Lauren Ayer and some of her “quilts of change”

This month’s Freedom Friday list highlights some of the people who have graduated from my “Fall in Love with Your Work” course. This is a diverse and inspiring group of folks: each of them have faced their fears and followed their dreams for ‘liberation-based livelihood.’ I have loved watching each of them develop their ideas into real-life creations and products, and I thought you would enjoy meeting them too.

I’ll be teaching an updated and expanded version of Fall in Love with Your Work this October — be sure to sign up on the Advance Notice list if you’d like to know when registration opens and get a special discount. You can find it at the bottom of this post.

Quilts of Change / Lauren Ayer
Like many who have taken Fall in Love with Your Work, Lauren has made big changes in her life over the last few years. She quit a high-stress corporate job and moved to New Mexico in 2011 to give herself “the space to become the art quilter I’ve always dreamed of becoming – merging beauty and meaning to create art with a message.” Lauren recently displayed some of her pieces in a show in Santa Fe (pictured above). Her current work focuses on quilts as a medium for personal and community healing and empowerment—particularly with respect to grief, illness, and trauma. She’s created a Quilt of Valor for a returning veteran, an improv quilt for a neighbor fighting cancer, and a series of superhero-themed art quilts. Learn more about Lauren here – and she does make quilts on commission, so let her know if you’re interested!

“With This Breath” / Lisa Wilson
Lisa took Fall in Love with Your Work in 2012 – and wow, has she ever lifted off to new heights! You can watch her journey unfolding on her website, Being Breath. Her most recent offering is a  multi-sensory program called “With This Breath” designed to help you integrate practices of mindful awareness into your life in a very creative and vitalizing way. This is no typical online course — Lisa’s put together beautiful handmade items (like organic teas and a lavender eyebag) along with her own exquisite “With This Breath” card set. A wonderful opportunity to deepen your level of self-care.

Pausing Turtle / Katya Lesher
Pausing Turtle encourages us to slow down and appreciate every moment of life. Its creator, Katya Lesher, is an artist as well as a professional social worker. Katya has made a big transition over the last year, moving to Santa Fe from Rochester, NY, in order to more deeply explore her passions and her gifts. Pausing Turtle has been part of this exploration and features both her writing and her artwork. Stop by to enjoy Katya’s insights on life and take a look at some of the beautiful note cards she has created and offers for sale.

Mindful Motherhood / Aarathi Selvan
Aarathi, a psychotherapist and artist who lives in India, draws on her own experience as a mom and a meditator to create courses that support mothers to live more intentionally and with purpose. This July, she’s offering “Happiness is Your Nature: 30 Days to Joyful Motherhood.” The course starts July 1, so sign up soon if you’re interested.

By the way, Aarathi had this to say about her experience in Fall in Love with Your Work: “Maia’s course was one of the biggest sources of change in my life and it is only after doing her course that I gained clarity in the way I wanted to steer my work life.”

Meditation and Yoga in the Deep South / Lyndon Marcotte
In September of 2011, Lyndon started a non-profit meditation group in his hometown of Pineville, Louisiana. The group has been growing over the past year, with a core circle of people forming into a beautiful community. Lyndon also recently completed Yoga Teacher training and started teaching weekly classes. He shares, “It’s most rewarding to help other people find their own practice and passion. While I’m not able to do it full-time yet, I have replaced a quarter of my income with it, while also getting out of debt and learning to live with less. All lessons I learned from the Fall in Love with Your Work course. Freedom redefined. Being true to who you are, pursuing your passions, and aligning your gifts in service to others.” If you live anywhere in the area or you know people who do, connect with Lyndon and check out the Cenla Meditation Group!

Sign up for the Advance Notice list if you’d like to know
when registration opens and receive a special discount! 

(If you’re reading this via email and you don’t see the sign-up box,
you can go here to get on the list)