THE INSPIRATION PLACE PODCAST
Jasleni Brito: This Oracle deck is something that I had been wanting to create for over a decade. And finally, what made me decide to go for it wasn’t the realization that I had all these skills, it was simply the decision to go for it. There was so much to figure out throughout the creative process, so I didn’t have it figured out. I didn’t have it together.
Speaker 2: It’s the Inspiration Place podcast with artist Miriam Schulman. Welcome to the Inspiration Place podcast, an Art World Insider podcast for artists by an artist, where each week we go behind the scenes to uncover the perspiration and inspiration behind the art. And now your host Miriam Schulman.
Miriam Schulman: Well hey there, this is Miriam Schulman, your curator of inspiration. I am so grateful that you’re here. Today’s guest is on a mission to help soul led entrepreneurs like you create magnetic brands and design the life of their dreams by tapping into your deepest desires and connecting with your guides, she combines her spiritual knowing with her technical expertise to support you on your entrepreneurial journey. With over ten years experience, she is well versed in logo, branding style, website design and art. In other words, when it comes to channeled creative expression and visual communication, she’s the art which you want to call. Please welcome to the The Inspiration Place Jeslyn Brito. Well. Hey there. Welcome to the show.
Jasleni Brito: Thank you so much. My whole heart is smiling right now.
Miriam Schulman: I’m so excited to have you. So Jeff Zeleny is in the Artist Incubator. And when she joined, I didn’t buy this just because you were going to come on the podcast. Because we didn’t know that was happening at the time. Right. But I like I collect Oracle card decks. Which do you know that you must know that I know that.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah, I did know that. And I do too.
Miriam Schulman: Yeah. So it was like, well, of course I gotta have one. So if you’re listening to this on the podcast, this is also on YouTube, so you can see everything we’re talking about. I happen to know a little bit now about the creation of these, because I have looked into how to create not an Oracle card deck. I want to create a different kind of card deck, but I didn’t realize that this box is the most expensive part of the whole package.
Jasleni Brito: The whole thing is such a process. I felt like the shipping was also really pricey. You don’t think about, oh really? It’s going to cost to get the product in your hands before you actually send it out to people.
Miriam Schulman: Oh wow. But I’m not at that level yet. But they were showing me like, well, it’s this much to make the deck and it’s this much for this. And it was like maybe like a dollar. I don’t remember exactly, but maybe let’s just say it was $5 to make the cards and it was like $15 to make the box. Yeah, like, how is that even possible? Like, well, it’s hand done and then you have to wrap it and yours is like just beyond. And this is thank you.
Jasleni Brito: I opted to go fancy. So that was a very intentional choice. And you know, thinking about where do I want to splurge a little bit more. And the box was important to me. I mean, every detail every detail is intentional.
Miriam Schulman: Yeah. I don’t know if my box is going to be as fancy, but I was very impressed. Not only first of all, the box does make a difference because I’ve gotten card decks that were in these like little what are these called?
Jasleni Brito: Oh gosh, I don’t know, a little, little bat bags. Yeah.
Miriam Schulman: And then you lose the gift bag. It’s not a good way to present it. So I really do appreciate when it’s a nice solid box and then yours. It has something in the middle. So tell me about your cultural background, because I was sharing this with my husband and he’s like, well, is she from the doctor?
Jasleni Brito: Yeah, yeah. So I was born in the US, but my family moved to Dominican Republic when I was just a baby. I was born in New York, but I don’t feel like a New Yorker because my early childhood was in Dominican Republic. My parents are Dominican, and that upbringing in the sunshine, drinking papaya milkshakes like that really shaped my early childhood. And then we moved back to the States when I was around 8 or 9. So Spanish is my first language. My parents don’t even speak English. And now, after living in Connecticut for so long, I really feel half from over there. Half from here.
Miriam Schulman: Mhm. And when you moved back here, did you move to Connecticut or New York?
Jasleni Brito: Connecticut.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. We’re in Connecticut, Hartford, central Connecticut.
Jasleni Brito: So yeah, near Hartford, New Britain, New Britain, Connecticut.
Miriam Schulman: All right. Very nice. Okay. Now we’re going to talk a little bit more about this fun thing that I just opened up, okay. Because I was waiting for this podcast to really dive deep into it. All right. So I am removing the plastic thing, which I guess I’ll never use again. The little thing. And how do you think we should do this? Do you want to do a reading for me?
Jasleni Brito: Oh, okay. Why not, why not? So do we want to jump right in? Or should I talk a little bit about my style, how I go about it?
Miriam Schulman: Let’s not jump right in quite yet, okay? I do want a reading that is going to happen during this episode. Okay, but I do want to talk a little bit more about the process, because I bet there are a lot of artists out there who, whether they’re curious or perhaps they want to create their own are interested in the process. I know I would be if I was listening to my own episode. So okay, so first of all, how did you come to arrive with the double peacock diamond that is on the back of every single one of your cards? Yes.
Jasleni Brito: So I debated a lot if I wanted to have an image that was reversible so that when you pull the card, you wouldn’t know which side is upside up or upside down, right?
Miriam Schulman: Because that’s important with our Oracle cards. Right?
Jasleni Brito: Some people it is very important.
Miriam Schulman: Yeah.
Jasleni Brito: Because some people will read the card differently if it shows up upside down. And so having that reversible back makes it so that you don’t actually know until you see the front of the card what you got. So I kind of broke the rules a little bit there because since I have that color gradient, you could technically figure out which is the top or bottom. But the peacock for me is a symbol of transformation. And this oracle deck, we haven’t said the name of it. La Caribena Oracle I know that the name sometimes trips people up a little bit, so we can talk more about why I chose to name it that. But this entire deck is bits and pieces of my childhood. And I remember as a kid going to the swimming pool and seeing the peacocks just hanging around, and I really see them as a symbol of transformation. And this deck, that’s what I want to inspire, is that loving, self-compassionate self-accepting surrendering transformation.
Miriam Schulman: So la Caribena Oracle. I assume that meant Caribbean, but does it not mean something different?
Jasleni Brito: It means Caribbean woman.
Miriam Schulman: Oh, like the Caribbean woman.
Jasleni Brito: The Caribbean woman and every single card is a different facet of the Caribbean woman. It’s my mother’s voice. It’s my grandmother, it’s my neighbors. It’s my third grade teacher. It’s all these different pieces that make up the Caribbean woman her style, her flair, her personality, her strengths, her challenges. And I really wanted to showcase all the many faces of her so she doesn’t look like one person. The card, the deck doesn’t feature one face. It’s all these different faces that make up the essence of who she is.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, I really love the very first card that I pulled out here is number 25, its boundaries, and it looks like. Is that an armadillo on the. It is an armadillo.
Jasleni Brito: May I just say that right before this this interview, I pulled a card to see what wanted to come forward. And boundaries was the card that came up. So it’s funny that you.
Miriam Schulman: Make that one.
Jasleni Brito: First as well.
Miriam Schulman: Well, the reason I picked it, I mean, I pulled out two and I picked this one intentionally, so it wasn’t like a random draw. Just so everyone knows, this is not my spiritual reading right now. This is just discussing the art. I really liked how it is age inclusive. So when you talked about the different women just now, I wanted to look at, well, what are the faces? And they are not all young women in the prime of, you know, their youth. It is women of of different ages, which I think is very important to honor the older women too. So I love that you you chose this. Is this actually like your mother or grandmother on the card?
Jasleni Brito: It’s not, it’s not. But I so love that you brought that up because that was important to me in that card specifically really speaks to what we are and are not available for. Being really conscious of that, of what we allow in our space. And I just feel like with age comes that maturity and that wisdom to discern, and also the attitude to say, like, we’re not doing that anymore. Once upon a time, I tolerated that. Not anymore. And I feel like with with age comes that skill of having really healthy boundaries.
Miriam Schulman: Hey artists, if you’re looking for clarity on your art career instead of consulting the Oracle for answers, why not sit down with me? Miriam Schulman I’m author of Artpreneur and I’m also host of the Inspiration Place podcast, and you can get a portfolio review. Because let’s be honest, when it comes to getting your art noticed by galleries, collectors or clients or interior designers, a little real world guidance goes a long way. Now here’s how it works. I’ll dive deep into your portfolio and give you professional, personalized feedback. Whether you need help curating the right selection of your work, knowing which art is marketable and which isn’t, or if you’re working on several different things, you don’t know which direction to go, improving how you present your pieces, aligning your portfolio with your ideal audience. Whatever it is that you need help with, you’ll walk away with actionable insights and clarity and a clear sense of direction. Think of this as your artist crystal ball. Think of this as your art career crystal ball, but better because every artist I’ve ever worked with has left their portfolio review session with fresh clarity, renewed confidence, and excitement about the next steps.
Miriam Schulman: Your art Deserves to be seen, so don’t leave your future up to chance. Book your portfolio review today at SchulmanArt.com. Slash Pro review. Because sometimes the guidance you need isn’t in the cards. It’s in the conversation. And now let’s get back to the show. So this is going live in March. However in December there is an episode coming out that is I think the official title we finally landed on were seven Rituals for Closing the Year. But it’s really about stepping into the crone wisdom. And so each of the rituals is about like, you take a crone walk. You do like all these things, but there are the three woman archetypes the the maiden mother, the mother and crone, and I’m in my crone years, even though I have like a zillion filters on right now, so you probably can’t tell. But in real life I am. I’m definitely stepping into that crone wisdom, and I’m embracing it. I think it’s it’s fun. It’s fun to be able to say, oh, yep. Check. Yeah, check, check. I’ve done that in my life.
Jasleni Brito: I know a lot of people, especially in my family. And I think also in Dominican culture, there’s reservations around getting older and maybe even some shame, especially when it comes to beauty standards and beyond. But I think it is such a privilege to get old, to get to that age. My dad recently turned 70 and he was so embarrassed. I’m like, dad, how lucky are you that you made it to 70? This is something to celebrate. So yeah.
Miriam Schulman: Yes it is. And as you, as you say, men have this problem too. I know my husband is a little bit older than I am, so he’s 62. Is he turning 60? Yeah, he’s turning 62 this December. And yeah, he’s a little bit of, you know, weirdness around his aging. I mean, but part of it also it’s not just a number. It’s also there are certain things that happen as you age, like, okay, now your cholesterol number is suddenly a problem, or now your blood pressure is suddenly a problem where you never had to worry about these things before. So it’s not just the number. And I’m saying this for the listeners who who are not at my age yet, who maybe to understand, like why does the number matter? It’s not the number. There’s certain things that just start to happen as you get older. And so it’s the combination of it’s the truly the getting older, not just the number getting bigger. Right.
Jasleni Brito: And I love that you are intentionally celebrating this, this chapter through the Crown ritual.
Miriam Schulman: Yes, yes, I think every age has its compensation. That’s something that I was taught from my grandfather. Oh, I.
Jasleni Brito: Love.
Miriam Schulman: That. Yeah. And it’s. There’s no good age or bad age. There’s just age. And every age is special.
Jasleni Brito: I believe that, and the boundaries card that you pulled really sort of speaks to that too.
Miriam Schulman: The other card that was right next to it, 26, it’s the healing card. And you have a really good sense of humor here because you have the Vicks vapor on your healing card. And then the tortoise, tortoise or sea turtle. What is it your intention?
Jasleni Brito: It’s a turtle. Can I tell you a funny story about that one? About that?
Miriam Schulman: Yes, but. But before you do, I just want to say the reason I wanted to talk about it is they live to be very old, right? You’re always hearing about people who have these pet tortoises and they don’t know what to do. Like their death plan, they need a death plan for the tortoise because it’s going to, like, outlive them.
Jasleni Brito: You know, it’s funny you say that because while that is true, I actually hadn’t considered that when creating the artwork. So you’re adding a whole other layer to it that I hadn’t even pieced together.
Miriam Schulman: That’s right, they did. I mean, I’m not so into like, the whole turtle dinosaur culture of like, how long species live, but I know certain certain ones live a very, very long time. Like 120 is not unheard of for certain kinds of, of turtle species. So this is like another one that’s like an age card. Okay. What is the funny story tell us.
Jasleni Brito: Well, well, I want to now I want to go off on a slight okay with turtle. I was doing a meditation with the intention of asking my guides, what sort of tool or practice can I incorporate to help me and others with any kind of healing thing? Anybody that comes to me seeking any sort of healing, what’s something I could utilize to bring into those rituals and to those practices. And I had a very vivid image of the turtle, and it spoke to me, and it was this really beautiful connection, and I understood it to be a healing spirit animal for me. And so that’s actually why I chose that for that card. But you mentioning sort of the agelessness really adds such a special layer.
Miriam Schulman: It does.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah.
Miriam Schulman: And I love that you got the vision of it. So there’s there’s something that happens. And I definitely believe in that, whatever you want to call it, tapping into the divine. Or for those of us who are atheists, quantum entanglement, it’s this which they have proven in science. So to me, it’s all the same thing. Yeah, same same.
Jasleni Brito: Same.
Miriam Schulman: Whatever word you want to give it. If God, Jesus. Quantum entanglement. That’s how the universe works.
Jasleni Brito: So all of the above. And I like using the word universe that’s sort of all encompassing of all things. Woo and beyond.
Miriam Schulman: That’s right. Okay, so you said there was a funny story. I think you did. Yes. Funny story.
Jasleni Brito: Okay, so have you ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, that movie?
Miriam Schulman: Yes, but a long time ago.
Jasleni Brito: Okay, so do you remember how the dad would use Windex to solve any medical thousand percent?
Miriam Schulman: Yes. My husband’s like that with Neosporin, though.
Jasleni Brito: Okay, so in Dominican Republic, Vicks VapoRub is the cure all.
Miriam Schulman: Fix all. It’s the Windex.
Jasleni Brito: If you have a rash, a cold, acne, a cut, literally any sort of ailment, pain. Put some Vicks VapoRub on it and that’s the fix all. So that’s why that’s in the healing card.
Miriam Schulman: Hilarious, I love it. Okay, so you were just talking about how you meditated for the card. So I want to I’m very curious about that process, what that looked like for you.
Jasleni Brito: Oh, geez. This Oracle deck was such a massive undertaking for me. I very naively went into it thinking I could create the whole thing. In about two months. I had this whole plan I blocked out all the time I had. I had it charted in my calendar. This took a year. Of course it did. Like. And that was a very I’m not going to say aggressive, but certainly a super duper focused year. So it wasn’t just a regular year. It was like a, like an intentional, um, a really intentional time. So I, I really wanted the deck to tell me what it wanted to be. I felt like this Oracle deck had its own personality and its own message and its own point that I wanted to get across, and I really see myself as a conduit, and I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to to sort of not just channel, but also to sort of transcribe what was being shown to me. And so in that way, even though I made the deck, I feel like I didn’t fully create it. It really feels like it was co-created with spirit. There was this really magical experience of sitting down and asking, okay, what does this card look like? And sometimes the answer would be a very clear vision of what it was supposed to be. And sometimes it was a lingering whispering, figuring it out. And I would have to walk away and come back to it. Or I could be at the line at the grocery store, and all of a sudden it hit me. So I think that’s another reason why this took so long, because I scheduled out the studio time for myself, and some of that time was spent on the floor, laying down, looking up at my ceiling, asking it like, tell me, tell me what this card wants to be. So it was a very challenging but also really rewarding process of being really still and listening.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, so now I’m going to ask you something else. So in the beginning it says card messages and soul work. And there’s a card for each one and there’s 50 cards. So I’m going to give the names of the first five cards curiosity, New Beginnings, Divine Guidance, The Land and Trust. Did you decide ahead of time, like what your different messages would be? Or every single one was from message to image to everything was in a session. Tell me.
Jasleni Brito: Yes, yes. And so I, I sat down and I think meditation is going to be kind of the theme here. I sat down and I made a list of all the different concepts that felt important to include in the deck. And then I just asked, you know, do you want to be a part of the deck? And there were some that were replaced and switched for others. And so this really was a process of asking, being really still and listening. And for me, the yes came in a sensation or in an our excitement, in a knowing, in a undisputable yes, this needs to be a part of it. Kind of knowing.
Miriam Schulman: Beautiful. Okay. And I always choose a word for the year. Do you do that too? What? What’s your word for 25? Do you know yet?
Jasleni Brito: I don’t.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, so I know my word. I know my my word is peace. And that is one of your cards. So we are going to look at that card right now, which is by the way, we’re like, it seems like we’re going in order. That is the one right after my turtle. Oh, this is the one that’s on the cover of her whole book deck.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. The peace card is the illustration for for the box, too.
Miriam Schulman: Amazing. Okay. Do you need me to read what’s on here, or do you kind of know it?
Jasleni Brito: You read it because I’m so excited right now, I could barely even.
Miriam Schulman: Yeah, I hate when people do that to me too. Like, they act like I should know what’s on every page of my book. And I’m like, really? It took me a year. I don’t remember what I ate for breakfast last week. How am I supposed to remember what I wrote a week ago?
Jasleni Brito: I can certainly tell you like the essence of it, but if you want to get into it, I’d love to.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. Por mucho. Qué la Paz cuesta? Nunca estara. As much as peace may cost, it is never expensive. In other words, the price of peace pales in comparison to the toll of conflict and chaos. Whatever you need to do to be right with yourself, do it. While the journey towards peace may require effort or sacrifice, it will reward you in ways that money cannot buy. Oh damn, this is really good.
Jasleni Brito: I love that you read the Spanish bit too.
Miriam Schulman: How bad was my accent?
Jasleni Brito: Like the little polishing, but not bad. But not terrible. Well, I’m curious what resonated with you from that?
Miriam Schulman: Well, I chose peace. Like right after the election. I was like, I am not looking for negativity. I am not doing it anymore. I was used to be so obsessed with the news. I’m breaking up with the news. I’m not reading about conspiracy theories. I’m checking out of all of it. And I’m going to create my internal peace for myself. Since that time that I chose the word peace, there’s been some personal things in my life that I’m not ready to share with the listeners that I probably won’t share with the listeners. So it became more challenging to me like, oh, am I is peace still the word? Because this doesn’t feel peaceful right now. But that’s why I love what it is that you said, that you can still get peace. It’s just might take more work and it’s worth it. That’s what I got out of this.
Jasleni Brito: Mhm.
Miriam Schulman: So it was beautiful.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. And the word sacrifice, they’re like what are you willing to eliminate from your life in order to have that peace.
Miriam Schulman: Yes. Fantastic. Okay. And then how long did it take you to actually paint every painting. Is that what took the longest part, or was it coming up with the words? No. It took you longer.
Jasleni Brito: It felt pretty even, actually. Painting took the longest. And then waiting for the final product to be like in my hands also took really long, like four months, which felt like an eternity to me. The painting took me about six months of painting every single day. And back in high school, painting every single day was like a no brainer. Did it all the time in college, but painting every day now is not something that I do. So this was like such a reclamation of the artist within. I felt the most like an artist that I had in years. I felt very I felt taller, I felt like, wow, look at me. Like I am really doing this. And it was hard to show up to paint every single day. After years of sort of slacking off on and off with it. But yeah, around six months.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, so six and six. So it was pretty even for you and the four months for it to be delivered. And yeah, I know that yours, your deck is made in China. Right. It says that I thought somewhere.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah that’s where I got it printed.
Miriam Schulman: Yes. It takes less time if you get it printed here to be delivered, but it costs a lot more like.
Jasleni Brito: Triple maybe at least double I found.
Miriam Schulman: Yeah. Although that might change with the administration. So you’re lucky you got your duck in now.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. We’ll see, we’ll see. Yeah.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, so there’s a few more things that I want to make sure we cover before we wrap up. One is we did promise a card reading. But before we get to that, I wanted you to share with the listeners how the incubator program has helped you in your marketing, both as an artist. But then as well, you have a business that’s much bigger than being an artist because you’re a graphic designer, you’re a coach. So I wanted to hear about your wins as they related to what you’ve learned inside my program.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. Oh, I love talking about wins. So before I even go there, I feel like this is worth saying that before I even joined the Artist Incubator, I was listening to your podcast. And you said, I can’t even remember what the episode was, but you talked about inspired action, and that is a term that that an art teacher of mine from when I was a little girl said to me, and that has been sort of a mantra for me. And so when debating if I wanted to join the Artist Incubator and I heard that episode and you talked about inspired action, that was like my, like my whole body. Yes. This is very much the next logical step for me. And I talk a little bit about inspired action in the guidebook for the Oracle deck. So I just wanted to say that so much. I’ve gotten so much, even just from your podcast. And when in doubt, I keep coming back to that. Like, okay, what does inspired action look like for me now? And in that moment, joining the Artist Incubator felt like a no brainer. So okay. That said, there’s two things that I appreciate the most out of the Artist Incubator. The first is the cohorts. I feel like the support coming together every week, sharing frustrations, sharing ideas, encouraging each other. There’s we made a little private Facebook chat where throughout the week we will message each other if we find a resource or if we have a question and we’ll say, hey, what do you think about this? And that has actually saved me a ton of money too, because whenever I see anything sparkly, I will I will let them know, like, hey, do you guys, what do you think about this? And they’re always telling me, just let me.
Jasleni Brito: You don’t need you don’t need that. Like don’t do that. So that support has been really fun and really encouraging. And then the second thing that I love the most is the challenges which have been challenging. It’s it never feels like the right time, like it always feels like. Oh, no. One more thing that I have to do by a certain day. It always feels. I hope nobody, you know gets swayed away by me saying this, but it has felt like, oh, no more homework, more things for me to do. And then because I don’t want to let down my cohort and be the reason why we can’t enter as a group into the challenges, I go ahead and do the things. And through your challenges, I have knocked off things from my to do list that have been on my to do list for years, which I’m embarrassed to say.
Miriam Schulman: Don’t be embarrassed because this is why I set up the whole program this way. So you’re calling it cohorts, which is fine for my listeners who are not in the program. You may have heard me refer to them as accountability pods. It’s the same exact thing. And I started it this year because I know exactly what you’re talking about, that some people are motivated by that teamwork and not letting somebody down. And that accountability and all those things matter. And just having an income goal for yourself, sometimes it’s just not a big enough motivator. So it’s very easy when it’s just for us to talk ourselves out of it and make it seem not important. In 24 last year, 24 was the first year I did this accountability pod, and in the beginning I was doing the challenges almost every single month, which is a lot. And in 25 we will be doing them four times a year because I did get some feedback, not a lot of feedback, but enough that made me question it. Is this too much? Let me see if if it would be better to space the challenges out so that the pods can also work on their own projects and get other things out of the out of having that community.
Jasleni Brito: Well, I’m I’m biased and I would vote for more, more, more more challenges.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, good to know because I really only got one complaint. And sometimes we take one complaint so seriously. But this is something and I want all the listeners to hear this. You never want to design your business around the squeaky wheel or the most complaining customer. You want to design your business around your best customers and the people who love you the most. So be very careful when you take complaints too seriously because they are not necessarily your best people.
Jasleni Brito: Oh, that’s such good advice. Yeah, I even okay here’s like a really good one, a really good example. I have been meaning to have a lead in for my mailing list for years, and for years all I had on there was, hey, join my mailing list and one day I might send you something good. And believe it or not, for years I’ve been collecting email addresses and now I finally have something that you get when you sign up. And because of the Artist Incubator, I’ve been emailing people on a regular basis, which is such a no brainer and why I haven’t done this before, I just I just didn’t prioritize it. That’s the truth. So that’s been a big win for me, a big shift for me.
Miriam Schulman: And what results have happened because of those weekly emails?
Jasleni Brito: So much love and so many more preorders for the Oracle deck, which is a nice add on. And also it’s been it’s been a confidence boost for me. I always thought that sending emails, especially like on a weekly basis, was too much and that I didn’t have enough to say, like, what am I going to talk about? It turns out I have a lot to say and my open rate is really high. It’s like like 90%.
Miriam Schulman: Wow, that is high.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. So it’s really encouraging. It’s really helped me keep going.
Miriam Schulman: Good for you. Okay. Anything else about the incubator you want to share before we do a reading?
Jasleni Brito: Um, with everything that. It’s what you put into it that you get out, right? If you sign up for anything and you don’t show up and you don’t do the things, then you’re not gonna get the results you want. But if you join the challenges, do your homework, send the emails. You’re going to be pleasantly surprised. I certainly have been.
Miriam Schulman: That’s like when people say to me, what percent of people get the results you’re talking about. And I always started saying 100% of the people who do the work get the results. That’s it.
Jasleni Brito: I’ll totally cosign that. Yes.
Miriam Schulman: You know, and the people who don’t get results, they’re still asking me the same questions. Like from. It’s like, well, did you do the work then? Like, you know, how do I expand my network outside of my people? I said, well, I told you this, this and this. Did you do that yet? No. I was like, okay. Yeah.
Jasleni Brito: Next question. Thanks.
Miriam Schulman: Right. Exactly. Next question. Right. Hey, artists, if you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and finally see results in your art business, let me tell you. Success starts with action. Not just hoping or waiting for the perfect moment. And that’s exactly what I want to help you with right now. You can sign up for a portfolio review with me Miriam Schulman, author of Artpreneur and host of The Inspiration Place Podcast. This is your opportunity to get personalized, actionable feedback on your artwork, pricing, and overall strategy. You’ll walk away with clear next steps to take your art career to the next level. And here’s the best part if you decide to upgrade and join my Artist Incubator program, the investment you make in the portfolio review will be applied as a credit towards your membership. That means that you can get started now without hesitation, and feel confident that you’re making the right choice for your future. So head on over to SchulmanArt.com Forward Slash Pro Review to book your portfolio review today. Take the first step toward building your art business. Again, that’s SchulmanArt.com slash pro review. And now let’s get back to the show. Okay. So what came with the Oracle card deck. And I don’t think everybody gets this I think this is because I preordered. Is that right?
Jasleni Brito: Yes.
Miriam Schulman: Okay.
Jasleni Brito: So there’s I might I might see about bringing it back depending on again the feedback that I get.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. So there is a candle that came with it. And do you feel comfortable leading me through this reading like, oh yeah. Meditation. Okay. And those of you who preordered it, you can be doing this along with me. You can order her deck and listen to this all over again.
Jasleni Brito: And let me, let me actually grab because I the little card that you’re looking at let me grab one so that I’m following along with you. Okay. I’m here.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. Tell me what the stick is for.
Jasleni Brito: Doesn’t it smell so good?
Miriam Schulman: Yes.
Jasleni Brito: Do you ever use sage to ground yourself? Cleanse the space. Palo santo is used in a similar way. And of course, depending on who you are and where you’re from, there’s different ways of using it. But I like to use it much like one might use sage. I purposely use is palo santo, which is a type of wood. And also you’ll notice that the candle is also in a little wooden holder. Because my artwork for the deck was created on wood, and I just really wanted to stick to that really earthy theme.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, I’m not going to light the wood because I’m paranoid. I’m going to have some fire that I can’t put out, and the super is going to show up at the door and asked me, what are you burning? So I will save this for another day because I don’t have like a water to dunk it in or anything.
Jasleni Brito: First of all, if you want to do that, totally fair. Definitely follow your instincts, but it won’t be this huge fire. It’s kind of like an incense. You you light the little bit or the little corner of it, okay? And you, you just wait for it to get a little bit smoky and that’s it. And then you can blow it so that it, it, it just has a little smokiness. There you go.
Miriam Schulman: Because I’m ADHD, I did it without thinking. It’s like for those of you who are listening, there was legit a flame like a one inch flame. And it was getting very nervous. It was like, why did I tell her to do this? Her hair’s going to catch on fire. Oh, it smells so good now that I burned it, though.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah, it’s really soothing. This is one of those aromas that makes me feel super witchy. That makes me feel really connected, that makes me feel really in tune with my intuition. So I’m hoping that you’ll have that same feeling as well. Okay. So okay, before we officially get started, you lit your candle. You have the aroma in the air. Take a second to just ground yourself. So if that means taking a few deep, loving, cleansing breaths. And for anybody listening, feel free to join in and just be really in your body right now. Just continue taking some nice deep breaths. Being intentional to set aside any distractions from the day. Just be here and now and any distractions that do show up. Acknowledge them and put them on the bookshelf for later. You can always come back to it later. So even just with that, we can create sacred space. Sacred space can be as fancy and elaborate as you want, with all the bells and whistles and candles and comfy pillows to sit on. Or it could just be a few deep, loving, cleansing breaths to bring you to the moment. So you lit your candle, and then you’re supposed to write down your intentions, how you wish to be supported by this Oracle deck. So if you want to do that, go ahead. Or if you want to think about it.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. Now, um, should I have a question in mind for the Oracle deck for, you.
Jasleni Brito: Know, so so right now you are just establishing your connection with the Oracle deck.
Miriam Schulman: All right. So I am going to share it out loud. So my intention is to tap into my crone wisdom okay. With my ancestors, like my lovely grandmothers who have all passed. And their mothers like to tap into the that wisdom of Of my. My. Yeah. The grandmother. Wisdom and my own wisdom.
Jasleni Brito: So then, if it were me, I would write down something like. May this oracle deck support me in embracing my crone age and connecting with my ancestors.
Miriam Schulman: Okay.
Jasleni Brito: Or you know something that feels good to you, that feels very like you want to. You want to write it down with conviction. And you can do this with any Oracle deck or any tool that you want to use in a spiritual, magical, supportive way. You can give it a an intention, a job, an assignment, so to speak. Okay. So then and I’m reading off of the little the little spell ritual that I included in your package. Now you’re supposed to light the palo santo little tip of it just to kind of fill the air, which you already did. But if you want to do that again, feel free. Just letting the aroma fill the air. And you can even sort of, you know, wave it all around you. And then holding the crystal in your hand, you can read your intentions out loud. And again, we want to read it with confidence, like you really mean it.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. There might have been oh, I was going to say, I think I lost the crystal, but I just found it. Okay, tell us what kind of crystal this is.
Jasleni Brito: I think that’s aventurine. Everybody has a different crystal. And I purposely didn’t tell you what yours was because I wanted to give you a little soul homework. A little soul work to go figure out which one it is and what it’s used for and how it can support you. And so part of the fun is, is figuring that out. How does this Crystal want to support me right now? And every crystal has its own energy. So even you discovering what that specific one is for might say something about where you are right now and what you need at this moment.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. I just like that it matches my brand colors, but, you know, like, great. Awesome. Such a happy.
Jasleni Brito: Coincidence.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. All right. What’s next?
Jasleni Brito: Okay, so you you read your. I think you did it sort of internally, right? You did it quietly in your mind. Okay. And then you just say. And so it is. That’s the the period at the end of the sentence.
Miriam Schulman: And so it is beautiful.
Jasleni Brito: Okay. So do you I mean, I have the oracle deck over here as well. But do you want to be the one to shuffle and pick a card? Sure. Okay. So your deck, especially because it’s. You just opened it. All the cards are in order, so give it a nice little shuffle. Oh, you’re like a professional shuffler. I don’t know how to shuffle that way. I do it like the not cool way.
Miriam Schulman: I do it like I’m a poker shark.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah you do.
Miriam Schulman: I just.
Jasleni Brito: Kind of. I go like this.
Miriam Schulman: That’s something else my grandfather taught me.
Jasleni Brito: Oh, I like that.
Miriam Schulman: Okay.
Jasleni Brito: So while you’re shuffling, this is when you want to think about a question that you have in mind. Is there something really pressing right now in your life personally, professionally, whatever. There’s no right or wrong that you would like, support or insight or clarity with. And for anybody else who’s listening to this, who’s wondering how else you might use an Oracle deck, if you don’t have a question in mind, you can simply say, what does the universe want to reveal to me at this time? You know, that’s another option. Of course, the more specific your question, the more specific the answer you’re going to get and the more sort of general your question. Same with the results you’re going to get.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, I like that. What does the universe want to reveal to me at this time?
Jasleni Brito: And that is such a fun practice for the morning. Like, if you’re brushing your teeth and you want to make Oracle, like playing with the Oracle, something that is part of your daily routine, you can say like, hey, Gary. Hey, Oracle deck, what should I keep in mind as I go on about my day to have a really productive day, to have a really peaceful day. To have whatever, right? Like, you can kind of weave in your intentions and set the tone for the day.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, so I’m going to share with everybody what my question is. Okay. Because okay, so I’m, I’m working on the book proposal for my next book. And I thought I could whip that off like during Christmas break last year. It’s still working on it. So we did submit the proposal to Harpercollins and they passed. So now we’re going to send it. And that was my publisher for the first book. And it’s not really anything negative about me, because first of all, the editor who I worked with there is no longer with them. So it’s like it was like a brand new team. And they told me the reason they passed was because it was going to be a book for artists. And really, I wanted to make a marketing book. That’s for more than just artists anyway. So my agent and I are working on the next draft of the proposal.
Jasleni Brito: Got it.
Miriam Schulman: So what does the universe want me to know about creating the proposal for my next book?
Jasleni Brito: Beautiful. So let’s see which card comes up, where you can thumb through them and pick the one that feels like it wants to speak to you.
Miriam Schulman: Okay.
Jasleni Brito: Ooh, independence. That’s interesting. Before I say anything, is anything coming forward for you? Any sort of knowing, any sort of sensation or or inkling?
Miriam Schulman: Okay, well, behind the. By the way, I independently publishing is not something I plan on doing just in case anyone that came to that conclusion. That’s that’s not in my future for this book.
Jasleni Brito: And that’s not where I went either.
Miriam Schulman: Right. Okay. But what I first noticed was there’s two. What are they? Demons. Yeah. So at first I thought maybe they. Because there’s two ones. The last book ones, this book. But because they’re demons. I’m wondering if there’s publishers like. Like I have, like, I don’t I. That’s what I’m getting. The other thing that really struck me is how this is like a very smart girl here. I mean, she’s got the college mug. She has a mug with like some sort of college crest on it. She’s wearing glasses. This is a bright, a bright girl. I don’t know if that’s a mermaid tail there, is it?
Jasleni Brito: It’s not. But I love everything that’s coming forward for you, so I don’t want to influence too much.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, so she’s more than what meets the eye, but she’s very she’s very confident in herself. This girl, you know, she’s not one of these smart, nerdy girls who’s who’s shy. She. She owns who she is, which I really like. Okay, so that’s my interpretation of what I’m seeing, but not in terms of what the Oracle wants me to know.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. So this card showing up for you for this very specific question, I would interpret that as so much of what you already said. You are smart. You know what you know, you know what you want. And a big part of this is going to be you owning that and doing it your way. This card speaks to all of the people, all of the women that came before us so that we could speak, so that we could exercise our voice and show up the way that we want to show up. And this being your second rodeo, right, your second time publishing a book, you’re not a newbie. This is not your very, very first time doing this. So I would take that confidence into this proposal and that conviction of like, no, no, no, I know what it is that I want to say. And trusting that now the two demons behind her. So let me give you a little bit of a little bit of history. In Dominican Republic, we celebrate Independence Day by getting all dressed up And having parades in the streets. So everybody’s in costume. Kind of like how you think of Halloween here.
Jasleni Brito: Okay. Everybody in costumes. So you will see sort of halloweeny type of costumes, but also you’ll see people dressed up with these masks. And so those demon masks, those are just people wearing the masks that you see in Independence Day. They’re symbolic of the protective forces that allowed Dominican Republic to become independent and again, protective of that independence that we now have. So I wonder for you, this is something you might journal on, is what supports do you have in your world that can help you, that can protect you, that can guide you in this proposal? I mean, you’re already working with somebody who’s helping you put it together. And if you can’t think of a specific person you did mention earlier, wanting to work on your connection with your ancestors, is that where you might seek support? Is that where you might ask, like, hey, I could really use not just a boost, but maybe even some protective energy as I put myself out there in this vulnerable way and in this proposal where I am again, putting myself out there and letting it be known that I want to write this book.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, that’s really good. I love that, and I’m just going to open up to the page that you wrote about, just to see if there’s anything else that I glean from this.
Jasleni Brito: And I love that you did it that way. So anybody using the Oracle deck, I would say first sit with the image and see what comes to you on your own and then go to the book.
Miriam Schulman: Okay. Mal tiempo, buena carta to the bad times a good face. In other words, when faced with a challenge, it’s important to approach it with as best of an attitude as you can muster. Otherwise, you won’t just have to work through the issue, you’ll also have to power through your own defeated mindset and negativity. Okay, so there was something that I had gleaned from this card that I didn’t share earlier because I wanted to wait for you. I saw this as I’m going to get two big rejections before I get my thing. Like one I’ve already had. There’s going to be another disappointment coming. So I see that, which is fine. There’s always rejection that comes with success. There’s always failure that comes with success. But that’s how I see that. And one thing I was curious about what time of year is Independence Day.
Jasleni Brito: Gosh, I feel like I should know this. I want to say February, but now I want to look it up to make sure I’m not lying.
Miriam Schulman: Okay, so our winter, maybe we can take a moment to Google this. By the way, let me just go ahead.
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. February 27th. Oh my gosh, I knew that. There’s a street near where I grew up that’s called the 27th of February.
Miriam Schulman: Oh, beautiful. Yeah. Very nice. This was so much fun having you. Thank you so much for joining me. Do you have any last words for our listeners before we call this podcast complete?
Jasleni Brito: Yeah. This Oracle deck is something that I had been wanting to create for over a decade, and I just kept waiting for the moment where I felt like I had the skills, like I felt like I was a good enough artist. I felt like I had it figured out. And finally, what made me decide to go for it wasn’t the realization that I had all these skills. It was simply the decision to go for it. And there was so much to figure out throughout the creative process. So I didn’t have it figured out. I didn’t have it together. And I just want to say to anybody who is thinking about doing a thing, whatever the thing is, I mean, that’s so much of the work that I do is helping people do the things. Please do it. The world needs your magical creations, so please do it.
Miriam Schulman: So we have linked up a bunch of things in the show notes. We have her Oracle deck, her Amaryllis membership club, all the places where you can connect with Jaslyn, and I hope that you will also follow her on Instagram where you can see her beautiful art and let her know that you heard this episode on the Inspiration Place, because she would love to hear from you. All right, so my friend, we will see you same time, same place next week. Until then, stay inspired. Bye for now.
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to The Inspiration Place podcast. Connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/schulmanart, on Instagram @schulmanart and of course, on SchulmanArt.com.
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