The best tumblr I’ve seen yet!

Hello,

Happy Thursday Outlaws! It may be a little quiet around here right now– but it’s only because I’ve been doing a lot of behind the scenes work around to really snazzy up the place! I’m working on a post discussing all these little updates –but in the meantime, links!

Lovely, lovely links! 

• What if gender roles in advertising were reversed? A video I thoroughly enjoyed. 
• Instead of mindlessly surfing or playing games, why not check out these 7 brain boosting websites? 
• It’s not too late to be thinking about spring cleaning! Here are some feng shui to-do’s & Veronica’s guide to spring cleaning your closets. (Bonus: my own magic cleaning advice!)
• The effects of Kava as a stress reducer. I have used Kava in a powdered capsule form & when I’m feeling particularly anxious-it can definitely help me ease up. I would love to try it in it’s pure form though!
• Can smoking pot make you skinnier? (!!!)
• A guide to practical compassion. 
• I loved this! Shit you should NEVER feel guilty about! Yes! 
• Love & hair spells. 
• Here are some tips to curing midday fuzzy brain. 
• The freaking awesome Danielle LaPorte wrote what I know about working with people (& yes this also applies to romance–as does most business advice). A must read!

Have anything you’d like to see listed here? Please tweet me!

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Collages by Martin O’Neill

• So last week I put together my best of writing list & the very same day, Brain Pickings created a readlist of all the writing advice that’s been featured on the site! 
• Six rules every business owner needs to obey. 
• If you want to be productive– you should clean your desk! Lifehacker put together a great list of tips on how to do just that! 
• Do you think millennials are delusional or just optimistic? 
• Heh…If Disney characters were college students today! 
• 2 easy Tuesday tips! 
• Blog Log #9 is just what I needed to read this week! Everyone keep going! 
• How to slay your shyness!
• All needs are preferences, so we should let reality be real. A perfect reminder before the heat of Houston summer kicks in.
• Your best & your same (vs your different & your truth).
• I am a fan of both modern art & dessert (dessert…especially!) so naturally I need to own this book! 
• Beautiful. A story of a vow.
• A few years ago I read Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art (& Do the Work!) & I highly recommend them! To get a feel for them, check out his 12 tips to turning pro & overcoming procrastination!  
• I am a subscriber to Mystic Medusa & her oracle is almost always spot on! (Except when I asked what housewitchery cure I should try, it suggested I get a cat– but I have 4 cats! Holy cow no more cats! Unless it meant literally right then go grab one of my cats…)
• Love your sadness, it won’t last. 

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Some of my boards

Pinterest is one of my absolute favorite things.

Odd enough, a deceptively simple image collection platform has helped my life exponentially evolve. There are downfalls, like with anything; spending all of your time looking at content as opposed to ya’ know.. actually living your life; but you can totally utilize Pinterest in a way that can completely change your life.

Here are some of the ways I’ve done just that:

• Get healthy. I love trying recipes from Pinterest, in fact, 95% of the recipes I’ve tried in the past year have been from Pinterest. Spinach smoothies, beer bread & roast vegetables galore! If you’re looking to transition to a new diet, or just eat healthier (or conversely, you made a resolution to eat more dessert…), doing a quick search can lead you to new recipes, lifestyle blogs, grocery lists cookware reviews, a plethora of helpful things! Of course, just pinning things to try won’t work– you have to actually do them.

• Go clean. Likewise, I’ve been trying to detox my life– cutting out chemical cleaning products, eating non packaged foods, switching to paraben free shower products; Pinterest has been one of my most valuable tools in doing so. I have boards of alternatives to chemical cleaners, whole food recipes, homemade beauty treatments, everything I could need.

• Stay motivated. I have boards for all of my interests & whenever I don’t feel like working out or getting any work done– I can look through a board & instantly feel inspired. For instance, when I don’t feel like working out, I can look at pictures of yoga poses or workout ideas. I find that if I’m even just looking at pictures of people doing what I want to be doing, I’m more inclined to actually get up & do it.

• Keep my computer clean & images organized. Everything in a proper category for quick referral is the best & Pinterest keeps my hard drive from getting clogged with random, unsorted images. Instead of saving to a downloads file, I can just pin images & have them available no matter where I am.

• Be a better blogger. Oh golly, Pinterest is the queen of enhancing my website. I have a secret board dedicated to CosmicOutlaw where I pin all the images I associate with my message, colors & styles, branding ideas, redesign ideas, etc. I save images I might want to use in the future, tutorials, business inspiration, even things like social media icons. Pinterest is also great for idea generation & research. You can make boards for article ideas & save links (I also use Evernote for this-but Pinterest is better for quickly glancing through images.) Pinterest is also a natural choice for sharing the articles I write & with analytics & statistics I can track any marketing easily. Pro tip: secret boards are perfect for blog use!

• Be a better artist. I pin images of both art I like & the techniques I want to try. To develop artistic skill, it’s advised to start by replicating existing art. Anything I want to experiment with & think “hey I can make that!” gets pinned. Browsing through the art category often opens my mind to styles & techniques I’ve never experienced before. I have a design board for the same reason.

• Enhance storytelling. As a writer, it’s useful to be able to visualize the people & places I’m writing about & pinterest allows me do that. I can create character boards filled with images of the styles & traits that I perceive this character having. If I want to write about a place I’ve never been, say Mars, I can make a board with pictures of Mars that amp up my descriptions.

• Evolve my style. I plan to do an extensive post on how I’ve gone from teenager in khaki cargo pants to adult with a Kate Spade handbag, but Pinterest has been a key player in my style evolution. Fashion is one of the most popular uses of Pinterest, & there’s literally boards for every kind of style– so it’s easy to find clothes you like & boards that resonate. Being able to pin & sift & sort through the styles I’m a fan of gives me a more cohesive idea of what I’d like to wear. I can see patterns forming & figure out what I’d like to own or how to wear my existing clothes.

• Enhance my lifestream/loa thoughts. I have a lifestream board which is filled with wonderful quotes & ideas, a hero board for everyone & everything that has inspired me & given me strength, a board for all the products I am manifesting in my life & a magic board that I will talk about next!

• Make more magic! My magic board is probably my favorite of all my boards. Filled with magical mandalas, ritual ideas, pictures of the cosmos, scientific theories (quantum mechanics is the most magical!), & eastern philosophy. It’s my enchantment board & anything I deem having a magical essence gets placed there.

Feel free to follow one or all of my boards! Part of the beauty of Pinterest is that you don’t have to follow everything your friends do– you can completely tailor it to your needs & interests!

There’s so much you can do with Pinterest & this is just an idea of how beneficial it can be. If you use Pinterest– what do you use it for & how has it changed you?

For more ideas check out how Mia & Gala use Pinterest.

Related Posts:

• 17 ways I make magic happen: websites, the internet, and technology edition
• On quitting smoking
• 26 things I’ve learned in my 26 years
• 17 ways I make magic happen: new year edition
• 17 ways I make magic happen: writing edition

Since I was in 4th grade, I’ve considered myself a writer.

I’m a fiendish devotee to all things writing, from lusting after notebooks to devouring words of writing wisdom. Thus, today, I present you with my collection of articles, advice, & tools for the aspiring writer. This is no stagnant list of links however! I will be updating this whenever I read a really great book on writing, or whenever an article really sings to my soul.

If you know of anything that should be included here, let me know!

Advice? I don’t have advice. Stop aspiring and start writing. If you’re writing, you’re a writer. Write like you’re a goddamn death row inmate and the governor is out of the country and there’s no chance for a pardon. Write like you’re clinging to the edge of a cliff, white knuckles, on your last breath, and you’ve got just one last thing to say, like you’re a bird flying over us and you can see everything, and please, for God’s sake, tell us something that will save us from ourselves. Take a deep breath and tell us your deepest, darkest secret, so we can wipe our brow and know that we’re not alone. Write like you have a message from the king. Or don’t. Who knows, maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who doesn’t have to.- Alan Watts

Articles

17 Ways I Make Magic Happen: Writing Edition

Seth Godin’s How I Write

How to be a Writer by Gala Darling

Jessica Mullen’s Mind Maps

How to Write Faster

The Tarot as a Tool for Writing your Novel

33 Unusual Tips to Being a Better Writer

Six tips to Smash Writers Block by Veronica Varlow

Writing Advice from History’s Fastest, Most Prolific Writers

“I hate writing” 3 bitter, distressing & troublesome words that (always) mean something else.

How to consistently write 1000 words a day

“If you stuff yourself full of poems, essays, plays, stories, novels, films, comic strips, magazines, music, you automatically explode every morning like Old Faithful. I have never had a dry spell in my life, mainly because I feed myself well, to the point of bursting. I wake early and hear my morning voices leaping around in my head like jumping beans. I get out of bed to trap them before they escape.” — Ray Bradbury

 

Brain Pickings

Brain Pickings is so full of amazing advice & book reviews, it deserves it’s own section. These are some of my favorites, but if you’re really an overachiever-you could spend an entire day browsing the fine collection of articles & ideas. Ahoy!

The Daily Routines of Writers

Henry Miller’s 11 Commandments of Writing & Daily Creative Routine

The Adverb is Not Your Friend

Joan Didion On Keeping a Notebook

The Writer’s Technique in Thirteen Theses

Why I Write: George Orwell’s Four Motives for Creatives

Susan Orleans On Writing

“Recording the details of our lives is a stance against bombs with their mass ability to kill, against too much speed and efficiency. A writer must say yes to life, to all of life: the water glasses, the Kemp’s half-and half, the ketchup on the counter. It is not a writer’s task to say, ‘It is dumb to live in a small town or to eat in a cafe when you can eat macrobiotic at home.’ Our task is to say a holy yes to the real things of our life as they exist-the real truth of who we are: several pounds overweight, the gray, cold street outside, the Christmas tinsel in the showcase, the Jewish writer in the orange booth cross from her blond friend who has black children. We must become writers who accept things as they are, come to love the details, and step forward with a yes on our lips so there can be no more noes in the world, noes that invalidate life and stop these details from coming.” –Natalie Goldberg

Books

Writing Down the Bones

The Elements of Style

The War of Art & Do the Work

Steal like an Artist

Your Big Beautiful Book Plan

Crafting the Personal Essay: A Guide for Writing & Publishing Creative Non Fiction

The Write Brain Workbook: 366 Exercises to Liberate your Writing

The Artist’s Way

Tools

I plan on covering the tools I use in depth, but this is my basic list. I absolutely couldn’t live without any of these!

Quotes & Accents

Scrivener (Here’s an excellent beginners guide)

750words

Evernote

Wunderlist

Moleskines (Monster Moleskine Hacks)

Related Posts:

• 17 ways I make magic happen: writing edition
• On quitting smoking
• 26 things I’ve learned in my 26 years
• 17 ways I make magic happen: new year edition
• Principles of Art: Steal from yourself (aka, everything is an artists tool)

Imaginary Worlds by Heather Patterson

Happy Thursday, Outlaws!

It’s time for another edition of Linkstream, a collection of my favorite internet goodies!

• I immediately want to start growing all of these magical plants! 
• More on the magical quality of bamboo. 
• Veronica put together this fantastic no sew guide to making your t-shirts more rock n roll. 
• Also from Veronica, how to turn jealousy into inspiration. 
• Have you ever thought about going goal-less?
• We all have to start somewhere:: In the beginning: My first design project. 
• The internet can be a really terrific place filled with really compassionate people. 
• How to be an optimist by Carolyn.
• You don’t want to be typical.
• Here, have some confidence vitamins, courtesy of the word wizard Alexandra Franzen herself.
• How to stop psyching yourself out is some essential reading!
• Writing tip: say it backwards 
• Gala’s glorious guide to celebrating the season! 
• Shauna’s recap of the Blogcademy makes me want to go something awful!
• Lately, one of my main goals has been to just learn more about money; so I’m so excited to discover DailyWorth. “Money has meaning when it gives you the freedom to live an inspired life.” Amen to that!
• A 4 step plan to feeling better
• Deepak Chopra talks creativity & age in The Rabbit Hole. 
• Have you ever wondered what productivity advice George Washington would give?
• Time saving blogging techniques

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Sara Dinardo

• Have you ever wondered why ideas always seem to pop in your head right as you’re falling asleep? 
• Times Haiku, new favorite thing.
• Lyft is such a brilliant idea! 
• How to eat real food without spending hours in the kitchen. 
• Employment freaks me out too. Reason #959 to start a Business. 
• An important question to ask yourself, every. single. day. 
• This is so synchronous to my post Monday.
• I needed to read this post about guilt. 
• Jessica put together this comprehensive guide to her wonderful worksheets (& made them into a workbook! Fantastic!)
• What are you lying about?
• Good Gloria Steinem quotes.  
• zzzz. Make magic while you sleep! & The secret 6 tips to get your creative mojo rising (god, isn’t Veronica the coolest!?)

Ecstasy is the joyful experience of being outside of one’s habitual, conditioned self.  The term “ecstasy” comes from the Greek word ekstasis, which literally means “to stand outside.” The habitual self (also know as the “ego”) is often fearful, tense and alienated – so the experience of being outside of it feels great.

• From the magic genius of Carolyn. What is ecstasy? & how do I get it? & the 7 traits of highly magical people. 
• Is it time to do some blog spring cleaning?
• Are you making it easy for people to hire you? 
• Here are the haute-lo astrological characteristics of the outer planets.
• These are some of the craziest answers to the strangest interview questions: define the ratio of people to cake. 
• An important reminder that their fans will probably not be your fans. 
• Social dynamics: 5 ways you’re making everyone hate you. 
• 55 inspirational quotes on desire & making it happen. 

Have anything you’d like to see on linkstream? Shoot me a tweet!

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The internet is a wonderfully magic technology woven into the fabric of our lives; an extension of our central nervous systems. It allows each of us to pursue the mythological hero’s quest; turning our lives into alchemical gold.

1. Websites are some of the most powerful tools of the modern age. Figuring out how to use them for maximum growth & joy will exponentially improve your life. Some ideas: make a website to be a platform to share, to help, to document, to connect, as a tool for learning, or an adventure log. If you’re interested in starting a website, I highly recommend my hosting service! (Affiliate link!)

2. Lifestream. Lifestreaming is a digital archive of life spells: gratitude lists, intentions, affirmations, goals, plans, good vibin’ quotes, photos, art, videos, etc. Lifestreaming is essentially documenting your life & hi-lighting the positive (but not necessarily neglecting the negative). If you’re into the work of Rob Breszny, you can think of it as digital pronoia. A lifestream allows your brain to stay focused on creating more of what you love.

“You don’t put yourself online only because you have something to say. The internet can be more than just a resting place to publish your finished ideas –it can also be an incubator for ideas that aren’t fully formed, a birthing center for developing work that you haven’t started yet.”- Austin Kleon

3. Use your website to find or enhance your passion. Write the things that interest you. Create what you want to see. Show what it’s like to like what you like. Passion is a spicy internal combustion unit of happiness, & a website is a superb way to cultivate that passion. Developing your interests online helps you focus & amplify them.

4. Cultivate a sense of connection. One of the best things about the internet is meeting people & making friends. Concentrate on sharing ideas, having deep conversations & learning from others.

Q: Do you use a pencil and paper before going to the computer in designing your projects?

A: Always. The computer will not help you connect with your creative impulses. A pencil will.- Sagi Haviv

5. Your online work is enhanced, not hindered, by doing offline physical creation. It feels good to get out of the ethereal world & put a pen to paper. I love the process of offline work; the smell & feel of notebooks, the rush of words flowing out of a pen, the physical act of making art. A lot of my corporeal work gets altered online; edited, printed, revised, enhanced, & my process is very much a hybrid of digital & analogue. I think of it as a microcosm of what is happening in our world right now; individual meets collective, physical meets ethereal, action meets ideas.

6. Your content & design should reflect who you are, what you do & what you love. Personal expression is a priority over branding. Of course, simplicity, responsiveness, quality & beauty should all be considered, but having work infused with who you are is what having a website is all about. If you infuse your site with your identity, the branding aspects will naturally develop. Use what has power & symbolism for you. Think of a website as a digital being or symbol for who you are. Does your online life accurately represent the person behind it?

7. It’s brave to be vulnerable online. The work that often resonates the most with me, is the work that comes from the heart of the writer. Those scary, terrifying, ridiculously brave things that are sometimes shared. Vulnerability does not make you weak, if anything it does the exact opposite– strengthens your reserve & opens you up to possibility. Jessica Mullen’s Coming out story (& the subsequent posts after), is one of the bravest posts I’ve ever seen written.

8. Make it easy! Use software & apps that are intuitive & resonate. I love WordPress because of how self explanatory & customizable is. It’s mobile, so I can post or edit from anywhere, & the plugins are almost like having a personal assistant. Do things in advance & build a reserve of content to lessen stress. Stay organized, schedule your time, use the things you like. The easier, the better.

9. Your words are extremely powerful, especially online. It’s important to both remain authentic & positive. Your words reinforce your thoughts, beliefs, & behaviors. Saying or doing negative things are amplified & can spiral out of control. Being conscious & positive has the equal & opposite effect.

10. Make your passwords magical. Before Mystic Medusa had user generated passwords-every few weeks she’d create new passwords for her subscribers. They were always mythological in nature & she said to think of them as a little spell you type every time you log in. I loved that idea! Of course, security is always an issue, & if you’re uncomfortable with traditional words or names-you could create numerical symbols that represent your chosen spells. It’s really more about the mental awareness & repetitive act of typing. You could try password affirmations, intentions, special mystical words; & even apply this mentality to Facebook statuses or your twitter feed.

the universe inside a cat

11. The internet is a microcosm of the universe– a perfect example of the law of attraction at work. Like cognitive training, you reinforce what the internet is for you. Technology is becoming increasingly customized to each individual experience. What you search for reinforces what search results, ads & links will keep appearing. If you’re always looking at recipes– you’ll get ads & results based on food. Having varied interests or striving to read more mind expanding (as opposed to mind numbing) topics tells the internet (& the universe itself) to keep giving you those things. Use having a customized, tailored internet to your benefit & it benefits digital humanity on a whole (more people liking more thought provoking content = more thought provoking content being produced).

12. Looking through archives is a great way of noticing patterns & seeing how much you’ve grown. Whether it be your Facebook timeline or the archives of your website– browsing through your past is a great way to see how you’ve progressed & expanded over the years. We often forget all the things we’ve accomplished, so if you’re feeling down on yourself, looking through your archives might be just the mood boost you need. Archives can also be a great source of inspiration, both of personal growth & to find past work you can remix & rework.

13. Practice practical evolution. Experiment with everything: posting schedules, software, organizational systems, RSS readers, apps, etc. When you find something you like– don’t stop searching! It’s not really risky to play around & test out options since so many are free or cheap. Google reader is the perfect example of why practical evolution is invaluable. I loved reader & never thought to try any other solutions; so I was thrown for a loop when Google announced they were shutting it down. I’ve been trying out other options & discovered there are really awesome apps that I may even like better. Mix & match systems, redesign your site, shake things up!

 “Nothing is more fertile than emptiness.” Alan Watts

14. You must actively create negative space in order to fill your world with interesting things. Negative space in design is what houses content; without it there’d be no form. Clear spaces invite entry: empty your inbox, unsubscribe, delete, delete, delete, clear your mind.

15. This tip comes from Austin Kleon’s Steal like an Artist:

“Most websites & blogs are set up to show posts in reverse chronological order– the latest post is the 1st post that visitors see, so you“re only as good as your last post. This keeps you on your toes; keeps you thinking about what you can post next. Having a container can inspire us to feel it. Whenever I’ve become lost over the years, I just look at my website & ask myself, ‘what can I fill this with?”

16. Authenticity online is so important. You may think it’s relatively simple to hide who you are behind a screen, but it’s getting harder everyday. The online life values authenticity & if you’re found lying & being fraudulent  you will be exposed & ridiculed. Marshall McLuhan, the guru of media theory put it this way; “The world has become one big gossip column that is unforgiving, unforgetful and for which there is no redemption, no erasure of early mistakes.” Think of all the political & celebrity scandals that have been exposed & amplified online. Of course, no one’s perfect, but we can all strive to represent ourselves authentically & genuinely apologize when we slip up. With practice, consistent authenticity will become a way of life.

17. Thrive on obscurity. I know obscurity sounds mundane, boring & frustrating, but it’s really full of possibility! Obscurity is a time to experiment-with your style, design & ideas– all without worrying about consistency or trying to please anyone. Obscurity is when you can devote your time to really connecting with others. If you’re all big & famous, there’s a lot more work & responsibility on your shoulders. A lot more of the masses will demand your attention. When you’re just starting out, you really have the time to focus on connecting with just a few really cool people. Being able to focus on really cultivating friendship is a blessing that will be so beneficial when you do actually climb out of the wells. Wherever you are with your digital life is where you’re meant to be. There’s a lesson to be learned in every part of the process.

Do you have any tips that rock your online world? 

Related Posts:

• 17 ways I make magic happen: new year edition
• 17 ways I make magic happen: writing edition
• 17 ways I make magic happen: winter edition
• 17 ways I make magic happen: cleaning edition
• How I use Pinterest to change my life

“The artist who aims at perfection in everything, achieves it in nothing.”  Collages by Colin Johnson

• Leonie Dawson has 4 amazing free ebooks to get yo’ readin’ on! 
• More ebook goodies! From my favorite, Carolyn: The Arcana– a free novel about archetypes. 
• The fabulous four tips to steer you into the the fast lane of your dreams & How to build stronger bonds with friends –both from the lovely Veronica Varlow.
• This week was the super awesome Jessica’s birthday! Her birthday edition of Tuesday tips is off the hook! 
• If you find yourself creatively blocked, maybe you could try setting a deadline. 
• The science of lucid dreaming! 
• Think taking selfies is a vain waste of time? It can actually help you learn to develop your photography skills. 
• How to stay sane (aka perspective change!)
• 5 steps to a more balanced media diet. 
• One of my favorite things to do is take a long bath with some Epsom salts. This is why they’re so great! 
• If you’re busy, you’re doing something wrong. 
• From Shauna, 8 keys to making lasting online connections. 
• What kind of 65 year old do you want to be?
• I love Gala’s app recommendations! 
• Can you believe Raptitude is 4 years old!? 

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me, smoking –circa 2009

I quit smoking cigarettes just about 6 weeks ago. This is a pretty big deal, as I never thought I’d have the willpower to do just such a thing. Apparently, I do.

It was sprung on me randomly in January. My boyfriend had a cold & decided that since he wasn’t smoking anyway-now would be a good time to quit. I was…unsure. Of course I wanted to quit, everyone wants to quit. But I was so addicted to the image of myself as a smoker. If anything, Sara Whittemore was a cigarette smoker. I had this idea in my head that it made me a legitimate writer & artist. What writers don’t smoke? Smoking was also a convenient excuse to go outside & sit in nature (because I couldn’t do that without a cigarette?) & definitely an excuse to engage in social behavior (“Excuse me do you have a light?”). I was afraid I would lose all that.

If you really analyzed my relationship with cigarettes-you’d discover I smoked because I was afraid of looking lonely or boring. I was afraid I wasn’t good enough– a good enough writer, artist, I wouldn’t be stylish without my cigarettes. Sometimes though, I’d light up, take a few puffs & think “this is awful, why do I do this?” But I had been smoking for about 6 or 7 years (& on again off again before that), it was just apart of who I was. Besides, almost all my friends smoke-I don’t have the willpower to hang out with smokers & NOT smoke.

So needless to say, I was hesitant. Once more, I knew I had to quit for ME & not because my boyfriend was. You can’t quit if you don’t really want to. I had to decide right then, weren’t all these reasons I smoked bullshit? I always felt guilty for smoking-& I consider guilt a far worse habit. I heard that quitting gives you more energy (it does!), not to mention every health benefit ever.

So there, that was it. I put down the cigarettes, used a nicotine patch for 2 weeks & now it’s been 6 weeks– & a whole month without the patch.

I noticed a funny thing–whenever I posted to facebook about my non smoking — I would get a ton of likes from friends who I know smoke. I think it’s because seeing others quit is like a beacon of hope, a chance at freedom, a thought that “if they can do it, maybe someday I could too.” I would like to say that I’d never thought I’d be here; 2 days was the most I had ever gone before & now it’s been 6 weeks. So I thought I’d write about my experiences & everything I’ve done/ am doing so that others can free themselves too. Here’s to good health!

–I understood the value of failing. I knew it was likely to fail, that if I smoked a cigarette it wouldn’t be the end of the world, & like I said, feeling guilty is worse than whatever it is that you’re actually doing. If I slipped up & smoked I wouldn’t beat myself up, I would just keep going. I also read in Willpower that telling yourself you can have something later satisfies your brains need for a conclusion & helps you stop thinking about it. I kept telling myself I could have a cigarette that weekend or on my birthday 2 weeks later, & a crazy thing happened, those weekends & weeks would come & go & I still hadn’t smoked (not even on my birthday!). I know I’m not out of the woods yet, but so far I haven’t even had a teeny weeny drag in 6 weeks.

–The other key factors of gaining willpower are support & tracking what you do. This ended up kind of being the same thing for me-as every week I would post a picture or a status update of how long it’s been, & every week I got tons of comments, likes, etc. I wasn’t doing it for the attention-but having the support of a whole online community was really helpful & always boost my mood. Plus now I have a chronicle of my quitting process.

–The first week is the worst. It sucks. It’s like a week of feeling every emotion ever at the same time. Every day I thought about going & buying a pack. If you’re hanging out with people (people who may or may not be your boyfriend going through the same thing, just as irritable & angry), this could be the worst part of the whole process. You might snap at them (they might snap at you, you might cry). It’s just really difficult. Just focus on the end result, know this is normal & that it gets better. Of course none of that makes you feel better, so really,it’s all about just keeping your head down & powering through.

–I talked to other people about their quitting experiences. I used a patch for the first 2 weeks, & a lot of my friends told me that didn’t work for them. They kept smoking or had bad dreams or got rashes. Of course not all things work for all people. The ones that said the patch didn’t work gave rave reviews of the e cig-which I had tried & wasn’t particularly fond of. You really just have to find something that works for you. It would definitely be too much for me to quit cold turkey & I found the patch took the edge off. I still thought about cigarettes but I didn’t NEED one. The patch helps alleviate the physical symptoms & allows you to focus on the mental pattern breaking. (I’ll talk about this point next). I eventually gave those up too, I didn’t need them anymore. However you quit, you have to really want to, or nothing will work.

–Cigarette smoking is a habit. Quitting has basically been like relearning how to live. I’d eat-I’d have a cig, I’d have my coffee & have my cig, when I’d take out the trash-it would be time for a cigarette. I’m not much of a drinker-but I know that it’s the same for those who smoke while they drink. It was hard for me to go out & socialize with my smoking friends while quitting. Sometimes I’d try to avoid social situations-but I can’t avoid eating or having coffee. I just had to learn how to function as a person without them. This includes learning how to realign my image of the successful artist/writer/stylish woman without cigarettes.

–You’ll notice the positive benefits almost immediately. My tongue cleared up & breath freshened after about the first week. I am still coughing & this is normal from what I’ve read. Your body expels the toxins from your lungs for what can be months. This was kind of alarming at first, but is starting to subside. I do genuinely feel more energetic & healthier. You can read about the timeline of quitting smoking here.

–My favorite thing about quitting has been that it really is developing my willpower in all areas of my life. The funny thing about willpower is you have limited reserves for ALL THE THINGS (there’s no reserve for not eating junk food & a separate reserve for working out, all your willpower comes from the same place); but you can strengthen all areas by only focusing on one habit. Since I stopped smoking, I don’t know if it’s needing a replacement activity or the extra energy I have, but I’ve been exercising more & more, eating healthier, I’ve cleaned & organized my whole room, cleaned out the fridge, made my own drawer organizers, started a fabulous skin care routine (so that & not smoking means my skin has never looked better!), etc. I’ve been more productive in the last 6 weeks that I have been in a long time. Not smoking has been a double positive-the benefits of not inhaling rat poison tobacco + the benefits of added self discipline, & healthy, productive activities.

–My non smoking tools have been: 2 weeks of nicotine patches, a ton of gum, good friends & a co-partner in not smoking, meditation, those aforementioned positive activities, feeling grateful for stopping, & reading about all the benefits of quitting. If you are a weed smoker (which by the way– has been proven time & again to be WAY SAFER than both cigarettes & booze), then don’t feel bad if you smoke more pot than normal. Just having that replacement thing in your hand (hence the appeal of e-cigs) helps, without having all the carcinogens of cigarettes. Of course, this isn’t for everyone…

That’s been my experience thus far. It really does get easier after a while (maybe that should be the mantra of quitting) but I know it’s still a battle I’m dealing with & the struggle ain’t ova’ yet. I know I just said the best part has been all the extra willpower I’ve been developing-but I think really the best thing has been not being a slave to some stupid habit that made me feel all guilty & cough-y. Being a slave to any addiction is a really shit feeling– so this has been a huge blessing in my life.

Also, I’m saving a lot of money, cool cool cool.

If you’ve quit smoking, what have your experiences been? Have any questions about my new smoke free lifestyle, I would love to answer them! Thinking about quitting yourself? Let me know, I would also love to be your supporto-buddy!

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embroidery-on-collages-by-shaun-kardinal

Welcome to linkstream! My collection of super charged internet excellence. Bogged down by Mercury Retrograde? Interested in the quantum nature of reality? Scroll down & click through! Got a link you think deserves to be up here? Let me know! But whatever you, enjoy!

• Are you on the internet? Do you know the rules? 
• Being thin to make up or everything else–from Eat the Damn Cake
• So Jon Ray is my new favorite person. He wrote about rabbit holes, inspiration & how to learn anything & my personal favorite (since we all know how much quantum physics gets me going!) the quantum nature of reality. Check him out!
• Have you been feeling the vibes of Saturn in Scorpio? I know I have.
• Speaking of astrology, Mercury is currently in retrograde. I find Merc. (murk!) retro to be a bit of a mixed bag, a blessing-curse, a cursling if you will. Gala wrote this pretty groovy guide to surviving Mercury in retrograde & Mystic Mama gathered up some of the best Mercury retro advice to share! 
• Kimberley Gordon from Wildfox turns 30 this Saturday, so she compiled this list of quotes on being 30. Some are depressing, some funny, some extremely encouraging.
• Veronica will make you healthy. 
• A lot of people seem to really hate Zooey Deschanel, but like Jamie, I think she’s a pretty alright lady. What do you think?
• The four habits that form habits from none other than ZenHabits.
• Experiencing awe can improve your life. (Aim to blow your own mind!)
• For my ladies! 101 Style tips every girl should know (some are excellent, some you could probably take with a grain of salt.)
• Blog on Babe is Gala Darling’s lovely new series that deals with improving your online work. If you have a blog, you should really be reading her! These are some of the latest : Invest in yourself & in others! (amen!) & create a blogging posse (would you like to be my blogging posse?)
• If you’re excited by the idea of creating a blogging posse here’s how to befriend bloggers. 
• I love Jessica’s Universal order form, don’t you?
• A must read (really): Model Cameron Russell’s honest editorial about what’s wrong with the media. 
• Make your name magical! 

That’s all the links for this week, but tomorrow I’ll be sharing my experiences on quitting cigarettes & you won’t want to miss it! 

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