Our Creative January Challenge for 2021

Announcing an Our Creative January Challenge to start off 2021 on the creative right foot . A creative community challenge I am hosting on Instagram.

Since 2017, l’ve dared to host #ourcreativeselves community projects and #Soul_selfie challenges. As l continue to emerge from my creative and low self-esteem shells, these challenges have given voice to both my creative and soul searching selves and my communities.

I forget this. I forget myself. Often. So this coming year, l want to remember myself and engage in more community challenges.

Because they’re fun.

Because l enjoy playing with like-minded people.

Because this will help heal our collective souls.

If you’d like to, join me in #OurCreativeJanuary IG project. Using this hashtag and the #ourcreativeselves tag, we’ll post pictures on Instagram of whatever we’ve created. Post them daily, bi-weekly, or weekly and see what others have created. Create with words, collage, paint, music, clay, food, or a new vignette in your house. If you like, tag me in the post too @shalaghhogan . And for the rest of the year, I’ll be joining Nina Spolar for #my52in2021 and #createtoconnect to post creative endeavors and stay connected with #Ourcreativeselves people.

Interested in reading my future ponderings on Creative Soul Living?Subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my weekly posts via your emailbox.

Find me on Instagram to see my daily pictures,

friend me or like my page on Facebook.

Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too.

I am a community kinda person and am always practicing Intentional Intouchness.

I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

What if My Ordinary is Your Extraordinary ?

I joined in a creative daily picture challenge for the month of February on Instagram. It is the #SeeYourOrdinary challenge hosted by a freiend. And I have made a real effort to be here in my space and my body and to reflect those things. It’s risky and exactly what we all need to everyone once in a while.

It all comes down to perspective I guess. Your weed is my flower. Your junk is my treasure. Your waste of time is my purpose in life.

Taking pictures of my everyday life is revealing, dangerous. But what if my ordinary is your extraordinary. If what I see everyday and take pictures of is your idea of immense. We are here to inspire eachother. Of that I’m certain.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

Soul Selfie 2019

We just wrapped up my third Soul Selfie Challenge hosted by me on Instagram. The first time I hosted this was in May of 2016, the second in October of 2017, and then this one was from the 1^st to the 7^th of December of 2020. I can say I am thrilled and fulfilled as a result of this challenge every time. There were 197 posts and maybe 20 people together for a week acting as a community.

The intention behind the challenge was to spend a week exploring prompts in a deeper fashion than we usually do online. And I am always so pleased to have people meet me there with their most authentic selves ready to communicate and exchange ideas. We converse on topics that are deep and true. I live for these conversations. The satisfaction for me is quick and powerful.

We had a few new faces and many from my prior challenges who honored the opportunity to show up and be present for themselves for a week. And I think we had some serious aha moments and shifts among us. Facilitating healing is a gift we can give to ourselves as well as to the world. When we show up authentically and take responsibility for ourselves and our actions, there’s no telling what can happen.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

Thoughts on Aging and Thankfulness

As I’m sitting about digesting this week, I’ve had a few thoughts and I thought to share them with you. Like, the fun part about getting older is that you begin to realize what makes you happy and what doesn’t. This corresponds with another realization that you are truly the primary person who you owe happiness to. And if you respect this and follow your heart, you can turn your whole life upside down.

I’ve discovered that hosting and serving others in a party or dinner sense is what I love to do and who I love to be while doing it. Such a sense of peace when I can set a tone and relax into the role of hostess. Thanksgiving this year was wonderful.

I’ve discovered that writing, conversing with, and supporting others is who I am and love myself while I’m doing it. I am hosting an Instagram Challenge currently and am loving it profoundly.

I’ve discovered that saying yes to anti-anxiety meds was one of the best choices outside of picking Mark to be my kids’ father. I enjoy my life so tremendously being their mother and knowing that I will stop the cycle of modeling anxious living.

However, I’ve yet to discover how to maintain bodily neutrality. Post Thanksgiving negative body thoughts want to creep over into the not so nice tone of voice. Instead, I am just going to schedule some exercise into my life and start keeping track of what goes in my face.

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.

My Upcoming 2019 Soul Selfie Challenge

On December 1^st, 2019, I will be hosting My third Soul Selfie Challenge online on Instagram. What the heck is that, you ask? This is what that is.

I am all about the deeper conversations. The ones we have that we say “Wow” during or after. Where we feel we have to take note of what we may have just learned. I am a deep soul explorer and I like to go there, especially in the company of like-minded people.

Using the prompts,

December 1^st -Remember

Dec. 2^nd – Kindness

Dec. 3^rd – Soul-Searching

Dec. 4^th – Solitude

Dec. 5^th – Community

Dec. 6^th – Hope

Dec. 7^th – Forgiveness

we will talk about what we are feeling and thinking about our right now’s. The pictures don’t matter, and no, there’s no need for any actual selfies, unless you want to do so. What matters is that your truthful self shows up and speaks. And then you hear the other participants as they tell their truths. And you respond authentically.

We will be using the tag #SoulSelfie2019 to join together. Tag every post with this and then click on/follow the tag to see what other participants have posted. Our community is so small and so swell, it’s like spending time with family.

I look forward to connecting with you all on Sunday on Instagram. F you celebrated Thanksgiving, hope you had a lovely holiday!

And If you enjoyed what you read, subscribe, via the subscription box in the sidebar, to my thrice weekly posts via your emailbox. And visit me on Instagram to see my daily pictures, friend me or like my page on Facebook. Or come find me on Twitter or Pinterest too. I am always practicing Intentional Intouchness so chat at me please. I live for conversations.

And, as always, Thanks to you for your visit.