“Solo Retreat Down the Street” – the movie

Doesn’t it feel good to say Yes! to your Yes!? 

It may not make rational sense, but your intuition is giving you strong signals that whatever is calling you is in your Highest Interest. It may be something as small as a menu choice or purchase or as big as a relationship.

You might think: “But that’s not in my budget.” or “I don’t have the time for that.” or “I can’t eat that, I’m vegan.”

Intuition doesn’t always make sense.

Trusting your inner guidance, however, can lead to growth beyond your imagination, limiting beliefs, and obstacles to your physical, mental and spiritual health. 

Your Higher Self knows what you need. Your Team of Divine Helpers – no matter who that is for you – is answering your prayers.

When you pick up on a sign that comes in through any of your intuitive channels (the 6 clairs as outlined in my free tutorial), and say yes! to turning intuition into action, great things happen.

First, you strengthen your connection with your True Self. You’re developing your intuitive muscles. This makes it easier and easier to recognize and live in alignment with who you truly are.

Second, you open up to whatever it is that’s needed in your life. Taking inspired action leads to the next best step – even when you can’t see the full picture.

A few weeks ago, I saw a post on Facebook for the Light Keeper’s Houses Airbnbs at Fort Amherst.

I got an instant YES!

I’d been aching for some intensive nature time away from my routine and home environment.

I got spoiled last year with several airbnb stays in exchange for property photos for 2 friends of mine. This opened me to my new passion for creating mind-calming, soul-soothing nature videos that I share on my YouTube channel (have you subscribed yet?).

But this time, when my intuition gave me the strong sensory messages that I needed to book this creative retreat, I hesitated.

“It doesn’t make sense to spend more than a month’s rent on two nights just down the street from my house.”

“I did just sell a few paintings….”

“Wouldn’t it be better to invest on a vacation outside St. John’s – somewhere I can’t get to regularly?”

And on it went for a few hours.

I even reached out to the owners to offer them an exchange. They were possibly open to it, but later in the season when the flowers were out and with a fresh coat of paint.

But my soul persisted. “Now is the time. You need this now!”

So, having learned over and over how good it feels to say Yes! to my Spirit Calls, I booked 2 nights. Instant relief! – always a good sign.

The owners, Peter & Nicole Gill, generously added a bonus night on the house! Thank you!

It all worked out wonderfully.

I also know from experience that it takes me 2 days to decompress and calm down from the excitement of film-making. I’m outside at 4am and go to bed past 10pm in total creative bliss.

That’s so nourishing in so many ways, but it’s usually on the 3rd day/ night that I have more space to simply be.

And I got that! I got exactly what my body, mind & soul needed.

Without a car, I was able to get there with my equipment, clothing & home cooked meals for 3 days/nights – all on my bike.

It usually takes 20-30 minutes to bike there (depending how good a shape I’m in because of all the hills).

This time it took me 3 hours to bike the 5km. It wasn’t just the weight of the saddle bags, however. I kept stopping, setting up my tripod, biking past, going back for my tripod, etc.

Movie-making fun!

4 days / 3 nights of playtime. Fun! Fun! Fun!

What I found most amazing about this location is that I could see both the sunrise & sunset over the water from the same spot – sunrise over the ocean and the sunset over downtown St. John’s and the harbour. Wow!

Thank goodness for time lapses – that’s when I’d set up the camera and it would shoot several hours’ worth into a 30-second video clip – with clouds flying by or the sun climbing high into the sky in seconds.

You’ll notice how the one that shows both the sun & the moon is quite shaky. I decided to leave it in because it shows how windy it was. Even on my professional tripod, that camera was very shaky. At first I was disappointed, and then I recognized my need to let go of perfectionism.

With the camera busy at work, I could go indoors to warm up (temperatures near freezing to 10 degrees Celsius + wind chill), take my shower, cook, eat, read, relax, or spend hour after hour just staring at the weather and listening to Spirit.

Another opportunity to let go of perfectionism has to do with my sideway pans. I hadn’t realized that my camera settings had reset after my last iPhone system update. So I was filming at 30 frames per second instead of 60fps – so the pans staggered a bit. Again, live & learn and allow it to be what it is.

Each movie project offers opportunities to learn more about iMovie, my iPhone XI Pro Max and myself! Yay!

When I wasn’t “working”, I finished reading ” Journey of the Heart – the Path of Conscious Love” by John Welwood, which a friend had recommended. The book even became a main character in the movie!

Don’t you find the titles & passage I shot just perfect for this movie?

Whether working on a painting or a video project, I work best in uninterrupted focused marathons.

When I got home, I spent 13/hours a day for the first couple of days and less on the next 3 for a total of 55 hours in 5 days editing this movie.

I share this because people often ask me how long it takes to create my artwork.

I had already edited some of the clips while on location and trashed hundreds.

In the end, I worked with 390 photos & video clips to make the final movie.

This was the first time I ever sequenced the transitions between clips with the music. I learned a few lessons there too – like any changes after the first run through means hours of jiggling with what follows to get the transitions back on cue. I’ll have to research if there’s a more efficient way of doing this.

I’ve still got lots to learn, but I trust you’ll enjoy the results. Enjoy this 40:44-minute “Solo Retreat Down the Street  (video top of page). It’s even better on the big screen if you can watch YouTube there.

When I was sitting up on the cliff staring out at the ocean in a state of pure bliss, I received an intuitive download – the idea to ask for sponsors.

So I created a trailer (a fun iMovie feature) and asked for donors for my Community Art Grant to help cover the $900 expenses (Airbnb & music rights) and perhaps provide me with an artist salary for the full week’s work needed to create this inspirational video.

I’m constantly open to creative ideas on how to finance my life as a full time artist – making my passion for sharing sustainable.

It’s often a stretch of my comfort zones, but I was glad to ask. I found that better than putting ads all throughout my movie on YouTube, breaking the meditative mood.

So a big thank you! to the 12 who answered my call – contributing a total of $709.06.

• Kerri Best
• Leslie Bridger
• Dorothy Corrigan
• Elaine Dunphy
• Jo-Anne Guimond
• Deirdre McKiernan
• Carmelita Morgan
• Doreen Reglin
• Johanna Rocco
• Bev Sharpe
• Judy Squires
• Elizabeth Stamp

If you’d like to be a part of my next feature project, receiving a movie credit for a donation of any amount, please send an e-transfer (Canadians) or Paypal to [email protected]

Thank you!