Jump For Joy!

Enjoy this free printable! 

BE BOLD

Take fantastic leaps towards the unknown. 

That thing that you fear?

Conquer it.

Do it.

Procrastination be damned! 

Go live your life NOW.

Take your future in your hands and make the steps to make yourself happy.

Need more education? Go back to school.

Need more money? Go over your finances...do you really need that $5 Coffee? Cut back.

SAVE! Every penny counts.

Want to be more artistic and creative? Do it! Scribble, doodle, splash color, but do it! 

PRACTICE REALLY DOES MAKE AWESOME!

But above all, BE BOLD. Don't wait for fate to deliver that special path to your door. Go out and make it happen. No more excuses, no more "I can't because..." If you want it, be positive, think and ACT.

 Make it happen. 

And 

Start

TODAY!

(IT REALLY IS THAT EASY)

Layers of Adventure

 I love to create, but sometimes I fall into this place. That place where I worry if I'm marketable, if others will appreciate me and my work, if they will even understand. I've been there for awhile, and then today, I realized that I DON'T create for others! I create for ME!
 When I paint for myself, I make things and use materials in ways I never would have, if I put thought and direction into it. I'm not saying a plan is a bad idea...it's just not the way I work. I create freely and intuitively, then I find the imagery in the art. Then I pull it out with high and low lighting-some of my paintings are ten even fifteen layers deep, but each layer tells a story of the adventure of the piece. The growth of the the releasing of creativity. When I forget that, painting becomes a chore. But today, it was a gift!
 Let yourself free, and take an adventure into and with your art, you will be surprised where you end up if you just LET GO.

Create for Woman

I am so doing this!!! I think women everywhere should sign up and create for equality!!

Not my entry, but something like it(I'm still working on the boobies)

~PROSPECTUS: UniteWomen.org is looking for art that speaks to, examines and explores the social, political and economic issues related to women's activism. We are seeking art (all media) that expresses the women's perspective on issues of women's rights, political rights, reproductive rights, the ERA and issues of societal control which can range from literal to poetic, abstract to representational, and psychological, to social and political commentary. Submit work that explores the concepts of being a woman in today's global society and how social constructs define your experience whether internal, external, imagined or imposed, and how it defines and shapes our identities, relationships, ideas and politics. Artists are encouraged to interpret this theme broadly; submit works that have resonance and meaning to you. UniteWomen.org will present these issues in visual form, creating a public forum for action, reaction, and informed discussion.~ 

The Great Purge-

I'm still cleaning- but I'm making progress! I should be done Tuesday and then I can get to the important things-MAKING!!

But my Class studio is AWESOME!! 2013 is the year of DOING!

Journaling

Journal pages, journal pages, time to get your journal pages, time to get your crayons and your pencils...(sang to this tune)



Journaling has become one of my favorite things to do after meditation.The images and words that I gently push to the side during my 'sit' I gather together in my journal through paint, ink, crayon, and pencil. How awesome would it be if they collectively explain all of my subconscious secrets when spread out and read?!? Spending just 15 minutes a day in your journal will give you a deeper understanding of the real you...

Don't you owe yourself a little love and understanding?

Muladhara

this is a self empowering series that I will offer on Wednesdays- let me know if you enjoy it!

Survival- Security

(I've been working on my Chakras for a while now, and I feel like it's an ongoing process, but that I'm really starting to understand the process and myself a lot more...here is just a bit of what I've learned for you to start your own practice and healing...)

What are Chakras?
 Chakra's (pronounced Cha-kra, like chocolate chip...thanks Sam and Kaoverii!) are mental and emotional energy centers placed along your spine. Asana's (yoga poses) were invented to help heal and release blockages within your chakra system. ANYONE can work on their Chakra's- without going against their religious beliefs.  Learning about your chakra's gives you access to your bodies physical responses so you can minimize the negative effects and maximize the positive ones!
 There are currents of energy that course throughout your body - like a road map they are plentiful, but there are 4 main highways...the first two are-
 The upward current-Mukti or the freedom path runs from the earth and rises through the body toward ever more awareness.
The downward current Bukti or manifestation  starts at the crown of your head and goes down towards the earth growing more and more specific until it manifests on a physical plane.

Peoples issues are almost never physical but always tied to mental or chakra energy. Heal that and heal yourself.

Muladhara is your first chakra, also called the root chakra.  It  represents how you participate in the physical realm...body, home, work, environment ..it's self preservation...it makes sure you survive so you can continue to grow and enjoy this journey.

So, I recommend journaling everyday, and also meditate and do asana's. While working on your Root Chakra ask yourself a few questions while sitting grounded and concentrating on the chakra such as...

What keeps me grounded?
How do I connect with my physical body? With Nature?
Where do I feel safe?

As you journal, really listen to your truth. Envision your self; safe and sound, and open your self to the energy around you. This may bring up issues you never realized you had, with yourself, environment or your spirit. That's okay! Getting to know the real you is scary. Admitting your different than what you thought you knew is weird to most people. But, the better you understand yourself, you give yourself the gift of growth and truth and change. Open up and experience all that life is offering, it's an amazing trip!

If you feel as if this is a journey you cant handle on your own, you are welcome to email me ( happysappytrees@gmail.com) with questions and comments. I would be happy to help in any way I can. I'm no expert, but,  I have been working on myself since I realized I was alive. It's a never-ending journey and I'm constantly being taught by others around me as well as my subconscious. You can never have enough knowledge or growth! I'd love to hear about your journey!

 I will be offering an on-line workshop based on healing, chakras and intuition starting in January. I hope that you will join me for that as well!

Love Your Body

Raise your body image with the begining of my Official 

Body Consciousness Plan

I'm really working on myself inside and out. In doing so I've been figuring out things that work for me, and I think they'll work for you too! Let's follow these together and I'll post my results monthly...I can't wait to see what December will hold for my soul!

 1. Become aware of your negative body talk. Negativity affects you inside and out, I can't say it enough, there are enough negative people saying negative things about you, don't add to it! Only point out what you do like and repeat it to yourself daily. I love my butt, it's big, and round and well; baby got back. I love it...it makes my jeans look amazing and my dresses fit awesomely!

 2. Do an energy scan- Once a day (I do it after yoga, before meditation) sit down and close your eyes. Breathe in and out with deep evenly counted breaths. Turn your attention towards your body- starting at the tips of your toes, Notice if anything feels weird, pained, or tense. If it does, place your hand on that spot and concentrate on "breathing" positive oxygen into that spot.Continue to do that throughout your body. Dis-ease can't live in a place that is oxygenated. And it never hurts to envision light pouring into your hand as well!

 3. Talk with your body image- Sit in a comfortable position, breathing deeply and evenly. Close your eyes and envision yourself sitting across from you. Notice every detail of your image. Ask it questions- Are you okay? Do you have anything to tell me? To teach me? Make sure to tell your image how much you love it. Visualize giving yourself a hug and really loving yourself.When you are finished, journal your results. It's amazing what doing this monthly or so and journaling about it, what a difference you'll read in your writings.

I'll continue to add to this series throughout the month. Let's make November POSITIVE IMAGE MONTH! It never hurts to give yourself some lovin'!

Starting a Creative Revolution

I'm a self taught artist and creativity coach. Everything I've learned (mostly the hard way) I want to share with you. I've always been creative, but I never really knew my path until recently.
 I choose to be a part of a CREATIVE REVOLUTION...
I want to teach everyone that creativity and positivity go hand in hand and should be available for ALL. There is no reason for anyone to live in black and white and shades of grey...nor should they doubt their potential to shine brighter than any star. I love me and I want you to love yourself!!! Through art, journaling, yoga, creativity, meditation and love we will conquer self-doubt, despair  sticky stuckness and low energy in all areas of your life. Confidence is beautiful and bright! And so are YOU!

I just signed on to Ustream and i'm going to start having monthly gatherings online and LIVE as well as live demonstrations of yoga, art and journaling...and maybe some chitty chat too. I've really been thinking about how I want to lead my life and help others find their path...I know I talk about that a lot lately, but without the on-line proof...I'm trying to start small in my community and build into a larger community...and today is the day of on-line community building.

Help me Start a Revolution...
Let's start an online community of strong creatives who gather together and help each other through ALL times- life and art. I've been playing with intuitive creation for a while now and I want YOU to create along- with me...let's manifest magic by setting our intentions~in paint, journaling, and guided meditation and chat...
Grab the button in the sidelines and display it proudly on your blog, let's join together to create a new wonder of truth and safety. Join me here on the blog, or at my New Ustream Channel, OR at the newly created HappyTrees Studio Ning Site!!!! There I will be offering tutorials on everything from yoga to painting, classes and discussions, and plenty of forums and chats. I hope to interview other artists and creatives as well!!! I hope to see you soon!!!

xxsmoochxx ana

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!

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!

The Power To Empower

 The idea to start a Woman's Circle has been strumming deep in me for a while. I want to make a difference in my community. And I want to start with my sisters.  The idea that right now in this time of political uprising,   Women are one of the most vocally and physically attacked beings on the planet- bothers the shit out of me. The strong, independent, powerful, mother/sister/friend/goddess is becoming an endangered species one power at a time. They will start with stripping away our rights- and end with convincing us that we have NO power. WE are the mothers of this earth. We are the POWER. We give BIRTH. To ideas, children, LIFE. We are strong, and we have to ban together and not allow any one to convince our sisters that they are not special, powerful.

 YOU- WOMAN-YOU ARE AMAZING- remember that you hold power, remember how to harness that inner strength and energy- it's been with you since the beginning of time.

We ban together, we teach our daughters, we never forget.

We have the Power to Empower

Mad Hatter Paint Party

My dear friend and artistic partner Rachel and I have started a weekly adventure in painting. We get to drink wine and translate paintings for people of all backgrounds to understand. And everyone gets to go home with a masterpiece of their own! It's been a pretty amazing experience so far. If you're interested in taking one of our classes please check us out at Eventbrite or on Facebook. And don't forget- I have crazy awesome stuff planned for the near future!!!

Workshop Coming SOON!

My next adventure...an online class! 

Starting in July I'll be offering Journaling Inward- Adventures in Art to help you harness your creative energy and put it on paper! We'll create a journal, practice writing techniques and paint with wild abandon! FIVE weeks of fun for only $60.00...I'll provide PDFs and plenty of photo's as well as a few videos of me in the studio!  I'll have more info for you and a page to sign up next week soon as well as a Flickr and Facebook pages so that we can all chat about our process...

I hope you'll go on this adventure with me!


Edit: I'm crazy busy and battling procrastination like the flu right now! The workshop will most likely start in August...sorry for being so slack human.

Grounded

 I've finally realized that my gypsy days need to be over. That my roots are starting to form tight knots and furls underneath the grass and embedding themselves so deeply into the soil that they'll be no easy moving. I fought that for so long...thinking I'm going to be better here or there...but I'm best in ME and now that I'm finally coming to understand that I think it's time to work on my environment...my surroundings. I've really been given some amazing advice by my friend Rachel and I've decided to listen with all of me, not just my ears. I'm going to ACCEPT my surroundings and path, and TRUST that the Universe is taking care of me. I've always believed that, but there's been a tiny kernel of doubt lingering somewhere just near the back of my brain. That 'logic' part that tries not to trust or believe in anything...I've given in fully to faith and trust and thrown away all doubt. EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT! The path that forms ahead of me as each day develops is the right path for me, I know this because I'm only making decisions that feel right to me that are good for me and that I want to do. This is not a selfish way of thinking, it's just understanding that if I'm good and happy, I'll try to create that in everyone around me and hopefully the joy will shrug off me like glitter, and stick to every surface! This self-realization journey is by no means over, and I fully understand that it's a practice...like my art and meditation and yoga...I will always learn something new, and making adjustments for comfort are always allowed.

• I am safe, secure, centered, and at peace
• I move into my greater good
• I love and approve of myself
• 
  
• All I need is always taken care of
• I am safe
• I am strong
• I am confident
• I am comfortable with change and growth.
• My good is everywhere and I am safe
• I relax completely for I now know I am safe
• I trust Life and I trust myself
• I am totally safe in the Universe
• I am at peace everywhere
• I am safe and secure and understood
• I belong wherever I am
• I bless my future and no that it is safe and wonderful
• I affirm my right to the life I know I want
• I accept myself as I am
• I am grateful for the experiences of my life
• I am sustained and nourished by nature