Good morning and Happy St. Patrick’s Day.
For the past month I have been working on a project to make some of my writing more available to more people. As you may be aware, paid subscribers to this Substack receive a daily e-mail that includes a reflection question, an intention for the day, and a brief “meditative moment.”
This means I have a lot of content. And while paid subscribers can see it whenever they’d like, I want to make some of it more widely available.
Introducing e-booklets!
I have gone through the 2023 and 2024 daily writings and divided them into various topics. It was pretty interesting reading through all of these, selecting the ones I love and find most useful, cringing at some repetition, and marveling at just how much I have to say on these subjects. Designing the books has been quite fun as well. Using InDesign always pulls me back to my high school days in the yearbook room: photos and copy scattered about; whole meals consisting of Diet Coke or Dr. Pepper, Starburst twizzlers, and peanut butter M&Ms; the excitement and dread of deadlines looming. I digress.
Downloadable PDFs are available through my new Etsy shop.
I currently have two e-books available to purchase:
The Texture of Grief: Reflections on Grieving ($9.99)—Twenty-six reflections on grief, how it feels in and works itself around the body, and various aspects of grieving.
Softening the Spirals: Reflections on Anxiety ($14.99)—Forty reflections on anxiety, its effects on the body, the challenges and graces of managing and processing anxiety.
Companion journals for these e-books are also available ($2.99 each). The journals include the daily questions on lined pages so you can print them out and write to your responses as part of your own meditation or prayer.
There will be more e-booklets coming soon! I will keep you updated as they become available.
Thursday Class
I’ll be teaching on Thursday at First United Methodist. Since it’s the first day of spring, our theme will be emergence. We’ll work on some heart opening poses and consider the balance between hibernation and emergence in grief and anxiety.
March GriefWise Retreat
The March GriefWise retreat that I am leading with AnnElise Bergstrom is coming up in just under two weeks. We have TWO spots left and would love for you to join us.
We will be exploring how we find meaning in grief and the role that creativity can play in that meaning making. Sometimes we aren’t ready to find meaning in loss, and our goal is not to push you toward “everything happens for a reason” thinking. Rather, how do you define meaning, how has your grieving shifted your understanding of yourself and others, and how might you move forward into that new understanding creatively and with curiosity?
These and other questions will percolate during our time together.
The High Holy Day
As a good Irish lass, I can’t leave you without a few snippets to celebrate the day.
Here’s my favorite version of “The Deer’s Cry,” also known as “The Breastplate of St. Patrick.” Patrick is said to have sung this when he was being pursued by King Loeguire. Patrick and his companions became deer and were able to escape the king.
If you’re looking for more music to accompany you today, I highly recommend Liz Knowles, Kieran O’Hare, Open the Door for Three, We Banjo 3, Fullset, Goitse, Téada, The Bothy Band, Cúig, Dolores Keane, Liam O’Flynn, and the Tea Merchants.
And here are a few favorite photos from Ireland:
Thank you for supporting Heart Forward Yoga. Please check out the Etsy shop and share the shop link far and wide. You can also become a paid subscriber if you want to receive my daily e-mails!
Peace,
Lauren
Wonderful, Lauren! The perfect day to launch this exciting offering. Congrats!☘️✨♥️