The Connection Project

Welcome to April and the spring season of Wildly Free Reflections with muah, Ashley Looker. In this month’s episode we talk about:

* What it looks like to live an awakened life.

* The definition of awakening, as well as the opposite of awakening.

* What you are ready to awaken to and bring to life.

* My personal experience with awakening…and falling asleep to life.

* My ingredients for an awakened life - what are yours?

P.S. Last year, I created a podcast version on my Substack called The Connection Project, so you will see that branding here. Because I like it. I think it’s cute. And I don’t feel like changing it. Yet.

Welcome to Wildly Free Reflections! I wanted to drop a little video to outline exactly what you’ll be getting from me for the rest of 2025. Starting in spring 2025, Wildly Free Reflections will be a seasonal show that matches the actual seasons.

Each season will be two months long and include one audio or video each month and two written pieces, either stories, musings, or poems. Additionally, starting April 1st, I’ll be dropping daily notes during the seasonal months!

**I would love to explore having some guests on as well. I want to have conversations about life and love and heartache and spirituality and Life and Death and growth and everything in between! If that’s you, you’re in the right place, and maybe you should hit me up to be a guest??

Who is Wildly Free Reflections for?

* People who are on a spiritual quest, people who want to evolve, become their best selves, and live life to their fullest potential.

* This is for people who want to get off social media and live more creatively.

* This is for people who want more joy and connection.

* This is for people who want to engage in thoughtful conversations that will ask them to grow, push against their comfort zones, and confront what is keeping them stuck.

* It’s for anyone who wants a taste of my creative side.

Here are the upcoming seasonal themes:

April - May (Spring): Awakening

July - August (Summer): Sun-kissed

October - November (Fall): Onward & Inward

January - February (Winter): Rooted

For now, all content will remain free, and I’m asking people to share, share, share. Over the next couple of months, a paid subscription and opportunity to support my work monetarily will become available.

Ok, that’s all for now! Look out for our first little Life Blurb, which is going live in the first week of April!

This week we are welcoming our first incredible guest onto The Connection Project, Kelly Latimer (and Tia**).

Kelly and I have known each other for about 10 years, and I’ve always looked up to her for several reasons. She’s grounded, wise, thoughtful, genuine and hilarious. She’s not here to give you any answers about spirituality - she’s here to explore the questions with you.

There’s one thing that I admire about Kelly that we’re talking about today: her unwavering connection to Spirit and how that shows up for her in her life.

In this episode we talk about:

* Kelly’s definition of spirituality and connection

* Why she pursues a spiritual life and how it all began

* Her personal spiritual practices - take notes!

* The steps she takes when she becomes disconnected from Spirit

* Her thoughts on whether we can or cannot live a spiritual life in the fucked up world we’re living in

* Her connection between spirituality and social activism

As you listen in, take time to consider for yourself the questions I ask Kelly. What rings true for you? What resonates? And how will you move closer to your version of a spiritual life?

This episode is going to blow your mind. Drop comments and questions below. Enjoy, lovely humans.

**During the episode you’ll hear some lovely chirps from Kelly’s bird, Tia the cockatoo. Throughout the episode she’s letting us know she’s loving our conversation ; )

LIKE I KNOW. But I’m here to fuck around and find out!

One of the big things we are exploring here at The Connection Project is how to live spiritually-aligned lives that feel meaningful and fulfilling in a world that feels - and is - divided, violent, scary. How do we find and create peace within ourselves and each other? How can we stay aligned with our Souls when our nervous systems are so often on high alert?

Spoiler alert: I don’t have the answer. But I’m exploring it. This is goin to be an ongoing conversation, part one of one hundred. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.

Things to consider in this episode:

* Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?

* How do you stay spiritually connected when everything feels like chaos?

* How do you practice spirituality? What makes your spiritual?

* What have you learned about spirituality? What do you need to un-learn about spirituality?

Journaling prompts:

* How will I live in congruence with my definition of spirituality?

* What is the meaning of my suffering or pain?

* How do I personally find meaning, connection and value in life?

And of course, if you enjoyed this episode, please like and share!

I was listening to The Mel Robbins Podcast the other day and it was an episode about transitions, change, and learning how to manage your anxiety and emotions during those times. You know, I didn’t necessarily see myself as ‘going through a change’ because I’m not leaving a job or selling our home or moving out of state. Yet, I absolutely am. I’m going through an internal transition - an Upgrade of The Soul if you will.

During the episode, the topic of values kept coming up and the importance of values during life transitions. I didn’t really understand the connection until Dr. Luana Marques shared a personal story about her own values and how they themselves have changed over time.

I had a huge aha moment about how this may be another missing piece for me - that maybe I’ve been trying to operate from old values that are familiar, but that I’ve outgrown.

I would love to know your thoughts, so please do share below.

Things to consider during this episode:

* Are you in a place of transition and change right now?

* How connected to your values are you?

* What values will serve you in growing and evolving in your life?

Loving what you are hearing and reading? Please do share with your friends and family! I’m just a girl putting her creative work out in the world and would so appreciate your support. Thank you!

I am currently sitting out on my back patio journaling (you can hear the birds), staring at the squirrels scurry across the fence. I didn’t plan on recording a little episode today, but here I am putting a puzzle piece of my story together. So I decided to share it with you.

Right now I’m reading The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch. I kind of hated it in the beginning because it made me so sad. However, I’ve ultimately decided: it’s brilliant. And heartbreaking. And so fucking brave it’ll make your skin crawl. And it ultimately helped me understand what has been missing in my life and why sometimes I feel empty and don’t know why.

Enter: embodiment. And disembodiment.

Things to consider in this micro episode:

* Have you ever felt like something is missing in your life, even though you felt like you “had it all”?

* How quick to disconnect or disembody are you?

* How kind are you to your body?

The truth of the matter is, we don’t need to go back into the last seven months and unpack all the reasons why I disappeared and why I’m coming back now. What matters is that I am here now. What matters is that I reconnected back to myself and I’m back, baby. I’m kicking off the start of The Connection Project with 1) who the fuck I am - because some of you probably forgot. My bad. 2) what The Connection Project is and 3) what you can

expect from The Connection Project moving forward.

I’m bursting with ideas and inspiration and I’m so excited that I am finally giving myself 110% permission to let The Connection Project be exactly what I’ve wanted it to be all along.

Tune into Episode One and let me know your thoughts in the comments below! Have questions? Drop those, too.

Things to consider and ponder for this episode:

* What does connection look and feel like for you in your life? How important is it?

* Where do you have a tendency to abandon yourself?

* Do you often start things but never finish them?

* Where do you hope to feel seen and heard?

* Where are you making yourself small?

Need to get something off your chest? Anonymously confess right here.

Hustle is so sneaky like that, you know? We’re so steeped and saturated in the workings of hustle culture (among many, many other things like racism and capitalism) that we often don’t realize we’re perpetuating it until it smacks you in the face.

I've been thinking a lot about how I am impacted - and impacting - hustle culture and had a big smack-me-in-the-face realization. As a leader, coach and creator of The Connection Project, it is my responsibility to talk about where I am growing - and often times that’s uncomfortable. That’s what I’m talking about in My Most Vulnerable Podcast Yet. I’ll be back in a few days to follow up, after I get done sweating.

(As I end this post here, it feels wrong to not be providing something extra, some sort of bonus or tangible thing for you to take with you. I’m cringing, but I’m going to push publish anyway, without it. That’s the practice of hustle to flow).

How have you been impacted by hustle culture? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.

Dammit if connection doesn’t take some damn work 😅 I was a-movin’ and a-groovin’ right along this month, staying consistent without being perfectionistic when BHAM. I forgot to do my ‘connection practices’ two days in a row, and what I discovered really blew my mind:

When I am not connected to myself it makes it difficult, or near impossible, to connect deeply with others.

I’m still not really sure why that is - maybe it’s because if I’m connected and filled up, I have the energy to connect deeper with others? Maybe it’s the intentionality it requires to create deep connection? Maybe joy is more deeply related to connection than I thought? Maybe it’s Maybeline? I’m not sure, but with this level of commitment to myself, my Soul and connection itself, I’m bound to find out.

If you love fun, inspiring and honest content, consider supporting The Connection Project financially. For $5/month you’ll receive original journal entries, confessions, life lessons and a monthly workbook and calendar to support your spiritual journey. Thank you!!

Did I just start a podcast?? Why yes, yes I did. 😎 Each month as a monthly paid subscriber (holy shit, THANK YOU) you can look forward to these little snippets of spiritually dope thoughts and musings - and I would love, of course, to hear your spiritually dope thoughts in return, so don’t hesitate to drop your comments below.

In our first episode I share some thoughts with you about why I believe we retreat to the outdoors in times of trouble or distress. I share a personal story about my experience with this as well as why I believe nature is a reflection of our worth. Enjoy, you worthy-ass human. I love you 💕

P.S. Here is a Breath Of Fresh Air meditation I created just for you.

P.P.S. If you liked this newsletter and content, please consider supporting it financially. 😊