Starshyne Productions

Today's the Day - Launch!

2009-07-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

You are officially invited to the launch of the new online home of Jamie Ridler Studios.

I hope you'll come over and play!

Full Moon Dreamboard: The Full Buck Moon

2009-07-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

It's the full buck moon and we have fully arrived in summer. Now is the time to get into action, to sense your own power, to step up and in to all that you want to create this month. What will it be?

As you likely know, what I am creating is a brand new website, and the launch is tomorrow! I'm treating it like a big opening night party and I do hope you'll come and celebrate this new venture with me, this new and beautiful home for Wishcasting and for our Full Moon Dreamboards.

As a part of the celebration, I'll be having giveaways and also offering a 1-day only special on Your Creative Spark. I'll post the address on Wednesday, and if you're on my newsletter list, you'll receive an email invitation with all of the details.

May this be a powerful month for us all! May all of your dreams come true.

My Full Buck Moon Dreams

2009-07-06T23:57:00.000-04:00

This is such a transformational time in my life. During periods like this, I find dreamboards so helpful. On those days where things are feeling a bit rough, slow or stressful, I look at my board and remember what is actually important to me. And on the days when things are happening, flowing and going, I look at the board and drink it up like nectar!

I'm in the midst of:

Creating and launching a new website, a beautiful, creative welcoming studio where dreams get supported with loving care
Revamping my entire wardrobe with the help of the wonderful Safina Ruda of Faith Boutique. I told Safina I'm looking forward to feeling personally expressed and professionally empowered.
Redoing my entire studio. After the wall came down during our repairs, this space was a blank slate. Now it's painted beautiful purply blues and my desk and computer are in place. But everything else? Still in disarray.

But in the midst of this what I'm dreaming about is where this transition is taking me. And looking at my board, I trust it's going to be taking me some truly amazing places!

Project 365 ~ Week 26

2009-07-05T21:08:00.003-04:00

I have been having lots of fuzzy pictures lately, dang! I pulled out this box to get working on "Sew this Page in Wreck this Journal.

A family of raccoons has taken refuge in our neighbour's shed. It's amazing to watch them breaking in and sneaking out right in the middle of the day!

My studio is painted and things are getting moved back in.

the new home of my desk.

I've never seen a purple pepper before. Justin brought one home for us to try. It tasted like a pepper with a bit of a tougher skin.

The market is open and Justin brought me delphiniums this week. Isn't the colour amazing! They're especially a treat because my delphiniums didn't come up at all this year.

And the perfect end to a lovely week, hanging out with Shannon for dinner. That glow is the her camera taking the same picture! I think I"m looking at her camera and she's looking at mine, lol!

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ July 1, 2009

2009-07-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

What do you wish to nurture?

Hello, beautiful wish makers and dream tenders. I have to tell you how much this loving, supportive community that's growing with Wishcasting means to me. Every week I am touched, inspired and joyful as I read your wishes and encouraging words. That's one of the reasons why I'm so excited to share with you that as of next week, Wishcasting will find a new home.

Many of you know that I'm currently nurturing a new website/blog. Today I realized it would be so special for me to launch it on a Wishcasting Wednesday. Then I'd just know it was going to be surrounded by and filled with magic and love. So here it is, I'm writing this publicly for the first time, next Wednesday, I'll be launching my new site. Stop by here for the address and an invitation to my online launch party. I'll look forward to seeing you there.

And in the meantime, as always, you can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It’s easy. Answer the wish prompt above on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below. Support wishes by visiting other participants, leaving a comment saying “As (insert name) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” It’s that simple. There is great power in wishing together.

Don't be Afraid to Have Style

2009-06-30T00:00:00.001-04:00

Have you ever received negative messages about the things that you love? In my life there have been two things that I've received some real negative messages about: style and performance. I'll talk about performance another day but with my wardrobe consultation coming up Thursday, my mind's on style.

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved clothes. I remember my red shirt with the frills down the front, my pink blouse with the ballooning sleeves, my crazy yellow oxfords, my red skater dress with the twirling skirt - all of these I wore in public school. I remember spending hours pouring over pattern books my mom brought home, choosing from each page which sleeve I liked best, which collar, which length, expressing my preferences and honing my taste. Clothing was a daily act of creative self-expression.

I don't just remember how my clothes looked. I remember how I felt in them - both how outfits amped up a particular aspect of my personality and also how they sensually felt against my skin. The mood of a flouncy skirt and sandals was so different from a pencil skirt and heels - and I loved them both. Over time, my changing wardrobe expressed different periods of my life. They represented me as a dancer, as a student, as an artistic director, as a club chick.

It came as a shock to me in grade 7 when I discovered that clothes could also define your status, and that people could use clothes to pigeonhole you. That was antithetical to my take on fashion but it was certainly a popular view. Over time, it also became clear that in many people's view, being concerned with fashion meant that you were materialistic, superficial and quite likely, a snob. And if that wasn't bad enough, we all know the impact that a limited view of beauty has had on the self-esteem and confidence of countless women and girls!

How could I in good conscious love fashion?

I think the answer comes in taking a stand for love. It's crucial to our expression of ourselves that we be allowed to love what we love. Fashion can be a way of expressing our love for colour, for texture, for shape. With fashion we can celebrate our uniqueness, our sexiness, our sensibilities, our sense of humour. Where fashion turns against us is when we let someone else dictate what is loveable and what is not, the latter often being our poor, tender bodies.

So many wonderful things in this world can turn into cages when they're accompanied by 'shoulds.' Fashion, work and life can all become oppressive when we feel we must follow rules that someone else prescribes. And fashion, work and life can be fulfilling and expressive when we define for ourself what is beautiful, what expresses our sensibilities and our spirit.

So, don't be afraid to have style...

Your style.

By the way, the site I used to come up with my wardrobe inspiration board is Polyvore and it could be a fun way to create a dreamboard. Full Moon Dreamboards are coming up on July 7th. If you're in Toronto, I'm hosting a live Dreamboard Circle on Sunday, July 5th. You can find out more here. You can email me at jamie(at)openthedoor(dot)ca for details or to RSVP.

Guest Post: Heather Plett ~ Dreamboarding at Work

2009-06-29T00:00:00.000-04:00

Heather Plett likes to play with words, paint, and photos over at her blog (www.fumblingforwords.blogspot.com). In her day job, she leads a national team of fundraisers and public relations professionals, some of whom like to get down on the floor with scissors and glue and others who do not. She has used dreamboarding in a variety of leadership roles to help teams explore possibilities and dreams.

“Okay, now push away from the table, take your scissors and glue and get down on the floor.”

I don’t think they’d ever heard those words before at a business meeting. Some of them looked at me reluctantly (“you want me to do WHAT?), and others jumped up eagerly (“you mean I get to PLAY?). Once I’d convinced even the resisters to get down on the floor, I passed around large sheets of construction paper and stacks of old magazines.

This was an annual planning meeting for my team. Instead of facilitating a traditional strategic planning exercise, where-in we spend tedious hours coming up with carefully worded (and dreadfully boring and uninspiring) goals, objectives, and action plans, I decided to try something a little different. “Flip through the magazines,” I said. “There are no rules for this exercise. Just start cutting out pictures and words that inspire you. Try to imagine the possibilities for our team for the coming year. What do you dream of? What do you hope for? What things get you passionate? In the end, put together a picture of where you feel our team (and you as a contributor to this team) should be a year from now.”

After about an hour and a half of cutting, pasting, and creating, the group shared what they’d created. Some had used mostly words, others had only pictures. Some had very organized categorized boards, others had random scattered images. One of the artists in our group had embellished hers with coloured pens. Each board was unique and each said something important about where our team was going. The common themes we found running through most of the dreamboards became the basis for our annual plan for the coming year. The ideas that were not common between boards were tested with other team members before being added to the whole.

Dreamboarding at work. Have you ever tired it? Why not consider it next time your team needs to gather for strategic planning/visioning/etc.?

Here are a few of the things I’ve learned after doing this a number of times with different teams:

When individuals have completed their dreamboards, you may want to combine them all into a large collage. Another option would be to work on one common dreamboard from the start, where everyone contributes to a large board with their own ideas. If you do a common board, make sure everyone feels like an equal and honoured participant.
Draw out some of the surprising, unusual, or risky pieces you see in the boards that some people might be reluctant to share. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones that are the most hidden. Create a space where team-members are safe to be vulnerable.
People will respond very differently to this exercise. Some will jump in eagerly, and some will offer a great deal of resistance. If you anticipate that more than half of your team will be resisters and you’ll have a hard time getting anything meaningful out of it, you may want to consider small steps to work up to this. For example, the first time you step away from more traditional strategic planning exercises, you may want to start with word play - write down all the words that come to your mind when you think of where your team should be next year. (It’s a little less threatening than getting down on the floor.)
Watch for negative energy and try to stem the tide. A few resisters can ruin it for the more eager participants. Find a way to respect their fear or blockage and then help them work past it toward a place of possibilities.
When it comes time to explain what they have created, some people may need some prompting to get to the heart of what they’re dreaming about. Some of the greatest “a-ha” moments happen after a person has put the pieces together and sees the final product.
Consider posting the dreamboards in a shared space in your work place (lunch room, hallway, etc.) to remind people of their visions and possibilities. (Be sure you clear this with the team first, in case they’re embarrassed about having other people outside of the team see their creations.)

In my experience, sometimes the greatest epiphanies can come when a team is getting lost in creative play. I’ve seen some wonderful ideas that have emerged from dreamboarding that I suspect never would have emerged if we’d taken the more traditional strategic planning route. It may not be for everyone (would a team of auditors or accountants get into this? Hmmm…), but if you have a creative group that needs an extra little boost, it’s worth a try.

Inspiration: Everyone is Beautiful

2009-06-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

A work by Katherine Center

Project 365 09 ~ Week 25

2009-06-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

Last week we finally got our pantry shelves and were able to unpack the remaining kitchen boxes. Going through the food items, I saw we had coconut, oatmeal and cocoa and I just couldn't resist making chocolate drop quickies. These have been my favourite since grade 6!

Justin's been so wonderful, painting my studio for me. Isn't that colour absolutely delicious? It's called Peace.

Monday night we helped celebrate the opening of our friends' new store, Bead Heaven. That's Andy in the dark blue shirt surrounded by his family.

I walked home after this week's art picnic and saw the most exquisite rose bush. It was absolutely sublime.

My dear friend Sabine and I went to a tour of the Centre for Social Innovation and felt inspired and completely at home. Imagine a space filled with smart, creative people working to make the world a better place - and doing so in a gorgeous, high-ceiling, loft-like place downtown. Sign me up!

And Fridays until the end of July are Wreck this Journal days! This is a shot from my vlog for this week's adventure.

How was your week?

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Wreck this Journal ~ Week 4

2009-06-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

I had fun doing this page. I just scribbled some watercolour crayons, spritzed water on the whole thing and mushed it up with my fingers. It was cool to feel the paper disintegrating as the colour spread.

I had a lot of fun learning about fire, dropping matches...

and seeing what happened.

I buried a page in my garden to decompose.

I had an absolute blast melting crayons onto the page. And I'm defiant; I'm not going to clean this mess up!

I experimented with some inks, dropping them onto the page, closing the book and seeing how far they would sink in.

And this is totally not on the list but since we're painting my studio, I thought the journal should get in on the action!

You know what's weird? The one thing I really haven't done is write in it. Maybe next week.

This is a part of The Next Chapter: Wreck this Journal summer of creative destruction :)

Things to come...

2009-06-25T08:29:00.004-04:00

New Website Coming...

There is so much coming up! I'm really excited to share with you that in the next couple of weeks I'll be launching a brand new website! The new site will bring together all of my offerings under one roof. Wishcasting, Dreamboards, articles, a new podcast, all will find a home in Jamie Ridler Studios. I know this will take a little bit of getting used to and it will be a bit of a hassle to change your links, but I do hope the inconvenience won't stop you from joining me in this new and beautiful space! I hope it will be an inviting, inspiring, expressive, creative space for all of us.

I will still keep Starshyne Productions. This has been my creative home for a long time. Maybe it will be like my little cottage retreat!

Podcast Coming...

Once I settle into my new home, I'll be sharing with you a weekly podcast on creative, authentic living featuring interviews with inspiring bloggers, as well as other creatives and solopreneurs. My hope is that the podcast will help you bring all that you are to all that you do and to do it with confidence and joy!

Full Moon Dreamboards - online July 7

July 7th is the Full Buck Moon - a moon full of masculine, assertive, powerful energy. It's a time to savour, a time to acknowledge your own power and get into action, a time to enjoy with abandon the abundance of life. What are you going to dream this month? To find out more about Full Moon Dreamboards, click here.

Full Moon Dreamboards - in Toronto, Sunday July 5, 2:15-5:00.

If you're in the Toronto area, you can join me for a live Full Moon Dreamboard Circle in the Broadview and Danforth area. The cost is $10 and it's only an additional $5 to bring a friend. RSVP at jamie(at)openthedoor(dot)ca for more details or subscribe to my newsletter over on the top right of this blog.

I'm looking forward to sharing all this wonder and excitement with you. It's going to be fun!

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ June 24, 2009

2009-06-24T00:00:00.000-04:00

What do you wish to savour?

Be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes. It’s easy. Answer the wish prompt above on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below. Support wishes by visiting other participants, leaving a comment saying “As (insert name) wishes for her/himself, so I wish for her/him also.” It’s that simple. There is great power in wishing together.

Dreamboards: Starting a Dreamboard Circle

2009-06-23T00:00:00.003-04:00

Many of you have expressed an interest in creating your own Full Moon Dreamboard Circles, and I'd love to help. In a guest post last week Rachelle shared some fantastic strategies for getting started. One question that Melba asked was how did people get their dreamboard circles together? I'd love to share with you how I've been organizing groups ever since I was a teenager. It's simple, effective and pain-free (if you let it be).

Jamie's Top Tips for hosting an Event

Decide what you want to do - in this case, host a dreamboard circle
Find an ally, one good friend (or sister - thank you, Shannon!) who will definitely be there with you to have fun.
Plan the event activities and get supplies.
Set a date, time and place.
Be generous in your invitations. Be inclusive.
Host the event, knowing that at minimum you and your friend are going to have a great time together.
Enjoy!
Repeat.

Let me just say a bit more about #5.

Be generous in your invitations.

Let go of trying to decide in advance who would be interested or great for your group. Instead, be free and abundant in your invitations and trust that the right people will turn up.
Don't give up or be discouraged by sour or dismissive responses. You never know what seeds will be planted or are already stirring. The very people who poo-poo'd dreamboards just might join the circle one day.
Trust your intuition. Don't hesitate to invite someone you just met or only know slightly. If you'd like them to be there, make the invitation.
Let the invitation spread. Encourage people to bring a friend or pass along the invitation to anyone they think might enjoy making dreamboards or meeting new friends. Be open to who shows up.
Stay unattached to the guest list. If it turns out that your circle is just you and your friend, awesome! You're going to have a great time intimately sharing your dreams and sipping tea or margueritas.

You can absolutely create a Full Moon Dreamboard circle. Jennifer at Barefoot in the Sand took the leap and organized one for a Meetup group. No one had ever heard of dreamboards, so it will be quite an adventure for everyone! Best of luck, Jennifer. I know you'll do an inspiring job!

Full Moon Dreamboard Circles are powerful, creative communities, and I'd love to support you in creating one. I'm thinking it would be great to hold a free teleseminar on the topic. I'd share with you some Dreamboard Circle tips and you can ask me any questions you might have. Sound good?

NOTE: Our next online Full Moon Dreamboard Circle is on Tuesday, July 7th. If you're in the Toronto Area, you can join me for Dreamboard making on Sunday, July 5th. Click here for details. I can't wait to share the Full Buck Moon with you!

Celebrating Bead Heaven

2009-06-22T00:00:00.003-04:00

I have to share with you the launch of this beautiful bead store, which is the heartfelt effort for our dear friends Andrew and Sherry. Justin and Andrew have been friends since they were in junior high. I can guarantee you that if anyone suggested at that time that Andrew would own and run a bead shop, there would have been some serious laughing going on! But here it is - a beautiful space of colour and creativity: Bead Heaven.

It is always inspiring and exciting to see someone put their heart and their work out in the world, to see people find the courage and wherewithal to share their gifts and create something in the world. It's something to celebrate! Congratulations, Andy and Sherry.

Bead Heaven sell beads, offers classes and will also feature the work of local artisans. Until the end of June, they're having an opening sale featuring 20% off of everything. If you're in Toronto, check them out at 569 St.Clair Ave. West, west of Bathurst. You can also visit their website at www.beadheaven.ca or find them on Facebook.

Be sure to say hi to Andy for me :)

Inspiration: Jonas Gerard

2009-06-21T00:00:00.001-04:00

Thank you, Rebecca, for sharing this inspiring video and artist on your blog as a part of Wishcasting. It makes me want to play, move and paint.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 20

2009-06-20T12:21:00.004-04:00

This week I spent a lot of time with Wreck this Journal. You can see more of what I got up to here.

Even as I was working on my taxes, the journal wasn't very far.

Meeting with our tax consultant, we stopped and had coffee at a lovely spot called Wagamama. The coffee was awesome, the cookie tasted homemade and the service was delightful. I'd highly recommend stopping in if you happen to be in the King & Bathurst neighbourhood of Toronto.

And they even had an art display of various books, including this one called "Hugging." I absolutely had to sit underneath it.

This week I've really been working on my upcoming website with the help of Tara. My task this week was to find images that will become the navigation buttons. I'm in love with the ones I've chosen and can't wait to get the new site up and running and ready to share with you!

On Thursday our local farmers market started for the summer. We are absolutely thrilled. What wonderful treats Justin brought home. Those strawberries are unbelievable.

Thursday night was totally awesome. Genie Sea invited Danette (pictured here, hehe) and I over for a scrumptious dinner and an evening of plotting some powerful creative adventures. There's some yummy possibilities coming over the horizon!

Friday morning was my monthly inspirational coffee with the amazing Annabel of ClearSpace. Her sweet little one kept us good company as we shared some biz ideas and strategies.

And, of course, the week wouldn't be complete without hanging out on Friday with Shannon. We went and saw a program at the Worldwide Short Film Festival, which she is doing amazing coverage of here.

What a great week!

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Wreck this Journal ~ Week 3

2009-06-19T00:00:00.000-04:00

This week for The Next Chapter: Wreck this Journal, I tore it up.

I scratched it up.
I took it in the shower. Now, if you want a shortcut to wrecking your journal, this the shower works a treat!

I wore it.

I threw things at it.

And I took it for a walk.

This journal is an awesome adventure companion!

Wednesday Wish Prompt: June 17, 2009

2009-06-17T00:00:00.001-04:00

Who or what do you wish to play with?

Curing Boredom

2009-06-15T08:42:00.006-04:00

This post was originally an article for my monthly e-zine, News from Jamie Ridler Studios. If you'd like to subscribe, just add your name and email to the box on the right. It also includes dates for upcoming dreamboards (online and in-person).

What makes something boring?

This question sprang to mind when during a recent trip to the zoo, I saw more than a few people take a quick glimpse at an animal, declare it "boring" and move onto the next. Anything that wasn’t moving or putting on some kind of a show, whether it was a big cat or a bug, was “boring.” One little boy asked his dad, "What's going to happen?" To which his father responded, "This isn't a movie, Jared."

What is someone seeing when they look at a lioness and label her “boring”? What does it take to spark our interest when a 400-lb predator from another part of the world cannot do it? What hope does our work have or our neighbourhood or our partner? What pressure are we under to “perform” so others will not take a quick look, label us “boring” and move on?

How exhausting!

What if boredom, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder and all we have to do is switch the lens? I invite you to give these lenses a try. They are tools for life adventurers. Use them with wild abandon:

The Lens of Awareness. Boredom often strikes when we’re floating through a habitual situation without actually engaging in it. Washing the dishes is so dull and familiar that our minds do busy work or numb out. Turn up your awareness and change the experience. Feel the water temperature as you immerse your hands. Notice the curve of a plate, the rim of a glass, the edge of a knife. Hear the sound of the sloshing water. Discover the richness of the moment.

The Lens of Curiosity. When boredom creeps in, get curious. Explore new angles and possibilities. In that mind-numbing meeting, what question would your 9-year-old niece ask or your 87-year-old grandfather? What question could you ask your partner, co-worker or friend to discover something fresh and new about them? What don’t you know?

The Lens of Presence. Let yourself be bored. Don’t try to make anything happen. Just give yourself a few minutes to experience boredom. See if anything shifts. See if there’s anything hiding in there, like tiredness or emotion. Give yourself and whatever it is that bores you an opportunity to be together and see what happens. Jared’s dad was right; this isn’t a movie. We don’t know what’s going to happen next and that’s the adventure, even if what happens next is nothing.

I’d love to hear how these work for you and what your strategies are for curing boredom.

Inspiration: Any Time is Hammer Time

2009-06-14T00:00:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Genie Sea for sharing the magic and madness!

Project 365 09 ~ Week 24

2009-06-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

It's so wonderful to look back on the week and know there were lots of wonderful things going on. Last Saturday Justin and I went to see Up - what a treasure!

Sunday I hosted the first Full Moon Dreamboard Circle in Toronto. Another wonderful treat! i'll be hosting the next on one July 5th! And online, we'll be posting on the full moon itself, July 7th.

On Monday Justin and I made bread from the starter shared with us by our contractor and his wife. How's that for a gift from the man that put the kitchen together with his own hands!

And Tuesday was Art Picnic day!

This week was also the first time that Justin and I got back to cooking just a regular meal in our repertoire. Nothing fancy, just something that feels like home.

With all the work on the house, our garden is completely overgrown but some of it is wildly delicious - just look at this extraordinary clematis with that lovely little columbine at its feet.

And Friday, well, you know I hung out with Shannon, and you know we had to get up to some Wreck this Journal mischief. I'll share more of that next Friday!

We also caught up on So You Think You Can Dance, which is one of my favourite shows EVER. And this week there was a number that deeply spoke to me. I've watched it again and again with deep love. I hope you enjoy it too.

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Wreck this Journal Week 2: Wrecking Friends!

2009-06-12T00:00:00.001-04:00

As a journal-wrecker, I've learned to take my journal with me everywhere - you never know what's going to happen.

I took my journal to my biweekly art picnic with my creative entrepreneurial friends. Can't you just tell an adventure is about to begin! Shortly after this picture was taken, my "sticky" page was complete with strawberry jam muffin (thanks, Danette) and honey, stickers and more! Then suddenly, two of these women ran out onto the street with the journal and came back with this:

My most seriously wrecked page to date! Thanks, Jenn & Chris!

The (not so) Serious Business of an Art Picnic

2009-06-11T00:00:00.000-04:00

Every 2 weeks I meet with a great group of creative women entrepreneurs in my 'hood. We're there to encourage and support one another as we face the challenges of our various businesses. We celebrate our successes, talk through fears and struggles, share resources and strategies. It's invaluable! One of the things that totally amped up the power and connection of the group was when we turned our coffee meetings into art picnics.

What's an art picnic? In January, I interviewed the ever-inspiring artist Leah Piken Kolidas of Creative Every Day for a series of interviews with highly creative bloggers that became the e-collection Your Creative Spark. One of the things Leah shared was her concept of art picnics - getting down on the floor, spreading out your art goodies and letting yourself play!

I mentioned this to the group; eyes brightened, ears perked up, and we gave it a try. Everyone brings a few things to the table at the coffee shop we've set up as home. Magazines, scissors, envelopes, stickers, origami paper, book pages, magnets, inspiring Yogi tea tags, everywhere. And we cut and paste... or not. We chat. We laugh. We get teary. Amidst the creative activity, we ask each other, "How do you deal with..." "Do you know anybody who..." "What do you think about..." And somehow, amidst the play, the conversation is easier, the pressure less and the flow so easy and natural.

And if you have an upcoming meeting of some kind, whether it's for work or business or volunteering or your community, why not bring a few art supplies and see what happens? See what a little creativity can do to the tone, the content and the progress of the meeting. I'd love to hear what it's like for you - and I bet Leah would too!

If you'd like to experience an art picnic for yourself, Leah leads Virtual Art Picnics. She's a wonderfully encouraging, gentle leader and is sure to create a safe and supportive space for your creative exploration. Her next Virtual Art Picnic is June 17th. You can find out more about it here.

What would happen if you brought your creativity with you everywhere? (PS. You do)

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ June 10, 2009

2009-06-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

What do you wish for your body?

Guest Post: Rachelle Mee-Chapman: How to Build a Dreamboard Circle

2009-06-09T00:00:00.000-04:00

This weekend, I hosted my first live Full Moon Dreamboard Circle and it was an amazing experience. There is a hunger out there to create and share in community. I know many of you are aching to participate in a live circle and of course I would love for you to join me here in Toronto, and if that's not feasible I really want to encourage you to start one of your own. My dear friend Rachelle, a soul-filled encourager and dreamboard advocate, is on this mission too. She has generously offered to share her instructions on how to create your own Dreamboard Circle. I hope it inspires you to give it a go. Here's to dreaming together, Jamie.

How to Build a Dreamboard Circle
by Rachelle Mee-Chapman

a dreamboard made of wallpaper samples, wrapping paper, and magazine letters.

The tea lights ring the room and ambient trip-hop spills from the speakers. There are seven of us around the table ranging in age from fifty to five. We've chatted a bit and filled our mugs. Now it's time for cardstock and magazines, glues sticks and scissors. It's the Full Moon. It's time to Dreamboard.

A Dreamboard circle is one of the simplest Soultribes to form. It doesn't require complicated leadership, and the supplies and techniques are very basic. You can form one easily with these simple steps...

Timing

Dreamboards are sometimes linked to the Full Moon. I find it's hard for a group to strictly follow the full moon, since she falls on a different day of the week each month. So you might want to pick a set day (i.e. Third Thursdays) and make your boards together then, and just present them at home to the next full moon when she next arrives. It takes about 2 hours for a group to make and share their Dreamboards.

People
Invite a group of people to come and Dreamboard with you. Explain that Dreamboards are a simple collage to help us achieve our hopes and dreams by making them more tangible. Dreamboarding also helps us live more intentionally, and hold on to the important in the face of the urgent. (For more information on Dreamboards here's an interview with a Dreamboard founder, Suzie Ridler.)

Reassure people that they don't need to be artists to make a Dreamboard! It's just collage - like in grade school! (It helps to include a simple example in your invite.)Don't start with too big of a circle. I find 4-8 guests to be a good size, since you need plenty of room around the table for art supplies and elbows!

Who to invite? The lady in the carpool line with the bumper sticker you like. The person who's always writing in their journal at the coffee shop while you write in yours. The teenage babysitter you chat about life with before you take her home. The woman who sit next to you in yoga. I bet if you think about it, you have plenty of candidates!

Supplies
Supplies can vary but this is my Short List:

cardstock for the "board" part (plain or colored)
magazines (design magazines like Dwell are great)
scissors (a pair for everyone)
glue sticks
sharpies or other markers

And here is my Long List:

origami paper
stickers (especially gold stars and seals)
wrapping paper
alphabet stickers
stencils
Milagros (http://www.artchixstudio.com/mall/abmcharms.asp)
rubber stamps (I like alphabet stamps)
tiny envelopes

Inviting people to contribute to the supply bin helps form a common ownership amongst the group. Once people see what you can use, they will probably be eager to bring their "finds" from art supply stores, card shops, and their own craft cupboards.

Set Your Intention
I like to begin our circle by introducing the theme of the upcoming Full Moon. There are a lot of different names for each full moon, and you can find some of their meanings here. You can align yourself with seasonal energies by connecting your images on the Dreamboard to the themes held in that month's moon. For instance Spring moons carry themes about softening soil and new beginnings, while Fall moons have harvest and abundance motifs connected to them. Of course, people can also make something unrelated to the moon that is timely for them.

Begin your dreaming time by helping people get centered. Something as simple as asking people to sit comfortable and take three deep breaths can still the room and settle your souls. Then invite people to start ripping pages out of magazines, snipping things out of colored paper, and pasting away.

Direct Newbies
Even though collage is very accessible, many people experience some anxiety when they first start making Dreamboards. Some things I've found helpful for new folks are to suggest that they work with a theme.

Color Themes: What color represents what they are dream of this month? Orange sunny energy? Cool blue comfort? Suggest that they pull images from magazines that are in those colors. They can decide later which ones to use and how to use them.

Image Themes: Another way to narrow things down is to work on an image theme. For instance, one friend works a lot with water images, and she'll often start her board by just tearing water pictures from magazines.

Word Themes: For people who are less pictorial and more verbal, working with a certain word or set of words can help. Clipping a word ransom-note style from a magazine like "LOVE" or "JOY" and be a good central image to work around.

It's also helpful to put out a big manila envelope. Use this to stash the bit people ripped out and decided not to use. Knowing there's a place to keep these extra bits really helps people get over their fear of "wasting" a good image.

Share a Little
When people's boards seem to be filling up, ask if anyone would like to share what their board is about. It's important that you introduce this as an optional part of the circle. (Although in my experience most people choose to participate in this.) Then wish each other "Sweet Dreams," take your Dreamboards home, and let them manifest good things into your month!

One More Thing
Once you get to month two into your Dreamboard Circle, you can start the gathering off by asking if anyone wants to share their experience with their last Dreamboard.

It's always interesting to hear where people put them and how they interact with the boards over the course of a month. Sometimes the boards really "sing" and other times they seem dormant. I've had immediate results with my boards, and other times it's been six months before I've looked back on an old Dreamboard and realized "Ah ha! That's what that meant!" For instance, I made a Dreamboard I titled "I was meant for the stage." I thought it was about my desire to play and sing in front of an audience. But now I realize that my stage is the web and my mic is for podcasting. (Although I am still taking the guitar lessons I started when I made the board, just in case!)

And don't forget, if you blog or use a site like Flickr, you can share you Dreamboard with other dreamers by adding your link to Jamie's list each month over at Starshyne Productions. It's a lovely way to get and share inspiration with each other. Enjoy your Dreamboarding...and may your circle come to you soon!

Rachelle Mee-Chapman is an alt.minister, writer and mother to several. You can find her writing about Soultribes, Dreamboards and other spiritual practices at Magpie Girl. She hopes to be back soon with fun techniques you can use to expand your Dreamboard repertoire (gel transfers anyone?) Follow her on Twitter or Facebook to get notice of the next installment. Thanks for being here!

Full Moon Dreamboard Circle ~ Live!

2009-06-08T08:18:00.006-04:00

Imagine surrounding yourself with colour, paper, scissors, glue stick and good company! That's what we did yesterday for the first ever Full Moon Dreamboard Circle live in Toronto. It was such a joy to create our dreamboards together, while sharing stories, ideas and cool pictures. What a fantastic way to spend the afternoon!

If you're in Toronto, mark July 5th on your calendar. That's the date I hope to book for our next circle. You can sign up for my newsletter in the upper right-hand sidebar to be sure you receive all the details. This time we were so lucky because not only was the full moon this Sunday but it actually became full at 2:12 pm and we met at 2:00! With that kind of power, it will be interesting to see what our dreamboards usher in.

It was such a treat to be with some wonderful blogging friends and some new and wonderful people. Here's the incomparable Genie Sea and her wonderful guests.

And the brilliant Romana and her friend Cathy, who will be joining us soon in the blogosphere!

And the marvelous Shannon, the Movie Moxie, was dreaming away right beside the gorgeous newly re-visioned WRO.

It was also a great treat that we were creating our dreamboards on the same day that here at Starshyne Productions we were launching our dreamboards.

I hope that you'll consider creating your own dreamboard circle so that you can share your dreams in community and encourage others to become dreamers. Over the next several weeks, I'll be sharing some resources to help you in doing just that! If there's anything in particular that you know would be helpful, please, leave a comment or email me your requests and suggestions.

May all of your dreams come true!

Full Strawberry Moon Dreamboards ~ June 7, 2009

2009-06-07T00:00:00.003-04:00

The Full Strawberry Moon, the Full Honey Moon, the Full Rose Moon, what a luscious, sensual moon we have to bless our dreams this month. And in addition, this full moon is in Sagittarius - a fire sign ready to ignite your dreams with energy and passion! Sagittarius is a sign of expansion, that arrow shooting way beyond any boundaries or limitations that may have been holding you back.

Let this powerful moon set you free to dream with wild abandon, to bust through any barriers that have been in your way. Fill your dreamboard with whatever stirs your spirit and catches your soul - without censorship. Let yourself experience the luscious abundance of this moon and fill your dreamboard to overflowing. Let the pictures drip off the sides of the page. If there's something you're dreaming of that you can't find a picture of, draw it or write it in. Let your heart's longing pour onto the page. Let your soul reveal to you what it's aching for and then invite it in every day this month.

Run wild with your dreams under this full Strawberry moon and see what gorgeous places they take you.

My Full Strawberry Moon Dreamboard

2009-06-06T23:59:00.004-04:00

What a beautiful day for dreaming. I hosted the first ever live Full Moon Dreamboard Circle here in Toronto and it was such a treat. I'll be posting more about the experience and the wonderful women who attended tomorrow. Today I wanted to be sure to launch my dreamboard to the full moon with you.

When I look at this board what I am most aware of is my soul's longing for beauty - in all aspects of my life, including my work. And also there is a great sense of ease. Energy, strength, growth, prosperity and sweet, sweet ease.

But the most powerful revelation came to when I got home. During the circle, I explained that I was deeply drawn to this image of the elephant but didn't know why. When I looked at my dreamboard moments ago, suddenly I saw this:

Do you see it? The face and the elephant are connected. The markings down the trunk are a spine, the tusks are arms, even the protusions of the eyes are the curves of breasts. Tears filled my eyes and something shifted. There's something very powerful and personal here about stepping into my wise self and standing in my power. It's time.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 23

2009-06-06T23:59:00.001-04:00

It's been a really cool week as things start to get back into their more regular flow. Yesterday I said to Justin that I thought things were getting back to normal. Then I realized, "There is no normal, is there? Just the kind of days we like." I'm welcoming in days that I like, like when we went to the zoo.

And we're getting to the final painting in our living room, which was so impacted by the repairs. This wall that we painted last week was entirely gone just a little while ago. A brand new wall, a brand new window and a brand new outlook!

I love walking in my neighbourhood. This week I walked to the library and saw a little something I've never seen before. Isn't it cool?

Yes! We have furniture back in the living room! It's starting to feel like a living space instead of a construction area. I'm still getting used to the new wall colour, but I think it looks good. Jinx is happy to have her window view back too!

To see off my father-in-law, who returned to Holland on Friday, my brother-in-law's family hosted a beautiful barbecue in their brand new deck. Their yard is such a welcoming, beautiful space.

And on Friday, our Wreck this Journal adventure began! It's already a stretch and tons of fun. I made my first ever vlog (video-blog) entry, so you can see and hear me here. It's not too late to join, if you want to come out and play.

photo by Shannon

Shannon and I had a blast playing with Wreck this Journal. We threw our books from my roof into the garden! Shannon's got an awesome video of it (if I do say so myself, as the videographer, hehe) here. You've got to see it.

How was your week?

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Wreck this Journal: Wreckage Week 1

2009-06-05T23:26:00.003-04:00

Today is the first day of The Next Chapter: Wreck this Journal, and I already have memories I will treasure!

I decided to dive in with what I find hardest - food and the journal (ick!) Well, I started a bit gently with drink: coffee. I giggled as I stuck my finger in my coffee and flicked my fingers, spraying drops across the page. It was fun and felt totally transgressive.

So, I showed my husband. He looked at me and said, "Jamie, I don't think you're embracing the full spirit of the book. Let's go." And this is what we did next:

I love my husband. He inspired me to play a bigger game!

Reminders: The Next Chapter & Dreamboards

2009-06-04T18:50:00.003-04:00

Just a couple of reminders of some wonderful things that are coming up. Friday, June 5 is the third session of The Next Chapter. We'll be adventuring through Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith. It's never too late to join us. You can find out more or sign up here.

And Sunday June 7 it's time once again for Full Moon Dreamboards - and for the first time ever I'm hosting them live in Toronto as well as online. It's going to be so much fun! (I feel like I'm saying that a lot lately, which is a great thing!) This month we will be experiencing a moon of many names but one delicious mood - the Full Strawberry Moon, the Full Honey Moon, the Full Rose Moon. Let that juicy, sensual energy inspire your June dreams.

If you want to know about participating on line, click here.
If you want to know more making dreamboards together in Toronto, click here.

Inspiration: Police

2009-06-04T00:00:00.001-04:00

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ June 2, 2009

2009-06-03T00:00:00.001-04:00

What is your wish for June?

A Day at the Zoo

2009-06-01T13:34:00.005-04:00

Yesterday my honey and I went on a trip to the Metro Toronto Zoo with his dad, our neighbour and our niece and nephew. What a treat! The day was ideal for zoo viewing - clear, sunny and cool - so the animals were out and about and saying hi. And lots of young'uns too at this time a year. There were many treats to be had!

This little guy was just so contemplative, clearly enjoying the sunlight streaming in.

The zoo now has a beautiful little area filled with birds and butterflies flying free. The range of colour and design on the butterflies is breathtaking!

The orangutans are one of my favourite families to visit. I'd love to spend the entire day just hanging out with these fascinating folks, getting to know them.

Cheetahs are always hard to get a glimpse of at the zoo. I just couldn't believe it when this one waltzed right by the spectator glass and dropped right into the corner with ease. What a treat! I wonder who she was licking her chops at!

This amazing creature is a tree kangaroo. I had never seen anything like it. He was really at ease up in his little perch.

This really was an extraordinary moment with the giraffe. Don't worry the zookeeper was perfectly fine - but how unsettling!

I want you to leave this zoo trip with as big a smile on your face as I have, so I thought I'd let this glorious turtle have the last beaming moment and send us on our way.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 20

2009-05-31T00:00:00.002-04:00

I could get used to Movie Mornings! Last Saturday we grabbed a coffee and indulged in Terminator Salvation. The movie was mediocre but we had a fantastic time just getting out, being together and relaxing.

The very first thing that went into our fridge was a bottle of champagne. This week we popped it open to celebrate cooking our first real meal in our new kitchen. There's still lots to be done, but it felt like just the right time to mark the moment.

I'm really excited that a couple of blue jays have moved into our neighbourhood.

And there's a new ice cream shop in the 'hood too. We had to go and try it out. Is it true that Tiger ice cream (orange & black licorice) is a Canadian thing?

This week I went out and did a visioning session with an amazing client of mine. These sessions are one of my favourite things to do. We spend 3 hours together with pictures, music, words drawing out and gaining clarity on a project, dream or life purpose. It's amazing work. I love my job!

Our renovations and repairs are almost finished but there is so much cleaning, painting and organizing to do! Do you like the bright, happy colour of our laundry room?

With the complete replacement of an external wall, our living room is in need of a repaint. We're saying goodbye to this amazing gorgeously delicious dark blue. Everyone thought we were crazy to go that dark, but we loved it every day! Now it's being primed away for a fresh colour.

And what a way to end the week. Shannon and I went to see Every Little Step. If you love dance and performance, run, don't walk to this film. This movie really captures the intensity, the power, the beauty, the heartbreak, the magic of the world of dance and theatre. It stirred my soul and I will watch it again and again. (Be wary of watching the previews - some give away too much)

I'm so glad that Shannon, The Movie Moxie, recommended it!

How was your week?

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

1 Week Until We Wreck This Journal

2009-05-29T00:00:00.001-04:00

The third session of The Next Chapter is almost here. Starting next Friday, our book blogging group will be adventuring through Wreck this Journal by Keri Smith.

Wondering whether you'd like to participate? Let's see if this little note from the book helps you make up your mind:

From the first page: "Warning: During the process of this book you will get dirty. You may find yourself covered in paint, or any other number of foreign substances. You will get wet. You may be asked to do things you question. You may grieve for the perfect state that you found the book in. You may begin to see creative destruction everywhere. You may begin to live more recklessly."

To join or to find out more, click here.

Inspiration: whirlwish by Jen Gray

2009-05-28T00:00:00.005-04:00

It took me a while to track down who created this video but it is the wonderful Jen Gray.

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ May 27, 2009

2009-05-27T00:00:00.001-04:00

What's frivolous treat do you wish for?

Jamie's Wish

2009-05-26T23:59:00.000-04:00

I wish for a spa visit - complete with scrumptious lunch.

As soon as I go to to the spa, I put "go to the spa" back on my wish list. The beauty of the space, the quiet, the sensuality, the gentle service, the care, the time for myself and my body, all contribute to a deep rejuvenating experience for me. My wish is to make this a monthly mini retreat for Jamie renewal.

Time to Dream in Toronto: Sunday June 7

2009-05-25T00:01:00.001-04:00

Do you keep wanting to create a dreamboard

but just never get around to doing it?

Would you love to spend a Sunday afternoon with pictures, scissors, glue and good company?

On Sunday, June 7th, the next full moon, I will be hosting some time for dreaming in Toronto. This will be a relaxed afternoon with minimal structure, designed simply to create a friendly, inviting space for you to create a dreamboard. I will provide basic supplies - bristol board (1 per person), gluesticks and scissors - and invite you to bring magazines and images that spark your imagination.

Take some time for you. Spend a fun and relaxed afternoon in community, cutting, pasting and chatting about your dreams.

Date: Sunday June 7th, the full strawberry moon

Time: 2:00-5:00 pm

Location: Broadview & Danforth neighbourhood - RSVP for details

Cost: $10 - Bring a friend for just an additional $5.00

RSVP: jamie@openthedoor.ca

If you're not in Toronto or can't make it this day, participate online with Full Moon Dreamboards. Click here for more information.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 19

2009-05-24T00:01:00.001-04:00

My father-in-law is in town from Holland. Last Saturday Justin and I met up with him for coffee at our wonderful local spot.

A lot of this week was spent at the hospital with a member of my family.

A late night coming home.

Getting amazing web development help from the wonderful Tara Joyce of Elastic Mind. Not only does Tara have web expertise, she also has a lot of great information for those of you who are, like me, an innerpreneur.

Hanging out with Shannon, this very daring local cat kept visiting. There must be something of great interest up there!

I'm not sure I ate a single meal at home this week! Shannon and I went for lunch at this cool local spot near her. It was just a beautiful day with a fresh breeze blowing in that front door and a delicious meal on the table.

Out for lunch with Shannon & Mom.

Out for dinner with my honey, his dad and a family friend.

Coffee with the wonderful and insightful Annabel, who wrote this wonderful article for Balance Week here at Starshyne Productions. We meet up about once a month to chat about our entrepreneurial life. Having biz girlfriends rocks!
And Friday just wouldn't be Friday if Shannon and I didn't hook up and have some fun and giggles. That's the best way to end the week!

How was your week?

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Authentic Professionalism (TM)

2009-05-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

photo by Danette

What would it be like if you could still be yourself while being a professional? Do you think it's possible? What images are conjured by the word "professional"? Anything you want to be?

These are questions I explored when creating Authentic Professionalism (TM) in response to a request from the wonderful Danette Relic. Danette is a part of a rocking group of woman, including hoopdance instructor Allison Tarr and massage therapist Michelle Yee, who refer to themselves as a Power Pod. These women are vibrant, creative, loving and full of kick. They regularly meet and support each other in pursuit of their dreams. Danette asked me if I would talk to them about professionalism, a topic that kept coming up at their meetings.

The more I thought about it, the more inspired I became. I wanted to create something that would help these women and other creative independents define themselves as professionals in a way that they could really get behind. Instead of a boring definition full of "shoulds," what would it be like to create an authentic professional code that represented who you are and what you want to bring to your work? What would it be like to have an authentic professional code that would serve both as inspiration and also as a guidance system en route to your dreams?

There is an oppressive myth out there that in order to be taken seriously, to be successful, to make money, to be professional, (feel free to add your own words), you must fit a particular mould, do things a certain way. And if you're an independent spirit, a creative being inspired to start your own business, build your own practice, share your own creations, I know one thing -- you didn't choose that path because you wanted to do things just like everyone else. The beautiful thing is that each part of the process can be a part of your self-discovery and self-expression.

When I worked through the Authentic Professionalism (TM) process, I was surprised to find that one of my professional standards is "style." Seeing that helped me define my priorities and understand how deeply committed I am to my business being a work of creative self-expression. If you were to create your own unique set of professional standards, what would they be? What can you get behind?

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ May 20, 2009

2009-05-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

What is your highest self wishing for?
What's rumbling in your soul?

Project 365 09 ~ Week 19

2009-05-16T10:58:00.004-04:00

This has been one of those weeks where all the focus is on the immediate. My health took a turn in response to all the construction. Lemon tea is great for congestion.

I worked from bed some of this week. It was actually pretty pleasant and peaceful.

Look! I have a wall and almost a door and a window in my studio.

Meeting up with Shannon.

Catching myself on a security camera.

Family hospital visits.

Visiting with the Gobo-meister, truly one of the sweetest cats ever.

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-05-14T09:40:00.002-04:00

We have a counter and a sink!! Woohoo!! We still can't use them for 24 hours, but they're there. I'm so excited. Once the backsplash is in, I think all the pieces are actually in place. Yippee! (Yes, I just said yippee! hehe)

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ May 13, 2009

2009-05-13T00:01:00.002-04:00

Who do you wish to connect to?

Michelle Ward asked me...

2009-05-11T00:01:00.000-04:00

Now here's a power pack. The sassy and spectacular Michelle Ward of When I Grow Up Coach met up with White Hot Truth Soothsayer Danielle LaPorte and created this kick-butt interview meme. Michelle designed special questions just for me and I'll answer them at the end. I'll play along too and if you decide you'd like me to create 5 interview questions just for you, I would love to.

THE INTERVIEW RULES

* leave me a comment with your email address saying: “interview me”
* I will e-mail you five questions of my choice
* you can then answer the questions on your blog {with a link back to my blog}
* you should also post these rules, along with an offer to interview anyone else who emails you, wanting to be interviewed
* anyone who asks to be interviewed should be sent 5 questions to answer on their blog
* it would be nice if the questions were individualized for each blogger

My Questions from Michelle

If you were a rock star, who would you be and why?

Okay, if I'm going to be a rock star, I'm not going to be an imitation. I'm going to be the loudest, proudest, most kick-ass Jamie this world has ever seen. With fabulous boots. And a personal stylist. And attitude to spare. (See my inspiration photo above.)

If you had to make a dreamboard for your daughter, what would it contain?

I won't be having children, but if I was to imagine a dreamboard for my daughter, here's what it would be like:

a daytrip with me to get magazines
a big piece of bristol board on a wide open table with glue sticks, markers, scissors, glitter and in the middle the words, "Your dreams go here."
a day of fun creating

What would make up your perfect breakfast?

French toast with raspberries and real maple syrup. The perfect dark roast coffee. Fresh squeezed orange juice. Champagne. I'm wearing a fluffy white robe, have the perfect pedicure and am sitting on a balcony with my husband looking out onto a white sandy beach, watching turquoise waves roll in under a sky brushed with scattered white clouds. We have nowhere to go and nothing to do. Yum.

If you were forced to get a tattoo right now, what would it be and why?

Tribal black panthers around my left bicep.

How do you get over being scared?

I remind myself that at this moment, right here, right now, I am safe.

Want me to interview you? Leave a comment including your email or email me directly and I'll send you 5 questions just for you. I might even use the tarot for inspiration.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 18

2009-05-10T00:01:00.001-04:00

What a week! My balance break turned into a balancing act in several ways as our contractor discovered some very serious problems within our walls, starting with unbelievable mould and rotting wood. A screwdriver could literally cause whole sections of these beams to fall away. Having stretched ourselves to renovate the kitchen, our house was asking us to reach even further to take care of her.

It turned out that wall wasn't the only one affected. My studio was in a similar position so we moved just about the entire room into our bedroom. See that awesome portrait? That's me and my puppet Otis as painted by my sister Shannon.

One nice thing is that the kitchen has become a bit of a respite. Even though it's still not done, we can sit here in the mornings, having our coffee and enjoying some serenity before the work begins.

This is my studio. What they found behind these walls is just awful. This poor house. This job is rather overwhelming for us but we both feel really great about cleaning out this horrible, rotting mess and healing our home. It's amazing how quickly things can change. You can see what my studio looked like last week here.

Unfortunately these renovations have had an impact on my health and it's been important that I get out. Luckily a lovely coffee shop has opened in the hood and it has proven to be a great place to decompress.

And by the end of the week, I had an open-air studio. Crazy, isn't it? The good news is that we've decided to put a door in this wall with an eye to creating a rooftop deck in the future! We're doing the best we can to make lemonade.

And what timing! This week it was time to renew our mortgage.

This is a rather unexciting shot for a rather exciting end to the week: Star Trek!! Justin and I got out early to the first show of the day in a brand new huge theatre with dynamite sound. Tea and treats in hand, we enjoyed every minute of riding along with the Enterprise and her much-loved crew! Our geekness was fully appeased.

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Full Flower Moon Dreamboard ~ May 9, 2009

2009-05-09T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's dreamboard time again! What a beautiful way to come back after my balance break. I feel so blessed by the amazing guests posts that graced this space during my time away. Thank you Megg, Sunny, Annabel, Rachelle and Danette for your wisdom and insight.

I am loving this monthly invitation to check in with my dreams and to invite my deepest desires into my life. This is powerful stuff! Looking back on my dreamboard for the Full Pink Moon, I see my kitchen reno which is now almost complete and my desire for a break, which I've taken, including a trip to the spa and time under that glorious invention - the rainfall showerhead: bliss!

Each month this dreaming joy is amplified because we do it together. It's delicious to visit you all and to see what you are dreaming of, how you envision your life and what is stirring in your heart. We are a circle of dreamers.

And here we are together on this Full Flower Moon ready to invite blessings into our lives. Under this moon, it is a particularly good time for renewal and rejuvenation, for vitality and for blossoming. It's a time for love and relationships and for taking action.

What seeds will you plant this month? What do you want to bloom with this Full Flower Moon?

My Full Flower Moon Dreamboard

2009-05-08T23:59:00.004-04:00

1. DIY facelift., 2. ROW@CASTEL_DEL_MONTE_MG_5222, 3. Clarity..., 4. evening, 5. The Rest of the Warrior, 6. Dark Pool - Golden Sand, 7. Hugh, 8. Keystone, 9. Reaching Out, 10. waking the forest, 11. Tokyo nights XIV, 12. Follow the red line, 13. Nico Vega - The Independent, 14. Nature's Gifts, 15. Milk Thistle in Full Bloom
2

There are so many ways to make dreamboards and yet, I have always made mine the same way: magazine cuttings, bristol board, glue and many cups of tea. I think that's just because I enjoy it so much. But today our house is in mad disarray with renovations and repairs and I had just about given up on making my own dreamboard this month.

But dreaming would not be stopped and Pamela and Kavindra inspired me with their photo mosaics! I had a great fun going to Flickr and putting what I desire in the search box and seeing what would show up. How delightful! I imagine this is just how the Universe responds too. You put in "serenity" and then you see just exactly which form of the millions of shapes serenity could take shows up! I love it that way because then when it shows up it feels more like a present!

What a treat to make a dreamboard in a new way. It's true that when the walls come down, new perspectives open.

PS I used Mosaic Maker to put together the pictures.

A Week of Balance: Danette Relic

2009-05-08T00:00:00.002-04:00

Balance: The Dance of Choice By Danette Relic

I took one of those stability ball exercise classes where the instructor had us sit on the ball but raise our feet from the floor and let ourselves wobble around, flapping our arms and using our core muscles to balance.

Some people managed this task with great skill, and they smugly held tight to their balanced position, as though the stability ball were a giant egg they were keeping warm. I could almost hear them saying, Okay, I'm balanced. Now what? But the instructor told them something that resonates with me years later:

Balance is what happens when we are in motion.

That the act of balancing by definition requires imbalance. To be balancing is to be fluid, in motion, shifting and readjusting, going with the flow. I appreciated this suggestion as one of the people who was flapping and darting one foot down to keep from falling off my ball. If the goal was to keep moving, I was rocking that goal.

Basically, Balance is not about clinging to a perfectly equal state. Isn't that great news? I think that "Balance" has become another thing to achieve in our busy world, and as a result has created a binge and purge style of expressing balance (work like a dog, spa like a diva, eat like raccoon, cleanse like monk). I'd like to point out, that if you feel you are consciously choosing your 80 hour weeks, consciously choosing your extreme detox weekend, then that is fantastic. When I say "feel like you are consciously choosing", I mean deep down. I mean in your body, totally at peace.

Balance is all about Being at Choice.

What I hear from clients who want Balance more than anything, is that basically, they feel stuck. They want more of something in their lives, and they don't know how to move forward. They are like the women who perched on top of their stability ball and froze. Now what?

Balance is a Dance.

What would it be like to dance with Balance in your life? Suddenly there is groove, there is motion, there is beauty. Suddenly when I'm in binge and purge mode of Balance, in this place of choice, it becomes a hot, aggressive tango.

What do you See from Your Balance Cam?

What if you pulled way out to a bird's eye view of your life in Balance. What would you see? Looking at the years behind and ahead of you, do you notice seasons of focus? If your whole life was squeezed into one day, what would that look like?

Now zoom in, way in, to a single moment in a single day. Do you feel at choice? Are you dancing in this moment? Is it a lazy tap dance, a sensual modern dance, maybe a whole lot of thrusting and punching?

Put on your Dancing Shoes

It's true that you can dance anywhere, in any thing. It's also true that sometimes, a fabulous pair of flamenco shoes or fat, bouncy sneakers make all the difference in taking your dance to the next level. Maybe you're barefoot, but you really love just the right music? What I'm saying is, there certainly are ways of finding things that support you as you dance. Here are some I've heard from friends lately, that I am putting into my own life to support my dance with Balance:

turn the computer off on Saturday. All day. Totally off.
treat my designated Danette-Days with the same importance as I give my work days. No scheduling over, no putting off until next week.
book time in my calendar to nurture my home, as I would any appointment with someone important

How do you support your dance with Balance? I'd love to hear what works for you.

Danette Relic Life Coach. Creative Self-Expressionist. Halloween Enthusiast. Danette is a life coach and self-expression enthusiast who believes that life is about knowing who you are and expressing more of who you are each day. She loves to create magical experiences for others, from intimate creativity workshops in her home studio, to the over-the-top Halloween celebrations she builds with her partner Colin. Danette loves to invite others to explore their creative selves in a safe and playful environment. Danette was a contributing writer for Carrie & Danielle and enjoys writing for her own blog, The Drawing Board. She is also in the process of writing a Harlequin Spice novel. In her workshops and her coaching, Danette is passionate about inspiring and supporting others as they create lives they love. www.danetterelic.com

A Week of Balance: Rachelle Mee-Chapman

2009-05-07T00:00:00.000-04:00

Do Less: What the Danes taught me about finding balance.

Balance. It’s one of those words that either prompts to sigh with ease, or makes me to want to throw a book at someone’s head. When you can find it, it’s totally relieving. When you can’t, it’s maddening.

One of the reasons balance is so hard to achieve is that it’s not static. You can’t just find it and park there and never go looking for it again. Life is in flux, so your balance must constantly adjust. For example, a good yogini will tell you that balance is fluid. Small adjustments in a yoga pose are necessary to retain balance. Zen masters will tell you that life is a river with currents that carry you along. But you can’t float fluidly with the current if you are fly-fishing, water jogging, and swimming up steam simultaneously. You have to let go, and float. So how do you stay balanced and go with the flow? Maybe it’s time to Do Less.

Before I moved to Denmark, my life was a constant struggle for balance. I worked a part time job with a full time job description. Our girls were still in the high-need age, and our teenager adopted-by-affection was breaking into late adolescence with gusto. I ran a soulcare community in our home, lived with housemates, and regularly met with soulful seekers. On top of all that—or perhaps because of all that—I developed chronic migraines which I have still not been able to shake. Add to that my poor neglected husband, the house, the compulsion to do something creative, and the need to get in some exercise—and well, the days (and nights…and weekends…) were packed.

During this era I was the client of a woman who was training to be a spiritual director. I remember her asking me if I would like to put all my responsibilities on 3x5 cards so we could shuffle them around and figure out how they could all fit together. I just started to cry. I’d already tried so, so many times: endless lists, schedules, flow charts. I just couldn’t bear to try again. Unfortunately, she and I both had such over-developed protestant work ethics that the most logical solution never crossed our minds. I could Do Less.

Eventually, I got sick enough that Do Less became not just a possibility but a requirement. And in May 2007 I started the lengthy process of unlearning busyness. Moving to Denmark in February 2008 has helped a lot. Unlike the American Dream, the Danish Dream doesn’t require pulling oneself up by one’s boots straps, rugged individualism, or Donald Trump-like achievement. Danes are frequently referred to as “the happiest people on earth,” and while I don’t find this to be a particularly chipper place, I will say the people are quite relaxed. They are undeniably content . I think what the Danes have got figured out is not happiness per se, but balance. Which made me wonder, what is it about Danish culture that has contributed to this sense of balance? What lets the Danes float while the Yankees struggle? Here’s the short list so far:

Feel great about ‘good enough.’ If the American motto is “shoot for the stars” the Danish counterpart would be “aim for the middle.” The idea of being a super-achiever is almost completely foreign in Danish culture. The whole ethos here –at school, at work, and in your social life—is to do the basic requirements. There are no advanced learners programs in the schools. Working overtime is not seen as ambitious, but as dysfunctional. In fact, overachieving at school or work is frowned upon and is sometimes seen as braggardly. Danes shoot for a few quality products in a work day, rather than a rash of achievements. Doesn’t that sound refreshing?

Prioritize your home life. Danes like to be at home. Their kids aren’t enrolled in a dozen afterschool activities. They don’t run around a lot on the weekends. Everyone is home by 6pm for supper—including the primary bread winner. It’s expensive to eat out so friends and family are entertained at home, and meals are simple but made from scratch –often down to the bread and the mayo! Winters involve books and baking, and Summers mean picnics in the gardens. And when someone is sick they don’t down Theraflu and drag themselves to school or work. They stay at home until they are better. I know! What a concept! But doesn’t it sound wonderful?

Consume Less. My 15 year old wunderkind Mabel told me recently that some of her Danish friends can hang all their clothing on one wall of their bedroom. In a world where the apartments are small and closets are sometimes non-existent, people own WAY less stuff. This means they do less shopping, spend less time maintaining their gear, and waste less of their weekends cleaning up clutter. I’ve been shocked—shocked I tell you!—at how much less I shop, spend, and accumulate here. How much time did you spend in the car driving to stores this week? How much less would you have to put away in your house if you never went to Target? Seriously, right? It’s a shocker.

Travel slow. Danes have more balance in their lives because they do less. One of the reasons they do less, is it takes longer. Urban Danes travel by foot, bike, or bus. Most people I know don’t own a car. This means it takes a little longer to get from point A to point B. So you automatically have to do less in a day. Slow travel requires you to be more realistic about how long you need between appointments and tasks, makes you think twice about over-committing, and de-clutters your calendar. It also makes space for gratitude, as you walk past the sparkly, frosty lake on the way to your morning appointment. And on top of that, travel á pied or by bike doubles as your daily exercise, so you don’t have to make room for that trip to the gym. Brilliant!

These are just some of the ways my host-culture has encouraged me to Do Less, and thus helped me find more balance in my living. I’m already writing mantras in my head to cement these lessons deep into my psyche in hopes of holding on to as many of these good habits as possible when we return to States. I hope some of them trigger little “ah ha!” moments for you, offering up little solutions for the balance conundrums in your own life. My hope for you today is that you might be free enough to float down the river of your life, and that fluidity and peace would be your withmate.

Yours on the Journey,

-Rachelle

Rachelle Mee-Chapman is an alt.minister, writer, mama and American expat living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Follow her on Twitter, friend her on Facebook, and watch for her Do Less series beginning in May 1st at Magpie Girl.

A Week of Balance: Annabel Fitzsimmons

2009-05-06T00:01:00.002-04:00

Balance

By Annabel Fitzsimmons

I like to be busy, but I love my quiet time. I thrive on being involved in collaborative projects, but I am equally driven in solo ventures. I like running with a run club, but enjoy running marathons alone. I am energized by social activities, but am lost without my meditative, silent hours. My life oscillates between busy, highly productive days and days that I spend recharging and revelling in doing nothing. As long as I can remember, I have walked a fine line in finding the balance of these two extremes in my life.

When Jamie asked me to blog about what balance means to me, I was struck by the fact that my journey to discover personal balance has informed my career, my family life, and everything in between.

What I have learned is that balance is a shifting concept. It is formless, its nature is constantly changing. Your balance one day may not be your balance the next. Or next month, or next year. I try to re-evaluate – and, if necessary, redefine – my balance on a daily basis. And balance is also extremely subjective.

In my work as a fitness and wellness professional, I have witnessed many clients striving to fulfill a prescribed idea of balance – as if there is a specific formula to follow. After all, who doesn’t want to live the most balanced life? But in my experience, following someone else’s idea of balance is a surefire way to make it more elusive.

Today, balance for me meant taking 20 minutes to journal at the end of the day and grabbing a cuddle with my husband after taking care of a sick newborn and toddler on three hours sleep. But tomorrow balance might be going out for a 5km run, pitching an article, writing a press release, teaching a couple of classes and returning all my outstanding phone calls.

Whatever the circumstances of each day, I make sure to put aside 20 minutes of time for me, to clear space for an activity that makes me happy. This allows me a bit of perspective and I can maintain an equilibirium between the things I want to do, I need to do and that I should do.

Balance. Isn’t it a great thing to explore?

Annabel Fitzsimmons is a writer, a yoga and Pilates teacher, and is the founder www.clearspaceonline.com, the premiere online resource for “living your balance”. She started the ClearSpace initiative to encourage people to put aside 20 minutes a day for themselves to do something mindful, physical or soulful.

A Week of Balance: Sunny Schlenger

2009-05-05T00:00:00.001-04:00

Bending With the Wind

Have you ever watched high wire performers negotiate a tightrope in the wind? They use a pole to help them balance and if you keep your eye on the pole, you’ll see it tip here, and dip there – sometimes gently and sometimes dramatically as the tightrope artist endeavors to stay upright and even.

Their strategy is actually a great metaphor for living your life, because in real life there’s also wind. Certain days and even weeks are calmer than others, but eventually a gust comes by or even a gale. Sometimes a tornado. There are no “normal” days in nature, but there is balance. And balance is what you’re striving for.

I spent way too much time in my life waiting for predictable seasons and schedules. Ha ha. What I eventually learned is that there are probabilities and likelihoods but that’s as predictable as life usually gets. That doesn’t mean that you can’t plan, but that you need to be ready for those gusts and gales that suddenly appear. And as anyone familiar with the martial arts knows, the most effective strategy for dealing with an onslaught of any kind is to bend with the force in order to gain leverage.

We’re all going to be out of balance a certain percentage of the time. What’s important is to recognize that you’re being blown one way or the other, and to correct for it as soon as you’re able. Some gusts can be handled with a gentle dip the other way, while longer-lasting gales might require a more forceful correction.

If you apply this analogy to an endeavor like coaching, you might be able to identify your naturally more profitable times of the year when business is more solid and sustainable. As a professional organizer, I found that spring and fall were the seasons when people thought more about reducing clutter and creating systems and were willing to look for help. What surprised me was that new year’s, a time of the year where people are naturally thinking about new beginnings was much less of a busy time for me. The reason? Folks had spent their money over the holidays. Balance in business has a lot to do with recognizing if and how your own seasons turn.

Balance is not only about natural cycles but also ways that you can feel more in control. If kids’ school schedules are running your show during the academic year, you may need to actively schedule balance breaks so that you feel that your creative needs are being met. The same is true if you’re working and/or going to school yourself, or caring for young children or elderly relatives. Or maybe your best chance for some relief and re-calibration is to get away for awhile. Everyone’s situation is different but you do have to stay aware of what’s happening and how you feel about it.

I don’t know that anyone can maintain balance all of the time; too much of life is out of our direct control. But if you carry your pole and bend with the wind, you’ll have a much better chance of making it to the other side – confident and whole.

Sunny Schlenger is a professional organizer, author and mentor with over 30 years of experience as a pioneer in her field. She helped launch the “custom-tailored” approach to getting organized in the 90’s with her best-selling book, How To Be Organized In Spite Of Yourself, whose approach was licensed by Harvard University’s training and development program. She then took the concept of organizing to the next level by integrating it with spirituality. The result, Organizing For The Spirit was published in 2004. You can find Sunny's website here and her blog here.

Photo credit KimberlyD

A Week of Balance: Meghan Genge

2009-05-04T00:00:00.002-04:00

“Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings."

- Rumi

When Jamie asked me to write about balance neither of us knew that I would be moving house and changing jobs when I was writing this post. If you had asked me two days ago what my take on balance was I would have laughed and showed you the little box marked, 'office' teetering precariously on top of the thirteen boxes marked, 'books.'

I never thought I was very good at balance. I tend to be extreme - afraid or brave, exercise or couch potato, all or nothing - so I had to look up 'balance' in the dictionary just to make sure I knew what it was. One definition was, 'A stable mental or psychological state,' but my favorite and the one I had to re-read several times was, 'The power or means to decide.'

Ooh.

When I was a little girl I tried gymnastics for about a minute. I wasn't very good at anything except the balance beam. Being good at that wasn't about how to manipulate your body into crazy shapes or flinging yourself blindly through the air. It was about taking deep breaths and concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other until you got to the other end. If you panicked or got too angry or frustrated, you fell. It was as simple as that.

When we seek balance, what are we really looking for? Less stress? A perfect life? A clean kitchen? All of our ducks in a row? Or should we be more honest about what we seek? Balance, it seems to me, offers us the chance to be a little bit more involved in our lives. Life is never going to be easy or less crazy. But maybe balance is the position at the middle of crazy that allows you to continue to breathe. Real balance is in our power to make good decisions about our lives.

Just like a gymnast focused on the balance beam, we need to be clear about what it is we really want and then put one foot in front of the other until we reach our goal. Breathing, focusing, getting healthy and strong, concentrating, making good decisions and getting back up when we fall off will help us get there. Balance, it seems, may not be so difficult after all - even for extreme people like me.

(Now back to the 14th box marked 'books'...)

Megg is a Canadian writer who lives and works in the UK. She believes passionately in the power of words, women and community. Completely addicted to her computer, she also believes in the power of getting off of that computer. She is very excited to announce that she, her husband and their partner have just gently launched a website to help people get a little adventure back into their lives. It can be found at: www.randomlychallenged.com and megg can be found at her blog: www.meggenge.blogspot.com.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 17

2009-05-03T00:01:00.002-04:00

Saturday we purchased our faucet. Sometimes it can be overwhelming but mostly it's awesome to pick out every little detail ourselves. We were using the self-serve checkout at Home Depot when I took this photo, and Justin was so quick on the uptake it turned into an action shot!

I am so disappointed this picture is blurry! These women were anything but! Danette and her power pod, including Allison and Michelle, invited me to lead a workshop for them. It inspired me to create a workshop on Authentic Professionalism (tm). I'll share more about that and about this amazing day very soon!

I think life must feel a bit like a blur these days - look at all my blurry photos. It must be just the right time for my Balance Break. This is the photo of the fridge with its undies showing. We're down with the fashion of the times and decided to keep it.

That's because after much frantic searching we just couldn't find anything that fit better and that we liked just as well.

With the kitchen reno and Justin working at home most days too, the wonderful Tara and I worked on my web development in the studio. Things are going to be moving and shaking for Jamie Ridler Studios. Stay tuned!

The treasure of the week was this lovely gift from Christine.

In the midst of all the madness and to send me off on my Balance Break, I thought I would take myself to the spa. One of my very favourite things to do while I'm there is have lunch. The space is peaceful, the food divine and you eat in your robe. I always bring a notebook but really it's total chair-and-stare time for me. I just sit there, smiling and letting my mind relax. Yum.

May 1st is the Annual Shyne Like a Star Virtual Dance Party and it's also Justin & My falling-in-love anniversary. This year we're celebrating 13 years of joy together. Without doubt, Justin's the best gift the Universe ever gave me. I'm thankful every day.

How was your week?

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

A Week of Balance

2009-05-02T09:15:00.006-04:00

Balance and I have had a rather strained relationship for most of my life. But recently I've been flirting with the idea. And next week, I'm throwing myself right in and spending a week with balance to see if we can find a way to love one another.

I've learned a lot about balance from some wise women in my life. I really wanted to spread their wisdom and so I have invited these 5 amazing beauties to share their insights on the topic next week:

Rachelle Mee-Chapman
Danette Relic
Sunny Schlenger
Annabel Fitzsimmons
Meghan Genge

Each of these women has inspired me in more ways than I can count. I'm sure they will do the same for you during A Week of Balance at Starshyne Productions.

In the meantime, let me leave you with my thoughts on balance from this month's News from Jamie Ridler Studios, which you can have delivered to your inbox once a month by signing up in the form on the right.

Balance Sucks
an excerpt from News from Jamie Ridler Studios

Well, that’s what I always thought. I mean, seriously, how boring is balance? Here’s where my brain has often gone when thinking about it: balance... equilibrium... stasis... stagnation... death. Who wants that? To say the least, I have had more than a little resistance to the concept.

And that resistance has often put me on a cycle that may be familiar to you, a pattern of excitement... over-activity... exhaustion... illness. Rinse. Repeat. Sickness was my body’s way of insisting on balance. I’d push too hard and she’d say, “Oh, yeah? How’s this one?” and I’d find myself out for the count.

Eventually that cycle brought me to the wonderful Diane Chung ND of The Chung Centre for Vibrant Health. I still see Diane and yes, we still talk about balance. This week she said to me, “Jamie, it’s all about dynamic balance.” (Hmm, with that adjective, maybe I could warm up to it a little) She explained that as things shift, we are consistently responding and adjusting.

That made me think about acting and the blissful intensity of being on stage, of seeking to respond honestly to the given moment instead of being stuck in a pattern or locked into a routine. And suddenly I got it. Balance is not about stagnation and death. Balance is vibrantly alive. It’s about being able to respond with agility and grace to the dynamics of the moment. It’s about being fully present and available to your life.

Present? Alive? Dynamic? I’m in. How about you?

Enjoy a Week of Balance with these wonderful guests! I'll be back for Dreamboards on May 9th! Wishcasting will take a week's break and be back May 11th.

The 4th Annual Shyne Like a Star Virtual Dance Party is HERE!

2009-05-01T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm so glad you're here.

Let's dance!

I believe that dance is for everybody,
that our bodies & souls long to dance!

And so each year on May 1st, I invite the world to dance for 15 minutes. Take 15 minutes of your day, turn the music up and get your groove on.

Dance while no one's looking.
Dance with your honey in the kitchen.
Dance while you wait for the bus.
Dance with your cat.
Dance at your meeting.
Dance while you make your tea.

Dance with all your heart.

And wherever you are, know that we are all dancing together!
Let the party begin!

Feel free to share your Dance Party experience! What's your soundtrack? Where did you boogie? Got pics? Video? Let's spread the joy of dance and let our spirits fly!

I love dancing to all kinds of music but in honour of our 13-year being-in-love anniversary, here's something my honey and I threw down to way back when on the dance floor we called home. (Romance is really individual, isn't it?)

The Amazing Gifts of Christine Mason Miller

2009-04-30T19:02:00.004-04:00

A treasure arrived in the mail today. I was smiling ear to ear when I opened this box from Christine and look how pretty it was inside! It was so yummy to look at I might not have even opened it except...
I had to immediately put on that pretty bow. And as you know, once you've started unwrapping a treasure, there is simply no turning back.

And without a doubt, anything from the glorious Christine Mason Miller is a treasure. Her creative sass invited me into the blogosphere and the more I get to know her, the more she inspires me to the core. She's one of those people that makes you believe that it's simply a matter of fact that you can grow wings, so why don't you get started on that flying thing?

Every day I will be inspired by Christine, because this work of art will always be a reminder that...

You bet. And I love it all the more with such amazing adventuresses for companions. From the breadth of my heart, thank you, Christine!

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-30T19:01:00.002-04:00

We have undermount lighting! How cool is that?

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ April 29, 2009

2009-04-29T00:05:00.003-04:00

What do you wish to read?

Reno Pic of the Day II - because I just couldn't wait to share

2009-04-28T17:38:00.003-04:00

Almost there! And with the additional cupboards in the fridge doesn't look so big after all!

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-28T00:00:00.000-04:00

Well, today's pic is what we're calling our Reno Stress of the Day. Holy cow are fridges ever deep! We certainly weren't expecting this to stick out so much. We went right down to the store and evaluated all the fridges, measuring tape in hand, and almost all of them are this depth! The one that is a bit thinner is instead too tall. We're stumped looking at options and possibilities. And looking around online apparently many people go through this challenge. It seems that the best solution out there is to use that black space on the side for a magnetic notepad grocery list. Could happen.

Guess what's coming?

2009-04-27T11:49:00.003-04:00

This Friday, May 1, 2009 is the 4th annual
Shyne Like a Star Virtual Dance Party

All you have to do to participate is dance for 15 minutes.
Choose some tunes that move your soul.
Dance alone. Dance with your Mom.
Dance at your meeting.
Dance in your kitchen. Dance in the park.
Just dance for 15 minutes on May 1st
and join the "dance is for everybody" revolution!

I'll put up a Mr. Linky on Friday so you can share your experience
or just share that you're going to participate and dance!

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-27T08:28:00.003-04:00

It's beginning to look like a kitchen!

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-25T17:34:00.003-04:00

Look, look! We have some cabinetry up! I'm so excited.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 16

2009-04-25T00:00:00.001-04:00

It's still all about the reno. We were out shopping for faucets last weekend. Who knew it would be so difficult to find faucets that we liked? This isn't the one we're getting but we did like it.

By Sunday we almost had a complete floor!

Okay, so the laundry room doesn't seem terribly exciting but wow, there is so much more room now that we've removed a stairway. It's amazing. We're going to paint it a happy colour.

I love these biweekly meetings with a creative group of women business owners in my 'hood. How great is it to be able to share your hopes and stresses as a soul-o-preneur over great coffee, scissors and glue stick! I'll write more about this soon and share with you how Leah inspired these kinds of meetings.

Mid-week I spent some time with my wonderful dentist getting my tooth repaired. It was a really hard day but my tooth is better and I did see spring trying to express himself while I was on the way there.

I had a fabulous coffee with one of my dear friends and her 2-month old little boy. What a treat!

The appliances have arrived!

And look, work on the cupboards have begun. I have to tell you that the drawers open and close so beautifully, that I keep walking in there, just to do that! Hehe.

How was your week?

Project 365 is my attempt to capture a year in my life through a photograph a day. On Saturday's I'll post the week's pics. At the end of the year, I'll create a video of all these precious moments. Feel free to participate at any time. Yours can be Project 347 or Project 292. It's up to you. See the results of my Project 365 ~ 2008 here.

Inspiration... Respect Rally

2009-04-24T00:00:00.001-04:00

Book a Respect Rally or Get Trained! from Respect Rx on Vimeo.

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-23T07:36:00.003-04:00

The cabinetry is now in the right room and we have space in our living room again. When we get to the other side, I am going to put these photos together into a slide show for sure!

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ April 21

2009-04-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

What step do you wish to take?

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-21T21:08:00.002-04:00

The grout has been added to the tile. Tomorrow it will get cleaned up and we'll get a better sense of what it will look like. Hopefully over the next few days we'll really start to see some big progress - cupboards and appliances are on the way.

Creativity is...

2009-04-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

I believe creativity...

is life
is the essence of the Universe
is sacred
is everyone's right
is as essential as breathing
is fun
is easy when you feel safe
is joyful and inspiring
is something to be shared
is a valuable way to spend your time
is in everything you do
is a key ingredient in anything
is important to and for me personally
is worth dedicated your life to
is a part of the answer to the world's problems
is a way of expressing yourself
is a way of discovering your self

What is creativity to you?

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-19T19:00:00.000-04:00

Progress! The tiling has begun and looks promising!

Project 365 09 ~ Week 15

2009-04-18T00:00:00.001-04:00

It's been quite a week. Last Friday night I broke a molar and spent Saturday morning at a dental emergency clinic. Dentists scare me, so this was not a great day. But the dentist here was very nice, understanding and fixed me up until my regular amazing dentist can take care of me and my tooth.

And on top of that, I came down with a truly miserable cold.

The reno continues. New electrical went in, which meant more walls opened up.

But check out the progress. Getting closer to a floor and walls!

Justin and I went out for lunch at our wonderful new local coffee shop. Sometimes you just have to get out of the mess and madness and take a deep breath.

I went downtown to pick up some supplies. This video display always fascinates me - the digital people walking by as we do.

Floor and walls happened this week! It still feels weird to stand on the floor where the staircase used to be.

I led a visioning session with a brilliant, wonderful client who is bringing something amazing into the world.

I had an amazing business visioning session with the fabulous Romana Mirza.

What a gorgeous way to finish off a pretty intense week. A beautiful day and a relaxed and delicious dinner with Shannon.

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-17T19:14:00.003-04:00

We're getting closer to fun stuff. The room is clean, clear and solid. Electrical is sorted. Plumbing prepped for the next step. And today we chose the staggered pattern for the tile. Our contractor was ready to do get this job started but there was a mixup with one of the materials. So, tiling is on tap for tomorrow. I'll look forward to sharing the finished photos!

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-16T06:59:00.005-04:00

It's starting to look like a room! This is kind of an odd stage though - because in a weird way it almost feels like nothing has happened. Our contractor thinks the floor and cupboards will be complete by the end of the weekend! I can't wait.

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ April 15, 2009

2009-04-15T08:16:00.002-04:00

What do you wish to clear out?

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-14T18:52:00.000-04:00

The electrical is now done. I think with this cut in the wall in the spare room it's official - We've reached the "Oh my! Every single room in this house is a disaster!" so it must be going to turn around soon.

I've managed to catch a cold too! Luckily we're through the worst of the noisy and dusty bits. No doubt the light is just around the corner!

Your Creative Spark ~ The Podcast (coming soon)

2009-04-13T00:00:00.001-04:00

I'm excited to announce that the interviews for Your Creative Spark were such a rousing success and so much fun that I've decided to launch a podcast of the same name. I will feature interviews on the topic of creative living, sharing tips, strategies and ideas to spark your creative spirit and help you overcome your creative challenges.

I want Your Creative Spark to encourage your inner artist, to build your creative confidence and to stir your soul into action! I want to help you infuse your life with your unique spirit, so the world can see you shine and you can be the star you are.

I'm starting out by asking you...

Who would you like me to interview?
Of all the questions I could ask, which would most help you on your creative journey?

I'll look forward to your suggestions and bringing inspiration to you via Your Creative Spark!

If you'd rather email me your reply, feel free to do so at jamie(at)openthedoor(dot)ca. I always love hearing from you.

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

This is the first time I've been actually in the kitchen since the reno started. Ack! Look at that. See the vent hole in the upper left? We had a racoon almost get in through there one winter. One cool thing is that shiny part is brand new venting. Hopefully that will be a big plus. And the piping peeking up on the left is where our new corner sink will be.

It may look like a mess but it's progress.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 14

2009-04-11T17:00:00.002-04:00

Since the reno has kind of taken over you'll have seen quite a few of these. Though last Saturday we took a break and went to the movies: Monsters vs Aliens in 3d in the IMAX theatre. The new 3D is amazingly impressive. I spent much of the first 5 minutes gasping and laughing like almost everyone in the theatre! Unfortunately the movie is underwhelming and there's some small but really disappointing gender moments. Dreamworks - shame, shame!

Keeping up with the kiddie theme, I met my dad for brunch at the Rainforest Cafe. I had been to one in Vancouver with Suzie and her honey and we had so much fun and the food was great. Here, the best I can say is my dad and I managed to have a good visit despite the location. I waited outside for half an hour while they assured me no one had checked in under our reservation, while my dad sat inside waiting for me! And our seat by this amazing looking fountain unfortunately left us with our ears ringing! Sigh. Still, it was good to visit.

The big news at our house is, of course, the kitchen reno. It's been cool to find little treasures like this paper from 1922. It's much better than the toilet we found.

It's been exciting to witness the transformation.

This week it was exciting to open up sign-ups for The Next Chapter: Wreck this Journal. It's going to be a fun, creative summer. I have a funny feeling this book is going to inspire some memorable moments!

This week the cabinets arrived. There's hardly room to squeak them in but the delivery guys were super nice and helpful and managed to creatively place them around our first floor. I have to say that every single person we've dealt with at Kraftmaid has been friendly and very helpful. I hope the cabinets turn out to be as wonderful as the service has been so far.

This month's dreamboard really reflects my desire for some yummy celebratory downtime, some enjoyment of the new kitchen, and a preparation for the next amazing step on this journey. I'm looking forward to what the next month will bring.

Shannon came over into the madness. It was so nice to just chill and hang out, giggle and chat. Thanks, Shannon!

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Another cool find. I think I'd like the clove flavour. "A holesome habit." Lifesavers, you crack me up!

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

The cabinetry has arrived. It's currently floor-to-ceiling and everywhere. Our first floor is a maze. Which Jinx is finding kind of fun.

Inspiration: Cirque de Soleil

2009-04-10T00:00:00.000-04:00

I was visiting Greenish Lady and she had this beautiful excerpt from Cirque de Soleil's Quidam posted. Cirque de Soleil moves my heart and stirs my spirit. I remember the first few moments of the first of their shows I saw, I simply cried and cried. This was magic. I hope you enjoy this clip.

(Note: I feel I must say that they lost me a little bit with their ticketing policies. It seems that all the best seats are never available, even if you join their Cirque Club. After years of trying, I was particularly put off when a friend was able to get corporate seats in the best section - no problem. Still the beauty of the show experience is undeniable)

My Full Pink Moon Dreamboard

2009-04-09T21:05:00.001-04:00

It's been an extraordinary first quarter of the year, truly amazing. And April has seen the culmination of so much work - the completion of The Next Chapter, the launch of Your Creative Spark, the beginning of our kitchen reno.

And now, under this full pink moon, I feel the need to for stillness. I want to have some quiet, some time alone. I want to take long, hot showers and sleep more. I want to enjoy the day-to-day, to enjoy the love in my life, to enjoy our new kitchen when it's done.

It feels like a time to celebrate all that I've accomplished, to take a breathe and savour it all and then to dive back in and discover what's next.

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-09T21:00:00.001-04:00

Now the excitement is starting to include things being added. This L-shaped space used to be a big staircase down to our basement. Now it's on its way to having a floor and becoming an eat-in seating area!

Full Pink Moon Dreamboard ~ April 9, 2009

2009-04-09T00:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome to The Full Pink Moon, a celebration of the beginning of spring, of the colour of blooms. Let what you would like to bloom in your life inspire your dreamboard this month. Let's see waht magic we can stir.

I've received some great questions about dreamboards, full moons, hemispheres - and I'll be posting more about each of these soon. Remember, always trust your instincts and your heart above anything. The right way to create a dreamboard is your way.

Note: The next full moon is May 9th.

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ April 8, 2009

2009-04-08T12:45:00.003-04:00

What do you wish to transform?

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

This is what's left after 5 layers of flooring: 2 sets of tiles, 2 sets of linoleum and 1 layer of wood. We're off to a fresh start.

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-07T12:00:00.001-04:00

Found in our floors - an excerpt from The Toronto Star, June 1, 1922.

Lemonade Award

2009-04-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

Thank you to the lovely Sema for giving me the lemonade award! A Lemonade Award is given to bloggers that show a positive attitude, gratitude,and a willingness to share their ideas, support and online friendship. In other words, people who make lemonade when they get lemons!

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 7 blogs that show great Gratitude and/or Attitude.

3. Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.

In the spirit of gratitude I'd like to pass along this award to a few of the very many bloggers I am grateful for...

Suzie in her new incarnation as Suzie the Foodie for having an attitude that allows her to follow her heart into another new adventure.
Melba of An Eager Soul's Journal for always being soul-full.
Jennlui of A Trinket Treasury for Mantra Mondays and more.
Sara of Living the Artists Way for her radiance.
Fatma of A Magnificent Life for her abundant generosity.
Christine of BlissChick for spreading bliss.
Molly of Her Speak for her vivaciousness.

Reno Pic of the Day

2009-04-06T08:31:00.001-04:00

I thought you might be interested in seeing one of the weird discoveries of this reno. Look on top of our old stove. Do you see the little grey ceramic toilet? That was between the walls of our kitchen!

I think when the walls go back up, I'm going to slip in a beautiful heart-shaped rose quartz I have. That's sure to create a different kind of blessing in the kitchen.

Project 365 09 ~ Week 9 & 10

2009-04-05T00:00:00.001-04:00

I missed last week's Project 365, so I'm here with 2 weeks that were clearly about the kitchen reno and Your Creative Spark. A couple of weekends ago, we had decided to do some comparison shopping for appliances and were excited to find a RONA near us. Much less excited when we arrived and it was, um, tiny.

So, we trekked out farther, but this was definitely more the size we needed. What's funny though is we came home with more tile samples but totally forgot to look at appliances. Man, we're losing it!

Finally, our choices have been made: floor tile, backsplash and countertop. The paint colour's still in process, but this one worked well.

Waiting for the bus after my haircut. I can't believe it's still so cold.

I am finally making some real progress on design for my website. It may end up being a really big transition for Starshyne Productions too. I'm still working out all of the details. Luckily the wonderful Tara of Elastic Mind is helping me.

And the packing up of the kitchen begins! Those farmer peas are from my mom. What's wild is you make a traditional Latvian meal with them, which is my heritage on my mom's side, but you buy them at the Dutch store, which is Justin's heritage!

On Friday Shannon came over to help continue packing. And she pulled out these awesome armwarmers that she knit, cables and all, and I just loved them, so she gave them to me! Thanks, Shannon. You rule!

On Saturday Justin and I spent the entire day moving furniture and cleaning in preparation for the kitchen reno. At the end of the day we were eating takeout and having a beer while sitting on the floor.

Monday I had a wonderful day of coaching, working on Your Creative Spark and having the lovely Jinx keep me company.

Making the last cup of tea before all the appliances get moved out and work begins. I won't miss the pink, though I'm sure someone really liked it when they put it in. When we moved in, even the baseboards were pink.

This is our temporary kitchen. It's actually quite a cozy setup and we have everything we need while the work is done. (Remind me I said that)

The first day of demo work.

Friday was an absolutely fabulous day with the Celebration Call for the close of The Next Chapter: The 12 Secret of Highly Creative Women edition. It was a wonderful call full of laughter and the wisdom of celebration.. You can listen to it here.

And that marked the launch of Your Creative Spark: Inspiring Interviews with 12 Highly Creative Bloggers. I'm so excited about this project and all the creative inspiration within. You can find otu more about it here.

And I met up with Shannon afterwards to celebrate. And because it was Friday! We had a rockin' time hanging out and chatting about all the amazing things that are going on.

I am filled with gratitude.

It's Live: Your Creative Spark ~ available now

2009-04-03T15:00:00.003-04:00

Today is the big day!

As a part of The Next Chapter book blogging group, I had the honour and joy of interviewing 12 amazing, inspiring, magnificent creative bloggers. I've brought these interviews together into a collection of almost 3 hours of transformational audio in Your Creative Spark: Inspiring Interviews with 12 Highly Creative Bloggers. And I wanted you to have it all in writing too, so you'll get a pdf of complete transcripts of each interview, plus my dedication and introduction. And many of the amazing women who participated have contributed bonus materials to encourage your creative dreams!

I've spent a lot of time with these interviews and every time I listen to them, I'm so touched by the wisdom, grace and insight of the women who participated.

In Your Creative Spark, you'll receive creative inspiration and guidance from...

life coach and artist Jennifer Lee
writer and domestic diva Suzie Ridler
pet portrait artist Jessie Marianiello
mixed-media artist Leah Piken Kolidas
artist and writer Christine Mason Miller
artist and coach Andrea Scher
artist Melba McMullin
goddess Leonie Allan
artist and activist Jen Lemen
photographer and poet Darlene Kreutzer
writer and scrapbooker Sunny Schlenger
artist and writer Laini Taylor

Your Creative Spark includes...

Audio files of interviews with 12 highly creative artists and bloggers. There's 2 hours and 57 minutes of inspiring audio to savour over many cups of tea, long walks or while you're enjoying studio time.
Complete transcripts in pdf format so that you can print them out and underline, write inspirations and draw in the margins as ideas start to bubble and flow.
Special Bonuses: Several interviewees have contributed additional materials to encourage your creative spirit to soar!
Connection: Where to find each of these inspiring women, so you can stay connected. The inspiration doesn't have to end when the interviews are over!
With your bonuses, that's almost 3 hours of audio and over 100 pages for you to download and enjoy.

Your Creative Spark: Inspiring Interviews with 12 Highly Creative Bloggers

just $47 for
2 hours and 57 minutes of audio (mp3)
122 pages of accompanying text (pdf),
including full transcripts and bonus material from featured artists

To celebrate the launch in a spirit of joy and abundance, I'm offering a special price for everyone who buys this collection before Sunday April 5th at midnight EST. Enter the Coupon Code "celebrate" and save $10!

If you'd like more information, you can discover even more at Your Creative Spark. And if you'd like to connect with me directly, please feel free to contact me at jamie (at) openthedoor (dot) ca.

Inspiration: Shutter Sisters

2009-04-03T00:00:00.002-04:00

Shutter Sisters Dream Assignment: Picture Hope from LittlePurpleCow Productions on Vimeo. Register and vote for this beautiful project at Your Dream Assignment. Today is the last day to vote and help make this dream come true..

Jen Lemen is one of the interviewees on Your Creative Spark, which launches later today. Stay tuned for more details.

Fool's Gold: Lessons The Fool Has Taught Me

2009-04-01T22:30:00.004-04:00

Cosmic Tarot Deck

I first called this article, "Lessons fools have taught me" but that sounded like I was going to write about ex-boyfriends and bad teachers. What I really want to talk about is the wisdom of The Fool, the first card of the tarot.

1. Have beginner's mind.

Over time we fill up with knowledge, habits and experience, and generally, that serves us well. But sometimes, being that full gets in the way of fresh thinking and creative possibilities. The gift of letting go of knowing is the opportunity to learn.

2. Leap.

Traditionally, The Fool is shown to be teetering on the edge, just about to go over a cliff. Whenever we step into a new adventure, it's a risk. It's natural to be nervous. But think how many things were once risky that are now second nature, like standing, for example! Courage and confidence are created one leap at a time.

3. Don't pay too much attention to your fears.

See the little dog with The Fool? Often the dog is shown nipping at his heels or biting the seat of his pants to stop him from going over. Our fears do this to us all the time: sometimes protecting us, but sometimes holding us back. Take the time to listen to your fears, do what you can to support your safety and then get on with the adventure!

4. Play.

Even on the cliff, this Fool is taking time to dance. The most precious moment you have is now. Make room for some lightness and joy, maybe even some silliness - you may just find it delicious!

5. Don't worry about being a 0.

Our real human need to be respected and valued can sometimes transmute into a drive for and dependency on status. Keeping up with appearances and worrying what others think of us is exhausting! The Fool reminds us to drop out of that game and simply be. Wherever you are, it's just the right place on your journey.

What foolishness will you get up to this month?

This post is an excerpt from News from Jamie Ridler Studios. Subscribe by adding your name and email to the form below and you'll receive monthly inspiration plus information about my newest offerings. I'd love to stay connected with you.

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ April 1, 2009

2009-04-01T08:33:00.002-04:00

What do you wish to trust in?

What I'm working on...

2009-03-30T12:34:00.004-04:00

This is what I'm tucked away working on this week.
More information, coming soon!

Who Does She Think She Is: The Discussion Continues

2009-03-26T20:35:00.005-04:00

I want to thank everyone for their thought-full, vulnerable, honest and loving comments on the post I wrote about my experience watching the documentary Who Does She Think She Is? I deeply appreciated the dialogue about art, mothers and women who are not mothers.

I have great respect for the film and for the director, Pamela T. Boll. In fact, I wanted to share with her the impact the documentary had on me, and so I emailed her my post. It was the beginning of a great dialogue. I've asked her permission to share it with you and she'll be sharing it soon with readers of the film's blog. I hope that all of us discussing the issues and sensitivities involved will bring more understanding and deeper connection to us all.

1. My post, emailed to Pamela.

2 Pamela's response:

Hello Jamie:

Thanks for writing about your response to the film. So, sorry that you felt you and your experiences were not mirrored by the film.

I don't feel that "mother" and "woman" are the same. I chose to profile mothers, because I feel that for women who have either decided, made a choice or otherwise do not have children it is a bit easier to heed one's "inner artist." Not much easier, given thousands of years of experience as the "other." Just somewhat.

I feel that women have been seen as most valuable in their role as "mother" and perhaps 'wife." So, I wanted to explore what happens when these roles, valued by "the patriarchy", society, the culture--whatever you want to call it--- came up against a woman's need to be a person in her own right.

Yours, Pamela

3. My response

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply and for sharing more about your intention. I hear you – and I’m fascinated by that last piece about patriarchy’s valued roles and a woman’s need to be a person in her own right. You know, at the screening in Toronto when the man in the audience talked about the “luxury” of art-making, I felt so deeply this aspect of the film – how could he not see that it was about our right to be ourselves?

You know, writing about the movie has been a gift. There has been really interesting and healing discussion in my community, the creative blogging community, in response to the film and the post. People have been open and discussed this divide there can be between mothers and non-mothers. You can read the comments here if you like. It seems to me there’s more discussion to come and stories to be told.

Would you give me permission to share your email with the group? I know they would be interested to hear your response.

And I want you to know that I appreciate the film and the story. I recognize its importance. In many ways this was a matter of mismatched expectations.

Thanks again for responding.

Sincerely,

Jamie

4. Pamela's response

I would love for you to post my email on your blog!

I truly truly did not intend to exclude women who are not mothers from the issues addressed in this film. I think that even if a woman is not a mother, she has a mother, her sister is a mother, her grandmother is a mother...and in that sense, it applies.

Also, I do feel that in the film, we discuss, pretty explicitly the fact that for many women for many years, the only way to even do one’s work, was to NOT have children. So, the film explores what happens when one does have children?

I feel that for women, this issue of having children or not, can be so intensely divisive and that is sad. I love having friends who are not mothers—they have a different perspective! And we need ALL of women’s experiences seen, heard, lived and sung!

Yours, Pamela

In the end, one of my big learnings (and I've shared this with Pamela) is that there is such a deep need for our stories, for all of our stories. Everyone wants to see their story, myself included. It's like Who Does She Think She Is was a life raft in the middle of an ocean of women and each of us wanted so deeply to get on.

And of course Pamela had to tell the story she was meant to tell - and it was gorgeous and important and a reminder to us all to tell our stories and to make room for each other's.

I've been deeply encouraged by the discussion, its vulnerability and its desire for inclusion. I believe that from there so much is possible. There's many more films to be made and much healing to be done.

PS Thank you to each of you who encouraged me to consider making a film. Little did you know you were watering a dream in my heart. Much love to you all!

Wishcasting Wednesday ~ March 25, 2009

2009-03-25T07:25:00.002-04:00

What is your money wish?