(Week 93)

Word for October:  PATIENCE

Let’s start with the idea that we all want to feel good. Right? We want to be patient, because it feels good.

The opposite of patience is anger. When we set expectations for how others should be, we’re on our way. Because we can’t control others. We can’t control others! Good to remember. We can only control ourselves. And even that is difficult. But that’s where our authority begins and ends.

Byron Katie puts it beautifully. “There are 3 kinds of businesses: my business, your business and God’s business.” My business is everything I can control… my actions, my thoughts, even my feelings to a large extent. Your business is all yours. You get the same freedoms I do… free will to choose, whatever – whenever – however – with whomever… all of it. Your choice. God’s business is everything else… reality, circumstances, the weather, even death. He chooses these.

We set ourselves up for disappointment when we jump into someone else’s business. And expect them to do what we want, so we can feel good. Because when they don’t, we lose our feel good. Imagine feeling good no matter what happens. You can! But it’s an inside job.

Take a driver who doesn’t use his blinkers. Could be annoying. Now you have to wait. But it’s his business what he does. And all you can choose is how you will wait. If you want to feel good, get back into your business and do the only thing you can do… change the thoughts that create “pissed off”. Could be as simple as “that’s his business.” Opens up room for strategies and solutions when you preserve your level head.

When you “mind your business“. It doesn’t matter if they use their blinker. You can stay good. Good with whatever. When you choose thoughtfully.
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Click for ceramic work for sale.

(Week 92)

Word for October:  PATIENCE

Patience is a muscle that grows with awareness and practice.

Practice allows us to begin feeling the transition in our body. When we go from peace to frustration. It brings us to the hear and now. When we are connected to our body, we notice the descent. This is the key to becoming patient. Because it’s when we notice, that we can change.

What did you notice this week? How did your body feel when it moved from patience to frustration? What were you thinking? Your thoughts created the reaction.

When you start to feel frustrated, bring your attention away from your thoughts (for now). To the breath, to your breathing. Notice it instead. Nice and deep. If necessary, walk away from the circumstance to catch it. Productive solutions never come from a place of frustration. Don’t even try. Put your energy into getting your body back to calm.

From calm, you choose. Here, you are in charge. If you don’t want “angry”, you don’t have to take it! Your feelings come directly from your thoughts. Next week, we’ll discuss the thoughts that create patience.
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STUDIO TIME

I have been feeling the need to get back to using my hands. Yesterday I opened the clay bag again and started pinching. Patience is a good word. It will take some time to find the place I left off. “And that’s ok.”

Click to shop.

(Week 91)

Word for October:  PATIENCE

Patience is one of those things we all wish we had more of, especially “after the fact”. After we’ve lost our cool and expressed our anger. But in that moment, we can’t see options. We just see someone or something we want, we REALLY want, to be different NOW!

(Oh my gosh!! Just started seeing it as an adult temper tantrum. Ugh.)

Change begins with awareness. So this week, become “the watcher”. Step outside yourself and watch your interactions as a fly on the wall. Without emotion or opinion. Notice when you play the impatient part. Say a lot of “isn’t that interesting!”

Isn’t that interesting… she thinks that.
Isn’t that interesting… she feels that.
Isn’t that interesting… she said that.

Awareness brings insight and answers. From a place of clarity, we can see what we want to create instead. Next week, tips on how to create it. This week, just notice.

With time and patience, the mulberry leaf becomes a silk gown.
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LIFE COACHING

Still feeling stuck and NOW ready for change? Shoot me an email at Lori@LORiKOOP.com for the video link. Pre-certification rate of $25 a session thru December.

From a sweet client: “i can’t tell you enough how helpful the work we have been doing has been. sooo much self talking about the job i want to get, and the self positiveness coming thru to tell me wonderful, strong inducing things about myself… and when the fear and self doubt start to come up i LOVINGLY COUNTER BALANCE THE TALK WTH SUCH POSITIVE SELF ACCEPTANCE, etc. i keep returning to my core being, in line with God, being right there with me.”

(Week 90)

Word for October:  PATIENCE

A card to inspire this month. GREAT word, huh?!! I think we could all use a bit more of it. xo

To print card, click here. Use heavier paper if you have it (standard sheet size). Simply fold in half and write notes inside.

Below is a bookmark, prints 8 to a sheet. Keep a few and give the rest away. I send one with every purchase, tucked under the ribbon. To print bookmarks, click here.

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STUDIO TALLY + RESEARCH

LOVED this! Thanks to all who voted. Results are… #3 by 65%. Seems many of you want supernatural creative powers. I’m going to be creating a lil kit around that. Will let you know when it’s available.

Some questions about The Artist’s Way book by Julia Cameron
1. do you own it?
2. have you done it?
3. what did you want to get from it?

Click to see other plaquettes.

(Week 89)

Word for September:  DEEP

I’m not sure why it takes us so long to notice, but it often does. Our head takes over, and we begin to suffer. Here are some clues:

frustration
overwhelm
confusion
disorganization
overeating
insomnia
not exercising
running in circles
not getting things done
indecision + stuck
physical ailment

When we get nervous, our head jumps in to help. It thinks. Too much. And we feel the chaos in our body. We keep trying to figure things out, but we can’t. We feel “off” but don’t know why. Our patterns are unique, but they all lead to crummy! See the red flags. We have disconnected.

The head is not the “go to” person. It doesn’t have the map. The heart, on the other hand, does. It is clear and knows the way. Time for a consultation. To revisit the heart space and to reconnect with the spirit that lives there. (Here’s how.) When you do, fear falls away and peace fills. In this state, our solutions come, not of our own devices but from a source higher than ourselves. We can just listen, then do. It is so much easier!

It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are – not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within – that you begin to take control.
Oprah Winfrey
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Click to see what I make.

(Week 88)

Word for September:  DEEP

Deep connection is essential if we want peace. In the heart space, our spirit self gently leads our earthly self, the part of us that acts on the wisdom. Regular conversations between the two allow them to stay in sync. Keep them working together in harmony, moving forward.

Time together creates self intimacy, and self intimacy insures connection. I suggest a.m. appointments daily. It keeps the spirit doing what it was created to do, lead. And the earthly self doing what it was designed to do, follow.

Just imagine for a minute that your spirit lives in its own chamber, in the heart. And your earthly self lives on the earth. In order for the two to visit, the earthly self uses one of these modes of transportation to get to the cool pad and enter the heart…

Stillness: conscious breathing, meditation, sitting still + doing nothing
Hand movement: art making, knitting, hemming pants, baking, petting your pets, free play
Easy exercise: walking, running, swimming, dancing, biking
Repetitive action: driving, gardening, weeding
Honest talk: to another, to the page
Freeing the mind: fishing, listening to soft music
Steering the heart: singing sweet lyrics, reading Truth, seeing beautiful pics, watching a tender video

These vehicles (or one of your own choice) transport the earthly self so the two can meet. Enjoy their relationship. Discuss the plans. Since the spirit’s voice is still and soft, it requires a place of quiet.

At first, you’ll feel resistance. The earthly self is loud and will share all kinds of reasons not to go, why it’s too hard or not necessary. It can be a complainer. Don’t listen! Like any journey, effort is required. But reunion is inevitable if you stay the course. Remember the rewards and you will press thru to enter in. Into that deep sense of inner peace and knowing. Where “no worry”, “no lack” and “no reason to fear” also live. And return with you to earth.
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STUDIO CLASSES

If you are ready to find peace with food OR are ready to step into creativity without the slandering critic, there’s a class for you! Click here for more info.

Inside 2011

(Week 87)

Word for September:  DEEP

I want you to be everything that’s you, deep at the center of your being. Confucius

That’s why we connect deep. Because all that we are, our essence, is there, deep at the core. Formed before we were born. It’s the part of us that is curious, fascinated, playful. It is our true personality, our unique gifts and our life’s purpose. The us that could have been placed in any body. The part of us that never dies. Our spirit.

Our “true self” lives away from the bustle of the world. Protected from its influences. Warmly cozy, within. It can not be changed by people or by our need for approval. It knows the way to our right life and contains all the navigational equipment needed to get there. It was born to lead. When it does, there is authentic peace.
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STUDIO ASSISTANCE

Coaching helps establish this connection. “It helped me connect to myself in a way that I hadn’t before. It made me feel less alone.” When we connect, we get clear. And move forward.

Learn HOW? Email for a free session: Lori@LORiKOOP.com

Click to download "deep" card..... (8 1/2 x 11" sheet)

(Week 86)

Word for September:  DEEP

If you look deep within, you will find a brilliant light. Too many, far too many, squint and turn away from the shine. Let your eyes adjust, and bathe in the radiance.
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STUDIO CLASSES . . . UPCOMING

Karen Presley and I will be doing 2 classes this fall to unblock creative flow. One will center around “the critic” and coaching tools that work to overcome. The other will help answer the question “what do I want to make work about?”, defining your subject matter. There will be one in Oct and one in Nov, each 4-weeks long. (Tuesdays at 10 am PST)

In Nov, Lissa Markwardt and I will be teaching a 6-week class called “Don’t Weight a Lifetime” to help end the food struggle. (Mondays at 5 pm PST)

In January, Karen and I will combine coaching and The Artist’s Way. A 12-week class to connect with your creative passion.

If you’re interested in a class, please email to get on the list. Classes are always first come, first serve, and spots are limited. More info to come. (All classes done via telephone or Skype.)

ps. The “Someday” video link went out yesterday. If you requested and didn’t receive, I’m sorry. Please reply to this email and request again. It’s ready now. Yeah!

(Week 85)

Word of the Month:  SHARE

Sharing is an art form, a medium of self expression. You get to create what it looks like in your life. With whom and how much. It can feel awesome!

Or it can feel awful. When it gets out of balance. Out of the place of “healthy”. I’m thinking of the times we give too much. And it feels others are taking advantage. The energy around giving sours, and we feel “yucky”.

Time to set boundaries. Time for self care.

It’s about taking care of our house and our yard. Within our fence line, we get to decide how things work, what feels good. In our yard, we decide the rules. Like pool rules posted at hotels. When people come to play, they abide by those stated. (In their yard, they decide the rules.)

A boundary is necessary when a rule is broken. It makes clear what is expected and what will occur if it doesn’t happen, how we will take care of ourself. It can sound like this:

“When you _______ (ie. arrive late), I feel _______(ie. frustrated). I would appreciate it if you would _______ (restate rule). But if you don’t, I will _______ (consequence – how you will take care of yourself).”

Set a boundary when you are calm. And when you’re able to accept the possible outcomes. You don’t have to state the consequence to them, but you have to DO IT if the request is not respected. It’s about caring for yourself. Being clear about how you want to be treated. That’s how we get back in balance.

Healthy boundaries. They can be tricky. But they allow us to be at home, in peace.
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STUDIO DISCOUNT

I just set up a 10% discount for all UPWoRD subscribers at my Etsy shop. Available any day. On any piece. To show my appreciation. For the discount, become an UPWoRD subscriber.

ps. “The Someday Sessions” video is coming this week! (to those who emailed.) This week’s lesson: video takes LOTS of practice.

(Week 84)

Word of the Month: SHARE

I love this poster. Great share, MJ! To purchase, click here.
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STUDIO One-on-Ones

In September, I will begin coaching The Someday Sessions, for those who are ready for “someday“. You know,
“Someday I’ll return to singing.”
“Someday I’ll lose this weight.”
“Someday I’ll do meaningful work.”
“Someday I’ll move to the coast.”
Just imagine for a minute, that’s right close your eyes, and imagine you’re actually doing it. Feel it. That’s what a coach can help you create. Someday in September.

This week, I’m making a video about what coaching actually is, how it works with me, even where I work. A behind the scenes look at what it would be like to work together. The things I would want to know if I were considering a coach.

If you want to see the video, reply to this email, and I’ll share when it’s ready. xo

ps. I have 8 spots open at pre-certification rates.