Journey of Faith

Sitting on the verandah, enjoying the solitude and beauty of the view, engrossed in an animated and colourful conversation, it is hard to imagine that Nicole Starr had been anything other than this vivacious, spiritual, confident woman I was talking to. But like so many of us, there was a lifetime of learning - of heartache and risk, of joy and dreams - for her to reach this space of reflection and contentment.

Nik begins by stating that most of her early adulthood she lived a gypsy existence, wandering from place to place looking for the elusive……. What? She was never quite sure what she was looking for, just that she needed to keep searching. Her outer compass was geared to tracking down that “something” that would bring her peace. Maybe the next town, or job, adventure or relationship would help her feel complete.

And it was while working in air traffic control that she met her future husband. They married, moved to Melbourne and had two beautiful children. Now she thought surely happiness would find her, she had it all - didn’t she? What reason did she have not to be content? Not only was Nicole discontent but she suffered from post natal depression, and began to seriously question herself and her marriage. The restlessness returned and grew but now there seemed to be no other direction to go in.

Suddenly her inner compass switched from being guided by ego to tuning into intuition and it directed her to move again. This time however the urge to relocate was based on something deeper, more purposeful. Without any apparent or logical reason, the Sunshine Coast became her new home. Little did she know eight years ago that moving here would be the first step in discovering the map to her own journey of faith.

Now that she had moved and resettled, was a wife and mother and a co-owner in a restaurant, she thought it was time to ‘settle herself down’ and ‘find happiness.’ But the outer restlessness she had always felt was now concentrated internally. Her inner voice was demanding to be heard and it wasn’t going to be quashed by Nicole getting lost in work or wine. She knew it was time for endings, but doubted whether she had the courage and conviction to heed what her heart was saying in conflict to her head. The internal prodding became too insistent and Nicole ended the marriage and her involvement in the family restaurant.

Surprisingly she discovered that when she heeded her inner wisdom everything seemed to fall into place. She began to recognise the power of synchronicity. Participating in two online courses – ‘Go Gratitude’ and ‘Wildly Wealthy Women’ – also widened her understandings and perceptions. A space for authenticity began to emerge.

In the meantime she needed to support herself so Nicole, in conjunction with her cousin, bought a hair salon. As a former ball room dancer and part time model Nicole was familiar with make up and beauty. It seemed logical to train in beauty therapy to work in the salon. When her cousin left to start a family, the business was closed and Nik continued doing beauty therapy from home. It was during a Chris Howard seminar that the idea for ‘Nik Starr’ mineral make up and organic skin care range began to take shape.

This too was something that her inner guide was strongly telling her she needed to do. And again, the right people and circumstances appeared to help her bring this dream to realisation. Nicole found an Australian mineral company and personally collaborated with them to make her unique blends and shades. She then worked hands on with an organic chemist to produce the skin care range. At the time she was also dating a (somewhat intense and dysfunctional) graphic designer who helped her brand and market her range. Nicole says that they had so much fun together creating and birthing her dream and even after they were no longer going out, they collaborated to its fruition.

Although through all of this, Nicole was in a much more centred place, she was still having times of fluctuations – the dark and light – sadness and joy. There still seemed to be a key concept missing from her new philosophy on life. It took a death for the awakening to occur.

Last year Nik Starr makeup and skin care was launched, five days later her former boyfriend and co-creator suddenly passed away. So it was with very mixed feelings that Nik began her new business journey. There were many days that she struggled to keep going and to attend to her role as a mother, friend and business owner. Slowly though the mist cleared and with it came a revelation. “Happiness, peace, contentment is an internal thing. I am responsible for that.”

With this new found belief, Nicole kept walking on her path of purpose and passion. Attending a mentoring group with like minded women and connecting with a woman who was to become her ‘soul sister’, reinforced and supported her relationship with her intuition and faith, both in the Universe and in herself. Taking responsibility for her own creations and manifestations, for her own inner experience, only strengthened her resolve to produce a life that she could be proud of.

Nik says “It is about balance, you can’t have light without dark, highs without lows, joys without sorrows. It is all part of the experience. I think it is about not beating yourself up when it doesn’t go according to your plan but perhaps to a higher plan. It is about having water with your wine!”

Not one to do anything by halves, Nicole and soul sister Rachael are about to put their philosophy to the test in a very public way. They are about to embark on the ‘Water and Wine’ sojourn in the United States and have invited everyone to take the journey with them through their website, blog and by filming the experience. From birthday celebrations at Las Vegas to learning with a Shaman in Sedona, they will definitely be travelling from dark to light and all the shades of grey in between. And apart from knowing that they will be in Las Vegas and Sedona, the rest of the experience will be guided by intuition. Together they want to show that if two single mums can live their dreams than anyone can. They have no attachment to the outcome, just a faith in their own wisdom and a grand sense of fun and adventure.

And as we watched the light disappear off the water and our conversation came to a close, I couldn’t help but be a little envious of what Nik was about to do. Perhaps she sensed this because she commented, “You know, it is about not bursting the bubble. You can have everything if you play by the rules – respecting and being respectful of everything, having balance in all that you do, having faith in your intuition. You can be extraordinary.”

Well Nicole you certainly are, and we wish you Bon Voyage!

Ps. If you would like to follow the experience with Nik and Rachael you can do so at www.waterandwinegirls.com
Nik also sells her cosmetics online at www.nikstarr.com