Well friends, the opportunities to test out this nervous system stuff never end with this house experience! Last night I received an angry call from a neighbor, I had been told when I bought the house that her fence was 11 feet into "my" property and that I would need to work with her to move it. I had emailed her and hadn't heard back so had then called and left a message. She then called me later, super upset, telling me how angry she was with me and how she was going to call the police if I touched her fence! I was shocked! She kept referencing her lawyer's letter and when I finally got her calmed down, I was like, what letter are you talking about? She had emailed me twice with a whole bunch of information about how it is her property and that she would fight me and win and defend her property and all this stuff, but I had never received it. We tried sending new emails and still I didn't get any and then finally my nervous system calmed down enough for me to have the idea that I could check my spam folder and there they were. I read it through and it's a grey area for sure but I don't care enough to fight so I just said, ok, let's just let it go. I took care of myself last night with some gentle movement and reached out to some friends to connect about it and went to sleep still feeling a bit wary of her and the experience but relatively peacefully. Then this morning as I was journaling, I heard a knock at the door. It was the internet company saying they needed to dig an internet line in. I was like sure and went upstairs. Then I got a call and it was her again, super angry saying "your man is digging in my yard and I'm calling the police!" I was like, no, it's not "my man" and it is just the internet company and I didn't ask them to do that and I didn't know they were in your yard, so I went down and sure enough they were over there and I was like the neighbor is going to call the police and they were like, we don't need her permission and let her go ahead, and I was trying to navigate all of it and then she was like, I'm in a yoga class I have to go and hung up! WOAH! What a wild ride! I certainly reminded that any dream can be a nightmare and any nightmare can be a dream. This simulation is offering me up so many "problems" but thank goodness for my dear AB (accountability partner) @Jason Slenys who keeps reminding me to see the possibilities. So the possibility here is for me to continually offer up the fantasy that "everything will work out the way I want," to continually come back to letting go of the need for people, places and things to do what I think is best, to act in the way that I think is "right." This neighbor is my new teacher, and boy is her method effective! I sent her an email explaining the situation to the best of my ability, and I am noticing that my impulse was to stop her from calling the police, when really, I could let her do what is right for her and trust that I can experience having someone call the police on me, why should I not have that experience. Why should I not have any experience really. This game does not make sense, in it people do and experience all sorts of things, some "good" some "bad' and everything in between. Now I am going to go do some movement as I am definitely mobilized! Big hugs on this already very exciting Tuesday morning! xo, z

Hello all! Yes I have not in fact perished but (like a lot of us lately it seems) I have been stuck in dorsal and a back and forth battle with the shame cycle it brought along. I feel like a lot of the time we may only be comfortable sharing the good or the wins/successes and get caught in feeling the shame or disappointment/regret when experiences don't "cut it." Well I'm sharing where I'm at now regardless of how it looks 🙂. I've been working hard to approach my body and nervous system and general "self" with the kindness and empathy I would afford any other person and while I am learning and need practice for sure, I feel like it has brought me pockets of a deeper understanding of myself that have been so joyous. So this is your daily reminder that when people say be kind, yes that means even to yourself 😉! And for laughs, my favorite hoodie from Hayden Krystal to commemorate our need for dorsal aka carcass time (dog hair and all) 💛

Hey rooted folks! Just wanted to share a low effort idea in case you are struggling to work in an unskilled creative activity into your daily 3. My favorite lately has been something called ink tracing! You can find a few versions online, but the general idea is that it's a page with light lines that you go in and trace. The designs are usually single line style (think like how a coloring books lines look) and can vary in thickness. If you're using an ink pen you'll probably want something with a fine point, but really even something like a standard ol Bic works just fine 🙂. These make for a great option when you want to stack activities (like listening to a podcast or audiobook while drawing) or just want to keep the mental load of the activity to a minimum. Happy drawing!

Just wanted to share some more of the pictures I took on a forest wander last weekend that was so so appreciated by my body and nervous system. When doing my check ins during and later that day the biggest experience was a resounding appreciation and satisfaction. Anyone else have a favorite calm space you'd like to share? (Photos in the comments!)

When is a good time for some gentle movement? Anytime! While making my toast this morning I was inspired by @Vanessa Hinson 's Mary Lambert song suggestion! What a gorgeous artist! Loved this song, "She Keeps Me Warm" and couldn't help but move by body along! Perfect way to spend those few moments waiting for the toast to be done! Remember you don't have to be a "skilled" dancer, artist, anything to move, create, and feel connected to your body! xo, z P.s. what are some songs that really *move* your soul!?!