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Our Coaching Story

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Janine Van Aken Lisboa

I was born in Portugal and raised during a time of ultra conservative and nationalistic dictatorship under Salazar. During my childhood, Portugal was 50 years behind the rest of Europe and the United States, an environment equivalent to the United States in the 1940s. The events surrounding the political revolution of 1974 gave me a timeless understanding of the human evolution through politics, industry, commerce, economy, tradition and technology.

I was fortunate to have grown up in a multicultural and multireligious family thus allowing me to have a broadened perspective of human tradition. This inspired me to focus on commonalities in the human experience over differences to develop my own sense of identity. I pursued an education in the English language, first in the United Kingdom and later in the United States. I graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Oklahoma where I double majored in Psychology and Theater.

In the early 2000s, I returned to Portugal to focus on environmental sustainability.  I have always been, and still am, passionate about nature and the wise use of natural resources. This passion made me very interested on an intellectual level in Transcendentalism; "... a philosophical, spiritual, and literary movement that developed in the late 1820s in the United States" (Wikipedia). Transcendentalism has a core belief in the inherent goodness of people and nature. Transcendentalists saw divine experience inherent in the everyday and that people where at their best when truly self-reliant and independent. Within this time frame I read;

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life
which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
by Henry David Thoreau

These words changed my life, they led me to my mentor Mary Morrissey, founder of the Brave Thinking Institute. After 30+ years of defending environmental, animal, and human rights, I experienced a major life change that prompted me to re-evaluate my purpose in life. I have always been drawn to wellness, so it was no surprise when I moved into the realm of coaching and holistic medicine as a certified energy healing practitioner, transformational life coach, and life mastery consultant. In addition to these modalities, I have taken courses in biomagnetism, bio resonance, aromatherapy, and holistic nutrition. I am committed to personal and professional development, focusing on the mind, body, and soul.

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