Rebecca Mullen & Altared Spaces

I’m a good listener. A really, really good listener. I’d love a chance to listen to you. Book an appointment with me today. Let’s find out what is hiding in your potential.

Need to know more? Here’s the quick list:

• I live on the western slope of Colorado in a tiny town with only one stop sign; and it doesn’t even stop traffic both ways.
• My undergraduate degree is in theatre.
• I got my Master’s Certification studying at The Martha Beck Institute.
• I’ve been coaching since 2008.
• I have two children and I’ve been married to their father for 33 years.
• My clients live in all kinds of time zones. I work on zoom or over the phone. My office is located in Grand Junction, Colorado in case you can meet in person.
• I’ve taught dozens of classes, both in person and on-line, drawing students internationally, so I have hand outs and homework that will help you stay focused and moving ahead.
• My book is called The Vegetarian and the Hunter: How the Stories We Told Around the Dinner Table Healed My Family. It’s important during this time of stay-at-home quarantine that families have tools. So I’m offering this book free. Download it here.
• My favorite things include windmills, blue herons and the number 11.

“Rebecca Mullen is a gifted coach who I would recommend without reservation. Rebecca has coached me on a number of occasions in a variety of areas: writing, goal-setting, and every-day life issues. She has a wonderful listening talent and is able to pick up on subtle communication cues, asking the probing questions that help me get to the root of an issue. Rebecca’s intuition and insights have helped me move past whatever obstacles are blocking me, enabling to move forward with clarity.” – Yvette, Superior Colorado

About Altared Spaces

What is an altared space and what altars are altering you?

An altar is a place where your devotion is displayed. It’s a way to recognize what’s important to you and to make an abstract idea -like a marriage vow, a religious belief or a desire to be patient- more concrete.

What if your entire life is an altar?

What are you bringing to that altar each moment of each day? What are you giving your time to? Your attention? You might be thrilled with your altars: like how each evening you show your devotion to your children by making them a yummy, healthy meal. You might be embarrassed by your altars: like how you get lost in your phone and don’t look up when your spouse is telling you a story.

Either way, you choose to engage with a bunch of daily things, and those details absorb your time, attention and sometimes even your money. I call these moments and details altared spaces.

Like it or not, today’s altared spaces are creating who you will be tomorrow.

Consequently, my clients ask for help to create altared spaces that will shape their behavior – and thus them – going forward. Here are a couple examples of what we’ve co-created together.

• Replace overwhelm with tenderness: dumbfounded by a messy closet, one client couldn’t bring herself to part with the baby clothes her children had outgrown. The altared space? Rather than trying to clean out the closet, take a moment each day to remember your babies – in the outfits, playing with the toys – while going through one small stack of things. It wasn’t the stuff that was overwhelming so much as it was the emotions that went with the stuff. When we carved out a particular way to mindfully, but finitely, ritualize the process of letting go, she could tackle the project. As she sorted out clothes and toys – to save, give or toss, she was allowing herself to process what had been a whirlwind of diapers, sleepless nights and … tenderness.
• Reflect instead of react: another client struggled with her husband. The altared space? We observed several fights by noting down the particulars – inciting incident, escalation, silence, yelling – and charted the patterns. Seeing the chart was pivotal. A visual representation allowed her to see the big picture (and develop a macro-plan). Instead of feeling wrung out and lacking options, she noticed how each disagreement followed a similar trajectory. Rather than continue to blindly react to the micro-aggressions, she was able to thoughtfully follow the macro-plan.
• Create reminders: my girlfriend wanted a bracelet with four stones to symbolize her four boys. She loved work and would often remain there late. A tangible altared space around her wrist said, “You love home as well. Go there now.”
• Invite the life you want: a family who cooks together has a phrase that starts conversation. “OK everybody, high/low,” and that’s a signal to start sharing the best and the worst that the day had to offer.

We need altared spaces to ritualize our lives and make meaning out of what feels so mundane and repetitive. We need them to help us let go – of people, jobs and eras – so we can move forward. We need altared spaces to ground us and remind us we are safe and loved.

When a fire breaks out, people run for the handwritten note under a magnet on the fridge and leave the expensive stereo system behind. Altared spaces are our treasures that inform who we are, who we love and how we belong to the big world.

Want help? You can alter your patterns and habits so that your daily altared spaces reflect the truest version of you. Book a free get-to-know-you session and get started with me today.