Well, look who’s here, another modern mystic! Come in, come in, lemme take your coat.
I’m Samir Selmanović and my life mission is to learn to love well. I help others do the same as a life transitions coach, retreat facilitator, mystic guide, chef, and lover of New York City where I live. I’m taking myself and you on a seeing tour. We’ll pay attention to how welcoming, magical, and nourishing our ordinary life really is, particularly in crazy times like these.
About the HummingWord by Samir Selmanović
Here’s the way it will work. Once we are fully in motion (June/July 2022), every Wednesday you’ll receive an email each with 2-5 of my unfiltered raw notes. Often they’ll simply remind you of what you already know but might have forgotten. They might also introduce you to something that seems strange: an experience, a practice, or a way of seeing. At times, you'll want to reply and share your experience.
The Wednesday email will always be free for everyone
In the future, there will be a “Paid Subscription” option with additional features
When you subscribe here, every month or so you will also receive Samir’s Update (an email update, separate from this Substack platform), with an encouragement, tool, or another resource you can look forward to. You can unsubscribe at any time.
About this unique bird:
“Inside the tiny hummingbird resides an endless well of energy and positivity. The hummingbird's secret is that it has learned where to gather nectar, and it returns to these sources daily for nourishment and rejuvenation. This sacred elixir springs from many sources, but usually involves nature, creativity, exploring spirituality. Follow the way of the Hummingbird and you cannot go wrong. Every droplet of life becomes sweet, every moment worth savoring.” ~ Kim Krans (The Wild Unknown)
About Samir:
Samir means “a companion who listens and tells stories.”
Here’s what others have said:
Samir is a storyteller and he does have stories to tell.
New York Times
The obvious truth must be made even more obvious, and this is what Samir is doing for all of us.
Fr. Richard Rohr
Samir offers us the fruits of his rich experience. We need more Samirs on the planet—people of conviction and humility.
Parker Palmer
Samir Selmanovic is asking the right questions at the right time, and refusing the consolations of certainty at a time when strident orthodoxies are perilously dividing us.
Karen Armstrong
Where others see only the darkness and destructiveness, Samir sees beauty and hope. Where others see only competition and violence, Samir sees synergy and life.
Ryan J. Bell
I had the great good fortune to spend a day cooking with Samir at my house in Tuscany last autumn. We were with the poet David Whyte cooking for 40 people in a wood burning oven. Samir rolled up his sleeves and dove right in with such tremendous skill, ease and lightness of spirit that I remember telling him, “You need to go out and do this in the world!” I’m so glad he is!
Lori De Mori
“Samir brings clarity, focus and spirit to the leadership journey. He 'guides from the side' — creating a powerful pull on our deepest desires to create meaningful change. He has changed the way I think about leadership and how I think about myself.”
Michael W. Morrison, Founder of University of TOYOTA
“Samir has been able to bring out hidden wisdom and courage in myself, that I hadn't been able to tap into until now. Every coaching conversation I have had with Samir ends with me feeling full of hope, clear direction and energy to accomplish what I know I was meant to do.”
Kathryn Himes, Chief of Staff, HR Business & Employee Solutions, INTEL CORPORATION
"At a retreat in Croatia, we went past unneccesarily complicated answers to what’s deeply personal and existential, each of us tackling the most perplexing issue we came with, something I've rarely seen in my long professional and personal experience."
Robert Manchin, Former Director, GALLUP EUROPE
"Samir is a brilliant chef and an amazing human being. He changed my experience and relationships with food, and with that, the way I experience life. Three days with him were full of learning, delight, and surprises."
Rod Colburn, Managing Director, GOLDMAN SACHS
“I received what might have been the best coaching session of my life, a gentle and profound experience of opening followed by numerous pivots towards growing confidence and focus.”
Patricia Morrison, Creative Professional and Business Owner, INNER FIRE OUTER LIGHT
"Samir’s online live workshop was so much fun! He introduced the possibility that the kitchen can be not only a place to enjoy good food, but also a place of transformation. Our group found the hands-on part of the workshop especially valuable, and afterward continued the conversation about what we might learn from ordinary kitchen utensils, when we listen. Thanks, Samir!"
Lori Wilson, Facilitator and Director of GETTING THINGS DONE, EffectX
"Over the course of a year, Samir helped our hospital leadership team rest in ways deeper than physical rest, contextualizing his work with us in a way that resonates, is impactful, and 'sticks.I would highly recommend Samir to senior leadership teams for change management, cultural contextualization and fresh approaches to problem definition and solution.'"
Ken Bradley, CEO, FLORIDA HOSPITAL WINTER PARK
