Apr 10, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography
I stumbled upon the every love and wise books of Jennifer louden one day in a book store as I suspect a lot of people find Jen in this manner. I go to the same section in the book store first every time. I don’t know if it was a new publication of her’s at the time or simply the right time for me to take in her words. I believe it was the later. I soaked in her words and signed up for her emails because I craved her words. I think I still crave them! Here today is the breath taking Jennifer Louden.
Jennifer Louden is a personal growth pioneer who helped launch the self-care movement with her first book, The Woman’s Comfort Book. She’s the author of 7 additional books on well-being and whole living: The Couple’s Comfort Book, The Pregnant Woman’s Comfort Book, The Woman’s Retreat Book, Comfort Secrets for Busy Women (The Comfort Queen’s Guide to Life in hardcover), The Life Organizer, and A Year of Daily Joy. There are about million copies of her books in print in 9 languages.
Jennifer has spoken around the U.S., Canada and Europe, written a national magazine column for a Martha Stewart magazine, been profiled or quoted in dozens of major magazines, and appeared on hundreds of TV and radio shows, even on Oprah. Jennifer has been teaching retreats and leading workshops since 1992, and creating vibrant on-line communities and innovative learning experiences since 2000. She married her second husband at 50, and is the very proud mom of Lillian and very proud bonus mom to Aidan.
With your writing/art how do you live an integrated life? How can others?
When I was younger that question probably wouldn’t have made any sense to me at all. But now I would say that question is probably what shapes everything. I would use the word whole. How do I live a whole life? To me integrated and whole mean the same thing. Often I am feeling my way into self experience of a whole life. Rather than trying to think my way or plan my way into that experience. I think when I was younger I had a pie chart to balance all the appointments and things. Not that it wasn’t useful but for me it has become much more about what “feels” right, what “feels” possible. My mind has no limits as all of our minds have no limits. But our little human bodies do. To really respect our experience I practice what I call being in the gap.
A concrete example of this idea happened this morning, my niece and her family spontaneously came to visit for about an hour while on her spring break. I haven’t seen them in many, many years. I also knew I had been waiting months to get an appointment to see a dentist, this appointment was this morning cutting our visit short. So it was uncomfortable right? Because they could have stayed for 20 more minuets before they needed to leave for the ferry, but I needed to leave to take care of myself. Learning to be with and accept this discomfort is being in the gap. Welcome the discomfort. Know that my life isn’t this neat tidy thing, it never will be. Knowing that I am not doing anything wrong because of this, that is also apart of being in the gap.
It is mundane perhaps but learning to be in the gap is essential as a creative person. What you visualize or what you hear in your head often times looks different as it comes out. Learning to be in that gap with a lot of grace, mercy and curiosity then extending that to the whole of our lives experience. For me it looks like a lot of meeting, greeting, and welcoming what my thoughts and body sensations are. I like to think of my mind as a tennis ball machine, pop, pop, pop these thoughts and ideas fly out! It’s what it does. I don’t have to believe them or engage in all of them, I can relax in the gap.
A beautiful term came to me in yoga class this past winter. I heard it in my mind’s eye: “Grit without compassion is just grind.” Then I shortened it to “compassionate grit.” It’s this way of being so kind to ourselves like we would a dear friend but sticking with it. We stick with the art making. We stick with being in the gap.
How will you honor your moments today?
I honored the moment by looking into my nieces face whom I haven’t seen in fifteen years, taking in as much as I could in the hour and fifteen minutes we had together. I honor many of my moments with my beloved. My second love. Later in life love has a certain tenderness to it. There is so much honoring between us because we are so gleeful we found each other. In the morning the first thing we say to each other is I love you. There is the hugging and honoring even when my mind might be saying but you have a lot to do! Even my little dogs bring me into the present moment over and over again and I honor these creatures.
What does being BRAVE look like these days? What does it feel like?
I had a very rich experience in early spring at a meditation retreat that shifted things for me pretty profoundly for many weeks to follow. When I woke up on monday I had some anxiety and depression for the first time in months. I had been in a really good place before the retreat as well as many weeks following it. The meditation retreat showed me again what happiness looks like, wahhh this is amazing I thought. Then it shrunk and contracted quite a bit for me yesterday. So for me bravery meant not numbing out with sugar. It meant going to the meditation cushion anyway. It meant sharing those feelings with my husband. Being brave meant being honest as well as not ashamed or hiding there in that depressed place. Instead meeting it with honesty and continuing with my writing practice anyway.
Another example of bravery in my life right now is a writing project that is unlike anything I have ever work one previously. I think it might be sort of a memoir and there are many many pages spread across the floor at my feet right now. So being brave is not giving up on that project. It’s like the hydra monster seen in Heracles mythology, it’s got so many heads! What is this!? What am I doing? Saying no to the urge to make it tidy! Oh let’s just write a self help book, you can knock that out in no time! No… we’re not writing any more self help books, you did that and it was great but we’re so done!
What is pulling you forward? What is your motivation?
Is a great sense of devotion. Tapping into how life wants to live me. It’s still pretty tenuous for me. My modus operandi had been “make it so.” So grit your teeth! Get it done! Just being at the dentist my teeth were telling stories of all the years of teeth gritting. Trying to continually ask where does life want to live me? How can I be devoted to this pulse of life? Right now that feels really good.
Describe a time when you walked through the doors of passage?
So many times, in ways this is why I am writing this memoir. But I would say the most recent time was when falling in love with Bob my husband mere months after my first husband moved out. It was far too soon in terms of what I was ready for or what my daughter was ready for. That passage had many doors while we blended and created our family. The passage too of actually getting married, something we had sworn we were not going to do! You do that when your young, you don’t do that when your in your fifties! Then we were in Guatemala on a meditation retreat we broke silence and he asked me to marry him! WHAT!? Thats not apart of the plan! That was a HUGE passage for me, because I had to really choose; was I going to walk down the path that is so well worn of “I am not…” not really lovable… not truly seen… Or am I going to choose this other path of believing that he really did love me. It took me a week to say yes and when I finally did I yelled it across the hotel room!
Tell me about what you crave? What are you saying a big Holy YES to these days?
I crave this book as much as my heart pounds literally when I say this. I crave this deeper creative experience. Honestly what has been emerging in this work recently although I have always known it and yet not fully owned it is, a craving to lead woman into this same creative depth. That’s what I crave. The Holy YES is to that intersection between creative joy and spacious awareness.
How do you show up? Who are you becoming? or How do you rise up in your fullness?
I am becoming someone who doesn’t have to pretend. I would not have said years ago that I was someone who was pretending. If you had known me in my life then you would have thought now that’s somebody who speaks the truth. But there were many subtle ways in which I thought I needed to be somebody other than I was. Especially in my work, someone wiser or a better speller! I had such the impostor syndrome when I published my first book at 27 or 28. Even after so many years of teaching and speaking I would think how dare I be doing this!
What is so beautiful is when young wise woman claim their life experience for where they are. There is a humbleness in this claiming of what I know right now, right here! If you follow great thinkers they revise what they know and believe. We have this weird idea in our culture that your supposed to know it and stay the same. I love the Dalai Lama for he said “If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change. In my view, science and Buddhism share a search for the truth and for understanding reality. ” I believe as he does in this openness to learning.
How has your experience as an writer/artist changed you? How can or does this experience help others?
Being a writer has really made me who I am. I am one of those kinds of people who doesn’t know what I know until I write about. I don’t think I would be sane or perhaps even alive without writing. I certainly don’t think I would understand what it’s like to have this mind and this body if I wasn’t writing about it. And reading I can’t imagine a life without reading! On the meditation retreat we don’t read, that was the hardest thing for me! Being able to be in someones else’s mind is beyond precious to me.
I hope my writing can help normalize. That’s the first word that comes to mind. I hope I can normalize life experiences for others.
The second word that comes to mind is transmission. A transmission of what else is possible.
What would you like everyone to know?
Self-improvement is often rooted in self-violence.
Swami said “But the real you is already perfect, already strong.”
We can take a look at our rough places, and our neurosis and our dents from a place of our innate, untaintable goodness. We welcome, meet and greet these pieces of us, the broken bits, like we would family. Letting that love bring about the healing changes, the awareness and the growth in our creativity that we are hungry for. Instead of that hierarchal, coming from the outside, someone else has the answer. I wish I had those years back when I thought someone else had the answer or that I thought I even needed one.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?
Love my people. Thats for sure. That feels very top of my list. This includes my mom, whom I am really proud to say I have learned to love her as she is on her way out with alzheimer’s.
Then what also feels important is to follow this urge, this yearning, this desire that right now leads into memoir writing and meditation. Following that urge to create and sharing that journey and depth with other woman is important.
*I see plenty of travel and fun and a lot of gratitude as well!
Creating Your Own Mastermind Group
If you have been looking for a way to organize and nurture a smart-hearted, fearlessly creative peer support group that is infused with honesty, devotion, and brilliance, this self-paced, affordable course is it! Maximum flexibility and a super quick road map to getting a group up and running. Find out more HERE!
A Year of Daily Joy: A Guided Journal to Creating Happiness Every Day
This lush journal’s powerful prompts and quotes – organized by monthly themes like courage, authentic, and faith – along with stunning National Geographic photos will inspire mindfulness and joy into your daily life. Positivity in practice! You can visit HERE to buy this book and many more!
Apr 10, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography
I was introduced to Marybeth Bonfiglio by her co-creator of Amulet Magazine a field guide to living wise Danielle Cohen. At the time I was working for Danielle, she had asked me to be apart of a spring publication. This is when I encountered Marybeth Bonfiglio the Word Alchemist. Now to say encounter is to say that I experienced Marybeth Bonfiglio. I felt her words collide into me. Mingling right in the pit of my belly. Instantly I wanted more. I signed up for her (Seduce: 41 ways to make love to yourself emails) right away. I ate her words. Evocative, primal and absolutely soul stirring they were, and are.
MaryBeth Bonfiglio: I change with every breath, or so it seems. But one thing I can be sure of right now, in this moment, is that I am a Mother. this ‘who’ didn’t just come to me after I birthed three daughters but it seems that since forever I am most at ease when I nourish and nurture. When I care for and create. When I listen and hold. When I keep the wild and the free. All these ways {from my perspective} are the Mother. I was give the name Mary after the Blessed Mother and have always connected with that energy, since I was super little. So who am I? I am a Mother. I am also a writer, or in more stripped down terms: a magician and an artist. I use stories to express experience. I write to communicate with and for what is beyond me. I use stories like the magician card in the tarot, uses it’s tools to carry on the magical path of creation towards consciousness. I am also a taroist, a tradition passed down to me by my elders. I use the cards to tell stories and to ask the deeper questions. As the cards are thrown we are invited to re-tell and re-create the myth of ourselves and our world. I absolutely love this part of who I am. I am also a midwife to mystery. This is how I mentor and hold space for people who seem to find me. I am not someone who has any answers or advice for people that I mentor. I only have trust… in me… in you… and truly in everyone! I am just here to keep reminding us all that we have everything we need, right inside ourselves. I am also a whole heap of bones and blood and facia. I am my body and also something else, beyond body, that I have no words for. I am a yogi and dancer and through this kind of movement I practice embodiment. I am pretty wild when it comes down to it all. A rebel of sorts. I like to start fires and then blow on them. I try and refute everything, including all my own assumptions and ideas. I enjoy seducing the flux, the place in-between is where i feel most sexy and alive. I thoroughly enjoy riding the tsunami of the paradox we call Life. I also love whiskey. and being alone. and being a lover. and anything dipped in gold.
Lets start with the most fundamental question why do you create?
I create because there isn’t much of a choice, or maybe that is totally wrong and it’s the opposite. I create because it is my choice. I create because it feels like worship, it is worship. I create because its a lot like sex, like opening up and letting something else breathe into me and breath out of me. I create because I am made of the sea. Because I know nothing, so I listen. Creation is how do I say it? Here I am, knowing absolutely nothing, but showing up anyway. So thank you for this life and this is what I have to say: I create out of gratitude for life. Creation is liberation for me. It is both revolution and evolution in my personal world. I create because I believe. I believe and from that place I allow. There is a devotion to creation, to just allow what will happen to happen. I try to loosen my grip. Like right now I can answer this question with “I have no idea why I create” and that would be just as much truthful as all the rest. There is a leaning into the unknown, hanging out at the edge of where spirit meets spirit, diving in somewhere, anywhere, like The Fool into the undoingness. Just seeing what happens. The unknown- this is why I create.
What would you say are the major inspirations for what you create?
Mystery. Nature. My ancestry. My grandmothers. My daughters. Fire. Lust. Blood. Light. Rage. Hope.
This beautiful fucking world. All that is possible.
The stars in the sky. Just their existence, it’s like, how can I not create, how can’t I not respond to the mind blowing brilliance that they are.
Creation is a call and a response, to what is beautiful and what is ugly and everything in between!
You and your husband just started a pod cast called it’s a bitch, what was the inspiration for this collaboration? What are you hoping it offers to listeners?
We created itsabitch podcast literally out of the blue. Kinda. We talked about it for about 4 years. Then one day we just sat down and recorded. We are doing it because we are human and we are in love. Also because we don’t really know what we are doing or how to even do it, or what IT even is. After almost 20 years together, we still have no clue. Yet we are doing it and we seem to go deeper and deeper every time we make space to look at it all, ask questions, leave each other alone, ask to be witnessed, take risks, fight, make up. We believe in the conflict. We believe in communion. We believe in walking away. Of saying sorry. Of forgiving. Of saying fuck it and fuck off. When it’s all said in done we seem to get closer to the god of all things, the god of union, the god of coming undone + coming together. What do we hope for? We hope to be true and honest and open. We hope to support others in being true and honest and open. We hope to invite people to see their partners as mirrors. To own their shit. To use their relationships, no matter the outcome, as a space to grow deeper into the Self.
We often get so entangled when we are in long term relations we forget we actually have a choice, that we have made the choice, and that we can un-make it or we can re-write contracts.
We can say “what the fuck” and also “how did we get here?” and “why are we doing this again?” in a world where marriage seems impossible and commitment seems like way too much work, we hope to remind people that love is freedom, or it should be. We hope to support the practice of freedom. That when we stick together {or even walk apart} we can be allies for each other. We can show up whole. In Love. We also want to make people smile, and laugh, and not take themselves oh-so-seriously. As well as we want to remind you your not alone. And of course we want people to have more sex because really sex is so good so why not?
You and Daniel Cohen co-created Amulet which has just released it’s first e-course, tell us what it is/What it is offering?
Gold. I am so proud of our creation we call Gold. You know why? Because Danielle and myself are in FULL exploration of ourselves and the concept of worth, of the practice of worth. We are in full question mode and it’s exciting to be there. Gold is the exploration and conversation around worth of the self and the collective, but most of all it’s about practice {which can look a million different ways for everyone}. We live in a world of “not enough” and “scarcity” and “too much,” a culture where fear and shame are ingrained in our cells because of the stories we have been told and can’t seem to shake. We live in a culture that when we own our best shit and claim our worth, we are often accused of not being humble or being too big. Gold is a practice of a hard core reclamation of our birth rite- that we are divine worth- and nobody can take that from us. And we can’t take that away from ourselves. Sometimes things don’t feel so good and that’s normal, but we are WORTH it ALL. So we thought it was a really important conversation to have- because lord knows Danielle and I have had that conversation in so many ways throughout the years! A trillion times over! So we thought, hell… it’s time.
Let’s talk worth.
We think at the root of it all worth is something, when pulsing and healthy and vibrant and gold, we can build and heal and create and share so much from it.
Photo on left by: Jeanette Leblanc
From reading your blog and Amulet everything seems to have a spiritual and or grounding quality to it. It’s all REAL, nothing that is so spiritualized it is unattainable, yet it is infused with a spiritual aspect for sure.
How has spirituality affected you and your work?
I was raised catholic by a bunch of pagan italian woman where holy water and food reigned most high. That is my foundation. Since then I have loved and explored many spiritual schools of thought from evangelical christian to rasta to sufi to voodoo to vedic. I do not define myself or connect myself with any specific path but every single path has opened my eyes to 2 things: at the root of it all, it’s Love, and it all comes from Creation. Spirituality has affected my work because it is my work. there isn’t a separation from what I create and what I believe. I create to express Spirit and to work through my ever-evolving beliefs. My work is about midwifing mystery- so I am basically inviting the birth/presence of mystery to come through, somehow, in my work. Of course I flail and fall and doubt myself 10,000 times a day. But it’s the practice and the worship. The showing up in faith. Creation is kinda my religion I guess I would say. Even thought I don’t do religion, it’s the best one I think I could have.
Do you have a sacred space? What does sacred mean to you?
My body is my sacred space. Also, the forest, the ocean, down by the river, on a mountain top at sunset, on a dance floor. I can write and create anywhere that feels open. I create the space through energy mostly. I love to build altars in my mind. I love to find corners that have an amazing feel to them and settle in there. I wander around feeling out a places and then rooting into them. This is how I make it sacred for me. So wherever I land becomes sacred space. Because it’s all sacred, really. I do love my bedroom in the morning before anyone has woken up and the sun is just coming through the windows and Mt. Hood is illuminated and it’s just me and the new day. Some of my most favorite things happen in those moments before the rest of the house wakes up.
Sacred for me means life:
Life is sacred.
Love is sacred.
To be alive, living. Everything is sacred. Truly anything that shows up is a teacher to me and I see it as sacred. I am not one for loads of tools or pomp and circumstance. I am simple in my sacredness. Simple is sacred. It just is. For me it’s just every day magic from making breakfast for my people and sipping in herbs before resting at night.
Rituals can be a multitude of things what are a few of your tried and true rituals?
Rituals. I also call myself a ritualist. I think throughout the day it’s all about ritual for me. They change depending on what I need or where I am. I use fire for conjuring. Water for releasing. Salt and smoke to cleanse. The earth to find grounding and home. I like to bake to help anxiety and erase any feelings of misplacement. I take baths when i can’t seem to find a space to surrender into. I sing when the energy feels stuck. I clean with special oils. I use brooms to swat away shitty energy. I wait for the moon and then I listen to how I feel. The one true ritual in my life is to write every day and to remember my breath. and to love.
What does your inner rhythm look like? Feel like? Do you have things you do that help support this rhythm?
It looks like the sea. It pulls in and pushes out. There are moments when it seeks to be exposed and covering miles of ground {usually waxing moon} and times when it pulls all the way in, trying to find stillness far from land in the dark watery places {mostly waning moon}. There is a time when I must exude and reach out and create and share {full moon} and moments when my spiral is inward and my fire is lit for myself only and I receive {new moon}. I support my rhythms by listening and honoring them. I write them down. Like daily. I know how to make life plans because I have been journaling my rhythms for so long. I know what I need and I give it to myself as best as I can. I try and take good care of myself. It’s been a process in the whole creating/offering/business thing, but I am beginning to learn and notice the subtle patterns, the dainty details, the explosive moments, the smooth waters. And I know when to say no. When to say maybe later. When it’s a big yes. When to say let’s wait and see. I also know when to let go. Because I practice listening to my rhythms I know that consistency is an illusion. We are in constant flux. We are never the same. But when we pay attention we can see that our inner being dances with the outer being. The seasons change and so do we. What supports all this is the relationship with nature I am devoted to. What I see happening around me, I often feel happening within. There is a match and what an honor to just know this, that my body and my earth are one in the same. Truly amazing.
How do you nourish your wellbeing on a typical day?
This also changes so much. But on a ‘typical day’ like as in my foundational bare essentials for well being: Sit and meditate. Write. Drink water. Spirulina in something or other, maybe a smoothie. Oils. I have arthritis so I have to oil myself daily. Coconut oil is the best. On my face- rose oil. Get sunshine or fresh air. Move my body. Breath. Pay attention. Practice love. Open up. Take it all in. Chocolate. Sleep. Books. Playing. Good conversation with kick ass people. Questions. Always questions. Living the questions.
Other days its coffee with butter. Anything I want to eat. Laying on the couch. Doodling. Fucking. Whiskey. Up all night in creation.
Other days I fast. I yell. I don’t talk to anybody. I take long drives. I cry for hours.
What helps with the mending?
Time. Time. Time. And attention and expression and creation. All of this, the entire thing, is about mending. Even though I do not need fixing, we all need a little mend here and there, karmically speaking. So creation helps with mending the collective bullshit, I think. Every time we make something, write something, sing something, move something, we take care of ourselves. We take care of each other.
What does the mystery taste like to you?
Like my own saliva. Like my lover’s sweat. Like sea salt. Like moss. Like the particles that float in the air by the millions. Like sucking on a star. Like drinking in smoke. Like everything I desire. Like the water of the Saronic Gulf. Like somewhere in Egypt that I have always been meant to be. Like the scent of air during birth. Like fog.
How do you most like to celebrate your body?
Dance. Yoga. Sex. Running wild in nature. Sweats. Sauna. Wearing silky clothes. Touching myself. Soaking in hot water.
How do spirituality and sexuality relate for you?
Sex is part of my religion. So sex is a form of worship- of the self and of the other and when those two meet up- with whatever god or deity or spirit wants to manifest and come through, I am open. Sex brings me to that deep spot somewhere inside and I don’t know where it is, maybe it’s so deep that it’s actually in some unknown cosmos. But sex touches it, activates it, and releases some kind of crazy god energy in me. Sex is a prayer. It’s holy water. It’s dirty sin. It’s confession. It’s communion. It’s the rising from the dead.
What does pleasure mean to you?
It means a fuck of a lot! I love pleasure. I think we all need to focus on creating things in our life that bring us pleasure. To say the hell with the stuff that just nags and aches and makes us unhappy and say yes to what makes you tingle all over. Let’s just say yes to this, okay?
Lastly, tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
I plan on living it. Paying attention to it. And creating space for good shit to happen.
We all want more of this mystery maven! Here are some things you can delve into with Marybeth Bonfiglio:
GOLD: You can read some amazing interviews over at Amulet Magazine about worth HERE. As well as find out some more delicous information about GOLD HERE!!
Be sure to pick up your copy of Amulet Magazine a field guide to living wise.
WILD ALCHEMY: Do you seek clarity? A lamp post to shine light on this part of life’s winding trail? Do you have questions around business? Love? Family? Your spiritual path? Your next move? Or just guidance on what you need to know, as a human, for this exact moment? My tarot readings are straight up, soft love, wild alchemy. All my readings are deeply intuitive, a direct connection between my spirit and yours. You can read more about the how and the what HERE!
Last but not least sign up for her mailing list she sends some fire into your mailbox and it’s the tops for me out of all my letters!
Apr 3, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography
Do you guys remember Flickr? Once what feels like a lifetime ago I saw some of Susan’s amazing photos. Really, this was before I was a ‘photographer’ myself. I was delving into the world of images- soaking in the magic I saw. Susan’s Images did this for me, filled me with magic! Now many years later I feel it’s come full circle as I saw her again on Facebook making magic with Alena Hennessy which you can read about at the end but I had that flash of remembering, like a flood I saw her photographs, I knew then I wanted to have her here with us and I am so glad she is!
Susan Tuttle: Susan is a digital SLR and mobile photographer who lives in the woods of Maine and is inspired daily by her natural surroundings. She has written four books — her most recent, Art of Everyday Photography: Move Toward Manual and Make Creative Photos (August 2014), Photo Craft: Creative Mixed-Media and Digital Approaches to Transforming Your Photographs (2012, co-authored with Christy Hydeck), Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements (2010), and Exhibition 36: Mixed-Media Demonstrations and Explorations (2008). Her photography has been exhibited internationally in London, New York City, Prague, and Paris. Susan is also a frequent contributor to Stampington & Company publications and other North Light Books, does freelance work for companies like Manfrotto and Autodesk Pixlr, and is currently the Technical Advisor for Somerset Digital Studio magazine. Susan shares, “It is my hope that by sharing I can help others to connect with their artistic selves. It is my belief that if more and more people across the planet create things, there will be more happiness, greater peace and less destructive behavior. It is harder to destroy when you are in touch with your creative spirit.”
View more of Susan’s work and find out about online workshops she currently offers at susantuttlephotography.com. Wait come back your gonna wanna click on that link! ;)
What way of being is calling you? Who are you becoming? or How do you rise up in your fullness?
This is actually quite an intense question for me to answer at this time, as I am going through a process of healing right now which presents its emotional challenges. So, here goes the nitty gritty…
I’m always trying to stay on my path. I can feel it when I’m on it and when I fall off. When I’m on it, things feel aligned, smooth, right in my heart –- not always easy, but right. When I’m off it, things tend to go wrong and I feel disjunct and in conflict with my intuition. Either that, or I allow myself to go numb, which is never a good option (I’ve learned not to do that). We always have choices and our actions are what ultimately keep us on the path or throw us off course. I’m trying to evolve as a person every day by staying the path. That involves listening to my intuition, making good choices, being responsible, doing something good for the world through my work, caring for others around me, caring for me and my body, living in an open and mindful way, and enjoying life and having fun! It’s important for me to try to do all of these things when things are really good, when they’re pretty good, and also when they’re hard (so, all the time, no matter what state I’m in). I feel privileged to be spending my life with my soulmate, raising two amazing children together who crack my heart wide open. LOVE! Although I’m an independent gal, they make this life journey so much more right.
Life is not always easy, as I said, and right now I’m living through a bit of a rough patch. I am learning how to find the ‘comfortable’ within the discomfort as I move through a time of healing. I’m learning how to focus on what is important. It is possible to hold both pain and happiness at the same time. There will always be lessons to be learned, things we need to work on, and challenges to face, which ultimately can make us better and stronger if we let them and choose well. And while experiencing these challenges as well as the good days, we are meant to find (choose) happiness, contentment and joy through our relationships, by enjoying nature, through the gifts of our senses, with art, music, cooking, whatever it is that allows us to be creative. Finding the specialness in the ordinary. Slowing down. Taking time to live. Really live. There is much beauty in the world. We need to find it, connect with it, relish it and make more of it!
How has your experience as an photographer/artist changed you? How can or does this experience help others?
The experience of being a photographer has changed me in numerous ways, but most importantly it has enabled me to sharpen my eye and really take the time to see; to notice fine details in the world, linger on them, take in their essences. My favorite details to capture are aspects of flora in nature as well as facial expressions, in particular that flash of soul you can sometimes see sparkle behind a person’s eyes. Capturing that is pure gold.
As I photograph my surroundings year after year and post them to my blog, I become more in touch with the seasons, cycles and nuances here in the Maine woods. It helps me to feel more grounded, more in sync and one with the natural world I live in and am a part of. I see new, precious life in spring, brilliance and thriving flora in summer with a last hurrah in early fall, then decay and death in the late fall, and rest in the winter. Then the cycle starts again, anew. Observing and recording these moments each year helps me to embrace and understand my own life’s rhythm, process and meaning.
In terms of helping others I’m a teacher in spirit, so it’s only natural for me to want to share what I’ve learned (and continue to learn) about photography as well as post-editing skills that can be used to enhance one’s work.
Sharing about my life on my blog through images, words, poetry and life experiences, both the good stuff and challenges, can strike a chord with a reader. You never know when something you say can be just what someone else needs to hear. I recently have been sharing about my healing journey and have received some special emails from people, telling me it resonates with them, that they don’t feel so alone, and that it makes them want to choose healing and happiness. That in turn helps me on my own journey.
What does your soul need to feel alive? Describe a time when your soul felt alive?
I try to surround myself daily with life-giving experiences, and they don’t need to be extravagant to make my soul feel alive. I need art, music, poetry, good books, people, connections, gardening, delicious food, star-lit skies, good movies, the smell of fresh cut grass in summer, dancing… of course there’s more, but I gave you a pretty good taste.:-)
Any time I’m engaged in one of these experiences, giving them my focus and full attention, allowing myself to get lost in them, I feel alive inside.
What is pulling you forward? What is your motivation?
I love what I do. Work that does not feel like work. It’s taken a lot of effort, perseverance and time to get to a place where I can work for myself as a creative entrepreneur, authoring art and photography books, doing freelance work and teaching online. I have such a passion for these things and feel grateful to be able to engage in them every day, sharing what I’ve learned with others. All along I’ve enjoyed the journey and look forward to what’s to come. Money is not the motivation, although it is nice and of course necessary in the way our society is set up. The motivation is the passion I feel for what I do and a desire to keep on learning and growing.
What does being BRAVE look like these days? What does it feel like?
BRAVE looks like showing up and being yourself. Following your heart. Standing up for what you believe in, even if it’s not popular. Standing up for someone else who can’t or isn’t ready to. Exercising patience. Embracing change, especially when it’s out of your control. Trusting that strength and goodness can come out of a challenge. Believing in love. Believing in miracles. Being okay with not knowing. Stretching outside your comfort zone.
Being brave is not always a comfortable place to be, but it creates an authentic life, keeps you on your path, and pushes you to grow and evolve into your best self.
Tell me about what you crave? What are you saying a big Holy YES to these days?
Chocolate. I’m saying yes to Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate bar with caramel and black sea salt! You’ve just got to try it. It… is… THE… BEST! It’s especially fun to nibble on while sipping a glass of Cocoban red wine (also from Trader Joe’s). Maybe not the answer you expected, but that’s what came to me when I read this question.
Of course, all in moderation. Most of what I put into my body is super healthy – mostly plant-based foods with the occasional meat and fish – tons of fruit, grains, legumes, nuts, lean proteins, not too many carbs and virtually no dairy, avoidance of processed or refined junk (of course I allow treats now and then!), and lots of herbal and chaga tea (which has amazing anti-inflammatory properties).
Because I have to ask whom are your heroes? What did they teach you?
People teach me daily, not just my heroes. As I’ve gotten older (I’m 43), I’ve become more of an observer and a listener, and less of a talker. That way I can learn more. Not only do I learn from the positive, exemplary behaviors of folks, but also from negative Nellies. They show me what not to do.
A few heroes do stand out in my mind though – some I know personally and others are figures (especially women) from history who have changed the courses of our lives for the better.
For this question, I’ll focus on one very special individual who made a difference in my life when I was a teen, and who I still have the privilege of having in my life. Mr. B., my high school Earth Science teacher, is my hero. This man taught me to care deeply – about the environment and making life-sustaining choices and fighting for a healthy and clean planet. But more than that, he cared (cares) about people and taught us to do the same. Mr. B was a positive male figure in my life at a time when I didn’t have many. He believed in me and made me feel smart, he drew out the self-confidence I had lost, he made me think about what was important to me and what I valued, and he made me want to be brave and stand up for things I believed in, putting my voice and truth out there. Mr. B. made me feel like I was special and that I had the potential to do meaningful and valuable things with my life. The most uplifting teacher I ever had!
And I must add that political activist Kamala Lopez is my current favorite hero! You should watch this trailer Equal means Equal.
How will you honor the ordinary moments today? What are your favorite ordinary moments?
By practicing mindfulness. Being in the moment. Slowing down. Taking notice. Savoring the smiles and hugs and kind words. Tasting. Looking. Lingering. Finding the meditation in the “mundane.” Allowing myself to be imperfect and loving myself anyway.
Some favorite ordinary moments and things: cuddling with my family, watching the stars, my fuzzy ochre-colored blanket, sipping hot herbal tea, the smell of rain when it first hits the ground, taking pictures and playing with them in Photoshop, my husband’s text messages, candlelight, the smell of baking bread, playing flute, turning out the lights at night and enjoying the dark, running into someone I care about, making someone smile, hugs, watching our cat Ruby nap in the sun, listening to music, reading Kinfolk or a good book, browsing through beautiful images on Pinterest, listening to church bells, watching the morning sun reflected like diamonds on the river, stretching, driving down my dirt road, watching my perennial gardens come back in the warmer weather, receiving small gifts or letters from my favorite people.
What would you like everyone to know?
It’s going to be okay.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?
Live it the best I know how, live it with passion, live it fully, bravely, authentically, responsibly, recklessly, boldly, quietly, taking chances and risks, having no regrets (rather, learning from those experiences), feeling all my feelings, being me, being truthful, traveling, creating, wondering, exploring, trying new things, leaping, dancing, celebrating, laughing, acting silly, not taking myself too seriously, making it to 100 baby!
Susan Tuttle and Alena Hennessy are holding registration for their latest online workshop, Radiant heART :: Come Alive in Joy with Photo and Paint.
Spring is in the air! Life is beginning to stir, new growth is getting ready to burst forth!
Can you feel it resonating within you? Would you like to come alive in JOY?
In this unique offering, let Alena and Susan gently guide you to that place through their expertise in painting and photography.
Radiant heART is for everyone! Early bird special ends on April 5th, they would love for you to join them! Find out more Here.
Apr 2, 2015 | Art, Global, Love, Misc, Photography
roo
Mar 27, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography
I first came across Jeanne Oliver‘s work on Pinterest, I had pinned a few of her Feminine Portraits. Then as I often do when I am moved by an artists work; I typed her name into google, in this way I discovered the plethora of goodness she had to offer. From E-courses about painting with the masters to home schooling. From connecting with a tribe of woman to purchasing really lovely hand made bags. She really makes it her mission to make every aspect of her life an artistic expression.
Jeanne Oliver is married to her dream maker, Kelly, and the mother to three funny and creative kiddos. She home schools her children even though she has tried to get out of it a few times. You can often find her hiking in her state of Colorado, making creative messes in her studio and finding an excuse to have another cup of coffee. She speaks and teaches all around the country and sometimes she even gets to cross the pond. She was told that she needed to find that one thing but she doesn’t like listening to directions so she embraces many loves and that has given her a sweet mash up of family, art, decorating and fashion. Connecting with women and sharing that each of us has been creatively made is one of her passions. The Lord is showing her each day to trust in him.
Lets start with the most fundamental question why do you create? What do you create?
I create because it is like breathing to me. It is a part of who I am and when I don’t create and make time for it I don’t work as well. Creating for me has never just been the time in my studio. Creating is how I put our home together, loving on guests and making them feel welcome, the music playing in the home, the way I put my outfits together, the garden bed out front, fresh flowers in the home, the books I read, the meals I create…
All of life is art.
I guess what I am really trying to say is that I want my whole life to be my art. I want to live a creative life and to authentically have that resonate with those I love and myself.
What would you say are the major inspirations for what you create?
I love texture, a specific color palette and vintage ephemera. These three things are usually the jumping off point for me. Throw in some good music and a hot cup of coffee and I am ready to go! I am just like all creatives… The whole world is inspiring and sometimes you see something in nature, in a museum, words in a book or a conversation with a friend and you have to come to the studio and create. So many times the major inspiration for creating is that I just NEED it. I need to get into the studio and do something and it doesn’t matter what comes of it.
How has nature played a part in your life? When you work within nature how do you feel?
I don’t include nature in my paintings but nature has influenced most of what I do. Walks bring me clarity and direction. Creating outside makes me feel like I did when I was a child and I would pick the shade of a good tree and lose time with sketching or writing. My whole The Living Studio series and retreats is all about getting outside your studio and making the whole world your studio. There is so much waiting for us creativity when we step outside our front door.
For me your home dance between comfortable and intimate as well as magical and elegant. You have an amazing gift to fancy things up and yet it still looks like I can build a fort right in your living room. The same with your art, It feels like Jane Austin. Perfect!
Can you tell me a bit about this balance, this dance?
Thank you so much. What a sweet view of our home and life. I would like to give credit for this to my Grandma Jeanne. She had a profound impact on my love of art, music and entertaining from a young age. She was southern and much more formal than I am but I learned a few key things from her. Her home was filled with beautiful art, floor to ceiling. But she would say never to buy art because of who painted it but because of your connection to it. Because of this she had everything from a Picasso; to work by local college students. When we came to visit she never put away the beautiful things in fear that we would break them (and she had a ton of grandchildren) but showed me that anything you have out should be enjoyed and used. I once broke a glass sculpture and she didn’t shame me even though she could have because of my carelessness. I come from a large family and when we would sit down to Christmas dinner she would set a table with mismatch china and crystal and create such casual elegance. I learned early on that things don’t have to match and that you should use what you have. Music was always playing in her home because she was a composer herself. Her life was art. She wasn’t perfect and I learned as many things from her about what I didn’t want to do or be but she was a creative force and showed me to make your life beautiful.
What supports your authentic self? Your true expression of yourself?
I would have to say my faith. My whole life is based upon my faith and from there is goes out to impact my marriage, how we raise our children, our relationship with friends and family and how important it is to honor the gifts and skills that you have been given. My faith is my touch stone. It is what directs me and grounds me. My faith helps me to see that I have been given this life to make everything a part of my creativity and the things I love.
Tell me about the love you give to yourself, to the world to your students?
When my youngest was a baby I was in my laundry room folding clothes and honestly feeling sorry for myself. I am sure I had not done something for myself in days (or longer) and I was having one of those conversations that we can all have in our heads. Mine went something like this, “I have to do everything. My whole day is around other people. What about me? I just want to get into a car and drive…”. I was having a moment. Let’s just call it that. I was feeling sorry for myself and then I was gently reminded in my spirit that I have everything. EVERYTHING I had ever wanted. I had a beautiful home, a loving faithful husband, healthy gorgeous children and so much more. If I didn’t have them I would be searching for them and my life would be about making them a reality.
Life is busy and complicated and messy.
Sometimes we are our own worst enemy in not seeing the beauty of the day to day and changing HOW we live.
That day was a turning point in my thinking and I hope I never forget that. I may not always get to have coffee with a friend, or have a clean house or even have all day in the studio. I do get to choose how I treat those around me, show my creativity in the day to day, fill our lives with the little things that make me happy, the books I read and the conversations I have with my children. This is my stage in life right now and if I was focused on what I wasn’t getting to do I would miss it all. Miss it all.
Don’t miss it.
Embrace it.
Change it.
Make it prettier.
Make your life your art!
All of it!
Our stages in life change quicker than we are ready for but if your heart and mind are focused on what matters your life will be so much more lovely. Have your eyes open, make a few changes that help to make it easier to create and never feel sorry for yourself that in the midst of the day to day it is not just about you. My friends that no longer have children at home would be the first to tell you that days all about you are not all you think they are going to be.
Young creative moms…don’t miss it. Make your whole life your art and it will change your heart.
Lastly, tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Love! Love my husband, my children, my friends, my family, my creativity, my Lord.
I have a lot to learn and lots of ways to grow but I want those around me to know how deeply they are loved.
Looking for E-course heaven? Look no further than Jeanne Oliver.
Have you ever taken an online course, gone to a retreat, purchased an art technique book and were taught an artist’s techniques and mediums? Have you ever been worried about what is your style and what is “their” style? Have you ever been afraid to create art that was inspired by another artist? This course is for you!
Studying Under The Masters III: There is a lost art of studying the works of others to find your own style. All of the “masters” were first apprentices.
Join six artists as we become the “apprentice”. Through discussion and technique videos, each artist will share their week with a “master”. (This will be the LAST ONE. So sign up while you still can.)
I signed up for The Living Studio Series: Join her for a FREE art video series! In The Living Studio you will have the opportunity to watch technique and medium videos from some of your favorite artists. Once a month you will learn what practices different artists use to make their art a daily practice and how they create their studio wherever they go.
You can find many more HERE.
So then there is this beauty. She has a yummy selection of bags and jewelry, but I am maybe just a little bit in love with this one! Check out more bags and other goodies HERE.
Connect with Jeanne Oliver on Pinterest, Facebook , Instagram, her shop and her blog!
Mar 20, 2015 | Art, Global, Interview, Love, Photography
I first encountered Pixie Lighthorse when I was on an inspiration hunt at a local Barnes and Noble. I was gathering all the books I could find on soulful art. This is when I came across Christine Mason Millers book Desire to Inspire. I sat down and likely read it cover to cover, although I don’t remember now if I did. But I do remember promptly looking up who Pixie was when I got home. Although she may not know this, she since then has inspired me over and over to live a deeply spiritual and rooted life. Let’s celebrate this divine woman as well as honor her, as I am greatly honored to have her presence and voice here with us today.
I’m Pixie Lighthorse and I’m a mother to two really wild children, as well as a mother in my tribal community, SouLodge. I hold sacred space around women in transition, offering them the tools of my trade for healing the mind with shamanic tools, animal medicine, soul retrieval, vision quest, intuitive painting, and dreamwork. I created my job by combining my strengths and what I have learned working with Earth Medicine. There was definitely no checkbox in high school for what I do!
Tell me how you rise up in fullness?
Well let’s see. I’m at my fullest when I’m taking radical good care of my body and my mind, and when I’m inspired to carry my medicine in the world. There’s a distinct moment once in a while, when the spark catches and I have a message to carry. I think what inspires me the most and pulls me up to my full height is the energy which comes off of a great conversation about what is most meaningful to those I’m in kinship with. Usually these conversations are around healing people and healing the Earth.
I live for magic and in our dimension, that shows up brilliantly when people take the time to honor their transformation. We don’t celebrate enough in this culture. We just have little scraps of what was once tradition with actual meaning behind it. I love to create ceremony for my loved ones and honor our rites of passage. I think that the world would is a much finer place to live when we honor the transitions of adulthood, parenthood, birth and death with high integrity and grace. And some pomp. It begets accountability and pride in oneself, expands the capacity of a life within a tribe.
What supports the true expression of your authentic self?
My voice and my chosen actions. I’m the only one who can distill my own truth and then share it when called. When I lead groups in sacred voice work, I’m always surprised to hear that many folks keep who they are a secret. They don’t want their Facebook friends and family to know that they’ve become too woo, or witches, mystics, and the like. There is a fear about how “they” will respond. I don’t know how we can have a conversation about authenticity, when there’s still so much that we perceive we must protect. It results in a culture perpetuating the taboo of personal freedom. We (the western populous) are still far too afraid of being seen as freaks. Of course, there are many things that we get to keep sacred and private, but if it’s causing you real pain, you have to come out of the closet already. It’s a risk worth calculating, and taking.
“Our bodies are Sacred vessels, sanctuaries, temples, church! They are Holy ground.”
What does worship look like to you? Feel like to you?
It looks like a daily practice of deep gratitude for my life. It feels joyful-like an inventory of abundant blessings, the beauty of the harvest. Every day. No matter what kind of day I’m having. When I’m grateful, I’m worshiping at the church of my soul in the context of this awesome Universe.
Describe the role of Rhythm in your life:
Rhythm is graceful structure. But it’s not always graceful! What keeps me in harmony is having all of my support systems in place: healers, bodyworkers, treasured childcaregivers, safe shelter, hot running water, therapists of all flavors, herbalists, flower essence experts, reiki practitioners. When I know exactly where to go when I need support, I stay in flow. I think we have to set ourselves up for success if we’re going to make a difference. Being rich in resources and being willing to share yours with those in need also creates a web of support which helps create a community rhythm.
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild precious life?
I’m living it already- which is to be there to meet the needs of my children and the land and animals I’m blessed to take care of. If I can keep showing up each day to my tribe with the good questions, present to the wonders of the unknown, I’ll consider myself in good form.
Pixie has this amazing offering on April 11th and 12th called Visual Quest and it is a journey around the Medicine Wheel.
We begin in the East, with a blank canvas, where all possibility awaits.
We travel to the South, where we take action and begin to see where we want to make commitments.
Moving on to the West, we confront our challenges, what will be released and what will be received becomes known.
We complete in the North, with finishing touches on our paintings and insights about what the journey was about for us.
As well as SouLodge has some yummy offerings throughout the entire year. What is SouLodge?
SouLodge is a sacred virtual sanctuary for women to do their soul work the Earth Medicine way. By hosting a safe container for processing what’s past and current, I lead you through 4 potent lessons with the Animal Medicine Guide for the session. You gather insights through shamanic journey work, community discussion, journal prompts and transformative inquiry. We gather live weekly for a live broadcast, meditation or group journey and to build our community voice.
