I would like you to meet my friend Sara Catena – the Joy Activator. She lives in Australia but is actually a Kiwi, since she was born in New Zealand. I found her on Instagram, and was drawn to her colorful, playful, and joyful art. When she put out a call for a
Marketing Genius in her newsletter, I responded to see if there was anything a non-marketing genius could do to help. It worked out because during a visit to her 91 year old mum, she realized that true connection mattered more to her than marketing. We spent an hour in conversation on Zoom so I could tell you about her here. I enjoyed our time together and got to relive the experience as I transcribed, and then edited the recording of our conversation. Here are the highlights of the parts I found most inspiring.
Joy Activator: When people walk into my house, see something of mine on Social Media, or have one of my paintings, so many say to me, “I just feel so much joy.” That’s why I came to call myself the Joy Activator. Some part of me is energetically clear enough to bring through that joy, people see it, and it somehow reminds them of that joy in themselves. It activates their own puddle of JOY.
Poopy nonsense-headed brain : When we clean up all the old mental conditioning, I’m calling it the poopy nonsense-headed brain. Once we clean up those outdated, and often fearful ideas, what’s left is this joyousness. Wouldn’t it be great if we all did that! We could all be, as the painting behind me shows – wild, beautiful, and free.
I have a very strong spiritual connection with All That Is, God, Spirit, Creator, Divine Buzz, whatever you want to call it. It is a very rich connection for me. It is my superpower. One which I have built, or I guess you could say rebuilt since we are all born with it.
Color has such an ability to evoke emotion doesn’t it? I think homes have become very grey and beige on the whole and it is just stripping away the ability to have joy in our own home space. My house is incredibly colorful. When I was running classes here, people would walk through my home into the studio and they would feel better already just being here – big green couch, painted murals, the fireplace is painted, all sorts of things going on, because it makes me feel happy. Look for her YouTube Video (Sara Catena – This is me … ) to see her home and the painting that was in her background as we spoke.
I choose love: I choose love over and over and over again. I don’t think we are here to feel unhappy. Sure, If we focus on the news, the bad news, or mass media and all of that stuff (which I don’t, purposely), we would feel pretty bad about what’s going on in the world but that’s such a microcosm of the truth. A creatively joyous life is my mutiny against the craziness of the world. I choose love. I choose love over and over and over again. I just keep choosing that focus. So that’s what is around me. That’s what I put into my frequency or my vibration or my space or whatever you want to call it.
I do think we are all creative: We came here to create amazing lives and and we can choose whatever our hearts desire. We can choose how we respond or how we see the world. It can be that simple. I totally believe that now. I wanted to believe that years ago and I feel like I have gotten to the place in my world where I know that it 100% is the truth now.
Meditation Practice: I recently in my writing practice asked, “God, why can’t I seem to do a meditation practice continuously? The message I got back was, “You are – you have made your life a meditation practice. There no need to specifically call it a thing. It’s how you approach the world, and how your approach your day, your life, being completely present with each moment.” I loved that! That actually really made sense to me.
If I feel off, I just sit really still: I find stillness or nature will resolve things if I’m willing to be in the present moment. Years ago I read a book called, The Presence Process with Michael Brown. It’s a self-study you work through for 10 weeks. The basis of it is fifteen minutes of breath work in the morning and then fifteen minutes at night. It’s about just getting incredibly present. Because a lot of times what happens if you ask someone to be present all of the stuff comes up, the mind starts cycling all of the things you haven’t made time to process since childhood. This process teaches you to sit with all of that. It is a potent, courageous act doing something like that. I did it after my husband passed, when I was just stumbling around. I did it with my sister which was amazing. Any time that I am feeling off, I go simply sit still. I don’t need to sit for fifteen minutes I can just sit and breathe and in a very short time I can let go of the story that’s running. I can just be in my body and feel that feeling and it releases.
If someone tells me, “I’m not artistic.” First, I don’t think it’s my job to convince them. I used to be more like “Aw, everyone is creative” but then I thought if that was me, I don’t think I would feel heard. The best thing we can do is just reflect it, “Ah, you don’t think you are artistic?” Just hear them, accept them where they are, and let them be there. It’s not my responsibility to lead others to their awakening. I have to let them find their own way. I prefer to lead by example.
I have a book: I wrote “Creative Quest’ to help people re-find their creative spirit, their sense of playfulness. There are written practices deep diving into things that lead to joy, and there are delightfully simple creative prompts.
Writing and creativity go hand in hand, how can you go wrong? I thought, “What would I want to share with somebody, what things do I do that lead to a more creatively joyous life?” And put those wee nuggets into the book.
I want people to remember, “Oh I am artistic. I am actually creative, I just didn’t make the time until now.” There is space within the book to directly write, color, draw, and play!
Art is so healing: You don’t have to be good at it, you just have to start somewhere. It’s a matter of starting, beginning. And you can’t make anybody do that. They maybe have to be tin a creative drought for so long that they just eventually have to go drink from the creative fountain. Take the opportunity when it comes.
Books that Inspire
Outrageous Openness – by Tosha Silver
Prayers for Openness – by Catherine Ponder. Prayers for allowing creator to come through, to see the blessings, to trust in life, expanding instead of contacting, that’s where the lusciousness is.
The Course of Miracles – Experiment by Pam Grout I’m doing a page a day with my girlfriend. In our messages to keep each other accountable we write a little one liner about that page – only love is real. I did a little instagram post the other day, “I am heir to a gazillion blessings.” Isn’t that beautiful? I feel like I am being remade reading that book every day. Holiness is my superpower. It’s fun and playful, yet real, truthful, and deep.
The 15 Success Principles for Self-realization – Channeled Wisdom to Create your Reality and Expand Your Perspective by Sarah Landon has been blowing my mind as well.
Those two hand in hand, when I first started reading them I just went – WOW – these books are having an effect on me. The two of them together, I feel that I am being remade, sifting away the parts of that poopy nonsense headed brain, the parts that don’t really work, and I don’t need anymore.
Return to Joy by Andrew Harvey and Carolyn Baker – I read this amazing book after my husband passed. It has a few little exercises in it as well. It was kind of like how life gives you lemons and then you make lemonade. I really found that grief, allowing myself to fully grieve, and feel my husband’s passing was the beginning of it. All of the grief that I hadn’t really felt came through at that time and I cried for a year. After that, by allowing the grief out, my access to joy and life, all of life, was just broader and greater.
The Intention Experiment and The Power of Eight by Lynn McTaggart – is about using the power of prayer or intention to help heal aspects of ourselves. I created a Power of Eight group. We started during COVID and met on zoom. Now we meet in person once a month.
I really feel less inclined to online stuff – I’m just going to retire that aspect of the poopy nonsense-headed brain. Even now when I go on Instagram, there are lots of ads and I’m not seeing the people I want to see. I’m seeing other suggested posts, ads, and a lot of stuff that makes us feel like there is something wrong with us and they’ve got the solution. This keeps us in our heads and feeling like something needs to be fixed. We come off and feel like we’ve got to do something. I want true connection. I have even thought of having a written newsletter using snail mail, that feels more true, more authentic, more real. A creative and wacky girlfriend moved away and I asked her, “Would you be my pen pal?” And she said, “Oh my god I would love that!”
Where does my true pleasure lie? It’s creating, it’s in true connection, having access to nature, libraries and art galleries, and travel and adventure, Cyprus… Nature is inspiring. It just gives us perspective and reminds us of the beauty and brilliance of life.
Productivity, what’s that about? Being so productive is such a pressure! The industrial revolution – be a part of the machine. It takes such presence and courage to step off of that, to not be available for that. I think I might try a different way and risk loosing friends or whatever. I need to follow my own instincts, my own intuitions, and let that be my way even if it feels different to everyone else. It takes courage. So worth it though. Oh my goodness.
Connections are so important: The true connection I have with my Power of Eight group is really potent. It’s so nice to have that group and know they are there. My sister, my daughter, friends that know my heart and have my back. Those people are really important. They call us back to our heart space and aren’t going to let us forget who we really are, how brilliant we are. Very important.
A strong morning practice: I get up and I’ve got a rebounder – a little trampoline – that gets blood and lymph flowing. I go outside to get the sun in my eyes and then do the Five Tibetan Rites. I drink my hot water with lemon and honey, sit with my feet on the earth, and do my writing and my Course in Miracles book. Little bits and pieces to get the day off to a great start.
Thank you so much Sara for talking with us and for helping us all to activate our joy.