Episode 2 - Winter Solstice Lovenote with Dana Claudet

In this Winter Solstice conversation, I sit with my teacher, Dana, founder of the School of Intention, to reflect on leadership, everyday magic, and what it means to live — and lead — in a whole-hearted way.

Dana offers a solstice love note that feels especially timely: an invitation to lean into the quiet magic we can create for ourselves each day, rather than following the noise of what the world tells us we should be doing. We talk about focusing our energy and intention on daily flow, choosing grace and ease, and becoming more mindful of how much attention we give to digital technology — including the gentle power of decluttering so we can visually take in less and come back home to our true nature.

go BE YOU.  love, Dorsey

Girl Nature Podcast.

https://stan.store/girlnatureliving

dorseybeckman@gmail.com

Transcript

Dorsey 0:00

I'm Dorsey and welcome to Girl Nature. The name Girl Nature began back in college. My roommate started calling me that almost from day one. It's a reminder that nature has always been my compass. My classroom and my way home each month. I'll meet you here around the time of the Full Moon to explore how the rhythms of the natural world can shape the way we live, create, and connect. Before we dive in, take a moment with me to arrive. Place your hands crossed across your chest, over your heart. Keep your palms anchored into your heart space while gently tapping your fingertips. Unc unclench your jaw, soften your shoulders and take one. So breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Let this breath mark your intention for today. Something simple like, I'm here, or I'm open. Or I am okay. That's all you need. Let's begin. I want to introduce someone. My first podcast guest who's had a profound influence on my life and my work. My teacher, Dana Claudette, she's a modern feng shui master, a designer and artist, and she's the founder of the School of Intention. And my relationship with Feng Shui go's back a long way. I first began studying it in high school, long before I had the language for why space mattered so much to me. I was always rearranging my bedroom. Um, sensing when things fell off and instinctively trying to make things feel calmer and safer, more supportive. And that passion's followed me through my college dorm room and into adulthood. And now it lives most deeply in how I create sacred nurturing. Space for my family, especially my children. And I'm so very passionate and a strong advocate for women in particular postpartum women, and how to design the most sacred space to allow for nurture and complete transformation studying with you, Dana has felt like a, remembering it's a return to something ancient and intuitive and deeply practical. Your teachings honor where we come from while gently guiding us toward the life we're meant to grow into the life that we've always dreamed of. And you've been a mentor in the most truest sense. And honestly I felt. You like a wise sister, someone who understands the deeper layers without necessarily needing explanation. And every time I finish a class with you, I feel refreshed, realigned, inspired to continue tending to my home, my work, and my life with greater devotion. And it's truly an honor to welcome you to this space and to have her share your wisdom with us. So welcome, Dana. I'm so honored.

Dana 3:36

Thank you so much and what an introduction. I should have you write all of my marketing materials from now on. This is the most beautiful and I'm so happy that you've had such an incredible experience already.

Dorsey 3:51

Uh, yes, I would absolutely 100% be interested in writing, marketing material for you. That sounds so thrilling and exciting and yeah, I. Really thoroughly enjoy writing and hope to bring some of that to my work in the future. I have a deep passion for words and how they're put together and how we can use our words to increase our frequency. Going ahead and moving into my first question for you. So in Feng shui we've learned the entryway into a home is often the entryway into someone's life. Like who lives here, what do they do, what are they into? And with that in mind, I'd love to explore this idea on a broader level for someone who's brand new to this work, what is the entryway into Feng shui in the school of intention, and how can we welcome them in so they feel supported and invited into the heart of this practice?

Dana 5:00

I love the metaphor and I also just really love for everyone listening. Take a look at your front door and see what you are welcoming in. Do you feel welcome when you're coming into your actual home? Because that's really looking at your own space is one of the best ways to approach what, something that sounds so big as feng shui is when you get down to the heart of it. The Feng shui that we practice in the School of Intention is really, as Dorsey said, really coming home to yourself. And so the best place to start is to look at your home. In fact, don't just look at the front door. Look through your whole home and ask yourself, gosh, like if the ideal, my ideal customers, if you have a business or my ideal partner, if you're looking for a soulmate or my ideal, uh, friendships, uh, my ideal friends were to arrive right now, would I want them in this room? Does this really welcome them in? And that can be just a great starting point in terms of what you are magnetizing into your space, because your space is a reflection of you, and that's not to be a judgment. If you have a messy space, that doesn't mean you're a bad person. But once you can start to make this link between how you are living in your home, how your home is supporting you, or not supporting you, and what you're bringing into your life. That's when you can start taking the next steps into feng shui in a very unique way. And as Dorsey mentioned, what we do in this school, and I think you've experienced this is not formulaic. So it's not just a bunch of rules that go for everyone. It's not like, okay, here's the house, go to the left and put purple. It's not that. This is really about deeply coming home. To yourself, to your deepest desires, feeling really connected to life again. And so start by looking at your home. And I think that that's the best doorway into exploring Feng shui in this very unique and tactile and I think revolutionary way.

Dorsey 7:23

Absolutely. And I think that's so profound. And when I first heard you teaching about it, I had a neighbor stop by unexpectedly come into my front door and I. We talked about this before, but I felt like I completely disassociated from my body. The house was a mess. There was dust. I'm like, this is not the way I wanna present myself. And it truly woke me up into how I want. My home to be perceived and how I want to welcome in my neighbors and I want to feel good about my home. And it's really gotten me up and running and instead of just saying, oh, I'll do it later, you know, maybe after dinner or whatever, it's like, Nope, the time is now. Time to go. I wanna feel good in my space. So. Going on from that, Feng shui can bring flow into stagnant places and it can reconnect us with our inner world and help us embody the life that we're dreaming of. And my question is, how can we begin to foster that kind? Flow and connection into our daily lives. So it becomes something we don't just think about. Like in my example, oh, I'll think about doing it later, but we truly live into it every day, every moment.

Dana 8:48

I think that it's really a process and it's such a beautiful aspiration, and I think it's really important that we're all. Cognizant of the world that we live in and really gentle and easy with ourselves. Coming back to a place of more intention, the reason why the the work is called the School of Intention is because your energy and attention shift everything in your life. So if you wanna wake up. The flow in your business or the flow in your, uh, in your health routine or the flow in anything you need to focus your energy and attention upon it. That's your intention, your focused energy and attention, and so. If you have your intention, um, scattered right now in a lot of different directions, your energy and attention, one of the best ways to get into more intentional living is to start decreasing and stepping away from step by step. And it's really addictive, so it's hard to do all of the digital inputs that we have, all of the. Uh, incredible amount of news and information, even just the positive data on social media. Too much stuff that overwhelms us and keeps us from being able to really deliberately use our focus energy and attention. And from that place, start decluttering. Just even a little bit tidying up, just declutter what you see on countertops so that you visually take in less. So you, for instance, you're not looking at a desk that has a hundred things on it. You're looking at a desk with 10 things on it, and you can focus better, and you can feel more present. And again, when I say give yourself grace, it's often very shocking when you try to focus. Your energy and attention on something and you realize just how much the modern world pulls us in different directions. Just, you know, your phone ringing the text, going off, the social media notifications, all of the things that pull you in different directions, and then the news and then something, and then some other thing. There's so much that can just take your focus and carry it away, and there's so much clutter that's built up as a result of all that. That goes for everyone. It's universal. No one is above it. And I just wanna say that because I think that there's a notion that when you master a skill, you master a craft, you master feng shui that suddenly you have a perfect life. No, you've just mastered the skills to be able to. Come back to equilibrium a little bit faster, but we're all living in this world of so much. Even just the, the noise of, of the modern world, unless you're living far away from a city, all of it, and to become more intentional really is to allow yourself to, again. Strip away some of those distractions, get rid of some of that clutter. And then from a more clear thinking place, decide where you wanna focus your energy and attention. I talk about this a lot in the school, and it's that a lot of us have been trained to run our lives from our head, from our thinking, rather than from our full body. Feeling like really living life and we've been, you know, all these devices and digital things make us think all the time. And when you're stuck in your head, it's very hard to access all your superpowers. So let this be a process and unfolding and unraveling and it's gonna get easier and easier for you.

Dorsey 12:34

Absolutely. And I, a couple of things that resonated. Just the digital, and I know a lot of, especially, being a mom, it's like, oh my gosh, I just need to take 10 minutes. I need my own space. And what do I do? I find myself on the phone. So instead of, if you find yourself that you're in that same position, maybe set the timer for 10 minutes and just. Pick a few things up off the floor, like a few toys. Another thing that I really have been loving to do instead of turning to the phone is turning on music and just dancing, which also involves the kids. It gets your body moving, so a little bit out of your head, and then it energizes the space. So I totally agree with. And digital detox and getting out of your head and more into your body is so profound

Dana 13:31

and recognizing, you know, it's one thing to do a detox, which is so powerful, and another thing to really commit. To that way of life more and more. And I really feel like you're on a road of commitment, really getting close to the land, really getting close to your family, close to the gardens, all of it. It's very beautiful.

Dorsey 13:55

Thank you, Dana. That means so much. Uh, we definitely feel blessed to be on a road of commitment to honoring and being stewards of our children, our home and land. And my husband and I own five acres in Oregon. Which has been amazingly healing in of itself, having moved from the outskirts of a very busy city and are now on a mission to grow more of our own food using biodynamic and regenerative farming practices. And wild harvesting herbs right outside our front door and doing our own creams and making our own physical and energetic medicine and teaching the kids everything from caring for our chickens to canning our own food and everything in between. We greatly value learning and being in a state of learning. Okay. And providing education opportunities for our children outside of the school setting as well. We actually just planted 120 organic lavender plants. And hope to nurture and grow them to start distilling our own essential oils within the next three to four years, which is something I cannot wait to do with my kids. And my husband and I have also made the goal of 2026 being the year of feng shui for us growing and expanding into our house and property.

Dana 15:35

I think that's so beautiful.

Dorsey 15:37

Yeah. now for a quick intermission. If you are ready to dig in, explore, more specific transformational lifestyle recommendations, you can book an element reading with me. These sessions are playful profound, designed to help you bloom into your best self, along with sprinkles of my intuitive guidance. These sessions are followed by a personalized report and a gift curated by me from the land that surrounds me right now. And now back to the show. Your teachings have brought so much expansion into my own life, especially. The way we weave the five elements into our homes and businesses, and I've had listeners ask specifically about leadership spaces. So for the leaders listening, what are the most supportive feng shui elements for an up and coming CEO's office, perhaps to help cultivate clarity, vision, and steady growth in their work?

Dana 16:54

What an aspiration. All of that clarity, all of that vision, it's, that's where you wanna be when you're setting up a space. One thing that I've noticed more and more in terms of the power of leadership, whether even a leader, being the leader of a small team, a team of two, or being the leader of your own life, being your own CEO of your own life, like a solopreneur or. Just a leader in your life has so much to do with having a really good balance of all aspects of your life. And I say that because I have had professional experience a lot, both in this realm doing this work, but also all of, I've worked with many, many, many high powered leaders in Hollywood and in New York, and um, just. People who have been, you know, exalted for their business acumen and the people who were the best to work for, who got the best out of people were the people who had full rich developed lives and. Also really interesting cultivated spaces full of things that were a reflection of them and the people who were the most difficult to work with, who had the least results, or who had sort of negative results over time, or who just kind of got washed out of the Hollywood ecosystem, whatever it might be, tended to be extremely narrowly focused. And, um. Maybe just self-focused, very narrowly focused, didn't have a lot of dynamics in their life, didn't have a lot of interests outside of their work, and didn't really have a space or anything with any kind of soulful personality. So rather than focusing on just an element or another element, I would say for anyone wanting to really assume this sense of CEO, whether in your. Home and your life and your business taking on greater leadership. I strongly feel. Expanding across all the dynamics of your life, becoming more interested, taking more classes and bringing those interests into your office. For instance, I used to work for someone who golfed and they'd have like a golf club and like a little hole in their office where they would hit golf balls and it was like something that helped them to recalibrate. I've worked with people who make art and who are really into music and they had huge music collections or huge book collections, art collections, and that whole, bringing that into their workspace, that whole dynamic was just so, like we talked about at the beginning, welcoming, but also really. Brought so many more layers and dynamics to the work that they did. So I'd say rather than just being really narrowly focused on putting some fire in your office to make you more motivated or putting some metal in your office to focus more clearly, think about expanding your life across all dynamics and becoming more of a well-rounded person who keeps their door. Open. Um, it's not always possible when you're an at home entrepreneur to keep your door open. If you have small kids, if you have a busy household, you may need to close your door if it's just you working. So that's a solopreneur situation. But if you have, uh, an office with multiple people and your door is left closed and you're a leader, you're cutting yourself off from a huge amount of flow and input and synergy. And so I would say, please leave your door open and let that be a shift that changes the dynamic throughout the entire space. Because the more you are open and involved and available, the more people are going to feel supported and the you're gonna get problem solved quicker. You're gonna get in innovation happening faster. It's just better overall. And so also it sounds like a sense of connection to your life more than just like what's on your desk. So, and bringing that connection into your workspace can be highly valuable. It's really important. I've, I have yet to meet someone who has really been a groundbreaking leader who only thinks about. Yeah, like with a maybe rare exception, even the doctors, I know the surgeons and people, like even them, they all have things that they do. And, um, those things that they do, keep them balanced and keep them in harmony and keep them, um, innovative and sharp. Like there's so much to be said. About people who live a full life and how magnetic that is, and how much better you can connect to, like you said, connect to life when you're really happy and fulfilled.

Dorsey 22:24

Yeah, yeah. And so what about the entrepreneurs who are working from home who do need to close their doors? What could be a little piece of wisdom for them?

Dana 22:39

I think it's very similar, like really align your space so that you are more inspired. The thing that you want more than anything at work is inspiration and focus. Again, that's that intention. Um, and inspiration can only come when you are really bringing in things that are. Deeply meaningful and exciting to you. It might be a vision board that you make. It might be, uh, photos that you've taken that really thrill you, that you can look at. And I know this might sound simple or simplistic, but you know, to really give someone an actionable tool that I think would apply to everyone. Be aware, like surround yourself with things that are true inspiration, and also surround yourself with things that are going to give you more focus so you, the clear desk, the, uh, curated walls, the sense that things are in order the. Lack of clutter. All of those things are gonna help you to stay more intentional. But if you don't feel excited being in your space, it's just never gonna be the same.

Dorsey 23:53

Yeah, it's so true. And I think too for, for me, when, when you do have a family and kids and there's a lot of things going on, also taking that intentional time at the end of your work day to tidy up and get ready for the new day. So when you do walk into your space, it's ready for you. It's welcoming, you ready to step into your fullest potential.

Dana 24:17

Absolutely. That's an amazing, amazing idea for everyone.

Dorsey 24:23

Yeah. Okay. Well, thank you. These conversations on my podcast, they're meant to be love notes. They're, they're offerings of grounding, of hope and heart for anyone listening. And also for me to lean into as I am walking my entrepreneurial path. And we are recording during the winter solstice here of 2025. So as we come to a close, what would you love to leave with all of us today? Perhaps something that can anchor us into this moment right here, right now, during this winter solstice.

Dana 25:04

My strongest feeling, something that again, has been coming up a lot that we talked about earlier, is. To reclaim all of your magic rather than looking for the magical days and the magical times. And there are magical days and times we've all felt them. And certainly the equinoxes and the solstice are some fairly magical times. Um, historically speaking, the moons are always, and astrological transits can be huge gateways of energy coming into the earth. Every day can be more of a magical time if you allow yourself to step out of the noise, to step out of the mass programming, to step out of all of the hype and hyper, uh, hyper, you know, alarming news and all these different things, and allow yourself to create the life you want and. It seems like that's such a commonplace thing, like who wouldn't wanna do that? But again, it's so addictive to be roped into these devices, to be roped into all of the dopamine, to be roped into all of the. Conversations and you wanna be a part of things and you wanna have an opinion and you wanna belong, and it's so important. We're told to know every ounce of news that's happened at every moment now, and it's so important to be up on every trend on social media. All these things are really. Really so far away from your magic. And so if you want to reclaim a lot of that, just dare to break free of all those habits and you will find yourself feeling more and more at home almost instinctively, intuitively, instantly. And from there you can start tapping into so much more of your own creative potential. That's your manifesting power. So much more of your joy, so much more love, so much more of every talent, gift, and skill that you have, and this big network of AI and all this other technological garbage. As useful as it can be for certain things, can never take the place of human real life experience. So really claim that magic for yourself and have those magical experiences. That is what I want for everyone. That's why I do the work that I do, and it's so powerful and so inspirational

Dorsey 27:52

and. Just to recap, like just a welcoming into our own space, our own flow, a welcoming into what makes you happy, what makes you feel inspired, and, um, really meditating on that this season and allowing yourself to just soak it up and live in it.

Dana 28:16

Yeah, and just forget about whatever else anyone else is doing. All that stuff has really taken us far away from our own power, and that's what I want you to know.

Dorsey 28:27

Yeah. Thank you Dana. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for sharing your heart and your wisdom and the depth of your practice today. Um, every time I'm in your presence, I feel that same sense of expansion and clarity that first drew me into your work, and I know that our listeners are feeling it too. So thank you so much for spending time with me. And where can everyone find you and your work?

Dana 28:59

You can go to feng shui dana.com, F-E-N-G-S-H-U-I-D-A-N a.com, and there you'll find all kinds of stuff. So many blog posts, all kinds of links, all kinds of things that can, videos that can help you to start using more of this work. Dorsey is incredible. She's an amazing practitioner. Uh, work with her, engage with her work. Um. She's so talented and has really just gone headfirst into this, into this study and into this living of the work in such a big way. And um, yeah, and I'm always happy to answer your questions as well.

Dorsey 29:42

You're amazing, Dana. I highly recommend the School of Intention as well if anyone's interested in doing the deep dive. And thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Thank you all for listening and um, I welcome you in at any time. To everyone tuning in, thank you for spending this time with me. I hope you find something in today's conversation that settles gracefully into your day and reminds you of the power that lives within your home and your own heart space. May you lean into this magic of the winter soltice, feeling grounded, supported, and connected. And may your spaces rise up to meet you in all the ways you did need and deserve. I would be so honored and delighted to work with you. You may email me at Dorsey beckman@gmail.com. That's D-O-R-S-E-Y. B-E-C-K-M-A n@gmail.com or head on over to Instagram and look for me at Girl Nature Living, where you can book an element reading or a full Feng shui consultation with me right in my bio. I can't wait. And until next time, go be you.