Zenful Mindings LLC

10/29/2025

It’s turning into a lovely autumn season where I live, and it’s my favorite time of the year to hit the trails (and the sidewalks). I adore falling in love with the different color palettes and patterns I find in nature, and at the same time, one of the hardest things for me to do is give myself time to really soak it in — free of scheduling and task worries.

There. Is. Always. So. Much. To. Do.

It feels miserable.

I’ve been getting a lot of tension headaches lately, and I realized that I’m experiencing a lot of anticipatory tension. Do you ever get that? I’m so worried about keeping up with my schedule or getting something done on time or getting to a certain point in my work or balancing my time or doing something fast enough that I’m clenching my body. Constantly. Like I’m dragging myself forward by the chin and shoulders just to eke across a constantly moving finish line I’ve imagined.

I find myself trying to cram more in and living in a constant state of troubleshooting my scheduling issues, but what I really (really, really, really) need is to be doing less. So I can stop distorting my bones with muscular tension. So I’m less panicked about time. So I can be more present with people and things I love. So I can hit those trails and soak in all the autumnal magic.

I’m looking into what I can put down, especially as I know that more things are coming up with the holiday season. I don’t want my being to burst at the seams in some vain attempt to ‘hold it all together.’ Because no thanks — I have a long history with holding it all together, and while I’m pretty good at it, we really need to part ways on my terms. That’s just not how I want to live.

So this week I’m offering the radical notion that we can all put some stuff down, and we all really need to. Feel free to be gentle or drop it with a loud thunk, but let something go already.

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10/22/2025

This past week I caught a glimpse of something somewhere that was discussing the harshness of the language we use to talk about success. I forget where I saw it, and it was just a snippet, but it clung to me like sticky jam.

It specifically mentioned how the words we use are pretty violent (killing, dominating, etc.), and I thought about all the ways we whip ourselves with words daily: should, have to, must, can’t. What terrible verbal vitamins.

We could really use some mindset and intention shifts — some cleansing of diction that harms. I know this is especially difficult when we’re surrounded by media and people and bosses and systems that use the language that promotes us “killing ourselves” to be successful and worthy. And the truth is that we can’t change all those things in one day or with one powerful and well-crafted statement.

But it is possible for us to notice the language we’re using internally and within our own spheres of reach. Those are things we can directly affect and shift.

I can’t tell you exactly what I want my life to look like in 10 years, but I can tell you that I want a soft life filled with love that gives me smile lines and space to breathe deeply as I take in all the minuscule wonders around me. I want to notice things and live them and give hugs freely and feel rooted in both possibility and groundedness. And none of that description vibes with harsh must-dominate energies.

I want to use my words to weave spells that lift me and sprinkle kindness outward. I want to acknowledge the strength and fragility of my being in ways that build rather than tear down. So I’m using this moment as a reminder to infuse intention into my speech and writing, and I hope by sharing, you’re inspired to do the same.

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10/20/2025

Tomorrow is the start of a brand new lunar cycle, and the Lunar Love Letter will dance into inboxes! This cycle's letter offers some loving energy toward this season of transition.

💌 The Lunar Love Letter is free and only available via email; subscribe today so you don't miss it!

10/15/2025

I’ve been giving a lot of intentional energy into what I’m putting into my body lately, specifically how it is or isn’t nourishing me. I’m currently trying to cut way down on processed foods and incorporate more whole foods to see how my body responds, and I have to say that so far, placebo or not, it feels good.

A big part of that goodness is coming out of making intentional loving decisions about what I want to consume AND how I want to feel after.

To no one’s shock, I’m also extending this into what I’m letting into my psyche and energetic fields.

Basically, I want to consume all the hope.

I want it to fill my body and overflow into every heart that surrounds mine. I want to feel solidly into my connection with my own humanity and that of those I’m in relation with. I want to let whatever glimmer of brightness in me has thrived all these years to burn brighter than it ever has, and I want it to be seen and shared.

And I recognize that this requires me to give that same attention I’m giving to food nutrition to other things I’m consuming.

I’m leaning more and more away from social media, a legit detox and overhaul process, and I’ve been trying to fill myself with more nourishing things — creative projects I’ve mentioned, people and adventures I find joyful, and specific books and media I find mentally and emotionally yummy.

There is a lot of talk out there about living off the screen, and if you’d like a gentle nudge of inspiration, check out this video that’s a hot reminder that we’re people — not numbers and likes and algorithmic feeds. We’re real live people with lungs and hearts.

I’d also like to recommend the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. We’re currently reading this book at bedtime in my house, and it’s wonderfully hopeful. The main theme is finding purpose and a way to endure that’s rooted in how we dream of the future — how hope feeds us — even in the bleakest of circumstances.

TLDR - hope is punk AF and I’m on a mission to spread it.

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51% of the internet is bots... but 100% of You is human.(Shot this on a 20 year old camera because it made me feel something)Big inspiration (and the damn ti...

10/08/2025

If you’ve spent the last few months living in a KPop Demon Hunters-obsessed home like I have, you’re all too familiar with impact of patterns.

In real life, our patterns can be positive, negative, or neutral, and they tend to grow deeply embedded as we wear grooves along our life paths. They show up as repetitive mental narratives, rituals we have during certain times or seasons, and habits we’ve developed for coping with stress.

Patterns are sort of like these built-in safety nets we make for ourselves — they’re familiar, predictable, and kind of grounding. But sometimes they hold us back when we hold onto them too tightly.

If there’s anything I’ve learned through my own time-management struggles and self-cultivation practices, it’s that we have to be willing to break our own unsupportive patterns in order to evolve. And this is inherently uncomfortable. Sometimes (speaking for myself), just the idea of interrupting a pattern can feel like a real live threat to my nervous system.

For example, I function really well within scheduling routines. This helps me manage my mental and energetic loads more easily, and it helps me hold myself accountable to certain things that are must do.

BUT.

Sometimes I’m too stringent with containers and allotments, and that prevents me from trying new things, taking risks, and living wider. When someone asks me to change something, sometimes I go straight to immediate panic mode. My insides freeze and it feels like my breath stops.

I have to make a definitive effort to check in with myself. What is actually happening? What are my values and priorities in the situation? Would it be more supportive to stick to the routine/pattern or to deviate and experiment?

Sometimes there are super easy answers to these questions, but sometimes we might encounter a lot of internal resistance, and ultimately, we can only figure those things out for ourselves.

The important thing is to be willing — willing to take an honest look, to hold yourself accountable, and to take action and break your own unsupportive patterns.

May we all be so brave and present to do this for ourselves, and to hold space for others as they do the same.

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10/01/2025

This morning I’ve been reflecting a lot on the state of my relationship with my body, and this is a really tricky subject for me. I’ve not had a good relationship with my body for decades in my life, and it’s only really in the past few years that I’ve deepened and healed it to the extent that I have. And I’ve still got miles and miles and miles to go.

I think our relationships to our bodies are this hub for how we experience life. It’s this strangely reciprocal relationship. How we feel about bodies extends out to how we live in and participate in the world, and how the world is affects how we feel about our bodies.

It affects how we treat others, regarding their bodies and other things. How we talk to and treat ourselves. How we show up to and for others. How we work and play. How we think about social issues and interact with the environment. How we think about the world and our place in it.

I haven’t treated my body well over a large portion of my life. That came in the form of negative self talk, bouncing back and forth between food restriction and overeating, depriving myself of sleep, excessive drinking, unsafe drug use, searching for external validation, dressing in ways to perform a part rather than being myself, etc etc etc.

I don’t do the super unhealthy things anymore, and I really try to enhance my own self-care practices to nourish my whole body, but it’s hard. And sometimes I fall back into my old patterns of negative self image and beating myself up about food choices. And I feel bad about it. Just like I would if I treated someone else like I treat my body sometimes.

If you see yourself in any of that or relate to my experiences, I see you too. And thank you for sharing this space and time with me. And I want to remind us that we have the most concentrated power over what’s within our proximity, which is what’s closest to us: our relationships with our own bodies.

In that spirit, I’d like to share this Dear Body meditation (https://insig.ht/07717JGm5Wb?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=content) by Diviya Lewis that I found cathartic and nourishing for myself. It’s about 8 minutes long and doesn’t require you to close your eyes or anything, so feel free to listen as you drive or walk or lay down. Let it inspire you to write your own letter or share your experience, and perhaps let it open a portal to a wider and more loving connection with your own body.

I’m open to hearing if anything comes up and you’d like to share.

With kindness and soft energy 💜

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09/24/2025

Yesterday I had the joy of attending a virtual Fall Retreat for this magical biz community I’m part of, and someone brought up that they were working on resting more… all 7 kinds. Deer in headlights moment. Seven kinds?!

Here’s the scoop (https://ideas.ted.com/the-7-types-of-rest-that-every-person-needs/):

Physical rest
Mental rest
Sensory rest
Creative rest
Emotional rest
Social rest
Spiritual rest

You’ll probably recognize all of these, but to have the language around them is powerful and potent self care.

And I’m going to use this opportunity to tell on myself a little.

I’ve felt so fatigued lately, and I know a good bit of it is physical (starting the gym and sleep issues), so I keep making sure I’m eating okay and practicing supportive sleep habits and all the things. But I’m still exhausted to the point where when I’m done with the ‘must dos’ of the day, I just want to lay flat and numb my brain. And it’s so much work to overcome that temptation when I also want to spend time with my daughter and do other things I love.

I’m not just experiencing physical fatigue. I’m also heavily weighed down with mental, sensory, and emotional fatigue. I’m having a real issue lately being too wrapped up in news, and I know that’s not good for me when I don’t have balance, and I have no idea how to maintain balance in the current news climate we’re in. What I do know is that I’m too willingly letting those algorithms get their dirty claws in my psyche and I deserve better. So yesterday during that Fall Retreat, I made a commitment to give my attention to some projects that are lighting me up instead of what’s bringing me down.

Two that are at the top of my list:
Readying my pollinator garden for fall/winter
Painting our dining table and chairs

These feel good and low stakes for me, but have high reward baked into them. I want to get my hands dirty and give our abode some new funky freshness.

So this week, I invite you to get curious about those 7 types of rest and reflect a bit on where you could benefit from a certain kind. Let me know what comes up!

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09/23/2025

A question! Seeking feedback!

I’m contemplating migrating to one longer form newsletter monthly, a Zenful Mindings ‘zine of sorts. This would include content that you normally see in the Mindful Morsel, the Lunar Love Letter, some specific body literacy content, and some other highlights to be determined. How does that feel for you?

I’m working on simplifying some things in my biz and my life, and also the things that land in your inbox and social media feeds. I’d like to start exiting social media in some ways, and I think longer form content that’s also accessible on your own terms fits. Plus I’m in a 90s retro vibe and zines are amazing magic. I’d love to give it a try. Let me know what you think!

Feel free to fill out the attached survey, leave a comment, or message me!

I’m contemplating migrating to one longer form newsletter monthly, a Zenful Mindings ‘zine of sorts. This would include content that you normally see in the Mindful Morsel, the Lunar Love Letter, some specific body literacy content, and some other highlights to be determined. I’m working on si...

09/19/2025

The Lunar Love Letter for the Harvest Moon will be sliding into inboxes on Sunday, 9/21, and this letter softly reminds us to use the transitional energy of this season to make supportive arrangements for self care over the next few months.

Subscribe to invite this gentle energy into your inbox 💌

09/17/2025

Last week I started going to the gym for the first time in years. It’s a wild thing for me really. I dig strength training and working out at home. I like not having to leave or worry about getting dressed a specific way. I like not having to be on a super-crunched schedule. I like the accessibility and ease of being in my own space.

But I noticed it wasn’t nourishing me in the same way anymore, and after some self-discovery work, I decided I had three choices:

1. Keep doing what I’ve been doing and grow increasingly bored, which was already affecting my motivation and consistency and would likely lead to me quitting.

2. Buy new things so I could grow my home resources, but this would add more things for me to take care of and there’s not a whole bunch of room for that, and I don’t want to spend that money.

3. Branch out and go somewhere that already has the equipment I seek.

I opted for door number 3, and to my surprise, I liked it. There are benefits I hadn’t even thought of — inadvertent body doubling (fantastic for my neurodivergent brain), a calm and quiet atmosphere (unheard of at any other gym I’ve gone to), and the additional motivation and excitement that comes with novelty (dopamine!).

I can already feel a big shift in my body because I’m providing it access to tools to grow and evolve in ways it’s really been craving. I hadn’t fully realized the extent of that craving until my first bout of muscle exhaustion. I found it invigorating — not like any other kind of exhaustion. It’s one that, for me, feels good. Useful. Grounding and earthly.

This all wouldn’t be happening if I hadn’t noticed that I wasn’t feeling as nourished my at-home workouts anymore. It was getting harder and harder to do them with the vigor I once did. I was bored and more likely to skim through things and think that was sufficient. I wasn’t up in my feels if I had to skip a day. And I didn’t feel good when I was done. I just felt like I could check it off my to do list.

Part of thriving self care is observing these things and creating change so you can evolve. We are moving beings by all definitions. We are not meant to stay in one place or practice or state of mind for all the rest of time and forever and ever.

So this week, I’m asking: When you get down into the nitty gritty, what’s leaving you undernourished? What have you outgrown (even though it’s a good practice)? And how can you pivot and support yourself better?

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09/10/2025

I’ve been spending time mulling over the rocks, pebbles, and sand analogy these past few days. If you’re not familiar, the general gist is that what we prioritize first is often what takes up the most space, so we’re best served by prioritizing what’s most important (self care, relationships, etc.).

I think this is stellar mindfulness and self care, but the reason I’ve been mulling it over isn’t the general gist, but rather why we hardly focus on taking things out or sharing the load.

In our busy lives and schedules we’re often looking for ways to shift what’s already there and find the smallest ways to fit more in. We cram our calendars until we’re exhausted, exerting much of our creative energy in playing Tetris in our dayplanners rather than other creative endeavors (imagine what we’re robbing the art world of!).

And why? And why aren’t we simplifying and seeing what we can take off our plates instead?

This has been on my mind so much because it’s a default behavior for me that I cycle through and work through and land in over and over. It comes up a lot when I’m struggling with time management and differentiating between what is best that I do, what I want to do, and what I feel like I should do.

I grew up in an environment where if I didn’t perform and hold my own, it was dangerous to my well being, and then I transitioned into jobs where companies expected more and more, and if you weren’t doing that and maxing out your capacity, you were lazy and unworthy. So my brain has a long-held and tightly wired connection between the quantity of things I do and self worth.

Over the last few years I’ve done so much work to loosen this connection and I’ve made incredible progress (toot toot! 🤘), but it’s hard when you’re wired like that so deeply. And I know many of you relate.

We live in an era that has taught us to privatize tasks and hoard them to prove we’re worthy. But in that privatization, we’re breaking our jars and straying farther from a sense of community that we desperately need.

So instead of finding the next smallest or more fluid thing to fill empty space with, let’s ditch the hyper-independence and honestly evaluate if we need to take on anything new, and if we decide to, let’s look at what we can remove from our jars to make space. What can someone help you with? What just doesn’t even need done? What’s stale and outdated and unnecessary? Full and whole-hearted permission to take those things out.

Let me know how that lands and love yourself with a little more intention.

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09/03/2025

The past few weeks I’ve spent more time with my own meditation practice than I have in quite a while. I’m currently on week 4 of Juna Bobby’s Stress Relief Down to the Cellular Level series, (which is an excellent intro to autogenic training if you’re interested – check out weeks 1-3 first on the Insight Timer).

What I’m finding most remarkable is that with all the struggles I’ve had in the past month with my own self care and resourcing, I haven’t put meditation on the backburner, which is typically one of the first things I do. And since I’ve been sticking to it and investing significant time in it, I notice that I’m using these same tools to help me fall asleep and to find a little more ease in my body throughout the day.

Meditation gets this hard, inaccessible rep, and I think a lot of us don’t understand it or how to approach it. We hold this notion that it’s supposed to be you sitting silent and perfect, with your mind not meandering anywhere else. That’s a fast way to set yourself up for a sinking sense of failure.

Case in point: I can’t just sit down to meditate. I will get antsy beyond belief and find a sudden urge to organize my cabinets instead.

Within the 8 limbs of yoga, the physical yoga practice is actually meant to help you prepare for meditation. Movement makes meditation practice more accessible (like getting your wiggles out first), and if you’re not into yoga, any kind of movement can work. It also helps to drop any expectations. Loudly. And with a thud if you can. It looks many different ways for different brains, people, settings, and time constraints. So don’t lock yourself into an image you saw in pop culture somewhere. That’s just a disappointing misuse of imagination.

Instead, think of meditation as a tool for where you’re at and however you find yourself in that moment. Dive in where you are and give it a whirl with your own flavor. And in case you need another voice besides mine to remind you how accessible and valuable it is, check out the 8/27/25 episode of On Purpose with Jay Shetty: The Step-by-Step Guide to Meditation ANYONE Can Do.

Feel free to share what you experience and help inspire others :)

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