Very Inspiring Blogger Award, aka 7 new facts about me

Writing a blog is still quite a new process for me, with sweet surprises on a regular basis. I’ll catch myself saying, “my friend from Canada” or “a woman in California” or “a blogger from India said . . .” I feel connected to women around the world through blogging and Facebook learning communities.

Well, my friend from Canada, Suzanne McRae, gave me The Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Suzanne is a generous woman on a path of learning about spirituality and healing and health, and she shares experiences about living with her young adult son with autism. Pay her a visit if you like.

I get to pass on this award to other cool bloggers. Here are the rules (if you have been awarded and wish to play along):

Display the award logo on your blog.
Link back to the person who nominated you.
State 7 things about yourself.
Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award and link to them (Due to my relative newness in the blog world, I have chosen fewer than 15.)

Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the awards requirements.

Let’s see, 7 things about myself:

My life is an experiment in intuition. I am interested in identifying and following God’s will for me. Deepening my access to my inner wisdom is the best way I know to come close to doing that.

I have a dream to do healing work for at least one person in every state in the United States, and in many countries other than the U.S. To support that dream, I offer 15 minutes of free healing (via phone or email) if you are the first one to request it from the state/country you are in (living there or on vacation). Check out details about distant healing and my list of states and countries at the bottom of this page:

By intention, I encode healing energy into my blog posts. So my readers, just by choosing to do so, can receive energy clearing, balancing, and grounding regularly.

My first grown-up career was occupational therapy. This has given me a broad range of experiences with people experiencing a broad range of challenges. I have worked with children, with adults, and with older adults. I have worked with people with physical and psychiatric challenges. As an OT, my goal was always to help people become as independent as possible in the area of self-care. This influences how I do my healing work. I always teach clients and students how to care for their own energy systems. (It also influences my writing, which is sometimes missing things like prepositions, after years of writing abbreviated progress notes.)

My little paintings are experiments in aligning my energy with a particular quality (i.e., grace, love, balance, etc.) and then painting by intuition . . . and then pondering, after the fact, how do these forms and colors and brushstrokes relate to this quality? My textile art is made with more generic intentions of being healing for me and for others.

My art practice teaches me about joy and attraction. If I am concerned about too few healing appointments or class registrations, my energy is a little tight. I go up to my studio and fall into the joy of creating. My energy naturally expands, and becomes a magnet to others. Bang, the phone rings, it’s a new client. Ping, ping, ping, when I go back downstairs, there are new emails requesting healing work. This happens often.

Personally, I am married to the kindest man on the planet, for over 28 years. I have 2 young adult daughters. We have a little dog Maggie, a big teacher of joy. Our backyard is a wild (some would see weedy) sanctuary. I am the oldest of 6 children, and all of my parents and in-laws have been deceased for 9+ years.

And now I will pass on The Very Inspiring Blogging Award to . . .

First, I want you to meet another Janet, Janet Hartje. She is a fearless adventurer in the fiber art world and a fellow member of some of the quilt groups I attend. She was blogging before I even knew what the word meant.

Next, Michele Bergh is a leader in my world, sharing from her heart, and building community in the blogging and Facebook worlds. In addition to helping people build websites and blogs (which is how I met her), she is a healer and an artist.

And then there is Heidi Metro, a massage therapist in Hudson who has been my colleague and friend (and another technical mentor) for (8?) years now. She is a thoughtful blogger with a philosophy background. Oops, I’m back now . . . I just lost myself going through her book recommendations in the shop portion of her website.

I met Linda Hall  on the first night of my first class in the Master’s of Human Development program at St. Mary’s about 7 years ago. She is a nurse, with many, many skills added in healing arts, mediation, and conscious co-parenting.

A newer online friend, Susan Lobb-Porter, has 2 blogs,  Big, Bold, Beautiful Yes and  Oo la la the Arty Life. Her art is beautiful, her enthusiasm is palpable, and she has a delicious way with words.

And then there is another Sue, Sue Shobert Jorgenson, , who posts beautiful photos, thoughtful stories, and who, I happen to know, does a mean tarot reading.

And last but not least,  Petrea Hansen, art therapist, whose posts about the Inner Muse I find particularly interesting.

I invite you to check out their blogs and websites. Leave them a comment, tell them Janet sent you, whatever feels right to you!

So . . . to Janet, Michele, Linda, Heidi, Petrea, Susan, and Sue . . . congratulations on being awarded for your Very Inspiring Blog!