coming into view. At the same time, I feel a sense of birthing—my new self is gradually emerging.

The word Chrysalis is derived from the Greek word Chrysos, which means gold. My hope is that there is gold in this book for you. It is time for each of us to recognize and embrace our own transformation, and that of the world around us, to a higher plane of existence and possibility. This book is created for you in the hope that you will undergo your own Chrysalis and emerge with wings to fly.

Ann Vanino

March 20. 2015

Pinon Hills, CA, USA

Chapter One

THE CATERPILLAR

~ Living in an Ordinary World ~

Nature’s Chrysalis: The caterpillar is living in an ordinary world, an insect on the ground, going about its life. It is feeding and growing. As it grows, it sheds its skin four or more times in order to enclose its rapidly growing body.

Your Chrysalis: You are going about your life within society. You are growing, experiencing, learning, and changing as you go. You are living in an ordinary world.

The Ordinary World

The ordinary world is where you spend your childhood, grow to be an adult and find your way in life. Your ordinary world is greatly influenced by family, friends, mentors, and the structure and values of society. Many people never leave the ordinary world. The societal structure encourages conformity and safety, and there is much that persuades you to stay there. Your true differentiation and unique identity are yet to be realized when you remain in the ordinary world.

The ordinary world sets the stage for your Chrysalis.

~ ~ ~

Walking, walking….no hint of ever flying.

The ordinary world is limiting. Look at the caterpillar moving so close to the ground. Does it ever think of flying? The caterpillar is fulfilling its purpose…that of a caterpillar. Little does it know that, beyond its imagination, lays the potential to be a butterfly.

~ ~ ~

Some questions for you:

What comprises your ordinary world?

Are you still there?

What is your approach to ordinary life?

~ ~ ~

The Meaning of Ordinary Life

What’s the point? Why are you born into ordinary life with the prospect of leaving it all behind? Many of the earth’s indigenous cultures guided their members to finding their own identities and purposes in life by leaving ordinary life behind and venturing out on their own. However, today’s society does not always recognize the journey out of childhood and ordinary life.

Ordinary life has its purpose. It gives you a foundation in the world. You have the time to experience people, life, love, anger, and pain; to establish your preferences: your likes and dislikes; to interact with others and to gain some experience of living on earth. Sometimes, your foundation is solid; sometimes it is cracked. Whatever the condition of your foundation, it is what you stand on. You can strengthen it, fix it or ignore it. That’s up to you.

What are some of the elements of ordinary life?

Relationships

Emotions

Experiences

Physical Self and Surroundings

Knowledge

Needs and Wants

From these foundational elements you create a sense of self—your identity, how you fit into the world, your values. Your sense of self influences the direction you aim your life in. From your sense of self come your dreams—what you want and desire. You can pursue your dreams or sidestep them. The choice you make profoundly affects your life.

~ ~ ~

Blending In

In the ordinary world,

Your life blends in.

You are in a place of not knowing.

Consciousness is limited.

You see no way out,