Dearly Beloveds,

I’ve mentioned before my consideration of writing a weekly email that you can expect in your inbox on the same day every week. I’m feeling in the mood for some structure in my life, so I’m going to experiment with a Sunday Morning newsletter until the end of the year (at least).

Let’s see how it goes!!

GOOD MORNING!

Today marks the exactly-two-month mark since I arrived to the Hudson Valley. I spent the first two months cohabitating (look out for an upcoming email on the tragic comedy of Me attempting to cohabitate) in a beautiful newly renovated home out in the boonies, and I’ve just transitioned a few days ago to my own space (a basement studio, freshly built, in a different but slightly lesser boonies) living under a woman who had her dream home built here a few years ago after 25 years as NYC school teacher. I don’t know much about her story, but I am grateful that she welcomed me into her space.

We are learning about the space together as no one has inhabited this downstairs except for her sister for a few nights. It turns out there’s a lot to learn. Mostly about sound. Not just how we sound to each other (although that’s a big one) but kind of humorously, her bedroom A/C makes for obtrusive sounds in my space, and my plumbing (shower + toilet) send intense groans through the house. We’re both showing up into the experience with a nice balance of honoring our needs and caring about the other person. This might show up as her forgoing nighttime AC which luckily won’t be much of an issue moving forward as we continue to move deeper into Fall, and me having my pre-bed shower a little earlier.

So what to ramble on about today, I guess let’s go with Sound.

Sounds and Being Sensory Sensitive

So, the place I stayed for the first two months had a creek directly in the backyard. Listen - I LOVE fresh moving water. I’m way more of a creek person than an ocean or lake person. I thought OMG how incredibly special that I get to live with a creek behind the house!

IN FACT! I spent the year before I moved to LA living in Felton (just outside of Santa Cruz) with a creek behind the house (it was smaller and way down a hill) but I loved that sound in the background.

But Wow, I did not expect to have the experience I just had!!!

The creek here was LOUD. Sound-wise it gave more “waterfall” than creek. I guess just some sort of “rushing” quality to it. and it turned out, I found it quite overstimulating, and not relaxing. There was a big beautiful wood deck, and I spent very little time out there. I longed for quiet, to be able to hear the symphony of the insects and the sound of the wind in the trees, which is my favorite sound on earth. Every morning I would wake up and think “is it raining?” but no - it was sunny, and it was just the creek.

To be clear: I DO LOVE the sound of rain, so much. It does have a different quality.

It felt weird, you know? to not like the sound of the creek. There was clearly some major “should” energy running through my system.

My Sound Sensitivity Has Grown

..and it’s sometimes frustrating.

Listen: I’m a mothafuckin homebody. Queen of Cozy. Inside Cat. The Comfiest Wumfiest. Can whip up all the bevys in my home kitchen and they’re good. I own 32 pillows and live alone. Did somebody say Comfort Zone???

and so it’s really good for me to get out of the house. You know, keep me balanced!

Going to coffee shops IS a favorite activity of mine. Always has been.

and yet I’ve found over these past years, the loudness of the music (and in restaurants the music combined with everyone’s voices) to be challenging.

In coffee shops it can be hard for me to focus on my work (and yes, I’ve been experimenting with the noise cancelling feature on my airpods and use it as needed though I don’t enjoy the feeling), and in restaurants when trying to have a conversation the extra effort to speak loudly and to put effort into hearing (and the effect on my ability to think) becomes challenging too.

Sometimes I leave a cafe and send a voice memo to a friend and share that I feel sad. that I’m trying to get out of the house and yet sometimes being out there feels more challenging than pleasurable.

Why am I writing this to you? I guess I just imagine that some of you out there have sound sensitivy too and it might feel good to be a little less alone.

I’m Happy Where I Am

So the new place I’ve moved into has its quirks too. There are aspects of these two places combined that (enjoyably) actually get me really excited to go home and back to my own space free of other peoples stuff.

BUT AND

OMG

The soundscape is divine. 🥰 The house is in a big clearing surrounded by beautiful trees, is at the dead end of a private road so NO road sounds (my last place was close to a road and I often was woken by morning commuters), and I am really luxuriating in the sounds of the forest.

I have exactly 1 month and 1 day before I fly back to LA for my final season before The Big Move.

I’m still settling into the new space, but enjoying this particular moment of transition, and acknowledging this new house stay as a defined container of time, with the interest in practicing supportive habits in this space.

I’m even going to do some sort of a mild cleanse while here — the kind where I eat, but you know, a good ol’ no gluten-dairy-sugar for some number of days.

The leaves are changing, it’s my first east coast Fall in exactly 20 years. It really is exquisite. I’m feeling the vibes, I’m enjoying the vibes, and excited to bring all this Fall energy back into my LA winter for a season of soup and cinnamon rolls.

(Lol: My instagram algorithm was completely swallowed whole by The Cinnamon Roll Community over the past weeks and although I’ve never made them before, I now have a saved collection of recipes and tips and tricks and excited for my own cinnamon roll baking initiation soon. ;)

I plan to make the move sometime around April or so. and so:

This winter in LA, I’d love to make a nice habit of gathering with lovely LA people for things like soup and cinnamon rolls — thinking about regularly scheduled soup nights and coffee + cake mornings where you know you can show up, get comfy, and hug a pillow if you feel awkward.

I hope you have a beautiful day, and I look forward to connecting more with you soon.

My calendar is now open for booking craniosacral sessions in November, and you can reply to this email if you want to talk about a private journey this Fall/Winter.

with you + with love,

your mari mu ♡

www.mari.mu — book a November session