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Sometimes the holidays can feel lonely, even when we’re surrounded by people (sometimes especially when we are). If this is the case for you, even in the smallest way, please press play.

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A gentle practice to build courage from the inside out. Through breath, visualization, and reflection, we learn to meet fear with steadiness. This is not about pressuring ourselves or fitting some external ideal; it’s about tapping what is true to us. Meeting ourselves where we are and showing up, even when we’re afraid.

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I tried to find a positive quote on pleasure by a philosopher, and first found the one below by Schopenhauer; most of the other quotes I found were about denying pleasure. Perhaps the belief we are only supposed to feel numb or endure pain and deny pleasure at all costs is why pleasure often has the icky adjective guilty before it.

• Illusion is the first of all pleasures. ―Voltaire

• “Pleasure is never as pleasant as we expected it to be and pain is always more painful. The pain in the world always outweighs the pleasure. If you don’t believe it, compare the respective feelings of two animals, one of which is eating the other.” ―Schopenhauer

• It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them. ―Epictetus

We see extravagant ballrooms being built as citizens are told they will starve, and we think the rich are perusing pleasure. These guys above are spot-on.

But to my mind, the greedy are pursuing a destination they’ll never arrive at.

I believe we can get pleasure, perhaps the most pleasure, by diving deep into the beauties and simplicities of life. True pleasure is not purchased, and it rarely comes from accolades or achievements; it is simply a recognition of what’s always there—this incredible life.

I understand the sense of guilt that can come for some of us when we allow ourselves to feel good about who we are and where we are; after all, we are so often focused on creating, creating, creating … giving, giving, giving. Our worth is tied up in our accomplishments.

This is a simple reminder that we are here to experience it all, even during the hardest of times. We can take time and dive into the sensation of *gasp* pleasure. Do so in your art, your relationships, your interactions with the natural world.

I promise it will do you and your art good.

Download below.

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“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.”

—Najwa Zebian

Meet yourself where you are with this simple and relaxing practice that allows you to simply scan the body and pay attention. It is amazing how much a little slowing down can accomplish. Wishing you all good things. -Jen

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"Everyone has [their] own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment." —Viktor Frankl

Let's Start Where …

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What is enlightenment? And what does it have to do with writing?

On morning walks this month, I’ve been listening to Joseph Goldstein’s talks on the Buddha and enlightenment, which are lovely. He speaks clearly and succinctly about the eightfold path and the value of meditation to see ourselves and our world with less attachment and more awareness.

On evening walks this month, I’ve been listening to The Body by Bill Bryson, which discusses the brilliance of the human body from a purely scientific perspective.

“The great paradox of the brain is that everything you know about the world is provided to you by an organ that has itself never seen that world … To your brain, the world is just a stream of electrical pulses, like taps of Morse code. And out of this bare and neutral information, it creates for you—quite literally creates—a vibrant, three-dimensional, sensually engaging universe. Your brain is you. Everything else is just plumbing and scaffolding.” ― Bill Bryson

The agreements between these texts are stunning. Where they differ, in large part, is language. There is a language for science and a language for spirituality, and if you go deep enough into either, they meet.

They both seem to suggest that when we remember what we are (and are not), we realize that who we are matters less. And it seems paradoxical but often true that when we release striving and grasping for comfort or hoarding for selfish means, we find ourselves expanding. Perhaps this is “enlightenment.” A one with, rather than a one apart.

My father said that once, in his thirties, he felt this expansion. His enlightenment lasted for a short time, but he described it this way.

His thoughts were suddenly clear, and his awareness was heightened. He didn’t have the emotional attachment to outcomes, but rather immersed himself in whatever he was doing, fully understanding it, even embodying it.

He was working at a hospital and found himself in highly technical conversations with doctors about medical procedures he’d never studied, but he understood. He said he no longer felt anxiety or worry and could grasp any concept presented immediately. He understood how everything fell into place, and he said it—life itself, for all its seeming vastness and riddles—made sense.

He trusted it all and felt a part of it all. There was no fear.

This state of heightened awareness lasted for an entire week, then came the day that he woke up to find himself feeling exactly as he had before.

A smart man still, sure, but as hazy and baffled by world events as ever and as eager to prove himself. Meanwhile, he was no longer able to discuss highly technical medical procedures in-depth, even if he had studied them. He was an orderly at the time and hoped to take art classes. He had no great ambitions. He was neurotic and dreamy. He was human.

When I asked him what he was wearing and what he was doing to find this state of enlightenment in the first place, he shrugged.

“Was it drugs? Was it meditation?”

No. He said, “It just happened.”

The human brain is a strange thing. As is the human body. It’s a miracle of a machine, and yet so vulnerable. The cynic in me can’t help but think sometimes that someone at the hospital spiked my father’s hashish with a mild hallucinogen that week (sorry, Dad), or perhaps he has an allergen that he only managed to avoid that one week of his life.

But maybe he truly got a taste of enlightenment, and maybe that was just a sort of surrender.

Imagine what pure clarity, if only for a day, might mean. Imagine the kind of creative flow that allows you to channel, as a brilliant artist says she does with her paintings.

I like to think it would mean great relief. No “Why am I here?” questions. No trying to figure it out or rationalize. No arguing! Simple awareness and surrender to the miraculous nature of what is.

Accepting our foibles and limitations as individual humans on this planet is a radical thing. But maybe pausing the search also allows us to remember that if something like total clarity arrives in our lives, it’s unlikely it will have happened because we sought it out. It’s the search, after all, that may keep us from seeing and feeling our potential as humans.   

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Creative prompt: Explore what enlightenment means to you in your art/writing, or if you even think it’s possible, even for a moment. What might it look like on the canvas or page?

Paid subscribers: Join our creative resilience and accountability circle by signing up here, and we’ll see you on Aug 1 on Zoom.

Thank you to my paid subscribers. I appreciate you. If …

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I’m publishing this quietly, without the email. It’s a thank-you for subscribing and supporting my words. This will be open to all for a week, then available to paid subscribers only. As always, if you cannot afford a paid subscription and would like access to meditations and workshops, please simply email me and let me know. I will comp it for you—no questions asked.

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The exercises here have been a lifeline for me since getting my yoga teacher certification almost ten years ago now. They’re simple but easy to forget.

“Space is the breath of art.” —Frank Lloyd Wright

Balance and Calm

When to practice? After reading political news or getting a rejection.

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A sincere thanks and offering to those who support my work. Let me know what you create! We can discuss it here on the 23rd. xo Jen

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“We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.” —Anais Nin

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In the first session, we looked at a worst-case scenario. Today, I’d like you to develop an appreciation for what you have right now. In this moment. Because anxiety is based on a prediction, and predictions are never fully accurate, some of the best medicine is to get present.

“When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”

―Audre Lorde

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“It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self-love deficit.” — Eartha Kitt

Sometimes we don't acknowledge our successes or feel we'll be “found out if” anyone looks closely enough. We think we are always "faking it" and never "making it." The truth is that every small and large success should be celebrated fully, and by learning to celebrate, we learn to understand our worth.

As creatives.

As people.

Cheering you on, whether you’re failing up or succeeding.

xo

“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”

– Michel de Montaigne

Happy New Year, friends!

To bring in 2025, I wanted to offer a four-day meditation program that will accompany my weekly posts. The first session is open to everyone. If you are completing the full program, I recommend practicing at the same time each day and having a notebook handy.

This meditation is centered on creating a foundation of strength and awareness from which you can build a sense of self-trust and self-love. To cultivate awareness, we will use visualization and reflection. The meditation set the stage for the rest of this 4-day journey.

xo

If you enjoy what I’m offering here, please consider supporting my work by becoming a paid subscriber. If you cannot afford this but would like access, request it here. If you are a paid subscriber, the next episode will be available next week.

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"When well-being comes from engaging our strengths and virtues, our lives are imbued with authenticity."

-Martin Seligman

In our final session, we'll examine what flourishing means to us. What are feelings we want to cultivate in our lives? Have a notebook ready.

Thank you for practicing with me. I hope these offerings support you as we move forward in the new year, the new week, and each new day.

Thanks for practicing with me.

xo

Here’s one for the holidays. The music at the beginning and end is “Adrift Among Infinite Stars” by Scott Buckley.