Issue #40 The Magic Heron Newsletter – What creature teaches us how to come to dive deep, but also resurface for air?

Welcome to the 40th issue of The Magic Heron Newsletter, a fortnightly newsletter with a focus on journaling, writing, and learning nature’s wisdom through midlife. 

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Texas, August 28, 2022

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Hi there !

Several days ago, my daughter and I were looking at soup recipes and talking about how good the pictures looked. And it was hot outside! Then, we had 3-4 days of cool weather with overcast skies and drizzly rain. I told her it felt like fall was already here, or shifting within a day or so. 

She said the Farmer’s Almanac was forecasting an early and colder winter. And we talked about what we need to do to get ready for winter, especially with the high utility bills we’ve been seeing. 

I love my summers and am always reluctant to move into fall, but my daughter loves it. I’m still eating the last of the watermelon we bought from a farmers’ market at the same time planning a broccoli cheddar soup to eat this week. 

Have you noticed the shift where you are? 

I’m doing the last edits on the 2-Ingredient Recipe Book and will upload it to Amazon to be published within a few days to a week. I enjoyed putting this one together and am amazed at the variety of simple, easy to put together recipes I found that have only 2 ingredients, other than the spices or fats and oils that are also in almost all recipes. 

Recipes like Ice Cream Bread, Chaffles, Pizza Dough, and even fun things for the kids and grandkids like Edible Play Dough or Slime. And for you dog lovers, I’ve included 2 ingredient dog treat recipes!

Keep an eye out on my Amazon Author page and of course, I’ll list it in the next newsletter. 

Whale has come to me several times this week. Lots of videos and pictures have randomly popped up and made me pay more attention. So, this week’s Newsletter Spirit Animal is the Whale.

This week’s Newsletter Spirit Animal

Whales are able to dive deep into the sea but must also surface for air. This could mean it is time for us to depressurize from our own emotional stress and come up for air. There is a time to dive deep into your soul, into the subconscious, and then there is a time to come back up for air and breathe. 

Whale teaches us how to navigate the tumultuous currents of life. To turn inward and contemplate alone, and hone in like a whale uses its sonar to hear your own inner voice. 

Whales can communicate over thousands of miles of ocean, teaching us how to communicate and connect with loved ones far away. They are family oriented, nurturers, and teach us how to be in touch with true reality. 

Whale Symbolism and Meanings:

• Communication
• Family
• Community
• Inner voice
• Navigation
• Wisdom holder
• Physical and emotional healing
• Keeper of history
• Emotional rebirth
• Peaceful strength

Whale teaches about emotional rebirth. A whale can dive into depths of immense pressure, just as some of us are able to endure deep emotional and physical pressure. But we also have to surface to take a breath. If you are stuck in an emotional rut, it may be time to let go, take a deep breath, and enjoy life on the surface for a bit before diving back down. 

It’s time to listen to your inner voice and intuition. Listen more closely to what it is saying to you.

–

Recently Published . . .

New in the Etsy Shop!

1. Blue Humpback Whale and Sea Coral — Watercolor — Printable Letter Writing Paper — Stationery

2. Printable Weekly Planner Monday Start Planner Calendars Work Planner Everyday Planner Seascape Ocean Animals Watercolor Letter 8.5×11

–

New Books!

1. Notebook: Bohemian Dreamcatcher and Feather design|college lined pages |120 pages

2. Be the Queen Notebook: Fluffy Llama design | 8.5 x 11 | college lined pages |120 pages

Blog Posts . . .

1. Launch Your Memoir Professional Business with These Steps – Now is the time to launch a Memoir Professional Business as a writing coach or editor to help clients write their memoirs.

HERBAL ACADEMY BACK TO SCHOOL SALE . . . 

As family gatherings wind down and children shuffle back into class, it can be a wonderful time for a little self-reflection and evaluation. 

What is it that you want to be spending your own time on, what are you passionate about and how can you bring that into reality?

Are you wanting to learn how to better your health and wellness? 

Are you interested in picking up some new skills like foraging, drawing, or making herbal preparations?

Maybe you want to start a holistic side hustle? 

Back to School season is here, and this excitement isn’t only for the kids!

My friends over a the Herbal Academy announced their annual Back to School Season Sale is on including up to 30% off courses!

So if you’re curious to explore the art and science of herbalism while building your own brilliant relationship with the plant world, this might be your time to take the jump! Entrust your journey with the Herbal Academy, a global leader in herbalism education! 

HERBAL ACADEMY BACK TO SCHOOL SALE

Runs August 22 – September 18, 2022

Interesting links . . .

Here are some interesting links I came across on my ventures through Internet Land this week that I thought you might enjoy.

1. 2022-23 Extended Winter Weather Forecast

2. Understanding The Phases Of The Moon

3. Pick The Perfect Watermelon!

4. DIY Cutting Board Oil: Maintain Your Cutting Boards & Wooden Utensils

5. NOURISHING HERBAL SOUP SEASONING MIX

***I use Mountain Rose Herbs for ordering all the herbs I use. Every order I’ve received has always been fresh and gorgeous. Click here to order the herbs you need for your teas, infusions, spices, and other ingredients for your kitchen:

Mountain Rose Herbs

Journaling Inspiration . . .

1. You Can Become A Memoir Professional

2. Why Write? Exercise Creativity

3. 7 Reasons to Create a Personal History (and what the heck is a personal history, anyway?)

4. How to write a memoir: our 21 Best Memoir-Writing Tips to get you writing your memoir—quickly and well—and getting it into the hands of your public

5. The Advantages of Using a Sketchbook

Random Nature Fact . . .

There were primitive crocodiles that could gallop across the plains of the Sahara? Thankfully, that was 100 million years ago and today’s crocodiles are a bit slower. 

You can read more about them here.

Fossil hunters unearth galloping, dinosaur-eating crocodiles in Sahara

Nature Journal Video . . . 

1. Whether you draw from shore or head out whale watching, this class will help you capture the moments on paper.

• Learn relevant anatomy for artists and field sketchers to help you draw whales, seals, sea lions, and otters.

• Understand the series of shapes you see as a whale spouts.

• Represent water and open ocean with fast and convincing strokes in pencil and watercolor.

Waves & Whales

Nature Journal Prompt . . .

Use the picture above to practice drawing in your nature journal and noticing details about this animal.

Lifespan: 20 to 100 years, depending on species

Scientific name: Cetacea

Habitat: all the major oceans around the world

Speed: 30 mph

What it eats: depending on species: small crustaceans, squids, small schooling fishes, krill, copepods

What eats (or preys on) it: humans, sharks, killer whales

Did you know? 

Sperm whales have the loudest sound on earth! They are louder than a jet engine taking off the runway. They could actually blow out a human’s eardrums and vibrate the human body to death, if you were right next to them. 

Nature Tip:

On the west coast, you can go whale watching from the end of May to October. Can you imagine, a blue whale surfacing and seeing it’s massive tongue that weighs as much as an elephant?

Check out these and more fascinating facts about whales:

12 Interesting Facts About Whales

What I’m watching . . .

1. We finally got some time to see the new Top Gun movie. Have to say, we were both impressed with the character development over plot compared to most movies nowadays. Did you know? They took more camera footage shooting Maverick than Peter Jackson did of the whole Lord of the Rings Trilogy!

Top Gun: Maverick – Official Trailer (2022) – Paramount Pictures

What I’m reading . . .

1. My best friend gifted me a copy of Bella Grace magazine and I’m having a lot of fun reading through it and looking at the prompts. Next on my list is the Bella Field Guides to check out.

I just saw that the publisher, Stampington & Company is having a sale on their back issues for $1.99 and up! Nice!!

Quotes I’m pondering . . .

“Your days are numbered. Use them to throw open the windows of your soul to the sun. If you do not, the sun will soon set, and you with it.”

~~Marcus Aurelius

and

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” 

~~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Questions I’m considering journaling on . . . 

Listening to whale’s teachings on surfacing for air, it is now time to come up from the depths of the emotional stress I’ve been through after ending a relationship earlier this year. Time to depressurize, and breathe. Time to let go. 

And I am happy to do so. 

But what is next?

Where will whale take me on this ride next? As we go into fall and then the darkness of winter, it will be time to dive deep again into meditations, deep into the subconscious, and continue onto the next phase of my journey.

Journal Prompt . . . 

August is wrapping up, September is here in a few days, and in less than a month the Autumnal Equinox will herald in the new season.

Are you feeling the shift to the next season yet? 

What are you feeling? 

A last desire for juicy watermelon one day and a hearty soup the next?

As you tune into the seasons, and the shift as one goes into the next, journal how you “know” when it’s about to change. Follow your intuition and your muse as you write!

Happy Journaling!

. . . Shanna

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I’ll be back on September 11th!

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Links

Shanna Lea Author website
Books on Amazon
Magic Heron Creations Notebooks on Amazon
Magic Heron Creations Etsy Shop

. . . Shanna Lea Author

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