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May you seek the quiet and notice.
May you listen to the brave truth within.
May you remember that each moment is a slice and not all of who you are or what will be.
May you feel each of us surround you with love as you find your way.
(Yes. Yes. Yes.)
The And Space of:
Knowing and trust
Who I used to be and what’s become
The smallness I’ve created to survive and the longing inside
Guiding and faith
Patience and exhaustion
Missing you and letting it be
Gratitude and back in the thick of it
Wondering and being present
Showing up and rest
Cravings and action
This is me.
Feeling into the edges of all of it.
Hoping you know you’re not alone in your own And Space over there.
I'm so excited about the This Is My Year Manifesto and the ways you’ve shared how you’re using it and gifting it! It is part declaration and part prayer, and I hope you will find yourself within its words. It's available over in my Soul Mantras shop. And this year, the manifesto has a fun new element to it: I've chosen several of the phrases inside the manifesto and highlighted them in different designs (see the photo for a few examples). I will choose yours just for you and invite you to trust that you'll receive the one you most need for 2019.
You can also find the manifesto as part of the This Is My Year mini bundle, which includes a necklace and talisman with your word/intention of the year and the manifesto. Because I deeply believe in this practice of wearing your word and carrying it with you, I've priced this bundle at more than 15% off in the hopes that these pieces will be a beautiful companion for you. You can find it right here.
Other word of the year designs are available here including the heart talismans that so many people order every year to honor the word they are carrying with them.
If you're thinking about choosing a word of the year but need some ideas to help you brainstorm, here's a post to help you begin.
Thank you for continuing to support my shop. This time of year is such a gift to me as your words arrive in my inbox and I have the opportunity to be part of this special practice.
I'm delighted to share that I'm teaching as part of Life Book 2019! This is an incredible year-long class created and hosted by Tamara Laporte of Willowing Arts.
There are 32 incredible artists, crafters, and healers who are part of Life Book! We will be sharing our art, crafting, and personal growth techniques and having a whole lot of fun with you.
In Life Book, you’ll be creating several loose mixed media art journal pages per month which by the end of the year you will bind into a glorious journal (aka a Life Book)! This year you will also be able to try out other art crafts like art doll making & basket weaving, and there will be nurturing and nourishing personal development activities (like yoga and NVC) to support any personal development you’re undertaking.
And through December 31st, take 20% off with code LOVEBOMB2019.
Life Book is one of those lifechanging courses which gives you the opportunity to experience a year-long creative art retreat from the comfort of your own home. There's even a gift bag with over 30+ offers in the form of free gifts, coupon codes, free prints, classes, coloring pages, and printable collage sheets (with a discount to all of my Tell It courses).
Registration for Life Book is underway and I hope you'll come along. I'll be teaching about art journaling as a mindfulness and self-care practice, and I'll be sharing some prompts you can turn to again and again and even teaching about self-portraits and how I use them in my journal.
AND THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER INCREDIBLE TEACHERS! Head over here to learn more and sign up. And don't forget to use discount code LOVEBOMB2019 for 20% off!
It's going to be so good!
The most magical thing happened this week and I'm suddenly hosting one of my Be Present Retreats this November.
Here's the story:
Earlier this week, I had a dream (like a real dream at night while I was asleep). In the dream, I wrote a Facebook status asking if a few people wanted to gather with me in late November for a retreat in Manzanita. So many people said yes! And the dream shifted to the actual retreat. We were gathered together in a magical house with twinkle lights and journals and books and art supplies and beads and plates of yummy food and poems and conversation spilling into the air.
I woke up filled with that magic as though I'd really been there, plus I could feel the deep missing of leading retreat so much (it's been a couple of years).
So I wrote a status on Facebook (in real life) and said that I'd had this dream and explained what I'd experienced and that it was taking a lot of willpower not to just start planning a retreat even though it felt unbelievable to go from actual dream to making it happen in real life.
Here's where the most incredible magic happened: There was a chorus of replies saying, "I have this dream too. Can we do it? Can we make it happen?" People said the most amazing things and I started receiving private messages and emails saying, "I'm looking at flights! What times would I need to come in."
And here you are reading these words. We did it. We made it happen! And I so hope you can come along to Water Your Soul this fall. Read on for more details.
At Water Your Soul, we'll gather in a gorgeous ocean-front home in Manzanita, Oregon from the evening of November 28 to the morning of December 2. We'll spend time learning about and experiencing soul care and mindfulness practices. We'll create the beginnings of an art journal, take some photos, share some stories, and even write a poem or two. We're also going to spend time deeply nourishing ourselves with food, walks on the beach, sitting inside by the fire, and maybe even have a dance party (okay, we will have a dance party).
Water Your Soul gives you permission to explore what you most need while in community so you can begin to integrate these practices and take them home with you. It's your opportunity to spend time with the self-care you're longing for while also letting yourself be nurtured by others.
You can read all about it and sign up right here.
Please note registration just opened today! There are just 16 spots and only 9 are left.
Lately, I've been feeling like I've run out of words but yet I have a lot to say. It's a spot inside The And Space I find myself in right now.
One prompt I like to use when I feel like this is "this is not a photo of." I use it in my journals and even sometimes over on Instagram like I did earlier this month. I pair a photo with a list of all the things the photo is not and end with what it is. Like this:
This is not a photo of my frayed edges.
This is not a photo of the osprey my mother and I watched as it dove three times - straight toward the ground with incredible speed - rising triumphant with a fish in its talons.
This is not a photo of me asking for help.
This is not a photo of me laughing out loud watching Jerry Seinfeld laugh at Dana Carvey.
This is not a photo of my patience stretched paper thin but somehow I hold on.
This is not a photo of the absolute joy I feel inside when I paint lines of watercolor across a page and hold my journal up to let the colors run together until I see myself reflected.
This is not a photo of my mom solving the problems of the world in a dressing room at JJill.
This is not a photo of 42-year-old brown eyes reflecting weariness in the mirror.
This is not a photo of the best peach I’ve had in several years.
This is not a photo of the moment when I had just enough space to hear the truth behind her actions.
This is not a photo of her climbing onto my lap after just waking up, body warm, face soft, words kind.
This is a photo of a heart rock we found in a driveway today, turning it over, choosing to see the sign of love.
Try it today. Let the words tumble out. See what happens when you let them get unstuck.
PS If you're new to this phrase The And Space, it's the name I've given to this place where we hold the beauty in one hand and the mess in the other, where we hold the joy and the grit, where we honor everything in between. I write about it here and in my newsletter.
My wish for you today:
May you remember you are enough just as you are.
May you hold onto the truth that you are worthy. (Honey, you were born worthy.)
May you connect with the light within you and move from the wisdom that rests there.
May you let yourself be open to all that is to come.
May you feel the bravery that lives deep inside and let it lead you.
May you trust that you are loved even when, always when, things don’t go as planned.
May you know in every one of your cells that you are whole.
Always.
These words are the reason why I created The Secret Message Bracelets.
Because I want you to hold onto your truths no matter what. Because I want you to whisper these words to yourself until they’re tattooed on your heart. Because I want you to know you’re not alone over there.
Why a secret message? Because sometimes you want to wear words close to you that only you know about, so these secret message bracelets are hand stamped on the inside of the bracelet with the “I am” message you most need. You can also choose one of our other favorite Soul Mantras or customize with your own phrase.
To the outside world, you’re simply wearing a very sweet bracelet.
But you know the truth you’re holding close to you.
I can’t wait to send one with love from my little studio right to you. Find them right here in the Soul Mantras shop. You can also customize them with the words you most need, and we can stamp words on both sides to represent The And Space.
I'm on Day 50 of my 100 day project, and I'm loving it so much.
Each day, I'm creating a journal page inspired by my What Is Real photo project from a few years ago. My only rule for myself is to create a page each day after asking myself, "What is real in this moment?" Sometimes I feel moved to write, other times just create with watercolors, sometimes I add photos. I just listen to what I most need, and I play in my journal for somewhere between 5-15 minutes.
Then I share the page on Instagram.
I'm working in this journal and using mostly watercolors (similar to these), pencil, collage, and photos. Here's a post that includes links to my favorite collage supplies. Along with photos I've had printed professionally, I'm also printing out photos with my Instax Share.
I've gotten some great questions along the way, and I answer them over on IG (and will answer them here too if you want to leave a comment). One question I get is about what prompts I use for my pages. The truth is I've been creating from prompts and sharing them for more than 10 years, so they are pretty much floating around and within me in any given moment. I'm lucky that they just show up when I need them.
Inner Excavation, the book I wrote a few years ago, is filled with prompts to use for writing, photography, journaling, and general creating. You can also sign up for Tell It: Collage any time. That's my ecourse full of prompts and inspiration for telling your story through the medium of collage (with a side of art journaling).
You can watch a video in my IG Story Highlights of my setup to keep the supplies I'm using for this project (and other collage projects I'm working on) organized in my studio and another video that dives into more about the journal and other journals I'm using for other projects.
And, I'm having a lot of fun sharing some overhead videos on Instagram that show me creating the page but sped up with timelapse so 15 minutes becomes something like 26 seconds. So. Much. Fun.
The 100 Day Project is inspired by Elle Luna and she shares more on her IG. Although a huge group started on April 2, you can join in at any time. I'm learning a lot about letting go and just having fun with this project. Each day it reminds me of this truth: Creating helps more ideas flow and brings in more joy. Yes. Yes. Yes.
