Fun inspiration five ways!

Happy Thursday, everyone! There are so many great things happening right now!  And something here might be just the dose of inspiration you need! First, on Monday I was a guest on Stacey Shank's Blog Talk Radio Show - she's the mastermind behind the 30 Day Challenge that I participated in. We talked about how to realize our own overwhelm and ways to remedy that and live more calmly. And I do a cool sense drenching activity that's super relaxing. If you have 30 minutes, give it a listen! - click the little play icon below.

Listen to internet radio with Stacey Shanks on Blog Talk Radio

Second, I'm so excited about my upcoming Clarity and Connection retreat - right on the Autumnal Equinox- September 21-23 - a perfect time to be quiet in nature so you can hear your soul. Waterfall hiking, an incredibly beautiful and relaxing setting, and the perfect mix of unstructured time and group time to share with other wise women. I still have spots available, so check your calendar and see if a personal getaway in September is just what you're looking for! Read more details and sign up here.

Third, if you're in the New Orleans area, I have two wordless walks coming up!  I'm hosting a morning walk on Sunday August 26 at 8 a.m. and then a moonlight wordless walk on Friday, August 31 - it's a special blue moon!  You can read more about these events here. And if you're not near New Orleans, have you signed up to get my free wordless cure for busyness?  It gives you great directions on how to take your own wordless walk, and how to incorporate more wordlessness into your daily life and dial back the busyness.  You can sign up on the side bar to the right, or if you're reading this on a phone and don't see a side bar, then click here.  Then you'll be subscribed and get email updates from me and exciting offers and other fun wild and precious goodies!

Fourth, I am looking for people to share their experiences with wordlessness for my Wordless Wednesdays. I want to start a wordlessness revolution and I would love to feature you and your wordless video or photos.  Feel free to write about your wordless experience as well.  Send your wordless goodies to me: carla@livingwildandprecious.com - and if you include your snail mail address in your email, I'll send you a treat!

Fifth and best of all, if you're at all interested in seeing how coaching can make a difference in your life, this is a great time to find out. My coaching rates will be increasing in September, so now's the time to jump in, invest in yourself and save some money at the same time.  Are you itching to live more wild and precious? Click to schedule a free call with me and learn more!

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And this is just the beginning - I have some new Wild and Precious yumminess coming very soon, and I can't wait to tell you about it!

Calling the animals part 1

The animals I called for my wordless walks two months ago were the deer, and it's funny - while I rarely used to see deer when I went to the swamp, now they come.  Almost every time.  I saw six or seven two days ago.  I still don't really believe it works, but it's a fun game and I enjoy making "oneness" connections with the animals, even if it could all be chalked up to coincidence. This time, I didn't call anyone in particular.  I sort of sent a "surprise me" sentiment out to the universe.  And almost immediately a great blue heron lifted off and flew gracefully through the trees.  I whooshed in a breath of wonder.  Then as I walked a little further, I heard what sounded like dragons.  I am not kidding.  Turns out that they were a passel of young wild pigs, some all black and some tan with black spots, like something out of a children's' story. They ran off too quickly for me to get a photo, but I heard and saw them twice, snuffling and grunting and snorting and splashing through the flooded forest.  What a cool surprise - I've never ever seen pigs at the swamp!

I waded through shin-deep water for over a mile, relishing my Amazon-like adventure, and noting that I'd need to choose a different trail for my wordless walk the next day. I wondered where the armadillos had gone - there was so much water and so little high ground.  I'm sure they know what to do and had taken refuge somewhere.

Eventually, I headed to a less remote, far more civilized, fully boardwalked trail, and even a small portion of it was under water!  I walked amidst myriad lizards and snakes.  I surprised two small alligators who splashed off the boardwalk- I don't know who scared who, it happened so fast!

On the way back, I thought - ok - I would love to see an owl.  I sent a request for an owl, wordlessly.  I don't even know quite what I did.  And then I dropped attachment and kept walking.  Sure enough, a few minutes later, there was my owl.  As I crept closer, she glided silently away through the cypresses further up the trail.  But when I quietly rounded the next bend, there she was, perched and watching me, then turning to gaze down into the water.  I did my best barred owl call and I can only describe the owl's expression as bemused - like, "Really?  You expect me to believe you are an owl??" But she didn't fly away.  The owl ignored me and stared down into the water, perhaps eying her next meal.

Whether the heron, pigs, deer and owl came for me or for themselves doesn't really matter -- I'm just so glad I had the gift of a moment to enjoy watching them. Give it a try next time you're outside.  Call the animals and see if they come.  You can read more about wordlessness and oneness and techniques to connect to the natural world in Martha Beck's book, Finding Your Way in a Wild New World.  And watch for announcements- I'm going to start up a new Wild World virtual book club soon!

Also coming soon: More animal calling stories and shared wordless walks from some of you!  It's not too late to send me stories or pictures from your own wordless walk - I'd love to hear!  Email me at carla@livingwildandprecious.com .

Lastly, tomorrow (Monday) this blog is going to move to self-hosted so I have a little more ability to do some cool things with it.  My only worry is that I won't know how to do said cool things, so if anything seems a little wonky for the next while, you'll know why.  I'm hoping for a super-smooth transition, but I know I have some skills to learn too.  Wish me luck and I'll hopefully be checking in again very soon!