Love Yourself; Love Your Life (and a sweet give-away!)

Today marks the end of the first session of my e-course, Inside Out: A Creative Adventure of Self-Discovery.  It has been such an amazing experience.  I'm left feeling so overjoyed at the amount of deep connecting, sharing and exploring that has taken place over the last 28 days.

I light this candle, as a symbol to honor the "closing ceremonies" of class, and to show that today is not the end, but rather the beginning of the rest of our lives.  May each of you see the direction you're heading, stay connected to your community, and radiate your authenticity, from the inside out.

To celebrate this incredible journey, I'd like to give away one spot to my spring session.  The next Inside Out e-course starts April 5th, and to learn more, visit HERE.

To enter for your chance to win, leave a comment on this post by Sunday, Valentine's Day, at midnight US Central time.  I will announce the winner on Monday!

Enjoy a few of the beautiful comments shared by the bold explorers who just completed the course.

By giving my thoughts some space and time, it has helped me to see my inner wishes better.  My intentions have showed up and now I feel the need to realize them in art.  They have been ready for this for a while.  I have questioned myself with, "Why have I waited so long?"  Life is life.  I had to do other things to get to this moment.  This is not the goal and there is a lot to discover.  I think I found the very right source - ME!

I'm loving all the creative ideas.  I have learned that I don't have to just sit still and think through the hard parts to write them down.  I can paint, draw, glue...when I'm stuck!  It gets my juices flowing and opens me up which makes the 'writing-down-part' so much easier!

Allow softening of the edges of the walls and paths of history.  Grow leaves and branches out.  Come home to my own, my heart - my self-reliance will give me peace.  And every day, in every way, I am becoming more me.

 I am learning that to live life I have to participate, but that I don't need arbitrary rules.  This course has been a fabulous opportunity for me to practice just that: to take it as it comes, to resist the perfectionistic tendencies that leave me stuck in the mud, and to explore my creativity without self-editing.

Over the last few weeks I have let a lot of emotions out that I have been keeping inside for some time and it feels liberating.  I have learned that I choose my thoughts and that I can change the negative into the positive.  As a result of this course I became brave and told my husband my dreams and wishes.  I knew he would be supportive, but I had to let go of my own self-doubt first and believe that I could make them a reality before sharing them with anyone.   Now that I have said them out loud, they've become more than just thoughts, but tangible goals.  Another thing I have learned is to let go of the guilt.  This is hard to do, but every time I feel like I'm not living up to the person I think I should be, I step back and repeat that "I am enough."  The positive affirmations have been so healing for me.

I love the things that have come 'out' of 'Inside' me!  I so truly love me and am ready to BE BOLD!

I have learned that I have lost my own personal confidence, and most importantly, I have learned that I can get it back!  I have learned that I can be a creative person, that I am a creative person, and that I am good enough to be the person that I have always dreamed of being.

Your Personal Reflection: Are you creating a life you love?

*The art journaling photos were provided by class participants.

Enjoy the "opening ceremonies" of the Olympics tonight!  If anyone is interested in reading behind the scenes, my father-in-law works for the US Ski Team and is blogging about his adventures in Canada HERE.