Jump For Joy!

Enjoy this free printable! 

Lost in Loss

I'm a superstitious person. I always have been, but I've always been intuitive and a bit of an empath as well. My mom and grandmother are the same way and my mom has had many encounters with energy in a way that I envy and am a little afraid of too.

 that being said- 

A bird flew into my house 2 week-ish ago. As soon as it did, I told my husband- three deaths to come. He of course laughed it off, he always does. That evening, I found out a young friend of mine had passed in his sleep. In his thirties, healthy and strong-dead. This past Tuesday, the same dang thing...My friend and boss was found in his sleep- passed at 42. I know negativity breeds negativity- but facts are facts. Every time a bird comes into my home, 3 people I know pass.And the scariest part of this is the final waiting period- the last shoe to drop. 

I don't grieve in a 'normal' way.  Every since my best friend and first husband passed suddenly in 2001 I've kinda put up an emotional wall to the passing of a soul. I don't feel as if i'm hardened, but i do feel as if I'm not as touched by sadness.  I feel as if spirit is formed into a new being and given a second chance- maybe that's why i'm not so saddened...but I don't like to be around the sadness of the living- the grieving. That much emotion in one place really affects me in a negative way- and I try to avoid it at all costs. So I generally bow out of funerals  Does that make me weak? no one likes funerals  I realize that, but I honestly get physically and mentally ill at death gatherings. I don't know that I can participate in another procession. 

And now the looming fear of Whats next-who's next is over my head and heavy in my heart.

I'm lost.

I'm lost in loss.

I'll find myself, soon, I know this- but this is a journey I never like to take.

Pump Up The Volume

YAHOOEY! I Finally did it!! I wrote my first e-book! 

 I've really been trying to get my shizz together and work on beautiful freebies for y'all to enjoy and this is the very first...and it's supa cool!!! It's all about the insanely simple things I do to pump up the volume on my intuition to ear audio path and how you too can do it! 

Check it out

Love it up

 And tell me what you think!

To receive my awesomness straight in your inbox-to love, enjoy and share if you'd like 

sign up here...

The Fire Within

My fire is burning bright today. Being fed ideas like fuel, and fanned by the long ago false notion that I had ruined my life. I am an

  UNTEACHER.

I take every thing you have every been told about rules and throw them out the window. You don't need rules.

You need to LISTEN. 

Listen to your heart, your soul, your gut...

that's called

Intuition.

We all have it, some just hear it louder than others. 

I'm here to show you how to turn it up!! 

The Fire Within Intuitive Painting Workshop

Reclaiming your magic and opening your heart through paint and journaling.

I will be unschooling the whole workshop. There are no rights or wrongs or rules. Just Paint and Passion. We will relearn the art of creativity through process and intuition. Letting color splash and play on canvas. Creating BIG and BOLD. Artists and creatives of all levels and backgrounds are invited to join.

We will...

meditate, journal, move

and...

Paint our heART out. 

For those of you who like an itinerary- 

We will begin at 10am on Saturday December 1 at Arts on Main in Gastonia NC by joining a circle and setting our intentions. We will then  journal and meditate followed by 2 hours of passionate painting. We'll break for lunch and then reconvene to continue to paint, alternating painting, movement and writing our souls out. We will be ready for clean up by 5!

Cost is $140 

All supplies and lunch will be provided, as well as a playbook to take home.

Please wear comfortable clothing and bring a journal, we will have some for sale if you'd like to purchase one. Plenty of fun and surprises are in store!!

FAQs

What are my transport/parking options getting to the event?

We offer plenty of free and safe parking behind the gallery/studio in a secure parking lot. 

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions?

please contact Anastasia Boswell at happysappytrees@gmail.com

Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?

No. I will have a copy of attendees.

What is the refund policy?

It is necessary to pre-register for all workshops in advance. Fees are returnable if your cancellation is made at least 1 week prior to workshop date (less a 20% service fee)

If the class is canceled by HappyTrees Studio for any reason, your fee is completely refundable. Fees are due at the time of registration. Sorry, no exceptions. No refunds after the one week deadline.

The name on the registration/ticket doesn't match the attendee. Is that okay?

That's fine! In fact I encourage you to purchase a ticket for someone you know who will benefit from this workshop!!

I'll be sending out more information about the class after you register...and you can register here...The Fire Within

In my studio

Sacred Souls Gathering

I've started a monthly gathering of women- a place where we can re-calibrate our intentions and as a community flourish with love and creativity...I'm excited about all of the strong and independent women that will gather at one time and the amount of power that will be present! If you are in the area please join us...

~A gathering of women remembering their innate power~ Please come and enjoy the power and affirming energy of the Sacred Souls Women Circle. We will open with cleansing the environment, breathing, meditating, journaling, and a bit of music, food- and then closing with a silent circle and three rolling om's... (we would appreciate if everyone would provide some sort of covered dish, dessert, or beverage. I'll provide plates cups cutlery etc) Please bring your journals and an open heart! ~Namaskar~ Anastasia

Friday Sept. 28 7-10pm

212 W. Main St.

Gastonia NC

28052

The Lump in My Throat

I got a very validating and terrifying call today. A gentleman contacted me and said he had gone into my studio and saw a piece of my work that would fit perfectly with a project he was working on and could we meet?

 Holy Moly- someone is actually drawn to something I created?!?  I actually started to cry when I got off the phone...I never realized I doubted myself until someone I've never met before complimented me!

And then it hit me...EVERYONE doubts themselves...everybody has that inner critic, something that tries to tell them they are never ENOUGH...And, guess what? That fear has no real power...it can slow you down, you can let it trick you into sabotaging yourself or even not following through. But when you get to the real root of it , and all that's there is fear, you HAVE to push it aside. The lingering what if's and self-doubt cannot be a part of your plan. Fear has no power. It can't stop you...you stop yourself. Tell that fear to fuck off and go ahead with your plan. You are amazing, and once you believe that, the what ifs and fearful thoughts disappear like smoke.

YOU ARE ENOUGH!

How I Settled Into My Skin

I'll be 37 this month and I'm really just settling into me.

I just wish that I worried more about who I was than what I was or what I could do to make others know me in my twenties and teens.

I was sexually abused from a young age, and then I allowed abuse through my teen years- giving of myself and being used up and tossed to the side for attention. Once I got to my twenties I was hard and cold...even after I had my son at 20~ I was un-affectionate and hard to read. My first husband and I split up at the age of 21, and I dated unsuccessfully for three years...cheating or being cheated on, falling for people who I knew were not for me, just because of the crowd I'd keep. During all of this time- I never accepted how unhappy I was, never was willing to accept the fact that I was being untrue, and down right mean to myself. My husband and I got back together when i was 24 and I was happy...in love...ME! For a bit...we got pregnant with our daughter and she was born in '01- I had someone who loved me truly, I loved them truly and we were honestly happy. Then he died. Two months after my baby was born, he had a work accident and died suddenly, during the day. I was devastated. Ruined. LOST.

FF through the doom and gloom to my husband of 8 years. Honest, soulful, beautiful. He was younger than me and accepting of a widow with two young children. Now~ I'm not painting this into a floral and rosy picture of joy...we've had our ups and downs...and for the most part the downs have been something I brought on...I never allowed my self to grieve- Grieve my childhood, my teen years, my first Husband...my innocence.

2005- I began to create...art, yarn, food, clothing.

 I had forgotten how much I loved to make things with my hands. I never took art, well not since the 7th grade. When I was little I would cut up paper and create elaborate structures, sometimes taller than me...I would get lost in a book and then spend the rest of the day recreating the story through my drawings. As a teen, I would cut out pictures of others and glue them in a sketchbook, writing through my anger and changing the images to suit my mood...never quite breaking through but always feeling a bit better afterwards.

So when I remembered my hands could be used to create joy, not just shield pain...I used them constantly. I painted, cooked, spun yarn, sewed. CREATED! Every new thing or task that I accomplished gave me a little bit more of my soul back. I became whole! A solid girl who was not afraid to be real, blunt and honest.

TRUE.

My family has always supported me, even when they didn't know what was wrong with me other than I was cold and angry and bitter. And my wonderful husband had my back and helped me in every way he could, as well as giving me TWO MORE (!) beautiful children.

Now- I'm happy, mostly, and when things set me back I get over them, knowing that everything will be better. I now have faith...in me and the world, in man-kind.

Now I create daily

I journal- writing and doodling my emotions all over pages in my books, working through my emotions without wearing them on my sleeve before they've been examined.

I meditate- Listening to me, getting deeper and deeper into my soul, sometimes I'm so deep I'm not in my body, just fully encased in my soul- able to understand what is before me.

I paint-Creating colorful shapes that may make no sense to others but to me they tell an intimate story of my past present and future...creation has become my art. Not the finished product.

I move- Everyday...Yoga has tethered me more solidly into my physical body and allowed me to feel at home in it. I no longer feel trapped in a place that I'm uncomfortable, don't like and am scared of.

I love- I allow myself to feel without the fear of being betrayed, hurt. I can control what affects me. Without feeling separated from myself, I feel whole. My family, children, husband, friends encase me in love and warmth and safety, and I am not afraid to return that love...I give freely of my emotions and except the world around me.

This is what I do and did to become me...I didn't start this page this way, trying to give my story, but I felt moved to be real and true. I have learned a lot in 36 years and I would not change a thing...I get to be me fully and make no excuses for it. I own my soul -LOVE,  ART and CREATIVITY have helped me see that. And now I know that my reason for being here is to help others who are hurting, or don't understand themselves fully, or are just stuck a bit- how to be TRUE. I teach truth and love through creativity and meditation and journaling. And I want to help everyone I can.

I hope that my story opened me up a bit for you...I honestly believe creativity can help you transform your life mentally and physically. And I want to help you...please email me at happysappytrees@gmail.com and I promise to try and help you with prompts and love. The classes I am creating will help us dig deeper into our souls and teach us that TRUTH is the way.

thank you for giving me a little of your time today...

Love,

Anastasia

She Runs Too-(WIP)

Intuitive Painting using Acrylic and ink- Still not finished!!

Goddessing

Spurred by centuries of male dominated organized religion (or a supreme deity referred to by masculine pronouns i.e. "he"), some women embraced the idea of a female deity that was more in keeping with feminist beliefs and the inherent value of women. A unifying theme of the movement was that the gender of deity characterizes the political gender-bias of the religion, so a Goddess Worshipping religion is held to be matriarchal and a "God" worshipping religion is held to be patriarchal.

Goddess beliefs can take many forms; some people in the Goddess movement recognize multiple goddesses. Some also include gods. While others honor what they refer to as "the Goddess", which is not necessarily seen as monotheistic, but is often understood to be an inclusive, encompassing term incorporating many goddesses in many different cultures. The term "the Goddess" may also be understood to include a multiplicity of ways to view deity personified as female, or as a metaphor, or as a process.

• Goddesses refers to a local or specific deities linked clearly to a particular culture and often to particular aspects, attributes and powers.

One can regard a goddess (in this sense) as an aspect of the Great Goddess as well as a specific goddess with a particular role within a pantheon.

• The Goddess or the Great Goddess is a female deity that is regarded as primary. When Goddess is spoken of as a personal guardian, as in 'my Goddess' it usually means 'my worldview in Goddess spirituality.'

• Goddess Spirituality is sometimes used as a synonym for Goddess Movement and sometimes as the spiritual practice that is part of the Goddess movement.

• Goddessing means Goddess culture, Goddess way of life, Goddess practice, or 'my goddessing' as in my individual interpretation and experience of Goddess.

(Found on Wikipedia)

My love of women has only within the past 10 years been renewed. I was always the girl with all the guy friends because other girls were too bitchy or high maintenance. I considered myself a feminist and wanted nothing to do with ladies in lipstick or fancies and frills. And then it hit me- Feminine is the Meaning of Feminism- you can't have one with out the other. It's not degrading in any way to love to cook, or knit, or breed, or mother, or be pretty. And why dislike other women? They are just as unsure or insecure as I am. I don't do anything in this life to please anyone else but myself. And the thing that pleases me most is to help others find the magic within themselves. And help them bring it out into the open. I want to be TRUE and I want others to find their truth too. 

I AM A GODDESS~ AND SO ARE YOU!

This does not mean that you are going against you're religion, or that you feel like you're better than others. Or even that you are more 'enlightened'. It just means that you can except the fact that you are a creative and unique woman with the power to do anything you set your mind to. And you are not afraid of you're own power. Let's believe in ourselves and share our power with our sisters. Give love!

Confidence from the Universe

It's not the steps that matter, anastasia, but the path.

All is well,
    The Universe

I receive these emails from the universe every couple of days , and let me tell you....they're almost always on time!I need these confidence boosters as much as I second guess myself sometimes, and they always make me smile! To start receiving some universal love into your inbox go to Mike Dooley's website at TUT and sign up, while your there peruse through everything and be amazed at the positivity that seeps through your computer!

GLOW

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Peace Peace Peace

Oṁ asato mā sad gamaya

Tamaso mā jyotir gamaya

mṛtyor mā amṛtaṁ gamaya

Oṁ śānti śānti śāntiḥ 

From ignorance, lead me to truth;

From darkness, lead me to light;

From death, lead me to immortality

Om peace, peace, peace

This is my mantra and prayer today, all day...

my road...

My road has had pot holes and pitfalls and fallen limbs and cesspools of alcohol, immaturity, lust and drugs.Every hard time that has be-fallen my road I now know that I created. I've lost my path (or just walked in the mud alongside) many times. But, FINALLY, I'm trying to keep my feet planted firmly in the earth and walk my path, taking time to enjoy the sights, smells and sounds. Following my feet, soul and path. Trusting that the way that I'm going is the way that i am SUPPOSED to go. I've been lost so many times I know for sure that I never want to be lost again. I like being here. I like me. I will never be perfect, and I may stumble here and there, because that's the process...but as long as I don't force my trip and just allow myself to flow, all will be well.

Trust yourself- your soul knows what it needs and how to get it whether you do or not.

Be Yourself

This is the best advice I've ever received or given.Who AM I, you might say...

 The way I've really begun coming in to ME, and finding ME, is through meditation, yoga, journaling, and intuitive painting. A daily meditation practice twice a day has been so enlightening, and pressure free. I just sit comfortably, and open myself unto the universe before I begin, then I close my eyes and begin to breathe...a four count in a four count out...when my thoughts start to wander I gently pull them back to my breath. Your mind is made to wander...you are training it with every session to be still and focused. It's a PRACTICE. I also MOVE. Stretching and doing a light yoga practice daily is good for getting my creative juices a flowing! Which moves me straight into stream of conscious writing, then going back through my journal and underlining the most meaningful things...or taking notes on what stands out TO ME. When I paint, I move, write, meditate and paint all at the same time. When I get stuck, I write, or meditate, or move.  I remind myself daily to create...and that the creating is all in the process, not in the product. Color, flow and movement are amazingly freeing. All of these things together have helped me understand who I am and how I fit into my skin. And they may help you too! Begin your daily practice and start finding YOU, today!