Showing Up for Yourself and Your Evolution
Art therapy for when trust, mental flexibility, and revision are needed- plus a fun announcement
Hello beautiful readers,
Welcome to August! It’s wild to contemplate that we’re this close to the fall, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere that is. I hope that your days have had moments of sweet relaxation and contemplation.
This summer I’ve been visiting the beach nearly every day to meditate… I call it my “power up” time as the soft sand, fresh air, cute plovers, and sounds of the moving water seem to really feed my soul and recharge me at the cellular level. I saw this silly thing on social media about birds powering up on the power lines, which made me giggle and gave me a fun way of looking at why I’m doing what I’m doing.
The theme of this newsletter is the third guidebook in the Unlock Your Potential series which kicked off in February this year. So if you’re new to this newsletter- I recommend checking out February and May to discover guidebook 1 & 2.
As a brief review, the first guidebook was designed to help you reflect upon what you want for your life- whether your goals are personal or professional- and how to seed them with art and writing.
In May, we looked at decisive action and how to work with resistance, setbacks and roadblocks, because every journey involves a whole lot of unexpected components.
Now, let’s look at how art and writing can support you as you trust the process. Let’s sit with what it looks like to be mentally flexible and to revise what you set out to do with compassion. All of this is designed to help you embody what it takes to spark your curiosity and live radiantly.
The guidebook will help you actualize the process, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts about the three main components with you all here.
Trust the Process.
This was a phrase I heard regularly during graduate school. Sometimes it lit my soul on fire. But quite regularly I felt a sense of dread- especially if I was genuinely invested in whatever it was that I was pursuing. All of my self-doubt and fears of failure could easily surface.
For me, trust the process is an invitation to be mindful of my thoughts, feelings, and energy. I do see it as a leap of faith, but it many ways it serves as a guidepost for me. It helps me examine how I am doing. When I actively embrace trusting the process, I give myself the opportunity to release and clear energy that does not serve me, while also taking an honest look about where I am and what I need.
When I’m feeling doubtful, I see this as an opportunity to sit with all the uncomfortable feelings and uncertainties that come with change and growth. I’m becoming more accepting of this, but yes… it is a process and it takes a little grit and grace to stay with it. And it’s totally worth the effort!
When I’m feeling hopeful, I see this as an opportunity to celebrate. I’ve practiced sticking with the process and the reward I receive is feeling some level of comfort, safety, and faith that I will get where I am going- even if it looks different from what I’d anticipated.
Art, writing, and curiosity can help you unpack what isn’t serving you AND help you celebrate the wins when they come.
Mental Flexibility.
One of my favorite books is Memoir of a Geisha. In one scene, Auntie, the senior maid of the geisha house, is trying to help Sayuri adapt and accept her circumstances of being sold into the okiya. She looks into her eyes and sees that she has a lot of water in her spirit. The eloquent way that she described how water never stops seeking a way to flow made a big impression on me.
Mental flexibility is your ability to adapt to the circumstances that you are faced with and pivot to stay with the process. Like everything in life, this is easier said than done.
Where art and curiosity play a role is holding space for all of the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that arise when you are faced with the need for flexibility. If you can honor your reaction with compassion and curiosity, you give yourself the opportunity to choose how you wish to respond.
Revision- the art of adjusting your expectations and goals with compassion.
Finally, I think we’ve all experienced setting our sights on some specific goal or desire, and then discovering, through the process of pursuing it, the need for revision. I see this as the final step after you’ve held space for trust and mental flexibility. It’s how you will find the clarity and compassion necessary to serve you well.
When you revise from a place of compassion, you’re staying true to your process of growth and evolution. No one can predict exactly what will happen when you pursue change, but it’s notable how attached we get to what we thought would happen and how we thought we’d feel.
A client of mine used to call this revising expectations, and the simplicity of that phrase has always stayed with me.
What I know is that to revise my expectations in a way that serves me, I need to release the pressure and feelings that get in the way of accepting my humanity… which is why I recommend starting with clearing anything related to trusting the process and anything that interferes with your ability to be mentally flexible.
As you can imagine, looking at these three together on a regular basis is tremendously helpful with whatever you are trying to unlock. It will help you find emotional freedom and resilience. When you set yourself free, you find the most incredible thing… your beautiful, perfect just-as-you-are, self!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask below or to send me an email.
From my heart to yours,
Stephanie
P.S. My fun news is that starting mid-September, I will have my own, live radio show called “Live Radiantly” on WMPG, University of Southern Maine’s radio station. I’m going through training now… September’s newsletter will have details about how you can tune in if you don’t live locally. I’m so excited for the soulful and quirky program that I’m developing… I can’t wait to share it with you all!
P.P.S. 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!
What I’m listening to right now…
August always feels like an interesting blend of summer moving towards fall… which can be bittersweet. But when I need a little boost, I love this playlist-
Upcoming Workshops-
Save-the-date!
Excited to announce that if you live in the Portland, Maine area and are interested in or practice yoga, I am combining forces with a local yoga studio, Samudra Studio, in Biddeford for a workshop called “Enhance the Benefits of Your Yoga Practice with Art Therapy”. It’s happening live, in person on November 2nd from 10:30-12:30.
Further details plus the registration link should be available soon, I will send that out with September’s newsletter.
Behind-The-Scenes Look at the Publishing Process
Thankful that my book proposal is nearly complete for Hay House- the submission deadline is September 2nd. I’ll be sending a proposal to Sounds True as well around the same time. If I can get my act together I will also query an agent who participated in the Hay House Bootcamp.
Weaving this process into the twists and turns of summer schedule has been interesting… grateful to have the finish line in sight!
Have a beautiful day! XO, Stephanie