Mindy Tsonas Choi

As I drove home from saturday's workshop it suddenly and distinctly occurred to me that I've become  a teacher of artful workshops in the sex-positive community, and conversely a teacher of sexy workshops inside the creative community. The irony struck me a bit off at first, like I might somehow be missing the mark, but then it all seemed to make perfect sense. Both look wildly similar on the outside, women sitting within purposeful circles spilling soul-centered insights and experiences using paper and paint as another way of expressing. Though if you leaned in to listen, the conversations inside each paradigm are vastly different depending on which door it was I entered through.  In the circles where the women come together to talk about sacred sexuality and relationships, creative pursuits are what push us into less familiar places. It's the exotic side dish in a world of fleshly delights. With creative kindreds it's the complete opposite. Exploring sexualit

This is my year of rooting deeper. Inveterasco . A mantra. A prayer. A wish. For some time now, I have been searching for new ways in. To somehow extract the work and stories that are deep in my belly, still under the layers aching to be told. I can feel them pushing for the surface. "where the spirit meets the bone." Always. And so I am thinking about amplitude ... the maximum extent of a vibration.... how to reach deeper into myself and further out to you. Yes. The signs of soul labor are all around me, in my notebooks, all over my studio, in the conversations I am finally having out-loud, that I am about to expand into a brand new layer and birth yet another conception. It feels like bravery and clarity and velocity and passion and fear, all rolled into one. That's how I know it's time, that I am ready. Come with me!  I want to connect in wild new ways. This is, above all, about togetherness. There are always surprises, but here is what I know is c

My yearly ritual of creating a cover for my planner is one I savor and adore as part of the year's sacred rhythm. Sit. Wish. Cut and paste. Trust the process. There always emerges a color story and an illustrated narrative of where I am and where I want to go. They seem to show that each turn around the sun, I go deeper and deeper into my own discovery, though each one is as unique as the years that unfold between their pages. As a base, I use a sheet of blank sticker paper, cut to size (which you can buy at Staples for about $15 for a pkg of 25 sheets - great to have for many things), and collage my images as I would onto a journal page, with lots of glue. Once it's finished, I just round the two right facing corners (love my corner rounder!), and peel and stick. So easy, and it seems to give the Moleskine a bit of extra sturdiness and wears well throughout the year. Any corners that might peel up I just smear on a little extra glue.  This year's

{winter} {fall} {summer} {spring} This is my little slice of heaven on earth. How I was gifted with such a blessing, I'll never know, but this corner in which we live has both a grounding force and guiding light that's become the very rhythm of our day to day. This water has its own heartbeat and healing powers and we have attuned to it more and more over the years, calling this place home , a sanctuary to us in every way, both literally and figuratively. I have sat by the basin's edge watching my children catch minnows in big plastic tubs, gathered with kindred souls on the dock while soaking in the sunlight, spent time writing, painting and dreaming by its calming waves, laughed as my husband paddles the kids in the kayak, waited for the fall ducks to swim up and ring in a new school year, held my breath through many passing storms churning out to sea, ebbed and flowed with each new season and tide, watched foxes and birds and

In ninth grade I took Latin as a means to an end, that was actually never meant to be, but it served a greater purpose which I understand more fully, now. While my experience in that high school class was less than stellar (I got a D which was earned, and my teacher really disliked me which was not earned), I always had an affinity for this language that is the mother of so many others. Veni. vidi, vicci. My love affair with words and all aspects of linguistics runs true and deep, and it was around this time that I also found my power through writing. I've always loved to write, as it is where my voice feels the most clear and strong and true. It is saying things out loud that always seems the greatest challenge. So while in search of my Word of the Year, it is no surprise that I found it within this hidden romance language. I searched for a weeks, writing lists and feeling my way around many words... root...sturdiness...foundation...nourish...energy...looking for the righ