Why Journal?

By Andrea Schroeder / March 18, 2015

I was out with a friend, eating delicious cake and chatting and laughing when she asked me “So, why journal anyway? What’s so special about it?”

I was so surprised, I nearly spit out my cake! Why journal? How could anyone not see the magic of journaling?

But as I tried to answer I realised I didn’t really have an answer. I mean, it’s not easy to explain with words – it’s a feeling. It’s about diving into the magic in your heart.

I told her I’d think about it and come up with a better answer so here I am.

Why journal?

Well, there is a different reason for every person asking the question.

Barack Obama, President of the United States of America:

In my life, writing has been an important exercise to clarify what I believe, what I see, what I care about, what my deepest values are. The process of converting a jumble of thoughts into coherent sentences makes you ask tougher questions.

In my friend’s case, she had a lot of questions about how she really wants to be living her life. But, in the whirlwind of daily life she feels like she has no time to step out of her day-to-day routine and take a look at what’s going on and what needs to change.

This is where a journal can totally help! By spending just 5-10 minutes a day with that question:

What do I want it to be like?

She can start to discover the answer. If she keeps coming back to it, for just 5-10 minutes every day, looking over what she has written and adding new ideas, she goes deeper into the question each day.

The depth of clarity you can find using this process is startling.

(And you can do this with ANY question you face in life.)

Why journal? Because your journal can help you go from having no clue about how to do something to mapping out a clear path to it, in only 5-10 minutes a day.

This is a way of accessing your creative genius.

Why journal?? Because daily journaling, over time, can help you:

Get to know yourself better
Process, heal and transform difficult situations in your life
Uncover your creative gifts
Feel more confident about yourself
Get clear on what you really want
Find your intuitive voice (and the courage to listen to it)
Make positive life changes

Just through the simple act of taking your thoughts, ideas and feelings out of your head and putting them down on paper.

My students continually report being STUNNED by how much magic they find in their journals.

Why journal? Because it makes you get clear.

Keeping your thoughts, ideas and feelings swirling around in your head keeps them vague. The act of writing in a journal turns confusion and uncertainty into clarity and vision.? It brings you back to your center, your power and your inner magic.

Of course, it won’t all be glitter and rainbows.? The act of getting clear includes getting clear on what needs to change.? It means facing your fears.? It means working through some really hard stuff, which is why I recommend taking quality journaling classes that can lead you through the hard parts (like mine!).

?Why Journal?? Because it brings you back to yourself.

Writing in your journal is quality time with yourself, you real self.? Not the roles you play or the patterns you? live in, but the real you.? It’s a spiritual and creative practice that will transform your whole life.

Want some help getting started?

Check out my free class on how to grow your dream – which comes with a printable guided journal to get you started – Your Dream Is Waiting For You To Come True?.

Or my free ART journal class about how to get more creative in your journal – Dreamtastic Creative Journals.

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What To Do About Negative Inner Voices That Shoot Dreams Down

By Andrea Schroeder / March 3, 2015

This post is a part of the Dreamtastic Creative Journals ongoing (free!) e-course about using your journal as a tool for transformation, healing and dream-growing. The courses is full of videos, stories, photos, prompts and creative journaling processes that will help you discover the magic within.

Click here to check out what’s happened in the course so far.

Today I’m going to answer a question I get often:

I’m curious about how to tap the deepest level without the negative inner voice shooting the dreams down. That’s my biggest issue.

No one is going to like this answer: there is no way to get to the deepest level without encountering the negative inner voices.

Being more present in your inner world means being more present in all of your inner world.

Learning to activate your inner superpowers and make your dreams real is actually all about learning how to transform the negative, fearful voices that get in the way.

Because your inner superpowers already exist.? You already have everything you need, to do anything you want to do.? It’s just a matter of believing in yourself, untangling the tangles and healing your limiting patterns and beliefs.

Then your superpowers can shine through, so bright they change your whole life.

Which means if you want your journaling practice to be a space for healing and transformation then you have to welcome these voices in when they show up, you can’t be trying to avoid them.

This is the biggest part of my practice: welcoming what shows up and working with it.? Trusting that the negative voices that show up are the path – that healing and transforming these parts of me is exactly what I need to be focused on right now.

Often I think I should be focused somewhere else – and exploring something more comfortable and happy.? But I’m always wrong.

The thing that shows up is always the right thing to be exploring.

How, exactly, to do this deep and effective transformative work is beyond the scope of what I can offer in this free series, but you’ll get all the help you could possibly need to do this inside the Creative Dream Circle.

But the first step is definitely to welcome them.

What To Do About Negative Inner Voices That Shoot Dreams Down Read More »

Who do you think you are?

By Andrea Schroeder / February 4, 2015

This year I am trusting Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance to hold and direct the process for what happens in both my personal and professional lives.

The wisest parts of me know that I can trust that as long as I am holding my intention to grow my depth and nurture my brilliance, and showing up for both the inner and outer work, that the exact right thing will always show up.

Other parts of me really don’t like some of the stuff that has shown up already and would like for this whole thing to be easier.

Like last weekend, when Debbie Doubter showed up.

“You know what?” She said on Saturday morning, “You really have no business calling yourself a teacher.”

And before I knew it, Debbie and I were trying to figure out what else I could do, because this teaching thing is surely going to fail.

Never mind that I have training and accreditation as a spiritual teacher.? Never mind that I’ve traveled all over the place to learn from the best teachers I could find, how to become the best teacher that I could be.? Never mind that I have happy, grateful students.? Never mind that I’ve been making 100% of my living as a teacher for the past four years, and that I did it part time for many years before that.

Debbie doesn’t care about any of that.? “Who do you think you are?? Who are you to believe that you have anything to offer your students?”

So, I used my Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance practice to work on my doubt and I started exploring.

What makes a teacher a teacher?

Training.

Oh, well I have that.? I was trained, I interned and I was accredited as a spiritual teacher and mentor.?? It took four years!? That’s not enough?

Well, you don’t have a University degree in teaching.

No, I don’t.? I do have a degree though.? And remember how awful some of my teachers at the university were?? Bullies!? I love my students and care about them getting what they want from my classes.? Doesn’t that make me a better teacher than those teachers?

But they were official.

OK, and they were teaching official stuff and I got an official degree from them.? What I’m teaching is not official in that way.? Do you think I’d be better teacher if someone else hired me to teach?? Like, because I built my own school that means I’m less than?

Well, yeah.? It’s not real.? Anyone can do what you did.

Anyone can do anything!

But it’s better when other people validate your work.

Ahh, there it is.? I made a conscious and deliberate choice to not have other people validate my work, to be independent.

(The irony here is that I made that choice so that I could have the freedom to be the best teacher I can be.)

I needed the freedom to build something that is in complete integrity with what I want it to be.? I do things differently than other people because of how much I care about teaching.

But you’re not a teacher!

Where is this coming from?

The truth!? It’s coming from the truth.? It’s a fact that isn’t going to change.

Who do you think you are? Who are you to think you have anything to teach anyone else?

OK, I can answer this for pages and pages, listing everything I have learned and all the ways I have developed my skills to the point where actually I have a lot to teach.

Not to mention the fact that teaching is how I learn, it’s how I stay on my own edge.? That I actually NEED to do this because it’s a part of who I am.

But that’s not going to change this conversation.? You’re not interested in logic.? What is it that you want?

For you to admit failure.

And then what?

(silence)

Come on, what happens if I admit I’m not a teacher?

Well, I’d be more comfortable.

OK, so if I admit that I’m not a teacher, then I get to live inside my own self doubt.

Yes!? It’s cozy here!

And the bubble bursts.? No, I don’t want to cozy up and live inside my own self-doubt.

Who do you think you are?? Who are you to believe that you are _____?

That voice is so insidious.? It shows up time and time again in my own work, and in private sessions with clients.

That idea that maybe we’ll be safe if we don’t stand too tall and don’t shine too bright and just kind of cozy into a really small story about who we are and what is possible for us.

It’s not true.? Not for me, not for you, not for anyone.

These parts of us become activated when we’re ready to trust ourselves and our dreams more, and believe in ourselves and our dreams more.

These voices show up when we take new steps towards our dreams.

It’s an energy pattern, and each time you are ready to shine a little brighter, you have to come into this energy pattern and alter it to make more space for your brilliance to shine through.

Otherwise, it’s just going to get sneakier about holding you back and dimming your light.

This is Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance in a nutshell.

Explore deeper into your inner world.? Transform what you find there. Make more space for your brilliance to shine out and light up your outer world.

Debbie and I have more work to do here.

She keeps showing up, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

I know that she shows up when I’m ready to play bigger and brighter.? I know this is a part of the process.

But still, being in it sucks.

Who do you think you are? Read More »

New Video: Nurture Your Brilliance

By Andrea Schroeder / January 30, 2015 / creative entrepreneur

Last week I shared a video tour of my Grow Your Depth journal.

This week I thought I’d share a tour of my Nurture Your Brilliance journal – this is where I work with bringing the inner changes out into the outer world – to create more of what I want in my life.

In this video I’m sharing how I do this in my business, but the same principles apply for anything else.

I recorded this video as content for Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance so the tools I mention in the video are available inside the classroom.

New Video: Nurture Your Brilliance Read More »

VIDEO: Look inside my Grow Your Depth Creative Journal

By Andrea Schroeder / January 19, 2015

(I recorded this video to share inside Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance program, so all of the classes and tools I mention in this video are things that you get when you join.)

Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance starts TODAY.

This is the class that I need this year, I can’t wait to begin.

We have a group of 250 amazing people already gathered and I hope YOU are going to join us too.

VIDEO: Look inside my Grow Your Depth Creative Journal Read More »

[CREATIVE JOURNAL PROMPTS] Working with a crap day and transforming it into wishes come true.

By Andrea Schroeder / January 16, 2015 / Journal Prompts

I had made this really fantastic video that I wanted to share with you today.

And I started uploading it yesterday at lunch time.? It’s pretty long… I left it to upload overnight and this morning I woke up to see the upload had failed.

So then I set it to upload in a different way, then went out for coffee and journaling.? And came home to find the upload failed again.

Now it’s uploading, slowly, but my wish to share it with you today is just not going to come true.

I found myself getting all stressed out because I’m not going to be able to stick to my plan.? And all the tiny little fears and doubts and inner critics used that stress as a doorway to step into my experience.

Until I remembered: this is part of it. Working with what is and transforming it into wishes come true.

This is what?Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance is about and this is what the video is about that I want to share with you – an in-depth tour of my journal and all the magic I’ve been finding in it.

I brought everything I was feeling into my journal, where I had been exploring the first set of prompts that I am giving people inside Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance and then it dawned on me: a better way to do this.

I can share the video on Monday – that gives me all weekend to get it uploaded.

And today I can share the first set of prompts that I am giving people in this program and also share what I’m doing with them.

This kind of lit something up inside me: this is a way better plan!? It means you get some prompts to play with over the weekend!

Even if you’re not joining Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance, you can explore these ideas for yourself in your journal.

Creative Journal Prompts for Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance:

Healing and transformation are difficult things to track because when done right, you feel so at home in your new way of being that you forget how things used to be.

Tracking your progress is important because when you can look back and clearly see how you?ve grown, that gives you confidence to keep going. Plus the process of tracking is very clarifying, and healing and transformation are often confusing so practices that generate clarity are always helpful.

So that’s why we’re starting with these particular creative journal prompts.

Spend some time with each prompt and follow your thoughts wherever they lead you, even if it means you don?t quite answer the question. The point of this is to get a snapshot of where you?re at right now as you begin.

Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance is a support system for deepening your journaling practice.

(If you’re not sure what that means follow this link for more info)

What does this mean to you?

What do you want your practice to be like?

What do you wish will happen for you in this process?

What are you worried might happen?

Look over your answers – what feels really important to you?

In what ways would you like to grow your depths?

In what ways would you like to nurture your brilliance?

As you grow your depth you naturally nurture your brilliance, you start to shine more brightly and your possibilities start to shine more brightly as well. Specifically, what new possibilities do you want to create for your life in this program?

My answers:

This is my page for exploring the creative journal prompts, in process:

(In the video that I’ll share on Monday I talk a lot about how I approach the creative part of journaling)

Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance is a support system for deepening your journaling practice.

What does this mean to you?

to be more committed to my practice, both in being more present with it when I do it, and to spend more time with it
getting more magic out of my practice

(Ugh.? At this point I realised my answers were really kind of “Stuck in my head” type answers.? Like I was already resisting the magic.)

What do you want your practice to be like?

(This is where I let my heart take over answering and it started to feel much better)

soft space to land no matter what’s happening in my life
a miracle-generator
safe private space to express anything
sturdy container for healing and transformation

What do you wish will happen for you in this process?

a more stable experience of healing + transformation, being more grounded in it
for the things I want that currently feel impossible to become possible

What are you worried might happen?

that my resistance goes nuts and stops me from going into the depths and I stay on the surface
that I discover things about me that are hard to face

Look over your answers – what feels really important to you?

when I used the words: sturdy and grounded they felt really important.? I’ve been doing healing + transformation work for 20 years, it doesn’t feel like I want to change what I’ve been doing as much as do it in a more grounded way, and feel more study during the process of it.

In what ways would you like to grow your depths?

to have less resistance to feeling how I feel
to be bolder in wanting what I really want
to feel more connected to more parts of me more of the time

In what ways would you like to nurture your brilliance?

to let my inner truth out faster? (hmm, is this true?? must explore further – maybe waiting until I feel safe is a good idea!)
to let my inner truth out brighter, I can feel places where I hold back and I want to explore these places, learn more about why and how I hold back (so much of it is unconscious!) and look at ways of shining brighter that feel right for where I am right now.

I want to be having more fun.? I feel like, with being more conscientious and present doing depth work in my journal every day that leaves me needing less alone introvert-recharging time which means I can have more playing-out-in-the-world time.
I want my secret wish (which I don’t want to share) for the thing that I currently worry is impossible for me to have.

Then I added that image on the left, which spoke to me of having space for all parts of me to get what they need, which feels like what I really, really want from this.

This is exactly the class that I need this year and I am sooooo ready to start.

If you’re already signed up, you can start playing with these prompts now, and on Monday we’ll start sharing our answers (only if you want to, of course, it’s totally OK to keep all of your work to yourself) in our private classroom.

If you’re not signed up – I hope you will join us! When I connect with the heart and soul of Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance, I can feel how each person who participates contributes in such a meaningful way – that we really are stronger together and each of us can dive in deeper to our own process because we’re doing this work in community.

And I’ll share that video of my journal with you on Monday.

[CREATIVE JOURNAL PROMPTS] Working with a crap day and transforming it into wishes come true. Read More »

Notes from my journal: Transforming Overwhelm

By Andrea Schroeder / December 27, 2014

I’m getting everything ready for the Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance Free Tele-Class Series.

Since I need to have a lot of spaciousness in my schedule, I need most of the stuff ready to go before we start on Jan 5 – all the emails with call details scheduled, the pages you go to get the replays, blog posts, etc.

It’s not really that much work, but when I sit down to do it, I get completely overwhelmed by all the details and unknowns.

Yesterday afternoon I ended up watching Love Actually instead.

Today I need to get to work, so I am starting with exploring the overwhelm.

Physically: My heart feels constricted and small and tight. My head goes all fuzzy.? My shoulders get tense.

Emotionally: I just can’t.

So, I set the table and invite the overwhelm to sit down and have tea with me.

Overwhelm shows up as this horrible grey monster with long, sharp, pointy fingers which it wraps around the tiny tea cup to take a delicate sip of rose tea.? Then it digs into the cookies with a big smile.

“Oh thank you, this is so fabulous and delicious.? I could sit here all day.”

Oh, so my overwhelm doesn’t want to get back to work.

“Oh goodness gracious, no!? Work is scary.? Tea is fun.? I vote for fun”

The horrible grey monster is now a cartoon boy with blonde hair, quickly gobbling up the cookies and tea like he can’t get enough.

OK, so it looks like the part of me that is overwhelmed will just do anything to get me to stop working on the work.? I pick up the cartoon boy and put him in a box of calm and he kind of melts into it like he’s got a giant cookie hangover.

I put the box on the table and look at it.? What do I need? What does my overwhelm need?? What does my work need?? It feels like there are too many pieces to juggle, which is, of course, what overwhelm is.

I am sensitive.? I get overwhelmed easily, especially by details.

Do I still want to do this?? I check in with myself and yes I absolutely want to do this.

I invite the heart and soul of the free tele-class series to join me for tea.? It arrives as a queen, who happily sits down across from me, sending some love and compassion to the cartoon boy in the box of calm.

“I know this is a lot of work.? I know it’s out of your comfort zone.? But honey it’s going to be fabulous.”

Her words feel true.? This will be fabulous.? Does that mean that there are fabulous ways for me to take care of myself in the process of doing this fabulous thing?

The queen pops open a bottle of champagne.

Oh, right, she’s celebrating that I saw that if this thing is big and fabulous then my practices and approach need to be big and fabulous as well.

So, how do I fabulously tackle my to-do list?

The queen puts the bottle down and sighs.

OK, right.? Wrong question.

How do I feel fabulous and excited while getting ready to throw this great party?

The champagne is flowing again.

Of course, it’s all in my mindset.? Knowing that it’s easy for me to get overwhelmed by details, it’s important for me to bolster my energy with a positive attitude.? It’s fine that the mundane tasks I have to do are mundane, they don’t need to be fabulous.? I just need to feel fabulous.

I bring that feeling of champagne flowing into my heart and let it circulate through my body.

Yes, this is the energy I want to create from, this is the energy I want to do these tasks from, this is how I want to play with my to-do list for this event.

I’m ready to get to work.

Notes from my journal: Transforming Overwhelm Read More »

Hello 2018! Creative Journal Prompts for the New Year

By Andrea Schroeder / December 22, 2014 / Journal Prompts

These journal prompts are for playing and creating with.

Use them as little diving boards to dive off into other things to explore ? the most important part of journaling is following your creative impulse, not answering all of the prompts perfectly!

If you feel inspired to – play around with different coloured pens, markers and pencil crayons.?Or use collage or make your own art to illustrate your answers.

When you engage your creativity in your journaling that makes it easier to access your creative genius, the part of you that knows how to bring your dreams to life ? plus it?s more fun that way!

But there are lots of ways to engage your creativity and of course you can also just use pen and paper if that’s what floats your boat.

If getting creative in your journal is new to you and you’d like to try it ? check out?my free art journaling e-course for loads of videos & ideas to help you get started.

The journaling prompts are divided into 2 sections: looking back and looking forward.

Goodbye 2017. Looking back:

What was amazing in 2017?

What did you do in 2017 that you?re proud of?

What did you learn/discover that you want to bring into 2018?

What do you want to leave behind in 2017?

What are you most grateful for about 2017?

How did your dreams grow in 2017?

What did you do to help your dreams grow in 2017?? What worked?? What didn?t work?

How did YOU grow in 2017? What gifts and strengths do you have now that you didn?t have in 2016?

Is there anything you need to do to complete your year? Any unfinished business that you?d like to finish, and leave behind as you move into 2018?

Hello 2018! Looking forward:

Try to list 5-10?things (impossibly big or microscopically small or anything in between) you?d like to have happen in 2018, in each of these different parts of your life:

health
relationships
creativity
purpose/career
money
self-love/self-care
spirituality
happiness
adventure/play

I know that seems like a lot, but the act of listing TONS of things can really open up your sense of possibility. So spend some time with this – I find it’s best to leave this list out somewhere for a week or so, so I keep adding new things as I think of them.

When you’re done go back through your list and imagine how each of these things will make you happier in 2018. If there is anything on your list that won?t truly make you feel happier ? consider crossing it out.

What is your Big Dream for 2018?

Why do you want this?

How will you feel when you have it?

Do you already know how to make this dream real, or is this something you need to learn more about first?

What?s your plan for giving this dream what it needs to thrive in 2018?? Brainstorm 10 things you can try.

What do you want to STOP doing in 2018?? And what are some things you can you do to make that as easy as possible? How will not having these things in your life make you happier?

Then imagine yourself at the end of 2018 (You might want to draw/collage/doodle an image of you from one year from now). ? How are you different?? How did you grow?? What new strengths and skills do you have?? Does you-from-one-year-from-today have any messages or advice for you?

Here?s to a sparkletastic New Year, for all of us.

I’m starting 2018 off right, with the Year of Dreams Dream Planner, Guided Journal and Coloring Book?including a live, online Vision Party (where you’ll map out your vision for 2018) happening on January 9!

Find out more here.

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Why Art Journaling Is Not Enough

By Andrea Schroeder / December 3, 2014 / healing, journaling

Art journaling is becoming popular out in the world and this is very good! People are waking up to the inherent healing benefits of being creative and only good can come from that.

It?s true that just making art is healthy and good for you.

And it?s also true that if you want to actually dig in and transform your self and your life, more is needed.? And that part keeps getting lost in the shuffle.

Starting a creative practice is only the first step.

And the skills, techniques and practices that you need to get started are different than the skills, techniques and practices that take you to the next level.

It takes a special set of skills to successfully navigate the process of internal transformation.

Engaging in the creative process is beautiful and magical but it’s only a doorway to deep down healing and transformation.

Obviously the doorway is super important, but the doorway is not the journey, it?s only there to get you started.

Too many people are taking those tiny bites of healing and then mistaking those tiny bites for all there is – which means they’re settling for much less than the full-blown bliss of inner healing and transformation.

To get to the next level, your creative practice has to stop being about the art and start being about the inner journey.

You can tell where you are in this by how you feel about what you?re creating.

Do you want it to look a certain way? If so, you?re staying on the surface.
Are you so immersed in your own brilliant depths that you don?t care what your art looks like anymore? If so, then you?re on the real journey.

Creating a gorgeous art journal as a record of your life is wonderful. But it?s nothing compared to learning how to skillfully navigate your own brilliant depths.

That?s what I wish for you and that?s where we?re going in 2015, in the Creative Dream Circle.

Right now I’m thrilled to be working on something new for the Circle:

Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance: 12 months of deep-down creative + intuitive healing + transformation.

I’ll be sharing more details over the next month.? The magic will start in January, but if you join the circle today you can use December to work through the amazing classes that are already there which creates the foundation for where we’re going next.

Why Art Journaling Is Not Enough Read More »

Friday Afternoon Playdate With My Dream

By Andrea Schroeder / October 31, 2014

A few weeks ago I wrote my last weekly update post where I talked about how I wanted to start doing something different… less an update, more a practice.

I wasn’t 100% sure what this would be, but today I dove in to try my new idea: Friday after lunch I meet up with the heart and soul of my dream, open up my art journal and PLAY.

No agenda. No direction. Just dive in and be open to what shows up, letting the magic of creativity and imagination lead me to what I need to be led to.

(For Creative Dream Circle members: I shared more about this in the October 31 Creative Dream Sharing Circle thread.)

I can’t wait to see what happens with my dreams, with this as a regular weekly practice.

Friday Afternoon Playdate With My Dream Read More »

[from my journal] The Temple of Effortless Growth

By Andrea Schroeder / October 8, 2014

Speculation: there are two kinds of growth.

the kind that you plan for (and work hard for!)
the kind that is effortless – it just happens

I know the kind of growth that you plan for and work for.? I have had crystal clear intentions, I have planned and worked and experienced growth.

But what about the other kind?? What if growth just happened, effortlessly??

At first glance, that question is too scary!? If I’m not in control of how growth is happening then it could happen in ways that destroy everything I have so carefully built.

But the idea that I have control over anything is ridiculous.

So that would mean that trying to control growth would be ridiculous.? Which would mean that I have been behaving quite ridiculously.? Which is likely!

Last week I went to the mineral spa.

I dedicated my spa day to effortless growth: as an offering to effortless growth and as an opportunity for me to discover the secrets of effortless growth.

I had a massage booked, and like I always do, I arrived VERY early so I could steam in the aromatherapy steam shower and soak in the mineral hot tub and warm pool before my massage.

I got to the spa, was given my fluffy robe and slippers.? I changed into my bathing suit and went to the mineral steaming/soaking area.

Hmmm.? Both the steam shower and the hot tub were being repaired.? And by “being repaired” what they meant was they’d put an “out of order” sign on them and nothing was happening.

And I was pissed off!? I chose that spa specifically for these amenities.? How could they not tell me that this stuff wasn’t working?

Oh right.? This trip is an offering to effortless growth.? There are no accidents.? Everything is happening for me, to not me.

Looking at it through that lens, here I was, sitting in the mineral pool in my own Inner Temple of Effortless Growth.

And things are in a sad state of disrepair.

Repairs have a sense of optimism.? These sad “out of order” signs with no workers in sight felt more like stagnation.

How have I been caring for my Inner Temple of Effortless Growth?? Not very well.? So why would I expect to experience the gifts of effortless growth in my outer world?

I meditated and explored and it turns out: effortless growth is the more real kind of growth.

I mean – look at nature. Look at how one apple contains so many seeds which can grow so many more apples which contain so many more seeds.? Effortless growth.? Unplanned and wild.

What if I allowed growth to happen in my life like that: unplanned and wild? Oh my.

How would I support that kind of growth in happening? Ohmygosh I wouldn’t even have to support it.? I’d just have to stop fighting it.

?My inner Temple of Effortless Growth was only in a state of disrepair because I’ve been feeding the believe that growth is hard.

And it’s not even true that growth is hard!? I had to giggle about that.? It’s not even true!

I went home and started working on fixing up my Temple of Effortless Growth by doing energy work and art journaling.? (For Creative Dream Circle members: I was using the process in the Crazy Smart Wisdom Council to meet with my Temple of Effortless Growth)

(I’m specifically exploring my business here but this is applicable to all dreams.)

What if I didn’t have to plan out every bit of growth that happens in my business?

What if I trusted growth itself enough to grow without me micromanaging?

What if I PARTNERED with effortless growth?

Now I am REALLY giggling.? Obviously, it’s downright STUPID to not partner with effortless growth.

Because partnering with effortless growth = being in tune with the universe.

And I have a lot of evidence that shows that only good things come from that.

My mind is spinning a bit now, in a good way.

[from my journal] The Temple of Effortless Growth Read More »

A whole year of Art Journal lessons from some of the most inspiring teachers on the planet.

By Andrea Schroeder / October 6, 2014

Registration for Life Book 2015 starts today.

I’m doing two classes for Life Book (both of these will not be available anywhere else in 2015):

Intuitive Healing Session in your Art Journal: You?ll create a heartfelt art journal page as you learn how to use your creativity to navigate through the intuitive healing process.

The Magic of Presence: Discover how the magic of presence can help you to develop your unique creative voice.

PLUS you’ll get classes from my personal creative hero: Chris Zydel from Creative Juices Arts.? Chris has over thirty years experience as a creativity mentor and is definitely the real deal.? Chris goes way beyond art techniques to teach intuitive process – magical insights guaranteed.

I am so thrilled to be teaching with Chris and so many other gifted teachers in LifeBook!? And for those of you who do want art technique instruction – there are? a ton of wildly inspiring art teachers in LifeBook too!

It’s a really beautiful balance of inner work and art technique instruction with a focus on healing and self-acceptance.

Click here to read more and sign up today!

A whole year of Art Journal lessons from some of the most inspiring teachers on the planet. Read More »

How Drawing Mandalas Helps You Bring Your Dreams To Life

By Andrea Schroeder / September 12, 2014

It?s Mandala Week on my blog!? Every day this week I?m posting about the magic of Mandalas, in celebration of The Mandala Class, which starts on Monday, September 15.

This week I’ve been talking about how drawing Mandalas can help with intuitive development and emotional healing and transformation.

Ultimately all of this is all about making your dreams real.

Your dream is your soul calling you towards your purpose and your actual self.

Your dream is really not about the external thing, it’s about who you become in the process of making it happen.

Having your dream is about stepping up, shining your light and living your life as your actual self.? No excuses, no holding back, no fitting yourself into strange shapes to meet other people’s expectations.? Radiant authenticity and deep down soul integrity.

Most dreams are about:

learning more about what your heart really wants
finding the courage to let go of what doesn’t fit and go after what you want
learning how to trust yourself
getting creative about how you’re living your life
being more aligned with your soul truth
showing up more powerfully in the world

Heart. Courage. Trust. Creativity. Alignment. Power.

These are inner qualities.? But as you work with them things change in your outer world.

It’s like your world is a puzzle.? You are the puzzle piece right in the middle of the puzzle.? Other puzzle pieces can only click in to your puzzle piece if the shapes match.

So as you change your puzzle piece, through integrating the qualities of your dream like heart, courage, trust, creativity, alignment and power, the pieces around you change.

They have to!?

The old pieces that were around you have to fall away because they don’t fit anymore.

Then new puzzle pieces can come… these puzzle pieces can be different jobs, a different partner (or a new relationship with the old one), new creative projects or hobbies, entrepreneurial ventures or just a healthier outlook on like.

The new pieces might be really similar to the old ones, just lighter, happier and more at peace or they might be totally different.

Things change on the outside to reflect changes you make on the inside. This is how heart dreams come to life.

And where to Mandalas fit in this?

Mandalas are a way of working with qualities.? Looking back to the posts I wrote about how drawing Mandalas can help with intuitive development and emotional healing and transformation you see a definite theme: Mandalas are a way of focusing your inner work.

If you are a visual person, if you like to play with colour and pattern then Mandalas are a really perfect way of doing this because the more you enjoy the work the more engaged you’ll be with it.? The more engaged you are with it, the more fully you integrate the qualities of your dream and the more completely it will alter your whole world.

In The Mandala Class I’ll be sharing a process for working specifically with the energy of the qualities of your dream.? This will help make it easier to work with and integrate the qualities of your dream, so you can change your puzzle piece.

The Mandala Class happens inside the Creative Dream Circle, so when you sign up for The Mandala Class you also get all of my other classes, including the Creative Dream Incubator e-Course which is my master class in the art of bringing any dream to life.? In that class I go into loads of detail on every aspect of bringing your dream to life.

The Creative Dream Incubator e-Course will show you how it all works together.? Once you’ve got that part down, drawing Mandalas will help you stay the path.? They’re like Creative Dream Tune-Ups to keep your dream ship sailing smoothly towards the land of dreams.

We start Monday.? I hope you’ll join me for this.

How Drawing Mandalas Helps You Bring Your Dreams To Life Read More »

How Drawing Mandalas Helps You Be More Intuitive

By Andrea Schroeder / September 10, 2014

It’s Mandala Week on my blog!? Every day this week I’m posting about the magic of Mandalas, in celebration of The Mandala Class, which starts next Monday, September 15.

Drawing mandalas helps you be more intuitive in two ways: they make it easier to access intuitive wisdom in the moment and they help with developing and deepening your intuitive gifts over time.

Intuition is simply being able to access inner wisdom. It’s something everyone can do.

Wisdom is a soul quality. Each of us has equal and infinite access to soul qualities.

Though just because everyone has access, does not mean everyone is connected to their inner wisdom.? The beliefs you live from, your habits and practices and your level of consciousness is going to determine how blocked or open the channel is.

The more you get in touch with your self and your soul, the more intuitive you’re going to be because you’ll be living closer to your inner wisdom.

Your intuition is not a crystal ball.

For example, you usually can’t use it to divine winning lottery numbers.

Remember that listening to your intuition is about connecting to the soul quality of wisdom.? Infinite wisdom is wise!? Wiser than we usually are.

Infinite wisdom sees the bigger picture, we tend to see the smaller picture.

We see how we really do NEED to win the lottery in order to make our dream real because how the hell else are you going to make this happen?

Infinite wisdom sees how the journey to the dream is where you develop the qualities you need to live the dream.? Infinite wisdom sees that the lottery is a shortcut, and shortchanges you on growing in the ways your dream is calling on you to grow.

Infinite wisdom sees that winning the lottery isn’t going to make you as happy as you think it will.

Infinite wisdom always has your best interests at heart.

Infinite wisdom loves you.

So of course, if winning the lottery is actually the right path for you of course your intuition will nudge you to buy a ticket and supply you with the right numbers.

Soul qualities are connected.

So your infinite wisdom is coming out of a well of infinite love, infinite joy, infinite creativity, infinite possibility, infinite peace.

Intuitive development is about connecting with the part of you who is connected.

When you learn how to do this it changes everything. It means you can make decisions from a larger part of you, which means you get to live from a larger part of you. You have access to more power, creativity, love, joy and inspiration,

This is not a small thing.

I took classes in intuitive development for years before I was able to reliably use my intuition to navigate through life.? Though I don’t think it necessarily has to take years.

Ultimately, creative people are going to be able to connect to their intuitive voice most effectively through their creativity.

This is something I wished I had known sooner – it’s a bit of a shortcut.

Creating Mandalas as a way of experimenting with how to listen to your intuitive voice makes it easier to get the hang of it.

Learning to access your intuitive wisdom is a bit like learning a new language – a language based more on feelings and sensations than on words.? Art is a language that is also based more on feelings and sensations than words.

Art comes from inspiration which is a soul quality.? All soul qualities are connected.? You’re already dipping into the well for inspiration, so it’s easier to pick up some wisdom while you’re there.

And that is how drawing Mandalas helps you be more intuitive.? It’s all in the way you approach your Mandala practice.

You actually draw your way into connecting with your inner wisdom.

This is what we’ll be doing in The Mandala Class, which starts next Monday, September 15.

And tomorrow and Friday I’ll be blogging about working with Mandalas for healing and bringing your dreams to life.? Of course, this is all connected to using Mandalas for intuitive development.? Really it’s all about using your creativity and imagination to connect more fully with your soul qualities.

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Mandala Week!

By Andrea Schroeder / September 8, 2014

Mandalas have been a part of my creativespiritual practice for the last fifteen years.? When I first started doing creativity workshops almost 10 years ago I often used mandalas as tools for healing and transformation.

Back then, I did less drawing, more painting and collaging.

Last summer I challenged myself to draw every day, which quickly evolved into drawing mandalas every day which has become a favourite way to slip into my creative flow, open up my intuitive connection while simultaneously calming me down and filling me up.

And I want to share the magic of it with you.

So I’m going to be posting here every day this week, sharing the magic of mandalas and how they can help you develop your intuitive voice and bring your dreams to life.

Tomorrow I’ve got something super special: a Mandala blog hop!

I wanted to make sure to include other Mandala artists and teachers in Mandala Week, to share different perspectives and stories about the magic of Mandalas.

So tomorrow we’ll hop around the web to read their stories and drool over their mandalas.

Wednesday I’m blogging about Mandalas and intuition.
Thursday I’m blogging about Mandalas and healing.
Friday I’m blogging about a Mandalas and bringing your dreams to life.

This is all, of course, in celebration of The Mandala Class which starts next Monday, September 15, where you’ll learn to create mandalas you’ll fall in LOVE with.

If you’re wondering what Mandalas even ARE, check out my easy-peasy Mandala tutorial.

Mandala Week! Read More »