I love uncovering my client’s unique style recipe. Hearing what they love, watching their faces, feeling their joy, and bringing it into their home. Listen in to find out how to uncover your sweet spot.
I love uncovering my client’s unique style recipe. Hearing what they love, watching their faces, feeling their joy, and bringing it into their home. Listen in to find out how to uncover your sweet spot.
Get your own FREE printable journal at awakenyourinterior.com/resources and start Listening Closely to your body.
Hi Welcome back to, Listening Closely, I’m Tasha Cleaveland. How’d you like to find your sweet spot?
I know how hard it can be to live in a home that doesn’t feel right. It's not your fault. You were never taught how to create a home that makes you feel alive.
The key is inside you, we just need to unlock it, and this podcast is where you begin.
I’m Tasha Cleaveland, welcome to the Listening Closely podcast.
I love uncovering my client’s unique style recipe. I love listening to people in this process. Hearing what they love, watching their faces, feeling their joy, and piecing it all together to create a roadmap for the project. Once I can identify the things that light them up, I can bring these things into their spaces so they live surrounded by what they love.
Ever watch someone when they talk about something they are obsessed with? My husband LOVES the band KISS. So much so that he went on a cruise, where the whole thing for 5 days was KISS. Concerts, raving fans, trivia. I… did not join him. I love that he loves it. I love how juiced up he gets talking about it. I can feel it by just watching him. That’s the magic of finding what lights you up from the inside. You radiate, and others get to feel it right along with you.
A couple years ago I started working with Dr. Karlsberg on his office update. These were the spaces where he spent most of his waking hours. When we met he spoke of a custom carved surfboard he bought, and he was so in love with it. When we reached at the art stage I selected two pieces for his primary treatment room. I held up the first one, a surfer walking on the beach with his board in the sunset. And watched his face change. Hmmmm. It wasn’t the response I expected. He looked… sad. Ok… next. Dolphins surfing the waves in a row. Bingo. His eyes lit up and a smile spread across his face. “That one. Oh, I miss that so much.” I had forgotten he had suffered from a severe back injury since we started working together. He couldn’t surf. For awhile he could barely stand. The shot of the surfer reminded him of what he was missing. The dolphins took him to where he loved to be. In the waves. When you land on the spot that brings you joy, your whole body responds.
Erik was remodeling after a flood. He needed all new flooring. The carpet installer was partially through installation when he walked into the room and realized it was the wrong carpet. He FaceTimed me in a panic. “I don’t know what to do! They already started putting it in! The installer said he would give me a discount and I feel so bad about this. I feel bad for stopping the work, for the wasted carpet, for the money he would be out.” I asked to see it. Color wise, it was really close. Texture wise, it was a basket weave pattern instead of a plush. As far as design goes, I told him either will be fine. I asked him what he thought of the new carpet, and he said it “looked good”. I asked how he felt about the one he picked out and his whole body changed. With a sigh he said “it was the most amazing carpet I have ever felt.” Since he is usually barefoot at home and loves rolling on the floor playing with his dogs, I explained why this decision was important. Every single day he would be interacting with this surface and it would impact his experiences at home. I told him “Erik, your body told me the answer, and we can’t reason our way out of that. You can choose what you need to, but your body wants the plush.” He went with the plush and when I later asked about it, he was so happy with his decision.
You know how when you have an itch on your back and you ask someone to scratch it for you? A little to the left, up, up, to the right, wait back to the left a bit… yes! Right there! Thank you! And you start squirming like your dog does when you find the spot, with one eye half open and a silly grin on your face. Your body is in total bliss. But you wouldn’t have gotten there without giving feedback and asking for their hand to move to find the spot. No matter how hard you try, you can’t will the itch to the hand, you have to tell the hand how to find the exact spot. You have to keep going until your body says BINGO! Creating a nourishing space is no different.
Robert was an older single man and had been in the navy. He longed for the sea. When I came out to size artwork, I placed painters tape on the wall in a conservative size and asked “how does that look? Larger, smaller?” He didn’t really move and said, “bigger”. I taped out the larger size and looked at him. Still the same response. Ok, larger again. And I looked. One of my favorite memories of Robert was the look on his face when we found the size that hit the spot. His solemn, quiet, navy demeanor was replaced with a smile that reached every corner of his face. “Yes.” We eventually filled his home with larger than life images of the ocean, not just any images, ones that had movement to the water. When we hung the pieces he would just stare at them, transfixed in awe and wonder. I am grateful I checked in with him a few weeks after our final install, asking how he liked it, because only two months later, he passed away. If you are willing, I will share his reply.
"Late at night, if you are quiet, you can hear the sounds of dolphins surfacing for a breath of air, and sea waves colliding with surf, and sea birds squawk as they land at distant locations. The sound of massive sea turtle flippers, as they swish through ever changing shades of blue-green waters…
Then you awake, and think, “Oh my, I was dreaming…”
You walk the hallway, and discover the carpet is damp with sea salt, with the scent of ocean air….
Then you well know….You have been in the sea world of King Neptune…
You have been blessed….
Robert”
Years later fate brought one of his custom pieces of art back into my life and it is in my home now. I am so blessed to have worked with him. He taught me an important lesson. Your soul speaks through your body. His soul needed the ocean. We brought that to his body and he spent his remaining days, living in the home of his dreams.
Heres what I noticed yesterday:
Glimmer of beauty:
I have been adjusting to work at home, again. And after us all using the kitchen table when quarantine started, then, setting up an actual desk in the family room, I finally set up my home office. It was, the playroom. Toys have been set aside for some time now. People don’t tell you that. That kids stop playing at some point. And this room was filled with the ghosts of what had once been. Silent reminders of what I dreamed of for our kids. Brightly colored wooden trucks, and blocks. Gifts from my mother, who has since passed. It was painful to see. So hard to pack it all away. So hard to say goodbye to what was. But I had to pivot to what was needed right now in our household. So I did. And here I was, sitting at my desk, in this room that I painstakingly painted long ago for them, with a lazure glaze technique to simulate light flowing in the windows. As I watched the sun dance across the pale blue walls, I finally saw beauty in this space again. A new beginning, and this time it was for me.
The song for today is:
“Deep Water” by American Authors
This song hits me right to the core. I hope you find pleasure in it too.
(Movement focus: finding the spot)
Soulwork for today:
Let’s work on listening for the spot. See if you can find one time today where you can keep adjusting until your body says “YES! Thats it!” It could be putting back the first cup you grabbed from the cabinet, and instead, finding your favorite. (Thats one already!) Pour that drink, but don’t just do it the easiest way. Do it exactly how you like it. Ice? How much? Now, where will you drink it? Not standing in the kitchen. Where is your favorite chair? Move the toys or hoodie, and sit. Savor. Listen. Was it right? Go back and perfect your bliss until your body says “thank you.” So many tiny things impact how you move through this world. And you are worth the effort.
Thank you so much for spending time with me today. I know how hard it is when it seems like there isn’t any to spare. But you showed up today. You put yourself on the list and I celebrate you. As you move through your day, keep your soul work assignment in mind and before starting bedtime routine, while the kids are brushing their teeth, grab your journal and fill in the prompts. Keep going. You can do this.
Know another mom who needs to put themselves on the list too? Please share the love, because we are stronger together. Get your free printable journal at awakenyourinterior.com
Until tomorrow. Lots of love.
Tasha