3 Facts about NFTs ~ A Series on Web 3.0- Part 1

Hello dear reader!

I am so glad that you are making some time to read this! Did the title of this blog post inspire you to be a little curious? If so, I warmly welcome you to read on as curiosity is a fabulous thing for us peeps to follow. I like to think of the path of curiosity like a path of bread crumbs in the universal shape of a spiral.

I will start with this: What is Web 3.0? Web 3.0 will bring us a fairer internet by enabling the individual to be a sovereign. True sovereignty implies owning and being able to control who profits from one’s time and information. Web 3.0’s decentralized blockchain protocol will enable individuals to connect to an internet where they can own and be properly compensated for their time and data, eclipsing an exploitative and unjust web, where giant, centralized repositories are the only ones that own and profit from it.

Source: https://elastos.info/what-is-web-3-0/

So, the big question, what are NFTs? First to answer this, we must explore the world of cryptocurrency. Essentially, a cryptocurrency, crypto-currency, or crypto is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. A cryptocurrency is a tradable digital asset or digital form of money, built on blockchain technology that only exists online. Cryptocurrencies use encryption to authenticate and protect transactions, hence their name. There are currently over a thousand different cryptocurrencies in the world.

Okay, so now that we have touched on Web 3.0 and crypto, what are the three interesting facts about NFTs?

Fact #1: NFTs are tokens that we can use to represent ownership of unique items. They let us tokenise things like art, collectibles, even real estate. They can only have one official owner at a time and they’re secured by the Ethereum blockchain – no one can modify the record of ownership or copy/paste a new NFT into existence.

Fact #2: NFT stands for non-fungible token. Non-fungible is an economic term that you could use to describe things like your furniture, an original physical painting, or your computer. These things are not interchangeable for other items because they have unique properties.

Fungible items, on the other hand, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties. For example, ETH or dollars are fungible because 1 ETH / $1 USD is exchangeable for another 1 ETH / $1 USD.

Fact #3: NFTs ensure authenticity and provenance of a unique digital creation. NFTs solve a public, trackable, verifiable, history of ownership. Provenance helps create a sense of history and authenticity to the artwork and as an artist this is extremely important.

Why, is this so important to the NFT creator? This is important to creators/artists who choose to earn a living (or at least earn an partial income) through their work. Sharing art images on the internet exposes the art and IP (even small files and social media sharing) for anyone to use without giving credit and/or compensation to the artist/creator. Art is in reality, intellectual property (IP) and holds tremendous value. And this fact is very valuable and important to me as an artist who creates original mixed media paintings, unique physical and digital creations.

I am thrilled about new ways for us artists sharing our artwork with the public, the NFT spaces and Web 3.0 are a natural segue for my art on my path as a contemporary artist. And, what’s so exciting is that I have launched my original mixed paintings as rare NFTs on three different NFT platforms.

Take a look and explore!

Lórien Eck Art & Design on:

MakersPlace- a curated NFT platform.

OpenSea- the largest NFT platform

In the next blog posts, I will be exploring the questions around why would an art appreciator want to invest in NFT art? And, what about the environmental impact of NFTs and Co2 offset?

Feel free to comment below and connect with me via social media or better yet, share and subscribe to this blog and my art newsletter to stay in touch and be the first to know about my art announcements, NFT drops and in real life events.

http://www.lorieneck.com

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2020/01/06/what-is-web-3-0/?sh=6888855258df

https://elastos.info/what-is-web-3-0/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency

https://ethereum.org/en/nft/

Research the history of art and blockchain in general, check out this journal article Art and Blockchain: A Primer, History, and Taxonomy of Blockchain Use Cases in the Arts

Disclaimer:

The views expressed here do not represent those of any past, present, or future employer of mine, or represent the views of the other people and companies I may discuss. They may not even represent my own views, I am exploring these ideas in the spirit of curiosity and sharing this with you here because I can and choose to. None of this is financial advice, legal advice, or art career advice.

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Happy Lunar New Year + New Collection

Find us online:  Lorien Eck Art & Design My Original Art Collection Now on VIDA! VIDA – Art-Inspired • Zero Waste • Global Impact Dear Friends, Happy Lunar New Year, Gong Hei Fat Choy! I am so excited about my new Vida Collection — a creative collaboration in design with makers around the world to create inspiring apparel and accessories! Truly a dream come true for me and I am having so much fun with this process! This is work that that I’m proud to say brings something truly positive to the world; taking care of the planet, and empowering the makers and their children through education! Thank you for reading and supporting women in business, like me! Blessings of health, prosperity and much love to you, My New Collection on VIDA   Click here to learn more about the Luggage tag, accent pillows, iPhone case and cashmere scarf above- all featured in my New VIDA collection online now! I invite you to browse and explore this new collection, at introductory prices, a super-fun variety of goods featuring my mixed-media paintings! By purchasing a unique Vida piece, you empower the makers of your product to build a better future for themselves and for generations to come. Press from Fashion Times — The VIDA shopper is someone who is well-traveled, she’s inquisitive, she’s thoughtful, [and] every product she brings into her life, she’s mindful of how it was made. MY ORIGINAL COLLECTION on ETSY Handmade •  Wearable Art • +Repurposed Decor Love yourself. Then forget it.  Then, love the world. — Mary Oliver  Copyright © 2019 Lorien Eck Art & Design, All rights reserved.

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My Story~ In My Own Words ~An Interview in VoyageLA Magazine

I am thrilled and honored to share a fun interview for Los Angeles online magazine VoyageLA.

Here’s the link to the article or click on the image above. Enjoy!

 

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connect to me via my Facebook page, explore my Art with Lórien art classes on YouTube, and if you would like to make sure you are notified about more content like this, join my newsletter here to be the first to know when I offer my new programs, including early bird specials and exclusives!

May your days be filled with a sense of wonder, love and the spirit of Aloha,

In love, gratitude and beauty…

 

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Green Is Queen!

Succulents in Bloom ©LE Art & Design

I love the color green!  Why?  Green represents so much!  Green represents growth, the earth, fertility, growing grass and leaves, green emeralds, and the stone of jade.  Green is also the color representing the heart chakra.. Ahhhhh  Green is also associated now with the “green” movement, the greening of the earth and all that is “eco conscious”.

Today is St.Patrick’s day.  I celebrated by wearing an awesome bright green scarf and celebrating by spending time with my healing art! Here’s my “selfie” from Lang Fine Art in Laguna Beach with “Ciel/Mer XIV” ( 22″ x 30″ – Mixed media on paper).Selfie on Green Day ©LE Art & Design

I also spent some time walking along the pacific coast near the sea and window shopping, what fun!  Our last stop was a special visit to another one of my “happy places“, a gorgeous nursery where we saw those beautiful succulents and lots of beautiful garden toys, statues, plants, herbs, botanical trees and lots of amazing living things!

Fuzzy One ©LE Art & Design

And, let’s remember our beloved green drinks and smoothies!  My favorite green juice is a combo of organic kale, parsley, celery, cucumber, ginger and a little cilantro!

Fresh green juice-art studio breaktime ©LE Art & Design

What a wonderful day of beauty, fine art, the sea, plants galore and even The Green Man!

The Green Man ©LE Art & Design

“May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, May good luck pursue you each morning and night.” ~Irish blessing

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

www.LorienEck.com

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Silence as good medicine, just like beauty sleep!

Kalani Wedding Flowers ©LE Fine Art (photo)

“If there were a little more silence, if we all kept quiet…maybe we could understand something.”

  ~Federico Fellini

The month of October was a very special month for me.  After a solid commitment and about 4 months of careful preparation, that included a renewed daily yoga practice, more silence and lots of focused inner work, I felt ready for my retreat at Kalani with one of my teachers’ Cass.  The title of our retreat was Path of Love and its focus was LOVE.  Love as a practice, love for the journey itself, love through all of the spirals, curves, twists, turns and for the SELF.  The retreat center itself was on the Big Island of Hawaii, where Pele the goddess of fire and passion resides.  Kalani retreat center is a beautiful backdrop and sacred container for any retreat, gorgeous jungle, clean air and away from civilization.  Truly a ‘bubble’ enclosing a tropical paradise serving as a crucible for many a phoenix rising.

Our retreat encompassed diving into breath work, movement, art-making, dancing, bio aquatic time in the Watsu pool, silence, sharing and  lots and lots of PLAY in the quantum field of LOVE.  During our 5-day “intensive” together, we honored a day of silence.  This intentional silence time/space truly provided me with my nourishment and the integration that is essential after so much deep unwinding and unraveling…. Yum!  I enjoyed that silence time so much that after retreat concluded, I spent more time in silence during my extended stay at Kalani.  I experienced pure pleasure as I steeped in my own medicinal brew of heightened  SELF awareness, synchronicities and surprises.

Silence has also been a core theme of my long time Raja yoga meditation practice started up in 2001.  So, this was nothing “new” to me, but is so so so integral to propelling my creative evolution forward at this juncture.  What this silence provides for me now is the critical “stitching up” and full embodiment of what emerges and is dis-cover-ed through such a retreat, or any created space for personal growth.  So, as each day rolls out, my beat goes on of weaving the tapestry of my gifts to offer up to our world in a form that is visible, vibrant and juicy…

Thank you for reading and I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Awake-One

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…I am eternally grateful to one of my lifetime teachers, Cass.

Kalani Retreat Center

         Kalani is Hawaii’s largest retreat center, one of the best-loved centers  in the world for more than 35 years.

The Torus

The involuting of the Self into itSelf.

www.lorieneck.com

“When you become aware of silence, immediately there is that state of inner still alertness. You are present. You have stepped out of thousands of years of collective human conditioning.”

-Eckhart Tolle

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Unplug • Re-Set • Balance

Common Ground Buddha ©LE Fine Art (photo)

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimension.”

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Happy Harvest season, Autumnal Equinox and New Moon Friday!  September was an amazing month, full of abundance, overflow and BIG quantum leaps in my world. How is YOUR world, how was your month?  How are you feeling?  What amazing transformations are evolving and leaning into?  I personally have been experiencing so many amazing moments, rich and textured emotions, new experiences and my outer world truly showing up to reflect my inner world.  Whew! Feeling Blessed Out!  Now, we have October on our heels…. we are in our new season of growth and expansion, trans-form-ation, and letting go/receiving.

What I have found to be very insightful are these words from Lena Stevens of The Power Path:“The theme for October is RESET- There are two faces to this month’s theme. The first one is the deconstruction, dissolving, taking offline, shutting down, turning off, letting go, letting down, and allowing things to fall apart.  The second is the re-booting, turning on, flipping the switch, restarting, reconstructing, solidifying, bringing online, resetting and refocus.”

I am choosing to take this time out and unplug, as well as allow this cycle and my own clear inner guidance and voice to reveal each step, each and every day.  One of the skills that I have been learning and practicing this year is being what Cass Phelps calls self referential.  This way of being is simply the art of following my own inner guidance, listening closely to what my innermost knowing and wisdom is telling me and following that implicitly.  Sometimes I will not have the clarity to “know” right away, and that is part of the journey and commitment to leading my life from a self referential orientation.  Waiting out the “pregnant pause” and observing the wave of emotion is the element required for me to allow the clarity to arise.  So beautiful, intriguing and wonder-ous!

As I sign off for now, I leave you with these words:  “It’s a time where we may find ourselves liberated from past conditioning, offered a pathway to really grow into the we-we-know-we-really-are-at-our-core”, Stephanie Gailing of Astrological Apothecary.

Thank you for reading and I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Awake-One

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…I am eternally indebted to my teacher Cass.

Mystic Mamma

I love this website, always on the pulse of the cosmos in a positive way.

Human Design

Incredible resource and system for Self knowledge and Self realization.  I highly recommend the work of Genoa Bliven.  Amazing individual who is a master in this work as well as a teacher of the HD.

“Be in the void and find a peaceful place to drop into where everything temporarily comes to a complete stop. From this place receive whatever it is you need. Be in gratitude.”

~Lena Stevens, The Power Path

www.lorieneck.com

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Surfing the Waves of Change

Waves ©LE Fine Art 2013 (photo)

The secret of change is to focus all your energy,

not on fighting the old, but on building the new.

~Socrates

Firstly, Happy New Moon! We’ve arrived to the harvest month of September, the time of the year when the gradual transition of the autumn season starts to stir in the winds. This time of the year is also very rich and fertile for me, as it’s the time of my solar return, my birth-day~ now what I refer to as my “re-Birth” time of the annual cycle. I love it! The feeling that I relish in is what I have come to know as the “pregnant pause“. It’s the introverted, reflective and introspective pause when I relax into this pause before both my personal and the collective seasonal transition comes to pass. And, this is the harvest season and blossoms, and abundance is everywhere!

Themes that I have been exploring lately in the midst of these winds of change, (and that are also being experienced in my friends and family circle), are the themes of acceptance and receiving. Looking at each separately is not viably possible, in my opinion, these themes are inextricably linked.

I have been meditating on and folding in acceptance of who I am, as a multi-dimensional being; ALL of myself, my brilliant light, my shadow, my sacred wounds, my need for community and support, and my Divinity. Accepting what is, accepting people as they are, and accepting each moment for its beauty, its perfection and its imperfection. Acceptance is an act of generosity, compassion, patience and love towards the Self and others. Sometimes when there is a lack of understanding, compassion or patience, acceptance is the medicine that soothes like a healing balm. Acceptance is the ultimate act of grace. (Jessica Shepherd) What comes to mind is the beautiful work of my friend Alaya DeNoyelles, from her book The Sovereignty of Love. Her work weaves together the Hawaiian healing art of Ho’oponopono, ancient wisdom and modern science inspiring what she calls: unconditional loving presence. This also sums up what I am feeling about acceptance from Osho: “Don’t say this is good and is bad. Drop all discrimination. Accept everything as it is. Liberation cannot be desired because desire is the bondage. When you are desireless, you are liberated. Tantra accepts everything, lives everything.”

Receiving is the call of the Sacred Feminine within all of us, the rise of the Divine Feminine in our times is to balance out the energies of the masculine and feminine within/without. Being a woman and conditioned to give, to over give, and at times in the past, to give from a place of deficit, has come up for transformation in 2013 and receiving fully has become my soul’s natural evolution. Receiving had not been a habit or behavior that was modeled for me, therefore, I am in a process of remembering how to receive. Learning to receive is an ongoing practice of mine inspired to balance out the imbalance of over giving in all areas of my life: career, personal relationships and across the board really. What I am especially and more importantly interested in is in receiving myself whilst I am giving. Giving in and of itself is essential, yet to give from a place of wholeness, completeness, fullness and love, is the key to avoiding experiencing ‘burnout’ or feeling drained. What does that mean, to receive oneself? I invite you to reflect on this for yourself and I’ll be exploring more on this beautiful topic in my future posts.

In closing, the tides of change are upon us, in the cosmic realm and on an individual deeply internal level. It is a great time to take it all in stride, to integrate the new and let go of the old, continue to live from our opulent, abundant space and give lavishly to ourselves and each other. Love much and love often!

I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Awake-One

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…I am eternally indebted to my teacher Cass.

Mystic Mamma

I love this website, always on the pulse of the cosmos in a positive way.

Moonkissed Astrology

I enjoy Jessica’s perspective and writing style!

Rob Brezny’s Free Will Astrology

Pure Awakened Genius!

The Sovereignty of Love

by Alaya DeNoyelles

_______________________________

“Live your questions now, and perhaps even without knowing it,

you will live along some distant day into your answers.

Be patient toward all that is unresolved in your heart.

Learn to love the questions themselves.”

~Rainer Maria Rilke

“What we are, the world is.
Without our own transformation,
there can be no transformation of the world.”
~Sri J Krishnamurti

www.lorieneck.com

 

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Process as Catharsis

Kalalau 3 ©LE Fine Art (photo)

Happy nearly mid-summer to you!  How is yours coming along so far?  Mine has been dedicated to completing a new body of work, a series of paintings concentrated on the element of water.  You most likely know that water comprises over 70% of our bodies and about 70% of our planet Earths’ surface.  The oceans hold about 96.5 percent of all Earth’s water and water also exists in the air as water vapor, in rivers and lakes, in icecaps and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers. Did you know that the proportions of salt to fresh water on the planet are the same as in the body, the fresh water being in the in spine?  Wow!

My passion for water is many layered.  Firstly, water “in-spirits” me, inspires me to create, to feel, to allow my spirit to BE.  Growing up near the ocean and the fact that seashores have always (and will always) be a very healing, cooling and nourishing place for me to simply BE.  During the past few months, I have been inspired to engage with the waters of life in any way that I can.  For example, long essential oil and salt infused baths, swimming in the ocean lots, sitting on the sea shore, hydrating the body with more and more pure water and feeling the inner waters of e-motions.

Through my daily practices revolving around water, old layers of sadness have emerged to be made love to and let go of…  Embracing fluidity and stillness in my life process, resting in vulnerability and surrender allowing old thought/feeling patterns to bubble up and dissolve…  This life process is vital to go through for me vs. the avoid-dance, catalyzing catharsis to create (in this case) my art  from a place of authenticity and true beauty.

And, honestly, from what I have learned from being a lifelong artist and student, moving through the layers of the shadow and the strata of the defense structure, are what make great art.  Even if it’s not “pretty”, it’s a beautiful and necessary process.  I was challenged lately by one of my teachers Cass to face my pain, anger, sadness and other “ugly” shadow stuff, especially if I call myself a “transformative” artist.  Amen, he called it!  No steps can be skipped and this is the journey that I have accepted that I am on.  He encouraged me to look at my favorite artists’ (all mediums) and their work for evidence of this fact.  Vero vero.  Gratefully, I accepted this challenge as my aim is to be extraordinary and real in my expression of my Gifts in our world, similar to my favorite artists.  🙂

Courage, I embrace the waters with courage.  Nourishing from the source of life, our waters both inside and out.

I invite you to write your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear from you via this blog, my face book page, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Awake-One

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a

phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…I am eternally indebted to my teacher Cass.

The Work and World of Dr. Masaru Emoto

Masaru Emoto has studied water for over twenty years. Water has been Dr. Masaru Emoto’s passion.  He has studied water around the planet form the perspective of an original thinker, and is the author of a number of bestselling books, a three-volume photo collection of beautiful water crystals, and now two children’s books about water.  These books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages.

Books:

The Water Cure with Dr. F. Batmanghelidj

Love his books!

Did you know?

Water is the basis of all life and that includes your body. Your muscles that move your body are 75% water; your blood that transport nutrients is 82% water; your lungs that provide your oxygen are 90% water; your brain that is the control center of your body is 76% water; even your bones are 25% water.

Our health is truly dependent on the quality and quantity of the water we drink.

Water

FindaSpring.com is a community and user created database of natural springs around the world.  Spring water is the cleanest, healthiest, most natural water. Now is the time to reclaim our water!

http://www.findaspring.com/

Film:

Inspirations

This latest documentary film by Michael Apted (7Up series, Gorillas in the Mist, Nell) explores the creative process through candid discussion with seven artists from diverse media.  (note: Chihuly loves water too, it’s fuel for his creative expression!)

“About 70 percent of our bodies are water. This is the case for adults of all races, and it is why people should not be divided by political strategies and ideologies. Just like water, people must always be allowed to flow freely.”

~Dr. Masaru Emoto

www.lorieneck.com

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Summer Solstice: Wedding of Heaven and Earth

Pacific waters filled with the light of the sun…

Summer solstice June 21, 2013 is around the corner.  Are you ready?   What is the significance of the Summer solstice?  To quote,  “Sol + stice derives from a combination of Latin words meaning “sun” + “to stand still.  As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky. As a major celestial event, the Summer Solstice results in the longest day and the shortest night of the year.”  And, the Druids’ celebration of the day as the “wedding of Heaven and Earth”, resulting in the present day belief of a “lucky” wedding in June.  (Source- http://www.chiff.com/a/summer-solstice.htm)

Isn’t that fascinating?  I always feel excited when the solstice is near.  I feel like there is so much to be grateful for, to look forward to and to celebrate in life!  We are lovers of life, yes?  Waking up each day, facing the mystery that each moment and in turn each series of moments making up a day, a week, months, and so on….  it’s a wonder!

I am simply writing today to share my joy, inspiration and love for and of life, the light, the beauty, and the shadows (helps me appreciate and seek out beauty even more!).  On this summer solstice, (in the Northern hemisphere) when the sunlight shines the longest, may it inspire you and light your way.  (Fun fact: Iqaluit, the capital of Nunavut in Canada, will see a whopping 20 hours and 49 minutes of daylight on June 21!)

I look forward to your comments and questions … would love to hear from you via this blog, FB, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Recommended Resources

Awake-One

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a

phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive, relevant and rich…

“Now is the time to see the sunlight dancing as one with the shadows.”
~Rumi

www.lorieneck.com

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What InSpires You?

Blue Pearl 9X12 inches Mixed Media on Paper

What nourishes you from your inspiration?
What ever nourishes and inspires you fully can be the starting point for Living your Life from the effortless Flow of Being, from the Inside out.

~Cass Phelps

Did you know that if you follow what inspires you, you will become more of you essentially are, your authentic self, stripped down to the core to your eternal being?  I love this!  Yes!  What if your daily practice was to simply follow your inspiration?  Similar to following your bliss, look inside and outside to  what inspires you, take a breath inhale and exhale deeply, inhaling spirit, in-spir-ation…  Observe what in-spirits you, gives you energy, makes your heart sing with joy, gives you goose bumps, gets you excited, discover and follow that.  Touch it and follow it like a butterfly….

Experiment with this focus and see where your inspirations lead you and what expressions, creations and visions emerge out of this process.  Trust your inspirations and take note, mark your musings and new awareness throughout~ whether in writing, sound, video, photos, drawings, or all, it’s your choice.  The exciting bit is that you will discover magic and brilliance within and without… You’ll feel satisfied, experience more causeless joy and pleasure!  And, our world will benefit through the sharing of your inspirations through your new manifestations in the material realm!  Play with this and see where the bread crumbs take you…  I wish you all love, light and blessings on your quest and path of exploration!

I look forward to your comments and questions … would love to hear from you via this blog, FB, or email lorien@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude, and beauty,

Recommended Resources

Awake-One

Cass Phelps is an amazing individual and his inspired body of work and offerings have been a

phenomenal resource for me! His work is comprehensive and rich…

“You Have The Energy Of The Sun In You.”
~Rumi

“Inspiration is always a surprising visitor.”
~ John O’Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

www.lorieneck.com

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