GOOD VIBRATIONS 〰️ SEPTEMBER

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• SEPTEMBER FEELS

• #follow

• READING LIST

• PLAYLIST

• PODCASTS

• IN THE STARS

• YOU LOOK GREAT

• MANTRA

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SEPTEMBER FEELS

FORTIFYING, FRENETIC, OPPORTUNE, COSMIC

I've always had a very complicated relationship with September.  Since I was little, I dreaded the first day of school because it meant that the freedom of summer was fleeting away.  But, it also felt frenetically alive as the butterflies of anxious anticipation started whirling.  Then -and now- we sense the unknown potential for new friends, sweet crushes, impactful teachers, epic challenges, massive wins...ways that our lives, and our selves, can become BETTER.

The air starts to get crispy and we buy fresh black stockings in preparation for the inevitable day when our legs need fortification.  Maybe boots -or closed-toes in general- enter into the sartorial equation.  It's time to come to terms with this reality: the days are numbered before we can't just waltz out the house barefoot and harmonize effortlessly with the elements.  Nope, layering is a thing, and it's coming for us.

It's also time to get organized.  January 1st marks our new calendar year, but September ushers in a call to tidy our lives (employing supplies beyond what we find at Staples).  It's really a time to get down and dirty, investigating who/what/where we need to respectfully move on from.  Where do you work?  Or live?  What occupies your time?  Your thoughts?  Who gets your precious resource of time?  Your energy?  Your heart space?

Identify them and assess whether they're with you on the highway of forward momentum.  There are sure to be people/places/things that feel like a Winnebago RV hitched to your fast and rad BMW (or whatever car you're driving to zip through life with grace and ferocity).  This month, notice what's weighing you down and begin to say NO to their constant cries for attention.

We've got to stop being suffocated by what's keeping us small; only then can there be SPACE enough for the universe's wild ways to bring us its juiciest cosmic opportunities.

❍

K, let's get on with the goods already!

LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND PLUTO AND THE REALLY FAR AWAY STARS,

Mercedes

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#follow

@doingwell

because she’s rewriting -literally, in her gloriously straightforward captions- how we should be doing this whole *wellness* thing. We don’t need to fly to the stratosphere on various magic carpet trends, we need to do the basics. We need to sleep and drink lots of good water and move with enjoyment. We need to be DOING WELL.

@daphnejavitch

because she created @doingwell but her personal account is just as rad, and was interviewed by @jessicamurnane on the One Part Plant podcast and captured #1 ladycrush status.

@sundays_are_for_lovers

because we deserve “a never-ending love letter”…to remember the thrill of romance and the sexiness of ourselves.

@hilaryrhoda

because she’s the goofiest, fittest, best-browiest model in the industry. And at 31, she’s an example of staying relentlessly on top of the entire fashion game by honoring her body but not taking it all so seriously.

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READING LIST

The Gentlewoman

because, yes, Vogue made history by having Beyoncé on (AND RUN) this year’s September issue, but The Gentlewoman put Bey-bygirl front and center back in 2013. This is a magazine “celebrating modern women of style and purpose…fashion that’s focused on personal style – the way women actually look, think and dress.” This is the publication and virtual place for real women who want more REAL in their lives.

Milk and Honey

because Rupi Kaur’s poems span the spectrum of romance, from “the hurting” to “the loving” to “the breaking” to “the healing.” I was gifted this book by a dear woman, and I flip to a random page at least 8 times a week, always finding the perfect medicine flowing from the page straight to my heart.

Here’s a taste, from p. 50 (Section: the loving)

my favorite thing about you is your smell

you smell like

earth

herbs

gardens

a little more human than the rest of us

The Mindful Woman

because this little nugget of a book is filled with gems on how to perpetually seek & find self-actualization. Chapter titles are rad and include “overflowing from an open heart” and “generating soft power.”

Forest Bathing

because I doubt I’m alone in preferring a tree-lined path to concrete jungles. Studies have shown that spending mindful, intentional time around trees can promote health and happiness. The Japanese call it shinrin-yoku, aka forest bathing, and this cute little book dedicated to it is proof that the simple life is making a comeback. Nix that, it’s been waiting patiently for us to return all along.

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PLAYLIST

Songs to help you groove through this time of transition.  From the wild abandon of summer into the electric darker magic of fall.  I'm maybe probably definitely dancing to this list right now; hope you dig it, too!

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PODCASTS

Hit Parade

because if you’re a music lover, this show digs deeeeeeep into the vaults to illuminate pop trends and songs you likely have never thought twice about. Have you ever wanted the history of the “Feat.” in a song title explained in obsessive detail? Or maybe you want a 70-minute argument for why Bon Jovi is unquestionably THE WORST? Def listen up. Oh right, pretty sure there’s an episode devoted to Def Leppard…

The Tony Kornheiser Show

because this man has been co-hosting ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption (PTI) everyday for 17 years, yet still wants to talk on the radio for another hour+ a day… In Tony’s words, September is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Baseball is in full swing (ba BUM), football is kicking off (ba BUM BUM), and soccer is “still boring” (his opinion, not mine!). My brother spent years convincing me to listen to this show, pretty much so we’d have things to talk about on a regular basis, and to my absolute surprise, it’s now my legit favorite podcast. I get sports news, sure, but I also get political and cultural news/opinion from multiple v smart guests, and enough DC-centric chatter to make me both miss my hometown and throw up my prayer hands saying, “good riddance!!!”

Oprah's Super Soul Conversations

because Oprah is legend for a reason. The woman knows how to have a damn fine conversation, and she has them with the most fascinating thought-leaders and provocateurs of our time.

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IN THE STARS

Bring 'em out!  Bring 'em out!  Pretty sure T.I. was talking about our favorite astrobabes, amiright?

Here are three phenomenal humans sharing their gifts for figuring out what the heck our current planetary positions actually mean:

GUIDE TO KEY COSMIC EVENTS by Bess Matassa, The Numinous

TAROTSCOPES by Melinda Lee Holm, The Numinous

THIS MONTH'S THEME IS RESTRUCTURE-RECALIBRATE by MYSTIC MAMMA

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YOU LOOK GREAT

REFLECTION SESSIONS

I created a workshop titled REFLECTIONS SESSIONS℠ - a hosted gathering for women seeking to radically revitalize how they see themselves.

I want women to fall in love with who they see in the mirror instead of immediately wishing or hoping for something different, or playing the comparison game, or obsessing over "flaws."

For healing, I incorporate multi-sensory practices including mirror work, guided imagery, meditation, affirmations, very gentle restorative yoga, and a safe container to foster a sharing community.  Juicy music plays an important part to get the juices of introspection, self-perception, and past-programming to stir. 

Like everything I do with A STAND OUT, my aim is to be both fun and fundamentally shifting.  If you or someone you know is interested, my offerings -including personal sessions, irl and virtual- are detailed on

this page.

⧉

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MANTRA

This month my mantra is my Sankalpa.

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Sankalpa (Sanskrit: संकल्प): an intention formed by the heart and mind.  A solemn vow, determination, or will.  A Sankalpa is a tool meant to harness the soul's resolve, focusing it to harmonize mind and body.

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I SO strongly urge you to create your own.

Here's a primer on what the heck it is and how to form your simple, yet profound, personal statement.  My friend and yoga teacher urges me to proclaim it aloud 100x per day because to vocalize these words of deep internal desire / intention / knowing / aspiration is to establish them as truth.  And your truth becomes your reality.

This is my reality, my Sankulpa:

I am a courageous soul embracing visibility,

propelled by my deep heart, vulnerability, and authenticity,

to illuminate beauty and joy in myself and others.

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