Manifest Your Dream Life

Making a Big Dream Real #3

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It’s already week three of my new adventure!

Early this week I started to really come into alignment with this new dream.? I started feeling more flow and inspiration.

I had so many ideas for things to try, and so much energy to play with them.? Sunday night I had a hard time falling asleep because I was So Excited for Monday morning to come so I could get to work.

It felt amazing.

Until it didn’t.

I went from super inspired on top of the world to way down in the dumps.

This happens with dreams!? You dig through stuff, get to a new layer of clarity, but then there is all this… debris from your digging.

The debris was messy this week.? Remembering all the reasons why this is impossible.? Loosing my connection with why I want this.? Not trusting my dream.? Not trusting myself.? Not fun.

And I kept trying to push myself to act anyway.? Which is never a good idea. But I felt frustrated and impatient and wanted to see some results.

I found myself very focused on externals, which is usually what’s happening when you feel stuck like that.

So then I thought… hey why don’t I do the things that I know work when I’m down in the dumps.

That stuff kept this week from being a total disaster.? And as I played with these tools, I learned A LOT about why I was so in the dumps.

And even found gifts & treasures in the dump.

Bringing a dream to life is more about growing yourself than it is about making things happen in the outer world.

I’ve got painful stories that I carry that me-who-lives-this-dream does not carry.? These stories were so troubling for me this week because I was waking up to how troubling they are.

You know how when you’re just used to something you don’t really notice it?? It’s like that with your stories and patterns and limiting beliefs.

When you consciously choose to grow, and set your sights on a new way of being – the old ways of being start to become horribly uncomfortable.

This was uncomfortable this week and I’m guessing I’m not finished being uncomfortable.

I am grateful to start to see the patterns behind the patterns more clearly.? I’m grateful to have the tools & skills to transform this.? I’m grateful that no matter how sad & frustrating this gets, I do hold onto the knowing that I will move through this.

I made friends with Discipline.

Discipline appeared this week.? Not all drill sargeant-y and pushy, more like a beautiful and benevolent Goddess of Possibilities.

Last week I talked about creating daily and weekly practices that support and sustain me as I support and sustain this dream.? Daily meditation, energy work, journaling and art-making.? Weekly learning.

This week I learned that I need this to be more disciplined.? It’s not enough to just to these things each day, they need more structure and I need more structure in how I approach them.

These structures are the most supportive things, ever.

This boy became my business role model:

Everything about this represents everything I want in how I approach my work.

He’s relaxed and trusting and barefoot.

He’s playing.? In a soft space in the sunshine.

He’s got pens and toys and an open book.

Spaciousness. Freedom. Creativity. Trust. Alignment. InTUNEment.

Flow. Flow. Flow. Flow. Flow.

Tangible Things I did this week to move towards my goal:

Given how hard this week felt, it feels like a complete miracle that I did anything.? But I did!? Because I am kind of chatty here talking about why I’m doing things, I am making the things I did bold, and everything else plain.

I figured out how I want to start advertising, and started!? I updated my Fabulous Free Stuff page, created a button for it and signed up for an ad on Kind over Matter, to advertise my Fabulous Free Stuff page.

(Advertising my free stuff has been the best way for me to advertise my business.? This way the ad is an invitation to peek into my creative world and see if you want to play here.? Ads that point to a sales page are NOT how I want to grow my business – I would much rather people got to know me FIRST, then decide if they want to join the Circle, instead of advertising the circle.)

I’ll also advertise the freebies page on Facebook, starting in January.? And I did some research for some new places to place ads in January.

I did a lot more tweaking to the Creative Dream Circle page.? (do check it out!)? I thought a lot about how I want to connect with people as they’re reading that page, and what I want them to know.

Made some images to promote the Creative Dream HOLYday to share on Facebook and Pinterest.

Spent more time exploring my new favourite question: Do I need to step up what I’ve been doing or do I need a totally new plan?

Did more inspiring business reading to nourish my brain with possibilities.

Worked on my promotional plan for January.? I’ll be running both the Creative Dream HOLYday (Jan 3) and the Creative Dream Incubator e-course (Jan 28).? This is an amazing course that really does grow dreams – I want to get as many people as possible participating this year.

Planned my first Spreecast: The Creative Dream Journal Playdate (it’s free and it’s happening January 7)!!? On Monday I got to play with Connie and Lisa on Spreecast and wheeeee it was fun.? I’ve been thinking about doing this forever and finally – I’m doing it!

Being able to speak to people one-on-one has been the best way for me to grow my business.

People do not realise how much I can help them – until I do it!

When you have a mindset like “this is hard” or “I don’t live my dreams – that’s for other people” someone telling you they can help with that doesn’t even register.? Because you’ve been carrying that story so long it feels like Absolute Truth for you – you don’t know that you’re carrying it.

When I work with new people and start to shift the energy around the story to open up new possibilities – they’re stunned.? Then they start to get what it means to play with possibility.? Then they start to want more for themselves.? It’s so beautiful.

Last year I gave away 100 free mini coaching sessions.? As much as I loved that, energy work takes a LOT of energy and I simply can’t do that again.? So this year I’ve been doing free monthly coaching circles and tele-classes since November, and now I’m going to branch out into the free live stream.

I think the tele-classes/circles may work better because then people get to actually talk to me and I can do energy shifting & coaching with them.? For that to happen on a live stream, they’d have to be willing to go on camera and a lot of people are not comfortable with that.

On the other hand, a lot of people don’t want to pay long distance for a phone call (though I do have to pay long distance charges to call my own conference line!) but would watch a video stream online.? So I think the video stream will have more participants – but will they be as engaged?

I don’t know!? Let’s see if I find out at the Creative Dream Journal Playdate.

I added new posts to Dreamtastic Creative Journals.

Did a little re-tooling of the space inside the Creative Dream Circle to make space for more members.

This week wasn’t easy and I feel like I didn’t get nearly as much done as I would have liked, but still I’m proud of how I faced how I was feeling and brought in love & creativity to transform it and stayed on track as much as possible.? The inner critics are not going to knock me off track!

Last week I started a score card to keep track of everything I’m going, inner and outer, in bringing this dream to life.? This week I’m exhausted at the thought of even looking at it, so I’m just going to ignore it.? Suffice it to say – it’s going to take a zillion steps and in the process I will defeat a zillion inner critics, fear & limiting beliefs.


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Creative Journal FAQ: Help! I Get Stuck Trying To Put My Dreams into Action

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Today’s post is a Dreamtastic Creative Journals post. Dreamtastic is an ongoing (free!) e-course about using your journal as a tool for transformation, healing and dream-growing.

Today I’m answering a question I got…

My question is the best ways to use your journal to put those dreams into action. I am decent about dreaming it up a bit in my visual journal however I seem to often get stuck on that part.

It’s good to start with more clarity about why and where and how you get stuck.

Often, when we get stuck we just… stop.? It’s good to remember that it’s not the stuck that gets you stopped, it’s the decision you made to stop that gets you stopped.

Stucks are our fears, limiting beliefs and established patterns.? They try to put up a wall when we try to change out of that old way of being and step up to create something new.

And they are a natural part of the process of bringing a dream to life.

Exploring stucks ALWAYS leads to something amazing.

Start with the assumption that there is a good reason why you got stuck.? The stuck indicates that there’s something for you to look at.

Welcome the stuck.? Make space for it.? Let it be a part of the process.? Find out more about why it’s here and what it wants.

Journal about being stuck about how to bring your dreams to life.? Journal about what you would do if you weren’t stuck.? Journal about it every day until you don’t feel stuck anymore.

Journaling through the emotional stucks gets you clear enough to be able to take action.

Yesterday I felt stuck.? I drew it out in my journal:

creative journaling

See here at the bottom – that yellow circle with small orange rays?? And the arrow pointing to it that says “I AM HERE”?? Right on top of that – that’s a pile of boulders.? That’s how I was feeling when I started exploring the stuck – like I was buried under a giant pile of boulders, and my dream was on the other side, and I had no tools.

Because I do this all the time, I quickly found the gift in the stuck, and got myself un-stuck.

You can see the rest of the page looks pretty happy… this was me working it all out and getting myself back on the Woo Hoo I Can Do It Possibility Train.

If you’re new to exploring stucks, it will take a little longer.? It’s like with anything – the more you practice, the better you get at it.

Resources:


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More on why Dreams/Ideas are DANGEROUS

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Yesterday during Connie’s Holiday Paint Party (a super cool live streamed art journal party – you can watch the whole thing here) Connie asked me if I get a lot of ideas and I said yes… and I added that following an idea blindly is DANGEROUS.

I was at the paint party to draw a mandala and chat with my friends, I wasn’t in teacher mode.

This morning, teacher me really wants to clarify and explain this because it is really important and what I said may be misconstrued.

Creative people have a lot of ideas.? We’re open minded, we’re connected to inspiration, we love ideas so ideas come to us.? This is good!

But acting on all of those ideas is NOT good.

Ideas will meet you in the state of consciousness you’re at, in the moment.? Most of the time, we’re not fully aware of our state of consciousness.

For example, let’s say you’re carrying a story about how our mother doesn’t approve of you.? You’ve carried the story so long you’re not longer aware that you’re carrying it, but it is energized in your consciousness.

An idea comes in that is a perfect match for this story about your mother.? An idea that this part of you believes will finally win her approval, once and for all.? Again – you’re not aware of what’s happening on this level.? You just know the idea feels exciting and inspiring.

So you jump into it.? You ride the wave of inspiration.? You pour your heart and soul into bringing this idea to life.

Either the creative process goes well or it goes badly.

If it goes well:? you successfully bring your idea to life, but your success feels hollow somehow and you don’t know why.? You don’t feel the way you thought this would make you feel.

This is because deep down inside you wanted the idea to succeed so that you could gain your mother’s approval and change how it feels to walk around carrying this painful story.? But even if your mother loves the idea and cheers you on – the story is deep inside of you.? You have to consciously change the story that you carry in order to change how you’re feeling.

This is so dangerous because it feeds a new story about how dreams aren’t worth it and it’s better to just ignore them and you’re not going to be happy anyway so why bother.

Or, if the creative process goes badly: you end up all tangled up in fears and painful feelings you don’t understand.? Or you resist the creative process because on an unconscious level you know this is attached to that painful story you don’t want to go anywhere near.

This is so frustrating because you know you’re more than capable of doing this thing, but it’s like something is holding you back.

This is so dangerous because now you’re going to add a new story to carry around about how when you go after your dreams you fail.? About how you’re not good enough and you don’t follow through.

It’s all tangled up, on the INSIDE.

This is why working with dreams soul-to-soul, inside-to-inside is key.

Your dream is about how you think you’ll feel when you have the thing.

Your dream is about evolving into the person you know you can be.

Your dream is about bringing your creativity and purpose to life.

Your dream is SO MUCH more than the surface thing you want: a solo art exhibit, a published novel, your dream house, etc.

When you stay on the surface – get an idea – run with idea – make idea real – you miss out on the fulfilling and magical part of it all.

This is why you connect with the idea, soul to soul, before proceeding.

Then, in the example I’m using here, you’ll immediately see that what you really want is some healing for this painful story you’ve been carrying about how your mother doesn’t approve of you.

And when you focus on that healing work, other parts of your life “magically” start to fall into place.? Because this story has been impacting you in a lot of ways, for a long time.

And when you focus on that healing work, new ideas spring up.? Ideas that are more connected to who you really are and what you’re here to do, and less connected to this painful story you are no longer carrying.

And, if you stay connected soul to soul as you play with those ideas – they turn into dreams come true.

They help you bring your life into deeper alignment with your inner truth, with your gifts and creativity and purpose and heart and soul.

This. Feels. Amazing.

If you want to know more: the Creative Dream Circle Initiation page has audios that lead you through this process.? (the initiation is free).

If you want to explore this with me: we’re starting up a session of the Creative Dream Incubator on January 28.? Six weeks of diving into the process soul-to-soul communion with your dreams, healing, miracles + transformation – and then once everything is aligned and ready to do – practical action steps + support to make it happen.

 


 

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Watch Me Make A Big Dream Real, Part 2

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OK, I need a catchy name for this series!? But for now I am going to call it what it is: watch me make a big dream real.

I am so grateful to me-from-last-week who started this series and made her commitment public last Friday.? (If you missed it, that post is here)

On Sunday I was doing my regular Sunday stuff, including tidying up in the DreamLoft.? I was enjoying the happy hum of the clothes washer while sweeping and I looked out the window and thought “MAN I am happy here!”.

This space sparkles.? It’s perfect for me.? I thought about how happy I am here and how happy I am doing the work I’m doing.? And, you know, maybe I don’t need to reach for “more”.

Maybe this is enough.? I am already living with so many dreams made real.? I love helping others to do the same as my full-time gig.? Why this push to help so many more people?

side note: This is a good question!? You want to know the WHY behind your dream – you don’t want to go to the work of transforming yourself and bringing a big dream to just to keep up with your neighbours, or because your mom wants you to.? That only brings you further out of alignment with your truth.? But because I use the tools of Creative Dream Incubation my dreams are already aligned with my purpose and soul and heart and creativity.

When I sat with the question, I saw how it was rooted in fear, laziness, resistance and a desire to HIDE.

And I was so grateful I’d made this public commitment and I couldn’t just quietly pack this dream away.? Because that feeling grew the whole rest of Sunday and Monday.

Not just… why bother?? But also a growing feeling that this dream is bigger than me and I am not ready.

And I did want to give up.

But that feeling only lasted until Tuesday.? I think that’s a really important thing to remember when you feel like giving up: it’s just a feeling.? Feelings change.? Don’t give up.

On Tuesday I posted my 100 Reasons Why I Can Do This.? If you did not read that post, READ IT NOW and then make your own list.

On Tuesday I felt great!? I led a free tele-class on How To Stay In The Magic No Matter What Is Happening Around You and it was amazing.

Participants were having the most amazing realizations and I could feel the magic sparkling in the air. I am in love with my work, and with the people who show up to play with me.

Then I went to see a doctor about a rash I’ve got on my legs.? It’s itchy and gross and I had tried every natural thing there is and it’s still CRAZY ITCHY.? Doctor gave me some drugs – an anti-itch pill and a rash-healing cream.

Wednesday I woke up 2 hours later than usual which I NEVER do.? I felt groggy all day.? The last time I took a pharmaceutical was about 10 years ago.? I am so sensitive even Advil makes me loopy, but this stuff REALLY makes me loopy.

Loopy, groggy, mellow and ready for a nap.? That’s how I felt all day.? Kind of the opposite energy of “THIS IS MY DREAM AND I AM MAKING IT REAL, DAMNIT!”

But I remembered this:

When you commit to your dream, everything that happens next happens to support you in the process of bringing that dream to life.

Everything.

The things we think of as obstacles, roadblocks and the universe “testing us” are actually doorways into new possibilities. It’s just our seeing them as obstacles, roadblocks as tests keeps us from seeing the possibility, opening the door and stepping into dreamland.

Pills that make me groggy are actually tiny little doorways into a new possibility.? Pills that make me groggy are here to HELP ME make my dream real.? So, thank you pills!? I will be learning more about you and the superpowers you are here to share with me over the next three weeks.

So being groggy and slowing down right when I think I need to speed up is good.

I’m already seeing that – it’s so easy to get caught up in all the details of things to do when growing a business.? It’s so important to stay connected – heart to heart and soul to soul – with the purpose of what you are creating.

Then you’re coming from a place of real power.?? Like a giant at the bottom of the sea can flick his fingers are create a huge waterfall up on the surface.? And a person up on the surface can use all the energy they have to flail about and not displace anywhere near as much water.

The deeper down you do, the more power you have.? That’s how Creative Soul Alchemy works.

What I did this week:

Last Friday I said I wanted to figure out what I am going to DO and I did it!? I made a list of what I need to be doing every day and every week to stay in the flow of making this dream real.

I’ve created 3 sections: daily practice, weekly practice and business things (the work).

Daily Practice:

  • Meditation A (A being quiet stillness deep connection, no Creative Soul Alchemy work)
  • Meditation B (B being transforming energy, lots of Creative Soul Alchemy work)
  • Journaling
  • Artmaking

So of the daily practice things, only one (Meditation B) is actually focused on making the dream real.? Everything else is focused on nurturing me.

Before a tree can grow bigger branches and more leaves, it needs a larger root system.? Same goes for dreamers.

I always did meditate, journal and make art most days.? Now I am deepening my commitment in the name of growing larger roots.

creative journaling

Weekly Practice:

Right now I only have 1 weekly practice, this may change.? Every week, I want to spend some time re-reading my favourite business books and e-courses and exploring new ones.? A steady stream of information, inspiration and ideas for my brain.

Starting with Unveiling The Heart of Your Business.? The first business book I read that was profoundly helpful, because it puts all business stuff into spiritual terms – it speaks my language and approaches business as a beautiful heart-nurturing thing.

(Unveiling The Heart of Your Business is highly highly highly recommended)

The first time I read it I was soooo new to business and still had a lot of negative/limiting ideas about what business is, that I had to step over and work around before I could get anywhere.? Now that I have cleared a lot of that, I am interested to see what new gifts I find in this amazing program.

But, since I’m telling the truth here, I will share that I didn’t get to this this week.? I did put it on my iPad so I could easily take it to the coffee shop to play with.? But that was my plan for Wednesday afternoon and I was just soooo groggy from the new pills I took a nap instead.

Self-Compassion is a good companion on the path to making a big dream real.

But having compassion for not doing the things you said you’d do is not compassionate at all – it’s an unconscious self-sabotage system.

The greatest act of compassion is to hold yourself to your commitment to being the person you want to be.

In the grand scheme of things, do you want to have your dream made REAL or do you want to be coddled in your excuses?

I want my dream.? And I want to be compassionate towards myself in the process – so loving and compassionate towards myself that I keep the promises I make to myself.? So I am re-committing.? In fact, I am promising to spend some time with Unveiling The Heart of Your Business this weekend.

Actual Business Things:

This is where I found a really interesting question:

Is it enough to step up what I have been doing or do I need to create a totally new plan?

(I’m going to write a whole post about that question for Dreamtastic.? It’s a really genius kind of question to be asking + exploring and it helped me figure out what to DO with this new business goal of mine.)

I did my How To Stay In The Magic tele-class.

These classes take me about 2 days to create, prep for, facilitate and recover from.? Because we’re doing deep down Creative Soul Alchemy – shifting energy, healing wounds and dissolving blocks, it takes a lot of energy to create and hold that kind of space.

My free tele-classes are NOT just promotional things where I try to convince you to sign up for my programs.? They are helpful + inspiring actual classes.? But they ARE a promotional tool in that once people experience the magic of working with me, they tend to want more.

The Creative Dream Initiation is the same thing… a helpful and inspiring Try Before You Buy for the Creative Dream Circle.

I also:

  • Updated the Creative Dream Incubator page.
  • Scheduled the next Incubator session to start on January 28.
  • Brainstormed how I want to promote the Creative Dream Incubator in January.
  • Posted about the Creative Dream HOLYday: Virtual Playdate & Creative Dream Retreat happening on January 3.
  • Wrote 2 Dreamtastic posts: 100 Reasons Why You Can Do This and How To Blend Lots of Dreams Together.
  • Came up with a system for scheduling things on Facebook so instead of posting everything at once when I’m there, the posts are more spread out.
  • Started re-arranging things inside the Creative Dream Circle to make space for the new stuff.
  • Met up with Lisa Wilson from Being Breath?to talk about our videocast, part of 21 Secrets LIVE in 2014.? Wowee we’re going to throw an amazing creative playdate together.? (Join 21 Secrets LIVE right here – weekly video streaming art journal playdates!? With 21 different inspiring teachers!)? This is not directly related, and I said yes to this project not to grow my business but because it seemed like it would be so fun.? But collaborative projects like this do get your work out to new audiences.
  • Wrote this post.

?When I look at it like this I feel disappointed, like I did too little.

Even though How To Stay In The Magic took a lot of bandwidth this week.? Even though I’m on this new prescription that is making me groggy.

Hey… No Matter How Much I Do It’s Not Enough… I see you there and I choose a different perspective.? I remind you of how much inner work it takes to schedule + announce new classes.? I remind you that I’m giving time and attention and love to each thing, doing fewer things but doing them with more care.? I remind you that this post itself is MONSTROUS and it takes time to write MONSTROUS blog posts.

And, I’m writing this on Thursday afternoon.? I still have all of Friday to do the rest of the things on my list.

Oh, what’s that?? I finished my list?

So, can we call this enough then?? Yes.? Deal.

And Friday afternoon I can go out for coffee and a cookie and leisurely plan out what I want to do next week.? And while I’m at in, I can even get started re-reading Unveiling The Heart of Your Business.

My plans for next week:

Well on Monday I’m doing this:

Holiday Paint Party

It’s free, click here to join!

And I’m going to work on a plan for all the behind-the-scenes things I want to have done by January to start this mission with a BANG.

Scoreboard:

I got this idea this morning, to keep a running tally.? Mostly, at the end of this I would like to be able to show that Hey you can have a lot of monsters + obstacles to overcome… and still make that dream real.

Monsters = limiting beliefs, inner critics, fears

Obstacles = outer things that come up and seem to be thwarting my plans

Sold Steps Taken = though there have been millions of baby steps, I am counting each thing in the “Things I Did” section.

Monsters Overcome: 4

What you have already is good enough, I am not ready, I want to give up, No matter how much I do it’s not enough

Obstacles Navigated: 1

New prescription makes me groggy + loopy

Solid Steps Taken: 11

Not a bad start.


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The Creative Dream HOLYday: a Virtual Playdate + Creative Dream Retreat

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Creative. Soulful. Nourishing.? The ultimate way to start a new year.

holyday

All the fun and play of a Creative Playdate blended with all the magic and healing of a Spiritual HOLYday.

Meditation, journaling and creative play.? You’ll get time in the Circle (on the phone or in the forum) and time on your own to explore:

  • What’s going on with your dream (like, really going on with it – we’re talking deep down SOUL CONNECTION with your dream).
  • What your dream wants you to know (dreams are WISE and know how to grow themselves!).
  • What’s the #1 obstacle facing you and your dreams (sometimes we think it’s one thing, but really it’s something else.? Being clear on this is vital) and what’s the best way around/through/over/under it.

You’ll leave with:

  • Unexpected discoveries – the kinds of thing you discover when you tap into new levels of intuition + connection to spirit.
  • Healing, transformation and miracles
  • A new understanding of what to do next to bring your dream to life
  • Creative Dream Mojo: fuel for walking your Creative Dream Path in 2014

How it works:

  • We meet (on the phone, or on Skype, or you can work with the recordings later on) on January 3 at 11am (Central, NA) to create the Circle, open up that deep down soul connection to your dream and build the magic together.
  • You go play on your own (you do get playbooks for this part, or you can create your own retreat activities).
  • We meet again (on the phone, or on Skype, or you can work with the recordings later on) on January 3 at 2pm (Central, NA) for coaching, transformationing and closing the Circle.

Your dream is calling to you back to yourself.

It’s asking you to wake up.? To brighten up.? And lighten up.? And create a DREAMTASTIC life that is worthy of you.

Your dream is calling you into your creativity, your heart, your spirit, your purpose and your power.

Are you going to answer the call?

I have led 14 Virtual Creative Dream HOLYdays so far.

Every time, there have been miracles, magic and transformations, rooted in delight and joy and the magic of creativity.

Every time, people’s dreams show up and show them the most amazing things.

They are the most beautiful thing ever.? I can’t wait for the January Creative Dream HOLYday.

If you join the Creative Dream Circle by Jan 2, you get to come to the Creative Dream HOLYday on January 3!

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How To Blend Lots Of Dreams Together

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Today’s post is a Dreamtastic Creative Journals? post.? Dreamtastic is an ongoing (free!) e-course about using your journal as a tool for transformation, healing and dream-growing… click here to start playing!

Today’s question:

How do I or can I narrow my focus? ?How can I blend all my dreams and ideas together in order to create the reality I desire?

This comes up time and time with my students and clients!? We are BURSTING with dreams and want to give them allll love and attention and nurturing to bring them to life.

And nobody ever likes to hear this, but the truth is you’ve got to narrow in.? You’ve got to pick ONE to focus on.? For now.

There is really only one Creative Dream: to live a life that feels true to who you really are.

All of your dreams are ideas live underneath the umbrella of that dream.

Every time you bring a dream to life, it nourishes the umbrella dream. So bringing one to life does nourish all the others because they’re all connected.

Meanwhile – staying locked in a holding pattern and NOT choosing one dream to focus on nourishes nothing except your excuses.

So, you blend a lot of dreams together as real things in your real life, by bringing them to life, one at a time.

You can pick the one that inspires you the most.

You can pick the one you want the most.

You can pick the one you think is the most achievable.

It does not matter how you pick, it only matters that you pick.? Creative Dream Incubation requires your commitment.

The good news about this is that once you’ve made that first dream real, it gets easier to make the next one real – and so on, and so on, and so on.


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100 Reasons Why You Can Do This

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Today?s post is a Dreamtastic Creative Journals? post.? Dreamtastic is an ongoing (free!) e-course about using your journal as a tool for transformation, healing and dream-growing.

As a part of my new quest to make a big dream real, I started a list in my journal of 100 reasons why I can’t fail.

These lists are magic and you don’t even have to get to 100 reasons before it starts to work.

Listing out all the reasons why YOU CAN DO THIS bolsters your confidence and helps your fears feel safer – ideally, safe enough to just take a nap and leave you alone.

It shifts your energy.? It builds expectancy.? It creates a solid foundation from which to bring your dream to life.

You probably can’t come up with 100 reasons all in one sitting.

That’s part of the point.

When you do this in your journal, write the title: “100 Reasons Why I Can Do This”? and list whatever you can think of.? It’s ok if you can only come up with a few reasons.

hint: one reason why you can’t fail is that you’ve got a LOT of support available to you since you read this blog!? And you can always join the Creative Dream Circle.

You will go on to journal other things in your journal before you finish your list.? Leave PLENTY of space for your 100 reasons.

And your brain will keep working on this, even when you’re not journaling. This keeps your brain focused on possibility.

Remind yourself in the mornings that you are still working on this list.? Whenever an idea comes to mind, add it.? And have a weekly date to sit down with this and think about it some more.

When you have the mindset that “I CAN DO THIS” you start to see things differently, you don’t let fear or old programming get in your way and even “impossible dreams” become real.

Here’s my list, so far:

  1. Love! The Circle was built with love and built to love dreamers and their dreams. And love is powerful and can draw to it more to love.
  2. Dreams are Important. Purpose, Spirit and Heart. Needed. What the world needs is more dreams made real.
  3. I am a Creative Genius. I have created everything I have ever set my mind on creating, no reason to think that may stop! (Though, of course, I don’t control the timing)
  4. I have the Creative Dream Incubator!
  5. I have been taking business classes for the last 4 years! I know how to do this.
  6. There are people who will help me spread the word.
  7. I am so ready! I have done all of the foundation building, this dream has sturdy ground to grow on.
  8. My intuition says so.
  9. My heart is happy about this, I’m not feeling a lot of resistance.
  10. I am determined.
  11. Small steps, every day.
  12. People LOVE the Circle!
  13. 800 is a ridiculously teeny percentage of people on this planet
  14. 800 is even a small percentage of the number of people who read my blog
  15. I can advertise.
  16. I can be crazy creative about how I promote this.
  17. The only reason is hasn’t grown yet is that I have been holding it back because in the old format, I wanted it to be small.
  18. The new format needs it to be bigger.
  19. I have so many tools I can use!
  20. ENTHUSIASM! It’s a superpower and a magnet. I am enthusiastic about my work, that draws people in.
  21. Intention is powerful.
  22. My intention is crystal clear.
  23. Commitment is powerful.
  24. My commitment is solid.
  25. Purpose is supported by spirit.
  26. People can FEEL integrity, even through the interwebs.
  27. By walking my talk and consistently practicing what I teach I create a safe atmosphere for people to come in and do the work with me.
  28. I have something unique + amazing to offer.
  29. I am willing to work for this.
  30. I am willing to play with this.
  31. I am willing to explore new territory.
  32. My intuition never steers me wrong.
  33. Creativity is contagious!
  34. When you combine creativity with clear intention and purpose and spirit and heart and a genuine willingness to do both the inner and outer work: you can’t fail.
  35. When people start working with this material… They LIGHT UP.
  36. Those lights can help guide new people into the Circle.
  37. I’m not trying to sell to 800 people, I am finding 800 people who who are ready to make their dreams real and want me to help them. I know they’re out there.
  38. 800 feels right because they are out there.
  39. In the grand scheme of what I have already created, this is small.
  40. Everything in the universe supports me.
  41. This will get easier and easier, as it creates it’s own momentum

Even if you just grow your list at 1 idea per week you’re still doing yourself a HUGE favour by playing with this.


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Watch Me Make A New (BIG!) Dream Real

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I am nervous about posting this.? But I promised myself I would do this. So… deep breath….

Ever since I left university (15 years ago!) I have wanted to be an artist.? To follow my creative flow wherever it leads and have that financially sustain me.

When I first set out to do this, this was hard.? Very hard.

But in the last five years or so, things have really changed for us sensitive creative types – the way the internet has evolved has changed everything.

Three years ago I left my part-time day-job to be a full time Creative Dream Incubator and the past few years of my life have been amazing.

I always tell my students that you don’t just make a dream real and then you’re done. Creative Dreaming is a way of life.? As we evolve our purpose evolves, our creativity evolves, our desires evolve.? Our dreams evolve.? It’s a fact of life when you live in a universe of infinite possibility, as we do.

So now I’m reminding myself about this.? It’s time to dream bigger.

Though I want to include a GIANT CAVEAT about what I mean by bigger.? We live in a society that tells us that bigger is always better, unless you’re talking about your body in which case smaller is always better – these rules are childish, stupid and unhealthy.? That’s not the bigger I am talking about.

The universe is alive.? You are alive.? Life is alive.? Your dream is alive.? Living things grow.

My dreams are ready to grow.

My Creative Dream Incubator is ready to grow.? My Creative Dream Circle is ready to grow.

But they have always been ready.? They are sturdy containers for growth, transformation and magic and they work just as well with a million students as they do with one.

I, however, do not do as well with a million students as with one.

And I needed time to feel ready for this.

It takes a lot of preparation to teach transformation.? After 13 years of studying and exploring, I started an intensive 3 year program to become a teacher.? Then I did a 1 year internship and taught TONS of in-person classes… all this before I did a single online course.

Then, in the last 3 years of teaching online full time, my work has evolved.? A lot.

I’m really excited and inspired by what I’m doing.? It’s unique and heartwarming and imaginative and fun… and EFFECTIVE.? I’ve also become more grounded as a teacher and ready to hold a space for more dreamers and more dreams.

As I shared last week, I re-structured my offerings to make space for MORE dreamers and more dreams in 2014.? (From now on, you can participate in ALL of my e-courses and tele-classes AND be a member in my Creative Dream Circle for only $100/year.)

You won’t find this kind of high quality dream-growing support for anywhere near this price, anywhere.

I am doing my part to make it as easy and simple as possible for all dreamers to get the support they need to make those dreams REAL.

Because I am on a mission.

creative journal

I am going to grow the Creative Dream Circle exponentially in 2014.

My goal: 800 dreamers.

That number makes my stomach jump a bit.? While I have had over 100 members in the Circle so far, I haven’t had over 100 at once.? And now I want to have 800 members in the circle, all at once, by the end of 2014.? It’s a stretch.

Under that stomach jump I feel a quiet sparkling.? I feel how amazing it will be for so many more dreams to be born.

And then… well I have layers of resistance and excitement and joy and fear.? All the usual stuff involved in taking on a new dream.

For the last few weeks I’ve been sitting with this decision.? Acclimating to it.? Writing about it, exploring my feelings about it.? It took some time to actually settle on the number 800 but now that I have it feels exciting and right and it scares me in all the right ways.

I’ve also been figuring out how to do it.

As I was planning away the other day a new idea dawned: to share this process, as I work through it.? I thought about how helpful this would be for people who are interested in how to make big dreams real… and about how it would help me solidify my commitment to myself, to commit to sharing it with others, too.

Sharing the process shines a light.? Fear and resistance can’t hide in that kind of light.

So, I’m doing this! I’m going to share the entire process over the next year, right here on my blog.

Every stumble and mis-step and success and joy along the way.? I’m going to write a weekly post (on Fridays) talking about where I’m at, what I’m doing (both internal and external stuff) and share lists of what I want to do next and keep myself accountable.

I’m excited.

What I’ve done so far:

Not a lot of tangible things!? As I said, I had to be with this decision for a long time before I could settle into it. I’ve been journaling and meditating and arting.? Connecting with the essence of the Circle, and the essence of my business and the Patron Saints of Creative Dreamers to make sure everything is aligned and ready to go.

I’ve been getting to know My Dream Self, the me-who-lives-this-dream and can give me the best advice about how to get there and what it really means to be there.

I gave my website a makeover (if you have my blog posts sent to you by email, do click here to visit the site and see!) to put my amazing new offer right at the top.

I wrote this blog post and made my commitment to this public (gulp!).

And I am asking you, right now, to think about joining the Circle in 2014.?

Imagine what would happen if you had a whole year of Creative Dream Support… e-courses, tele-courses, group coaching calls plus an entire library of resources and obstacle-banishing dream-growing tools and space to bring your dream from inception all the way to fruition.? The act of making that kind of commitment to yourself is MAGIC.

Creative Dream Circle members are using the Circle to work on things like:

  • starting/growing creative businesses
  • finding their creative dreams
  • healing their hearts and finding new loves
  • taking their art more seriously
  • making more money
  • learning how to make TIME for themselves
  • developing a deep sense of believing in themselves, and their dreams
  • being more productive
  • being less productive, and having more fun
  • practicing extreme self-care

…all sorts of delicious life-enhancing things!

What would you create with a whole year of creative dream support?? (click here to check it out)

My plans for next week:

Well, I haven’t actually thought about this!? I knew I needed to start this post series NOW even though I am not entirely ready.

I’m still swirling in all of the ideas for all of the ways I can make this happen.? I’ve got 4 journals and a giant roll of paper out, sitting beside me.? So I am going to keep doing that, exploring my options for the outer work.

And come up with some daily practices for the inner work.

By next Friday’s post I’d like to have a more detailed plan of what I’m going to DO with this for the next few months.


When you join the Circle, you also get FREE access to ALL of the e-courses and tele-classes I do? all year long. ? It?s going to be a CRAZY AMAZING year.

Click here to join today.

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If it feels wrong, don’t do it.

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When something just feels wrong, that is your intuition speaking to you, letting you know that something is off.

The more you ignore that inner wisdom and just bulldoze through, the easier it gets to just keep on bulldozing…. which creates a gigantic mess in your inner world, and makes it harder for yout o re-connect with your inner wisdom.

Bulldozing is not a tool for successful creative dreaming.

But bulldozing is basically what built our world. There’s a lot of it out there and it can be hard to not fall into that pattern.

I planned tomorrow’s Calm For The Holidays Creative Playdate months ago. It’s one of those times when what I need and want I want to offer are one and the same, and I was really looking forward to it.

But as the date approached, something started to feel off. It was subtle at first, and then I became more and more uncomfortable every time I tried to work on it.

A few weeks ago I started to think about cancelling it, because it felt so wrong. But canceling it felt even more wrong!

I did a lot of journaling and a lot of sitting with my feelings and just waiting.

Sometimes I can’t prep for an event like this until the day before because the energy is shifting so much. As soon as people sign up for a transformative event, transformation starts. So sometimes I wait until the last minute so that I am working with the energy that will show up at the event.

But that’s not what was happening this time. Something was really off.

So, instead of prepping for the class, I did even more journaling, even more sitting with my feelings, even more waiting.

And the answer came.

I wrote last week about a huge shift I am making in my work.

As soon as I shifted things around, the Calm For The Holidays Creative Playdate changed.

The feeling of something being off was gone. I happily prepped for the calls and created the playbook and once again I am soooooo looking forward to this.

Calm

Calm is a doorway that leads you to whatever you need right now.
Calm is powerful.
Calm is magic.

Doing what you need to do to get into a state of calm, instead of bulldozing through your to-do list, always brings you somewhere amazing,

I am so happy I worked through the tangled parts to get to this place.? Now the Calm For The Holidays Creative Playdate is going to be amazing.? (It’s tomorrow! Come play with us!)

I wanted to share that story as a little reminder of the importance of listening to your feelings.

Don’t be so hell-bent on Making Things Happen that you stop listening to your inner guidance.

Even when it seems like your inner guidance is trying to direct you away from something you really want, listen to it and explore it. Often it’s just showing you a shortcut or an easier path.


 

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Calm Friday

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Instead of being cranky about how Black Friday seems to be invading Canada this year and that it’s really hard to stay away from the nuttiness, I am writing this list of reasons why I am head over heels in love with winter:

  • The way the snow fall kind of insulates noise and everything feels softer.
  • The way the snow sparkles in the sunshine.? Glitter everywhere!
  • The moodiness of the winter clouds.? The soft grey sky.
  • The tree branches coated in frost.
  • The way the low low sun hits the crystals up in the loft windows and sends rainbows shooting everywhere.
  • The early early sunset, and the lighting of candles.
  • Knitting fluffy snuggly cardigans.
  • The permission to just stay in, because hey, it’s cold and dark out there.
  • Lattes, tea, hot chocolate with Irish Cream.

Winter is the season of quiet and sparkle.? My two favourite things.

And it feels like the beauty and magic of winter get hijacked by our completely insane holiday traditions.

Sometimes this makes me mad, sometimes it makes me sad.

This year I’d like it to inspire me to be more solidly committed to staying in alignment with my inner (quiet!) sparkle.

Because no matter how frantic everything gets out there, you still get to choose calm.

This is what we’ll be doing on Dec 3 at the CALM for the Holidays Creative Playdate.? (And thanks to my new plan, this is playdate now FREE for all Creative Dream Circle members)

We’ll also be exploring how calm is actually a superpower.

And how ending the year with a month of calm creates fertile ground for a dream-filled 2014.

Calm is magic.

And I am wishing you the calmest of Black Fridays.

Calm for the Holidays Creative Playdate

 

The Calm For The Holidays Creative Playdate is a transformative experience for people who are ready to NOT get caught up in the craziness of the holiday season.

It?s about connecting, deeply, to peace, calm and your amazing inner sparkle.

>>> Click here to read all about it.

 

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I (kind of) messed up.

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Or, I feel like I messed up.? Even though really I didn’t.

When I started my Creative Dream Circle, I wanted to explore ways to work with dreamers on an ongoing basis (because dreams need ongoing support!) – outside of my classes and in a much-less-expensive way than coaching.

So I invited people who had been taking classes with me to join this secret private group, and started exploring how we could make this work.

The Creative Dream Circle was around for a long time before I ever mentioned it on this blog.

Over the past few years, it has evolved a changed A LOT as I have learned more about what does and does not work.

As I said, what I have wanted to do is offer dreamers rich, on-going support in growing their dreams, for way less money than ongoing coaching.?? And I figured out how many people I needed in the group to make it viable for the amount of work I put into it…

But what I did not include in that calculation was my internal overwhelm-o-meter.

That meter is what has kept the group small, even as I have wanted to grow it.

I have been doing so much energy work with this dream of mine and there has always been part of it that felt tangly… I knew I was doing something to hold this back.

No matter how tangled a dream is, consistent inner work will get the tangles smoothed out and then the dream will grow.? I know this is always true.? So I kept working at it.

And now I see it.? And while I would not change a single thing of what has happened over the last few years (and it has definitely served me ever bit as it has served the group members) I can’t keep doing it this way.

During our monthly (and often twice monthly) calls, I had a promise to make sure no one ever left a call with questions, I would stay on the phone as long as need be.? I love my dreamers, I love talking with them and it was time well spent.

But energetically, this promise meant I was holding space for each member.? Which is a beautiful thing that I loved doing. But my capacity for doing that is quite small.

And that is why the group needed to stay small.? So that I wouldn’t be in a state of overwhelm holding space for everyone.

And truth be told keeping the group small has served also my HSP-ness and introversion and my somewhat neurotic relationship with visibility.

I set things up so that I needed more people in the group than I was able to have.

I messed up.? Sort of.? I see it more as “this is the path I took to get to where I want to be” because as long as you’re doing your best to listen to your own heart – you can’t really make a mistake when it comes to creative dreaming.

You can’t know things before you try/do/experience them!? So I tried.? And I learned.? And now I’m adjusting.

Also: it feels to me like the way I grew this group was the exact perfect way to grow this group. This path has given me time and space to get grounded in my role, to feel sturdy and capable of steering the ship.

But now the group is ready to go from delicate seedling to sturdy tree.

I am happy!

As I make this change, I feel deeply connected to Trust, Generosity and Whole-Heartedness.

So I am re-structuring to make space for MORE dreamers, and MORE dreams come true.

This is where it gets a little convoluted.

I started working on this change a few months ago.

I shifted the pricing structure from monthly to annual, and made the Circle MUCH less expensive.

At the same time, I separated the monthly tele-events from the Circle, and instead offered Circle members 50% discounts on tele-events.

And now I’m seeing how I had it part right, part not-right.? Because to offer these monthly events, and promote each one, and the admin work of creating each one as a separate thing…. the energy doesn’t feel right.? I actualy feels downright WRONG to keep doing this (my stomach tightens up, my shoulders get tense – my body and intuition are screaming at me to stop), which is why I’m not going to keep doing this.

I’m going to go back to offering the events for FREE to Circle members.? At the new, way-low price.

As the group grows, I can’t promise to answer very single question on every single call.? I can promise that the calls will continue to be amazing and fun and they’ll help you get in touch with your dreams and figure out how to bring them to life.

This promise feels so much more energetically balanced.? I can hold this promise as the group grows.

I hold + support the group, instead of each individual member in it.

And I’m creating new coaching and intuitive healing programs for 2014, so when people want more individual support, they can get it there.

It feels like simplicity and spaciousness and ease.

I love it.? More dreamers + more dreams come true in the Circle.? More vibrancy, energy and movement.

Ever since I made this decision, I have felt light and happy – so happy my heart has been kind of sparkling.? A sign of making the right choice.

And I wish I had figured this out a few months ago when I made the first change, so I could have made one big change all at once.

But when it comes to creative dreaming, with each step you take you gain new perspective + understanding which lets you take the next step.? This is at once the most inspiring + the most frustrating part for me.?

It’s just not always possible to do this with neat, logical straight-line paths, the path curves and swirls all over the place.

So now when you join the Circle: you’re going to get EVERYTHING.

ALL the tele-playdates and treasure-mapping parties and group coaching calls.

ALL of my e-courses (yes, including the Creative Dream Incubator itself which we’re going to do together early in the New Year plus Creative With Money which we’ll do later in 2013).

ALL of it.? For just $100/year.

I hope you’ll come play with me, we’re going to have the best time EVER in the Creative Dream Circle in 2014.

PS: While the change itself is in effect now (if you join the Circle you’ll get all the extra stuff I’m adding) my website still has everything set up in the old way. I’ll be changing this over the next few days.? It feels like the whole internet slows down for American Thanksgiving, so this is a good time for me to work on this.

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You’re Invited: CALM For The Holidays Creative Playdate

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Calm for the Holidays Creative Playdate

The Calm For The Holidays Creative Playdate is a transformative experience for people who are ready to NOT get caught up in the craziness of the holiday season.

It’s about connecting, deeply, to peace, calm and your amazing inner sparkle.

And it’s about subverting expectations, transforming experiences and creating the holiday season to be what YOU want it to be: joyful, playful and deeply nourishing.

It’s designed for people who want to stay connected to their deep inner calm in the midst of holiday chaos like crazy-long line-ups at the grocery store, unrealistic expectations and the general crazy-making that has become the holiday season.

If you are DONE with the craziness and ready to play: this is for YOU.

You’ll create a totally unique custom-made-just-for-YOU plan for staying out of the holiday chaos.

The Creative Playdate with Calm happens on Dec 3.

We’ll start at 11am (Central, North America), with a tele-circle, then you’ll have time on your own for your playdate (guided by inspiring playbooks, and still held in the magic from our call), then we’ll meet again on the phone at 2pm for more tele-circle magics.

Or you can play on your own later on with the recordings.? Either way, you’ll emerge from the playdate more connected to your amazing inner sparkle.

 

Get ready to stay out of the crazy, all month long…

Calm for the Holidays Creative Playdate is free for all members of the Creative Dream Circle.


 

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The woman who is a goddess who is a galaxy

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A lot of what I teach is about getting to know the heart and soul of your dream, which is perfect and whole and complete and real right here right now, because developing this inner relationship with your dream opens up whole new worlds of possibility.

A dream is really anything you want to do.? Anything you feel inspired about.? Anything you wish you had.

I have a gazillion dreams.? Each one of them is a real, live thing – energetically.? Each one of them has a heart and a soul and a personality.

These energy beings hold the blueprints for the perfect unfolding of the dream here on earth.? Working with them makes everything a gazillion percent easier.

So, I get to know the heart and soul of EVERYTHING that I want to do.

____________________________________________________________________

Right now there are a whole bunch of things I want to do in my business.? Each one is it’s own dream, but the dreams play together in the playground of my business.

The biggest one is: creating smooth systems that incorporate all the things I want to do.

I used to see smooth systems as a roller-coaster type thing – a support structure that created the conditions for the adventure of being on the roller coaster.

And that worked, while it worked.? Now I’ve got too many moving parts.? It’s like my little roller coaster cart is so full of toys that there’s no room to play with them!

Dreams grow and evolve just like we do.

Now smooth systems is woman who is a goddess who is a galaxy.

There are planets and moons.? Milky ways.? Stars and sparkle.

And there is the endless dance and flow.? Each element doing its own dance and then this infinite kaleidoscope of a pattern coming out of the interactions between everything.

Freedom and flow and gravity and pull.? Creativity and magic.

Beauty.? The universe of my business.

The woman who is a goddess who is a galaxy sits at the center of this (which is everywhere) and sings silently with delight.? All of the motion of the dance comes from the silent song in her heart.

Once in a while she brings a new planet to life, on her finger, and then flicks it out into her galaxy where it finds it’s perfect place to dance it’s perfect dance.

She sees all the secret invisible ways that all things are connected.

She holds it all in harmony.? In her silent song.

I’m getting to know her and learning how to work with her and with the ever-changing rhythms of the galaxy.

She says they’re not changing at all!? She says that everything has it’s own rhythm.? I need to see the individual dances and be present with the individual dances and PLAY with the individual dances and stop worrying about the larger dance that they all dance together.

She says that what I’ve been trying to do is CONTROL the larger dance and that’s not how it works and that’s why I’ve been getting stuck.

This makes me nervous. I want the larger dance to look and be and feel a certain way.

She says – it’s time to take off the training wheels, sweetie.

And I get this flash of – I don’t know, something.? Seeing a new perspective. Internal transformation.

If I am controlling the larger dance I am LIMITING the larger dance in the name of “feeling safe” which is bullshit anyway.

Oh.

Whoa.

Ha! I sat down here to write (I am in a coffee shop and forgot my little travel journal bag with pens, so I couldn’t put this in my journal like I usually would so I thought – why not put it here then?) out a meeting/plan to figure out how to get this larger dance dancing the way I want it to.

What I got instead feels like an invitation to JOY and DELIGHT and POSSIBILITY and PLAY.

I’m watching the obstacles crumble and a sparkling new path emerge.

Suddenly everything feels easy and clear.? Dancing with the individual dances seems so obvious now.

Trying to control the infinite kaleidoscope of a pattern coming out of the interactions between everything seems ridiculous now!?

No wonder I kept getting all overwhelmed trying to do what felt a huge huge huge huge impossible job. ?Because that was never my job to do.

This is the kind of sparkling transformation/shift/healing you can expect during next week’s Treasure-Mapping Tele-Circle.? I highly highly recommend it!

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[The magic of disappointment] Canceling my retreat.

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This is kind of a long story but I am hoping that you’ll read it.

There IS a lot of magic in disappointment and there is a lot of power in following your creative impulse even when you don’t get what you (thought you) wanted.

But the magical stories of disappointment are rare because we live in a world that shouts about success from every rooftop while carefully sweeping failure under the rug.

This skews your perception of what success actually is (it actually isn’t anything that you can measure with a number). And it skews your perception of what it takes to bring a dream to life.? These two skews leave you kind of screwed!

My story starts in January of this year.

I was running a session of the Creative Dream Incubator e-course and playing along, exploring what was happening in my inner world, looking for new dreams that were ready to come to life.

And the dream that came to me was: Creative Dream Retreats.? I saw myself leading life-changing dream-growing retreats in beautiful, nourishing, creative spaces around the world.

The essence of the dream was about adventure and discovery and spaciousness and glee.? The dream was beautiful and it was also all kinds of stuck.

Week after week I wrestled with my doubts, fears and inner saboteurs.? Week after week I followed along through my Creative Dream Incubator, gently un-sticking the stuck, activating the magic and learning how to give my dream what it needed to grow.

And then Chris Zydel, one of my creative heroes, began appearing in my dreams – like, the dreams I had while I was sleeping.

So Chris and I got together to explore why this was happening, maybe it was a sign?? Maybe we had something to share with each other? We talked about what we were working on, but couldn’t find any message or reason why she kept showing up in my dreams.

We were about to end our call when I said “Well, since I’ve got you here, maybe you can give me some pointers?? I’ve been working on putting together a retreat and I’m stuck….”

And it all snapped into place.

Chris talked her Creative Juices Arts studio, which solved ALL of my stucks about the retreat – where to have it that was inspiring and had the right space for creative explorations but was also in an interesting place where there were other things to do too… everything was perfect, down to the massive amounts of art supplies and a delicious caterer.

And we both kind of lit up with the idea of doing a Creative Genius Retreat together.

I started telling some of my clients and friends and had so many “Ohmigosh YES I am so totally coming!” responses that I didn’t promote it very much because it seemed like it was already sold out.

I happily went through my year, knowing I’d be leading this AMAZING life-changing dream-growing retreat in a gorgeously inspiring space.

Except, well, all of those “Ohmigosh YES I am so totally coming!” responses didn’t translate into actual registrations.

The timing was off.? Things came up.

And this fall we realised – the retreat wasn’t going to happen.

And you know what?? I didn’t feel sad or disappointed.

I felt a little confused because of the amazing response I had, but mostly it just felt right.

I’ve shared this story often, that when I first started doing creativity workshops I often had events where no one showed up.? And it was horribly disappointing back then.

But today? This is just one retreat, not doing it doesn’t impact my business.? No, I didn’t feel disappointed.

I felt proud.

Proud that I honoured my creative impulse.? Proud that I worked through the stuck parts.? Proud that I put it out there.

I took a big step and I learned some stuff and now I know more about how to take the next step.? This is how it works.

And underneath that, I felt glee.

Because I’d already bought my plane ticket to San Francisco for crazycheap because I had a voucher that expired earlier this year.? Which means I’m still getting my adventure and my creative retreat.? I’m getting the essence of my dream in a different package.

In the video I made about The Magic of Disappointment I talked about how feeling disappointment helps you to see how very much you still want the thing, and you can use that desire to move yourself towards it.? In this situation, the magic of non-disappointment is showing me that this wasn’t really what I wanted.?

The truth is, and for some reason I couldn’t admit this to myself before – right now I? just want to go on amazing creative retreats by myself.

Because every day I’m supporting my people through the inner transformation that creates outer change… retreating on my own replenishes me so I can keep doing that.

Following your creative dream and working through the stucks does NOT guarantee that you get exactly what you wanted.

Your dream is wise!? It will bring you somewhere new.? Somewhere a little more aligned with your unique creative soul.

Sometimes, somewhere you didn’t even know you wanted to go to.

Having things not work out does not mean that you failed, ever.

The only way to fail is by giving up before you start.

inspiration cards

Something magic will happen every time you take a step towards trusting your dream.

Fear of failing stops us from doing that.

And it’s stupid.

Because, like I said in the beginning, our perceptions of success and failure are skewed.

You are a success for being brave enough to claim your dream.

You are a success every time you follow your creative impulse.

You are a success every time you put it out there.? And each time you do – you’ll learn something about how to do it differently next time.

So every time you take a creative risk you deserve to be celebrated.

Just like I am celebrating cancelling the Creative Genius Retreat, and going on to California on my own.

I still get to have my own Creative Genius Retreat.? I still get to have a totally amazing time.

My flight leaves first thing tomorrow morning and I am very happy.

Expect to see lots of happy photos from my creative retreat on my Instagram and Facebook over the weekend.

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Treasure-Mapping!

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Treasure*Mapping lights me up.

It’s such a beautiful creative tool for bringing dreams to life – it helps you meet yourself where you are in a way that actually propels you into where you want to be, with grace and healing and delight.

Every time I do a Treasure*Mapping playdate with my Creative Dream Circle, and we have the best time ever, as you can see:

Harriet?s Treasure Map and the Magical Monkey who is helping her find her treasure:

Harriet's Treasure Map and the Magical Monkey who is helping her find her treasure.

Sylvie?s first map: Showing how it all works/plays together:

Sylvie's first map:

Sylvie?s second map: leading to a surprising discovery about what her dreams really need right now:

Sylvie's second map: leading to a surprising discovery about what her dreams really need right now.

Cora?s treasure map, showing how it all leads to her dream:

Cora's gorgeous treasure map, showing how it all leads to her dream.

We’re Treasure-Mapping again on November 12 and you’re invited!

If you join the Creative Dream Circle before Nov 11 – you’ll get this Treasure*Mapping adventure for FREE!

Or you can sign up for just the Treasure*Mapping for $49.

Sign-up + details are here.?

I’m looking forward to playing with YOU!

If you want to know more about how Treasure*Mapping works, I did a Treasure-Mapping Adventure Series on my blog recently, treasure-mapping my way to growing my business, and sharing the honest actual story, AS IT HAPPENED, as I fumble along this path with creativity, heart and soul.

1. What no one tells you about marketing + creative business

2. Be open to the adventure of being where you are

3. The Path to creative business success.

4.? A plan emerges from the treasure map

5. Why I?ve been stuck, plus exploring EASE and JOY

6. How Ease is the ticket and what that means

7. The end of the Treasure Map

 


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