About Maria

My name is Maria Sylvester. I am a Life and Wellness Coach and the founder of the Life Empowerment Coaching Center. My coaching career developed after I went through several significant life events that instilled in me a much deeper sense of the preciousness of life, and the need to live it fully and meaningfully NOW. I realized the present moment is ALL we ever have.

Prior to my coaching career, I worked for 23 years as a psychotherapist. Trained as a social worker, I saw teenagers, adults and couples in outpatient psychotherapy. My private practice focused on identifying and treating emotional problems. Goals with clients included alleviating symptoms, changing dysfunctional behaviors, and helping clients cope with their psychological problems. I enjoyed my work tremendously, and helped numerous people feel better emotionally.

At the same time, I recognized that feeling emotionally well did not automatically mean my clients went on to have lives that they LOVED. I realized that if I could share the wisdom of my journey with others, coaching them as I had coached myself, perhaps they too could feel the joy of self-empowerment.

My journey...

I began embracing my life and my choices differently after making a commitment to discover the greater meaning and purpose of my life, and in doing so, experience deeper fulfillment. I felt more determined than ever to strive to live each moment of my life from the depths of my intellectual, emotional and spiritual capacity. I tried to see every life experience as an opportunity to grow. I wanted to get to the heart of what really mattered, and focus my energy there. I decided to go digging for gold!

To determine what really mattered, I re-embraced a long held belief that all the answers are within us. We just have to slow down long enough to hear them. I set about the task of listening to my inner world even more carefully than I previously had. I then reflected on, contemplated, and closely attended to what I heard. I learned to more deeply respect my thoughts, feelings and daydreams, seeing these experiences as guides providing me with key information I needed to live a truly golden life. I learned to treasure my intuition, as well as my conscious longings. I recognized that my intuitive knowing, and my heart-felt longings were actually also my "inner answers." By slowing down and listening to myself, I became more aware of my power within to choose how I wanted to live.

I began to fully embrace myself only after harnessing the courage and determination to face my panic and unhappiness about not feeling as present in my life as I wanted to. I was able to bare these difficult feelings more easefully after I saw them as having a purpose. They were messages directing me to re-examine my life choices. Problems became opportunities that I could benefit greatly from once I learned to "stay with" my pain and anxiety long enough to consider what these emotions were trying to tell me. Asking for God's guidance and grace helped tremendously also!

Every time I felt empty, lonely or bored, I asked myself what part or parts of myself I was pushing under, putting aside, or ignoring. So often, we split off aspects of our precious selves in order to maintain a connection with others. But in so doing, we pay a grand price - namely a loss of self. We begin to feel as if we are slowly dying, or losing our life force. As I reunited with the lost pieces of my self that I had hidden away - my creative inclinations, my playful self, and my desire to passionately connect with others - I felt once again vitally alive and joyful. I celebrated a reunion with myself.

And as I honored my inner life, I began re-creating my outer one! In effect, I coached myself to a much happier and authentically true-to-self place. It was astounding the amount of additional energy I felt as I let go of trying to make those pieces of my life fit together that were no longer meant to fit together. I felt an inner peace and contentedness that I had never known before. I was at last feeding my spirit and my soul. For contained in my daydreams, thoughts, and fantasies were the elements - the golden nuggets - of what could embody a richly meaningful life. A life I could truly LOVE!

I invite you to consider giving yourself this golden gift too.

all the answers are within.
you hold the key.
a life coach helps you to turn it.