I am delightfully focused on outer work

By Andrea Schroeder / November 6, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice

Well I wrote this before knowing the results of the US election. I'm sure I won't be delightfully focused on the outer work today! This is a lot to process. BUT the outer work I am working on is called 2025: Year of Hope. A practice for cultivating hope. And since hope holds space for so many other good things, you can play along with a quality of your choosing. (It will be VERY simple because hope doesn't want to complicate anything, but even a simple and tiny hope practice can nurture things in big ways)

I feel like I have been wandering the desert of dream work and inner work, mostly inner work, for so long and here I am... like a mirage in the desert, lol!

I have so much clarity AND enthusiasm for outer work.

And I am not running into an inner block speed bump every 10 minutes, which is how things have felt for a long time.

Partially - this is because the hormones I started in September are starting to work! My body and brain are starting to function consistently and I am SO grateful for this.

And partially it's that we go through times of INTENSE and TOO MUCH inner work and then at some point, if you keep showing up, you hit a part where things are working better and you have some momentum in the outer work. Also SO grateful for this.

I am creating a new program for 2025 for the Creative Dream Incubator membership about HOPE and I can't wait to share more about it.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

I am delightfully focused on outer work Read More »

Meeting with the soul of the Creative Dream Incubator

By Andrea Schroeder / November 5, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, inner work

Today I am meeting with the soul of my business, using the meditation from the Creative Business Incubator course. I want to ask it about this new project idea I have for 2025.

This did NOT go AT ALL how I thought it would!

I ask it about my project idea and I just feel like it says… You have already decided to do this on your own.

That feels uncomfortable. But... OK I see that. AND. I do want to collaborate with you. I feel I have been, but in ways I don’t see or understand.

Yes, I have been collaborating with you. I have different needs and preferences than you do.

Does this idea take your needs and preferences into account?

It’s more important right now to take YOUR needs and preferences into account. You’ve had a difficult time, and you need what you need to feel like you’re back on solid ground.

Oh. What I am looking for from you is a guarantee that this will give me the outer results I want.

Yeah, that’s not what I am here for.

I sit with this.

It’s not like I don’t care about your needs, as I said. It’s just that… this isn’t what I am here for.

What are you here for?

To BE the Creative Dream Incubator. To be a force for midwifing dreams into existence on this plane.

OK but… and I understanding right… you are not from this plane?

No, I am from the plane that the dreams come from.

Oh, you are helping from that side, too.

Yes, you don’t understand all that I do.

Is what I am doing getting in the way of what you are doing?

Sometimes, yes. But that’s due to the differences in our planes.

Oh, it’s like I couldn’t always do what you need because that would not take my needs into account in a way that would be destructive to me.

Yes, exactly. We work well together. Me on this plane, you on that plane. Everyone’s dreams in this plane. Everyone in that plane.

OK but what about the external outcomes I want? Where do I go for support on that, if not to you?

To get the external results you want you need to use your resources. I am one of them.

Am I using you properly as a resource?

I think you should be more honest about why you are doing this meditation and what you want from me.

Hmmmm. Shit.

You can do this.

Well I appreciate that I don’t feel like you are shaming me, you are just stating that I am maybe a little conflicted inside about what my goal is here….

I am doing this because I want your blessing for this new idea.

You don’t need it. You are an independent, free and creative person. Follow your ideas.

I am doing this because I want you to tell me HOW to do this in a way that guarantees that I get what I want from it.

Yeah, I’m not a genie or a magic wand.

Right.

What you want to get from this is 100% valid though. I support this. It’s just - you’re looking for validation and guarantees from me, I can’t give either of those.

Ok I can validate this idea. I do like that I checked with you to see if it seems like a terrible idea to you.

(And then I remember a meeting I had with my business about some classes I was teaching that paid really well but my business was like “I won’t stop you but no I don’t like it” and I see how those classes didn’t do anything FOR MY BUSINESS but I enjoyed doing them and they did make me good money that I needed - so it was right for me to do them AND it was right for the soul of my business to not be into them. We have different needs, we don’t have to agree on everything)

This isn’t like those classes, right?

Right, I’m happy you are happy about this. It’s not like I think we need this particular thing. There are lots of ways for me to shine my purpose into the world. You are the one doing the creative and practical work, so those parts need to be interesting to you. This idea seems like it fits the bill.

I am still a little perturbed by how the soul of my business is not being more reassuring. And recognizing that this is coming from the part of me who seeks external validation, who wants something/someone outside of me to make me feel safe, secure, like everything will be ok. These things are all my job.

Is there a way that you, the soul of the creative dream incubator, would change this idea if it was all up to you?

Oh that’s a good question! Sitting back, looking at what this project hopes to accomplish and how it fits in with what is already happening in the membership… yes this feels needed, there are other ways to do it but there is nothing wrong with this way.

You came here looking for my blessing on this?

Yes, and to kind of disaster-proof my process with this as much as possible.

I don’t think it will be a disaster. It might not be as successful as you hope, but it might be more! This idea seems solid, you are reflecting on past wins and loses, what kinds of approaches have and have not worked for you, what feels needed and relevant now… both for you personally in your process with how you will deliver this AND in terms of business stuff.

OK I feel reassured. There are no guarantees. But I am going to give this my best shot.

And I feel like I FELT the part of this that feels important for the soul of my business - the essence/quality that it would add to the Creative Dream Incubator membership - and I will hold onto that as a special part of this project.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

Meeting with the soul of the Creative Dream Incubator Read More »

Venn diagram: Participating in capitalism to support my life VS Being true to myself + my creative + spiritual callings

By Andrea Schroeder / August 22, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, inner work, Manifest Your Dream Life

I was feeling soooo tangled up about this.

Feeling like these two things are inherently AT ODDS with each other.

They're actually not. They actually have no direct relationship with each other at all.

Your most PURPOSEFUL work doesn’t have any direct relationship to your most MARKETABLE work.

And also maybe you don’t have any MARKETABLE work but that doesn’t say anything about your VALUABLE work.

BUT YOUR FEELINGS MATTER.

So I was FEELING tangled up about this, even with having YEARS of experience of balancing these things in ways that work for me, here I am in a place where it doesn't feel like it's working.

So I drew this diagram.

And I INSTANTLY felt better.

It felt like THERE IS SPACE FOR EVERYTHING.

This is part of the magic of journaling, and taking things out of your head (where all they can do is swirl around) and putting them somewhere outside of you, where you can move them around and put them into different positions in relation to each other.

And it's so easy for things to feel confusing when they are swirling, and this is complicated for me... I am anti-capitalist AND I recognize the ways that capitalism supports my life. And I do support initiatives for change! Especially around a universal livable basic income.

But I do have to be here, where I am, living in this economy as a self employed creative.

So I keep asking the questions.

Feeling the feelings.

And listening to my creative genius because:

YOUR CREATIVE GENIUS IS ALWAYS BIGGER THAN THE OBSTACLES.

For me I went from 100% tangled to.... oh yeah this is fine I got this.... within 30 minutes from working on this Venn diagram.

Also helped by what we've been doing in How To Make More Money Without Destroying Your Soul! (Membership members, get that here. This one is also available for purchase outside of the membership, here)

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

Venn diagram: Participating in capitalism to support my life VS Being true to myself + my creative + spiritual callings Read More »

There is no right way.

By Andrea Schroeder / August 21, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, inner work, Manifest Your Dream Life

Deep beneath a lot of other things is this part of me that is looking for the RIGHT WAY to do things.

And it’s looking OUTSIDE of me for this right way.

It’s tapped into capitalism’s promise: that if you conform to dominant culture and do things the way they say to do things then you guaranteed safety, security, abundance, joy and love.

This is bullshit.

AND it’s so deeply engrained.

When I connect with the soul of the Creative Dream Incubator it asks me to stop looking outside of myself for answers. (using either the Dream Lab or the connecting with the soul of your business practices)

But I don’t know the way to do things that will guarantee that things will work out for me.

This is the terror and vulnerability of creative dreaming.

There isn’t a way to know.

I know the internet is full of gurus who insist that there is a way. Follow these rules, do it this way, put your own unique spin on it for “authenticity’s” sake, but DO IT THIS WAY IF YOU DON’T WANT TO FAIL.

But the truth is - there isn’t a way to know.

You take steps. You try stuff. You heal, grow, and learn in the process. And then each new step is on more solid ground…

But there are no guarantees.

And this is terrifying.

So yeah, this part of me, deep down inside, keeps looking for the guarantees.

And this part of me keeps assuming that if things are not going well for me, that’s because I AM DOING SOMETHING WRONG. And if I could only do the RIGHT things, then I would have everything work out exactly how I want it.

Which only invites shame in which invites in fear and panic. It’s not good.

Looking outside of me for answers is not good.

And I keep doing it.

So I practice NOTICING SOONER that this is what I am doing.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

There is no right way. Read More »

I am making the exact same mistake I am ALWAYS telling people not to make

By Andrea Schroeder / August 20, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, inner work, Manifest Your Dream Life

When I want something new and I don’t see HOW to do it…

I panic.

It feels impossible so I think it IS impossible.

I forget that I am looking ONLY at the Outer Work, and not at all considering how much Dream Work and Inner Work I COULD be doing.

I forget how doing Dream Work and Inner Work completely changes the possibilities for what can happen in Outer Work.

We need to keep reminding ourselves.

PS: If you have NO TIME for your dreams: Check out Quick + Simple Ways to Connect With Your Dream

If you are TOO OVERWHELMED for your dreams : Check out Space-Making: For When You're Too Overwhelmed To Begin

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

I am making the exact same mistake I am ALWAYS telling people not to make Read More »

A love letter to my broken internet

By Andrea Schroeder / July 3, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, journaling

It’s been a week and a half with no internet in my home!

Hopefully it will be fixed soon (all I know is that the technician is backed up and is getting to everyone in the order that they received our calls and I just have to wait) because running an internet business with no internet is awkward. (

And I found out I can’t add more data to my phone plan like I used to be able to! It’s just a $50 surcharge and then it’s cut off until next month. Yikes)

But on the other hand, not having internet in my home is magical.

Of course, I learned just how much I have been using the internet to distract me from the discomfort of divorce, and the state of the world, and my peri-menopause anxiety, and the stress of running a business about believing in a better future while the world is collapsing into chaos around us.

It did feel like what I assume a mild version of withdrawal feels like.

It did feel like “Wow, without my internet fix, this shit is really hard to deal with!”

AND ALSO

I’m so glad I am facing this all more directly.

I did say that 2024 I am doing this year-long project of exploring my resistance and that’s… well resisting exploring resistance is a part of exploring resistance, right?

But I did learn a lot more about how my resistance works this last almost-two-weeks.

And I got to spend more time in my… I don’t know what to call it.. state-of-being-more-connected-to-myself-than-to-wifi I guess.

After the stress of figuring out how to do my work, and the discomfort of re-arranging my work flow (not a small thing!) it was like this sense of magic and freedom opened up. All these chunks of time, alone at home, with no way of communication with the outside world, except the few people I text with.

It just feels like - this is what I need, as an artist.

And when I look at all of the stressors in my life right now: processing my divorce, re-gaining a sense of financial stability as a single person and with nightmare inflation and being self employed on the internet while the algorithms keep changing and culture keeps changing and everything that used to work doesn’t work….

Well, art is the answer to everything.

(For me, right now)

Art as a way of listening to my soul.

Art as a way of finding my truth.

And space without wifi does feel like a more creative space.

And once my internet is fixed, I want to hold onto this state-of-being-more-connected-to-myself-than-to-wifi.

I’m grateful it is taking soooo looooong for this to be fixed because this gives me a chance to get INTO IT.

I’m adding a page to my Dream Book about this version of me who STAYS in the state-of-being-more-connected-to-myself-than-to-wifi. To learn more about her and how to stay in this once the wifi is working again.

I am embarrassed about this but I think this is the breakthrough I’ve been waiting for.

I’ve been wanting to be deeper in my creative process. More connected to my inner truth. Like living IN my magic in a more potent way.

I'm embarrassed that I didn't just notice that the internet was getting in the way of my process... I'm embarrassed because it took my internet breaking for me to do this.

But OF COURSE I've been in more resistance that I realize. I’m just in an overwhelming stage of life where it’s easy for resistance to kind of swoop in and take me away.

So, this experience of having my internet break gave me what I needed.

And (especially since I have established routines around getting to wifi twice a day, and have re-structured how I work so that I am not constantly feeling stressed and behind on everything) I feel patient about continuing to wait for this technician...

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

A love letter to my broken internet Read More »

Self-coaching journal prompts for when you’re ready to really DO THE THING

By Andrea Schroeder / July 2, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, journaling

My coaching style is VALIDATION FIRST. ENCOURAGEMENT ALWAYS. Let’s find the absolute gentlest way for you to make the thing happen.

I am not an “ass kicking” kind of coach.

AND...

Sometimes the most validating and affirming thing you can do is face the thing you least want to face.

SO: Let’s talk about all the things you are NOT doing that you know you should be doing, if you want to get the results you want.

I know! This is brutal.

But your future self will thank you.

Self-coaching journal prompts for when you’re ready to really DO THE THING:

1. List the things that you are NOT doing that you know you should be doing, if you want to get the results you want.

No excuses, no stories, no leaving anything off this list. Just write them all out.

2. Once you have that list, for each thing: write beside it how it feels to acknowledge that you think you should do this thing to get what you want, and yet you are not doing it.

3. As you do this, notice the resistance, excuses, stories, etc, that come to mind.

4. What’s the truth?

I would bet that it’s NOT true that you SHOULD be doing ALL of these things.

But avoiding the reason why you’re not doing them makes you stuck.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

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Self-coaching journal prompts for when you’re ready to really DO THE THING Read More »

You usually can’t just sit down and do the thing

By Andrea Schroeder / June 20, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, journaling

Most mornings I go for a walk or bike ride to a park or coffee shop, have a coffee and sit with my journal.

I need the exercise and fresh air for my mental health and to wake up my body and brain, and then I need the journaling and (even in a coffee shop since I use noice canceling headphones) I will do a Creative Dream Alchemy meditation, to get into ALIGNMENT.

This morning it’s raining and there are a bunch of things happening and I decided to stay home. I fed the cat, made coffee, and sat down at my desk with my laptop.

I CANNOT DO THE THINGS I NEED/WANT TO DO.

That is the thing about dreams.

We often CAN’T do them from our current state of consciousness. So if we don’t do the practices that help us shift our consciousness - we’ll never be able to do the “dream things”.

BUT if we make those practices DAILY PRACTICES then we can really bring the magic.

And, even when you have made these practices DAILY PRACTICES for years and years, some days come, like today, when you forget it all, sit down at your desk expecting to do a certain thing, and then find yourself unable to do the thing.

So - it’s journaling and meditation time for me.

Our dreams are always calling us into our next-level self.

What are the things that help you move towards that version of you?

FOR ME it's the daily morning exercise and journaling/meditation in a coffee shop or park routine but it's probably something really different for you. It doesn't have to be mornings. It doesn't have to be every day! Just something that helps you shift out of current-self perspective and into dream-self perspective.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts about this or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

You usually can’t just sit down and do the thing Read More »

Trying to follow through, but depression and resistance are getting in the way

By Andrea Schroeder / June 19, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, journaling

Last week’s Dream Status Report brought me: focus on inner work and dream work.

(Hey! Did you see that the Dream Stutus Report Prompts have new journaling sheets? I really love this one)

I am also remembering my commitment to do Dream Book EVERY MORNING, and how I have strayed from that.

I always stray from it… doing Dream Book gives so much clarity and confidence that I drift away from it to focus on outer work - implementing all of the great ideas. This makes sense!

But then coming back to it always feels so healing and needed.

So here I am, coming back to it.

And I am noticing that it WASN’T just that I was focused on the outer work - I was in resistance, too. There was something to explore that I wasn’t really ready to look at before.

So today in my Dream Book I started a new page: How To Do This With Depression.

It feels important to me to not pathologize depression. I think there are a lot of reasons why depression is a good, healthy natural response for me to have.

And today I feel accepting that I am depressed! It’s interesting to notice how much I didn’t want to see it. How much I was trying to pump myself up to feel good...

But now that I see it, it feels like a gift.

I feel like I have moved through SO MUCH STUFF in this divorce process, and I am mostly focused on building my new life, and I just want to let go of everything from my marriage… but it’s not that easy.

I have hurt feelings and sadness that sometimes feel so sharp I can’t breathe.

And so depression comes in… heavy, sticky and foggy.

I've been soooo frustrated by how much this has slowed me down...

But now I am seeing how it fills my whole body with this heavy sticky fog and actually protects me from the sharpness. It slows me down, which I was finding SO ANNOYING before but now I appreciate that it is giving me this space for these sharper feelings to process in a safer way.

I appreciate my depression and want to care for it.

WHILE ALSO taking care of the post-divorce life I am building.

Before it’s kind of like these two things were fighting each other, so this morning I made this Dream Book page about doing this WITH depression.

Not just that I AM depressed.

But that depression and dreams can work together.

They both want what’s right for me. They both offer healing and authenticity.

This feels like such a gift.

So this morning I am not at my usual coffee shop. I went to a different part of town, so that after this I can stop at the conservatory with butterfly garden, and take a little walk through there.

Adding these nourishing and joy-sparking thing to my day feels essential for doing this WITH depression.

Also, this thing where I focus on working on my Dream Book FIRST - EVERY DAY even when I have “things I need to do”.

Doing this WITH depression means TAKING GOOD CARE OF MYSELF while I go. Making self care a priority along with measurable progress on my dreams (which is a form of self care BUT we can get into over-working with it too).

Anyway, just making this page, and giving myself space to BE WITH it has already made me feel completely different about this.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts about this or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

Trying to follow through, but depression and resistance are getting in the way Read More »

Looking back over the last few months of working with Intentions

By Andrea Schroeder / June 18, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, journaling

I was looking through the intentions I have been setting on our last few new moon intention setting calls. (We do an intention setting every month right before the new moon in the Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership, or you can do this on your own with the New Moon Intention Setting Kit)

I started with intending for ____ to happen WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH.

It didn’t happen.

At the next call, after reflecting on how the month went, I decided to intend for ___ to happen. (No timeframe)

It didn’t happen and it felt kind of wishy washy and unsatisfying.

Then, the next call was frustrating for me. I went into it with no clue for what to do, and a lot of feelings about how badly this intention was going, but during the meditations and journaling I found my next intention:

I intended to TRUST that _____ is happening.

Ahhhh. Much better. Trust is a hard one, but over that month I worked on it and a few things shifted. My frustrations around not already having what I want started to soften.

The next month again I went into the call not knowing what I wanted to focus on, and during the meditation and journaling I found my next intention:

“I AM making this thing happen”

And it LANDED in my body in such a powerful way.

And I know that “we know” you “should always” frame intentions as I AM statements, frame them as positive and be confident that it’s already happened and yadda yadda yadda. I know that's "the rule" but I deliberately didn't make myself do that...

Because that shit doesn’t actually work most of the time.

What works is to BE IN your process with it.

What I shared here is FOUR new moon calls, so a three month time span.

And yes OMG how annoying that it took me THREE FREAKING MONTHS to land on the intention that really feels right.

But this is the work.

Sometimes it's easier for me. Sometimes it's harder. It depends on what you're working on and what's happening in your life.

Set the intention for what you want. Stay with it. Follow through. Be with what happens next. Process your feelings that come up. Listen to yourself. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. This is why we do the new moon calls the way we do, by repeating this process every month you WILL get there.

Our next New Moon call is July 3. If you don't have an intention you're working with right now you can do the June call now! It's never too late.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts about this or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

Looking back over the last few months of working with Intentions Read More »

You don’t have to be an asshole to yourself about accountability

By Andrea Schroeder / June 13, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, journaling

On one of our coaching calls a member had said she had this new accountability partner, and they would meet and share their goals, and then meet again to say which things had been checked off the list.

And this person had a lot happening in their life, and some priorities kind of shifted as life tends to do and this new opportunity happened which she gave time and attention to, and so when she went back to the accountability partner, she had not checked off every item on her list and her partner was like “Tsk Tsk You didn’t get it done”

And we talked about how much more helpful and encouraging it is to do it the way to in the creative dream incubator coaching membership - where we acknowledge what you DID do. Surviving a difficult month is AMAZING even if nothing gets checked off the list, you know?

And following your own flow and taking ANY step is something worth cheering for, even if you didn’t take the steps you had planned.

These forms of accountability that are “you must do exactly what you said you’d do, when you said you’d do it, or you are a failure” are short-sighted and can kill your creative spirit - the thing you actually need to make a dream come true.

And yes, of course, check in with yourself about why you don’t do the things you plan to do. Without shaming yourself, peek around and notice - is resistance holding you back? Are you avoiding something uncomfortable? Do you still want to do these things and if so - what kinds of practices will make it easier/gentler for you to do them?

You can keep working on it. It’s ok if it takes the time it takes. You are not a robot!

AND OMG this is so important: Your dream is NOT all about the outer work!

That’s what these forms of accountability don’t take into account.

There is healing and growth that happen that are not always visible. But if you stay in the process over time - suddenly you see. Oh! I was BUILDING THE FOUNDATION! NOW I can check these things off the list because I have the foundation I need.

So, DO NOT JUDGE YOURSELF for the things you want to do, and don’t get to.

Be gentle. Be supportive. Notice what you DID do. Encourage yourself to not give up.

Find ways to look deeper at where you may be holding yourself back from doing what you want to do (you can use the Creative Dream Alchemy Library of Inner Work Practices to help with this).

And do not ever call yourself a failure for “not following through”.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts about this or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

You don’t have to be an asshole to yourself about accountability Read More »

A little note from my journal that wanted to be shared:

By Andrea Schroeder / June 12, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, journaling

Hey! Did you see Project Miracle is now open for registration?!?

If you're in the Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership - you already have access to this right here.

But if you're NOT a member - now you can get Project Miracle for just $33 USD!

Get the details and grab your spot here.

A little note from my journal that wanted to be shared:

Every time I put one piece into the puzzle, I realise there are like 10 more pieces than I thought in the puzzle.

So, each step I take towards the finish line actually moves the finish line further away from me.

I’m still really proud of all of the steps I have taken!!!

But today I need to acknowledge that this is fucking exhausting.

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts about this or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

A little note from my journal that wanted to be shared: Read More »

Idea Overwhelm

By Andrea Schroeder / June 11, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice, healing, journaling

Hey! Did you see Project Miracle is now open for registration?!?

If you're in the Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership - you already have access to this right here.

But if you're NOT a member - now you can get Project Miracle for just $33 USD!

Get the details and grab your spot here.

I love how this is working out!

Yesterday I shared my mantra for this week: I am full of amazing ideas. And I mentioned how having a lot of ideas can get overwhelming and talked about what I have been doing to be less overwhelmed and more structured with all of my ideas...

This is a post I had ready to go for today, which I wrote a few weeks ago, when I was in that process.

I just felt my whole body go into overwhelm.

It’s almost like it was happening in slow motion. Starting with my mind getting overwhelmed and then this sense of discomfort filling my whole body.

And now - all I want to do is run away from what I am doing, the thing that made me overwhelmed.

Which was - organizing my LIST OF IDEAS into TASKS and ROUTINES.

I’ve been working on this for over a year. And so much of it is going well AND this summer there is so much I want to add to it and I literally can’t hold it. My mind and body cannot hold it.

So I am noticing this sensation in my body.

This complete inability to hold all these things. The desire to run away as far as possible.

And I am noticing a growing sensation of frustration because THESE ARE THE THINGS I WANT TO BE DOING so of course I need to be able to hold them in some way.

Then it all turns into a jumbled mess inside me.

But I know one thing clearly: containers.

If, in my kitchen, I had flour and sugar and baking soda and eggs, coffee, milk and all the things… just loose everywhere in the cupboards and on the counter… I wouldn’t be able to make anything.

And it would be a frustrating experience every time I even went in there.

Everything needs a container.

Each of my ideas for what I want to do needs a container. An appropriate container that meets the needs of the thing inside it, like how my milk jug is waterproof and fits inside the fridge.

What I am doing right now, is sitting in the jumbled mess of container-less ideas and it is VERY overwhelming and it will never not be overwhelming. Like, I can’t say “Oh I’ll come back to this when I feel more clear-headed” because I could be at my most clear-headed, that doesn’t change that this is a jumbled mess that I literally can’t do anything with.

I am missing a step.

I have to take each idea, and figure out what kind of container it needs.

OK, the overwhelm in my body is calming down.

Going back into that jumbled mess, with the goal of just LOOKING AT (not doing, or attempting to do) ONE THING AT A TIME, to think about how to organize it… this feels doable.

(Looking back at this post from a few weeks ago, I feel so grateful that I did this. Because my ideas are in perfect containers now and I am doing the things and enjoying the process)

Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts about this or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

Idea Overwhelm Read More »

Being so stuck while needing to get to work.

By Andrea Schroeder / February 27, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice

I first did a Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call as an experiment in November 2022.

Now it's a call we do every month in Dream Book!

Since we have a call tomorrow, I'm trying to write a post about this and I can't.

So, in the spirit of Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice, I will write (creative practice) about my truth (spiritual practice):

I'm super stuck today.

This is not the whole truth of who I am and where I am but it's where I am right in this moment.

I am excited about the work I have to do today!

But my heart is in KNOTS and I can't do the things I want to do.

Our practice HAVE TO include these days, too.

Triangle Dream Compass

Remember the compass of Creative Dream Alchemy.

If you can't do Outer Work, you can do Dream Work or Inner Work.

And I feel too tangled up for Dream Work, I know Inner Work is what is needed.

So I am taking my knotted up heart into the Un-Sticking Station practice:

Oh, it's so sad. A floating, disembodied heart that's crying.

I notice we're in a room with a fireplace, so I light a fire and make my heart a cup of tea and sit it down on a soft couch.

I wrap a blanket around it. I want to offer it ALL the nurturing.

"Do you want a cookie?"

I would LOVE a cookie.

I bring my heart a cookie.

"So tell me what's going on"

Oh! (Heart starts crying again) It's all too much!

"Oh you are so right! It's ALL too much." And I get the sense that we shouldn't write about all the things in the world that are TOO MUCH we should just take a minute a FEEL it.

We take a few deep breaths together.

The knots slip out of my heart.

We can't solve anything. We can show up as best we can to create the world we want to see, but we, alone, cannot solve anything. But taking a minute to have a cookie, breath deep, and acknowledge how terrifying the world is to be in right now does help.

"OK so, now that I have given you space to un-knot, the day I had planned feels inappropriate for the space you are in"

Oh yeah for sure. I mean - I don't want to sabotage your goals and plans! AND I am where I am.

This has been a BIG topic on our group calls lately.

How to find a balance between all the inner work we need to do in order to be able to do the outer work we want to do.

And how it can feel like if we gave our inner worlds all the care and attention they need, then we literally wouldn't have the time or energy left to take care of anything in the outer world.

And how our inner worlds really do need us to have some stability and order in our outer worlds!

And this has always been true in a sense. It takes A LOT of inner work grow beyond where you, to grow towards where you want to be. But the impact of the current state of the world, on top of that, has really shifted the balance.

So. Back to me and my heart.

I want to do what you want to do. I am 100% on board.

"That is a relief to know you are on board with my plan. But I sense a but..."

But right now, today, I need the gentlest possible day. Can we remember that we ARE in a peri-menopausal situation where we should be getting our period but instead we are getting anxiety attacks?

"I want to just "deep breath" the anxiety away."

And if you could do that, it would be gone by now. This is not in your head. This is not a small problem. You know damn well peri-menopase is the time when women are the most likely to commit suicide and this is largely driven by how fucking un-supportive the whole world is about what we go through at this time. So it is IMPERATIVE that you be ultra-supportive of yourself.

(Not that I am having suicidal thoughts, my heart is just driving home a point, that this isn't some small inconvenience)

"OK I am hearing that you don't want to do what I had planned to do today. What, exactly, do you want to do today?"

Mediate + maybe nap if you fall asleep. Journal.

Oh wow that reminds me that I put into my journal from this week's journaling kit: What part of you feels too small for your dream? What does this part of you need?

I will work on those prompts. I will LIGHTLY hold onto what I wanted to do today while honouring the actual state of my heart. Take care of myself first, and then see what feels possible.

[Update: YES! After a long meditation thinking about what I want to accomplish with this project, I did start VERY gently and without any pressure did get a bunch of things done]

Our next Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call is tomorrow.

Dream Book members - get the call details here. Everyone else - join us here!

Topic: Drawing out a "dream map" of how you would love marketing to work in your business (continued from our last call where we first made a map)

Dream Book members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson or get a weekly journaling + alchemy kit.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

Being so stuck while needing to get to work. Read More »

Today I am celebrating my 13th anniversary with the Creative Dream Incubator.

By Andrea Schroeder / January 1, 2024 / creative entrepreneur

My biggest dream was always to be creatively self employed in a way that felt TRUE, in alignment with my values and my soul. The Creative Dream Incubator has been that dream come true for the last thirteen years and I’m grateful for it every day.

I’ve been reflecting on the last 13 years and a lot of my reflections become rants about how the industry has changed.

But actually it’s me that’s changed.

Our dreams are sacred. They come from the part of us who wants to help us heal and grow.

So, following your dreams will heal you and grow you. Which will change you.

And I have changed.

It's fascinating to me how we always think we know how we'll change as we heal and grow - but then we surprise ourselves. So I am surprising myself.

I keep writing, deleting and re-writing this post.

There are so many different things I could say about this and I have no clue which of those things I want to say.

I think back to myself 13 years ago making this choice and feel so much gratitude for my younger self. All of her determination, courage and hard work have made my life so much better. I do cry thinking about it.

✨Thirteen years in, I believe this more than ever: Our dreams are our most sacred selves showing us the way✨

There is a mystery to creative dreaming. And as I grow with this work, I become more open to that mystery.

And I am thrilled to keep doing this work this year.

If you're not in Dream Book - join us here.

Dream Book members:

Come to the forum to share your thoughts or start a conversation about whatever you're working with.

Get your next Dream Book lesson.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab if you're not sure where to start.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls. Make a plan to join us live or catch a replay.

Today I am celebrating my 13th anniversary with the Creative Dream Incubator. Read More »