What happens when you mix 250 teen girls with #realtalk?? An awesome workshop sharing our powerful work with teens from all over Marin County - woo! Our focus was "Stress & Anxiety" and "Body Image & Self-Esteem", with a mini dive into discussing sexism on the side. We were honored to meet such courageous girls this weekend... hope we see you again! Thank you to the #marinteengirlsconference for having us, see you next year!

I am LOVING this response to a parent letter by Marin parent coach Polly Ely of the LAB METHOD, on the importance of dosing kids (and I'll add teens!) with awe, play and wonder. Such good medicine for all of us.

Dear Polly,

I have a really anxious 10 year old. We are super close. We talk about everything from social issues, to health related matters and climate change. We can even cover big topics like the Me Too movement, pesticides and GMOs. My daughter is smart as a whip and “an old soul”, as they say. She asks grown up questions and wants grown up answers. I like to be straight with her but it seems like she is growing more and more pre-occupied and less playful. She seems tight inside and I haven’t seen her true smile for a couple of months. How can I help her? Is there anything I can do to help her relax? And oddly, it seems like she has a harder time being at ease when she is with me.
Worried in Nor Cal,
Lara


Dear Lara,

Ahh yes - the double edged sword of being informed and aware is slicing right through many kids’ ability to relax. One fearful discussion about the fires, the garbage, the ocean, or the icebergs can turn a playful moment into a despairing puzzle, eclipsing an earnest kid’s mind to be at rest, in awe, or feeling spontaneous joy. Being informed and bonding around the news can cast a bit of a shadow on a kids world view. On the one hand, I get to bond with my kids and feel connected with them. On the other, does every moment need to be a teachable one? I recently witnessed an innocent mother-daughter trip... READ FULL ARTICLE.

Shaye is talking up a storm and has found his love of dancing, hugging and kissing... still getting the hang of napping! Mama Emily is remembering who she is as a person and is finally figuring out how to find time for starlit hot tubs, friends, and cooking again... at least once in a while! (For the first time in almost 2 years my wedding band fits and I am wearing real pants) There is hope!

Things must get messy before they get better. A "woke" life is NOT a less messy life. (Pigs=Messy, remember;) Waking up is inherently messy. Just keep going, keep growing ~ beauty and grace will reveal in the unexpected, and in living the belief that you are more worthy of these gifts than you remember yourself to be. Consciousness is not about achieving perfection, keep a watchful eye for "shoulds" in disguise.

Praying for guidance, sensuality, understanding and compassionate inspiration.
* Happy New Year to all *

~ Thank you Marisa Aragón Ware for the artwork, and all those dear to me offering your wisdom towards the new year qi

how do you create community?
i do not know
a hundred ways
a thousand ways
but
how do you kill community?
I can tell you one
sure to do the job.
be self-sufficient.
always have enough
always have it together
always be a giver
always have all the tools you need
never need to borrow a sewing needle
never need a cup of sugar
never tell anyone you're breaking down
never need anyone
your pride
your insistence on competency
your unwillingness to be a burden
on us
when it is the proper time for you to collapse
may be the end of us all
knowing what time it truly is
or knowing how to know the time at all
you
needing our help
being unable to continue without it
you
not knowing
how to do everything
creates the occasion
for the village to reconstitute itself
and know itself again
--From Tad Hargrave

Solstice means “sun stands still,” as a moment of stillness before the light of life begins to return from the depths of darkness - when the sun stops in time, just before the darkness becomes too great to recover from.

Holiday comes from the “holy days” reminding everyone of the sacredness of life as well as our innate connection to the world’s capacity to renew itself in the darkest hours - and reflects a capacity within the human soul to assist in the renewal of life.
Rituals of gift-giving once carried the intent of encouraging the finding and giving of the inner gifts that each soul brings to the world.
Amidst all the anxieties and pressures of modern life it is a sense of timelessness that is most needed. At the still point of midwinter the sun pauses amidst the darkness and there may be no better time to rekindle the instinct for uniting together and expressing love, care and inclusiveness.
May the holidays be holy days for you; may the light of inspiration find you and the warmth of love embrace you and yours.
Wishing you restful, nourishing days with those you love,
Emily

(Photo of the Bay this afternoon from my regular baby car nap spot - Poetics mostly by Michael Meade)

We are honored to be included in the international rites of passage organization Youth Passageways Confluence Journal! Their Winter 2018 Volume III "Right Relations" is a diverse collection of writing and interviews that dive head first into the depths of relationship. Enjoy this interview with Emily on "Whole Person Sexuality" discussing her work with teens and a little about her own story too...