thoughts on thursday

Thank you all for your kind thoughts on my last post. I'm still not quite sure of how much to share about my state of mind, so for now I'll just share a few interesting books, websites and classes that I've stumbled across in my search for 'peace of mind'!

Have I mentioned that last October I participated in a SoulCollage facilitator course? Maybe I have and I'm having a seniors moment but I'll tell you again anyway. I first came across Soul Collage on a women's forum that I'd joined in 2013 and was interested enough to find out more. Without too much searching I found the main web page and was instantly excited…soul work and creativity all in one!! Wow! I was instantly engrossed, watched the two short videos, read through lots of interesting information and tucked it all away for later. Fast forward to mid 2014 and a fortnight visit to NSW, where I spent one wonderful weekend with my heart-sister totally immersed in cutting, pasting and admiring a whole bunch of newly made cards. It was fabulous and when we discovered that there was a facilitator weekend happening in Melbourne, we took the plunge and signed up! For my friend J it was another healing modality to add to her Transpersonal Counselling diploma that she is studying, but for me it seemed like a (scary) opportunity to learn a new skill and perhaps teach others how to dialogue with their inner voices. In theory it was a great idea. In reality I've been too afraid of….well…..lots of things….
….what if I forget something.
….I can't do that properly.
….Im just a mum.
….I'm not good enough.

You get the idea.
And thats still the case. However, I was prodded by an acquaintance to give her and two of her friends a free 'test run' class. And it went really well - they were happy, I felt great and I even printed some flyers for another class, but then…..nothing. So here I am, still scared, still worrying and still confused. Sigh.

Amongst all this angst regarding SoulCollage though, I have been doing various other self empowerment classes, reading books and doing a lot of journaling, drawing and creating art. I've joined with many empowering, positive thinking, artistic, creative and womens business websites this past year; I've even paid for some mentoring but the fear of failure is still there and over winter when the weather draws in and the light is dim, I struggle with what could be and what is.

So, in case you are interested in anything I've just unburdened myself with, I've put together a list of websites that I've found either useful or interesting. Some I just read; some send me lovely emails each week which I sometimes read or sometimes delete; others are sites that interest me and that I will perhaps look into a bit more when I'm ready. These are just a random selection and I have no affiliation with any of them (as in, making money!!)

Jamie Ridler Studios - Jamie has the most soothing voice and lovely manner and I really enjoy listening to her varied and encouraging podcasts. I have an iPhone and use an app called Podcasts - Jamies channel is called Creative Living with Jamie. (Just for interests sake, here is a comparison list of the top ten podcast apps) Jamie also sends me a lovely email once a week with all sorts of interesting and creative ideas.

And while we are on the topic of podcasts, Shann Vander Leek has some great ones too. Her podcasts are called Divine Feminine Spotlight.

Sounds True also have great speakers and LOTS of cd's to buy! Once or twice a year they have a sale and the prices are remarkably cheap. I have rather a big collection of Clarissa Pinkola Estes work (author of Women who run with the Wolves) ……finding time to listen is my dilemma!

Somewhere in my web travels, I came across Holding Womanspace and was very tempted to join in with their 'Birthing Ourselves into Being' year long course. I love the look of their web home and through their sporadic newsletter I found this great article written by a woman here in Australia….scroll right to the bottom and watch the video - so beautiful.

Just recently I took the time to look up Byron Katie, someone I'd heard about here and there. Check out her free The Work program. 

On a more creative note, Kathryn Costa, The Collage Diva has a fantastic year of Mandalas happening right now. Loads of inspiration, a lovely newsletter and the chance to send in your own mandalas for publication.

Tamara Laporte at Willowing Arts has an awesome free painting tutorial; Jennibellie from the UK has more inspiration and a free ning site with loads more inspiration; The Documented Life Project from the girls at Art to the 5th is also free with a new arty prompt every week.

Now there are many more that I either haven't remembered or haven't time to link to right now! I hope you have some fun following the links and maybe making some arty mayhem of your own. No doubt you will find many rabbit trails to follow!
I'm heading off to spend another wonderful 2 weeks with my heart-sister in NSW (on the plane in about 3 hours actually, which why I must stop sharing now!) We are celebrating Spring Equinox by the river, having a mamas sleep over gathering and spending loads of time catching up with those bits of each others lives that slipped by this past 5 months.

Wishing you all a lovely slide into Spring - I'll be back soon

Much love to you all xx