Remember what you used to struggle with

By Andrea Schroeder / March 12, 2024 / daily practice, healing, inner work, Journal Prompts, journaling, Manifest Your Dream Life

For a while, I was struggling with SHOWING UP online.

I was writing a daily post in Dream Book, thinking about sharing those, or parts of them, on my public blog and/or social media, and not knowing HOW.

I started experimenting.

It was hard! Like, the inner part was hard. Wrapping my head about what I share where. And who I am writing to when I write. It is a MILLION times easier for me to write to the people inside Dream Book (these are my peeps! We are working together on this stuff! I know they get it!) than it is for me to write and put it on my blog.

EVEN THOUGH I know that the people who read my blog also get it, I know the general public is not cruising through here, still it feels fraught and that’s valid!

So. It took a while to work through stuff and now…

I love the way I am SHOWING UP online. All of those tangles are smooth.

And this morning I got all of my blogs scheduled for a week and felt like “UGH I haven’t gotten to the things I wanted to do, I was just doing the blogs”

AS THOUGH this is a small task.

Because once it’s not fraught anymore, it’s like I take for granted that I can just DO IT.

So instead I want to say “HEY THAT’S AMAZING!!! YOU DID IT GIRL!!!!!”

And it’s not just me.

Where are you discounting all the stuff you’ve worked through, and all the ways you’ve grown?

Dream Book 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.

Remember what you used to struggle with Read More »

I hold space for my growth + expansion

By Andrea Schroeder / March 11, 2024 / daily practice, healing, inner work, journaling

This is the mantra I got in this week’s Dream Book journaling + alchemy kit: I make space for my growth + expansion.

I’m so glad I got this mantra this week, how to MAKE SPACE for growth is something I have been thinking about a lot.

I mean - my divorce feels like a FORCE of growth and expansion.

And also my feelings about the state of the world are acting as a force for growth and expansion.

So I've been thinking about HOW I MAKE and HOLD space for myself.

On our New Moon Call last week the intention that came to me was EPIC HEALING.

Which is not about epic outer results, but about epic ways of holding space for my healing and growth.

And so far, I'm thinking this means:

Quality physical self care: nutrient dense eating, lots of exercise, good sleep habits
Daily meditation + journaling
Daily time for creative projects that are NOT work projects
Starting a new art project that is kind of a touchstone for my healing goals
Holding the intention - being clear about WHY I want "epic healing", journaling about what this means for me, what I hope to get out of it and how I hope to feel while in the process

But I am thinking too about how we can’t be the ONLY ones holding space for our growth + expansion.

And how often we ARE the only ones!

How often the people closest to us cannot support our growth or our dreams.

And I don’t think that means we need to change the people who are around us, it means we need to seek out that support. (Hint hint, this is why I offer ALL of my courses and live coaching calls in ONE membership)

BUT the thing is our culture DOES NOT support our dreams or our growth, and in fact actively works AGAINST both in a lot of ways, so it becomes extremely difficult to even see what effective support would even look and feel like.

So we go without.

And it’s hurting us.

A question to ponder:

What would right-fit support look like?

Dream Book 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 hold space for my growth + expansion Read More »

Asking bigger questions + giving those questions more space

By Andrea Schroeder / March 7, 2024 / daily practice, inner work, intention, journaling, resistance project

I am using a year-long tracker (from the Dream Plan Kit) to track when I work on my year-long Resistance Project.

There are a LOT of days not marked off.

We’re only a little over 2 months into the new year and already I’m showing up so much less…

Is what I thought was happening until I looked deeper.

What’s actually happening is I am asking much BIGGER questions.

And then taking time to be in the space of having questions without answers.

THIS DOES NEED TIME.

Rushing to FIND ANSWERS does not move you forward in the way that GIVING THE QUESTIONS MORE TIME does.

GIVING THE QUESTIONS MORE TIME moves you deeper into it, where whole new possibilities exist.

And I know it can be hard to see the difference between FINDING ANSWERS and GIVING THE QUESTIONS MORE TIME… but give it more time, you’ll see.

The new Moon Intention Setting + Alchemy Meditation Call is TODAY!!!! Dream Book members - get the call details here. The replay will be on that page a few hours after we're done the call.

If you're not in Dream Book, you can get the New Moon Intention Setting Guided Journal here! This is the same process that we do on the calls, in a workbook format!

Dream Book 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.

Asking bigger questions + giving those questions more space Read More »

If you have a problem to solve or a change to make

By Andrea Schroeder / March 6, 2024 / daily practice, inner work, intention, journaling, resistance project

If you have a problem to solve or a change to make: are you spending time with it every day?

Why or why not?

As a part of my year-long project of exploring my resistance this year, this is what I’ve been wondering.

There IS a thing I want to change.

And I keep thinking “Oh! I want to change this!”

But am I showing up and being in the process of change every day?

No.

Why?

So many reasons spring to mind but they’re all actually just excuses…

And then I found a new question:

Am I in resistance here, or do I just have a really critical inner voice that I am (rightfully!) avoiding?

My “YOU SHOULD HAVE ALREADY FIGURED THIS OUT” voice is very loud. And it makes me so uncomfortable, it’s throwing this sticky shame all over me.

So, yeah, that’s not really resistance that’s self preservation.

Because CONSCIOUSLY I wasn’t really aware of how much damage this voice was causing.

But sitting with questions-without-answers and staying with the uncomfortable feelings can shift perspective and I am starting to see it.

So now I can focus on this, as a way in to exploring the thing I want to explore.

The new Moon Intention Setting + Alchemy Meditation Call is tomorrow! This is open to all Dream Book members - get the call details here.

If you're not in Dream Book, you can get the New Moon Intention Setting Guided Journal here! This is the same process that we do on the calls, in a workbook format!

Dream Book 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.

If you have a problem to solve or a change to make Read More »

New Moon Intention Setting

By Andrea Schroeder / March 5, 2024 / daily practice, intention, journaling

New Moon is this Sunday, March 10!

The new Moon Intention Setting + Alchemy Meditation Call is this Thursday, March 7. This is open to all Dream Book members - get the call details here.

If you're not in Dream Book, you can get the New Moon Intention Setting Guided Journal here! This is the same process that we do on the calls, in a workbook format!

Our last New Moon call was intense for me.

A new intention came out of that meditation: to go DEEP into inner CREATIVITY + EXPLORATION, not quite inner WORK. Of course it’s connected to inner work, it felt like bringing the joy of exploration and expression deeper into my inner landscape.

And, when this came to me, I had an idea of what it would look like - the kind of art I would make.

I was super wrong.

I haven’t made much art, but I have brought a new level of curiosity and non-judgement into how I engage with my inner world. Which has been so difficult AND rewarding.

Some months I know EXACTLY what intention I want to set.

Some months I have no clue.

But showing up and setting an intention every month, doing the meditation to really LISTEN to myself, always brings me something good. It keeps me moving along the path and not staying stagnant anywhere.

Again - the new Moon Intention Setting + Alchemy Meditation Call is this Thursday, March 7. This is open to all Dream Book members - get the call details here.

If you're not in Dream Book, you can get the New Moon Intention Setting Guided Journal here! This is the same process that we do on the calls, in a workbook format!

Dream Book 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.

New Moon Intention Setting Read More »

I am ready

By Andrea Schroeder / March 4, 2024 / daily practice, healing, inner work, journaling

Dream Book

This is the mantra I got in this week’s Dream Book journaling + alchemy kit: I am ready.

This was perfect timing for last week, as I was getting ready to share my new 10 day Creative Dream Challenge.

This feels really meaningful as it’s a new way to invite people into my work with the Creative Dream Incubator. It’s a thing I can promote heavily and joyfully.

It feels like my next chapter and it feels REALLY GOOD to step into it...

AND it feels like I still need to grow into it.

And I FEEL READY for the "stepping".

We never have to FEEL ready though.

We always ARE ready for our next steps. But not FEELING ready is pretty common - it's just one of the things we need to work through.

But reflecting on this mantra today - this is what I see:

I’ve been focusing on getting ready IN OUTER WORK.

I’ve been doing whatever INNER WORK was needed to get the OUTER WORK done.

And DREAM WORK got lost in the shuffle.

This is good information, I want to make more space for Dream Work practices this week.

Dream Book members: The Library of Creative Dream Alchemy is here, with practices for Dream Work, Inner Work and Outer Work.

Dream Book 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 ready Read More »

A universal gathering of faith + miracles

By Andrea Schroeder / February 29, 2024 / daily practice, journaling

Today my creative dream practice is too boring to write about. YAY! I did some journaling, have a list of things I want to do today, and am just... doing them!

So instead of sharing anything about that, I wanted to share a story from earlier in the month.

We had this "winter heat wave" in early February and I took the long way to the coffee shop - a 45 minute walk instead of 30. It felt magical to have such a warm morning walk.

This longer way also takes me down a much busier street. At one point, this man parked his car in the parking lot of a grocery store as I was walking past and RAN out of it down the sidewalk. I was watching him closely, wondering...

Is that grocery store open so early? I don't think so!

Is he watching for ice?! There are so many ice patches on the sidewalks, I hope he doesn't fall! (I'm walking so slow and careful)

Then, he ran right past the grocery store, now I'm wondering... Where is he going in such a rush?

I giggle to myself thinking maybe he is RUNNING SO FAST to get to the new cat cafe. He really needs to pet a cat. But no, the cat cafe doesn't open until later and he runs right past it.

I decide he must be going to the little cheque cashing/cash advance place on the corner. Maybe he needs quick cash and he's late for work.

He runs right past the cheque cashing place and now I am really invested. Like, how far is he going to run?

He goes into a building I thought was vacant and I when I get to it I see a sheet of paper taped to the door that says something like:

Universal Gathering of Faith and Miracles. Tuesday mornings.

I still had 15 minutes of my walk to think about this.

I was so invested in his journey, why?

Was it to show me - I should always RUN to get to a miracle?

Was it to remind me that the miracles are gathering?

I think they are.

Dream Book 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.

A universal gathering of faith + miracles Read More »

Which part of you feels too small for your dream?

By Andrea Schroeder / February 28, 2024 / daily practice, Journal Prompts, journaling

The February Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call is today! Dream Book members - get the call details here. Everyone else - join us here!

These are the journal prompts I got in this week’s Journaling + Alchemy kit (from Dream Book):

What part of you feels too small for your dream?

What does this part of you need?

AHHHHH yes these are the questions I need right now.

In a practical sense, “my dream” is the dream I shared of getting a camper van or RV and traveling with Bear but that would mean a bunch of things sorted out in my life to make this happen including money.

(Dream Book members see the call: Having A Stable Relationship With Money While The World Is Unstable)

And, right now, my dreams include BEING IN the transformative healing vortex that is getting a divorce.

So… it’s all of this that I am thinking about as I ask this question. Which parts feel ready? Which parts don't? Why don't they?

We almost always have parts of us that feel too small for our dreams.

This is because our dreams are here to GROW us. Like an elm seed isn’t meant to stay an elm seed forever, it’s meant to become a seedling and then a tree.

But of course growth feels scary for so many reasons. So parts of us will resist growth even when we know for sure it’s leading to what we want!

For most people, all of this is unconscious.

For people who are deeply engaging with their dreams, it’s more conscious.

And it’s hard to engage with this fear because… fear is scary!

But. Sitting with it is SO GOOD because there ARE ways to take care of the parts of you that feel too small for your dream, and doing that will open up new possibilities for what you can do.

AND, more often than not, if you really sit with this part of you you'll find that they DO want what you want, they're just afraid of some part of it. And once you have all parts of you on board, it's so much easier to move forward.

Dream Book 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.

Which part of you feels too small for your dream? Read More »

Being so stuck while needing to get to work.

By Andrea Schroeder / February 27, 2024 / creative entrepreneur, daily practice

I first did a Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call as an experiment in November 2022.

Now it's a call we do every month in Dream Book!

Since we have a call tomorrow, I'm trying to write a post about this and I can't.

So, in the spirit of Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice, I will write (creative practice) about my truth (spiritual practice):

I'm super stuck today.

This is not the whole truth of who I am and where I am but it's where I am right in this moment.

I am excited about the work I have to do today!

But my heart is in KNOTS and I can't do the things I want to do.

Our practice HAVE TO include these days, too.

Triangle Dream Compass

Remember the compass of Creative Dream Alchemy.

If you can't do Outer Work, you can do Dream Work or Inner Work.

And I feel too tangled up for Dream Work, I know Inner Work is what is needed.

So I am taking my knotted up heart into the Un-Sticking Station practice:

Oh, it's so sad. A floating, disembodied heart that's crying.

I notice we're in a room with a fireplace, so I light a fire and make my heart a cup of tea and sit it down on a soft couch.

I wrap a blanket around it. I want to offer it ALL the nurturing.

"Do you want a cookie?"

I would LOVE a cookie.

I bring my heart a cookie.

"So tell me what's going on"

Oh! (Heart starts crying again) It's all too much!

"Oh you are so right! It's ALL too much." And I get the sense that we shouldn't write about all the things in the world that are TOO MUCH we should just take a minute a FEEL it.

We take a few deep breaths together.

The knots slip out of my heart.

We can't solve anything. We can show up as best we can to create the world we want to see, but we, alone, cannot solve anything. But taking a minute to have a cookie, breath deep, and acknowledge how terrifying the world is to be in right now does help.

"OK so, now that I have given you space to un-knot, the day I had planned feels inappropriate for the space you are in"

Oh yeah for sure. I mean - I don't want to sabotage your goals and plans! AND I am where I am.

This has been a BIG topic on our group calls lately.

How to find a balance between all the inner work we need to do in order to be able to do the outer work we want to do.

And how it can feel like if we gave our inner worlds all the care and attention they need, then we literally wouldn't have the time or energy left to take care of anything in the outer world.

And how our inner worlds really do need us to have some stability and order in our outer worlds!

And this has always been true in a sense. It takes A LOT of inner work grow beyond where you, to grow towards where you want to be. But the impact of the current state of the world, on top of that, has really shifted the balance.

So. Back to me and my heart.

I want to do what you want to do. I am 100% on board.

"That is a relief to know you are on board with my plan. But I sense a but..."

But right now, today, I need the gentlest possible day. Can we remember that we ARE in a peri-menopausal situation where we should be getting our period but instead we are getting anxiety attacks?

"I want to just "deep breath" the anxiety away."

And if you could do that, it would be gone by now. This is not in your head. This is not a small problem. You know damn well peri-menopase is the time when women are the most likely to commit suicide and this is largely driven by how fucking un-supportive the whole world is about what we go through at this time. So it is IMPERATIVE that you be ultra-supportive of yourself.

(Not that I am having suicidal thoughts, my heart is just driving home a point, that this isn't some small inconvenience)

"OK I am hearing that you don't want to do what I had planned to do today. What, exactly, do you want to do today?"

Mediate + maybe nap if you fall asleep. Journal.

Oh wow that reminds me that I put into my journal from this week's journaling kit: What part of you feels too small for your dream? What does this part of you need?

I will work on those prompts. I will LIGHTLY hold onto what I wanted to do today while honouring the actual state of my heart. Take care of myself first, and then see what feels possible.

[Update: YES! After a long meditation thinking about what I want to accomplish with this project, I did start VERY gently and without any pressure did get a bunch of things done]

Our next Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call is tomorrow.

Dream Book members - get the call details here. Everyone else - join us here!

Topic: Drawing out a "dream map" of how you would love marketing to work in your business (continued from our last call where we first made a map)

Dream Book 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.

Being so stuck while needing to get to work. Read More »

I have everything I need to do anything I want

By Andrea Schroeder / February 26, 2024 / daily practice, healing, inner work, journaling

Dream Book

This is the mantra I got in this week’s Dream Book journaling + alchemy kit: I have everything I need to do anything I want

OK wow as I am writing this, I am listening to this song. So perfect! (Success, expanded version, by Beautiful Chorus)

This is another one of the mantras that I believe is usually true.

Often we’re looking at what we wish we had, in terms of supports for our dreams, instead of using what we DO have.

I wrote this mantra in my journal with my weekly business check-in and my list of things I want to do. And it all felt so good when I wrote it. This mantra is such a healing balm for me... and yet...

I had not had a week go this OFF in a while, lol.

Like, none of the things I planned ended up being what happened.

And when I look at my list, and read this mantra, it’s like WTF?

And it feels like… trust the process.

Weekly planning is so good! (Dream Book members check out the: Creative Genius Planning Sessions and Dream Plan Kit)

AND forcing ourselves to follow through on every plan is not good.

So some weeks turn out like this.

I think it’s important to notice - are there particular tasks that ALWAYS end up undone? What’s going on there? (Take it into the Un-Sticking Station to explore it.)

But if once in a while your whole list is just a disaster? Maybe just accept that this is a part of the process? And ask:

Am I sure these are the right tasks?

Where/why am I resisting doing these things?

What would help make it easier to get this stuff done next week?

Dream Book 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 have everything I need to do anything I want Read More »

I am a healer, visionary + witch

By Andrea Schroeder / February 22, 2024 / daily practice, journaling

And if you are reading this - you are too.

Do you know how many people read what I write can’t make any sense it?

You get it because you are a visionary, healer + witch too.

I want to acknowledge how powerful it is that you keep showing up.

The path to a dream is LONG. And you are doing it!

I share my daily steps here, sometimes I go in circles, sometimes I am stuck, sometimes I have brilliant insights, sometimes it’s incredibly boring, sometimes just really weird.

And we all know - this is what it’s like.

But somehow we all have the idea that… it’s easier for other people and it should be easier for us. The path should be linear. Every step we take should make sense. We should be more productive and cheerful. We should be moving faster.

None of that is true.

You’re still here.

You are doing amazing.

I’m cheering for you.

If you need help figuring out your next steps - let me know! Tell me what’s going on and I can suggests tools + classes from Dream Book to work with. Or if you’re not in Dream Book, join us here!

Dream Book 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 a healer, visionary + witch Read More »

Dreams do fall apart sometimes. That doesn’t mean you were wrong to pursue them.

By Andrea Schroeder / February 21, 2024 / daily practice, healing, journaling

I keep noticing this about my divorce - I am frustrated with myself for marrying the “wrong” person.

I’m asking - how did it feel so RIGHT to marry him when obviously it was a big mistake? Why didn’t I know better?

And these are all such un-helpful questions.

But underneath them is this big raging fear that I’ve been needing to sit with:

Can I trust the way I make decisions?

Because it DID feel SO RIGHT to marry him and this is where that led me so… do I stop doing things that feel SO RIGHT out of fear that everything will blow up in my face?

Now - all FEELINGS and REACTIONS to feeling are VALID and all but they are not TRUE.

And while I’ve been sitting with this feeling because it keeps coming back to me I know that actually I didn’t do anything wrong.

A lot of traumatic things happened to my partner before and while we were together. And his increasing reliance on alcohol to cope with that trauma changed him dramatically and altered what kind of relationship was possible.

None of that is on me.

AND just because it did all blow up in my face, does that mean I shouldn’t have done it?

Is it a GOAL or a DREAM of mine to never have things go wrong?

Because YIKES! The kind of control you need to try to exert over the universe to avert all disaster is not appealing to me at all.

So.

If I am listening to my own truth, accepting that things happened the way they happened is the only way.

AND

This is hard.

This isn’t just about my divorce.

I’ve worked with SO MANY PEOPLE who followed their dreams and it made a huge mess in their lives.

This does happen. It IS a thing.

There is risk in following a dream! Not because dreams are inherently risky, but because our culture doesn't support us in being our true selves. Our culture rewards conformity, the people who conform the most AND have the most intersections of privilege are going to be the safest.

Following a dream is a risk and doesn’t always pay off.

I mean there is lots to be said about how failure is inevitable, it teaches us and helps us along the path, and we need to normalize the idea that things WILL fall apart and we WILL create something new from the ashes.

But most people feel alone in this, because no one is talking about it.

Everyone is out there sharing little quotes about healing and courage and following your dreams and no one is sharing quotes about being in the mess that’s left when it all blows up in your face.

But this is a part of it.

Nothing is forever. Relationships. Businesses. Careers. Our health and our lives!

So, these questions that are coming up for me about CAN I TRUST THE WAY I MAKE DECISIONS? CAN I TRUST MY DREAMS? are not actually questions, they are fears.

Totally valid things to feel.

I am sifting through a LOT of different conflicting feelings right now. And I want to validate and FEEL them all… but not let them make decisions for me.

Your dreams may blow up in our face and make a huge mess in your life and this does not mean that you did anything wrong.

Shit happens!

You are a creative genius and you can make magic out whatever life throws your way.

Dream Book Resources:

When your dream falls apart

Two processes for working with disappointment + the whole inner work library

Dream Book 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.

Dreams do fall apart sometimes. That doesn’t mean you were wrong to pursue them. Read More »

I woke up with a new dream

By Andrea Schroeder / February 20, 2024 / daily practice, healing, journaling

I woke up this morning feeling AMAZING. Suddenly I had a dream: getting a little camper van and going on trips with Bear. (This is brand new, there is lots of research to do, maybe a camper van or an RV or a trailer, I don’t know!)

Writing and making art and having little adventures. Traveling AND being at home!! (Or, a tinier version of home)

It felt sooooo goooooood. Magical and light, setting of little sparks in my heart.

Dreaming is a function of healing. Just like healing is a function of dreaming.

I’ve been in another really hard part of my divorce process.

Since our separation I’ve been grieving the dreams and plans I had for my future with him, and how so many of them don’t feel right or seem possible on my own or with someone else.

And I haven’t had anything to replace any of that with.

And I haven’t WANTED to have anything to replace any of that with because taking the time to be with the loss and be in the unknown is vital for healing and healing is vital for creating a better future.

So, waking up with a brand new dream that feels so warm and light in my heart is really everything.

It’s bittersweet because it’s a reminder of what I lost and all the ways my former partner let me down.

But it’s mostly a bright light showing me that my best life is still ahead of me.

Having a THING I REALLY REALLY WANT feels so good!!!! YAY CREATIVE DREAMS!

That’s the end of this post, but… I am writing so much right now, so I wanted to share something I had written previously that I hadn’t shared:

The dreams I was working towards have died. The life I was planning with my husband is over.

So what now?

I don’t know.

When we first split up, I instantly dreamed of a healing cocoon and did what I could to turn this transitional time into that.

And now, I’m stepping out of the healing cocoon and it’s a shock out here. I don’t know where to go. I don’t know what’s next.

It’s not like me to not know what I want, so that feels disorienting. But I don’t want to rush and pick something. I want to really dig in here and explore what feels possible now.

So I’m going to set up an art picnic, right here where I am.

Make some art. Figure it out.

Some prompts:

What do I wish for?

What am I dissatisfied with?

What do I want more of?

What do I want less of?

What are the little things that bring me joy?

And some Dream Book resources:

Dream Finder Coaching Circle

The Biggest Dream

Dream Book 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 woke up with a new dream Read More »

I trust my magic

By Andrea Schroeder / February 19, 2024 / daily practice, healing, inner work, journaling

I trust my magic

This is the mantra I got in this week’s Dream Book journaling + alchemy kit: I trust my magic.

HOLY CRAP this is exactly the mantra I needed.

I've also been using "I am a powerful witch"

This keeps coming up on our calls lately and I am feeling it in my practice - the need to dig in deeper to the Dream Work, to help counteract how hard Inner Work and Outer Work are right now.

I've been journaling more lately, and one thing I am doing is just writing out all the things I want, like affirmations. "I am now open to receive...." "I feel powerful enough to ...." "I know I am ready to..." things like that.

Throughout the day I remind myself… I trust my magic. I am a powerful witch.

It’s helping.

We do need to remind ourselves of who the fuck we ARE sometimes.

As I keep sharing on our calls - all the ways that dominant culture fail us has been on my mind a lot.

Not that I want to sit around pointing fingers and not taking responsibility for my own life, but because I see the impacts every day, on all of us.

As I connect with my new dreams for the second half of my life, I have this growing feeling about how we all deserve better.

Life is sacred. It’s a gift.

Our culture degrades this gift in the name of greed.

None of this is new.

But it all feels more urgent to me.

I TRUST MY MAGIC has been helping me NOT feel helpless in the face of the state of the world, and instead look for ways to be a part of the future I want.

Dream Book 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 trust my magic Read More »

It IS harder now.

By Andrea Schroeder / February 15, 2024 / daily practice, feel your feelings, healing, inner work, Manifest Your Dream Life

This keeps coming up with the people I work with - how HARD things are right now.

How it IS harder to stay in the kind of positive mindset you need to make things happen.

How it IS harder to rally and keep going on the long path to a dream.

How it IS harder to pay bills with the costs soaring! And how that stress impacts everything.

How it’s natural to have resistance to our dreams, how we will ALWAYS have inner work to do, and how breaking through the fog and getting into creative slow is harder now.

And how just “trying harder” or whatever - isn’t cutting it.

So I planned a series of calls to help us find our way through:

Today’s call is about Exploring Resistance + Creative Flow. (If you can't make it live, the replay will be on that page a few hours after we're done)

I’ve been working on this pretty intensely this year, and have lots of ideas to share, but when we meditate and journal together on any topic - magic happens! So I am excited to see what we discover together.

March 12 we’re doing Taking The Inner Work Deeper.

This is because most times the way to make a dream happen FASTER or BIGGER is to go DEEPER with the inner work of if.

And we all resist the things we want to resist, and then try to validate our resistance, which makes this complicated. So we’ll work on it together.

April 9 We’re doing Letting Your Dream Come To You Instead Of Chasing After It.

This one was a request from a Dream Book member (you can always let me know what kinds of topics you want to explore on these calls!) and I think is also a really important piece of how to stay positive and dreaming in these hard times.

Because sometimes when things are hard, WE get hard. We try to be more dedicated or hardworking and forget to lean into our inner magnetism and ability to draw things to us.

Not that we can just sit around and wait for the dream to manifest, there IS work for us to do since WE are the dream’s guardian on this plane, so we need to do all sorts of physical stuff to make space for it. But there is a balance we need there, to not go into CHASING and HARD WORKING our way into a dream.

And the more we are doing the Dream Work practices like this, the easier the inner work and outer work are!

Then on May 15 we’re doing Creating Self Care Protocols to Support Yourself in Being The Version of You Who Can Do Your Dream.

This is the one I am most looking forward to. Next-level self care.

All the practical physical stuff AND all the magical stuff and DELIGHTING in giving ourselves everything we need to be our absolute “best” selves - best being however you want to define it. Happy, creating, trusting your self, trusting your dreams, building your future.

These calls will all start with alchemy meditations and journaling prompts for exploring the topic and then rich discussions, sharing of ideas, and working through all the stuff that comes up.

I know times are hard!

And I know we are stronger together.

So I hope you join us for these.

(If you're not a member of Dream Book, find out more + join here)

Dream Book 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.

It IS harder now. Read More »