creative entrepreneur

Being so stuck while needing to get to work.

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)

Come dream with us

 

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 »

Today I am celebrating my 13th anniversary with the Creative Dream Incubator. 

My biggest dream was always to be creatively self employed in a way that felt TRUE, in alignment with my values and my soul. The Creative Dream Incubator has been that dream come true for the last thirteen years and I’m grateful for it every day.

I’ve been reflecting on the last 13 years and a lot of my reflections become rants about how the industry has changed.

But actually it’s me that’s changed.

Our dreams are sacred. They come from the part of us who wants to help us heal and grow.

So, following your dreams will heal you and grow you. Which will change you.

And I have changed.

It's fascinating to me how we always think we know how we'll change as we heal and grow - but then we surprise ourselves. So I am surprising myself.

I keep writing, deleting and re-writing this post.

There are so many different things I could say about this and I have no clue which of those things I want to say.

I think back to myself 13 years ago making this choice and feel so much gratitude for my younger self. All of her determination, courage and hard work have made my life so much better. I do cry thinking about it.

✨Thirteen years in, I believe this more than ever: Our dreams are our most sacred selves showing us the way✨

There is a mystery to creative dreaming. And as I grow with this work, I become more open to that mystery.

And I am thrilled to keep doing this work this year.

If you're not in Dream Book - join us here.

Come dream with us

 

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.

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.

Today I am celebrating my 13th anniversary with the Creative Dream Incubator.  Read More »

When where you are is not where you want to be [which is what all creative dreaming is]

Last week's Dream Status Report brought me the following focus: BE where you ARE while appreciating the new possibilities that are opening up"

Two things about that:

  1. This is what ALL creative dreaming is! Staying present in your current life WHILE building the path to what's next. Sometimes this is easier, sometimes this is harder.
  2. When doing meditation + journaling, especially in a dedicated Creative Dream Practice, it becomes easier to find the answers you need. Knowing the answer and ACTING ON IT are two really different things.

So here I am figuring out how to do this thing.

On top of the things I have shared about what's happening in my life, another big thing happened which I do not want to share. I'll just say it adds a layer of stress and complication to a stressful and complicated situation.

OF COURSE the more turbulent your life is, the harder it is to stay present in it, especially at the depth of emotional presence needed to do creative dreaming. And OF COURSE this means that this stuff is wayyyy easier for some people that others. The more intersections of privilege you have, the easier it is.

I am where I am. How do I want to do this this week?

Starting with meditation: Sitting With Uncomfortable Feelings (using that technique from the 1 hour class we did)

And then whoa...

I don't need to figure out how to focus on what I want, because those feelings are there too. Underneath the feelings I don't don't want to feel - which means I can't access them if I am avoiding my feelings - are my dreams and desires.

The big dreams are still there but there is a new more immediate dream:

Healing Fall and Healing Winter.

Two seasons of focusing inward, creativity, healing, space, rest, quiet. Acclimating to my new life.

Collecting ideas for things I want to do when spring comes.

Every book I have read about divorce says it's at least 1-2 years to "feel normal" again (NOT that "feeling normal" is a goal for me, lol) and I accept that this will be a long process. So I don't mean I'll be HEALED by spring, and of course when spring comes I may decide I want healing spring and healing summer too as far as that goes.

Just that right now I want to focus on these next two seasons as healing time, which just makes me thing/feel different about this time.

And it leads to one important thing:

MORE CREATIVE PROJECTS. Art journaling but also embroidery, painting, just... MAKE STUFF. Would be good to brainstorm some projects, and get materials. Like I know I want to do embroidery but, what? Get patterns and colours picked, get all the threads I need, so I am ready to go.

I am really inspired by this sweatshirt pattern which includes instructions for appliquéing whatever you want on the sweatshirt - like instead of sports teams that are usually there. How fun would it be to put affirmations or qualities you are working on on a sweatshirt? Slow the fuck down! Powerful, Creative, Magnetic.

I want that ALIVENESS and HEALING of really being in my creative flow. I have so many work projects I want to do, and I want SO MANY personal projects also ready to go.

OK so now I how HOW to "be where I am and appreciate the new possibilities that are opening up". Make more space for creative projects including having plans + materials ready to go.

Come dream with us
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.

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.

Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - in these posts I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are only available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.

When where you are is not where you want to be [which is what all creative dreaming is] Read More »

Creative Dreaming while your world is falling apart

I woke up thinking about Creative Dreaming While Your World Is Falling Apart. This is the title of a guided journal I am imagining writing, and maybe I will one day.

Because I've been sharing my daily posts and maybe it seems like I am going on like nothing has happened, but I'm definitely not doing that.

Separation is emotionally volatile and I want to FEEL my feelings and process them and move THROUGH all of this, and not be stuck in it. AND I don't want my whole life to be this.

So - I focus on what I want to focus on when I am at my best. Mornings are my best time, I am SUCH a morning person. So I wake up, meditate, journal, get exercise, do my Dream Work, do my work work, work on creative projects.

Some days all of that inspires and energizes me and I stay pretty upbeat all day. BUT I am more tired than usual, my body is achy, I get overwhelmed more easily - there are all the signs of grief.

Some days I wear out my energy for the day early on.

So - after focusing on what I want to focus on first thing, then I focus on self care. What do I need? More water, nutrient dense foods, time with friends, time alone, journaling, feeling my feelings, hot epsom salt baths, lots of reading of things that feel helpful, stretching, re-arranging the Dream Loft - it does feel good to spread out.

It feels like a way of creating bubbles in my life that hold space for things. Holding space for my dreams and needs and creative projects while also holding space for grief and the process of separation. Of course the bubbles collide sometimes, but most of the time, this feels good - there is space for everything and over time, my new life will grow out of the separation process. This is easier to trust when I am showing up consistently for the dream work.

Come dream with us
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.

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.

Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - in these posts I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are only available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.

Creative Dreaming while your world is falling apart Read More »

Meeting with the soul of my business

Today in my practice I am meeting with the soul of my business. I'm doing this as my daily practice right now as I get into "fall vibes" and am getting more focused on finishing the guided journal project, which also leads to a ton of other projects. And yes I need more money because of the divorce but I feel really calm and trusting about that part.

I am doing this as a daily practice to get more aligned with the soul of the Creative Dream Incubator to help me make the right decision because there are So Many Decisions to make about this project.

In my last post, the soul of my business asked me to make pro and con lists about a big decision, and those lists ended up being SO easy and SO helpful.

I decided: DO THE EASY THING RIGHT NOW.

I remembered: no one step is written in stone! I can do it the easy (I mean not easy but easiest) thing now and switch up to the other thing at any time.

So today what I want is: good vibes, for lack of a better term. I am doing creative work on the project (editing, which means editing artwork mostly, and sometimes re-drawing the journaling prompts if I can see a way to do it better). I want to be in the flow, loving what I am doing, and getting things done.

In the meeting with the soul of my business:

OMG so good!

The soul of my business appears with the boxes as it has been, but now it's a female figure and has wings and she steps out of the boxes and is just huge. She says "We are going to have some fun!"

My body starts to sway, I am really feeling this energy of being in the flow. I ask my questions about how to approach this project today and see the soul of the project: a campfire, but magic. It offers WARMTH for your creative dream process and WARMTH can be sometime different each time.

I stayed in the meditation a while, it all just felt so good.

And now I know what to do today.

 

Come dream with us
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.

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.

Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - in these posts I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are only available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.

Meeting with the soul of my business Read More »

Meeting with the soul of my business

Today in my practice I am meeting with the soul of my business.

Last week this was so good and it felt like a thing I need to do more regularly. I LOVE this recording, the first part of the meditation is soooo healing. I remember doing it that way because of all the stuff that gets sparked in working with our businesses, and it feels soooo good to use it.

It's similar to last week, a bunch of boxes piled together that are alive - like a box robot.

But it's bigger. The boxes are less chaotic.

It doesn't take a genius to see the boxes are representing the actual boxes in my home with my husband's things packed in them. And he's been picking up a car load every day after work and the pile is becoming less chaotic and I have more and more space. (By the time I post this the boxes will be gone and his furniture moved and I'll be in the process of making it "feel like mine" again)

The soul of my business - I am focusing on the head at the top of the boxes - is warm and loving and welcoming. It's happy to see me.

You are giving me space to grow, with regular visits like this.

Good! This is what I want. Not growth for growth's sake, but right-sizing.

I'm actually deeper and more expansive than you think. The growth I am speaking of is not just in one direction. Like it's not just about more followers or more money.

OK that's reassuring. It felt a little off to think you are focused on growing, because that is so toxic to have growth as the only goal. It's why the air has been smoky here for weeks and my lungs and throat hurt.

Right, so it's more "I am becoming more alive". Your visits nurture me in good ways.

These visits nurture me in good ways too. I have been experimenting creatively and exploring SO MUCH these last few years. My struggles with peri-menopause, looking at ancestral trauma and the ways capitalist culture impacts my "work ethic" and distorts my relationship with my own needs and really - who do I want to be while the world falls apart? This has been such important work for me. I appreciate the space you gave me to do all of this - actually I feel NURTURED by my business not just financially but in all ways. The ways I show up for Dream Book HELPS ME FIRST. I am so grateful to have this.

I've been growing in that time too. My potential has been expanding and deepening. And everything is getting more creative and free.

Creative and free. I love it. So my questions, about this journal, you know what I am thinking, right? Should "creative and free" be the qualities we follow to answer the questions? Because one option feels this way and one does not. BUT the one that does not - is it easier? Would it make more money? Do these things matter?

Now the robot has hands too, not just a head on a stack of boxes. It, though it feels like a she now, she raises her hands to shrug like "I don't know"

Is this a case where it's like - it doesn't matter which way I go?

It's not that it doesn't matter. It's just that it impacts YOU more than ME.

OK that's weird, isn't it though? Because I thought it would impact you - like I am building a path to a new future here, aren't I?

Yup, that happens either way. None of these decisions are FOREVER babe!!!!

So I can do what is easiest right now. OR I can do what feels most creative and free right now.

Yup! This is one for YOU to journal about. Make a pro and con list of each of them. In your imagination, really put yourself into each situation and see which way feels best. This is still a very early step in this new path, there's LOADS of time to re-configure as we go. It's more important that we DO SOMETHING than that we DO THE RIGHT THING. (Which you know, you tell this to people all the time)

OK will do!

Come dream with us
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.

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.

Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - in these posts I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are only available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.

Meeting with the soul of my business Read More »

Meeting with the soul of my business

Today in my practice I am meeting with the soul of my business.

It’s fall! I’ve had so much going on in my life the last few weeks. Today I want to get back in there and get organized and…

I am not sure what to focus on.

So I want a meeting with the soul of my business to check in with everything and see what comes from that - hopefully a clear sense of where I should focus for the fall.

I wasn’t going to use the recording I was just going to wing it. I am so glad I DID use the recording!

I laid down on the floor and got into it and it felt really powerful.

The soul of my business is.. box like. Lots of boxes. Stacked. Unfolding. Opening. But glowing. Alive.

I want to say, a robot made of boxes?

I sit with it, stop trying to understand it and just be with it, and it’s like “I am unpacking and unfolding and stretching out to be my actual size”

The qualities of it are: power, magic, trust, divine creativity, growth, right-sizing

I feel comforted in it’s presence, like I can trust it. I feel honoured that it works with me, I also feel totally competent to partner with it. And like it understand my humanness and how business is not always my focus and of course that’s how it is. It’s the soul of my business’ job to be always focused on the business.

So, I guess I was feeling guilty, like I have been working IN the business but not connecting with it in this way, not looking at bigger picture stuff. But that feels ok now.

Onto the meeting:

As you know, I want to get focused! I have some ideas of how to do this, I think you know what they are? Can you read my mind?

Yes, you want to finish the Creative Dream Playbook and then look at the visioning kit and maybe new year kit, get those done before December.

Yeah, hearing it back from you it feels boring somehow. But I wanted to make some real progress on this guided journal thing, there are so many journals I want to make!

It’s not boring, these journals are good for the purpose of the business too - loads of people will never take a class with you but would use journals, we can help them in this way. But I get how it feels boring coming from me because this is not my work, it’s your work. Your work is sometimes kind of mundane, doing the physical stuff. My work is all energy.

Ummmm are we working together well? I just realized, maybe we’re not? I mean all the planets are in retrograde this is time to review relationships, right?

We could be working better together. You have had a lot of other things on your mind and also you’ve slipped a bit into that “I have to do this all by myself” thing and when you’re in that thing, I can only do what I can do. The way you felt in the meditation, that’s partnering with me. More of that would be good.

So if I was partnering with you, what would that look like?

A daily meeting to acclimate our energies - mostly to acclimate you to me, so that your actions (you are the only one who can do the physical work!) are coming more from my energy.

OK whoa.

I mean yes that’s what I teach with Dream Book and the Dream Lab but WHOA I just heard it in a new way.

 

Come dream with us
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.

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.

Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - in these posts I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are only available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.

Meeting with the soul of my business Read More »

I have what I wanted

Last November I did a Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call as an experiment, to share some ideas. It went so well we've been doing it as a monthly call ever since. (These calls are in the Dream Book membership)

What I wanted from marketing at that time was to FEEL a certain way about how I am putting myself out there.

But I could not articulate how, exactly, I wanted to feel - just that I wanted it all to feel different and this vague sense of how I wanted it to be. It's so awkward to know you want to feel different about a thing but not be able to put your finger on how you want to feel!

But, indoing the calls every month... Practicing in between calls. Experimenting. Processing. Exploring. Staying with it even when there are no answers in sight....

I feel like I have it now.

It feels sustainable and open and COHESIVE. Like I am offering work inside and outside of Dream Book and it's all a cohesive whole.

The thing that's changed this is, of course, the Monday Co-Dreaming calls. They feel like the right way for me to invite people into the world of the Creative Dream Incubator.

And I am SO grateful for the people who are showing up because it’s not the same without them! It feels MAGICAL and I do want to keep doing them.

It feels like such a beautiful way to open the door for anyone who is interested in my work. Or to include people who can’t afford the money or the time commitment for the full program, so they can still have some ongoing support for navigating the path.

The only part that feels annoying sometimes is promoting the calls.

So guess what - when it feels annoying I just don’t do it!!!!

I am releasing that idea that feels like it got hammered into my head from the online business classes I took that we need to “do all the things” to “make the most” of everything.

Sometimes it’s felt fun to create promotional content and put it out there, and in those times I did it.

Other times I just didn’t have the energy, so I didn’t do it.

No rules here!

I don’t want to do any UGH. This feels revolutionary.

And it’s not like I ever wrote my emails and marketing content FEELING UGH.

I would feel UGH and remind myself of the WHY and then work through my feelings to get to a place of feeling like - yeah that is worth doing - and then do it.

But now instead of all that I’m just - not.

THIS FEELS SO MUCH MORE SUSTAINABLE because I am doing it at my own human pace instead of doing everything at the pace of “how the online business people said it should be done”.

I do want to say though:

It DOES take a lot of promoting even to get people to participate in a free thing online.

There is so much out there now, it's hard to get people's attention, even if they're already following you. So - when I do feel inspired to create content around promoting these calls, I do it!

On Friday I was thinking about how much fun I am having with these calls, and ended up making a bunch of artwork for them, so now I have that all made and can post it whenever I want to share something, instead of having to figure out in the moment what to share.

The other thing I changed is I am now sharing my daily posts on my blog which felt ALL KINDS OF AWKWARD.

I mean each layer of "awkward feelings" that I worked through opened up a new layer of "awkward feelings" and it felt like it would go on like that forever but I think I found the bottom - now it all feels good.

I don’t really promote the blog posts either - I don’t send them to my email list or even post on Facebook most of the time. When there’s a really interesting post that I FEEL like I want to share, I share that.

Sometimes I read the post on video and post it on Instagram. I am enjoying that.

But most often - I just put it on my blog for the people who choose to go and read it. Not putting all that effort into putting it in front of people like I used to.

This feels like - if someone feels called to explore my work, it’s all there for them to see. Not locked away but  also not shining every spotlight on it that I can.

IT FEELS SO GOOD.

I am consistent about putting things out there into my tiny ecosystem. I’m not consistent about how I put it put it into the larger social media/email/internet ecosystems and that’s ok!

WILL THIS MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS THE OLD WAYS?

I don’t know!

I do know the “old” internet marketing ways I learned in 2009 onward don’t really apply to the way the internet works now. I could keep doing them but they don’t make the money they used to, they don’t get attention like they used to.

And the “new ways” I see people doing - no fucking way am I going there. And also - it feels like these are starting to crumble too. Every week on Facebook a new "big name" is being talked about for unethical and illegal behaviour.

I don't want to be a part of any of that. I just want to do my work.

So I am trusting this because it feels right. This feels like ENOUGH so I am trusting that.

And I’d have to keep doing this until the end of the year at least to get a sense of how it “works” in terms of money.

BUT 

All these months of Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice have really shifted my perspective on how I define if a thing “works”.

DOES IT FEEL GOOD FOR ME

DOES IT RESONATE WITH THE PEOPLE THAT THE WORK IS FOR

These two things feel so much more important than:

HOW MUCH MONEY DOES IT MAKE

Because money is NOT the only factor.

I mean, money was NEVER the only factor for me with my work, but it did feel like the way to define if marketing activities, specifically, "worked".

Though I recognize that we need to make money too! 

This business IS my only livelihood.

But/And I do have lots of long-term members of Dream Book and ongoing one-on-one clients and when I need more money - things tend to happen. I used to do more joint ventures to bring in more money, though that doesn’t feel right anymore. Mostly I trust myself to figure it out.

Underneath that is the thought that actually -  I am taking the energy I would have used on marketing and using it to create hand-drawn guided journals and maybe that will make me more money in the end?

For marketing - I want to feel like I am shining the light of the Creative Dream Incubator, I am creating welcoming spaces for people to come and see what we’re doing and then leaving it to people to decide if they want to join.

I’m not doing any of the persuasive marketing + sales tactics that the internet is full of now so having income goals be attached to marketing feels off. 

Also - I started this business as a single person with no plans to ever be married. I have since gotten married and my husband moved into my condo so we split the bills now. This does make all of this easier. 

Also, I did own a home before I started this business and that helps too for financial stability! I sold it and bought the loft condo which is more expensive to maintain but still I’m leaning on all of the equity I already had in my home. And I sold my car and got a bike 9 years ago - I did this because having a car felt wrong, having a bike feels AMAZING (as does taking lots of long walks in winter when I don’t ride - though if my city ever starts clearing bike paths safely I will!) I didn’t do this for financial reasons but it IS a lot cheaper to maintain a bike than a car!

We do have to consider the facts of our financial situation, which is why I shared that here. I don’t think Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual practice is about bypassing reality. It’s about being where we are and working with what we have - which includes our tremendous gifts AND our actual life circumstances.

Our next Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call is happening August 9 - tomorrow.

But we do these calls every month, and there is a library of calls to work through when you join, if you'd like to explore with us in Dream Book.

Come dream with us
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.

Go the Library of Creative Dream Alchemy to find a practice that fits for where you are or use the Dream Lab which is what I am using for my dream meeting drawings.

Check out the calendar of upcoming calls.

Note: This is a post about my daily practice with my Creative Dreams - in these posts I often link to the tools, courses and processes I use which are only available to Dream Book members. If you're not a member, find out more + join us here.

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Vulnerability: Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice

Our next Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call will be June 8 and the theme will be vulnerability. (These calls happen every month inside Dream Book)

When I first announced this theme, one person asked something like “But can’t we just show up and say hi? Do we really have to get vulnerable in our marketing?” And I realised I needed more of an explanation.

NO you absolutely do not have to “get vulnerable” in your marketing!

But for a lot of us, ANY kind of marketing, ANY kind of visibility FEELS vulnerable. And that discomfort with feeling that vulnerable can keep us from wanting our work to be more visible in the world.

So how do we handle it?

There are actually a lot of things you can do - from the practical to the esoteric, which we will explore on the call on June 8.

Approaching marketing as a creative and spiritual practices gives you space to really explore this, understand your own feelings and needs and get creative about what to do with it all.

I’ve been doing Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice call every month since November. This has helped me shift my inner relationship with marketing.

I’m 2010 when I decided to turn this work, which I had been doing evenings and weekends while working a “real job” lol, into my livelihood, I did take a lot of business classes to help me figure out how to do this.

Most of these were through a spiritual and/or creative lens. So - learning conventional marketing and sales tactics but through a lens of “how do we do this in a way that in in alignment with our values and feels creatively alive?”

But still - starting with a conventional approach to marketing and sales and then making adjustments to make it fit better.

And I won’t pretend like that didn’t help me, of course it did. And I still have my class available - the Creative Business Incubator - where I share how I set up my business in the first year.

But now I’m wondering - what if don’t need to start with that conventional approach to marketing and sales?

What if we start from a place of trusting our gifts? And trusting ourselves with our gifts? And trusting our own creative instincts about how to share those gifts?

That stirs up a lot of stuff. It definitely feels VULNERABLE AF.

Starting from conventional sales and marketing tactics can feel like a bit of a safety net. “Well this works for people so it should work for me”

Except we all know things that used to work don’t work as more anymore.

The market has changed. The economy has changed. The world has changed.

And I don’t believe we should be taking huge risks with our livelihoods. But I also believe that we need to make space to explore this. While things are changing so much - what else could change?

I believe you are a trustworthy steward of your gifts and that a part of HAVING those gifts is HAVING the ability to offer them in a way that they can be received.

AND I believe that this is a skill that takes time to develop. You took time to develop other aspects of your gifts, this one needs time too.

Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual practice asks you to sit with all of this. To listen to your own values about how you put your work out there. To get creative about how to share all of magic that you have to offer.

I’m having such a great time on these calls. I hope to see you at the next one.

(If you join now, you can still get the replays from past calls! I suggest watching at least the first one before attending this class)

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Your voice deserves to be heard

I started blogging and sharing my work online around 2008. I turned that into a full time business in 2010.

It was easier then. There is no question about that.

There were enough people blogging and being on social media that there were opportunities for online business… but not so many people that it was hard to be seen in the crowd.

And the algorithms were just babies then. Not the full grown monsters they are today. I could go on and on about that so I’ll just say that I feel pretty UGH about social media a lot of the time… 

But this is a place where people connect. This is a place where ideas are shared and your ideas deserve to be a part of the conversation.

Your voice deserves to be heard. Your ideas matter. Your work is important. 

If you just stop sharing them in these places… that’s no good. It means these places become even more filled with even more of the inane nonsense that the algorithm likes to uplift.

+++++

I am offering Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual practice as a monthly call for this for all of 2023. Together, we are practicing listening to our deepest inspiration about how to put ourselves out there in a way that serves the soul of our work.

This is available to all members of Dream Book. Join us here. 

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🦄Something changes when you approach a thing as a practice, as opposed to approaching it as a task.

Let’s say I want to create marketing content for my social media.

If I approach it as a task, I’m thinking about the strategy, what I want it to look like and what I want it to say, and I am just trying to meet my goal in the most direct way possible. Create the content.

For many reasons this approach can become boring, overwhelming and/or stressful.

But if I approach it as a PRACTICE, I’m getting into my flow. I’m BEING WITH the soul of my work and exploring all of the ways it wants to shine out via this social media content.

PRACTICE GENERATES FLOW.

Then I am using this flow as the fuel for my creative flow, and start playing with ideas. Colours. Patterns. Images. Writing. Just creating and expressing this light, without trying to corral it into marketing content. This way, my ideas iterate quickly, new ideas emerge, and as I follow all of the rabbit holes my inspiration throws me way, I can see my writing and art improve right in front of my eyes. The first few things I started with feel clunky compared to what I have in the end. This is the magic of practice.

Then, THEN, after I’ve followed that creative flow and have a pile of images and writing, THEN I corral it into marketing content. Take these words and add it to this image and you’ve got a post. Rinse and repeat until you have all of the content you need.

**This is how it works for me, how it works for you can be completely different because when you start with connecting to the soul of your work, and listening to your own inspiration and unique creative voice and give yourself some space to practice your ideas - then you create YOUR way **

And then, because ALL OF THIS is a practice, you put it out there and notice what happens and use that information to help inform your next steps. You bring your questions and your needs into your practice and work them out in there. A practice is a container for new ideas, transformation, creativity + magic.

Doing your marketing YOUR OWN WAY is the only way that actually does service to the soul of your work. I can’t give you a three step system for this, but I am offering Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual practice as a monthly call for this for all of 2023. This is available to all members of Dream Book. Join us here.

🦄Something changes when you approach a thing as a practice, as opposed to approaching it as a task. Read More »

✨ Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice

Think of what you love most about your work.

Think about why you do your work.

Imagine all of this as a ball of light that represents the soul of your work.

How does this ball of light want to shine out into the world?

That is Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual practice.

Connecting with your own inner truth and the soul of your work, and then using your creativity to express and share that in your unique way.

Most marketing approaches focus on tools, strategies and most of all - results.

I believe we need space away from that, to be with our own truth, in order to find our own way. Not that the results aren’t important, but that we can’t start there.

That’s what Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice is all about.

I do have a guided alchemy meditation for this, and lots of thoughts on what it means to develop a practice of writing, exploring, creating + playing to create marketing content that shines that light in a way that it lands right in front of the people that it was meant for.

We do a monthly call where we do the meditation together, and then - talk! We talk about what’s hard about figuring this out and what’s inspiring us and what we’re excited about trying and how things are working. We ask each other questions and share ideas about the tools and strategies we’re trying.

Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual practice started in November 2022 as an experiment, and I’ll be doing a monthly call for this for all of 2023. This is available to all members of Dream Book. Join today and you can binge on all of the call replays.

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Live call tomorrow: Marketing As A Creative And Spiritual Practice

(This is a monthly call that is open to everyone in Dream Book - you can join us here. Once you have your login info, go to the "zoom calls" section of the menu on the website to get the call details. Or shoot me an email and I will send it to you.)

You know that your gifts are needed.

AND YET

It's so easy to be conflicted about offering them. There are SO MANY external and internal things to work through.

And that's why I think making it A PRACTICE is essential. This is NOT a thing we can just "figure out" and then be done.

And I think making it a SPIRITUAL practice is essential because offering your work to the world is a sacred thing. And the relationships you get into with your clients is sacred. So let's honour this truth in ALL aspects of how we practice marketing.

And I think making this a CREATIVE practice is essential because that makes it more engaging and also when you follow inspiration you get in tune with your creative genius, and your creative genius definitely knows how to meet your marketing goals in ways that work with your values AND are fun for you to do.

And when you bring that all together - and practice it - you create your unique way of reaching the people that your work is meant for.

When this idea came to me it felt so important. Like - yes this is a difficult economy to do business in.

AND/BUT/BECAUSE so many of the "things that used to work" aren't working as well - this is the perfect time to drop some of those rules and get more deeply rooted in your own inner knowing and unique ways of doing things.

Marketing is not rocket science. It's about connecting with the people that your work is for. You know how to do this.

Yes, parts of it are UNCOMFORTABLE (though not IMPOSSIBLE). But other parts of it are sooooo satisfying, fun and creative!

I am LOVING these calls and am so excited to see where we all go as we explore this.

This is our second call in this series. In the first call I shared one practice for exploring this and then we had THE BEST discussion about all of it. (I do suggest making time to watch that one if you haven't yet)

In the call tomorrow we'll do that practice together again and then I want to offer 2 ideas: a practice for bringing intention and power to how you put yourself out there and a bit of a challenge to look at how you can practice being more VISIBLE over the next month.

BUT these are YOUR gifts and YOUR WAY is the only best way. So - whatever has been coming up for you as you've been practicing is an important thing to keep exploring.

I'll share a different them, idea, or practice at each call but I'll always encourage everyone to put their own spin on it.

And we'll have loads of time for discussion - that's always the best part!

Hope to see you there!

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Your gifts are needed. Update on Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice.

Artists, healers, helper-people, activists, people with a vision for a better world - YOU ARE NEEDED! NOW!

I am doing Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice calls every month, the fist one was Nov 8 and this is my first update.

These calls are open to everyone who is in Dream Book - join us here.

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Your gifts are needed (Monthly calls on Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual practice)

On Nov 8 we dida Zoom call on Marketing as a Creative and Spiritual Practice.

The replay is now available to all members of Dream Book. It was a beautiful rich discussion and also I shared an alchemy practice for this work you can use to get your practice started. Then we'll meet each month to take the next step with it. I'll share new ideas, and we'll see where our practices take us.

Turning marking into a creative and spiritual practice makes it GENERATIVE and EXPANSIVE. It creates space for you to receive exactly what you need from it.

According to Wikipedia, marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market.

I think of it as shining your light. Or sharing your message. You have gifts! Marketing is how you let people know about them.

We tend to think of marketing as being all about the outer work, but I think it is more about the inner light and how we're choosing to shine/share it.

Marketing as a creative and spiritual practice is...

  • practicing exploring this light
  • practicing TRUSTING your light
  • practicing shining your light
  • practicing all the different ways you you can aim your light and all the different ways you can shine it
  • practicing sitting with all of the questions that come up for you as you do this while bringing your intuitive knowing and creative power to creating the answers

You have gifts. And there are people who need these gifts.

How can you practice showing up in such a way that they can see you?
How can you practice staying grounded and sure when this inevitably gets scary?

This work is SO inherently creative AND spiritual.

Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice on Zoom. Even month inside Dream Book!

I'll keep doing this for the foreseeable future because I believe that all of our gifts are URGENTLY needed out there in the world so let's practice sharing them more brightly.

Join Dream Book here.

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