When the Spirit Cats Deck landed in my palms, it was one of the most magical-kitty-cat-divine-inspo moments of my life. I'm all about the oracle, tarot, wisdom card vibe - so this beautifully painted, intuitively written deck has become a cherished tool in my lil' SelfLoving kit. I regularly commune with my Spirit Cats when I could use a touch of clarity, guidance or nurturing upliftment. The Spirit Cats always come thru! Nicole is one of my very favorite artists and creators ~ I'm always amazed by her elevated insights and inspiring gifts. Her email newsletter is one of very few I receive these days, and I'm always eager for her latest updates. Whether it's fresh artwork or intuitive guidance, musings on all-things-life or one of her new kitty cat creations ~ I love learning from Nicole's elevated perspective. It's all cats and moon cycles and intuition and soul whispers. Truly the stuff of magic.

"When we're children, we tend to believe we can do anything. Never built a treehouse? So what? Lit the toaster on fire? Close call! We seem to be born with a type of fearless creativity--we have ideas, and we aren't afraid to take a chance or two to bring them to life. And if we make mistakes and mess things up, that's okay, because that's how we learn what works and what doesn't. But as we grow older, we tend to shut this fearlessness off. We are taught that being skeptical is smart, and we become our own worst critic. We allow our fear of not succeeding, of not being good, of being embarrassed or feeling lost, to stop us from even trying in the first place. And that's the real mistake. Our smart, skeptical adult selves shut down ideas for something new. Even good ideas. Especially good ideas, because those are the ones that feel more real, more tempting, more frightening. We do this because we forget what we once took for granted as children--that we probably won't be any good the first time we try it. We forget that we don't have to be good to get started. We just have to get started." ~ Joy Mangano, Inventing Joy I'm guilty, two-hands-up of judging just about everything by its cover. It was no different with this book, Inventing Joy by Joy Mangano. I gave it away before even reading it. Then the P.I.C. (partner in crime) pointed out the movie, at the library of all places! We had no idea what it was about or that it told the story of the same woman, we only recognized the actors. We rented it, and the very next day when my mom picked me up to do lunch, the book was laying in the passenger seat! (I passed it on to her for donation and she hadn't gotten around to it yet. How 'bout that for serendipity?) "Can I have this back?!" I asked excitedly, and a bit stunned. I watched the movie twice and absolutely devoured the book. It felt like a convo between me and Joy, sitting across the dinner table from one another. I'm so thankful it circled back to me and I had the honor of learning from Joy's inventiveness, spark and light-bulb insights. At a time when I continue to build confidence in my own creative work, Joy's stories gave me that extra ummmppphh to keep Doing Me with power and grace. The book and movie are different and unique perspectives of Joy's life - both massively inspiring and encouraging for anyone with a dream, passion, idea or calling that could use a nudge to take the first step, and keep on going.

Heather authored the award-winning book, How to Raise a Happy Child (and be happy too) . She is also the creator of WiseTalk for Teachers and WiseTalk for Families , acclaimed communication games that help cultivate meaningful conversation with our kids. Her website, heathercriswell.com, is a hub of resources for anyone seeking communication, connection and love in every circumstance. Her most recent book, Wise Talk form the Other Side , was a personal godsend that transformed my understanding of death ~ a must-read for anyone who's ever experienced grief, loss and everything that comes with passing (which is everyone on the planet!). I've used her Calling All Souls Guided Meditation to nurture my own relationship with loved ones on "the other side" and seen first-hand the power of her Bedtime Love Bubble in soothing a child's heart with reminders that they matter and make a difference - so they can ease in to a peaceful night's sleep. A divine storyteller, mama for humanity and gifted connector, Heather shares her experiences with a down-to-earth honesty and all-encompassing compassion that leads us back to love, every time.