Me:: The impression may be that I’m on social media a lot. I am not. But I have a very active presence on it. Between Facebook and Instagram you can see me daily. I love that Instagram can share to Facebook and Twitter.

I use social media for connection. I don’t use it to numb or kill time, anymore. There was a time when I could get lost in the comparisons, maybe I will just call it the social media learning curve. Now I just want ease, connection and to adore my tribe that gathers each day virtually.

I use social media to show up in as much realness as I can offer in glimpses. I show pictures of beautiful food and of me in my car with a bag of potato chips. I take selfies on good hair days and on days after I have been sitting in the car for two hours in front of the emergency room having a panic attack.

I use social media to tell a story. A story of my life so that I may connect to other’s lives. I use it to catch moments I may have overlooked and ground me in the now, hoping to ground others in their’s.

Mostly pictures tell my story on social media. Sometimes a poem. I may feel moved to share deep truths knowing that my deep truth is not mine to hold alone, but ours to share. I didn’t have a computer in college you know. We still used pay phones.

There is this deep desire inside of me to want to fully show ME on social media.

I want to be the one who you meet for the first time in person and hear you say, “Omg, you are just like you are online.”

But I’m not.

I am the one who you meet and you say, “Whoa you are so different than I thought. You don’t ever sit still. Not as zen as I thought.”

Zen? Me? ZEN? Haven’t I mentioned that I rearrange furniture every week and that I have ADD and my anxiety is, well, high?

A friend of mine once said that I was the person who walked into a room and changed the breeze because I bring my own wind. So maybe that doesn’t show up in a still picture, a moment in time.

I’m learning to be OK with that. I share on social media with my vibration, my energy, my soul’s song. If you find some zen in all that, kind of cool right?

You:: I want you to see the mess and the beauty. I want to tell a real story and through that story connect you with the work I do in this world. Because what I am living and what I bring are connected. Their stories mingle. Social media allows me that gorgeous gateway to sharing this.

But you will see what you want. You will perhaps only see the beauty, those moments captured in time. You’ll see a cute smile and think they never fight or throw tantrums, even if I tell you that they do, all the time.

I will keep telling you about my panic attacks and when my heart hurts. I will keep capturing moments of love. I will keep showing up because I want you to show up in your life.

Sometimes you’ll tell me things like this, on social media:: “Thank you for saying it out loud, feels less lonely when I read your words.” And so I keep telling my stories, because you and I are walking together.

If my (or anyone’s) sharing on social media ever makes you feel less than, take a break, find a new way. Stop looking at the newsfeed and take more pictures of yourself. Comment only on your own posts for a while. Leave your phone at home and go for a walk. Challenge yourself to find that sweetspot inside of social media that brings truth, story, connection and some joy into your world.

You can find that spot. I did. I love it there. I take breaks when I need them. I send blessings of connection in that sweet spot. And the energetic vibrations that are returned are magical.

If you are struggling to find contentment on social media you can go, leave. You don’t have to be there. Simple, I know, but you can. Or you grab a hashtag and play the gratitude game. Every time you take a picture with a hashtag down below it is a gratitude to life. To you.

If you’d like to play along on Instagram here are some hashtags::

#catchingmomentsoflove This is my new one. I’m excited that it will allow me to find little ‘love notes’ inside of my day.

#startingmoments Read about that one here.

#ilovethislifenow No explanation needed right?

#operationselfcarelikewhoa For when you are stepping into that deep level of self care that maybe you forgot you needed and it is saving your life.

#magicmaking Cause we all need to remember to see and make magic in our days.

My favorite thing about life is choice. That we choose how we want to feel. Social media is an amazing place to practice this. Out of over 3,000 friends on FB I have the most beautiful group of people who choose to lift each other up. This is what I draw into my life through social media and what I invite you to take on.

We choose how we want to feel. So on social media I’ll be #catchingmomentsoflove, sharing my work and showing up in all my realness. Can’t wait to see you there.

xo

***

Thank you to Social Media Consciousness: The blog project, for asking me to write a piece and be a part of this conversation. Follow #socialmediaconsciousness on Twitter and make sure to read some or all of the other posts. The conversation is brilliantly open and real.

• 10 days of Making Space at your own pace!
• June 10th
• All leading up to a Summer Solstice Celebration that you have just for yourself or invite others to!!!!
• Together with a group to inspire and support.
• New videos and recipes!
• Join with a friend option.

$79.00 $39.00 Summer Solstice Price!!!  

$49.00 Join with a friend price!!!  

How do we get from where we are to where we want to be? We make space for the joy in our now and watch the magic unfold.

I am staring at my piles of clutter, my unswept floors, the toys that fill baskets and are never played with and the Spring garden is begging me to weed it. And I feel panic. Like true, true panic. Where is the time, how did I get here again, where does all this stuff come from? The front door still isn’t painted, well, is half painted and none of my boy’s clothes fit them. Panic.

I remind myself that this is my life. This is my process. I will always be challenged by space and stuff and piles of clutter. And when I start to feel so disconnected to my home I need to slow down and go back into the process of making space. It is slow. It is guided. It works.

My vision of summer is not piles of stuff stopping me from packing picnics or having spontaneous celebrations with homemade watermelon drinks. I want space, sand on the floor, piles of shells and the sounds of laughter. I want to prepare my home for the change of season because I kid you not, the snow shovels are still sitting in my hallway!

I want to have a Summer Solstice Celebration. So I must make space.

I want to invite you along into ritual, trust and magic. I want you to prepare your home and your heart and your mind for an amazing Summer Solstice Celebration.

This is only the beginning of inviting the magic in and dancing inside of rituals that feed our spirits and trusting that we are not only enough, but if enough could spill into overflowing, that is what we are.

Our homes, hearts and minds are all a part of the journey. Focusing on those, we can then step into the loving task of changing our life through the food we choose to eat, the way we honor our homes and ourselves. This is as close to balance as you can discover. Balance is not a goal it is an action, it is what we are always swaying in and out of. Making space is seeking out ritual, knowing that you will fall out of alignment as part of life’s dance and developing the skills to ease back when you do.

For 10 days, making space in our homes, hearts and minds

• One letter each day with a making space prompt, from visioning and clearing space to flipping negative thought patterns
• Small, simple gestures that you can take on at your own pace
• Look at why you hold onto things or have trouble letting go of stuff, thoughts, habits
• 10 days of learning how to listen to yourself, through reflection and meditation
• 10 days of setting aside soft space each day for dreaming, watching and simply being in your space
• 10 days to understand the power you have to control your desires by taking on simple rituals and making more space in your life
• A online FB group of women going through the 10 days with you

Making space in our bodies using thoughts and foods that bring energy, vitality and joy

• Never once will you be worried about breaking a rule
• One recipe a day, straight from my kitchen, very few ingredients, gluten-free
• Nothing is “off limits” (really)
• 10 days of starting each day with softness and ease for your body
• 10 days of learning that you are enough and deserve to be treated like a goddess
• 10 days of watching your body release the habits that are making you exhausted, frustrated and full of anxiety
• One letter a day for 10 days with a prompt to make more space in your body and fill your cells with love and healing

Who is this for?

• Anyone who is ready to make peace with their home and body and understand themselves on a deeper level
  
• Women who are feeling overwhelmed by the clutter in their homes and wanting to make more space and create living spaces that are inviting, cozy and beautiful
• Holistic business owners looking to connect to a deeper understanding of themselves, developing a deeper rhythm of self care
• Mamas needing a support system and guidance in creating more rituals in the home and looking to feel like beautiful women again
• Women who are ready to make more space and allow their spirits to soar

Before you sign up, please read:

• This is not a food cleanse.
• This is about creating space in your life, opening up, expanding.
• This is about you. Your process. You.
  

Ready to make some space like these amazing women?

“You can’t ask for a more uplifting, motivating and spiritual cleanse! It was better and more inspiring than I ever imagined. You’ll wake looking forward to a motivational email. It is all done in baby steps and achievable changes.” ~ Sarah Rich

***

“I would recommend this enlightening, soul enriching experience, to all who believe there is more to this life that so easily becomes a rut. slightly resistant, I allowed and trusted in Hannah, one of life’s angels (whom I had never met) and on this journey I evolved in so many positive ways.” ~ Toba Dadd

***

“A favourite quote of mine is from The Buddha – Do not believe just because wise men say so. Do not believe just because it has always been that way. Do not believe just because others may believe so. Examine and experience yourself.

I experienced for myself the changes which occurred within me and my thoughts to myself and my home after the Making Space Cleanse and Hannah’s soft and beautiful wisdom. You will learn how making your bed with linen you love can become a sacred ritual. How de-cluttering your home and releasing those old toys and books can release you from old emotional patterns and ways of being. I learned that by de-cluttering my daughters old toys I had created a space that allowed me to prepare with ease and grace her moving away from home to University.

Yes, the simple act of releasing clutter from our homes can be that powerful. Through this connection, you will find new connections to your home and yourself. Do not believe, just because wise women say so, examine and experience yourself – welcome to the journey.

Love and Blessings to you” ~Debbi Jackson

A beautiful daily letter holding inside of it…

• My love letter to you and your gorgeous life
• A Soulwork prompt
• A video with me talking to you
• Recipes that are simple and delicious
• A chance to connect with me and other women going through the days on FB
• 10 days to go at your own pace, to discover a you that might surprise you, to make space that is sacred, joyous and yours

When does the 10 days start?

• June 10th, a Monday. I love starting things on Mondays!
• We will go through the days and they will lead us into the most beautiful of Summer Solstice Celebrations!
• One letter a day, for 10 days!
• Sign up with a friend for added support.

Questions::

I have done this cleanse before, is it the same? Mostly, the prompts will be much the same. Videos will be new, new recipes will be added and of course a whole new group of women going through the days together.

Do we need to buy anything? Nope. You can choose the level that you dig in. Mostly we are looking at clearing space not adding more. Sometimes in that clearing you may want to invest in an item that brings you more ease but that is all up to you. The goal is to make space inside of what you already have and learn to create sacred space inside of the home.

What if I am gone some of those 10 days? Often people are traveling. You can save the days letter for another time and add it to your soulwork for later.

How does the group work? The group is on Facebook. It is a private group just for this Making Space Community. Once you register a link is sent out to you with information of how to request into the group and a few other details.

Making Space is a way to change your life through simplicity, ritual and a little magic thrown in:

$79 $39

Summer Solstice Celebration Price!

$49 to join with a friend

“I loved Hannah’s Making Space Cleanse. In this beautifully-crafted program, Hannah nudges you to make simple, gentle changes that give you room to breathe and feel more present in your daily life. This space-clearing doesn’t feel like a chore and won’t overwhelm you with more for your to-do lists. By adding simple, nurturing rituals to your routine, Hannah helps you to see the clutter that’s occupying your physical space, dragging your energy down, and preventing you from inviting beauty and joy into your life.

I cleared a lot of clutter during the cleanse, and somehow this felt light and easy to accomplish. The more I moved away, the more energy I felt. I also discovered that I’d been storing some personal baggage in a place that felt stuck for me… a wedding album from an unhappy marriage stashed away in my office. I created a sacred space and stored the album there… I’m honoring the journey I’ve been on, with all its twists and turns, but now I’ve created the space to move on and allow new and wonderful opportunities into my career and personal life. I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.” ~ Eithne Egan trueessencecoaching.net

2013 The Making Space Cleanse ©

2 days after I talked with Tara about writing for the Grandmother Power Campaign I learned that my grandmother died. She lived overseas most of my life so my memories are few, but they are firm. Her house is where we gathered, I remember Chinese take-out, her making my grandfather lots of tea and my great-grandmother’s room in her house where game shows were promptly watched each day. She never forgot a card on a birthday or Holiday, and as someone who barely knows what day it is, this always blew me away.

I think of the grandmother as the gatherer. The one that brings everyone together, who spends time in the kitchen around the rhythm of food, who makes a feast out of nothing. My kids gather often with my mother, especially around the celebration of Holidays.

I have gathering in my female blood, the howling at the moon, wild women part of me.

I see myself as a grandmother with dreadlocks and a tattooed arm around a fire pit, gathering my women around and serving from an endless pot of stew on the fire. A grandmother that does not look like the grandmothers I know, one I vision that has been born of the choice to accept nothing less than a life full of joy. A woman who walks this earth bare foot, earthing as often as possible, and happy. Happy.

She is wild like me, impulsive, so freaking happy in her life and surrounded by people who are turned on by life. She is the evolved 38 year old me. She is the 57 year old who has added another arrow tattoo to her arm. One for each 19 years of living. She often has no idea what day it is and forgets what she went into the kitchen for… that hasn’t changed!

She looks back on the year she was 38 and told her husband she wasn’t happy. She remembers the moment when he said that his intention was for both of them to be happy in their lives, no matter what that had to look like. She remembers the work they did, together and separately to heal and find their happy. And only she knows what 39, 40, 41 look like. I see her smiling at me.

She remembers those moments of bravery and fear when she surprised herself with her choices. When she spoke her truth because not felt like the scariest place she could live. She knows that the awakening that came was unlike what her grandmother ever felt, or was it? What secrets and choices are inside of the pasts of our grandmothers that we will never know?

We may question the choices of the grandmothers who seemed stuck in a world not of their design, wonder if they were happy or wanted more or different. Perhaps for her speaking the truth simply meant allowing herself to be where she was. Was the gathering a joy for them or part of struggle? But no matter what, their lives had power. Different from the power we vision perhaps, but power of their choice. To be in that life. To gather. To pass down their story. To teach us to see clearly what we want.

Gathering. Choice. Power.

These are my practices. My daily meditations. I write my stories today and they link to grandmothers of past and future.

That wild woman around the fire, she has always been me. She was born when I was. We walk together. She prompts me daily to speak truth, to vision, to be of a life that I create.

As we say goodbye to my grandmother and the circle of life and passing of time continue, so too do our choices, our gatherings. Our power. We walk together in a truth that is our own. When we are ready. Ready for the change, the surrender into this moment, now. They are different stories in different times.

Gathering. Choice. Power.

It took some Prosecco.

And a letter that stirred my emotions about connections and money and feelings.

I’ve been claiming space. Making space. Allowing space. And gifted with space.

Inside of this space I’ve felt less raw. More open.

I’m not crying as much. I am still always close to tears but in that delicious HSP way.

This space I’ve been searching for, searching for years. This knowing, this knowing that I’ve got this.

My dreams vivid, full of colors I never see in waking life.

There are days when I get in the car with a friend and we drive and plan and eat and lift our faces to the sun. Space. Pulling myself away from the computer where I’ve created deep love and success and giving myself permission to start living those things.

Feeling. Less raw. Filling in the gaps of times that never were.

The necklace I was wearing around my neck with the word light fell off the other day. It broke. And I set it down to fix it. I let it sit there for weeks.

I met a woman recently and I kept thinking of wrapping her in light. So I will fix the necklace and I will let the light carry forward.

Because when I cried yesterday I knew that I was already there.

In the light. In the space that I visioned forth. In the space that is rolling me in her beauty and guiding me in faith.

Tears of affirmation. Floating inside of fears and still paddling.

So that I may guide.

In the light.

$69 early bird

I am a firm believer in you are what you eat.  I am a healthy living coach and chef who teaches and inspires women to feed themselves beautiful meals that nourish through their simplicity, color, and flavor.  Food can distort and distract from our experiences or ground and connect us to them.  To find out more about cooking classes, guided cleanses, or to read about my life and experiments in the kitchen, visit www.PersephoneBrown.com

I am eager for the lists that make their way out on sleepy Friday mornings. Today I am a showered, rather calm for me, forgetting the dog food again, excited for the potential of today kind of woman.

Oh me, I love love.

Facebook, you know I adore you, but we really need to talk about this.

I have this one on repeat today.

I’ve run into this one a few times, and each time, feel the magic.

Bam.

She made me cry with this one.

You had me at dancing with the moon.

When: Wednesday, May 22, 2013 7pm – 10pm

Where: The Loft, a community workshop and retreat space for women in Rhode Island, Hope Artiste Village

What you’ll need if you are a new participant: Two or more magazines, and wine if you want to sip some while you create! A vision book will be provided for you.

What you’ll need if you have taken The Spirits of Joy course: Magazines, wine if you desire it and your vision book

Sold out!!!! Thank you.

Spirits of Joy comes alive and The Loft welcomes you to feel its magic….

A night of circling, exploring, creating, expanding, visioning.

In Spirits of Joy we spent 30 days bringing prompts to life in our joy books, finding our desires and creating pages filled with the words and visions and feelings that surround them. We harnessed our manifesting magic through visioning, so we could love this life now while creating a future of our dreams.

During this visioning workshop we’ll work on 3 or 4 prompts together, sharing our pages and intentions. Women holding dreams for one another is one of the most powerful forces!!! The pdf for all 30 days of prompts will be sent to everyone attending.

We will circle at The Loft and journey together through magazines, finding the words and images and feelings contained in our dreams and create pages for our joy books. Together, we’ll provide a gorgeous container for our energies and maybe sip some wine, too. It will be a night of manifesting and magic, circling and expanding.

Snacks will be provided but bring a bottle of wine to enjoy while you create and vision. There is plenty of parking, on street and in an assigned lot for the Hope Artiste Village. If you have a vision book from the online course, Spirits of Joy, please bring it!!! If this is all new to you, a vision book will be provided.

Limited, limited space available. Make sure to grab your space!

I taught myself how to truly live in abundance through feathers. I tell the story in my vision book workshops and I will guide the community of The August Joy Up (yes, joy up is coming, its coming!!!) in learning to understand abundance this way. For now, I’ll just say feathers became my thing. Quickly I was finding feathers where there never was a bird and my life started to switch from one of lack and complaining into one of abundance and gratitude.

As a highly sensitive person I tend to wear very few things, like only 4 of the shirts in the drawer and lots of leggings and yoga pants. I find a pair of earrings and wear them every day. I find a favorite shirt and I’ll have it made in black and gray and white. I crave comfort and familiarity when dressing.

During my early practice with feathers I found these gorgeous, long earrings with feathers in my color story on Etsy. They were reiki blessed and held my favorite color stones. I wore them every day. They loved me. We had a love affair. They were soft and I really never felt them but always could glance the chains and stones hanging right by my chin and neck.

In Seattle this past April I was sitting in a gorgeous French Restaurant with Persephone. We had just taught at Feast Retreat and we were having a quick meal to celebrate our time and to give me a chance to sit in a city I had left 14 years ago.

I took off my coat and brushed my hair out of my face and on one side there was no feather. I looked in my coat, on the floor. Gone.

 I felt for a moment, frozen. Persephone knew how much those earrings meant to me, how attached to ‘things’ I can get. We kept looking for a bit and then sat down and ordered a drink.

“OK, so what are you releasing?” Persephone asks.

I think I probably threw my head on the counter and moaned. Damn. OK. Perfect.

I can’t remember what I said, if anything good at all. But the truth was that I was releasing so much.

During the retreat Liz gave me full permission to show up as my highly sensitive self. To take time away when I needed it. To truly honor my needs. I didn’t think I would be able to do it but once I got there I felt such deep permission, the kind that I give others but rarely receive. One day I even went to lay down and fell asleep before lunch. I never nap, let alone in a place outside of my home.

I released being afraid of getting my needs met while around others.

I had only a very short time in Seattle, the city where I lived for 3 1/2 years from 21-24. When I was there I was inside of a lot of struggle. I had huge body image challenges, I was in and out of jobs that didn’t fullfill me, I was a struggling actor, I felt so distant from myself as a woman, from my sexuality, from being seen. There were decisions I made there that I had been holding onto with regret. There was a loss of self that I could never piece into the forgiveness that I have for myself now.

Being back in the city, as this woman who has journeyed, done the work, hacked joy, fallen in love with life, being there in that moment, as this me, was healing. Because I was ready.

I released regret, old stored pain and the fear of forgiveness. And I forgave myself.

I think about someone walking down the streets of Seattle and finding this feather earring. Finding a symbol of my release. Or maybe a bird will pick it up and add it to a nest they are making. I imagine that the earring’s story did not end when it fell from my ear but simply moved into the chapter titled, The Release.

Losing my feathers, molting, this is what happens when we start to fly, to soar, to grow.

Let’s shed one fear, like a bird loses a feather in flight, by stating it, naming it and letting it flow off of us as though we are birds in flight, knowing that once it drops it will become a magical gift of release…

And the person who finds your feather, she is just learning about magic. 

***

Follow up:: I contacted the woman who made me the earrings so long ago and she is creating a whole new pair of them for me. I don’t know what they’ll look like but my heart is happy.

***

Community Grace starts Wednesday. Are you ready???

***

In just a few days the workshop series at The Loft in Rhode Island will be launched. Get ready for serious feather releasing magic.

Photo credit picture 9 Lori Massie-Spriestersbach, picture 10 Vivienne McMaster

Photo by Vivienne McMaster

4% of women think they are beautiful. What kind of fucked up is that? What kind of world am I raising a gorgeous daughter in?

I cried when I told Patrick about this video as we were lying in the dark. I couldn’t talk about it without kind of falling apart. This is one of the reasons I am on this earth. Because I’ve spent most of my life trying to say those words.

I am beautiful.

I am beautiful.

I am beautiful.

And sometimes I see a picture of myself and I feel ugly. Sometimes I wake up and I see my neck starting to show my age, even though I love the age I am. Sometimes I look at my belly and want to hide it.

But still, I am beautiful.

I am beautiful.

I am beautiful.

When I removed all magazines, tv and other forms of beauty as defined by advertisers my world changed. And while I still don’t think Dove is stretching itself to the beauty that is too far out of our American comfort zones, it is a start. And I feel blessed at any sort of start.

Chloe’s dad tells her she is beautiful and smart and funny. I tell her that she makes the most amazing outfits and has a style that no other 10 year old has. She never sees commercials or magazine adds (well, she sees magazines, but ones that we cut up for visioning!) or has voices coming from outside of her telling her she is not living up.

At 10 years old I already thought I was fat.

At 16 I convinced myself I should stop eating so I could feel love.

At 18 I went into therapy for the first time.

At 24 I dieted my already tiny body down to a size nothing for my wedding.

At 34 after my third baby was born I dieted down to a size 4/6 and convinced myself it wasn’t really dieting, just healthing living.

At 36 I gained 20 pounds.

At 38 I declared the war over.

At 38 I knew it would be the year that my life would change forever.

At 38 I finally saw my beauty. And it surprised me.

At 38 I knew that if I could see my beauty I could guide other women to see theirs.

At 38 I believed it when someone told me I was beautiful.

At 38 I have peace when I see my reflection.

At 38 I stood in the woods and let a gorgeous photographer take pictures of my belly. (More on that soon.)

At 38 I looked in the mirror, 20 pounds over the weight I had kept myself at for years and said…

I am beautiful.

And everything changed.

There is so much work I have to do on my soul and my past and my spirit. There is so much I am learning so I can show up as a guide and writer and friend and partner and mother.

And I love the work. I will do the work. And I will ask you to show up and do your work so that if you are not in that 4%, the 4% that makes me tear up when I think about that preciously tiny number, if you are not in it – good. Because I don’t want you in the 4%, I want you in the 100%, the 100% of women who know they are beautiful.

Let’s raise it together. Let’s show up even when it is hard. Let’s show up in our beauty. In this gorgeous life.

***

Here is how I can help guide you right now into this beauty. First as part of community who lift each other up, who hold the belief that as women who are gathering inside of community we see our beauty together. We hold space for our sisters to shine in their light and allow us to shine in ours. Community Grace starts May 1st.

If you really want to rock your world in May, join my sweet friend Vivienne in her course Be Your Own Beloved. I’ve done it once and will do it again. Looking in your own eyes really is life changing.

Let May be the month you start to let your light shine, your beauty radiate and where you know that there are circles of women who want that for you. They want to make that space for you to step into your gorgeous life. We are only beginning.