Monthly Archives: July 2016

Crossing the threshold. Calling in the doulas.

I don’t want to tell you about the rage I felt this morning, how I feel so close to the bone these days that sometimes I’m just a little nub of a thing. I don’t want to talk about the electric current of fear that shoots through my body at 3 a.m. each morning and how I have to talk myself down to sleep again. I don’t want to talk about how being a grown-up feels really hard right now and I wonder if I’m up to the task.

This season of grief looks like that these days – moments of touching into despair and feeling how unsettled and afraid I feel about creating my new life.

Last week I was hiking by myself and the tears started to burn my eyes. I began to cry, then sob. And when others passed me on the trail I would try to hold it together til they went by.

I thought of my friend SARK who, in the wake of losing her beloved partner this year, has been “grieving deeply and living wildly” and I remembered her advice from a conversation we had a few weeks ago. I called her in a mess of tears + she encouraged me to go there completely, to feel it fully, even exaggerate it. She said: 

“The fear is that the grief will swallow you up, that you’ll stay there forever. But the truth is, if you let yourself feel it fully, you’ll get bored at some point and think – Okay, now let’s go have a sandwich.

And so I was in and out of those feelings all day long – letting myself feel the layers of fear. Feeling  untethered in the world. Feeling like I’m not strong enough for any of it.

And then it passed.

I’ve been likening the process of divorce at times to childbirth – except that I’m giving birth to a new self, a new life.

And this season feels like the transition period in labor. For childbirth, transition is the storm before the calm. (Believe it or not, the pushing phase is considered the calm) It’s the moment when it’s so painful and difficult you lose all hope. It’s the moment when you feel like you’re sure you’re not strong enough, you’re not made for this, and you find yourself shouting “Just take this baby out of me! I can’t do it!” Or “Just give me the drugs!” Or even thinking that this whole having-a-baby thing was a really bad idea. 

It’s the moment when you need the most support and encouragement because (excuse my French) you are fucking exhausted. And the thought of doing it for even one more minute sounds impossible.

But you can’t go back now. It’s all in forward motion and his baby is coming out.

Somehow.

Transition can go on for hours, and feel like a freaking eternity. There are doulas, and nurses, and partners to help, but ultimately it’s your work.

Have you ever been in a season like this?

I could use your encouragement right now. Calling in my metaphorical doulas!

You know who you are.

 

Waking Up the Wheelhouse: A workshop about finding your creative gold

Dear Super-friends,

I’m so delighted to announce a brand new in-person workshop with my friend + writing teacher Laurie Wagner! We have teamed up for workshops several times over the years and it’s always a gorgeous celebration of sisterhood, creativity, and finding our authentic voice. This year, we chose a theme that has a lot of juice for us both – Waking up the Wheelhouse.

In baseball terms, the definition of being in one’s wheelhouse is: within the zone that is most advantageous for a batter to hit a home run.

In our creative wheelhouse, it’s the zone where our strengths live, where our light lives, where our magic lives. It’s our gold. And the more that we can align with that energy and be playing and creating from that zone- just like in baseball- we’re more likely to hit a home run.

This workshop is about waking up what’s in your wheelhouse.

It’s identifying what you do so naturally, so gracefully and organically that it feels like breathing to you. You may not even value it as important or as something really powerful because it does come so naturally! But that’s the zone of genius and the zone of flow that we are going to be identifying together in this weekend workshop. We are going to be coming back to those sweet spots inside of us and creating from that place because making and creating and living is so much easier when we’re in our wheelhouse. It’s like speaking your native language and living from that native place.

We will be writing.
We will be dancing.
We will be making art.
We’ll be sharing.
We’ll be telling stories.

All in service to really shining a light on what makes us, us.

Our last group workshop participants.

Here are the details:

When: October 7th 2016 – 7:30pm – 9:30pm (tea + treats + opening circle)

October 8th,  9:30am – 9:30 pm (Workshop all day + dinner together)

October 9th, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm (Workshop all day + closing circle)

Where: Laurie Wagner’s gorgeous home in Alameda, CA (close to SF + Oakland) See photo at bottom of page. Doesn’t it make you want to pull up a chair and a make a friend?

What: A gathering of kindred spirits for sharing stories, gorgeous food, and creative exercises.  We’ll write, we’ll pull out cameras and pens, we’ll put words on paper, play with color and take a field trip to a magical place, all in the service of awakening our intuition and our joy.

Fun + easy: No previous experience or expertise required. We are not here to create brilliant art. This workshop is designed to shine a light on your own unique gifts and magic. It’s an invitation to hear the sound of our own music, find our authentic words and ultimately be free to live with more creativity, intuition and joy. You just need to bring an open heart + a willingness to share.

Your guides: Andrea Scher + Laurie Wagner

Who: Only 20 lucky peeps! Register now!

Cost: $495 This includes Friday evening + all day Saturday (plus a special Saturday evening dinner and fire pit gathering) and all day Sunday. Catered lunch is provided + all the coffee, tea + snacks your heart desires. Plus, 20 of the most lovely humans you just met!

Why: Because we’re so much more alive when we’re turned to the channel of our own intuitive magic. To connect with other women in a fun, cozy and creative environment.

Refund Policy: The bottom line is we want to play with YOU! If it turns out your plans change, please know that your ticket is non-refundable, but you can always transfer it to a friend.

Where to stay? Any hotel in SF, Oakland or Alameda will be great. There are also some nice Airbnb’s in Alameda. We’re happy to send over some suggestions.

We promise: Deep connection, creative play + lots of laughter. We hope to have you!

Stinky flower.

I love how these particular flowers age… they get more beautiful to me as they wither.

And did you know that they smell like feet? My kids can attest. ?
It makes me laugh because it’s so unlikely! that something so pretty can smell like feet. I love it.

 

 

 

Some of the gorgeous faces from the Portrait Party! Next one is July 16th.

The first Portrait Party was a huge success!

If you missed it last time, Portrait Party is a series of mini portrait sessions (30 minutes each) where I get to capture you in a fun + easy + fast way. You will come away with 10-15 high res images for your website/dating profile etc. that you can use however you wish. We are focusing on head shots this time around!

Saturday, July 16th in Berkeley, CA (will let you know exact location when you register)
I am juggling times around between 3pm and 7pm, so let me know your preference and we’ll get you squared away.

I found the perfect location for us in Berkeley + with a bit of sunshine the light will be magic.

Here is a link to register, or if you have questions just hit reply and ask! Price is $200 per person.
https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?c=cart&ejc=2&cl=74538&i=1492457

P.S. If you can’t make it this time around, just email me at superhe[email protected] and I will put you on the list for the next date!