Yesterday, I was feeling in a bit of a slump.  I decided to pull out my Art of Inquiry cards by Kath Murdoch and use them to inspire a sketch or two.  I did not end up sketch, but rather journaled my ideas.  These beautiful cards will help anyone to get inspired.  You can get your copy here. 

A big thanks to Kath who personally gave me my set.  She is truly a kind-hearted legend. 

We had a wonderful time going over the basics of sketching.  I hope you enjoy this recording and begin to sketch for yourself.  It doesn't matter what you use as long as you sketch what is in your heart and mind.  

This has been a form of therapy for myself.  I let go of all the frustration and angst.  It helps greatly to put it out on paper, so I can move on. 

​I hope it helps you too. 

I can't believe the thinkchat sketch club is about to launch!  We are going to have so much fun together reflecting on the past, sitting happily in the present, and dreaming about the future. 

Be sure to get yourself a drawing pad, pen (my prefer is the dark blue from Paper Mate), and some colored pencils.  

Let's be kind to our hearts and release some of the pressure that builds when we don't let things go.  I have let go of so many old wounds.  This may be a way for you to do the same. 

Our first meeting is on April 15!

My best friend Anthony could sense that my creativity was quite drained due to overworking and giving my energy to other people, instead of myself.  As a Christmas present, he gifted a set of spirituality cards, goal-setting cards, and a drawing pad. 

As part of my daily practice, I was advised to shuffle each deck separately and choose one card that spoke to me.  Then, I read both cards to discern their meaning and created a drawing on my pad.  

Just like you, I was skeptical about this process, because I wondered how drawing pictures would help me on a daily basis.  Little did I know that it would heal old wounds, help me to recognize my truth, and inspire me to make changes.  

Everyday like clockwork, I reflected using my card sets and my drawings.  It's hard to explain, but I read the words and let the pictures come together in my mind.  I begin drawing and the next thing I know, I've created an entire image.  It's kind of like driving home from work and pulling into your driveway a few minutes later, but you don't remember the journey.  

The most surprising thing was the amount of visuals that came about about my childhood, past relationships, my regrets, my challenges, and my greatest accomplishments.  In some way, it became like therapy for me.  

I travel a lot for my work as an educational consultant and I started to travel with the cards and journal.  I found that it recharged me after a long day of training teachers and sparked new ideas for the next day.  

After some time, I needed a wider variety of cards to choose from to round out my reflection process and to keep the process fresh in my mind.  Here are the cards that I have.   

The Mystic Mondays card deck is one of the original decks given to me as a gift.  For someone who is religious, this might be an instant turn-off.  I totally understand.  I want to you look beyond the card deck being used and consider how you might use the strategy with other cards that provide enlightenment to you. 

I use my tarot deck as a mindfulness tool to examine all parts of my life, behavior, and thinking.  These cards help me to see beyond the immediacy of my actions, but long-term effects.  The deck comes with a magical little book that tells you what each card means when it is facing right side up and upside down. 

As it sounds, the Crush Your Goals cards are focused on developing your goals and not giving up when it gets tough.  These cards really helped me to get out of my funk and to see beyond my current moment.  We all need this at various times in our lives.  We do not judge ourselves, because we aren't motivated to go for our dreams.  Dreams change. 

My Mindful Messages cards are similar to my tarot cards.  They provide different messages about where I am in my journey and possible things I can do to grow.  We all need sizeable action steps to help us to get from one place to another.  These cards are my go to when I want to think deeper and make and action plan. 

The Happier Me deck is self-explanatory.  It explores different ways to be happier with ourselves, others, and living in the world.  I really appreciate this deck, because there is a simple message on the front, which I often use to guide the big picture thinking.  On the back side, there is a message that gets you thinking about your practices and provides a manageable action step. 

The long-term effects from this reflection process has been a more centered spirit.  I express my feelings, frustrations, accomplishments, and joy in pictures that make sense to me.  Each drawing captures a moment in time and helps me to correct behaviors and patterns that I keep repeating.  When it is in print, you can no longer deny its existence. 

Join me as I begin a sketch club via Zoom.  I will posting information shortly on social media.  I hope to see you there!