Friday, May 7

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Hey friends! It’s been a minute—wherever you are in this exact moment, take a deep, slow inhale, and exhale. How has your nose-breathing been treating you? If you don’t know: nose breathing is way more effective than mouth breathing. Try spending a few minutes each day breathing only through your nose. (I’ve found that a 5 minute breathing meditation before bed helps me fall asleep a lot faster!)

Energy and permission

Hello from 37K feet. It feels surreal to be on an airplane again. I’m grateful for being fully vaccinated and to be on our way to see our family and friends in the midwest! X

I’m an extroverted human. I love being around people. With some of my closest friends, I sometimes fall asleep on the couch when we are all hanging out late into the night when everyone is still sitting around chatting about life over some wine. We got to hang out with some friends this past week, our first in-person-all-vaccinated-hang-out since all of this started last March!

I LOOOVED it. Loved loved it. It felt mostly normal. I’m definitely still adjusting to being around people. But, it was so lovely.

We packed up our bags last Friday and hit the road on a two-day road trip from Denver to Laguna Beach, CA. It felt really great to get on the road, see new areas of the country we had yet to visit, like Las Vegas and Utah! It brought back memories of past travel experiences, and it was really incredible how alive it made me feel. My brain desires stimulation like new scenery, sensory experiences, smells, etc, all of which helps my brain be more creative.

I’ve been thinking about how the energy I have for certain things and relationships vastly varies depending on the circumstance. After a year of being primarily with myself (and Isaac, thankfully), I’m listening to what I want to spend my very precious, gorgeous, valuable energy on. For most of my life, I leaned into my 3w2 energy, always wanting to help others and use my energy for other people instead of taking care of myself. I never strengthened the muscle of listening to what I actually wanted to spend my energy on—I kind of automatically just assumed I need to do X and give my time to Y because “it was the right thing to do,” even if my energy wasn’t fully and authentically invested in said experiences and people.

The healthier I get, both internally and externally, the more I’m leaning into my 3w4 personality—caring about achieving what I’m here to do while also listening to and honoring my unique thoughts and feelings and ways of expressions that want to emerge. It’s all new, this way of being, but I’m giving myself permission and space to explore what it all looks and feels like.

I’ve found, so far, that I’m able to give from a better place and honestly, I’m just happier overall. My boundaries are getting stronger and I’m noticing more room to explore the things that I want to explore, without asking others for permission first. For example: we signed a one-year lease on a cottage in Laguna Beach, to experiment with splitting time between places, to see if we enjoy that type of lifestyle. This has been a dream of mine for YEARS and the stars aligned and everything truly lined up to land this spot. From connecting really well with our landlady, to beating out 3 other applicants to get the place, to being a 2 minute walk away from really good tacos (and a whole-food/healthy restaurant!), to finding a place where some of our closest friends live close by—it’s all honestly perfect.

Two years ago I would’ve been so anxious and in deep need for approval of my friends, before chasing after something that I was really excited about. It’s the Enneagram 3 in me—I care about my reputation, and in the past, I sometimes didn’t let myself explore what I wanted to explore without getting permission from others.

I’m excited for the rest of the year, especially the summer (hello shirtless, short-shorts-wearing-Abe-who-is-about-to-come-out-and-play), to keep exploring where and what and who fills me up with beautiful energy and giving myself permission to truly continue creating the life of my dreams.

I’ll leave you with these questions to think about: is needing permission from others to live out your wildest dreams holding you back? What do you need to do in order to free yourself up from the box you’re living in, if you feel like you’re living in one? Are you aware that you have a W I L D amount of power and joy and love inside of you that wants to be expressed? 

I hope you remember your power this next week. <3 If you need a reminder, hit me up (truly). Also, shamelesssss plug—if you want to keep exploring what it looks like and feels like to live and empowered life, consider joining Lightward Together! We talk about subjects covered in our newsletter more in depth, surrounded by an amazing group of humans from around the world who are lifting themselves and each other up.

I believe in you!

Abe

A small thought

Think of nurture as something that we give ourselves. Think of it as the way in which we may choose to hold ourselves, gently, lovingly, unhurriedly, as we patiently and adoringly await our own unfolding, as something precious emerging, perfectly, in its own time.

What relationship does this have to our personal drive? As a caretaker nurtures their charge, until they are ready to live on their own terms, what is the interplay between our own self-nurture, and .. what, our readiness to leave our own nest? What does it mean to “emerge”? And if we take ourselves with us, can we then exist in a superposition of wait and make?

-Isaac

P.S. These thoughts prompted by Nurture, a new album—after seven years’ time—from Porter Robinson. Strongly, strongly suggest watching the live show.

Things we are making

Empowered Human Academy

May we introduce: an immensely talented visual artist and designer, and our friend, Frances Macleod. Both dynamic and delightful, Frances is an artist who’s continually following her curiosity—and it’s taken her to some rad places so far. With a background in art direction and graphic design, Frances has worked with a wide range of brands and agencies including Barnes & Noble, Coors Light, Chipotle, and even spent time being the designer in residence for Facebook New York’s Analog Research Lab where she worked on projects exploring pattern, process, and paying attention. In 2019, Frances published her first book, You’ve Totally Got This.

Throughout this conversation we discuss practicing patience in the creative process, the value in surrounding yourself with beauty, giving yourself permission to follow your curiosity, and cultivating confidence in your work. As humans who are deeply interested in the creative process ourselves, getting to hear more about Frances’s relationship to her own process was truly enriching—we really enjoyed this conversation and think you’ll dig it, too.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Lightward Together

If growth is a partnership between us and the future, then what are we actively choosing to become? Lightward Together is where we’re exploring the relationship between agency and magic—intentionally supporting ourselves and each other into new ways of being.

These bi-monthly group coaching sessions are designed to be an energizing space to expand beyond the limits we often place on ourselves. In a dynamic group format, we swap stories about what we’re learning and identify the invitations that life is placing in our path. In addition to these group calls, when you sign up you’ll also gain immediate access to our community Slack channel and video library of past sessions.

We’re currently opening up 2 spots per session—completely free of charge—so you can experience the magic in real time without any expectation of financial commitment. Our next session is Saturday, May 15th at 5pm MT, so save the date!