Believe began as a poem that I wrote to accompany the "I AM" Chant Magnets, showing that through your thoughts, you can become your dreams.  That poem is now the final spread of Believe, on the green pages that begin "I am beautiful, brilliant and bright..."

I would take this poem and insert it into the lid of the box that held the words for the "I AM" Chant Board, (on early versions of what became the magnets).

As I gave my friends rough drafts of the chant magnets with the poem, it was suggested I include instructions, to give people and idea of how to write their own poem or rhythmic saying that would be easy to memorize and repeat.  It was through writing these 'instructions,' that Believe began to take shape.  

At first I handmade little books by sewing typed pages together and giving them to my friends. But each time I 'upgraded' to a nicer paper, or improved my binding skills, or the cadence developed with in the story, thoughts of a real book, professionally printed and fully illustrated, started to formulate in my mind.

My first thought was that it would be for children, since it was in childhood that I struggled and could have used a boost.  For this reason Believe came out in a Suessian like rhyme and I began my hunt for an illustrator.

As I was sending drafts to my friends, it turned out they were interested in it too. At that point, it became important to me that Believe be enjoyable by any age or audience.

I switched gears from a children's illustrator to more abstract ideas.  I was discovering photography at the time, so I decided to experiment and make illustrations out of my photos.  The colors, I hoped, would appeal to children, replacing the need for a children's illustrator, and the imagery of the mandalas, appeal to adults.
 
What resulted is the book you see here. It is my wish that each reader of Believe can have his or her own unique experience, deciding for themselves what they see in the pictures while learning a new way to create customized empowering chants.