Join me on my new site...as I launch my new business!

I have very exciting news to share with you. 

I officially graduated from Blogger and have fully redesigned a site on Squarespace. Same URL: www.aseriesofadventures.com, but a whole new world! I'm using MailChimp to manage a newsletter for readers...so please head to the site and sign up. I want to stay in touch. Big changes are coming. Big.

The most exciting news is that I've teamed up with Danielle LaPorte to bring one of the first-ever Desire Map experiences to Salt Lake City, Utah. I'm designing in-person workshops and overnight retreats, as well as building an eCourse soon to be open to anyone and everyone!

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know how transformative The Desire Map has been in my life. I'm on a mission to help others discover their own Core Desired Feelings and live their most adventurous life. This is going to be epic. Join me on the new site, get on the newsletter, and stay tuned!

Love,
me

A word on clarity, declarations, and the power of your voice (part one)

I've been in a declarative mood as of late. Perhaps it was the sun in Leo's lion providing vicarious courage. Perhaps it's Mars in Scorpio, forcing a warrior spirit to wrestle everything into the light. Perhaps it's the culmination of years of quiet dreaming finally overflowing its threshold. Perhaps I'm now crystal clear about how I do and do not want to spend my life. Most likely it's all of the above in a perfect storm. Declaring to myself and others that I plan to eventually quit my job and travel the world is scary and exhilarating. It's also a game changer, the declaration alone. I've learned a few things, deep deep down in my bones learned, since making that declaration. Namely:

Declare. Do the hard work that clarity requires...then declare the shit out of your dreams. 

Danielle LaPorte is my spirit animal. The Desire Map is without a doubt the most radical paradigm shift I've ever experienced. I was raised in an organized religion, left of my own accord in my early twenties, spent a decade rebuilding a worldview on my own terms; and yet not even that paradigm shift compares to The Desire Map blowing my world wide open.

Every creation the world has ever known, from a lightbulb to wheels to the Mona Lisa, began with a desire of some kind. Likewise, everything you want to create in your life begins with a desire. Every desire must be defined and clarified and refined and seared into a new way of life, a daily practice. It's not casual wanting, or listless hoping that some day something will happen. It's active. This desire is a living thing. It defines you as you're defining it. You're co-creating with The Universe. Woah. Dude, I know.

The reason you need to be crystal clear about your desires is because...

The Universe not only pays attention to your desires, she wants all of it for you as much as you want it for yourself. Probably more. 

I wrote about the energy that shifted the moment I declared that I plan to eventually quit my job and travel the world. What I mean by "shifting energy" is that since making that declaration, it's all I can do to simply keep up with The Universe. She was waiting. Patiently. For years. She knew this was coming. She hoped I'd get here. She hoped I'd be courageous enough to realize admit this is what I want need. By the time I did finally catch up and own the full declaration of it all, she came flooding in. I can actually hear her sigh of relief, "Yes...this. It's so time for this. You have no idea the degree of awesomeness that's about to overtake every inch of your life." She's so stoked that I'm dialed in to the possibilities she sees for me. What does that flood look like? Opportunities to travel*, resources to learn and grow and keep my vibration high**, a serious medical diagnosis that's a terrifying blessing in disguise***, abundant support from strangers as well as friends, financial avenues that three weeks ago I didn't know even existed, and the deep satisfaction of knowing that I nailed it. I'm aligned. I'm in the zone. There's no going back now. Had I not been crystal clear with my desires, I could have and would have pursued any number of paths that might be fine, but not this right.

I'll be back soon with part two of this post, re: the correlation between my diagnosis and the power of our voice. I'll bring a lot of love (both gentle and tough) and permission with me. Stay tuned. Until then, wise words from author and civil rights leader Howard Thurman:

Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Love and desire,
me


* Exciting news about the next step in my travel writing career coming soon. 
** I'll share these resources in a separate post coming soon.
*** I'll practice what I preach and speak with courage about my diagnosis in part two of this post.

Live + Learn: I Desire Mapped Half the Year Away

{ this post is part of the desire map series // you're invited }

July is nearly over. You guys. July. Is. Nearly. Over. Where did 2014 go? Oh right, I've been out of town until basically now. I'm also convinced the earth is spinning faster, but that's another theory for another day. When I first dove into The Desire Map in January, I intended to post monthly about the process of establishing Core Desired Feelings, trying to live them, how they shift over time. Guess what though...it's like bottling lightning. I've learned that this process cannot be contained or properly explained. It's pure magic. It's sacred. It's fluid and subtle and profound. When it truly becomes a foundational paradigm in your life, it's like trying to explain what salt tastes like.

That having been said, the irony is that I've been using the distinctly quantifiable Desire Map 2014 Day Planner every single day since 01 January. The dichotomy between inexplicable, etherial magic and mapping out every day of your life is a tension I've learned to hold. Robert Fritz refers to this as the work of structural tension. The point is that the daily planning...isn't actually the point. The intention - and the tension between current reality and your desired outcome - is the point. You're raising your frequency because you're intentionally partnering with The Universe to create something that is simultaneously your design and beyond anything you could've imagined. Yes, I just capitalized The Universe. It's a thing. Trust me. I also have a citrine crystal near my laptop as a write this. Also a thing. Google it.

In March I spent a week in the Hopi lands. At a sunrise healing ceremony with an elder shaman I learned about the tradition of offering a prayer of white corn meal to the four directions as the sun peeks up over the mesa. 

In February I morphed my CDFs from a list into a mantra, but even that short statement has shifted over time. "Your desire is a prayer. Be open to magic, abundance, creativity, freedom, health, and spiritual alignment." Since then I've more fully owned the experience with a shift in accountability: "MY desires are prayers." The mantra is also no longer instructive, but empowered: "I AM open to magic, abundance, creativity, freedom, health..." Even aligning myself spiritually isn't sufficient. I want a direct "source flow" - through me, through me, through me, literal energy flowing through me in cycles from a source I've come to believe in completely. As of July:

My desires are prayers. I am open to magic, abundance, creativity, freedom, health, and source flow.

In another example of how raising my frequency shifted my perception of what's possible: "Creativity" may soon become "creation." It was originally referencing artistic creativity and the many passion projects I engage in. It's since become about creation in the purest sense of the word. I may create a painting. I may create a blog post. But increasingly so, I may also create a career as a travel writer. That will be a creative way to support myself and spend my days, but the power comes in the fact that if I make it, that will be A Creation in itself. I'm feeling more and more ready to own the fact that a focus on artistic creativity alone was selling myself short. It's time to manifest some serious shit. Alright, The Remainder Of 2014. You and me. Let's do this.

Love and pure desires,
me

You are because you say you are.

I recently wrote about a dream coming true. Traveling to Alaska (bucket list destination) courtesy of Princess Cruises (hello, press credentials) writing and photographing (numero uno dream job of all time) for The Avid Cruiser (a respected mentor and friend). It doesn't get more exciting than this. I've been blogging and traveling and writing and wanderlusting and photographing and dreaming for years. At times I wanted all of that energy to lead to something and at other times I just kept going because it makes me happy. At times I pursued the goal with specific intentions and at other times I ignored it entirely, going about my normal life. This ebb and flow, this evolving dance with what I really want out of my life, has been going on for what feels like forever. Now here I am. Even though it could seem simple, this one assignment, I still believe it's an absolute manifestation. It feels surreal. That's actually what I want to talk about, the surreal nature of it all. This thought has been stewing for a while now: You are because you say you are. Jen Sincero, Wayne Dyer, and I have something to say about the power of owning it.

Owning it. No apologies. No excuses. Taking a proactive role in defining the life you want to live. 

Ralph Grizzle (a.k.a. The Avid Cruiser) recently posted about the three journeys covered on the Live Voyage Report site in May. When I read his words, I couldn't take them in. It felt like an out of body experience. Who is this woman he's talking about, anyway? 

A chance meeting a couple of years ago resulted in our welcoming aboard Gail Jessen. Gail is a Salt Lake City based writer who will be reporting for us from Star Princess as she and the ship make their way from San Francisco to Skagway — and back. Gail wrote an engaging piece that will tell you who she is and how she became a travel writer. You will find her post here. For inspiration alone, it is recommended reading.

A Salt Lake City based writer? How she...became a travel writer? Inspiring? I stared at the screen. Agape. Holy shit, you guys. I'm a writer based in Salt Lake City. That's me he's talking about. I'm a writer. I write. I'm writing. I'm in Salt Lake City and I write, like writers do. I'm a travel writer. I write about travel. Out in the world, while traveling, I write. I'm a writer of travel stories based in Salt Lake City. My reaction was a bit like...Bob's.

I'd say printing a box of oh-so-official business cards - to hand out on the ship and to family/friends - is owning it.

One particular point from Sincero's book, You Are a Badass, comes to mind a lot lately. I'm paraphrasing, but she basically says: You want to be a photographer...but you don't take pictures. What sense does that make? Conversely, you take a lot of photos and it's a significant passion for you, but you say you're not a photographer? Why the hell not? What's a photographer then? Someone who takes pictures. So go do that. Say you're a photographer. Aren't you? Then go do it some more. You are whatever you say you are simply because you said it...then did something about it. She writes:

Set your intention, work steadily in the direction you want to go, do all that you know how to do, believe it’s here and available to you, be diligent about how you speak, think and behave, have faith in yourself and The Universe, and then...drum roll please, this is the super important part...breathe, let it go, fuggetaboutit, give it some damn room to come in. 

While I read Sincero over a year ago, I've recently been making my way through Wayne Dyer's newest book, I Can See Clearly Now. I tackle bits and pieces here and there, mostly letting the new paradigms settle in between readings. It's the kind of a book you take your time with and he's that kind of author. What's percolating to the top is his discussion of "I AM..." The phrase "I am" is one of the most profound, transformative phrases we can possibly utter. We literally create our reality with that phrase. Think about it. It's so simple, but it's such a game changer. We can unfairly turn "I'm having a rough day and lost my temper for a moment" into "I am an angry person." We can also then take a proactive role in defining the life we want to live by turning "I like to write and maintain a blog" into "I am a travel writer."

I AM. Sit with it for a minute. Think of all the ways you're currently shaping your reality with I AM statements (conscious or out loud or not). Think of all the ways you could shift your future reality by intentionally focusing on the power of "I AM."

I'll kick it off: I am a travel writer based in Salt Lake City.

Love,
me

This post is dedicated to Jo and Elizabeth, two amazing women who inspire me...and who I've never actually met. Through the magic that is Instagram and, coincidentally, an online photography course, we found each other. Without saying much - a double-tap photo like here, a Facebook comment there - we've connected and we just get it. This is for them. 

Sailing Alaska + Writing for The Avid Cruiser

I met The Avid Cruiser as one should expect to meet him, on a ship in an exotic locale. My friend Kris and I were sailing with Viking River Cruises up the blue Danube, hopping from one fabled Christmas market to the next. Ralph Grizzle and I ended up in the ship's empty dining room at the same time, and proceeded to have a conversation that I've since realized was one of the most powerful catalysts I've ever experienced. Our topics ranged from the casual (work, climate, favorite travel destinations, lost luggage), to the provocative (our love of socialism, creativity, vagabond souls, life in Denmark, and insatiable wanderlust). Near the end of our lunch, I rudely pulled out my iPhone to instagram a beautiful dessert. Naturally. Once the conversation turned to mobile photography, and we connected to each other's Instagram feeds, the flame was officially lit.

Exploring Regensburg, Germany with Kris (left) in 2012

You see, I'd been timidly flirting with the idea that my life (and identity, if I'm honest) no longer needed to be defined by a stressful 9-5 j.o.b. I'd been toying with the notion that creativity was no longer a luxury, but a state of being I needed to achieve and maintain daily. Once I got home I started hosting a monthly brunch + book group dedicated entirely to exploring the concept of happiness. I was starting to say it out loud...  I'd finally admitted to myself the exciting, terrifying, seemingly impossible truth: I'm at my best when I'm in motion. I'm in a state of centered bliss when I'm untethered. I need to travel. It's not an option or a nice thing to do a couple times a year if I can save my pennies and vacation days. It's a profound ache that hash tagging "wanderlust" on a few Facebook photos doesn't begin to satiate.

Enter one of the most successful digital nomads I've ever met. Ralph had no idea he was changing my life.

He questioned me a number of times throughout the trip: "Why don't you do this professionally?" And "These photos are legitimately good. This is something you could pursue." And "Tell me where you work again? Why?" And eventually "I'm happy to help you make contact with..."

Almost 18 months and hundreds of gmails later, I'm sailing to Alaska courtesy of Princess Cruises, writing and photographing my adventures for Ralph's Avid Cruiser Live Voyage Report website. I don't need to wax poetic about dreams coming true - it feels indulgent - but do let me say this once: This opportunity is, in the most literal sense, a dream coming true. I am profoundly grateful.

So here we go! Alaska. America's last great frontier. On 05/22/2014 I set out from San Francisco and you'll be able to follow the adventure every night as I post on the Live Voyage Report website (bookmark it now). You can also follow the adventures in real time on my Instagram and Twitter feeds. In the meantime, drool with me over this Alaska Pinterest board curated by Princess Cruises. I mean, seriously.

Love,
me

Banner created by Aaron Saunders, creator of From the Deck Chair, and co-creator of + contributor to Avid Cruiser's LVR.

Live + Learn: My first full month of practicing The Desire Map

{ this post is part of the desire map series // you're invited }

I wrapped up my first full month of daily Desire Map practice. I reworked my core desired feelings a number of times before January even started, but I think I still need to fine tune them even more. I can't shake the sense that the words I chose aren't yet reaching their most powerful, evocative depth. For February I decided to use my 2014 power word (OPEN) as an umbrella for my CDFs. I'm also changing my CDFs from a static list of words into a mantra:

"Your desire is a prayer. Be open to magic, abundance, creativity, freedom, health, and spiritual alignment."

About two weeks into January I also learned a powerful lesson about the paradox and conflict between my some of my CDFs, and how to stay focused on the long game. I made decisions that I felt would manifest abundance and freedom, but I ended up moving so far away from health and spiritual alignment that it wasn't worth it. I was temporarily free and I felt an abundance of time and space, but the aftermath of my choices actually made me physically ill. In turn, that made me upset and disappointed that I probably knew better and still made the wrong decision. My core, my aligned and balanced core, was way off kilter. It's going to take time and a lot of practice to understand which choices are completely true to the long range intentions of my CDFs. Live and learn.

What lessons have you learned in trying to live your CDFs every day? 

Love and the long game,
me

Just. Say. No.

{ this post is part of the desire map series // you are invited }

Part of me has always believed it, but not until the last couple years have I really really let it sink into my core: When you finally get the courage to state an intention, the Universe will flood your awareness with resources that support you. As Danielle LaPorte says in The Desire Map, "Your desire is a prayer." It all goes back to the energy of manifesting and all that hippie Hay House stuff, right? I've come to realize, with awe, the sheer precision and specificity of the Universe in delivering these resources. It can be in response to an epic dream or a cautious whisper, but it will be answered with a flood of resources to support you.

For example, in the somewhat-cautious-whisper category: I've been meditating a lot recently on the liberation of saying no. Creating a do-not-do list is empowering and revolutionary, for me anyway. I'm in a situation right now that cannot immediately change, even though I want it to change with every ounce of my being. I'm seeking ways to change myself within the structure that exists. For now. My ultimate plan is to bust wide out and never look back, but for now, a series of shifts.

If you also have trouble standing strong in a firm no, for whatever reason, consider this your permission (she also says to herself). In a brilliant confluence, I realize that as I get deeper into my Core Desired Feelings and deeper into a commitment to make those feelings a reality every day...I have to be very clear on what I say yes and no to. This ability to refine my commitments, and even my perspective on my commitments, is helping me change within that for-now structure.

"An inability to notice our true feelings leaves us at their mercy. People with greater certainty about their feelings are better pilots of their lives."

Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence.

In addition to what feels like a thousand photos and serendipitous article links on this very theme flooding my Facebook and Twitter feeds, two particular resources have come at just. the. right. time. It's these two resources that I want to share with you: a blog post from traveler/author Kim Dinan and a recently reprised post from Danielle. Kim talks about how we can decide whether to say yes or no, and Danielle talks about admitting when something sucks. From that foundation of "this sucks" - start saying no and fix it. She writes: "You're smart to see it. You're brilliant if you move on." Preach.


I'd love to hear about your experiences. Do you have difficulty saying no, particularly to anything that you perceive as "the responsible thing" to do? Has working through your Core Desired Feelings had this same effect on you, a refiner's fire of saying no?

Love, 
me

Happiness 2.0: Building a community

Yesterday I posted on The Desire Map facebook page, sharing the books my friends and I are reading as part of our 2014 Happiness Project. The response from people wanting to participate has been awesome. I'm thrilled to meet so many new people and to welcome you to this adventure.

So...welcome! I'm happy you're here. 

There were a number of questions as to how this works and what it actually looks like. No problem, let me explain. Right now, all over the world, desire mappers are meeting in person and virtually, using Google hangouts and Skype. This book group model is amazing and I admire the connectivity and commitment. The Happiness Project, however, is a different sort of commitment.

The shortest way to explain it: 
Leave comments on the blog posts that discuss our Happiness Project books, and reply to the comments that others have posted. Every post on this site is also shared on the A Series of Adventures Facebook page, so you can also read and interact there.

The long(er) version:
This is an invitation to build a tribe, to engage with like-minded people. If you're looking for a sense of community, if you're searching for people who are also searching, you've found them. I don't know about you, but I love to bookmark and subscribe to blogs that build community and resonate with the direction I'm taking my life. I enjoy meeting new people, but most of all, I enjoy having conversations that matter. I love engaging in the comment section of these blogs, both with the author of the post and with other people who have commented. It's a small, quick, easy action to take...but over time it compounds into something really beautiful. Trust that.

One of my core desired feelings (speaking of Desire Map) is open to magic. That phrase is actually my 'power word' for 2014, so it is the ultimate core desired feeling right now. The 2013 Happiness Project group (which I talk about here) was transformative, for both me and my friends who participated. It was a powerful year, full of clear intentions and significant changes. Having a supportive community of people made all the difference. So, to honor my desire to be open to magic, I'm opening the circle. I'm trusting in the magic that happens when we engage with people who are focused on the same themes and issues.

Does that help clarify? Summary: Leave comments and get to know each other, both on this site and on facebook. It's low key, just a tribe of seekers who will support each other in making 2014 amazing. We can start right now with our first round of comments. Are you open to it?

Post an introduction below and let us know who you are. We're excited to meet you. 

What we get out of an experience is equal to the amount of energy and intention we put in to the experience.

P.S. Housekeeping note: This site is not entirely dedicated to the Happiness Project book series. You can read more about the mission of the site in the { love, me } section above. In short, I'm an administrator in higher ed by day, a storyteller and creative old soul in real life. I view every inch of life as an adventure and I curate my life into a series of memorable ones. This site is dedicated to pursuits that bring me joy: globetrotting, photography, and sundry feats of creativity. I also post about books I’m reading (obviously), my research into my Danish family history, mindfulness and other such hippie dippieness. Click if you’d like to explore my writing by category(ish).

Cheers to adventure!

Love and books books books,
me

A New Year. The Desire Map. Feelings That Aren't Feeling-y Enough.

Since my last post I spent a week in New Orleans, a week in Southern California, and have now ushered in the new year at home in Salt Lake City. Photos of these trips will be posted shortly, btw. For now, however, I need to talk to you about The Desire Map.

I've posted about The Desire Map on this site before; primarily declaring that I knew it was out there, skating around it because I'm afraid of it, and acknowledging it would kick my emotional ass once I let it. Well, friends, I'm finally tackling it. I read it on all of my plane rides to and fro. I spent the entire day today (01 January 2014!) making my way through the workbook and trying to settle on my Core Desired Feelings. I also committed to my power word for 2014.

My power word and my experience with The Desire Map are so cosmically intertwined that I cannot talk about one and not the other. My 2013 power word was ABUNDANCE. I focused on (re)training my brain out of a scarcity mindset and believing and trusting and knowing there's enough of everything and all of that jazz. Well, The Universe flooded me with abundance and I now need to get out of my own way. I need to let it all flow through me and stop trying to control it, second guess it, one up it, over analyze it, and generally screw it up. Entre my 2014 power word: OPEN. My 2014 power phrase, more accurately: OPEN TO MAGIC.

I'm an academic through and through. Over half my life has been spent in school, college, a graduate program, professional certification courses, and my entire professional career has been built within the academy as well. The concept of magic, of faith, of things that cannot be explained, of something happening that I myself did not create and control...it's all a bit foreign. At least, it feels more foreign to me now that it ever has before. I think I used to be open. I think I used to be open to magic even. I used to be quite a romantic, really. You'd never know it if you met me for the first time today. Even though, at my core, I'm divinely feminine and unnervingly intuitive, the woman you'd meet on the street today is rational and precise and hyper logical and in control and pulled together and cynical and on top of it and you get the idea. I need to soften it up a bit. I need to be open again, open to letting all the energy and abundance flow in and out and around me, fluid and flexible. I need to let myself lean in to a bit of magic.

Enter my desire mapping process. I read the entire book. I powered through over a hundred workbook pages. I color coded. I dog eared. I post-it tabbed. I rocked it. I'm doing this. I'm making a list of Core Desired Feelings. I'm researching the etymology and combing through the thesaurus. I'm coding my qualitative research and identifying patterns. I'm failing already. I end up with a final list of words that make perfect sense and accurately identify my Core Desired Feelings, but they have no razzle dazzle, no sex, no magic, no...emotion. Hashtag irony. My entire mantra for the year is to be OPEN TO MAGIC and I've created the perfect list of core desired feelings...that don't feel like anything. They are not vulnerable. They are not open. They are not magical. Well, fuck.

I leave it for a while. I watch a few episodes of The Daily Show on hulu while I cook and laugh it off. When I return to the list I tell myself, "You're not being honest. Just say it. 'In Communion' is the perfect phrase for what you want to feel at your core, but to you the words feel patriarchal and Catholicish. So what if it's perfect...if it doesn't feel perfect to you?! Just say it. Be as simple as possible." I re-do the list three more times.

As of now, my Core Desired Feelings, including my 2014 power phrase:

OPEN TO MAGIC

ABUNDANT

CREATIVE

STRONG

FREE

SPIRITUALLY CENTERED

I waffled between "abundance" and "abundant" for a good 45 minutes. I'm still waffling. I had "healthy" in the list, but know that "strong" will get my ass to the gym with greater gusto. I discussed my reaction to the phrase I lovehate: "in communion." I had four iterations of my list that included "secure/free" as one word. That whole "secure/free" thing is a barrel of monkeys I will unpack throughout this whole year, but for now, I'm committed to the core core core, which is free.

In all honesty, I still don't think I'm there yet. I still don't feel these words are the very core of me. I still sense they are masking a bit of...something. I do know, however, that done is better than perfect. I also know that I will work through a month with these words and revisit them. I also also know that as I unravel more and more and more layers of my 2014 power phrase, I will inevitably unravel more and more and more layers of my desired feelings. I'll reach the core. I'm not there yet, but I will be.

I will be.

Love and desire,
me