Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I am a Brave Girl

"You had better live your best and act
your best and think your best today;
for today is the sure preparation for 
tomorrow and all the other tomorrows that follow."
            -Harriet Marineau

January 11th couldn't come quick enough...I was soooo excited to get started on Soul Restoration! I was like a child at Christmas!! The wait was long but oh so worth it. That first day, I carefully gathered all my supplies, made myself a cup of herbal tea and locked myself in our home office. The day had finally arrived!

There I was, blank journal, a bag of pens and markers ready to write everything down. I was so eager to learn!! Here is what I wrote moments before the class began....

"What a very special day it is! The first day of the rest of my life:) Soooo ready for this. Let the restoring commence!"

Here is what I created that first day...my Soul House....this means so much to me...

I had never heard of a Soul House before...it made so much sense and allowed me to look at myself and the people I let in my "house" differently.



Here's my Truthteller delivering my very own Truths...


I use my Truthteller many times a day...especially when I'm anxious and upset. He never lets me down;)

After that first week my soul was soooo happy...just humming along, all ready to go and be restored. I couldn't believe what I had learned in just a few days. How could I have known that "Soul Restoration" meant so much more than paint and glue and glitter?

My very favorite part of the class was our Art Journal. Oh what joy painting and Mod Podging and writing give me when I need perspective in my life, when I need some quiet time and when I want to just have a bit of fun!

One of my favorite pages just waiting for me to write in one of these days.

That girl captures how Soul Restoration made me feel!
Perhaps the very best part of Soul Restoration for me was the Timeline.

"Having spent the better part of my 
life trying either to relive the past or 
experience the future before it
arrives, I have come to believe that 
in between these two extremes is
peace."  -Anon.

It was Week 2 and Melody began sharing her Timeline idea. At first this scared me. I mean, I don't know about you but there is lots of ucky yucky parts of my life that I don't care to remember. My Dad was an alcoholic, my parents fought all the time and some of my choices in college were less than stellar. Honestly I didn't want to go down that road again. But there was Melody gently reminding us..."Be kind and gentle with yourself...we are just human...NO SHAME...NO BLAME." Her words meant so much to me and helped me begin.


The process was exhilirating.
One of the most difficult times in my life.
I was just a little girl but so very scared and lonely.

I made it through the icky stuff. Life is GRAND!
This is life now...pretty amazing:)
I did just what Melody told us to do. I "Embraced My Story". I loved that lonely little girl and realized that truthfully her parents did all they could at that time. I forgave the wild college girl who so set on destroying her life. I embraced the good, the bad and the ugly and because of that I am whole.

"Soul Restoration" made me realize that I am strong.
I am brave.
I can do anything.

And I am doing so much since the class ended. My true passion in life is writing. My soul fills up with words that must come out...that must be shared. Since the class I have learned that when you put words and art together...that's when the magic happens. That's when my soul really sings. It's when I'm happiest.

I am taking that fire that's in me and sharing it with my blog readers, my friends and very soon I will be teaching Art Journaling and Collage classes in my town. I'm even flexing my courage muscles and writing my very first e-course!!

Melody Ross and her sister Kathy are two Brave and Remarkable women. I am so grateful for their honesty, for their love and for their committment to sharing with women all over the world.

To sign up for this life-changing class you can go here.

"Follow your bliss. Find where it is
and don't be afraid to follow it."   
        -Joseph Campbell

**Remember if you loved this post about Soul Restoration you can go here, find my link and click the Like button. I would appreciate your vote!! You see I will win Soul Restoration 2 for myself AND a class to give away to someone HERE!!:) Thank you so much!!!!

8 comments:

  1. What a wonderful experience! So glad you got the most out of it.

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  2. Your courage and enthusiasm is VERY inspiring! I love the innocence of your design work!

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  3. Leslie--I LOVE your journal pages. I wish I could see them in person--I bet they're even better than in the pics!

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  4. Oh, I love your time-line! It's so pretty. You have inspired me to go back and try to do it again. I'm afraid I kind of faltered with that week. I just didn't want to do it. *embarrassed shrugging here* Seeing how you put yours together makes me think I can do this now. Thank you for that!

    I hope to see you at SR2!

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  5. Hi Leslie!

    beautiful post ~ love your happy, rejoicing little SR girl with all the bright colors and for sharing so many photos of your lovely art.

    hooray for the news that you're teaching and writing ~ you're really FLYING! I will add a link to you on my blog so we can stay in touch and watch each other take flight.

    Like cynthia, I skipped the timeline too :C I wrote most of it out on paper and then stalled, feeling overwhelmed and kept busy with the other stuff.

    Your timeline is so rich with meaning and depth of understanding and I am also inspired to take another shot at it. It's exciting and kinda scary at the same time ~ so MUCH STUFF, but now i really want to do it and claim all the ups and downs as my very own!

    I'll look for you in SR2 - xox

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  6. These are simply amazing! LOVE! xoxo

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  7. Reading this post makes me excited to be able to participate in the SR someday soon. I couldn't vote since I do not have a Facebook account:( You have my vote in my heart!

    Know that your post got me excited and I could feel all your enthusiasm and what you gained from the experience. Yes you are a Brave Girl indeed!

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  8. I'm so delighted that I have come across your post talking about Soul Restoration class. I'm in Melody's Soul Restoration e-class right now... and ready to embrace my Timeline this week. It certainly is a class that gets us digging and finding peace that our soul so desires for us. Thank you for sharing the process you underwent in this class. Blessings to you!

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I appreciate your thoughts and ideas...they inspire me!! I will be visiting you soon. Have a CREATIVE day!!