This summer has been rich with deep exploration of my purpose in life and my purpose in my work. Journals have been filled with explorations of the threads connecting my work as an artist and my work as a therapist and how both of these aspects of my work flow directly from my values: connection with others, deep play, self-discovery, creative expression, transformation, beauty, and heart-centered living.
A desire has been growing in me for the last several months to create a series of online offerings that bring my heart-centered transformational work to a larger audience. I envision these offerings as deep play for self-discovery, growth, and transformation. There is so much energy and subtle power in play. We are a culture that worships work— especially hard work. We see hard work and struggle as the path to success and thus when we have something we want to achieve, we generally approach it with this mindset, including when it comes to “working” on ourselves.
Deep play is a softer way, of allowing, listening, feeling into what wants to unfold in our lives. It is the way of the heart, rather than the mind, and it leads us into the light of our radiant being-ness, not by avoiding the dark and difficult, but by bringing the light into these places where we can discover our inner beauty, resilience, power.
It has been quite a long time since I’ve posted here. My third blog anniversary (blog-iversary?) came and went in July and while I noted it and intended to write a post reflecting on what’s unfolded during these last three years, I was so deep in the creation of my new website that I didn’t get around to writing anything.
The impetus for One Thousand Shades of Joy was a vague sense that something was missing in my life, something to do with authentic personal and creative expression. I both longed to start writing again and was terrified by it. I had not yet started painting and had only just started experimenting with photography.
Looking back now, I see this blog was a nesting place for my fledgling creative self- a space where I gained courage bit by bit to spread my creative wings. In this process, as it’s unfolded over the past three years, my purpose has morphed and clarified and I’ve come to realize that One Thousand Shades of Joy is no longer a perfect fit for where my creative work is headed.
So instead of continuing to blog here, I’ve decided to start over with a new blog at my website. I invite all of you, beloved readers, to join me there and to sign up for my newsletter, The Creative Heart, to stay connected. I am hoping to return, in my new blog and in my newsletter, to some of the deeper writing I did in the beginning of this blog, but with my newly-clarified purpose.
much love,
angela
P.S. Here’s a look at what I’ve been up to recently in my studio.
Click to view slideshow.
