Welcome to The Calm Space

The Calm Space is an online magazine that is like a virtual day-spa for your senses… decadent, informative, relaxing, a real no-mobile-phones-allowed kind of escape where you can chill for a minute or an hour and emerge refreshed and ready to face anything your day throws at you!

It’s a rare woman who doesn’t succumb to chaos and madness at some stage during her busy week. Whatever your particular life situation, and no matter how your day is going, you will find respite within the spaces here.

The Calm Space is an online, monthly magazine – written by a team of amazing, real-life women who are living their passion with a purpose and a focus. What you see in this magazine is not ‘reporting’. It is information, hints, tips and inspiration direct from those in-the-know. We write in our own unique voices, and tell it like it is. We’re not into sensationalism. We’re not into dirt. We’re positive. We’re real. We’re enticing. We may even be a bit controversial. And we’re definitely into making life lighter, happier and easier for you.We’re here for You – we value your presence and your readership.

We would like to warmly encourage you to browse around and leave a comment at any of our spaces that excite, inspire, amuse or move you. We really would love to hear from you!

“…And now in the serenity and quiet of this lovely place, touch the depths of truth, feel the hem of heaven. You will go away with old, good friends. And don’t forget when you leave why you came.”

- Adlai E. Stevenson

Keeping this quote in our thoughts – we urge you to breathe in the serenity and quiet of this lovely place. Feel the hem of heaven. Come back and visit again, real soon.

Namaste - I bow to the divine in you

Káren

Founder and Editor - Káren Wallace

Karen Wallace The Calm Space has grown out of my original vision for an online magazine where people can come to escape their busy day whenever they need a moment or two of calm and inspiration.

The vision started out as ‘Sanctuary’ – a place where people could come and visit one or more of our spaces to read, be inspired, find books or music to soothe their soul and just relax. A breathing space for their soul.

As the vision grew bigger, I knew it couldn’t be about just me, and so I started inviting special women to join us as regular contributors, to share their wisdom and inspriration with us. It was about this time that I realised that we’d outgrown the original design for Sanctuary and that the name needed to change. Not because Sanctuary was wrong – it is stll what it is all about – but because the word is so over-used that it has lost some of its meaning; and because a domain name for Sanctuary was impossible to obtain!

I have always thought it would be wonderful to be serene. You know, like one of those beautiful people who never seem to get flustered and who almost seem to float through their life, spreading calm wherever they go. This year a series of events showed me that my dream of serenity came out of who I was, and when people starting telling me that calm is what they get most from me - the lightbulb went on. The Calm Space was a very natural progression from there.

As well as editing and writing for The Calm Space, you can also find me at The Clearing Space where I share that calm and a touch of serenity with women all over the world (and a fair smattering of men too…) I love helping women discover that life IS full of joy once they have cleared a space for calm in their lives. My clients learn how wonderful it is when they find themselves calmly able to fit everything important into their day; how empowering it is to design their life to fit like a glove; and how creating space in their lives is like a welcome mat for new and exciting possibilities.

For more of Karen, please visit www.theclearingspace.com.au, contact via email theclearingspace@gmail.com or call 07 3201 2417 (in Australia).

Contributors

Joanne Costello - The Spa Space

Wellbeing crusader Jo Costello, the owner of Queensland’s first and online organic skincare supermarket – e-bar – says most people will readily undergo a dietary detox and are willing to purchase organic food, but when it comes to their skin, they are unaware of the hidden toxins in the skincare products they use every day.

“For example in a typical day a woman will brush her teeth, gargle with mouthwash, shower and shampoo with shampoo and soap, style her hair with product, use a cleanser, toner and moisturiser as part of her beauty routine. This could also be followed by foundation, make up, antiperspirant and perfume… and all could be applied without knowing what is in the product.

“We know the skin absorbs and releases nutrients as well as toxins; however over time the accumulation of toxins, from using inferior shampoos, soaps and toothpastes and other skin care products, can place the body under stress.

“The health of the planet belongs to each of us including corporations, sustainability is each of our responsibility. Over the past sixty years the beauty industry has come at a massive environmental cost to human health, education on creating beautiful shades of green in your home and business will ensure you are removing toxic substances from your life. This forces corporations to diversify their operations and ensure the manufacturing of consumable products is both environmentally sustainable for human beings and the planet.

Contact Joanne at joanne@ebar.com.au or visit www.ebar.com.au

Angela Esnouf – The Organising Space

Professional Organiser Angela Esnouf’s business, Creating Order from Chaos, emerged in 2004 from a desire to help people reclaim their lives. Drawing on her skills and experience in administration, children’s services, time management and organisation, Angela finds solutions and systems that lighten the load.

Angela is dedicated to helping people become more organised, find more time and be more productive. “I know what it’s like to juggle several commitments, successfully”, says Angela. “Being a Professional Organiser is the job I was born for. I get to make a real difference in people’s lives.” Values central to the Creating Order from Chaos philosophy are integrity, reliability, service and empathy.

Visit www.creatingorder.com.au or contact Angela – angela@creatingorder.com.au or 0403 164 468

Annie Hutton – The Spiritual Space

Ann Hutton Annie has spent her working life in a business or health environment – public and private. Her other life is spent in the pursuit of self development through spiritual connection, reading, speaking with like minds, meditation, courses, etc. learning as much as possible from traditional and modern wisdom – the Enneagram, chakra energies, Frederick Bailes, Lao Tzu and many more.

She is also a graduate of Coach University and a training facilitator. Annie has enormous respect for the wonderful potential of every person who, given the information and space, can find their own way by exercising their mind, heart and soul. Annie shares ways to find your bliss in the every day.

She can be contacted on 0407 669 579 or annhutton@hotmail.com

Leah Maclean - The Digital Space

Leah Maclean For the past 20+ years Leah has played a role, in one shape or another, as the interface between business reality and technical possibility. She has helped large corporations, medium size not-for-profit agencies, commercial business, and small business owners to find the best operational fit between their business and the technology available.

These days she is committed to helping small business women demystify online business and technology. This type of role was always destined to be where Leah would spend her professional time. Her personal characteristics are ideal for this type of role - dynamic, easily bored, challenging, driven, problem-solver and lover of language and design all seem to fit the role of business-technology integrator and designer to a “T”.

You can find out more about Leah and her business Working Solo by visiting www.workingsolo.com.au

Marc Lehmann - The Sustainability Space

I am the founder of Saasu.com the web finance engine and previously Director of Principal Finance Trading at Deutsche Bank. I’m committed to building web applications that save people time and increase the sustainability of businesses.

I’m a naturalist and a minimalist at heart believing the human race should be spending more time exploring and discovering and less time dealing with the paperwork of life.

My blog marclehmann.net is about time, business, technology, sustainability and nature. Find out more about Marc and his business at www.saasu.com

Marjorie Lim - The Reading Space

Self-help (who doesn’t have at least one title on their shelf?) to cooking, crime to management, chick-lit to autobiographies - we all love a book that inspires, informs, educates or just plain entertains and relaxes.

Unfortunately, it costs too much to keep buying these treasures and not every one do we want to own. Commencing at an early age, this passion for books and all they offer coupled with a desire to satisfy that passion – for myself and others – propelled me to commence a service that would enable us readers to take a glance, a peruse, an examination or an outright love for a book – including ones we might not otherwise have if we did not have the opportunity.

Slim Ink Book Rental was born and exists to instigate, perpetuate and enhance the love of reading. Two years on now in Aug 2007 and with many members who have been with us for as long I am most delighted to expand this service here. After all, whose ‘space’ is complete without at least one worthy book?

Contact Marjorie at Marjorie@slimink.com.au or visit www.slimink.com.au

Chris Owen – The Relationship Space

A past career nursing new families, and assisting infertile couples through the rigours of IVF, nurtured Chris Owen’s dream to become a Relationships Advisor. Those years dealing with couples under stress, her studies in Education, Counselling and Coaching, voluntary work in marriage enrichment, PLUS her own successful 33-year marriage, has given Chris the wisdom she brings to Pink Apple.

At www.PinkApple.com.au Chris is Sharing the Secrets of Successful Relationships. Her articles on Starting Out Together and Staying Together appear on her blog Take A Bite and in her newsletter, More Than A Bite. Chris also has a more quirky blog Apple Tart. There you’ll find more of the outrageous extrovert, musing about matters – personal, business and everything in between. But always you’ll find here the passionate, curious and complex woman that is Chris Owen.

A regular speaker and writer on relationships, as well as running groups, and working with couples and individuals, Chris can be contacted at chris@pinkapple.com.au or 03 9877 1469

Grant Wallace - The Money Space

Grant heads a firm of chartered accountants and business advisors in Brisbane, Australia and is renowned for his ability to educate and work with his chosen clients to achieve financial success. Grant has been working with family businesses and professionals for almost 25 years, partnering with them to grow their businesses and secure their future.

Grant is dedicated to helping people achieve security and peace of mind in their financial affairs – planning and working together towards a bright future.

Find out more about Grant at www.wallacegroup.com.au

Joanna Young - The Writing Space

Joanna Young is a writing coach who lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland. After nearly 20 years working as a public sector manager in the UK she retrained as a life coach and NLP practitioner, started blogging with a fury then realised the possibilities of combining her coaching approach, business writing skills, and belief in the transformative power of the written word. And so “Confident Writing” was born.

Her aim is to create the conditions for others to write with confidence, to realise the power of their own words. In practical terms this means providing a mix of skills, advice, encouragement, shared and private space, coaching, challenge, feedback, support and inspiration. She works with anyone who wants to realise the power of their own words, including those who declare they’re not writers, or ‘only’ write as part of their job. A lot of her work is done on-line and she coaches clients around the world as well as in the UK.

If you’re interested in finding more about working with a writing coach contact Joanna by e-mail at joanna@confidentwriting.com You can read more of her work – and pick up some writing suggestions - at her Confident Writing blog