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.

I what want to fight against the societal expectations that come with this time of year.

Well, not ?fight? exactly. I want to subvert them with peaceful creativity, delight and magic.

As a Highly Sensitive Person, the holidays have always been a little fraught for me. There’s a lot of good stuff in there, but some harder stuff, too. There’s stress and overwhelm and the heavy weight of expectations hanging in the air.

It’s just too easy to get caught up in the madness of it all and wind up feeling totally depleted.

As I’ve become more creative, awake and powerful in my life, I’ve started to see what happens at the end of the year through a new lens, and I’m not happy with what I see.

Dreams are the first victim of depletion.

You hunker down, do only what is necessary to get through it, and leave your dreams for sometime when you have more time, more energy, more money. Some imaginary future when things are brighter.

 

Except dreams and the inner work that your dreams demand of you can actually help cure depletion.

 

So – you’ve been pushed into a state of depletion and then you abandon the very things that could help you get filled up again. This is how most of us greet the new year. Is it any wonder it’s so hard to keep your New Year’s Resolutions?

 

There is no space for possibility in this pattern.

So, let’s change the pattern.

This year I am committing to ending the year filled up, fueled up and ready for a fresh and fabulous 2015.

This year, I want to feel calm and sparkly and present to enjoy the gifts of the season.

This year I want to have solid, clear boundaries for staying out of overwhelm, over-doing-it-ness and depletion.

I’m pulling out some of my best stuff to make this happen, and I’ll be sharing it in The Peaceful Happy Holiday Season class, inside the Creative Dream Circle.

The Mandala Class is in full swing inside the Creative Dream Circle.

This is what one participant had to say about what she’s learning in the class:

Before the mandala class began I was having a pretty stressed out time, lots of anxiety from external events and sick parents overseas.? I’m also painting walls and a dozen other things that we people have to do, walk the dog, laundry, make dinner.

Well fluke or not, i think I’ve been a lot calmer this week, less restless, less overwhelmed, irritable, less panicky, less a mess.? I also made a couple of quick decisions that would normally take forever for me to decide.

Mandala’s are pretty relaxing, mostly they seem to have this quality about them that puts you in a calming zone, even if you were as mad as heck before you began one.

A couple of times, doing non-mandala related things, I had to stop myself and be quiet for a moment because I realized that my mind was not obsessing or worrying, which is rare for me.? At least that is what seems to be happening.

I love this.

I love how quickly the students are going beyond the drawing to find the real gifts and magic in the practice.? These delightful little drawings change lives!

It’s not too late to join us 🙂

The Mandala class contains twenty-one videos where I share everything I know about creating a wildly fulfilling mandala practice.

You won’t get overwhelmed because each video contains ONE idea.? And then you go play with that idea, then come back to the next video.

PLUS you get to be inspired by all the students who have been posting their photos and stories.? And I’m there to offer support and answer questions along the way.

The Mandala Class is only available inside the Creative Dream Circle (so you also get all of my other classes and helpful tools for intuitive development, fear-shrinking, doubt-dissolving and dream-growing).

Click here to join us today.

What it is:

A deep-dive energy healing of your relationship with power. With creative play and glitter markers.

Why Power?

POWER is the thing that animates all soul qualities. Think: Creativity. Authenticity. Abundance. Freedom. It brings them to life, in your life.

So the more personal power you can access, the more gorgeousness you can create in your world and in the world around you.

This makes power the fuel that brings all dreams to life.

What you’ll get from the class:

• At least one major epiphany about where your relationship with power needs some work
• Loads of totally do-able ideas for what to do about it.
• You’ll feel more connected to your inner power source as you activate your inner SUPERPOWERS.

How it works:

We meet on the phone for a 90 minute audio class, which is actually a group healing, with crayons and glitter pens.

Then your Superpowers Guided Journal & Mandala Colouring Book will lead you deeper into the process and be there as a power-charger whenever you need it. You?ll fill it with insights, inspiration and your own very special recipe for how to power up YOUR power source.

The audio class is happening LIVE on October 24 at 1pm (Central, North America ? click here to see this in your time zone).

The class will be recorded, so you can play along in your own time, as many times as you like.

The Superpowers Journal Class is only available inside the Creative Dream Circle.

This class will not be available for sale on its own as this is the third in a series of Creative Journal Classes (Love Your Life and The Magic Journal are the other two).

Love Your Life is an emotional healing process that calls love, delight and joy into your life. This gives you a studier foundation for working with magic in The Magic Journal, which is where you work on deep alignment with your inner gifts.

The Superpower Journal class activates and deepens everything you learn in the other two classes, and supports you in the process of standing tall as the Creative Superhero that you know you are.

Click here to read all about the Circle and join us today.

I had a meeting with the essence (aka heart and soul) of POWER as I was getting ready for my next Creative Journal Class: The Superpower Journal.

I’ll post more details about the class soon but right now I’m having a hard time writing about it.? Power is so vital to being successful as a creative person and it’s also the place where most creatives get all tangled up.

I want to be sensitive about how scary it can feel to fully own your power.? And I don’t want to dilute what I want to say about how important it is that you do make friends with power.

So I’m meeting with power to explore how I want to talk about it.

Power is showing up right now as a cape.? It’s got a big heart on the back, with an eye in the center of it.? And beams radiate out from the heart.

This is what the superpower cape wants you to know:

It is safe to put me on.

Our culture has so many messed up ideas of what power is and how to work with it.? As a result a lot of us, especially the soulful-creative types, tend to shy away from power.

This is a big problem!

You ARE powerful.? Shying away from the truth of who you are distorts your energy.? It’s not healthy for you.

You ARE powerful.? You are here with a purpose.

You need your power to bring your purpose to life.

That’s what power does: it animates dreams.

Power is how you activate your soul qualities.

Power is your friend!? Power will make you happier.? It will help you be more YOU.

And yet, we shy away from it.

A culture where misuse of power has become an epidemic have left us mistrusting power.? Which actually doesn’t make sense.

Pretend you live in a culture where people misusing their beds has become an epidemic.? Every night, people get down on the floor and and roll under their beds and sleep under there – with no pillows or blankets.

Let’s say that one day you discover the true way to use a bed – to sleep on it comfy and cozy with pillows and blankets.

Are you going to shy away from your comfy cozy bed just because other people are using their beds wrong?

When it comes to power, the fact that so many misunderstand and misuse it makes it all the more important that those of us who are awake and sensitive and creative stand strong and tall in our power. We can serve as caretakers, ushering in a new way of living consciously, creatively and powerfully.

Power animates dreams and authenticity and creativity and all good things.

When you want to be more creative in your life what you really need is to be more powerful in your life.

When you want to be more authentic in your life what you really need is to be more powerful in your life.

When you want to be more free in your life what you really need is to be more powerful in your life.

Power is how you bring the qualities of your soul to life.

Power is magic!? Power is a force of healing!

I can’t wait to dive deep into this in The Superpower Journal Creative Journal Class, happening Oct 23 in the Creative Dream Circle.

In this class I’m sharing EVERYTHING I know about creating a wildly fulfilling mandala practice.

My uber-popular How To Draw Mandalas tutorial inspired tens of thousands of people all over the world to start drawing mandalas!? It?s a fast and easy way to experience the magic of creative practice and how it helps you access your inner superpowers.

In this Mandala class we?ll take it further as you develop your own unique (and ADORABLE!) mandala style:

• Go beyond the basic colour wheel to create colour combinations that make your heart sing.
• Explore elements and principles of design to expand your repertoire, build creative confidence and develop your unique creative voice.

But of course we won’t stop there.? Your Mandalas will also be wildly enlightening.

This is the part that is really important to me: Knowing how to receive (and understand!) the message behind your mandala and how it can help bring you whatever it is you need right now: healing, comfort, insights or brilliant flashes of inspiration.

This past weekend I was feeling kind of down.

I decided to let my sadness draw a Mandala (a process I teach in The Mandala Class).? This was:

• to understand why I was feeling the way I was
• to figure out how to give the sad part of me what she needed
• to be more present with how I was feeling (because I was really tempted to just try to drown it in popcorn and Netflix)

This Mandala was every bit as healing as any of the amazing healers I’ve been to.

Drawing the Mandala radically shifted my energy.? I went to bed shortly after and woke up the next day feeling amazing.

This is the transformative power of Mandalas.

They help with emotional healing.? They help with intuitive development.? They help you make your dreams REAL.

And they ALWAYS help in ways that are in tune with your creative soul.? Mandalas give THE BEST advice.

So this is what I want for you: to experience this deep down magic.

And that is why The Mandala Class happens inside my Creative Dream Circle.? It draws on the deep tools already there, for healing, transformation and intuitive development.

Healing, Transformation and Intuitive Development are BIG THINGS.

They take time and commitment and the right kind of support.

The Creative Dream Circle is specially designed to be that kind of support.

So The Mandala Class is less a drawing class and more a doorway to possibility.? I poured a lot of love into this class and can’t wait to share it with you.

Read all about The Mandala Class right here.

Sign up for The Mandala Class by joining the Creative Dream Circle right here.

The Magic of Mandalas Blog Hop is a radically inspiring sharing circle, with artists from around the globe sharing the stories behind their process of creating mandalas.

Our mission: To inspire you to see new possibilities for your own creative practice.

What is a Mandala?

For more info on Mandalas and how to create them, check out my How To Draw Mandalas (and why you want to) tutorial, which is the most popular page on my website., inspiring thousands of new people every month to start their own mandala practice.

Creating Mandalas is a way of playing with creativity and intuition and potential and accessing more of the magic within.

Mandala drawing is a big part of my staying-connected-to-my-inner-magic toolkit and so I am teaching a whole class about it, picking up where the simple tutorial ends and showing you, step-by-step, how to create mandalas that you can fall in love with and use them to access your intuitive wisdom and bring your dreams to life.

Today I’m throwing a blog hop to celebrate the magic of mandalas.

There is no “one right way” to do mandalas!? I love all mandalas and mandala-makers so I invited a whole bunch of my favourites to play with me today, to share the magic of mandalas.

I asked each artist to share a few photos and say whatever they wanted to say about their mandala-making process.

My hope is that this inspires you to discover what kind of magic YOU can find in developing your own unique mandala practice.

Wheeeeee! Mandala party! Let’s do this:

Jamie Ridler: Learning How To Draw A Mandala

Lisa Hofmann: My Year of Mandalas

Heather Plett: Making Mandalas

Effy Wild: Mandalas As A Meditative Practice

Sue O’Kieffe: Ya Gotta Have Heart

Samie Harding: Merry Mandala Magic

Hali Karla: The Magic of Mandalas

This week I recorded TWENTY ONE videos for this class:

Hooo boy I am excited to share this one with you!? A few lines from the class description page:

My uber-popular How To Draw Mandalas tutorial inspired tens of thousands of people all over the world to start drawing mandalas.? It?s a fast and easy way to experience the magic of creative practice and how it helps you access your inner superpowers.

In this Mandala class we?ll take it further as you develop your own unique (and ADORABLE!) mandala style:

• Go beyond the basic colour wheel to create colour combinations that make your heart sing.
• Explore elements and principles of design to expand your repertoire, build creative confidence and develop your unique creative voice.

But it?s not all about looks.? Your mandalas will also be wildly enlightening.

You?ll learn how to receive (and understand!) the message behind your mandala and how it can help bring you whatever it is you need right now: healing, comfort, insights or brilliant flashes of inspiration.

You know how amazing it is when you get just the right message at just the right time and the feeling is so electric the little hairs on your arms stand up?

I get that feeling ALL THE TIME from drawing mandalas and that?s exactly what I want to share with you in this class.

In The Mandala Class, I’m sharing EVERYTHING I know about creating a wildly fulfilling mandala practice.? Check it out here.

Late 2013 I got the inspiration to offer my classes differently, to drop the price dramatically of my Creative Dream Circle and to offer all members ALL of my classes for one low price.? (Before that, my Creative Dream Incubator e-course alone cost $147)

This included a fair amount of unknowns.

I had a plan to add new classes regularly for all of 2014 but… a plan is not a promise. People were joining and were going to get “everything I made for the rest of the year” without being 100% sure what that would be.

But here we are, looking towards the end of 2014. I’ve spent this year adding new classes, guided journals and resources to the Creative Dream Circle, making it worth more every month.

So, with all the new classes in there, at this point the $100/year price FEELS wrong.

Doing things that feel wrong is NOT how dreams are born.

Your feelings always know the right way to go. Your discomfort is your intuition speaking to you and if you listen you’ll discover the next step towards your dream.

So I am listening to my feelings and raising the price.

At $147 for a whole year of magic, overflowing with courses and resources, the Creative Dream Circle is still the most generous offering I’ve seen out there.

I imagine, as I keep adding cool new stuff, the price will start to feel off again and I’ll adjust it again. Nothing else in the world stays the same, why should my prices?

But the biggest reason is this: this means the world to me.

I believe in the power of YOUR dreams to change the world.

I believe in the power the Circle to empower you to bring those dreams to life – with less second-guessing yourself and not knowing what to DO and getting stuck and taking detours and procrastination and self-sabotage.? The Circle works.

This is so important to me, to provide a space where people can ACCELERATE the path to creating a life that feels true to them, that inspires them and makes them happy every day.

There’s nothing else out there that works so deeply to bring your creative self, your spiritual self and your emotional self together, which makes it so much easier for your physical self to walk that path.

So I need to make sure I can take care of this space.?

As the cost of everything goes up over time, I need to make sure the Creative Dream Circle is bringing in enough money so it can have what it needs – the behind the scenes tools and supports that keep everything running smoothly.

The $100/year subscription does need to increase so that I can keep taking care of the Circle well into the future so that the Circle can keep taking care of the members well into the future.

Imagine what would change if you felt wildly empowered and perfectly supported in bringing your biggest dreams to life.

It doesn’t just mean you have your dream, it means you feel confident and empowered and inspired and WILDLY CREATIVELY ALIVE.

I want to live in a world that is full of people who are WILDLY CREATIVELY ALIVE.? Who are pursuing interesting things and making a difference in the world.

I believe that this is how we CHANGE the world – one inspired, awake being at a time.

I believe that this is what I’m here to do, and I’m committed to doing my best job.? This includes doing what I need to do to take care of the business end of things which includes this price increase.

The price is going up on August 9, that’s this Saturday.

So Friday, TOMORROW, is the last day to sign up at the $100/year price.

You’ll get everything that’s already in the Circle, plus the classes I’m adding this fall and winter (The Mandala Class, The Superhero Journal Creative Journal Class and The Peaceful Happy Holiday Season) … plus whatever I add next year.

When you join at the $100/year rate – you KEEP that $100/year rate for as long as you choose to remain a member.

Want to join? Click here for the details.

Last week I did a free creative journal class about tapping into your inner magic and I’ve been getting requests to re-share the inspiring + helpful flashcards I made for the class, which illustrate the secret to finding the magic, so here they are.

When you REALLY understand what makes you trip and what makes you fly – it becomes a lot easier to trip less, fly higher, and get to where you want to be.? The flashcards show the basics of how this works:

Being in your magic = showing up as your ACTUAL SELF.

You are infinitely creative, gifted + capable of creating anything you want to create in your life.? ?Remembering that this is your ACTUAL self is deeply liberating.

When you align with false stories about yourself and the world, untrue ideas about what is possible for you, limiting beliefs, fears + doubts – you disconnect from your power to act and create what you want in your world.

(hint: ANY story, thought or idea that says you can’t have what you REALLY want is not true)

When you align with your inner magic (aka inner self or inner truth) you have immense power to create in your world.

But you can’t do the work of aligning with your inner magic if you’re not sure what your inner magic is. So that was step 1 which I covered in last week’s class (you can watch the whole thing for free, right here), getting to know more about your unique flavour of magic and what it needs.

Step 2 is wayyyy more fun, it’s about ALIGNING with your inner magic.

That alignment is what we’ll be creating The Magic Journal Creative Journal Class, which starts TODAY.

The Magic Journal Creative Journal Class is a rich and transformative tele-class (basically a group healing, with glitter pens) plus you get a 37 page Guided Journal and Colouring Book with insightful prompts, powerful energy alchemy processes and healing mandalas for you to activate (ie: colour!).

It’s all specially designed to help you use your creativity to align with and activate your inner magic to move into a space where ANYTHING is possible.

You’re going to LOVE it!

The Magic Journal Creative Journal Class is happening inside the Creative Dream Circle:

Click here to read more and join us today.

PS:? The cost of the Creative Dream Circle is going up this weekend.? Click here to read more.

We are stronger together.

This is the first thing that came to me as I was planning today’s free creative journaling class in my creative journal.

Gathering in this way creates a CIRCLE of ENHANCED POSSIBILITY.

We create space together that enables each of us to dig deeper within ourselves for our answers, our power and our magic.

The class is happening live right here.? Yes, there will be a replay available at that same place right after we’re done.

Looking forward to making magic with you,

Tomorrow I’m teaching a TREASURE MAPPING class inside the Creative Dream Circle, which is one of my favourite things to do.

Treasure Mapping is like vision boards – on steroids. ?Instead of just visualizing the vision, you map out the path that leads to it from a place of deep connection to your inner wisdom and superpowers.

I started teaching this process in my in-person workshops about six years ago.? Then I turned it into a digital kit in 2010, and in 2013 it evolved into a live-on-the-phone class.

After all these years of doing this you might think I don’t have to do much to prep for the class, but that’s not true.

The thing that always blows people away about my classes is how they access new parts of themselves in the class.? Like they FEEL more powerful or more intuitive or more creative or more sure of themselves.

And they always want to know how I do it.? The process of how to teach life-changing classes is maybe different from what you think.? This is how I do it:

By being SUPER PRESENT.

Bandwidth is a real thing.

I have a limited bandwidth so when I’m getting ready to teach I have to be extra-aware of what I’ve got going on.? I don’t want to get to class day and have my bandwidth be all used up with other stuff.

Everything I’m thinking about is taking up energetic bandwidth.? AND everything I’m thinking about impacts the quality of energy I’ve got.

If I’m stressed and frazzled then that’s what I’m bringing to my students when class starts.? That energy creates a barrier to them being able to receive what it is I want to share with them.

All this to say: I’m spending the day PLAYING.

Today I’m in deep self-care mode, so that I can bring great energy to the class so that I can be super present with the people who show up to play with me.? (And the people who listen to the recording afterwards can also feel that energy)

Since people are joining the Creative Dream Circle today in order to be a part of tomorrow’s class, I am checking my email every few hours to help them get settled into the Circle.? But other than that: PLAY.

Filling the well all the way up so that I can give from a place of fullness and abundance.

Cycling to the park. Drawing mandalas. Bubble bath. Pouring all the good vibes into tomorrow’s class.

When you’re teaching anything transformative, you’re teaching more from who you are than from what you know.? So it’s important to show up as your best self.

Of course – shit happens.? You’re not going to be able to be 100% “on” 100% of the time when you’re teaching.

I take two approaches to do my best to be as on as I can be: daily practice and the pre-class top-ups.? Having two approaches gives me a sturdier foundation, so if either one slips for some reason, I’ve got back-up.

So I’m doing my daily practice every day – creative journaling, meditation, mandalas, drawing maps, etc.? Then I schedule “extreme self-care” time before classes as the top-up.

Of course, when I’m teaching something new there are more elements to add to the process.? I’m not just creating the material, I spend a lot of time attuning to it – journaling and meditation and marinating in whatever it is I want to share, trying to connect with it as deeply as I possibly can so that I can share from a place of depth (students really can FEEL that in the class).

That’s why, as I shared in my video last week, I have been playing with the Treasure-Mapping process lately.

No matter what you teach, your students will feel the quality of the presence you bring to the class.

Your love for what you’re doing.? The time and energy and attention you paid to setting up the class.? The many years you spent mastering your gifts.? How passionate you are about sharing your gifts.

This creates an energy-atmosphere that allows them to really receive the benefits of what you offer.

Treasure Mapping is a creative way to play your way into clarity about what to do next with your dream, without waiting for the answer to somehow magically come to you.? You?ll learn how to access deep and true intuitive wisdom right when you need it.

I use this process all the freaking time.? It?s what helped me build my creative business and quit my day job, buy my dream loft, travel around the world and live a happy and fulfilling life.

It?s simple. It?s fun. And it works.

When you tap into your genius and sketch out a visual MAP to bring your dreams to life ? miracles happen.? Everything becomes clearer. Support shows up. You begin taking confident steps into your dreams. You can SEE them, on paper ? taking shape, before your eyes.

The 2014 Treasure-Mapping Class is happening on July 10 at 1pm (Central, North America).

Here?s what you get in the Treasure Mapping class:

• 90 minutes of live on-the-phone focused Creative Treasure-Mapping: creative play, alchemy, magic-making and miracle-summoning.? You can attend live or use the recordings. Either way, it will be awesome.

• Playbooks to support your Treasure-Mapping Process. There are no ?Three Easy Steps To Making The Magic Happen? that I can give you, but I can offer a ton of support for cultivating the conditions that let the magic IN. There are processes that are helpful. There are gentle tools for dismantling resistance. And all of this can be done in a spirit of delight, play and wild creative abandon. This is what the playbooks will cover.

• Treasure-Mapping classroom inside the Creative Dream Circle website.? A place to share your stories and insights, get answers to your questions and be inspired by what everyone else is doing with this amazing process.

All you need is:?

• Journal plus whatever art supplies you want to play with (all you really need is a pen, but if you want to get more creative you can ? whatever floats your boat!).
• Computer or smart phone with internet access to download materials.
• Phone with a long distance plan (you?ll be calling a US number), or you can play with the recordings afterwards.
• 90 minutes for your crazy-magic treasure-mapping adventure.
• Optional: more creative playtime afterwards for exploring and expanding your map

Link arms with your Dream, and map out your own path.

This class is happening in the Creative Dream Circle – click here to read more & join today.

TREASURE MAPPING (!) is one of my most popular classes and we’re doing it again live-on-the-phone, on July 10.

If you sometimes struggle with knowing what to do next, to make your dream real – you will FALL IN LOVE with this process.

I use it all the freaking time.? It?s what helped me build my creative business and quit my day job, buy my dream loft, travel around the world and live a happy and fulfilling life.

It?s simple. It works.? And it?s fun.

Read all about it here:

https://www.creativedreamincubator.com/treasure-map/