Powerful Birth

Hello, Love <3

Did I ever tell you that I had an unassisted/free birth with my baby?

Yep! Just me and my dear friend and our babies in attendance… It was possibly the most empowering experience of my life. It impacted me so deeply that I am still feeling the ripples.

Birth is HUGE to me, and I am so grateful to find my niche in the birth advocacy arena :) After the roughly 1,000 hours of researching pregnancy and birth information during my pregnancy, I had synthesized the most pertinent information and compiled it into a “summary” for friends and family interested in my choice (only to plug it into Word and find out it was a light read of 32 pages of pure words – ouch!).

I have taken a lot of that information, added my own voice, supplemented it with gobs of delicious goodies and an artful background, broken it into 4 deeply satisfying chunks, sprinkled it with even more delicious goodies, and created for you…

Powerful Birth E-course!

First session July 1st – July 28^th

Registration ends July 1st

NOTE: This e-course has information for mamas interested in or planning an unassisted birth, but this e-course wass designed for any birthing woman who is interested in going inward and making intentional choices about her pregnancy and birth. And this e-course is especially designed for wild sacred women, women who already live out-of-the-box, naturally, self-sufficiently — and the women who want to!

The e-course includes:

• The Wild Sacred Birth e-book (in pdf format) is a hand-meets-digital beauty masterpiece, paradigm kapow!, and soul comfort. Warning: it may make you laugh, cry, sing, do the “funky chicken”, yell “YES!” into empty rooms, and have deep loving conversations with loved ones. I just know you are going to want to read it again and again as you deeply process the layers of your journey of childbirth.
• the handbook (in pdf format) is my own collection of ma multitude of our birthing sisters’ voices sharing one common message: Birth is incredible and powerful, and so are you.
• the workbook (in pdf & doc formats) is like yoga for the pregnant heart – it will stretch, align, open you up, and re-energize you, through creative activity ideas and writing prompts galore.
• 4 hefty soul-delicious chunks of Powerful Birth e-course, dolloped heavily with love, sweetness, and bright shining light. This course is designed to run over the course of 4 weeks, but I know sometimes that deep stuff takes time to really soak in and I am an unschooler to the core, so really it can be done at a self pace. It is taught via forum (see below) and is much much more than just the e-book broken up into pieces — it is jam-packed with extra goodies, like birth sisters to share such a transformative experience with <3
• 1 year paid subscription to Wild Sacred Souls’ Tribe — think internet forum meets “at home” with deep loving connections between sister birth goddesses. I know how important these spaces are, espcially during huge transitions like birth. I was made to create tribes, and I can’t wait to share this one with you. It is a bloomin, thrivin, wild-woman-circlin’, supportive, love-centered, ever-evolving, co-created space to connect deeply with mamas who will inspire you, love you, spot you while you stretch and expand, and wow you with their awesome.
• A fat e-binder (in pdf format), chocked full of info and natural rememdies/ideas for things specific to pregnancy, early labor, active labor, birth, and postpartum. This is a scanned version of the binder I created for my own birth – it contains things you might want to be concerned about during the different stages, complete with color coding to let you know the risk/intervention level.
• A beautiful hand/digital-hybrid Soulful Pregnancy Journal <3 This is my warmbest gift of love to you: a keepsake of your pregnancy journey for your baby or babies. This is the journal I wish I had had when I was pregnant – a whole collection of the experience of pregnancy and birth. And because I really want it to be extra special to you and your child, I want to include 5 personalized pages for you. Details upon confirmation e-mail.

This e-course will inspire you to:

• question what you thought you knew about pain and safety in childbirth
• locate, process, and release your fears concerning pregnancy and birth
• sink deeply into your inner knowing
• connect deeper with other mamas, and people in general
• embody a birth goddess vibe
• relish your pregnancy journey
• look forward to giving birth
• make choices from a place of trust, rather than fear or anxiety
• plan a sacred, well-prepared birth
• start creating a birth legacy
• become and be a self-trust master, and watch it grow into other areas of your life
• possibly kiss your partner and other children more :)

So, at this point you are probably noticing I have poured my heart and soul into this course. Birthing women hold the warmest place in my heart (yes, I am the woman who stops dancing down the grocery store isle to get all teary at a big beautiful baby belly), and I want to share that deep sacred love with you at a time when I think you can’t possibly soak enough of it in <3 I truly believe (and purposely designed) this package to prepare you as whole-ly as I could imagine would be useful. I know that you probably don’t have the ability or time to do the research I did, but you deserve to know what I found, what I realized, what changed my birth legacy and, honestly-really-truly, what changed my entire life. I can’t imagine having the depth of courage and self-knowing to revolutionize and redesign my life and my relationships, without the self-trust and empowerment that I finally knew through my own powerful birth.

Are you ready to talk price?

I can’t imagine dividing this whole package into parts, so I am not going to give you a breakdown of costs. What I am going to say is, my suggested price is two hundred dollars, but I have faith that you will give what you feel in your heart is right price for you based on what you have to give. Just ask yourself, and when you feel good with a price, there is your answer. Yes, this is your first exercise in my “How to become a self-trust master AND birth goddess in one e-course” adventure :)

Are you ready?

Paypal: wildsacredsoul@live.com

Morning Motivation

Hello, My Love <3

I’m really realllllly excited to tell you about something I want to do with you! (Can you see me doing the excited dance in my seat? :))

Okay, but first, I have a question (or more) for you…

Do mornings feel heavy for you? Do you feel like you could be gearing up your engines for the day, but for whatever reason just aren’t? Would you like a boost?

Alright, here is my big huge idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Morning Motivation is a 10-15 minute phone call from me to you every morning for 1 week (5 days)!! It would probably go something like this:

You (groggy): Hello?
Me (amped up and jumping up and down as I talk): Good beautiful morning full of possibilities!!!!!!!!!!!
You: Haha. Good morning.
Me: I am so excited about your new project that you are starting today!!! When you told me about it in your e-mail, I was like “THAT IS SO COOL!!! I am so excited to help get you all inspired every morning this week so you can make it happen!”
You: Thank you! Me, too!
Me: Yay!!!!! Let’s do the happy dance together before we get started!
You: Yay! Way better than coffee!!!
Me: Yipppeeeeeeeee! (doing the cabbage patch) Oh yeah! Oh yeah!

Okay, it will maybe go something like that :D It will probably be way uncooler :))

I am really good at infecting people with my joyfulness, and I am so stankin giddy about spreading the morning joy with people!!!!!!!! Mornings are such a beautiful way to start the day! So full of infinite possibilities, like a gift you get to open for roughly 16 hours!!!! How cool is that?!

I am thinking this kind of thing would be SO perfect for someone who is implimenting something new into their life and could use a bit of remembering, clarity, inspiration to get the gears moving in that direction for the day. Like someone who is quitting smoking, starting a new healthy eating lifestyle, getting into the swing of gentle parenting or homeschooling, or just generally wanting to stay mindful of something throughout the day. I believe in you! I want to tell you every morning :))

Someone who is starting a new project might appreciate some extra enthusiasm… like a business or some crafty gift-giving, or anything that could use some extra pep for a week. Or what about finals week? Yikes! Been there, done that! Morning Motivation: possibly more tastey than green tea or energy drinks — definitely less crash on the other end LOL Absolutely more addictive! :)))

Or what about someone who just wants to be a morning person and just can’t muster the energy to be one, so wants to get into the habit of feeling full of insight and energy to start off their day. Someone who wants to start their day off with a certain intention and could really soak up my nourishing bountiful energy :) I would love to help you get used to starting off your day like that!

So, here is the thing…

Obviously, I only have so many 10-15 minute increments available in the morning :) I really really REALLY want to share this with you! I know you will love it! I know you will feel more peaceful and aligned and energized for your day, like a spiritual workout that keeps you going all day long. I want to see your family and home transform the way mine has when I started shifting my energy in the mornings.

So, hurry! Hurry and get signed up! Hurry and join me in the mornings, so we can share a virtual cuppa something delicious!

So, the cost is $50, which breaks down to about $10 a call — pretty darn awesome! That is like 2 cups of something from Starbucks (but even better) delivered to your door! :)) Thank you for participating in sustaining my little family and enabling me to continue giving all of my heart to the world :)

Even if you aren’t ready or interested in joining me for Morning Motivation, I hope this blog post gave you some ideas of how you can feel when starting off your day :) Here is another place you can find some delicious wisdom from fellow Morning Goddesses :)

I love you, I love you, I love youuuuuuuuu!

Eek! Eek! Eek! The Goddess Circle

Okay, I must share my newest most amazing adventures!!!!!!

I finally, finally joined Leonie’s Goddess Circle! Eeep! I’m bursting with excitement and abundance!!! This was my Facebook status when I first joined:

Crying with happiness over here. Tears of sobbing joy (much to my teenager’s teasing LOL). I finally did something I have been wanting to do for 2 years, something that I know will be transformative. I finally invested in myself. And I’m not even scared!!!! I am so finally ready, and I can’t believe this is real… I joined the Goddess Circle at… [insert link to the GoddessGuidebook.com]

Joining the Goddess Circle has kinda been a dream of mine for a while, but what made me finally jump and do it was so I could become a Business Goddess :D Yep, I’m so finally ready and serious about this. Have you noticed? lol

And I have been thinking a lot and playing a lot with what the heck I really just want to do. I mean, I want to do about a-million-five-hundred-thousand (yep, I just channeled one of the kids there LOL) things for this world and all it’s living things. But what is the essence of what I want to do? Where do I want to start growing from?

Well, I think that is why I joined the business e-course LOL I have so so much in the works! And I am so excited to share this journey with youuuuuuu! <3

Love you!
V, Wild, Soul, Zen, or Hey You :))

p.s. – just for the beauty and brightness of it, I wanted to share my intro to the Circle <3 :D
Namaste, my fellow goddess sisters!

I literally cried when I read “Welcome to the Goddess Circle” after my payment was processed. I have been wanting to do this for years and finally just said it was time and it would work out financially.

I am positively BURSTING with joy and excitement, like a hyper puppy, to be here :)) When I calm down a bit, I am sure I will feel totally sacred zen oneness :))

A bit about me…. My mom named me Vanessa. I have gone by many names and currently resonate most with V, Wild, Soul, Zen, or Hey You :))

Me and my kids live in an RV. We had plans to travel the US but found that, although we were fine racing out of our house, we weren’t ready to leave our dearest friends and comfort zone. So, we live with panormaic views and lots of company in San Diego County :))

What fills my life is the joy of my children. We haven’t always lived this way, but we are pretty comfortably grounded in and grateful for our self-designed and -directed life. A couple short-cut terms are unschooling (radical unschooling for us), whole-life/natural learning/living [–wish I had also mentioned consensual living]. Basically, I respect my children’s autonomy and personal development, and just live a joyful and fun life and trust that they are learning everything they need. Living in an RV provides simplicity and flow and movement and connection and self-sufficieny that we are thriving on right now. Some days are utter chaos (gripping the handlebars of life, yelling WHEEEEEEEE, and appologizing all over the place for wheeling over people’s toes), most are zen, all are beautiful joyful adventures. People often ask how I do it all — I don’t. I prioretize and only do what I love to do :)

I think I am the Goddess of Love. Love is truly my religion — I practice it and extend it to envelope every interaction I have in my life. I just love, and when I’m not sure, I ask myself “What would love do?” Also, I picked love, because it kinda umbrellas over the other stuff I want to be a goddess of LOL Like emotional midwifery for people who want to live more freely, like supporting mamas in every phase of mamahood (conception, pregnancy, birth, babies, toddlers, all the way up!), like nourishing the world one hug at a time :)

What I am hoping to get from the Goddess Circle is tribeness, connection, inspiration, my own emotional midwifery so that I can live more free, too :) All the delicious goodies that come from joining a sacred circle of radiant women :)))

I heart my mail subscribers!

So, some of you may have gotten a couple e-mails from me, while I was trying to figure out how to get you resubscribed, since I changed my blog’s name in January. (I figured out how to edit the feed, so you are now officially signed up again :))

I wanted to catch you guys up on what you missed around here. The links in this post will take you to some threads you may want to check out :D

In February, I shared how it felt to be an Amazon Warrior Monk Rockstar with my shaved head, and we also moved back into the RV and we found that Home is…

In March, I realized just how much of a Prodigal Woman I am, and it was Ready, Set… as we prepared to be done fulltime boondocking.

April brought Ahhhhh, Bliss.  And it also got me thinking about Radical Curiosity (a rather deep and lengthy post that ended up being a runaway train at the end LOL).

So far this month, I gave The Home Tour :))), started getting serious about my Businesshood, shared my Shameless Confession-festo! from about a year ago, and introduced my friend SHINE! and his amazing love movement.

This may just be the longest short post ever :)) Happy reading!

Living this wild sacred life,
V aka Wild, Soul, Zen, or Hey You :))

SHINE!

I want to introduce you to a new dear friend of mine :)

This is Shine

He has started a movement, Bless Fresh, to help spread peace and healing worldwide through love and raising consciousness.

He is amazing. His energy is INCREDIBLE. He IS Shine — it eminates from him. He is a warrior monk (sound familiar? yes, I believe I have met my soul brother).

This is one of my favorite poems he wrote:

My transcription based on the video:

Dear God,

what religion do I fit in?

Raised around Christians,

but like a Buddhist I’m livin’

Strictly for the moment,

meditate and breathe

No thinkin’, just heart

I wear it on my sleeve

Pardon the tattoos,

but I relate to thieves,

Pimps, hoes, street bums

beggin for cheese

I’m also a minister,

like Martin Luther King,

Dedicate my life to ya’ll

We are the world I sing

Become more innocent,

less knowledgable like a kid

No accidents, not one

No matter what you did

Let go of the past,

the only way to live

You want to find your inner beauty?

Well, help another with his

Help another with her’s

Discernment for the blur

They say that’s confidence,

I say that’s insecure

Light abolishes dark

I sure hope you concur

A million ways to truth

Palabra, that’s my word

You can read more of his poems on his blog: Bless Fresh Love. He is at a cataclysmic time in his movement, where things are blowing up (for example, he is flying out to Chicago next week to record his poetry in a studio with fellow conscious people). Keep an eye on this guy — he is going big wonderful places :)

And I invite you to be a part of his movement in any way you feel drawn toward. If you have a talent, he can probably use it :) If you can donate, it would be greatly appreciated (and put to the utmost positive use).

Once again, his contact info is:
www.blessfreshent.weebly.com
www.blessfreshlove.wordpress.com
blessfresh@gmail.com

Love and many blessings,

Shameless Confession-festo!

Wowsers! I wrote this over a year ago, and it sat in my drafts, probably waiting in knowing that this day would come. I am sharing this one with the world, and I’m not changing anything or “finishing” it. Here ya go!

I don’t do anything perfect, and recently I have decided to shrug off trying. I just do whatever comes up and know that there will always be more inevitably. My work is truly never done (even when I previously thought it WAS perfect).

My house is not peaceful or gentle — it mortifies most traditional folks, and it can be embaressing around my more radical folks, especially when my daughter or I lose it. But what it is wildly loving, authentically interesting, and wholey sincere.

We value the sacred, but are not reverant. I let my kids touch my alter stuff, throw my special stones in their water table and watch the splash they get with glee, smudge up my Gaia statue with fingerprints, draw in my grimoires… It’s the kids-version of spirituality, and I think the goddess, being the mama she is, wouldn’t be nearly as offended as some of her followers.

I am a word weaver. So, my mistypings are either intentional playing with words or not important enough to go back and fiddle with after the flow. It just is what it is, regardless of the fact that some see it as an indicator of one’s professionalness or education. Well, I just have one thing to say to those… :P (that’s me sticking my tongue out — I’m so mature and professional).

I’m gonna live my life, and that will probably include giving up a beautiful home and all our hard-earned belongings and living in a hippie-mobile, one gas tank at a time, one panoramic view out our windows at a time, one new sunrise at a time. That also means the likelihood of my kids being formally educated plummets like my own reasons to conform.

I am wildly in love with myself. I am so fascinating to me — everything I am interested in interests me (haha, go figure!). It’s like living with my favorite person in the whole world. Yay me! I can’t wait to see me grow and explore a self-designed lilfe.

In my family, we gender-bend. My oldest daughter looks and acts like a feminine boy — you can only begin to imagine ;) My son’s favorite shirt is a pink seahorse Eric Carle one, and he is the sweetest softest person in the family, even when he is fighting bad guys. My baby girl is built like a linebacker and tickled by painted nails, jewelry, and new shoes as she romps around in the mud and explores the world independently. I am a big tussled ball of beauty ideals and gender and sexuality (a nuther post). We just do what we feel inspired to do, regardless of it’s origin (nature or nurture).

Our life looks so mainstream. My kids and I partake in as much TV, video games, play fighting, yelling in anger, refined sugars, impulsive shopping as our hearts desire. And I won’t feel guilty about it or afraid.

Our life is so radical. I value my kids and myself having as much pure freedom to learn our own comfort levels and self-direction as possible in the context of judgeless equality.

Businesshood

People are drawn toward my light. I have spent the better part of my life wondering what that means and what I can do with that. My mom was a hippy – I’ve always wanted to change the world.

Ahhhh, my life is beauty and bliss. Self-created. Simple, joyful, zen, with plenty of room for gobs of people, insatiable learning, and big wild adventures.

I inspire people.

…I am so deeply touched by that. I am humbled and wildly excited to be given this gift and this calling, and I am ready to give it completely. I wish I could bottle it up and pass it out for free on a street corner, or mass produce and distribute it. I feel myself doing that with some people I meet, and it feels so right. I just want to give more. I want to inspire anyone who wants to be inspired. I want to share my life’s message in a way that sustains my little family on our adventures, so we have more to give and then touch more people so receive, and give and receive — isn’t that the coolest self-perpetuating circle?!!!

I have big huge gigantic dreams of how to do this, and I am so excited to be taking steps to make this a reality for us all :) I am a self-guided learner and doer, and so far this adventure of putting into practice everything that I have been collecting and learning and synthesizing has been wildly delicious to my feelers and my plans :)))

So, here it is. I am offering coaching calls for a temporary rate everyone can afford: I just want some experience and some feedback from you :)) Or if you are local and want to comission me for a special project, yipeeeeee! We can discuss rates :) I am putting together ebooks and ecourses and workshops for locals. Oh, you would melt if you knew all the plans I have!! :)))

I am still exploring this humongous exotic business land. I found my shady spot under a giant fairy tree, and this is my table with a homemade sign :) I am still defining my message, because I have so much that I want to give, so much that I want to do. But I think the essence of at least a bit of it goes something like this:

Live. Just do it. Trust yourself. Everything is perfect – just let it flow into the next moment. Be free, so your life and relationships will reflect your innermost truths.

I love love LOVE how simple that is because there is so much room to explore and grow in there! Whoot whoot! :)))

Wowsers. I love that message. Who wants to share it with me? If your heart just answered with a resounding “YES! Me!!” click the Freestyle Living tab above, and let’s get to co-creating :))

The Home Tour :)))

Okay, so, yes. It took this many months to get things straightened out enough that I feel ready to share pics! I still have work to do (like in the bed area, hence the not-so-many pics LOL).

**edit: Here is an old post with “before” pics :)

Anyone who has ever tried to take pics of such a tight space knows that these barely do it justice LOL I also realized I missed a few pics entirely that I hope to come back soon and add :) The feel I was going for was cozy, beautiful, kid-friendly, self-crafted, vibrantly colored, where everyone has their own little spot to call their own, with plenty of togetherness :)) I love this simple, blissful life :D

From my home to your’s <3

Looking toward the front of the RV

Some of the rennovations I did that you can see from this pic are painted the walls white, ripped out the bent-frame couch and put in my own couch from the house (which fit to the inch!!), put in the cat climber for the cats (that doubles as a ladder to get up to the bed), took out the blinds and installed homemade curtains (the colorful one you see is my sun curtain — made 2 winters ago to welcome the sun back and bring warmth and sunshine to our home), and put dry erase board on the fridge front :))

In the loft, I found dry rotted wood that I could poke my finger through (!!) and tons of mold! So, I had to rip out all the wood down to the aluminum siding, and frame and rebuild the walls. HUGE HUGE project that almost did me in! It is still very unfinished, but safe, at least :D We put a queen size mattress up there, and we all sleep sideways with our feet hanging off the end LOL

The living room area :)

A better view :)) It is incredibly spacious! People are always amazed. I love this floorplan!

LOVE our hardwood floors!

We ripped out the red shag carpet (gag!) and put in hardwood flooring that I found for free on Craigslist, from a guy who was renovating his house and wanted this stuff gone. Still need to sand, stain, and lacquer, but I love it so so much :))) It makes cleaning SO much easier, and no bulky vaccuum to store, either!

The couch, complete with homemade pillows :)))

Where we usually have our TV and game systems set up :))

This table was bought as a garage sale by one of my dearest friends. It was so perfect that I bought it from her and Kass used it in her room (we have the carvings of K+K with a heart around it to prove it!). In the RV, my fabulous neighbor built and painted drawers to fit the slots, and it started out as the kids’ play table with all their toys. Currently, it holds various home stuff (electronics, gaming stuff, board games, candles, ipod dock, etc). Next to it, you can see we have one of those clothing type hooks that go over a door, hooked onto the back of the dinette and holding our backpacks and hats and such.

The dinette area that doubles as a twin bed for company :)

The dinette cushions still need to be recovered, but they have fabric covering them for now :)) This is such a useful and cozy nook :) The star hanging down from the cubbards above holds a tea light candle :))

Kitchen shot #1

In the kitchen, I tore out the teeeeeensy original sink and put in a full sized sink that someone ditched by the dumpsters behind my old house (YAY!), gutted under the sink and made some cubbard doors to keep all my carefully arranged kitchen stuff inside, painted the back wall plum with raised spirals to take the focus off the horendous condition of the wood, and shifted some cubbard fronts around since the cubbard above the sink used to hold a microwave.

From the side

And the other side :)))

Those were the only magnets I saved out of gobs of ones Kassidy used to make at daycare <3 They are my favorites :D

The bathroom

Don’t even know where to start in explaining to bathroom! Okay, I took a jigsaw to the door frame to widen it a bit (we are using a curtain as a door for now, until I build and install some saloon doors out of the same wood as my flooring and cubbard doors — yeah!), ripped off the black moldy wood walls and installed water-friendly walls (expensive!!) after taking the back wall down to the aluminum siding again and rebuilding due to more dry rot, tore out the bulk of the water-damaged sink tops and built a shelf on the back wall for holding stuff, (not pictured above the window) is a repurposed wood shelf/cubby for holding toothbrushes, etc., and painted like crazy in there!! We currently have our shoe basket in there, after finding spiders hiding under it when it was outside… We use the tub as a laundry hamper, since we can’t really use it until we stay somewhere with full hookups :))

Dreamy spots we can create :)))

The kids’ playroom :)

The add-a-room!!!! OMGosh, what a LIFESAVER!! It not only quadrooples our square footage, but it is so cool and peaceful in there. All the kids’ toys are in that giant wicker trunk, and the kids have lots of outdoor stuff. All of this stacks neatly on that table inside when we are between campsites :))

A shady spot under a tree with a great view :)

Kass’ favorite spot in the house :)

This is Kass’ little nook :D Sometimes she sleeps in it with an electric heater to stay warm :)) It stores in the van when we are between campsites, or up on the bed if the van is indisposed :))

Home sweet home :))

Radical Curiosity

So, I have been thinking recently…..

Children are innately curious. They want to explore and understand and experience the mysteries in life that matter to them. This is why children are born for unschooling. This is why unschooled kids will learn everything they could ever need to know about living and about the world. As they explore something, what they understand becomes less mysterious, so they move on to the next mystery, or further into something where they see more mystery.

When we forbid a child from something, we shroud it in mystery. Have you noticed that children gravitate toward the things we are resistant to, the things we say “no” about, the things we really don’t want for them? Even if we don’t say it, but feel it, they sense the big interesting space they are being ushered away from. And if they are curious enough, they want to know more.

I have noticed that in strict disciplinarian homes, the children who are the biggest “trouble-makers” are the ones who are the most curious about everything, especially the things they have been forbidden to experience. It seems to me that when we make rules, we rob the child of the opportunity for learning about that thing. Some kids are such insatiable learners that they will continue to try to learn about it, and they get labeled as “defiant” or “trouble” or something like that.

In our unschooling life, as an experience of life learning, I strive to open up to my children learning about whatever they come into contact with. Sometimes that means working through my own personal comfort with something – I am so grateful for these opportunities to iron out my own wrinkles, to more fully integrate my newer found values into my timeless self.

I ground myself deeply in my knowledge that my children can & deserve to make their own choices and bury my toes in trust that they will always follow what is meant to be their path since I live to keep their own unique selves intact. I trust the nature inside them. They come from such a healthy place inside that the unhealthy will not last long, even if they want to explore it. They are free – free to make their own choices and to learn quicker because they have less complications than I often do :)

Sometimes my fears are rooted in another issue entirely. A common one for me is I haven’t provided a fulfilling enough environment, so they will make choices from a place of hunger, rather than a place of healthy curiosity. And then I remember that I worry about my choices coming from that place, but I don’t really worry about them coming from that place — their whole life has been so different from my own childhood.

Or maybe the fear is something different (a common one I hear from people) — like a fear of allowing their child to eat whatever they want because diabetes runs in their family or something. I find trust in my child again when I remember that I cannot know why or how someone else developed their disease, especially with my own understanding of how dis-ease takes root and grows. Whoever had that disease is not my child, was probably not free to live and learn in joy and respect.

I used to want my child to make decisions from a “healthy” and “balanced” place. But I have found that, for myself, sometimes I am drawn to something BECAUSE it will bring me back to healthy and balanced. I always trust that when I am drawn to something, it will be good for me. And even if it isn’t, I get over it faster when I let go of the crap that tells me it is “bad” or “unhealthy” and just get my fill. Afterall, unhealthy has no place in healthy. And something only feels unhealthy when it becomes complicated and over worried about.

What IS unhealthy anyway? That is a good question. We may be able to come up with some easy things: candy, drugs, violence, etc. But what if they were just a part of learning? I learned about a lot of things by trying them and realizing they weren’t for me. Or I got my fill early and easily, so I didn’t get stuck in them. The things I did get stuck in had nothing to really do with those things, and more to do with why I wanted to do them. When I can heal the reason for doing something that doesn’t feel good, the thing just falls away naturally.

Maybe I see something as unhealthy, but that is my own limitation, and it has nothing to do with the actual thing or my child’s experience with it. I think TV and video games are a good example of this. When I demonized them, I thought of the time they spent watching TV or playing electronic games as unhealthy, and when I let go of my issues with it and saw it for simply what it is, I was able to see my child’s relationship with it, and I knew it wasn’t unhealthy.

When I was seeing it as unhealthy, I was creating an unhealthy situation, too. My resistance (even though unspoken) made them more drawn to it. When I worried that they were zombified, they became more dull. Even when I tried to shift and be more proactive, by doing more of what I wanted (more outdoor activities, more TVless play, etc), it was still in reaction to a feeling that the watching a TV was unhealthy, and it didn’t feel free and zen. I was worried about how their brains were developing, and I was worried they were going to learn their ABCs from a cartoon rather than “real life”, and I was worried they were going to mimick the fighting and the interaction styles, and I was worried they were going to want the things they saw (toys, or to go to school).

When I let go of my fears and trusted and lived one moment to the next and observed, I found that my children used TV the way they used every other thing in their life: to bring joy into their life, to have something new to explore and play and experiment with. I saw TV as an opportunity to connect with my child — we would watch stuff together and laugh together and play together and reenact things together. It was just another way our family had fun.

Now, I have no idea how much TV they watch or video games they play. I don’t monitor them, so I couldn’t tell you if it is a lot or a little, but I can tell you it varies every day, every week, every season. I can tell you there are days I wish they would watch more (because it means less mess for me or “interruption” when I am trying to do something) and days I wish they would watch less (like when we are boondocking and electricity is limited). What I can tell you is I trust whatever they want to do, and I feel so comfortable with the whole thing that I often forget that some people aren’t.

Okay, so this post turned into a train of thought, but it is full of such deliciousness that I am going to leave it as is. I hope it gives you plenty of food for thought to chew on for a while :)

If someone says “Curiosity killed the cat”, remind them the cat had 9 lives :)

Ahhhhh, Bliss.

So, we opted for a different setup than mentioned in my last post. That site was not beautiful, and I really needed some wild green open space in my life. So, we picked a different campground. Here are a few snapshots of our month. Just what this soul needed <3

Camp is set up :)

The view from our first site…

How I set up the add-a-room :)

The lake with ducks, and magic baby connection <3

Horses on the trails :)

Undisturbed teen time :))

Miles of nature trails = LOTS of adventures :)

A playground :)

Wild animals

Fun with fellow campers

Company with some of our favorite people :)

More of our favorite people :)

Mamas who mother the way I do <3

Magic baby connection and plenty to explore together :)

Peace

Zen

Joy