Interview with Tamara Levitt, author of Happiness Doesn't Come from Headstands
I am excited to post an interview with the author Tamara Levitt.
Tamara is launching a Kickstarter campaign for her new book, Happiness Doesn't Come from Headstands. More information about Tamara, her book, and what she has coming up next is in the interview below. Enjoy!
3. You're currently launching a Kickstarter campaign for your new book, "Happiness Doesn't Come from Headstands." I think that's really exciting; what are you excited about in your creative process these days?
1. On your website, beginwithin.ca, you speak about your
mission. Would you be able to summarize some key points for The Joy of Yoga
readers?
In my own life, I’ve worked
hard to deepen my own self-awareness and equanimity as a way to find peace in
this roller coaster of a world that we live in. My
intention in creating Begin Within was
to create a space in which to share
the tools, techniques, and teachings that have assisted and continue to assist
me on own personal path.
I have been writing,
illustrating and producing books in which to support others to find the calm
within the chaos – at times, a difficult feat.
I’ve primarily been developing
properties designed to nurture children’s growth, enhancing their emotional
intelligence. Children today face daily challenges as they navigate a
rapidly changing world. Begin Within offers the support and education to
children and educators to inspire their inner transformation.
I’m excited to share that Begin
Within will be expanding in the New Year! In addition to adult titles, I’ll be
offering regular blogs, videos and interviews with thought leaders on themes
relevant to finding the calm within the chaos.
2. I
really appreciate your focus on working with children. What in your own path
led you here?
My interest in educating
children didn’t come from children themselves. It came from my own challenges,
struggling as a child and then an adult.
As
a child, I struggled with what felt like challenge after challenge.
Growing up in a controlling environment lead to cultivating
perfectionistic tendencies, where there is little room for
self-acceptance or self-compassion. These were qualities I had to learn
as an
adult and continue to practice as best as I can.
The beliefs we learn as
children become our core beliefs as adults, so my intention through the work I
create is to inspire healthy and empowering belief systems in children from the
start to help children become high functioning, happy, adults.
My sense has always been that if I had known some of what I
know now, at a younger age, life could have been easier. Perhaps I would have
been a little less afraid to fail in life, and would have been a little more
resilient when I did. My hope is the struggles I’ve faced and learned from in
life, can help others.
3. You're currently launching a Kickstarter campaign for your new book, "Happiness Doesn't Come from Headstands." I think that's really exciting; what are you excited about in your creative process these days?
What I’ve been most excited about recently has been the opportunity through
Kickstarter to finally share the message behind Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands. It’s a story about one girls rise from
failure and her discovery that even when faced with defeat, peace can be found.
The core message is that even though we may have
a failure, it doesn’t mean that we are
a failure.
After spending two and a half years on this one
book, it feels amazing to finally be sharing the story that I believe in so
fully with others. As an artist and entrepreneur, the theme of Failure is a
familiar one to me. At times, it’s been debilitating as I, like
many others have learned to equate achievement with our self-worth.
This is a
faulty perception: The problem with failure isn’t failure itself. It’s the
meaning that we attach to failure. This is what I hope to bring awareness to
with this story.
The
letters of support and encouragement I've received about Happiness
Doesn't Come from Headstands has been overwhelming. I'm grateful to have
reached my minimum goal, but there are still many milestones to reach
in order to get this out to as many people as possible.
That we will be loved regardless of what we
can or cannot do is a message I want to inspire others to learn. My hope is
that others agree these are important messages to share with our children, and
support the Happiness Doesn’t Come from Headstands
campaign.