You Constantly Amaze Me So Look At The Sweatshirt I Made You & Feel Free To Come By Our Kid-Run Lemonade/Art Stand Today If Local

Also: Info for tomorrow's poetry workshop w/ Brad Aaron Modlin & me (free for paid subscribers) & my extended offer. LFG!

I saw this on my friend Keri’s instagram and laughed out loud. Had to share. You all amaze me in the best possible way, but this sweatshirt is everything. So is this lady. Ha!

You amaze me in the best possible way so I decided to extend the offer!

There has been such an incredible response to the offer and I realize many still don’t know about it, so…. I shall keep it going. Why not? I’m making up the rules here. Welcome to The School Of Whatever Works (as long as you’re not hurting anyone or yourself.)

Tomorrow’s workshop is being sent separately to “paid subscribers” fyi.

(Before I forget, today at mi casa, we are doing a lemonade/art stand with the kids and they’d love some customers (hint hint) so please text or email me if you are local to the Ojai area.)

And now, for the offer….

Email jennifer@jenniferpastiloff.com proof of purchase of one preorderd copy of Proof Of Life and get 6 months paid subscription. Pre-order here.

2 copies gets you a year’s subscription.

3+ gets you a LIFETIME PAID SUBSCRIPTION!

That’s as good as it gets so please spread the good word. It takes a village and WE ARE EACH OTHER’S VILLAGE. It’s called The I Got You Effect.

I have upcoming workshops (including tomorrow’s that will knock your socks off) that are FREE for paid subscribers. Next Saturday is with THE Katie Hendricks on the art of receiving! Info on that in a couple of days. (So many upcoming ones!)

If you just became a paid subscriber, scroll through the previous posts for tomorrow’s zoom info, or email me. It will also be included in a new email if you are a “paid” peep.

Tomorrow’s session starts at 11:30 am pst (2:30 pm est) and will be recorded for you if you can’t make it live. Everyone is welcome, regardless of what you think your “poetry talent” may be. Brad Aaron Modlin is a gift to us all. Just come! This community is magic. Warm, welcoming, inviting, safe, fun, and, most of all: loving. In fact, intro yourself with the shat button below if you haven’t yet. Tell us something awkward about you and what city you’re in, at least.

Today is day 11 of THE SCHOOL OF WHATEVER WORKS (TSOWW.)

We’ve been doing 98 days of being our own permission slip by using whatever works (again, as long as you aren’t intentionally harming anyone.) I live my life by this “school.” The final day is the day Proof of Life publishes (July 8.) I’ve had a crazy (and tough) week so I did not get to post the last couple days- but it’s okay. Because …. that’s right: whatever works. When, and if, we can- we just roll with it. I try so hard not to get my knickers in a twist over things that aren’t knicker twist worthy. We’ll just double up or triple up on TSOWW.

This week has been all about shame. Primarily SHAME LOSS.

Day 9/10/11 combined, because hey, Shame is a biggie. So, here you go…

Last night, Henry and I went to see my buddy Chrissy Metz at Godmother’s Books in Summerland, Ca (my launch there Is July 12 if you want to mark it down- near Montecito and Santa Barbara, fyi.) Also, please comment where you’d like to see me city-wise and with whom…

Chrissy wrote a new kid’s book called When I Talk To God, I Talk About Feelings. She was in convo with Tabitha Brown and it was all about, you guessed it- FEELINGS.

It’s so important to teach kids the importance of having (and sharing feelings) but what about us? What if we have bene shoving ours down for so long that we don’t even know what we feel? Or, we feel shame over our feelings? Or, we don’t feel like there is anyone safe to share them with or that we even get to share them (Um, yes, we do. You get to have this. This meaning your feelings and a safe place to share them. Again, see the chat button below. Welcome to your new fam. We are each other’s soft place to land.)

Today and the past couple days of TSOWW are about any shame surrounding your feelings. Consider this your invitation to lose the shame. Think about the last time you had a feeling come up that you denied or ignored or disregarded for whatever reason (maybe it felt like I don’t get to feel that or that’s stupid or whatever it may have been that caused you to shun it.) This part is purely an excavation. Would you share what that was- the feeling and circumstances and what you’ve discovered? Then, the now what? part- i.e. the action part: Are you willing to commit, at least for today- to not shoving down your feelings or ignoring them or letting shame “win”, as it were? If you catch yourself shaming yourself, are you open to pausing and allowing room for whatever it is instead? Look, everything is always just for right now. That’s all we can focus on. These aren’t set-ups for failure we’re after, like every day for the rest of my life I will not shove my feelings down. Impossible. Focus on the now. Focus on just today. Stay soft with yourself. I know it can be hard. No pun intended.

Your birthright is NOT shame. Or stress. Or feeling like shit. Or hardship.

Since I missed a few days, I am inviting us all to make this a 3 day commitment. Shame is insidious so you may really have to get quiet and reallllllly honest with yourself about where you are denying yourself and your feelings and where you’re letting Shame call the shots. We’re here for it though. We got each other.

Another call to action: do something scary. If it is terrifying to you to share your feelings or open up, I dare you to do it anyway (in a safe environment, such as here.) Catch yourself SSD (stuffing shit down) and do the opposite. You in?

Let us know and let us know if you actually do it because that is medal worthy, friends! If you are scared to attend tomorrow’s poetry workshop… I say COME! Challenge yourself to show up.

I have to go set up the lemonade/art stand but before I go, I got the galley (advanced copy) of my book the other day and OMG! Check out the video below. Sweet Trey- the UPS guy. Ha! It’s such a beauty and I cannot wait for you to hold it in your hands. Thank you again for all your support. I can’t emphasize the importance of preorders enough and the fact that you all are showing up for me this much is PROOF (see what I did there) that the I Got YOU Effect is a real thing and I got you, too.

Also, I think you know Henry is one of the stars of the upcoming Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning and they just dropped a new trailer (which he is in and which features his voice narrating it.) May 23 baby! Cannot wait! It’s opening The Cannes Film Festival too. We will definitely be in NYC for the premiere there.

Okay, that’s it! I’m going to go MOM at the lemonade/art stand. I love you , fellow weirdo. See you tomorrow on Zoom I hope.

ps totally random but why am I so obsessed with kettle corn lately? Why did I have that dream last night? Why do you think Rick and Chelsea from White Lotus unfollowed each otger on Insta? Just thinking out loud over here. Love, ADHD.