Hi my name is Jane, Happy first day of a new year. My shop front presents as a kind, compassionate, quietly confident warm older women, I am a reliable friend and witness. I enjoy being outside, reading ( although the amount I actually do is much less than Id like due to the proximity of my phone, to which I am unhealthily attached) scandi noir drama and crime documentaries. I also love meeting friends for coffee.
Down my dark stairs lurks an envious, jealous, fearful teenager who just doesn’t quite know how to be! In an instance I feel threatened by someone’s perceived value as being higher than mine, this is usually linked to education and profession. My energy becomes so toxic I’m surprised I don’t implode on the spot.
I’m still learning that comparison is the thief of joy!
I am curios and looking forward to learning more from this community :0)
Juicy Jane! hellloooo. So delighted you are here. Loved reading about your different parts. Hope that teenager gets invited up to the shop front soon. Teens dont tend to fare well in the dark....Big NY and eternal Love for and to you xxxx
Hello Donna! I really appreciate hearing your voice and words of grounded truth to start 2024. My shop front would contain my kindness and intelligence, my meditative spiritual persona and my childlike humour. If I took you back into the storeroom you might meet Angry Agnes, Fearful Felicity or (hiding behind several boxes) Greedy Gertrude.
I’m looking forward to our work together on this new platform. Great start 👍🏻👍🏻
Hello my fellow Elder! Lovely to have you here Susan and love the names of your different storeroom peeps! Greedy Gertrude is perhaps my favourite. Agnes, Felicity and double G are all so welcome here by the fire. Pass me a marshmallow please. HNY xxx
Looking forward to being part of your Substack community and learning from you a wise elder, I’m hoping to be one soon.
I’m Charlotte. Here’s my shop front- I like to think I’m Caring, empathetic, a good friend with a good intuition. I’m interesting in learning about how the past impacts us and makes us who we are. I’m happiest whilst walking my dog either with my family or listening to podcasts, deep conversations fill me up, I love cups of Yorkshire tea, hot lavender candle lit baths, yoga, Sunday roasts, weekend papers.
Backroom of my shop - I try and micromanage then moan when it doesn’t go my way. I like a tidy home but it’s actual just stuffed into drawers and cupboards (this sometimes feels like my brain) I’m a Chronic worrier, people pleaser, introvert (except around people I feel safe with) I also love solitude and feel like I could become isolated if I’m not careful! I have a tendency for gossip as a learned way of connection which is one of the things I want to leave in 2023!
You are officially my first ever like and comment on here! yay! Lovely to connect with you and thanks for sharing a little of your dark and light. I particularly loved that you have a 'Monica cupboard'! Sending you and all your messy parts, so much Love. I hope you feel it land in your heart today. So happy you are here xxxx
Wow what a sprinkling of stardust to start the year. Such a rich offering. Thank you Donna.
I’m Becky - people usually experience me as open-hearted, kind, thoughtful, funny, wise and strong. One of my strongest skills is being able to talk with anyone. I love singing, dancing, swimming in the sea, deep conversations, writing and I am a cracking auntie, if I do say so myself!
As a people pleaser in recovery, my life’s work feels like finding a balance between compassion and boundaries. My highly sensitive nature can mean I can be reactive, impulsive and at times unbalanced. My shadowy layers include patterns of using gossip to bond with others and entitlement.
Grateful to be here in this new community as we enter 2024 🙏
Goddess Becky! Hellooooo. Welcome and so glad you enjoyed my first offering. Loved reading about all your light and all your shadowy layers. what a fabulous combo of humanity. Happy New Year my love xxx
Hello my name is Kathryn. I love the idea of us stopping in our pilgrimage to giggle and talk by the fire before we continue walking alongside one another.
My shop front is warm, funny, eloquent and approachable, with a generous helping of compassion and empathy and a comfortable introversion. Down the stairs reside an awkward, uncomfortable teenager, who never feels like she is enough and who has a tendency to retreat to feelings of shame at moments of challenge. There are also layers of irritability, a sense of having let others down and a desire to hide from the world when life gets tough. My aim is to welcome her home, to embrace her tenderly and to tell her she is indeed enough and always was. A work in progress.
Hello lovely people. Always grateful for wise words and a supportive community. My shop front - I would say I am confident, amusing, empathetic, a good listener and attentive. The dark cellar contains someone who has abandonment issues, gets jealous and envious, lacks confidence, is too competitive and too hard on herself. But at least there's awareness so I can work on it! Would love to really get a grip of that evil inner monologue this year.
Thank you for continuing to create new and supportive spaces Donna. I look forward to being apart of this community.
Hey Beth! Wonderful to have you here....'evil' inner monologue and all. Sounds like that part could do with some Love. Bring her up the stairs and closer to the fire perhaps. Let her know she's not evil really but merely trying to tell you something in an unhelpful way. Have you thanked her lately? Big fireside Love xx
Greetings - My name is Hilary and my chosen name for myself is Free. My image to the world is cheerful ,caring supportive kind loyal generous thoughtful talkative passionate confident knowledgeable creative empathic.I am an elder in training and in years(68) -( inside I am still 18) I love nature and all things natural like food medicine clothes etc I love growing things being with my grandchildren walking in nature and music . I love being amongst friends .
on the other side I am lonely , full of self doubt , judgemental ,feeling worthless , less than , unsure , and sometimes a victim but I am a work in progress . I sometimes put others down to make myself feel better than . I am sometimes angry and Dad .
Hello Free. Welcome to you by the fire. I hope its warmth helps expand your self compassion in those shadowy parts. All parts of you are welcome here, especially the lonely worthless parts. Happy new Now indeed. Love xxx
That last phrase should read I am sometimes angry and sad. (not Dad)( Freudian slip as I have been a single parent for a long time to my son who has learning and physical disabilities - and I recently did the grief weekend uncovering the grief of losing my father which had been buried for 54 yrs ) oh my what is in the dark must come to light !!!
Hello everyone 👋 My shiny parts I feel, could be described as having a deep rooted sense of what is right, kind and good, and strongly living by these values everyday, even since I was a small child. This sadly feeds into my shadowy parts, as I carry with me a heavy burden of being a perfectionist, of wondering if I have accidently harmed someone, of overthinking things, feeling anxiety, daily intrusive thoughts as part of my OCD, imposter syndrome trying to put me down at work and generally taking life way too seriously. I started my spiritual journey properly about 18 months ago and I know I will find balance with my shiny and shadowy parts, and I also know the journey I am on to get there is a good one! Thanks for the first newsletter Donna, I am so glad I found you (big thanks to Happy Place for that one) and I now have vulnerability written across my arm 😉 Wishing you all happiness and love in 2024 x
Hey Gem, so glad you and all your parts are here by the fire. Lovely to connect with all of you. Great you have the V word written on your arm! Heres to living it! Big vulnerable Love to you . HNY xxx
Hey I'm Hannah. I love the shop front metaphor. On my display is a lot of generosity, endless creativity and ideas and I'm pretty patient. in the cellar you’ll find a relentless competitive streak, non stop comparison and a pretty high horse I sometimes find myself on. X
Hi Hannah. Welcome my love. Sounds like a rich mix of the feminine and masculine energies we all carry. Patriarchy is a whiff most of us can smell in our cellar! Big fireside welcome to all of you. HNY xxx
Oh gosh, the first challenge of the year! I think my shop front would still (there been a long period of hibernation) display a funny, empathetic, deeply caring woman with a bit of wisdom born of my 58 years round the sun. Under the surface though there is a terrified, fucking furious child who hates everyone and feels like every thought, action and emotion felt or displayed is an act. Flippin heck I did it!
Hello Elaine. You did it indeed! Welcome and congrats on achieving your first NY challenge. Delighted you are here and let's get that furious child part up by the fire. Sounds like she could do with a bit of warmth and Love. It gets cold down there in the basement. Big Love to you both xxx
Hello Donna am so excited to be here ❤️ thank you for helping me on my journey!
So my shinny bits are I like to help others with love and kindness. It’s my jobs as a self employed carer to look after others. Unfortunately I don’t always do the same for my self. I have recently taken a low point in my mental health and I am seeking help. This has come at a good time for me. Your kindness blows my mind and your words always make me cry... much love Donna ❤️
Hey precious Pearl, welcome. We all need a helping hand sometimes. Sounds like you give so much to so many and now it's your turn to receive. A key part of healing is learning how to let the Love in. When we do, slowly over time it fills us up from the inside out. You and your tears of liquid love are so welcome here. Imagine snuggling up under your blanket by the fire now and I'll make you a hot chocolate. xxxx
Hi I’m Carly. I don’t quite know what’s in my shop front or in the basement anymore. It all got blasted up into the air and is a big painful mess around me as I attempt to navigate a dark night of the soul. I hold onto hope as much as I can and trust that something is waiting on the other side soon. I guess what is in my basement is self-pity, anger, a very frightened and needy eight year old and jealousy of almost everyone else. The shop front will show friendly, calm, funny and kind. I enjoy looking for signs and synchronicities and receiving advice from guides and mermaids (Donna being Chief Mermaid🧜🏽♀️) A recent addition is that I am far less able to pretend I am ok when I am not. Hence the vulnerability shown here! Sending healing vibes to all 💗💓🙏🏼
Carly!! Welcome my Love. I m so happy you are here. Especially by the fire. So important to receive warmth when going through a dark night. Snuggle in closer and I'll get you a blanket and a hot choccy. Love how honest you are in your intro and the fact that one of the turd bowed gifts from this tough time is authenticity and vulnerability. Let all of us mermaids keep diving for pearls. We've got you xxx
Hello Camilla, welcome! Ooh what a juicy rich mix of humanity. So glad you decided to show up here in all your glory. I imagine it must be tough for your deeply fearful part to be welcomed in this way. Now pass the marshmallows please and pop another log on the fire whilst you're up. ;-) Big Love xxx
I’ve been an expert at masking and am now in the process of peeling back the layers to discover who I really am, deep down... the authentic me.
I am organised chaos.
I am messy but measured.
I am loving and cold.
I am open and shutdown.
Caring and careless.
Joyous and sad.
I am a contradiction of all the things... good and not so good, embracing, accepting and enjoying this transformative stage in my life. Looking forward to this new journey with you all.
hey Sally, Welcome. What a delicious mix. 'But' no buts required ;-) AND its AND. I do think if we can move away from labelling ourselves and behaviours as 'good/bad/not so good', it really helps. Thats just the old language of big daddy p (patriarchy) anyway. How about it just IS. Both/and. So happy you are here . Big Love xxx
Hi everyone, I’m Natalie and I just wrote this all out once and accidentally deleted it all, so here goes again! I’m not sure I know my shiny shop front and dark basement well enough yet, hence a leap into spaces like this this year. I think I’d be described as calm, loving, kind, supportive, adventurous, independent and empathetic. I feel my shadow side is probably lazy, can lie, be self loathing, judgemental, fearful, people pleasing and loves to be loved and praised. I enjoy connection with others, especially women, candles and fires, baths, touch, stories, food and being outside (now I’m older!) x
Hey Natalie. Welcome to the fire. Sounds like a wonderful blend of humanity to me. I think the deep lesson for us all is not to banish parts of ourselves to the basement. It doesn't work and how can we ever feel whole without our shadow? So all parts of you are most welcome by the fire. Warm your toes. Big Love xxx
Hello all. My name is Rochelle and I am so happy to be part of this group and am really looking forward to these newsletters and the concomitant community. I think I could be described as brave, generous, fiercely loyal, compassionate and kind. AND my shadows wear cloaks of self-doubt and feed off overactive and often destructive guilt. I struggle to let things go, love a bit of anger and am a control freak extraordinaire.
Hello my fellow control freak! Welcome Rochelle. Lovely to have you here in all your layered parts. Thanks for sharing. What a rich mix. Big Love to you xxxx
Hi my name is Jane, Happy first day of a new year. My shop front presents as a kind, compassionate, quietly confident warm older women, I am a reliable friend and witness. I enjoy being outside, reading ( although the amount I actually do is much less than Id like due to the proximity of my phone, to which I am unhealthily attached) scandi noir drama and crime documentaries. I also love meeting friends for coffee.
Down my dark stairs lurks an envious, jealous, fearful teenager who just doesn’t quite know how to be! In an instance I feel threatened by someone’s perceived value as being higher than mine, this is usually linked to education and profession. My energy becomes so toxic I’m surprised I don’t implode on the spot.
I’m still learning that comparison is the thief of joy!
I am curios and looking forward to learning more from this community :0)
Juicy Jane! hellloooo. So delighted you are here. Loved reading about your different parts. Hope that teenager gets invited up to the shop front soon. Teens dont tend to fare well in the dark....Big NY and eternal Love for and to you xxxx
Hello Donna! I really appreciate hearing your voice and words of grounded truth to start 2024. My shop front would contain my kindness and intelligence, my meditative spiritual persona and my childlike humour. If I took you back into the storeroom you might meet Angry Agnes, Fearful Felicity or (hiding behind several boxes) Greedy Gertrude.
I’m looking forward to our work together on this new platform. Great start 👍🏻👍🏻
Hello my fellow Elder! Lovely to have you here Susan and love the names of your different storeroom peeps! Greedy Gertrude is perhaps my favourite. Agnes, Felicity and double G are all so welcome here by the fire. Pass me a marshmallow please. HNY xxx
Hello Donna Happy New Year ✨
Looking forward to being part of your Substack community and learning from you a wise elder, I’m hoping to be one soon.
I’m Charlotte. Here’s my shop front- I like to think I’m Caring, empathetic, a good friend with a good intuition. I’m interesting in learning about how the past impacts us and makes us who we are. I’m happiest whilst walking my dog either with my family or listening to podcasts, deep conversations fill me up, I love cups of Yorkshire tea, hot lavender candle lit baths, yoga, Sunday roasts, weekend papers.
Backroom of my shop - I try and micromanage then moan when it doesn’t go my way. I like a tidy home but it’s actual just stuffed into drawers and cupboards (this sometimes feels like my brain) I’m a Chronic worrier, people pleaser, introvert (except around people I feel safe with) I also love solitude and feel like I could become isolated if I’m not careful! I have a tendency for gossip as a learned way of connection which is one of the things I want to leave in 2023!
Hey Charlotte. Welcome and HNY to you too.
You are officially my first ever like and comment on here! yay! Lovely to connect with you and thanks for sharing a little of your dark and light. I particularly loved that you have a 'Monica cupboard'! Sending you and all your messy parts, so much Love. I hope you feel it land in your heart today. So happy you are here xxxx
Wow what a sprinkling of stardust to start the year. Such a rich offering. Thank you Donna.
I’m Becky - people usually experience me as open-hearted, kind, thoughtful, funny, wise and strong. One of my strongest skills is being able to talk with anyone. I love singing, dancing, swimming in the sea, deep conversations, writing and I am a cracking auntie, if I do say so myself!
As a people pleaser in recovery, my life’s work feels like finding a balance between compassion and boundaries. My highly sensitive nature can mean I can be reactive, impulsive and at times unbalanced. My shadowy layers include patterns of using gossip to bond with others and entitlement.
Grateful to be here in this new community as we enter 2024 🙏
Goddess Becky! Hellooooo. Welcome and so glad you enjoyed my first offering. Loved reading about all your light and all your shadowy layers. what a fabulous combo of humanity. Happy New Year my love xxx
Hello my name is Kathryn. I love the idea of us stopping in our pilgrimage to giggle and talk by the fire before we continue walking alongside one another.
My shop front is warm, funny, eloquent and approachable, with a generous helping of compassion and empathy and a comfortable introversion. Down the stairs reside an awkward, uncomfortable teenager, who never feels like she is enough and who has a tendency to retreat to feelings of shame at moments of challenge. There are also layers of irritability, a sense of having let others down and a desire to hide from the world when life gets tough. My aim is to welcome her home, to embrace her tenderly and to tell her she is indeed enough and always was. A work in progress.
Thank you for this offering Donna
Hello Kathryn, so nice to meet you and all your layers by the fire. let's take our boots off, warm our toes and rest a while. welcome xxx
Hello lovely people. Always grateful for wise words and a supportive community. My shop front - I would say I am confident, amusing, empathetic, a good listener and attentive. The dark cellar contains someone who has abandonment issues, gets jealous and envious, lacks confidence, is too competitive and too hard on herself. But at least there's awareness so I can work on it! Would love to really get a grip of that evil inner monologue this year.
Thank you for continuing to create new and supportive spaces Donna. I look forward to being apart of this community.
Beth
Hey Beth! Wonderful to have you here....'evil' inner monologue and all. Sounds like that part could do with some Love. Bring her up the stairs and closer to the fire perhaps. Let her know she's not evil really but merely trying to tell you something in an unhelpful way. Have you thanked her lately? Big fireside Love xx
Greetings - My name is Hilary and my chosen name for myself is Free. My image to the world is cheerful ,caring supportive kind loyal generous thoughtful talkative passionate confident knowledgeable creative empathic.I am an elder in training and in years(68) -( inside I am still 18) I love nature and all things natural like food medicine clothes etc I love growing things being with my grandchildren walking in nature and music . I love being amongst friends .
on the other side I am lonely , full of self doubt , judgemental ,feeling worthless , less than , unsure , and sometimes a victim but I am a work in progress . I sometimes put others down to make myself feel better than . I am sometimes angry and Dad .
I am so happy to be here . Happy New Now !!!
Hello Free. Welcome to you by the fire. I hope its warmth helps expand your self compassion in those shadowy parts. All parts of you are welcome here, especially the lonely worthless parts. Happy new Now indeed. Love xxx
That last phrase should read I am sometimes angry and sad. (not Dad)( Freudian slip as I have been a single parent for a long time to my son who has learning and physical disabilities - and I recently did the grief weekend uncovering the grief of losing my father which had been buried for 54 yrs ) oh my what is in the dark must come to light !!!
Hello everyone 👋 My shiny parts I feel, could be described as having a deep rooted sense of what is right, kind and good, and strongly living by these values everyday, even since I was a small child. This sadly feeds into my shadowy parts, as I carry with me a heavy burden of being a perfectionist, of wondering if I have accidently harmed someone, of overthinking things, feeling anxiety, daily intrusive thoughts as part of my OCD, imposter syndrome trying to put me down at work and generally taking life way too seriously. I started my spiritual journey properly about 18 months ago and I know I will find balance with my shiny and shadowy parts, and I also know the journey I am on to get there is a good one! Thanks for the first newsletter Donna, I am so glad I found you (big thanks to Happy Place for that one) and I now have vulnerability written across my arm 😉 Wishing you all happiness and love in 2024 x
Hey Gem, so glad you and all your parts are here by the fire. Lovely to connect with all of you. Great you have the V word written on your arm! Heres to living it! Big vulnerable Love to you . HNY xxx
Hey I'm Hannah. I love the shop front metaphor. On my display is a lot of generosity, endless creativity and ideas and I'm pretty patient. in the cellar you’ll find a relentless competitive streak, non stop comparison and a pretty high horse I sometimes find myself on. X
Hi Hannah. Welcome my love. Sounds like a rich mix of the feminine and masculine energies we all carry. Patriarchy is a whiff most of us can smell in our cellar! Big fireside welcome to all of you. HNY xxx
Oh gosh, the first challenge of the year! I think my shop front would still (there been a long period of hibernation) display a funny, empathetic, deeply caring woman with a bit of wisdom born of my 58 years round the sun. Under the surface though there is a terrified, fucking furious child who hates everyone and feels like every thought, action and emotion felt or displayed is an act. Flippin heck I did it!
Hello Elaine. You did it indeed! Welcome and congrats on achieving your first NY challenge. Delighted you are here and let's get that furious child part up by the fire. Sounds like she could do with a bit of warmth and Love. It gets cold down there in the basement. Big Love to you both xxx
Thank you Donna. I’m so looking forward to this journey. Thank you for being here for us all x
Thank you for your trust xx
Hello Donna am so excited to be here ❤️ thank you for helping me on my journey!
So my shinny bits are I like to help others with love and kindness. It’s my jobs as a self employed carer to look after others. Unfortunately I don’t always do the same for my self. I have recently taken a low point in my mental health and I am seeking help. This has come at a good time for me. Your kindness blows my mind and your words always make me cry... much love Donna ❤️
Hey precious Pearl, welcome. We all need a helping hand sometimes. Sounds like you give so much to so many and now it's your turn to receive. A key part of healing is learning how to let the Love in. When we do, slowly over time it fills us up from the inside out. You and your tears of liquid love are so welcome here. Imagine snuggling up under your blanket by the fire now and I'll make you a hot chocolate. xxxx
Sounds perfect 😍 that’s what I shall do when I get home from work today 🙏 love hot chocolate and blankets ❤️
Hi I’m Carly. I don’t quite know what’s in my shop front or in the basement anymore. It all got blasted up into the air and is a big painful mess around me as I attempt to navigate a dark night of the soul. I hold onto hope as much as I can and trust that something is waiting on the other side soon. I guess what is in my basement is self-pity, anger, a very frightened and needy eight year old and jealousy of almost everyone else. The shop front will show friendly, calm, funny and kind. I enjoy looking for signs and synchronicities and receiving advice from guides and mermaids (Donna being Chief Mermaid🧜🏽♀️) A recent addition is that I am far less able to pretend I am ok when I am not. Hence the vulnerability shown here! Sending healing vibes to all 💗💓🙏🏼
Carly!! Welcome my Love. I m so happy you are here. Especially by the fire. So important to receive warmth when going through a dark night. Snuggle in closer and I'll get you a blanket and a hot choccy. Love how honest you are in your intro and the fact that one of the turd bowed gifts from this tough time is authenticity and vulnerability. Let all of us mermaids keep diving for pearls. We've got you xxx
I've been avoiding doing this, so I think I need to....
My shopfront is capable, fun, independent, funny, loyal. Downstairs is a deep fear of not being wanted and a competitive and judgmental bitch lurking.
Hello Camilla, welcome! Ooh what a juicy rich mix of humanity. So glad you decided to show up here in all your glory. I imagine it must be tough for your deeply fearful part to be welcomed in this way. Now pass the marshmallows please and pop another log on the fire whilst you're up. ;-) Big Love xxx
Hi, it’s Sally!
I’ve been an expert at masking and am now in the process of peeling back the layers to discover who I really am, deep down... the authentic me.
I am organised chaos.
I am messy but measured.
I am loving and cold.
I am open and shutdown.
Caring and careless.
Joyous and sad.
I am a contradiction of all the things... good and not so good, embracing, accepting and enjoying this transformative stage in my life. Looking forward to this new journey with you all.
🤗💛🤗
hey Sally, Welcome. What a delicious mix. 'But' no buts required ;-) AND its AND. I do think if we can move away from labelling ourselves and behaviours as 'good/bad/not so good', it really helps. Thats just the old language of big daddy p (patriarchy) anyway. How about it just IS. Both/and. So happy you are here . Big Love xxx
Great feedback! 🤗 AND my old binary brain has a lot of catching up to do. 😮💨🤣 xx
Hi Donna, thank you for creating this space.
Hi everyone, I’m Natalie and I just wrote this all out once and accidentally deleted it all, so here goes again! I’m not sure I know my shiny shop front and dark basement well enough yet, hence a leap into spaces like this this year. I think I’d be described as calm, loving, kind, supportive, adventurous, independent and empathetic. I feel my shadow side is probably lazy, can lie, be self loathing, judgemental, fearful, people pleasing and loves to be loved and praised. I enjoy connection with others, especially women, candles and fires, baths, touch, stories, food and being outside (now I’m older!) x
Hey Natalie. Welcome to the fire. Sounds like a wonderful blend of humanity to me. I think the deep lesson for us all is not to banish parts of ourselves to the basement. It doesn't work and how can we ever feel whole without our shadow? So all parts of you are most welcome by the fire. Warm your toes. Big Love xxx
Hello all. My name is Rochelle and I am so happy to be part of this group and am really looking forward to these newsletters and the concomitant community. I think I could be described as brave, generous, fiercely loyal, compassionate and kind. AND my shadows wear cloaks of self-doubt and feed off overactive and often destructive guilt. I struggle to let things go, love a bit of anger and am a control freak extraordinaire.
Hello my fellow control freak! Welcome Rochelle. Lovely to have you here in all your layered parts. Thanks for sharing. What a rich mix. Big Love to you xxxx