Hello Again Wonder Friends!

Hello Wonder-Friends:

Perhaps you’ve been wondering where I’ve been? It’s been a while and it feels so wonderful to be writing you on the weekend Wonder Woman is officially opening. I started this Wonder Blog expressing my love for all things Wonder Woman and the love fest continues, as does my excitement about seeing the movie! Hooray and Huzzah!

We’ve been teaching Healing the Healer a lot over these past months and so Rocky & I thought it would be fun to put together a collage of our teacher paintings as a visual representation. ( My thanks to Rocky for creating this magical collage.) I –and so many of my friends– often forget to take in and acknowledge what we’ve accomplished. I have a tendency to move from training to training, task to task & owl rock to owl rock…and forget to celebrate when something is completed. That’s one of my self-care strategies that I’m choosing (right now!) to incorporate into my self-care plan. What about you, what would you like to weave into your self-care regime?

The paintings in this collage were created in workshops we taught to amazing people in NYC at the Soul Camp New Years’ Day event and to splendiferous & inspiring human services professionals, fost-adopt caretakers, and foster youth all over California – in Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Orange, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Sonoma Counties. I am grateful I was also invited to present a Healing Creative Mindfulness practice for 90 people at UC Berkeley for CalSWEC’s Symposium on Fairness & Equity Issues in Child Welfare Training. In the presence of these wonder women and men who are dedicated to making a positive difference in the world, I’m in awe and reminded of this beautiful quote by Oprah Winfrey:

“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.”

I also strongly believe that the best way to succeed is also to take care of ourselves while we are doing our Soul Work. That we can’t keep giving without also taking care of ourselves or we’ll burn out.

One of my favorite parts of the workshops are when people share their self-care ideas with the group, like taking a eucalyptus bath to wash the day away; being in nature- walks on the beach or at a park, talking to some geese who think we have food; playing pickleball; gardening; running marathons; and painting & drawing with children.

What is your favorite self-care practice?

My favorite self-care arty-meditative practice right now is to make my owl, heart and lovebird rocks that I bring to the workshops. I lose track of time as I create them. I’ve made hundreds of them over the past two months and as I do they make me laugh with the personalities that appear … some are sweet, pensive, funny, mischievous and take on a character of their own.

When I see them all together, it is a hopeful and loving reminder of the number of people who have dedicated their lives to helping others. In these times, that is a salve to my heart and soul. As the wise sage Mr. Rogers observed, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

You know who also believes in love? Wonder Woman.

“I wanted to tell a story about a hero who believes in love, who is filled with love, who believes in change and the betterment of mankind. I believe in it. …. Art is supposed to bring beauty to the world.” — Patty Jenkins, director of Wonder Woman

What would the theme of your superhero story be?

To art … to beauty … to love … to the betterment of all beings. Thank you for being the Wonder Helpers & Healers and bringing love and light into the world in your unique way. For creating a better world.

With wonder and whimsy,

Rachel (& Rocky!)

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In case your heart & soul are craving a little nourishment at the start of summer…

Please join us as we kick off this magical season of sunshine and sweetness with a fun and festive 3-day Intentional Creativity retreat on beautiful Orcas Island, Washington, June 26-28, 2017.

Enjoy three blissful days of soulful sisterhood, nourishing rest, fun-filled adventure, and inspiring art sessions designed to ignite our creative spark, open our beautiful hearts, and connect us more deeply with our inner wisdom.

Come PLAY! Learn more and register here:

http://jenniferbowers.com/soul-sisters/

Early-bird pricing is available until Saturday, June 10, 2017.