How I Stopped My Internet Art Crush Addiction

This is personal so please DO share it. But somethow don't get addicted to sharing!

There are so many internet addiction traps that I keep falling into and somehow manage to get out alive, yes alive!

The latest was my addiction to looking at other artist's work. Each day I grew hungrier and hungrier, devouring art, collecting, sampling, drooling, vibing, coveting, desirous, in love, but NOT HAPPY.

I put it all down to market research and art crushes.

One of the cards from my upcoming Lefty Oracle Deck

Each day I'd troll the Instagram feed to find new artists and illustrators to follow, new websites to pour over, new trends to study, more art to love, but it was killing me. I wanted to die! I could never catch up; be good enough, market-savvy enough, hip enough, and my website especially just couldn't compete with the branding and storytelling of the Millenial Generation (born 1980-2000) who had it down pat. (I'm Generation X born between 1965 and 1980).

So, how did things finally change? Well, I'd already made two Social Media Addiction breaking bargains with the Divine (links below) in which I stopped trolling the feed and sharing every little thing on Facebook and Instagram (except for my blog posts and the occasional personal photo - maybe once a week) because posting led to compulsively checking 'likes' or my follower count; all positive reinforcement releasing 'happy' juice or serotonin in the brain which is highly addictive.

Bargain #2 with the Divine involved me not checking the Instagram Feed (I'd stopped checking the Facebook Feed about 3 years ago).

Now, for a biggie. I HAD to stop looking at other artist's work online. For some reason looking at artist books and magazines did NOT have a negative effect.

So there you have it. Now, here's what you can do if you have the same problem.

1. Identify the problem
2. Decide to stop.
3. Get help and yes, I'm available.
4. Stick to it. It gets easier after 24 hours and especially after one week.
5. Feel the difference - get YOU back, get back your life, your time, your friends, your family.

About Kathy
Kathy currently lives and works in Temecula, California with her two dogs and architect husband in an adobe style home they built themselves. When she's not journaling, painting or reading souls, she can be found dancing to techno or Zeppelin, making nettle infusion, or reading two to three books at the same time.

How to Make Your Spring Altar Come Alive

My Spring altar with a pic of my shamanic mentor Francesca De Grandis

If you're looking for inspiration to decorate your spring or fall altar then look no further! Each month at the New and Full Moon I post suggestions for your altar to go along with the zodiac sign of the Moon such as: gemstones, goddesses, foods, herbs, tarot cards, colors, affirmations and creative prompts.

Feel free to take my material and use it to dress up your altar so that your Moon Meditation is an especially blessed event. I hope that the wildflowers below, picked from the sunny Southern California hillside behind my home inspire you as much as they do me! Blessed Be.

At each New and Full Moon I also include a Lefty card from my Lefty Oracle Deck. The Deck is divided into the elements of nature: earth/air/fire/water and of course Spirit. I channel a short, inspirational message specifically for that moon and include a Lefty Affirmation. I encourage you to try out non-dominant hand drawing to stimulate your brain and help you focus and center. Here's what an art therapist has to say about drawing with both hands ie. bi-lateral hand drawing:

“In the case of bilateral drawing, there is an assumption that because both hands are engaged that both hemispheres of the brain are stimulated…I believe bilateral drawing, guided by a helping professional, is helpful simply as a method of self-regulation...Making marks or gestures on paper with both hands simultaneously also creates an attention shift away from the distressing sensations in the body to a different, action-oriented and self-empowered focus. It capitalizes on embodied, self-soothing experiences ...and takes advantage of the power of “drawing on both sides” to alter one’s own internal rhythms for self-regulation and well-being.” ~ Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, Art Therapist

Lefty Oracle Deck by Kathy Crabbe

Lefty Oracle Card Spread for a Soul Reading by Kathy Crabbe 2

Lefty Oracle Card Spread for a Soul Reading by Kathy Crabbe

To dither or not to dither, that is the question (from the Lefty Oracle Deck) by Kathy Crabbe

Miss Talitha spider-sister (Lefty Oracle Deck) by Kathy Crabbe

I call wrinkles 'god-points' and so far I'm winning (Lefty Oracle Card) by Kathy Crabbe

My desk

Kathy Crabbe Creative Soul Guide in Temecula Wine Country, California

About Kathy

Kathy Crabbe has been an artist forever and a soul reader since awakening her intuitive gifts at age forty.

Kathy lives in sunny Southern California with her architect husband and pet muses, Abby the shaggy black dog and Djinn Djinn, the small scruffy one in an adobe home they built themselves.

To order a Soul Reading please click here.