Uncover Your Inspiration With Reflective Reading.

This week's musical tune to compliment the {field note} below as you read, meditate or do what you please: Jam Here.

The warm sun is finally peaking its way out in The Northwoods of Wisconsin. As the snow melts, I'm inspired to lean back into the silence of growing things; beginning to build more of the tiny house, Swan Studio. Soon to come is the testing of electric and installing insulation but for now, in this magical moment, I'm just simply (and inexplicably) inspired...

Sitting in a tree house (That I refer to as The Birds Nest), down the hill from the dome home (I like to call Turtles Landing), I re-read what I've probably read a few dozen times by now.

I discovered this particular reading for the first time just after taking a yearlong traveling sabbatical in the wild. Here I was, a bridesmaid in a wedding that happened to be on a farm out in the middle of nowhere. Even further out in the middle of nowhere was a tiny, off-the-grid cabin.

Inside of this humble abode, as the rest of the wedding party was chit chatting and drinking bubbly before the exchange of vows, I was off quietly reading this piece of unframed paper on an old log wall. It illuminating the following words that I re-read now...

"I live in nature where everything is connected, circular. The seasons are circular. The planet is circular, and so is the planet around the sun. The course of water over the earth is circular coming down from the sky and circulating through the world to spread life and then evaporating up again.

I live in a circular teepee and build my fire in a circle. The life cycles of plants and animals are circular. I live outside where I can see this. The ancient people understood that our world is a circle, but we modern people have lost site of that.

I don't live inside buildings because buildings are dead places where nothing grows, where water doesn't flow, and where life stops. I don't want to live in a dead place. People say that I don't live in a real world, but it's modern Americans who live in a fake world, because they have stepped outside the natural circle of life.

Do people live in circles today? No. They live in boxes. They wake up every morning in a box of their bedrooms because a box next to them started making beeping noises to tell them it was time to get up. They eat their breakfast out of a box and then they throw that box away into another box.

Then they leave the box where they live and get into another box with wheels and drive to work, which is just another big box broken into little cubicle boxes where a bunch of people spend their days sitting and staring at the computer boxes in front of them. When the day is over, everyone gets into the box with wheels again and goes home to the house boxes and spends the evening staring at the television boxes for entertainment. They get their music from a box, they get their food from a box, they keep their clothing in a box, they live their lives in a box.

Break out of the box!,,, This not the way humanity lived for thousands of years." -The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert

Probably one of the parts I adore most about "The Birds Nest" and "Turtles Landing," just as much as "Swan Studio" tiny house on wheels, is that they are structures built around the captivating and grounding nature of The Northwoods.

According to the philosopher, mathematician, engineer, historian, poet and Expert In The Field, Buckminister Fuller, dome homes are known to be the most efficient building system available. Unlike the traditional box home, this structure works well in supporting the theory that we can “do more with less.” Not only are these homes generally more energy efficient, but they’re disaster-proof too.

When I step inside of the dome home, I'm instantly bathed in natural light from all of the floor to ceiling windows that circle around me. It's similar to Swan Studio tiny house, with it's many windows that look outside. It has me feeling a part of nature, by bringing the outdoors in.

Naturally, it's magical spaces as such that are one of many ways that can allow for us to feel connected with the natural wonders of the world, and it's surrounding creatures. Even more so, I think it gives us space to tune into our inner nature too.

One of the 9 ways to make space for magic is through reflective reading. There are many ways to do this, and it really depends on the circumstance.

For instance, the quote above has me thinking about how I can live in a more circular fashion, within a lifestyle that is sustainable, and in hopes for generations to come. I love coming back to this piece from time to time, and it always realigns me with my values, reminding me why I'm doing what I'm doing in the first place... (especially on the days that have their challenges!)

One of my favorite ways to do reflective reading is by looking back at old vision boards. Vision boards will typically have a lot less for reading, maybe with a few words here and there, or a quote posted.

A little backstory, when I first moved to the land here, I felt as if it was speaking to me. I looked at the dome, and thought it looked like a home that could be called Turtle's Landing. The next day, I went out and saw a turtle outside the dome!

After one magical moment after another with this, I questioned whether it was too good to be true. That's when I returned to an old vision board that I'd created a few years prior to arriving here. It was a vision board within a topic I referred to as "Retreat," and as I looked at it, I read the words "Safe Haven," and thought it was the most magical thing, as the land was under a trust called "Safe Haven."

Looking back at old journals works really great for reflection as well! As long as we aren't over swept into the past, and can remain grounded in the present.

I don't have Facebook anymore, but one thing I loved about it is that old memories would pop up from years past. This is a good way to reflect, to read any old pictures quotes you may have posted from that time in your life, and see how far you've come, or how things have come full circle.

On the days that I have a full schedule and don't want to necessarily sit down and read for an extended period of time, I'll ask myself, tuning into my inner nature, what is it I need to hear today? There might be a book that comes to mind, or I see one out of the corner of my eye. This is when I'll set an intention, and then randomly open the book and read from whatever page it lands on. I then take a few moments to reflect on it, and put it in relation to my life, and any lessons I can take from it as I move forward through the rest of my day.

As the sun begins to set, I'm hopeful for what tomorrow brings, and for today, wherever this blog post finds you, I hope it inspires you in some way too.