Podcast #8 - self care

Today I share an update on how I am doing with my January challenge and then we dig in deep to self-care.  Talking about what it is, what it looks like, and how we can actually do it. 

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After listening take a moment to pull out your notebook and give yourself permission to dive into self care.

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Join Us In Community

Head on over to the Soul Circle Community space to share what challenge you want to take on this January. Spending more time making art, meditating, doing the dishes before bed. It could be anything!

Know that you don’t have to go about it alone. Join us over in community and lean into the support that comes with being together.

Join me over on Instagram @jbelthoff

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i'm choosing pencil

I’m choosing pencil because writing in ink feels way too much like a commitment I am not ready to make. I’m not sure I will want to show up. I’ve gotten in the groove of this isolated living that I’m not sure if I’m ready to dive headfirst into the world.

I’m choosing pencil because I want to keep my heart open. Trust the journey. Know that I’m being guided and it doesn’t have to be put down in ink.

Shifting, expanding, growing, becoming.
Leaving space to show up imperfectly, perfect.
Coloring out of the lines.
Leaving the dishes in the sink, to go walk outside in the grass

Easing in as I expand.

Yes, I’m choosing pencil and it feels freeing, and hopeful. Filled with the opportunity for me to choose. To go with what ignites me, rather than what depletes me.

To be wild & free
Taking chances
Reaching beyond
Erasing a few things along the way and beginning again

I’m taking out my trusty #2. Sharpening its point and getting it ready for this wild ride we are about to embark on.

Filled with hope, love, and permission to choose

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The above words were written during Monday’s Write Together class. Where we spend an hour together writing in community and sharing.

Grab a piece of paper and give the prompt a try. Then join us next Monday in class.

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Join me over on Instagram @jbelthoff

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Podcast #7 - jumping in

Happy New Year! Today I take a look back at the gifts 2020 brought and talk about the book “Unstoppable Wisdom From a Year of Running Every. Single. Day.” by Julie van Amerongen which inspired me to take on a new challenge in 2021.

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Join Us In Community

Head on over to the Soul Circle Community space to share what challenge you want to take on this January. Spending more time making art, meditating, doing the dishes before bed. It could be anything!

Know that you don’t have to go about it alone. Join us over in community and lean into the support that comes with being together.

Join me over on Instagram @jbelthoff

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looking back on my word of the year

Each year I choose a word to tuck into my pocket and carry with me.  A word I want to manifest, lean into, and experience more of.  In December of 2019, I sat in a circle of women folding paper stars to tuck our words into. I wasn’t exactly sure what my word for the new year was so I kept folding.  Kept listening to each woman share about their word and why they choose it. 

Folding and listening there was one single word that was playing on repeat in my head.  My word kept repeating itself inside me until I spoke it out loud.  The word was: 

LIGHT

Here is what I wrote inside my star on that December day.  

Light.  Growth.  Strength.  Divinity.  Courage.  Connection.  

A year of allowing myself to shine brilliantly.  To unleash what I have tucked away and share, connect.  A time for bringing people in.  Providing light and shining light.  A time to step out of the hustle and bustle and into exactly what I am meant to be doing.  

Abundance.  Beauty.  Joy.  Kindness. Strength.  Love.  

Being seen as a Guide.  A Community Cultivator.  Creating the opportunity for others to experience their own divinity.  To open up, begin again, and step into their authentic selves.  

Create a place for community grace.  Soul Circle.  Coming together. Sharing. Guiding.  Leading.  

Shining my light and allowing other people space to shine their own brilliant light.  

Being a lightworker in this world. 

Reading what my intentions were last December tears fill my eyes for all that manifested in the most beautiful and unexpected ways.  The hustle and bustle I was feeling in 2019 came to a halt when I began working from home at the end of March.  No longer was I running from one thing to the next.  I settled into new rhythms and routines, loving having the opportunity to slow down and not need to be anywhere except exactly where I was.  

In a time of darkness for our country and the world, light poured out from my heart and into the places I stood.  When the country was shutting down I was opening up my own little virtual space and inviting others into my room to write, to create, to move.  I taught a countless number of classes online and met the most amazing, incredible souls.  I am so grateful for technology and the way it gives us the ability to connect with others wherever they are.  

I took leaps on things that I have been wanting to do for so long like starting the Soul Circle Community and hosting a podcast.  The Community space has been a long, long time dream of mine.  I am grateful for all the individuals who show up there and share their hearts.  We all need a place we can land.  A place we can turn to when things are rough, but also when they are really good and we want to celebrate.  That is what Soul Circle is.  A community space you can lean into as you navigate your journey through life.  Because we aren’t meant to travel alone.  If you haven’t joined us over there, hop on over and say hello.  I have so many exciting things planned for 2021!   

The Soul Circle Podcast was a total leap of faith. A way to challenge myself and use my voice. It is exciting and scary and something I am so glad I did because I am learning a ton. I look forward to how it evolves and iterates and can’t wait to be able to share interviews with you. You can listen wherever you like to listen to your favorite podcast.

I feel deep in my heart that I truly stepped into my LIGHT this year.  Standing tall in who I am.  Unearthing what it is I am meant to do in the world and then going for it.  For so long I have been looking for myself.  Trying to unearth who I am, what I believe, what I stand for, what my gifts are.  And I know that will be a forever journey but I feel deep in my heart that I have finally found my way home.  Home to myself.  What a beautiful place to be.  

I don’t know what the future has in store but even if for just today I am going to take a moment to celebrate all that I accomplished this year.  All the chances I took, the way I navigated the unknown, the fumbles and failures, the success and connections.  Building community.  Sinking into love.  Cultivating a stronger bond with Dustin.  Watching my family come together when things got so hard.  Being with my Father after his difficult journey. Laughter over Zoom.  Witnessing my Girl Scouts smile, learn and connect with one another.  Taking walks.  Being outside.  

2020 was a wild ride.  One that tested me immensely but also gave me space to blossom and become. For that, I am incredibly grateful.  I shined my LIGHT and encouraged others to do the same.  2020 a year of bringing the light in the darkness.  

Now on to figuring out what my word will be for 2021!

Do you choose a word each year? If you do, share in the comments below what your word was and how it transpired this past year.

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Podcast #6 - one little word

Today I talk about a tradition I have been doing since 2009, choosing one little word to carry with me in my pocket for the entire year.

Listen in to find out what my word is for 2021.

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Writing Prompt

After listening grab a piece of paper and unearth what your word is for 2021 and what it means to YOU!

Once you are done writing head on over to the Soul Circle Community Space to share your response with the community! So much goodness is happening over there.

Join me over on Instagram @jbelthoff

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Podcast #5 - the energy we carry

Today on the podcast I talk about the energy we carry and how we have the opportunity to shift and choose how we show up.

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Writing Prompt

After listening grab a piece of paper and give the following writing prompt a try.  Remember, you don't have to consider yourself a "writer" to be able to put words down on the page.  

Once you are done writing head on over to the Soul Circle Community Space to share your response with the community! So much goodness is happening over there.

Join me over on Instagram @jbelthoff

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