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Your Dream Book is all about navigating the path between where you are and where you want to be.

What's next for you on that path?

Is it with more outer work - creativity, productivity and checking off to-do lists?

Of more inner work - sitting with the places where you're holding back and learning more about what you need?

Or dream work - connecting with the soul of your dream and learning more about it?

Often, what your dream needs is for you to go DEEPER.

How or where can you take your practice deeper this week?

For me - self care.

I need to be calm and grounded and happy in order to be able to be more BRAVE and BOLD with my dreams.

And I know my dreams ARE calling me to be more brave and bold.

So this week, instead of feeling exhausted by what my dreams want from me, I am going to explore the question: How do I fill the well in such a way that my next steps feel fun and exciting, instead of exhausting?

PS: The New Moon call last week was sooo nourishing.

Get the replay here.

Co-Dreaming Calls are now scheduled for October and November, get the details here.

 

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post on the website)

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

New Moon call is this week!

Get the details here. Co-Dreaming Calls are now scheduled for October and November!! Get the details here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week? What is one way you could get the thing you need?

It's one of those weeks where I CAN'T plan.

There is a lot happening - besides Joseph's father, there have been multiple deaths in my family + family friends friends. No one I was very close to, but it's still funerals to attend which take a lot of energy. And everything is breaking down and needing to be fixed.

And I am still unpacking/organizing.

So instead of a plan for the week, I have a busy schedule plus a list of what I want to accomplish next and.. MOST IMPORTANTLY...

I have SLOW THE FUCK DOWN! Coming back to that meditation and practice, remembering I don't have to do everything all at once.

I did set up a cart in my room, with all of my favourite "calm down" stuff. Favourite crystals, calming essential oil blends, candles, etc. With room for a mug of tea and book.

And I am going to go with this question:

What do you need this week? What is one way you could get the thing you need?

I need calm and groundedness and I would like them to just be available to me without me doing anything. Bring it, universe!

 

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post on the website)

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

Co-Dreaming Calls are now scheduled for October and November!! Get the details here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week? What is one way you could get the thing you need?

 

I used the basic Creative Genius Planning Sessions video this morning.

I drank my latte and ate my oatmeal and thought about the week ahead and realized I needed a much bigger list than 1 week. I made this list of all the things, which just helped me feel more clear and grounded. And then I could get my creative genius to help me figure out this week.

(I do keep appointments in my digital calendar and all of the Creative Dream Incubator tasks in my project management app, so the paper planning I share here doesn't have all of the details - this is just the way that feels right for me. The planner is space to plan + dream + document.)

I see the end in sight, of the Dream Loft re-imagining!!

The new bedroom is in place - Joseph's dresser and stuff still to come, but the space is set up. The new living room and dining room also. Over the weekend (I do write these on Fridays) we'll finish up the construction parts, and then put the tools away and give away the rest of the wood. (It will be so nice to not have all this wood everywhere!)

And then I can start painting up in my creative studio! Joseph had build me a closet in here that needs to be painted, plus I want to do a mural The downstairs mural is not finished, but I am just using paint pens for the details on it, so it easy to work on in small doses now. I'd love to get all of the "big" painting done this month so I can put all of the painting materials away and just use paint pens or the smaller tubes of paint with brushes to finish up details.

It feels SO GOOD to be at this stage where I am figuring out these little final details, as opposed to a few weeks ago where everything needed to get done and it was just so much mess and so much work ahead of us.

Joseph and I are STILL communicating well, giving each other space for our various frustrations with this project, and not arguing about it!! I mean - some small bickering and "I feel like you are taking this out on me and this is not my fault" stuff but we able to reign it in before it becomes a fight. And the one day when I was completely losing my shit, he went and got me a Dairy Queen Blizzard without me asking

Every time I walk into my new creative studio space I feel amazing.

Up until yesterday I still had extra furniture in here that needed to be moved for the stuff we are doing downstairs. Now that I have SPACE it feels so good. I know it will be even better with the mural, and all of my things organized, and the piles of things put away.

But for now I am savouring the joy of CREATING THE SPACE I NEED for my new dreams.

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week?

What is one way you could get the thing you need?

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post on the website)

I Started Painting!!!

This is the space that used to be my workspace - see the lavender rectangle on the wall, that was the background in my videos.

This is going to be the new bedroom. Joseph put that pergola up, which I painted yellow. It's going to have plants + lights hanging on it, and a yellow curtain on one side.

This wall will have a plant mural - I put these colours up yesterday to have a bit of a colourful background.

It felt SO GOOD to play around with colour on a large scale like this.

And it feels SO GOOD to see this new idea come into place. And it feels SO GOOD to be doing the physical work of creating the new home I want.

I am achy this morning, I am NOT used to the physicality of this kind of painting and I have only barely begun. But I do have Advil, lol. And I can SLOW THE FUCK DOWN about how I do this... that continues to be a magical balm.

BUT I really do want to put the plant mural up, and move the bed into this space, and start hanging plants, because I want to see it all!!!

My plan this week:

I'm going back to Slow the fuck down! BE as creative, powerful and magnetic as you ARE.

Something about sitting with the mantra, really slowing down, helps me FEEL more creative, powerful and magnetic. This is the energy I want to create this new space from.

I have clear goals this week for the Dream Loft re-design and work stuff.

Oh! I want to do some Dream Self work this week. Hang out with this version of me who has this new space, her life is more organized and she and is grounded in this EXPANDED art + writing practice I want to create. It feels important to work from this energy of BEING this new version of me as I create this.

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week?

What is one way you could get the thing you need?

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post on the website)

A few days ago I did a meeting with the soul of my business, to look ahead to September.

Since I had slowed down everything over the summer, it’s like - how do I speed up? What does that mean? I actually want to stay SLOW but also have goals/projects. How do I want to do this?

My business showed me three goals for September. So today for my planning I started by putting all of this into my planner page for September. Re-writing it from my journal felt good- like I am really connecting with my goals and plans for the month, which is helping me feel more present with what I want to do.

And then I broke down what I want to do with all of this this week, put that in my planner.

I feel I am taking the gifts from the last month with me into this new one, and working in a new way.

Instead of looking at what I want to do this month, and then trying to do it as fast as possible, I am just asking "what feels possible to do this week?". Balancing deadlines with feelings in a new way.

A lot of the "slow the fuck down! BE as creative, powerful and magnetic as you ARE" feels like it is sinking in in invisible/not-yet-understood ways.

This thing where I stay really far away from my capacity feels life-changing and new and like I'm not sure how to hold it yet.

The other day I had plans with Joseph where I was riding my bike to a restaurant, getting take out, and bringing it to a park for a picnic (I have a huge basket on my bike so this is not as awkward as it sounds).

But as the time came, I felt anxious.

I texted and asked if he could get the meal, or we make different plans, but he had a work emergency (yes during his vacation!) and wasn't communicating with me.

I set out to get dinner as planned, and then stopped. I felt anxious on my bike. I felt super anxious about traffic in the area where the restaurant is. I texted him again "I need you to get dinner" and went to the park (which was closer than the restaurant) to wait.

I asked myself "what do you need?"

I need to cry.

So I cried. Just a little. Hidden behind sunglasses.

"What else do you need?"

To feel fine about not getting the meal when I said I'd do it.

OK that's fine actually. You get to not do things you don't want to do.

"What else do you need?"

A hug.

So when Joseph got to the park (as I suspected, without dinner and not having read ANY of my texts) I told him I was struggling and asked for a hug and he gave me one and I said "I just can't go get dinner" and he said "OK fine, I can go"

AND THEN I FELT BETTER.

Being honest about how I was feeling overwhelmed instead of my usual thing of "doing what I said I'd do even if it no longer feels right" WAS A MIRACLE.

Then I got the idea - "Oh let's just go to the restaurant and eat there" and that didn't feel overwhelming and we had a really great time.

I am just seeing all these little ways where I push myself because that's all I've known and now I can know something else.

This was only a 5 minute bike ride from the park to the restaurant. I ride at least an hour a day, so 5 minutes really isn't a lot. A part of me was judging myself for not following through on doing what I had said I would do, and not just going to the restaurant.

But I really wanted to honour my actual needs in that moment.

And I feel like I want this to be my model this month.

Yes, I am good at pushing through for that final little bit to get a thing done. But what if I don't? What if I finish the next day instead? Or find another way? What if I NEVER stretch my capacity again and always stay really far inside it?

This feels so exciting to explore.

AND I feel exited about the things I chose to work on this week and happy to get them done.

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week?

What is one way you could get the thing you need?

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post)

I wanted to skip Creative Genius Planning for this week.

This week we start: TOTAL CHAOS. Tearing down my old workspace and building new stuff for the new bedroom, new kitchen storage and my new studio space.

I'm excited about being finished, and daunted about being IN this process this coming month.

But when I thought about it, I realized it would be good to do planning - sketch out what I think will happen with the condo stuff, even knowing it won't go as planned it's nice to see a plan on paper, and look at what I need: to hold space for my own self care during the chaos and a list of things to not let go of for the Creative Dream Incubator.

Our next New Moon call is this Friday! Get the details here.

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week?

What is one way you could get the thing you need?

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post)

 

All month I have been meditating + journaling on the theme:

Slow the fuck down! BE as creative, powerful and magnetic as you ARE.

These two messages came to me from meetings with my dream and I wanted to explore them more deeply.

I don't want to share this, but my whole thing is about sharing my actual process so...

Right now I feel SO DONE with this.

I don't care about BEING as creative, powerful and magnetic as I AM.

I mean, yes I still do care. I still do want that. I just don't want to do anything about it today.

Yes - I could use the Un-Sticking Station or The Video For When You're Avoiding The Un-Sticking Station or the Resistance video.

And I did do a bit of un-sticking in my journal but:

EVERYTHING FEELS LIKE A MESS.

I laid on the floor for 20 minutes just giving myself some space to think and feel.

And reminded myself: of course uncomfortable and unexpected thoughts, feelings and ideas are coming up. That's what happens in a transformational process! This is how it works.

But still, it all feels like a mess.

And that's enough for today.

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week?

What is one way you could get the thing you need?

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post)

 

Here we are! Starting week 3 of the 30 day meditation + journaling invitation.

Look around your life. Is anything changing?

Are you starting to feel differently about anything? Are you starting to ACT different in any part of your life?

I started my commitment to "slow the fuck down" in July. For most of July I found this extremely challenging, for a lot of different reasons.

This month it's a lot easier and I am noticing something really interesting.

I am working on a project (the Year of Dreams 2023).

Usually I would:

• break everything own into small steps - to help me not feel overwhelmed or worried I will lose things
• each week try to do AS MANY steps as possible - basically race to the finish

It never FELT like a race, it FELT like being excited to get the project done.

BUT... after 6 weeks of deliberately slowing down, looking back to that, it FEELS like a race.

What I do now is just pick a few things to do each week, in terms of the more administrative details. Plus make time to play with the creative part of it every week. Let my actual energy levels and creative flow guide the timeline.

It's definitely taking more time than I had wanted it to, but I am actually really happy about how I FEEL while working on it, and I am happy with how the project is evolving differently, with more time.

The other thing I am noticing: creative capacity issues.

Pre-pandemic, I was always looking for ways to increase and nurture my creative capacity and this work FELT nurturing.

During the pandemic, 2020 and 2021, I was dismayed by how small my capacity became. I felt like I wasn't resilient enough.

2022 I am ACCEPTING my capacity is what it is.

For the summer, with this commitment to slow down, I've stayed away from the edges of my capacity.

Which, as I've said so many times, is soooo uncomfortable for me.

But 6 weeks in I am getting the hang of it.

And I am noticing this beautiful thing: my capacity is changing.

By not pushing it to the limits every day, it's... I don't know, healing? It has space to breathe? It's happier?

My creativity feels deeper and more playful.

As I've been working on the Year of Dreams - new ideas are coming in. It's like there is more space for my ideas to grow and evolve.

I am just loving this.

My Creative Genius Planning for this week:

I am using the basic practice video. Will stop writing here, go do that, and come back.

Mmmm. Kinda boring this week. But that's exactly what I need.

Keep doing the journaling + meditation invitation. Keep making progress on the Year of Dreams 2023.

AND a little more movement on the "go through everything and purge and re-organize" project that I was going to slowly do all summer but has been stalled for the last month or so. Joseph is getting ready to start the renovation at the end of August, and I'd like the purge + re-organization to be done before then.

***Co-Dreaming is this Friday!***

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week?

What is one way you could get the thing you need?

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post)

Here we are! Starting week 2 of the 30 day meditation + journaling invitation.

I LOVE THIS SO FAR!! Even the hard parts.

Obviously we've always had the theme of "working with our dreams" but I am REALLY loving having another theme, too. I had so many questions about how to share some of the daily posts outside of our circle here. It seems like one of those things that just FEELS so complicated but actually isn't.

I wrote the posts each day in here, and then copied it into a public post, and made some edits for things I didn't want to share outside of here.

And it feels like a step towards BEING as creative, powerful and magnetic as I AM. And I am thinking of ways to keep doing this - with a new theme each month. Maybe use mantras from the weekly journaling kits as the themes? Will keep thinking about that.

Why are we so resistant to slowing down and resting?

After all, rest is the most simple and obvious solution to burnout, overwhelm, exhaustion - a lot of the things we're all feeling right now.

And yet I keep seeing people (including myself) looking for a magic pill to not feel these things without taking the time to rest and slow down. Maybe if I eat better, or switch from coffee to mushroom drinks or find the right supplement or herbalist...

Is it not worth questioning the stories we tell about why we absolutely cannot slow down? Or exploring the guilt, shame or fear that come up when we try?

Is it not worth exploring the bigger picture of WHY so many of us are burned out? Like what is it, about the culture we live in, that is creating an epidemic of burnout? And how could we potentially CHANGE the culture to be healthier all around?

Because focusing on nutrition and exercise is the individualist approach, and I think it’s the individualist approach that got us into this mess.

We’re simply trying to do more than we can do because we have unreasonable expectations and insufficient support systems.

And this impacts us all in so many different ways.

So. Let’s keep showing up. Each day, each tiny thing we do to get more rest and/or explore how all of this is playing out in your life, counts.

My Creative Genius Planning for this week:

i have not been using the Creative Genius Planning videos lately - and that has felt right as I've been wanting to slow down and re-fill the well. But last week I noticed I really do need more direction with my projects, and goals for how I want to move them forward each week.

So the plan this week is to plan, and to keep lots of space for rest + creativity, too.

I am using the basic practice video. Will stop writing here, go do that, and come back.

ARGH!!

Every time I listen to this video I ask myself: why do I ever skip it?

So often, I feel like it's not wroth the time, I can just ask myself "what do I need this week?" and especially lately as I have been deliberately living more space in my calendar for the summer - it's like why even bother with this?

Why bother because: I feel SO GOOD following this video. It shifts my energy. It helps me connect to myself and my dreams.

AND after I have more of a clear container for my week - any time I feel lost or stuck I have these notes to help me find my way.

Just writing out what I want to do while in that space of feeling connected to my creative genius and believing myself makes SUCH a difference.

And this is HUGE for BEING my most creative, powerful and magnetic self.

Get the calendar of upcoming calls here | Get your next Dream Book lesson here.

 

Hello New Week! Come into the comments on this post and share with us!

You can use the Creative Genius Planning Sessions videos to go deeper, or:

What do you need this week?

What is one way you could get the thing you need?

(If you're reading this in email - click here to go to the post)

Here we are! Starting the 30 day meditation + journaling invitation.

I am doing this out on my public blog, but I want to share it in here too.

So here is day 1, which I'll re posting in public to officially start tomorrow (August 1).

What's actually doable for you?

What makes this feel like an INVITATION and not a CHALLENGE?

How do you WANT to do this?

Step 1: pick your practice

I highly highly highly recommend you do BOTH journaling and meditation for this.

There is a reason why I always use them together. AND if you would rather avoid one of these - that's probably the thing that's going to be the most helpful/transformative to bring into your practice.

BUT this is YOUR thing, so do it YOUR way.

Step 2: define your minimum practice.

Some days you may want to do more, but all you are committing to are these minimum practices.

For example, for meditation you could pick:

• Sit down, close your eyes, and breathe for 30 seconds (change this to however long feels right for you).
• Sit stare at the wall or out a window for 30 seconds (change this to however long feels right for you).
• Go for a meditative walk for 5 minutes (change this to however long feels right for you).

Either way, your meditation time is spent contemplating the theme:

Slow the fuck down!

BE as creative, powerful and magnetic as you ARE.

(or create your own theme)

And just follow your thoughts wherever they go. Follow all of the rabbit holes.

No, this is not traditional meditation where you empty your mind. This is a meditation as a tool for making space to explore.

Right after the meditation, you journal.

This way you can take notes about what you learned in your meditation, to not lose the threads.

Here is your minimum practice for journaling:

Open your journal, having a pen handy, and sit there with it for 2 minutes (change this to however long feels right for you) (no you don't have to actually write).

The assignment for today: set your intentions

Write out how you're going to do this:

• What you hope to receive from this practice by the end of the month
• What time of day will you do this
• How long will you meditate for
• How long will you sit with your journal for

Write these all out in your journal, don't just do this in your head.