Jeff and I drove up to Sedona yesterday to escape the heat in Phoenix and to re-energize our body’s, mind’s and soul’s, and I’m so glad we did!  I’m still vibrating from the magic of those red rocks, and the flowing water in Oak Creek.

That’s all it took  for us to feel re-balanced and re-centered; beautiful natural surroundings, along with a good hike, the sound of the wind blowing in the canyons, and the running water.  It’s so simple really, although at times it seems so hard to remember the simplicity. 

It was a good reminder that we create our own reality, and that we constantly have a choice of how we want to be and feel in each moment! 

Yesterday we chose blissfulness and that is my new daily intention, to choose blissfulness!

I wish you all blessings and bliss today!

Warmly,
Joy

ps. Although photos really don’t capture the magic of a place, they’re still beautiful to look at! : )  Enjoy!

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After all of the preparation, anticipation, nervousness and excitement for my first international presentation at the World Congress of Play Therapy in Marrakech, Morocco, I blinked my eyes and just like that, it was over. 

Joyce Mills and I returned from Marrakech one week ago tomorrow, and what an incredible experience it was!

The first part of our adventure began when we arrived at London, Heathrow and waited for 6 hours for our Royal Air Moroc flight which was meant to stop in Casablanca and then go directly on to Marrakech.  After being grounded for 2 hours in the Royal Air Moroc plane, we finally took off for Casablanca.  The 3 hour flight was very nice, however, rather than stay on the plane like we were originally told, we had to disembark in Casablanca; but not before waiting 1 & 1/2 more hours just to get off of the plane.  It was then that our real Moroccan adventure began! 

Although with Joyce’s little French we were able to say hello and thank you to many people in the airport, and meet a really nice Greek pilot who helped us get through the document and immigration line, we were still unable to get any relevant information regarding our flight to Marrakech.  We eventually learned that our flight had been cancelled with no explanation. 

So after hooking up and hitching a ride with an English tour group, we finally arrived in Marrakech 6 hours later and were safe in bed at 6am.  All in all it only took us 1 day & 1/2 to get to Marrakech from Phoenix, all the while keeping a playful adventurous attitude, knowing that nothing was as it seemed.

After sleeping through the entire first day of the conference, I awoke just in time for the Moroccan Gala.  The food and the people were wonderful! 

Joyce’s first presentation entitled, “Inspiring Children to Soar: Planting the Seeds and Reaping the Harvest,” was on Wednesday the 19th of May, and she was amazing!  My presentation followed on Thursday the 20th, (also my father’s birthday: )

I so enjoyed presenting how I have implemented the StoryPlay® model in the classroom and I loved how well it and I was received by an Internation audience. 

Joyce also presented the 4 day post conference and I was again able to experience for myself the impactful self-empowerment that occurs though story, metaphor, play, and the reconnection to my strengths and my Imaginal Discs. 

I am so deeply grateful to Joyce for all of her time, dedication and love, as well as for her trust in me to present her wonderfully creative and strength based model called StoryPlay®.

Before I go I want to give a quick note of thanks and gratitude to Monika Jephcott , the president of Play Therapy Internation (PTI), and her husband Jeff for organizing such an amazing Congress.  

I know they were disappointed that the participation count was much lower than it was meant to be due to an unexpected withdraw of support from UNICEF and Play Therapy Africa.  Both Monika and Jeff are dedicated to bringing treatment and healing to the children of the world by training professionals in Play Therapy world wide.  

They have recently spent much of their time and energy in Ethiopia following up on promises from UNICEF to provide “Child Friendly” schools and other programs only to recount thier visit with tears and heartbreak after witnessing the real goings on and happenings.  After listening to their horror stories I made a promise to myself that I would do my best to get the word out. 

Please if you are interested in learning more and taking action contact Monika, and she will discuss with you how to proceed.

Until next time!

Blessings and love,
Joy

ps. Please enjoy some of the photos from our trip!

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I just returned from a wonderful weekend in Philadelphia where I
introduced my partner Jeff to my amazing family, and celebrated my grandparent’s, Sam and Ruth Wilf’s, 65th wedding anniversary.

The day before we flew out of Phoenix, Philadelphia had yet another huge snow storm that was being described as a snowicane.  Many flights were cancelled and I could hear the concern in Jeff’s voice regarding our early flight the next day, but I just had a feeling that everything would be ok and and that our flight would depart as scheduled.

So, it turned out that my feeling was right on, and although the capitan gave us a brief scare when he announced that we would be grounded for 2 hours before taking off, sending out an echo of groans from the passengers, we were airborn shortly after his announcement; all was well.

Our taxi drive to my grandparent’s house was quite beautiful as the city was covered in a blanket of snow.  I hadn’t seen snow for several years, as I live in Arizona, and was as giddy as a little girl.  Jeff and I had so much fun playing with my niece and nephew, throwing snowballs and making snowmen, and I was cozy warm and thrilled to death to be wearing for the first time; my winter coat, scarf, and most of all, my Ugg’s! : )

I made sure Jeff got the full tourist tour of Philadelphia.  We saw the Picasso exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, (running up the steps just like Rocky), went on a tour of Independence Hall, saw the Liberty Bell, and most importantly, ate a cheesesteak with wiz at Jim’s on South Street!

The anniversary party was beautiful!  Most of my cousin’s, aunts and uncles were there, and the room was filled with generations of adoration and love.  Toast after toast was made expressing admiration, love and gratitude.  My grandparent’s are really quite incredible and inspiring, and I felt and feel so grateful to have been born into such an amazing family.

I intend on writing further blogs about Ruth and Sam and their amazing saga.

Goodbye for now.

Love and blessing,
Joy

I’m a new mentor in the P.A.L.S program at the Phoenix Youth at Risk, and yesterday afternoon I picked up my new mentee Jasmin from her elementary school for our first outing.  It was an unusually and surprisingly cold and windy day in Phoenix, AZ., and I was in high spirits and very excited to be out in nature and to get to know my new friend!

We had made plans the week before to go hiking, and I was dressed in my hiking gear and ready to go.  As I was waiting for Jasmin to come out of her school, I watched the most adorable children exiting the building with these huge smiles on their faces as they saw their mom, dad, and other loved ones awaiting them.  I couldn’t help but smile along with them; witnessing such natural and pure expressions of love.

At this school the grades are dismissed in order from kindergarten to sixth, so Jasmin was one of the last ones to come out.  As she approached me I noticed that she was shivering and hugging herself to try and stay warm, while holding her jacket in her other hand.  I gave her a big hug and then offered to hold her oversized and very heavy backpack so she could put on her coat.  Then as we walked to my car she proceeded to tell me that she was freezing and she hated the cold.  Oh well I thought, there goes hiking…

So I immediately offered up a plan B, as I knew that she also loved to go to the mall.  She took me up on my offer without hesitation.

As I don’t know that end of town very well, I drove us to an indoor mall on my end of town, Scottsdale Fashion Square.  Our conversation flowed easily in the car and for the next couple of hours in the mall, as we walked, talked, and warmed ourselves with hot chocolate and cinnamon pretzel bits. 

Jasmin showed me some of her favorite accessories in stores such as Hot Topic and Claire’s, as well as how to make a teddy bear in the Build-A-Bear Workshop.  We talked about our favorite Disney characters in the Disney Store, and I learned about and saw some of the new fashionable teen styles, such as the Skinny Jeans, in Macy’s. 

For those two hours I felt like I was 13 again; light hearted and playful, without a care in the world. 

Jasmin is quite a remarkable young girl, and I look forward to many more excursions and shared experiences.  I know that I will learn just as much from her as she will from me, and I am very grateful that she is in my life!

Love and blessings,
Joy

I recently returned from a retreat at the Rex Ranch in Amado, Arizona, which was sponsored by the Turtle Island Project.

For me this women’s healing journey held many new insights and awarenesses, as well as a taste of two traditional Native American Ceremonies; the Talking Stick Ceremony and two Sweat Lodge Ceremonies. The facilitators; Mona Polacca, Charlee Sutton, and my spiritual mother Joyce Mills, were absolutely amazing!  

I left this wonderful retreat as part of a new sisterhood. 

Please enjoy some of the photos from the retreat!

To all of my relations
Joy

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