A Warm Welcome

Hello, hello, hello everyone!

Let me just first off express how thrilled I am to be offering this course for the second time this year. So a huge warm welcome to all of you - from near and far and all over this wild Earth. I am so much looking forward to connecting and seeing what you create and share on this course. This last Spring Session was such a gorgeous experience on many levels. Whats really special is that this time around we kept it more in-house and by word of mouth, not seeking too much outside press about the course, so thus a smaller group of under 100 would be formed. This way I can give you my full and undivided attention so that we can really connect as through our deeper creative selves sharing this path. Know that every morning I will be posting something new, with each week carrying a different theme. But first I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of both Squam and myself to you for taking the time to go on this fun and soulful adventure. Its also important for me to share that I’d like you to look at this course as a gift you are giving back to yourself. The world is such a busy and distracting place, so it’s of the utmost value that we carve out a little silence and solace for ourselves. With that being stated I want the first video I share with you to be about creating a foundation of serenity, or time for your inner most self.

Password: welcome

These simple Pranayama techniques are ways to tap into our life force energy, which is so helpful when wanting to call forth and live the life you want as well as create some abundant, wild art! As said in the video, I would like for each of you to take at least five minutes to practice some or all of these breath work techniques every day. If you can do more than five minutes – fabulous! Fifteen, twenty, or even sixty minutes a day is fantastic. You can also tap in and close your eyes to take a break whenever you feel it. Practicing these techniques at the start of your day is a wonderful way to stay centered all day, as well as falling into a peaceful sleep. Don’t be surprised if it feels challenging – it totally can be. But just like with learning anything new, it does take practice. You will find your own unique way to make it work for you. Remember you can meditate sitting on a chair, or the floor with your hips elevated, or even lying down if you need to.

Take this quiet time to set intentions for yourself that day and in your life in general. Listen to your heart’s call – what is it longing for? Allow that call to be heard. Do it when you won’t be interrupted and allow yourself to truly go within. If nagging thoughts come up, allow them to pass like clouds. Don’t cling or hold on or try to figure it out. Worrying only gives us more things to worry about. Instead, allow yourself to become empty. That way seeds can be planted and new growth can begin.

Try sitting outside in nature as well. The soft sounds and feel of the air can be a helpful way to center your being and calm your mind. 

Practicing with a friend or partner can also motivate you to make more time. Here my friend Doah and I are doing neck rolls at a local park. A wonderful way to spend a golden afternoon.

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“A loving heart is the truest wisdom.” -Charles Dickens

“Believe that with your feelings and your work you are taking part in the greatest; the more strongly you cultivate this belief, the more will reality and the world go forth from it.” -Rainer Maria Rilke

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Write:

So now I would like you to take out your journals and begin to set intentions for this course. You will be hearing that word a lot through out our little journey together – intention. So what do I really mean by intention?

For starters some synonyms of intention are: goal, purpose, plan, aim, design, or wish... all such juicy words! So when we set out an intention in our life, that is our aim, or wish, or something we want to see become reality. I also believe the clearer we are with our intentions the more our life mirrors and reflects those wishes. But first we need to do a little clearing or ‘weeding out’ inside, so the inner world can be free of any weeds or cobwebs. Often those weeds come in the form of hindering belief systems, or doubts (which we all have and carry). Often those doubts were never yours to begin with – but were given to you by others or by society. So lets make some room shall we?

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 Creative Exercise:

Take out your journal and begin to do a free write. Begin to write about your fears, doubts, hindering beliefs, or any feelings that are challenging for you right now. Allow it to come out freely. Write it out without stopping for at least ten minutes. When you are done I would like you to quickly look at what thoughts have been stored inside. Now you leave it be and turn the page – or if you feel so inspired – you can burn it, paint it, erase it, or draw over it.

Here I wrote out some fears and doubts – and then I took a tiny drops of India ink that I smeared with a tiny piece paper towel. That’s it – no water or anything. Then I wrote over it with a navy pen and then back over the words with a siliver gel pen. I wrote out what really feels good and what my heart truly knows. I wrote these words from a completely intuitive place and just allowed them to flow out.

Such a sweet release! Feel and embody and know the positive within you to be true.

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Overnight question to ponder:

What do you want to embody more in your life? Each morning say and little prayer and intention – just for that day. For your intentions of that day, use language of “I choose” or I am”. Keep your language in first-person and in present tense when writing about intentions. Vibrate from a feeling within yourself that it is already so. This may take some time, so that is why the meditation and breath work practice is so valuable. We are learning to tap more into our feelings and what’s inside of us. We want to love it – every last bit of emotion, feeling, experience, no matter how hard or soft, high or low – we want to love all of it.

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An important note about sharing:

This workshop is about creating a safe and sacred container, as we are all coming from a place of non-judgment and support. This group is a group of love – it happens every time in my classes and so it will happen here. We are all here forming as a new community - which is super awesome. So, when you finish a piece, please scan your work if you have a scanner or take a simple photo of it (cropped or on a table). Share your work and any other expressions on the Abundant Wild Life Ning group, which you can join right here. Begin to introduce yourself there as folks continue to join in within the next week or so. This is a private group for us to share the above exercises and more... so begin sharing away! The first exercise can most certainly be shared. Know that many creative adventures lie ahead and I wish for you to enjoy every part of it.