Art Journaling How-To

1. Gather materials to use - A journal, an art pad, craft paper, some kind of paper you can freely doodle on. Writing instruments - pens, markers, colored pencils, washi tape, paints - possibilities are endless

2. Pull a Prompt - Grab a deck of your favorite oracle cards, tarot cards, a dictionary, piece of mail - something with written words on it. If using a deck, shuffle and pull a card like you would for a reading. Breath and center yourself. If using a book or other material - flip to a random page and point to a word. This is your prompt.

3. Add the word to your journal page - keep the card close by for reference, or write the word out as it speaks to you.

4. Start to express with your materials what comes up for you - does this word invoke tight blue circles, or jagged red lines? Let the word guide your hand as you draw, doodle, paint or etch.

5. Share your creation - What comes up when you look at your work? Is it something you want to keep on your bulletin board or on the fridge? Or maybe share a snap of it on Instagram to show your friends.

6. Rinse and Repeat - try this process again with different materials or mediums, try it on for a week to see what comes up!

How to stay authentically you in the midst of overwhelm

I’m guessing you might be feeling a twinge of overwhelm as we sit in the center of a pandemic? Me too! First of all, you aren’t alone. So many of us are feeling the push/pull of overwhelm as we question the small things like what’s for lunch and the big things like what is our world going to look like in the coming months?

It might not feel like it right now, but you are actually in some good company of other empathetic, loving souls who also just want to make it through this. So you might also be wondering, how do I stay authentic when the world feels like it is spinning out of control? How can I tap into my true self when I can’t even remember to drink water before noon some days?

Here’s a couple of thoughts to noodle on if you feel this way:

1. Noticing is key! Congratulations, you have just noticed you feel out of orbit. Why am I celebrating that? Because it means we can now take steps to make changes. If we don’t notice we can’t shift because we don’t know what we don’t know! Now that you know, you can start to experiment with ways to feel or act differently. 

2. Get in touch with your body. Maybe this feels like a blanket response, but it truly works. Find a few minutes today to let the mind rest and start to deepen the awareness in your chest, feet, fingers, etc. Be gentle, but be present. Closed eyes, deeper breathing and your full attention will be your greatest assets here. 

3. Notice what happens. Here we go again with the noticing - but stick with me! While you are deepening the breath and being in the body, emotions or thoughts may surface. Don’t ask them to change, just notice what is happening. Maybe there is an old wound that needs attention, or a fear that needs to be heard. Listen and breathe. It’s ok to be here right now. 

4. Take some notes. Grab a journal and a pen or record an audio memo for yourself of what bubbled up while you tuned in. Give yourself the gift of full expression, no censoring or judging.

5. Continuing with a pen and paper or an audio memo, ask yourself what being authentic means to you? Give yourself a few minutes to respond, again no judgment! We want to establish a baseline that we can return to, not force ourselves to fit into a mold of what we think “we should be.” What does it look and feel like for you to be authentically you?

6. Give yourself space. Now that we have our idea of authenticity, give yourself some breathing room. Give yourself some grieving room too, because being in quarantine might mean you physically can’t experience some of your truths of authenticity. It’s ok to grieve and feel upset right now. Things are challenging. You are allowed to feel your feelings.

7. Return to the self. When you want to tune back into your authentic self, it’s available to you- you just made yourself a tool! [animal crossing woohoo] You can always tap back into your body or review the list you made when you feel off track. Maybe a new challenge offers you the opportunity to ask yourself, “What would my authentic self do?” or “How would my most authentic self respond?”. The answers are right inside. 

I hope this post helps bring a little centering to your world right now and a place to return to when times seem tough. You are truly your own greatest asset. Don’t forget to tap in to your personal well of resources!

How to prioritize joy

In a world where we keep our heads down in a computer and then into a phone screen it can be a radical act to break that cycle and do something you actually enjoy - and for no other reason than wanting to. Full stop. Serves no other purpose. Joy for joy’s sake. Ear-to-ear smile. Bliss.

How can you make room in your week to do something that you enjoy? What has to shift for that to happen? Is it possible? Take a moment to write down 1 thing you want to do this week that will light you up. How will you make it happen? Do you need to ask a friend to keep you accountable? Do you need to ask Siri to remind you on a particular day? Do you need to block out your work cal as “busy” so you won’t be pulled into a meeting?

With all this in mind, next time we’ll look at building a joy routine. 

How to recharge your lunch break

This week I’m looking at recharging my lunch break. It’s about valuing my time away from the needs of others and doing something that rejuvenates me. It’s about listening to myself, and disconnecting from the emails, schedules, and to-do’s. It’s about reclaiming my time. 

Too often, I stay at my desk and do things that seem like a break but really aren’t serving me in any way. Like eating my lunch while scrolling instagram or even continuing to do work while crunching through a salad. So I’m taking a hard look at my lunchtime habits and questioning if I’m using my time wisely or giving it away to someone or something else. To prepare, I’m thinking of things I like to do to reconnect to myself or at least mindfully disconnect from my workday; things like time in nature, meditation, time with a friend, etc. 

How do you disconnect from your work day and recharge for the rest of the afternoon?

What tools are your go-to’s for valuing yourself and your time?

I hope you will join me on instagram to follow along!

Coming Soon

Check in soon for new thoughts from me in 2020.