Potions and Magic

A little January update

At the bottom of this email you will find a longer and more personal letter, but first some key updates…

📀 Album 4, Gearing UP Soon you will see a flurry of activity on social media because ALBUM 4 IS IN THE PIPELINE! We will be crowdfunding to make this album possible! If you already know you want to support this work reply to this email saying “Album 4 Please!” and I will make sure you get to see the campaign before it goes public. Here’s a sneak peek video of us singing one of the songs from the album in the park last summer.

✏️ Portrait Project
I completed my December portrait project and drew 5 portraits for 5 families. I really enjoyed connecting to other people through their stories and their photos and drawing them was a lovely therapeutic evening activity. If you’d like to commission a portrait find out more HERE

💻Skillshare 2,000 Students - This January I reached the 2k mark! I’m so amazed that my little educational videos I make in a little village in Kent could inspire 2,000 people. Find out about what I teach on Skillshare HERE

“I love Laura’s positive vibes and energy, her big smiles and encouraging way of teaching. She is very inspiring and I can't wait to take the next course.”

🎶30 Days of Singing - My amazing friend and collaborator Emily BateSmith has been working on a #30DaysofSinging project in January and sharing some highlights of our favourite songs to sing as Singing Mamas leader. Watch the rest of the 30 days unfold HERE

🌌Super Fan Girl - One of my favourite bands NYX is going to be releasing their debut album on 28th March. Follow on instagram HERE and pre-order their lovely work :-)

That’s the main updates
More below if you want to find out how I’ve been, and what I’ve been learning

LOVE ALWAYS WINS

Laura

XOXOXOXOX

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Colds and Fire

At the beginning of November I emailed saying I was sick of cough and cold viruses and I was launching a strong defence, with a long list of foods and protocols to try and make my immune system stronger and prevent attacks. The gods of cold virus laughed at my futile attempts and later in November I got the worst virus yet and had to take 2 weeks off, followed by another and another. As I write this I STILL have a sore throat and blocked head.

These recurring viruses knocked me into a state of “post viral depression”. I was so tired, lost hope and creative inspiration and felt lonely, because when I was ill I tried to stay away from friends.

I haven’t felt that blue in a while, I was reminded that “Now is the time to use your spiritual tools”. This experience has been a great reminder of how so much of life is out of our control. In this quiet time I have resolved to cultivate a crystal clear spiritual eye, so I can watch the ups and downs of life with clarity and compassion. It’s very easy to see when we are happy and well, but harder to see when we are sad and sick.

I am very lucky to be dear friends with a wonderful woman, who has chosen to devote her life to Buddhism and lives and works in a buddhist retreat in Wales. Follow Garavavati on Substack HERE. She recommended the book “In Love with The World” by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche. This esteemed Buddhist monk embarked on a 4 year wandering retreat. I have only read part one so far (listening on audio book) and I have found it very interesting that he purposefully put himself in hard conditions just to watch his own mind.

He told this story about how he got violently ill on a bus and then going forward his mind would panic about bus rides. I know this is so blatantly obvious (the best wisdom is)... Your previous experiences colour how you experience your every day. This has particularly been relevant as I embark on a new album. In the past I have found different elements of the album process stressful and embarrassing, so no wonder it all comes back when I try again. We can run from the things that trigger us, or we can do as Yongey did, and “add wood to the fire” and step wholeheartedly into challenging situations and be with the experience. When we bring awareness into experiences like this, and really see and feel what is going on, it has an opportunity to change and transform.

Potions and Magic

My favourite thing to be and do right now is mothering. It’s such a fun and rewarding job, although very demanding and tiring at times. This spring my son will turn 4 and his magical world of imagination, and his constant stream of projects and ideas inspires me. He likes making potions out of food colouring, herbs, pasta, beans and anything else we can find. We stir them and just before bed he whispers into the potion “I wish for a godzilla” and when he wakes up in the morning the potion has magically transformed into a little trinket. Sometimes we hear the elves at night doing their potion magic. Here is a monster and a crab that appeared one morning…

I’ve also been listening to Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest and Delight by Wayne Muller

That’s all for now

LOVE ALWAYS WINS

Laura

XOXOXOXOX

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Keep the creative gift moving…Support my future projects HERE 🎁
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