Inspirational Artisantopian – Gina Rafkind

Welcome to the fourth in the Inspirational Artisantopian interview series – where I talk to creative people who are using the Internet to support or inspire their creativity and that of others.

Today I’m pleased to introduce you to Gina Rafkind of VedaSun.

Gina, would you mind introducing yourself and describing your creative interests?

I would love to! 🙂 I tend to be interested in so many things….sometimes I wish I could just do one thing…..but then I say, nah…..why would I want to do that! Life is so interesting this way :). Ok, so, I am Gina. I love animals. I love getting out in nature ALOT. I love all the creative stuff I can do on my MacBook (yes, I’m an Apple geek – not in the way of knowing everything, but just in the way that I’m a Mac junkie.) I love reading…..mostly non-fiction, self-help/spiritual stuff…….stuff that awakens me a bit more to who I am and what I am. I’m a Capricorn, love rainbows and I’m also a chakra-junkie.

I’ve had a huge journey with anxiety and I am so grateful to say that now I see my anxiety as a gift. I committed to working through anxiety and because of it, I am who and where I am today…which is an awesome place! So I have a deep heartfelt passion to help other women realize this too. I lost my way for a bit and anxiety had a huge message for me………and I’m so glad I listened and didn’t turn my back to it.

Now to my creative interests……….here’s where the ‘interested in so many things’ comes into play. I believe we are all creative in some way, be it cooking, baking, writing, talking, flower arranging, gardening, story telling, painting, cleaning….whatever you do, it’s creative :). So I’ll just rattle mine off now: aromatherapy, reflexology, crystals, video-making, meditation, recording guided meditations, writing, drawing (I love to draw in the ‘brushes’ app), dancing, yoga, healthy cooking, growing herbs and veggies, candle-making, connecting with others to make their dreams real, & more :).

What are your favourite technological and non-technological tools that you use in your creative endeavours?

Well, technologically speaking…….I love using my MacBook. I use garageband to edit my recordings. I use iMovie to capture and edit my videos. I use Pages to create cool pdf’s.

Other tools I use are Audacity to record my audios, Evernote to capture my ideas, and I am now learning Photoshop so I can start to really amp up my creative offerings! As mentioned above, I also love creating pictures in the Brushes App. I also use my iPhone to take pictures when I’m out in nature and well, you just never know when you need to record something or take a snapshot when you’re on the go, so I always have that handy. And I keep my eye on the lookout for other cool stuff.

Non-techy tools I use are all kinds of colorful markers, big sticky poster paper that sticks to my wall, journals, pens, books (I get lots of ideas from reading), and nature – I get a lot of ideas out in nature too.

Where do you go, online and off, to replenish your well?

To replenish my well offline, I go within, on my yoga mat, out in nature, and visit family and friends. I have quite a few rituals that I choose from on a daily basis to begin and end my day. I truly believe these rituals are key in setting the tone of how my day starts and ends……and they help to keep me more in the present moment throughout the day. Like the title of Cheri Huber’s book says (which I’m reading now), ‘What You Practice Is What You Have’, in my experience it really does come down to that.

Online, I replenish my well by watching and listening to videos on EckhartTolleTV.com. I also fill my cup up by visiting thepresenceportal.com, chatting with and supporting other women at online forums/membership sites/social media, and cruising the internet for cool, fun, inspirational sites.

You launched your business, VedaSun, as a virtual gathering place to share knowledge and wisdom. How has the Internet supported or facilitated your business?

The internet has supported and facilitated my business in huge ways. First of all, without the internet, I would not be able to get my message and passion out there into the world in as big of a way. And it also has propelled my inner growth tremendously! I mean, there’s nothing like doing an audio recording or video that you are going to unleash out into the world, to help all your voices start commenting in, (you know, the ego, inner critics), telling you ‘don’t to that because the consequences will be huge, in a bad way’. Working through all those conditioned and self-limiting thoughts and beliefs have impacted my life in a huge, wonderful way.

So I am very grateful for the internet and it’s abilities to allow me to share with the world that which I am creating and very passionate about. I have also facilitated an online course that I really enjoyed and plan on doing more in the future. How wonderful is it that you can not only learn from home, but also create online courses and teleclasses to share with people all over the globe…….I think that is pretty darn cool!

As you are sitting down to create products like your Anxiety Busting Kit how do you know that what you are creating is something special and helpful? That it will resonate with other people?

I know by the feelings I get as I am creating. The whole time I worked on the Anxiety Busting Kit, I had overwhelming feelings of joy, love and butterflies. The butterflies told me that I was onto something huge that could positively impact the lives of women who deal with anxiety. Anxiety can make you feel like you are in a prison, trapped by fears and insecurities. But there is a way out! I found it and now I am so deeply grateful and totally exhilarated to unleash it and share it with the world.

I trust my feelings that the product I am creating will resonate with others. I check in a lot with my body, because the body really doesn’t lie….it tells you the truth when your mind may want you to think otherwise. I still look at the Anxiety Busting Kit with excitement and get butterflies and because of that, I know it is special and will resonate with those who need it.