Manifesting a Beautiful Life
Manifesting a Beautiful Life Through Intentional Living & Inspiring Spaces
As a yogi and wellness maven, I love the idea that we manifest our truest visions and dreams in our lives. In fact, some of the most potent times when I felt completely aligned and in the flow have come as a result of getting crystal clear on exactly what I wanted in my life. It was from this space that I was able to essentially attract what I was desiring. Not only did I spend time pausing to listen and create space for whatever it was I was calling in, but I developed a clear mental image of exactly what I wanted and why. Eventually, that image would then get translated through journaling and/ or vision boarding, and off I went. And it is this same process that I rely upon when I work with design clients on the creation of their interior spaces. And wow, have I seen the result when clients are guided through the visioning process and how it resonates so deeply with them.
So, take a listen to my recent podcast interview hosted by one of my favorite manifesting Queens, Catherine Claire on Manifest with Cathclaire. She is a fashion stylist, a podcast host, and has a lifestyle blog including posts about fashion, motherhood, beauty, travel, and living in Richmond. After her work with various showrooms and her time as a stylist at Saks Fifth Avenue, she began curating The Crystal Press and Cathclaire. As a fashion stylist, writer, reiki practioner, + makeup artist, Cathclaire believes that every moment should be savored, shared, and styled and hopes to inspire anyone who comes across her content to do the same. Since its launch, The Crystal Press has been featured by companies such as Target, Lauren Conrad, Southern Living, and Forever 21. With her original content, Cathclaire is determined to inspire people of all ages to embrace their personal style and to be whoever they want to be through their lifestyle design. She is simply the real deal and I am honored to call her my friend and inspiration!
Journey
Now a bit more about my journey of intentional living and manifesting. To begin, my journey has been one that has allowed me to focus on my many passions: travel, wellness, fashion, and design. In fact, it's interesting because at a certain point along the way I realized that there is a spot where all of these worlds converged, and it dawned on me that I am drawn to beauty and curating beauty in my life. That's also when I began to notice that our homes and fashion are just an extension of our inner selves. And of course, mindful, intentional living became the golden thread that wove all of these different aspects together.
So, I've been lucky enough to create companies around these passions: A construction company, Yoga Studio & Wellness Retreat Company, Clothing Boutique, and my newest business: Cote Luxe: a company focused on offering bespoke real estate and interior design services. And this whole journey has been exhilarating because it has allowed me to steep in the creative process and bring those visions to life.
Design Intake
My process of working with the client in my interior design work is a bit unique. I truly believe that spaces hold our stories, and are meant to live and breathe. As such, I seek to guide my clients through the process of connecting with their own intentions, and it’s then from this place that we begin our partnership. Essentially, they get clear on their dreams and visions and I help them by encouraging them to explore things like: the colors and emotions/ moods they evoke, the energetic flow through a room, the way natural light shifts around their room, the daily movements, the way in which they want to see, feel, and be in their home... Ideally, together we begin to create a space that resonates with the client's rhythms and which is an expression of themself. In this way, I act as a guide on their manifesting journey. And I truly think on a side note this circles back to my yoga practice, since just as in yoga we sync our breath with each pose, our homes also have this natural ebb and flow where our mission is to create harmony. And when you think of energy or prana in yogic terms we come back to this idea that it is the life force and so we can think of it being the life force of a space, and so we want there to be a quality of vibrancy.
Curator of Beauty
For me, my role as a designer is really that of understanding the client's visions and then translating that into the space we are designing, and a huge piece of that is being a curator of beauty. This certainly starts with the aesthetics of our selections, but it also goes much deeper so that we are selecting elements that resonate on a personal level as an expression of the authentic self. I want my clients to walk into their finished spaces and feel a sense of magnetism because together we have chosen pieces and placed them in such a way that holds personal significance, and which creates a visual narrative that speaks to them. When this happens the end result is the intersection of beauty and power, and this power is one of inspiration. So, I like to say that I create inspiring spaces.
Travel & Design
Travel has also certainly been a gateway to developing a love for beauty in the world. And for me I believe that travel near and far can really infuse our spaces with something special, almost in a way they become storytellers of our journeys. So, this is why I absolutely love when I have the ability to select items that are produced in small batches and by local craftsman from around the US and world. I adore the ability to gather treasures on my own travels and in fact, have been known to bring back things like balinese day beds, hand sculpted pieces, textiles, Moroccan lanterns and hand painted cement tile. When placed intentionally in a space I think you can almost feel the spirit and energy of the Moroccan market or craftsman where you bought it.
Prepare a Space
Just like manifesting other goals in life, manifesting a space takes on a similar process.
1. Create space. This may come as a surprise, but the first step is to physically cleanse and let go of items you might already have. This is the minimization and decluttering phase. And then we’ve got to energetically cleanse the space. Check out Catherine’s article on saging your space here! She’s the smudging Queen.
2. Then and only then when we have the physical and energetic space, we are ready to invite something new in, so we begin to get clear on our intentions. Of course for me this begins with our breath and silence... (This is the Design Intake) In yoga we refer to this as sankalpa, and it's important that we remain very receptive in this phase so that we can truly align our dreams and visions with our energy.
3. Then we begin to amplify those intentions by visualization. (This is the mood board step). This step is potent because when we start to shift our feelings and emotions into tangible spaces, furnishings, and items, we begin to extract what's important and translate it onto paper. Think of vision boards...
4. Next, we begin to take action by making selections and going to work with the installation of the rooms. This is really where things come to life and begin to take on a shape and life of their own.
5. Finally, we get to connect with the space we've created. Of course, for me this comes back to enjoying the space by practicing mindfulness and presence always.
And a final step I might add would be the need to regularly cleanse the space... of course I love the use of essential oils that might be clarifying for this and I personally clean with them. I also would think about things that we naturally do during spring time like, open up the windows and air out the space, let go of items, and refresh by burning palo santo or sage.
So, there you have it. Now go check out Catherine Claire, and take it from me if you are need of a fashion restyle, human design reading, or some sparkly inspiration she is your gal!