The hard parts are hitting especially hard right now [Dream Status Report]

I am doing my Dream Status Report for this week to check in with myself and my dreams and what I need and what my dreams need, for the coming week.

Doing this, consistently over time, IS MAGIC.... AND... Consistency is hard for most of us these days! So - I try to do this on Sundays, and write about it, to remind you to also take a few minutes to check in with yourself and your dreams.

*this practice works well with the Weekly Planning Sheet and Creative Genius Planning Sessions. If you want more progress and momentum with your dreams, you likely need to plan differently!

I've never cried while leading a meditation before.

But our New Moon Intention Setting ritual on Thursday felt intense.

Well, it wasn't the meditation itself, it was the stuff that I was SEEING. As I looked back over this last month I saw how anxiety and insecurity had been creeping in, bit by bit, and I hadn't noticed how present they were.

But the big one was: when I could clearly visualize and get into the feeling of what I want to be doing... being deep in my creative flow... it hit me how easy this used to be compared to how hard it is now.

When the world was simpler, when my life was simpler... going DEEP into my creative flow was also simpler.

And seeing/feeling that comparison just brought up so much grief. I've tried to write about it, both yesterday and Friday, and couldn't quite find the words.

I did talk about it on the call, and then the first person to share on the call started by saying she was glad I mentioned that I started to cry during the meditation, because she had been crying through the whole thing. She had a lot to grieve as well.

There was also a but of discussion around - Should I share this? Do other people want to hear? Am I taking up too much space? 

The thing about creative dreaming in community... it brings up a LOT of stuff. We're all going to be in different places with it.

This can feel awkward, like when one person is in tears because their dream is falling apart and the next person to share wants to celebrate a big win.

But that's also the beauty of it. How we hold space for ALL OF IT TOGETHER.

This is the STUFF OF CREATIVE DREAMING.

That's from the YOU ARE THE MAGIC guided journal. You can get the free version here, if you're reading this in an email the link is at the top of your email, if you're in the membership it's here.

We do tend to celebrate some parts while cursing other parts, but all parts are part of the process.

So when we have a call where some people are in the dumps and others are celebrating big wins, I think this helps us better understand the whole process.

Because the biggest enemy to dreams is giving up or deciding to "wait for the right time". The only way to make progress is to keep showing up even in the mess because that mess is 100% a part of it. How you face the mess IS the fuel for the alchemy.

It's all connected.

So when we think "Oh I shouldn't celebrate my win because this person is crying about how her dream just fell apart" or "I shouldn't cry about how scary and stressful this all is right now because I will bring down the vibe for everyone" we are forgetting how connected it is. Which we all do! All the time! And I am always trying to remember.

This IS what a lot of coaching/healing/wellness/spirituality culture has done to us.

I've been in a lot of spaces where people were subtly shamed and blamed for their "failures" to manifest while other people were held up as role models and celebrated for their success... without the slightest acknowledgment of how some people have it harder than others. Without offering real + helpful support for the people who were struggling. Just this idea that if you are not manifesting using the tools we teach - you are failing. No willingness to look at how to alter those tools to work better for everyone...

So it's important to me to not create that vibe in the Creative Dream Incubator! And there is such a RICHNESS that comes from witnessing the hard parts of people's process along with the celebrations. Sometimes I grieve for everything I missed out on from being in those spaces for so long.

The hard parts are hitting especially hard right now.

And this makes sense with everything happening in the world.

So, as I sit here, trying to do my Dream Status Report, I am acknowledging that I am creative dreaming a goddamned dystopia and could I maybe go easy on myself for the ways that the stress of these times is impacting me?

Could I stop judging myself for how hard it is to be DEEP in the creative flow in the ways I want to be, and instead congratulate myself that I keep trying?

Those questions feel like a weight lifted.

And they remind me that holding onto our dreams, holding onto our ability to IMAGINE A BETTER FUTURE, is one of the skills we NEED to get through these times.