Today, in honor of my b{earth}day, I take some time to list "what I've learned so far".  These are moments of experience and perspectives that I have discovered along my journey.  I proudly claim that I don't have it at all figured out, because I believe there is no having it all figured out place to ever get to. Working on this list helps me to realize this even more.  There is no end.

This is my 37th year and looking back, I am reminded again that I have learned a specific way to be in the world.  Some things due to conditioning, some routine, habitual and created through fear.  Some things, deep and meaningful.  Some are work in progress, and some were really hard experiences that changed me.  There are many that offer excitement because of their abundant potential and unexplored possibilities.

• Belief can be magical and it can also keep you really stuck.  Belief is flexible and pliable.
• People are doing their best from where they are regardless of what I think.
• Feelings are for feeling.  They deserve to be experienced, heard and held gently even if that witness is my journal or a good long cry while you soak in the tub.
• Bread-making is an art and takes practice.
• Every soul has a unique way of: processing, perceiving, understanding, expressing, responding to and interpreting the journey of their life.
• My kids grew me, which made adopting and raising pets a whole lot easier.
• My body is not bad.  My extra weight is not a punishment.
• Creativity is about flow, it has it's cycles and waves.
• I am not the typical woman.
• Sometimes you have to let relationships go for the healing of both involved.
• Rekindling friendships is extending a hand to either grow together or check in to see it the vibration is a match.
• Ritual and ceremony are powerful.
• There may not always be cures, but healing is always available.  There is a difference.
• Holidays and birthdays are an opportunity to change my perspective about them or comfort the inner child or hurt parts of myself.
  
• Processing with friends, counselors, therapists, etc. is crucial.
• Art is my therapy, but the processing is my healer.
• Allowing for healing is a very good start.
• Research can be whatever it needs to be as you explore new territory.
• Getting all mushy with my friends or loved ones is encouraged.  I try to share when I'm called to.
• Mourning/grieving is not linear.  It is ebb and flow.
• I am a warrior, but also a soft and tender healer.
• The "Spirit-World" IS my scientific proof.
• I can't deny the ancestral roots even when I avoid it or feel unworthy to own it.
• Shame SUCKS.
• I love my daughter more and more as she gets older, I love my mother immensely as I get older.
• With age, I am growing more sensitive, tender and free'er.
• I'm practicing returning more phone calls, especially to my dear loves.
• I am realizing how much lists and schedules work for me.
• Writing doesn't have to be scholarly.
• At my core: I am an inspiratrice for the spiritual and creative process.
• Voice can be so healing.
• I won't downplay, shroud or limit who I am.  It's not my responsibility to do that work for others. They're curious questions are invitations to learn something new.
• I will remind my mate how we met and how it felt.  It's a great story.
• My children are finding they're way.  Everyone is trying to do the same.  Being easy on them is being easy on myself.
• Art CAN be just for process.
• Integrity is a dance I'm flowing into more or an awareness that is coming into focus.
• Checking in with my body and senses is taking care of myself.
• I will practice asking myself the questions first.

Blissed and beyond thrilled to be a part of an AHmazing workshop with 30+ other incredible women and created by the brilliant and magic gathering Hali Karla, holistc artist and healer.  In her words, she describes this journey as...

About Spectrum:
A Visual Journaling Experience celebrating your Art~Body~Nature! Spectrum is a collective of 30+ holistic-minded artists, healers and visionaries that have come together to offer a 10 month online workshop
in which you will create a visual field guide devoted to awakening, exploring, deepening & celebrating the innate wisdom within YOU.

This journey is about connecting with:
BODY as guide and ally,
ART as intuitive, expressive oracle,
and NATURE as provider of love, lesson, abundance and belonging.

Spectrum is for any woman interested in enhancing intuition, strengthening courage, celebrating wholeness & diversity, widening perspective, developing deeper relationships, and who wants to offer her own gifts to the world, guided by personal awareness and creative living...

In Spectrum, we aren't just making some nice art journal pages, we are creating an intentional, exploratory Field Guide to the holistic experience of YOUR ART~BODY~SPIRIT~NATURE!  It is going to be so much fun seeing how members of the Spectrum community integrate the different elements into their own creative expression!

 Stay tuned - over the next several weeks, we will be teasing you with details about each of the exciting workshop offerings from the Spectrum 2014 Collective (read more about the contributors below)!

Spectrum begins on March 1, 2014!
EARLY~BIRD SALE HAPPENING NOW! $99
(I am an affiliate so, click on image to the left to reserve your space! )

For more information, go over to Hali Karla's webspace
and read up on all the yumminess Spectrum is offering!