The season of deep magic
Since I shared the story about closing my Instagram account, I have been quiet here on Substack. I never force myself to sit in front of my desk to write these stories. I let the words flow as they emerge. So there are usually several reasons why stories pause from pouring.
We have been marking a series of celebrations, including my birthday, the end-of-semester presentations at the kids’ school, BK holiday cheer, and the solstice. I have also put in many hours with BK, working diligently with our amazing studio team to send as many BK parcels as possible to our customers before USPS’s Christmas delivery deadline. I love all these hats I wear in December, including taking a holiday elf role for our analogue community. To truly sink into these in-person moments, I let go of some of the virtual hats.
Simultaneously, deep creative work has been underway for both the tangible and the intangible. Frido and I have been prototyping new notebook covers, BK original TN leather inserts, and more that we want to share with our community in the new year. As with any other design project we embark on, we want the artifacts we bring to the world to be more than just practical. Through these designs, we want to evoke a sense of connection to the imprints they leave on their journal pages. We want the blank pages that the notebook cover holds to be more than just a piece of paper, whether they are a mirror, a well of inspiration, or an inner garden that comforts the person using it. We have been tweaking, discussing, prototyping, and testing various aspects of the designs, and I look forward to sharing them with you once they are ready to launch.
Aside from the tangible BK product development work, I have been more attentive to dream work and vision casting. Lacy Phillips recently mentioned in her Substack story that the period between mid-December and early January can be particularly potent. So the idea of deep soul work during this time of year has been on my mind. The other day, when I was flipping through my 5-year Techo, I realized that it was in mid-December 2024 when I had the intuitive nudge to look through the commercial lease opportunity - the next home for Baum-kuchen after Altadena. I made a list of everything I was looking for in a new space in my notebook. Within a week, I stumbled upon the current Eagle Rock location and saw a unit available for viewing. It turned out the space I looked at during the showing was too small for our needs. But the building manager gave me an impromptu showing of the “next unit” that was going to become available in the same building in January - a larger, quieter side street facing, and a better layout for what I was looking for. The unit didn’t have windows yet, but I knew it would be perfect for the next phase of BK. That was right around the Solstice last year. I can look back on earlier BK years and pinpoint many out-of-the-blue visions and ideas that emerged into my mind during this time of year, which would ultimately have a significant impact on Baum-kuchen in the years to come.
So this year, I am making a conscious effort to stir the pot of visions by seeding the ingredients in my conscious and subconscious world. I love the idea of “stirring the pot” as a metaphor, because the vision can’t be forced, but I can create a fertile soil for it to emerge.
Throughout December, I minimized my drive and interactions outside of the canyon as much as possible. This is always very challenging to achieve because I need to get out of the canyon to be at BK in Eagle Rock, and the kids need to leave the canyon for their activities, with either Frido or me driving them - the joy of parenting teens in Los Angeles (lol). Though it has been challenging to accomplish, driving less on freeways, and avoiding congested traffic and crowded places has done so much good for my mental and energetic health.
I also started taking “dream cordial” - herbal drink to promote vivid dream and dream recollection upon waking up - made by my herbalist friend (thank you, Lindsay!!). A tablespoon of cordial before going to sleep with a written intention, followed by enough hours of rest and an unrushed morning to write down everything I could remember from my dreams, has been powerful.
To me, dreamwork can be insightful because it doesn’t always yield expected or desired answers to the question I pose as I fall asleep and go into the subconscious world. Like tarot card readings, my dreams have presented not only rosy scenarios of encouragement and hope but also cautionary tales. I am fascinated by how much we already know when we take our deep subconscious knowledge and wisdom into account. I also love the creative aspect of synthesizing my dreams. “Synthesis” - the act of brewing multiple ideas together to create a direction for a new idea - has been my strength always, as early as my design school days… and probably even earlier. That’s how I earned my living as a trend/design researcher before I started Baum-kuchen, and something I have missed doing regularly. Now, with my regular dream work practice, the synthesis part of my brain has been so active that I can feel it sparking other creative ideas infinitely more than usual. (Did I mention all the new artifacts Frido and I are designing right now??)
And then there is the simmering visions. Like how our current space in Eagle Rock was initiated to come together last year with a little pull in intuition, I have been sensing that new (but perhaps old and timeless) stories unfolding. I can see, feel, and touch the possible future experience so vividly in my mind. Because vision casting is a forward moving action, I feel the sensation of physically casting the line to the image and going back and fourth in time to make the connection more visible between now and then.
I decided to open a new notebook on my birthday to capture all of this unfiltered imagery, thoughts, and ideas that come from working with the subconscious in one place. Since the future imagery is still brewing and simmering in the pot, it is to safely remain in this notebook until it’s fully cooked and ready.
This will probably be my last update for 2025. I am so grateful that you are here, walking your life’s journey. I often ponder what analogue life, particularly what journaling or simply using a notebook, means to us as a collective. Though the nuance of meaning can vary for each of us, I believe having a notebook we can lean on unconditionally can help us explore the depths of our inner world… and we need that today more than ever. It helps us remember that we are already rich within and we are enough. It reminds us that our connection to this very moment, to the people around us right now, matters.
I am sending many prayers and warm thoughts to each of you… And along with the celebratory sparks Christmas and New Year bring, there to be a deep magic to be found within.