Meet Heather Manwaring

We were lucky to catch up with Heather Manwaring recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?

When I was 16 or so, I was introduced to a quote (or way of approaching life, really) by my step mother that struck me to the core. It became my guiding light back then, and has continued to influence and guide my decisions in a multitude of different ways into my adulthood. That quote is:
“And the day came when the pain of remaining tight in a bud was greater than the risk it took to open,” by Anais Nin.

It struck me so deep, because I had mostly experienced an often violent household, emotionally, spiritually and sexually. While I know that I was loved to the best of their ability, I often felt deeply unloved. I was taught to fear everything, but at the top of that list was the world at large(aka branching out from the safe and the known), the full range of emotion, and men. I had grown accustomed to so much fear and vigilance, that this quote felt like a tectonic plate shifting inside me. And of course it spoke to how I felt inside: pained, small, and scared.

It began opening within me like a bud, creating new pathways of thinking that I had never thought of previously, desires that arose within me for the first time. I began dreaming of a life outside of the one I knew, one that was mine and not the one set before me. One where I could get away and experience new things, create unique creations, and really be myself (although I really had no idea who that was at the time). And it was terrifying. I knew that it would cause a major disruption in my life, and I was right. As soon as I came out with what I wanted and was making moves to make it real, my relationship with my dad (and therefore the rest of my family) exploded and it was the beginning of the end for him and I, which has been a huge heartbreak in my life that I’ve addressed over and over again.

Much of the way I approach life, making choices, and learning to be myself has been through this lens. Being willing to feel the pain and impact of my old ways of living, thinking and being, and opening to trust something new. Stepping into the unknown and taking risks, large and small, and letting Life guide me into places I’ve never seen or known before. I have had to get really good at accepting the consequences of my choices and understanding that not every risk pays off in the way I hope or want, but that ultimately it leads me to deeper resilience and trust in Life, myself, and gaining an experiential wisdom that serves me and others in the future.

I’ve also come to know that the Truth is always worth the risk, even when I don’t like it or it requires loss and heartbreak or it makes life inconvenient for a while. My desire over everything is to be honest with myself and others about who I am and what I want, and that is certainly risky business at times. Every time I have been willing to open to feel the pain and fear embedded in my system, something beautiful arises on the other side of that, and I’ve done it enough times to have developed a deep trust in this process.

In fact, writing this out for the purpose of this article has brought up fears for me, because there is a risk of rejection every time I open myself to be seen and experienced, but the pain of remaining tight in a bud for only a few chosen to see has become too great.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I have been creative since I came out of the womb. I am blessed with a lot of natural talent and so much desire to learn and study and experiment creatively in a multitude of ways. My creative journey really started with art. It was a way to express myself that could only be expressed through painting, processing things in my heart that I didn’t have words for, and exploring myself in a way that felt constructive and exciting. I would stay awake for hours and hours well into the night, painting my heart out and trying all sorts of different techniques and new things. I fell in love with textures and physical items on my pieces, and seeing the way colors blend together to form something uniquely beautiful and impactful.

My next desire creatively was photography. After creating alone for so many years, I missed being out in the world with people, and photography felt like the perfect way to include others in my art. I would ask my friends and women they knew to create with me, wanting to express my passions and spiritual concepts with women who fit my visions. It led me to learning how to combine my love of layers and textures in my painting work with my digital photographs, and thus my custom soul portraits were born. Ways of creating that carried medicine for people, allowing space for them to be seen and felt in a deeper way. I noticed that my way of being with people was healing in a way I was not expecting. In a way where they could really be themselves and see sides of themselves they’ve never seen in my presence and artful eye. I realized my photography offerings could be so much more than “just art”. And so I set out to combine my art, my photography, and my passion of personal transformation and healing.

I fell in love with going deep with others. With holding a space where we could be emotionally naked and honest with eachother, and therefore themselves and their respective worlds. The way it created new awarenesses of themselves and their lives that contributed to change and growth. Finding more confidence, truth, and connection with their own hearts that led to different choices–choices that were more honest, energetically resonant, and healthy for them.

What I have been working on now is choosing to make space for all that I offer, and not pigeon-holeing myself into one creative outlet and offering.

–Painting in a way that adds beauty to the homes of others, energetically and materially.

–Offering a wide array of photography services for others to choose from; ones that bring forth and capture the deep natural beauty in one’s soul, ones that capture the beauty of birth and motherhood, ones that accurately capture the heart of someone’s business and brand for all to see…

–Guiding people on a journey inside of themselves to get to know and love themselves at the deepest level, and building a strong, healthy foundation with themselves that transforms everything in their lives.

–Creating special portraits for those who are ready to see the beauty of their soul in an artistic and unique way, that brings them closer to the Truth of who they really are.

–Designing imagery that accurately and beautifully expresses offers and services, like banners, posters, unique logos, action shots, promotional materials, etc. and other brand needs.

Last thing I’ll say is that my creativity knows no bounds and my offerings are vast, but the thing that influences and anchors every single one of them is three main things: a devoted service to True Love, Divine Beauty, and Creative Expression. These are the guiding forces in my life that I serve in all of my clients, and is the foundation of my world.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I would say one of the most important qualities I possess is Courage. I grew up with so much fear that to really live MY life, I needed to be willing to face my fears and do things anyway. There have been so many scary things to look at, feel and face, and places that required me to let go of everything I knew. If I didn’t have a deep well of courage, I’d have never left home or experimented creatively in a way that led me to the Truth. To be a good artist (or anything really), you need to be willing to play, take risks, fuck up, learn the hard way, etc, and not let it make you quit. There have been so many opportunities that have come up in my life where I had no idea what I was doing, but I said yes anyway and figured it out. It’s one of my favorite things about being me.

Secondly, is an ability to deeply and truly Listen. Because I have been faced with the unknown my whole life, I have had to learn to become very quiet and listen to the deeper current of Life and the still small voice within me that Knows the way – even when it doesn’t make sense at first. This also applies to external relationships; learning how to listen beyond my pain body (what I’ve interpreted based on my own lived experience), and truly hear what others are communicating. This has been in great service to my work, because I listen deeply in order to give assignments and adjustments, and create precise custom works that are truly in service to someone’s being, growth and development. I see things they often don’t, and communicating that effectively and lovingly in a way that widens someone’s lens of themselves is really important to me, in my work and personal life.

And last but not least, Expression. In my experience, this is a skill that requires the most painstaking, frustrating, committed work, and is definitely tied to Listening. As an artist and creative being, you MUST become great at feeling the thing you can’t see yet, and translating that outward in a way that accurately expresses that which you sense inside (or wherever you draw from). It is such an important skill to develop for us humans…And there are so many instances where you can’t do so, where your skills do not yet match what you see/sense. So then there is your skill-building work. Whether this is painting/drawing, musically, photographically, relational, communication….it doesn’t matter. Your work then becomes to take a class, or experiment until you find it by trial and error, or hire a teacher who can take you there, and develop the skills you need to express yourself fully. In my opinion, it’s absolutely key to finding fulfillment and true connection in this life, and without it, life is simply a little less bright.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

When I start to feel overwhelmed, I acknowledge it to myself. I name what I am feeling, any emotion or sensation – this helps diffuse any extra power I’m giving it that doesn’t belong. Then I take long, deep breaths into my belly and put all of my attention on my body. I ask it what it needs.

Usually it asks me to slow down and be present, just noticing what happens when I find myself here, feeling whatever I need to feel, and asking what is the most important thing to do/get done/say…whatever it is. Sometimes I need to touch my body somehow, like hands over my heart or feet or thighs to let the energy move through and ground through the body. Sometimes I need to eat and/or drink water.

And sometimes, which is my personal favorite, I go into nature and connect with myself and the earth more deeply. It’s a beautiful combination of physical and energetic movement, and I ensure at some point that I come to stillness to connect with Her – inside and out. I ly down on the ground, breathe, and look up at the sky, wide eyed and in awe of all of the beauty that exists on this planet. It’s amazing for me because this is by far the most impactful on my system. There is nothing quite like the beauty of nature that opens me and reminds me of what is most important. It reminds me that I am a small blip in the massive ocean of life, and it helps put everything into perspective. She calms my heart, clears my mind, and helps me remember myself in the moments I forget. Nature is the ultimate medicine, and is the main reason the majority of my photography work with others occurs outdoors.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.heathermanwaring.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathermanwaring
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hlmanwaring

Image Credits

Heather Manwaring