Creative Emergence Day 6: What If You Feel Too Sad To Journal?

 

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Click here for everything you need to get started with the Creative Emergence free 30 day e-course.

It’s ok if you’re not always feeling inspired + happy to open your journal.

Today I’m borrowing a lesson from my –Free Art Journal Class on what to do on those days when you feel too sad + helpless to journal.

Hopefully you’re not feeling sad and helpless today and you can file this away for when you need it.

Today I want you to meet with your intention in your journal.

Again, using the technique I teach in my free class or anything you have learned in my classes inside the Creative Dream Circle, meet with the heart and soul of your intention/dream and see what happens today.

Each time you do this, you are clearing the channels of communication between you and your dream… so that it can help you bring it to life.

Once you’re done – let us know how it went.

Did your dream have anything new to show you today?

Share your daily journaling pics on Instagram?using the #creativeemergence hashtag, or post them here on Facebook.? (I’m sharing my pics and thoughts on? my Instagram.)

And/or leave a comment below. (Yes, you will need a Facebook account in order to comment.? Apologies to those of you who don’t have Facebook.)

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?Because I loooove my Circle members, I’ll be posting links to resources inside the Circle in most of these posts so they can dive into the lessons a little deeper.? If you’re not a Circle member you can just ignore this part – or join us!

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You’ll need to be logged into your Creative Dream Circle account for these links to work.

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See you back here tomorrow for day 7 of Creative Emergence.


 

Creative Emergence Day 6: What If You Feel Too Sad To Journal? Read More »

Creative Emergence Day 5: Interview with Effy Wild

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Click here for everything you need to get started with the Creative Emergence free 30 day e-course.

I wanted to include a few interviews with journalers I admire as a part of Creative Emergence to give you some different perspective and ideas about journaling.

effyEffy Wild is an avid journal artist, art journal teacher, and writer who lives and loves in Southwestern Ontario.

She teaches art journaling and self-inquiry in on line classes and is also the hostess of the collaborative series of e-courses, Radiant: Faces and Radiant: Art Journals. She blogs at effywild.com.

I’ve known Effy online for years.? She is a deep explorer and wild creative being – a true creative kindred spirit. I am thrilled to be a part of her Radiant Art Journals e-course – which is starting October 1.

Radiant Art Journals is an immersion into the whys and hows of mixed media art journaling through thirteen full lessons, two bonus lessons and SIXTEEN ADDITIONAL LESSONS by Effy!

 

Click here to read all about Radiant Art Journals and to come join us!

Why do you journal?

I journal to meet myself on the page, work out my stuff, document my life, and play.

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How did you get started?

I have been an avid written journaler since a grade 5 teacher had us keep journals for class. Journaling led to writing creative non-fiction and poetry. I suffered a really bad case of writer’s block in 2008 & 09 due to a family crisis and in an effort to ‘unlock’ myself, I went looking for something else to do while the muse was off on holiday. I found art journaling, and the rest is history. I still keep a written journal in conjunction with my art journal, but art journaling tends to take priority these days.

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What?s your favourite thing to do in your journal?

I love to layer until the spread reveals itself to me. I rarely begin with an idea of what I want to do in mind. This feels like a process of ‘reverse excavation’. The more layers I *add*, the more deeply I dig into what my soul wants to express that day. I am also really obsessed with faces. The ability to create a face that captures what I’m feeling or experiencing has been really life changing for me. It is as though I can, through the creation of a representation of what I’m feeling, detach in a loving way from the feeling so I can examine it, understand it, and then reintegrate it from a place of knowing. Adding text is almost *always* necessary to my process, but text does tend to take a back seat to the symbols I use to express my feelings.

Do you have a specific brand/type of journal that you use (if yes – please include a link so we can check it out)?

I bind my own art journals out of canvas and watercolor paper. For written journaling, I prefer the Moleskine Cahier Large size. I usually glue six of them together, back cover to front and then bind it all in fun duck tape.? I buy them from bookdepository.com because they are less expensive there and they offer free shipping. I also have a journal I toss in my bag that includes an insert I can art journal on (cardstock) and a Moleskine Cahier. This is a ‘fauxdori’ journal that has elastics set in the binding to hold various inserts and books.

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Do you get creative with art supplies in your journal?? If so, which ones?

In my art journal, I use primarily acrylic paint, Pigma Microns, Unibal white gel pens, and, occasionally, stencils, sprays, stamps, and scrapbooking paper. I keep my written journals in black pen – sometimes in fountain pen, sometimes in whatever I have in my purse. I don’t tend to doodle or draw in them. I just write and write ‘morning pages’ style until I’m spent.

effy3.

 

If you want to see more from Effy go check her out at effywild.com or join Effy and I are 14 other brilliant teachers for the Radiant Art Journals course.

Again today? I want you to meet with dream intention in your journal.

Just like yesterday (using the technique I teach in my free class or anything you have learned in my classes inside the Creative Dream Circle) and see what happens today.

Remember that each time you do this, you are clearing the channels of communication between you and your dream.

Once you’re done – let us know how it went.

Did your dream have anything new to show you today?

Share your daily journaling pics on Instagram?using the #creativeemergence hashtag, or post them here on Facebook.? (I’ll be sharing my pics and thoughts on? my Instagram.)

And/or leave a comment below. (Yes, you will need a Facebook account in order to comment.? Apologies to those of you who don’t have Facebook.)

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Because I loooove my Circle members, I’ll be posting links to resources inside the Circle in most of these posts so they can dive into the lessons a little deeper. If you’re not a Circle member you can just ignore this part – or join us!

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  • For more new ideas and perspectives, we’ve got the following amazing interviews and audio classes with inspiring people in the Advanced Creative Badassery Resource Library:

Being an Artist with a Chronic Illness With Samie Harding, Change with Shannon Wilkinson, Coming Out as your Authentic Self with Liv Lane, Creative Projects and Creative Practice with Jamie Ridler, Divine Guidance with Laurel Bleadon-Maffei, Poetry is a Lifeline with Liz Lamoreux, Sharing Your Story with Susannah Conway, Trailblazing with Chris Zydel, WordPress/Putting Yourself Out There Online with Angel Sullivan

You’ll need to be logged into your Creative Dream Circle account for these links to work.

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See you back here tomorrow for day 6 of Creative Emergence.


 

Creative Emergence Day 5: Interview with Effy Wild Read More »

Creative Emergence Day 4: How your journal helps you change your life

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Click here for everything you need to get started with the Creative Emergence free 30 day e-course.

How is journaling every day going to help me change things in my life?

The idea that you can make a difference in your life simply by meeting with your dream every day can feel like wishful thinking.? But the truth is: attention sparks growth.

Meeting your dream every day opens up a channel of communication between you two.? It opens up energetic space for your dream to come into your life, which is the first step in creating real, physical space for change to occur.

Having a dream and not paying attention to it is an energy pattern.? It’s a pattern that nurtures your life as it is, and avoids change.? It’s a pattern that keeps you disengaged from your ability to create change.

Having a dream and paying attention to it is also an energy pattern.? It’s a pattern that nurtures your dreams, your creativity and your potential.? It’s a pattern that empowers your ability to create change.

You don’t have to know HOW to make your dream real.? You don’t even have to believe that it’s possible.

You just have to be willing to pay attention to it, every day.? To make it a part of your life right now.? And to be open to having that change things.

So again today? I want you to meet with your intention in your journal.

Again, using the technique I teach in my free class or anything you have learned in my classes inside the Creative Dream Circle, meet with the heart and soul of your intention/dream and see what happens today.

Each time you do this, you are clearing the channels of communication between you and your dream… so that it can help you bring it to life.

Once you’re done – let us know how it went.

Did your dream have anything new to show you today?

Share your daily journaling pics on Instagram?using the #creativeemergence hashtag, or post them here on Facebook.? (I’m sharing my pics and thoughts on? my Instagram.)

And/or leave a comment below. (Yes, you will need a Facebook account in order to comment.? Apologies to those of you who don’t have Facebook.)

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Because I loooove my Circle members, I’ll be posting links to resources inside the Circle in most of these posts so they can dive into the lessons a little deeper.? If you’re not a Circle member you can just ignore this part – or join us!

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You’ll need to be logged into your Creative Dream Circle account for these links to work – if you don’t remember your password just click “forgot password” and it will be sent to you, just make sure to use the email address you used when you joined the Circle.

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See you back here tomorrow for day 5 of Creative Emergence.


 

Creative Emergence Day 4: How your journal helps you change your life Read More »

Creative Emergence Day 3: Let’s do this.

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Click here for everything you need to get started with the Creative Emergence free 30 day e-course.

Remember we had our first live call yesterday and it was amazing!? People had amazing questions to explore and stories to share.? If you missed it click here to get to the recording.? It’s available for free for 1 more day.

Let’s do this.

So far I’ve talked about getting clear on what you want to get out of this program and how to work with your intention.

Today I want you to reflect on this in your journal.

What have you learned about how you want to work with your intention??

Taking time to reflect helps you integrate what you’ve learned so that it can be more helpful to you.

AND I want you to meet with your intention in your journal like I talked about yesterday (using the technique I teach in my free class or anything you have learned in my classes inside the Creative Dream Circle).

Once you’re done – let us know how it went.

Share your daily journaling pics on Instagram?using the #creativeemergence hashtag, or post them here on Facebook.? (I’m sharing my pics and thoughts on? my Instagram.)

And/or leave a comment below. (Yes, you will need a Facebook account in order to comment.? Apologies to those of you who don’t have Facebook.)

And don’t forget?we had our first live call yesterday, if you missed it click here to listen to the recording.? It’s available for free for 1 more day.

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Because I loooove my Circle members, I’ll be posting links to resources inside the Circle in most of these posts so they can dive into the lessons a little deeper. If you’re not a Circle member you can just ignore this part – or join us!

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  • I just want to remind you about the?Energy Clearing Audio – clearing your energy is always so helpful! Setting out on a new adventure can often bring up hidden fears and doubts, so you want to make sure the clear them away as often as possible.
  • Don’t forget about our weekly Sharing Circles, where you can see how everyone is doing in the process of holding our intentions over time – a new one opens up every Friday.
  • We’ve also got a private forum inside the Circle for sharing your Creative Emergence photos and stories if you’d rather not do that publicly.

You’ll need to be logged into your Creative Dream Circle account for these links to work.

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See you back here tomorrow for day 4 of Creative Emergence.

And don’t forget?we had our first live call yesterday, if you missed it click here to listen to the recording.? It’s available for free for 1 more day.


Creative Emergence Day 3: Let’s do this. Read More »

Creative Emergence Day 2: Working With Intention

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Click here for everything you need to get started with the Creative Emergence free 30 day e-course. Notice that we have our first live call happening TODAY. I hope you can be there – you can call in on your phone or listen in online!

Approaching your journaling practice with INTENTION is how you shift your journal from a place to record and document to a container for healing and transformation.

The thing about intention is that you’ve got to hold it, and not put it down.

Holding an intention moves you towards it. But each time you put your intention down and pick up something else, then you start to move away from your intention.

For most creative people, the things that cause them to put their intentions down are:

  • self doubt/inner critics
  • lack of time
  • lack of physical resources (money, space, materials)
  • lack of opportunities for showing + selling your creative work

But putting down your intention to pick up any of these blocks shifts your perspective to magnify the bock and shrink your dreams – making it so much harder for you to move towards your dreams.

The truth is, no block is insurmountable.

Your creativity holds a lot of power and wisdom. You can find your way through anything. You can create the path that leads to the life you want.

But you have to, like, DO IT.

You can’t put your intention down every time something else wants your attention.

When you learn how to hold your intention no matter what you create space for your dreams to emerge in your life in really beautiful and ease-full ways.

It’s not about struggle and sacrifice and working your ass off, it’s about aligning with your inner truth and growing gleefully? into the fullness of your potential.

This is your Creative Emergence.

The Creative Emergence e-Course seeks to provide you with a tangible experience of holding your intention over time – soulfully and creatively of course – so you can get a taste of what is really possible for you.

To serve this aim, we’re going to keep things simple.

The simplest way to work with intention in your journal is to use your journal as a place to meet your intention every day.

My free introductory course gives you a simple and crazy effective way of doing this. If you haven’t done that yet, start there. (Don’t worry about getting “behind” in this class – this is non-linear work, there is no “behind”. You are where you are and that’s perfect.)

Using your journaling time to meet with your intention, and having a commitment to keep doing this every day, is a form of holding your intention. It brings your intention into your energy field and helps it start to make a home for itself there.

Your daily commitment to this practice lays the groundwork for your Creative Emergence.

For today, just say hello to your intention in your journal.

Give it some love and attention and TIME.

Write out what comes to mind as you meet with it.

You might want to draw or collage it or write a love letter – how do you want to play with your intention in your journal today?

We’re going to explore this together on our free Creative Emergence call today.

Once you’re done – let us know how it went.

Share your daily journaling pics on Instagram using the #creativeemergence hashtag, or post them here on Facebook. (I’m sharing my pics and thoughts on my Instagram.)

And/or leave a comment below. (Yes, you will need a Facebook account in order to comment. Apologies to those of you who don’t have Facebook.)

And don’t forget we have our first live call happening TODAY. I hope you can be there – or make a plan to listen to the recording ? it will be available for free for 48 hours and will stay available inside the Creative Dream Circle after that.

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Because I loooove my Circle members, I’ll be posting links to resources inside the Circle in most of these posts so they can dive into the lessons a little deeper. If you’re not a Circle member you can just ignore this part – or join us!

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  • There’s the really fun How To Stay In The Magic Teleclass
  • This video about making your own inspiration cards as a way of helping you hold your intention.
  • The Creative Dream Incubator e-Course leads you through every aspect of working with your intention and journaling your way to your dream come true. This e-course includes 6 full workbooks, 6 guided meditations and 24 videos that lead you in-depth through the whole process.
  • We’ve also got a private forum inside the Circle for sharing your Creative Emergence photos and stories if you’d rather not do that publicly.

You’ll need to be logged into your Creative Dream Circle account for these links to work.

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See you back here tomorrow for day 3 of Creative Emergence.

And don’t forget we have our first live call happening TODAY. I hope you can be there – or make a plan to listen to the recording ? it will be available for free for 48 hours and will stay available inside the Creative Dream Circle after that.


Creative Emergence Day 2: Working With Intention Read More »

Creative Emergence Day 1

 

creativeemergence

Click here for everything you need to get started with the Creative Emergence free 30 day e-course. Note that we have our first live call happening TOMORROW. I hope you can be there – you can call in on your phone or listen in online.

The Creative Emergence e-course leads you through the process of journaling your way into new possibilities.

This begins with making a commitment to journal every day for the next thirty days.

Some days you might be able to spend an hour playing in your journal, some days just 10 minutes.? It doesn’t matter how long you journal, it does matter that you establish a daily habit of making time to meet yourself in this way.

As you show up day after day, you are creating space for new possibilities to emerge.

Essentially, your journaling practice becomes your container for healing and transformation.

Your commitment to showing up every day no matter what coupled with your intention for Creative Emergence builds and strengthens this container.

The stronger your container, the bigger your new possibilities become.

This is why we start with a clear intention.

Journaling prompts for starting out:

What is YOUR creative emergence going to be about? Today you’re going to journal about what you want to get out of this 30 day adventure.

  • It can be to make a little time for yourself each day.
  • It can be to help you deal with anxiety, inner critics or fear.
  • It can be to help you get in touch with your dreams.

And then once you have that written down, ask yourself why.? Why do you want this?

For example:

  • I want to make a little time for myself each day so that I can feel less like I am being pulled in a million different directions.
  • I want to deal with this specific anxiety/inner critic/fear because I know that it is holding me back and I am ready to move forward.
  • I want to get in touch with my dreams because I want to live more authentically and I know my dreams can lead me there.

 

Understanding why you want what you want helps ground you in your commitment to really do this.

There is a big difference between pushing yourself to do something because “it’s good for you” or because “you said you’d do it every day” and doing it because you are deeply committed to the process and wildly excited about the changes it’s going to bring into your life.

Though you don’t always have to be excited or feel ready – you just have to show up.

Once you’re done – share your intentions with us in the comments section below.

(Yes, you will need a Facebook account in order to comment.? Apologies to those of you who don’t have Facebook.)

Share your daily journaling pics on Instagram?using the #creativeemergence hashtag, or post them here on Facebook.

(I’m doing this class too!? I’ll be sharing my pics and thoughts every day on my Instagram.)

And get ready to join us for the live call tomorrow (or make a plan to listen to the recording – it will be available for free for 48 hours and will stay available inside the Creative Dream Circle after that).

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Because I loooove my Circle members, I’ll be posting links to resources inside the Circle in most of these posts so they can dive into the lessons a little deeper.? If you’re not a Circle member you can just ignore this part – or join us!

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You’ll need to be logged into your Creative Dream Circle account for these links to work.

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See you back here tomorrow for day 2 of Creative Emergence.


Creative Emergence Day 1 Read More »

Allowing Your Miracle To Unfold

 

free journaling class

Creative Emergence starts tomorrow.

This is a 30 day e-course which is actually a container for magic and transformation.? (All the details for how this works are right here.? Note that we have a live call happening on Wednesday – I hope you can be there!)

The opportunity is here for you. What are you going to do with it?

Your intention for what you want to create in this course coupled with your commitment to show up for it determines how much magic and transformation you’re going to receive from this.

I’ll go into the details of everything when we start tomorrow.? Today I want you to think about what it is you want to receive from this.? And think about how committed you are to receiving what you want.

Allowing Your Miracle To Unfold Read More »

Yay! The new free e-course starts in ONE WEEK!

Creative Emergence, a (free!) 30 day e-course in the art of making magic happen in your life starts next week – September 1.

This course includes:

  • daily blog posts with lessons and prompts
  • THREE live calls over the course of the month for extra coaching and support
  • a global community of dreamers to play along with

All of the details of where to find everything is right here.

Normally I take it easy in the summers and spend a lot of time going on picnics, to the beach and creatively refueling.? This year I was inspired to work on this new course instead and I am really glad I did.? I’m so excited to share this with you!

Let’s make some BIG magic!


Yay! The new free e-course starts in ONE WEEK! Read More »

What do you want to create in your life?

Creative Emergence is starting on September 1.? This is a free 30 day e-course happening right here on my blog (plus there will be 3 live calls where you can ask questions and get help – get all the details for how to participate here).

This course is a strong and sturdy container for growing new possibilities in your life.

So – what do you want to grow?? Since you’ve got a few weeks before you begin, now is the perfect time to be exploring that.

I’ve been journaling about this and every few days I have a new idea for what I want to create.

I’m finding this frustrating but it’s a part of the process – sometimes dreams need us to pay attention to them before they fully reveal themselves to us.

So pay attention. Journal about this every day, even if just for 5-10 minutes (Curious about how that works?? Check out my post on journaling that explains why journaling is magic and how to get the most out of it)

A little help from my Journaling Cards for Magic + Insight:

Today's #journaling card: What do you secretly wish for? http://bit.ly/journalcards

If you ask yourself this question every day and write out honest answers you’ll be well on your way to clarity.

And then on September 1 you’ll be ready to dive into the magic.

I can’t wait to explore this with you!

What do you want to create in your life? Read More »

Practicing what I preach. Where is the gift in this shitty stuff?

Finding the gift in a shitty situation

Yesterday I wrote this post about How To Become A Dream Magnet which is such a beautiful idea and such a hard thing to practice.

So here I go, practicing.? This shitty thing happened:

There is this service which I am paying for.

It’s doing the thing it’s supposed to do, but it’s not attending to all of the details in the way that I feel the details should be attended to. (I don’t like when loose ends are left dangling)

The person who provides the service agreed (with their words) that this detail is important but is not agreeing (with their actions) to do something about it right now. (I don’t like dealing with people whose words and actions do not line up)

I cannot do anything about it.? Or maybe I can – I have been trying and have not been able to figure out how.? (I don’t like feeling helpless about it)

This service not attending to all of the details means that I have a harder time honouring the agreements I’ve made to people who really matter to me. (I don’t like letting people down)

This is stressful for me and I am having a hard time seeing this situation as a gift.

Why?

Well, because I am determined to believe that the thing that happened is WRONG.? I don’t want to accept it, I want to change it.

So, if instead of trying to do something to change it, what if I assume that it’s a gift? What happens then?

Well, it’s like I (reluctantly!) turn away from this frustrating wall of frustration and turn towards an open, sunny field.

And there’s this baby bunny there and he hops over to me and I am very resistant to him.? Because yeah I’m seeing something that could possibly be a gift in this now but I don’t know that I am ready to receive it because I’m not sure I’m strong enough to take care of it.

So, am I committed enough to seeing the gifts that I’ll give it my best shot?? Or do I want to turn my back on the gift?

Well, shit.

I can’t turn my back on the gift because I know that just brings me back to the frustrating wall of frustration.

But receiving the gift?? No, I don’t feel ready for this.

So I just sit here for a bit, holding the baby bunny.

And in sitting with it, it starts to feel true that life is always supporting me.? I remember how clear and sure I felt earlier today.? And how feeling clear and sure leads in the right direction even though I don’t always recognize the right direction when I am looking at it.

I remember how I often I fight the path when it doesn’t look how I want it to look.

I remember that I actually almost never feel ready for things before I do them, that it’s in the doing that the growth happens – that I will grow into being ready.

Then I remember that when I’m not all tangled up in my frustrations I can pretty much always find a simple solution.

And then a simple solution popped into my mind.? It’s not perfect, but it’s a good layer of duct tape on the problem until the person who can do something about it does something about it (they said they would, just that they can’t do it right now).

And actually I am ready for the gift, I’m just afraid because it’s NEW and new things almost always scare me. But I can do this.

Thing #2

I feel like getting on a roll with this so I’m going to explore the other thing that’s bugging me from this lens:

I knit this amazing sweater to go with ALL OF THE DRESSES I like to wear.

I knit it out of SUPER FUCKING DURABLE yarn, sock yarn that can stand up to lots of washing and wearing because I wear this sweater all the time and I love it so much.? It’s perfect.

I usually air dry it just to keep it nicer longer.? But one day I was in a rush and I threw it in the dryer and 1/3 of it felted.? ONE THIRD.? The sweater was knit with 3 huge skeins of yarn, one of them was obviously not the durable sock yarn it was labeled as. So the middle third of my cardigan is literally felt – thick and small, and now the whole thing is too short and too narrow to fit.

The sweater is ruined right at the end of summer when I’m going to want to wear it every day.? And the only similar light sweaters I’ve got to wear are old and store-bought and just not right.

So I’m sad and frustrated and sad.

Can I look for the gift in this?

Halfheartedly, if I peek over in that direction, I can see that I can re-knit the sweater in slightly darker yarn which would be more practical.

But I’m super resistant and want to jump up and down and say IT’S NOT FAIR that I have to re-knit it.

So I sit with that.? And I invite in my true heartfelt desire to see the gift in life in general, if not in this situation.

That desire kind of softens everything.? It shows me a new possibility – that knitting a sweater is actually what I need right now.

Hmmm, see I think that’s wrong.? HAVING a sweater is what I want right now!

OK so I am totally being a two year old throwing a temper tantrum about this.? Why?

Because something can come along and destroy something I created.? I want that to not be true.

Because I paid a lot of money for that yarn and the people who made it should have been more careful.? I am careful with my resources and want that to be respected.

Because having just the right hand-made clothes meant a lot to me and the loss of this sweater means going back to not-hand-made so I am losing my dream and that’s always hard on my sensitive heart.

Oh, and because of what that sweater represented.? It was the last thing that was missing in my new creative hand-made wardrobe.? So it felt like I had completion of a dream and now I have non-completion.? I slid down the dream hill and got all bumped up in the process.

And because I would really like to just be a grownup, suck it up, accept that shit happens, this is far from the end of the world and move on but I’m not feeling that way.? So I’m judging my feelings which makes them harder to be with.

Urgh!

So regardless of how I feel right now – I’m choosing to assume that knitting a new sweater is what I need.

If I treat the re-knitting of the sweater as a gift – what could I learn?? I guess I’ll find out.

I’m off to the yarn store.

UPDATE:

I wrote this yesterday and then left it.

Thing #1: Someone offered me a perfect solution!

Much better than the duct-tape idea I had yesterday, something that actually solves the problem once and for all.

I’m not saying that just because I was doing my best to have a good attitude about it my problem magically got solved.? But shifting my perspective did help me feel a lot better and who knows – maybe I wouldn’t have been able to the solution that was offered if I was still all cranky about it.

We really don’t see as many possibilities when we’re all tangled up in our stories about what’s happening.

Thing #2: I’m in love with the new yarn

I really loved how that sweater felt on my skin, so I went looking for something really similar (that yarn store doesn’t have that exact kind anymore).

I found something maybe even a little silkier – in watercolour hand-painted shades of lavender.? Super dreamy.

I started rolling it up into balls last night and as I worked with the yarn I was so happy.? The colours are so perfect and it’s start to feel like my “trust sweater”.

That knitting this sweater is a way of working on my relationship with trust.

That re-knitting the sweater I already knit in a state of trust that this is the right thing to do helps ground me in this decision of looking at life through the lens of “where is the gift?”.

Yes, today I see how it is good for me to have to re-knit my precious sweater.

Practicing what I preach. Where is the gift in this shitty stuff? Read More »

How to turn yourself into a Dream Magnet

How to turn yourself into a dream magnet.

The big theme in my journaling practice for Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance (the year-long journaling program I’m doing in the Creative Dream Circle) this week was this: there are 2 ways to pray.

One way is how most people do it.

The other way is not just more effective – it actually turns you into a dream magnet.

The first way: From a rigid ego place of asking for what you want then waiting until it shows up in your life exactly as you expect it should look like.

This doesn’t work and can make you pretty miserable in the process.

But for some reason, we’ve all got a part of us who really seems to think that this is the way.? That we somehow have every right to expect the universe, in its infinite wisdom, to bow down to us and our limited vision and to hand it over and to have it look exactly how we think it should.

The second way: From a place of openness and wonder and connection to the miracle of life where you ask for what you want and then stay in the process of receiving it.?

The real work here is in building an internal sense of trust and deepening/maturing your relationship with your spirituality.

Trusting that your prayer was heard and granted, which means remembering that the universe has an infinite perspective and you have a teeny tiny extremely limited perspective and so trusting that the universe can respond to your prayer in the most appropriate way.

In other words, remembering that you don’t control the universe.

Not only is giving up on trying to control the universe a huge relief and a big energy-booster, it means you can open your eyes to all the ways your prayer has already been granted.

When you let go of what you think it “should” look l like you get to have what you want, right now.

Because it’s already here for you.

In a decade of working with people to help them bring their dreams to life this remains consistent: what you need is already here for you.? The essence of your dream is ALWAYS accessible to you.

You just have to crawl out of your bullshit stories and sit with the truth long enough to see it.

Taking this approach also means being willing to do your part.

You don’t just stand back and wait for your package to arrive before you believe that your prayer was granted – that’s the childish relationship to spirituality.

When you really believe that it’s on the way you act differently.? You do all the things that are in front of you to do in service to your prayer.? You deal with your fears and doubts.? Physically and energetically – you clean up make space for the thing in your life.? You take steps to meet it.

You turn your life into a welcoming atmosphere for dreams.? You turn yourself into a dream magnet.

Here’s the kicker: once you say your prayer you have to accept that whatever happens next is the prayer granted.

Everything in your life is happening in response to your clear intention.?

I’ve got a lot of stuff coming at me right now.

Nothing earth-shattering or anything, just a lot of things (good things and not-good things) are coming my way both personally and professionally, causing me to feel overwhelmed and stressed out.

Until I remind myself that everything is happening in response to my clear intention.

So I must NEED to have a lot of stuff coming at me.

Why?? Where’s the gift/lesson in this?? How can I work with it?

How do I unwrap this gift?

Am I willing to sit with my discomfort long enough to even see the gift?

Looking at it in this way immediately changes my relationship to it.

Everything that happens is a gift.

How you respond to the gifts determines what your life looks like.

Not that this is easy – this is the advanced practice of living an openhearted life.? And the thing about practice is that you have to keep practicing.

I want to write more about that – about how hard it can be sometimes to practice as a way of living.

Right now I can say that the more you keep practicing the more you become a dream magnet.?? And that the more evidence you see in your life that it’s working the easier it gets to stay in the process.

And that making the practice as enjoyable as possible really, really, really helps.

All of my training as a spiritual teacher was dry, dry, dry.? All of the emotional healing work I did was scary and hard. So when it came time for me to set up my classes and services I knew I had to bring in the stuff that helped me stay in the process: CREATIVITY and PLAY.

That’s where the fuel comes from for me to stay on the path.

What fuels your path?? What keeps you going when it’s too hard?? If you don’t know – explore, find out.

How to turn yourself into a Dream Magnet Read More »

How to run a business by yourself while staying calm, inspired + happy.

How to run a business by yourself while staying calm, inspired + happy.

I went camping last weekend.? I left right after lunch on Friday, and came back Sunday night – to an overflowing inbox.

I did scan it for emergencies – if my students can’t access my classes or if I screwed up something for my clients or students I want to fix that right away.

But everything else can wait.

Because if I jump straight into my inbox then I’m allowing other people’s demands to shape my day.? Which means I’m giving up my power/ability to create.

Not that I never want to jump into my inbox – it’s that I want to go in with a plan.

So, I got up early Monday morning and went to the park. I sat down with a coffee and just appreciated everything.? This beautiful day, the amazing weekend I just had, how free and happy I was feeling in that moment and how free and happy I’d been feeling all weekend.

I breathed into all the places inside me that had softened and opened after a weekend away from other people and electricity and the buzz of the city.

I felt into the week ahead – all of my hopes and wishes and plans for what I’d like to create, experience and explore.

I did a Creative Genius Planning Session in my journal to pull out the qualities that are important for me to work with this week and I breathed them in.? (Circle members: there’s a Creative Genius Planning Kit with videos/meditation/worksheets in the Tools + Classes section)

I set my priorities.? I planned my schedule.

I got clear.

And then it was easy to zoom happily through my inbox and take care of what needed taking care of.

You create your life from the energy you carry.

If you don’t take the time to deliberately choose what energy you’re carrying, the outer world will just bulldoze all over your beautiful intentions.

Years of practicing being intentional about the energy I carry has led me to a pretty peaceful place where I have what I need to create what I want.

In my business, I get to do the work I love, share my ideas in meaningful ways and make the money I need to live the life I want.? Most days it feels like I am living a miracle when I think back to how I used to struggle as a starving artist, and as an office worker dreaming of a more creative life.

But everything in my outer is going so well because of how I put the inner work first.

Everyone wants to know what tools to use as though the right tools will guarantee success.?? The most important tool is the energy you’re holding and how you’re holding it.? It’s how you approach your work.

You are infinitely powerful.

You are infinitely creative.

When you work from this part of you – you work differently:

  • You set things up to be truly sustainable.? You don’t take on more than you can chew, you don’t leave things to the last minute and you look for ways to keep things simple.
  • You take responsibility for everything. You remember that your life is a mirror so you don’t waste your time cleaning the mirror in the hopes that this will make it reflect something more beautiful.
  • You use setbacks and obstacles as growth opportunities. Everything you need to learn about how to get to where you want is right there.
  • You’re really honest with yourself about what you need in order to be full, inspired and happy.? You understand that this is where your best work comes from and this is what fuels the whole thing so extreme self-care becomes non-negotiable.
  • You treat every part of your work with love, care and attention.? This is your heart and soul and purpose brought to life so you treat it as the precious thing it is.
  • You remember the true aim of your work: to serve.??In order for your business to become sustainable it’s got to meet your needs but it’s not ABOUT your needs.? This one is more important than it seems, really look at where you’re hoping that success in business will help you to feel better about yourself and do the inner work to clean up your energy .

Everyone wants to gloss over the inner growth that has to happen before you can have the business that you really want.

You can’t be all frazzled and disorganized and expect your business to run smoothly.

Yes, you can follow all of the rules and use all the right tools and you can make money but until you clean up your inner patterns more money is only going to magnify them.? So: more stress, more chaos, more self-doubt, more fear.? Not fun.

(I cover this at length in the Creative With Money kit in the Creative Dream Circle)

Focus on the inner stuff and allow the inner to lead.? When you’re clear in your inner world, when you create space inside of you for success and joy and living the life you want – then your intuition can easily lead you to the right steps in the outer world.

That part is the easy part.

For me, this means using smart + helpful apps that save time and keep things running smoothly with as little effort as possible.

Inside the Creative Dream Circle you get my Creative Business Incubator e-Course where I share EVERYTHING I did and learned in building my business – seriously, hours and hours of videos and links to resources.

Today I thought I’d just share the three tools I’m using the most these days.

Simplero for my Creative Dream Circle

After years of running my classes online, finding Simplero has been an absolute miracle for me.? The Creative Dream Circle memberships are 100% automated which means new members get what they need exactly when they need it and my time is free to participate and play in the Circle instead of managing memberships and dealing with problems.

The site is fast to load and members can download their videos, mp3s and workbooks easily and I never have to worry if everything is working right.

The price tag seems high – but this replaced some other apps I was paying for before – for email and the membership site – so in the end it’s not a lot higher but it takes a lot of work off of me.? Plus there’s a free trial so there’s no reason to give it a try.? (Just remember that there’s a steep learning curve to learning any app that’s going to do this much for you)

Zendesk for making email better

With 6,000 people taking my free course this is a necessity because it means those people can get the help they need with the course without me helping each person individually which would be impossible.? It took a lot of work to get it all set up, but it’s been totally worth it.

Asana for keeping everything I’m doing? ridiculously organised

Because being ridiculously organised helps me not fill my inner world with stress.? When my brain doesn’t have to hold the details it’s free to do more important stuff – like dream and be happy.

I love the feeling that Asana is holding everything for me.? I get notifications on my phone every morning of what’s up that day, but it’s much more than a to-do list, it stores all of my ideas and projects in ways that are easy to access when I need them, but don’t clutter up my calendar but still lets me see everything that needs to happen in the future.? And it’s simple to use.? And free!

I believe that you can succeed.

It’s never been easier for creative spiritual people to create their own empires.

Just don’t short-change your possibilities by trying to skip over the path.? You’ve got to grow into your most successful self on the inside, first.

How to run a business by yourself while staying calm, inspired + happy. Read More »

Today in my journal: Overwhelm, Changing The World + Embarrassing Realisations

I?ve been feeling extra-easily overwhelmed lately so I took it to my journal and then my journal asked me to share it with you so here it is.

(Yes you can still get my Journaling Cards for Magic + Insight right here)

My journal showed/reminded me how the world is chaos – the outer world.

We made the outer world this way because we (I mean we, the human species talking in very general terms) are disconnected from our truth – the truth of who we are, the truth of what life actually is.

Spirit is calm.? Peace and love and all the good stuff.

I live in between, in this quiet, calm space.? I built my life as it is today out of qualities like simplicity, spaciousness, order, mindfulness, creativity, quiet because the power to change the world doesn’t live in the world.

That power lives closer to spirit.

We created this world of chaos out of a place of disconnection.? Re-connection is the path to changing the world in a sustainable and lasting way.

Re-connection is my job – my own re-connection and helping others with their re-connection.

This is the first step in moving the species towards the power to create the new world, one where we’re all free and safe and happy.? A world where we recognize the beauty of the world, of ourselves and each other, and live in alignment with that instead of living in alignment with a weird corporate nightmare.

I believe we can only create that world from a place of deep connection to the qualities that we want that world to be full of: freedom, safety, peace, joy.

But I know when I get too close to the chaos I find it hard to remain deeply connected to these qualities.

So it’s like I stay a little separate from it in order to be of service to it.

But then sometimes I wind up too separate to be of service.

This is the same process through which all dreams come to life.

I’m talking about a global scale right now – how we have to tend to the needs of the world as it is now while also creating space for a new way of living to emerge.

But it’s the same thing for anyone who wants to leave their corporate job and live a more authentic life and can’t figure out how to pay the bills in the meantime.

You have immediate needs that need to be taken care of.? But if you spend all of your time taking care of your immediate needs you’ll never move towards the life you actually want to be living.? You keep yourself stuck where you are.

If you want a new life you not only have to devote time and energy and attention to building it – you have to build it from a place of already being there, energetically anyway (for Creative Dream Circle members I show you how to do this in the Creative Dream Incubator e-Course).

Anyway, back to my journaling today.

Really what life is pushing me to explore is how do I bring my inner peace and calm with me as I move closer to the chaos?

Because the chaos isn’t all bad.?

Hmmm, well this is embarrassing.

I know how to do this already working with energy and Creative Soul Alchemy.? I don’t just know how to do this already I teach this for a living.

So why has it been feeling so complicated and overwhelming lately?

Well, change is hard.

And if I’m really honest it’s because I’ve been lazy with this stuff lately.? Well, not lazy exactly, but my life is set up with so much intention and deliberateness that my routines and ways of being support me in living in deep connection almost on auto-pilot.

I don’t have to think about what I need because I already have it.

And as life changes what I need changes and I most certainly do have to think about it.

So, here I am thinking about it.

And I can see that the secret to how to do this actually lies in the overwhelm.

Every time I get overwhelmed I just want to cry and I’m embarrassed for crying and just want to run away from the whole thing.? Then, days later as I sort through what it was that got me so triggered I learn something new about what I need.

So what if I see the overwhelm as the gift that it is?? And stay present with it right then when it comes to me?? And bring clarity in to show me exactly what the overwhelm wants to teach me?

Then the overwhelm can show me how to create what I want here, closer to the chaos where a whole new set of possibilities live.

Hmmm…


Today in my journal: Overwhelm, Changing The World + Embarrassing Realisations Read More »

[feeling lost] What I am doing, anyway?

In January I started a year-long adventure in personal growth and conscious life design: Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance (GYDNYB).

The point of GYDNYB is to do exactly what it says: grow your depth and nurture your brilliance.? To shine the light of your gifts out into the world in whatever way you want to do that.

In GYDNYB we do this by taking all the things I teach and USING them and DOING them… EVERY DAY.? To go deeper into your practice than you have gone before and see what happens then.

So here I am at the halfway point of this adventure. At the starting point, I had specific, clear intentions for what I wanted to create in my life through GYDNYB.

And now I have those things.? All of them.?

(Even the secret dream I had that I was sure was actually impossible.? Turns out it WAS possible and having it in my life is better than I’d hoped it would be.)

And so I don’t know what’s next and I’m feeling lost.

Which is not a way I like to feel.

I’m still showing up for my journaling practice every day but I don’t usually know what to write about.? The Journaling Cards are helping a lot… this is the one I picked this morning:
Journaling Cards

Which, through some convoluted journaling, led me to discover what my real problem is: I’ve been avoiding dreaming new dreams.

Dreaming is terrifying. For everyone.

I can’t even count how many emails land in my inbox about this.

I feel like I’ve written a million blog posts that say don’t wait until you’re not feeling afraid because that will never happen.? That learning how to transform the fear is the secret to moving forward.

That you actually build the path to your dreams out of your fears and doubts and inner critic voices.

I know this, I know this so well and yet I forget all the time.

And so I walk around feeling lost until I remember.

My journal practice helps me remember sooner.

Because I can’t keep writing the same bullshit out day after day without my memory being jogged.

I feel lost.? I don’t know what I want.? I’m tired.? There’s too much happening.? I need more space.? I feel lost.

It’s just hard to lie to yourself repeatedly in writing.

Of course I know what I want.? Of course I know where I am.? Of course I’m not tired and the only thing I actually NEED in this moment is to pull my head out of my ass.

The truth is, I FEEL lost when I’m avoiding my dreams.

But I’m never actually lost because my dream is a lighthouse – it’s how my soul calls me into alignment.? It will always lead me home.

So – hello there, new dreams.

Rather than feeling lost I can choose to celebrate the fact that all of the things I wanted to get out of Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance this year are ALREADY HERE.

I can choose to believe that hey – I must be ready for more then.

I can choose to ask myself: what do I really want?? I can give myself time and space to really explore that.

I can pick new dreams and start moving towards them.

It’s not about accomplishing more.? It’s about choosing to stay in alignment.

I am in love with the way I feel when I am in alignment with what my soul is calling me towards next (AKA my dreams).

I feel present and open and connected to this deep deep well of unspeakable joy that lives inside me.

I feel on the right path.

I feel sure.

I remember that I’m stronger than my fears, doubts and inner critics combined.

It doesn’t matter what happens – if I “make the thing happen” or not.? It’s all about being on the path, feeling this alignment, and trusting where my creativity and intuition lead.

So if you’ve been feeling lost, or unsure, or uncomfortable in any way – I hope this helps remind you of your truth.

Because I know that YOU are stronger than your fears, doubts and inner critics combined.

[feeling lost] What I am doing, anyway? Read More »

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