mandi neiser
inner wisdom coach
Meet Mandi
inner wisdom coach
SOULpreneur, Minister, Author
“There is a wick within you that is waiting to become the light of your soul. When this inner flame burns brightly you will feel a magnificent awakening in your life." - Bradford Keeney
Hi…I’m Mandi!
Coffee lover, personal growth junkie, recovering perfectionist, people pleaser and ‘rockstar’ nana (although…Billy Idol might disagree, wink, wink).
I love getting to know people…and ask a LOT of questions! My nightstand is stacked with half-read books that are dog-eared, have sticky notes on the pages and lots of writing throughout, as I’m usually reading at least three books at the same time. And in case you hadn’t already noticed, I’m obsessed with quotes!
In 2020 during the first couple of months of the global pandemic, my husband and I made the bold decision to retire and move away from everything close and familiar to a town where the only people we knew were our daughter, soon to be son-in-law and a few of their friends. The lockdown during the pandemic gave us not only the reflective time we needed to do some soul searching in order to make this decision, it also helped us to realize that life is just too short to put off what our hearts were yearning for and what the Universe was nudging us to do.
Since that move, I went through my own transitional period of recalibration and re-awakening. For the first couple of years, even though we were very busy with renovations and a new grandchild on the way, I could feel myself becoming uncomfortable in the simplicity of ‘beingness’. I was uncomfortable and unfamiliar being in a place of not knowing where my future was headed.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, however after much reflection and my own inner work with the help of a coach, I realized the ‘recalibration’ I was experiencing was in fact my own personal transformation. This is how the dandelion metaphor was revealed to me; when the beautiful yellow flower of the dandelion dies, it represents change; death to a certain way of being. When the flower turns to seed, it represents the spreading of wisdom and the journey of finding one’s path. Sometimes we are aware and conscious of this transformation and sometimes it’s happening without us even knowing.”
“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” - Dr. Wayne Dyer
I convinced myself I was in what I referred to as a ‘holding pattern’. I was sitting there waiting for inspiration, waiting for direction, waiting for a sign for something, when really what I needed to be doing was nothing! I just needed to ‘be’ in that holding pattern and see it for it was instead of casting a light of disdain on it…making me wrong for being there.
Change requires time and space. You can’t fill a cup with fresh water if it is already full! You can’t organize a closet with efficiency without first taking everything out to sort through it. If you don’t do this, you are simply moving stuff around and just rearranging, when what you need to do is get rid of the old and unwanted and leave room for the ‘fresh and new ideas’.
Just because you’re doing nothing, doesn’t mean your body and mind aren’t up to something!
.png)
My SUPERpowers
-
I’m curious about so many things! I LOVE to ask questions! And…and I really enjoy hearing your stories! I’m so intrigued with knowing how someone got from there to here and how something is made. I listen and research with wonder, awe and excitement.
-
I’m an empath, an introvert and a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)– It’s quite the trifecta! I used to believe these three characteristics I possessed were weaknesses instead of strengths. People I’ve known for years and those I’ve just met feel seen and heard when we are together. I can usually ‘read’ a room as soon as I enter it and I get a sense of what someone needs fairly quickly. I’m very adaptive in social situations and I feel with my whole heart. As I delve into understanding this better, the more I realize the world needs more of us!
-
I’ve been told several times over the years in my role as a minister, wedding officiant, friend and coach that people feel a sense of calmness around me. By being grounded in my own energy, it gives those around me to feel calm and centered too.
-
I listen with an open heart and curious mind. If you want help, I’ll provide it. If you just want someone to vent to, I’m your girl. I can be the kind of listener you need in the moments you need it.
-
When I make decisions based on where my heart and intuition are leading, things usually turn out pretty great! If I choose to listen to logic and ‘reasoning’ , things usually turn into what I call “a learning experience”. (insert eyeroll emoji here! Lol)
-
I’m a sturdy place to land when you feel like you’re caught up in the messiness of life and can’t find your way. I’m organized, love a deadline and I’m loyal and responsible to a fault.
What matters to me...
-
FAMILY – The most important aspect of my life is my family. Being with my family is my absolute favourite pastime. My parents are no longer with us. I cry sometimes when I think of how proud they would be to see how incredibly wonderful their grandchildren turned out to be…and what treasures their great grandchildren are today.
-
Inclusion! I uncovered this as one of my strengths several years ago. No wonder I feel bad when people are left out on purpose or not included by accident. It literally hurts my heart so much that it could break.
-
Evolving, growing, excavating, uncovering and discovering different aspects of myself is an ongoing practice. Change is constant and I welcome it. It’s been compared to the different layers of an onion. Peel back one layer only to discover there is another one to be honoured, loved and seen.
“There is a giant asleep within everyone.
When that giant awakens, miracles happen.”
- Frederick Faust
My life in a nutshell...
-
In college I majored in Broadcast Journalism, graduating with honours. Even though I didn’t pursue this as a career choice, what I learned by researching, gathering information, seeing different sides to life and different perspectives, getting to know people and seeing the world in a new light of compassion and empathy, I know this served me well. And…I met my husband, and we’re still married!
-
After the birth of our first child, I experienced a life-altering event that changed my life forever. I didn’t know what Post-partum depression was until I was deep in the thick of desperation and lack of hope. I found my way back and I have since helped other women with their varied experiences of depression, anxiety and lack of trust in themselves.
-
I have been a solopreneur since I started my own direct sales business in 1991. As I climbed the ladder of success as an entrepreneur, I came face to face with my own gremlins; those sneaky little saboteurs that convinced me to throw it all away because I didn’t think I was good enough, smart enough or deserving enough to have success. Along the way I devoted my life to being a mentor, leader and teacher.
-
I have been married for over 40 years to the same man. Through our partnership we’ve created a wonderful family, endured loss, navigated grief and lived in joy. I think marriage is one of the most challenging relationships we can experience in life. I think I’ve learned a few things about resilience, compassion, empathy and ‘stick-to-it” ness.
-
In 2005, my mother passed away. Although I thought I grieved her death, it wasn’t until I was officiating the celebration of life for a 20 year old young woman, that I broke down and cried during my eulogy, that I realized I really needed help. I intuitively reached out to a life coach who guided me through my grief, helping me to realize that being a life coach was something I too was interested in becoming. So of course that’s what I did!
-
In 2017 I wrote a book about all my experiences of being a minister. I focused on the wedding experience and named my book: “From Yes to I Do” A Practical Guide of Wedding Wisdom. My book was a great resource for newly engaged couples to plan their wedding from the moment they were engaged, until the time I was introducing them as a married couple.
-
During September of 2018, I became a graduate of the Hoffman Process. I was immersed in a personal growth retreat which was completely 'off the grid' for seven of the most intense days of my life; mentally, emotionally and spiritually. If you ever have the opportunity to go, take it!
-
In 2016, I co-founded “The Purse Project”. At the time, this was an annual initiative created to provide women in local shelters and second stage housing, with new or gently used purses filled to the brim with toiletries and items of need. In the five years I was in charge of organizing the campaign, we collected and distributed over 6,000 purses to women in need. “Fill a purse with LOVE and a woman’s heart with HOPE".
AND ALL OF THIS HAS LEAD ME TO THE WORLD OF COACHING…
As an inner wisdom coach, I have seen so many incredible changes in my clients and as a result, the lives they touch! The gift of coaching is not only the transformations that happens in our own clients lives, it’s the ripple effects that can’t even be quantified. I knew I was hooked…right from the beginning, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.