Journal Challenge Day 9: How To Cure Crankies (Or Anything Else!) Using Your Journal

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

The downside of doing a 30 day video challenge is that it means that I will have to do a video on My Crankiest Day Of The Month.

But, of course, this is an opportunity to share how to cure crankies using your journal, AKA art journaling for healing, so here it is:

Art journaling for healing is one of my favourite things.

Once you get into the flow with it, it's beautiful and soothing and gentle and effective.

Be gentle with yourself as you experiment with it, it can take some to get used to giving space to how you're actually feeling, and explore more about what you actually need.

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Journal Challenge Day 8: How To Use Your Journal As a Dream-Growing MACHINE

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

Manifesting dreams into reality with your journal

Manifesting Dreams into Reality: This is what it's all about, right?

Today I sat down with my journal and promptly stumbled into a really common pitfall when it comes to using an art journal as a tool for manifesting dreams into reality... so I immediately stopped to record this video.

One thing I forgot to add to this is that I didn't mean to say to NEVER write about what's happening right now in your journal... stream of consciousness journaling practices like Julia Cameron's morning pages can be super helpful!

What I did mean is that it is helpful to have a separate journal as your creative dream journal, where you can keep your attention focused on holding the vision.

Holding the vision for long enough to bring the dream to life is not easy.

Having a journal where this is ALL you do can really help build up that energy. If you'd like a supportive + encouraging space to play along, filled with all the best tools for accessing + activating your magic join me in the Creative Dream Circle!

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Journal Challenge Day 7: Intuitive Journaling

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

how to do intuitive journaling

Living your dreams is about living your truth. So learning how to HEAR your inner voice and learning to navigate by your internal compass is a huge part of bringing a dream to life. That's what I'm talking about today!

Intuitive journaling is about listening.

It may feel frustrating or like nothing is happening, but usually you have to get into the practice of listening before you start to hear anything.

Your intuitive voice is there - I promise. It's just that if you haven't spent a lot of time listening to it, it takes some time to start to be able to hear it.

Unfortunately the free video about making Creative Genius cards has been lost over the years. I do have a full class on this which you get with the bonuses in Dream Book.

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Journal Challenge Day 6: What To Do With ALL of Those Creative Ideas

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

Too many ideas?

Creative people get a LOT of ideas! And it's too easy to jump on the inspiration train and invest (your heart, your time, your energy, your attention, your money) in an idea BEFORE you even know for sure if it's going to bring you closer to where you want to be.

Processing your ideas, getting to know them, being clear on where they came from, what qualities and experiences they can bring into your life and if they're going to help you get to where you want to be is a valuable process.

Finding clarity about all of this is PURE MAGIC. It saves time and energy and potential heartbreak. It helps you shift through too many ideas to find those absolute gems - the best ideas for you to pursue right now.

That's what I was doing in my journal today.

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Journal Challenge Day 5: The Magic of Grounding + Integration

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

Today I'm talking about the importance of pausing, resting + integrating and how that is NOT the same as "taking a break".

This is part of what makes journaling CREATIVE (ala CREATING your WORLD).

Your art journal practice is going to bring you insights and ideas and when it does you need to give yourself time and space to process, ground and integrate or else nothing is going to change.

Here is the link to the how to draw mandalas post.

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Journal Day 4: Clearing Overwhelm+ Finding Clarity

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

Using your art journal for dealing with overwhelm

Dealing with overwhelm is not fun.

As a HSP (highly sensitive person) overwhelm is something that I am very familiar with, so of course I have come up with a way to handle it in my art journal.

There's lot in today's video:

How your journal can help handle overwhelm.
What to do when you don't know what you want or what your dream is.
Uncovering + activating more gifts of disappointment.
Changing gears.

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Journal Challenge Day 3: What to do when you feel too sad & hopeless to journal

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

what to do when you feel too sad

Sometimes you feel too sad to journal. Like everything is helpless so why bother?

When I started this 30 day challenge, I knew at some point in this I would want to talk about how it's important that your journal be a space that welcomes all feelings - that there's nothing wrong with you if you feel sad or hopeless or whatever.

We all feel this way sometimes. And your journal can be a REALLY powerful place for working through these feelings.

So I knew it would come up, but I was hoping this would come up later than day 31

But here it is today, how to journal when you feel too sad to journal:

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Journal Challenge Day 2: The Dangers of Relentless Positivity + The Magic of Disappointment

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

I wanted to keep the videos under 5 minutes, but today's lesson is SO important I had to share the whole thing (10 minutes).

It's about the dangers of relentless positivity the magic + helpfulness of disappointment.

It can be really hard to know how to deal with disappointment, especially in your art journal where you kind of want things to be bright, happy and positive.

But putting on a happy face while trying to sweep something like disappointment under the rug actually sweeps your dreams + desires under the rug.

You know that you actually need to deal with disappointment. Finding ways to be with your disappointment (be with is different from wallow in!) transforms it and shows you the gifts in it.

This is how an art journal can help you deal with disappointment, by giving you a space to express and be with how you're feeling without making it, or you, wrong.

I know when you feel disappointment, the last thing you want to do is FEEL your disappointment, but I promise that that is the path to freedom.

This morning I woke up nervous and unsure about this project - will it be interesting and inspiring? Will I run out of things to say? Will I just discover that this was a dumb idea?

But right now I am SO HAPPY I am doing this.

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30 Day Creative Journal Challenge

By Andrea Schroeder / June 15, 2013 / Journal Prompts

30 day creative journal challenge

Do the 30 day creative journal challenge with me!!

It started as a challenge to myself: to make a daily video to share my journaling practice more openly.

I did this in 2013 and now here we are in 2020 and people are still using those videos to journal along with me!

People keep telling me how helpful and inspiring it is to not be all alone in their journaling - some people have done this several times and learn new things about themselves each time.

Why a 30 day Journal Challenge:

You already know that journaling is magic.

Journaling helps you feel more centred, peaceful and sure of yourself. It helps you hear your inner voice more clearly.

Journaling helps you connect with your dreams!

But.. sometimes it's hard to journal CONSISTENTLY or to know what to write about!

A 30 day journal Challenge will help you:

Develop a habit of journaling every day (or close to it) so that you can get MORE of the amazing benefits of journaling.

Stick with your journaling practice when you want to give up. We ALL want to give up sometimes - but those times, when it feels really hard to journal, are actually the times when there are the most insights to be had.

(I show you EXACTLY how this works during the 30 day journal challenge)

HAVE MORE FUN in your journal.

HAVE MORE IDEAS for HOW to journal.

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Creative Genius Playtime

By Andrea Schroeder / June 11, 2013

Soooooo happy to share this video with you today!? It’s a chat with me and my Badass Creative Genius Fairy Godmother, Chris Zydel of Creative Juices Arts…

Watch Chris and I talk about:

How to Handle Challenges and obstacles to living as your true self (AKA Brilliant Sparkling Creative Genius)
The process of living as a Brilliant Sparkling Creative Genius
I share how it took me 10 years to go from wanting to put on a creativity workshop to actually doing it – and how I could have made the leap much sooner
Plus Chris’s tips of how to create a “predictable miracle”

And then click here to read all about Creative Genius Playtime, our 3 day retreat coming up in November.

Aaaaeeeeiiii!? I am SO excited for this (as you can tell!)

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Enthusiasm Activates your Superpowers

By Andrea Schroeder / June 7, 2013

The Declaration of You will be published by North Light Craft Books this summer, with readers getting all the permission they’ve craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! This post is part of The Declaration of You’s BlogLovin’ Tour, which I’m thrilled to participate in alongside over 100 other creative bloggers. Learn more — and join us! –?by clicking here.

There are many qualities that activate your Creative Superpowers (AKA your Infinite Creative Potential and Ability to Make Your Dreams Real) like Love, Desire, Stillness, Passion and Trust.

But Enthusiasm is my personal favourite, because it’s the most fun.? And I like fun.

Enthusiasm is magic because it harnesses the power of both Love and Passion, and then turns them into something slightly more adorable.

Don’t judge what you feel enthusiastic about!

Please, revel in the nerdiness of enthusing about what you are truly enthusiastic about.? Coolness only cools down enthusiasm, dulls your superpowers and points you in the direction of “fitting in” instead “being a totally freaking amazing Creative Genius”.

It does not matter what you are enthusiastic about, it only matters that you are enthusiastic about something.?

It wakes you up inside.? And it points you towards your dreams.

Yes – being enthusiastic about having another cup of coffee will point you towards you dreams, which will point you towards your Soul Purpose.? Change your life without giving up anything you love!

Feel into your enthusiasm.? Give it some space.

Notice where it shows up in your body.? For me it feels like glitter bubbles bubbling in my heart.

Notice how it feels to let it get as big as it wants.? For me, as I focus on them, the bubbles get bigger and then explode into tiny rainbows that fill my whole body and expand out into my energy field.

Imagine what it would be like to let enthusiasm lead you through your day.? To leap joyfully from that second cup of coffee to a walk in the park and oh! yes! let’s stop and smell the ALL OF THE roses…

To full on enjoy and celebrate every single thing about being alive.? I mean, really – life is a miracle.? You are a miracle, living in another miracle.??If the fact that you are alive is not something to get excited about, what is?

And then… there it is.

*POUF*

A Brilliant Idea That Changes Everything.

Because Enthusiasm activates your Creative Superpowers, it’s always going to lead you towards something amazing.

So tell me in the comments: what are you enthusiastic about today?

I’m enthusiastic about: sunshine hitting the crystals in the Dream Loft, sending rainbows flying everywhere, the new project I’ve been working on and (eeeeeiiiiiiii!) how close I am to finishing it, drawing, sewing, cloud-watching.

Let’s get out there and enjoy the heck out of all the amazing stuff there is in this world!

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On Being “In The Zone”

By Andrea Schroeder / June 5, 2013

Monday we had our monthly Playdate in the Creative Dream Circle, this month we playdated with Daring… kind of as the next step in working with Courage, which was the theme for May.

I was expecting daring to dare me to do better work or something like that.? (Which, in hindsight, was obviously my inner critic speaking)

Daring actually dared me to have more FUN and more specifically: to be more creatively alive.

I felt a HUGE energy shift during the playdate and have been enjoying it ever since.?

I got a cute new haircut (not pictured).
I went out to buy some cute new summer dresses but then got inspired instead to make some cute summer dresses so bought some adorable fabrics instead and now I’m kind of jumping up and down inside about being excited about sewing.
I started drawing like a crazy person.? Draw! Draw! Draw! Draw! Draw! I am obsessed.
I have Way More Energy and Inspiration is flowing like crazy. Crazy!

Oh yes, I am in the zone.

Which is exactly what I designed the Playdates to do: get us into the zone.

But still, I’m always kind of tickled that it works.

And it’s kind of funny in that because I am so super-in-the-zone I am actually doing better work. (So both me and my inner critic get to win 😉

I’m stunned both by the quality and quantity of stuff I just got done this morning, and how much juice I’ve still got in me to do more great stuff this afternoon.

So this is what I want to say about being in the zone:

It’s a really good place to be.

If you can choose to be in the zone or not be in the zone – definitely choose to be in the zone.

Oh – and you can always choose.

You know which practices and processes get you into the zone.
You know which habits and patterns take you out of it.

I say this to remind me that being in the zone is amazing!

AND Being in the zone has NO down side.

So why would I ever not be in the zone?

Are those habits and patterns that keep you out of the zone really so precious that you can’t do without them?

Going to write that down on a card and leave it by my bed so I see it every morning when I wake up.

On Being “In The Zone” Read More »

Healing the hurt of not feeling supported in my dreams.

By Andrea Schroeder / May 29, 2013 / healing

The Rainbow~licious Creative Healing Circle starts Friday.

This morning, I started the day with my journal and markers, exploring what it is I want to get out of this experience.? Of course with any healing journey you tend to get what you need more than what you want, but still, I like to go in with a plan.

As I explored, I found that what it is I want to let go of is more important than what I want to bring in.

It’s easier and more fun to think about what you want to invite in, but if you don’t clear some space and make things nice and comfy for your guests, they’re not going to stay.

See, I have had some really painful experiences around not being supported with my dreams.

What I have found is that there is a ceiling on the amount and type of support some people are willing/able to give.? And there tends to be more support for “the underdog” than there is for “the empowered creative genius”.? Which is STUPID.

And it hurts.

And that hurt is messing with my vibe.? And causing me to doubt myself and (sub-consciously) look for ways to sabotage success and stay small so I don’t encounter more of it.

Which is bullshit.

So I have been sorting through and shining light and bringing clarity, wisdom and healing into these patterns and beliefs… creating space inside me so I can invite in more of what I want.

This is a big job!? So I’m going to keep doing this all summer.

With meditation and journaling and CREATIVE PLAY.? Because this stuff is really hard and play makes it easier.

Creative journaling creates a space that allows for the magic of transformation to happen in really bautiful ways. (And if you didn’t guess from my photo above, you don’t exactly have to be a master artist to do it)

If you want to join me, the Rainbow~licious Creative Healing Circle is a gorgeous safe space for exploring what it is you need to get rid of, to make space for more of what you want in your life.? I would love to see you there!

PS If you’re curious about what happens the Rainbow~licious Creative Healing Circle you can read through the posts I wrote when I first did this Circle 2 years ago:

Of course, this is a healing journey so each journey is unique… you will have your own unique discoveries, revelations and transformations.

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Open!

By Andrea Schroeder / May 23, 2013

Registration is now open for the Rainbow~licious Creative Healing Circle.

Ease.? Love.? Peace.? Knowing.? Inspiration.? Freedom.? Vitality.? Pleasure. Power.? Connection.

A whole summer of:

healing + transformation
conscious evolution
playing with art supplies in very colour of the rainbow
exploring with like-minded creative kindred spirits
making MAGIC
discovering really cool things about yourself and your world

>>> Click here to register today.

I NEED THIS! SO MUCH!

I need this deeper commitment to my healing creative practice and all of the magic that that brings.? Bring! It! On!

This Circle is a container that holds and supports that commitment, and quite frankly – makes it easier to stick to.? (I am picturing a deep commitment to regular creative journal parties on the beach on this summer. Yum!)

This morning, as I was getting ready to open up registration, I journaled about what I want to get out of this Circle this summer and did a quick mind-map of what the Rainbow means to me:

>>> Click here to register today.

I look forward to playing with you, we’re going to have THE BEST TIME this summer.

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Daring Dares Me To Say No

By Andrea Schroeder / May 21, 2013 / healing

Today I’m working on the materials for next month’s playdate in the Creative Dream Circle – the theme for June is DARING.

Daring appears as a female superhero holding a lightning bolt.

She obliterates anything and everything that is a distraction.

She dares me to say no.

To pull in tighter, to draw clearer boundaries, to create a stronger plan.

To commit more fully to my path by defining what that path is.

And then to obliterate everything that is outside of that path. Or at least put it somewhere where I can’t see it right now.

Which then dovetails with what I learned from Hiro this week… which I want to share with you because a lot of creative people have this problem!

EVERY TIME I run the Creative Dream Incubator there is a lot of resistance to the idea of choosing ONE DREAM to work with.? So I’ve been exploring ways of working with more-than-one-dream and in all honesty – I think these explorations have only brought me off track.

Being open to all possibilities only makes it harder for you to bring any dream to life.

Being open to all possibilities is super important in the visioning process, so that you aren’t closed to finding the right possibility. But once you’ve found your thing – you’ve got to be closed to the others and focus on the one.

Daring dared me to commit.

To put down the contingency plans because they’re taking up precious energy.

To re-route ALL of my energy into The One Dream I am bringing to life right now.

There is a sea of infinite possibilities.

I used to?(used to, as in, last week) live on that beach because I was so in love with possibility.? And so ideas would wash up in the shore, right into my home, all the time. Beautiful sparkly ideas that would easily distract me and confuse me and leave me wishing I could be walking a million paths at once which is maybe why I have been to tired lately…

Also: that love affair was doomed from the start.? Hindsight is 20/20 but really, how could I not have seen it before? ?Possibilities aren’t real life things.

So I moved.

I live in the forest now. It’s cool. It smells like pine. It’s quiet and soft and mossy.? It’s real.

I’m still unpacking and settling in but already I can see: I can focus here. I can create.

And when I need an idea – I can go to the beach on the Sea of Possibilities. I can bring my Creative Genius and my Inner Knowing to sift through the ideas to find Just The Right One (which I believe is going to sparkle more than the others and will be easy to spot.)

And all of those other ideas? I can smile at the thought of them hanging out on the beach together.? Just because there are infinite possibilities doesn’t mean I need more than one at any given time.

BIG relief.

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