Wise Words: Interview With A Goddess

Our March interview is with the beautiful, gorgeous, double rainbow of a woman – Goddess Leonie!

This wonderful Goddess is an artist, writer, mama, unicorn lover and the creator of the popular creativity and spirituality blog GoddessGuidebook.com and the online Goddess Circle.

What encouraged you to start the Goddess Guidebook?

 

There was this angel inside my heart that wanted to let loose wonders into the world.

I wanted to spill rainbows everywhere.

There were so many blessings and miracles and enlightenments happening in my life. I wanted to share my journey.

Deeply.

Authentically.

Joyfully.

 

Do you know what things you need to do on a regular basis in order to maintain your joy and Goddess-ness? What are they?

 

I utterly know what I need now, thanks to times when I was utterly deprived from them. I unequivocally need time each day on my own. To create. To sit. To breathe.

This was a hard won lesson – I’m a mama to my amazing one-year-old daughter, Ostara. And I went for many moons without any physical space or head space or creating space of my own. It did not make me happy or full or thriving.

So now, every day after I’ve put her down for a nap, my love takes over and I go to my office.

 

Want to know where my office is?

It’s at the top of an ancient fig tree.

I’m not even kidding. I climb up there with journal and laptop and spend two hours creating and writing and swinging my legs and doing my work. It is utterly blissful. I absoloooodely need to create. To make magic happen. And to be outside in trees.

 

What advice would you give to someone who is going through a challenging time?

Everything is going to be okay.

And that you may not feel it at all right now, The Worst Thing in the World Could Be The Best Thing.

 

What has creating your own path in life taught you most?

There is no one else I need to be in this world but me.

I need not be more like anyone else. I need not be the perfect mama,

artist, writer – anything like that…

I just need to be the best Leonie I can be.

Holy and true.

 

 

What wise words do you live by?

Joy is an option.

 

What is something you are really proud of?

 

I am over the moon proud that my lil goddess business is not only my job, but my love’s too.

That we both get to be at home with our daughter.

That we have been able to move across the country to live in tropical paradise because of it.

It’s just so over-the-mountain amazing… the story of it makes me light up and glow.

 

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? Who gave it to you?

 

My grandmother.

When I ask her how she is, she always responds:

“Well! I woke up this morning, and I was still breathing and I thought: OH! It’s a gooooood day today!”

I want to be as groovy and grateful as my grandmother.

 

What are you most grateful for?

 

Being alive. I’ve been saying this since I was a teenager.

To be here? Doing this magical thing called life? Getting to be Leonie?

Pretty much the BEST THING EVER.

 

 

Also grateful for:

Baby goddess daughter * hunky love * two fluffy doggies * a sweet old

cottage in tropical paradise * a job being a goddess that is pretty

much my wildest dreams come true * a sister who owns a cupcake

business = constant cupcakery in my life. Oh the JOY!

 

How do you want to inspire people?

I want every woman to know she is a goddess, through and through.

And that her life can be SO joyful and SO good and SUCH a delight.

 

What makes your heart smile?

Photographing women as goddesses.

 

 

Blue ocean eyes.

 

 

Hanging out by waterfalls with the ones I adore the most.

 

 

Check out Leonie’s blog, follow her on twitter, or add her on facebook 🙂

 

So much LOVE,

Jen ♥

 

A Letter To My Younger Self

Not long ago, I read a post by Jamie Ridler on Roots Of She, about the kind of advice she would give to her younger self. I think I recall writing a bit about it during #reverb10 as well, but I never allowed myself to get too far into it, because I was scared of what might come out.

But the other day, Jess at So Uprightly Burning did a post on her letter to her 10-years-ago self, and it inspired me to finish mine.

So here it is:

 

 

Me at around 14, and me today, 10 years later.

 

Dear beautiful Jen,

Well, you’re 14 years old. And I can tell you that this year is going to be the hardest year of your young life so far. And the next couple of years after won’t be much easier.

Your anxieties at school will get worse, you won’t feel safe in your own home, your self-esteem will be virtually non-existent, and people you love will die.

You will feel so ignored at school that when your favourite art teacher reaches out to you, you will be so surprised that you won’t know how to respond. Don’t assume she’s just doing her job; she really does care. I know this because even today, ten years later, she still remembers you.

I’m telling you all of this because I want you to know that, no matter how unbearable it all seems, and how lost you feel, you will get through it, you will find your way.

It’s all going to be okay.

The next few years will be dark, but there is so much light, so much good, waiting for you on the other side. Everything you are going through will be worth it, and everything these tough times teach you, about yourself, about others, and about life, will one day serve to make you very strong.

Just remember, everything happens for a reason, and things will get better, a lot better. I promise.

Please know that those people who hurt you, they do it because they, too, are suffering. It’s not your fault. They hurt others because they are hurting. You don’t have to put up with that in your life. Speak up.

It will take a long time for you to fully trust others, but someone will come along who will show how to love.

While you are running around chasing boys and looking for someone to love you, your soulmate will be right under your nose, and he will have already fallen for you before you even know his name.

It’s okay; you can trust this one. This boy won’t hurt you. So don’t get suspicious every time he gives you a compliment; he really does think you’re beautiful. He really does love you. And he really will marry you one day.

He will heal your closed heart, help you see how amazing you are, and show you what it’s like to have a real home, one where you feel safe, loved, and free to be who you really are. You can tell him your secrets, your fears and your dreams, and he will love you even more in return.

He will love you completely, every part of you, the good and the not-so-good. And you will feel the same about him. You will be a blessing to him just as much as he will be a blessing to you.

He makes everything you are going through now so, so worth it.

In regards to friends… well, don’t go the extra mile for anyone who wouldn’t do the same for you. And remember, anyone who gossips to you, will gossip about you. Even the ones who you think you can trust with your life.

Some friends you have now you will still have in ten years. Others will try to take advantage of you, and as soon as you are strong enough to stand up for yourself, you will realise you don’t want them, or their never-ending dramas, in your life anymore. It will be a hard choice to make, but I promise you won’t regret it.

In fact, by cutting them out, you will see just how much negativity they brought into your life in the first place, and you will have so much more room to grow into the positive woman you are meant to be.

Also, don’t get caught up in the aftermath of that ended friendship. The more drama they create about it, and the more lies they spread, the more they prove to you that you don’t need them in your life. Send them love and move on to the more awesome things that are coming your way.

Keep drawing, painting, creating, writing, and expressing yourself through art. You have no idea how much you need it to heal, grow, and be happy.

And never stop dreaming. That life-long dream you have of living overseas? You accomplish it at 23. I know, pretty awesome huh? You will also have your first art exhibit at age 22. And all those other things you dream of? You can do all of it. You really can.

Don’t avoid the things, places or people that make you anxious. You know those freak-outs you have before school, that you think are normal? Those are panic attacks. One day you will be so ruled by them that you never leave the house alone. Not even to get the mail.

Don’t worry; you need to live through that. That’s what causes you to do something drastic, like moving to China for a year. That will help you to overcome the anxiety pretty quickly. You will learn that your fears aren’t real, and that every time you face the things that scare you, the stronger and happier you become.

Then you will realise how brave you are, to do things that terrify you every single day.

Also, it’s okay to change your mind about what you want to do. Keep trying new things until you find what fits. A lot of those people who put you down for changing your mind will end up feeling stuck, doing jobs that they hate, and having no idea what they want to do with their lives. So don’t listen to their opinions.

Only listen to those people who are already living the kind of life you want to live – everyone else is just guessing.

I know right now you don’t know much about positive thinking, but you are always trying to see the bright side. Don’t listen to those people who call you unrealistic. What they don’t know is that it is optimism that will get you through the next few years, and start you on an amazing journey that will lead you to living such a happy and amazing life.

So, there will be a lot of tough moments in your life over the next ten years. But there will be even more amazing, happy and love-filled moments. So just keep going.

Most of all: Be kind to yourself. You are so worthy of love and respect, but it starts with you. Love yourself first, and everything else will fall into place. Make loving yourself your number one priority.

I Love You.

Jen ♥

Updates & Link Love

Gratitude & LOVE to Dani at Positively Present for this image!

 

Hello beautiful!

 

Have you smiled at yourself in the mirror today? I have! 😀

A lot has been happening here at My Smiling Heart headquarters… by that I mean my couch and coffee table, haha!

I wrote a guest post for The Whole Self as a part of Happiness Week, which is this week! The post is about how I chose happiness during a difficult time, and went from ruins to rainbows as a result. I even made a special ‘Choose Happiness’ printout for it!

Yesterday, My Smiling Heart was featured on the ever-amazing and inspiring Positively Present! I’m so excited about this because I’ve been reading PP for a long time, so it’s AWESOME to be a part of it somehow. Check out the interview here, and remember to download the free the positive printable I created just for the occasion!

Our lovely sponsor, A Peaceful Path, held their first vision board workshop on Sunday, featuring some of the worksheets and cutouts that will be in the new My Smiling Heart ebook! I’ve heard that the workshop was a complete success, so congratulations to A Peaceful Path and everyone who has started to create their vision!

I recently entered my self-portrait, the one featured on the My Smiling Heart banner, in an online art competition called ‘The Power Of Self’, and I need your votes. The painting with the most votes wins $2,500. Winning this will allow me to continue My Smiling Heart after I go home in July. I really want to keep My Smiling Heart alive, so every vote counts.

I’m working on the My Smiling Heart ebook, which I hope will be a great resource to maintaining happiness. It will be full of positive printables for your wall, kind of like a vision board kit, as well as other goodies and awesomeness! I’m so excited about it, and I’m having so much fun putting it together! I hope you’re all as excited as I am! 😀

I’m also working on creating meditation recordings too. I studied meditation teaching not long ago, so it’s about time I started using it! 🙂

Jen Fromal from The Smashed Planet and I are doing something exciting for the entire months of April. It’s called 30 Days Of Beauty, and we hope to use it to raise money for To Write Love On Her Arms. Click here for project details and info on how you can be a part of the self-loving AWESOMENESS!

Through wonderful blogs such as So Uprightly Burning and Roots Of She, I came across an amazingly creative website called ABC Creativity, created by the beautiful Andrea Schroeder. Andrea has just started a free Creativity 101 e-course, and I’m completely in love with it! I am so, so happy to have discovered creative journaling, it is so amazingly healing. I will be posting pictures of my art journal soon!

Do you remember me mentioning my friend in Japan? Well, one of her friends has started an amazing cause called ‘3000 Letters For Japan’. It’s a letter writing project, aiming to get people from all over the world to write inspiring letters, send them to the project organisers, and they will then give the letters to children living in devastated areas of Japan. How AWESOME is that?

Now for this week’s Link Love Friday mission! For something different, I want you to share your favourite funny youtube video on the My Smiling Heart Facebook page. It can be anything, laughing babies, sneezing pandas, the classic people-falling-down videos, as long as it makes you really laugh out loud. Let’s get the giggles!

Go smile at yourself!

Jen ♥

Wise Words: Three Lessons From Oprah

 

“Now I want to talk a little bit about failings, because nobody’s journey is seamless or smooth. We all stumble. We all have setbacks. If things go wrong, you hit a dead end—as you will—it’s just life’s way of saying time to change course. So, ask every failure—this is what I do with every failure, every crisis, every difficult time—I say, what is this here to teach me? And as soon as you get the lesson, you get to move on. If you really get the lesson, you pass and you don’t have to repeat the class. If you don’t get the lesson, it shows up wearing another pair of pants—or skirt—to give you some remedial work.”

~ Oprah Winfrey

The above quote comes from a commencement speech that Oprah gave at Stanford University in 2008.

I watched this video a lot last year, after we moved to China, and found these words to be so inspiring, especially after I was fired and fell ill. This video, and the above quote in particular, were key in my journey to turning my life around, reclaiming my power, and choosing happiness.

You can watch the video of Oprah’s speech here, or read the transcript here.

What have you been experiencing lately? What is it here to teach you?

Whatever happens, I hope you’re smiling 🙂

Jen ♥

On Love, Supermoons & Imperfections

 

This song is called ‘Say Hey! (I Love You)’, by Michael Franti and Spearhead, and I just LOVE it!

I listen to it almost every day. When I say listen, I mean I sing along and dance around the apartment like a lunatic, of course. It’s just so irresistibly happy, and full of good vibes that flow through the Universe, all the way into my soul. It is happiness.

I’m so happy right now, just completely over the moon – or should I say, over the supermoon! Maybe it’s the energies brought about by that beautiful full moon, or maybe it’s just me, but I feel AWESOME.

My view of the Supermoon, so beautiful!

 

I am exploding with gratitude. So grateful for that one moment almost six months ago, in which I chose happiness over everything else. Grateful for everything I have created for myself since then, and for everything the Universe has brought me as a reward for that one decision to be happy.

I am a hurricane of love.

And I want to express that love more freely, so I am going to make an effort to express myself creatively even more-so than I do now.

I want to paint more, create more, write more, live more, laugh more and love more.

I want to paint portraits, I want to start an art journal, I want to write a book about my year in China, I want to build meaningful relationships with people all over the world, I want to meditate more, I want to start doing yoga, I want to empower, inspire and make hearts smile, I want to do whatever you need me to do to help you see how freakin’ AWESOME you are.

I don’t want to sell out, conform to only writing top ten list or how-to posts, give in to anxiety, or pretend like I’m some sort of self-development guru that has it all together and promises you true happiness all at the discounted price of $99.99 – because I’m not a guru, I don’t have it all together, and I can’t promise you happiness – your happiness is up to you.

What I can do is be here, now, to go on this journey with you. I can give you my perspective, share my thoughts, creations and inspirations with you, talk with you, laugh with you, cry with you. I can create things for you, as resources to help you focus on the positive, reminders of your AWESOMENESS, and make pretty things to hang on your walls. I can see your beauty, and help you to see it, too.

But at the end of the day, it’s up to you. And that’s okay, you can handle that. You are powerful… so much more than you realise.

I don’t have all the answers. I don’t even want or need all the answers. And that’s okay, too. I’m just doing the best that I can, moment to moment. Sometimes I freak out a little, and I doubt myself a lot. Sometimes I wonder if I have what it takes to achieve my dreams.

Man, I love letting my vulnerabilities shine like this. It’s terrifying and liberating. It’s imperfect, and I love it.

I am letting go of my perfectionism when it comes to art, too. I will love what I create, even if it’s messy. I am moving forward with my creations, with my ebooks, ekits and hell, maybe even some ecourses. Because what I have to offer is worthy, valuable and amazing.

 

A messy painting I did yesterday

 

I love how this post was originally just meant to be a shout out of pure love, and it morphed into another soul-searching session.

How imperfect of me 😉

Well, thank you so much for ‘listening’ to my rants. I’m always here to listen to you, too. Whenever, wherever.

I’m going to spend the rest of the day walking in the park – the snow is almost completely melted and the weather today is beautiful enough for me to not have to wear my huge puffy George Costanza jacket, yay! Then I’ll be drinking wine and eating mooncakes with my soulmate.

I hope your day is full of double rainbows and flowers in bloom 🙂

So much LOVE,

Jen ♥

The Story Of The Bird

 

Hello beautiful!

 

Are you having an AWESOME day? I hope so!

Did you know that it’s nearly My Smiling Heart’s six month birthday?! 😀 Yay! Six months of growing, learning, connecting, inspiring and smiling at ourselves in the mirror! I can’t tell you how grateful I am to be a part of such an amazing tribe, thank you for a wonderful six months – so far!

Anyone who knows My Smiling Heart is familiar with the image above, especially the bird, that has become the MSH logo.

I just entered this self portrait into an online art competition, and the prize for the People’s Choice award is $2,500 – more than enough for me to be able to continue writing My Smiling Heart once I return to Melbourne in July! – so I would be forever grateful if you would please vote for my work here (click vote in the top right corner). Thank you, thank you, thank you! 😀

As I entered my artwork into the competition today, I realized that I have never given you the full story behind this self-portrait, so here it is 🙂

The Story Of Me And The Bird My Cat Killed:

 

That’s what this painting is called: A Portrait Of Me And The Bird My Cat Killed.

A few days before I painted it, my cat, Juno, jumped through my window with a bird hanging from his mouth. As soon as I saw it, I ran over to him, took him outside and made him drop the bird, but it was too late. It just lay there on it’s back, eyes closed.

I took it to the back of my garden and placed it under a tree. I felt so saddened by it’s lifeless body, but at the same time I was mesmerized by it’s beauty.

It was a beautiful brown colour, with specks of green and yellow on its feathers. All I could think of was how tragically beautiful it was.

The next day I watched American Beauty for the first time. There’s a scene in it where a boy is filming a dead bird, as it lay lifeless on the grass. When asked why he was filming it, he replied, “Because it’s beautiful.”

Just as he filmed the dead bird for it’s beauty, and in turn immortalized it in film, I wanted to do the same for my dead bird.

I thought to myself, what better way to give something new life than to immortalize it forever in art?

Now, that bird will live forever.

And not only that, over the past six months of My Smiling Heart, the bird has become symbol of positivity, hope, and freedom for me.

This painting represents the beginning of my journey to recognising my own power. The woman in this self-portrait, is the woman that I have grown into since I painted it. And I hope that I have been able to use my power to help you realize your own immense power.

Because you are powerful, awesome, and just so damn amazing!

You have the power to create your life, live your dreams and make this world a better place!

There is no better time to release your AWESOMENESS to the world!

Start with a smile, and just go from there 🙂

So much LOVE,

Jen ♥

 

* It’s Link Love Friday! Head over to the Facebook page and share links to your amazing blogs/websites/twitter! 😀

 

 

Wise Words: Standing Up.

Source.

 

“Fall seven times, stand up eight.”

~ Japanese Proverb

With everything that has been going on in our world recently, flooding, hurricanes, volcanoes, and now the earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan, it’s easy to fall. It’s easy fall, and it’s even easier to stay down.

A good thing about being a westerner in China is that I don’t watch television. I don’t see the news, the sensationalism, the fear based headlines or the warnings of armageddon.

I have a friend living in Japan at the moment, thankfully she is fine, but she is feeling a lot of  frustration with the sensationalism of the news being shown around the world, as it is only focussing on the worst case scenarios, causing her family so much worry and anxiety. Not to mention the fact that she herself doesn’t know what to believe, with conflicting stories and a lot of misinformation going around.

If I was back home in Australia while all this was going on, I would be sitting in front of the TV, frozen in fear and too overwhelmed to be of any use.

Even seeing all the tweets about what’s happening, and what people think of it, is way too much for me. All it does is bring me down. I can’t help anyone if I’m down.

My heart breaks for all the people who have lost their lives, and the survivors who have lost their homes and loved ones. I fear for my friends who live in Japan and for myself as I am so close to the destruction. I fear the future and what challenges mother nature will bring us next. I want to help as much as I can.

But focussing on the news, the pain, and the fear only serves to weaken us.

If we are going to get through this, we need to be strong. We need to be strong just as the people of Japan are being strong. They are showing us what we need to do.

They have fallen, but they are standing back up.

They are the people who are in the most danger, the people who are suffering the most, but they are also the people who are handling it the best. They are focussing on what’s most important, and they are getting things done.

Most of all, they aren’t losing hope. They are opening their hearts. And so are we.

I read an amazing post written by a woman named Anne, who is living in Sendai, a town that has been completely devastated. In this inspiring Letter From Sendai, Anne is full of love and gratitude for everything she has, and writes about the powerful change that is occurring in our world right now:

“Somehow at this time I realize from direct experience that there is indeed an enormous Cosmic evolutionary step that is occurring all over the world right at this moment. And somehow as I experience the events happening now in Japan, I can feel my heart opening very wide.

My brother asked me if I felt so small because of all that is happening. I don’t. Rather, I feel as part of something happening that much larger than myself. This wave of birthing (worldwide) is hard, and yet magnificent.”

If Anne can be right in the middle of the destruction, and still see the good that is shining through the rubble, and even feel how the world is evolving as a result, then surely we can too.

Focussing on the love, the kindness and the compassion that is being shared during this time is the only way we can get through this, and become stronger, wiser, more awakened people in the process.

It’s time to stand up.

“The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.”

~ Ivy Baker Priest

 

Good News:

 

A four month old baby was found amongst the rubble, alive and well, 72 hours after the quake and tsunami hit. Source.

 

More Good News:

Daily Good: Human Spirit Rises to Meet Japan’s Tsunami

 

How You Can Help:

 

If you are able to donate, Jen Fromal and I have set up a donation page for the American Red Cross Earthquake Relief on our fundraising page for our 30DaysOfBeauty Project.

Here are some other ways you can help:

Tonic Blog: How You Can Help

Roots Of She: Sending Out Love To Japan

Lady Gaga has designed a prayer bracelet to support Japan, with all proceeds going to earthquake and tsunami relief efforts.

The image at the top of this post can be bought as a poster, with proceeds going to the Red Cross and Save The Children.

 

Stay safe, think peace, feel love.

Jen ♥

30 Days Of Beauty

Hello beautiful!

Welcome to this very special edition of My Smiling Heart! 😀

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a new awesome project with a twitter friend, Jen Fromal. Today, we are finally able to share it with the world! And, because we are an amazing little community, we have designed it so that there are many ways for YOU to be a part of the fun! Let the AWESOMENESS begin! 😀

30DaysOfBeauty

 

 

30DaysOfBeauty is a lifestyle experiment designed to boost self-esteem and encourage women (and men!) to see how truly beautiful they are – and raise money for a good cause in the process! Everybody wins!

Created by the two Jens, one the writer of The Smashed Planet and the other the writer of My Smiling Heart, 30DaysOfBeauty will use tweeting and blogging to spread a message of self-love and self-worth.

For 30 days, starting on the 1^st of April 2011, the two Jens will take to their twitter accounts (@jenfromal and @smiling_heart) dedicating one tweet per day to a reason why they are beautiful.

Each 30DaysOfBeauty tweet will finish with the hashtag #imbeautifulbecause, encouraging others to join in on the fun and tweet about why they are beautiful, too!

Every week, the two Jens will each write a post about their progress on the 30DaysOfBeauty challenge, list their #imbeautifulbecause tweets from the previous week, and also include some of their favourite #imbeautifulbecause tweets from others.

Now, here’s the most important part.

Through Crowdrise, the two Jens will be using this 30 day challenge to raise money for To Write Love On Her Arms, a cause that is dedicated to helping those struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide.

We are dedicating these 30 days to raise at least $300 for To Write Love On Her Arms.

So get ready to tweet up a storm in April! Follow the two Jens as they uncover the many reasons why they are beautiful, and raise money for an amazing cause in the process. Join in on the 30DaysOfBeauty challenge!

 

It’s time to put the YOU in beaYOUtiful!

 

I will also be posting my #imbeautifulbecause statements on the My Smiling Heart facebook page, and I would love you to share your #imbeautifulbecuase statements on there too! 🙂

*For more information on our thirty days projects and how it started, check out the 30Days tab at the top of the page.

*We have also added an option on our Crowdrise page to donate to the RedCross in order to help all those affected by the Japan earthquakes and tsunami.

You are AWESOME!

Jen ♥

Note: The Two Jens are not official representatives of TWLOHA, only dedicated supporters of the cause.

Creating Your Vision With A Peaceful Path – Sponsored Post!

I am so happy to introduce you all to the first ever My Smiling Heart sponsor, Karen from A Peaceful Path!

I first ‘met’ Karen after my Tiny Buddha guest post was published, and I felt an instant connection with her.

Like me, Karen chose to leave her comfort zone and create a new path for herself, which lead her to discover and fall in love with essential oils, a passion that she then turned into A Peaceful Path.

At A Peaceful Path (affiliate link), Karen blends and creates essential oils for every intention, from empowerment and self-love to imagination and good vibes. How cool is that?

Another reason I feel such a connection with Karen is our shared passion of creating our own lives.

Karen is putting this into practice by running a new workshop called ‘Creating My Vision’ – it’s a vision board party! Here’s what Karen has to say about it:

One of my very favorite ways to embrace changes in my life is by creating a vision board.

We dream in pictures, not sentences – that is why vision boards are so powerful.

The very act of choosing what we want to bring into our lives starts an amazing change of energy. What are you seeing? What do you want to see?

“Creating My Vision” is a workshop and a party.

It’s a chance to explore what you might not have realized that you would love. Maybe it will be the beginning of a new adventure. Maybe it will confirm what you know is in your heart.

I was so excited about this that I just had to be a part of it somehow, even though I’m oceans away. So, in another first, I’m so happy to announce that My Smiling Heart is sponsoring these workshops!

I will be providing some free positive printables for everyone at these workshops – that will otherwise only be available in my ebook (Yes! I’m creating a very AWESOME and fun ebook! Yay!).

“Creating My Vision” details:

Date:  Sunday March 20, 2011*

Time: 1-4 PM

Place: West Hills, CA

Workshop Fee: $25 per person or share with a friend for $40 for 2!

*Note: There are only two spaces left in this workshop! There will be another one in April if you miss out on a spot 🙂

So, if you’re in LA and feel like it’s time to start creating your vision (and you want a sneak preview of my ebook!) email Karen: karen@apeacefulpath.com and book your place.

A Gift For You!

Also, as a special gift for all the smiling hearts out there, Karen is offering a %15 discount on all A Peaceful Path blends and gifts until April 15th! Get the discount code here and enjoy!

Stay AWESOME!

Jen ♥

*Thank you everyone for all of your absolutely amazing support! All the wonderful comments on my last post, the Love Letter, truly made my heart smile bigger than ever before!

I want you all to know that I am working hard to turn My Smiling Heart into a full-time job of AWESOMENESS for me so that I don’t have to give it up once I go home to Australia in a few months.

If you or anyone you know is interested in sponsoring My Smiling Heart, please email me at jenartist@live.com.au.

A Love Letter To My Smiling Heart (YOU)

This was difficult and emotional for me to write, but it so needed to be said. It needed to be said, and it needs to be heard. This isn’t just a love letter to My Smiling Heart, this is a love letter to you.

You, who reads, supports and loves this blog as much as I do, you are My Smiling Heart. We are a community of smiling hearts. It wouldn’t be here without you, and neither would I.

Dear My Smiling Heart (You),

Thank you so much.

There are no words to describe what you have done for me. You appeared during one of the darkest times of my life, a time when I felt alone, meaningless, beaten down, and so, so sad. I was filled with hate, anger, and pain. I lived in fear, and let anxiety rule my life.

But, since the night you were created, you have been the light that shines my path. You have shown me my own truth, my own beauty, and my own power. You have reignited my creativity, my passion, and my self-belief.

Because of you, new doors have opened, leading me to meet some of the most amazing, inspirational women I have ever known. Women who have forever changed my life, women who support me, challenge me, and encourage me to live an extraordinary life.

You have made me see that I can change the world. And you have helped me do it.

You have given me meaning, joy, connection, and a reason to jump out of bed at 8am every single day with a smile on my face and love in my heart.

You have introduced me to my real passion. I thought my passions were art and writing, but really, it’s much deeper than that.

My passion, my life purpose, is to inspire others and help them to live their best lives. I am here to empower others, especially women. Art and writing is the vessel in which I can and will do that, I promise.

And now, as you continue to propel me forwards into new and exciting ventures, I know I have to trust the path that I am on, instead of trying to predict which way it will turn and where it will lead me.

As you continue to grow and become not only my passion but my full-time job, a way to earn a living while baring my soul, creating, and inspiring others, I promise I will stay focussed on my truth, my purpose, the community you have built and remember everything that has lead me to this point.

You are my passion, my light, my connection to the world and my connection to my true self.

My heart will always be full of gratitude for everything you bring me, and I promise to always honour you and continue to make you something that inspires anyone who comes into contact with you.

I want you to change lives, just as you have changed mine.

Even though I am scared and vulnerable right now, and feeling anxious about what’s to come, I know you will always be there, keeping me focussed and shining your light onto my soul.

You saved my life.

Thank you.

Jen ♥