Loto Journal
Through personal storytelling and letter writing, follow our Founder, Jennifer Axcell, as she travels the 🌎 globe as a digital nomad and Desert Mother, exploring Consciousness, rest, and Self-care.
Including thoughtfully created blog content about somatic healing practices, nervous system regulation techniques, and contemplative practices, Loto Wellness Collective’s blog focuses on the art and science of rest and renewal, drawing inspiration from Christian mystics, monastic wisdom, modern neuroscience, and depth psychology.
Reader’s Note: In an attempt to bring a conscious sense of responsibility to our language (where inclusivity and equality matter), in our Loto Wellness Collective blog content, except for direct quotes, the pronouns often used for God are They/Them in reference to I AM. When referring to Jesus specifically, the pronouns He/Him are used. Also, we have taken the liberty of capitalizing the term “True Self” so you will know that we are not referring to the “false self” (psychological egoic self), but the foundational self that we are in God.
Fisher of (Wo)men
‘Am I content catching fish, or do I want to change lives?’
Surrender, Generosity & Mission
While soaking in the tub looking out over the view of the valley, I heard the Spirit say to me, “See, I told you I would give you even more than you could ever ask or imagine. Enjoy this bath in My garden of creation.” I had been longing for my old garden soaking tub, as great as it was, but God was showing me that this longing for Egypt wouldn’t compare to what Jesus had in store for me.
Biblical Feasts: Shavuot/Pentecost (Feast of Weeks) - Illumination
Shavuot is about abundance and revelation. The land yields its fruit, and God yields divine wisdom. The feast weaves together earth and heaven, bread and word, body and spirit.
A Voice In The Wilderness
Finding My True Self
From a depth psychology standpoint, these perspective shifts have helped me to die to my false self, my egocentric way of living, sleepwalking through my life on auto-pilot. My experiences with these medicines have helped me spiritually awaken to my True Self and engage with the indwelling Holy Spirit in new life-giving ways.
Inner Sanctuary
From a modern mystical and psychological perspective, to be born again means to die to our flesh (our egocentric selves) and to be reborn of the Spirit of Truth (our True Self). As Paul says, our flesh becomes a sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives inside our inner sanctuary.
An Orphan Mindset
The Lord is doing a new thing in the world today, and we are being asked to follow Him out of old paradigms and to confront orphan mindsets.
Seeds of Fear in the Garden of My Soul
Easter Adventures
Biblical Feasts: Yom HaBikkurim (Feast of Firstfruits) - Gratitude
The Feast of Firstfruits teaches us to begin from gratitude — not after we have gathered everything, but before. It is a radical trust in divine abundance, a refusal to be defined by scarcity.
Christ Consciousness: A Psychological Perspective on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus
So, let us ask ourselves not only “What do I believe about the cross?” but “What must die in me so Christ might rise?” The journey of faith is not merely about affirming a creed—it is about embodying a consciousness. Christ’s consciousness.
And that changes everything.
Sharing My Joy
Biblical Feasts: Chag HaMatzot (Unleavened Bread)—Purification
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is not about legalism but about integrity. It is the call to live without hidden agendas, without masks, without the bloating of pretense.
Biblical Feasts: Pesach (Passover)—Liberation
Passover, then, is the feast of release. It is the recognition that God is continually calling us out of narrowness into spaciousness, out of bondage into freedom. Liberation is not just external, but also internal.
Enjoying the Moment
Vacation
Your Digital Nomad Questions Answered
As a digital nomad, I get asked the same questions often: (1) What do I do professionally that allows me to travel so much? (2) How can I afford to travel so much? (3) What do I pack? (4) and Do I ever get lonely traveling alone?
If you’ve ever wondered these questions, you’re in luck because I will try to answer them in this week’s love letter.
Digital Detox
A Weapon Against Burnout
Chronic stress is the fast track to burnout. Our body's autonomic nervous system (ANS) is constantly scanning our internal and exterior environments for signals of "safety" or "unsafety" and sends chemical messages through the body in response. As a survival mechanism, when this unconscious system perceives a threat (stress), it activates our sympathetic nervous system through chemical/hormonal signals that move us into a state of fight/flight/freeze/fawn.
Scheduling Rest
I learned the hard way that not scheduling rest into my days, especially a weekly Sabbath practice, means my workload (and idol of self-reliance) will take over and lead me right back into burnout. I’ve been there too many times, and out of necessity and the Spirit’s persistence, Jesus and I have been cultivating a lifestyle that prioritizes rest over the last 5 years.
Contributors & Collaborators
Loto Living and Loto Journal, would not be possible without the ongoing support and generous contributions from an incredible team of writers, artists, healers, editors, creatives, and pastors.