Greetings Earthlings and You Magical Beings Made of Stars!

I hope you have been able to find some snuggle time like sweet South, the ninja rescue dog pictured above. I have been snuggling under the covers as much as possible this week to recuperate. I am thrilled to share that during my #88WriterlyDays, I wrote 17,000 words for the sequel to my novel! I had already written 21,000 words prior to that so with the production schedule I developed, once I get confirmation from the amazing editors and designers on my team, publication is scheduled for December 8, 2020. Woohoo!

Speaking of publication, yesterday, I was honored to be featured the newsletter of acclaimed writer, Sarah Selecky, here.

As a reminder, this Magical Mondays series is a new experiment for 2020 and you can take or leave what serves you. I hope you find something that touches your heart and spurs you to action.

Onward to our inspiration list for the week:

1. Troop Zero on Amazon Prime Video is one of the most tender, beautiful and funny movies that I have seen in a long time. It comes from the same writer as Beasts of the Southern Wild. I urge you to take the time to watch it.

2. Mothering with the Moon – Free Preview Call on January 28 at 12:30 pm Pacific Time: I recently called Mariah Joy Soloy Belt, the “Yoda of Parenting” — and she is much more than that. Her upcoming course, “Mothering with the Moon” focuses on the energetics of being a mom and not going full throttle all the time. She has a much more beautiful way to put it. I encourage you to check out her page about the preview call here. You can sign up and catch the replay too!

3. Librate Mediation App: This is the only app made by and for the Black, Indigenous and People of Color Community. You can learn more about the founder on this news clip.

4. Grace Lin on The Windows and Mirrors of Your Child’s Bookshelf – this is a touching, short, uplifting and eye-opening talk. And of course I enjoyed her 88 Cups of Tea Podcast Episode.

5. Make an Emotional Labor To Do List: This lifehacker article helps to raise awareness about all of the little things that don’t get put on the list whether you have a partner or not.

6. A Total Shift in Business: This podcast episode: You Have to Risk it All: Inside the Harrowing Creative Shift of Jennie Nash – WeGrowMedia–  was so revealing. It’s a conversation between two friends, Dan Blank and Jennie Nash, who share business goals and practices on a weekly basis. Jennie has a million dollar business and she is completely changing it because she was not paying herself enough and it was taking a toll on her wellness. It is very illuminating if you have been thinking about building a business.

Here’s how you can help this week:

1. Take a walk and don’t look at your phone for 15 minutes. Just look around and notice what and who is around you.
2. Visit the library or check out the Libby app for free access to books. Read!
3. Want to Design a Life & Live It? Check out my Work With Me page to learn more.

And remember, Look for the magic in everyday life. There are clues everywhere!

Greetings and Happy Magical Monday!

I’m writing to you while sipping homemade broth and tending to myself and my home. It’s been a wonderfully slow weekend as I can tell that my adrenals need some restoration.

This edition of Magical Mondays is heavily focused on the heart, mind and belly.

As promised last week, a step-by-step guide to Mama Chelo’s guacamole is at the bottom of this post. It is delicious! If you make it, let me know. And if you want to know about the woman behind the recipe, she is my grandmother and is featured in this HuffPost article about my novel. I wrote and recorded a poem about her and I also share 5 Life Lessons from Mama Chelo on this blog.

Here is our inspiration for the week:

1. Renaming Fear: Tara Sophia Mohr, author of Playing Big, offers two Hebrew definitions of fear: Pachad & Yirah.  The former is the generally the not helpful one, unless you are actually threatened and the latter is very helpful as you expand into greatness. Check out the definitions and a short video explanation.
2. Protecting Your Heart: While I write about love and healing a lot, I also have learned, the hard way, that boundaries are my best friends when it comes to my heart. As I laid in bed this morning pulling cards, reading Nancy Drew and Hafiz poems, a friend and I were texting back and forth about recovering. I was reminded of this post by Danielle LaPorte, “Open Gentle Heart, Big F*cking Fence. The Advice I Give on Love that Took the Longest to Learn.” It’s a keeper and also very helpful when raising humans to be feeling beings.
3. Bouncing Back: This morning I also listened (and sobbed) to Dr. Maya Angelou’s inaugural poem and then decided to binge a bit. This recitation of her poem, “And Still I Rise” is so heartening.
4. Beyond Heroes and Holidays: This book published by Teaching for Change, is an exceptional resource to explore today, as the U.S. celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
5. Mind Love for 7 Minutes: I sent this Birdsong Earth Meditation to someone this week and thought you might like it to start off your week.
6. Inner Mental Strength based on Science: This Rick Hanson interview by Marie Forleo is a great way to get grounded and explore options for reprogramming your brain if you find yourself struggling. You’ll also find links to listen on your favorite podcasts.
7. Unlocking Us: Brené Brown’s new podcast is coming. Enough said. And if you have never heard of her work, scroll down to “aisle two” of my post, I Love You More Than a Boy Cheese Sandwich where you’ll find both her Ted Talks and some other resources.
8. Mama Chelo’s Guacamole Recipe: Enjoy! Ingredients: Avocados + Hardboiled Eggs (1 to 1 ratio), scallions, lemon and salt.

Scoop out avocados but do not mash them.

Slice the hardboiled eggs into small pieces.

Slice the green part of the scallions as shown above to taste. For two avos and two eggs, I estimate 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of loosely sliced scallions. (If you are out of the green parts, use the white section at the base of the scallions, but use less so they don’t overpower the taste. In the photo above, I am using the middle of the scallion because that’s what I had left.)

Squeeze fresh lemon juice to taste. For two avos and two eggs, half a lemon works.

Use a fork and a knife to cut the avos like you are cutting food on your dinner plate. Avoid mashing them at all costs. The goal is chunky guacamole so you can experience all the tastes.

Mama Chelo liked corn chips with her guacamole. Lightly salt the guacamole. Then taste it with the chip you are using to make sure it’s balanced. You can always add more salt.

We plop the seeds in to keep it fresh looking but in truth, squeezing lemon juice on top will keep it from turning brown. Keep it sealed if you don’t devour it on the spot.

Enjoy!

Here’s how you can help this week:

1. Make yourself some guacamole and eat it right away.
2. Meditate for 1 minute when you wake up and 1 minute before you go to sleep.
3. Dance to your favorite song.
4. Do one act of selfless service this week in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
5. Share this post with someone who needs it.
6. If you’re not a subscriber, please enter your email and join the family.

Look for the magic in everyday life. There are clues everywhere!

Greetings friends!

Thank you for the delightful responses to last week’s inaugural Magical Monday! I’ve been collecting some bits of inspiration for you all week. As always, use what serves you and consider if something feels edgy – it might also offer something for your heart!

Here goes:

1. Local Author Day: As I mentioned last week, I served on a panel for Local Author Day at the Santa Barbara Public Library. It was a privilege and great source of joy to share and learn from so many writers. Here’s the link to the recorded livestream.

2. Writing Resources:

• In the recording above, I mention many resources including Sarah Selecky, an award-winning author who offers amazing classes as well as free writing prompts. All the way back in 2013, I started using her prompts to craft a series of short stories and vignettes which have since provided exciting fodder for one of my FAVORITE characters in the sequel to The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón. If you want to read the vignettes in order, they are: A Girl Named Corn Syrup, Grandmother Cully, Karo and Jelly, Mr. Fred and Miranda’s Meringue, and Mr. Fred Meets Miranda and Domino Cully on Tola Island.
• Another source of endless inspiration is 88 Cups of Tea with Yin Chang. I encourage you to check out her podcasts on whatever platform works for you. I have learned so much and truly enjoyed the honest and open sharing by a diverse group of authors.
• I also waved around a few visual aids in the video above including a portable keyboard to write my novel using the Scrivener program on my phone and syncing it with Dropbox which makes it easy to transcribe my manuscript from anywhere.

3.  Getting Grounded: Wolves at Your Heels: The Fear That You’re Always Behind, Doing the Wrong Thing, & Generally Screwing Things Up Royally by zen habits: This is a helpful post if you are feeling a sort of generalized anxiety and need help getting grounded.

4. Getting Yourself Organized Before Diving In: Here’s another great short post by Jason Lengstorf (the Yak-Shaving guy from last week) tapping into the french cooking tradition of “mis en place.”

5. Music: I love cello music and have been following Sheku Kanneh-Mason for a while. His new album dropped last week and here is a song. And if you are on Spotify, this is the link to the album.

6. Rebecca’s Magic Monday video: I made you a two-minute video in a tree after a hike and included a beautiful hawk way up in the sky with a reminder to look for clues in nature.

Thanks, as always for reading and following!

Here’s how you can help:

1. Share this post with friends via social or email.
2. Check out my book The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón or ask your local library to order it here or here
3. Send a text or note to someone with gratitude for them being in your life.

Stay tuned next week for a short video with Mama Chelo’s Guacamole recipe.

I appreciate you and your heart. Look for the magic in everyday life. There are clues everywhere!

Greetings friends!

I’m starting a fun experiment today called “Rebecca’s Magical Mondays” — a menu of inspiration for the soul, heart, body and mind. I run across so many resources weekly that I wanted to share them on a regular basis. I figured that since I recently completed #88writerlydays on Instagram when I worked on the sequel to The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderon and #88mysticathletedays, perhaps I could share something weekly–that’s only 52 times!

As always, I invite you to enjoy what serves you. And perhaps if a resources feels edgy or out of your comfort zone, give it a chance. Sometimes resistance can be a great teacher and a pathway to expansion!

Here goes:

1. Health: The Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine recently shared a round up of best articles of 2019. I thought that Herbs for the Immune System and Growing Medicinal Herbs in Pots would be helpful as many of you navigate your way through the winter.
2. Planning: For years I have followed the approach of creating Core Desired Feelings based upon Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map book. However, this is the first year that I used her the workbook which helped me get very clear on how I want to feel in all aspects of my life–and how those feelings support what I want to create.
3. Working: One of my friends/colleagues shared Jason Lengstorf’s short blog post called “Yak Shaving: On Doing the Work before the Work”and it has been a game-changer for me. This approach has helped me to view the tedious tasks of life in a whole new way.
4. Money: Tosha Silver’s new book It’s Not Your Money has intrigued me. I haven’t read it yet, but truly enjoyed her books, Outrageous Openness and Change Me Prayers. Here’s an interview on the money book which I truly enjoyed.
5. Music + Body: My sister friend sent me this song by Allen Stone called Naturally. It is one of my anthems this year for sure.
6. Rest: My friend and #WalkInnBeauty mastermind leader, Ho’omalamalama Brown shared a blog post called The Ritual of Rest in 5 Easy Steps. It’s a wonderful and simple approach to consider integrating into your life.
7. Meet me in person: If you or someone you know is in the Santa Barbara area, I’ll be on a panel for the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Local Author Day on Saturday speaking about the craft of writing. The details are here and also on their Facebook page.

I’m easing up on social media with the exception of a few posts on Instagram on my Writer account and Mystic Athlete account, so here’s how you can help me:

A. Share this post with friends by forwarding or sharing on social media and encourage them to enter the email and follow the blog.

B. Buy my book, The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderon: A Globetrotting Magical Mystery of Courage Food and Friendship or tell someone about it or ask your local library to order it. It is available through independent book sellers, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and iTunes. 5% of net proceeds go to Teaching for Change.

3. Share info about my book through my website: RebeccaVillarreal.com

I hope that you enjoyed this quick gift of resources. I appreciate you and your heart. Look for the magic in everyday life. There are clues everywhere!