Episodit
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Dearest friends,
it has been quiet on here and there’s more sharing about to happen about the density of life I’ve found myself in recently. For now though, on this solstice day, I want to share a prayer with you.
An invocation to the sun.
(If you are coming to “Sacred Circle” tonight skip this one, as I will be praying and singing and drumming this one tonight for you over cacao ceremony.)
To the sun of the East
that rises anew every day
I ask of you to bring me a softening.
A sense of hope.
An immense allowing.
Just as you greet me on the horizon every morning I can soften into the knowledge that gentleness, tenderness and new light will find me on my darkest path
To the sun of the South
that stands high and bright, that burns with strength
I ask of you to bring me into my own power.
To speak my truths,
fully from my center, just as you fill the sky at midday.
I ask of you courage to let my fire burn and to let my light shine,
and not to shy away from the heat,
the density,
the complexity,
the possibility of my own life.
To the sun of the West
that falls, that sinks on the horizon,
but does so in beauty and in rosy goodness.
I ask of you trust.
Trust in my own understanding of things.
My ability to discern and look into all things deeply.
To trust that everything will be revealed to me in the appropriate time.
To the sun of the North
sun of the dark,
hiding,
resting.
I ask of you the willingness to sink deep into my own rest.
I ask of you patience on my path.
Patience to allow things to unfold as they will.
I honor that there is no light without shadow.
I honor that there is no day without night.
I honor that there is no expansion, without contraction.
I know that there will be no flight, without rest.
To the sun within
the light that is mine alone,
the fire that burns deep inside.
My inner flame that springs from my powerful heart.
I ask of you to speak freely to me.
I ask of you to be the clear voice and the open ear to receive all at once.
I ask of you to guide me, unfalteringly,
to live from my own light.
To the solstice sun
oh powerful, beautiful sun of the solstice,
as you appear to stand still in the June sky,
but are truly the sun of deep
transformation.
We planted our seeds in spring and now we enter the season of growing abundance - summer.
I ask of you to help me release anything that knocked me off balance.
To purify .
To burn away everything that no longer serves me.
To burn up in flame my limiting beliefs about myself.
To melt away my fears.
I ask of you to let me breathe life into my deepest desires,
to bite into the ripe fruit that is my life and let the rich juices drip down
my chin in delight.
I ask you for strength as I’m moving forward into the plentiful beauty of my life.
I ask you to let me savor the honey of my days.
I ask you to not let me miss the sensuality of every single day of my breathing life.
I ask you to let my soft body taste what it wants and feel what it craves.
I ask you to let me have my longings, as I could never have too many,
as I could never be too much for myself.
Sun of the solstice - as Rilke wrote
I have not grown old
and it is not too late to dive
into my increasing depths where
life calmly gives out its own secret.
Sun of the solstice,
my body is my altar,
my heart is offering,
and my spirit is my temple.
Let my fire burn.
The journey is the point,
MILK is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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Dear friends,
full of gratitude I’m sharing my conversation with Kara Mears, Certified Nurse Midwife, mother of 3, and Pre/Postnatal Yoga Instructor.
I first came across Karas Instagram profile and was drawn in by there thoughtful texts and beautifully curated images surrounding motherhood and birth. Turns out the feeling was mutual and we started connecting more.
Sometimes you just know right away, who your people are and Kara is one of those virtual connections for me. I’m beyond grateful and thrilled that she will join me on my retreat this fall and I get to bathe a whole weekend in her beautiful presence.
Kara and I talk about
☾ Her path and her work to help women feel less afraid when they have their babies
☾ Where our fears stem from. We talk about the subconscious mind and the cultural narrative.
☾ How we all have stories we tell ourselves about our “birthing” no matter how peaceful the experience
☾ Her program the “Motherbirth roadmap”
☾ What it means for us to step into “guidance”. To unlearn. To remember. To be there for each other.
☾ What it means to embody the wild woman
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did and both Kara and I would be delighted to go deeper in the comments.
You can find more of Kara on her webpage and her Instagram.
Would you like to sit in circle or sauna with me and Kara this fall and go deep in conversation? We have 3 beds left for the Pause Retreat. See details below.
This fall we have a beautiful Itinerary that is centered around rest, enchantment and joy. Tying in with this conversation though, I am happy to announce that we will have a circle were we will learn to make a basket while also weaving our births into stories of powerful initiation.
Visit here to check out the full itinerary.
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts about this conversation!
If you or someone you know might be the perfect fit to be on “Milk & Bone” do not hesitate to reach out.
As always,
the journey is the point,
How would it feel in your body, to get away for a weekend, rest your mind, open your heart, eat the most amazing food and sit in circle with me?
To let things move for you.
Good?
Come to Maine with me. You can find all the details about THE PAUSE RETREAT here.
MILK is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber
Get full access to MILK at evamariasmith.substack.com/subscribe -
Puuttuva jakso?
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(photo amy longstaff found on Pinterest)
Dear friends,
full of gratitude I’m sharing my conversation with Meagan Rose Wilson, mother of four, holistic parenting coach, waldorf education, systems thinking expert and gorgeous woman in her self-care era.
Meagan had me on her wonderful podcast “Rhythm, Routine and Reverence” last year to talk about slow living and hygge and I had enjoyed our talk so very much, which lead to me really following along her journey on the socials and staying in touch.
Recently, I had been noticing some shifts in Meagans appearance, work and embodiment and my curiosity was sparked.
I wanted to find out, why her content has shifted, how she makes room for her work and workouts, and to talk about the beauty that is ever-present when we allow ourselves to lean into the things that want to MOVE.
Meagan and I talk about
☾ MOVEMENT. Literally and metaphorically. The beauty that is physical movement and the allowing of letting ourselves shift into new directions
☾ how she built a sustainable workout routine and how that is possible for any of us
☾ the beauty that is our late 30’s and 40’s and how these years can be powerful shifts for us if we allow
☾ why it can make others uncomfortable to witness our metamorphosis in real time
☾ the healing of the sister wound
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did and both Meagan and I would be delighted to go deeper in the comments.
You can find more of Meagon on her webpage and her Instagram.
I am curious to hear what has been moving for you lately?
I would love to hear your thoughts about this conversation below.
If you or someone you know might be the perfect fit to be on “Milk & Bone” do not hesitate to reach out.
As always,
the journey is the point,
How would it feel in your body, to get away for a weekend, rest your mind, open your heart, eat the most amazing food and sit in circle with me?
To let things move for you.
Good?
Come to Maine with me. You can find all the details about THE PAUSE RETREAT here.
MILK is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber
Get full access to MILK at evamariasmith.substack.com/subscribe -
Dear friends,
I’m excited to publish another beautiful conversation on my podcast. I have a whole list full of gratitude and names of women that I am going to have on this year and I am so looking forward to each conversation.
In this episode I talk to my friend, mentor, coach and beautiful human Mel Wiggins about the healing magic of circles; something so timely for me, as I transition into more and more circle work and really finding my calling there.
Mel helps brilliant women build courage and lead well. She has not one, but two wonderful podcasts and her wonderfully grounded and gentle coaching business.
We could have talked for many more hours, but in this episode we cover
☾ what business coaching can look like when we turn away from the “boss babe” hustle culture
☾ how being “nice” has cost us women so much
☾ the risk for us not to belong
☾ the meaning of place in our lives and Mel’s Northern Ireland heritage
☾ the healing nature of circles
☾ sharing to be known and listening to know
☾ a bit about our other projects and my retreat in Maine that is coming up this October (see more below)
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did and both Mel and I would be delighted to go deeper in the comments.
You can find more of Mel on her webpage, her Instagram, as well as her phenomenal podcast “Courage is calling”, which contains so much gold for any women doing business. In her other podcast project “Making an effort”, Mel is beautifully relatable and funny and together with co-host Gabby she talks about all the things she’s making an effort with or not.
If you are curious about sitting in circle with me this spring and you are local to Oklahoma consider joining me for this event:
I would love to hear your thoughts about this conversation below.
If you or someone you know might be the perfect fit to be on “Milk & Bone” do not hesitate to reach out.
As always,
in wild belonging,
Eva
How would it feel in your body, to get away for a weekend, rest your mind, open your heart, eat the most amazing food and sit in circle with me?
Good?
Come to Maine with me. You can find all the details here.
MILK is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber
Get full access to MILK at evamariasmith.substack.com/subscribe -
Dear friends,
I’m excited to publish my first conversation under the new podcast name “Milk & Bone”.
Laura, is an Avalon priestess, cacao ceremonialist and cacao facilitation coach, as well as retreat host. I found Laura’s work online, after browsing for both Avalon and cacao ceremony. How serendipitous! We immediately connected and I’m thankful that I get to share this conversation with you.
We could have talked for many more hours, but in this episode we cover
☾ what Avalon is both geographically and spiritually
☾ what the “mists” or “veils” of Avalon represent
☾ why the Arthurian legends are still relevant today
☾ sovereignity
☾ Arthurian archetypes
☾ how Laura came to work with mama cacao and share her powerful medicine
☾ cacao, cultural appropriation and discernment
Along the way we discovered synchronicities based on our native culture and how being German living in an english speaking country has both affected us.
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did and both Laura and I would be delighted to go deeper in the comments.
Laura is also offering a “cacao dieta”, a spiritual immersion with cacao ceremony this month that I will be part of and that I’m very much looking forward to. If you feel called to use cacao medicine to open your heart you should have a look at her letter . If you become a founding member two dietas are included, which is a very generous offering.
You can also find Laura on Instagram and through her webpage.
In light,
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As I have entered a new phase of personal growth, I started to feel that the name Milk & Coffee is too safe, too tame. It is beautiful, but it felt like it is too small of a container for what I try to bring into this world and all the things I want to be inspired by and inspire in return.
So in this episode - let me introduce to you MILK & BONE and what my hopes are for this new format.
In light,
Eva
you can support this podcast through signing up to my newsletter on substack,
AND we are now booking for the new Pause retreat
As always, you can find me on
www.evamariasmith.com and
on Instagram @eva.maria.smith
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You are a poet, mother.
A gentle conversation with poet Kat Farrell Davis on poetry, motherhood and how to integrate the two.
You can find Kat’s beautiful work
on Instagram @katfarrelldavis
on Substack “Tending the Depths”
https://katfarrelldavis.com
If you would like to support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber on substack
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This episode is meant to be a gentle reminder for you to lean deeply into your moons this year. To honor your menstrual cycles as much as the seasons outside.
To know when to rest and when to play.
To lean into the seasons with grace and awareness.
Every season of life and every season in nature has its magic. Every month the moon grows fuller and hangs heavy in the air, before it slowly disappears once more. Everything in nature is cyclical, and we are nature, and we are cyclical beings, too. To live linear lives is constantly creating resistance against ease and flow.
So embrace living with your moon seasons.
If you want to support my work as a mother artist you can become a free or paid supporter of my substack newsletter “milk”.or join me on instagram
@eva.maria.smith
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In the last episode of 2023 I want to send you off with an invitation to deeply rest. To hibernate. To take a true winter. What would this season be like for you if you allowed yourself to winter? A time of prioritizing rest, to shed what is dead and to prepare our hearts for the new growth. A time to release your jaw, release the grip and trust that stillness is nothing to fear. Nothing to feel guilty of. Amongst reminders of how to slow down during Christmas I’m sharing ways to reflect on what was and to invite what is to come in the New Year ahead.
Instagram @eva.maria.smith
Substack
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In todays episode I share a bit about what I do in my house to infuse my days with Christmas time hygge. A beautiful reminder to relish the little moments, versus waiting for the big magic of the season to knock on your doorstep and then feeling disappointment when it never arrives. so grab a cup of something warm and comforting and get cozy with me.
Listen:
My Christmas Spotify playlist “Hygge Jul”
Read:
Milk & Coffee years
my substack advent calendar
Winter papers
One Day in December
Watch:
3 wishes for Cinderella
Hjem til Jul / Home for Christmas
Over Christmas
Holiday Secrets
THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR MOTHERS
“Milk & Coffee Years” book
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In this episode, I’m reading a brief chapter from my motherhood memoir of poetry and prose called “Milk & Coffee Years”.
The chapter title “gratitude” is the perfect easy listen on today’s Thanksgiving day.
I am so grateful to you for listening.
You can find my book here
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In this episode I’m inviting you to grab a cup of coffee and listen to me talk about my favorite ways to make the kitchen a cozy place. After all, it is the heart of the home in many ways.
From art, to lighting and more I’m sharing easy ways to bring more hygge into your kitchen. Cozy decor doesn’t have to involve big changes, or expensive items.
Head over to my substack if you can’t get enough of everything cozy
http://evamariasmith.substack.com
or find me on Instagram
@eva.maria.smith
My book “Milk & Coffee Years” is available at www.evamariasmith.com - perfect gift for the holidays
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In this episode I have invited my first ever interview guest. Friend and business partner at “the Pause Retreats” Rachael Hollinger and I talk about why women suppress their hunger, both literally and metaphorically and how to eat with joy through the holidays and beyond.
We talk about which winter foods we particularly love and want to encourage you to experience food without constant restriction. Food not just as nourishment, but also as pure joy in our lives.
A cozy and very delicious episode just in time for the big food-holidays ahead.
you can find Rachael @nourisherdoula on Instagram, or www.nourisherdoula.com
Together, we host lovely bespoke retreats for mothers - www.the-pause.com
You can find me on Instagram @eva.maria.smith or www.evamariasmith.com
I would love for you to subscribe to my Substack newsletter Milk that is the perfect addition to this podcast
In this episode we talk about this book:
Nigel Slater - The Christmas Chronicles
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In this episode I'm talking about how to simplify gift giving around the holidays. You can have a cozy Christmas with a very minimal amount of thoughtful presents and I’m sharing how we do gifts in our home and why. In addition I am answering one of my most received question “How can I avoid unwanted things coming into my home?”.
Grab a cup of something steamy and comforting and enjoy this episode that invites you to approach gifting very cozily.
If you are looking for slow and cozy gift ideas listen until the end, where I share 5 hyggelige ideas with you.
Speaking of gifts, my motherhood memoir of poetry & prose makes a great gift for all mothers and is available worldwide here: www.evamariamsith.com
If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe to my substack to receive weekly newsletters for free
https://evamariasmith.substack.com
Want to buy me a cup of coffee or become a supporter of my work - there is paid option on my substack for you to do that!
You can also find me on Instagram @eva.maria.smith
Stay cozy,
Eva
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In this episode I'm sharing 5 books that I highly recommend this season.
Light comes later in the morning now, darkness arrives more quickly in the evening. The days days rapidly grow shorter, and the air gets crisper, the notion of spending time curled up with a good book and a cup of tea sounds increasingly perfect.
I’m talking in depth about:
“ON OUR BEST BEHAVIOR - The seven deadly sins and the price women pay to be good” by Elise Loehnen
THE
“MISTS OF AVALON” by Marion Zimmer Bradley
“THE RACHEL INCIDENT” by Caroline O’Donoghue
“CACOPHONY OF BONE” by Kerri ni Dochartaigh
“THE DREAM WE CARRY” by Olaf H Hauge
“MILK & COFFEE YEARS” by me, Eva-Maria Smith, which you can order here:
www.evamariasmith.com
Instagram: @eva.maria.smith
Please consider following me on substack and subscribe to my letter “MILK”
https://evamariasmith.substack.com
A free subscription gives you bones writing to all episodes, as well as other pieces on motherhood, slowing down, simplifying, softening into this world and the creative life.
I am so grateful for all paid subscribers, who make it possible to continue to show up here! I appreciate you so very much.
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As I was watching my almost two year old pull an espresso shot almost entirely by himself, this episode came through me.
The moment I realized with heaviness and quiet despair, how easy it is for me to embrace him and speak kindness over him and how hard it is to extend the same to myself.
So today, I want us to reflect on 3 wonderful things we tell our children, that we should also really be telling ourselves and the mothers around us.
Substack
https://evamariasmith.substack.com
Instagram: @eva.maria.smith
www.evamariasmith.com
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In this episode I talk about the spaces we make and the spaces that make us. Something I call the “embodied home”, which implies that in a literal sense, our homes are places of shelter, comfort and belonging, but in a metaphorical sense, there is a deep emotional connection between our spaces and ourselves and our homes can influence how we “feel”.
A cozy home is not determined by how good it looks, but how good it makes us feel, because every home should be a lived-in vision board of how we want our lives within the home to unfold.
article mentioned: https://katriver.substack.com/p/calling-in-your-dream-home
Join me on substack where I talk intimately about motherhood, marriage, and slow living and share poetry and art. I’m hoping to start regular coffee chats soon!
https://evamariasmith.substack.com
@eva.maria.smith (instagram)
www.evamariasmith.com
You can find my motherhood memoire MILK & COFFEE YEARS on my webpage. It makes for a very cozy christmas present for all mothers.
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Last week I returned from a beautiful retreat week in Maine. Struck by the coziness of Maine I felt called to share my observations, my inspirations from this magical place with you today.
There are so many amazing things about Maine, but today I wanted to bring up 5 hygge inspirations that I brought home from Maine and how you can also incorporate them into your life.
Grab a cup and get cozy!
For more Maine hygge and all things cozy, motherhood, art, life, relationships and poetry head over & support my substack
www.evamariasmith.substack.com
MILK & COFFEE YEARS book available at
www.evamariasmith.com
Instagram: @eva.maria.smith
Interested in the next retreat? www.the-pause.com
Mentioned in this episode:
http://nomadicgoat.com
https://www.kmfarrelldavis.com
https://taprootmag.com
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Grab your favorite warm beverage, cozy up and let’s talk about my perfect autumn wardrobe, while also taking a step away from fast fashion.
In this episode I’m sharing about what mindset helps me to slowly turn my back on fast fashion for good, which staples I have in my autumn wardrobe & which pieces I am looking to source this fall.
I talk share a sentiment on what I feel makes pieces TRULY cozy and intentional and you will also get an idea of my personal style and my autumn inspiration, which reads something like…
“laid back scandi-style mom goes off to write at a british cottage and can’t be bothered”
Thank you for hyggeing with me.
Instagram @eva.maria.smith & @thepauseretreats
www.evamariasmith.com
www.the-pause.com
www.evamariasmith.substack.com
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In this episode I want to invite you to step into my kitchen, where I use a few simple, but high quality ingredients to make any meal cozy.
I want to share a few pantry staples that really make my heart warm and my soul content, and maybe you can discover them for yourself, because it does not take an elaborate list of ingredients or complicated recipes to make amazing home cooked meals. Quite the opposite in fact.
Subscribe for my substack newsletter and receive all my favorite autumn ingredients straight to your inbox.
www.evamariasmith.substack.com
or follow me on instagram @eva.maria.smith
If you like my work please share with a few close friends today! Leave a comment or some stars. It takes a village!
Get full access to MILK at evamariasmith.substack.com/subscribe - Näytä enemmän
