Let the Verse Flow: Personal Growth Thru a Creative Lens Jill Hodge (Writer, Teacher & Self-Care Advocate)

We’ve heard the saying “It’s the journey, not the destination,” or “I control the actions but not the results.” In this episode, I combine these two ideas to explore the role that our core beliefs play in keeping our creative spirit alive and fueling our productivity and stamina when pursuing projects. Focusing on our core beliefs is especially helpful with new endeavors that lead us into unchartered waters – when we may not know exactly what we’re doing, how to do it, and if it will work. Let’s explore how to use your core beliefs to put purpose and meaning at the center of your daily creative practice to spur and energize yourself when your motivation wanes. 
Building on episode 18 on Affirmations & Actions to Keep Your Dreams Alive, here are more ideas on the beliefs and attitudes most helpful in moving toward the ever-elusive finish line. Spoiler: the finish line changes and the real prize is the journey.
I hope to inspire you to push through the fatigue, the doubt, and the monotony because the journey that unfolds as you work toward your dream projects is the destination (and it’s worth the struggle). 
Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.
Want to reengage with yourself and put creative self-care back on your to-do list? Head over to my website: lettheverseflow.com and sign up for my free newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape. Three times per month, I’ll send you 3 essential, hand-curated links/resources on creative self-care tips, tools, and strategies. 
Poem: The Important Thing
Music: (My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and share it with the world. All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.)
Songs in this episode: Ante by Cast Of Characters; Slide by GEMM; East Meets West by Nu Alkemi$t; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters
Related Episodes: 
Affirmations & Actions to Keep Your Dreams Alive (episode 18)
Affirmation Meditation: Keep Your Dreams Alive (episode 20)
LTVF Season 2 Music Playlist: Check out the songs that inspire me, and connect with artists from many genres who add to our collective, human soundtrack. 
Journal Prompts
Write about 3 of your core beliefs – those ideas, internal laws, and statements that you believe in and that guide your actions. Write about a time when you worked really hard for something. What happened during the journey? Was it what you expected?Answer this question: what patterns, habits, and beliefs help to re-energize your personal projects and goals, and how can you nurture those habits and beliefs to keep a positive and productive mindset?Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

This city girl is deeply connected to nature. Mindful walks in nature are a core way to add richness and “right thinking” to your life. In this episode, I talk about an early, profoundly moving natural experience that shaped my deep love of the ocean. This life-changing event would connect me to the ocean for the rest of my life. From Cape May, New Jersey to Oahu, Hawaii, I share how my experiences swimming near and around ocean animals have brought me peace and perspective.  I also explore these questions:
What’s our connection to nature and how can it add meaning to our lives?How can we draw inspiration from our early ancestors and from different cultural beliefs to connect with nature?How do we bring nature into our lives to help us face challenging times and broaden our perspective on those challenges?After this episode, I hope you start seeing that local park, wide open field, lake, ocean, or mountain differently. I hope to inspire you to bring nature closer to your life. Connecting with nature will likely help you feel more “yourself,” through the quality time and inward reflection it promotes. Use the resources below to cultivate a nature connection. 
Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.
Want to reengage with yourself and put creative self-care back on your to-do list? Head over to my website: lettheverseflow.com and sign up for my free newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape. Three times per month, I’ll send you 3 essential, hand-curated links/resources on creative self-care tips, tools, and strategies. 
Poem: The Living Thread
Music: (My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and share it with the world. All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.)
Songs in this episode:
The Forest Floor by Shimme; Slide by GEMM; Early Morning Birds and Wind Tumbling Leaves by Soundstripe; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters
Resources: 
Forest Bathing and Shinrin-Yoku
Evolutionary Connection to Nature
Nature-Connection Benefits
Native connection to Unci Maka–Mother Earth
LTVF Season 2 Music Playlist: Check out the songs that inspire me, and connect with artists from many genres who add to our collective, human soundtrack. 
Journal Prompts
Which of your senses do you get most pleasure from and how is your sensory system engaged in your favorite natural setting?Pick up a few items from your next nature walk and write about what you chose to keep and why. How are you connected to these items?Write about a childhood memory you had in nature. How did this nature connection affect and change you?Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

With over 53 million caregivers in America, we are likely to face caregiver challenges at some point in our lives. As Rosalynn Carter reminded us: “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” 

Caregiving can be thrust upon us, or it can build up over time. We may take on the role with love in our hearts, or experience anger, fear, or other uncomfortable feelings. No matter what our relationship is to the caregiving task, we are entitled to our feelings, and we need to protect ourselves with self-care. I'm making a case for finding balance by putting our needs first sometimes. We do it by grounding ourselves with compassion, enjoying sensory pleasures, and mindful moments.
In the past, I’ve been a caregiver to three family members. Many times, I thought I would break, but I didn’t. Today, I explore how I got through those challenging times, how I remind myself that I can’t live to care for others, and what reasonable self-care for the caregiver can look like. In this episode, I touch on:
How I've added balance to my life as a family caregiver by carving out time for self-careReaffirming the idea that you are the center of your life (even while caregiving)Using tools like listening, patience, mindfulness, and reducing reactivity Putting your caregiving in context and the importance of kicking shame and self-judgment to the curb Making time for mindful momentsWant to reengage with yourself and put creative self-care back on your to-do list? Head over to my website: lettheverseflow.com and sign up for my free newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape. Three times per month, I’ll send you 3 essential, hand-curated links/resources on creative self-care tips, tools, and strategies. 
Poem: Sit Down Awhile 
Music: All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.)
Songs in this episode: Office Party 2  by Nu Alkemi$t; Slide by GEMM; Stillness by DeHartmann; Purple Baggin by Sam Barsh; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters
Resources:
Rosalynn Carter Institute; Unwinding App: (Caregiver Stress course within the app)
Journal Prompts: Find them here.
Tiny Buddha article: Hope for the Grieving
Related Episodes: #9: Mindful Breathing; #20: Affirmation Meditation: Keep Your Dreams Alive; #22:  Affirmation Meditation for Creative Flow; #23 Overcoming Overthinking; #24: Affirmation Meditation to Overcome Overthinking

Have you struggled to be present in your life? Perhaps you’ve been on autopilot for so long that you haven't been experiencing your life in a meaningful way. I understand; I’ve been there too and mindfulness has helped me become more invested in my life’s purpose. It has helped me enjoy the good things that come into my world each day. But where do we begin? 
In this episode, I show you where to start and answer this question: What is mindfulness and how does it change the quality of our lives?
I also provide some tips to start a mindfulness meditation practice, including:
How to get comfortable physically and prepare yourself mentally.How you can use your breath to anchor your meditation to combat the internal chatter. How to build a nonjudgmental space for your meditation, as you deal with emotions that may hold you back from being mindful.Variations and options to structure your meditation practice to fit your needs.Resources to learn more about Buddhist mediation and other Eastern traditions.Journal prompts to reflect on your mindfulness.If you’re interested in listening to some guided meditation, check out my affirmation meditations where I guide you through ways of thinking and understanding through affirmation statements. Check out episodes 20, 22, and 24. 
Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.
Want to reengage with yourself and put creative self-care back on your to-do list? Head over to my website: lettheverseflow.com and sign up for my free newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape. Three times per month, I’ll send you 3 essential, hand-curated links/resources on creative self-care tips, tools, and strategies. 
Poem: Moments
Music: (My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and share it with the world. All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.)
Songs in this episode: Your World  by Nu Alkemi$t; Slide by GEMM; Breathe by Marie; Taken Away by Dr. Delight; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters
Resources: 
Audio Dharma (Gil Fronsdal)
Insight Timer
Related Episodes:
#20: Affirmation Meditation: Keep Your Dreams Alive
#22: Affirmation Meditation to Cultivate Creative Flow
#24: Affirmation Meditation to Overcome Overthinking and Worry
LTVF Season 2 Music Playlist: Check out the songs that inspire me, and connect with artists from many genres who add to our collective, human soundtrack. 
Journal Prompts to Reflect on Your Meditation Practice:
Set an intention for your mindfulness meditation by writing about where and when you will devote 15 minutes to your daily practice. Be specific in the details and schedule this time in your calendar.After you complete a meditation session, write about it. What thoughts come to mind now? How do your mind and body feel at this moment? After a week of meditating, write about what you notice about yourself. Has meditation changed you? Write about any benefits you’ve observed.Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

Hope is an active state of mind that doesn’t negate the sadness, unjustness, or challenges of the world, but seeks to help us persevere to affect the world positively. One of the most important avenues for facilitating and cultivating hope is creativity. 
Our creativity connects us to hope by offering a conduit to the special talents we have to offer the world as we connect (one person to another). When we give to ourselves through creative self-care we have enough optimism, emotional equilibrium, and energy to spread hope, and then move about the world to build a common experience of hope. 
How are you cultivating and sharing your hope? Have you considered how creative self-care might be the engine and vehicle to do it? In this episode, I provide a list of creative self-care activities to spark your thoughts. I hope that whatever creative, innovative, loving project you explore will spread outward in a hopeful path to impact the world.  I believe in the 1:1 connection – one person does make a difference.
Also, in this episode, learn about Harvard’s Flourishing Program and two practical ways to cultivate hope in your life, and find out how Amanda Gorman helps me stay hopeful for the future. 
I’m feeling hopeful today, and have extra that I want to share. Welcome to my reflections from the bright side of the beat.
Want to reengage with yourself and put creative self-care back on your to-do list? Head over to my website: lettheverseflow.com and sign up for my free newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape. Three times per month, I’ll send you 3 essential, hand-curated links/resources on creative self-care tips, tools, and strategies. 
Poem: Ever Hopeful

Music: (My thanks to all the musicians who make incredible music and share it with the world. All music for my podcast is sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.)
Songs in this episode: Keeping You Close by Nu Alkemi$t; Slide by GEMM; Flash by Lunareh; Pyaar Kee Seemaen by Cast of Characters

Resources: Human Flourishing Program; Harvard University's Human Flourishing blog;
Amanda Gorman; What We Carry (poem recitation by Amanda Gorman, accompanied by cellist Jan Vogler
LTVF Season 2 Music Playlist: Check out the songs that inspire me, and connect with artists from many genres who add to our collective, human soundtrack.

Journal Prompts to Inspire Hopefulness:
1) How has a creative self-care activity helped inspire your feelings of hopefulness?
2) Write about a public figure or meaningful person in your life who inspires you to feel hopeful. What is it about them that makes you feel this way?
3) How can you pay your hopefulness forward? Write about 1 or 2 ways that you want to spread your hope to a person or organization, then go out and connect with them. 
Prefer to read this episode? Read the complete episode in blog format here: https://www.lettheverseflow.com

This affirmation meditation accompanies episode #23 on overcoming overthinking. Along with tools like journal writing, affirmation meditations can help you engage calmly with gentle thoughts meant to return you to more reasoned thought patterns. This may take time, as the mind has to be redirected to these ideas repeatedly. Return to this meditation often to help allow the power of affirmation and positive self-talk to silence the noise of overthinking and reduce fear and anxiety. I too struggle with overthinking, and while no single meditation can make it go away completely, I offer these comforting words to support your efforts to reduce overthinking. 
Join the Let the Verse Flow community over at https://www.lettheverseflow.com/ to find a ton of resources (podcast episodes, blog articles, and creative self-care tips and tools). Subscribe to the free companion newsletter, the Me-Time Mixtape, which offers 3 essential, hand-curated creative self-care resources designed to put you back on your to-do list.
Music:  Open Focus (174 Hz Meditation) by Outside The Sky; sourced and licensed for use via Soundstripe.

Related Episode: Overcoming Overthinking and Worry with Journal Writing & Meditation (#23)

Note: Please listen to this affirmation meditation in a safe and comfortable environment, free from potential distractions. Find a quiet and secure space to fully engage with the meditation without interruption. This affirmation meditation strives to promote a positive mindset and encourage creative well-being. However, it is not a substitute for professional mental health advice and treatment. If you are facing mental health challenges, please seek the guidance of a qualified mental health professional for personalized support and care.