Journaling

Creative Genius Planning Session For Those Weeks When You Have Obstacles In Your Way

Creative Genius Planning Sessions are about doing your weekly planning from your most wise, brave and creative self. You get to your next level with your dreams by being your next-level self, doing next-level things.

Do them with me every Monday and you'll AMAZE yourself.

There is a 15 minute Basic Creative Genius Planning Session right here (meditation + journaling class) for planning your amazing week.

AND I am creating a full "expansion pack" of extra videos that address specific situations that you’ll come up against with your planning. I’m sharing a new one, with a new theme, each week.

This week we're looking at how to approach your planning when you've got OBSTACLES.

Having an obstacle is just a part of having a dream. You can't just get stuck every time you have an obstacle, you NEED a way of facing the obstacles head on, and working through them.

So that's what we'll work with in this week's Creative Planning Sessions Video:

 

If you're in Dream Book - watch this on our private blog, with a link to The Obstacle Is The Way Through Alchemy Practice - plus a private comment section for sharing your goals for the week, asking questions and getting extra support.

If you're not in Dream Book - if you like the Creative Genius Planning Sessions you will LOVE Dream Book.

Check it out here.

Creative Genius Planning Session For Those Weeks When You Have Obstacles In Your Way Read More »

Creative Genius Planning Session For Those Weeks When You Have Two Things Competing For Your Attention

Creative Genius Planning Sessions are about doing your weekly planning from your most wise, brave and creative self. You get to your next level with your dreams by being your next-level self, doing next-level things.

There is a 15 minute Creative Genius Planning Session right here (meditation + journaling class) for planning your amazing week.

AND I am creating a full "expansion pack" of extra videos that address specific situations that you’ll come up against with your planning. I’m sharing a new one, with a new theme, each week.

This week we're exploring how to approach this when you've got two things competing for your attention.

Often it's your dream and your job that compete.

Sometimes it's two different dreams or two different creative projects.

There's lots of different ways this happens, and that competing thing can make it harder to focus on anything and get your stuff done!

So that's what we'll work with in this week's Creative Planning Sessions Video:

 

If you're in Dream Book - watch this on our private blog, with a private comment section for sharing your goals for the week, asking questions and getting extra support.

If you're not in Dream Book - if you like the Creative Genius Planning Sessions you will LOVE Dream Book.

Check it out here.

Creative Genius Planning Session For Those Weeks When You Have Two Things Competing For Your Attention Read More »

How to move beyond spiritual bypass and lean into your true power to heal and create – and why you want to. (With journal prompts!)

How to move beyond spiritual bypass and lean into your true power to heal and create - and why you want to. (With journal prompts!)

About my post from last week on how Love & Light are used as New Age gaslighting....

Being uncomfortable about other people having human feelings is generally a sign that we are not allowing OURSELVES to have our feelings.

And it's not a crime. It doesn't make you a bad person.

But it does make it harder for you to heal, grow, and create more of what you want in your life.

If does make it harder for you to be the change you want to see in the world.

Because everything you avoid has power over you. Everything you face strengthens you.

We are powerful! We are healers and artists and world-changers.

We can look hard things in the eye BECAUSE we believe in our power to do better.

BUT the New Age/Wellness/Live Your Best Life culture is RIFE with spiritual by-pass.

PLUS it's human nature to want to avoid discomfort.

If you think of a spectrum between:

[full on facing everything like a boss, healing and growing through very little obstacle in your way]

and

[#goodvibesonly I won't acknowledge anything negative and will even shame others for "being negative"]

recognize that we move around on this spectrum all the time.

Self awareness helps!

Reflecting on your own tendencies to bypass helps you be more aware of when and how and why you do this, so you can make more empowered choices.

So here we go...

The journal prompts. How do you know if you are really healing the thing or attempting to spiritual bypass the thing?

 

What happens when a life event knocks you down and you're right up against the thing again (the thing you thought you'd healed)?

Has it changed at all? Or are you up against the exact same thing?

We talk a lot about the healing path being a spiral. But is it?

Are you really seeing your issue in a new light?

Or are you just coming back up against this thing because you haven't actually dealt with it?

Are you sure?

What makes you sure?

If something has changed about how you are engaging with this thing: what is it, specifically?

Are you reacting in the same way that you used to? Don't focus on how you feel, it's easy to "feel like" you're seeing this from a more evolved place. Look at your behaviour. How has it changed?

Spiritual bypass keeps things VERY vague and a LOT can hide in vagueness. So get specific.

You are drawing from your true power to heal and create when you can be specific and clear and un-flinching. Especially when you're dealing with the things you really struggle with.

If you've been using spiritual by-pass as a tool, it will be VERY uncomfortable to lean into your true power instead. You will try to stay vague to get out of the discomfort of facing the thing you don't want to face.

Take the discomfort as a good sign.

And stay with it.

Remember that there is a POWER in being able to face the hard stuff head on, including BEING WITH the feelings that it brings up.

This is the inner work.

It's in processing your feelings about the obstacles where you find the fuel that will help you get beyond the obstacle.

You find your power.

You find whole new ways of seeing the thing, which give you a plethora of new options for how to handle it. You tap into your INFINITE source of creativity which can generate INFINITE solutions.

Because everything you avoid has power over you. Everything you face strengthens you.

I think it's just obvious that your healing and growth tools should STRENGTHEN you.

Which means they won't necessarily make you feel better right in the moment.

Which is why the New Age/Wellness/Live Your Best Life Industry is so FULL of tools that rely on spiritual by-pass.

Which gets confusing.

This is how I handle it:

Inner Work is uncomfortable.

Working with your dream feels good. It's creative and hopeful and casts a bright light.

So the trick is to COMBINE this Inner Work with the Dream Work. And then combine both with the Outer Work of pursuing your creative projects and making changes in your life.

That way it's not just you and your discomfort - you're bringing in light and healing and magic and creativity and possibility to the process.

You are seeing - AND USING - the benefits of the Inner Work right away. This makes it easier to KEEP GOING.

This is the work that will grow your dreams, but it's also what will save us all.

(And yes - this is what I teach, and what we do together side-by-side, in Dream Book)

How to move beyond spiritual bypass and lean into your true power to heal and create – and why you want to. (With journal prompts!) Read More »

Creative Genius Planning Session

Creative Genius Planning Sessions are about doing your weekly planning from your most wise, brave and creative self. You get to your next level wth your dreams by being your next-level self, doing next-level things.

This is a 15 minute journaling + meditation practice for doing your Creative Genius Planning:

(If you've already watched it and don't need the into - skip ahead to 1:45)

Get the full Creative Genius Planning Sessions inside Dream Book

There are six additional videos there, for planning your week when:

Creative Genius Planning Session Read More »

Year of Dreams 2022 Planner CORRECTIONS

Yikes!

The original version of this planner had mistakes!

I'm really sorry about this. Of course I triple-checked everything and of course these things got through.

Mistakes do happen and I hope that as you use the Year of Dreams 2022, these mistakes can be a reminder to you that your mistakes are ok. Mistakes are a part of the process.

The January, July and October monthly calendars are wrong.

If you purchased the printable:

log in to your account for updated files - there are a few different ways you can use them.

If you purchased the printed book:

You can print out the new calendars, cut them out on the black lines, and glue them over the calendars in your book.

This means you still have the coloured backgrounds, and the calendars will be accurate. (If you're not quite following me, scroll down for photos)

Also - you can use washi tape for cute edges!

Download the new calendars here:

January Monthly Page

July Monthly Page

October Monthly Page

Instructions:

Print out the new calendars, and cut out along the black lines:

Year of Dreams 2022 Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal & Creative Dream Playbook

Find the appropriate page in your planner:

Year of Dreams 2022 Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal & Creative Dream Playbook

Glue the printed calendar over the one in the book:

Year of Dreams 2022 Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal & Creative Dream Playbook

Optional: Decorate with washi tape.

Or get creative with it - it's your creative planner!

Year of Dreams 2022 Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal & Creative Dream Playbook

Again, I am SO SORRY about this.

There is a notice about this on the Year of Dreams 2022 page - it takes a few days for updates to work their way through the system and make it into printed books, so don't buy the printed version right now. I'll take that notice down once the revised version is being printed.

Year of Dreams 2022 Planner CORRECTIONS Read More »

A Double-Epiphany Conversation With My Stuck

I woke up feeling stuck but I did manage to get myself dressed, and on my bike, and to a favourite bakery/coffee shop which is where I am now, enjoying amazing coffee and the creamiest quiche tart in the world.

Still, I feel stuck.

So, stuck, can we talk?

😩 Argh. Ugh. I don't know. I guess. Remember when you rode your bike past that house and could hear a man screaming "FUCK" over and over and you were kind of scared? I kind of relate to him. Like I want to yell and scream and throw my feelings all over everyone else so I don't have to deal with them.

Yeah, I can see that. But you know that he DOES have to deal with them, eventually, and he's just making a bigger mess for himself and everyone around him, right?

😩 But it would be so satisfying in the moment.

Ok yeah. I hear you. I guess I am just always thinking of my future self and how to make life better for her so I don't want to go around making huge messes.

😩 And I want to make some messes. I want to not care.

That's valid. What kind of mess do you have in mind?

😩 Oh I don't want to MAKE a mess. I just want to know I can.

Oh, I hear you. That's important - to know you can express yourself however you want to. I'm sorry, dd I make you feel like you can't do that today?

😩 You did, when I was all "I'm tired and stuck and don't want to do anything!" and you insisted we get dressed and come here. I mean you were right, I am happier here, and I am glad we got the blood moving with a bike ride. But I also want you to acknowledge how I was feeling.

Well, yeah that's why I am in this conversation.

😩 Oh! Right. It's like I am so used to feeling like nobody cares that I don't notice when someone is trying to care.

I do care. I care about you, my stuck, just as much as I care about my future self.

😩 Oh. Whoa. I never thought of it that way.

Well it's true. So what do you need today?

😩 To acknowledge that you made some big decisions this week. Like sometimes you decide something and move on it SO FAST and I just feel lost.

(Sitting and breathing for a few minutes, focusing on how this feels in my body)

Do you feel that? That faster moving and heart-more-open energy flowing in my body right now?

😩 Yes.

That's what is fuelling this decision. It's ALIGNMENT, it's not "moving fast". I've been working on this stuff a long time, and when the next level snapped into alignment for me, I knew what needed to shift. Once I have that clarity and alignment it's really hard to NOT act on it, because then I know I am OUT of alignment. But I see how it can feel too fast for you. What can I do to help you with that?

😩 It helps to hear that it's about alignment and not about just making a fast decision and acting on it immediately. It felt like you didn't take time to think about it, and that's a bit scary to me.

OK this is FASCINATING. Because you started this conversation talking about the man who was just SCREAMING swearing angry so loud I could hear him just riding my bike past his house. And you felt like you wished you could express yourself that freely.... but when I express myself that freely - via taking immediate action when I feel that deep down in my heart and soul alignment - you want us to stop and get stuck.

😩 WHOA. I didn't see that. It's true. You are expressing yourself VIVIDLY by taking action on your inner inspiration and I was wanting to shut you down.

You didn't feel safe.

😩 No. But then I was jealous of the man who felt he could just be a big asshole with his feelings... so LOUDLY!

You wanted to feel.... what is it, entitled?... to express your feelings.

Just sitting with this. Feeling the stuck and bad mood dissolving.

Getting un-stick by validating all feelings and letting myself BE exactly where I AM is one of my favourite things to do, and I share LOTS of different ways to do it (with guided meditations and journaling sheets) inside Dream Book. I'll even show you how to create an entire "Un-Sticking Station in your journal.

Join us here

A Double-Epiphany Conversation With My Stuck Read More »

Creative Genius Planning Sessions are Changing

I have been doing A LOT of journaling and thinking and meditating about how I want to put myself, and my work, out there.

There have been a lot of tangles to work through around how the internet culture has changed over the last 10 years, and all the places where I DO NOT want to interact with "business as usual" and... well... I could go on and on about the tangles but I won't. (Not that they are not super valuable to explore but that I've already written about all of that)

Today I am ready to talk about what I want to do next

The Creative Genius Planning Sessions are changing.

When I started doing them I was trying to find a way to offer something useful in a "live on social media" format.

A lot of what happens in my classes is NOT appropriate for "live on social media" it's deep and personal and it needs space to incubate away from the public.

So I didn't know HOW to do it in a free, live, public format , and I really wanted to experiment with it. And I've done that.

At this point, what I want to do is make the Creative Genius Planning Sessions the best they can be.

They are still going to be free. But they won't be live.

I'll be posting them on Instagram, Facebook and You Tube. I'll also be posting them inside Dream Book, where they will come with extra resources plus private space for sharing your goals and getting support each week.

I'm going to post them on Sunday mornings, so they're ready for people in different time zones and people who want to plan on Sunday instead of Monday.

Because these will take a lot more time/energy - I might miss some weeks. Or I might figure out a way to be super consistent with this, at this point I don't know 🙂

I do know these will go MUCH DEEPER than I feel comfortable taking people in a "live on social media" format.

I know - I am still posting these on social media, but I won't be taking questions/comments from people as I go. The thing about some of those questions/comments is that they quickly start to hit places that feel too vulnerable to share in this way. So it feels restrictive because we DO need to be working in those vulnerable places to truly access our creative genius.

In a pre-recorded format, you do the work on your own, in your mind and in your journal, and I don't feel restricted in terms of where I go with it.

I am hoping to have the first one ready this Sunday. Watch this space.

Creative Genius Planning Sessions are Changing Read More »

My Printable Year of Dreams 2022 Planner

The Year of Dreams 2022 Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal + Creative Dream Playbook is here!

It's available as a full colour printed book from Amazon worldwide, and as a printable planner. (Details on both are here)

I am using the printable version, which is a little bigger and offers a TON more space for customizing.

I CAN'T WAIT for 2022 and to start using this planner.

It's got MORE open space than any planner I've ever used.

Once I printed it and held it in my hands it felt like such a gift. SPACE and SUPPORT for a much deeper process than just planning my weeks. It feels like exactly what I need for 2022.

Plus it will be RELENTLESS about reminding you about what's most important to you.

You can't forget your new year's goals when your planner keeps reminding you!

I just can't wait to use it.

I wanted my planner to be strong enough to paint on and bound in a way that makes it easy to use.

I always paint in my planners and they never hold up well to the paint and I wanted this to be paint-worthy paper. Also I like the idea of a HEAVY weight planner that can stand up to all sorts of creative play.

And I wanted it coil bound, so I could flip it over to make it easy to write in AND ALSO I want to be able to move pages around and especially ADD PAGES anywhere. Some weeks I need more planning space. And with the visioning journal at the beginning, I may want to add more pages there as I go through the year and my plans unfold and dreams grow.

So I used a disc-bound system. If you haven't tried it - it's a miracle!

I started with this paper punch from The Happy Planner - doesn't matter which brand you get, but you do need a "mushroom punch" and not a hole punch.

And then I got these discs, also from the Happy Planner, to bind it. You need to make sure you are getting the right sized discs - too big or too small and the pages won't hold together as well. Since I used such heavy paper, I needed the largest discs.

You could also just us a binder, or get this printed at a copy shop where they can coil-bind it for you.

The paper:

I looked around - A LOT - for paper that was the same texture on both sides and MUCH heavier weight than regular printer paper. There are a LOT of options out there - especially when you get into cotton and linen papers.

The options available will vary depending on where you are. So I'll share what I used, but know that maybe you can find something better where you are. You can also get actual watercolour paper in letter size to use - though depending where you are, that can get really expensive since you need almost 150 sheets for this and probably wayyyy more than you need for a good, sturdy creative planner.

I got Accent brand 100 lb paper.

Normal printer paper is 20 lb. My Staples has printer paper up to 32 lb.

100 lb is a LOT heavier. It might not work with all printers - on mine it did get jammed a few times.

If it gets jammed and you have to stop and re-start the printing - you have to be especially careful about where you re-start the printing, since it needs to be 2-sided printing and a lot of the pages are printed on the wrong side. I made a few mistakes when mine jammed, but only ended up wasting a few sheets of paper.

Still to come: Laminating the covers

I just started painting the covers and there's lots more I want to do still before I can laminate them. But it's an important step to make the whole planner sturdier to bringing around with me. I loooove doing my planning in a coffee shop (when we're not in a pandemic lockdown)

But honestly, it's so big and heavy I am more likely to take the week's sheets out, tuck them into my big journal, and bring that to the coffee shop, and then put them back into the planner when I get home. I do love that the sheets came come out and go back in like that.

Once they are decorated I'm going to laminate the covers really thick and 1" bigger around so that the covers protect the paper inside.

So far from what I have read, the easiest way to do this is to get self-lamentation sheets at the dollar store, or I may just take the pages to a print shop and have them do it.

>>> Check out the Year of Dreams 2022 right here.

My Printable Year of Dreams 2022 Planner Read More »

Get The Magic On Your Side Guided Journal

It never ceases to amaze me how many different ways there are to get stuck with a project.

Like you write a brilliant blog post and then when you go to share it, you re-read it and suddenly it's crap and you wonder why you even bother to try.

Or you finish the whole first draft of your book but are paralyzed by the editing process.

Or maybe everything was going fine, or so you thought anyway, but you just don't seem to be making time to work on it anymore.

Or maybe you get to a part where you really have no clue what to do next.

Or maybe a global pandemic strikes.. and just never seems to end.

The thing is - stucks are a part of the process.

I know. This sucks.

But the faster you can ACCEPT that stucks are a part of it - and have a PLAN for working with them - the faster you can get back into the flow!

This is the Inner Work of getting your project done.

It's the part where you face your fears.

And re-write your old stories of "I can't do this because"

This is the part where you step into this BRIGHTER BIGGER ore CREATIVE and BRAVE version of yourself.

This is the part where you BECOME the version of you who can COMPLETE the project.

This is my favourite part.

This is what we do in the Get The Magic On Your Side Guided Journal.

You start with some simple tips & tricks for successful Inner Work

Inner Work can be discombobulating!

I won't tell you HOW to do this because this is really a practice in listening to your inner voice - but I will offer some structure and guidance to help you get the most out of your work.

✨✨THE REST OF THIS JOURNAL IS THE MAGIC✨✨✨

This is how you will ALWAYS have something to DO with your project - because you can always come into this journal and PLAY with your project.

Whenever you're stuck with the Outer Work, you've got a whole journal to fill with Inner Work that will guide you back into the creative flow with your project! There are also some all-blank pages for you to create your own processes, or continue what you were doing on the previous page.

* If you're doing the Build The Path By Walking Guided Journal for the Outer Work, this journal will give you enough Inner Work to go along with it.

This journal will, literally, help you get the magic on your side so don't stay stuck with your project.

Every time, ANY time, you get stuck with the Outer Work - you've got a whole journal full of processes for engaging with the Inner Work of making your project happen.

This makes ALL the difference.

Get The Magic On Your Side Guided Journal for your Impossible Projects

This is a guided journal for navigating the inner work of getting your "Impossible Project" done.

(Inner Work = The Stuff That Makes The Outer Work Possible)

It comes as a full colour printed journal from Amazon, or a black & white PDF file you can print yourself.

Get your copy here

Get The Magic On Your Side Guided Journal Read More »

Build The Path By Walking

You know you're ready to DO this thing. So why are you not getting started?

This part, where the rubber meets the road, is just ridiculously awkward.

I mean - how could it not be?

How are you supposed to know HOW to do the thing you've never done? You can't.

You have SO MUCH inspiration and enthusiasm and you freaking LOVE this project - but all of those good things can't tell you HOW to do do it.

You can start taking steps, or just wait around for the path to magically appear.

This is what Build The Path By Walking means. That you recognize that this path isn't going to build itself, that there isn't a way to already know how to do a thing, before doing the thing.

So you dive in. You start trying thing, making mistakes and before you know it - you are learning as you go.

Easier said that done, right? That's why I made this guided journal.

Here's how it works:

This journal will offer encouragement to be awkward and make mistakes and not know... while also holding space for you to figure it all out.

This journal won't show you HOW to do your project because those answers are in YOU - it will guide you through the process of creating your own way.

I'll show you how to use the Build The Path By Walking method to NOT get tripped up by mistakes and fumbles along the way.

This can't be said enough: making mistakes and mis-steps and having it all fall apart is a TOTALLY NORMAL part of the process.

There simply isn't another way to do a thing you've never done before - other than to copy someone else's path, which is always a recipe for disaster.

Because YOUR project needs you to do it YOUR way.

So I PROMISE you that by trying the things you feel inspired to try, by respecting your ideas enough to test them, and by following your own creativity and inspiration, you WILL create your path.

These worksheets are the thing that turns "trying things, making mistakes and having no clue what to do next" into "learning and GROWING with each step".

You get detailed explanations on how to use each part and you'll see this shift is easier than you think.

Each time you finish 6 steps, you get a prompt for reflecting on your progress.

This is the second layer of "learning and growing as you go". These prompts have you looking at your process in different ways, to help you see different things in it.

All of this prompts are meant to spark new insights to help you with your next steps.

So, as you keep taking steps and reflecting along the way - each new step you take GETS EASIER.

This journal will coach you through the process of taking 54 steps with your "Impossible Project".

👉🏻 Once you've done that, you'll have both MOMENTUM and DIRECTION with your project.

You will have built part of the path and you'll know what to do next!

By using the Build The Path By Walking method to take each of these 54 steps, you'll learn an incredible amount about what your project needs, and what you need, to be able to complete it.

Build The Path By Walking Guided Journal for your Impossible Projects

This is a guided journal for taking steps, figuring it out as you go, and making remarkable progress on your project.

It comes as a full colour printed journal from Amazon, or a black & white PDF file you can print yourself.

Get your copy here

Build The Path By Walking Read More »

You Can Do This

It's normal to be all tangled up about whether or not you can actually do this thing.

EVERYONE feels this way at the start of a new project. And EVERYONE feels alone in it. Like their stucks are totally unique and unsurmountable.

I mean of course you also feel inspired and excited and ready to get to work... but you're not actually GETTING to work.

This is just how it is at the beginning stage, there are a lot of conflicting feelings.

And it takes time to work through them all, to get to that place of feeling grounded, clear and ready to DO the thing. For real.

When you first get the idea to do the thing, parts of it are supposed to feel impossible.

This is because your project will GROW you.

So yes, it's impossible - to the version of you that you are today.

But jumping in and ENGAGING with your idea will help you grow into the version of you who IS ready to do this.

That's why I made this journal.

Here's how it works:

The prompts lead you through the process of detangling the tangles.

Having a lot of conflicting feelings about your project makes it especially difficult to get stuck in them. Feelings need to MOVE and it's so hard for them to move when they're all tangled up together.

This journal will help you make space for ALL of your thoughts and feelings about this project, which will help you de-tangle it all.

Then you'll start to see the project, and your ability to DO this thing, in a new light.

You'll learn about your "Impossible Project" and how to work with it

"Impossible Projects" is another way of saying "Creative Dreams" which is something I have learned a lot about.

It's a thing you really, really want to do but you also aren't sure you CAN do it.

Impossible Projects tap into your most heartfelt wishes, truest inspiration and deepest self doubt and fears - all at once!

This journal will help you find ways to work on it, without making ANY of your feelings wrong.

You'll look at your project idea, and how you could do it, from a ton of different perspectives.

The thing about how your Impossible Projects grow you - it means if you just look at it from your currently-self everyday perspective, you're going to stay stuck.

You've got to stretch your mind a little and look at it in different ways so that the path can come into focus. You remember the "magic eye" art from the 90s where you'd stare at a pattern and then a 3D image would eventually appear? It's like that.

And the journal will encourage you along the way.

I know EXACTLY how hard it is to engage with a project idea that you really want to do, but also feel conflicted about.

I know EXACTLY how BRAVE it is to dive in and do this work.

So the journal offers all sorts of of encouragement along the way.

This journal will coach you through the process of getting ready to actually DO your "Impossible Project".

Once you've filled it in you'll have PROJECT CLARITY.

You'll either be ready to start taking steps with your project (which the next journal in this series can help you do) OR you'll know, for sure, that this isn't the right thing for you to do right now.

👉🏻 Either way, you'll stop all the ambivalence and what-ifs and you'll KNOW what to do next.

You Can Do This Guided Journal for your Impossible Projects

This is a guided journal for untangling doubts, freakouts, ambivalence, and getting ready to actually do your project! For real!

It comes as a full colour printed journal from Amazon, or a black & white PDF file you can print yourself.

>>> Get your copy here.

You Can Do This Read More »

My new dream: The Creative Dream Incubator Press

I can trace the roots of this dream back realllllly far.

In 2015, I started creating + sending out a weekly journaling kit, and have sent out a weekly journaling kit every week since then!

And then in 2017 I self-published 2 guided journal/colouring books which are no longer available. And, of course, my Journal Cards for Dreamers.

I loved those books and cards, and I had ideas for dozens more, but it didn't quite feel like the right time, and other projects took precedent.

Then in the last year, this dream came back with a vengeance, and with much more clarity and heft.

In hindsight, I can see that I needed to develop my ideas which became Creative Dream Alchemy and the Dream Book approach to journaling while also developing my visual voice (by creating the weekly journaling kits) for how I want to create the guided journals.

Everything fell into place... except the logistics around publishing, printing, sales and distribution. Just that little piece 😉

I've had a lot of ideas for how to do this.

I've done a lot of research.

And I got very tangled up in everything I learned.

This is a TOTALLY NORMAL stage of creative dreams. When you dig in and start looking at all of the details OF COURSE you will get lost in them.

In 2017 I published those books through Amazon because their self publishing system is really simple. They make it easy to sell your book almost anywhere in the world.

BUT seeing how much profit Amazon made during the pandemic while not paying taxes or treating their employees well, I stopped using Amazon as a customer and didn't want to use them with my business.

So I went ahead with a non-Amazon option.... but by the time I had my first journal ready to publish, the retail cost was $200 - plus shipping! It was a GORGEOUS journal with luscious paper but I really don't want these journals to be precious.

Then as I sat with this tangly mess of ideas and obstacles and dreams and wishes I realised that I have only THREE priorities right now:

  1. Dream Book: both as a participant and leader
  2. Making new guided journals
  3. Epic Self Care/feeling good and enjoying myself

That's all.

I don't want to gather and manage a team and build a publishing empire... right now.

And I don't want to keep figuring out the details of the physical journals.

The idea of just making my journals and putting them out there in a simple way by myself feels REALLY REALLY GOOD.

There are no real rules when it comes to your dreams, but for me, the simplest way is often the best way.

You can refine and embellish and expand as you go. But start with whatever way feels do-able to who you are today.

So, for now, I am going back to Amazon.

Later on I can do it differently! In fact, my research showed me an AMAZING way to build the Creative Dream Incubator Press... but it will make more sense to work on that part AFTER I have a bunch of journals completed.

Amazon makes it easy for me to put out there, and easy for people to buy from anywhere in the world.

I've spent A LOT of time and energy working through details and plans and also processed A LOT feelings about this and I am not interested in feedback from anyone at this time. Amazon is not how I wanted to do this AND it's the right way for me to do this right now. I think it's a really beautiful metaphor for how our dreams help us build a better world, but to get there we need to be present in this world, as it is today.

I am now getting ready to publish THREE new guided journals! It's a series called Let's Do This: Guided Journals for your Impossible Project.

It's three journals for the three stages of working on your project:

  1. Going from "OMG I want to do this and OMG I don't know if I can and OMG am I stuck? and OMG this is too hard, is it??!?!" to feeling ready to begin.
  2. A journaling process for creating MOMENTUM out of little steps, and learning as you go. (Build The Path By Walking)
  3. A whole journal of journaling processes for navigating the INNER work of growing into the version of you who definitely CAN do this thing.

Watch this space!

My new dream: The Creative Dream Incubator Press Read More »

How are YOU going to do this?

Get Beyond The Overwhelm

The last year and a half has been A LOT.

But even before that, a lot of things were A LOT

And personally, I am also finding peri-menopause to be A LOT.

It's so easy to get stuck in this kind of overwhelm.

Kind of frozen and unable to move forward and too tired to really even think about it.

This is partly because when we're overwhelmed, we stop doing soothing forms of self care and start doing numbing/distracting/avoiding forms of self care.

Of course, it's totally natural to turn to the things that help us avoid our feelings, or distract us from what's happening.

Totally natural.

AND...

At some point, if you want to go BEYOND the overwhelm, you need to shift away from numbing and towards soothing.

Last week I did Goodbye Pandemic Overwhelm, Hello Dreams class: Sooth Pandemic Overwhelm, Restore Joy + Magic, Grow into your brightest dreams for 2021 class.

(You can get the whole thing right here)

SOOTHE was the first part of the class, because that part has to happen before you can shift into restoring your magic and growing your dreams.

It's how you fill your tank back up.

How are YOU going to do this?

The meditation + journaling class gives you space to do some alchemy work with the quality of soothing, to experience being soothed, and use that experience to spark some ideas of what you need to be doing - the practical changes you need to make in your life, in order to be more SOOTHED so you can begin to move BEYOND the overwhelm.

Later in the class you also connect with your dreams, because dreams help GROW and HEAL us, which can help pull us out of overwhelm too. But it begins with the soothing part.

What came to you during the class about what YOU can do differently, to give yourself more nourishing and soothing?

How are you going to make space to DO these things this week?

It's Monday!

Join me live for Creative Genius Planning: live meditation + journaling for working on your genius plan for this week!

It’s happening on Instagram live this morning at 10 am (Central, North America). , or catch the replay at that same link after we’re done.

We’ll do an alchemy meditation to connect with your intuition and get more clear on what YOU need this week to help move you towards where you want to be.

Then I’ll pick journal prompt cards, for some questions to help figure out HOW to move closer to your dreams this week.

These sessions are MAGIC. Every week I get more emails from people telling me how helpful they are.

How are YOU going to do this? Read More »

This is going to be epic

I went to the park this morning, to get all the final details ready for today's free class.

The sunlight. The trees. The warm breeze. The iced coffee. It was a perfect morning.

It feels like the perfect day to do this work of:

SOOTHING pandemic fatigue (or whatever needs soothing for you right now)

RESTORING joy + magic (or whatever needs restoring for you right now)

GROWING into your brightest dreams for 2021 (whatever that means for you right now)

I can't wait!

I just sent out the Zoom call details via email.

I'll post the replay here on my blog later today.

This is going to be epic Read More »

⚡️BREAKTHROUGHS GUARANTEED⚡️

Get the free journal for Creative Dreaming here: