Yearly, for 10 years now, there’s a post that I do that sums up everything that my trip around the sun has shown me. Since September of last year, it’s been nothing short of awe-inspiring to see what’s unfolded, what’s changed and what’s to come… even in the days ahead!

Re-reading some of my past yearly posts, I can see how I’ve moved from healing trauma to learning to stand in my power, to recovering from and avoiding burnout (*it can even happen from experiencing too much awesomeness without rest) and, then, to creating stronger personal boundaries, creating art more fearlessly and loving more deeply…

And, this year was disarmingly different. It was all about allowing expansion to happen.

It’s with the greatest gratitude that I dive into this year’s lessons about allowing life to be bigger.

It feels pretty amazing to see how much my energy, my skin, my eyes, my creativity and my whole life has taken on a whole new light as I decided last September to allow life to happen in a bigger way. It’s so fun to be standing inside a sculpture (Michael Heizer’s Levitated Mass, a 300+ ton boulder that’s balanced in the air behind me) in this photo shot by my friend Stephanie who has become a valued creative collaborator this year.

It’s so gratifying to feel present, fully present and fully in tune with life in the moment.

Every year is amazing, but this one started with a sentiment of something new: A dare. An experiment. A commitment.

What if I actually devoted way way way more time to socializing, beautifying, sleeping, leisure and all the joy makers outside of my work that I love so much?  What would happen?!

I asked myself that question last September. I decided to dive in and see what would happen. And, here I am, a year later, intensely grateful for the richness it’s brought to my life.

My intuition is something I take very seriously!

I work a lot because I love this work. This year, though my feelings become my biggest goals to guide me in my work.

Sometimes I’d override my feelings for the sake of “getting it done” and, barring the emergency deadlines (and even with them!) I cancelled that from my life, completely.

I’m not happy with my work when it doesn’t come with the best of my energy behind it, so, now, I listen to my feelings and prioritize naps, self-care, breaks, shutting off the computer and even taking a full day off (*what I’d never do) if needed, to get it all done.

You are someone incredibly meaningful to me. This connection is the entire reason why I do this. And, while maybe we’ve never had a chat yet, I hope we will some day.

During this last year of starting The School of Intention Professional Feng Shui Training, I realize that I have deeper connections than I’d ever fathomed with so many people that happened to arrive one day at the blog or on You Tube, Facebook, Instagram. in a Feng Shui Camp, or at an event… and then, soon, became a bigger part of my life.

If this were born of a desire to have a business, I’d be thrilled for the business success in itself. It wasn’t though– this “business” caught me by surprise when I decided to experiment with these tools online to see how they could help people.

Your success is my greatest metric, and this connection is my biggest creative fulfillment.

Tension is a sign that something needs to change.

If I’m feeing tension, my energy isn’t right. Sure, we all have momentary tension… but I’m talking about the waking up feeling “off” kind of tension, the sore neck tension, the jaw aching tension or any kind of tense feelings that leave me feeling unwell.

Now, when I sense that tension I immediately work it out. Wither it’s stretching or more Buddhist practice, more sleep or more emotional work, clearing clutter or organizing life in a more effective way: tension does not bring me results.

All these things— stretching, meditation, inner work and housecleaning alike– are things I consider essential to my job. I used to feel guilt when I did any of this instead of just “getting the work done.” Now, it’s the biggest part of “getting the work done.”

Exercise is something that’s been expansively game-changing.

This is the year I’ve been the most consistent with exercise because I’ve fallen in love with how it makes me feel. While I’m still in starter steps of fitness and just breaking ground, I’m so ready to step it up for all the confidence and alignment that it’s bringing to my life!

My body was not meant for dairy, eggs, alcohol or caffeine.

What a realization. Quitting caffeine removed immense tension from my days. Quitting dairy and eggs was a personal choice that started as an experiment and left my body feeling amazing. I never drank much, but this was the first year 100% without alcohol in anything and it feels so good I’m not anticipating I’ll go back.

This one was a personal realization on a deep level and I am, by no means, in judgement of anyone who eats and drinks all of the above. For me, it created such space in my mind and body, showing me in a whole new way the energetics of food in my own system. Super eye-opening. So revealing.

Superpowers are real.

Vibes are real. Hunches are real. Manifestation is real. I’m starting to see just how “quantum” my world is and I’m learning to access more of my superpowers. Always, though, kindness has been my greatest one. I respond to kindness and aspire to kindness, especially in the most difficult moments.

Instead of competing against myself, I’m working with myself to keep raising the bar.

A spirit of cooperation is way better for me than my energy of competition, even if I’m competing against myself.

I started expanding my talents and developing my interests. I learned a lot of new tools this year for home, work and life. I started taking creative risks that felt incredibly fun.

What I started to realize was that when I’m present and feeling harmonious, I can allow so much more into my life.

My metric now is: Have I given 100% of my best to this situation?

If the answer is yes, I’ve already succeeded.

Everything for me comes back to art. Everything for all of us comes back to a core way we see the world which is wholly unique. Stay connected to that core is so vital.

For me, a deeper return to art– reading books, seeing artists, designing more, being in museums and galleries, writing more, styling new photos— this was my life force rising up this year. It’s been incredibly exciting, and I’m only getting started!

A fulfilling life is my greatest investment.

All the things that make my life feel incredible and flow well are the things that I invest time, energy and money into without a second thought.

Also, I’m a big saver and a very conscious money spender, so I learned more about investing this year in tangible ways that were very empowering!

Higher consciousness in a practical way = magic for me.

Things that bring me to a low consciousness include— caffeine (see above: I’ve quit that), too much reading of anything online that is random (too much data), too much news of any sort (this was life-altering) , too much sitting and too much talk without action.

High consciousness can be choosing what you eat, what you drink, how and when you sleep, the friends you keep close, the things you tell yourself… all of it can be incredibly practical.

I’ll be spending more time in all the things– from art making to spiritual practice, love to learning– that make me feel more spacious, more full of energy and far more aligned.

I can’t thank you enough– even for popping by the blog once– and seeing what you can use to make your home and life lighter, brighter and more magnetic. It’s always my intention to bring you more of what you’re looking for, and that intention is blazing strong!

With so much gratitude, I’m ready to take a nap and get set for a big season ahead!!!

xoxo!!!

Dana

P.S.: There is a REALLY BIG something NEW that’s coming soon!

There’s a new Feng Shui Camp coming soon to organize your life to create breakthroughs: The Breakthrough Camp! 

It’s Feng Shui to align your energy and your home so that you can manifest more of what you want on a higher level with greater ease!

To kick things off, the FREE Feng Shui video series to set up your home for a breakthrough starts soon!  Sign up HERE!

xoxo!!!