Leonie Dawson's Blog, page 80
October 21, 2016
ON EQUINE THERAPY + THE HEALING HORSES
Dearests,
As many of you know… I went to equine constellation therapy yesterday… which ended up evolving into “just” equine therapy… which was just what was needed. I cried a lot… both happy and sad tears… and was given so much healing and teaching by those horses. It’s still settling into my bones… and I’ll keep working with the lessons… go back and do some more… but I’m feeling grateful to have experienced this healing modality at last.
I spent my childhood on a horse’s back and by a horse’s side… including one summer I spent crawling around on all fours in a muddy paddock attempting to become a part of the herd of wild horses that lived on our farm… I knew and know now even more deeply just how much of a blessing that was… those horses (and my dogs) got me through some profoundly scary and challenging times. It’s like coming full circle to come home to them again… with an even deeper understanding of what it is all about.
I’m off for the next week on a much needed health retreat… the longest time I’ve been away from my kids… the longest time I’ll have been “alone” since I was 18. Being with myself is the best way I restore myself and gain those big insights. After a difficult year of many challenges and lessons… and a broken immune system… I need this time of deep solace.
I’ll see you when I get back… in the meantime my team is still here, answering support emails, publishing posts, getting 2017 workbooks ready for sale mid-November… I’ll share more about equine therapy and my healing journey once I understand it more… once it settles into my heart. I just watched this video and had a big cry remembering just how much I was loved up on that paddock yesterday by those animals.
Have any of you experienced equine therapy? Would love to hear your stories… add it to my well of understanding.
Gentleness and blessings and love to you…
P.S. For those who will want to know… I went to Peakgrove Solutions… they are just north of Canberra. I also just remembered my dear reiki mentor Gini Eagle offers it too… must go experience that too! She’s just south of Canberra at Ingelara Retreat.
October 20, 2016
Leonie’s Scrapbook: An Epic Video Shoot, Mermaid Bottle Openers and My Ascendence to Peak Hippy
Hey darlings,
It’s been a big ole fortnight in Leonie Land with video & photo shoots, restoration projects for kindy, and another dang throat infection!
READ ON!
There was some serious prep before another 9 hour video & photo shoot day… this time for the 2017 planner & goals workbooks!! (We’ll be releasing mid November!)
It was a crazy fun day which started with me wildly de-dreading my nest of hair so the hairdresser could get a comb through it!!
I had my hair and make-up done by the always glamorous Sandy. I was (as always) being a bossy cheerleader and getting her teenage daughter to be her social media manager. Hahahaha! Also: this jacket is my favourite… an organic cotton number from Kathmandu.
I’ve always been super hesitant to get hair and makeup done because I prefer looking natural. For filming I need some extra colour because my Danish fairness whites me out completely on camera, and when I do makeup myself it looks like a disaster zone because I’m blind as fuck and also can’t makeup to save myself.
I’m grateful Sandy gets the natural look I’m after and makes it happen. We have one more scene to shoot for the 2017 workbook video and then we are off across town for the photoshoot. Big day!
In bed between takes… little moments of quiet to fill my introvert well during a big day.
I made the Screencraft film crew do Awkward Prom Photo with me. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I LOVE IT SOOOOO BAD.
Me and my soul brother Miles… aka the autocue guy from Screencraft … we have so much fun when we get to play together and make videos!!!
Shooting a moody scene for the 2017 workbook video… hahahaha… this is going to look amazing in the final cut!!!! Pretty sure you’ll bust a gut laffffing at what we end up doing here… I love doing our stupid vignettes… lets me fulfill my actress side!!!!!
As soon as I get back from a shoot or live event, I have to strip off, have a shower, wash makeup and other people’s smells off me, then stare out a window with a beer. I love doing days like this but my lil HSP self needs a bit to recover from them!
Chris told me a box arrived while I was at the shoot. It was some late night internet shopping I’d made… because apparently Midnight Leonie thinks I need a mermaid bottle opener and a mermaid eye mask. Solid choices, Midnight Leonie.
Starry’s kindergarten room toys… post restoration. I sewed holes up, sewed new clothes and needle felted things back up. They are looking ready for playing again!
And this is the before & after of the wombat… this was probably the most challenging to restore as the felt was very thin and had worn away in a lot of spots… there was no way I could stitch it back together without it disintegrating… and the whole thing needed to be patched, really. So I decided to just needle felt it all together with a new fur layer. It is much much sturdier now… plus I reckon it looks even more like a wombat now! Yay! Excited to get these toys back into Starry’s kindergarten room for the children to play with.
I’m trying new forms of self care… today I fulfilled a long term goal and went to a float tank for the first time!
It was a pretty fun experience mostly because I spent most of it pretending I was a mermaid.
(Canberrans – the float tank studio has just opened!)
Woke up with yet another fucking throat infection. My immunity has been absolutely shot since going through Hyperemesis Gravidarum two years ago. This winter has been pretty horrific especially with back to back colds and throat infections. I’m attacking it with an essential oil protocol, will let you know how it goes. Going on health retreat for a week in 8 days. Can’t come soon enough… my poor old immune system needs it.
Today… I make chicken soup for this throat infection… then lay in the sun, basting in essential oils.
TWO butterflies roaming around my house!
Well, fuck a duck, looks like I’ve ascended to the realm of Peak Hippy.
HOLY SHIT GUYZ I MADE PIES!!!!!
First time making savoury pies!!!! Eeeeeeeee!!!! I made a massive batch of chicken soup on the weekend and thought it would be fun to turn some of it into pies… so me and Beffy did so this morning!!!! OMNOMNOMNOMMMM!!!!
I’m totally going to get laid from the husband for this Ultimate Act of Domestic Goddessing!!!! #notthatIreallyneedtoask #fuckyeahdomesticgoddessoftheyearrrrrrrrr
Bought this just because my rad friend Lisa Mitchell is on the cover. Congratulations on your new album girl & everything you do & are! You are amazing! When I saw you on Australian Idol a decade ago I was gobsmacked at your magical fae talent & spirit… honoured to know you now & still see that spirit dancing!!!
Okay gorgeous goddesses, that’s all from me!
Have a ding dang delicious weekend!!!
I’m off to a week-long health retreat this weekend… it is going to be RIDIC GOOD and is so very needed.
sigh
I’ve been wildly organised and will have posts to share with you even while I’m away… and of course my team are still holding down the fort, so if you’re needing anything, the support faeries will help! HOORAY!
OFF TO THE HEALTH RETREAT I GO HI HO!
Love, love, love,
YOU MAY ALSO LOVE…
Nov 02 
HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARUM: A LETTER TO MIDWIVES [AND DOCTORS. AND CAREGIVERS.]
Hola possums, I was asked to write an article for Australian Midwifery News journal on hyperemesis gravidarum. It’s a letter Read more...
Mar 22
Burnout: How To Recognise It, How To Fix It + How To Get Better At It
I’m tip-tapping you away from the corner couch of a cafe. Out the window I can see mountains and (you Read more...
Oct 13
FREE MEGA COLOURING BOOK! 100+ PAGES OF CREATIVITY, MERMAIDS, UNICORNS + COLORING MAGIC!
Hola dearests, PRESENT TIME!!! Thanks for sticking with me during our Shining September Sale. If you’re a new Academy member, I’m Read more...
Nov 23
The Aspie Goddess
Maybe I should have known back then. My brother had cerebral palsy, my mother was a disability support worker. My Read more...
Read More Articles →
October 18, 2016
The Tortoise and the Hare: What If The Hare is a HSP?
Loves,
This struck me the other night, after writing The Highly Sensitive CEO.
I was thinking about the old tale of the Tortoise and the Hare.
You know the story.
If you don’t, let me retell it in a style I like to call “Leonie’s Fables.”
There was once a tortoise and a hare. Or, as we here in Australia would refer to it: the bunny and the turtle.
(YES… I KNOW TORTOISES AND TURTLES ARE DIFFERENT SPECIES. BUT WE DON’T HAVE ‘EM HERE. SO TURTLES IT IS! COWABUNGA!)
Anyway, bunny and turtle had a race to win a gold star sticker on some shit.
Bugs went super fast, got totes knackered, then had to take some naps along the way.
And turtle was like “LOLZ fuck you bro, I might be slow, but I’m steady and I’ll win this Grand Prix!”
And he did.
And everyone got tattoos on their asses that said:
“Slow and steady winz da race.”
THE END.
Anyways, I was thinking about this tale, and I was like:
Ya know, I think this story is kind of assholey towards Bugs.
Because here’s the thing:
I reckon Bugs is a HSP.
She is an excitable mofo who gets totally amped and charged up and can move faster than anyone.
And then her nervous system is like: “MEEP. SHUTTING DOWN.”
And she needs to slooooowwwww the fuck down… right to the point of not moving… before she can even face moving again.
And when she does, she can move again at lightning speed. Because that’s the speed she was born for.
And you know what? That’s totally cool. I love that about Bugs. I love that she’s different. Not all of us were born to be turtles.
And you know what else?
Sometimes Bugs DOES win. And even then… there’s no race.
There’s just Bugs doing her speed, taking care of herself with naps along the way.
And there’s Turtle, chillaxing along at her own speed.
Neither of them suck. Both of them are needed. Both come with gifts, both come with challenges:
Turtle is steady, reasonable, logical, consistent. Turtle is a marathon runner.
Bugs is fast, spontaneous, brilliant, variable, visionary. Bugs is a sprinter.
So fuck it, dearests:
Whether you’re a Bugs or a Turt… go at your own pace.
There is no race.
There’s just you, being what you were born to do.
All my love,
P.S. Obviously I’m a Bugs.
My mentor Hiro tells me, laughing, that she sings this song when she thinks of me:
“Don’t Stop Me Now… I’m Travelling At The Speed of Light…”
until I’m not.
And I’ve either broken my immunity and have come down with a cold/throat infection (like right now) or my nervous system (like I did last week). These little Bugs Naps to make up for the super sonic times.
Also: I hire a lot of Turtles around me. I need their energy! We need each other to balance each other out!
YOU MAY ALSO LOVE…
Feb 04 
Moments: A Personal Sharing
Lately, I’ve been… broken apart. Vulnerable. Burnt out. Finding my way by bumping into stone. Stumbling on to my knees. Read more...
Dec 25
FREE POSTER + COLOURING PAGE: Brené Brown’s 10 Guideposts For Wholehearted Living
Click here to download yours! Hola dearests! I recently read my very first Brené Brown book – The Gifts of Read more...
Jun 10
FREE TRAINING! Marketing Do’s & Don’ts For Wellpreneurs
Hi kittens! Exciting news! I’m running a new FREE online training specifically for Wellpreneurs. This is perfect for you if Read more...
Oct 04
Leonie Dawson International Joins With Entrepreneur Sisters To Build A School!
Hola gorgeous souls, A couple of months back, I announced the school a few of me and my friends chipped Read more...
Read More Articles →
October 12, 2016
Best Of September: Leonie’s 200, George Christensen MP and an Everyday Sex Goddess
Hi darling hearts!
YAY! IT IS OCTOBER! I’m counting down the sleeps until I go away on health retreat. BY MYSELF. FOR FIVE NIGHTS. ERMAGERD!!!!!
In the meantime, here’s what I shared on the blog last month… some goodies in there!
Here’s the goods incase you missed any of it!
My Business Success Story: From Hobby To $5 Million
Due to popular request, I’m going to give you a run down on how I grew + evolved my little creative biz into the wildly successful company that it is today. Knowing the stories of others really, really helped me to get clear on what I wanted in biz, and still fascinates and inspires me today. I heart biz bios!
When I was growing up, I knew in my heart of hearts what I was destined to be. When someone would ask me at age four what I wanted to be when I grew up, I recited: Artist, poet, writer.
Leonie’s 200: Life + Biz Goals in 2016
While running this webinar on getting back on target with your goals in 2016, I made a public promise to share my 2016 goals here… to embody public accountability and encourage all my readers to be “out” of the cupboard with their goals too!
So I went through my workbooks and typed up all my goals, and crossed out any I’ve already completed. There’s lots done, and lots more to do.
Want To Know What They Say About Me?
I spent a lot of the month talking about the Shining Biz and Life Academy since we were closing enrolments at the end of the month.
And sometimes it’s hard to know what to think… there’s so many words out there by people about themselves… and I thought it would be nice instead to hand over the microphone instead… and you can hear from our actual members…
These were videoed at a bunch of different places – some at the annual Shining Biz + Life conference in Canberra, some in Cairns, some on webcam from around the world.
See what they had to say here.
My Bow-Chicky-Bow-Bow Course Was Unveiled LIVE in The Shining Biz + Life Academy
This was an ACADEMY EXCLUSIVE course that we won’t be sharing with anyone but our glorious members of the Shining Biz & Life Academy! (Not a member yet? Register your interest now!)
See what we talked about here.
Dear George Christensen MP
Dear George,
I apologise for the informality of how I address.
But I think of you often. And I always call you George.
Leonie’s Ocean Retreat Journal (Free Illustrated eBook)
I wasn’t sure if I would share this…
It’s not particularly the most polished thing I’ve ever done…
It’s more just a scrapbook of the photos, musings, illustrations, lists, drawings & collages I made when I was on holiday.
But it means a lot to me.
Leonie’s Scrapbook: Love, Laughter and the Lurgy!
Here’s another scrapbook instalment, hooray! It’s a been a fortnight of picnics, crafts, love and the lurgy!
Behind The Scenes: How To Create A Pro Sales Video!
Well… your reaction to my new Academy video (aka most ridiculous video ever made!) was really lovely and excitable… and ya’ll asked lots of questions… so I thought I’d make good on my promise to talk about how to create a video like that.
Might be helpful for you if you’re planning on doing your own.
Also might just be interesting as a behind the scenes!
Save The Date: The Only Live Event I’ll Be Doing In The Next Year!
EXCITING NEWS!
We’re starting to pull things together for our 2nd annual Shining Biz and Life conference… book in the date!
Have a beautiful day, dearests!
Big love,
YOU MAY ALSO LOVE…
Feb 04
Moments: A Personal Sharing
Lately, I’ve been… broken apart. Vulnerable. Burnt out. Finding my way by bumping into stone. Stumbling on to my knees. Read more...
Dec 25
FREE POSTER + COLOURING PAGE: Brené Brown’s 10 Guideposts For Wholehearted Living
Click here to download yours! Hola dearests! I recently read my very first Brené Brown book – The Gifts of Read more...
Jun 10
FREE TRAINING! Marketing Do’s & Don’ts For Wellpreneurs
Hi kittens! Exciting news! I’m running a new FREE online training specifically for Wellpreneurs. This is perfect for you if Read more...
Oct 04
Leonie Dawson International Joins With Entrepreneur Sisters To Build A School!
Hola gorgeous souls, A couple of months back, I announced the school a few of me and my friends chipped Read more...
Read More Articles →
October 11, 2016
Less than 24 hours until the Anxiety Workshop is LIVE !!
Hi babe-hearts…
There’s less than 24 hours until we release our brand spanking new course into the Shining Biz + Life Academy!
THE ANXIETY WORKSHOP!
It’s time to talk the borg, the brutal, the heartbreaking + the beautiful!!
I have anxiety.
Anxiety is such a HUGE issue for so many people today.
As many as 1 in 4 people suffer from it – and we, as women, as carers, as empaths and as parents – are at an even higher risk.
SO many people suffer it, but don’t talk about it.
You don’t have to do it alone! It’s time to talk anxiety + all that goes with it.
I used to think it was a failing, something to hide + wrestle with and live with in secret, pretending that it was all OKAY.
And then … I discovered that it was okay to be not okay. It was okay to need help.
I’ve wrestled in anxiety’s grip. I know how it feels to live with the constant crush against my chest, the inability to breathe, the constant clenched hands…
But I also know how it feels to heal. To accept the help that I need to get back to myself; to accept the things that I need so that I can thrive!
In this workshop, I’ll share frankly about my journey with an anxiety disorder, along with the practical tools that have helped me heal and THRIVE.
This is an ACADEMY EXCLUSIVE course that we won’t be sharing with anyone but our glorious members of the Shining Biz & Life Academy! (Not a member yet? Register for our next intake now! .
I will share with you my own personal journey with an anxiety disorder and give you a tonne of practical tools that helped me heal!
In this anxiety workshop you will learn:
How to recognise an anxiety disorder + what to do if you think you have one
My vulnerable story about living with an anxiety disorder – from being crushed by it to thriving with it
How to heal it – with tools and options from alternative, eastern and western medicine (I love ‘em all!)
Whether you think you might have an anxiety disorder yourself or you’re supporting someone who has one, this workshop will be a deep dive into anxiety + all its troubles + gifts.
Make yourself a cup of fragrant tea, bring a cushion + a rug, and let’s circle. Let’s talk about the anxiety that so many of us carry + how we can heal.
Join us on Wednesday, October 12 @ 1:00pm US PST / Thursday, October 13 @ 7:00am AUS – Canberra AEDT (Convert to your time zone here: http://bit.ly/2cn1VhL)
SIGN UP NOW TO JOIN MOI!
Big love,
October 10, 2016
The Highly Sensitive CEO
Yesterday, I was two things at once:
The CEO, “the talent”, the face of my brand.
I left just as dawn was breaking with my van piled high with outfits and props.
The light was golden, and as I pulled into Macca’s drive through for some rushed breakfast, I could see how it fell through the trees in shafts, lighting up each passing person. I became overcome with tears. How beautiful, gentle, tender we all are in those early hours just after waking. Babies re-emerging into the world anew, without the buildup and decay of a day’s dirt on us, tender from the embrace of sleep that has just released up.
Fronted up to the rented apartment, greet the team of lovely souls who will pull off today: my assistant/project manager/right hand girl Mel, the set designer, the hair and makeup artist, the producer, the camera guy, the sound guy, the autocue guy.
Got my face and makeup done, gave the makeup artist’s teenage daughter highly inappropriate advice, checked the set over, waited for “action” to be called, opened my eyes, did my job.
There in the spotlight, there are no nerves. There’s no nerves beforehand either.
There’s never any part of me that doesn’t believe I don’t belong there. I love this. I’ve loved this all my life, in all the plays and theatre and musicals and performing I’ve done. I imagine all of you behind the camera. I imagine what I’d say to you. I look inside me and let out all the joy and heart and connection and empathy I have inside me. Between takes, I tell the crew ridiculous stories, I make them pose for Awkward Group Prom Photos with me. I like people. I adore people. I love their stories and their gifts and their light and their sweetness. I could fall in love with every person I meet.
Then, as the set is broken down to be changed into something new, Mel takes me by the arm, and leads me to the bedroom.
“I want you in here for the next ten minutes Leonie. Lay down, take some time. Here’s your phone, water and snacks. I’ll come back for you when they are ready.”
I slip into the apartment’s bedroom, to meet the part of me that is waiting there:
The Aspie, the Highly Sensitive Person, the introvert.
I crawl into bed, place weighted blankets over me, take deeper breaths, will my heart to stop racing. I let the last couple of hours play through my head like a movie screen, each piece needing to be processed. I need to review what’s happened, the conversations I’ve had, if I need to action anything from it (usually either by doing more research on something or telling Chris about it), and how I feel about it all. If there’s anything that didn’t feel good to me, I have to untangle the threads to understand why, and what I need to do to change it. The processing from a big day of outside work like this will take up to a week. Still, I need to start on it now or it will become too big too soon.
Mel taps on my door again. She reviews the situation, urges me to eat more protein, drink more water. She is the ultimate stage mother.
I’ve given her the directions to do this. It’s in our Company Standard Operating Procedures called “The Care and Tending Of Leonie.”
I need the firm hand, the wisdom of Past Leonie guiding me, lovingly reinforced by my team.
On the day I get so dang excited that I want to do all things and connect with every person and help all people and be the sunniest, most helpful person around. I forget my own needs and focus on performing. I forget what I need – from time out to going to the toilet, to drinking and eating. I’ve learned the hard way however that if I negate my needs so wholly, that by the end of the day I’ll be in mini-burnout that will take a week to recover from.
So there is Mel, plying food and water into my hands, ushering me to the bathroom, sending me to my timeout zone. It works. It looks like assistant overkill, but its exactly what is needed.
After filming finishes, we race across town to the photo studio for three more hours.
It’s lovely and the people are lovely and this is my favourite thing to do, but I’ve made some miscalculations: I don’t have a separate room here, there are no timeouts, and I usually structure these days to have afternoons outside filming. For some reason, the outside piece is of critical importance… as soon as I’m out under the trees, in the grass, beneath the sky, I get more energy again. It’s my place, my joy, and it fuels me. The flashes and the cameras and all the people don’t seem as big there, not when there is that sky and that earth.
*
This time, we’re indoors and the flashes are going. Mel’s off on an errand to pick up prop boxes, and I’m wading through the overstimulation by myself, feeling like a diva for not being able to do more, engage more, connect more. I feel oddly selfish for having to stop for water or food, so I don’t.
When she’s back, I keep knuckling down, headstrong and adamant on working harder. I start getting tunnel vision. I’m overstimulated. I start disassociating because there’s too much sensory input.
Mel asks me what necklace I want to wear for the next shot. I look past her, grim. “I don’t care.”
She reads my face and knows instantly what’s going on… the gift of hiring an ex-school teacher who is well versed in the care and tending of Aspies. She guides me to a darker corner of the studio, plants me in a chair. “You’re not moving out of this chair for the next five minutes. Here: phone, water, snacks.” I disappear into my phone for a while, looking at pretty pictures on Instagram, editing photos, messaging with friends. It’s a little world of familiar, and it helps with the processing.
Once the well is topped up enough to keep going, we roll. As we set up scenes, I close my eyes and meditate, stationary in the middle of it all, breathing softly until the scene is set and the lights are fixed. I open my eyes, and smile. Pour all the love and joy inside me out. I love this. I love being on camera.
By the time the day ends, I’m now near on delirious from overstimulation. Mel drives my car home, me in the passenger seat, feet on the shelf, sunglasses on, devouring food. We talk quietly, processing the day. The video will be gorgeous, the photos will be stunning. I’m so glad we’ve done it, and also completely physically and emotionally wrecked.
“You know honey,” she tells me. “The things you love are also kind of a poison to you. You need them in your life, and you thrive on the excitement and the creativity and the performing and the spontaneity, but they also come at a cost to you.”
“I know,” I say. “I’m the performer and the HSP, the CEO and the Aspie.”
When I get home, I do my usual ritual:
I kiss my kids and my husband hello. I strip naked and throw every article of clothes from the day in the laundry. I wash away the makeup and the sweat and other people’s smells. Wash the day off me, my face, my hair, sit at the bottom of the shower as the words and the scenes and the people from the day flood past me.
I sit in a towel, drink a beer while staring mute. Eat dinner, then lay under my heaviest weighted blanket watching TV beside my love. He’ll ask me if the day went well, and I’ll nod. He knows he won’t get words out of me tonight. I’ve used them all up and I’m in deficit. But that’s okay. This is enough. To be still and to be quiet, beside my beloved, watching make believe worlds that make me laugh.
The day after, it is always the same.
I am two things at once:
wading through an overstimulated hangover,
and
newly fallen in love again with my home, how tender and soft and good it is to see the things and people so familiar to me, the art and the plants and the faces, and yes, even the mess.
How good it is to be back in my hermit’s shell.
This will last for a week now. I know this, finishing this writing a few days later.
My anxiety levels are humming, the strings of my nerves gently vibrating.
7am is the worst for me. It’s the hour of the day where breathing is harder, where my sensitive energy system compensates for all that sensory input by pumping out too much adrenaline.
I return to the things that work:
I cancel extra activities or am silently relieved when they have to be cancelled by someone else. I’ll stay close to home, stay close to a routine.
Protein, weighted blankets, practising the Xanax breath my doctor taught me, careful to take my medication at the same time each day. I create warm nooks in bed with an electric blanket, take warm baths with lavender. Sensory sweetnesses to remind my body: It’s okay, you’re okay. All is soft and gentle now.
I need to document it to process it. I need to write it out, so I write this. I journal. I’ll make art.
I have to turn all that sensory input into output.
And slowly, as I settle, my nervous system will too.
Each input comes at a cost, a processing time, a few days or a week where I’m recovering. Some inputs I’m willing to sacrifice the expenditure for. Some I can’t.
Some days I marvel at how much other people have boundless physical energy, how much they can socialise without falling apart, how the things that throw up waves inside me don’t seem to even ripple across their surface.
Some days I wonder if I am too much:
this highly sensitive soul who needs so much in order to be okay.
But then I think:
It is what it is. I cannot be anything but what I am.
I have weaknesses – some more than others, some less than others. I have strengths – some more than others, some less than others.
My nervous system is a Thoroughbred. It makes me more excitable than most. I find rapture in small things that aren’t seen by others. I see and feel the world in bright shards of colour. My heart feels great joys and great sadnesses. It allows me to be empathetic.
Years ago, I saw a bell curve of the excitement levels of introverts and extroverts.
Basically, introverts get excited by stimulation (i.e. books, movies, events, music, rollercoasters, sensory inputs etc) before extroverts do – extroverts are bored while introverts are having the time of their lives. By the time extroverts are excited, introverts are overstimulated and their enjoyment levels go WAY down.
It made sense to me in such a deep way. And I’ve added to that graph in my head… that if you are HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) or Aspie, you peak even faster and higher than even introverts. And by the time you are doing what an extrovert is getting excited by, you are so fucking overstimulated you want to curl up and die, or at least go home and write about your feelings for a week.
At least… that’s my experience.
And here’s the thing: that’s okay. That’s more than okay.
Because that ultra-sensitivity?
The raw-nerve-ending experiencing of all the beauty and joy and sadness and mess and confusion this life is made out of?
It is what my art, my writing, my creating is made out of.
And the only way out is through…
When I’ve received so much sensory input, I have a big compulsion/need to document that information through my creativity.
Alex Norris documents this so well:
It’s precisely the reason that I am so sensitive that I am able to create, and share, and empathise, and connect the way that I do. And those are my very favourite parts of myself, and of this whole life experience.
As Brené Brown talks about in Gifts of Imperfection: our strengths come paired with their own kryptonite. They are intrinsically intertwined and you can’t have a strength without having its shadow self as well.
And Glennon Doyle Melton shares so aptly that it us – the canaries – the ones that are wired so differently – we are the soothsayers, the healers, the canaries that are needed in this world.
I am the bright glow of joy beneath a spotlight, rejoicing.
I am the hermit who needs the respite of bed, silence, tender care to recover from that spotlight.
It’s all of me. I am not a contradiction. I am a jewel with different facets. I am a highly sensitive CEO.
What I need to be okay in the world is just that:
What this particular constellation of cells requires in order to do her work in the world and be okay.
May you know
that you
just being you
with all
your sides
your strengths
your weaknesses
your needs
you are perfect, just as you are
and exactly what is needed.
All my love,
October 9, 2016
Leonie’s Scrapbook: On Sex, Sunshine and Sweet Dreams
Hey babesicles,
Here is my latest scrapbook, straight into your hot little hands! It’s a been a fortnight of sex, sunshine and sweet dreams!
This is how we roll in the Dawson household.
We’re watched over by magical unicorns and everyday’s style statement: Superman pyjamas & odd socks
#powersuit
I unveiled our new and very LIVE (!!!) Everyday Sex Goddess Course in the Academy.
It was raw, revealing and we all ended up having peanut butter sandwiches for lunch.
Hahaha!!!
Thanks to all Academy goddesses for joining me on. SUCH FUN!!!!
I received a life saving package from Naughty Naturopath Mum. Tantrum tamer & sleep inducer… can I please buy these in gallons from now on???????????
Awwwwwww yisssssssssss.
Another package delivered… a lap-sized weighted blanket from Calming Moments. I have a full size one I use when laying on the couch watching TV but it’s too heavy to lug about from room to room each day. This one is for my office to use when I’m at my desk or working on my office armchair.
I started using a weighted blanket this year and it is definitely my best discovery for the year. I feel instantly calmer, more relaxed and grounded when I put it over me. It slows down my brain in a really beautiful, soothing way. I also use them when I’m overstimulated, have done a live event or have done some extroverting.
They are supposed to help anyone with anxiety, Aspie, autism, SPD, jittery legs, Alzheimer’s and more. I reckon they are brilliant for everyone. I make friends try them when they come over and they instantly feel the effects. Highly recommend!
I’ll write a blog post up about these soon!
Best church sign ever.
We had the last day of school for the term and headed home with a bundle of toys to repair… and a beautiful antique chair to mend as well! This will be fun! Fun side projects for the school holidays!
Ostara Equinox. My Ostara Light. Part human, part fae.
I took the kids out to the backyard, laid down on a picnic blanket and woke up three hours later. Woops. In other news, I feel like that beauty sleep really worked.
Secrets of succeeding at parenting: breed a child whose hair sits in a perfect bob at all times and never requires brushing. Unfortunately, Ostara used up all those genes, and Beth got my wild nest of hair genes instead.
My parenting success tip for this kind of child: continue ignoring anyway, cut out dreads as they form and get quarterly hairdressing appointments exclusively for them to use fancy de-knotting spray and fine combs to de-dread the birds nest while your kid watches Peppa Pig.
I’m basically a parenting expert, guys.
You’re welcome. You’re welcome. #nailingit
Chris’ cousin Jodie (who is also my sista from another mista and our girl’s fairy godmother) is visiting with her family.
Our tribe of kids have been running amok with glee. Ostara adores her big boy cousins. It’s been SOOOO lovely and we’re scheming up ways to spend more time together.
Today we worked out that me and Troy are actually related… so the two Dawson cousins married two Dibben cousins. BAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA #smalltownlife
I discovered my in-life trippelganger (yes, I made it up) #threefictionalcharacters that I reckon are pretty spot on for my personality. Miranda from Miranda (AKA OMG THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH), Jess from New Girl and Phoebe from Friends. Ha!!!!!!!
We painted in the backyard with ze family in ze sun. Golly gosh it felt good.
Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.
Walt Whitman
Okay gorgeous goddesses, that’s all from me!
I’ll be back soon to share more about the video shoot I just did on Friday!
Love, love, love,
YOU MAY ALSO LOVE…
Nov 02
HYPEREMESIS GRAVIDARUM: A LETTER TO MIDWIVES [AND DOCTORS. AND CAREGIVERS.]
Hola possums, I was asked to write an article for Australian Midwifery News journal on hyperemesis gravidarum. It’s a letter Read more...
Mar 22
Burnout: How To Recognise It, How To Fix It + How To Get Better At It
I’m tip-tapping you away from the corner couch of a cafe. Out the window I can see mountains and (you Read more...
Oct 13
FREE MEGA COLOURING BOOK! 100+ PAGES OF CREATIVITY, MERMAIDS, UNICORNS + COLORING MAGIC!
Hola dearests, PRESENT TIME!!! Thanks for sticking with me during our Shining September Sale. If you’re a new Academy member, I’m Read more...
Nov 23
The Aspie Goddess
Maybe I should have known back then. My brother had cerebral palsy, my mother was a disability support worker. My Read more...
Read More Articles →
October 5, 2016
Drumroll!! Our September Affiliate Competition Winners Are Here!
Hiiiiiiii darling hearts!
It’s here, it’s finally here! The moment you’ve all been waiting for…
The winners of the September 2016 Affiliate Competition!!!
I have to say a HUGE thank you to each and every one of you! YOU ROCK SO HARD!
This year we’re trying something new. We closed to the doors to the Academy to focus more on our current members and adding to the already scumptious courses we have! We sold over 750 (!!!!!!!) memberships in 30 days (!!!!).
We couldn’t have done it with you beauties!
I’m also completely honoured by the incredible women who advocate for the Academy… many of whom are successful 7 figure entrepreneurs in their own right, who use the resources in the Academy in their own businesses as well.
I couldn’t be more grateful or proud.
Now… on with the winners of this GOSH DANG competition!!!
Drum roll please….
First Prize wins:
1 hour coaching call with Leonie (valued at $1,000)
2 year membership to the Academy (valued at $1,000)
TOTAL PRIZE VALUED AT $2,000
Our First Place Winner: Nathalie Lussier!
Congrats, Nathalie and thank you so much for all of your hard work! We had a last minute upset with Hibiscus taking the top spot, but you, my darling, reclaimed it! Well done, babes!
Find Nathalie at NathalieLussier.com and her amazing software programs for entrepreneurs: WebinarAlly, PopupAlly and AccessAlly.
Second Prize wins:
2 year membership to the Academy (valued at $1,000)
TOTAL PRIZE VALUED AT $1,000
Our Second Place Winner: Hibiscus Moon
Oh yeah – you go Heavenly Hibiscus! You did so well, darling!
Hibiscus runs an uber successful Crystal Healing Academy. Find her at Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy.
Third Prize wins:
Box of Leonie’s 10 favourite biz + life books (valued at $250)
TOTAL PRIZE VALUED AT $250
Our Third Place Winner: Kerry Rowett
You did it Kerry! Congrats! You’ve nabbed third place!!!
Kerry is a wonderful, very talented kinesiologist. Check out her website at Awaken Kinesiology.
Wow!
I am blown away by the support from ALL of my affiliates. THANK YOU for being a loyal customer + cheerleader. It means the world to me + my team, and to the people we can support through our philanthropic work and donations.
I can’t wait for what’s next and to send some HUGE payouts your way!
Have a great week gorgeous! HIGH FIVESSSS!!!
love love love,
p.s. I’ve sent over $200,000 out to our affiliates over the last year… I’d be delighted to share the abundance with you too! Become an affiliate free by signing up here.
YOU MAY ALSO LOVE…
Feb 02
How to not be a social media trainwreck
My loves – This is the story of two small businesses selling handmade stuff online. And how they used social Read more...
Oct 13
FREE MEGA COLOURING BOOK! 100+ PAGES OF CREATIVITY, MERMAIDS, UNICORNS + COLORING MAGIC!
Hola dearests, PRESENT TIME!!! Thanks for sticking with me during our Shining September Sale. If you’re a new Academy member, I’m Read more...
Feb 17
10 Lessons From Building A Million Dollar Business
In this live keynote presentation, I cover how to create success + happiness in business + life on YOUR terms Read more...
Nov 23
The Aspie Goddess
Maybe I should have known back then. My brother had cerebral palsy, my mother was a disability support worker. My Read more...
Read More Articles →
NEW COURSE RELEASE: Everyday Sex Goddess
Hola babes,
If you know me IRL, you’ll know I talk about sex a LOT… TMI. It’s just how I tend to do all things in life.. I’ll talk about it all… sex, money, mental health, death, politics… it’s a Scorpio thang I reckon!
And although I’ve shared about many of those things online… I haven’t really talked about sex yet.
But it’s time.
It’s time to talk honestly + frankly about sex, pleasure + relationships!
This workshop will teach you:
how to increase your libido
how to communicate about sex without freaking out, getting embarrassed or upset
A panoply of orgasmic options
Practical tips – awwwww yiss! and
Toys, goodies & resources to dive deeper in
Whether you’re partnered or solo, make time for your own sweet self and find out how to let your inner goddess out!
If you’re an Academy member, join us over here!
Not a member of the Shining Academy yet? No problem, but you are missing out on these fabulous member perks…
114+ courses
Free workbook collection delivered to your door
Access to a mastermind of thousands of spirited, creative business women to brainstorm with
Monthly coaching calls with Leonie (the only way to get coaching from her)
Shining Discount Centre ($2000+ of savings)
New workshops (Boundaries Bootcamp, Everyday Sex Goddess & The Anxiety Workshop)
Register your interest for the next intake of Academy members!
Huge love + appreciation,
YOU MAY ALSO LOVE…
Feb 02
How to not be a social media trainwreck
My loves – This is the story of two small businesses selling handmade stuff online. And how they used social Read more...
Oct 13
FREE MEGA COLOURING BOOK! 100+ PAGES OF CREATIVITY, MERMAIDS, UNICORNS + COLORING MAGIC!
Hola dearests, PRESENT TIME!!! Thanks for sticking with me during our Shining September Sale. If you’re a new Academy member, I’m Read more...
Feb 17
10 Lessons From Building A Million Dollar Business
In this live keynote presentation, I cover how to create success + happiness in business + life on YOUR terms Read more...
Nov 23
Dear Mr Mean Man On The Internet, Thank You But No Thank You
Hola possums, If you’ve followed me at all on FB or Instagram by now, you might have noticed my very Read more...
Read More Articles →
October 4, 2016
NEW COURSE RELEASE: Unforgettable India
Petunias,
A very special new course release today…
I created this journal in my maiden days, as I travelled through India for a month.
It was always planned to be just my personal art, photography & writing travel journal, but in the years since then, each time I shared it with someone, I was awed by the response:
Dear friends crying over the pages.
Declaring it one of their favourite books every written.
Telling me I needed to share it further.
It’s taken some time to make that happen.
Over a year of my dear husband painstakingly scanning each page – not an easy task when it’s a handmade bound book close to two inches thick – and I refused allowing him to dissect it open to make scanning easier. Thanks Dawsy for your patience.
This journal is the story of India, but mostly it is the story of loss and finding.
The wild nature carries the bundle for healing; she carries everything a woman needs to be and know. She carries the medicine for all things. She carries stories and dreams and words and songs and signs and symbols. She is both VEHICLE and DESTINATION.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes
This one’s vintage Leonie. Discover what I learnt about myself, life and this magical world we live in, in my hand drawn journal.
Get inspired by my trip to India!
If you’re an Academy member, join us over here!
Not a member of the Shining Academy yet?
Get on the early bird notification list for when we open enrolments again!
Temples + travels + tiny miracles,
YOU MAY ALSO LOVE…
Feb 02
How to not be a social media trainwreck
My loves – This is the story of two small businesses selling handmade stuff online. And how they used social Read more...
Oct 13
FREE MEGA COLOURING BOOK! 100+ PAGES OF CREATIVITY, MERMAIDS, UNICORNS + COLORING MAGIC!
Hola dearests, PRESENT TIME!!! Thanks for sticking with me during our Shining September Sale. If you’re a new Academy member, I’m Read more...
Feb 17
10 Lessons From Building A Million Dollar Business
In this live keynote presentation, I cover how to create success + happiness in business + life on YOUR terms Read more...
Nov 23
Dear Mr Mean Man On The Internet, Thank You But No Thank You
Hola possums, If you’ve followed me at all on FB or Instagram by now, you might have noticed my very Read more...
Read More Articles →
