A coffee with...Sarah Lynas

Jan 31, 2024

Welcome to the second of a new series for me - in which I catch up for a virtual coffee with some genuinely fabulous folk. Some of whom I’ve known and followed for years and some I’ve recently got to know through this cosy, new Substack home.

In either case they are people who I find admirable, inspirational or entertaining (and sometimes all three) and I’m sure that you will too.

I discovered Sarah Lynas through connections here on Substack and was immediately fascinated by her work. She writes

quietly courageous

and describes herself and her work as ‘gently-fierce’ which absolutely appeals to me and my approach to life.

It was through Sarah that I first heard about Human Design and how it’s principles can be used in so many ways in our lives. It’s still something I’m learning more about but it’s one of those subjects - the more you learn, the more you want to explore.

Sarah also talks about Seasonology - her work to develop an oracle deck to help you work with seasonal energy, and I’ve been really enjoying seeing her seasonal prompts on this over the past few months.

I could waffle on for ages here but I’m going to pass you over to Sarah now so she can tell you a little but more about her amazing work.

1. It’s no secret that coffee is my favourite drink – what’s your favourite cosy beverage and why?

My favourite has changed over the years Louise, it was coffee when I was in my early 20’s and then it changed to tea. Strong tea with more milk than you’d expect. That was how I started my day for years… until I had to give up dairy - I was heartbroken! But I can’t stand black tea so now I opt for a turmeric or lemon tea first thing.

When we meet for a brew though, I’ll take a decaf latte with oat milk please!

2. You have a spare half an hour in your day – how do you relax and ‘fill your cup’?

Depending on the weather I might go and pull weeds in the garden or take the dog for a walk round our fields; we’re lucky to have our own meadows surrounding the house where we can enjoy wildlife and the changing seasons.

Or else I’ll pick out a draft letter on my Substack and see if it’s ready to be written… although that often ends up being way more than a half hour, I get so lost in writing.

Movement is really important for me, so I’m rarely sat still, and ‘relaxing’ often includes some kind of pottering.

3. Analogue or digital – when it comes to planners, diaries and journaling in general are you paper/pen or online?

A real mix for me! I would love to be someone who has a very clear way of planning but I’m just not… I’m forever looking for new systems and trying things out.

That said, I have had a bullet journal for the last 5 or 6 years now, evolving it slowly to be less structured than the ‘classic’ version – as well as keeping my days in some kind of order, I also use it to make notes about each day, for example capturing some of the wonderful things my son says, or how I felt when I met a new person, or what I saw on my walk.

And I do have to keep my online diary very strictly up to date, including family stuff as well as my work – and I learned very early to include travel times too! Living out in the hills means travel is a big chunk of my day sometimes.

For journaling it has to be pen and paper, always purple ink (edding 2158 gel roller) and a journal with thick paper (my favourite kind, Perfectly Penned, has just closed down, so I’m hunting for a new favourite…)

Oh, and I do sometimes voice note myself in an app called Cocoon Weaver – for me this works beautifully if I need to unravel something out loud or process something emotional – mostly I do this in the car, parked at the top of the hill.

4. What are you currently reading?

I’ve just finished Katherine Genet’s Wilde Grove series for the second time around – I would so love to go and live in those books! Anything witchy or druidic with great characters is my favourite kind of reading, and I love following recommendations….

My current kindle fiction is Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros; it has a Hunger Games vibe that’s a little edgier than most of my fiction reading, but it’s so compelling.

On paper I’m always diving deeper into my work, just now I’m enjoying Karen Curry Parker’s Understanding Human Design. There’s just so much learning that I’m excited to share this year!

5. What piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

Trust yourself. Learn who you are and trust yourself.

You’ll feel everyone else’s energy, because you’re so open, but I want you to know that you don’t need to take it all on as your own. When you learn to separate you from those other energies, you’ll see just how strong and deserving you are.

You don’t need to change, and you don’t need to please everyone around you. Don’t lose yourself in other people, the only way to connect is through being you, not being them.

You are safe. Be you. Trust your body. She knows your right path.

6. What are you most excited about for the next 3 months (this is your cue for a bit of self promo)?

I love this time of year Louise, as the resting and dreaming of winter starts to ebb and the green shoots of spring arrive - you can feel the energy picking up can’t you? The daffodils are emerging and I really feel this new phase in my work emerging at the same time.

For me last year was about retreat and consolidation… I’d reached burnout in 2022 and lost the passion for my work, so I needed to dramatically shift how and what I was doing. Bringing Human Design to the front and centre of my coaching practice has been exactly the shift I needed. It’s completely reenergised me as a human and as a business owner, and is already opening up some new opportunities.

So, I’m most excited about…

Growing my Substack and creating a community for quiet business owners - the core of my work is about deep self-belief for women, releasing the imposter syndrome and doing the great things we’re here to do! And as part of that, I used to host a peer group for local women called The Courage Club… I can see that returning as a paid community right here… watch this space!
New collaborations! I’m really called to co-create this year and putting it out into the universe… if I bring my self-doubt untangling, coaching skills and Human Design magic, and you bring your favourite gifts, what wonders could we create together?
And of course more of the beautiful client journeys that are unfolding in my zoom room… and if I could distill down what I do and give that gift to everyone reading, it would be this