Dear Community ♡

I’m back in LA after 3 weeks away in upstate NY & NorCal.

These past weeks have been rich with thoughts, insights and ideas…some of which I considered sharing with you all, but alas, I don’t travel with my computer and so I let them sprout and grow, some maturing and some dying in the garden of my mind. MiiindGaaarden!

In full honesty, it’s been a bit of a challenging return home.

Although it’s lovely to land back into the comfort of my own space and the relationships and life I’ve cultivated for myself, it was also a rather sharp transition from the idyllic fairytale country lifestyle of upstate NY to the hot ‘n dry concrete filled Bay Area & LA.

Life is such a trip - before I left I wasn’t even excited to go- I was really enjoying the summer vibes here in LA. and then after 2 weeks in Ithaca I came back here, finding myself partially still there…

the epic clouds, thunderstorms, lush green nature everywhere everywhere, abundant wildflowers, cricket filled soundscapes, so many bambis in the backyard, hiking trails splashing with water sounds, aliveness in the air…

I have been through this so. many. times. I go there for 2 weeks in the summer, I question everything. “Should I move here?” and the answer is always Not Now.

It is possible that eventually, later or maybe sooner, I will take such a radical leap to move to a small town in nature. I don’t see that happening soon, but I know all too well that I know nothing and The Great Mystery is the lead in this dance of life.

But what I do know is…

this trip loosened something in me. and now I’m back in LA feeling a little funny, and I’m not trying to tighten what’s come loose. I am leaving room for those mind sprouts to have space to unfurl…

Remember when I said I didn’t wanna leave LA and then I went to Ithaca and didn’t wanna leave Ithaca? This is one thing I need to remember.

When I find myself feeling so fixed in my home environment and routines, it’s good to remind myself that I’m probably also just attached to the comfort of familiarity, and that just like they say, magic happens out there if you know what I mean.

There were so many layers present for me on this trip.

Of course going home to visit family brings stuff up…but for me it wasn’t just family-of-origin stuff. I also have strong relationship to the town itself - Ithaca has a potent vibe and brings me to intimate places within in a way that LA doesn’t. I also went through photos from my high school era which I haven’t done in years and that was FASCINATING.

(I hope that you also find yourself and your own journey on planet earth fascinating too ;)

Also, witnessing my parents and their friends aging. There’s plenty there too.

Why am I telling you all this?

Because, in case you haven’t read in recent newsletters, as I continue to walk my own freedom path, I’m throwing out any parameters of what I should write about as a therapeutic practitioner, and just write what’s present and alive for me, in hopes that there may be a smidge of value for someone else.

Some of you are friends, some of you are clients, and some of you I’ve never met before. but no matter who we are to one another, I am here to champion honesty, openness, realness, transparency and truth. (5 ways of saying the same thing cuz I really mean it!!!)

We really are all in this together.

For those of you in LA, I’m 100% here for the next 3 weeks, then will be in and out of availability amongst a couple retreats I’m working and some travel.

On another note, two of my best friends left for Burning Man this week. It’s been 13 years since I was there, and I will probably never go back- but I was thinking a few days ago… what would my dream experience / offering be if I were to go back?

LOL: I thought, well…I would want there to be two comfy chairs, and a massage table, and a space for people to lay down and get comfy… we would drink tea and share in tender space, deep conversation, taking respite from the intensity of the playa in moments of precious presence together.

So here I am, dust-free, living my dream.

Join me if you could use some deep presence in your body and spaciousness for your full emotional spectrum to be held with care.

Yours Truly and With Love,

Mari Mu ♡ ♡ ♡

www.mari.mu