Creative Soul Alchemy is the art of transforming fears, self-doubt, inner critics and outer obstacles into insights, magic and dreams come true.

Bring Creative, Soul and Alchemy together and you’ve got yourself some dream-growing life-altering magic.

I use the word?magic?a lot, because when you plug Creative, Soul and Alchemy together, the results look (and feel!) like magic.

But it’s not magic, it’s the natural result of integrating your creativity and your soul with your power and your desire.

When I first started approaching my inner work in this way, I wondered if I was cheating.

It felt too simple and fun to be effective.? But over time I’ve learned that we can play our inner work MUCH more effectively than we can work on it.

If this sounds interesting to you, I do have a free class that shows you the basics of Creative Soul Alchemy.?

It’s called Give Your Dream Wings, and you can get it right here.? It will show you how to use Creative Soul Alchemy to start growing your dream, in only 10 minutes a day.

I started the day with my creative journal.

We had a Playdate With Flow in the Creative Dream Circle?and I wanted to journal, doodle + draw about Flow to prepare for it.

As my mandala drawing went further and further away from what I thought it was “supposed to” look like, the message became clear: you can INVITE flow in, you cannot CONTROL flow.

Good lesson.

At the Playdate, when we first invite Flow into the Circle, she appears to me as a mermaid. ?She lives in the ocean of infinite possibilities.

She tells me that if I let her – she can take me right to where I need to go.

The important word there feels like LET: ?If I tighten up, then I can’t go with her. ?If I don’t trust her to lead, then I can’t be led. ?She asking me to look at that control pattern.

Then we did an energy process to energetically get into the flow, to explore it from being inside it.

Except I didn’t want to.

Or, a part of me didn’t want to. ?A part of me was afraid of what would happen if I dove all the way in – well, there’s no telling where I’d end up!

So I kept exploring this resistance to and desire for being in the flow.

Somehow this belief is in my way: this belief that I’d have to choose between being fully in the flow and being the conscious creator of my life.

The mermaid giggles.

Flow is only going to help you to consciously create your life. ?Come on -you know how Creative Soul Alchemy works. ?

Oh, right. ?It’s not true that I have to choose. ?So I ask this belief/fear to show itself.

It’s a little boy, holding a plastic toy ship, wearing a paper sailor’s hat. ?He’s convinced he has to be in charge or else he can’t promise that he, or his crew, will be safe.

Suddenly there’s this huge crew of (grownup) sailors behind him. ?I feel the weight of his responsibility to them.

Looking at him I immediately see how there are different ways of being in charge. ?And how the way where you try to control everything is really not the best (most effective) way.

I definitely want me, and my crew, to be safe. ?I want us to get to where we want to go.

To do that, I have to work with flow, not against it. ?(Of course!)

And the boy turns into a wise sage.

Flow is my friend and partner when I remember that I create from the inside, not the outside. ?Control is only useful if you’re only creating on the surface, which is really just for fools.

I go back to the energy process for entering the flow.

This time: woooooosh! ?Into the flow I go. ?It’s all sparkles and tiny soft stars and coloured lights and smoothness.

It’s not even a teeny tiny bit about giving up creative freedom. It’s much more about activating creative?superpowers.

The message: You can only enter into the flow to the depth that you are willing to commit to living from your center.

And then we move onto the next part of the Playdate: we bring our dream into the story.

My dream shows up as a starfish. ?Somehow I know it’s a starfish but I don’t know where it is, or what it’s doing, or how to find it.

Flow reaches deep down, deeper then where I’m able to be right now, plucks it out of the ocean and puts it on her head. ?Then she poses dramatically and giggles.

I take my dream, fill a little container with Flow, and put the starfish inside it.

The starfish starts to dance and light up and smile.

Flow and my dream definitely want to play together.

The coolest part?

While I was on this adventure, members of the Circle were using the same process to go on totally different adventures.

And as we share our stories, we learn about all these different aspects of Flow.

I learn so much on these days, the kinds of things that make no logical sense at all, but shift something deep down inside, and open up new space for new?possibilities?and new adventures.

My life has become so much better and brighter since I made the commitment to do this every month.

Next step: NAP TIME! ?I’m sure I’ll wake up with all sorts of new ideas about how to implement what I learned about flow.

These days I’m starting my days with a trip to the coffee shop by the park, then… journal picnic.

Meditation. Journaling. Creative Genius Planning. Dream-Map-Making. Mandala Drawing:? I like to spend at least 2 hours doing this first thing in the morning.

This is the secret, the magic and the answer to everything: focus on the inside, not the outside.

And this works especially well when you don’t have time for inner work.

Because being in your Creative Flow is sustainable and unlimited.

Giving your time and attention to the things that get your butt into the flow.

And putting that BEFORE work and responsibilities.

THAT’S where the magic is.

Because then you’re filled up.? And you’re in the FLOW.?? So – work is pretty smooth.? Your Creative Genius is activated.? Things fall into place.

Plus FLOW comes with access to synchronicity and miracles.

So why I would ever not make getting my butt into the flow my #1 priority is kind of a mystery.

Still, this has been one of the hardest lessons for me to learn as a Creative Entrepreneur.? I learn it and re-learn it and then have to keep reminding myself all the time.

I’m kind of hard-wired to believe that I have to earn it.? That work comes first, and play comes second – if there’s time.

The truth is: Play and Flow and Creativity are POWERFUL TRANSFORMERS.

They can get you to where you want to be so much faster, easier and more effectively than working your tail off ever can.? I promise.

PS: If you want to explore this with me, I’m hosting a Playdate with FLOW tomorrow in the Creative Dream Circle.? If you can’t be there live, all calls will be recorded – we’ll keep exploring this for the rest of the month in the Circle.

Saying “I want to be in the flow!” is generally the worst way to get there, because energetically it points out how you’re not in the flow now and plugs you into that part of you who so desperately wants to be there, but is not.

Scheduling a meeting with flow seems to work in kind of the same way, as that’s what I had on my calendar for today…? meeting with the heart and soul of flow to put together the materials for the Playdate with Flow that is happening in the Circle next week.

And most of the day I’ve been decidedly out-of-flow.

Hot and sweaty.? Shopping (SHOPPING!? Not a hot-day favourite in my world, I got a sunburn on my arm just driving to the mall) for the insulated curtain liners I swore I would buy this spring so that my 2 storey wall of south-facing windows didn’t turn the DreamLoft into a HellSauna as soon as it got hot.

Annoyed with myself for not having bought the liner sooner.? Why do I still put things off?? And why why why can’t I start acting like a grown-up already?? I’m 39, shouldn’t that have happened by now?

Annoyed with the condo developer for not installing better heat-blocking windows.

Frustrated that it’s summer but I’m not at the beach.

Getting blisters from my cute butterfly shoes because my feet are hot and sweaty and sticking to my shoes in weird places.

Not a recipe for being in the flow, that’s for sure.

But here I am.? Showing up anyway.

And flow meets me with open arms and says “Oh honey, I don’t even have to say it, right?? I’m always here for you, that’s what I do.? I’m even in the mall and on hot sweaty days and when everything goes wrong.? I’m here.”

She shows up like a serpent with angel wings.

And I like her, and I like being around her, even though I don’t like snakes.

I want to be all “OK, let’s do this.? We have some work to do” but I just kind of curl up in the corner, exhausted.? Flow brings me a cup of tea and a reminder that pushing myself to get work done is not flow-like.? And that it would be impossible to create my Playdate with Flow from that place.

I sip the tea.

Tea is a source of flow.? Not when I have it just for a little energy jolt, when I have it simply to enjoy having it.

Resting is a source of flow.

Curling up is a source of flow.

Being present in my inner world is a source of flow.

“Not controlling the outcomes is a source of flow.” she whispers as I am starting to wonder… am I going to get my work done today or is not getting the work done the way the work gets done and if so – well, how do I get the work done because it really does need to get done.

Except it doesn’t really need to get done today, I guess.

Ohhhh… today I need to meet with flow and not dictate how the meeting goes.

“Sweetie it’s kind of funny how often you forget.? You can plan to meet with me – I love that you did that.? But you can’t plan to meet with me so I’ll whisper secrets in your ear that help you get your work done at a speed that defies the laws of the gravity.? Trying to control the outcome of your meeting with flow lands you right back out-of-flow.”

Oh, so Flow doesn’t want to help me write the workplaybooks.? Or maybe she does.? But she can’t/won’t do it if I am trying to make it happen.? Force and Flow cann’t co-exist.

I forgot about being open to the adventure of being where I am.

I can see how it was me wanting the planning for this Playdate to happen in a certain way that pushed some blocks into the path between me and Flow and everything just got more funky the longer I left those blocks there, insisting that this is how it has to happen.

Release.

Now it’s me and Flow and a tea party.? Little cookies on darling little plates.? The air sparkles with magic.? My expectations about how this day was supposed to go are all wrapped up in little packages, sitting just outside arm’s reach.? I can pick them back up if I want, or I can leave them there as long as I like.

There are big cushy pillows everywhere.? Soft happy music is playing.? The room is brighter.

I’m trusting that my work will get done when it gets done, and remembering that my best work happens when it comes from flow.

And it seems really silly and short-sighted now, that I was so hell-bent on getting this work done NOW.

I’ve been trying to write this post and I’m noticing that I feel uncomfortable and I want to just delete it because I think it’s boring and I appreciate my readers and don’t want to bore them.

Beneath this noticing, I’m noticing that I never hesitate to share the stickier suckier parts of the creative dream path. ?I share bits and pieces of happy stuff on facebook all the time but to write a whole blog post about how freaking amazing everything is?? Uncomfortable.

I know a it’s easy to look at someone (like me) who is doing exactly what they want to do and think: it must be easier for her.

But as a teacher and guide in the Land of Creative Dreams I know that waiting for it to be easy is one of the most common ways that people kill their dreams.? So I write a lot about the hard parts, as encouragement.?

To say: it’s hard for me, too.? It’s hard for everyone.? Don’t give up just because it’s hard.

But today I only have happy things to share: everything in my life is painted in all these gorgeous new shades of beautiful and true.

So much is changing for me right now.

I’m stepping into a new layer of who-I-really-am.

I’m starting to lead transformational retreats in the most creatively inspiring places around the world.

I’ve totally re-built the Creative Dream Circle to be simpler, more fun and more accessible.? (Registration is closed to new members right now, but when it opens back up you’ll be able to hop in and play your way to your dream, easier than ever).? I am so happy and proud about this.

The new Circle needs a whole new business structure around it, one that can support such an sparkle-licious level of radiance and magic.? I’ve got the plan in place and am working towards this.

I got a cute haircut and have been sewing adorable dresses.

I’ve been drawing like a crazy person, and looooving every second of it.

I hardly ever sit still, I am happily bouncing through my days.

I feel more creatively alive than I have in a long time.

But these are just the outside changes.? The reflections of what is changing inside me.

There is so much more spaciousness and clarity inside me.? I’ve been working with these qualities for a long time, that work keeps rubbing away the stuff that blocks them, and this past few months some big chunks of stuff fell off.

It feels amazing.

A layer of is-that-really-possible-dust was just cleared off of my possibility glasses.? I’m blinking a bit, slightly disoriented because everything is so bright, but I’m happy to be here.

This is a part of the Creative Dream path, too.

It’s kind of stupid that I’m uncomfortable sharing it here, because this is why we work through the hard parts, yes?

To get to the part where you feel like there’s more space for you.

Like your life is true-er and deeper and brighter.

The place where your Creative Genius is bigger and brighter (and STAYS bigger and brighter) than your doubts and fears.

The place where those old patterns that hold you back just gently fall away.

I love this part.?

This is why I do this, so I can live in this place more often, and help you to build your home here too.

PS: I want to remind you that the door is open to the Rainbow~licious Creative Healing Circle. Inside the circle, I’m drawing my way through my energy body, and drawing in the changes I want to change, which is pretty much the most amazing thing ever.? There’s a lot of magic in there for you.

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

Daring appears as a female superhero holding a lightning bolt.

She obliterates anything and everything that is a distraction.

She dares me to say no.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daring dared me to commit.

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

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

There is a sea of infinite possibilities.

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

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

So I moved.

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

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

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

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

BIG relief.

99% of the time, I don’t have enough time is a lie.

You have enough time, and you chose how you’re using it.? It only feels like it’s not a choice because you’re caught up in an un-helpful pattern, or you’ve got a sovereignty leak or you’re letting your inner critics run the show.

So, here I am this morning, convinced I don’t have enough time for all the things I have to do today.

Except I do.? They fit neatly onto my calendar.? So I mediate and journal and use aromatherapy and still this small voice of anxiety won’t go away.?? I re-read my post about You Are The Source Of Time which helped, but then my little inner I Don’t Have Time Monster got woken up…

So, let’s talk.

You DON’T have enough time!? Not for all these things!

Oh sweetie.

And you certainly don’t have time to talk to me about it!

Oh, so what should I be doing?

Running around like crazy, panicking about not having enough time.

That doesn’t seem useful.

But it would be honest!

Honesty is important.? See, I am being honest by talking to you about how you’re feeling, rather that just pushing through and getting the work done.

Oh, right.

I think you want me to to panic until I can’t get the work done, and then not get the work done, and then use this as evidence that I can’t handle this much work.

Well you can’t!

I know I can.? I love everything I’m doing.? The Creative Soul Alchemy Cards?? HOLY CRAP I LOVE THIS. I’m having the best time ever.

But they’re taking you longer than you thought, to make them.

Yes, that’s a part of the Batter Tasting Process – learning all of that stuff!? Then I’ll take what I learn and use it to put the final thing together.

But you’re also doing Project 1 and Project 2 and Project 3!? All big projects!? Plus your regular stuff!? Aaeeeeeiiiiiiii!? There is not enough of you to go around!

Honey, I remain full and whole.? And I choose what I want to play with, and when I want to play with it.

Oh, wait, what?

I think you think I have to give parts of my energy to each thing.? But I hold all of my energy.

And the little monster disappeared and in its place is yesterday’s Creative Genius Planning Session with all sorts of amazing energy work that actually holds the container for all of the things to happen this week with great joy and ease and spaciousness.

And the monster says: I’m sorry, I forgot about the Creative Genius Planning Session.? I can see it all here in the magics.? You’re doing fine, nothing to panic about.

Ahhhh. Calm returns.? And I’m ready to enjoy my many activities today…