The Rejuvenation Grange​
  • Home
  • Work With Me
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
Picture

Illuminating and Unearthing You

2/18/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Winter for me over the last few years has been a time for visioning, for watering the seeds of desire and lovingly building the soil around them as they lay in a state of wait.
Then come spring, when the snow melts and the sun the warms the moist ground, they can sprout. However, for the years before the last few I sat in the never ending winter; I had let my desires sit dormant in an arid frozen tundra.

A decade ago I became a single mom when my daughter was 2. This upended my life and I through myself into full survival mode (due to fear) and I then placed my desires, my dreams of being a creative entrepreneur into a box and buried them so deep that I could no longer feel their heartbeat calling me.

I did this because of self doubt and because I had a misunderstanding with creative currency. My familial story lead me to believe that being creative meant that you wouldn’t make money and since I was my daughter’s sole provider until she was six, that meant, in my mind of limits, that nurturing my dream was not an option. I had to make a living to support my daughter which at that time meant leaving all my desires behind.

I stopped painting for me- I painted with my daughter but it was for her.
I stopped going on outdoor adventures to photograph and write because I didn’t want to ask for support so that I could.
I stopped finding the time to connect with my body and let it flourish through dance and movement (except for the occasional dance party with my daughter in the kitchen or 10 minute yoga sessions that fit a young girls attention span.)
I stopped allowing myself to explore and dream and create because I was so far down into the shadow, I couldn’t see the light.


Over these years, my light dimmed to a flicker and it wasn't until one day while brushing my teeth and looking at myself in the mirror, that I truly saw the withered sadness in my eyes.

I didn’t recognize me in that reflection and it sacred me! In fact, a jolt ran through my body and in that moment I decided I had to reconnect to me.

I needed to rebuild the soil, reconnect with my desires, my passion and figure out how to make the space to do that.

I was done withering.

My journey to what I call my Illuminated Life took a few years of saying yes to exploring my creativity again, of excavating my limiting beliefs around money and creativity, of asking for and investing in support so I could find the time to play for me, of trusting myself and being open to creating new loving relationships, and finally curating a business that fused my talent and my experience as a teacher together.

Illumination is the process of coming home to you, to revisit those forgotten desires, to reconnect and play with them and then to see where they lead you.

As adults and especially as parents you get sucked into the whirlpool deferred desires, where you place the needs of children, the needs of your job, the needs of your partner or parents often get placed ahead of our own. This will suck the life out you and shroud you from the magic of playing with your passions, or creating deep connections to yourself and others, it will dim your light and wither your your joy if you don’t start making the time ( little bits at first) to do something that will illuminate you!

Through doing this work I was able to fuse my light, my expertise and my passions into my business where I now run workshops, retreats and programs that help others Illuminate their light and curate their sacred vision and passionate action plan.

If you are interested in illuminating you and want to be lead on that journey in a supportive, creative and sacred space join me on Saturday, March 9th from 10-2 virtually from the comfort of your home, or coffee shop, or office via Zoom.


You can learn more about the Illuminating Your Sacred Vision Virtual Retreat here.
0 Comments

I am an Isolation Maven: Circling with My Shadow

10/29/2018

0 Comments

 
I have just returned from 3 days of communing and learning and journeying with 16 other women as we dug deep into our shadow. Circling in sisterhood is something I never did until 3 years ago and it has changed my life. When I commune in circle with other women weather it is for business or personal reasons I give myself the permission to celebrate myself and get the support to dig deep and connect with my soul and my magic as a women.

In western society we have not allowed ourselves the space or time to do this. The pressures of modern thought and expectations devalue the idea of women ceremonies and gatherings so that we run in the circle of nurturing others and giving to others and earning for the collective. We rarely make time to gather and make sacred space to share ourselves openly and without fear of judgement. The idea that we need to give ourselves permission to do something that nurtures ourselves inside and out is part of our shadow speaking. For many of us the shadow self has been ignored and stuffed so far inside us we don't even know she exists, and when this is the case that is where she takes the reigns and leaves you spinning.

Our shadow is the piece of our subconscious that is there to keep us safe but can also inhibit our life if allowed to be neglected or given permission to take up all the space within our subconscious mind.

This journey of coming face to face with our shadow can crack us open and make us feel raw but if we recognize her, let her known she is seen and heard we can then move forward with her by our side but not in the driver seat.
This work is crucial if you are feeling stuck, if you seem to be going in circles instead of spiraling up. This work can catapult you forward.

Last week I came face to face with her.


My shadow is the Isolation Maven.

She is quiet and her cloak helps me from being exposed.
She has told me for years not to stand out for if I do I could get hurt.
She has told me to not let others see all of me, my fire, my silly playful nature, she told me my vulnerability will show as weakness.
She says that my ideas are too big and others will judge or hurt me.

She has made my inner sanctuary so comfortable and easy that the idea of coming out of my shell is like stepping myself naked on to a public stage BUT she has kept me small and my skin is crawling, my skin needs to shed and my ideas need to be seen and heard.

She has told me that abundance comes from hard work but that work should not rock the boat for it might all go away. Risk is too risky.
She has told me prosperity equals greed.
She has said you have just enough to get by and that is noble.

All of that is just her way of keeping the status quo because for her change is scary.
The unknown for her is the dark abyss.
I now see her but can know longer let her hold the reigns.
0 Comments

To Live is To Fly!​

10/5/2018

0 Comments

 


​Allowing Yourself to Play Freely and Create Deeper
Connections with Yourself and Your Kids

Picture

​“Play is really the work of childhood”- Fred Rogers 
I would add play is essential for life to bloom at all stages.

As a former teacher fusing play into my curriculum was done effortlessly because I knew it was paramount to help all my students grow and challenge themselves socially and emotionally as well as physically and mentally.

When my daughter was young 2-6 years old, I made sure to give her a variety of playful experiences daily but I was often an observer or a engaged with her in her play only when she asked. But, my desire to play was not really there, actually it was just buried.

The idea of being silly or playful once I became an adult made me feel uncomfortable for fear of judgement. It was this fear that stopped me from experimenting and engaging with my soul on a deeper level.

As a child I played with my environment like splashing through swamps and climbing trees, created art and performances. I was silly but I had a reserved side and as I got older the silly faded and the serious mindset took over.

Once I graduated college I was focused on work, surviving, and going through the motions of “adult life” and the “play” that I did engage in, came in the form of art, dance, swimming, or meeting up with friends for dinner and maybe a game or two.


These actions were a very basic level of play BUT they didn't move me out of comfort zone or help me grow socially, emotionally or spiritually.


It was not until a few years ago when I was feeling that my life was stagnant, which lead me to do some deep dive soul searching, that I discovered the wondrous expanse that RADICAL PLAY, playing past your comfort zone can bring to you as adult.


It started when I was starving for connection to my creative soul. I mentioned this to a friend of mine during a heart to heart and she suggested a dance group, it was not just a ballet or modern dance group but an Ecstatic Dance group. I was a bit wary and deep down a bit scared at first, in fact it took me months before I “made the time” to go.
We would gather monthly around the full moon and create a fire and people would play music and all you needed to do was feel it and move without thought, let your freak fly!


Letting myself go and feel was super hard at first! Since I had been trained as a dancer I knew how to  move gracefully BUT I had great difficulty letting my self just feel and move without thought or judgement. A women there who could sense my trepidation suggested closing my eyes so I could boost my sense of hearing and feel the vibrations in the ground.


THIS pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone, to my FERTILE EDGE but I kept with it and my body started to flow.


 As I silenced my mind my body took over and my movement because full of emotion. I wept releasing that first layer of fear and it was beautiful.

After this experience I came home, my daughter was asleep and my friend, who was caring for her while I was dancing, went home after we had a luscious conversation about the act of letting go and being.


It was at that point I felt compelled to write down the beginning of a business idea, an idea that came to me as I was driving back from the dance circle. What came out of me that night was the first spurt of a vision that would eventually become the Rejuvenation Grange.


So, over the years I have come back to this memory for reflection because it has so many pieces of inspiration for myself and others and has given me the gift of connecting with my deepest desires and playfully engaging with my daughter fully.


It was this act of radical play that pushed me to leap and take a risk without panic setting in. It was this act of letting my true self free that allowed me to start splashing in puddles, swinging super high, and climbing trees with my daughter and feeling joyous while do it.


How would it feel to shed those layers of judgement and rigidity and experience playing again? Join me for my 5 Day Play Challenge starting October 15-19. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Picture
0 Comments

Bring your Vision to Life and Create an Sacred Livelihood.

6/12/2018

0 Comments

 
How do you feel about Monday’s?

I love them!

I love my work and how I structure my week for my Sacred Livelihood. I have set up my weekly work flow to allow me time for soul fueling space such as creative play, community connection and quality time with my family in nature.

This love of Monday’s didn’t come overnight.

In fact it took me three years to discover how best to weave my variety of gifts together.

It took this time of nurturing my inner being while learning tools to release old stories that were holding me back. Through work, I was able to connect with my true gifts and move through fear of being visible to creating a business that weaves facilitating and teaching, artistry, play and knowledge of creating creative business structures together.

Creative play inspires me to connect my soul to my work. This is a time when I push myself to the edge of comfort zone. Its different then creative practice, it is a time for me to do something new and different and this practice has allowed me to make huge break throughs when it comes to visibility, to how I want to create certain work structures and most importantly it has allowed me to connect to daughter on a deeper level.

Community Connection is the foundation of how i bring my life and work together and share my sacred vision. How I connect and engage with my local and global community has to be aligned. I am passionate about my work and bringing people together, so HOW I connect is a sacred act for me and my business brand.

Creating my Sacred Livelihood came with a ton of trial and error, digging into my old beliefs and stories steeped in “the starving artist” mindset and creating a way to bring my programs to the world ( aka marketing) that was from my heart not from a prescribed method.

Prescribed methods don’t work for most people because in order for it to work it needs to empower you to bloom. It needs to be tailored to:

How YOU want to be seen.

How YOU want to share your vision fully.

How YOU want to put your work into the world without overwhelm and soul sucking.

The HOW is unique to you.

Are you struggling with knowing how to meld your unique gifts into Your Sacred Livelihood so you will love Monday’s too?

My Sacred Livelihood lets me to do exactly what I am meant to do- help amazing visionaries create a lively journey, into making a living, doing what they love.

I guide them to understand and innovate creative work structures that empower them as they design a weekly flow of support and resilience so they can make their biggest impact and monetize it.


Discover YOUR Ikigai ( Your reason for waking up excited ) with this workbook here.


Come Play Your Way to Your Sacred Livelihood here and set up a complimentary 30 minute Vision Session here.
0 Comments

Bloom into Your Fertile Edge

5/23/2018

1 Comment

 
Spring has sprung here in the Northeast and here at the Rejuvenation Grange new ideas are blooming and coming alive!
We are working to push to the fertile edge,  and bring inspired programs and events to you that are boldly playful, create unconventional connections and spice things up so you can explore, experiment and create from the inside out so that you can grow the life you want with clarity and ease.
This winter was a season of introspection, connecting with my desires and playing with my inner child.
What did I discover from giving myself space to do this?


That my soul needs to create and boldly play.


As a business owner this is not always easy to do but what I found is when I pushed to my fertile edge (that place where your curiosity lies, that place where you can’t see what is beyond the horizon, that place just outside your comfort zone) I was able to make radical shifts in how I was creating, what I was creating and how to make the space for my business to grow without getting overwhelmed.
One thing I have been struggling with, is doing THIS: writing newsletters.
Why?

I was not inspired and sitting down to type was the last thing I wanted to do but I knew that I wanted to connect to you all and I wanted it to be fun, creative and authentic.

So during a conversation with a colleague I mentioned the resistance I was having and what she said was so simple but shifted everything for me.
She said if you are doing something and it is not working for you DO IT DIFFERENTLY!

I took it a step further and made it radically different for myself.
I made sacred time three times a week for my creative practice.
Sometimes this involved painting, doing cartwheels and dancing, or skipping through a field. The way I connect to my creative spirit is through moving my body but doing this outside in plain site of anyone passing by was unforgettable for me.

For you, what is radically different may look totally different.
The key is push yourself to do something you rarely or never have done. At the end of my practice I would sit down and create a mandala and journal using notes inside of it.


Here is mine from today:
Picture
I started using this method to write my programs, copy and this newsletter. For me it allows my concrete brain to take a back seat so my creative side can flow with ease.


Another tool I discovered when I was feeling a need to connect with my inner desires about my work and how to move it forward with alignment to my essence was Ikigai.


Ikigai is a Japanese word whose meaning translates roughly to a reason for being, encompassing joy, a sense of purpose and meaning and a feeling of well-being.

The word derives from iki, meaning life and kai, meaning the realization of hopes and expectations.


The key questions to discover this are:


What do you love?


What are you good at?


What can you be paid for?


What does the world need?


And where they all meet is the sweetspot for you in this moment. It is your Ikagai.

There are Venn Diagrams out there that can help you put this into a visual form but I found it was super helpful to have someone guide me through the process and ask other key questions that pushed me to my Fertile Edge. ​
Picture
It helped me get crystal clear on how to Bloom and make forward movement, how step into my power and connect with my true brilliance.
It was so powerful for me that I want to share this method with you.

Join me on June 1st at 12:00 pm EST for a virtual Ikigai workshop where I will lead you through this process and take you deeper into how to put your Ikigai into aligned action.



You can sign up here.


If you are feeling stuck in your creative muck, if you are wanting to get inspired and connect to creative collective Join me here and the other Soulful Innovators in our Facebook group The Soulful Innovators Collective
1 Comment
<<Previous

    Posted by AndreaParker

    The Rejuvenation Grange

    Archives

    February 2019
    October 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    March 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Work With Me
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy