Working, Reuniting with Old Friends, and Healing
My Recent Travel Experiences and Life Lessons Learned Along the Way
Traveling opens up a magical space for me where I get to listen to my intuition and follow my instincts. Along the journey I’m able to meet tons of new people, see beautiful new scenery, and experience new things. I enjoy the freedom that traveling alone allows as I balance working remotely and taking time to unwind and rejuvenate.
Over the past few weeks I’ve spent time in various states working, reuniting with old friends, and healing. My recent travels began in Boise where I reconnected with an old friend before heading to my hometown, Salt Lake City. While I was also here to work with a number of clients, it was most exciting to be back with old friends. I felt as if my heart flew open as I was welcomed back into open arms. In Portland I am still finding my community, and the pandemic has caused further isolation, so returning home was incredibly special.
Next, I stopped in Las Vegas to visit my mentor before reaching Los Angeles for the LA Art Show. It was amazing being able to attend an art event post-covid with my colleagues of six years and to be able to experience the incredible work my friends have created during this unique time. I sold almost all of my artwork before the show opened. Beyond the art show, I spent most of my time at the beach in Malibu diving into the surf culture. Surfing is something I love tremendously, and being able to just show up at the beach and be surrounded by friends who share the same interest is such a great feeling.
Aside from a couple nights spent in Oakland to see a high school friend, I have spent the rest of my time in Big Sur at Esalen. During my time here, I have been opening up my heart, healing suffering for generations of women in both my family and the world. I feel that I am able to be my true self here in this community of similarly spiritually minded people. I’ve not only found spiritual and mental healing, but also physical healing from chronic pain through bathing in the hot springs.
My travels have both inspired my photography and my teaching. Here at Esalen, I’ve been able to photograph people from this community in the beautiful surrounding environment. I’ve also found inspiration for my teaching and am currently putting together a workshop for dealing with chronic pain. For most of my life, I have studied transformational art. Inspired by my mother who worked as a therapist, I am a trained life coach and facilitator. I am longing to be back in workshop mode, helping people deal with chronic pain through the realm of creativity.
One of my favorite projects I’ve had the opportunity to work on recently is rebranding for a client. His work is highly spiritual and transformational, so it feels very fitting to be working on this project in the community of Esalen. A lot of the work I am doing for this particular client involves drawing and painting new elements, and I love being able to do so while sitting outside in this gorgeous scenery.
I feel that I am learning new things daily. I’m learning to be more patient and allow time for things to unfold. Furthermore, I’m learning about being in a good mind space, concentrating on what feels good, and seeing myself authentically. In the last few weeks at Esalen, I have discovered that I have a lot of barriers to my heart, and have learned that it’s okay. I am letting myself take my time to bring down those walls. I’ve also learned the importance of communicating with my inner child in my decision making, and have found this to be a very healing experience. Furthermore, I’ve been realizing that being single for quite some time has led me to my own authenticity without any negotiation of my soul as a result of other people that I could potentially be in a relationship with. Through this trip I have learned that I am completely whole as I am, and I am now in a space where I am creating from that authenticity.
In the coming weeks, I am looking forward to spending time at the beach and delving more into the spiritual world. Professionally, I am also looking forward to seeing this rebranding come to fruition as I feel that is one of my life callings to help people rebrand.
