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So, THAT took longer than expected
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Hey Reader, It's been a minute. If you're new here, I usually send this newsletter once a week. But apparently I've taken an accidental sabbatical. I shared a few months ago that we're renovating our house ... while still living in it. At this point I'd say I don't recommend it. π« So we've spent the past few months shuffling our belongings from room to room, trying to make space for the work while also going to work, taking care of ourselves and our animals, and generally keeping life moving. It's been a lot. And this newsletter fell by the wayside. Which is fine. It's summer. Summer is a great time to take breaks and change things up, right? Except I've actually been trying to write this email for the past few weeks. I've started countless drafts. I've spent mornings trying to figure out what I wanted to say. And none of them made the cut. I didn't think they were good enough. I think I'd started treating my return to this newsletter like it needed to justify my absence. Like after a few months away, I couldn't just send an email. It had to be a REALLY GOOD email. Usually I write these emails because I want to share some idea that might inspire you to invest in what matters most in your life. That's at the heart of Upward Spiral: finding small yet significant ways to make our lives better and, in doing so, helping the people around us too. But somewhere along the way, I turned that into a requirement that I have some "great truth" to share. And in the absence of a great truth, I shared nothing. So this morning I decided to stop trying to write a masterpiece and just make something. That's something I've found over and over again in my own life. When I can get my attention off the product or the outcome and back onto the process, I can usually work through my resistance. Sometimes I even have a little fun along the way. I guess there's your great truth: Don't get stuck on making it perfect. Get stoked on making, period. So that's what this email is. Me making something. Me getting back into the process. And hey, Reader, maybe there's something you've been meaning to get back to, too. Something that's become harder to return to simply because it's been a while. You don't have to make up for the time away. You don't have to come back with something spectacular. You can just begin again. π« What is that thing for you right now? I'd love to know, hit reply and let me know. Once you hit send, you'll double your chances that you'll return back to it (seriously, writing and sharing has that power!). Anyway, I'm glad to be back in your inbox. Hopefully, I'll be back next week! π In Joy, P.S. Kelly and I have conintued to release weekly podcasts, so if you missed the end of the Intentionality Series or any episodes following, check ou the full list of what you missed below. πππ P.P.S. And as always, I've got my upcoming opening below as well. Let's get you on the schedule!
βΌοΈEpisodes You Might Have Missed:βΌοΈClick to read about and listen to these episodes. β#25 - Intentionality, Part 10: Whatever It Is You Feel, Remember You Donβt Have Toβ β#27 - Intentionality, Part 12: Find a Pleasant Pathβ β#28 - Intentionality, Part 13: Keep Your Eyes on the Prizeβ β#29 - Intentionality, Part 14: Where Does Wisdom Come From?β β#30 - Why Youβre Exhausted in July (And What Traditional Chinese Medicine Knows About It)β β#31 - Being in the Trenches Without Going to War With Yourselfβ β#33 - Why The Odyssey Still Hits So Hard: Archetypes, War, and the Search for Homeβ β#32 - How to Turn Emotional Wounds into Insight: Lessons from Tibetan Buddhismβ β#34 - A Mini Solo Episode: Showing Up When Life Gets Messyβ β#35 - Why Your Brain Needs a Friend (The Addition Edition)β β#36 - How to Compromise in a Relationship Without People-Pleasing or Losing Yourselfβ β#37 - Dolly Parton and the Trickster Archetype: A Jungian Analysis of Her Life and Legacyβ
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Nyssa Hanger
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Every time I sit down to write this email, I face the same thing: The voice in my head that tells me I don't have anything worth saying. Or worse, that what I have to say is not worth saying. I'm sharing this because I want to normalize the battle with the Inner Critic. βοΈ (And I'm guessing this sounds familiar to you, too.) In the latest episode of Being Different Together, Kelly and I discuss the next two sayings from Uncle Murray's canon, both of which point to a way through one of the...
When I first encountered the Buddhist teaching of emptiness, it honestly kind of bothered me. π I didnβt like the idea that there wasnβt an essential nature inherent in the things I loved. My spirituality resonated more with feeling like thereβs something out there β some being, some ultimate reality, some personified divinity that I could have a relationship with. Over time, I found other Buddhist teachings that did resonate. The practice of loving kindness, or metta, is one I lean into...
If there is one thing that helps us to keep pressing publish on our weekly podcast it's this: Done is better than perfect. (Believe me, that's also easier said than done!) I can't tell you how many different versions of our cover art we went through before deciding it's "good enough." Or how listening back made me realize I didn't get the sound levels right. Or how many times we've been interrupted by Papi, our dog, barking or chewing things he's not supposed to. But it's all okay. We just...