🌸 Happy HollyDays: 001 - Life Update & What to do when sh*t hits the fan~
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Hiya Beautiful Human!
Welcome to the very first edition of Happy HollyDays, the email newsletter that I've been talking about creating for years now. And here we are, in divine timing - in the perfect imperfection of all that is.
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How did you end up here?
Maybe I received your email address from one of my in-person DREAM workshops in New York, Thailand, Bali or Burning Man.
Or maybe you attended one of my online programs or one of my retreats or art events in California.
Or we exchanged contact info at a blockchain conference years ago.
Or maybe we met somewhere along my travels somewhere in the world.
Or you found me on the world wide web.
However it may have happened, I trust that you are receiving this as a divine orchestration and gift of everything that had to happen for us to arrive here right now.
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And now, if you’ve made it this far, here’s a little back story about me and some things that I am interested in and plan to share about in my writings -
My name is Holly, I am 32 years old, Taiwanese Californian, Leo sun, Cancer rising, Aquarius moon, Manifesting Generator, Enneagram Type 7, ENFP, Artist, Poet, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Dreamer, Lover.
I am currently living in Bali, Indonesia for the past 2 years. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California to immigrant parents from Taiwan and then lived in San Francisco for a few years in my early 20s.
I then lived nomadically for 2 years finding home in Thailand, Berlin, Amsterdam, Costa Rica, Shanghai, and Taiwan.
I consider myself a global citizen and believe that we are all connected no matter where we reside.
There is a snapshot of time in my life where I worked at a cushy tech job while living in SF with my partner of 9 years with our dog in our pricey one bedroom apartment right next to Dolores Park.
I thought I had it all.
And then I went through my Saturns Return (in astrology speak, your Saturns Return happens when Saturn returns to the degree in its orbit occupied at the time of birth, usually around age 28 or 29, and a person crosses over a major threshold and enters the next stage of life… aka shit hits the fan and you question everything in life).
And so within 6 months, I turned my life upside down and left my relationship, my job, and moved out of my apartment and was living out of a backpack and suitcase while traveling nomadically.
You can read more about this lil’ adventure here.
I’ve lived many lives and worked many jobs in different industries ranging from the Silicon Valley Start Up scene, Music & Entertainment space, and Media & Advertising industry.
My last “real” job working for someone else was 3 years ago as the Global Community Manager at a blockchain company in Thailand.
With over 10 years of experience, my work has always been centered around helping people find their purpose and share their passions, building thriving international communities, and creating conditions for further co-creating to take place.
I am now the owner of my own coaching business, facilitating transformational group programs, and love sharing my gifts from a heart-centered space.
Sitting with various plant medicines over the last 10 years has shaped a big part of my path and journey. I trust Mother Earth has given us everything we need in this lifetime and more.
I absolutely love dancing, and I make it a point to dance every single day (even if its just to one song in the morning).
I was never a professionally trained dancer, in fact I got rejected from the dance team in 7th grade.
But once I found ecstatic dance, it became an integral part of my self-expression.
It's not about how it looks, it's about how it FEELS!
I’ve gone to Burning Man 6 times (first burn was in 2013) and founded & organized my own camp for 4 of those years.
This experience really groomed me into the human that I am today.
I truly believe anything is possible after experiencing life in a place like this, and I have intentions to come back home this year.
I am obsessed with conscious communication.
It’s a fairly new edge for me as this wasn’t something I was brought up with.
In my family, it was more like… avoid your problems and act like everything is fine even though it’s not.
Which is why I feel this is part of my dharma to be fully expressed in my truth in a way that can be received.
I have been diving deep into the wisdom of the body - somatic embodiment, fasting, and breathwork are areas that I have dedicated my time and energy to learning.
Cultivating my femininity, tuning in with nature and the cyclical ways of life, and deepening my practice has been an integral part of my healing journey here in Bali,
I love you. I say this as often as I can because that’s what we’re all here to do - be Love. This wasn’t a word that was used a lot growing up, so it is my desire to give what I want to receive myself.
Current Updates:
(This photo was taken on my daily morning walk by my house. Ubud, Bali, Indonesia - February 2022)
The start of 2022 consisted of me committing to an 18 month Masters of Science program in Applied Epigenetics with The Institute for Aliveness.
It has had me questioning and verifying all of my preconceived beliefs on a new level - what kind of food am I putting into my body, how do I want to relate with others, communication, where in the world do I want to live, all of the things!
And I’m sure as hell here for it!
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Also, I got sick with the C for the second time earlier this month.
It was pretty mild, I was out for 24 hours and took it as a sign to slow the F down.
I also committed to doing a 7 day juice cleanse right after I recovered, which I feel is what helped me get over the hump of long term fatigue that is said to stick around afterwards with this new strain.
So it was 2 weeks of going inwards and spending lots of alone time, and I am immensely grateful for everything that happened. I am grateful for my health, as health is the greatest form of wealth we will ever know.
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Learnings:
The biggest lesson I’m taking from this experience is that even when things gets tough, if I can view the happening as a gift or a work of art rather than a judgment of “I should have done this or that isn’t right” - there is more peace, joy and happiness available to be experienced.
So the little nugget for you to receive is an invitation for the next time that it feels something less than ideal is happening, remember that it’s actually happening *for* you (and not to you, very subtle change in wording, and makes a big difference). How can I create art from this situation? How can I find the humor in the bigger picture?
Without bypassing the emotions that come with hard experiences but fully feeling the entirety of whatever is alive in the moment, and then coming to a place of radical acceptance for all that is. it takes a level of trust and surrender to truly be in a state of acceptance, not trying to change anything and allowing all that is to unfold in its inevitability.
For example, in this very moment, in order for you to receive this email and to be reading these words in this very second, I had to have gotten sick, been fasting, and staying home for me to finally get the spark of inspiration to push send on this email newsletter.
Ha, if that isn’t a beautiful cosmic joke, then I don’t know what is :)
And there will always be more opportunities for us to keep learning and embracing a deeper embodiment of this understanding time after time again.
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Like how I ended up living in Bali for the last 2 years during a world pandemic. That’s a tale for another time as this is already getting to be quite lengthy.
So I’ll just leave this as a little seed for next time.
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That’s it for now family, I will share more in the next month or so.
Until then, I’m super open to receiving feedback about what intrigues you, any questions you may have, or topics you are interested in hearing more about.
Also, I have the pleasure of sharing that I have one spot available for private 1on1 mentorship and doors for my group program Embodied Expression will be opening again in March.
If you are interested, just reply back to this email with a "<3" and I’ll receive your message
Until next time, toodle-oo!
With love and gratitude,
Holly
22.2.22
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P.S. Here are some things I would love to share more about in the future, let me know if there is a particular subject that sparks your curiosity!
Living in Bali
TIFA
Health is wealth
Fasting
Life design
Music
Dance
Transcendental experiences
Relating in all its different forms
Art/creativity
What it means to be happy
Authentic communication
Unconditional love
Self expression