New Years Day in Baja
Blessing each guest’s space before we begin the experience.
For the 3rd Annual New Year’s Day Mala Making Workshop, Baja Malas returned to the magical space of Cuatro Vientos in Todos Santos, BCS. MX 🇲🇽 It was a full house where I was graced by the presence of 22 beautiful humans who chose to begin 2023 creating a Mala with their intentions and prayers knotted to each bead.
We learned about malas, contemplated our intentions for 2023, jotted some key words in our handmade, beautiful, leather journals by @spiritjournalz, ate nutritious refreshments by @chef.dredz, and of course, created our own, very personal 108 bead Mala using aqua terra jasper.
I am always humbled and touched to learn a bit about each person’s inspiration for coming. We shared the afternoon with a mom and her daughters, several besties, a couple, old friends and new! We had not just one, but two guests from South Africa! (Nope- they didn’t know each other) folks from Vancouver, San Francisco, Oregon, Colorado, Todos Santos, Pescadero & La Paz.
A few stumbled upon the event while looking for a good NYE party 😆 and decided this experience was more in line with how they wanted to launch into 2023. During conversation, we discovered that one guest coincidentally knows my father! Another knows the person who married me and my husband 30 years ago!! Gosh I just love what a small world it is. 🌎
Some had been wanting to attend a workshop for a long time, others had no idea what they were in for - they just followed their friend along. Several paused with their tears as they shared a word or two about how difficult this past year had been for them and how much they were looking forward to living 2023 with more intention, community, connection and joy. One guest had lost her father the night before. 😔
I hope everyone, especially those that were hurting, felt the collective love and hugs that energetically reached out to them from everyone there.
As I share during the workshops, it doesn’t matter the culture or context, where you’re from, why you came…how many beads or what they are made of; the significance of a Mala is held in the heart of the human that created it. 📿
To see more photos from this event, check out my Instagram post from January 2, 2023