Lara Vesta's Blog, page 14

Open and Free

Dear Friends--
It is with an open heart that I offer the following news:  I have decided to release The Moon Divas Guidebook into the world for free.

The months since the book's release have been extraordinary, and the reception to this work has been so inspiring.  Women have colored the pictures, told their stories, deepened their relationships with their bodies and each other.  After meeting with women from a myriad of backgrounds and witnessing such tremendous healing, I decided to honor my original intention with this work and set it free in the world.

Please sign up to download your copy of The Moon Divas Guidebook.  The e-book edition is in PDF format and contains all of the original Guidebook text. 

There is no limit to how many times you can download the book.  The link will not expire.

There are no conditions on the use of the book.  Please share it.  I would love it if you would send it to all of your friends, bless every woman in your life with the potential of self-care.

Let's create revolutionary community.  Let's make the world we wish to live in right now.

In the world I live in, all women love their bodies, their stories and their lives.  They create and heal in prosperous unity.  They have the time and energy to nourish new beginnings, new stories, new ways of being in the world.

I believe this is happening, right now, in every way.  I invite you with me to clear the path.
For blessings and joy--

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Energy Maps

Deep into Week 1 of the Self-Care and Transition Support Course and I'm sharing my energy map (from an exercise in the Moon Divas Guidebook) illustrating the systems and structures that supported and drained me...in 2010!

Illustrating our lives, making maps, keeping a record with pen and paper feels like a powerful act in this day of the digitized.

How have you changed in the past two years?  What are you currently giving your energy to?  Where do you wish to be twenty-four months from now?

Resurrection, Rebirth

Alive again after a month of influenza flowing through our home.  I love how illness makes me grateful.  For breath, for balance and strength, for health (of course) and mental acuity.  For all of the daily tasks I do without even thinking about them:  cooking, dishes, laundry, feeding creatures human and non.  I take so much for granted when I'm well, but not today.  Today I appreciate all of the nuances, down to the lack of snot in my nostrils and the fact that I can eat sitting up.

Big things are afoot here at Vestal Transitions and in my personal life, too.  The metaphorical seeds I planted three years ago are all poking up through the earth now, tender green shoots with extensive root networks.  I tend them, and they grow stronger each day. My parents are gardeners, farmers...I grew up thinking in agrarian terms:  cycles, plantings, moons, harvest.  One task I was handed regularly as a child was that of thinning:  Every other carrot, every third radish, half the marigolds needed to be pulled in order for the remaining crop to thrive.  I've talked about this before, the need for making space, but it has never been so evident in my own life as in this week.  At first it is hard to pull out those perfectly good plants, to release that thing (job, relationship, possession) that still has so much life or love left in it.

But thinning lets in light, air, nutrients we need to grow.  It takes faith to discover that less is more, that discernment is a practice and letting go is easy once you start.

Because the new growth flows right in.  Easy as rain.  Easy as light from the sun.

Moon Divas Certification: Registration Opens Today!

Happy New Year!  It's transformation time!

I am proud to announce the pilot programs for Vestal University's Moon Divas Certification and the Self-Care and Transition Support Course are officially open for registration.

In honor of this event, both areas of study are offered at a one-time only substantial discount--over 50% off of their standard tuition--with unique bonuses, freebies and format.

Also, there are partial scholarships available for three students in each program, thanks to the generous supporters of Vestal Transitions Each One Help One donation program.
Both programs will be offered in consistent rotation beginning in May, but this one time opportunity will not come again.
Check it out:  
Moon Divas Certification Pilot Launch
Self-Care and Transition Support Course
Curious?  Questions?  There's an FAQ!  Click here.
Still need more information?  Email me:  vestaltransitions@gmail.com

Happy and New!

I hope everyone is having a safe and joyous New Year's Eve.  Tomorrow is the big reveal:  Vestal University's first official programs will be open for public registration.

2012 has been an amazing year of unfolding for me.  I am so grateful for you, for friends and family, students and teachers, readers and seekers and viewers both known and unknown.  Your support, love and encouragement makes this amazing work possible.  Daily I am humbled and blessed by your presence.

May all beings be happy and free.
Love--

New Things On The Way

Merry Merry last days of 2012 to you!
It's been a busy season here at Vestal HQ.

This week I am launching both the website transformation (much anticipated...I'm really happy with the outcome), AND the pilot of two new programs!

As always, Open Flame subscribers get the inside scoop first, and I'll be sending a newsletter today with all of the details and registration information.  You can be added to the list by completing the form below (and receiving your free gift!) or by emailing me at vestaltransitions@gmail.com.

Otherwise, the full reveal will be New Year's Day!  

Solstice, Silence

I'm retreating this week, dipping in to the silence of the darkest days to rest and restore, connect with my family and continue visioning deeply for the new year to come.  

I'll be back in a week or so with information on the new Self-Care and Transition Support Course, just in time for 2013.  

If you aren't on the email list yet, be sure to sign up for the monthly Open Flame bulletin (and your free self-care guide and coloring book!).  Open Flame subscribers will receive the first news about Vestal University courses, Moon Divas Certification, and substantial discounts on both as the new programs begin. Click here to sign up now. I wish you peace and joy, in your heart, in this turning time of year. 
May we begin in beauty, may we find again our balance.  Both in the dark, and in the light.
Love--

How to Be Fearless: A (Sort of) Ceremony in 4 Easy Steps

Me as Artemis, Goddess of Wildness 1998 My first experience invoking the Goddess, Halloween 1998 with the incorrigible Deva Munay.  I had graduated from college the June before and was married in July.  Twenty-two years old, I didn't know--and could not yet imagine--what my life should be.  I was scared of my potential, and afraid of not having any potential at all.

So I dressed as a Goddess.  Artemis is fiercely independent, a maiden, a guardian of the wildness that lives within us all.  That night I chose boldness, spoke, thought and acted with a greater presence than I had yet begun to muster.  I made decisions based on my own needs and preferences.  It felt amazing. Moon Divas at Play Fast forward ten years.  Deva and I are teaching Moon Divas workshops in a group of amazing women (like those above).  We realized that one of our universal "stories" as women is "I couldn't, I shouldn't, I can't."  

Many of us were raised to be "good" girls, who when offered something we wanted were trained to demure, "oh, I couldn't."  When faced with a sensual, spiritual or emotional decision, good girls often hear inner voices telling us we "shouldn't," that no is the only safe answer.   And when it comes to challenges that take us out of our comfort zones?  "I can't" is an answer that preserves the integrity of our good girlness and reduces risk.

No becomes a habit.  And what happens when we want to let go, to dive into the yes?  Limits, long imposed come with their own cloak of self-doubt, guilt and fear.

But what happens when we want to break the habits, shed the outworn skins, open our arms into the yes of our destiny?  What happens when we want to be this:
There are millions of models for female strength and self-sufficiency, for boldness and independence and joy available to us.  The mythosphere is bursting with archetypal images, stories and forms from many cultures where women live big and goregous on an epic scale.  From these, we may choose a persona, we may step forward into an aspect of the Divine Feminine essence and make her our own. 

We may make it a ceremony of faith, wherein we allow ourselves to live a greater story until our own grows to match.  Deva and I developed this process to help ourselves, and other Moon Divas, transcend our own limitations.

Are you ready to release your fears, to destroy old habits of acquiescence and say yes to a bigger, bolder you? Step One:  Choose Your Goddess First make some Goddess friends.  Books, cards, images, all are readily available (I have 15 in the Free Goddess Coloring Book and Self-Care Planner you could try on for size!).  Become aware of your intuitive attractions.  You may choose a Goddess at random (flipping to an image in your text of choice, picking a card from a Goddess Deck) or you can be more "intellectual" in your pursuits.  

When you have a Goddess you wish to work with, light a candle and create a sacred space in whatever way feels best to you.  Ask for the Goddess, call her name aloud, and ask her to teach you. name the qualities you wish to invoke or embody.  Invite her into the process, and offer her a token of your intentions (an object like a stone, a piece of jewelry, a ribbon or some chocolate can suffice).

Close your sacred space with gratitude and blow out your candle.  Be ready for the fun... Step Two:  Research Your Goddess Who is your Goddess?  
What does She stand for in history?
What colors does She wear?
What flavors does She prefer?
What are Her stories?

Find out as much about your Goddess as you can.  Write down your references, tape up some photos of Her.  What about her inspires you most?  What is the root of your admiration? Step Three:  Find Your Symbolic Garb When you have an idea of exactly who you wish to embody and why, you need to find your symbolic garments.  This is like the invisibility cloak, the magic wand, the ring of the queen, the sacred emblem of the Goddess.  Keep it simple so you can wear it often or keep it nearby.  For example, at the beginning of Moon Divas I was working with the Goddess Freyja to inspire my boldness.  I found a citrine pendant in the shape of a tear, following Freyja's mythic golden tears, that I wore daily for over a year.

Optional:  Get yourself a full-on Goddess costume.  Take your persona to the extreme.  Go out in public.  Feel her power!  (Oops, that's step 4!) Step 4:  Take Your Goddess Self Out On the Town It's time to put your persona to work for you.  Take your Goddess out to play.  You don't have to wear her face all of the time, unless you want to.  But when faced with a situation that brings up your fear, insecurity or couldn't/shouldn't/cant's, let her loose.

Ask yourself, what would Artemis/Freyja/Durga/Quan Yin/(Insert your Goddess here) do in this situation?

Then sit back, and allow the impulse to flow, open wide into the yes.  Let go.


A few parting tips... You may change Goddesses at any time.  Find one who is both fun and challenging to work with, and see where She takes you.

Don't give up.  Practice is the key to overcoming any habit.  Even the smallest gesture, repeated, can have great power.

Love the expression.  Let yourself play.  The Latin root of the word person is persona, or mask.  We all wear masks.  Find the one that lets your beautiful, individual light shine most brightly into the world.

Play with friends!  Goddesses love to gather.  Have a Goddess dinner party, invite your friendly Goddesses to events.  Dress up, speak the language.  Enjoy your expanding awareness of that which you already are!

Handwritten Inspiration: The Possibility Alliance

I am transitioning (woot!) to new internet service next week.  For months now mine has been erratic, making photo uploads and any sort of involved writing (like the ceremonial blog posts) perilous.  I have a lovely backlog of posts to share, but in the meantime, brevity is essential.  

As the author of a handwritten book, I've developed a curatorial interest in all things handscribed.  One of my favorite people in the world, Ethan Hughes of The Possibility Alliance, made the class poster below.  Check out this lovely photo blog post and this Mother Earth News article to find out why he doesn't use a computer.

Do you write anything by hand?  Letters, lists, little books?  Or do you admire the handwritten work of a particular author or artist?  If so, please share!  I would love to build a circle of appreciation for this heart work.  Happy weekend!

Goddess Coloring Book and Self Care Planner, For Free!

I've made two wintertime gifts to nourish your spirit in the days to come!

First is The Goddess Coloring Book and Self-Care Planner, my first ever e-book, and I'm offering it to you for FREE!
 
I've had the most incredible time making this book.  Fusing the Goddess images from The Moon Divas Guidebook with a new series of local (and, sometimes previously unknown) Goddesses for a compendium of the feminine divine worthy of your very best crayons and markers.

Then, because it looks like self-care is my rally cry and soapbox both (a way to subvert the a dominant psychology of burnout while also building positive proactive change) I've included some of my favorite self-care practices in an interactive planner format.

If you commit to one coloring session and practice per week you have fifteen weeks of self-care covered, taking you into spring of 2013!  

These practices are unique to the Goddess Coloring Book, making it a great beginning place for self-care newbies or as a playful compliment to the Guidebook.  

Which, by the way... Is now available for a limited time in an ebook edition!  

Savings on Shipping + Instant Gratification=
                               LOVE

I want EVERYONE to have access to this resource RIGHT NOW, at the time in the year when many of us need self-care most.  

It contains all I teach, love and believe in, all of the rich and joyful tools to help you stop settling for less than amazing, and start living the best, most radiant life you can imagine.  

Are you ready for that kind of story? Begin your best life now with 
The Moon Divas Guidebook 
ebook edition! Click here for your FREE copy of the Goddess Coloring Book and Self-Care Planner! I have more news to share...you may notice some changes on the website.  This business is evolving, and I am expanding and consolidating my services according to client needs and following my own heart.  In the coming weeks I'll be sharing this new vision in full-color with bells and whistles.  
Until then, check out the following pages:
**NEW**Life Transitions Coaching 
**NEW**Vestal U**NEW**Moon Divas Certification
I wish you self-love and sweetness in the weeks to come.