A rose quartz, the stone of the heart, is a crystal of compassionate and unconditional love. It speaks directly to the heart chakra and the love it resonates is all encompassing. Wear a piece as jewelry, carry one in your pocket or purse, or keep this special gem in your home for harmony and calming vibes. The voice of a rose quartz says: You are loved.

Love carries your heart. It reunites and rejuvenates. It’s long lost or brand new. Enjoy some Monday lovin’ with these links. Cheers my dears.

On falling in love… “First — if you are in love — that’s a good thing — that’s about the best thing that can happen to anyone. Don’t let anyone make it small or light to you.”

Brief encounters of cinematic love…

Modern love at its best.

A love reunited after 60 years never gets old.

When you know, you know. Even if it takes two decades to realize it.

One of my favorite poems, gifted in writing as art by my Mom which I have hanging in my home: “i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)” by  e.e. cummings.

Sing your love out loud with 50 Love Songs.

Le Love.

Jesse and Celine, ah, they were my beacons of romance in high school. I’d watch Before Sunrise on repeat and soak up their conversational, passionate, globetrotting, serendipitous love. This upcoming week of February is one of my favorites, mostly because I associate celebration with the Valentine-adjacent nature of my birthday. You probably either love Valentine’s Day or you hate it. And although I’ll likely lean towards loving it no matter what, I totally get it. I’m single as I type this and remember all of the versions of love I’ve been in on V-day. But I quite fancy the idea of just being lovelier and kinder to anyone you encounter this week. One of my brothers and his girlfriend don’t salute Saint Valentine, preferring to rock out to the beat of the Sweetest Day. Whatever it is you’re down with, JBD is going on a love streak this week. Inspiration and anecdotes are coming your way.

Image via this link.

A note to say I am thinking about you, dear JBD’ers. I’m on the cusp of moving back to California. My physical life shipped out of New York City this past weekend. Shake ups, shifts, sitting on the hard wood floors of a special apartment that was the incubator of this blog…well, it gets REAL. It gets emotional. It’s awesome and it’s overwhelming. I will absolutely use this diary of delight to share the next journey with you. In the meantime, though, did you know a New Moon rolled into town last night? And just today Mercury went retrograde. But the ‘grade is good. If you’re anything like my brothers, you may be thinking: JBD, slow your roll on the mystic mumbo-jumbo. I am here to say: hey now, give it a chance because it is a ripe time to reflect, to remain flexible, to clear out what is no longer serving you, to revisit in order to learn. Anything is possible. If you hear it in your heart, listen. Trust it.

Image Credit: Jenny Graham

Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don’t be afraid to care.
Leave but don’t leave me.
Look around and choose your own ground.

Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.

Image Credit: Jenny Graham // Lyrics: Pink Floyd

What vibration are you putting out into the universe? Good vibrations, man. Good vibrations! As the year approaches its end and we swim from the New Moon into a holiday week, I have been meditating on each month of 2014. Struggles and sadness to joy, new romance and soul-growing adventures, I honor and thank all of the darkness and light that swirls in and out of my life. It’s a party of wisdom to be relished. Love what you do, surround yourself with people who carry the light, get into your heart, feel more. I wish you a Merry Christmas. I wish you a place in the world where you can look up at the sunlit sky or bright stars and know you are grounded but rising.  xx, JBD

Image Credit by Jenny Graham ~ Northern California, Fall 2014

All of you JBD’ers know how much I believe in (and have written about) listening and following the inner guide within oneself. Recently, I read a book by Leonard Mlodinow called Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior, which uncovers the behind-the-scenes of the unconscious, the whys and hows of our daily actions. Near the end of the national bestseller, Mlodinow said something that has stuck with me:

The artist Salvador Dali once said, “Every morning upon awakening, I experience a supreme pleasure: that of being Salvador Dali, and I ask myself, wonderstruck, what prodigious thing will he do today, this Salvador Dali?” Dali may have been a sweet guy or he may have been an insufferable egomaniac, but there is something wonderful about his unrestrained and unabashed optimistic vision of his future.

Credits: Image / Mlodinow Reference

Let go of judgement, let go of coulda, woulda, shoulda. You are free. You were born with love and freedom. Take it into your day, your week, your being. You are a part of everything. You are a celebration. Spend your time with people who make you feel the love. Sing out loud or get as quiet as your heart desires. Do what you feel and remember how awesome it is to be alive on the planet today. Rock out. xx, JBD