Do you have a ritual for creativity & inspiration?

I think of creativity as a separate entity that breathes and dances through us. I hear some people say things like, “I’m an engineer, I’m not creative.” Every human is inherently creative, but just like any other relationship we need to nurture the intimacy of our inspiration. The most profound practice I do as a writer is morning pages from The Artists Way. Every morning the first thing I do when I wake up is write three pages of absolutely anything that comes out of my mind. Maybe it was my dream. Maybe it’s brilliant. Or maybe I’m just sitting there writing about how exhausted I am and all of the little worries fumbling around my mind. What this does is it takes out the junk and fear in my mind so that creativity has space to come through me once more. My favorite poet IN-Q says, “if you’re not inspired by life you’re not paying attention.” You don’t even have to look to the outside world for inspiration. Just take an inhale and feel the miracle that exists in the very lungs you breathe.

What would be your advice to anyone who is struggling to stay present or looking to approach a more holistic lifestyle?

There is an abundance in knowledge and an absence in wisdom. You can look online and be flooded with information on chakras and ayahuasca until your brain hurts. The most important thing is to spend time with yourself. Sink into your bodies wisdom and marinate in your own energy. Enjoy the silence and stillness of your own being until you can hear that inner voice that tells you what you need. Sometimes it’s a whisper or a nudge, sometimes it’s a gut feeling. Trust it. Listen to that. We often look for an external crystal ball to give us direction in life, but part of the magic of being human is to learn to surrender to the mystery. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Life is constantly giving you the exact situation you need for your highest growth and learning. If you miss a moment, it will circle back until you catch it. Remember the magic is in your breath.

Who do you look up to?

There are about a million authors and spiritual leaders I could name like Hafiz, Paulo Coelho, Rupi Kaur, Oprah, Matt Kahn, Marianne Williamson, etc. The most honest answer is that I’m inspired by the teachers of my everyday life. My friend Dakota just got up and shared his poetry in front of all of Hollywood. He inspires me to use my voice. My sister Alexis who has been through so much darkness and alchemized it to fuel the fire of her purpose. She shows me life will never send you something you cannot handle, so don’t let it victimize you. We place our heroes on a pedestal, but I think if you can love your own shadow you can be fully accepting of the humanness in other people. And that starts at the dinner table.

What is your favourite quote or piece of poetry?

It is very hard for me to choose between these two. The first quote is from a modern poet, IN-Q that I mentioned earlier who blends his work with his background in hip hop.

“We are human beings first

Beyond the boundaries

In the dirt so how

We treat each other

Should be how we

Measure our worth”

The second one is from the ancient Sufi poet Hafiz.

“God

Blooms

From the shoulder

Of the

Elephant

Who becomes

Courteous

To

The

Ant.”

What is your favourite piece you have ever written?

My answer is always the most recent piece I have written because it is the closest reflection to where I am right now….

Magnets

There is a pull in each of us to connect

A craving to feel seen and loved

Yet we’re terrified if we’re seen we won’t be loved

We silently cry out to each person

A plea that they will see beneath our layers

And remind us what has been true all along:

That love is here and never left

That we are perfect in all our mess

That our wounds will heal when we honestly confess

The insecurities that plague us have always been illusions

All the love you can offer me

Already exists within my heart

And it is within my heart that love should start

What has been your biggest lesson?

How much time do you have? I find our lessons are constantly circling back to us wearing different faces until we learn them. I think my biggest one is learning to choose my own heart. I have a massive fear of hurting other people. I am a recovering people pleaser. It’s part of why social media has helped me grow as a person so much. When you have a lot of people with their own lenses and projections that they’re looking at you through, you’re going to ruffle some feathers. And the truth is if everyone approves of you, what do you stand for? Where is the growth in that? So I think there is a balance of having an open heart and coming from a place of love, but also a strong spine and knowing what truth I stand in.

If you could have a tea ceremony with any 5 guests who would you invite and why?

Alan Watts. I’m very fascinated by people that are sensitive and feel the duality of the world, yet still manage to maintain this sense of child-like lightheartedness. I often become very serious and must remind myself to be playful and dance with life whether it’s a shadow dance or a celebration. Paulo Coelho is another one. He wrote the alchemist in two short weeks and I’m inspired by his ability to get out of his own way and allow magic to pour through him. My next one would be Oprah. She came from one of the darkest places a human being can come from with her childhood, and her intention of service has sparked a massive spiritual movement reflecting the potential all of us have within us. Bob Marley is another one. My friend explained to me that the amount of beats per minute of his music was different from most songs in that it managed to align his audiences heartbeats to the same rhythm. It really brings on a whole new meaning of “one love.” JK Rowling is my last one. Regardless of whether or not Harry Potter resonates with you, she managed to create an entire world with deeply complex characters that expand the reader’s capacity for empathy. She reflects to me just how far the imagination can go when we dissolve our limitations of it.

What are your hopes for the rest of the year and what would you like to share with the world?

I hope I learn to trust. Trust my inner voice. Trust the future. Surrender. I would like to share more of my imagination with the world, and the lessons that I’m learning. I hope I learn to be more patient with myself. I always catch myself trying to be 40 at 21. Honestly I think what I do will always shift and change because what I do is not who I am. But when I look back on my life what is most important to me is that I shared the truest, most unconditional love possible, that I was of service through my creative expression, and that I danced through this beautiful mess of a game called life like rafiki from the Lion King.

What is your definition of a WYLDE WOMAN?

I wrote a poem for this after being inspired by the owner herself and I think it explains it more than anything else I could say.

What is the power of a wild woman?

Is it in the curve of her hips,

Or the knowing smile on her lips?

Is it in the strength of her thighs,

Or the sparkle in her eye?

Is it in the history her back wears,

Or the messiness of her hair?

Is it in her intuition and sensitivity,

Or the way her emotions run like wild horses,

Teaching us to speak the illogical language of creativity?

Is it in how deep her love runs,

Or the way she and the Moon cycles are one?

Every month she experiences death

Shedding all the shadow her body has kept

The power of a wild woman

Runs in the veins of a woman who remembers her worth

Who recognizes her body is a portal through which life makes birth

The power of a wild woman

Breathes through the woman who does not spend her sacred energy

Apologizing for who she is

But instead reminds other women of their own wild nature

Through taking care of herself she can genuinely give

She does not soften her voice

Or suppress what is truly her hearts choice

The more I come to know the wild woman

The less I can explain her through words

So perhaps if you close your eyes

And withdraw from the world outside

You’ll feel her as a a part of you

And realize she’s been there all along

What would be your advice to girls?

Live your life sincerely, but don’t take it so seriously. If you’re ever uncertain, put one hand on your heart, and one hand on your belly. Take three deep breaths and ask yourself, “is this what my most empowered, loving self would do?” Sometimes that means taking a risk. Sometimes that means saying no. But trust that voice. And never compare. If you start looking at other women and it’s triggering your insecurities instead of inspiring you, it means it’s time to come home to yourself for a while. There is only one you with your specific arrangement of molecules in the entire universe. Everyone is special, but whether they know it or not is where their power dwells. Do not waste a moment of your life trying to dance to someone else’s tune. Your song is so unique and beautiful. And you’re never going to be anyone else. So build a home within the foundations of your own skin because this world heals when we stop reacting from our wounds and start acting from our true divine nature.