THE ART OF SELF JOURNAL

She hoped on the scales and made a comment about her body, She was only 10 years old. The daily weighing of my self, The comments I would dish out to myself about my body to myself, and to others, She was absorbing it all into her own young mind. My way of seeing myself, my body, was carving the path for my daughter in how she saw herself and her body in this world. That very day, I threw the scales in the bin, And I said to my daughter, we no longer weigh ourselves, the numb

I visited Orakei Marae last Sunday with my friend Fleur. She was going to get a ta moko done that represents her parents who have both now passed. It was one of the most beautiful Sundays I have had and will forever remember. The sun was shining, The marae was on top of the hill, overlooking the ocean. It was the first time in such a long time that I have been on a marae and I felt right at home. I was relaxed and felt myself, fully. Although my family (on my Mums side) has n

Speak your truth and nothing else. Speak your truth to your self and to everyone else. Who you are, is who you are. Be honest with yourself. Respect yourself, Love yourself, Trust yourself, Believe in yourself. You must learn to do this all for yourself, before you can expect it from anyone else. When we expect it from others, we will most always be let down. It’s not up to anyone else to fix life for us, to make us happy. It is up to us to do it for ourselves. When we can le

In my life, I’ve always wanted to create and empower others. I’ve always been drawn to this kind of work, I think, read, dream & write about it all the time. I believe it’s my purpose in life…and it’s been unfolding for sometime now. It’s amazing how one thing can blend into another so beautifully without it been planned that way. For as long as I can remember, many people have found it interesting to get to know me, I can laugh at it now, but it used to bother me so much, I

On Friday night I was driving home, it was late and I’d just finished at the studio, plus it was my 5 night stint without the kids. I could feel the loneliness creeping up on me. When I got home it was in full force. Now don’t worry this isn’t a feel sorry for me, woe is me post, As I always like to make sure there is a lesson in anything I share. In the past, I would have done all I could to dodge this feeling, Go catch up with friends, reach for food, or a drink, whatever,

What was your turning point, and what did you do to move forward? This was one question I was asked after I spoke last Friday to a room full of women. To be honest, I’ve had many turning points in my life. (Like many) For me, it were the moments when I was down and there was only one way to go - up, Even if they were slow, small steps that only I felt and saw. The moments when my life nearly came to an end at two different occasions, These were two big turning points for me.

I don’t like my legs Mum, I wish I had straight hair like my friend Mum, Why does my voice sound like this Mum, I wish I looked different Mum, I feel like I need to act a certain way Mum, I can’t wear that, they might laugh Mum. What would you say to your child if they came to you with these statements? I’m guessing you would reassure them, Tell them they are wrong, and that they are perfect just as they are. That their legs are strong, That they suit their curly hair, That

Never sway from what your soul truly wants, it will only end with unhappiness & disconnect. Maybe you do so because you feel you need to do something completely different than you have normally done before. When really it was just slight adjustments you needed to make (more within you than anything else) Maybe you sway because of what others think you should do, because it’s what they would do and they know best for you - ummm nope. Maybe you loose track of what your soul nee

You bump into them in the street You see them at a gathering You see a photo of them on fb or Instagram And you start to play the comparison game. The thoughts fly in from all directions, You start to doubt yourself, point out all that is wrong with you and all that is right with them. If only you looked like, sounded like, had those things, lived there etc etc Ahhhh what a killer of self. Grab all those thoughts, roll them in a ball And drop kick that shit so far from your