La Salonniere

Jamie Ridler

Jamie Ridler is a creative living coach. Her website, Jamie Ridler Studios, is a valuable resource for anyone who wants to pursue their creative dream or even just incorporate a little more creativity into their life. Jamie provides one-on-one and group coaching, hosts online communities, offers creative courses, publishes a weekly podcast and writes a wonderful email newsletter. Everything she does seems grounded in kindness. She is truly one of the nicest people I know. Jamie resides in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband, Justin, and their cat, Jinx. She has inspired me many times, so it gives me great pleasure to feature her here.

1. Jamie, you’ve written that you were a late bloomer and detoured around your creative path many times—that it took awhile to reach the level of creative success you’ve achieved. When your life circumstances were pulling you away from your creative path, how did you manage to keep your creative spark alive?

In a word: journaling. Journaling has been a constant and a lifeline during the difficult times, particularly when I was finding my way. During one major turning point, I worked passionately through The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I wrote morning pages (3 pages of long-hand freeform writing) every day and that’s what started to shift things. I could see in black and white what I was yearning for, what I was upset by again and again. I could see what had to change and the direction I had to go. In my writing, I came face-to-face with my self and with the “me” I wanted to be.  Journaling helped me see, acknowledge and commit to my creative path.

2. Many in the creative blogosphere have gotten to know you from your wonderful online community, Wishcasting Wednesday, and the accompanying Wishcasting Journal. For readers who might not be familiar with Wishcasting, can you explain what the process is? Can anyone participate?

Absolutely, everyone can participate! On Wednesdays, I share a prompt for wishing. It might be, “What do you wish for your body?” or “What do you wish to create?” or “What do you wish to say no to?” You can answer in your journal or answer in your heart. If you have a blog, you can answer in a post, share your link and you’ll find other Wishcasters coming by and supporting you with our shared phrase, “As you wish for yourself, so I wish for you also.” A beautiful, loving community has grown around this weekly ritual. It’s magic.

I also created the Wishcasting journal as an offline way of developing this powerful practice. The journal has 52 prompts that you can answer at your own pace, in your own way. Open the journal at random in the morning and make a wish! Bring it to life by writing it out, drawing it or gluing in pictures of what you’re dreaming of.  By developing a regular practice of checking in with our hearts and expressing our desires, we invite magic and possibility into our lives. After years of Wishcasting, I’ve seen the truth and beauty of that again and again.

3. Each Tuesday you publish your podcast, Creative Living with Jamie, where you interview inspiring people who are following creative paths. How has conducting creative interviews deepened your own creative process?

Amazingly so! I feel so blessed that I have this opportunity to chat with people at different stages and in different disciplines about their creative journey. There are moments when we’re both nodding our heads (and I know the audience is too!) because we recognize the same places, the same fears, the same joys. And there are times when someone shares something and it opens up a whole new way of thinking, a whole new range of possibilities. This happened for me when I interviewed photographer Tracey Clark. She opened me up to whole new ways of playing with my camera. I had in my mind that I needed to understand f-stops and apertures before I could use them. Tracey helped me see that I could experiment. I could take a shot, shift the settings, take a shot and see what happens. That was a revelation!

Being in conversation with great guests and amazing listeners helps me discover what our core concerns are. As creative spirits, where do we get stuck? What strategies help? What do we adore? What questions keep coming up? What inspires us? I find this wildly creatively exciting. It sparks my curiosity, fuels my sense of vision and inspires me to help. It drives what I do at Jamie Ridler Studios, helping me share great content and design classes, products and services that are really rooted in what my community wants and needs.

For example, the number one challenge I heard from everyone was time. That’s why I created my new e-course, Sparkles. It is a series of 31 simple daily creative prompts brought to you by an amazing group of inspiring teachers and designed to spark your creative spirit in 5 minutes (or less!) a day. I keep telling everyone – it changes everything when you Sparkle!

4. I really like the way you use social media. Your Twitter feed and Facebook page are both brimming with positive inspiration, and you seem to genuinely enjoy engaging with your followers. As a self-employed creative professional, how has social media benefited your business?

Thank you so much, Marilyn! I just love social media, especially Twitter. For a solopreneur, it is such a gift to be able to connect with all of these amazing people every single day. It’s like stepping into the coolest lunchroom and having fun and fascinating conversations with inspiring people all over the world. How good is that?!

And yes, it has absolutely benefited my business. I have received invitations to teach workshops, guest post, participate in events, contribute to products and be on podcasts, all from people who’ve come to know me through social media. I have also developed inspiring entrepreneurial friendships. Every month I meet with an amazing group of women innerpreneurs here in Toronto; we all met through social media. I have gained a community, clients and opportunities and had a great time meeting, connecting and sharing with the most amazing people from around the world.  I love it.

5. Let’s talk about The Elder Sister Project at Roots of She. We don’t typically see a lot of conversation about aging at creative sites. What compelled you to tackle such an important topic under a creative umbrella? What sorts of themes do you hope to explore?

This project has been stirring in me for the past couple of years. I’d been thinking a lot about aging myself and didn’t really feel like I had anyone to have a frank, compassionate discussion with. Conversations about aging seem to be limited to self-deprecating jokes. I wanted to feel connected to other women. I wanted to know what they were going through. I wanted to know if I was alone in feeling what I was feeling. With The Elder Sister Project, I quickly found I wasn’t!

The conversation has been amazing, inspiring, thought-provoking and real. No doubt there is a lot of tenderness and privacy around the topic. The rawness of what people shared with me behind the scenes has been deeply moving. I hope that the series has at least started the discussion. I encourage anyone who’s been inspired by it to continue – write an article, write a story, write to the media and say you want more real stories on this, create a photo series (I did one of me from when I was a baby until now). I’ve written about what our worries and questions are, about our relationship to our bodies, how we see ourselves, how we change over time, how we can empower ourselves through shifting our questions. I covered a lot of ground in the series but it’s only a ripple on the surface. There’s so much more that needs to be explored!

6. Dance is typically perceived as a young person’s medium and activity. As a dancer who’s also exploring the shifting landscape of aging, can you suggest a few simple ideas that Elder Sisters can incorporate into their daily lives to experience the joy of dance?

Dance is my first love and helping people come to their dance is something I’m called to do. The simplest thing of all is to pick a song, just one song, and dance. Just dance. Don’t worry if it’s just a shuffle. Don’t worry what you look like. Close your eyes. Close the door. Let your body feel the music and move. We are born to move. Look at babies, how they move all the time – wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.  That impulse brings us alive.

If it feels really awkward and you don’t know what to do, choose one part of your body to dance. Put on that song and say, today, I’m just going to move my hips. I’m going to let me hips respond to the music. Or today, I’m just going to dance with my hands. I’m going to lie here in bed with my iPod on and let me hands do the dancing. Or my feet. Or my fingers. Just start. Your body will thank you – and so will your spirit. Dance belongs to everybody. And it belongs to us for a lifetime.

7. I love that sophistication is one of your style touchstones. How does city life in Toronto enable you to unleash your sophisticated side?

I love you, Marilyn! I’m a city girl through and through. I love coffee shops and book stores, galleries and movie theatres, museums and amazing restaurants. Toronto has all of that and more. There are so many events in Toronto you couldn’t possibly do them all! You could go to a book launch one day, dragon-boat racing another, take a hooping class, grab a meal in Little India and finish your week off with a candlelit night of storytelling.

So how does a girl dress for all that? I’m a big lover of simple elegance. I want the same outfit to take me everywhere, (okay, I’ll change for hooping) and I want to be able to move. I love walking through the city and seeing what’s going on, so comfortable, awesome boots are always a win! It often surprises people too that I’m pretty formal. I’m not a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. Not even at home. I’d rather sparkle. I like to dress up. I like special occasions. I like a sense of event and grandeur and I love to create opportunities for that.

8. You’ve shared that one of your recent goals is to be a more adventurous traveler. What destinations are you hoping to visit in 2011 and how will those trips help you to meet that goal?

This whole traveling thing has been absolutely amazing! Early last year when I set the intention, all of a sudden I had so many places to go! I went to the Kripalu Center to assist Jennifer Louden on retreat. I went to Portsmouth, NH for a fantastic workshop with Alicia Forest and visited some awesome blogging friends in the Boston area. I spent an incredible week in San Francisco for my brother’s wedding! I’m still beaming over how it all came to life!

This year I’m planning to go to Portland for Chris Guillebeau’s World Domination Summit (and thank you, Marilyn, for your awesome Portland recommendations!) I’m going to Nova Scotia to visit my sister, Suzie the Foodie. (You can imagine how spoiled I’ll be with good food there!) I’m going to Portsmouth again in the fall and Justin and I are thinking of a weekend jaunt to Chicago! 

Travel has become a part of my life and I love it! The next big challenge for growing my traveling confidence will be going someplace where I can’t rely on English!

9. You’re always so sunny and positive, yet everyone has off days and needs downtime. When you’re feeling depleted, what steps do you take to nourish and recharge yourself?

Absolutely! Shifting gears is a big part of it for me. I’m incredibly driven and can really throw myself in, so when I’m getting depleted I need to “slowly step away from the computer, Ms. Ridler” and go for a walk, hang out with my honey, read a book, go to a movie, take a Nia class, watch some bad TV, crochet. But my ultimate favourite refresh experience is to go to the spa. It gets me outside of the house, so I can’t get tempted to do more work, and connects me to my body, reminding me to love and take care of my life and my self. A half-day getaway - a relaxing facial, a delightful lunch, lounging with a book in a quiet, beautiful environment – is like a mini vacation for me. I always feel like a new woman when I walk out the door.

10. Let’s end the interview with some Wishcasting. Jamie, what do you wish to manifest in your creative life in the next year?

I have so many wishes! I wish to build a loving, talented team at Jamie Ridler Studios so that I can get even more amazing inspiration out there and serve even more creative spirits! I wish to spend more time in my body, dancing, running, finding my way into yoga. I wish to expand my knowledge of video making so I can bring more ideas to life – maybe even a documentary. I wish to invest in beautiful jewellery. I wish to relearn how to drive (I’m scared to say that one out loud because then I’ll have to start doing it!) I wish to spend more time in studio spaces. I wish to fill my practice with creative breakthrough sessions. I wish to launch a new offering called “Studio Time with Jamie” where you come play in the studio with me and we discover your vision and create a plan to get you into action. I wish to shine a light that inspires more and more people to awaken their creative potential. I wish to be a light in the world.

 

Website and Blog:  Jamie Ridler Studios

Sparkles e-course

A Year of Dreams

Workshop in a Box:  Soul Reflections – The Home Edition

Your Creative Spark: Inspiring Interviews with 12 Highly Creative Bloggers

Podcast (every Tuesday):  Creative Living with Jamie

Wishcasting Wednesday (every Wednesday)

Full Moon Dreamboards (Monthly)

Twitter: @starshyne

Facebook:  Jamie Ridler Studios

Shyne Like a Star Virtual Dance Party (Every May 1)

Eric Shiveley

Years ago a blogging friend told me about parcels of raw land that were for sale in a huge alpine valley in Southern Colorado. We were so taken with the beauty of the place that we bought five acres. Then one day I read a blog post she’d written about a friend of hers who was already living there. He’d made a documentary about his life there. I watched the trailer for the film…and was blown away. Meet Eric Shiveley.

1. Eric, can you set the scene for us and describe the San Luis Valley where you live and work?

The San Luis Valley is a flat, scrub-brush desert that straddles the Colorado/New Mexico border.  It's walled on the east by the Sangre De Cristo mountains, the west by the San Juans, and the south by mesas and tarantulas. It's a huge valley, but because it's so flat it looks small until you have to cross it. It's also one of the coldest areas in the lower 48 (the temperature averages 40.8 degrees over a year, and the January 2007 average temperature was 12 degrees). Although it's the sunniest part of Colorado, spring is long, icy cold, and very, very windy.

But from June until October it's the prettiest place you've ever seen. The skies, thunderstorms and sunsets are beyond description.  And you wonder why no one lives or visits here.  That's the other thing, no one lives here.  Pueblo is two hours away, and a trip there is like going to New York City.

Alamosa is the biggest town (8,000 people?), right in the center of the valley.  I live a few miles east of town in the open desert.  You can see Great Sand Dunes National Park from my kitchen window.

2. Your documentary, Everyone But You, tells the story of your move to the San Luis Valley to build a recording studio on land you had purchased there. The part that amazed me was that you taught yourself filmmaking while making the film. How long did it take you to make it?

It was a year of filming, then another year of filming and editing. It's a good thing it took so long because after two years I knew much better how to cut everything that wasn't needed.

3. Was the final film the one you set out to make or did the story change over time?

What I planned to make is still there, but the best parts came up on their own. The "planned" (for lack of a better word) and unplanned storylines end up woven together, and I don't think the two could work without each other.  If the movie works, that's why.  You see this guy with a plan. He follows through, and then gets drop-kicked into the oblivion by the powers that be.

4. Everyone But You was screened at some film festivals and was well-received. What was the festival experience like for you? Are there plans to show it at future festivals?

The experience was a bit strange but with a few moments where, you know, it's like your dream comes true and it's real.

Since I was a complete nobody it's almost a miracle the movie got the recognition it did.  At the time I thought it deserved more, but it's a two-hour movie made on a low-res camera, again by a complete nobody. So it had everything working against it.  You expect it to be hard when you have no agent or connections, but to live it and have selection committee members tell you how they had to fight to get you in because you're not a big name is something that stays with you.

Eventually you get tired of selling and it's time to get back to work on something else.  So I stopped pushing the movie.

5. You’re a very talented singer-songwriter and musician. (All of the songs in the film are original.) I’m a big fan of your music. Has your songwriting changed since you moved to the SLV, and if so, how?

Thanks and thanks for listening. Weird, but before I lived here in the valley I wrote songs about living in a trailer in the desert, then I ended up here in my trailer in the desert. I don't know if my writing has changed, but you're always trying to do something you haven't, or that doesn't come naturally. And playing with other people helps because you hear new things.  It's like this: A) One of my friends loves Neko Case and I liked the songs she sent me, B) I've always wanted to write something like the Gipsy Kings, and C) A friend from the coffee shop told me about turning south at Deming, New Mexico to get inexpensive dental care in Mexico. So I tried to write a Gipsy Kings/Neko Case song and named it "Greetings From Deming." It's on my new album.

I don't think your writing changes as much based on where you live as what you hear (and like) from friends, satellite radio in the coffee shop, or wherever. 

You get sick of playing the same grooves so naturally you keep trying ones you haven't.

6. Your most recent CD is Eden’s Light. When you set out to make a CD, do you have an overarching theme in mind for the entire CD, or do you wait until you’ve written quite a few songs and then start selecting songs to record?

Yes, all. I don't know how other people do it, but I usually have this big, vague, dark story in my head. It's not something I force, and the songs aren't literal chapters or anything, but it's all loosely but deeply related.  When you have most of the songs sketched out, you say, "Oh, this is way too depressing, I'll write a happy song for the beginning of the album." And that song ends up the darkest thing you've ever written. And so it goes.  But you do know when you're done.  And the only fun (and relatively easy) part is the packaging. The story and hard work are done, and for some reason it's fun, even though it's just as detailed as the writing and recording. It's like getting dressed up in your fancy, studded western suit for a gig.

7. In the film you document some of the jobs you took recording music for other bands and artists. Do you still take recording/engineering jobs? Has your studio produced client work for you in that area or do you use it primarily to record your own music?

These days I just do a song or video here and there for friends, for dirt cheap or free. If I record someone I want it to be great, and when I try to sleep I think, "Aw man, that should be a church organ at the beginning instead of strings." So for me it's not worth what a band without a budget can afford.

8. As a DIY musician, what challenges do you face when marketing and promoting your music?

Good question.  I won Best Composer at a top-tier film festival.  When I got home I gave a copy of the soundtrack to our local public radio station, figuring they'd at least listen.  During the next pledge drive I went in to make a donation and they told me to take something from their free bin.  There was my soundtrack, never been played.  If you're unknown you're up against every law of nature.  Your hometown doesn't give a shit until you're famous somewhere else, and the world at large mostly only wants what they already know.  Everyone does it. If you like Wilco but their new album bores you on first listen, you'll give it several more chances. If you've never heard of the band, you probably won't. Because of that, my goal has always been to wait until I have something great and polished before throwing it out there.

People don't realize how much they like polish. Presentation is probably 88% of this life.

9. The San Luis Valley is a very sparsely populated area and you live miles from the nearest town. What’s a typical day in the SLV like for you?

We all wake up at four, adjust the buffalo hides on the mules to make sure they don't freeze, and then hitch a buggy ride to the tradin' post to barter some egg-pone for chicken-pone and a twopence of shoelaces.  Then we scamper home over hill and dale to count the chickens and make sure the dial-up wasn't interrupted in the middle of that goat porn we've been downloading forever.

Anyhoo, Alamosa is pretty much like living anywhere but without the traffic. We have a four-year college and a 24-hour Walmart.

10. I love how your dogs make unexpected appearances in your projects. Can you tell us a little about them?

I love my doggies. I never thought I'd have Chihuahuas, then I met Macy (she's in my movie) and her Chihuahuas. Soon after you get a Chihuahua, everyone else's dog seems three times larger.  And you can't believe you used to think Chihuahuas are useless. Chihuahuas have it harder than you can imagine.  Children think they're toys and yank them around like dolls. Then they snap at the kid and get beaten by the kid or a parent.  Look at any Chihuahua rescue site and see how badly they're abused. The poor dogs are defenseless. Anyway I love Senor and Toro, and I wish people were nicer to Chihuahuas.

11. What’s one thing you’d like to see happen in your creative life in the coming year?

If I can make one absolute knockout video for a song on "Eden's Light" that would be cool. Maybe I could let the album go and start the next one.  I'd like to make one more album and be done. 

Thanks to Eric for a great interview!

In 2000, when independent bands were just beginning to release CDs, Eric Shiveley recorded his first album in the basement of his Denver home, with no previous experience writing, recording or singing.  The album, 'Everything Is Good' received overwhelming praise from a Denver/Boulder scene that was just beginning to get recognition that would soon explode. The Boulder Daily Camera wrote, "Several tracks could be Shiveley's ticket to the big time." But when Eric saw a legion of bands record one album and spend a year touring with very little gain, he decided to work on his writing and recording and put off promotion. Four more albums and a two-hour documentary later, Eric finally released "Eden's Light" (which he considers his first "real" album) in 2010.  But that's only the beginning of the story.

Website: http://ericshiveleymusic.net/

YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/eshiveley

A note from Eric:  Several people have been unduly kind and supportive of me and my music. They're on the Music & Friends page of my site.  Please visit them.  And thank you Marilyn.

Lori-Lyn Hurley

I've wanted to do a blogging interview series for years. I'm thrilled to kick it off with Lori-Lyn Hurley, one of my oldest, dearest blogging friends. She's a writer, a Reiki Master and an intuitive healer. Lori-Lyn extends such beautiful, loving energy out into the world. We talked about family history, her intuitive healing business, writing inspiration, social media, pursuing one's passion, the time demands of self-employment and the one thing she would encourage you to do every day. I hope you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

1. I’m fascinated by genealogy. How has your ancestry and/or family history shaped your choice to pursue work in healing and wellness?

My family and family history influenced my choice in several ways. When I was growing up, there was much discussion in my home about the fact that there was more to life, health, spirituality--more to this human experience--than one is often led to believe. I always knew the door was opened for me to explore pathways of thought and practice that felt right to me, rather than accepting what the dominant culture of the time wanted me to do or believe. 

Both of my parents were college professors, but when I was in middle school, my dad took a year's leave of absence from teaching so that he could pursue a career as an entertainer. He was actually about the same age that I am now. It was a risk - but he decided to take it and pursue his dream. He never went back to teaching and he's still performing. That decision of his was a great role model for me. It showed me the power in stepping forward into your desires and doing the work you love.

I can also see some direct links between my ancestry and the specifics of my work. Even though it wasn't always spoken about publicly, my grandmother experienced profound psychic ability. I've always known that was a part of my genetic structure and family history, as was anxiety and depression. Watching family members struggle with emotional issues, and hearing stories of the similar struggles of my ancestors, inspired me to want to find a better way. Part of my passion for learning all that I can about the way the body mind and spirit works, and how we can shape and influence our lived experience -- how we can heal -- is inspired by this history.

2. As a Certified Reiki Master, can you tell us where Reiki originated and what kind of global presence it has as a healing art?

As far as the origins of Reiki, there's some confusion and contradictory information, but what is widely understood is that Mikao Usui had a mystical experience in Japan in 1922, which led him to organize Usui Reiki as a hands-on healing technique. Reiki is actually a general term that describes a variety of spiritual healing methods, and Dr. Usui's technique is formally known as the Usui System of Natural Healing or Usui Reiki Ryoho. 

Dr. Usui's methods were changed slightly (for the American audience) when they were brought to the west by Hawayo Takata, and teachers like Diane Stein helped spread the teachings in an accessible way in the 70s and 80s, somewhat demystifying Reiki, in my opinion. (As much as energy healing can be demystified.)

I think we're living in an exciting time for energy work. What was once strictly the domain of spiritual seekers, shamans and mystics, is now broadening. Science is beginning to catch up with what spiritual healers have always known. Reiki is practiced in clinics and hospitals, more and more people are hearing about it and adopting it as part of their wellness routine.

I don't think the influence of nurses should be underplayed when it comes to how Reiki has spread in the western world. Doctors diagnose, but nurses heal. They know the power of loving human touch, and many nurses have been working quietly behind the scenes, and publicly, to promote the art of Reiki and bring it into the mainstream.

Even though I am trained in the Usui tradition, like many practitioners, I use the word Reiki loosely to encompass a variety of methods, both physically tangible and spiritually intuitive, that accelerate the flow of energy between the body and the emotional body, to promote healing and wellness on all levels.

It will be interesting to see how and where we go from here, but I do believe the world is catching on and more and more people are waking up to the profound power of channeling energy.

3. You have a M.F.A. in Fiction Writing and write beautiful nonfiction at your blog. Who do you read when you feel stuck as a writer?

(Well, first of all, thank you.) 

When I was eighteen or nineteen, someone I barely knew gave me a copy of Sharon Olds’ Satan Says and completely rearranged my understanding of what one could do as a writer. I had an immediate visceral reaction to her work. I think I own every Sharon Olds collection in publication, and those poems are my go-to medicine when I'm feeling stuck. Her words shoot straight into my blood and remind me how to be brave. Her poems also speak to the power of the personal. We, on this planet, are living a shared experience. She can tell the story of a moment in her life and even thought I didn’t live that moment, I can get in it with her and understand.

I also reach for Francesca Lia Block, because style is liberating to me. She reminds me about the freedom of art and how magical it is to be wildly truthful and wildly creative at the same time. Her words seem to zip across the page.

4. You also have a YouTube channel. What do you like most about vlogging?

I started posting videos online several years ago when I was part of the Co-Creating Your Reality project. I felt self-conscious at first, and when that project ended, I let my YouTube channel go dormant. I recently revived it, however, because I find video to be a great vehicle for connecting and getting the word out about what I do, but most importantly, for introducing myself to potential clients and friends. I see my work as a relationship. I think video allows people to know me in a way that the blog doesn't. It's also just really fun. It feels playful to me and it definitely pushes my boundaries in a good way.

5. How has social media contributed to your practice as an intuitive healer?

Social media has given me a community. I have not only met people, but forged real, deep and lasting friendships with people I never would have met otherwise. It allows me to find other voices that challenge and compliment my own. I feel that the internet, but social media in particular, is my school, my stage and a room in my temple. Like any tool, it can be used for good, evil or indifference, but I make sparking soul connections everyday via social media and those moments contribute to my work in a big way. 

In a practical sense, social media is how I advertise. (Although, I'm not crazy about that word!) I don't have the budget for ads, but I can talk about what I do on Facebook and Twitter and my people can find me and I can find them and we can, and do, have meaningful conversation and connection.

The fact that I can be sitting in Kentucky in my pajamas with my cup of coffee conversing with my dear friend in California, in real time, while we're also conversing with other people, blows me away. I mean, yes, there are also telephones, but there's just something about the wider community of social media -- the marriage of public and private -- it makes sense to me.

6. This year you became self-employed. What has been one of the unexpected gifts of self-employment?

Being able to see and be in my world fully has been a great and unexpected gift.

It actually took me a while to realize that I was in charge of how I scheduled my time. When I feel like it's a good time to go to the store, I can go. When I feel like it's a good time to sit on my porch, I can. I'm not saying that I'm living a life of leisure (I'm actually working more now than I was in my 9 to 5), but I'm in touch with my natural rhythms and the rhythms of my environment now in a way that I wasn't before. 

Even I didn't realize how much of myself, my senses and the way I experience life I had deadened and muffled so that I could survive in an office environment. Self-employment has felt like blooming open. I watch the animals in my yard. I notice the way the wind moves in the leaves outside my window. I listen to the body of my home, how it moves and how it works. 

I am present in my world. I'm actually alive. (It's pretty cool.)

7. How do you juggle the time demands of healing work, writing, social media and marketing your business?

Not very well, actually. That's something I'm looking at as we head into 2011.

I love my work and I have a wee bit of an obsessive personality, so it's easy for me to get out of balance and dedicate all of my time and energy to one area of my life at the expense of the other areas. I'm looking at ways to place a more of a structure on how and when I tend to the aspects of my work and expression.

At the same time, my nature is to flow without structure. I think I work best when I can go where I'm called and immerse myself in whatever it is that comes to the surface and speaks to me. I don't want to "tweet" on a schedule, for instance. I prefer to chat on twitter when the inspiration strikes. 

I think there's a happy medium between lists and schedules and divine inspiration. I hope to ease myself in to that place in the coming year.

8. What’s a favorite way you like to unwind?

My favorite moment of the day comes after dinner. I often take a salt bath to release and detoxify. Afterwards, I put on my pajamas and curl up on the couch with Tracy (boyfriend) and Woody (pug) with a quilt or two and the laptop. We watch old movies or tv while I surf around on the net. That's my favorite downtime. It sounds so, well, digital, but it actually feels cozy and sweet.

9. If you could encourage everyone to do one thing every day, what would it be?

Meditate.

I almost hesitate to use that word because there's a lot of pressure and resistance around it, but I believe that meditation (in whatever form you choose to engage with it) is the power cord that connects you to source energy.

I talk to people every day who are struggling to find clarity or answers or awareness. We can be complicated creatures; we can make things much more difficult than they have to be. So often, the answer to everything is simply to be still. In quieting the mind and the body, you make the space for spirit to move through you and speak to you.

A small, simple meditation practice can change your life.


Lori-Lyn is a native Kentuckian who spent almost a decade in New York City before returning to her home town. She is a writer, Reiki practitioner and intuitive. She teaches workshops and works with holistic wellness clients in person and distance. She has a BA in studio art, and MFA in fiction writing and is attuned to Level III Usui Reiki.

Website:  Dream Life Wellness

Blog:  The Dream Life

YouTube Channel:  The Dream Life

Twitter:  @lorilyn

Facebook:  Dream Life Studio