This week on Finding Your Bliss, we meet a fascinating married couple – both of whom have written wonderful books and help people every day with mindfulness meditation and living a happier and more peaceful life. Life Coach and Bliss Expert Judy Librach is joined by Author and Life Coach Caroline Courey, who tells her story of surviving and thriving in spite of her MS, and Stephen Schettini, a Mindfulness Teacher and Author who has written a fascinating book about his journey as a Buddhist monk.

Caroline Courey is a Certified Coach and member of the ICF International Coach Federation since 2009. She says that many of her clients are women aged 45 and over who have been in a toxic relationship and want to build their confidence and self-worth to make healthy decisions moving forward. She currently provides pro-bono one-to-one coaching at Up With Women — a national charity helping recently homeless and at-risk women build a sustainable pathway out of poverty.

She is also the author of Crossed Signals, a heartwarming story that promotes the value of communication, dialogue and awareness in families struggling with illness.

As well, she is the former workshop facilitator for the MY TOOLBOX Chronic Disease Self-management Program (CDSMP) at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) for people with chronic conditions.

A mother of four, grandmother of three, and MS warrior since 1992, her health journey and how she manages a joyful life have been an inspiration to many. She uses and coaches mindfulness for stress reduction and clarity and follows the MS GYM based on neuroplasticity to create new neural pathways to reduce spasticity and strengthen and maintain mobility and overall wellness.

She met her husband, Stephen Schettini in 1999 in a working relationship to edit her book Crossed Signals. Caroline and Stephen are the co-founders of mindfulnesslive.ca an online platform dedicated to supporting people to maintain and grow their mindfulness ‘muscle’ (formerly Quiet Mind public workshops est. 2003).

Stephen Schettini is a former Buddhist monk (1974-82) who has devoted his life to the search for life’s meaning and purpose. Born in England’s West Country in 1952 and raised as a staunch Catholic, Stephen abandoned the faith and hitchhiked to India where he studied with the Dalai Lama and the last generation of scholars from old Tibet. He penned his soul-searching memoir of his monkhood The Novice (2009) as well as an artistic guide to meditation, It Begins with Silence (2008). He has also worked extensively as a memoirist, typographer and illustrator.

In 2003 Stephen began teaching mindfulness in the Montreal area. In 2017, he was asked to teach cancer patients at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and the West Island Cancer Wellness Centre (WICWC) in Montreal. He continues to help these patients come to terms with anxiety and the question of life itself. Stephen currently blogs at TheNakedMonk.com and hosts MindfunessLive.ca.

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