Many times on my own spiritual journey I’ve gotten lost by going too deep, too fast.

Even when I was a child, I was constantly exploring my existence.

My childhood journals are filled with questions like:

• What is my purpose?
* Why am I here?
• Who am I really?

I still love diving deep into questions like these.

It’s the sacred deep end of the ocean of life. I love exploring new waters and not knowing what I might find.

But over the years I have learned that going too deep can be exhausting, especially if you go alone.

Guides that specialize in the sacred deep end can be incredibly helpful.

Spiritual guides—such as my dear friend Rebecca—specialize in providing much needed support for humans who desire to safely explore the sacred deep end.

Rebecca is a medicine woman with a tremendous amount of experience and wisdom.

Check out her website for all the modalities she is versed in and to learn how serious she is about this work.

She is incredibly deep and ALSO one of the most playful, silly, kind and sweet humans I know.

After 40 years on this planet I have come to the conclusion that the most spiritual humans I know are also some of the silliest and most playful.

Life is a wonderful paradox in that way. So precious and sacred, and simultaneously one big cosmic joke.

A joke that we should all be laughing about, not in a disrespectful way, but more like the type of laugh when you all of a sudden are brought into a hilarious inside joke.

I am so grateful for spiritual lightworkers like Rebecca, who dance on the interaction between sacred and silly, and show us what true abundance looks like.

Big love,

D

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Our most important task as creative beings is to make space, so that God can flow energy through us. 🎬

If you want to create more, you will need to let go of anything that is needlessly filling you up. Otherwise, there will be no room for greatness to flow through you.

But letting go can feel overwhelming.

It requires radical self-awareness and honesty, both of which will leave you stripped naked and exposed.

And sure, being naked can be terrifying. 🫥

But it can also be one of the most liberating human experiences—if you let it.

Perfectionism kills creativity.

It prevents us from sharing our gifts with the world.

It whispers in our ears that we are not ready.

It convinces us to take more courses, read more books, hire more coaches, and do more therapy to prepare for some day when we might finally be ready…

Next month...

Next year…

Next decade...

Perfectionism is a disease. Many of us suffer from it. But the good news is that it can be managed.

I recently shared a YouTube video where I discuss 7 of the tactics I use every day to deflect perfectionism. I share one of those tips in today’s video.

If you’re tired of playing small and keeping the best of you from the world, you should definitely check out the video. The link is in my bio.

Big love,

D

Mistakes happen. No one is perfect because perfection is a myth. It doesn’t exist and never has. It’s a fictional creature that gobbles up your creative energy and robs you of your joy. Like an energy vampire that sucks out your creativity.

I learned this lesson yesterday in the most amazing way.

My dear friend and business coach Giovanni Marsico surprised me during a Zoom call yesterday by letting me know one of my all-time favourite authors, the legendary Seth Godin used one of my photos in his newest book.

What an amazing surprise.

Seth has a library of photos he could of used, but he chose my photo. What an absolute honour.

I was riding cloud nine… then I noticed my last name was misspelled.

What a bummer.

I was upset for maybe a minute, then I started to smile, and then before I knew it I was literally laughing out loud.

In that moment I knew this typo was not an accident. This was a clever gift from the Universe.

It was a beautiful lesson for me to take with me on my own artist journey.

Here’s the lesson.

If a 20 time best selling author, who is clearly a legend in his category can make a mistake on the jacket of his book, then I can bring my own expectations for my own work down a whole bunch.

What a gift this typo turned out to be. A reminder to be gentler and more compassionate with myself. Even with the best of intentions, inevitably there will be mistakes, typos, misspeakings, and things that fall through the cracks. It’s bound to happen.

When these things happen, I will do my best to own the mistake, see the lesson and do better in the future. I will also do my best to laugh and be gentle with myself. I will not let the mythical creature called perfection steal my energy or my joy.

Thank you Seth for this gift. Thank you for choosing my photo and for the truly wonderful experience I had during our photoshoot.

And of course thank you Gio for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to take my photography to the next level by working with living legends like Seth.

Big love,

D

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I woke up this morning feeling super blocked and unsure of what to write about. So I went through my old writing to this time last year, and was surprised to discover that exactly 365 days ago, I had the idea to take photos of strangers.

I had no idea people would love this project so much. I wasn’t thinking about that.

Mostly I just wanted to push my photography and creativity to a new edge and see what I discover.

There’s something so exciting about stepping into uncertainty, not for “follows” and external validation, but because you're curious to see what’s on the other side of the unknown.

It’s okay for an artist not to have it figured out or to be fully ready. Sometimes you just need to step into the unknown, one step at a time, and be open to discovering something new.

The following is from my journal exactly 365 days ago:

I bought this domain (www.nostrangers.art) yesterday.

I made the entire website today.

This weekend I am going out for my first set of photos for this project. I am nervous, but also excited.

I normally get a few hours with each person I photograph, but for this project I’ll only have seconds.

I have done this style of photography before and can be fun, except for all the rejection. I am curious to see if things are different now. Maybe people will be more open?

My intentions for NoStrangers:

• I want to take awesome photos of new humans.

• I want to have fun and feel creativity refreshed.

• I want to meet new humans and share their stories through this project.

• I want to grow as a photographer, artist and human.

• I want to emotionally impact as many humans as possible.

As I read this post from last year, I wonder if there is something I can learn about myself and my creativity as I step into the new project I am launching soon.

Big love,

D

PS: If you feel called to, dig into one of your old journals and drop a quote or piece of advice from your younger self in the comments below.

When was the last time you felt 10 out of 10 joy? It might sound like a silly or strange question, but hear me out…

A few years ago, while in a group therapy session, the facilitator got us to do a simple exercise that knocked my socks off.

By the end of the exercise it became crystal clear to me that I throttle my own joy. I had a hard limit on the joy I allow myself to feel and express. I felt that limit at around 8 out of 10.

This was entirely unconscious—I had no clue I was doing it!

After some more self-exploration, I realized this limit around joy was for two reasons:

1. I was afraid that I would annoy my friends and family with my excitement. So I cut off 20% from the top so I would fit in better with other people.

2. I was afraid to be joyful about life because at some point in the past, I felt an excitement that went away and I was left feeling disappointed.

In both cases, there was an underlying belief that if I got too excited or joyful, I would lose love.

Once this all became conscious, everything changed. I could see how ridiculous it was and decided to upgrade the joy in my life.

I did a lot of work over the past few years to release these limitations. The work is ongoing but it’s worth it.

Because joy is maybe my favourite thing about life. It’s everywhere. It’s simple. It always surprises me. It feels amazing in my body. It adds so much colour and spice. Joy is like golden rays from the sun, and without it, life would feel cold and muted.

If this resonates and you are interested in exploring your own relationship with joy, here are 3 simple things you can do to start.

1. Over the next week, track when you experience 10 out of 10 joy in your life. If it’s never, take some time to reflect and maybe even journal about it.

2. Get curious about who in your life is the most joyful. Don’t judge or compare, just notice. Maybe there is something they can teach you.

3. If you have a journaling practice take some time this week to explore the difference between joy and happiness.

I hope you can use these tips to explore your relationship with joy, in order to bring more joy into your life.

Big love,

D

One new idea can change your life. We have all experienced this in our own lives, when someone shares a story or tool that gives us an opportunity to look at the world slightly differently, and all of a sudden everything feels new.

The world’s largest meditation app Insight Timer invited me and 13 other teachers to share our best 15-minute positive mindset practices. They are running a positive mindset meditation challenge which starts next Monday, May 22nd, and it’s free for anyone who has the app.

Imagine that in less than 15 minutes a day you could significantly upgrade your mindset in 2 weeks—all for free.

All it takes is one or two of the ideas in this 14 day challenge to stick, and you could be looking at a totally up-levelled perspective on life.

My contribution to the Establish a Positive Mindset Challenge is inspired by one of my best live meditations at Artist Morning. It was a meditation where I dug deep and shared one of my most powerful mindset tools, all about expanding beyond limiting beliefs.

It was an instant fan fave. There were a lot of comments and even emails after the circle was done. Some people shared real actions they took after the meditation that made a big impact on their lives.

I took that meditation and expanded it into a lesson and a short practice, followed by a helpful journalling prompt, which are all included in the practice for this 14-day challenge.

I tested it out a few weeks ago and my entire body was vibrating in the most amazing way. It was electric. That rarely happens when I listen to my own stuff, and I see that as a really good sign.

I’m so freakin’ excited to share this with all of you. There are already over 45,000 people signed up for the challenge. Mindset shifts are so powerful, so this is going to be a really great one.

The team at Insight Timer has done an amazing job curating a wide variety of modalities and practices, so each day you will experience a different teacher and a different approach to building a positive mindset.

All it takes is one new tool, tactic or tip to potentially change the way you see your life.

I hope you’ll join me for this challenge. To join, all you need to do is download the app (which is free) and the 14 day challenge will appear at the very top of the home page.

Big love,

D

Our parents are often our deepest influences. They have been cast in the cosmic play that is our lives. Their role imprints onto our character, and accepting and acknowledging that imprint can be super helpful in understanding ourselves.

Yesterday I got to spend some quality time with my mom. For the first time in a long time, I was able to step back and really see her.

My mom is a doer. 🏃🏻‍♀️

She gets shit done. She’s in her 60s now and recently started a new business and she’s already got it up and running. I am blown away by how far it’s already come.

My mom is a lifelong learner. 📚

She is halfway into finishing her Master’s degree. This is after working as a Registered Nurse and Director of Care for decades.

My mom is deeply spiritual. 🧘🏻‍♀️

She meditates daily and has for decades. I remember countless times when I was a kid: I would go to get something from her room and would sneak in only to see her deep in meditation. It was a non-negotiable for her. She was my first meditation teacher and honestly Artist Morning would not exist if it wasn’t for her.

My mom is direct. ⚡️

Sally doesn’t mess around and she is not afraid of anyone. If she has something to say, she will let you know, right to your face. After 40 years I have discovered the secret is not to resist it, just receive it and know this is one of her love languages.

My mom is kind. 💖

For my whole life, whenever I was upset with someone or something my mom would always meet me with an invitation to deepen my compassion. She has a giant heart and it’s left a big imprint on me.

My mom is a rebel. ⚔️

She doesn’t let anyone or anything define her. She doesn’t take shit from anyone. She doesn’t do things the “regular” way, whatever that is. I have her voice permanently ingrained in my head saying, “You gotta have guts Darius. You gotta have personality. Life’s too short to care what people think.”

My mom is funny. 🤹🏻‍♀️

She can be silly and wacky and loves to prank people. She is a firm believer that we are here to feel good and that following our joy is the key to life. And for her, laughing and making people laugh is a great way to evoke joy.

I know that sometimes we are so close to someone that it’s hard to fully appreciate them. I am so grateful that yesterday I was able to zoom out and see my incredible mom for who she is.

Love you, mom.

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To anyone out there with a calling to create meditations for your communities: today I’m sharing a Youtube video with a walkthrough of my entire process for creating meditations every week for 25k monthly listeners.

I know for a fact that many of you out there want to share more of your spiritual side with the world. I think this is so awesome.

Story time:

In the midst of the pandemic 3 years ago, I made my first meditation. I had zero training or background in this. My imposter syndrome was having a field day, to say the least.

I kept asking myself, “Who am I to guide a meditation? Who am I to build a community?! What business does a photographer have with any of this?”

It was intimidating, but I made it through.

Fast forward three years: every month 25,000 people meditate with me on Insight Timer and YouTube. I receive over 2,200 reviews every month, with an average rating of 4.85 out of 5 on Insight Timer. This blows my mind.

And every Friday 70 to 90 people join me on Zoom to meditate and journal as a community at www.ArtistMorning.com.

I have also started generating decent money from the meditations. I never expected this and it keeps growing, which is such a nice bonus.

This unexpected spiritual “side hustle” has become one of the greatest sources of joy in my life.

I am sharing this story with the intention of inspiring one of you out there. And today’s video is for anyone on the fence or unsure if they’re ready to dive into their own spiritual self-expression.

If this is you, take a look at today’s walkthrough of my creative process. Hopefully there are a few tips you can use for your own process in this video. Full length YouTube video is now live.

LINK IN MY BIO —> @dariusbashar

Big love,

D

PS: When I use the word “spiritual” I do not necessarily mean religious affiliation. It can be connected to religion, but I am referring to spiritual in a much broader sense.

For me, spiritual can refer to any practice or belief that acknowledges that we are more than humans. That there is something beyond us that is guiding, inspiring and supporting our lives.

You can call that God, Spirit, Soul, Universe or many other names.

The specific words we use are not very important for me. What DOES matter to me is that each of us gets an opportunity to explore our spirituality in our own way.

🌅 I am currently looking for people to chase the sun with me. If you want to go on a creative adventure together, let’s chat.

Summer is around the corner and I still have a few photography openings left in June, July and August. I love outdoor photoshoots and my SunChasers photo adventure has a great promo this month.

Here’s how it works…

We have a game plan before the shoot. We meet up. You jump in my car and we embark on our adventure in the city. There are many places we could explore:

➤ Beautiful hidden beaches
➤ Lush forest areas and parks
➤ Graffiti alleys
➤ European-inspired streets in the city
➤ Fun and vibrant neighbourhoods
➤ Tall and towering urban landscapes
➤ Super cool bridges and architecture
➤ And many others!

While exploring the city, we jam out to music and chat about life, creativity, relationships, dreams. We co-create something beautiful, and often it feels like we’re doing a podcast together.

This style of photoshoot is a great way to share more sides of your personality with your audience in order to build deeper trust and connection. The more of your true self you show your audience, the more they will see themselves in you.

SunChasers are often easier for people who feel a bit shy in front of the camera. That’s because you will be quickly distracted by all the fun things happening in the environment and less focused on the camera. It’s a great way to take vibrant, creative and confident candid photos.

I have a great promotion for these outdoor summer photoshoots. There are a limited amount of spots open, because summer has a finite amount of days. I wish summer was endless, but that’s just not how it works.

If you feel called by my work and my energy and we haven’t had the chance to collaborate yet, this is the perfect opportunity.

Here’s a link to my outdoor photography package AKA my SunChaser photoshoots. CLICK HERE

Big love,

D

PS: I love working with humans of ALL comfort levels. If you are feeling shy, please know that my entire business is built on working with people who usually DO NOT like getting their photos taken. All this to say you are in good company and and good hands, I promise. 🙏🏽