The last year + has been really difficult for me and lots of times I thought... I should stop posting here. Like - get my shit together ALONE SOMEWHERE... THEN come out and share.
But my whole thing with the Creative Dream Incubator is to share ways to work with our dreams... TO GUIDE US. Because our dreams are a way that our souls show us our path.
So why would we stop receiving that guidance in the times when we need it the most?
It's our fucked up culture that says that creative dreaming is for when you feel strong, bold, sure and creative.
Creative dreaming is for everyone. All the time.
You don't have to be strong or feel capable or have your life going exactly right so that you have all the time, space and support you need.
AND my whole thing with the Creative Dream Incubator is to share the whole thing AND to say... we are stronger together. We can do this together.
So, hiding away when I feel stuck and then coming out to share my victories has never felt right to me.
AND sometimes it just feels awkward AF to keep sharing as I go in circles.
I just wanted to acknowledge that.
If you're creative dreaming in hard times - here is the "Things are bad!" section of the map with some thoughts, tools and approaches to try.
I do feel strong and capable right now. I also want to acknowledge that.
It's so complicated to be in a body sometimes! But I feel like I'm adjusted to the hormone replacement therapy, I have new supplements and I'm getting shiatsu massages which feel like they massage my SOUL along with my body and with all of this going on I FEEL GOOD.
I am working on two things:
Goodbye 2024 Hello 2025: Guided journal, Goodbye 2024 Releasing Ceremony (Dec 13) + Hello 2025 Blessing Ceremony (Jan 17). All three are happening in the membership, but you can also get the journal on its own. (More details next week) (Call times are at 1:00 Central, North America)
Creating a right-fit transformative/healing year-long creative/spiritual project: Maybe that's the title, maybe I will find an easier title as I work with it 🤣 but I am doing a year-long project with HOPE for 2025 and as I sort through HOW I want to do this, I am creating a workbook to share the process.
It will be VERY customizable - if a year isn't the right-fit time for you, you just change that. 30 days, 100 days, a season - whatever time frame works for you is perfect. The goal is to set it up in such a way that it supports you in getting what you want from your project.
My project for 2025 will be the YEAR OF HOPE. And I'll be sharing that regularly on my blog - I feel like practicing hope can teach us all a lot right now.
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.
This was a message I got in a meditation.
IT. IS. THIS. SIMPLE.
It's not whether or not you FEEL self doubt, but what you ACT FROM.
When you feel self doubt: tend to that feeling INSTEAD OF acting out of it.
Tools from the Creative Dream Incubator Membership:
Alchemy Process for working with Self Doubt
Alchemy Process for bolstering your sense of courage
Your Self Doubt Is Not Yours You Deserve To Believe In Yourself
Slow the fuck down! BE as powerful, creative and magnetic as you ARE
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 so frustrated. I feel so anxious. And then I tense up. I don’t believe in myself or any of my ideas.
And then I get frustrated with myself for how I am feeling and how I am reacting to my feelings.
But reacting well… like saying “Oh honey I’m sorry you feel this way, what do you need?” feels annoying. Like I HAVE DONE SO MUCH OF THAT I CAN’T DO IT ANY MORE.
I went for a bike ride. I distracted myself with various things. And still this pit of self doubt is here, wreaking all sorts of havoc.
But I want to do this thing. I have moments of really believing in it. But whenever I go to take action - I freeze.
And I am a really good coach, I know how to guide people through this and I know how to guide myself through this but I AM JUST SO FUCKING SICK OF EVEN FEELING THIS.
So today I am trying the Un-Sticking Station with that “I AM JUST SO FUCKING SICK OF EVEN FEELING THIS” voice.
So, hi there I AM JUST SO FUCKING SICK OF EVEN FEELING THIS.
It’s my teenaged self sitting there, looking very annoying at being called into this boring meeting.
Oh hi! Thanks for meeting me here.
Did I have a choice?
I don’t know, but I appreciate you being here.
She leans forward. “WHY ARE YOU BEING LIKE THIS?”
I don’t really know, I am trying to figure it out.
“You have everything! Look at your loft! And your business! And this cute idea for this thing you want to do! Why don’t you just do it?”
I know. I mean. Well…
She rolls her eye “You don’t feel good”
Well, I don’t! I feel like my struggles with perimenopause are so invisible and I also feel like I talk about it too much, but come on MY BRAIN ISN’T WORKING RIGHT.
So fix it.
Ugh. You sound like my ex-husband when he was at his worst. When he was over capacity with his own struggles and couldn’t empathize with mine.
You want me to empathize with you?
Yeah, I guess.
You called me here to empathize with you? (Her tone of voice suggests that she can't believe I am asking her for empathy)
Actually no, I called you here to find out more about what you need.
Ok that’s much more interesting. I need you to stop being all tied up inside, just do all the things you want to do.
OK, why? What would that give you?
Satisfaction of seeing how I turned out.
You don’t like how I turned out when I am anxious?
It’s really hard to watch.
Yeah, I get that!
You do?
Of course!
I thought you wanted to just use anxiety as an excuse to not do anything.
Of course not! I want to do all the things I want to do!
Oh…
This fizzled away there, it's unresolved but I can feel something shifting.
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.
For a while now, I have been sharing my Creative Dream Mantras (from the weekly journaling + alchemy kits) every Monday.
This week that didn't feel right. So here I am, honouring my feelings.
I painted a page in my journal bubblegum pink and wrote in big bubble letters: I love where I am right now.
Which is funny, right? Just starting the process of getting a legal divorce. Struggling with peri-menopause, going on hormones and struggling to adjust to the hormones.
And yet... I feel so rooted in myself.
I am making my self care and my needs such a huge priority.
Every morning I am making a coffee, lighting a candle and sitting down at my desk with my art supplies and journaling... it feels like such HIGH QUALITY self care.
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.
Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.
On Fridays I do my Dream Status Report which is a series of prompts I use every week to help me have more clarity, momentum and groundedness on my path. Now I do my reports on the printable journaling sheet instead of on the computer, which I did for YEARS. I LOVE THIS. It just feels different on paper and I love that I have a growing stacks of Dream Status Reports sitting on my desk.
Lots of grounding this week.
After a few really difficult months adjusting to medication, I FEEL BETTER. My brain is working pretty consistently! I feel like I am finding the ground beneath me. This is so good.
I'm starting to figure out a program about HOPE for 2025 and the structure of it changes every day right now as I brainstorm, which is pretty normal for my creative process.
But I am realizing that I haven't created a year-long program since before the pandemic. Before my peri-menopause got bad. Before my marriage ended. Before I turned 50. It's like - I am in such a different place in so many ways, HOW DO I CREATE A PROGRAM NOW?
It's a lot to explore! I AM LOVING IT. I am slowing down and going deeper, in so many ways.
🦄⚡️Creative Dream Incubator Weekly Coaching Call is today!!
Hope to see you there - or catch the replay over the weekend! Call details + replays are here. And after the call I'll start a thread in the forum to share your plans for the week and as a space for accountability and support.
If you can't be there live but have a question or there's something you are struggling with, send me an email this morning and I'll discuss it on the call and offer you some suggestions for things to do.
Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:
Come to the forum to share your Dream Status Report 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 had a different post ready to go for today, but in light of this week's election results in the US it didn't feel right.
For the last week and a half I have been focused on HOPE.
I have been brainstorming a "hope practice" to add to the Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership for 2025. Because hope is the foundation for all dreams.
This felt so relevant and important, even before the election results when I actually thought Harris would win.
Now it feels vital.
Without hope, there is no hope.
Without hope, there is no possibility of change.
Without hope, nothing new can be created.
And hope can be surprising easy to practice.
Meal prepping some mason jar salads is hope.
Buying that journal is hope.
Making space in your life for your dreams is hope.
Asking myself... what can I do to support myself in having a more optimistic mindset is hope.
Looking around in your community to see who needs some help is hope.
And most importantly right now, making sauce to feel your actual feelings is hope.
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.
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.
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.
Every Monday I get a new Creative Dream Mantra from the journaling + alchemy kits that are a part of Dream Book. This week I got: My creativity is without limits
Use the meditation for the weekly mantras to dig in deeper to the mantra, or put your hands on your heart and take five deep slow breaths and repeat to yourself:
My creativity is without limits
Notice where this lands in your body, what thoughts and feelings get sparked.
There is no right or wrong way to react. But your actual thoughts and feelings can tell you something about what you need right now.
If My creativity is without limits feels good and encouraging, hold it with you this week. Look at problems, questions, stucks and obstacles through this lens and see what ideas it brings.
If it brings up some discomfort - that’s your stuff to work on.
Your creativity actually IS without limits. Both in terms of whatever art you want to create and in terms of how you create your life and what is possible for you.
The places where you FEEL limited are pointing you to the things you need to work on.
To do that work, in the Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership we’ve got the un-sticking station and the library of inner work practices. If you’re not sure what practice to use, you can email me, or post in our forum, let me know what’s going on and I will make some suggestions for tools you can use.
What comes up for me:
First I notice that I drew this with two hands holding a broken heart... I remember thinking about the healing power of creativity when I was drawing this. And now here I am, with a heart that is broken but healing.
I've been doing so much journaling lately - painting and drawing and processing my feelings. It feels SO healing. Divorce is so intense, and it's such an incredible opportunity for healing. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by this but lately I feel really grateful to be where I am.
And I am feeling that LIMITLESSNESS of creativity. Not like it's pushing me to want to "be bigger", just enjoying this sense that there is nothing in my way.
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.
Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.
On Fridays I do my Dream Status Report which is a series of prompts I use every week to help me have more clarity, momentum and groundedness on my path. Now I do my reports on the printable journaling sheet instead of on the computer, which I did for YEARS. I LOVE THIS. It just feels different on paper and I love that I have a growing stacks of Dream Status Reports sitting on my desk.
Lots of LEARNINGS this week.
Just from spending a lot of time journaling, reflecting, processing... I started to connect some MAJOR dots between "places where I feel stuck" and "places where I am acting out a pattern from childhood".
Like WHOA this is a thing from childhood I hadn't even really noticed until this week, and suddenly it's like... maybe this is the root of all the things that don't quite feel right.
It's so interesting how this happens... things start to feel more "not right" which feels like we are going in the wrong direction, but actually we are GOING TOWARDS CLARITY.
Always always always always follow the thoughts + feeling that come up when you work with your dream. They matter. They are showing you something. It could get uncomfortable along the way but they are leading somewhere really good.
My focus for next week is: devotion and trust.
What my Dream Status Report showed me that right now it's important I don't WORK or EFFORT for my dream, that I BE DEVOTED. Which could look like work at times... but feel completely different.
I have some ideas for a daily practice of drawing my dreams... excited to play with it.
🦄⚡️Creative Dream Incubator Weekly Coaching Call is today!!
Hope to see you there - or catch the replay over the weekend! Call details + replays are here. And after the call I'll start a thread in the forum to share your plans for the week and as a space for accountability and support.
If you can't be there live but have a question or there's something you are struggling with, send me an email this morning and I'll discuss it on the call and offer you some suggestions for things to do.
Creative Dream Incubator Coaching Membership members:
Come to the forum to share your Dream Status Report 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.