The Fairy Who Had No Wings

By Andrea Schroeder / December 17, 2014

I’m trying to do the thing that I want to be doing today.? But there is this fairy buzzing around.

I mean, she’s not buzzing, she’s standing.? And she’s not a fairy, deep down what she really is is a fairy, but what she’s being right now is more of an oaf.

Fairy cries.

I’m sorry, I’m not meaning that as an insult, I’m just trying to explain the situation.? You do seem like an oaf.

Don’t you see?!? It’s these boulders!? I’ve got BOULDERS on my SHOULDERS!

Sure enough, she’s got bounders on her shoulders and that is enough to make anyone appear oak-like.

Can I help take them off?

No! I need them.? The boulders are my wings.? My wings turned into boulders.? We need to turn them back into wings, not cut them off!?

I look at her.? I look at my notebook.? See, I’m trying to do the thing that I wanted to do today.? And the fairy has been distracting me and now she wants to me get involved in this boulder-transformation process but really I need to do the thing that I want to do today.

Fairy moves to stand between me and my notebook.

Look, I don’t know how to turn boulders into wings.

But you’ve got the magic.

I know.? But it’s, like, I don’t know, everything is off today and I just want to do the thing that I wanted to do today.

Well, you’d be doing it if you wanted to be doing it.? I’m here because you’re not doing it.? I came here to help you do it.

How?

A little help with the boulders?

I’m sorry fairy, I don’t know how to transform boulders into wings.? I don’t even know how to do the thing I want to do today.

Oh that.? You can do that.? You can do THAT in your sleep.? You’re not doing it not because you don’t know how.? You’re not doing it because of the boulders.? You need the boulders transformed as much as I do.

Hmm.

(long silence)

Yeah, ok.? Let’s explore.? I reach around the fairy to grab my notebook and open it up to a fresh new page:

BOULDERS: heavy, earth-bound

WINGS: light, fly-sky

So bounders and wings are kind of the opposite of each other.? What made the wings become their opposite?

Fairy holds up a mirror and sure enough, I am the opposite of myself.

(long silence)

Shit.

(long silence)

I turn to a fresh page in my journal: I need a re-me-i-fier.

A clear glass chamber appears and I step in.? There are all these buttons I can press.? Stillness seems like the best one to try, so I hit Stillness and I am transported to the park, in the early early morning.? Birds are singing, ducks are swimming and I am still.? I breathe it in.

Next I try Creative.? I am transported over to the other side of the Dream Loft, surrounded by driftwood and papier mache and paints.? I’m inspired and excited and alive.? I breath it in.

I am me again.

And the fairy flies away.

The Fairy Who Had No Wings Read More »

Lights shine more brightly in the darkness.

By Andrea Schroeder / December 16, 2014 / healing

When I decided to run The Peaceful Happy Holiday Season class, this was to grant myself a very big wish: to have my own peaceful, happy holiday season.

There is a lot of good stuff about the holidays. And a lot of stressful stuff.

This year I specifically did not want:

That feeling of buying gifts for people who don’t need anything, just because we’re supposed to buy gifts, and being stressed out about whether or not they’d like the gift.
That feeling of having eaten too much junk – you know that kind of stuff that’s at potluck parties or when I used to work in an office and there were sweets everywhere all the time and it’s like I was in a constant sugar coma.
Feeling rushed or busy, worrying that I “haven’t done enough”, doing things I don’t really want to do because this is what people do.

I got my wish.

I’m participating in The Peaceful Happy Holiday Season class, and finding my inner happy zen.

I’m making a point to appreciate the delightful things in my day-to-day life.

I’m doing yin yoga for an hour each day and appreciating sinking into the energies of this time of year that encourage stillness and turning inward and going deeper.

I feel peaceful, bright and expansive.

Lights shine more brightly in the darkness.

It’s so strange the way our culture in North America approaches the holiday season, because this is our dark quiet time of the year.

We’re fighting the natural energies by filling it up with parties and shopping and obligations.

Surrounding ourselves with artificial twinkle lights and ornaments instead of creating space for the brilliance of our inner lights to shine out.

Then again, it’s not so strange when you really think about it, because creating space for your brilliance means being more present in your inner world means dealing with your shit.? Nobody wants to do that, and so artificial twinkle lights and ornaments start to seem like a good substitute.

They’re not, of course.

There is so much magic in going into the darkness, being with the quieter, inward-focused energies that surround us at this time of year.

How can you give stillness more space in your holiday season?

And yes – if you join the Circle today you can still participate in The Peaceful Happy Holiday Season class.

Lights shine more brightly in the darkness. Read More »

Creating e-courses as an act of healing + transformation

By Andrea Schroeder / December 15, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, healing

In 2011, I created the Creative Dream Incubator e-Course.? This is an in-depth master class in the art of bringing ANY dream to life (I still get emails all the time from people thanking me for how that class changed their lives).

I actually created the Creative Dream Incubator for my own younger self.

The me who struggled with having enough time and money for her dreams.? The me who thought she was so good at thinking positive but was actually drowning in limiting beliefs and fears.? The me who thought she was following her heart but was actually vacillating between grasping at straws and listening to her inner critics.

Once I learned how to access and work with the magic within, I wanted to send this knowing back in time to me-from-then so that she didn’t have to struggle so hard.

Creating that course was deeply healing for me, and helped me close the door to the part of my life that was marked by struggle, and step more fully into the life I wanted.

And now here I am, creating another in-depth master-class.? And it’s just as big and healing as the first one.

Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance is an in-depth master-class in the art of Creative + Intuitive Healing + Transformation.? It shows you how to go so deeply into the process of internal transformation that it changes your whole outer world.

I started working on this because I was becoming frustrated by how few people actually understand the depths, and how mistaking the shallows for the depths will limit your possibilities for your whole life.

But as I keep working on it I’m seeing that that’s not why I’m creating this.

I’m actually creating it for me.

Just like that love-wrapped experience of creating The Creative Dream Incubator for my past self, this time I’m creating for my future self.? The me who wants to go deeper into her own process next year.

I’m lovingly building a structure that will allow me to dive in deeper to my own depths, using the magic of creativity and intuition and deep soul communion I can see what I need next and build it before I get there.

As I’m doing this, I’m feeling so loved and supported.? All that love and support cycles back into my creative process, helping me build an even better structure.

So as I’m writing this program, I’m delighting in how these words are going to help lift me up when I need it.

That I get to invite people to join me in this adventure is the big juicy cherry on top.

Especially now that I have the experience of knowing that when I create something that deeply serves my own needs – that deeply serves the needs of other people like me, too.

Create what your own heart is craving.? I think this is the best way to work.

There is a special kind of magic in creating from this place, and all of the love and healing that you experience while creating the thing will be there for the people who buy it from you.

If you’re a teacher, it’s important to own your authority.? I’ve been studying this for 20 years.? I have in-depth training and accreditation as a spiritual teacher and energy healer.

When I place myself in the position of student, and create what I need, I’m still creating from that place of authority. You need to be in your own authority in order to create a space where people can really learn from you.

Your authority creates the container that holds the potential for transformation.

Teachers who don’t take the time to nurture and grow their own authority are not capable of holding space for deep transformation for their students.? Often they’re not even aware that they’re doing this, this is how shallow becomes mistaken for deep and everyone’s possibilities become limited.

So, holding your authority is important.

But putting yourself into the position of student at the same time is magical.? It keeps you vulnerable and awake and in touch with the needs of your students.

A teacher who isn’t willing to be a student can wind up being too harsh.? If your students don’t feel safe with you, they can’t go deeper into their transformative process and again – everyone’s possibilities become limited.

For me, the sweet spot with all of this is when I stay engaged in my own process and aware that my own work holds the space for my student’s work.

It turns the class into a living laboratory of healing and transformation – both for you and your students.

I am so deeply grateful that I get to do this.

Creating e-courses as an act of healing + transformation Read More »

Epiphanies, miracles and Ah-hah! moments abound.

By Andrea Schroeder / December 10, 2014

Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance is a journaling class like no other: a whole year of Creative + Intuitive Healing + Transformation.

This is what we’ll be doing in 2015 in the Creative Dream Circle.

To celebrate the start of this new adventure, I’m hosting this FREE tele-class series, happening January 5-9, 2015.

~~Read on for more details, or click here to register now.~~ (The calls are over and registration is closed – you can get all of the recordings inside the Creative Dream Circle, where we’re diving into the Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance program in 2015)

In each class we?ll explore a different topic relating to an aspect of growing your depth, nurturing your brilliance and living gorgeously with your dreams.

These are highly interactive calls where we?ll focus on answering your questions about the topic. So it will be LESS “experts telling you what to do” and MORE engaging in deep, meaningful conversation.

These calls will leave you feeling filled up, inspired and more connected to your own brilliant depths.

These calls are completely free to attend. And recordings will be available for free for 24 hours.

After that, the recordings will only be available inside the Creative Dream Circle, where we’ll be digging much more deeply into Growing Our Depths in 2015.

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TRAILBLAZING with CHRIS ZYDEL

We?re kicking this week off with one of the people that I admire most in the whole world: Chris Zydel.

As an expressive arts teacher, Chris provides environments of encouragement that awaken your artist?s soul and challenge you to become a spiritual adventurer journeying to your own creative source.Chris and I will be talking about Trailblazing: boldly going where no one has gone before.

I invited Chris to speak about Trailblazing because of how much I admire Chris and what she has done with her Expressive Arts career – years before anyone? knew what Expressive Arts even meant.? Chris embodies the spirit of the creative spiritual trailblazer and I am deeply honoured to have her help me open up this series.

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CHANGE with SHANNON WILKINSON

Shannon Wilkinson is a life coach, teacher and writer who is obsessed with CHANGE. She uses mind-bending tools to help you change your mind, change your behaviours and ultimately change the world.

And so Shannon and I will be talking about change and how to work with it more intentionally.

I invited Shannon to be a part of this because of how grounded and effective she is as a coach. I believe she is one of the best of the best and am thrilled that she will be sharing her magic with us.

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WORDPRESS with ANGEL SULLIVAN

Angel Sullivan helps you create websites that are true to your soul. As you grow your depth and nurture your brilliance you may find yourself wanting to share your thoughts, ideas and creative projects with the world. WordPress is a super accessible way to get started sharing your creative soul with the world via your own blog.

On this call, Angel will answer your WordPress questions so you can get started with your own blog or learn how to make your existing blog more true to your soul.

Angel knows WordPress, but there are a lot of WordPress experts out there. I invited Angel to be a part of this call because she is sensitive to the inner workings of putting yourself out there through your website and that is what builds the foundation for success online.

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SHARING YOUR STORY with SUSANNAH CONWAY

Susannah Conway is a photographer and author who leads classes that help to reconnect you to your true self.

In this class, we?ll be talking about the magic and power of sharing your story.

I invited Susannah to be a part of this because of how wildly inspiring her own story is. She understands how showing up in the world as your true self and finding the courage to share your story can actually change the story that you are living.

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DIVINE GUIDANCE with LAUREL BLEADON-MAFFEI

Laurel Bleadon-Maffei is a mystical mentor and guide. She offers angel readings, spiritual coaching and business classes for light workers.

Laurel and I will be talking about working with divine guidance.

I invited Laurel to be a part of this because of how warm, loving and kind she is. I know that Laurel will create a safe and powerful space for you to connect more fully with divine guidance.

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COMING OUT AS YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF with LIV LANE

Liv helps brave-hearted, open-minded ?human sparklers? understand their past and embrace their now in order to leap into their bright futures.

In this class, we’ll be exploring the idea of “coming out” as your authentic self.? Just showing up in your life as your actual self is an act of incredible power and is the first step towards living a more meaningful life.

I invited Liv to be a part of this because every conversation I have had with Liv has been full of joy, depth and light so I know you’re going to love this call.

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POETRY with LIZ LAMOREUX

Liz is an artist, author, Be Present retreat leader and she teaches creative self-care workshops online and in-person.

In this class we’ll be exploring how poetry can be a lifeline. Liz will answer your questions plus offer some poetry prompts for you to play with.

I invited Liz to be a part of this because I thought her approach to poetry would add a lot of richness to this series. Liz is gifted at creating space to help you access your own brilliant depths while acknowledging the realness of real life.

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CREATIVE PRACTICE AND CREATIVE PROJECTS with JAMIE RIDLER

Jamie is a creative living coach, here to help you be the star you are.

In this class, we’ll be talking about creative practice and creative projects, and how deepening into your practice can help give live to new projects.

I invited Jamie to be a part of this because it actually wouldn’t have felt right not to! Jamie and I have tones of things in common, like being Canadian creativity coaches with similar missions and ways of seeing the world. I also admire Jamie and her work greatly, our chats are always deeply nourishing so I look forward to sharing this chat with you!

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GROUP COACHING AND Q+A with ME!

This series is bound to open up new possibilities for you, so we’ll finish off the week with an open call where you can ask questions and get my help with whatever you want my help with.

The purpose of this call is to make sure you are ready to take the inspiration you received and use it to move forward in whatever you way you want to move forward.

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These calls will leave you feeling filled up, inspired and more connected to your own brilliance depth.

These calls are completely free to attend. And recordings will be available for free for 24 hours.

After that, the recordings will only be available inside the Creative Dream Circle, where we’ll be digging much more deeply into Growing Our Depths in 2015.

I’m looking forward to exploring all of this with you!

Epiphanies, miracles and Ah-hah! moments abound. Read More »

On going deeper.

By Andrea Schroeder / December 8, 2014 / creative entrepreneur, healing

I’m doing a lot of writing and journaling and yin yoga and meditation as I explore what it means to open my heart deeper and then live and work from that place.

I’m noticing all of the ways that the whole universe supports me in this work and appreciating that inner sparkling feeling of being on the right path.

When something is off, when you’re hiding from yourself or staying too closed or avoiding your feelings, that inner sparkling feeling is inaccessible.? So I like to use it as a compass for knowing when I am on and off track.

So this is my main job right now: opening, deepening.

I have a dream for what I want to do next year.? And I need to offer this particular thing from a deeper place in my heart than I have offered anything before, which means I have to be deeper in my heart than I have ever been before as I create and share it.

Living and working as an open hearted person includes having the inner strength, power and sovereignty to be offering your creative gifts to others without collapsing into caretaking, over-giving and self-sacrifice.

Inviting other people into your creative work means being open and inviting and warm without giving them permission to stomp all over everything, or take more than you are offering or just generally make a mess of things.

That soft bright welcoming loving openness has to come through clear solid sturdy boundaries or else it can’t sustain itself.

And so, after having spent the last few years working more on power and strength and boundaries I am coming to a place where I can open my heart wider and deeper.

This means I can take my work deeper in 2015, which I am ridiculously excited about.

And what’s coming through that opening is so beautiful it is kind of amazing me: it’s Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance which will be available in the Creative Dream Circle in 2015.

I’m hoping to actually be able to share what it is soon.? The deeper I go, the more everything needs to change about how I talk about it, so this is taking longer than I had hoped.

On going deeper. Read More »

Why Art Journaling Is Not Enough

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

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

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

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

Starting a creative practice is only the first step.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why Art Journaling Is Not Enough Read More »

Excavating Delight

By Andrea Schroeder / December 1, 2014

As a part of what we’re doing in The Peaceful Happy Holiday Season class, I’m finding ways to connect to delight every day.

The more I do this, of course, the easier it gets.

The more I do this, the more tiny new doorways to delight get opened up inside of me.

The more I do this, the more I learn about what delights me and how to invite more of it into my life.

This is me, yesterday morning, feeling delighted by wearing a dress and tights I’d made myself:

I haven’t bought any clothes in well over a year, I’ve been sewing everything myself, which brings me a lot of joy – in the designing, making and wearing of handmade things.

I’m also enjoying my yoga practice about a billion times more now that I am finding new layers of delight in it.

Heck, on Saturday night I delighted in giving my bathroom a thorough cleaning.

Delight is everywhere because it lives inside of you.

By holding the intention to pay attention, you can activate and magnify it.

Circle members: don’t forget to keep playing with this! I love reading about your daily delights in the forum.? So much inspiration in there!

Excavating Delight Read More »

How Nanowrimo Changed My Life

By Andrea Schroeder / November 26, 2014 / daily practice

This year I attempted Nanowrimo for the first time (which is challenge where you write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November).? In fact, this was my first attempt at any kind of fiction writing.

I don’t have any logical explanation for why I decided to do this.? I have learned that it’s best to follow these kinds of inner callings, so when I got the call I followed it.

With no clue or experience in fiction writing, I didn’t go into this with the hopes that I would end up with a brilliant novel.

I went into this thinking there would be something for me in the process of showing up every day to do something that I don’t actually know how to do.

And there was.

The first 5 days or so I played with it.? I showed up every day and took my characters on the kinds of adventures I thought I wanted to take them on and it started to feel more and more meaningless and stupid.

I didn’t know what I was doing. I was embarrassed about what I was writing.? My inner critics came out to play and it started to get really hard.

And then I had a heartbreakingly bad day. This was unrelated to Nanowrimo but I decided to use my writing time to work through it.? So I used the story to explore what was happening me, like the way that I write my Tiny Fairy Tales, only not in a tiny way.

From that day on, I used my daily writing practice to write myself deeper into my inner process.

Working with whatever I was facing on that day, I turned my own transformative work into an ongoing story.? By looping the tiny stories together and writing out the bigger, ongoing story I found I started telling a deeper story.

The stories led me to a new depth of how I want to express my work, which led me to what I REALLY want to write: a guidebook on the mechanics of inner and outer transformation.

You may have noticed I changed the header on my website recently.? These stories led me there, to: Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance which is the name of this guidebook I’m working on now.

More in-depth and thorough than anything I have ever seen out there about how inner and outer transformation actually works, I want this guidebook to be the basis of what we do next year in the Creative Dream Circle which will be less about teaching classes and more about creating space for you to go deeper into your own depths.

Plus, I’ll use a lot of the stories from my Nanowrimo novel to illustrate how the process of transformation works, so it feels like a lot of the guidebook is already written.

And beyond that, establishing a practice of meeting myself, and then staying there for at least 1,667 words, was so helpful I’m going to keep doing it.

In my classes I’m often asking people to spend more time with a question than they think they need to.? This is a super helpful practice, because just sitting with it works to melt (some of) our resistance.? And being engaged in a regular practice helps hold space to go deeper into ourselves.

Right now, I’m sitting at 44,369 words written this month for my novel, and 4,718 words written for the Grow Your Depth, Nurture Your Brilliance guidebook.? And I’m happy to keep going.

How Nanowrimo Changed My Life Read More »

Your dream is a lighthouse. It will lead you back to yourself.

By Andrea Schroeder / November 20, 2014

I’ve been playing with this way of working with my dreams, of allowing them to be lighthouses that show me more about who I am and what I’m here for.

It’s been pretty amazing.

See there are things that I don’t believe that I deserve to have.? But my lighthouses is leading me them.

And there are things that I think are too big for me and it would be “too much work” to get there.? But my lighthouse is leading me to them.

All of the parts of me who are afraid and small and hiding start to calm down when they see the light of the lighthouse.? It’s safe and welcoming and it feels like home.

I’m really loving this.

And I’m looking forward to sharing this way of working with your dreams tomorrow (Friday) at the Dream-Finder Coaching Circle (this one is open to everyone, even if you’re not a member of the Creative Dream Circle).

?DreamFinder Coaching Circle.

This is exactly perfect for you if:

You have no clue what your dream is.
You?ve hit a major roadblock on the path to your dream (major roadblocks can be a sign that the dream has changed and you need to change to keep up).
Or you?ve GOT your dream and don?t know what?s next.

Working from the assumption that your dream is your soul calling your into alignment with yourself, we?ll dig in and discover what is calling YOU.

These coaching circles are magic because we are clearer and brighter and braver and stronger together.? By exploring this together we can help light the path for each other.

I?ve seen this happen time and time again in these coaching circles ? each of us brings a unique piece of the puzzle and when we put them together we find our answers.

During the call I?ll do one-on-one Dream-Finding Coaching with as many participants as possible where I will help you find your dream.? You?ll also get ridiculously inspired by listening in on the process of other people finding their dreams.

You?re going to love it.

It?s happening Friday, November 21, from 1-2 pm (Central, Standard time ? click here to see this in your time zone)

The call will happen on my conference line, which is a US number ? the number will be emailed to you after you sign up.

This call is FREE for all Creative Dream Circle members ? plus we can explore this further in the forum after the call.

Cost for non-members: $22.? You?ll get access to the live call plus the recording will be sent to you after.

Let?s do this!

If you?re a?Creative Dream Circle member you are already registered.

If you?re not a member, click here to register for this call.

Your dream is a lighthouse. It will lead you back to yourself. Read More »

There is good in everything and possibilities abound but you really do have to get off your ass and go find them.

By Andrea Schroeder / November 19, 2014

I’m siting in a coffee shop watching the wind swirling snow everywhere.

I walked here, and at first my walk was so nice – I love early morning winter walks.? But I fell on ice last week and while I thought I was all better, my right leg started to get very stiff halfway through my walk.? So now I have a one hour walk to get home, on my stiff aching leg.? And each time I look out the window the wind seems to be blowing even harder.

To say I miss the delight of being able to ride my bike everywhere would be a major understatement.

Last winter, I really enjoyed walking for 1-2 hours a day (with the right gear, it’s not hard to stay warm).? This winter I might not be able to do that, if my leg is not going to get better. The prospect of missing out on that fresh air and exercise doesn’t feel good.

In fact, it kind of opens up this downward spiral where I start to worry that I’m going to hibernate all winter, spend too much time alone and then get totally lethargic and depressed.

The truth is, there is good in everything and possibilities abound but you really do have to get off your ass and go find them.

So instead of giving that downward spiral any more of my attention, I am focused on looking for the good.

The truth is, I am wildly grateful that the Peaceful Happy Holiday Season Class is starting next week.

In writing out the materials for this class I remember the amazing power of collective intention.? The group holding this intention together makes it easier for each of us to shift out of our regular end-of-year patterns and create new ones, all filled with joy and delight and magic.

Plus I’ve been having so much fun making the pages for the colouring book you get with this class, I really had to hold myself back from colouring the pages in before I could get them scanned.

Most of us have established patterns of depletion that get activated at the end of the year.

Overspending, overdoing, over-drive approval-seeking, weakened boundaries and immune systems, too much sugar and booze and not enough self-care.

While each person is going to have different things that they’re facing and transforming in their lives, we all share the common theme focusing on avoiding depletion and ending the year in a state of being full.? Filled up, fueled up and ready for a fresh and fabulous 2015.

With the power of shared intention and the magic of creativity on our side, how can we fail?

When I focus on not letting myself start to slide down the spiral of wintertime despair and instead focus on creating what I want to create, everything lightens up.

Then I see a new spiral open up – one of delight and creativity and play.? And I am so grateful to remember that we ALWAYS have the power to change things.

There is good in everything and possibilities abound but you really do have to get off your ass and go find them. Read More »

Growing out my grey hair. This is not brave.

By Andrea Schroeder / November 18, 2014

When I turned 40 earlier this year, I decided to stop colouring my grey hair.

While I had originally stated colouring my hair for fun and self-expression, by my mid-thirties I was definitely colouring it to cover the grey. After colouring it for fun for so long, and then finding I wasn't really enjoying it anymore and wishing for my natural colour, I felt daunted by the growing-out process.

But facing the prospect of monthly hair dying for the rest of my life started to seem, well, stupid. I was using hennas, so at least I wasn't dosing myself in toxic chemicals every month, but it was still time, money, and energy that would be better used nurturing my dreams.

(In fact, the less time women spend trying to change their bodies so that they can fit into some kind of ridiculous "standard", the better.? Our society is extremely juvenile when it comes to this and I have no more patience for any of it.)

So, awkward growing-out process be damned, I decided to let my greys grow out.

One month later, when confronted with how brassy and weird my dyed-brown hair was looking as the dye faded, I decided to have fun with my dyed hair while it was growing out.

I bleached out my dyed hair, and then played with various shades of purples and pinks.

This was REALLY GOOD for growing out roots, because my roots would pick up the purples and pinks a little bit, then they'd be more vibrant on the bleached hair, so it seemed less awkward than having the two tone hair.

But after several months of this started to get tired of it, and decided to go super-short to get rid of all of my dyed hair.

And as of last night, there is no more dye in my hair.

I want to make this very clear: THIS IS NOT BRAVE.

I do NOT want to live in a world where it is considered "brave" for a woman to show up as her actual self. That is just so many layers of fucked up I can't even!

Please think about that.

When I told people about what I was doing I heard so much "You are so brave!" and "I would LOVE to do that but I can't because ____".

I get it. It can feel like a big deal.

It changes how other people see you. If you read my blog you already know that what other people think of you is none of your business so while worrying about this is a supreme waste of time AND it's taking much needed energy away from your dreams.

At the same time - how you feel is also valid. So you've got to work through it - otherwise you're letting it control you.

This also forces you to deal with your own biases against and fears about aging. Which is good stuff, since you'll either age or you'll die.

But what it really comes down to is self-acceptance. If you need to change something about yourself in order to feel ok, that's a problem and it's seriously messing with your vibe.

If you think you can't stop colouring your greys, really really think about what it is that you're telling yourself.

Really really think about why you would spend time, money and energy on this particular activity and really really think about what else you could do with that time, money and energy. (I bet your creative dreams could find some fantastic uses for them)

You may also want to think about whether or not you really want people in your life who would judge you for having the hair that you actually have.

I mean, it's just hair. Why is it so important that it be one colour instead of another?

There is nothing wrong with your body doing what your body does.

There is something VERY wrong with a society that wants you to change your body so that you can "fit in" or whatever.

The truth is, the more you can show up as your self, the more POWERFUL you can be in your life.? The less you worry about what other people think the more free you are to soar.

Everything you do to change your body in order to be "acceptable" seriously messes with your energy. You wind up contorted and powerless. This is the kind of stuff that makes your dreams seem impossible, but they're not impossible it's just that you'd have to use your energy and resources differently.

I want to live in a world where we're all free to be our actual, powerful selves. The world we live in is never going to just offer that to us, each one of us has to take it upon ourselves to do it for ourselves.

Growing out my grey hair. This is not brave. Read More »

The Art of Finding Clarity

By Andrea Schroeder / November 17, 2014

As I shared last week, I’ve been feeling like my dreams had been hiding in a fog and that makes me sad.

But then Sunday morning I woke up early with perfect clarity.? Now that I know what I want and have an idea of what to do next, it’s so much easier for me to fine flow.? I’m happier and lighter about everything, clarity makes me ridiculously happy.

What I said last week about how your dream is a lighthouse is feeling more and more true for me.

Knowing what your dream is is about knowing who you are.? It’s about trusting your heart.? And bringing your whole life into alignment with it.

Our dreams really do call us towards our highest self.? I am so in love with how, now that I see my new creative dreams more clearly I feel more relaxed about everything.

It really does feel like I was navigating without a lighthouse for a little while, which I suspect is also an important part of the journey.

So today I’m really appreciating the lightness and ease that comes with knowing that I’m on the right path and being able to see my next steps clearly.

And I’m so excited to share the magic of this with you on Friday’s Dream Finder Coaching Circle.

This is exactly perfect for you if:

You have no clue what your dream is.
You’ve hit a major roadblock on the path to your dream (major roadblocks can be a sign that the dream has changed and you need to change to keep up).
Or you’ve GOT your dream and don’t know what’s next.

Working from the assumption that your dream is your soul calling your into alignment with yourself, we’ll dig in and discover what is calling YOU.

These coaching circles are magic because we are clearer and brighter and braver and stronger together.? By exploring this together we can help light the path for each other.

I’ve seen this happen time and time again – each of us brings a unique piece of the puzzle and when we put them together we find our answers.

During the call I’ll do one-on-one Dream-Finding Coaching with as many participants as possible where I will help you find your dream.? You’ll also get ridiculously inspired by listening in on the process of other people finding their dreams.

You’re going to love it.

This call is, of course, free for my Creative Dream Circle members.? But if you’re not a member you can still join!? The cost to register is $22.? You’ll get access to the live call plus the recording will be sent to you after.

It’s happening Friday, November 21, from 1-2 pm (Central, Standard time – click here to see this in your time zone)

The call will happen on my conference line, which is a US number – the number will be emailed to you after you sign up.

Let’s do this!

If you’re a?Creative Dream Circle member you are already registered and call details will be emailed to you.

If you’re not a member, click here to register for this call.

The Art of Finding Clarity Read More »

Moving towards what’s next.

By Andrea Schroeder / November 16, 2014

Have been living pretty far off in my own little world lately, exploring what it is I want next.

I’ve been feeling like I’ve outgrown my website and need something different to hold all of what I want to do in 2015, but haven’t known what that means. Then this morning I was woken up by the perfect idea, and now I know.

Sometimes we know exactly what we want, sometimes we need to excavate our inner world to find our next dream.

If you want to explore this with me, I’m holding a Dream Finder coaching circle this week.

In the meantime, I’m digging in and getting to work which means some things will be changing around here.

Moving towards what’s next. Read More »

DreamFinder Coaching Circle

By Andrea Schroeder / November 14, 2014

I have been doing some deep exploring lately.? Lots of quiet and writing and art and knitting.

The truth is, I’ve been feeling a little lost.

I love where I am in life, I love what I’m doing.? But I’ve made my “big dreams” real and I am really starting to miss having a “big dream” to be moving towards.

It’s not that I want MORE MORE MORE, it’s that dreams are lighthouses.? Dreams call you towards the right place for you to be and they light the path for you to get there.

Your dream is your soul calling you into alignment with yourself.

It will challenge you to face the hard stuff and it will stretch you in the ways that you need to be stretched in order to grow into who are you becoming.

So the dream – whether it’s to build a business or travel the world or create your dream home – isn’t about the dream, it’s about the inner process of growing into the dream.

And that’s what I want right now.? A big dream to move towards and grow into. Not to make the “big dream” real but to be more deeply engaged in the internal process of transformation.

Except I’m not sure what this big dream is.? So I’m inviting you to explore this with me.

?DreamFinder Coaching Circle.

This is exactly perfect for you if:

You have no clue what your dream is.
You’ve hit a major roadblock on the path to your dream (major roadblocks can be a sign that the dream has changed and you need to change to keep up).
Or you’ve GOT your dream and don’t know what’s next.

Working from the assumption that your dream is your soul calling your into alignment with yourself, we’ll dig in and discover what is calling YOU.

These coaching circles are magic because we are clearer and brighter and braver and stronger together.? By exploring this together we can help light the path for each other.

I’ve seen this happen time and time again in these coaching circles – each of us brings a unique piece of the puzzle and when we put them together we find our answers.

You’re going to love it.

It’s happening Friday, November 21, from 1-2 pm (Central, Standard time – click here to see this in your time zone)

The call will happen on my conference line, which is a US number – the number will be emailed to you after you sign up.

This call is FREE for all Creative Dream Circle members – plus we can explore this further in the forum after the call.

Cost for non-members: $22.? You’ll get access to the live call plus the recording will be sent to you after.

Let’s do this!

If you’re a?Creative Dream Circle member you are already registered and call details will be emailed to you.

If you’re not a member, click here to register for this call.

DreamFinder Coaching Circle Read More »

The magic of being good enough.

By Andrea Schroeder / November 12, 2014

You can’t bring your dreams to life if you’re secretly hoping that having the dream will make you finally feel like you’re good enough – that worthiness piece is always going to be blocking you.

Instead, dive in and do the work of feeling good enough now and you’ll find that this does bolster and nurture your dreams.?

This is how dreams grow – from the inside out.

____________________

Last week I wrote about how I wanted to meet the holiday season differently this year, to end the year filled up, fueled up and ready for a fresh and fabulous 2015.

Since then I’ve been working with the material for the Peaceful Happy Holiday Season class and am surprised at the directions it’s taking me in.

I feel more filled up and at peace with myself which has freed up something inside me and now I have TONS more energy, which is a huge surprise.

I expected to feel more calm, peaceful and happy.

I was NOT expecting to feel energized and crazy inspired.

I was NOT expecting to be able to get more done in a day, without rushing, pushing or forcing.

Magic is at work.? The magic of knowing, like really knowing deep deep down, that you are already “good enough”.

This is the magic of being filled up.

Can’t wait to share this one with you.

The magic of being good enough. Read More »