Rusti L Lehay

It took me many years to learn how to access that still, quiet voice within, and I lose it when I let myself be caught up in the mundane. Those quiet moments in the mornings before I open my eyes, but know I am awake. Those moments are the best for pondering.

You've heard the saying "My eyes are bigger than my stomach." My bookshelves are too few for my books. That shall be remedied with the library.

Our bodies are wondrous, magical, mystical, miraculous, and I didn't intend alliteration, but the words fit. Think about all the wondrous things your body can do, then take your pen and write about what you have done, what you have seen, and what you have felt.

I believe intuition strengthens confidence, and for me, knowing myself through a pen in my hand on the pages of my journals strengthens intuition. Writing has always been a conduit to my inner knowing.

Have you found a group, a writing circle to hold you and create space and invite your words to flow? I know that happened for me with the Athena Sisterhood and now it is my honour to create that for the writers who join my events. Find your group or ask me about mine

My son definitely declared his book feral, and it takes a chunk out of him. Yet, I have seen him take those scars and find the beauty in them. Writing heals while it even threatens with razor-sharp memories. Face them on the page, and they will lose their bite, eventually.

Olbermann poses an interesting concept, and one I want to challenge myself to attempt. I'll start small and invite a professional out to lunch to ask them questions about off-grid living.

There are definite times when my hand must pick up a pen. Sometimes it's just to jot out a list, & other times it is to empty out the angst, worry, or ask questions, & my scribbles often reveal answers that refuse to be found any other way. Writing reveals and heals. Try it...?

When there is a book inside you wanting to come out, and it feels like work, you can go play, but if it needs to come out, it will make you pay. At least that is how I am interpreting this Maxwell quote. Feel free to tell me your interpretation...

Join me in looking at things twice. This piece of wood may not give me a writing idea, but I just had to look at it repeatedly and then take a picture of it before it found its way into the wood stove. It's a clue when something demands a second look. Go write...?

Poetry full of angst when I was a teen, full of anxiety, fear and hope when facing cancer, full of adoration when admiring nature. Frost was definitely right. Poetry is emotion finding words. Try to convince me otherwise and that will be a lengthy or short conversation.

I don't know who said it, but this point really resonated with me as I wrote 500 words a day or more in Jan & Feb. I averaged 608 words a day. My text was coming together. Even when I added old content in, I then pushed for 500 more words. Now to fall into the routine again!

Any questions about writing? Whom do you call? Myth busters! Here in my writing groups, we bust the myths of Writers' Block, that teacher who told you that you can't write, that lover who mocked you for wanting to write, and create for a living. Find people who believe in you!

I love libraries when I travel, and places to curl up with blankets and tea. Where is your favourite place to go write? I've been writing my 500 words a day on the plane. Three times now and likely a fourth on the 20th when I fly home.

I can't tell you how often I've seen similar memes to this, and they always make me smile. There is nothing new under the sun. Your story may be similar to another writer's, but it will still resonate with readers. Have you read multiple books on the same topic? I have.

Can you disappear into a book and just be lost to the world? One of my favourite things to do is lose myself in fiction and fantasy. I read non-fiction in the mornings to learn and fiction or fantasy at night to escape and for mind candy.

This is especially true for me. Give me a group where I am a participant, and I am writing and writing and producing content, getting better all the time with consistent "practice." How do you show up for your pages? Do you need a group? Join the free Monday Writing Room. DM me.

Does this bring someone to mind or an experience you might want to write about? Pick up your pen or head to your keyboard and test it out; this may lead you to memoir content you hadn't recalled until this moment.

And this is why I have found so many answers to my own life in books, both fiction and memoir, occasionally in science. There, too, an author's words can reach me, even when I'm not sure what I need or want to know. What are you writing, and who is waiting for your words?

Writers' Lounge this weekend. Do you want to join us? DM me Lounge. I can make that possible. Permission to write, to be imperfect, to share without judgement, only support. Or you can sign up at zurl.co/uNSBa

When you have questions about writing, find a safe place to ask them. One that is encouraging, one were the groups are welcoming and supportive or ask me how to start your own writing group wherever you are located and however you want to connect. I have loads of ideas for you.

Are you telling your stories? Do you have a safe group to practice your ideas with that encourages you? I'll soon be offering next year's membership at last year's prices.

We Pomodoro every month, from Sept to Jun, on the 2nd Thursday. In October, that's on the 8th. Join us. On our 5-min breaks, we chat, do some stretching, encourage each other, and share our progress at the end of the day. You can find out more at zurl.co/5D4nV

Have you ever felt the need to run away to an abandoned lighthouse and just be all on your own? Write about that and how, what, and when it changed for you.

When such a meaningful poem comes along, one just has to share it. Thank you, Sarah La Rosa, for this powerful piece of poetry.

To me, a reader of everything with the possible exception of math, there is always something to learn from each & every book, even if it is to not do something. What is the best thing you have gleaned from a book, newspaper, magazine, blog? What resonates long after you read it?

Wishes are for dreamers. I suspect whoever said that may have had their own wishes squashed when just a little belief may have changed the outcome. Wishes do require action, though, I admit. What action are you taking today to land closer to your wish?

If I have your address, you are likely to receive snail mail from me. Tell me one person who wouldn't light up at receiving a personal note. I bet you can't! I love sending notes and cards for that reason.

Feng Shui your creative space? Feng Shui expert, Sandra Jeffs, a long-time professional editor and Feng Shui Expert, spoke at a STAY-Treat about how the energy of our space can feed and nurture our writing time, space and muse. You can catch the replay on my YouTube channel.

If you have only a few ducks (memories) that float to the surface and you have no idea how to work with fractured memories, there are ways to bring the others to the surface. Ask me. We can chat.

The only purpose of a first draft is to exist. Permission to tell yourself "well done" for writing anything at all. Grab your pen and set your words free.

Not that I think it's weird to be a reader or read on planes, trains, or even upside down in automobiles and of course not when I am driving, though I can listen to books when driving!

How do you celebrate when you finish a big project? Curious minds (mine) want to know.

Mythic Alchemy is full of wisdom and fun recipes, all couched in stories of Ganesha, and it's signature Devi writing at its best. This author has come more deeply into her own with each book she offers to fortunate seekers for wisdom to navigate both tricky & wonderful emotions.

If we are talking about writing, then my favourite seasons to write are any time, but especially when starting new projects in the fall and in January. Be on alert; I may be offering an early-bird special to sign up for 2027 memberships at 2026 pricing.

What is one wonderful thing you can do for yourself? People may imitate it when they see you glow! What is one wonderful thing you can do for others? I once had a bumper sticker that said, "Practice random acts of kindness, senseless acts of beauty."

I'm not sure where the D.U.S.T. acronym came from. I know A.N.T.S. is something I read in Dr. Daniel Amen's book "Change Your Brain, Change Your Life," and he is big on how damaging automatic negative thoughts are to our health and well-being.

I am definitely a green pastures kind of woman. Not that the grass is greener on the other side, but my mood is pretty much always a vibrant, lively, and cheerful green in my mind. Does optimism come easily to you?

Do you have those amazing moments when you are in flow and it makes your brain just pop with ideas and ways to do things that might have seemed outrageous the night before? We can all create those moments. Finding your creative outlet is one way. What works for you?

I know this fact more than ever as I am finishing my tiny home to live in this winter. Always one more thing and one more thing. Like polishing a book or even a poem. Anne LaMott was write. No such thing as a finished poem (or house) only abandoned ones.

Maybe it is an AirBnB where you still do your own cooking or maybe it is a retreat centre where all your needs are taken care of or maybe a group retreat where you have plenty of time to write on your own and share in groups? What kind of venue works for you?

I confess to feeling a thrill when something pops out my mind & out my mouth, then see an epiphany moment blossom on a writer's face. Psychologists call it a state of flow. Loving that no one can do what I do the way I do it. The same goes for you & your passion. Tell your story.

Mythic Alchemy is full of wisdom and fun recipes, all couched in stories of Ganesha, and it's signature Devi writing at its best. This author has come more deeply into her own with each book she offers to fortunate seekers for wisdom to navigate both tricky & wonderful emotions.

Sometimes attempting the scary act of writing down your feelings, memories, stories and thoughts and then sharing them aloud with other people can be a bit like navigating the rapids and turbulent waters of self-doubt. Find a safe place to be heard and take a risk.

Writers' Lounge this weekend. Do you want to join us? DM me Lounge. I can make that possible. Permission to write, to be imperfect, to share without judgement, only support. Or you can sign up at zurl.co/uNSBa

Do you know we remember 89% of what we write by hand & only 20% of what we type or tap? So I write fast and messily when writers share. I can then parrot back what is strong and working in a piece. It is one of my biggest joys to give this gift back to the writers who trust me.

We Pomodoro every month, from Sept to Jun, on the 2nd Thursday. This month we meet on the 10th. Join us. On our 5-min breaks, we chat, do some stretching, encourage each other, and share our progress at the end of the day. You can find out more at zurl.co/OW44B

Seriously. Taking a shell of a house and applying the insulation under it and then tin to seal out the bugs and rodents was like creating the foundational plot for fiction or the storyline out of a memoir premise.