Even MORE Testimonials from past 'Bees' (are you getting how amazing this course is yet?!)
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I signed up for the Online Bee course without hesitation but I had a lot of doubts that first month. Did I really need to revisit this old wound of infertility? Did I really think an online course would give me the connection and support I might need? Did I have the energy to do all the work? But the understanding, compassion and clarity that I received kept me going that month and through the remainder of the program, allowing me to transform my life in a way I didn’t even realize was needed or possible. I thought I had worked through the grief of my infertility and failed adoptions but I didn’t understand the ongoing cultural impact and sense of shame I struggled with on a daily basis. It had become my new normal and I kept my focus on everyone else to the detriment of my own wellbeing. By the time I turned 50 I was feeling quite alone inside even though I had a full life on the outside. This all changed when I connected with my Bee community and worked through Jody’s program, a combination of exercises and resources for moving through this particular kind of grief and presented with the right mix of humor and practicality. By the end of the program I had moved mountains in my life and so had all my new community of Online Bees. Jody has created a program that will change women’s lives and I recommend you don’t hesitate to sign up if you have the chance. (Evelyn, 51: USA)
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When I signed up for the Online Bee I felt I had a lot of unresolved issues around childlessness. I wasn’t even sure how to articulate these, as I lacked opportunities to share them. At 47 I was still hanging on to the possibility that maybe a miracle could still happen, whilst also knowing I needed to find a way to let go. The course helped me find my voice, tell my story, start to grieve for all that felt lost, and search for new meaning. And I learnt how to navigate all this with more self-compassion than I’ve ever had in my life. Having a place to share fears, frustrations, sadness, confusion, to both give and receive support within an incredibly supportive group, is a very powerful thing. I found it amazing the connections which could be built through an online programme and actually, I think it suited me better, to be able to do things at my own pace and to feel less inhibited than I might have done in person. I have started to be able to look ahead with a wiser mind, and to face issues around money and ageing which were totally off my radar prior to doing this course. This is a major achievement! I love that there is still ongoing contact with the group after the year is complete, and I also love having all the resources – reading material, books, etc to refer to when I need to. Thank you, Jody and all the group for a life-changing course. (Lana, 48: UK)
- The Online Bee is a game-changer. It carefully and lovingly walks you through 12 different topics over 12 months to help you go deep and unpack your grief. Where there was fear, shame, and darkness prior to starting the Online Bee, there is now joy, love, laughter, and light in my life. Much of my anger has dissipated and the constant feeling of being stuck in a rut has shifted. An unexpected bonus from the program is a few dozen new friendships with women warriors just like me. I highly recommend this program. It is the best gift of self-care you can give to yourself. (Maria, 48: USA)
- When I signed up for the Online Bee, it was in the middle of December and I felt about as dark as the sky looked most of the time – so I knew something had to happen to change my life in some way. I really liked the idea of having ongoing support and liked Jody‘s style of writing and speaking in her videos, so I thought I had nothing to lose by trying the program (especially since you could decide to cancel every month if it is not for you after all). I‘m very glad I signed up because it was a safe space to turn to in a difficult time, and in the end it covered so much more than I expected – it really is an inventory of your entire life. The most important things I got out of the Online Bee is feeling understood and learning to be kind to myself. I felt massive shame and was not even aware of how much I beat myself up about having “failed“ – it was absolutely healing to learn that I am not alone and to feel that I really have done nothing wrong. Looking at meaning and the idea of creating meaning for yourself instead of waiting for it to happen really helped me to look at what can be meaningful for me now, and how I can take tiny steps to get there. It took a while for everyone to get used to interacting in an online group, but it is a great way of having the support when you need it and being able to take things at your own pace and choosing quiet times when you need them. I started out by being very shy about sharing information or even my picture in the first month – and ended up meeting some other Bees in person later in the year and it felt like meeting old friends. The course provides so much material on all areas of life – from the inner critic to your finances and aging without children – that it really feels like the course itself does not end after a year. You get a big toolbox and can go back to it for a long time afterwards. (Wilda, 40: Germany)
The Online Bee costs GBP £150, USD $200 or EUR €170 per month, payable in advance quarterly/annually. Other currencies accepted and converted automatically.
To start the enrollment process for the 2021 Global Online Bee please reach out to Karin by email at karin@gateway-women.com
Karin will then send you a confidential questionnaire and invite you to book an absolutely no-obligation 30-minute Zoom chat. This is a chance to ask her absolutely anything you want (no questions are too weird for us, honest!) so that we can each feel that this is the right program at the right time for you. We appreciate that this is a substantial investment of your time and money and we want to make absolutely sure that it’s right for you. You can watch a video chat between Jody Day and Karin here and read more about Karin’s experience and story here.
- Doing the Online Bee has widened my horizons, given me positive tools to use, and helped me gain a deeper understanding of who exactly I am. The programme gently and expertly guides us through a process of working with the self, which is very accessible. This is something I will remember for the rest of my life. I’ve often watched Jody’s videos thinking “Oh, if only everyone else could hear this”, or “that’s just such a great way to explain how life is for me”. I have made some lovely friends along the way and think we will carry on sharing our lives. There is such respect there now for each of us as sisters of suffering and now healing. I wouldn’t be without it now as my Bee sisters give me exceptional support. (Caroline, 54: UK)
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The first time I heard Jody speak was late at night on a Canadian radio program. Before that moment, I’d been quietly attending to my shame and disappointment with how my life had turned out (childless and partnerless) by going on big adventures, switching to more meaningful work, and putting an enormous amount of resources into self-improvement. Yet despite all my efforts, I still felt on the outside of life, looking in but not quite able to be in it. That night, hearing Jody describe her own journey and Gateway Women, I felt found. Jody’s interview made me understand that there was a tribe and I was already part of it. That alone was enormously comforting. What had felt like deep personal failure was, in fact, something much larger than myself. I went to the Gateway Women website, got Jody’s book and, eventually, joined the online community. All that was a slow and halting process. I’d do some work around it and then back off, dabble in the online community and then take a break. When I heard about the Online Bee program, the self-help junkie in me perked up, but I was reminded of my many past attempts at online programs that I paid for but never got fully invested in, and also my naturally slow pace. I was concerned that a new chunk of work every month would be overwhelming and I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend a whole year focused on my grief and shame. I wanted to escape it, not dive head-long into it! In the end, it was isolation and the desire to feel I was making progress that propelled me to sign up. I needed to not be alone in my childlessness any longer and I needed to feel I was moving along a path in some kind of ordered way with someone leading me. The Online Bee addressed those two things beautifully. I have a sense of connection to the other Bees in my group. I have real, live people across the world that care about how I am doing and want to know how my journey is going. And I care about them too. Through the monthly modules, I was able to systematically address many of the things I’d known needed my attention but, until I had a structure to follow, had been hard to approach. The homework and activities provided the prompts to get me moving and the monthly calls helped me process and digest what I was discovering. At the end of the year’s program (which I stayed involved in right to the end and continue to be involved in as a ‘Graduate Bee’) I feel collected, less scattered and solid in my commitment to keep living and hoping and gently being (or bee-ing, as it were) my way into my Plan B life. (Kate, 43: USA)
- Thinking about joining The Online Bee, I asked myself, “Why would I torture myself with all that old stuff again? It was 30 years ago – it’s not like I’m crying into my cereal every morning anymore. Besides you’re too old to learn how to manage all the tech of an online course. You don’t even do Facebook! And I don’t like the idea of discussing such intimate stuff other than face to face with someone I really trust. It’ll be a bunch of strangers!” But boy was I glad I did. It was hard and confronting but, manage each section as and when you’re able, and you’ll feel able to dream and plan and prioritise and laugh again in ways you’d forgotten you could. If you find your dealings with the world often leave you angry or frustrated or embarrassed, like you’re walking around in a bubble or holding yourself apart, or you go ”offline’ regularly on weekends or say you don’t feel up to it when invited to something – if you drink or eat a little too much and just can’t seem to bring yourself to declutter the stuff that came to you from your parents place when they went into care – then ask yourself: are you managing these dark emotions, or are you just suppressing them? Facing them is hard, but once it’s done the joy of connection and relationships and the wonder of life will be yours. I’m talking about the passage from existence to a life fully embraced. Of the golden side of the coin being burnished because it knows and accepts and is OK to revisit the dark. Go for it – don’t live in the basement of your life any longer. (Sarah, 55: Australia)
- I can’t say enough about the Online Bee! When I found out that Gateway Women’s mentorship course was going to be available online, I knew I had to take it. To be honest, I was very overwhelmed when I first started but I got so much encouragement to keep going and wow – thank goodness I did. Now, looking back over the year, I wouldn’t be where I am emotionally today without having gone through all the materials, Jody’s videos, and the support of the incredible Bee community. I finally faced my pain and allowed grief to heal me. I can’t say that I am fully “healed” but I now have the tools and the support I need to face each day. For the first time in 12 years, I feel I am learning to hope again…. (Nicole, 41: Canada)
- I did have a bit of an internal struggle signing up to The Online Bee – actually filled out the form three times and never submitted until the fourth! But once I committed to the course I felt relieved knowing I was going to face childlessness head-on. What the course gave me was more than I could have imagined – Finally feeling like I belong, knowing my Bees always have my back unconditionally and being equipped with strategies to respond to insensitive comments/people has allowed me to feel control in settings that used to be almost unbearable at times (work, family, socially, etc. you name it). My mindset has changed with this course and it is refreshing to be able to openly talk about my childlessness, where in the past, I don’t think I knew how. The self-compassion strategies are something I practise every day — they are simply the best!! (Marie, 49: USA)
- Before I found Gateway Women I felt lost, alone, isolated, wistful, sad, stuck, angry…these are some of the words I wrote during an exercise the Reignite Weekend. That weekend gave me a sense of connection and community and I no longer felt alone and isolated. In time and with the continued involvement in the Gateway Women online community, I lost the angry, stuck and lost feelings too. And I learned that being wistful from time to time is OK for me. With all that change and growth I wasn’t sure what more the Online Bee could do for me… turns out a lot! So many of the topics we’ve explored – self-care, finance, befriending our bodies, social identity and elderhood – are relevant to any woman and I found the 12-month process of monthly reflection has provided an incredibly solid foundation that has given me back courage and hope – the good feelings I’d been missing in my 40s… and particularly the feeling that a world of possibility does again exist for me. That’s huge! Thank you so much – the stories and activities throughout this program were and are inspiring and comforting. I will always be grateful for Jody for being inspired to develop these supports (Sally, 49, Canada).
