Hi Grown-up, when was the last time you colored?

Ok, spoiler alert, we're talking about coloring! Meditative Coloring to be more specific.

If you turn on the news, you'd think the world is ending. Guess what? It's not. But even if it was, I wouldn't wanna know about it. I'd rather be caught off guard than waste the short time I have left worrying about impending doom. So let's forget about all that nonsense and melt some of that unwanted stress away. I know how!

Dunno if you've read The Artist's Way, but Julie Cameron suggests the act of doing morning pages. Which is writing three pages every morning about whatever thoughts you have in your head. Doesn't have to be creative writing—though it could be—it could be a list of things you need to get done mixed with a joke you heard mixed with a rant over why the grocery store is sold out of pasture-raised eggs every time you go. I have to say, I'm most productive when I do morning pages. But I haven't been. My morning routine for the past year has been going to the gym with my husband, coming home, waking up the kid for school, and getting her out the door. And while I could technically do morning pages next, I don't. I haven't. I will clean up the kitchen from the morning mess. Organize things in the living room from the night before. Shower, get dressed, pour a coffee, and dive right into my day.

But, if you would like to try your hand at morning pages, we have a journal for you! 

And even though I haven't been doing morning pages, at different times of the day I've been actively pursuing meditative drawing. Life is busy. But I make myself sit down and doodle. Sit down and write. Turn everything off. And gift myself this time. Ok, I'll be honest, I'll doodle while I'm listening to a webinar or a podcast or sitting with my kid while she watches a show I'm not into, but I do turn everything off to write. 

I get excited when I give myself this time. Because when I let my hand go, with pen on paper, everything else really does seem to melt away. I can focus, or not focus, on where it takes me. And it's exhilarating.

And whether the illustrations and/or writing is deep or silly, it's a good release. I highly recommend.

And now, since I've collected so many illustrations and poems in the ol' arsenal of peace, I've decided to turn them into a fully immersive meditative adult coloring book! One side for coloring, one side for thought. Something you can grab, whenever you need it. I'm aiming to launch it next year!

Until then, there's no time like the present for a present—gift-giving season is already in swing afterall. So, for a limited time, I'm gifting you a lil kick start stress reducer. A FREE preview my Meditative Adult Coloring Book! <<Click that! Because coloring can help you too! According to the Mayo Clinic, Coloring can help you be more mindful. Mindfulness is the ability to focus and stay in the moment. …because you're focusing on color choice and staying inside the lines, you're only thinking about the present moment. You can shut off the noise around you, and give your mind the gift of focusing on the movements, sensations and emotions of your present moment. Sounds logical, eh?

Do it! For you! Download. Print. Grab those colored pencils, pens, and old broken crayons from your kid's supply box and get coloring like a toddler who's just discovered markers!

Best part is, you can print it as many times as you want and keep coloring! Ok, so I better get this coloring book out sooner rather than later so you can have more pages!

...Off to write!

Happy Coloring!