Conscious Inklings Blog. IDEAS, INSIGHTS & INK-SPIRATION. / stories

We humans are quite keen on knowing where we are headed at all times. It gives us a sense of certainty. Something tangible to hold onto, like a road map that guarantees if you take all of the right turns you will arrive at your destination. The problem is that life does not work like this. Life is not a straight-line trajectory- it ebbs and flows. Often times you have to wander off-trail to figure out who you are, what it is that you want and bring these desires to fruition.

I have always been a wanderer myself- quick to abandon a promising, secure path the moment it proves to not be a fulfilling choice for me. My family and friends were particularly worried when I dropped out of high school 3 months into my freshman year. Although this is the path that is seen as necessary in our society, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more waiting for me outside the classroom.

From wandering off of the societally appropriate path, I was able to get in touch with myself and achieve what I previously thought was out of reach. Over the course of 4 years I traveled across the country, hiked through the Sierras and managed to complete my Associate’s Degree at 18, when my high school class was just graduating. This all came from listening to my intuition and letting it guide me, even when it felt insanely impractical to do so.

All too often our desperate need to know where the next step will lead blocks the guidance our intuition provides for us. Intuition is like that high school boyfriend your parents didn’t care for. It shows up, windblown hair and leather pants, daring you to hop on the back of its’ motorcycle. Every bone in your body is screaming for you to hop on, but your mind is like erm, Amanda, you have Biology at 12. And this is how you miss out on the thrill of a journey intuition paved out for you.

Wandering is an essential part of listening to your intuition.

Your intuition will lead you down awry paths that may not always make practical sense but feel right in your gut. Onlookers will likely take your swerve off-track as a sign of you being lost in life but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Following your intuition only brings you closer to yourself. In reality you are not lost, you are actually closer to finding yourself than ever before.

With that being said, I urge you to tune into that gut feeling lying beneath all of the well-laid plans. When you get the impulse to flee from the perfect path you’ve carved out for yourself, know that there is no harm in wandering off course.

Often times it is the dirt road with the overgrown bushes that leads you back to who you really are.

Amanda Brown

Conscious Ink Staffer

Laurie Brown sent her experience of hope and healing. This is her story.

This journey started in February of this year. After a routine mammogram, I was informed that I had breast cancer. I was stunned. Up until that moment, I had never been a patient in a hospital. The last time I had been in a hospital was 56 years ago when I was born! I thought to myself this can't be happening to me. I never get sick. But the tests didn’t lie, and I had to come to terms with the fact that I had cancer.

On Monday, March 27th, the surgery to remove the tumor was scheduled.

It was supposed to be a relatively easy procedure. But then just prior to the surgery, it was determined that the invasive nature of the cancer required a surgery that would be more involved than a lumpectomy. It would be a major surgery. They performed a partial mastectomy on the left breast (where the cancer was located) and for cosmetic reasons, a similar procedure on the right breast.

It turned out that despite the tiny size of the tumor, the genomic analysis of the tumor itself revealed that it's a high-risk cancer (meaning it’s highly invasive and likely to recur and metastasize). That all translated to chemotherapy instead of radiation therapy. In addition, the oncology surgeon recommended that I undergo a bi-lateral mastectomy by the end of the year.

This was devastating news.

When I was informed that I would have to undergo chemotherapy, I was encouraged to seek out community forums like the one at breastcancer.org. The forum has been an invaluable source of support and information (from current patients and survivors). In addition to extremely helpful tips to get ready for and cope with chemo, women have shared the many resources available to breast cancer patients. One of the women shared that she had received a temporary tattoo from Conscious Ink so I decided to check it out. At that point, I had been through one round of chemo and I was looking for any and all forms of support.

I figured since I spend most of my day typing on a computer, I would purchase the tattoos in pairs and apply one to each forearm for the remaining five rounds of chemo. Since the tattoos are temporary, I planned to apply them a few days prior to each round of treatment so that I could focus on the affirmations for a few days – even if only in my peripheral vision.

My favorite word is “Grace”. So I started there.

The chemotherapy would be administered via infusion. To accommodate this process, a port-a-cath (port) was installed in my chest wall. The sight of the wound and the port bothered me. For the first time since this all started, I did not want to look in the mirror.

Then my Conscious Ink order arrived. I decided that if I had to look in the mirror, I wanted to see something positive. I placed the “Perfectly Imperfect” tattoo near the port. When I saw myself in the mirror, I saw the tattoo. I felt better – almost instantly.

I just decided to shave my head since the chemo was making it all fall out (I was kinda hoping the chemo would make me lose weight, not hair!) The bonus tattoo “It’s going to be okay” that came with my order is a wonderful reminder to keep my head and heart high.

So far, I’ve been through one round of chemo with my Conscious Ink tattoos. I know that glancing at “Grace” and remembering to just “Breathe” helped to calm me in the days leading up to the treatment day. I am hopeful that as I continue on this road to recovery, all of the affirmations that I’ve chosen will help to ease the anxiety and fear that can be frequent companions.

Despite the scary diagnosis, painful, (sometimes debilitating) treatment, I cannot, will not, complain. I am blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support from friends and family and coworkers. But what has really given me hope since my diagnosis is the outpouring of truly caring support that I have received from strangers. I don’t mean people like oncology nurses whose job it is to care for me. I mean people I have never met. For example, when I placed my tattoo order, I included a note about why I was making the purchase. On the packing slip that came with my Conscious Ink order, I found a handwritten note from someone named Stephanie. She encouraged me and told me that she was sending “abundant love and healing light” my way.

In today’s climate of hatred and intolerance, these simple acts of compassion and sympathy are sorely needed.

If I could tell the world one thing, I would say, “Be kind.” Take a moment to let people know you care about them. Send cards, texts and emails filled with encouragement, support and much needed humor! Sending a brief one or two line note might seem like a small thing to you. Trust me, the impact can be profound.

* Do you have a Conscious Ink story to tell? Share it with the Conscious Ink family by emailing amy@consciousink.com. 

 Conscious Ink’s mission is to spread love and raise global collective consciousness, one body at a time. As Conscious Ink has grown, its team has been blessed with witnessing incredible transformations and stories from all over the world. Conscious Inkers are a family who use their tattoos to proclaim, share, or whisper their truth to the world. Women, men and children have worn Conscious Ink tattoos while…

• Manifesting intentions and transformation
• Facing cancer, illness and dis-ease
• Embarking on a new career or adventure
• Marching forward into the unknown
• Deepening spiritual practice
• And so much more…

The Manifestation Tattoos have been worn as badges of triumph, as comfort in difficult times, as a subtle yet potent reminder, and as a bond between people. In the coming weeks, we will be exploring the raw and real stories of Conscious Inkers. We will share them to remind us all that our stories matter, deserve to be heard and can be the catalyst for someone else’s change.

Do you have a story to tell?

Did Conscious Ink help you through a situation or honor you in your celebration? The Conscious Ink Team would love to hear your story.

Your story matters.

Email us here!

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In celebration of the launch of our BEHIND THE INK blog series, we are offering our REMEMBER WHO YOU REALLY ARE Manifestation Tattoo for free (with discount code: REMEMBER2017), with any purchase through July 5th, 2017. Just add the REMEMBER WHO YOU REALLY ARE Manifestation Tattoo to your cart, and when you check out, add the discount code: REMEMBER2017