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.
If you’d like a supportive + encouraging space to play along, filled with all the best tools for accessing + activating your magic (plus room for your very own Online Dream Journal), join me in the Creative Dream Circle!
If you’d like a supportive + encouraging space to play along, filled with all the best tools for accessing + activating your magic (plus room for your very own Online Dream Journal), join me in the Creative Dream Circle!
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.
I was hoping it would be later on in the 30 days, but here it is today, sad journaling:
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.
Feeling like it would take a miracle? You’re in luck!
Project Miracle is for people who believe in the magic of their dreams and are ready for something to change.
It’s a 30 day?Choose-Your-Own-Adventure creative support groups for making change happen.
To Creative Journal every day for the next 30 days (that part is not a challenge!) and to share the stories of what’s happening in my journals here, every day (ahhh… challenge).
I am recording a video every day, and posting it here the next morning, sharing the stories, insights + magic that came from my art journal that day.
You do NOT need to do your own 30 day journal challenge!
Do what you can – it’s not always helpful to push yourself with this kind of work.
Testing out my new video camera with an update on what I’ve been up to, what’s inspiring me + making me happy right now.? Plus how miserably stressed out + creatively blocked I’ve been and how I’m shifting out of it.
If you’d like to join in on the magic of the HOLYday – if you join the Circle now, you’ll get the recordings + playbooks? from yesterday and you can attend the next one live.
I am treasure-mapping my way to growing my business, and sharing the honest actual story, AS IT HAPPENS, as I fumble along this path with creativity, heart and soul.
What is the treasure?? Feeling good (and creative and inspired and elegant) about how I promote my work.
The funny thing about a journey like this:
Being where I am now, it’s hard to remember where I was when I started.
The things I discovered along the way are so OBVIOUS now it’s hard to remember not knowing them, which is a sign of transformation.
I know I wanted to bring more of my creativity and authenticity into how I promote my work, and step up my game a bit.? For so long my focus in my work has been on creating transformative products and I wanted to shift my focus to promoting my work.
But not, like, you know – promoting promoting..
Promotion in a really authentic, creative, inspired and elegant way.
Promotion as a thing of light in itself.? So people can get something useful and inspiring out of it without ever even becoming a client of mine.
What I’ve come up with is Dreamtastic Creative Journals.
It’s a 2 prong (free!) e-course, with material that gets you started using your creative journal as a tool for creating amazing things in your life, and an ongoing creative journaling project to support you in cultivating and sustaining your unique creative dream journal practice.
On a personal level, this helps me make a deeper commitment to my own practice, and to sharing my practice, which is good for me.
On a professional level, this can get more people engaged with my work which may lead to more brave Creative Dreamers joining me in the Circle or purchasing my premium dream-growing journaling kits.
Biggest gift in all of this:
I’ve developed a real appreciation for where I am.? When I started this journey I was looking ahead, like I usually am.? Focused on everything I still want to do instead of at everything I’ve already done.
As a creative person I am ALWAYS going to be looking at what I want to create next, that’s normal.
But it’s ALWAYS better to do that from a space of being over-the-moon happy with where you are right now and what you have already created.
I have a lot to be grateful for and I feel kind of ridiculous that I wasn’t being actively grateful before.
These days I am grateful to be actively grateful for where I am.? And grateful to my Treasure Mapping Journey for showing me the way.
Area of Ongoing Confusion:
Creating a free course that kind of overlaps with two of my paid courses is a little confusing at times.
I don’t want the free course to feel like a free course.? I want it to be full and whole and inspiring and totally beautiful on its own.
I also don’t want to re-create the materials that are in my paid courses, and give them away for free.
A few weeks ago, I sent out an email asking for people’s questions about creative journaling, so that I can make sure to tailor this new course to what people want.? Over 50% of the replies were asking for things that are what I already sell.
I’m not sure what to do with that right now – but I am sure there is an elegant, creative solution.
There is a way to do Dreamtastic so that it’s a valuable and gorgeous resource – for my clients and for non-clients and potential clients.? So I imagine that it kind of sort of plugs into my other work for people who want to go deeper with it, but also works on its own.
My creative process is more of a journey than a straight line.
That is something that consistently got me into trouble in design school, as we had hand in sketches and idea boards that showed the natural progression of our idea and my progression bounced and boogied all over the place before arriving at a surprising destination.
Twenty years later, I’m still bouncing and boogieing around, working on something that I can’t quite see just yet, but I can feel it.
Last week in my post about how your dreams make you cranky when you don’t give them what they need, I shared that I was committing to spending 2 hours/day writing about creative journaling in support of this course.
Of course, not all of this writing is making it into the course – I want the course to be simple simple simple.? I’m focusing on creating the EASIEST possible way to help you get started.
But spending 2 hours/day writing (sometimes on my laptop, sometimes in a journal) is helping me remember everything I know about creative journaling.
I have been teaching creative dream journaling for 6 years!
I’m thinking back to my first class and smiling on the inside.? Even though in 6 years I have done a lot to refine my approach – the magic was still all there in that first class.
Creative journaling is magic because it connects you to your inner magic.? It makes your soul smile.
Creative DREAM journaling is even more magic because it directs your inner magic to help you bring your dreams to life.
I can’t wait.
As I said earlier,? the things I discovered along the way are so OBVIOUS now it’s ridiculous.
OF COURSE I should be putting more free Creative Dream Journaling resources out there!? OF COURSE this is the perfect way to promote myself and get my message out to more people.
So I am feeling really, really good.
And I’m feeling complete with this Treasure Map.
The finished treasure map!
I am declaring this journey a SMASHING SUCCESS.
Thanks to this journey, I feel more aligned, more sure, more energized, more inspired and more clear.
I am BEAMING with joy about Dreamtastic Creative Journals.
Which means I am BEAMING with JOY about how I am going to promote myself from now until the end of the year – how amazing is that?(!)
Treasure Mapping is the BEST way (for me!) to run my business.
You have to face fears and doubts and uncertainty and find a way to do it anyway – without forcing yourself to do anything you’re not ready to do, or pretending that putting yourself and your ideas out there isn’t terrifying.
It’s a delicate thing.
What I have found is that the more time I can spend energetically attuning to the thing before starting the actual work, the better.? So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks.? Attuning to the thing I want to bring to life.
And this seed is definitely ready to sprout.? It’s pushing through the soil.? In this case, the soil is me so it’s a little uncomfortable.
I’m starting to feel cranky and overwhelmed and I want to hide.
So I wanted to share that.
And say that feeling cranky and overwhelmed and like you want to hide is actually a sign of Creative Dream Incubation.
That dream is stirring and needs your attention.? And you’re in that delicate place and not feeling ready.
Which is where the cranky-overwhelm-hidey feeling comes from, from having a dream that is ready to grow and not doing anything with it.
Creativity has to be cultivated. Unused creativity is not benign, it matastizes. It?turns into grief, judgement, sorrow, and shame. We are divine beings and we are by nature creative. – Brene Brown
In other words, your Creative Dreams are doing you a favour when they make you cranky.
Because if you want until you FEEL ready, you’ll never start.
By making it increasing uncomfortable to not be doing the thing, your dream is calling you into action.
I took my crankiness to my journal where it immediately transformed into clarity and direction.
Creative Journaling is the most magic tool I know for navigating the (sometimes bewildering) path to your dream come true.
My journal always knows what I need.
This thing I’m starting that is making me cranky today?? I’m creating a free Creative Dream Journal e-course.? It’s called? Dreamtastic Creative Journals and it’s in 2 parts:
An e-course to help you get started with how to use your creative journal to bring your dreams to life.
An ongoing project for staying in the process.
And for the next week, cranky or not, I commit to writing about creative journaling for 2 hours a day to help this project come to life.
You can learn how to draw mandalas for healing, personal growth and intuitive insights - even if you're no good at drawing or have no experience with this kind of thing.
I promise!
But before I show you how, I want to say that there are actually LOTS of different kinds of mandalas, and I wish there was another term for this style of art, because calling them mandalas feels appropriative to me. What I am talking about here are mandalas as in circular drawings which represent sacred wholeness, not Buddhist Mandalas.
In this way, a mandala can actually be anything. I used to do creativity workshops where we made healing mandalas which were a simple circle drawn on a sheet of paper, filled in with collage elements to represent you personal healing journey. There are many, many ways to work with mandalas.
This is a tutorial for how to draw mandalas for people who can't draw.
Of course people who CAN draw are welcome to play along 😉
This tutorial is:
SIMPLE - you'll be able to start drawing these mandalas before you even finish reading this page
EFFECTIVE - this is a creative process that WILL yield inner results
Learning how to draw mandalas is actually less about drawing more about slowing down, being present, and opening up to your inner creative/intuitive flow.
You'll be doing simple lines and shapes that anyone can do - and it doesn't matter if your lines are crooked 😉
Pretty much ALL of my mandalas end up being kind of wobbly - that's part of their charm AND it's part of how I get the inner benefits of drawing mandalas - the healing, personal growth and intuitive insight part.
Drawing mandalas is a simple, reflective, repetitive creative practice is super good for your brain, your heart and your soul.
How To Draw Mandalas. Even if you can't draw:
We'll start with a uber-simple little Mandala so you can see how it works:
Draw a small circle.
Think of it as a compass. Add triangles that point to North, South, East and West.
Add triangle points in between North, South, East and West. Now you've got 8 spaces to play with... these are your 8 Slices Of Pie.
Add a circle to the end of each triangle. Now you're starting to see how it works...
Keep building it! Every time you add something to your Mandala, add it to each of the 8 Slices Of Pie. You can add circles, domes, triangles, squares, lines, waves and outlines... and play with different ways of doing circles, domes, triangles, squares, lines, waves and outlines. You can also make up secret symbols, totally break the rules or do anything else you want to do - it's YOUR Mandala.
This is just to get you started. Of course once you've got the hang of you, you'll choose which shapes to put where.
Or watch this longer video where I show you how to draw mandalas in detail:
The most important thing to know about how to draw a mandala for healing, personal growth and intuitive insights is to LISTEN.
Because drawing Mandalas isn't actually about drawing!
Drawing mandala is about connecting - deeply - to your inner wisdom and creative flow. Listening to what shape to put where and how to repeat it IS an intuitive practice.
It's about learning to be more intuitive and building paths so your intuition can send you messages and advice when you need it.
This is a practice that supports you in learning how to LIVE more in tune with your unique creative flow.
And it's about expressing what's going on inside you. Some days I draw angry mandalas or sleepy mandalas... but they always give me exactly the message I need to hear.
It doesn't matter what your mandalas look like - your mandalas will help you.
Of course, you need to practice drawing mandalas while listening to your inner voice.
And you need to practice a lot before you can expect to receive consistent helpful messages from your mandalas.
Practice staying present with your process. Practice listening to your inner wisdom about what to do next with your mandala. Practice noticing what FEELS right as you draw and colour.
As you practice, you'll learn how to receive (and, over time, understand!) the message behind your mandala and how it can help bring you whatever it is you need right now: healing, comfort, insights or brilliant flashes of inspiration.
All of that will NOT happen immediately - that comes with practice.
You know how amazing it is when you get just the right message at just the right time and the feeling is so electric the little hairs on your arms stand up?
I get that feeling ALL THE TIME from drawing mandalas.
I receive healing, personal growth and intuitive insights from drawing mandalas because I practice all the time.
It might take some time before you mandala practice really "clicks".
But hang in there!
I was going to say "there is magic in this practice" but that's not true. There is magic in you.
This practice can help you draw it out.
As I say in the tutorial video: learning how to draw mandalas is really about practicing listening to and acting on your intuitive voice.
And that is probably why you are so drawn to work with mandalas.
You can feel that there's a depth, an opening, a bit of magic in them.
They're not just cute little drawings.
Something deeper is happening. There is something for you here.
Your mandala is the universe speaking to you through your intuitive, creative voice.
I mean how cool is that?
The more you practice, the more clearly that voice will speak through your mandalas
I’m experimenting a bit with my routine, trying to find the places with the most flow.
I find summer heat draining.? And air conditioning obnoxious.? So finding places with any flow at all is a challenge some days.
This week I’m experimenting staying home all morning, and going for a journal picnic in the park in the afternoons.? (Usually I journal before I work because the Creative Journaling uncovers magic, activates genius and makes everything deliciously clear + easy.)
So here I was this afternoon:
And as soon as I sat down I felt STUCK.
I have been working on this new plan and noticed that I am really STUCK around moving out of planning and into doing.? I started to journal about it and very quickly my journal gave me some advice:
Over-planning is a trap you fall into while trying to avoid fear. Side effect: you also avoid your dream. Solution: Dive in. Play with your dream. Give your ideas form. Do not wait until you’ve got the “perfect plan”
Except, well, you know how it goes.? That’s great advice.? And it’s true.? And knowing that is different than being ready to act on it.
So I called in the parts of me who were ready and the parts of me who were not ready.? I gave them each space to voice their fears, concerns and desires.
And it all became clear.
There was this one beautiful space where each of their needs overlapped.
I was delighted to discover that that space was a Treasure Map.
I re-wrote my Very Serious Plan as a Treasure Map!
Then I called in the heart and soul of my dream and the heart and soul of this new project to bless, activate and magic-i-fy the Treasure Map.? And also: make sure I didn’t miss anything, and offer their advice and feedback on how to best navigate the Treasure Map.
And now tomorrow morning I don’t have to face this New Big Plan.? Instead, I get to take my first step on the Treasure Map.
Happy!? I do believe from now on I will make Treasure Maps instead of Very Serious Plans.
This summer I made a commitment to myself to draw every day.? (If you want to join me, I set up a Rainbow~licious Creative Healing Circle where you can play along for the summer)
I am so glad I am doing this!? Just doodling, not thinking or writing (much – sometimes a few words come to me at the end that want to be on the page) or planning.
Just being with myself in my creative flow.? This morning I’m listening to Steven Halpurn while I doodle – bliss.
This is opening up such a beautiful sense of spaciousness in my world.
Here’s this morning’s doodle:
Not planning means sometimes they come out pretty strange, like this one:
But those are kind of the best ones – this image came to me in a meditation a few days later and its meaning was clear then… lots of stuff is being worked out in doodletime.
Today I'm over-the-moon grateful. I'm grateful to be doing this work and for the amazing people who are showing up to do it with me. So I'm expressing gratitude with collage, drawing and painting.
This is SO super different from keeping a daily gratitude list that you have to add to every day if you're feeling grateful or not, or forcing yourself to be grateful, when you're not feeling it.
That is stupid!
As powerful and magic as authentic gratitude can be, trying to distort your feelings into what you wish you were feeling is not helpful at all.
There is a right way and a wrong way to keep a gratitude journal.
In today's video I talk about how being grateful supercharges all good things but also how forced gratitude is dangerous.
I am treasure-mapping my way to growing my business, and sharing the honest actual story, AS IT HAPPENS, as I fumble along this path with creativity, heart and soul. 
