Dear friend,
Happy Lunar New Year! 龙年大吉!🐲
I’m writing to you from Chiang Mai, Thailand. It’s been a while, and you have been on my mind. How have you been?
May this Year of the Dragon ignite passion and creativity in your life, leading to new opportunities and exciting adventures!
The last Year of the Water Rabbit was about remembering, returning, and integrating for me. This year, I’m calling in more energy around actions, experiments, new beginnings, and aligned collaborations. I hope to follow nature’s rhythm, inviting trust over fear, and believing in an abundant and joyful future.
What about you?
My first experiment is starting this newsletter 🌙 MOON SEEDS, a cyber garden where I am planting seeds for personal and collective transformations. Every two weeks, a new seed is sown — ideas and inspirations that germinate into actions and reflections, blooming into our daily lives.
In this inaugural issue, I’m planting a seed under the New Moon in Aquarius, a time known for awakening innovation, fostering community, and encouraging us to embrace our unique paths toward transformation.
🌱 I embrace my unique path with courage and open-heartedness.
🌱 I am a visionary, creating waves of change that ripple through my life and the collective.
🌱 United with others, I celebrate our shared journey towards innovation and personal growth.
At the end of the newsletter, I have a gift for you!
❤️ 2023 Water Rabbit Year Harvest:
3 major life lessons:
Take big leaps even if it’s scary at the beginning.
Self-acceptance is a winding road. Find comfort in the chaos. Life is way too short to spend another day at war with yourself.
Cultivate a safe environment for your growth. Surround yourself with people who want you to thrive.
3 personal “yay” moments:
I got my EB-1 green card application approved. Still gotta wait for the next steps, but I celebrate this major win! Immigrants know the grueling process. I came out a much stronger person! Sending all my fellows in visa hell lots of love and support.
I finally came back to Asia! I traveled to Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia. My body knows it’s home, soaking in the ease of returning to Asia. 文化主体性逐渐回归的感觉真好!我记起我作为一个human BEING的安全感,原来被欢迎被善待可以是常态。
I reunited with my family after 4.5 years of separation. We had a healing road trip full of love (and crying lol).
3 professional projects I’m most proud of:
Soft Launched my healing art studio Sunset Studio, creating multimedia affirmations for transformation. My current offerings include:
Affirmation Portraits
“I am having a crush on myself!” It’s so satisfying to hear my clients say that.
Affirmation Portraits session infuses healing and coaching elements into traditional portrait photography. It’s a transformative journey where photography becomes a portal to stepping into your power. Booking is now open from April to September in New York/US.Affirmation Calendar:
I design customized affirmation calendars & wallpapers with empowering portraits and affirmations. You can set them as your phone wallpaper for a constant source of inspiration and reminders of your inner light. This tool has guided me through countless challenges this year, and I'll delve deeper into its impact in upcoming newsletters. Email me if you are interested in getting a customized one for yourself.Creative Consulting
Wrapped up API LGBTQ+ Multimedia Project: Intergenerational Conversation & Healing in collaboration with API rainbow parents & PFLAG NYC. Many queer folks have complicated relationships with their family. We created ten multimedia and communication skills-building workshops. Each participant was paired with a parent (not their own) to learn about each parent’s background and experiences as an LGBTQ+ affirming parent. I’m proud to lead this project with warm support from everyone on the team! The portraits and audio interview co-created can be viewed here: bit.ly/apirainbowparents-multimedia
One participant said: “It has been therapeutic and has changed what I thought my relationship with my parents could be - A relationship where we can talk freely, free of judgment.”Queering Archives Workshop in collaboration with Asia Art Archive & Magnum Foundation. Feeling blessed to work with amazing collaborators to bring a group of queer diaspora artists together to “create the history we want to remember“. It was sweet when everyone didn’t want to leave at the end. Folks expressed that “Focusing on process and community building is a really important part of unlearning for me“; “We as queer POCs always have to give a lot in order to prove ourselves worthy of respect and livelihood. Having spaces like this was precious and affirming.” I wish to have more opportunities to cultivate space for this kind of intimate and transformative experience.
The themes that have emerged for me:
photography and storytelling as a healing & coaching practice
ancestral wisdom, intergenerational conversations
multicultural space holding
culture ecosystem: counter-history archiving + embodied presence + imaginative world-building
somatic and spiritual practice
离散华人社群 & 华语文化主体性的回归
Thank you for reading till here! Thank you for witnessing my beginnings.
What are your “yay” moments? What shadows did you face? What lessons are you integrating? I’d love to know!
If you have anything you’d like to chat or collaborate, email me.
Here’s a little gift for you!
❤️ 2024 Lunar New Year Phone Wallpaper
I designed these phone wallpaper inspired by the year of dragon and Asian goddesses. Hope they serve as a daily reminder of strength, wisdom, and renewal, guiding you through the year with positivity and grace.
Feel free to share this email with whoever might be interested. Talk soon!
Warmly,
Meng
Omg so happy for you. Can't wait for all the creativity to be unleashed!