STUFF In the Studio

I like to collect plants and flowers, seeds and pods, stones and bones, sticks and pics of interesting tid-bits that inspire me, that I don't want to forget, while out on my beloved woodwalks.

One fun way to protect (and press) the delicate leaves or blooms is in a light little press book you can keep in your backpack.

So I used some materials we had hanging around, along with some cut-up intuitive paintings from my practice, and made a few of these plant presses this past week to take to the herbalism conference this coming weekend. They might come in handy for some of the women there to learn and connect deeper with the medicine of mama earth.

I'm also hoping to just shine a little light on the holistic necessity of a creative practice - to keep us tuned in and turned on to our truth, curiosity and love for life. For me, the connection between the creative process, our natural world, and my own body is seamless. Understanding one, communing with one, developing my relationship with any one of them only deepens and enhances the quality of experience and AWARENESS I have with all of them.

A more open awareness helps us navigate our life in accordance with our soul and heart's truth... as I'm sure you can imagine, with this comes a peace in our own skin and wisdom, even when dealing with the inevitable pains of life.

There are actually physiological reasons for this. Emotional reasons. Spiritual reasons.

But don't just take my word for this - or anyone else's word. You can't know it unless you experience it.

The proof is in the pudding. And I love pudding, now that I think about it.

That's why I've spent a little more time these past few weeks putting together some STUFF for my booth at the conference. Stuff that might inspire another to experience their own unique connection to nature and their body through the multi-faceted wisdom of their creativity.

I'm not really oriented toward making stuff productively these past few years, since my devotion has transformed completely into a practice, a process.

But the STUFF can be our tools of ritual to get us there - to the practice. To the process. To the heart of our experience and insight. To the stillness and peace within.

So, even though we don't NEED it, the stuff helps sometimes.

My rule is to just keep the stuff simple and meaningful so it's not a distraction from the process itself. And then, to show up to the expression that wants to come through you in line, word, pattern, shape, observation, sensation, desire, color, inclination, intuition, connection, moment....

All it really takes for this is YOU, some time and commitment to ENGAGE with your experience, and a few simple tools to connect with.