Centering: 
exploring inner harmony through a spiritual & psychological lens

fire ceremony | guided journaling | crystal water blessing
~

Join Mariel Heather and Nicole Smolinski for a transformative beachside event, where the art of journaling meets the quest for inner harmony. Mariel will guide exploration through a spiritual lens, navigating the delicate balance between our masculine and feminine energies; Nicole will invite exploration through a psychological lens, utilizing symbolism to help us give language to the different parts of our psyche that can become imbalanced. Together, in this serene setting, we will use the powerful elements of water and fire to guide us toward a deeper connection with the earth, while celebrating that inner work can have various, powerful avenues of interpretation.

What is spring teaching me?

Guided Journaling & Optional Nature Walk

Join Nicole Smolinski and Nido IFT for a guided journaling experience exploring the symbolism of spring.

In honor of the start of Spring, we’ll explore the symbolism of the season and how it can apply to your life this March and beyond. Spring is rich with metaphors, as plants begin their bloom, and there’s so much to learn from the nature that exists around us.

Event Details:

• Guided Journaling Prompts: Delve into the psychological aspects of spring's dual nature with carefully crafted prompts, guiding you through a mindful exploration of destruction and regeneration.

• Interactive Conversations: Engage in thoughtful discussions with fellow participants, sharing insights and perspectives on the psychological journey towards personal and collective renewal.

• All Materials Provided: Intentionally designed journaling prompts printed on seed paper, individual writing tables, pens, and seating all provided for you.

• Coffee, Tea & Lite Snacks provided for a comfortable and welcoming journaling environment.

• Optional Nature Walk after the journaling hour. Explore local flora and fauna in beautiful Manhattan Beach, treating it as a walking meditation, and take time to more fully internalize the lessons and symbolism of Spring.

Sliding Scale Options Available:

Please contact Nicole (nicole@nicolesmolinski.com) if you would like to be considered for a sliding scale fee agreement. Priority is given to those who identify as members of marginalized communities (including but not limited to BIPOC, AAPI, 2SLGBTQIA+, Neurodivergent & Disabled Communities).

Ephemeral: Honoring the Duality of Spring

Join us for a morning of guided journaling practices and conscious conversation surrounding the lessons and metaphors of spring.  Amidst the current tapestry of cultural and societal happenings, where the call for renewal and resilience resonates deeply, “Ephemeral: Honoring the Duality of Spring” offers a timely exploration of the themes of destruction and regeneration. Open to those new to journaling and experienced journal-ers alike, this event provides attendees with a reflective space to navigate the complexities of our contemporary cultural landscape, fostering inspiration for personal growth and contributing to the collective renewal of ourselves and our society. All in all, this event invites you to explore the ways we can learn from spring’s course, and how these lessons can help us finding solace and understanding for ourselves internally and for the greater world around us.  

📅 Date: Saturday, March 9th

🕕 Time: 11:00am - 12:15pm

📍 Location: The Malama Collective

Ticket Price: $40pp

Sliding Scale Options Available:

Please contact Nicole (nicole@nicolesmolinski.com) if you would like to be considered for a sliding scale fee agreement. Priority is given to those who identify as members of marginalized communities (including but not limited to BIPOC, AAPI, 2SLGBTQIA+, Neurodivergent & Disabled Communities). 

Event Details:

• Guided Journaling Prompts: Delve into the psychological aspects of spring's dual nature with carefully crafted prompts, guiding you through a mindful exploration of destruction and regeneration.
  

• Interactive Conversations: Engage in thoughtful discussions with fellow participants, sharing insights and perspectives on the psychological journey towards personal and collective renewal.
  

• Coffee, Tea & Lite Snacks provided for a comfortable and welcoming journaling environment.

Make Your Own Valentine's Haiku

a unique gift to create for your loved ones or to gift to yourself

Join Nicole and Jedidiah Coffee for a creative and fun workshop as we learn how to write our very own poems in the form of a haiku! Nicole Smolinski, a local poet and well-being event host, will take you through the rough guidelines of not only how to write a haiku structurally, but how to evoke meaningful words onto the paper.

Once you’ve come up with your poem, Nicole will type each one on her 1940's typewriter so that you can take it home - along with a frame you can decorate - as the perfect gift for yourself or your loved one.

We believe love is wonderful & deserves to be celebrated! We welcome poems written about all times of love: romantic love. love for a friend, mentor, higher power, family member, and one's self.

Tasty sips and bites provided for ultimate writing fuel!

You’ll leave with: A custom poem you’ve learned to write yourself, typed up on-the-spot on an antique typewriter; a beautiful hanging frame to display your poem in, and the option to decorate your frame with dried florals before leaving.

Love Within:

Cultivate A Deeper Sense of Self Love

Give yourself the gift of LOVE WITHIN as we connect with ALL parts of ourselves. Experience mind, body and soul practices in community.

Join Nicole Smolinski, MS Psych & Viri Rodriguez, LMFT of Amarte Community for an intentional morning meant to cultivate a deeper sense of self love. Take part in Grounding Somatic Practices, Powerful Guided Journaling Prompts, Gentle Music & Movement Exploration, and a Closing Tea Ritual in a supportive, nonjudgmental environment surrounded by others also wanting to claim more self love for themselves and the world around them.

Nourish Workshop:

An Intentional Guided Journaling
& Floral Arranging Workshop

Join us for an intentional guided journaling and floral arranging workshop as we learn how to nurture a deeper sense of self-love and compassion.

Guests will be lead through a guided self-love journaling exercise followed by learning the art form of floral arranging; each stem representing what they wish to bloom within themselves this year!

Ticket price includes:

•A guided journaling exercise with Nicole of WNDR paper with individual designed self-love prompts. Each guide is printed on seeded paper so you can plant afterwards and watch your manifestations bloom!

•A floral workshop with Colette Florals where guests are able to create their own custom arrangement

•A take-home ikebana style vases

•Sips & light bites

•All the accessories needed to make the perfect arrangement

•A raffle ticket to be entered in to win goods to help you set intention for the new year

When: Sunday February 4th 11-3pm

Where: Colette Florals Studio 22 S Ola Vista suite 101 san clemente, 92672

Comfort & Community Around The Holidays

a community hour for those who may have mixed feelings about the holiday season

The holiday season can bring up a whole mix of feelings for people. You’re allowed to feel many things at once when it comes to seeing family, having the year come at an end, comparing your family gatherings to others on social media or to your own expectations, being non-intentionally separated or intentionally estranged from family, or experiencing a general seasonal funk around the winter.

It can be a fun and wonderful time, and it can also be difficult and painful and isolating.

We are here to take back the holiday season, and cultivate togetherness, honesty and connection. Even if it’s not what we originally expected it to look like.

We are creating a space where we get to find comfort, care for ourselves, and process and reflect about the complex feelings that can surround this time of year.

- -

This will be an open hour with options to journal, paint, read, listen to music, and share thoughts and feelings surrounding the holiday season with others who have difficult or complex feelings about this time of year.

Cozy snacks & drinks provided by Jedidiah Coffee - Thank you!

All materials will be provided for you, & we will end our time together with a brief, grounding sunset walk to Heisler Park in order to cultivate a deeper sense of being cared for and caring for self during your time with us. Here’s to coming together, finding community in our own ways, and being reminded that we are not alone.

Festive Sip & Shop:

Nicole Smolinski's

WNDR Paper Goods Release

Nicole has expanded her appreciation for the written word by launching a collection of stationery goods! A beautiful opportunity to snag gifts for the self-reflective, well-being lover or deep-feeler in your life (or to just come say hi and celebrate with us). This collection is full of nature-inspired, intentionally designed stationery items meant to instill a greater sense of wonder, awe and curiosity into your inner and outer world.

Come celebrate the launch of her stationery line — guided journals, weekly planner, intentional letter packs, new year’s reflection guides, handmade cards — and her latest poetry collection, all in the spirit of honoring and celebrating the winter season.

Coffee mocktails, seasonal mimosas, nourishing breakfast items & delicious viennoiseries (*ahem* flaky, buttery pastries) provided as a thank you for your support and an ode to the coziness of winter-time.

Want to join us?

December 16th | 9am-12pm | Dana Point

Much like Nicole’s product offerings, this is a labor of love being planned + executed by Nicole herself. To help her be the best hostess possible for everyone attending,

please RSVP promptly by Wednesday 12/06.

RSVP “yes” by signing up below - completely free to attend, this just helps us keep track of how many friends will be joining us!

Exact location & details shared after RSVP.

Comfort & Community Around The Holidays

a community hour for those who may have mixed feelings about the holiday season

The holiday season can bring up a whole mix of feelings for people. You’re allowed to feel many things at once when it comes to seeing family, having the year come at an end, comparing your family gatherings to others on social media or to your own expectations, being non-intentionally separated or intentionally estranged from family, or experiencing a general seasonal funk around the winter.

It can be a fun and wonderful time, and it can also be difficult and painful and isolating.

We are here to take back the holiday season, and cultivate togetherness, honesty and connection. Even if it’s not what we originally expected it to look like.

We are creating a space where we get to find comfort, care for ourselves, and process and reflect about the complex feelings that can surround this time of year.

- -

This will be an open hour with options to journal, paint, read, listen to music, and share thoughts and feelings surrounding the holiday season with others who have difficult or complex feelings about this time of year.

All materials will be provided for you, along with herbal tea selections to cultivate a deeper sense of being cared for and caring for self during your time with us. Here’s to coming together, finding community in our own ways, and being reminded that we are not alone.

Sliding Scale Options Available:

Please contact me if you would like to be considered for a sliding scale fee agreement. Priority is given to those who identify as members of marginalized communities (including but not limited to BIPOC, AAPI, 2SLGBTQIA+, Neurodivergent & Disabled Communities).

Letters of Gratitude:

A Unique & Intentional Guided Journaling Workshop

Join us for a morning of guided journaling and conscious conversation surrounding gratitude & what that means for you this year. Nicole will help you write various types of letters to help guide you through a deeper sense of gratitude, whether that be to yourself, loved ones, strangers, or a higher power.

Whether you choose to actually send your letter or not is up to you - allow the act of simply writing it help you in your self-exploration and self-acceptance journey during this time of year.

This session is open to anyone wanting to feel more connected to themselves and who wants to practice caring for mind and body together. As another symbolic touch to the session, and a value for earth-conscious practices, the journal questions you're provided with are printed on seed paper so that you can keep your notes to reflect on later or plant them and watch them grow. 

Sliding Scale Options Available:

Please contact me if you would like to be considered for a sliding scale fee agreement. Priority is given to those who identify as members of marginalized communities (BIPOC, AAPI, LGBTQ+,).

About Your Host:

Nicole Smolinski is a writer, speaker & wellness event host who is trained as a mental health clinician in California. As she spent time with her therapy clients, she began dreaming up ways where the principles she’s guided people through in therapy could be brought outside of the therapy room and into our communities. Her wellness events were born out of a vision where well-being is accessible and connective for the everyday person. As someone who's consistently found art and creation to be cathartic, she enjoys exploring the intersection between psychology & creativity; while there is an extremely valuable place for therapy in our world, Nicole aims to forge a path where well-being is explored creatively, and conscious conversations are accessible, connective, and non-intimidating for the everyday person.

coffee watercolor painting & guided journaling intentionally designed

to cultivate a deeper sense of gratitude & presence this thanksgiving season

Try watercolor painting (using coffee as the paint itself!) to decorate your paper, then move through easy to follow guided journaling prompts surrounding gratitude and presence.

All materials provided for you for both watercolor and journaling portions.

Open to all levels of experience with journaling and watercolor.

Come join the fun!

This session is open to anyone wanting to feel more connected to themselves and who wants to practice caring for mind and body together.

About Your Host:

Nicole Smolinski is a writer, speaker & wellness event host who is trained as a mental health clinician in California. As she spent time with her therapy clients, she began dreaming up ways where the principles she’s guided people through in therapy could be brought outside of the therapy room and into our communities. Her wellness events were born out of a vision where well-being is accessible and connective for the everyday person. As someone who's consistently found art and creation to be cathartic, she enjoys exploring the intersection between psychology & creativity; while there is an extremely valuable place for therapy in our world, Nicole aims to forge a path where well-being is explored creatively, and conscious conversations are accessible, connective, and non-intimidating for the everyday person.

coffee watercolor painting & guided journaling intentionally designed

to cultivate a deeper sense of gratitude & presence this thanksgiving season

Try watercolor painting (using coffee as the paint itself!) to decorate your paper, then move through easy to follow guided journaling prompts surrounding gratitude and presence.

All materials provided for you for both watercolor and journaling portions.

Open to all levels of experience with journaling and watercolor.

Come join the fun!

This session is open to anyone wanting to feel more connected to themselves and who wants to practice caring for mind and body together.

About Your Host:

Nicole Smolinski is a writer, speaker & wellness event host who is trained as a mental health clinician in California. As she spent time with her therapy clients, she began dreaming up ways where the principles she’s guided people through in therapy could be brought outside of the therapy room and into our communities. Her wellness events were born out of a vision where well-being is accessible and connective for the everyday person. As someone who's consistently found art and creation to be cathartic, she enjoys exploring the intersection between psychology & creativity; while there is an extremely valuable place for therapy in our world, Nicole aims to forge a path where well-being is explored creatively, and conscious conversations are accessible, connective, and non-intimidating for the everyday person.

Salt, Body, Breath & The Sea:

a place to find rest, rejuvenation, community & a reconnection with body

Join us for an ocean-inspired gathering interweaving movement, art, journaling & conversation in order to provide a space for deeper connection with your self, your body, & your breath. In various historical references throughout time, salt has come to represent things like worth, healing and preservation. We will spend our time intuitively exploring these ideas through various intentional exercises.

Co-led by Nicole Smolinski, MS Clinical Psych and Annie Brogger, LMFT / owner of Salt Psychotherapy.

discover an ocean-inspired toolkit for grounding

& nervous system regulation.

we will flow through these activities intuitively throughout the hour & a half:

• Trauma-Informed Body-Based Movement

• Breathwork

• Guided Journaling

• Conscious Conversation

• Ocean Cold Plunge

Join ARTime BARRO and Nicole Smolinski for an experiential ceramics workshop combining inner reflective exercises and conscious conversation with clay work to help you explore the symbolism of "release & rejuvenation."

This is an experiential ceramics workshop combining open-ended inner reflective exercises with directive clay work to help you explore the symbolism of 'autumn' in your life how to embrace change and letting go intentionally during this season of your life.

About Workshop:

Nicole Smolinski, mental health professional & author of Finding My Way Back: Poems on Coming Alive, Healing & Self-Discovery, believes we can learn from the earth's cycles and that this can symbolically be true for us, too. This session will incorporate hand-building, where you'll be taught how to create a leaf incense holder from clay, with open-ended questions to provoke more profound thoughts surrounding spring's teachings.

Key points of discussion:

• intentional loss

  • are you really losing something or is this leaf a representation and reminder of the change you’re going through and all of the beautiful things that might come out of that change

• learning to let go

  • and the rejuvenation and freedom that can come from letting go

• embracing change instead of fearing it

Handbuilding exercise:

• Incense holder, instructed by ARTime BARRO

  
  

  This is a seasonal workshop. Sign up for ArTime BARRO’s newsletter to be the first to know about summer, fall, and spring workshop dates!

JOIN US ON THE BEACH FOR A MORNING OF BREATHING TECHNIQUES, GUIDED JOURNALING PRACTICES, CONTEMPLATION, AND GROUP CONVERSATION SURROUNDING SELF-REFLECTION, GROUNDING AND MANAGING THE EBBS AND FLOWS LIFE BRINGS US.

Co-led by Nicole Smolinski and Healing Connections.

Locally made snacks and coffee provided by Bear Coast Coffee & Sugar and Grain.

Join us for a morning of various wellness offerings and hangouts over coffee while helping Maui rebuild after the "deadliest US wildfire in more than a century" left Lahaina destroyed and many of its residents without homes to return to. 

According to NPR, "The wildfires that tore through western Maui last week have already earned the tragic distinction of being among the deadliest in modern U.S. history — and the death toll is only expected to climb as recovery efforts continue. Hawaii officials confirmed 101 fatalities as of Tuesday, and have warned that number is likely to keep rising."

I've organized a morning of wellness offerings so that members of our community can attend many of the classes they already enjoy paying for, but this time it will be directly supporting the Maui response initiative. In other words: you can enjoy all of the same things you like doing on a Saturday morning AND be helping a community rebuild from natural disaster at the same time.

20+ local businesses have generously offered their immense support through donating: their time and expertise to run wellness sessions, or products from their stores and restaurants to be part of the beautiful raffle basket people can enter to win. I am speechless and humbled by the support and how many of you responded so quickly wanting to participate. Every quick "yes" & "how can I help" matters. THANK YOU! 

Event Time & Location: 

Jedidiah Coffee Roastery 

2177 Laguna Canyon Rd, Laguna Beach CA 92651

9:00am - 11:30am

Event Details: 

1. Mini Wellness Sessions (attend in-person only)

- Five local wellness practitioners will offer their time to host mini wellness sessions. Anyone is welcome to join these sessions after providing a financial donation amount of their choosing. *Wellness sessions valued at over $150 per ticket!

9:00am: Energy Clearing w/ Amy Schuber

Join us for a session with Amy to release any stress, fear, frustrations, anxiety and bring in peace of mind, focus, clarity, joy. Think of it as an opportunity to release and let go of what’s no longer serving you and activate what you truly desire. You will leave feeling lighter, brighter, refreshed and rejuvenated

9:30am: Somatic Breathwork w/ Allie Runkel, MA, LMFT

Please join me for a transformative mini session on somatic breathwork. Somatic breathwork is a powerful practice that combines conscious breathing techniques with mindfulness to connect mind and body, promoting relaxation and emotional healing. I will guide you through simple yet effective exercises, helping you tap into your body's natural ability to release tension and find inner calm. I will also help you process anything that arises and help you with any further integration to help you connect better to self and to others.

10:00am: Channeled Tarot & Oracle Card Readings w/ Mariel Heather

Join us for interactive, mini channeled readings. I will provide space for us to explore seasonal themes, using my tarot and oracle cards, while tying in some elements of astrological insight. 

10:30am: Guided Journaling w/ Nicole Smolinski, MS

Whether you're a seasoned journal-er, or have never even considered trying it out, this session will be a wonderful way to get curious and connect to yourself and others more deeply. We will spend time exploring guided journaling questions I've written for the event and in group conversation to process our thoughts in a non-judgmental, welcome (and dare I say... fun?!) space. I'm looking forward to meeting you where you're at. 

11:00am: Grounding Meditation w/ Vitoria Magno, MA 

Join me for a meditation session to conclude our morning of wellness and encourage grounded-ness and presence as you go about the rest of your day.

2. Hang Out & Chat Over Coffee - not interested in the wellness sessions but still want to hang out & give back? Jedidiah will soon open their first brick & mortar shop! Come taste their coffee (right where they roast their beans) before they’re even open!

Jedidiah Coffee has been generous enough to offer the use of their space for our fundraiser! Come support their business & baristas alongside our fundraising efforts. 

When you buy a cup of coffee from Jedidiah at the event:

- 10% of funds will be donated to the fundraising efforts

3. Win A Local Business Gift Basket (enter in-person or online) - not interested in the wellness sessions but still want to hang out & give back? purchase raffle tickets & enter to win a basket with goodies from 10+ small businesses!

- Fifteen local businesses have donated an item from their shop to create gift baskets to be raffled off. Raffle ticket funds will also be donated to the same org and lucky winners will leave with a beautiful arrangement of items from local businesses. *Basket valued at $250+ & counting!

Items included in basket:

• Pinch Vase from Nomade Home

• $30 Giftcard to Butcher's House Brasserie

• Handthrown Ceramic Vessel donated by ArTime BARRO, created by Mikkarbo

• Facial Brush & Shampoo from Ritual Refill

• Coco Acaí Room Spray from Good Juju Candle Co. 

• Finding My Way Back Poetry Book by Nicole Smolinski

• Sustainably-Minded Travel Pouch from The GoGo Pouch

• Freshly Made Baked Goods from Sugar and Grain Co. 

• California-Inspired Art Prints by Michelle Ngo

• Handmade Clay Earrings by Clay and Night Jewelry

• Freshly Baked Gluten Free Sourdough Loaf by Old New Bakes

• Mediterranean-Inspired Watercolor Painting by Emilia Greenstein

• Bag of Freshly Roasted Speciality Coffee from Jedidiah Coffee

ps. even if you can't attend, you can still donate through this event link or directly to an organization of your choice. While I encourage you to join us for a beautiful morning in community, this is just one way to support, not the only way. 

All proceeds from this wellness gathering, and the basket raffle, will be donated directly to the Maui Mutual Aid Fund via MauiRapidResponse.org. "DIRECT TO COMMUNITY, NO STRINGS ATTACHED. These funds are directly disbursed to Maui residents affected by the fires. Disbursement priorities are led by a group of Kānaka Maoli community members to ensure equity."

Join Nicole Smolinski & Hadley and Ren for an experiential gathering combining inner reflective exercises and conscious conversation with dried floral bouquet creation to help you explore the symbolism of "memory preservation, durability, and longevity" represented in the preserved florals that fill the Hadley and Ren flower shop.

Key point of discussion:

Through both easy-to-follow journal prompts and a guided group conversation, we'll reflect on ways we get to preserve memories of our own by using dried flowers as a symbol for those memories -- whether that be of people, of special moments, or celebrations you want to remember. Includes all materials - you will take home your journaling materials to reflect on later & a mini dried bouquet to help solidify the reflections you made in the workshop.

Nicole and Cynthia have come together to offer a one-of-a-kind workshop experience that allows guests to reflect on their own memories through guided journaling while creating a mini bouquet of their own -- a physical representation of the longevity that our creations and memories can hold for years to come.

This session is open to anyone wanting to feel more connected to themselves and who wants to practice caring for mind and body together. As another symbolic touch to the session, and a value for earth-conscious practices, the journal questions you're provided with are printed on seed paper so that you can keep your notes to reflect on later or plant them and watch them grow. All are welcome! Whether you’re an experienced journal-er or you’re just curious to try a new way to learn about yourself and others, you’re welcome here. Can’t wait to see you!

About Your Hosts:

Nicole Smolinski is a writer, speaker & wellness event host who is trained as a mental health clinician in California (AMFT). As she spent time with her therapy clients, she began dreaming up ways where the principles she’s guided people through in therapy could be brought outside of the therapy room and into our communities. Her wellness events were born out of a vision where well-being is accessible and connective for the everyday person. As someone who's consistently found art and creation to be cathartic, she enjoys exploring the intersection between psychology & creativity; while there is an extremely valuable place for therapy in our world, Nicole aims to forge a path where well-being is explored creatively, and conscious conversations are accessible, connective, and non-intimidating for the everyday person.

Cynthia is a mom to two wonderful girls and the owner and principal-designer behind Hadley and Ren Floral Co. Hadley and Ren started from a place of deep grief after losing our youngest daughter to a rare genetic disease. I found myself using floral design as a coping mechanism, and leaned heavily Into dried florals because of the longevity of the pieces.

Details:

Located at Hadley and Ren inside of SOCO and the OC Mix

Limit 8 People Per Workshop

Includes all materials - you will take home your journaling materials to reflect on later & a mini dried bouquet to help solidify the reflections you made in the workshop

Join us for a cozy, community-filled evening of guided journaling practices, contemplation, and group conversation surrounding self-reflection and a celebration of the warmth + joy that the summer season represents in our lives.

All are welcome! Whether you’re an experienced journal-er or you’re just curious to try a new way to learn about yourself and others, you’re welcome here. Can’t wait to see you!

Nicole, a trained associate therapist, writer & wellness event host, will take you through intentionally-curated journal prompts & lead conscious conversation amongst the community, all in the comfort of Neat's cozy backyard setup, As another symbolic touch to the session, the journal questions you're provided with are printed on seed paper so that you can keep your notes to reflect on later or plant them and watch them grow.

Price: $40 per person

Included in ticket: sustainably-minded writing materials and cozy backyard seating setup (ahem: twinkly lights!), intentionally-curated journal prompts printed on seed paper for you to take home with you, & a mental health-informed guide to lead you through exercises.

Previous attendees have said…

“I love these gatherings! Nicole always creates such a safe space for me to open up more and her questions always help me think about things differently than I had before.”

“Everything is so beautifully designed and detail-oriented, and I love that I get to just show up and everything is ready for me. I feel really taken care of when I come here, and that’s unexpectedly one of my favorite parts of these events.”

About your host:

Nicole Smolinski is a Tedx speaker, wellness event host & author of Amazon’s #1 New Release Finding My Way Back: Poems on Coming Alive, Healing & Self-Discovery; she is trained as an associate mental health clinician in California (AMFT, APCC). As she spent time with her therapy clients, she began dreaming up ways where the principles she’s guided people through in therapy could be brought outside of the therapy room and into our communities. Her wellness events were born out of a vision where well-being is accessible and connective for the everyday person. As someone who's consistently found art and creation to be cathartic, she enjoys exploring the intersection between psychology & creativity; while there is an extremely valuable place for therapy in our world, Nicole aims to forge a path where well-being is explored creatively, and conscious conversations are accessible, connective, and non-intimidating for the everyday person.

Join ARTime BARRO and Nicole Smolinski for an experiential ceramics workshop combining inner reflective exercises and conscious conversation with clay work to help you explore the symbolism of "basking in the sun."

This is an experiential ceramics workshop combining open-ended inner reflective exercises with directive clay work to help you explore the symbolism of 'summer' in your life & how to pause, rest and absorb all of the warmth you're experiencing during this season of your life.

About Workshop:

Nicole Smolinski, mental health professional & author of Finding My Way Back: Poems on Coming Alive, Healing & Self-Discovery, believes we can learn from the earth's cycles and that this can symbolically be true for us, too. This session will incorporate hand-building, where you'll be taught how to create a sunflower from clay, with open-ended questions to provoke more profound thoughts surrounding spring's teachings.

Key points of discussion:

• basking in the sun

• enjoying simply to enjoy

• making a product that has no other use except that you made it - ties in with summer theme

• our goals are achieved piece by piece, and it's important to celebrate the small moments add up to larger ones --> symbolic of the petals we make in class to form a whole sunflower

Dates:

• 06/25/23 6:30pm-7:30pm

• This is a seasonal workshop. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about summer, fall, and spring workshop dates!

Details:

• Laguna Beach Studio

• Limit 9 Per Workshop

• Must be 16+

• Includes all materials

• All levels welcome

Cost | $75 per person, 90-minute Workshop

Join Golden Lantern Coffee Roasters for an after hours speakeasy inspired gathering, featuring espresso tonic drinks and additional coffee-based mocktail options. Nicole Smolinski will be popping-up at our shop and offering her one-of-a-kind writing offerings:

• personalized typewriter poems written on-the-spot, typed up on a 1940’s typewriter

• her #1 New Release poetry collection

• a year-long guided journal geared towards self-acceptance and self-reflection

• self-love letter packs

“TO BE A VESSEL” is an experiential ceramics workshop combining open-ended inner reflective exercises with directive clay work to help you explore what it means for something to be a “vessel,” and how this can apply literally & figuratively to the clay work we do in class, and perhaps to the ways you conceptualize moments outside of class.

You will:

• learn how to hand-build a torso with clay, led by the owner of Artime BARRO (you can keep the time you make once it’s fired & glazed)

• learn how to reflect on the meaning of being a vessel and how that interprets into your own life through guided journaling questions and conscious conversation, led by yours truly (journaling paper is printed on seed paper, so you can take home your notes to keep or plant them and watch them grow)

Sign up now to reserve your spot at artimebarro.com.

Nicole has been selected to speak at this year’s TedxUCI event! Hear Nicole speak, alongside five other talented speakers, this May.

Grab your ticket by clicking here.

More information directly from TedxUCI website:

First brainstormed as the “Myth of Natural Talent” and inspired into broader terms, DEBUNKED aims to dismantle ideals, concepts, and stereotypes the system has advertised as ‘truth’. We’re busting everything and anything that you feel should have its expectations defied and redefined.

TEDxUCIrvine strives to produce concepts that lend to the inclusion of a wide topic array from various perspectives. That’s why we’ve left it vague. The idea is to eliminate any restrictions to the content presented, without obstructing the ultimate goal: to have talks with a purpose.

Whatever debunking means to you, we’re all for it.

In honor of my friend, David’s, work and the welcoming space he created for the residents of Davis, I will be hosting a free guided journaling event taking us through prompts that will cultivate a deeper sense of compassion of self, others, and humanity as a whole. Of course, you do not have to have known David to attend this gathering; rather, let this be a free offering to the community as a whole that tips its hat towards someone who’s impacted my life personally. Open to anyone!

Details:

This is a free guided journaling event taking us through prompts that will cultivate a deeper sense of compassion of self, others, and humanity as a whole. We will spend ~45 minutes exploring the guided journaling prompts I have selected for us and end in reflective conversation with one another. Let this be a place where you reflect on compassion as a whole and how to apply it to your life, or where you try out “guided journaling” for the first time.

All writing and seating materials will be provided for you.
Bring a warm jacket and extra layers just in case it gets a little chilly.
Location: Salt Creek Beach Park, Dana Point.

—

David H. Breaux
1972-2023

A special project in honor of David H. Breaux, known for his years of dedication to sitting on the corner of 3rd and C in Davis, CA, asking passerby their definition of compassion.

David was a friend to the community of Davis, and a Stanford graduate. During my time at UC Davis, I spent many hours on this bench with David, exchanging worldviews and hearing his hope for the world.

—

This is a completely free event and I encourage to receive it for free! If you do choose to add payment, all proceeds will be donated to Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research & Education in honor of David Breaux, the Compassion Guy. You can also support David’s personal compassion project by checking out his book, “COMPASSION Davis, CA: A Compilation of Concepts on Compassion.”

I am grieving with the Davis community, and my deepest thoughts are with the loved ones of David, Karim and Kimberly.

A partnership between Nicole Smolinski & Healing Connections!

Join us on the beach for a morning of guided journaling practices, contemplation, and group conversation surrounding self-reflection, grounding and managing the ebbs and flows life brings us.

just THREE spots left!

Reserve yours today by sending a direct message to Healing Connections via Instagram

OR if you don’t use Instagram, please send Nicole an email: nicole@nicolesmolinski.com.

Join us for a morning of guided journaling practices, contemplation and group conversation surrounding what the spring season represents and what it can teach us.

Inspired by Nicole’s debut guided journal, Journaling My Way Back: An Intentional, Year-Long Reflection Through The Four Seasons.

~

SPRING

A time to plant new seeds and nurture the newer opportunities that were building up foundation in the winter. 

As nights grow shorter, and temperatures rise, plants can now receive the conditions they need to start growing. The roots that were continuing to develop in winter now have more strength to support and encourage this period of growth.

“Spring is for hope,  

for slow growth 

and rising up.”

- Finding My Way Back: Poems on Coming Alive, Healing & Self-Discovery

EXACT COST & DATE TBA as we work to secure a beautiful, peaceful venue for this event. Estimate: mid-March and ~$35-40.

Included in ticket cost: sustainably-minded writing materials, seating & event space, snacks from local vendors, mental health-informed guide to lead you through exercises.

Join ARTime BARRO and Nicole Smolinski for an experiential ceramics workshop combining inner reflective exercises and conscious conversation with clay work to help you explore the symbolism of 'spring' in your life & how to nourish the goals & dreams you've planted for 2023.

About Workshop:

For plants, the spring season represents a time to plant new seeds and nurture the newer opportunities that were building up foundation in the winter. Nicole Smolinski, mental health professional & author of Finding My Way Back: Poems on Coming Alive, Healing & Self-Discovery, believes we can learn from the earth's cycles and that this can symbolically be true for us, too. This session will incorporate hand-building, where you'll be taught how to create a watering can from clay, with open-ended questions to provoke more profound thoughts surrounding spring's teachings.

Through both easy-to-follow journal prompts and a guided group conversation, we'll get to explore the goals & dreams you have in mind for this year and how, much like water to both plant and clay, we can practice ways to nourish those goals & dreams in the ways we care for ourselves.

This session is open to anyone wanting to feel more connected to themselves and who wants to practice caring for mind and body together. As another symbolic touch to the session, and a value for earth-conscious practices, the journal questions you're provided with are printed on seed paper so that you can keep your notes to reflect on later or plant them and watch them grow. Better yet - you can water them with the watering can we created together in class!

Dates:

• 03/25/2023, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

• This will be a seasonal workshop. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know about summer, fall, and spring workshop dates!

Details:

• Limit 9 Per Workshop

• Must be 16+

• Includes all materials

• All levels welcome

Cost | $75 per person, 90-minute Workshop

Book Workshop

About Instructor Nicole Smolinski

Nicole Smolinski, MS Clinical Psychology, is a writer & mental health professional local to Orange County who hosts workshops and events in the local community with the intention of making mental health awareness and overall well-being more approachable and connective.

She enjoys utilizing the intersection between psychology & creativity & is continuously dreaming up ways where the principles she's guided people through in therapy as a clinician can be brought outside of the therapy room & into our communities.

She believes writing and self-reflection have the power to help us heal and connect deeper to ourselves and those around us in accessible & non-intimidating ways.

LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE - reserve your spot today!

Join us for guided conversation & exploration about how to cultivate self-love, regardless of relationship status.

We will be participating in experiential exercises that will help us further reflect and understand what self-love is and how we can cultivate more of it in our lives. Through these exercises, we’ll be making beautiful chocolate dipped strawberries for you to take home with you!

This event is open to everyone interested, because self-love is for everyone. Come alone, bring your partner or friend or galentine, we don’t care either way. We believe cultivating self-love helps us care for ourselves AND others better, so everyone could use some reflection time on this topic.

EXACT COST & DATE TBA as we work to secure a beautiful, peaceful venue for this event. Estimate: early-February and ~$35-40.

Included in ticket cost: tools to create a bundle of chocolate-dipped strawberries for you to take home, sustainably-minded writing materials, seating & event space, snacks from local vendors, a mental health-informed guide to lead you through exercises.

Join us for an evening of guided journaling practices, contemplation and group conversation surrounding what the winter season represents and what it can teach us.

Inspired by Nicole’s debut guided journal, Journaling My Way Back: An Intentional, Year-Long Reflection Through The Four Seasons.

~

WINTER

A time to reset and turn inwards. 

As nights grow longer, and temperatures decrease, plants often go dormant and decelerate the speed of their processes to conserve energy. This conservation of energy allows for roots to continue developing as plants rest until spring. Though there is no growth to be seen above soil, dormancy is a plant’s way of flourishing long-term.  

“Winter often looks barren because the flowers don’t grow, but I’ve learned winter is anything but barren— seedlings wait to sprout underground when the time comes and the environment is ready. I believe winter is our teacher because all the outward, beautiful stuff falls away for awhile and we’re left with only our core. Winter isn’t showy like spring, but it is wise and humble. Of course, it’s way more fun to be blooming and radiant, but spring doesn’t come without a winter of strengthening our roots. It’s my honor to be tested, to be stripped, because my roots are revealed and it’s only then that I can realign myself in better soil. I thank the harsh winter for what it’s taught me, and I wait expectantly for spring to come.”

- Finding My Way Back: Poems on Coming Alive, Healing & Self-Discovery

EXACT COST & DATE TBA as we work to secure a beautiful, peaceful venue for this event. Estimate: mid-January and ~$35-40.

Included in ticket cost: sustainably-minded writing materials, seating & event space, snacks from local vendors, mental health-informed guide to lead you through exercises.

Come celebrate the start of 2023 in intentional reflection & conversation about what you want the new year to hold for you!

You’ll be guided through reflective questions along with experiential exercises that will allow you to deeply consider what you want:

to cultivate more of

and

what you’d like less of, or to let go of,

in the new year.

We’ll end by processing the hour together and learning from others’ perspectives.

Included in ticket cost: a re-purposed plant pot with soil & seeds to take home & grow yourself, sustainably-minded writing materials, seating & event space, snacks from local vendors, mental health-informed guide to lead you through exercises.