1. Moonbeams that dance their way through the skylight & glass walls of my bedroom to play on my face as I drift into dreamland.
2. Amazing friends that receive all this love I have pouring out of me, and then give me some of theirs on top of it. It's a beautiful reciprocation system we've got going on, expanding infinitely as we lift each other higher & higher.
3. An attitude of gratitude that makes it so much easier to cut away the unnecessary places we invest our energy - places like worry, anxiety, unhappiness, judgement, and stress. When you focus on your blessings, those other places are released and you make room for trust, love, joy, bliss, compassion & freedom. So beautiful, this transformation process.
4. Paper Source for helping me rock out some truly beautiful handmade packaging for my chocolates.
5. Forgiveness is one of the most magical medicines for your heart. Use it as often as possible for your own sake.
6. Soundcloud for making it easier for all my friends to share their latest mixes with me. Aural pleasure.
7. Rosewater for being one of the purest, most delicate scents & flavors.
8. Shooting stars. Saw my first one of the summer tonight. Perfect way to celebrate the solstice & make a wish.
9. Sandrita who has brought so much joy & positivity into my life. So beautiful to have friends like this who really live a path of the heart & see your truest self.
10. Money manifesting. So much wealth coming my way. I'm so grateful for having transformed my relationship with money from one of disgust & lack to one of love & gratitude. Keep it flowing.
11. The Scoop. Local, hand-made honey-lavender ice cream around the corner. That's all I'm sayin'.
12. Resolve. Some things need to run their course for awhile before we absorb all the lessons, but when we finally reach that place of open, loving acceptance for all that is, there is nothing like it.
13. Geico for having the most amazing customer service on the planet. And such amazing claims adjusters!
14. Spring water hunting. Went to check out a new spring early this morning in Calistoga with Lauren and had the best start of a day ever.
15. Bookstores with cafes for being the new library. I got so much research done today.
16. Summer. After several years of living in SF & having it be chilly until late August, it's nice living just north enough to experience what summer is really like. I missed it so much!
17. Creeks aplenty all over Marin. So many bodies of water to walk around & dip my toes in.
18. Wetlands preserves full of sunset reflections & birds. I found a new spot close by to make the new home of my daily walks - so peaceful & uplifting with a gorgeous view of Mt. Tamalpais.
19. The kindness of strangers always amazes me. I had just been thinking,"Man, our spring water bottles are heavy & the car is far...I wish we had help" when a man showed up to fill his own bottles & he ended up carrying all of ours back to Lauren's car for us. Thank you, Universe!
20. Hindsight for so many important lessons I'm now able to integrate.
21. Present moment awareness. What else is there, really? It feels so good to be feeling back to normal, balanced between the heart, soul & mind and just being aware of each beautiful moment.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
3irty-one
1. Street parties. Especially the ones where I can sell chocolate under Aztec murals & listen to the Dj mixing old school Slick Rick and Soul of Mischief.
2. Vitamin D. All that sunshine makes me so happy.
3. The local underground food scene. I love being a part of this community. All these underground food events full of handmade hustlers make me grin. And how we support each other & pool together for the benefit of everyone never ceases to amaze me.
4. Keeping busy has been so vital to feeling good lately as it keeps me out of my mind & into LIFE.
5. La Victoria for supporting & nourishing the local community. This place has amazing events.
6. The job that is coming. I know it's on it's way and I know it's going to be good for me on so many levels.
7. Obstacles removed. Got a lovely offer to sell my chocolate at a spot in SF & use their commercial kitchen clout, something that's prevented me from moving on all the requests from store buyers. Now I'm one step closer...
8. Homemade dream catchers made from objects found in nature. Thanks, Jesse - I love it!
9. Fitting my college clothes after all this time is priceless. It makes me feel so good about myself to have fully reversed the metabolism portion of thyroid issues. One major step forward!
10. Coconut oil is magic. Good for your skin, good for your thyroid gland, good for your hair & scalp, good for your belly.
11. Palo Santo burning in my room. Scenting it up with some sacredness is always good.
12. The Haight is just always fun for a little window shopping. Especially all the Tibetan, Himalayan & Indian shops full of little spiritual goodies.
13. The Grateful Bowl at Cafe Gratitude, making it possible for raw foodists to eat out for cheap when we're broke.
14. Reiki. I became a reiki practitioner last month and it's seriously been rocking my world. Being a conduit for Universal Life Force energy is amazing...feeling it running through your palms to heal others is some seriously intense love at work. I definitely notice the difference on the days when I make the time to give myself a session and am looking forward to making it a more frequent part of my self-love practice.
15. Anna. I met her through a shamanic journeying group and instantly adored her. She's a kindred spirit for sure, and is now my reiki instructor. She's so positive, energetic, loving, enthusiastic and just open. I'll be volunteering at the reiki clinic she's put together in SF starting in July.
16. The internet for speeding up the process. And for helping me find the answers. Always.
17. Applied Kinesiology. The woman I am doing structural work with is amazing. She uses kinesiology, chiropractic adjustments and NeuroEmotionalTechnique (NET) to ask the body what is going on, correct the alignment issues in the nervous system & clear old emotions that are stored in our cells.
18. My intuition for telling me that there was a structural component to my healing path that was missing. It also guided me to raw foods & a ton of other healing in the past and has steered me away from some unsafe situations in the past when I've chosen to listen to it fully. And the more I listen, the sharper it gets and the more guidance I receive.
19. Spring Water fresh from deep within the Earth's aquifers. I love going out in nature and collecting it from the source and meditating with it for awhile. Such a beautiful experience.
20. The local library for having such an amazing collection of spiritual books and for being less than a mile away.
21. Skylights. Going to sleep staring at the stars is something truly special, and when you can't camp, looking right above your bed is the next best thing.
2. Vitamin D. All that sunshine makes me so happy.
3. The local underground food scene. I love being a part of this community. All these underground food events full of handmade hustlers make me grin. And how we support each other & pool together for the benefit of everyone never ceases to amaze me.
4. Keeping busy has been so vital to feeling good lately as it keeps me out of my mind & into LIFE.
5. La Victoria for supporting & nourishing the local community. This place has amazing events.
6. The job that is coming. I know it's on it's way and I know it's going to be good for me on so many levels.
7. Obstacles removed. Got a lovely offer to sell my chocolate at a spot in SF & use their commercial kitchen clout, something that's prevented me from moving on all the requests from store buyers. Now I'm one step closer...
8. Homemade dream catchers made from objects found in nature. Thanks, Jesse - I love it!
9. Fitting my college clothes after all this time is priceless. It makes me feel so good about myself to have fully reversed the metabolism portion of thyroid issues. One major step forward!
10. Coconut oil is magic. Good for your skin, good for your thyroid gland, good for your hair & scalp, good for your belly.
11. Palo Santo burning in my room. Scenting it up with some sacredness is always good.
12. The Haight is just always fun for a little window shopping. Especially all the Tibetan, Himalayan & Indian shops full of little spiritual goodies.
13. The Grateful Bowl at Cafe Gratitude, making it possible for raw foodists to eat out for cheap when we're broke.
14. Reiki. I became a reiki practitioner last month and it's seriously been rocking my world. Being a conduit for Universal Life Force energy is amazing...feeling it running through your palms to heal others is some seriously intense love at work. I definitely notice the difference on the days when I make the time to give myself a session and am looking forward to making it a more frequent part of my self-love practice.
15. Anna. I met her through a shamanic journeying group and instantly adored her. She's a kindred spirit for sure, and is now my reiki instructor. She's so positive, energetic, loving, enthusiastic and just open. I'll be volunteering at the reiki clinic she's put together in SF starting in July.
16. The internet for speeding up the process. And for helping me find the answers. Always.
17. Applied Kinesiology. The woman I am doing structural work with is amazing. She uses kinesiology, chiropractic adjustments and NeuroEmotionalTechnique (NET) to ask the body what is going on, correct the alignment issues in the nervous system & clear old emotions that are stored in our cells.
18. My intuition for telling me that there was a structural component to my healing path that was missing. It also guided me to raw foods & a ton of other healing in the past and has steered me away from some unsafe situations in the past when I've chosen to listen to it fully. And the more I listen, the sharper it gets and the more guidance I receive.
19. Spring Water fresh from deep within the Earth's aquifers. I love going out in nature and collecting it from the source and meditating with it for awhile. Such a beautiful experience.
20. The local library for having such an amazing collection of spiritual books and for being less than a mile away.
21. Skylights. Going to sleep staring at the stars is something truly special, and when you can't camp, looking right above your bed is the next best thing.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
30.
1. Ecstatic Dance medicine. I am so grateful for my local conscious dance community full of people looking to enjoy life naturally without drugs & alcohol. A night full of beats, bass and dancing with cute boys is always a good time in my book.
2. Beautiful invocations. This man I always run into at Cafe Gratitude did the most amazing invocation at Ecstatic Dance last night talking about our perfection, our beauty. It put us all into a trance with its power.
3. Little altars everywhere. It's not just my personal altar at home that gives me the prayers & medicine I need - it's the altars I see in other people's homes, the altar at the sweat lodge & ceremonies I go to, the altars at 5 Rhythms and Ecstatic Dance, the little altars in nature made by hikers and meditators and the little city street altars constructed by homeless people. I love this constant reminder of our natural state of gratitude and love for what feels good.
4. Sparkly eyes. I love when I have days so magical that my eyes are extra sparkly and full of bliss. Self-love floods in me and out of me and my whole body buzzes.
5. Sunshine filled rooms. The skylights & glass walls of my room means it's sunny in here from 6am til 9pm and I could not be happier about that.
6. Silent expressions. One of my favorite things about the conscious dance events is that there is no talking. You communicate with others solely through dance, your energy, your heart and your radiant smiles. I love that I can sometimes dance so intently with a stranger, have this intense connection, and never ever know their name. It's beautiful.
7. Tinctures. So many plants, so many ways to decoct, dilute and learn how to use them as medicine. I can't wait for herb school next year!
8. Coconut yogurt is fermenting in the kitchen. Yum. It's so nice to have even better things fill the place of the dairy products that have left my life.
9. Scholarships. I just got a scholarship from the Moving Center School for the next part of the 5 Rhythms workshops I've been doing. This one explores the ultimate spiritual practice - relationship. "Friends, lovers, parents, children — they take us to heaven and take us to our knees." I am so excited to continue on my dancing path! I also got another scholarship for a Women's Leadership program in the wilderness of Washington, but more about that later.
10. Garden space. My flatmate, permaculture goddess extraordinaire that she is, showed me where there is still some room in the garden for planting so I can grow some lettuces & berries. The whole time I was traveling & working on organic farms, I kept focusing my intentions on finding a home with some space to grow my own food and now it's finally here!
11. Kale magic. Permaculture goddess flatmate also said their kale is producing enough extra for me to have some fresh greens from their patch of eARTh every day.
12. Waking up before the alarm clock always gives me that feeling of living on natural time & having the world to myself for a little while before I begin the day. I cherish these days.
13. Chocolate love makes me smile. I am so grateful for this never-ending stream of beautiful foodie events in SF that allow me to grow my raw chocolate business at a steady, organic pace. Doing work where you get to see rewards in the form of ecstatic looks on people's faces as they eat your wares is so fulfilling and makes my heart soar.
14. Singing. When I was younger, I had a really beautiful voice, but as the thyroid shifted further out of balance, it seemed to disappear & I kept wondering where my voice went, why my singing sounded so awful. Last year I learned that singing is one of the best medicines for hypothyroidism, as it raises the vibration of your 5th chakra, healing your body. I would sing more in the car than normaml, and though I wanted to make it a daily practice, I kept getting distracted & simply wasn't making time for it. Then last week, the curandero asked me to sing in the ceremony, a very huge honor I did not feel ready for. I tried, but I totally choked in this paralyzing fear in my mind instead of being present to the opportunity to heal in ceremony, but the message became clear through him that if I were to simply unlock my voice from this thyroid blockage and use singing as my medicine, I would heal this. Ever since then I have been singing daily, and my voice is slowing coming back to life. :)
15. Baby-tainment. My flatmates adorable little baby girl, Sage has been the perfect audience for me. Since I am not yet comfortable singing in front of groups of people, I practice singing to her. She gets so quiet and enamored by the sounds and her face lights up, which brings me more joy and helps me sing even more comfortably, which brings her more joy, and so on. It's a win-win situation.
16. Chickweed concoctions fresh from the wilderness outside. This one had some honey, lemon, cayenne, sprouts & pure water. I love wild plants!
17. Fiddles & cellos. I had my first lessons in both last year and am equally in love with both, but a violin is more travel-ready so I'm going to focus my intentions on manifesting one of those first, then when I have gotten pretty good, I can move on to other instruments. But my love affair with strings & drums runs deep, deep, deep.
18. Life. Always eternally grateful for this one, every single day of mine. It's short - make the most of it, don't get caught up in stuff that doesn't resonate and brings you down and just follow your bliss!
19. Camping season is my favorite season! I am so amazed at how no matter how many different places I go, I still have barely seen a fraction of all the nature in this state - there is such an abundance of beauty here.
20. Trust is one of my favorite tools. Whenever I remember to trust that everything always works out exactly as it's supposed to, my life just flows and everything falls into place.
21. Love. There is so much of it in this world. My heart today is flooding over with all the love from so many wonderful people in my life.
2. Beautiful invocations. This man I always run into at Cafe Gratitude did the most amazing invocation at Ecstatic Dance last night talking about our perfection, our beauty. It put us all into a trance with its power.
3. Little altars everywhere. It's not just my personal altar at home that gives me the prayers & medicine I need - it's the altars I see in other people's homes, the altar at the sweat lodge & ceremonies I go to, the altars at 5 Rhythms and Ecstatic Dance, the little altars in nature made by hikers and meditators and the little city street altars constructed by homeless people. I love this constant reminder of our natural state of gratitude and love for what feels good.
4. Sparkly eyes. I love when I have days so magical that my eyes are extra sparkly and full of bliss. Self-love floods in me and out of me and my whole body buzzes.
5. Sunshine filled rooms. The skylights & glass walls of my room means it's sunny in here from 6am til 9pm and I could not be happier about that.
6. Silent expressions. One of my favorite things about the conscious dance events is that there is no talking. You communicate with others solely through dance, your energy, your heart and your radiant smiles. I love that I can sometimes dance so intently with a stranger, have this intense connection, and never ever know their name. It's beautiful.
7. Tinctures. So many plants, so many ways to decoct, dilute and learn how to use them as medicine. I can't wait for herb school next year!
8. Coconut yogurt is fermenting in the kitchen. Yum. It's so nice to have even better things fill the place of the dairy products that have left my life.
9. Scholarships. I just got a scholarship from the Moving Center School for the next part of the 5 Rhythms workshops I've been doing. This one explores the ultimate spiritual practice - relationship. "Friends, lovers, parents, children — they take us to heaven and take us to our knees." I am so excited to continue on my dancing path! I also got another scholarship for a Women's Leadership program in the wilderness of Washington, but more about that later.
10. Garden space. My flatmate, permaculture goddess extraordinaire that she is, showed me where there is still some room in the garden for planting so I can grow some lettuces & berries. The whole time I was traveling & working on organic farms, I kept focusing my intentions on finding a home with some space to grow my own food and now it's finally here!
11. Kale magic. Permaculture goddess flatmate also said their kale is producing enough extra for me to have some fresh greens from their patch of eARTh every day.
12. Waking up before the alarm clock always gives me that feeling of living on natural time & having the world to myself for a little while before I begin the day. I cherish these days.
13. Chocolate love makes me smile. I am so grateful for this never-ending stream of beautiful foodie events in SF that allow me to grow my raw chocolate business at a steady, organic pace. Doing work where you get to see rewards in the form of ecstatic looks on people's faces as they eat your wares is so fulfilling and makes my heart soar.
14. Singing. When I was younger, I had a really beautiful voice, but as the thyroid shifted further out of balance, it seemed to disappear & I kept wondering where my voice went, why my singing sounded so awful. Last year I learned that singing is one of the best medicines for hypothyroidism, as it raises the vibration of your 5th chakra, healing your body. I would sing more in the car than normaml, and though I wanted to make it a daily practice, I kept getting distracted & simply wasn't making time for it. Then last week, the curandero asked me to sing in the ceremony, a very huge honor I did not feel ready for. I tried, but I totally choked in this paralyzing fear in my mind instead of being present to the opportunity to heal in ceremony, but the message became clear through him that if I were to simply unlock my voice from this thyroid blockage and use singing as my medicine, I would heal this. Ever since then I have been singing daily, and my voice is slowing coming back to life. :)
15. Baby-tainment. My flatmates adorable little baby girl, Sage has been the perfect audience for me. Since I am not yet comfortable singing in front of groups of people, I practice singing to her. She gets so quiet and enamored by the sounds and her face lights up, which brings me more joy and helps me sing even more comfortably, which brings her more joy, and so on. It's a win-win situation.
16. Chickweed concoctions fresh from the wilderness outside. This one had some honey, lemon, cayenne, sprouts & pure water. I love wild plants!
17. Fiddles & cellos. I had my first lessons in both last year and am equally in love with both, but a violin is more travel-ready so I'm going to focus my intentions on manifesting one of those first, then when I have gotten pretty good, I can move on to other instruments. But my love affair with strings & drums runs deep, deep, deep.
18. Life. Always eternally grateful for this one, every single day of mine. It's short - make the most of it, don't get caught up in stuff that doesn't resonate and brings you down and just follow your bliss!
19. Camping season is my favorite season! I am so amazed at how no matter how many different places I go, I still have barely seen a fraction of all the nature in this state - there is such an abundance of beauty here.
20. Trust is one of my favorite tools. Whenever I remember to trust that everything always works out exactly as it's supposed to, my life just flows and everything falls into place.
21. Love. There is so much of it in this world. My heart today is flooding over with all the love from so many wonderful people in my life.
Friday, June 18, 2010
twenty-9ine
1. Healing paths. When I got back from my travels, I spiraled back into the thyroid illness that had taken over my life for about 13 years. I had 2 years of healing bliss, the most amazing life ever, and now I've dipped back in to uncover more and create something even better. This journey has taken me to so many places within, shown me so much, illuminated beauty I never knew existed. It is challenging to not feel well, for sure, but I know this is only to heal at a deeper root level and when I do, things will be even more amazing than those last 2 years of bliss.
2. My little glass home. I finally moved out of the city to the lovely, progressive, eco-conscious, spiritually open town of Fairfax and am living in the most beautiful house. My room has glass walls overlooking the permacultured garden & 2 skylights so I can watch the stars & planets wink at me as I drift off into dreamland. Outside, there is a Manzanita tree, redwood hot tub, hammock and a wonderful garden. A fox has scurried past my bedroom and there are always deer on the drive home. I may have to put off the community household for awhile because this place feels so right & and my flatmates and their baby girl, Sage, are wonderful. I need this kind of energy right now.
3. Plant medicines. I had the most profound healing of my life last weekend in ceremony with a lovely, soulful curandero. This plant path has been mine for some time, but it's becoming even more powerful and clear. I was able to get to the root trauma that caused this illness, an event from when I was a baby that I had no memory of, but which stored itself in my cells & subconscious. So much is coming to light to heal at this deeper level and I am so grateful for having cultivated this relationship with the plants over the years.
4. Relationships. They aren't always meant to last forever, but some of these short, intense ones are so chock full of really huge lessons and gifts necessary to get you to the type of relationship you really want & deserve. I keep getting closer and closer, perfecting the dance over time.
5. Lauren Henry. My dear spiritual cheerleader, always lifting me up higher. I am so grateful for us meeting a few years ago and deepening in our friendship. What a beautiful soul, what an expansive heart. What an amazing capacity to hold space and be love.
6. Raw/living food. It's the only thing that worked in 13 years to really make me feel better, and as I healed, I began to integrate more cooked foods. After these last few months of struggling, I've decided to listen to my intuition & renew my vows to it. With this vow renewal comes a second honeymoon - I am all excited about raw food again and this renewed enthusiasm is filling my heart & mind up with beauty.
7. 5 Rhythms has become a massive part of my healing path in the last year. This amazing practice is all about dancing your prayers, movement as meditation. We dance our emotions and see what comes up, then dance that and keep going on our own journeys, allowing ourselves to truly feel emotions in the body and transform them by moving through them. My local dance community is so supportive, so open, so loving. I have never been so comfortable in my body as now.
8. Pura Vida. For being what it is. I love it.
9. Vision Questing. I'd been wanting to go on a Vision Quest since I was a teenager, but back then thought it would never happen because I was a white girl. :) I'm so glad times have changed and these ancient, beautiful traditions are open to people of all cultures. My prayer was to finish healing this illness & step deeper onto my path as healer and my time on the hill brought me the information I needed to move forward with that.
10. Little fox. The morning after I got back from a really intense healing ceremony, a little grey fox with red-tipped fur slowly strolled past my glass bedroom doors. I love living more in harmony with nature.
11. People who tell you the truth. Because sometimes you just need to hear it from someplace outside yourself to really listen.
12. Berry season in Marin. I love all the local, organic produce in abundance everywhere. Summer smoothies are rocking my world!
13. Spirulina gives me a nice boost in my smoothies every day, helping me focus and feel good. Mmmm, green.
14. Betty. I truly have the best car ever. She's taken me on so many beautiful adventures.
15. New friends. When I travel, I make friends instantly, but I've noticed that when I'm in one place it takes more time to cultivate connections and I've had some seriously beautiful people enter my life since I moved to Marin.
16. Babies. So much magical, soothing energy in this house because of the little one. And I am filled with joy whenever I spend time with my friends children too. I'm so not ready for my own family just yet, but I can feel the time is coming soon.
17. Coconut milk. Do I really need to elaborate on that? Nope. :)
18. Waterfalls. There is one just a few miles from the house that I've been spending a lot of time hiking too. So soothing, so cleansing, so uplifting.
19. Donation-based bodywork rocks my world! Thanks to Alpha for a rocking 2 hour session in my backyard paradise. Serious shifts!
20. The Gift Circle. My town has a weekly gift circle, which is the community's attempt to move closer to a gift economy. We have dinner together, then go around the circle expressing first our needs that we would like to have met, and then the gifts we have to offer. It's beautiful to see these hearts pour out.
21. Gratitude journaling! I'd gotten so used to living full and total gratitude all the time, that I stopped journaling, but recently found myself back in some old patterns and am getting back to this daily practice that reminds me of how much beauty there is in my life.
2. My little glass home. I finally moved out of the city to the lovely, progressive, eco-conscious, spiritually open town of Fairfax and am living in the most beautiful house. My room has glass walls overlooking the permacultured garden & 2 skylights so I can watch the stars & planets wink at me as I drift off into dreamland. Outside, there is a Manzanita tree, redwood hot tub, hammock and a wonderful garden. A fox has scurried past my bedroom and there are always deer on the drive home. I may have to put off the community household for awhile because this place feels so right & and my flatmates and their baby girl, Sage, are wonderful. I need this kind of energy right now.
3. Plant medicines. I had the most profound healing of my life last weekend in ceremony with a lovely, soulful curandero. This plant path has been mine for some time, but it's becoming even more powerful and clear. I was able to get to the root trauma that caused this illness, an event from when I was a baby that I had no memory of, but which stored itself in my cells & subconscious. So much is coming to light to heal at this deeper level and I am so grateful for having cultivated this relationship with the plants over the years.
4. Relationships. They aren't always meant to last forever, but some of these short, intense ones are so chock full of really huge lessons and gifts necessary to get you to the type of relationship you really want & deserve. I keep getting closer and closer, perfecting the dance over time.
5. Lauren Henry. My dear spiritual cheerleader, always lifting me up higher. I am so grateful for us meeting a few years ago and deepening in our friendship. What a beautiful soul, what an expansive heart. What an amazing capacity to hold space and be love.
6. Raw/living food. It's the only thing that worked in 13 years to really make me feel better, and as I healed, I began to integrate more cooked foods. After these last few months of struggling, I've decided to listen to my intuition & renew my vows to it. With this vow renewal comes a second honeymoon - I am all excited about raw food again and this renewed enthusiasm is filling my heart & mind up with beauty.
7. 5 Rhythms has become a massive part of my healing path in the last year. This amazing practice is all about dancing your prayers, movement as meditation. We dance our emotions and see what comes up, then dance that and keep going on our own journeys, allowing ourselves to truly feel emotions in the body and transform them by moving through them. My local dance community is so supportive, so open, so loving. I have never been so comfortable in my body as now.
8. Pura Vida. For being what it is. I love it.
9. Vision Questing. I'd been wanting to go on a Vision Quest since I was a teenager, but back then thought it would never happen because I was a white girl. :) I'm so glad times have changed and these ancient, beautiful traditions are open to people of all cultures. My prayer was to finish healing this illness & step deeper onto my path as healer and my time on the hill brought me the information I needed to move forward with that.
10. Little fox. The morning after I got back from a really intense healing ceremony, a little grey fox with red-tipped fur slowly strolled past my glass bedroom doors. I love living more in harmony with nature.
11. People who tell you the truth. Because sometimes you just need to hear it from someplace outside yourself to really listen.
12. Berry season in Marin. I love all the local, organic produce in abundance everywhere. Summer smoothies are rocking my world!
13. Spirulina gives me a nice boost in my smoothies every day, helping me focus and feel good. Mmmm, green.
14. Betty. I truly have the best car ever. She's taken me on so many beautiful adventures.
15. New friends. When I travel, I make friends instantly, but I've noticed that when I'm in one place it takes more time to cultivate connections and I've had some seriously beautiful people enter my life since I moved to Marin.
16. Babies. So much magical, soothing energy in this house because of the little one. And I am filled with joy whenever I spend time with my friends children too. I'm so not ready for my own family just yet, but I can feel the time is coming soon.
17. Coconut milk. Do I really need to elaborate on that? Nope. :)
18. Waterfalls. There is one just a few miles from the house that I've been spending a lot of time hiking too. So soothing, so cleansing, so uplifting.
19. Donation-based bodywork rocks my world! Thanks to Alpha for a rocking 2 hour session in my backyard paradise. Serious shifts!
20. The Gift Circle. My town has a weekly gift circle, which is the community's attempt to move closer to a gift economy. We have dinner together, then go around the circle expressing first our needs that we would like to have met, and then the gifts we have to offer. It's beautiful to see these hearts pour out.
21. Gratitude journaling! I'd gotten so used to living full and total gratitude all the time, that I stopped journaling, but recently found myself back in some old patterns and am getting back to this daily practice that reminds me of how much beauty there is in my life.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
20-eight
1. Love. I found a big, beautiful, sacred one.
2. Sacred Commerce I had the opportunity of attending another wonderful donation-based Cafe Gratitude workshop this month. So inspiring & full of grounding I needed after coming back from a year of travel. I'm diving right into my business pursuits.
3. The end of my travels. Although the initial comedown of spending a year on the road living the life of my dreams was really rough, I'm finally feeling grounded back in my life in California. It took a few weeks to embrace the fact that turbulence has accompanied every major life shift I've ever had and they have all led to the most amazing things. I can't wait to see what takes shape.
4. Instant manifestation is rocking my world. I just keep putting out to the Universe what I need from the bottom of my heart & it just keeps delivering it right to me. Sometimes within a few short minutes. I am still in awe over this.
5. Ceremony. I love my spiritual brothers & sisters who continue to enhance my life & help me crack my heart open wider & wider. So many beautiful faces in ceremony this weekend around the fire, sharing our love & good intentions.
6. Peyote babies. I love the innocent, joyful, loving energy children bring to ceremony This 2 1/2 year old kept running in circles around the fire, instilling it with his pure & beautiful energy. After sunrise, he showed me a picture he had drawn. When I asked him to tell me more about it, he pointed to the fire, the medicine & the Universe (a cluster of stars covering most of the paper) and I beamed. What a beautiful, tender moment.
7. The joys of starting a business. I started working on this before I left to travel & wrote most of my business plan while on the road this past year, but now I am home & really building it. I cannot explain how amazing it feels to start your own business & be able to set intentions every step of the way & not have to compromise my integrity for anyone or anything. This eco-conscious, socially responsible raw, organic, herbal chocolate company of mine is so in alignment with my soul & the healing work I've been doing, I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to the universe for conspiring to make it reality every step of the way. It's all love & the support from community has been outstanding.
8. Fairfax is a town just 17 miles north of San Francisco. I'd been spending so much time there before I left for my travels that I contemplated moving. It's just been calling me. And now that I am back, the Universe has been conspiring to make it my new home for sure. I love SF, but just need more nature, less buildings & people...I am excited to put together a community household with other kindred spirits.
9. Origin Collective. I went up to Fairfax for the first time since before my travels to walk around & make sure everything still felt right. The first thing I stumbled upon was a shop that had opened while I was gone - a collective of herbalists, raw foodists, creative lovers of life & overall positive, inspiring healers. I ended up staying and talking for an hour. I so can't wait to be more involved in what goes on in this space!
10. Rossella & Tim are the best temporary roommates a girl could ask for. Thank you so much for letting me into your beautiful home & giving me free shelter while I sort things out. And thank you, Tanya for letting me stay there in your absence. You have no idea how provided for I feel right now by you and the Universe.
11. The SF Underground Farmers Market is awesome! My friend Iso over at Forage SF started putting together a little market for all us underdogs who can't yet afford the fees at the commercial markets. I'll be selling delicious raw chocolates this week. Amazing food, music & free workshops? Man, it feels good to be back home in my food community!
12. Coastal smells that are one of the greatest things about being home. I can feel my lungs expand with each breath.
13. Green hills that are so lush & soothing. Ah, Northern California!
14. Bass therapy. So much dubstep soothing my soul these days. Bass has always had a special place in my heart.
15. The Ghost Brothers have been on constant repeat lately. Amazing, beautiful, Krishna rockers from Vancouver.
16. Old Victorian houses with all their built-ins, elaborate moldings, and untold stories.
17. Joy I don't know how it's possible for one person to have so much joy in their life, but I am so eternally grateful for each day that I wake up, able to experience another day full of it. Keep the abundance flowing.
18. Bees I took an intro to beekeeping course that blew my mind. I've been wanting to keep bees for eons & it feels good to be one step closer. Now I just need some land to keep them on. :)
19. Sweet street art. I've been seeing these really sweet stencils all around the Mission District about love & light. True expressions of the human heart. That's my kind of revolution. :)
20. Drumming that takes me deeper and deeper inside. This journey is infinite.
21. Oneness. It feels so good to tap into this infinite power of the Universe and know that we are all source.
2. Sacred Commerce I had the opportunity of attending another wonderful donation-based Cafe Gratitude workshop this month. So inspiring & full of grounding I needed after coming back from a year of travel. I'm diving right into my business pursuits.
3. The end of my travels. Although the initial comedown of spending a year on the road living the life of my dreams was really rough, I'm finally feeling grounded back in my life in California. It took a few weeks to embrace the fact that turbulence has accompanied every major life shift I've ever had and they have all led to the most amazing things. I can't wait to see what takes shape.
4. Instant manifestation is rocking my world. I just keep putting out to the Universe what I need from the bottom of my heart & it just keeps delivering it right to me. Sometimes within a few short minutes. I am still in awe over this.
5. Ceremony. I love my spiritual brothers & sisters who continue to enhance my life & help me crack my heart open wider & wider. So many beautiful faces in ceremony this weekend around the fire, sharing our love & good intentions.
6. Peyote babies. I love the innocent, joyful, loving energy children bring to ceremony This 2 1/2 year old kept running in circles around the fire, instilling it with his pure & beautiful energy. After sunrise, he showed me a picture he had drawn. When I asked him to tell me more about it, he pointed to the fire, the medicine & the Universe (a cluster of stars covering most of the paper) and I beamed. What a beautiful, tender moment.
7. The joys of starting a business. I started working on this before I left to travel & wrote most of my business plan while on the road this past year, but now I am home & really building it. I cannot explain how amazing it feels to start your own business & be able to set intentions every step of the way & not have to compromise my integrity for anyone or anything. This eco-conscious, socially responsible raw, organic, herbal chocolate company of mine is so in alignment with my soul & the healing work I've been doing, I cannot even begin to express my gratitude to the universe for conspiring to make it reality every step of the way. It's all love & the support from community has been outstanding.
8. Fairfax is a town just 17 miles north of San Francisco. I'd been spending so much time there before I left for my travels that I contemplated moving. It's just been calling me. And now that I am back, the Universe has been conspiring to make it my new home for sure. I love SF, but just need more nature, less buildings & people...I am excited to put together a community household with other kindred spirits.
9. Origin Collective. I went up to Fairfax for the first time since before my travels to walk around & make sure everything still felt right. The first thing I stumbled upon was a shop that had opened while I was gone - a collective of herbalists, raw foodists, creative lovers of life & overall positive, inspiring healers. I ended up staying and talking for an hour. I so can't wait to be more involved in what goes on in this space!
10. Rossella & Tim are the best temporary roommates a girl could ask for. Thank you so much for letting me into your beautiful home & giving me free shelter while I sort things out. And thank you, Tanya for letting me stay there in your absence. You have no idea how provided for I feel right now by you and the Universe.
11. The SF Underground Farmers Market is awesome! My friend Iso over at Forage SF started putting together a little market for all us underdogs who can't yet afford the fees at the commercial markets. I'll be selling delicious raw chocolates this week. Amazing food, music & free workshops? Man, it feels good to be back home in my food community!
12. Coastal smells that are one of the greatest things about being home. I can feel my lungs expand with each breath.
13. Green hills that are so lush & soothing. Ah, Northern California!
14. Bass therapy. So much dubstep soothing my soul these days. Bass has always had a special place in my heart.
15. The Ghost Brothers have been on constant repeat lately. Amazing, beautiful, Krishna rockers from Vancouver.
16. Old Victorian houses with all their built-ins, elaborate moldings, and untold stories.
17. Joy I don't know how it's possible for one person to have so much joy in their life, but I am so eternally grateful for each day that I wake up, able to experience another day full of it. Keep the abundance flowing.
18. Bees I took an intro to beekeeping course that blew my mind. I've been wanting to keep bees for eons & it feels good to be one step closer. Now I just need some land to keep them on. :)
19. Sweet street art. I've been seeing these really sweet stencils all around the Mission District about love & light. True expressions of the human heart. That's my kind of revolution. :)
20. Drumming that takes me deeper and deeper inside. This journey is infinite.
21. Oneness. It feels so good to tap into this infinite power of the Universe and know that we are all source.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
twenty-7even
1. Truck Farming. Ian & Curt at Wicked Delicate have put together a mobile garden. This one's for all the sustainable living folks in big cities who want to grow their own food but don't have any land:
Episode 2:
2. Native Traditions. Those of you that know me well know how much preserving the Native American ways of life mean to me. I've been attending sweat lodges & ceremonies for awhile now, but most recently I had the honor of attending a Sun Dance and undergoing an intense week of purification & ceremony. I will write about it in more detail on my other blog at some point, but the experience definitely needed to be mentioned here, as I am extremely grateful for the opportunity & experiences that shifted me even further into abundance and freedom.
3. Volume Projects. Volume is an interdisciplinary new media project of sorts that brings together musicians & visual artists to create hybrid works together through exhibitions, performances and events.
4. Green Museum is the place I've always fantasized about but never new already existed. In the last few years, my artwork has shifted to encompass more of the sustainable/environmental/global topics that are such a relevant part of my lifestyle. I've been applying for residencies that deal with these topics and feel like I've finally found the right way for me to combine all the desires of my soul & gift of consciousness into my art so that there is no longer any separation between the worlds in which I live. So I was really excited when I found out about Sam Bower's endeavor, Green Museum, which looks like the perfect home for the work I do, and is full of a multitude of others artists working in this genre. I could spend hours pouring over the site - it's so inspiring.
5. Global Family. I've always known people all over the world due to the fact that I've lived in 2 of the most glorious cities in America (SF & NYC) which are always full of people from all over the planet, I love to travel, and have always ended up networking with artists on other countries through sites that foster creative conversation like fotolog, and host a ton of people in my SF apartment through couchsurfing, but since I have been traveling across the country these last 6 months, I have met even more people from all over the globe and have been fostering even deeper connections than ever before. It's like this whole family of lightworkers connects everywhere I go doing this healing work, and I've never quite experienced anything like this before in all my years of travel. It's truly something special & I am grateful for the many gifts and teachers who keep coming into my life on this journey & in this lifetime.
6. Sukhavati is the best Joseph Campbell exploration I have seen so far. Netflix it if you want your mind blown.
7. Lucid dream adventures. I've had vivid dreams & decent dream recall since I was a child, but have always been curious about nourishing those skills & astral projection. The rewards for keeping a dream journal by my bed, sleeping without electronics on & using other lucid dreaming techniques & dream herbs have really paid off. So now I travel by day & travel by night. I love this.
8. Hobo College in Chicago created by "the Clap doctor", Ben Reitman:
9. Reconnections. I haven't spent more than 3 days in my hometown since I was 18. It's just not for me. But a big part of my journey was coming home to do some healing with my parents, and I've reconnected with some of my dearest old friends from childhood. It's amazing how you can not talk to someone for 5 years, some cases 10, and still come together in a loving, positive space.
10. Bon Iver has been on continuous repeat on my headphones, computer, car stereo, and brainwaves for the last few years. Justin Vernon's voice just penetrates all these places in my soul...sigh...Hearing such beautiful music live in 2008 at Outside Lands helped deepen my appreciation, but man, this a capella version of 'For Emma' just blows my mind to a whole new level:
11. Tiffany twin love. One of the friends I reconnected with, I had not seen since I was a bridesmaid in her wedding 7 years ago. Our lives just went in totally different directions for some time, but of course we were brought back together naturally at a time when we were both in the same place again to share our spirituality, love & gratitude for life. Being back home with this kind of support to remind me of who I really am is priceless. And her twins just light up my life.
12. Manasquan Reservoir is a place I used to go a lot when I was in High School. It's one of the most gorgeous places near here to go out in nature, so I'm able to get in my daily 5 miles & be surrounded by trees & water, totally loving life. It's sticky, humid, and super hot here during the day, so having someplace close by to go walk during sunset when it's a bit cooler is perfect.
13. Herb syncs have taken me everywhere. Back when I was sick, I refused to go on meds for a very long time because I believed that nature can heal us. I just didn't have the resources, which was why I moved to SF - to be surrounded my all I needed. I tried meds anyway, out of desperation, but they only made things worse. When I finally figured out what was really wrong 2 years ago, I refused meds again & have been doing a wonderful job of healing myself naturally. And my trust in plants has been vital to this & has helped me see one of my callings. So many syncs all pointing to the planetary herbal vocation.
14. Cattus Island has been another gorgeous place to spend time back near my birthplace. I love the salt marshy lands here full of herons, egrets and tons of other birds I can't begin to name. So gorgeous.
15. Alysia & Grace. Alysia & I have been friends since 6th grade, but it's so hard to stay in touch 3000 miles away with the time difference, so it's been so good to spend face to face time with her & her gorgeous little bundle of joy and talk about so many things. All children are great, but I swear this one is extra special. There's just something about her...
16. Abby & Tommy Anton host the local raw food potlucks out here & I have to say, these folks are super kind souls. We've had some great conversations & plotted some fantastic spiritual art ideas & I'm glad to know that this kind of community now exists near my hometown.
17. Swans. Each day as I walk through my parents' neighborhood, I'm greeted by a gorgeous swan couple. Monogamous for life, these beauties just balance each other so well...there is such beauty in their stillness, a sense of deep appreciation for each other & everything around them.
18. Ducklings & goslings. While I'm on the topic of birds, I need to give some love for all the little babies around that same lake with the swans...seeing them tut-tut around behind their mamas makes my heart just beam. So many beautiful moments in this life.
19. Family healing. I came home to do a lot of healing work with my dad & it ended up actually being resolved within a few days - so powerful to finally have a healthy relationship with both of my parents for the first time since I was maybe 8. There were times I never thought I'd get here, but I must have known or else I wouldn't have put in all the work it took to get here.
20. Twitterverse synchronicities. I cannot get over how many amazing people I connect with in this lifetime in all forms - face to face, on the phone, on the internet. I don't really gravitate towards the people posting what they're eating, watching, etc and the types of people I follow create a beautiful tribe full of metaphysical conversations, love, healing energy, sage advice & a sharing of many different spiritual paths. The syncs that we all encounter in the stream are a very powerful display of the shifting consciousness. And you thought it was just a marketing tool. :)
21. The Grouch & Eligh because I listen to their new album at least once a day, no lie. The Grouch has always accompanied me on my spiritual journey this last decade & it seems we grow at a similar pace or something - I dunno. I just know that I can always relate to what's changing in his words & in my life. His positive, inspiring hip-hop was part of what drew me to move to the Bay Area in the first place - it resonated so deeply with me, my soul knew - this is the energy for you to nourish yourself. So that's just what I did. Thanks, Grouch.
Episode 2:
2. Native Traditions. Those of you that know me well know how much preserving the Native American ways of life mean to me. I've been attending sweat lodges & ceremonies for awhile now, but most recently I had the honor of attending a Sun Dance and undergoing an intense week of purification & ceremony. I will write about it in more detail on my other blog at some point, but the experience definitely needed to be mentioned here, as I am extremely grateful for the opportunity & experiences that shifted me even further into abundance and freedom.
3. Volume Projects. Volume is an interdisciplinary new media project of sorts that brings together musicians & visual artists to create hybrid works together through exhibitions, performances and events.
4. Green Museum is the place I've always fantasized about but never new already existed. In the last few years, my artwork has shifted to encompass more of the sustainable/environmental/global topics that are such a relevant part of my lifestyle. I've been applying for residencies that deal with these topics and feel like I've finally found the right way for me to combine all the desires of my soul & gift of consciousness into my art so that there is no longer any separation between the worlds in which I live. So I was really excited when I found out about Sam Bower's endeavor, Green Museum, which looks like the perfect home for the work I do, and is full of a multitude of others artists working in this genre. I could spend hours pouring over the site - it's so inspiring.
5. Global Family. I've always known people all over the world due to the fact that I've lived in 2 of the most glorious cities in America (SF & NYC) which are always full of people from all over the planet, I love to travel, and have always ended up networking with artists on other countries through sites that foster creative conversation like fotolog, and host a ton of people in my SF apartment through couchsurfing, but since I have been traveling across the country these last 6 months, I have met even more people from all over the globe and have been fostering even deeper connections than ever before. It's like this whole family of lightworkers connects everywhere I go doing this healing work, and I've never quite experienced anything like this before in all my years of travel. It's truly something special & I am grateful for the many gifts and teachers who keep coming into my life on this journey & in this lifetime.
6. Sukhavati is the best Joseph Campbell exploration I have seen so far. Netflix it if you want your mind blown.
7. Lucid dream adventures. I've had vivid dreams & decent dream recall since I was a child, but have always been curious about nourishing those skills & astral projection. The rewards for keeping a dream journal by my bed, sleeping without electronics on & using other lucid dreaming techniques & dream herbs have really paid off. So now I travel by day & travel by night. I love this.
8. Hobo College in Chicago created by "the Clap doctor", Ben Reitman:
the more things stay the same from marc moscato on Vimeo.
9. Reconnections. I haven't spent more than 3 days in my hometown since I was 18. It's just not for me. But a big part of my journey was coming home to do some healing with my parents, and I've reconnected with some of my dearest old friends from childhood. It's amazing how you can not talk to someone for 5 years, some cases 10, and still come together in a loving, positive space.
10. Bon Iver has been on continuous repeat on my headphones, computer, car stereo, and brainwaves for the last few years. Justin Vernon's voice just penetrates all these places in my soul...sigh...Hearing such beautiful music live in 2008 at Outside Lands helped deepen my appreciation, but man, this a capella version of 'For Emma' just blows my mind to a whole new level:
11. Tiffany twin love. One of the friends I reconnected with, I had not seen since I was a bridesmaid in her wedding 7 years ago. Our lives just went in totally different directions for some time, but of course we were brought back together naturally at a time when we were both in the same place again to share our spirituality, love & gratitude for life. Being back home with this kind of support to remind me of who I really am is priceless. And her twins just light up my life.
12. Manasquan Reservoir is a place I used to go a lot when I was in High School. It's one of the most gorgeous places near here to go out in nature, so I'm able to get in my daily 5 miles & be surrounded by trees & water, totally loving life. It's sticky, humid, and super hot here during the day, so having someplace close by to go walk during sunset when it's a bit cooler is perfect.
13. Herb syncs have taken me everywhere. Back when I was sick, I refused to go on meds for a very long time because I believed that nature can heal us. I just didn't have the resources, which was why I moved to SF - to be surrounded my all I needed. I tried meds anyway, out of desperation, but they only made things worse. When I finally figured out what was really wrong 2 years ago, I refused meds again & have been doing a wonderful job of healing myself naturally. And my trust in plants has been vital to this & has helped me see one of my callings. So many syncs all pointing to the planetary herbal vocation.
14. Cattus Island has been another gorgeous place to spend time back near my birthplace. I love the salt marshy lands here full of herons, egrets and tons of other birds I can't begin to name. So gorgeous.
15. Alysia & Grace. Alysia & I have been friends since 6th grade, but it's so hard to stay in touch 3000 miles away with the time difference, so it's been so good to spend face to face time with her & her gorgeous little bundle of joy and talk about so many things. All children are great, but I swear this one is extra special. There's just something about her...
16. Abby & Tommy Anton host the local raw food potlucks out here & I have to say, these folks are super kind souls. We've had some great conversations & plotted some fantastic spiritual art ideas & I'm glad to know that this kind of community now exists near my hometown.
17. Swans. Each day as I walk through my parents' neighborhood, I'm greeted by a gorgeous swan couple. Monogamous for life, these beauties just balance each other so well...there is such beauty in their stillness, a sense of deep appreciation for each other & everything around them.
18. Ducklings & goslings. While I'm on the topic of birds, I need to give some love for all the little babies around that same lake with the swans...seeing them tut-tut around behind their mamas makes my heart just beam. So many beautiful moments in this life.
19. Family healing. I came home to do a lot of healing work with my dad & it ended up actually being resolved within a few days - so powerful to finally have a healthy relationship with both of my parents for the first time since I was maybe 8. There were times I never thought I'd get here, but I must have known or else I wouldn't have put in all the work it took to get here.
20. Twitterverse synchronicities. I cannot get over how many amazing people I connect with in this lifetime in all forms - face to face, on the phone, on the internet. I don't really gravitate towards the people posting what they're eating, watching, etc and the types of people I follow create a beautiful tribe full of metaphysical conversations, love, healing energy, sage advice & a sharing of many different spiritual paths. The syncs that we all encounter in the stream are a very powerful display of the shifting consciousness. And you thought it was just a marketing tool. :)
21. The Grouch & Eligh because I listen to their new album at least once a day, no lie. The Grouch has always accompanied me on my spiritual journey this last decade & it seems we grow at a similar pace or something - I dunno. I just know that I can always relate to what's changing in his words & in my life. His positive, inspiring hip-hop was part of what drew me to move to the Bay Area in the first place - it resonated so deeply with me, my soul knew - this is the energy for you to nourish yourself. So that's just what I did. Thanks, Grouch.
Friday, June 5, 2009
20-six
I rarely post here anymore, as it simply became too time consuming to keep up with two blogs, so while I do find many blessings to be grateful for each day, most of my blogging is done on my raw food & life transformation blog instead. I will continue to post here once in a blue moon, but not very often.
1. Spending months traveling with ultimate freedom In February, I set off on a trip about abundance, being of service, trusting the universe and building community. You can read about my intentions here. I'm so glad I'm doing this instead of the 6 month permaculture sponsorship in Bulgaria. Sometimes things viewed by others as "not working out" are actually the greatest opportunities to pursue something even greater. In the past, I have taken large blocks of time off to travel, like a month or 2, but this was the first time in my life I have traveled with no end date - no need to return back to a place by a certain date, no need to get back to work somewhere, no plans to start any courses, no obligations anywhere, etc. And I have to say, it's been the most freeing experiences of my life. What was originally planned to only be a few months of travel temporarily paused in NJ after 3.5 months on the road, and while I thought it was the end, I got an amazing closure with my relationship with my dad & an opportunity up north near Canada for the summer, and then I will make my way west. So it's looking like that 3.5 months trip is going to end up being more like 8 or 9 months of straight traveling. It's been the biggest blessing of my life to have this freedom and be able to live my life this way and just trust that everything always works out if you follow the needs of your soul.
2. Family healing. After many years, I was able to heal my relationship with my father by finally accepting it for what it is and loving it anyway. Many years ago, I forgave the past & it had little effect on me, but I still had issues with the present and hoped for a change that was not possible, so I changed my need for change and moved into full acceptance & compassion. I knew he did the best he could when I was growing up, but now I know he is always doing the best he can and I understand more about why he is the way he is and am able to be compassionate, but still keep myself safe. It's like I forgot my inner child here when I fled for art school in NYC when I turned 17, and I just came back to stand up to him and reclaim her. Now she's safe inside me, and I'll never abandon her again. The sense of empowerment I feel from knowing several generations of abuse ended with me last week is incredible. Pieces of myself that I had been missing are now intact, and I am glowing with energy and full of love and peace. It was an amazing pause in NJ.
3. Summer Farming. I had wanted to find some summer work on an organic farm, but since I planned to spend the summer in NJ with my folks before heading to South America or New Zealand, I knew I wouldn't be able to withstand the humidity come July, so was looking for alternatives. I vowed last year to never do soulless work again, so wasn't into going back to office work & there is not much in this area except office & retail, so I was extremely thankful that things with my dad worked out as they did and the same night a friend told me the farm he was headed up to in Maine needed more folks. So I'll be spending my summer at Ol' Ways Farm growing the best food ever, eating it fresh from the earth & playing with baby goats, all in a cool summer climate near Canada. I'm so excited, I could burst! Ever since I refused to settle for anything soulless in my life, I have gotten everything I wanted and am extremely grateful.
4. Estonia's Grassroots Country Cleanup Day. Last year 50,000 Estonians got together and did in one day what it would have taken the government 3 years and 22 million euros to do - clean up all the garbage in the country. Truly amazing what can be done in almost no time when everyone comes together with a common goal:
5. Graze the Roof! Graze the Roof is an edible, community-produced vegetable garden on the rooftop of Glide Memorial Church, in San Francisco that my friend Victoria told me about. I didn't get to check it out before I left SF, but am loving reading about their herbal education classes & cooking workshops & will definitely volunteer some time when I eventually get back to California. The whole food/sustainability movement has really taken off, and on my travels I have seen people waking up all over and starting revolutionary programs in their own cities. It's amazing.
6. Another Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, though this time at UC Santa Cruz. I would really love to be part of their amazing program in the next few years, after I finish paying off my debt and have manifested $4,250 for the six-month course. Once I get my chocolate company past it's first 2 years, that won't be an issue and I'll be able to invest more in myself & my lifelong education.
7. 'Home', the film. 'Home' is a non-profit film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand that has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being to deal with the current issues affecting our Home, The Earth. It's sort of a mix between Koyaanisqatsi & the BBC Planet Earth series. Because they believe everyone should take part in the effort, the filmmakers believe 'Home' needs to be free, so you can watch it here until June 14th.
8. Craft Mafia. I've gotten really into knitting & my DIY inner child has grown so much in the nourishing SF environment of do-it-yourselfers. I was super excited when I learned about Craft Mafia and their forum for networking, promotion & shared ideas. Lots of amazing events & groups all over the place, which is a nice craft resource when traveling. I plan to spend a lot of my free time on the farm in Maine working on some knitted products for my etsy shop.
9. Spikenard Farm is into Bees & Biodynamics. Through some New Zealand Beekeeping synchs on my travels (one of my goals is to study beekeeping, hopefully in NZ), a friend who is doing some freelance for Spikenard turned me onto them. After my summer farming in Maine, I will be traveling back West to Cali, and would like to make this one of my stops.
10. Indralaya is a "sanctuary of natural beauty and peace located on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State", which is an amazingly beautiful area. The Pacific Northwest is amazing. The same friend who told me about Spikenard Farm thought I'd like to volunteer here if I make it back to the area. Theosophy, Community & Spiritual Development? Yes, please! It fits in perfectly with the intentions of my travels so if I'm that far West by September, I'll try to be of service there.
11. Free healthcare in the form of a birthday gift will result in my finally getting this pesky mole removed. It's changed size & shape, so it's in my best interest to take care of it now.
12. Turning 30 was awesome. I had a lovely birthday picnic under the Brooklyn Bridge with some of my old (and new) NYC friends. Tons of yummy raw treats, perfect weather, loving friends, the cutest puppy ever, news of sacred unions & life growing in bellies - what more could a girl ask for? It was a perfect day. I've never been one to worry about getting older, and was actually embracing turning 30 since my 20s were so full of health issues & living very imbalanced, so I'm very excited to start a new decade of growth.
13. Moms. They really are just amazing, inspiring, full of love & patience. I am eternally grateful to my mother and the intuitive connection we share. It's something very special in my life, and I am very blessed to have been born to her. Remember to call your mother and thank her for giving you life - it really is the most precious gift if you use it wisely. :)
14. Catching up with old friends. Got to see a ton of old friends from High School on this trip, and while I don't have much in common with a lot of people I knew in HS, it's still nice to see what everyone is doing with their lives and how they've grown.
15. Story Waters & Lee Harris are amazing teachers. On the nights of my journey where I've camped alone, listening to their Freedom Tapes on my ipod has been very life enhancing & helped me on my path of abundance. Here's Story Waters & his The Meaning of Life in 700 Words:
16. Lake life. I've spent about 2 hours every day in NJ walking around several different lakes at sunset. I feel most powerful when I spend sunrise or sunset outside in nature just being, so I try to do it daily whenever my schedule allows. In the past 2 weeks of my visit with my folks, I've seen the most adorable baby swans, goslings, ducklings and their sweet, protective waterfoul parents making sure they learn to walk, eat & swim. This is the beauty of NJ that I grew up in, and it's nice to be back in it as an adult for a few weeks, which is the longest visit I've had since I was 18.
17. Lauri Giblin who has helped me on my internal journey more than she will ever know. I'm not sure I would have made it through some of my past trauma without her guidance & support of me stepping into my own power. I'm so grateful to be able to work with someone like her who has so much knowledge from so many origins. It's incredible.
18. Cousins! I am so blessed to have a plethora of cousins who have weathered similar storms with their fathers and come to the same acceptance that I finally reached. Sharing stories has strengthened our bonds. Their support in all this has been immeasurable.
19. Release. Had to trim some of the remaining fat in the relationships portion of my life, and it feels incredible. Each time I release an unhealthy friendship, I am amazed at all the room I create for 5 new amazingly nourishing healthy ones that crop up in the space of all that energy. It's amazing.
20. Lifetime education. I always vowed to be a student for life, and would sometimes get swayed because of financial issues, but through the way I have chosen to create my life in this different way, I am always meeting new teachers and learning something daily on my travels. It's been the cheapest education I've ever gotten, this life on the road.
21. Love given to family, friends, lovers, nature & creatures of life. Giving it is the ultimate experience & expression of who we truly are, and when you are open & giving it freely, you receive it freely from others and the energy just keeps building & building to new heights for everyone. I am thankful for all that I have in my life right now that allows me to experience my true self. It was a lot of work to get here, and I am eternally grateful.
1. Spending months traveling with ultimate freedom In February, I set off on a trip about abundance, being of service, trusting the universe and building community. You can read about my intentions here. I'm so glad I'm doing this instead of the 6 month permaculture sponsorship in Bulgaria. Sometimes things viewed by others as "not working out" are actually the greatest opportunities to pursue something even greater. In the past, I have taken large blocks of time off to travel, like a month or 2, but this was the first time in my life I have traveled with no end date - no need to return back to a place by a certain date, no need to get back to work somewhere, no plans to start any courses, no obligations anywhere, etc. And I have to say, it's been the most freeing experiences of my life. What was originally planned to only be a few months of travel temporarily paused in NJ after 3.5 months on the road, and while I thought it was the end, I got an amazing closure with my relationship with my dad & an opportunity up north near Canada for the summer, and then I will make my way west. So it's looking like that 3.5 months trip is going to end up being more like 8 or 9 months of straight traveling. It's been the biggest blessing of my life to have this freedom and be able to live my life this way and just trust that everything always works out if you follow the needs of your soul.
2. Family healing. After many years, I was able to heal my relationship with my father by finally accepting it for what it is and loving it anyway. Many years ago, I forgave the past & it had little effect on me, but I still had issues with the present and hoped for a change that was not possible, so I changed my need for change and moved into full acceptance & compassion. I knew he did the best he could when I was growing up, but now I know he is always doing the best he can and I understand more about why he is the way he is and am able to be compassionate, but still keep myself safe. It's like I forgot my inner child here when I fled for art school in NYC when I turned 17, and I just came back to stand up to him and reclaim her. Now she's safe inside me, and I'll never abandon her again. The sense of empowerment I feel from knowing several generations of abuse ended with me last week is incredible. Pieces of myself that I had been missing are now intact, and I am glowing with energy and full of love and peace. It was an amazing pause in NJ.
3. Summer Farming. I had wanted to find some summer work on an organic farm, but since I planned to spend the summer in NJ with my folks before heading to South America or New Zealand, I knew I wouldn't be able to withstand the humidity come July, so was looking for alternatives. I vowed last year to never do soulless work again, so wasn't into going back to office work & there is not much in this area except office & retail, so I was extremely thankful that things with my dad worked out as they did and the same night a friend told me the farm he was headed up to in Maine needed more folks. So I'll be spending my summer at Ol' Ways Farm growing the best food ever, eating it fresh from the earth & playing with baby goats, all in a cool summer climate near Canada. I'm so excited, I could burst! Ever since I refused to settle for anything soulless in my life, I have gotten everything I wanted and am extremely grateful.
4. Estonia's Grassroots Country Cleanup Day. Last year 50,000 Estonians got together and did in one day what it would have taken the government 3 years and 22 million euros to do - clean up all the garbage in the country. Truly amazing what can be done in almost no time when everyone comes together with a common goal:
5. Graze the Roof! Graze the Roof is an edible, community-produced vegetable garden on the rooftop of Glide Memorial Church, in San Francisco that my friend Victoria told me about. I didn't get to check it out before I left SF, but am loving reading about their herbal education classes & cooking workshops & will definitely volunteer some time when I eventually get back to California. The whole food/sustainability movement has really taken off, and on my travels I have seen people waking up all over and starting revolutionary programs in their own cities. It's amazing.
6. Another Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, though this time at UC Santa Cruz. I would really love to be part of their amazing program in the next few years, after I finish paying off my debt and have manifested $4,250 for the six-month course. Once I get my chocolate company past it's first 2 years, that won't be an issue and I'll be able to invest more in myself & my lifelong education.
7. 'Home', the film. 'Home' is a non-profit film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand that has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being to deal with the current issues affecting our Home, The Earth. It's sort of a mix between Koyaanisqatsi & the BBC Planet Earth series. Because they believe everyone should take part in the effort, the filmmakers believe 'Home' needs to be free, so you can watch it here until June 14th.
8. Craft Mafia. I've gotten really into knitting & my DIY inner child has grown so much in the nourishing SF environment of do-it-yourselfers. I was super excited when I learned about Craft Mafia and their forum for networking, promotion & shared ideas. Lots of amazing events & groups all over the place, which is a nice craft resource when traveling. I plan to spend a lot of my free time on the farm in Maine working on some knitted products for my etsy shop.
9. Spikenard Farm is into Bees & Biodynamics. Through some New Zealand Beekeeping synchs on my travels (one of my goals is to study beekeeping, hopefully in NZ), a friend who is doing some freelance for Spikenard turned me onto them. After my summer farming in Maine, I will be traveling back West to Cali, and would like to make this one of my stops.
10. Indralaya is a "sanctuary of natural beauty and peace located on Orcas Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State", which is an amazingly beautiful area. The Pacific Northwest is amazing. The same friend who told me about Spikenard Farm thought I'd like to volunteer here if I make it back to the area. Theosophy, Community & Spiritual Development? Yes, please! It fits in perfectly with the intentions of my travels so if I'm that far West by September, I'll try to be of service there.
11. Free healthcare in the form of a birthday gift will result in my finally getting this pesky mole removed. It's changed size & shape, so it's in my best interest to take care of it now.
12. Turning 30 was awesome. I had a lovely birthday picnic under the Brooklyn Bridge with some of my old (and new) NYC friends. Tons of yummy raw treats, perfect weather, loving friends, the cutest puppy ever, news of sacred unions & life growing in bellies - what more could a girl ask for? It was a perfect day. I've never been one to worry about getting older, and was actually embracing turning 30 since my 20s were so full of health issues & living very imbalanced, so I'm very excited to start a new decade of growth.
13. Moms. They really are just amazing, inspiring, full of love & patience. I am eternally grateful to my mother and the intuitive connection we share. It's something very special in my life, and I am very blessed to have been born to her. Remember to call your mother and thank her for giving you life - it really is the most precious gift if you use it wisely. :)
14. Catching up with old friends. Got to see a ton of old friends from High School on this trip, and while I don't have much in common with a lot of people I knew in HS, it's still nice to see what everyone is doing with their lives and how they've grown.
15. Story Waters & Lee Harris are amazing teachers. On the nights of my journey where I've camped alone, listening to their Freedom Tapes on my ipod has been very life enhancing & helped me on my path of abundance. Here's Story Waters & his The Meaning of Life in 700 Words:
16. Lake life. I've spent about 2 hours every day in NJ walking around several different lakes at sunset. I feel most powerful when I spend sunrise or sunset outside in nature just being, so I try to do it daily whenever my schedule allows. In the past 2 weeks of my visit with my folks, I've seen the most adorable baby swans, goslings, ducklings and their sweet, protective waterfoul parents making sure they learn to walk, eat & swim. This is the beauty of NJ that I grew up in, and it's nice to be back in it as an adult for a few weeks, which is the longest visit I've had since I was 18.
17. Lauri Giblin who has helped me on my internal journey more than she will ever know. I'm not sure I would have made it through some of my past trauma without her guidance & support of me stepping into my own power. I'm so grateful to be able to work with someone like her who has so much knowledge from so many origins. It's incredible.
18. Cousins! I am so blessed to have a plethora of cousins who have weathered similar storms with their fathers and come to the same acceptance that I finally reached. Sharing stories has strengthened our bonds. Their support in all this has been immeasurable.
19. Release. Had to trim some of the remaining fat in the relationships portion of my life, and it feels incredible. Each time I release an unhealthy friendship, I am amazed at all the room I create for 5 new amazingly nourishing healthy ones that crop up in the space of all that energy. It's amazing.
20. Lifetime education. I always vowed to be a student for life, and would sometimes get swayed because of financial issues, but through the way I have chosen to create my life in this different way, I am always meeting new teachers and learning something daily on my travels. It's been the cheapest education I've ever gotten, this life on the road.
21. Love given to family, friends, lovers, nature & creatures of life. Giving it is the ultimate experience & expression of who we truly are, and when you are open & giving it freely, you receive it freely from others and the energy just keeps building & building to new heights for everyone. I am thankful for all that I have in my life right now that allows me to experience my true self. It was a lot of work to get here, and I am eternally grateful.
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