Monthly Muse Febraury 2019: Love YourSELF | Week 3: FEED YOUR SOUL

Hello and welcome to week 3 of February's Muse - we are looking at LOVING YOUR SELF!

The FIRST week we looked at LOVING your BODY! There were loads of prompts in all different areas to play with. You can find that thread HERE.

Week Two focused on GROWING your MIND which you can find HERE.

This week is one of my FAVE topics- FEED your SOUL!

The beauty of the human soul is that no two are exactly the same. The more souls I meet and interact with this more I find this to be true. I LOVE the diversity that surrounds me.

I have always loved art. As a younger person I pursued perfection in hyper realistic work. It was fun, and beautiful, but it often lacked what I have come to know as MY SOUL.

After I lost my first baby I started on what I have come to call my soul journey. I learned what things make me come alive, what things breathe life back into me when the world beats me down. I learned how to feed my soul and let it grow no matter what circumstances I found myself in.

Sometimes I still struggle, depression creeps in, I get down and out - hey - I'm human after all. But I can always find my way back to the light, now that I know the way.

SO your task this week is to investigate and see what you can learn about yourself.
What brings your soul alive. What food does it need to grow and flourish?

I don't expect you to have the answers all at once, I have been searching for over 10 years, and I still learn more about myself every year.
But I do encourage you to start the journey - you might just find it refreshing.

Just some things that I have heard as soul food for other - and a good place for you to start exploring if you are not sure:

SOUL FOOD ACTIVITIES:
-MOVING - be it a hike in nature, vigorous exercise or dancing
-MEDITATION - on whatever helps to center and steady you
-Make or listen to MUSIC - whatever makes your soul happy
-Be ALONE - some of us need ME TIME
-Meet with FRIENDS-while others need interaction - just make sure it is positive
-FOREST BATHE - Time recently ran an article on this - find it here:
http://time.com/5259602/japanese-forest-bathing/
-GO an a DATE with YOU - treat yourself to the perfect date, sans a partner
-Cuddle a FUR BABY - lets be honest, for most people this is soothing
-Indulge in CREATING something YOU want to do - for no other reason than to do it
-GO Stargazing, Birdwatching, or other slow quite observing activity that allows you to slow down and enjoy the beauty around you.
-FIND BEAUTY - looking for beauty around you can be enlightening.


1. MOOD BOARD!
Some images and quotes that play with our theme


2. Questions to ponder:
-What activities help me to feel most alive?
-What is one thing I look forward to EVERYDAY?
-When life gets stressful and overwhelming, what do I find myself wanting ( to do or have) in order to cope with it? Is this a healthy thing?
-What would you do to make yourself fall in love with YOU?
-What things do I need to let go because they don't feed my soul, but rather suck my life away?
-How do I allow myself to REST? what do I find rest in?
-What do I love MOST about my LIFE?
- What would my dream LIFE/JOB be and why?

3. MORE Quotes:
-"Your soul is the power and core of who you are. Feed it well"
-"A bad day for your ego is a great day for your soul"
Jillian Michaels
-"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."
Denis Waitley
-"Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish. "
Jean de La Fontaine
-"The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone."
Johann Wolfgang
-"Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
Pablo Picasso
-"What is a soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room."
Ray Charles
-"Looking into the camera creates a special eye and soul contact."
Chiara Ferragni
-"My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness."
Michelangelo
-Focus on you - your soul, spirit, blessing people with who you are, and following your heart's passions."
Ally Brooke
-"Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body."
Martha Graham
-"You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul."
George Bernard Shaw
-"Until one has loved an animal a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
Anatole France
-"The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire."
Ferdinand Foch

4. Thoughts to finish:
-Today I feel the need to . . .
-The last positive thing I was a part of…
-10 things that bring me peace are . . .
-I indulge myself by . . .
- 20 Things that make me happy are . .
-Today I'd rather be . . .
-If I had more time I would . . .
-15 things that make me smile are . . .


5. Playing with IMAGES:
-Use colors that make your soul happy to decorate a page any way you choose and include the phrase - FEED YOUR SOUL as a reminder to do just that.
-Make a page featuring a plate the depicts just what feeds your soul - if it is a food - great, but if it is something else - put that right there on the plate as well.

-Use items or activities that feed your soul and bring you peace to create a self portrait.

-Create a collage depicting your perfect day
- Depict yourself as a tree - Your roots will be loaded with descriptions of things that give you strength and your good qualities, while your leaves can be the things that you're trying to change.
-Create a weekly menu for feeding your soul

6. Other journaling ideas:
-Show/Tell us what your PERFECT DATE with YOURSELF would look like.

-Create a list of things/places/people you find beautiful
-Pick a flavor of pie that describes you and write two sentences that explain why. Divide your life into six or seven slices: Career, Health, Relationship, Kids (if you have them), Community, Friends, Hobbies. Look at what aspects of each slice feed your soul and which drain it. Some drains we just have to deal with (dirty diapers . . . ) while others we can let go of.
-Share with us your recipe for happiness.
-Map out what your BEST DAY EVER would look like.
-If you needed to feed your soul as regularly as you feed your body ( i.e. mealtimes) what would your soul feeding schedule/menu look like?

I am working on mine - but my kids are home this week, so time is short, lol.

Here is one - it was easy to do - things that make me smile


I can't wait to see what you do.

As always
Please post your layout to the Art Journaling Gallery HERE prior to March 3, 2019 and then post it in this thread by copying the code (at the right of your gallery image) from the box under "Share BB Code".

We will draw a winner at the beginning of next month, even more incentives for your inspiration! You can use any products in The Lilypad store, just make sure you follow our gallery guidelines.

If you have any questions about the challenge then please ask away here ​

 

Oh WOW! - you guys are FAST!!!

Aww - thanks! And to be fair - I am making them for me too - I am totally Pinning them to come back to through the year because I NEED to do these regularly, and I WANT to do so many of them!

They will be here in the forum - so don't stress - you can always come back later!

 

@mcurtt SO AWESOME!!! I LOVE those moments - and that color is so pretty!

So funny thing - my husband has always been a forest bather - I like alone time, and I grew up "in the woods" but I never really just go out and sit in it for hours like he does - my mind is to busy, I have to doodle, draw, or something. He showed me the article from time earlier this month and was like THIS - THIS IS ME! He was so excited! and it really did describe him to a tee!! He is struggling living in the city right now - but luckily we have mountains close enough he can run away when things get too stressful.