Here is the audio version of the blog post, Self Care: Optional or Essential? I'm providing audio for those who prefer to listen rather than read. If you would like to read the blog post, just follow this link. Thanks for listening and you are welcome to leave a comment about how you're making self care a priority as well as give feedback for the audio! I'd love to hear from you. :) 

Note: If you are interested in listening to the audio of Self Care: Optional or Essential, please click here. 

Here at Refresh with Dawn Herring, Self Care is at the TOP of our Priority List every day. That means, you're engaging in something you love every day, initiating your spirit being lifted, leaving you feeling fabulous, full of energy and ready to roll with your daily life tasks because you're taken care of yourself. 

But the question is, are you making self-care a priority? Do you still see time for yourself doing what you love as optional rather than essential, vital, and necessary for your well being? 

I would like to share with you my Top Ten Reasons to Make Self-Care Daily (and without guilt!!) 

1. Self Care Boosts Your Immune System. Yes! You will actually benefit from greater health on all levels as a result of making Self Care a Priority. I know that motivates me to keep it going! 

2. Self Care Gives Energy. Obviously a healthier immune system will initiate more energy in your body. And the more energy you have, the better you enjoy life. 

3. Self Care Aids in Appreciation of Self. Do you appreciate yourself for Who You Are? When you engage in any kind of self care, it gives you the impetus toward really seeing yourself and appreciating what you see (perhaps instead of beating yourself up, comparing yourself to others, etc.) 

4. Self Care Helps you see your Value. This goes hand in hand with self-appreciation. It can be easy to overlook what you contribute to your immediate environment of family, friends and outwardly to your community. Taking this step can initiate prevention of undervaluing yourself and what you do every day. 

5. Self Care Enhances your Physical Well Being. With your immune system boosted, and your energy lifted, you're enabled to boost your physical activity, doing what you enjoy to get your blood moving and those endorphins activated to make you feel fabulous! Not to mention the health benefits of being active! 

6. Self Care Initiates Stress Relief. When you engage in what you love, often what is currently on your stress radar fades into the distance as you enter the "Zone." And the more often you engage in self care, the less stress you have. Motivating, isn't it? 

7. Self Care Enables Self Expression. Being able to express yourself and use your "creative voice" in whatever way lifts your spirit can really give you new ways of enjoying how you see life and how you like to share that view. And your unique "take" is different from anyone else's. And that's what the world needs! 

8. Self Care Opens your Creative Flow. As you make self care a daily priority, you will see an increase in your creative ideas which can really activate some fun, inspiring action! Who wouldn't want to tap into all of that? I know I do! 

9. Self Care Makes a Way to Give to Yourself. When you care for yourself regularly, you are essentially giving to yourself what you deserve: Time, creative impetus, greater value of what you contribute. You really begin to see what you've been missing and can feel like you've hit the jackpot! And when you give to yourself, then you have more to give to others. See self care as oxygen to your life dimensions. You will see growth, positive change and all kinds of good things! 

10. Self Care Helps you Learn to Love Yourself.  You begin to see all the ways you benefit from putting yourself first as you're feeling good, you're looking good, you're experiencing more JOY, more Happiness, a greater sense of well being and value, and your soul feels nurtured and alive. 

And here's a bonus one for ya!

11. Self Care Reduces Depletion.  Instead of ending up exhausted, irritable, and even resentful and angry that you have nothing left to give since you haven't given to yourself, you make way for rejuvenation, which re-energizes you. Don't wait till your depleted. Make it a daily priority so you can experience all the goodness Self Care brings to your life table. 

Journaling Prompt: What does Self Care mean to you? What is the first thing that comes to mind that really showcases self care from your point of view? Let your Intuition guide you as you make a list of at least 10 ways you can initiate self care in your every day life. Start today with your favorite one! 

Art Journaling Prompt: Create a Spread using Self Care as your prompt and use the colors that inspire you toward loving and caring for yourself. You can use images as collage pieces that show specific self care actions to inspire you. 

Doodle Prompt: Create a fun visual using Self Care as your starting point, making fun and spontaneous marks on the page and see where it takes you. 

I want to leave you with this song, The Greatest Love Of All by Whitney Houston,  that is kind of an anthem here at Refresh with Dawn Herring since it truly shows the value of Loving Yourself and why it's so important to take care of yourself. Truly, when you do, it leads to positive change and opens up your Personal Empowerment like never before. (See? Two more reasons right there!) Listen and Enjoy. And then go do something right now that makes you feel fabulous!

Copyright Text 2017 Dawn Herring 

When we venture into a new project, it can help to have an encouraging word! I trust this short clip will lift your spirit as you work hard in your life and business. 

If you like this clip, you're welcome to give it a thumbs up on my Dawn Herring Channel on YouTube and subscribe so you don't miss future clips. 

When you're in a life transition, it can be a challenge. In this video I share my tip for helping to make a life transition as smooth and palatable as possible. 

If you like this tip, you're welcome to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my Dawn Herring YouTube Channel! :) 

I have a lot of fun with Acronyms! I created one for the Month of May in an earlier post, and now I've created a new one for July. Above you will see the video I posted on IG to share my acronym, plus I've included it below in text format so you can use it as a journaling prompt or simply a reminder to initiate more JOY. 

Here's my Acronym for JULY:
JOY
UNEARTHED
LIFTS 
YOU

See what you can do with this acronym! You can get creative in your journal, art journal, or sketchbook and/or create a doodle for it! Just have fun reminding yourself to initiate more JOY on a daily basis. 

How can you unearth more JOY today? This Month? All summer? 

May JOY Find You in the Most Unexpected Places. 
​Copyright 2017 Dawn Herring 

Here is the audio version of my book review for Creative Revolution by Flora Bowley.

I discovered Flora Bowley through her first book, Brave Intuitive Painting, which I adored. Being an intuitive watercolor painter, I was immediately drawn to Flora's approach to painting and also to life.

So, when I heard that she had a new book out, Creative Revolution, I decided to check it out and see what else she had to share about this intuitive painting process and intuitive life in general.

And I am so glad I did!

Flora's zest for an authentic creative life is very inspiring to begin with. And her intuitive painting process really resonates with me as an artist. So I thought I would share my thoughts with you concerning her book, Creative Revolution, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading and digesting.

Flora breaks the book down into three parts reflecting the dimensions of life concerning mind, body, and spirit and how each of those dimensions directly impacts the creative process and the creative life.

She shares insightful parts of her own creative story, and she generously shows her painting process from start to finish.

She has provided many insightful and eye opening exercises to help you get in a better frame of mind as you ready yourself for the creative process.

She addresses the mind, the body and the spirit and shows how they complement each other and how they influence each other in a very positive way. And she also explains the importance of paying attention to each of those dimensions and addresses issues that you may find yourself facing that create challenges for your creative process.

I find her unique approach to the actual painting of the canvas to be interesting, fun, and eye-opening. Her primary medium is acrylic paint which makes the layering process very spontaneous and has ease of use. It's amazing to see how complex and dynamic her paintings develop through this many layered process.

I also like the fact that she turns the painting in order to provide a fresh perspective on what's already there on the canvas. It can help with the problem of painting yourself into a box!

As an intuitive watercolor painter, I am more deeply experiencing a new approach with gouache, and since it has a more opaque application versus transparent watercolor, it would be interesting and fun to try this layering process with gouache and see where it might lead!

I highly recommend this book due to Flora's deep insight into the creative process with mind, body and spirit.

I'm sure that it will encourage you, inspire you, and give you some new ideas to run with in your creative process. Flora also includes many images from her live workshops and from her personal painting practice, which is beautifully done.

Journaling prompt:
What brave step are you eager to take in your creative practice to enhance your every day life? What does that look like for you? Detail this in a journal entry and determine what small step you can take that will open up new pathways for you.

Art journaling/Doodle prompt:
Using images that inspire your creative mind and heart or/and using brave as a word prompt, create an journal spread or doodle that showcases your dreams in your creative life.

Copyright 2017 Dawn Herring
Copyright 2017 Book review Header by Dawn Herring

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When you look at something in your immediate surroundings that you put there, what comes to mind? Does it just become a back ground visual or does it stir you in some way? Is there a reason why it's there?

It can be anything. 

From a piece of clothing to your laptop or the car in your driveway. It could be paint supplies, a toolbox or a memento from a loved one. 

It really doesn't matter what it is. It's a matter of what it means to you. 
How does it benefit you? 

I think when we take a closer look at what we have chosen to have around us, it can teach us something about ourselves. And perhaps having a new appreciation for what it is, what it does and why we chose it can activate a higher awareness of what matters to us. 

And, in essence, it can invoke gratitude. 

But what is the essence of gratitude? Is it just an attitude? An idea? Or just an expected reference to the Thanksgiving Holiday?

When we see something anew and ask ourselves, why do I have this? What does it do for me? And we answer those questions, we can discover a fresh vision of Who We Are right now. 

Especially since what we say today may not have been true a year ago or even a month ago. 

How we perceive what we own or what we choose for ourselves can speak volumes about what is inside our hearts. And when we get that fresh perspective on what we may not think about very often, we can find ourselves smiling and saying, Wow. I think I should consider how benefited I am more often. 

We can lose sight of the 'why' of what we possess, which can sometimes cover the essence of what we value. 

It can be as simple as appreciating the towel we dry our hands off with or the necklace we wear that was a gift from a loved one. Or even the calculator we use in the office. 

Seeing anew what we value and saying, I am glad I have this, it makes life easier and more pleasurable, can instigate the essence of appreciation and gratitude that can especially carry us when we feel heavy with burden. 

Carry that essence of what you appreciate with you every day. You may find yourself smiling when you least expect to. 

Journaling Prompt:
Write a list of three things in your immediate environment. Detail where they came from, who gave them to you if applicable or why you purchased it. How does it benefit you most? Would you buy it again if given the chance? Capture the essence of your appreciation for these things. 

Art Journaling Prompt:
Use images of some of your favorite things and doodle your appreciation for their value in your life, what they remind you of, and what meaning they have for you. 

Isn't it fun to dress up in a costume and take on a persona for a day or evening? With Halloween coming up, I was thinking about folks who dress up in costume for either a party gathering or dressing up with the kids as we take them out into the neighborhood for some Trick or Treat activity. 

I have many memories of my costumes over the years from my childhood and adolescence. From a China Girl to a monster to a rock star with microphone in hand. Fun times! 

Pretending to be something other than what we are on this dress-up day can be interesting and lively. 

But when we take that pretense into our everyday, that takes on more of a Trick vibe than a Treat. 

We may have dreams and goals we aspire to fulfill, yet we find ourselves falling short simply because what we have in our imagination doesn't really align with what's in our heart. 

We may get side tracked or distracted by what others are doing and want to align with their direction even when it doesn't quite feel right inside. 

That's when we need to really get honest with ourselves and take a closer look at what we perceive is "missing" in our personality and in the roles we play in life and see what we are already doing that we may not be giving ourselves credit for. 

We don't need to pretend to be something or someone we aren't in order to "fit in" or to make ourselves feel better about how we think we don't measure up. This is just a mean ole trick we play on ourselves that throws us out of our center and leaves us feeling less than. 

No. 
Instead we need to FULLY EMBRACE EXACTLY WHO WE ARE. Relish the specifics of our personality, our preferences and our purpose in life. This is the greatest TREAT we can give ourselves, loving ourselves from the inside out, seeing ourselves honestly and with gratitude for what we have to offer the world. 

It's okay to pretend once in a while...use your imagination and have some fun. But don't allow that to create discontentment with who you are and where you are right now. 

Now, this doesn't mean you can't create positive change. It simply means you start from that honest, raw place of truth to get you started and then take one small step at a time toward what you know is right for you. 

No tricks. Just joyful, deliciousness to treat yourself with that fills your heart to the full. 

Journaling Prompt:
Write a letter to the self you may sometimes pretend to be and tell that persona why you are attracted to it. Then share why you love yourself just as you are. Then determine what one small step you can take toward loving yourself more and bring about essential positive change that you want to make in your heart of hearts. 

Art Journaling Prompt:
Using images of people in costume, create a spread honoring that persona you think is the most fun and doodle words around the spread sharing why you like it so much. Then Honor Who You Are right now in color, image or doodle. 

Copyright 2016 Dawn Herring
​Copryight 2016 Header Image by Dawn Herring