Transcripts
1. Introduction: Let's Go Explore: Hi, and welcome to
Natural Explore. In this class, I'll be
sharing a joyful practice that brings together the
benefits of being in nature, nurturing our mindfulness, and cultivating our creativity, all through a simple lens of exploration that anyone can
bring into their lives. I think that we all come
into this world with a sense of wonder and hope for
a life of adventure. But as we grow up, many of us lose our way. And
it's not our fault. In today's world,
we're pulled in 100 different directions and we're constantly
being overwhelmed. Ironically, the more connected that we become
through technology, the more disconnected
we become from nature, each other, and most
importantly, ourselves. So how can we find
balance again? We all know that
being in nature, practicing mindfulness, and engaging our creativity
are good for us. They lower our stress, improve our health and give
us a deep feeling of joy. Science has proven
it again and again. And many of us,
including myself, have found it to be true through our own personal experiences. Even to spending one day a
week in these activities can make a real difference
in how we feel and function. But I know that it's not always easy to do what's good for us, especially when
there's so many things pulling us in the
opposite direction. That's where natural
explorer comes in. I was asking myself,
how can you make this practice something that
feels meaningful and joyful, so that it becomes a habit
that I look forward to doing. And I realized that for me, the answer has always
been exploration. I love discovering new places
and learning new things, and exploration has been
the central theme of my work ever since I left
my career as a lawyer and found my way back to my
dream of being an artist and now a full time creative with
my own studio, Nemo Chai. I want to share
what I've learned. Being a true explorer
is about being curious, learning how to see, and opening to the experience
that is our life. And that can happen anytime, anywhere, right where we are, starting with what
we already have. In this class, I'll
guide you through a simple four step
practice exploring, observing, reflecting,
and creating. I'll share how to open our
awareness to the world around us and how to adopt
an explorer's mindset. Then we'll learn how to
really notice and observe, naturally practicing mindfulness without forcing anything. And finally, we'll
learn how to listen to ourselves and nurture our
creativity along the way. This is not about giving
you all the answers. Instead, it's about providing an inviting framework
for you to explore, to follow your curiosity and to discover a life of
adventure, your own. By becoming a natural explorer, I hope that you'll
reconnect with nature, your creativity, and yourself. And most of all, I hope you'll
discover just how much is waiting to be found right
where you are. So, come on. Let's go explore. Who
knows what we'll find?
2. Step One: Exploring: There is a real difference between travelers and explorers. Travelers go to places, whereas explorers go
to acquire knowledge. They travel for a purpose. To start understanding what it means to be a natural explorer, let's begin with the first step exploring. Here's our prompt. Pick a local area in nature that intrigues you and go there. It can be a park,
a trail, a garden, or even just a nice neighborhood
with a lot of trees. Don't overthink it.
Remember that this is the first of many explorations
that you can go on. The important thing right
now is just to choose a place you've been wanting
to explore and go there. So why are we so focused
on nature in this class? All over the world, people
are starting to catch on that our disconnection
from nature is hurting us, and many new wellness programs
in nature are popping up. But you don't need a special center to be able to do this. You can do it right
where you are. Studies show that spending even just a few hours a month in nature
improves our focus, reduces stress, and
boosts creativity. If you want more detail, I provided recommended reading
in the class resources. But you don't need
to read a lot of books or academic
papers to understand. All you need to do is go out and experience
it for yourself. Being in nature is grounding, healing, and anyone can do it. And it doesn't have
to be somewhere far away deep in the woods. Remember, start where you are, do what you can
with what you have. I live in Los Angeles, a plain famous for
cocre and traffic jams, and I've still been able to find many beautiful places
woven throughout the city. So I'm confident
that you can, too. If you're not sure
where to start, do a quick search online, visit your local library
or ask a few friends. You might be surprised
by what's nearby. I grew up here in
LA and consider myself a nature
lover, and still, I was humbled to
discover how many places I still haven't explored while
preparing for this class. Now let's talk about adopting
an explorer's mindset. This class isn't just about
visiting a new place. It's also about adopting
a frame of mind. Exploring is a way of being. It's about how we
show up in our lives, how we see the world around us, how we approach the unknown, and how we handle challenges
that come up along the way. So to get the most
out of this process, I recommend adopting
an explorer's mindset. We can break the explorers
mindset into five key parts. First is about being present. Explorers pay attention
to where they are. They're not rushing ahead
or lost in distraction. They are here to be fully
engaged and to really look, listen, and discover new things. Number two, they stay open. A explorer doesn't assume that they already know
what they'll find. They let each
moment unfold as it comes and don't have judgments about what
does and doesn't happen. They have a beginner's mindset, and so everything
is new to them, everything is fresh to them, and they don't see things
that they just expect to see. Number three, they get curious. Curiosity is at the
heart of exploration. It's all about discovering and understanding and noticing. And we don't have to go off to far off places like I mentioned. We can get curious about
what's around us in our immediate environment and
in our own everyday lives. Number four, they
embrace challenge. Not every exploration is
going to go as planned. Maybe the weather changes, maybe the place isn't
as you expected. Maybe you get a little lost. Real explorers don't
see these challenges as discouraging things that make them not want to do it anymore. Instead, they see it as
part of the adventure. It's all about adapting,
being flexible, and actually getting
creative in how you overcome challenges and just shift your
perspective. Number five. Enjoy the Aventure explorers seem like fun and
interesting people. We might think it's
because they get to do these grand adventures that
are out of reach for us. But I think it's less
about the things that they get to do that we can't do and more about
how they approach life. I really believe
in the idea that as you become more
fascinated in life, life becomes more
fascinated in you, which means that your
own life becomes richer, more vibrant, and
more interesting. This is something
that anyone can do. So one tip I have is to approach
this practice as a game, make it fun for yourself, and have a sense of
playful adventure. You can think of yourself as a modern day explorer uncovering hidden treasures
in the everyday world. Now let's quickly talk about the practical things to bring and what you might
want to leave behind. For me, the key here is to
keep it light and simple. Don't overcomplicate it. We're not preparing for
some survival trek. We're just here to get out in nature and reawaken
our awareness. You want to bring just a
few documentation tools. Your smartphone is probably enough to take pictures, videos, and take some
notes, but ideally, set your phone to
do not disturb. If you think you can't help but be distracted by your phone, another option is to bring a
camera and a sketchbook or notebook and a pen
and pencil along so you can jot down quick
sketches and ideas. As for clothing and
other essentials, make sure that you're
wearing comfortable weather appropriate and activity
appropriate, clothes and shoes. Hats and layers are
always a good idea, and, of course, bring water. You want to stay hydrated and bring some snacks,
if you'd like. If you need
sunscreen, bug spray, or some other protectant, depending on where you live and where you're going, bring those. Finally, I would bring anything that adds a little
sense of adventure for you. Maybe it's the kind of
backpack that you choose or the hat that you're wearing or you put on a special bandana, anything that gives you that
little sense of adventure. I've included a link
in our class resources of what I typically bring, but really, you don't need much. Finally, let's talk
about some quick tips as you prepare to go outside. In general, I would
actually recommend going alone because solitude
allows you to slow down, take your time, and notice things that you
otherwise might miss. Of course, it's also
okay to go with others, but make sure you bring them
in on the experience so that they can be part of your crew instead
of a distraction. And if you have a family,
bring them along, too. This could be a great
family activity. I used to go along more often, and I really love my solitude. But now I also really enjoy
going with my family, making it a little
adventure for us, and then finding solo time later on for reflection
and creativity. Document mindfully. I do encourage you
to take photos, videos, and notes,
especially because they'll be helpful
references later on. If you think about
explorers from the past, they were definitely
always taking photos when that was available or taking sketches of what
they were observing. At the same time,
don't let it take you out of the moment and
have it be a distraction. You might want to set a
limit for yourselves, such as maybe 20 photos, Max, whatever it is, try
to stay intentional, be in the present
moment, and just notice when your attention
has been carried away. That brings me to re emphasize, but I really recommend turning
off your notifications. My phone is almost always on
some form of do not disturb. But if you're not used
to that, I really recommend trying that
here because it allows you to really focus
in on this experience and gives you some
of that mental space and time to breathe. Finally, let's talk quickly
about live drawing. Because many of you might know me from my drawing classes, you might think that I go out there and do live
sketching all the time. But actually, it's a very
time consuming practice, and because I'm with my
family more often now, it's not always feasible. So I know that can
be a challenge for many others as well. I say, if you can do live
sketching or painting, amazing. You should do it. It is
such a great practice. But if you can't that stop you. Just take the photos and videos and practice your
drawing later on. The goal here is to go outside, explore and stay immersed
in the experience. The first step is
really just to begin. This part of the practice
seems really simple, and yet I also know is
where many people hesitate. If this is happening to
you, just take a moment, pause and ask yourself, what is really holding you back? And what is one small
step that you can take to start to begin
a life adventure? Remember, you don't need to
plan the perfect outing. You just need to begin. I prepared a simple
adventure guide that you can make your
own and take with you. Now when you're ready,
let's move on to our second step. Observing.
3. Step Two: Observing: The supreme joy of
learning, of discovering, of adding tiny facts to the foundation of the
everlasting why of the universe. All this makes life one
never ending delight. The second step in
our practice is observation.
Observing is simple. You just need to know
how to pay attention. Natural explorers
know how to pay attention and how to
direct their awareness. This is how we start to reclaim our attention by first noticing ourselves noticing and then intentionally redirecting
that awareness. Not in a forced way, but in a way that feels
inviting and open. This is a great lesson that we can all learn from mindfulness, because in mindfulness,
we develop a sense of awareness that is
kind and not judgmental. All that means is that inner voice that plays
when you're noticing something is one
that is speaking from a kind and not
judgmental point of view. Many of us, we might
notice that we have a really strong
inner critic, and that applies not
only to ourselves, but to a lot of the things
that we see and experience. We might have gotten used to looking at something
and immediately having a negative thought or putting a negative label
or judgment on it. And this is just an
invitation to start practicing a sense
of curiosity and interest of being more
kind and not judgmental to what we observe so
that we can apply the same awareness to
ourselves and each other. So how can we develop this
sense of observation? We can begin really
simple and just engage our senses and becoming aware of what is
happening around us. We can go back to our
five basic senses that we all learn
when we're young, our sense of sight,
our sense of smell, our sense of hearing, our sense of touch, and our
sense of taste. If you want some more
specific guidance, you can try this
five senses reset to help calm your mind and
open your awareness. It can be helpful to try
to think this less from the mind and feel
more from the body. So first, see, find
five colors around you. Notice any details that
you might have overlooked. Touch, feel four
different textures. Maybe cool, warm, rough, smooth. Try touching different aspects
of nature, for example, a leaf, a petal, or even the ground, and noticing the
different sensations. Here, listen for three
distinct sounds. It could be a bird, the wind, or even the sound of your own footsteps
on the ground. Smell. Find two different
sources of sense nearby. You can think tree,
plant, flower, soil, and just engage your sense of smell and
notice the sensation. You can also try engaging your breath as part
of this practice. You just simply take a
deep breath in and out and notice how the air feels as it comes in
through your nose, into your body, and then is released back
out into nature. I find this to also be a great
way to feel connected with your surroundings.
Lastly, taste. Take a moment and
sip your water and notice the lingering taste or
how it feels in your body. As a bonus, I find that it's
a really nice practice to bring a whole food such
as a fruit, a vegetable, or a grain, and have that
as a mindful snack to feel our connection between our bodies and the
gifts from nature. So at this point, you
might be wondering, what exactly am I
supposed to notice? Is there something I'm looking
for on this expedition? The short answer is nothing. You're not supposed to
see or find anything. Try not to bring
in expectations or preconceived notions of what
you're going to discover. The longer answer is whatever
it is that you discover. It's not about finding a
super interesting thing. It's about noticing what you
feel naturally drawn to. As for me, I love identifying plants that
I'm interested in, noticing its shape
or composition. I love taking photos for illustration,
inspiration later on. And I try to look
up the history or the background of
the places that I'm at or who they're named after so that I can better understand
my local history. And when you do
notice something that interests you,
take a note of it. No pressure, no need
to over analyze. Just collect these things like little treasures that you
happen to come across. Let's quickly talk about
handling doubt and inner criticism because this might come up for
a lot of people, especially if you're
new to this practice. So sometimes thoughts
will creep in, like, This isn't what I expected or
the weather ruined my day, or I'm not seeing anything interesting like I
saw in the class. So that's okay. First of all, know that it's normal and
just pause and take a breath. Remember how I mentioned
that our breath is the perfect anchor to return to ourselves and the
present moment. So take a deep breath in and a deep breath out and try
to relax a little bit. Then you can turn
to these thoughts that you're having and just get curious and bring that sense of mindful observation that
we mentioned earlier, which, as you might remember, is both kind and not judgmental. So you might ask yourself, what is actually
happening right now? Can I let go of the expectation that this needs to
be a certain way? How can I change my perspective to improve what
I'm experiencing? So, for example, on one of
my recent explorations, I had planned this hike for being in nature for
a couple hours. But instead, I found that it led me out onto an urban street, which went totally counter to the whole point of spending
time in nature that day. Instead of getting frustrated or feeling bad about
myself or my clients, I just noticed,
changed direction and took it as a learning point of not going that way
in the future. Yes, I didn't have
the day that I had planned or
expected or imagined, but I didn't let that make me feel frustrated or
otherwise ruin my day. I still had a great time and
saw it as a learning point. And I find that this
really helps us hone our adaptability,
our resilience, and our creativity because
it takes creativity to see things from a
different perspective and to shift that way. Try to remember that explorers don't expect or demand
perfect conditions. They work with what is. Keep a beginner's mind
and go with the flow. As you go out and explore,
let this be simple. There's no pressure.
There's no expectation of finding some sort
of deep meaning. Just breathe, look, and listen. And the moment
that we really let go and start paying attention, we'll realize that the world
is always speaking to us. We just need to
learn how to listen. Now, waiting ready, we'll
move on to step three, reflecting on our experience.
4. Step Three: Reflecting: Experience is not
what happens to you. It's what you do with
what happens to you. Now let's talk about
our third step, fating. After an exploration, it can be tempting to just move quickly
on to the next thing. That's something that I notice
about myself in the past. It's easy to just want to go
on to the next adventure, the next stimulation,
the next shiny thing. But I found that without
a practice of reflection, it's really easy to just let
everything blur together. We don't absorb what we've seen, and we miss out on the deep meaning that we can
get from our experiences. Even just a few minutes of intentional reflection can
help us feel more grounded, clear, and connected
with ourselves. So let's take a moment to pause and process what
we've experienced. Doesn't need to be a
big or formal process. Just a few minutes can make a big difference and it's
a great habit to build. As for when and
where to reflect, you can do your reflection
right on your outing. Or if you prefer, you can wait until later after
the day is done. Whenever you choose to reflect, I recommend starting
with a pause. Remember how our
breath can serve as anytime, anywhere anchor. Then think back to
your exploration. What stood out to you the most? Was there a detail that
you want to remember? Did anything surprise you? How did the experience
make you feel? Remember that you can use
your senses as a guide. Think about what you saw, what you heard,
what you smelled. You don't need to
answer all of these. Just notice what feels
meaningful to you. Now, if you're not
sure where to start, here are a few reflection
prompts to get you going. What was a piece of nature
that caught your attention? Describe a landscape or a scene
that you found beautiful. What was a moment that
sparked curiosity or joy? Was there a human
interaction that made you feel connected
or even just smile? Was there an
interesting thought or realization that surfaced
while you were wandering? If you'd like, you can try this quick guided meditation to help support your
reflection practice. You can do this while you're
out on your exploration or after you've found
a more quiet place to settle back down into. So first, just find a comfortable
place to sit and take a deep breath in, and
a deep breath out. Let yourself and
your mind settle. No rush, no expectations.
Just be here. Now, start to invite
your experience to mind. Pick yourself back
in that place. What comes to mind
first? Is there a sight, a sound, a feeling? What are some small details
that linger in your mind? How did you feel
while you were there? Was there anything
that made you smile, re pique your curiosity? Did anything challenge
you or surprise you? Now you might ask yourself, what is one thing or feeling that you want to carry forward from
this experience? Not just return your attention
back to your breath, following it slowly in
and out at a gentle, natural place it feels
calming for you. And when you're ready,
you can gently open your eyes and document
what you found. Reflection doesn't have
to be complicated. In fact, it shouldn't be. This is not about overthinking. It's just about taking
some time to really absorb our experience and learn to
quietly listen to ourselves. This step doesn't need to
be perfect or profound. Some thoughts will be deep
while others are going to be simple and both
are totally fine. The important thing is to give yourself the space
to learn how to spend time absorbing
your experiences and quietly listening
to yourself. Also, the more you do it, the more natural it will become. So whether it's
on site or later, take some time to reflect on your experience and then document it into
your explorers log, which brings us to the fourth
and final step creating.
5. Step Four: Creating: In every walk with nature, one receives far
more than he seeks. Now that we've explored, observed and reflected,
it's time to read together through
a creative practice. This doesn't have to be
complicated or time consuming. Your explorer's log
can be as simple as a single page of notes or as elaborate as an
illustrated journal. It's completely up to you. More importantly, this
step is about giving form to your experience
through creative expression. Creating can be a way that we anchor ourselves and
practice self care. Here, it's also
intentional documentation and the foundation for insight. You can think of your
explorers log as more than just a journal
of what happens to you. It's a space to collect
what resonates with you. This will start to help
us better understand ourselves and feel more connected
to the world around us. Here are some ideas
of what you can include in your explorers log. Photos, beautiful or interesting
momens that stood out. Words. Try a short reflection, a list of observations, or even a poem,
drawings or paintings, a quick sketch, a
nature journal, or study of color or shape. Textures and objects. You might include
a pressed flower, a leaf or a tree bark rubbing. Symbols and maps, a
simple drawing of your route or abstract lines and shapes that
represent how you felt. What's important to
remember here is that it's not about
documenting everything. It's about noticing and writing down what was
meaningful to you. This also really helps hone our ability to
listen to ourselves. For some of you, this might
be your favorite part. And for others, you might
be hesitating thinking, I'm not creative or
I'm not an artist. Here, I really want to see this as a practice of
learning to let go of that inner critic and embrace the natural creativity that
we all have inside of us. Look at any kid, and you will find that they
are all creative in some way, and you were once that kid, too. Instead of focusing so much on the perfection or the
validation side of creativity, hone in on the aspect of creativity that is for
your own well being. Creativity is a practice
that is good for us, and that's why we
are doing it here. Now, to give you an example
of an explorer's log, here are two different
approaches that I used. The first is a really
simple approach. I filled out a single spread using the template that I've
created for this class. I wrote down a few
key observations, added a small sketch of
something that stood out, and included a short reflection on how the experience made me feel and what I'm
interested in exploring next. This is a great way to capture your experience thoughtfully
and efficiently. Perfect if you're a
little short on time, but still want to reap the
benefits of this practice. For a more expanded approach, I created a series
of illustrations based on photos that I took
during my exploration. I included sketches
of the landscape, the unexpected greenery, along
the concrete riverbanks. I also included figure studies. I love seeing people
interact with nature, and it's always a good exercise for me to practice
drawing people. I also included a few
written notes just noting the contrast between urban infrastructure and nature, learning about the Elli Rivers incredible history and including some of my thoughts and
reflections on how I want to engage with my
local environment. I've experimented with
doing this both digitally and procreate and in a
traditional sketchbook. I really enjoy both. So see what works best for you. This approach allows for more forms of
creative expression. You can really make it
your own by exploring what different
elements you want to bring into your
creative practice. One last thing I want to suggest is that this explorers log can be a great way to all your curiosity in the creative sense. By not putting pressure on yourself and just
learning to adopt a playful perspective on exploring what feels
natural and joyful for you, you might start to hear
yourself and hone in on what creative skills you want
to develop for yourself. If something feels really
good or grounding to you, lean into that instinct and
hone that with more practice. It's all about discovering
and cultivating the creative seeds that
we all have inside of us. Getting good at
something that we care about gives us a
sense of identity, of confidence and of having a gift that we can
offer back to the world, much like a tree bears fruit
that we can all enjoy. This isn't about coming from
a place of desperation, but coming from a place of
natural growth and joy. On that note, I want
to highlight that for those of you who are
interested in drawing, I've created a complimentary
class for Natural Explorer, where I use nature
subjects to share a step by step of my drawing
and painting process. It builds upon the
key techniques that I teach in my popular
drawing foundations class. Find the link in the
class description. Now I want to quickly address that one hesitation or block that some people might
experience at this step. Besides, not being an artist is that they are
not doing it right. So keep in mind, your
explorers log is just for you. This is really meant to help hone those benefits that
we talked about earlier, about reflection,
about creativity, about learning to listen to yourself and follow
your curiosity. So focus on those
benefits and let go of the things that are
causing hesitation or blocks. Don't need to impress
anybody with this. And in fact, you might treasure the fact that
you keep it personal. These days, it might feel
like everything that you create or do needs
to be shared online, but that's not the case. And I actually find a lot
of joy in just keeping these introspective treasures
personal to myself. I know it might
not seem that way because I created a
whole class around this. But actually, there's a lot
of drawings that I keep for myself and a lot of writings that are very personal to me. I've designed certain templates and examples to
share with people because I just
love this practice and want others to
benefit from it, too. But it doesn't mean
that everything that I create is always for
a public audience. I also want to point out that creativity is a
practice of resilience. You might feel
during these times that creativity is frivolous or not productive or some other reason why it shouldn't be what you're
doing with your time. Research shows that
creative expression does many things for us, including reducing stress and strengthening our
emotional resilience, improving memory, and our
ability to problem solve, and helping us process
our emotions and experiences in a deeper
and healthier way. But beyond science, this
is something that we can all experience intuitively
for ourselves. When we create, we
feel more grounded, we feel more present, and we can cultivate a really deep
sense of happiness. When life gets overwhelming,
making something, even when it's really simple, can help us feel that
sense of agency. We are reminded that we can
shape our life experiences, not just always have
life happen to us. Are you noticing
a throughline of all the different
benefits between nature, mindfulness
and creativity? They all help us
in a similar way, lowering our stress,
improving our well being, and cultivating a sense of joy. And that makes sense to me because they're all
aspects of being aligned with our true
nature inside and outside. Every time you go through
this simple practice, you're strengthening
your creative muscles, building your
intentional awareness, and deepening your connection
to the world around you. This practice isn't just about capturing and collecting
moments and experiences. It's really about
cultivating joy, resilience, and clarity
in our everyday lives. I really believe that by
reclaiming our attention and learning how to develop our kind observation and awareness, we can reflect and create from a place of joy and
understanding. So go at your own pace, try different approaches, and develop this into your
own grounding experience.
6. Bonus: More Inspiration: Extra inspiration, I want
to share a few pages from this great book I found while researching
for this class. In case you're
interested, I'll include a link to the book in
the class description. So this book is filled with great examples of real
explorer sketchbooks, and we can adapt it
to our own prompts. We can just see what's
interesting to us and think about how we can include it into our
explorers logs. So, of course, there
are landscapes, plant studies, animal
studies, notes, journals. There's these great
label Illustrated maps. Recalling events
that took place. So I think this is a great
example of something that they definitely didn't have pictures or recordings of, but they recalled what happened
during their expeditions. Maps, many different ways that
you can illustrate a map. Observations of nature,
how to draw a tree. Thinking about zooming out. So big landscapes and small
figure study and zooming in, looking at insects,
thinking about details, noticing textures
and observations. An example of a really
simple explorers log just to show that you don't have
to be a masterful artist. You can start with
what you have. A simplified map
with simple notes, also effective and
super detailed notes. So if you want to write and
have more technical approach, you can do that, or even have a more artful or
simplified approach. I thought it was
interesting that they're using Darwin
color pencils here, too. And just to show some
inspiration of the breadth of mediums that you can
experiment with and explore. I love this figure
study over here. C you write detailed studies. If that's what interests you. You can get creative
with your designs. So this is a
painting of volcano, but also an infographic of the different types
of vegetation that happen at different altitudes, which I thought was
really interesting. This I wanted to point
out is an astronaut, A Nasa astronaut and an artist to show that you
can have something totally different as your
main career or work and develop your
artistic practice through your observations. There's a few examples of different subjects
you can consider. Of course, plants are
a beloved classic. Animals, ones that you
observe in real life, or something more designed and imagined, such as this one. Places, of course. I love drawing and painting landscapes with
people in it, such as this. People engaged in
activity in nature. You can think about scenes. So a lot of what
I like to record aren't just images of nature, but of people engaging with
nature of architecture, of the whole setting
coming together. There's so much inspiration
in this book in terms of sharing
artists perspectives. He shares a lot of his
philosophy on why he explores and shares his explorations and the importance of
keeping him journal, the simple tools that he uses, all of his collections
in his studio. She makes it really fun. And
this one Nick thought it was fun to point out that you can
also have a sense of humor in your explorations and what you observe and what you record. Mis explore documented
just how much of a struggle it is
to remind us that nothing comes out
perfectly right away. He specifically says, It is a fantasy to think
writing just flows. I have to struggle like hell. It's a mess of corrections, but it all begins
with my notebooks. So I hope that gives some
inspiration to some people. Think of plant pressings. I also love this layout to think about how
you can collect different totems and tools to make it feel more
like an adventure. And finally, I just want to
end on this decorated map, the classic feeling of
exploration and adventure, both informative and practical, but also includes more decorative
and fantastical items. There's so much more
inspiration to be found in these pages and many other
books that I can recommend, but I hope that gave you some more ideas on what you
can include in your log.
7. Bon Voyage!: The art of living is neither
careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful
clinging on the other. It consists in
being sensitive to each moment and regarding it as utterly new and
unique and having the mind open and
wholly receptive. Congratulations on
finishing this class. As you go on your explorations, I'm genuinely excited to
see what you discover, and I hope you'll
share them with me in Mimo hai Studio or in
Skillshare student projects. Let's go over a summary of what we covered in some
key takeaways. Here's a recap of the
four simple steps of this practice exploring, opening to curiosity, observing, noticing with intentional
awareness, reflecting, gaining insight and clarity, creating, integrating your experience with
self expression. It's also important
to bring along the explorer's mindset with you in all four of these practices. We learned that that means
having a beginner's mind, staying open and curious, being aware and observant, engaging your senses and being fully present,
embracing challenges, seeing difficulties as
part of the adventure, enjoying the process, bringing a sense of joy and becoming
fascinated with life. I've shared the
reflection props and the creat templates that I've designed in the class resources. I'll also provide book recommendations and
articles in case you want to take a deeper dive into some of the topics
that I've shared. Thank you so much for
joining me in this class. I hope you found a
new perspective on exploration and
rediscovered a sense of adventure for your life. If you enjoyed this,
you can find more of my mindful creativity classes in Mimo Chai Studio
and on skill share. You can follow my work
by subscribing to the Mimo Chai Newsletter and
following me on Instagram. Stay tuned for
future explorations of Natural Explorer or I'll introduce new prompts and ideas to take our
explorations further. Until next time, I hope you'll stay curious and keep exploring.
Mimi Chao, Owner & Illustrator | Mimochai
