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Hello beautiful,

Happy October, "Spooky Season," and the beginning of Quarter 4, bringing even more colorful leaves to Cologne and ballet dancing and teaching into my schedule!

Though Germany celebrates their Unity Day, der Tag der Deutschen Einheit, this Friday the 3rd, I will still be dancing online and in-studio that day. There are many other holidays and remembrance observations in October, such as World Mental Health Day on the 10th, National Coming Out Day on the 11th, and Halloween on the 31st and it's a special time of contemplation and planning for many, as well as much Fall action.

Important to note if you're part of my mindful movement classes (Yummy Gentle Yoga, Balletlicious Adaptive Ballet) online or would like to try them out, on the 26th Germany "falls back" to Central European Time from Summer time, so sessions will take place at the same time on this continent, but will be one hour later in Hawai'i and other locations without Daylight Savings adjustments. Of course time changes happen on different dates in other locations, so it's always a time travel party!

How do you counteract the natural negativity bias and inevitable criticism that meets a life of creativity? Enter the "Smile File" of praise, thanks, and acknowledgment from others. One of a slew of tools to refresh, inspire, and motivate when we feel down or burnt out. Take a peek into my own collected notes of thanks and gather your own evidence of acknowledgement and love to stay inspired and motivated:

​Read the You Need a Smile File, Creative! article here​

My other creations, recommendations, and questions for you are:

Listening:

• ​Savoring September playlist on YouTube with early autumnal tunes to move to continues to delight
• ​Spooky October Sounds playlist on YouTube has my Halloween hits
• ​Send Me Sighing - Bluesy Autumnal Jazz playlist on YouTube because jazz and the blues seem to always suit my fall mood
• "Gabriela" is a catchy new song my middle schoolers introduced me to

Reading:

• Finished reading Evocation: Book I in The Summoner's Circle by S.T. Gibson with some effort, like the characters and enjoyed the nontraditional relationship dynamics, magic is fitting for my fall reading flavor, but had a hard time with the writing style personally, too much description of the characters' internal emotional states
• Started reading A Discovery of Witches: A Novel (All Souls Trilogy, Book 1)by Deborah Harkness, as an ebook and audio book, which I now see has also been made into a TV series!
• ​Will there be a World Ballet Day 2025? Asks The Classical Girl in this article
• ​This Instagram account claims World Ballet Day will be celebrated November 2, 2025 instead of October 1st as it had been previously, so we shall see...

Viewing:

• ​Notebook Ecosystem Fall 2025 - Techo Kaigi - Current Journals of a Teaching Artist at Back-to-School video on YouTube
• Finished watching "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" and I definitely miss those characters who have become dear
• Binged "The Four Seasons" Comedy-drama series with Tina Fey and a bunch of other favorite actors over the course of a few days, laughed, cried
• "Amy Bradley is Missing" documentary miniseries, chilling true unsolved potential-crime disappearance
• Justine Leconte makes the Fall Trends Wearable if you want in on a little seasonal fashion
• These 15 Autumn Capsule Wardrobe Essentials from Christina Mychas are very practical

Practicing:

• Considering this rich time of year, Why October (not January) is the Best Time to Change Your Life because as The Productivity Psychologist points out, you can begin anytime, but it can also pay off to take advantage of the Fresh Start Effect
• "Art-tober" challenges are one way to tap into the creativity of this time of year, with crafty projects like Inktober or
• ​Preptober is here, Heart Breathings has a plan if you want to write your novel this fall
• Re-inking and playling with my pens, and totally inspired by these 3 Fall Fountain Pen Ink Palettes from Cristal Creates
• Shelbizlee is Not Buying Clothes this Fall and provides great inspiration if you sew, upcycle, thrift or want to
• ​Being Non-binary in ballet like azaraballet on IG

Practicing Together LIVE / Adult Movement Classes this month:

• Online Yogalicious Gentle Yoga. 7-8:00pm CEST Tuesdays (7-8:00am HI) provides a delicious mindful movement feast which balances strength, balance and coordination for mind, body, and spirit and is adaptable to all levels and conditions (English)
• Online Balletlicious Gentle Adaptive Ballet Barre+, 7:30-8:30am CEST Fridays (Thursday p.m. HI) consists of mostly supported barre exercises with a little dancey centre work, building a strong, body-friendly, and graceful foundation for dance at home or anywhere in the world (English)
• Daily Ballet Technique for the Advanced Dance Program at Tanzraum Nippes 9:00-10:15am weekdays will be an intensive course applicable to aspiring professional dancers in a variety of forms

Inquiring:

• What will you celebrate in October?
• Does the post time change time for online classes work better for you, worse, or do you have other times that you'd love to try a movement class with me?
• How do you keep words of praise and encouragement?
• How do you hope to be spoken of in the future?
• What challenges are you currently struggling to overcome?
• What are you creating this season?

Gladly share your response to the questions above or provide other updates by replying to this email.

Thank you for reading, for being, and for dancing with me, in spirit or in fact. Take care of yourself, pay attention, and keep moving mindfully!

Love, Blythe

Blythe Stephens, MFA, Bliss Catalyst
they/them or she/her
Creator of A Blythe Coach: dance through your difficulties
and take leaps of faith into a joyful, fulfilling life

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