the drawing board

The Year Everything Changed

Clearing Out the Past

I don't know what your experience was, but from where I'm sitting 2009 seemed to be a year of challenging energy.  Life was plump with surprises, loss, death, break-ups, transitions, and monumental changes for so many of the people around me, myself included.

A friend of mine sent a message about his experience of 2009, which included this quote from Babylon 5:

"It was a year of fire,
A year of destruction,
The year we took back what was ours,
It was the year of rebirth,
The year of great sadness,
A year of pain...and a year of joy
It was a new age
...it was the year everything changed"

And it really hit home for me.  How about you? 

A Year of Fire Indeed

As I write this post, I am sitting in my beloved studio for the last time.  Most of my belongings have made their way to my new home, and the rest of them are scattered on the floor and in half-filled boxes.  To say that this transition of leaving my partner, this house, and the dreams we built together is a painful one would be an enormous understatement.  

For those of you who are regulars here at The Drawing Board, you know how deeply connected I am to Creative Self-Expression and Home.  You know how magical my studio has been for me in the past few years, so I'm sure you can imagine (and possibly relate to) this loss I'm experiencing.  My studio has served as a beautiful sanctuary for my heart and work and voice.  To be losing it right when I need it most is, depending on  your perspective, a kick in the teeth or a rich blessing. 

A year of fire? Destruction and great sadness?  Check, check, and check.

The beauty of fire is how it clears away the past, and cleans the ground for a new dance to begin.  Joy and rebirth surface far more powerfully when sorrow and death have had their time to shine.

What are you clearing out as you begin this new year?

What is being reborn for you?

Rebirth and Taking Back what is Yours

Answers to these kinds of questions may come quickly through from your belly to your lips, or perhaps they may slumber beneath your heart, marinating in wisdom and waiting for the right time to emerge.  Our bodies seem to know how much truth we are ready to hear. 

It is almost a kind of remembering of our highest selves, to see what is ours that needs taking back.  It is a way of claiming what is cherished by our spirits.  And as for rebirth, well, every birth story is different.  It's a process, and requires that you give a lot to yourself so that you have the strength to allow something new to move through you.

I am giving myself a lot of time and compassion these days, clearing space so that I may listen to my heart.  This is why there will be a break from regular blog features like Tantra Tuesdays and Self-Expression Springboards, and why the first thing on my to-do list is to take things off my to-do list.  The world is telling me in many ways to trust, to feel and to flow.  

With a blue moon, a new decade and a whole lot of fire clearing my way, I welcome January 2010 with a wide open heart.  I wish you a year of playfulness, discovery and deeply connected love, wherever you are on your path.

And if this was a year of fire for you too, know that you are not alone.

Awesome Feeling of Joy

I can't help but smile and feel the joy while listening to this song about an out of body experience.  A foot-tapping good time and reminder of how blissful it is to be grateful.

Self-Expression Springboards: You as a Book

Self-Expression Springboards

Catalysts for Creative Self-Expression Every Thursday with Danette

How Self-Expression Springboards Work:  Every Thursday I will provide a creative catalyst, a springboard to get you inspired.  My catalysts will invite your imagination, creativity and curiosity to find new ways of expressing yourself - and maybe discovering new things about yourself you didn't even know you knew!

It's Easy to Participate:  Take the Springboard of the week and yes, so whatever you want with it!  Create a response in any way you choose.  Drawing, painting, video, song, poetry, writing, collage, story telling, sound, silly putty....there are no rules to how you express yourself here.

Share what you discover on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below.  This way other people can enjoy what you've created and you get to witness the creations of others.  It's amazing to see how beautifully different we all are.

I'll be here every Thursday with a new Self-Expression Springboard.  I hope you'll join me.

This Week's Creative Catalyst: If you were a book, what kind would you be right now?

This is not the be-all end-all "who are you?" question, this is just how you are, right now, in this moment.

In this moment, if someone asked you how you are feeling and you had to describe it using the metaphor of a book, what kind of book would you be?

A paperback beach read? A heavy dramatic work of dramatic fiction?  A self-help manifesto?  A book about organization systems?  A sacred text?  Is this a time of story or analysis?

How would the book feel in your hands?  What are the pages like?  Is this a new book?  A library book? 

Oh don't get me started on fonts!  You font-lovers, you know what I mean.

Any way you choose to respond is expressive. Use Self-Expression Springboards and see where they take you!

Tantra Tuesdsays: Guest Post at Magpie Girl

This week I'd like to direct you to Magpie Girl, a soulfully sparkly blog where I have been invited to do a guest post on Tantra and how to connect that energy to your creative work.  Thank you to Rachelle for the warm invitation to share Tantra with her readers!

You can read my guest post at Magpie Girl here.

For more information about exploring Tantra in and around Toronto, contact the lovely Lucy Becker of TantraWorkshops.com.  Lucy is a masterful Tantra teacher with the gift of creating a safe space for powerful growth and learning.  If you are curious about what Tantra can do for you, reach out to Lucy for a conversation.  You can connect with her at 416.489.0557

Ten Sweet Minutes

Sweet Dreams by Kirsten Lepore

Self-Expression Springboards: Secret Gifts

Self-Expression Springboards

Catalysts for Creative Self-Expression Every Thursday with Danette

How Self-Expression Springboards Work:  Every Thursday I will provide a creative catalyst, a springboard to get you inspired.  My catalysts will invite your imagination, creativity and curiosity to find new ways of expressing yourself - and maybe discovering new things about yourself you didn't even know you knew!

It's Easy to Participate:  Take the Springboard of the week and yes, so whatever you want with it!  Create a response in any way you choose.  Drawing, painting, video, song, poetry, writing, collage, story telling, sound, silly putty....there are no rules to how you express yourself here.

Share what you discover on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below.  This way other people can enjoy what you've created and you get to witness the creations of others.  It's amazing to see how beautifully different we all are.

I'll be here every Thursday with a new Self-Expression Springboard.  I hope you'll join me.

This Week's Creative Catalyst: What Secret Gift Would You Like to Give?

Imagine you are Amélie.  Or a Christmas Elf.  Or any other Under Cover Creator of Giving.

You have magical powers, of course.

And perhaps someone specific in mind? Perhaps an organization you love?  A barista you see everyday as you get your morning coffee but feel shy about appreciating face to face?  A total stranger, perhaps?

What would you give?  How would you present it?  How would they know it is for them?  What would the message of this gift be?  How big or how tiny would this gift be?  What would it mean?

What is important about this being a secret gift?

Any way you choose to respond is expressive. Use Self-Expression Springboards and see where they take you!

Tantra Tuesdays: You are Loved

You are.  It's true.

What if you believed that you were secretly loved by the universe, that as you walked down the street the sidewalk blushed and softened beneath your feet?  That everything you touched shuddered with joy at the honour of connecting with your skin, including your clothes, your toothbrush, your fork, your light switch, your computer keyboard?

What might your heart feel like as you breathe in air that adores the ride down into your belly, pushes lovingly against the walls of your lungs and then shoots back into the atmosphere like a dance partner spinning out from your hand?

I ask you to imagine you are loved, beyond any movie romance you've seen, beyond any love poem ever written. 

Imagine that you being alive is a gift to every space you take up.

Because, it is.

What happens to you when you feel loved? 

Notice I'm not asking for you to love the sidewalk, your light switch, your keyboard.  I'm asking you for one day, to focus on receiving love.  From these things, from everything. 

Imagine the feeling of receiving love so immense it seems magical.  And then imagine a love even bigger than that.

Breathe it into your heart, just for a day.  As often as you remember.  Forgive yourself if you don't remember as often as you think you should.

Let yourself feel this energy, and know, that it is available to you not just today, but every single moment.  You are loved beyond words.

For more information about exploring Tantra in and around Toronto, contact the lovely Lucy Becker of TantraWorkshops.com.  Lucy is a masterful Tantra teacher with the gift of creating a safe space for powerful growth and learning.  If you are curious about what Tantra can do for you, reach out to Lucy for a conversation.  You can connect with her at 416.489.0557

Self-Expression Springboards: Yum-Yum-Yum!

Self-Expression Springboards

Catalysts for Creative Self-Expression Every Thursday with Danette

How Self-Expression Springboards Work:  Every Thursday I will provide a creative catalyst, a springboard to get you inspired.  My catalysts will invite your imagination, creativity and curiosity to find new ways of expressing yourself - and maybe discovering new things about yourself you didn't even know you knew!

It's Easy to Participate:  Take the Springboard of the week and yes, so whatever you want with it!  Create a response in any way you choose.  Drawing, painting, video, song, poetry, writing, collage, story telling, sound, silly putty....there are no rules to how you express yourself here.

Share what you discover on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below.  This way other people can enjoy what you've created and you get to witness the creations of others.  It's amazing to see how beautifully different we all are.

I'll be here every Thursday with a new Self-Expression Springboard.  I hope you'll join me.

This Week's Creative Catalyst: Flavours of You

What flavours are filling you today?

Are your days delicious?  Bittersweet?  Tangy and tart, with a pinch of heat and a wave of comfort?

Are you tasting complex subtleties or is an overpowering ingredient taking over your plate? 

Any way you choose is expressive. Use Self-Expression Springboards and see where they take you!

Tantra Tuesdays: Rocking Your Sexuality

Recently I saw Peaches perform at the Phoenix Nightclub here in her hometown Toronto.  It's tough to say what one thing stood out, (for those of you familiar with the sexually ferocious musical force that is Peaches, you know what I mean...the fashion alone, wow) but one thing is certain:

Encompassing all of what Peaches offers is her unquestionable confidence and powerfully inspiring self-expression.

Let's talk about rocking your sexuality, shall we?

Rocking the Erotic

Destin Gerek, the original Erotic Rockstar, has a refreshingly fun approach to rocking your sexuality.  I heard him first as a guest on a great podcast I listen to: Personal Life Media, Sex - Tantra and Kama Sutra; Bringing You the Soul of Sex, hosted by the warm and wonderful Francesca Gentille.  I loved Destin's emphasis on play, personal power and self-expression. 

I get a feeling that Destin's claiming of himself as an Erotic Rockstar might be triggering for a lot of people.  This kind of self-celebration is often scary for society, and we are quick to try to put out these fires by spraying shame on those who dare to stand out, especially when it comes to sexual expression. 

Has this happened to you?  Do you remember being told your full self-expression, sexual or otherwise, was "too much"?

I encourage you to listen to this interview and try on what it might be like for you to embrace your own erotic rockstar.

Being a Rockstar is All About Confidence

There are many ways we can instantly tap into our sexual confidence.  Dancing is a big one, singing is another.  There is a reason why so many movies include those scenes of lead characters letting loose in the privacy of their empty homes, singing along to their favourite pop tune and dancing like nobody's watching.  You know the scenes, Julia Roberts singing Prince in the bathtub in Pretty Woman, Tom Cruise and his white socks in Risky Business. 

Audiences love these scenes because we let loose when we are in the shower or in our cars or in front of the bedroom mirrors, don't we? 

Has it been a while?  Give it a go the next time you are in front of a mirror.  Start slow, just strike one pose.  An album cover for your erotic self-titled debut.

You don't have to perform for anyone else to tap into the confidence of being a rockstar.  You can be alone, singing into a hairbrush in the bathroom mirror.  It has nothing to do with anyone else, this is about YOU.  You rocking out, you feeling good, you juicing up your confidence and loving what it feels like to be the sexual creature you are.  There is no one like you.

Expressing more of your sexual self is not only a ton of fun, it's a delicious way to be present to life.  You can generate your own pleasure, and share that glow with the world around you.  It's a beacon.  It really does bring light into the world around you.

You Rock.

For more information about exploring Tantra in and around Toronto, contact the lovely Lucy Becker of TantraWorkshops.com.  Lucy is a masterful Tantra teacher with the gift of creating a safe space for powerful growth and learning.  If you are curious about what Tantra can do for you, reach out to Lucy for a conversation.  You can connect with her at 416.489.0557

Self-Expression Springboards: Imagining Luxury

Self-Expression Springboards

Catalysts for Creative Self-Expression Every Thursday with Danette

How Self-Expression Springboards Work:  Every Thursday I will provide a creative catalyst, a springboard to get you inspired.  My catalysts will invite your imagination, creativity and curiosity to find new ways of expressing yourself - and maybe discovering new things about yourself you didn't even know you knew!

It's Easy to Participate:  Take the Springboard of the week and yes, so whatever you want with it!  Create a response in any way you choose.  Drawing, painting, video, song, poetry, writing, collage, story telling, sound, silly putty....there are no rules to how you express yourself here.

Share what you discover on your blog and then add a direct link to your post in the box below.  This way other people can enjoy what you've created and you get to witness the creations of others.  It's amazing to see how beautifully different we all are.

I'll be here every Thursday with a new Self-Expression Springboard.  I hope you'll join me.

This Week's Creative Catalyst: Imagining Luxury

What springs to mind when I say Luxury?  Unlimited time?  Money?   Attention to finer details?  What is it that pushes into the realm of Luxury for you?

Watch for "good person" Blocks: I once lead a workshop where participants were asked to dream up what they might treat themselves to if they had Madonna's money.  This was immediately fun for some, but so many of the participants were still so blocked by this question, until they were told to also imagine that there would be no environmental consequences for their actions. 

Amazing!  Suddenly, it was easy to want a party on a yacht with their favourite bands and all their friends, delighting in spa treatments and gourmet food while skinny dipping in hot tubs full of herbal tea.  It was amazing to hear all these juicy luxurious dreams that spoke to deep desires for celebration, connection, giving, pleasure, passion, life.  Everyone's dreams were so different, just listening to all the decadent dreams was luxurious in itself!

Imagination is the safe playground to fantasize about pleasure in a BIG big way.  No one gets hurt by your own secret delicious dreaming.  Let yourself indulge in a little luxurious imagination time. 

Explore what luxury means to you. 

Any way you choose is expressive. Use Self-Expression Springboards and see where they take you!