The Practice Sessions: Lisa Bolin of Flucking Flourishing

a heart centered meditation

Hello beautiful human,

Lisa Bolin’s Flucking Flourishing column on Substack was an immediate hit with me. More often than not, I read what she writes and want to throw a Bender-like fist in the air (there’s your Gen X reference), “Fluck yeah!”

Like me Lisa is a believer in the ongoing metamorphic process of a life well-lived. And she’s generously shared her words, stories and practice with us this spring. Thank you Lisa!

Now in her own words…

I call myself a Queenager: the bookend to a teenager. My intention is to glide towards the later years of my life with energy, pizazz, and make sure I take a stand for those who can’t and use my voice for good—to say “no” to a whole lot of things, including hate, misogyny, oppression, inequality. And say “yes” to inclusion, courage, community, light, and love.

It’s taken a few years for me to find my voice. I was lost in a haze of mothering and uncertainty, and one of my children had a pretty severe illness for 5 years. That, plus work, has meant it’s taken a while for me to really connect with who I am. It’s certainly never too late! It was why I started Flourish Mind & Body towards the end of 2023: to be able to do the work in the world I feel passionate about which is helping women transform their lives and flourish! It’s about helping others connect with who they are, wherever they are in the world.

Flucking Flourishing is another aspect of this: an embodiment if you like, that started in September last year (2024). It’s about flourishing, but also being very clear about what I will and won’t accept in the world anymore, in a voice and tone that’s straightforward, blunt, and such a part of me.

I feel things deeply. I can walk into a room and feel the energy and it’s only really been in the past ten years that I’ve developed strategies that are healthy to keep myself protected from them. As an empath I’ve found it hard to be in the world sometimes. I use this superpower in my work too.

At my very core, I’m an educator. Every single job I’ve ever had, including the one at fifteen, teaching kids 3 years younger than me to make pikelets, has been in education in one form or another. Now, I’m a transformational coach and mindfulness educator. I run courses, work one-on-one with women, and write...a lot! I still teach and tutor. I also sing in a rock band and guide at a local maritime museum when they need me to. I am more than one thing.

The Five Questions for the Practice Sessions

What are your current fascinations?

As an incredibly curious soul, the list never ends. But I’d have to say Human Design has been a rabbit hole I’m still down. It’s amazing! Makes so much sense to me and every single day I learn something new about myself and who I am in the world. I love astrology too. I’m a 5/1 Generator and I am here to respond. It’s how I work best. Working with clients means I respond to their needs and it’s then the magic happens. I go deep into research, absorbing as much information as I can. It’s continuous! I am constantly reading and absorbing. I usually have at least three books on the go.

What does a “delicious day” consist of, for you?

I wake up to the sounds of birds. I’m in my tent by the water. I get up, walk past the lovely sauna we built, to the wooden jetty and slide into the refreshing water. I paddle around, watching the water insects glide over the shiny surface as the sun warms my face. It hangs lower in the sky in this part of the world, which never ceases to amaze me. I listen to the R2D2 birds chatter to each other. A swallow darts over the water, close to the jetty, then back to the boathouse. I climb up the ladder, grab my towel and walk slowly to the sauna, sitting on the steps as I dry myself and enjoy the sun. My partner hands me a coffee and I take a deep breath. A perfect summer’s morning!

How do you take care of yourself?

My word for 2025 is Nourish. With this word I intentionally choose activities, food, movement, connection, that nourishes me. Not 100% of the time but a very high percentage. I eat well, I rarely drink alcohol these days (it certainly doesn’t agree with my menopause and does disappoint my home-brewing partner). I make sure I take regular exercise, a mix of walking, cycling (when it’s not snowy), and yoga. I meditate and have dedicated breathwork sessions regularly. I’m an avid journaler too—daily intentions, gratitude, and some deep shadow work. I make time for stillness and quiet. I connect with nature regularly.

My apartment is filled with strings of fairy lights and it brings me such joy!

We are the stories we tell. I’m curious if, at this point, you sense yourself moving into any new stories, or if there are stories you feel you’re recovering?

We are so much more than one thing. That’s something I know and feel.

I’ve lived in Finland for over seven years now. There are many stories I’ve told myself over the years and I’m slowly but surely re-writing the ones I’ve outgrown. I’m an entrepreneur. I’m a transformational coach. I’m creative, brave, and wise. I learn from mistakes. These are threads of the old and the new coming together.

I don’t know if this is a story or just something that took me a long time to recover from but I left an incredible workplace (a girl’s school in Adelaide) in 2014 (because, reasons) and it took me seven years to get over it. I loved that place with all my heart and soul. I grew wings there, developed incredible connections with colleagues and students. The thing is, if I hadn’t moved away from that place, I don’t think I’d be where I am now, living in Finland with my soul mate. Sometimes, these things happen for bigger reasons than we can see at the time. I also believe we don’t give enough notice to the grief we can feel when we’re forced to leave communities we love.

I feel like I’m on another edge. A metamorphosis from one stage to another. I think of it as the messy middle as I build a business from nothing and take steps to be in a world that I’ve had to learn so much about. It’s been exhilarating and terrifying. It’s definitely a new chapter of some sort.

Let’s include a gratitude you’d like to share with us…a person, or a place, or something you’d like to express gratitude for who has helped you arrive at this moment.

I am eternally grateful to my partner. He loves me unconditionally and supports me in every way. Without his support, love, and openness, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t be living in Finland, that’s for sure! He’s intricately connected to the archipelago with live on. His family has deep roots here. My summer’s day imagining is at his family’s cottage in the countryside, a 35 minute car ride, or an hour and twenty minutes on our electric bikes (we don’t own a car). It’s my happy place, by the water with him and I’m so grateful to be able to be there.

Lisa is a constant reader and as she says, usually has “three books on the go.” She shares some favorites at Baker’s Dozen Books, the imaginary bookshop with real books in it.

Find Lisa’s heart-centered meditation practice below.