Art & Writing: Your Path to Healing & Growth
Introducing the theme for this month's guidebook, workshop, + retreat
Hello beautiful readers,
It’s so good to connect with you! I’m excited to share the new art therapy guidebook that I’ve created called “Unlock Your Potential, Part 1”. You can find it in the creative prompt section of this newsletter.
This book is designed to support your goals and objectives- whether they are personal, purpose driven, intentions for how you wish to approach life, or a combination of the three! It works for all kinds of situations, concerns, and dreams. I hope you find it exciting to imagine how it might be of service you and others.
Here’s how and why I started this practice.
When breast cancer treatment ended, I found myself in a the midst of a critical life moment. Everyone around me was so happy that “it was over”, and I shared in that joy. But I also understood that it really wasn’t over because:
I was overwhelmed by the huge task of trying to reconcile what I’d been through. The adrenalin that kept me in survival mode was beginning to dissipate, and in it’s wake was everything I had compartmentalized to survive.
I needed to contend with the ravages of what intensive treatment had done to my body, mind, spirit, and self.
Plus, I was adapting to not having the comfort of regular contact with my treatment team while also needing to figure out how to manage the uncertainty of the future. Successful treatment didn’t mean that the cancer couldn’t come back.
It became abundantly clear that I was going to need:
a plan,
a map of how to carry it out,
and inspiration to guide me through that journey.
This needed to include a sense of what I wanted (in the short and long run) and specific resources and practices to help me get there.
Even though I needed to adapt and modify my plan as I went, this process gave me a sense of direction that I desperately needed.
Since then, I’ve used these same tools many times, from personal health goals to figuring out how to serve the cancer community. It’s helped me face my fears and insecurities while connecting me deeply to my values and purpose, supporting me through the highs and lows that come with change and growth.
I find that February can be an excellent time to nurture the seeds that you’ve planted for your hopes and dreams. May the guidebook and upcoming events be of support to you as you contemplate your next bold move.
Warmly,
Stephanie
PS. If you want to catch the replay of the Coffee Mug Mandala workshop- you can find it here! The guidebook for that practice is in January’s newsletter, in case you haven’t seen it yet.
Excerpt from the book…
Since this newsletter references the challenges I faced when treatment ended, I thought that this excerpt from Beautiful Boobs: How to Move from Surviving to Thriving with Breast Cancer Using Art Therapy would be of interest.
You’ve been in an intense period of treatment, in which attending doctor’s appointments feels like a full time job. Your body feels like it’s become public property, for the amount of time that it is poked, prodded, examined and received intervention. With good fortune, you’ve hopefully had an attentive and responsive medical team plus received support from family, friends, and community to help you and your family survive the ordeal. You’ve been doing active treatment to address a serious problem, and while the side effects may have been draining, you’ve been working towards a solution, which is empowering.
Then, all of the sudden, it’s done.
This period of intense focus, numerous appointments, and intervention has ended. You’re relieved, as well as your community of support, but now you’re in a place of unanticipated confusion. You wonder how you can move “Back to life, back to reality?”. As Soul to Soul’s song reminds us, you’re in a continuous state of transition, always seeking to get back to a life you recognize and feel secure in.
Your Creative Prompt for this Issue…
(P.S. you don’t have to be an artist to do this!)
Before doing this exercise, set yourself up for doing some art and writing. Any kind of art medium will work- so chose something you have on hand or treat yourself to a few supplies. Here’s my basic list for starting an art journal.
This newsletter’s creative prompt guides you to create a vision board that supports what you want out of life. Click here to open the Unlock Your Potential Guidebook. And don’t forget to check out the related events below!
I do recommend having a large piece of heavyweight paper or poster board for your vision board. As mentioned in the guidebook, you can also make digital vision boards on Canva, which is also a lot of fun.
If you feel inspired to share this guidebook with others, they can receive their own copy when they subscribe to the newsletter. It’s my gift to you all, a perk for my subscribers that I hope will feel like a warm thank you from me to you!
I’d love to hear from you about how this prompt went for you. Feel free to ask questions and share in the comments below or email me directly!
Behind-The-Scenes Look at the Publishing Process
I’m happy to report that with the help of my PR firm, I’ve been published on 2 additional websites- The Good Men Project & Parenting Bookmark. Links to my articles can be found here. Additional websites are in the works, which I’m excited about.
It seems like the bots have started to find me and my mission to be published, given the new spam email I’ve received. Ahhhh, the joys of being discovered- LOL.
I feel encouraged by the plans I have in place to continue to grow my author’s platform. Once I’ve hit 5,000 subscribers for the newsletter and Instagram followers, I will be in a good position to start hunting for a literary agent once again. So thanks again for being part of this process!
Upcoming Workshops-
2/15/2024~ Unlock Your Potential, Women Writing Together from 6-7:30pm EST. A FREE workshop for my wonderful readers! Prior to this workshop, use the guidebook's writing prompt section to help you identify a word or two that represents how you want to feel. This workshop will get you ready to create your vision board, whether you'll be joining me in to do it live on March 2nd or doing that on your own.
3/2/2024~ Our first retreat! Unlock your Potential, Women Visioning Together from 9:30am-12pm EST, $49/ticket. Join us in crafting vision boards that breathe life into your aspirations. Connect with other women and witness the profound impact of visualizing your goals. This retreat is not just about art; it's a celebration of you.
This retreat will include an inspiration opening to set the tone for your experience, 3 separate art making sessions with small group sharing after each one, and a closing circle to connect as a group and benefit from the collective energy that we've created together.
Tickets for this retreat are limited to 26 spots, to ensure an intimate and personalized experience.
These opportunities are for newsletter subscribers only. So if you have someone that you’d like to invite, please do! All that I ask is that they become a subscriber.
XO,
Stephanie