Nikki Starcat Shields's Blog, page 3

Starcat’s Favorites: Summer Is Coming

I wasn’t sure what to write about in my favorites summary this month, and then I received a monthly wrap-up from Nisha of Rainbow Plant Life. She writes about the food, media, and other things she’s been enjoying lately, and I loved it. So this is my version.

I’m on sort of a health kick with my reading material. I’ve been devouring Wild Feminine by Tami Lynn Kent, which I read for my spiritual book club. It’s excellent. I also bought Fast Like a Girl by Dr. Mindy Pelz at a recommendation from a...

Why You Need a Creative Community

What do you think of when you picture yourself writing a book? If you’re like most people, you think of long solo sessions at your laptop, at home – or possibly in a coffee shop, for variety. 

The thing is, if you want to write a book but you’re not already doing it, that image of the solo writing sessions might actually be slowing you down.

What I’ve discovered in my five years as a book midwife is that most creatives, yes, even the introverts, crave (and thrive in) community. 

Even the introve...

Starcat’s Favorites: Balance

It’s that time of year when I have to pay closer attention than usual to balance. What do I mean by that? The balancing postures in my yoga practice?

Well, yes, I do love a good tree pose, but I mean balance in terms of activity and rest. Everyone is coming out of hibernation, the weather is warmer, and my weekends are starting to fill up with social events.

That’s all well and good, but as an ambivert who leans toward the introvert side of the spectrum, I need my down time, too.

Just last month...

Starcat’s Favorites: Yoga Practice

As I write this, the calendar has officially switched to Spring, and the Sun is in Aries. This is our sassy Aries-born catten (still a kitten but almost a cat), Milton LoveCat.

We’re having that weather that makes you wish it was warm out – but it isn’t, truly, not for me, anyway. But I do love the pretty sunshine, the birdsong, and the snow melting.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most consistently this year so far is my hatha yoga practice. I’ve been doing a daily yoga practice since January 2n...

Progress Despite Myself

There are just a few days left until the official start of spring. It doesn’t seem like it, looking out my office window and seeing the expanse of snow. But as my Mom pointed out, spring has always come each year so far. 

I feel like this winter has been especially hard. I probably always say that – I’m not a winter person – but I feel like I’ve done absolutely nothing productive. I know that’s not true, but it feels like it.

I’ve been taking a lot of down time, nurturing myself in my grieving p...

On Receiving Authentic Guidance

I’m reading a compilation of channeled writings by Alice A. Bailey, called Ponder on This. It’s fascinating stuff. Bailey was part of the Theosophical movement of the early 20th century. 

As the friend who loaned it to me noted, I don’t believe all of the things I’m reading in this book. But there are plenty of gems and lots of food for thought.

One of the sections I just read was about receiving guidance from the non-physical realm. 

The text cautions the reader against accepting guidance from ...

Books: My Favorite Hobby

I’m obsessed with this library-building project – in a healthy way, I hope! It’s so much fun to catalogue the books we own, and also to add all the books I’ve read over the past 25 years or so (when I started keeping track of them in my journals).

There’s a feature in LibraryThing where you can mark a book “read but unowned,” which will come in handy when I’m at book sales or used bookstores. My memory can be iffy, and I don’t always recognize a book I’ve read by the title – but now I can look ...

Starcat’s Favorites: My Library

I started a project earlier this winter that is truly just for me: organizing and cataloguing our home library. It’s turned out to be a perfect way to help me deal with the grieving process, by keeping my mind busy.

Plus, I find playing with my books to be a lot of fun.

My catalogue is housed in LibraryThing, which I’m finding easy to use. It has all the features I was looking for and can be accessed by computer or smartphone.

So far I’ve catalogued the books in my office, our upstairs hallway, ...

Life Through the Lens of Pleasure

Here’s a question for you: How often do you do things just for your own personal pleasure?

Do you even know what those things would be?

I’m in a coaching program where our theme this month is embracing pleasure.

Even though I’m at a point in my life where my kids are grown, my partners are mostly self-sufficient, and I work for myself, I’m finding that I don’t often focus on pure pleasure.

Why? I’m not sure. Maybe some remnants of the Puritanical culture here in New England. Perhaps because I wa...

Imbolc Blessings!

Imbolc, sometimes called Candlemas, celebrates the turning point from winter to spring. Here in New England, the nights are still long and the weather is cold, though the days grow longer and a bit lighter.

It’s the time when we plant the seeds of the spiritual work we want to pursue this year. We carefully craft our intentions, letting the growing light feed them as the Wheel begins to turn slowly toward spring.

As part of our celebration, we make and bless the candles we’ll use in this year’s ...