Cartography (a love affair with charting)

I have always loved {maps}:

Is it the w a n d e r l u s t? Is it the concept of cartography? DISCOVERING new lands. Travel + Adventure are always on the top of my passions lists.

For a long time I have had this idea to map my life... would it be through a series of time lines? Or a physical map? Perhaps maps are a form of storytelling + I see myself as a storycatcher...

I have started a new 100 day project. It started with a new "wondering" each day, and has developed into a mapping project. I recently renamed it 100 days of I WONDER in the landscape. 

This is an evolving exercise of mapping my way back to myself - to my inner HOME. It is an extension of my explorations into Interior Alchemy. It is also combining my love of nature photography, travel + collage. Feels right. Feels good. 

Be Wonderful

♡

LaToya

Artist Prayer (Revisiting Intentions)

Creativity is not and has never been sensible.

Julia Cameron

Sometimes all it takes to put something in motion is to set an intention. Prayers set intentions into motion. Intentions set creativity into motion.

So here I am revisiting a post i started a year ago when I revisited the Artist’s Way for the second time.  The first time was 3 years before this, an inspiring journey each time (no matter how far i delve into the book).

Julia Cameron’s book is about embracing our innate creativity - our inner artist. Funny I find myself here again recently writing a post on instagram about how I find uncomfort with calling myself an artist.

In the book you are prompted to write an Artist Prayer, here is what I wrote :

Dear Great Creator,

Oh, the amazing workings of the Universe. How grateful I am to explore it and access its great treasures with true love. I am open and willing to see and explore my divine light and to use it for service and connection with all  other divine beings.  I let down my guard, all my fears, and my need to be in control of outcomes, please create a map through me - work through me.  I accept and embrace my creativity,  my dharma, my inner peace, joy, wisdom and hope.  I look within for all that my ego seeks outside. Thank you for your ever present guidance and patience.  Thank you for opening my eyes and heart (more and more each day ) beyond the surface.  I accept my purpose and birthright fully and connect back to spirit, soul, and source.  Thank you for the journey. Thank you Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

I surrender.

Amen. Ashe. So be it.

Love,

me and my higher self

I hope to return here whenever the path feels unclear.

The photo above was taken on a walk a few weeks ago. although i am not there now, i felt so alive + joyous on this walk with my family in nature discovering + exploring new things. These are moments that remind me that

my life, my time with family, my interactions + relationships with others + my creative pursuits ARE my prayer.

It is so empowering to revisit this prayer + to be reminded of the intentions I already set. 

Lovely and so empowering to be reminded of the intentions I already set - sometimes i forget the seeds i planted...

I have been mapping my way back to myself all along.  

In Gratitude

BE WONDERFUL

♡

LaToya

Interior Alchemy

Interior Alchemy is a journey of creating space for inspired living + cultivating an upliftng story of your own design.

This came about as a combination of my background in Interior Design and a process of Self Discovery + Self Expression.

What interior alchemy holds is never stagnant - it is always evolving.

I am continually drawn back to this process of ongoing transformation at every turn.

Honestly I did not set out to include soul work as part of my vision.  Actually I avoided making the connection at first. I wanted to focus on interior design of physical spaces that made you feel good.

As I began to work out what I saw myself doing it was clear that it was definitely linked to connection + expression + soul embodiment.

I now see Interior Alchemy as a healing journey of finding scared space within + manifesting that into the physical, specifically in your home + through visual storytelling. It is a reciprocal process.

I believe we are all souls in a human form, here to experience + evolve. I know this sounds pretty major+ it is, but it doesn't have to be a serious process.

Interior Alchemy is about welcoming in wellbeing + happiness.  It about intuition + dreams, colours + energy, the senses + the elements, growth + expansion.

Interior Alchemy begins with Finding Space - a process of self discovery through making space in your physical home to propel internal change. You find space to tell your unique story. This expression leads to stronger sense of self + creates a map to your JOY.

Interior Alchemy is a creative journey.

be wonderful

♡

LaToya

Finding Your MUSE (6 Catalysts for Creativity)

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Ever wonder where your hopes and dreams for life come from? What generates Inspiration? Where does the muse come from?

Could some of these strong wishes and desires originate in the divine? Part of my current journey is all about Finding Space to be, to create, and to live a life I love, and INSPIRATION is key.

Inspiration can be found anywhere you look, it depends on what you are seeking and if you are open to possibility. Inspiration is expansive, and when you are inspired you feel no limits.

If we would just take a moment to look around, we would find that the universe is in constant communication with us. - Alexandria Hotmer

Finding Your Muse (6 Catalysts for CREATIVITY AT HOME):

1. Nature, I have found that it is the number one inspiration. Nature's colours can inspire a colour palette for a room. It can also remind us of how we want to live with patience, ease and flow. Bring a little nature into your space - a little nature inside is always a bonus! I am currently seeking a good solution for keeping plants on our home on the road.

2. Personal experiences (life , travel + everyday adventures) 

Looking back on my early life and play history I am reminded of the things that inspired me as a child and how that carries over into today.  I loved dollhouses, legos and constructing and drawing homes, I liked decorating and making decorations (mostly out of paper). I even enjoyed organizing and arranging things.

Travel always inspires me. Our last international trip was to Malaysia where we experienced new environments, art, music, culture, and lovely people. Sometimes all it takes is a step out of your regular environment to spark ideas.

Currently we travel is part of our daily life as we live life on the road. Ideas are in constant flow. My current explorations revolve around placing my art in the landscape.

My everyday needs and interactions inspire me to come up with creative solutions for our home and ideas for creative projects.

3. Stories + Words : Books, conversations, oral histories, life stories. and words in and of themselves.  Because I love hearing and reading other peoples stories I can often be found with a book in hand and it is also why I started the Inspired Interview Series. I am inspired by individual words themselves and the definitions which I may altar to explore what the word really means to me.

4. Art + Images. Used for colour inspiration, ideas about composition, and peace of mind. Choose to hang art in your home for daily inspiration, and you use it as a physical affirmation for the life you want to lead. Images can be found in magazines, pictures you take yourself, or instagram and pinterest are favourite online resources. Creating your own art inspires more creation.

5. Going Within: Meditation and Prayer. I have gone about meditation in many ways.  I am still cultivating a daily practice as it changes each day.  Currently I feel like my days are prayerful rather than purely meditative. I often feel meditative when I am creating without a care for time or outcomes. free of judgement. I do lots of self reflection exercises and I feel like it allows me to go deeper and uncover ideas and thoughts I did not know were there. This is where Interior Alchemy gets real personal.

6. Being the inspiration you seek.

Our life is our message.

I feel that by just being you, you are an inspiration to others.

If I am ever feeling blocked creatively, I often find that when I stop seeking a particular outcome, when I let go of seeking inspiration of a certain kind, when I begin to move on to the next thing, that is when Inspiration really hits. We need time to digest all that we take in.

Pour yourself like a fountain. / Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking/ finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins. - excerpt from Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XII by Rainer Maria Rilke

The Essence:  Ultimately the goal is to turn our inspired ideas into reality.

Resources: Big Magic,   21 Days of Inspiration Booklet

BE WONDERFUL 

♡

LaToya

Thank you for joining me on this path of INTERIOR ALCHEMY

Embrace : Gratitude

The THIRD part of EMBRACE is GRATITUDE.

Gratitude.

When I really allow myself to FEEL + express gratitude a warm loving sensation fills my body.

I AM AWARE.

I AM ALIVE.

My mind calms... all the chatter takes a break. it is easy to be grateful for everything when I approach the day with the mindset that I have nothing to loose. I also express my gratitude by enjoying life!

I start by being grateful for the small things.

I am grateful for my body which internal functions occur without any conscious effort.  I am grateful for clean food + water, shelter, and love in my heart.  When i can appreciate these things, then everything else is almost a bonus! Without expectations i look forward to what the day can bring!

“The key to experiencing deeper levels of happiness, fulfillment, and wellbeing is cultivating gratitude.” - 21 days of Inspiration

A few years ago I purchased a gratitude journal that prompted me to focus on gratitude everyday.  However, I put it in storage before the new year began because it was date specific. and we were setting off on an international trip. I was thinking I would get it out before we set off on our domestic travels when we returned. The book ended up in the back of the storage unit only to be found halfway into the year!

Ahhh…well. I did not really need that specific book to  list my daily experiences of gratitude, but I do think it is nice to dedicate myelf to consciously acknowledging blessings + giving thanks regularly.

When I get out of expressing some form of gratitude regularly I can see a shift in my energy. I might experience more doubt or less ease. I usually don't notice it until the worry or uneasy feelings build.

Now if I am feeling down and I am conscious of it, I know to check in on what I am grateful for. The funny thing is that when I'm feeling down I am not always eager to list my gratitudes, especially aloud. Perhaps it's my ego, but I feel resistance, like there is is a block in my energy I am not ready to release.

I eventually push through + I am so grateful for thos simple practice to bring me back to center.

I continue to use the gratitude book, sometimes daily, but I go through cycles where i may not enter anything for a few weeks or a whole month. At first i felt bad that i did not use the joyrnal for the year it was specified for, now i disregard that + I add the year on what ever date it is then enter a little note of thanks. So now on some dates i can see what i was grateful for on that date last year or a few years ago.

Really  I can use any journal or paper i have around.  But there is something quite nice+ powerful about keeping it all in on place.

Other ways I practice gratitude:

To give thanks when I wake each morning.  Before I get out of bed I lay with my eyes closed and I say in my head “thank you, thank you for my family, thank you for another day, thank you for…”  I continue to list what is on my mind.  Before I know it I am smiling + ready to face the day with a brighter attitude.

Also, as a family we say grace before our meals:  starting by giving thanks for a happy, healthy family and a beautiful day together and then we add to that as we see fit. We have started to introduce having  candle at dinner and when we are all finished we go around and say what we are grateful for about the day, what our favourite part of the day was, and we send a blessing out to someone.

Deepak Chopra suggests that there are three ways to use the power of gratitude on your life, and every one of them is giving love:

1. Be grateful for everything you have received in your life (past).

2. Be grateful for everything you are receiving in your life (present).

3. Be grateful for what you want in your life, as though you have received it (future).

Rabbi Baruch Spinoza suggests we ask ourselves three questions on a daily basis:

1. Who or what inspired me today?

2. What brought me happiness today?

3. What brought me comfort and deep peace today?

Spinoza said these questions lead to profound inner transformation.

All in all a little gratitude goes  long way.

The Essence:  Give Thanks.

Resources: Magic,  21 Days of Inspiration Booklet

LaToya

Thank you for joining me on this path of INTERIOR ALCHEMY