Yesterday I made a very long video for the Creative Dream Circle titled: Creating safe space to work through the HARD when you’re completely freaking out.
That video title says a lot about how my week is going.
Monday morning I had to travel out of town to a funeral and my car wouldn’t start. Then things went downhill from there.
This is what I know for sure about hard times:
Hard times contain bright gifts
It’s when you face the things you think you can’t face that you discover how strong you actually are (much stronger than you think)
This is where you learn how to TRUST your magic.
Anyone can think positive when everything is going exactly how they want it to.
A Creative Dreamer sees the magic even when everything is going exactly how you don’t? want it to.
A Creative Dreamer remembers that they always have access to power, purpose, creativity, and spirit.? And trusts that these things are so much bigger than the obstacles and problems and stucks and whatever else that says you can’t do it.
Beautiful thoughts, but easier said than done, right?
Right!
Getting through this week with my optimism and creative spirit intact has taken even single bit of every single thing I’ve learned in 18 years of studying the spiritual art of wish fulfillment.
And I couldn’t do it alone.? I am grateful to have such supportive people in my world.
When I shared the Creating safe space to work through the HARD when you’re completely freaking out VIDEO in the Circle last night, we created that safe space in our forum together, so that it’s there any time we need it.? The space is filled with:
+ permission to be where you are and not have it mean anything about you or your dream or anything
+ acceptance and legitimacy for everything you’re feeling and experiencing
+ trusting your own unique process and timing
+ sovereignty, safety, spaciousness, healing and possibility
+ love, flowing in all directions to all parts of you
When you create containers, practices and spaces to work through the hard, rather than trying to avoid it or just letting it crush your spirit, that’s where you find the magic.
The magic has guided me out of some dark and icky holes this week.
It’s shown me some truths about where I hold myself back and how I might want to look at approaching things differently.
And it’s shown me an entirely new level of DETERMINATION to not compromise in living a life that is true to who I know I am.
And next week when everything isn’t so craptastic (do you hear that next week?? you are going to go easy on me!) I’ll still have all of this DETERMINATION – and it will be supercharged jetfuel for my Creative Dreams.
And I know that the magic is there to guide you, too.
You + Me + Your Dream = Magic. Let?s play together:
I’m writing this from my Creative Zen Tent of Dreams at Creative Magic Headquarters.
Every day, I am soooo glad I moved into the DreamLoft. Having all this open, sunny, sparkly space to play in is the best.? I’ve always wanted an art/play room that is big enough for a tent and now, thanks to the magic of the Creative Dream Incubator, I’ve got it.
Believing In Yourself.
I know you already do believe in yourself.
But, like All Things Creative Dreaming, believing in yourself isn’t something you do once and then you’re done.
It’s a process, there’s always more.
Not always more as in you’re never doing it right and you always have to try harder.
Always more in that there is this continual unfolding and expansion and evolution.? There will always be more but you’re already doing it perfectly.
Believing In Yourself.
It’s like plugging into your superpowers.
Becoming more grounded in your creative magic and your infinite creative potential.
Making you stronger on the inside so you can take bigger steps on the outside.
I think of it like being a tree.? If you want to grow new branches and be taller, you’ve got to put out new roots.
This stabilizes you and makes it possible for you to grow into the fullness of your potential.
This makes it easier to:
Take bigger steps towards your dreams
Dream bigger/deeper/truer – find new possibilities
Deal effectively with your inner (and outer!) critics
Make your dreams real in ways that will look like magic (but are actually the natural consequences of having THAT MUCH faith in yourself and your purpose and your creative potential)
So Believing In Yourself is MAGIC.
We’re going to spend a whole day exploring and playing with this on Monday, December 3 in the Creative Dream Circle. (But all calls will be recorded, if you can’t be there live, plus you’ll get some special work playbooks)
Our mission: to FILL UP on Believing in Ourselves so we enter 2013ready to step more fully into living our dreams.
This sets things up so that all of our Creative Dreaming in 2013 is easier, more fun and more successful because we’ll have big giant creative-dream-tree roots.
Believing in Yourself is beautiful and magic but it’s also really, really hard to do sometimes.? We will address that, with gentleness and creativity and love and magic.?
Please note: The Creative Dream Incubator is the prerequisite for joining the Circle.? If you are a Creative Dreamer, you need an Incubator – it shows you how to get from where you are to where you want to be.
I hope you do join us, this world needs more creative spirits who believe in themselves, their potential, and the beauty of their dreams.
When you don't believe in yourself, every little thing in your way seems like a huge, insurmountable obstacle.
When you do believe in yourself, huge insurmountable obstacles turn into tiny pebbles that you just kick out of your way as you walk merrily along the path to your dream.
Believing in yourself is magic.
But, as you probably already know, getting there is complicated.
That's what this week's Creative Dream TV is all about:
Sweetie, you are enough, exactly as you are right here right now.
And your dreams are enough, exactly as they are right here right now.
And, the surprising secret: Settling into a place of already being enough actually helps you to bring bigger dreams to life (like magic!).
That's what this week's Creative Dream TV is all about.
Watch it now:
As I shared in the video, when we had our magical series of ENOUGHNESS tele-classes last weekend in the Creative Dream Circle, we had a lot of resistance to this idea (at first).
It can seem like settling into enoughness means you'll be settling in your life...and yet when you really explore enoughness and let it in actually the opposite happens.
I’m doing my superfantastic Monday Morning Creative Genius Planning session (creating space for all of the things I want to happen this week).
This is usually my favourite part of the week.
But today I’m feeling all tangled up.
I’m realising, more and more, how important transparency is to me.
And how hard it is to hide something!? Like, it takes a lot of energy to keep a thing hidden.? Energy that could better be used elsewhere.
There is something I have not been sharing and somehow the not-sharing is starting to take up too much space.
So here’s the whole story:
Almost a year ago, I started an advanced practice group, it was called Advanced Creative Badassery.? Because to actually actively bring your dreams to life, you’ve got to be kind of basass.
I didn’t promote this or put it on my blog, I sent out one email about it, to everyone who had taken a class with me.
I wanted to start small.? It was important to me to do a really awesomely good job at creating the container before filling it up.
I didn’t want this to be just another online group.? I wanted to it to be a catalyst for magic and possibility and dreams come true.? So I had to explore and experiment and figure out how to do that, and exploring and experimenting are easier for me to do in a small group.
It’s not that I wanted the group to be secret, it’s that it’s all about the more advanced practices and processes of bringing dreams to life.? It’s not a beginner group, it’s for people who are already working with me or taking classes with me, so I didn’t mention it on the blog.
And I was still in the process of creating the group – exploring and discovering and helping it grow into the just-right-thing.? It didn’t feel right to share it until it felt like it was out of the incubation phase.
And at the end of the incubation process, I ended up closing that group, and creating a totally new group: the Creative Dream Circle.
This is the best thing I’ve ever made.
And there is so much space for it to keep getting better.
So many things I want to add to it as it grows, and as I grow.
I. Love. This. Group.
And it’s become super-uncomfortable-tangly-weird to not talk about it here!? My blog is my public dream-growing dream-living journal.? It’s important to be to be transparent.? To share my true story of what it means to live everything I teach about creative dreaming.
Not having such a big, important part of the story here just feels wrong.
And yet, because it’s such a big thing, because I’ve been working on it for a year already, I felt like I couldn’t just say it.? I had to come up with some kind of beautiful-perfect-celebratory way to share it.
So for the past few weeks I’ve been waiting for that beautiful-perfect-celebratory way to share it to come to me.? And it’s not.
It’s really uncomfortable, to have this beautiful thing I want to share, and to not know how to share it.
There are all of these crazy ideas floating around there…
that your art is somehow more real if you’re not doing it for money, like money taints your process
that spiritual teachings should be given for free or else you’re some kind of scam artist
that creatives just aren’t good at business (and that the only way to get good at it is to use annoying, sleazy marketing and sales strategies)
that profound meaning and high profits can’t play nice together
…I could go on and on but I am getting annoyed.
What is especially insidious about this kind of bullshit is that it is masking the real problem.
All of these ideas point to –> that’s just how life is.
But the real problem is actually in the opposite direction.
All of these ideas keep you focused in the opposite direction of where the actual problem is.? So all of these ideas are also keeping you from ever finding the solution, because you’re looking in the exact wrong direction.
The right direction is, of course, to look inside you. <—
Believing that your art is somehow more real if you’re not doing it for money keeps you from having to explore that inner voice that doubts your worth.
As long as you don’t do *everything you can* to learn how to market yourself and sell your art, you keep yourself safe from ever experiencing the terror and heartbreak of putting yourself all the way out there and being rejected.? (This is the holding pattern that kept me stuck in Starving Artist Land for years, putting myself part of the way out there.)
Believing that your art is somehow more real if you’re not doing it for money also keeps you from ever doing your best work. It keeps you from discovering what your real art even is, because doing your art as your living forces you to find your creative edge.
Same goes for the belief that spiritual teachings get tainted when you charge for them.
For years I taught classes in spirituality and lead meditation groups and healing circles and did spiritual counseling, all for free or for a very low cost.
The work I do now, which is not free, is about 90X more powerful, effective, transformational (and fun!) than the work I was doing then.
Money is an amplifier and an activator.
Unfortunately, too many spiritual creatives are allowing their limiting beliefs to be amplified and activated by money, instead of allowing their purpose, spirit and creativity to be amplified by money.
Results of limiting beliefs being amplified + activated by money:
under-earning
over-working
feeling worn out
feeling resentful that you’re not doing what you want to do
not having the time/energy that your best work needs, because you’re doing other things to bring in the money to pay the bills
Results of purpose, spirit + creativity being amplified + activated by money:
trusting + experiencing that what you need is there when you need it
having the lifestyle that supports you in doing your best work
the indescribably delicious sense of satisfaction that comes from having your whole life be in alignment with your purpose
We need to shift our collective relationship with money.
It’s not about having millions in the bank.
It’s about being truly in alignment with your purpose, spirit and creativity.
When you bring creativity and play into the process – shifting your relationship with money does not have to be hard and painful and difficult.? I can show you exactly how to do this, step-by-step, in the Creative With Money Kit that you get inside the Creative Dream Circle.
In this video I dive into a question I received from Louise, a lovely portrait artist who has:
lost all confidence in her artwork
has a belief that she can't shake off that she can't support herself with her dream
And so she feels frozen and unsure about how to move forward with her dreams.
We've all felt this way.
We've all felt like we can't have what we really want, like we don't deserve it and it will just never happen.
Learning how to deal with this stuff is your Most Important Work, when it comes to bringing your dreams to life.
Watch it now:
This video is from 2012. The kit I mentioned is the Transform your Inner Critics, Fears and Doubts Kit.
Now (in 2014) this kit has been transformed into the Un-Sticking Station, which you get inside the Creative Dream Circle. It helps you transform ANY block you find on the path to your dream. I know that sounds crazy but it absolutely works. You have the power to shift this stuff, you just need the right tools.Click here to join the Circle today.
I also mentioned the "Top Posts For When Things Suck", here they are :
The reason why you think you're not getting started is not (usually) the real reason. Understanding why it's so hard to get started helps you find a way around the obstacle.
Eight months ago I received a letter about my pension plan at my former job.? More of a package than a letter, with a ton of stuff to read through and a decision to make about what to do with my pension money now that I am no longer contributing to the pension plan.
I looked at it at the time and it started to wake up too many inner critics and fear goblins so I noted that there was no deadline on it – and just filed it away.
And in the eight months since – every time I thought about dealing with it, my inner critics and fear goblins got so riled up I just put it aside again.
They had a lot of stories about how complicated and time consuming and stressful and annoying it would all be.
About how I’d probably have to go down to their office and explain my situation to someone.
Which is the Absolute Last Thing I want to do.
Can you see it?
“Hello, Pension Planner Person.? I quit my solid good paying nice job to play with glitter and sell magic on the internet. And no, I don’t want to stay in this pension plan.? I have magic on my side!”
So, yeah, lots of things to avoid and not want to deal with there.
Because I was believing the story that my inner critic was telling me.
About how I don’t fit in and no one will understand me.
And how my financial decisions are ridiculous.
Etc, etc, etc.
So I stayed away from the whole thing and over time, as the past eight months went by, the stories became more and more real.
And finally this week I decided to make it a priority and do whatever I had to do to get this settled.? I did remember somewhere there that some money was going to come to me when I sorted this out.? And the money would be handy right now as move into my Dream Loft.
So I quieted my inner critic and opened up the package and this time read it in detail.
Oh.
Not what I expected AT ALL.
Basically, I can take my money out whenever I want or I can leave it in and draw a pension when I retire.? That part is all cool.? I don’t have to make any life-long decisions right now.
And there’s some extra money, money that is not a part of the plan and is actually mine and needs to come back to me at some point.
So the reason why they wanted a response from me is just to send me money.
Money that would more than pay for the really super cute appliances I’ve been thinking about getting for my new place.
It took 5 minutes.? All I had to do was fill in the form and send it back.
And now I wait for my cheque while deciding which colour I want for my cute new fridge.
Inner Critics are sneaky and make things seem more complicated than they really are
They hold us back in ways that are so hidden we can’t even see that we are being held back.
Things look so hard but really they aren’t.
All these things you think you can’t do – you can do them.
You just have to stop believing the stories your inner critic is telling you.? And then all sorts of things become possible.
And then, you can take it a step further by getting your inner critic on your side.? And then the real magic can start.
Every Monday morning I take my business out for coffee with this Creative Genius Planning Session tool that I made.
This tool has served me well.? Very well.
It means for the rest of the week I can just dive into what feels most inspiring in the moment.
Everything keeps flowing towards more of what I want and love because I have this Genius Plan.
But this Monday Morning was different.
This morning I was really short on energy.? I had one post-yoga bubble of sunshiny energy and then it just kind of faded away.? And by the time I got to the coffee shop for my Monday Morning Creative Genius Planning Session I needed a Very Large Latte just to get started.
This morning I’m in a low energy kind of space.? And it feels like I need some quiet time.
And the intuitive messages I am getting from my business are that it needs some space.? To just be.
But I have this thing I’m working on.
This thing I am totally excited about and inspired about.
This Thing I Want To Share With You, Like, Right Now.
I’m not good at holding things in.? Or waiting.? When I’m inspired – I leap.
So here I am at my Monday Morning Creative Genius Planning Session:
Inspired and wanting to leap
Also tired and wanting to rest.
This is a pretty common thing for me.
There is a part of me that is pretty much always excited about something and wanting to move forward with it.
There is a part of me that pays attention to and honours the natural cycle of life and wants to rest when it’s time to rest, play when it’s time to play and work when it’s time to work.
So here is what happened when these two parts collided this morning:
(MWR = me who rests.? MWLA = me who leaps ahead)
MWLA: I’m going to put this sparkly new exciting thing out there next week, so this week we have to do all of these things to get it ready.? Plus, of course, we want to re-write all of week four for the Creative Journal Magic e-Course.
MWR: Agreed on week four for the Creative Journal Magic e-Course.? Not a re-write but edit and make a lot of changes.? That’s really the only focus for this week.? That other thing – that has to wait.? Working on that now is not in keeping with the energy of where we’re all at this week.
MWLA: But I want to do it!
MWR: We all want to do it!? How about we do it one week later though?
MWLA: A WHOLE WEEK?? YOU WANT ME TO WAIT A WHOLE WEEK?? ARRRRRGGGGHHH? NOOOOO!
MWR: What is really so bad about waiting?
MWLA: I hate waiting.? I hate resting.? I want to DO.? I made this amazing thing!? I want to share it!? OMG LET ME SHARE IT!!!!!
MWR: Yes but what about sharing it one week later?? What would actually happen if you waited one week?
MWLA: I’d have to rest this week.
MWR: And?
MWLA: Oh.? I guess I want to leap ahead because it’s more comfortable than slowing down and being present with what is.? Mmmmmmmmm.? Something here scares me.? And if I slow down it’s bound to catch up with me.
MWR: What do you think that could be?
MWLA: The usual stuff.? What if everything falls apart.? What if people don’t like me.? Blah blah blah.? I’m kind of tired of all that bullshit and I’d like to just carry on.
MWR: See, I think carrying on kind of magnifies everything.? Ignoring fears does not transform them.? It leaves them there, beneath the surface, where they can grow and wreak havoc.
MWLA: I know you’re right but I wish you weren’t.
MWR: Remember what happened earlier this month?
MWLA: Deliberately stopping and being with all of that annoying bullshit actually propelled us forward, closer into what we want.? I thought that was a one time thing, I didn’t agree to doing that all the time.
MWR: Not all the time. Only when it’s needed.
MWLA:? Arrrgh!? Do you know how annoying you are?? Only when it’s needed?? Who decides?
MWR: I think you can feel it too, that it is needed.? If it wasn’t you’d have the energy you need to go ahead and do what you want to do.? Also what about trusting in divine timing?? When has anything good ever come out of pushing ahead and doing things on your own terms instead of being in the flow?
MWLA: It could happen one of these times!? If I stop pushing.? OMG.? If I stop pushing and leaping ahead WE WILL STAGNATE.
MWR: So resting = stagnation?
MWLA: I guess not always.? But too much resting is definite stagnation.
MWR: Do you really think we are anywhere near stagnation?
MWLA: It’s just that I have all of these dreams and things I want and how will I ever get them all by resting?
MWR: How will you ever enjoy them all by not resting?
MWLA: You are so annoying!
MWR: I understand how important your creative dreams are to you.? They’re important for me too.
MWLA: We’re on the same page?? We want the same thing??? I always forget that part.? I always think you are like the grown up trying to keep me doing “The Right Thing” and keep me from having fun.
MWR: No. I don’t want to keep you from having fun.? And I don’t want to make you do stuff you don’t want to do.? But I do want to slow down and challenge your assumptions about constantly leaping ahead.? I want to be more rooted in purpose in a broader sense than you sometimes see.? We simply cannot always leap ahead just like we cannot always rest.? I have no interest in staying in the same place.? I have on interest in not making all of our dreams real.
MWLA: It’s like I’m the motor and you’re the steering wheel.
MWR: Yes!? I appreciate how your energy and enthusiasm propels us forward when that’s the right thing to do.
MWLA: And I appreciate how you’re looking out for the bigger picture and guiding us along.? We are doing amazing.? I’m sorry I make it so hard for you.? I’m just SO EXCITED, you know?
MWR: I do know.? And I’m excited too.
So it looks like I’m going to move slower than I want to this week.
It’s 11am.? Usually Monday mornings are full of action here in the Creative Magic Art Room.? But this Monday morning – all I can think about is taking a nap.
So there you are. Cruising along the path to your creative dream.
It's not all unicorns and rainbows, there are tough times and challenges but overall it's pretty great.
But then it happens.
Someone zips right past you!
They zip right past you and they get to the prize.
The book deal or the solo show at the really hard-to-get-into gallery or they have a shiny new e-course or they were featured on Etsy or whatever.
They got IT and you didn't. And now you're jealous.
And it feels like crap.
And it becomes so easy to start thinking...
it's so easy for her
everything is just handed to her
it's not fair
It becomes easy to start comparing. To start freaking out.
To start wondering if you really are good enough to make this happen.
And if you are good enough, why is it happening for other people but not for you?
Ouch.
Jealousy can let loose a massive tidal wave of energy and "stuff".
And when you're in it, it's anything but pleasant.
But it's also pretty unavoidable.
Hello! There are billions of us on this planet. Others are bound to have what you want.
Just like you are bound to have things that other people want.
Jealousy is actually a super useful tool for Creative Dreaming, if you're willing to be with it.
That's the rub, there.
Being willing to be with it.
Jealousy, like any other feeling, has a lot to teach us, if we are willing to learn.
Jealousy can show you what you want.
Sometimes jealousy can be a great big surprise.
Sometimes you didn't even know you wanted something until you saw someone else get it.
Sometimes you kinda knew, but were keeping it a buried just beneath the surface. Until so-and-so got it.
And now it's not so beneath the surface anymore
It's right up in your face that you want this thing that someone else just got.
This is good because the odds of you getting what you want raise dramatically when you are willing to admit you want it.
But looking deeper than that... jealousy can steer you towards where your own stuff is getting in the way of your success.
This is the part where it gets Really Uncomfortable: Journaling Prompts for Overcoming Jealousy
When you start really exploring it, your jealousy shines a light on your limiting beliefs. The places where you hold yourself back.
To start really exploring it, ask yourself:
Who are you jealous of? Why?
How does it feel?
What does it say about you?
And by ask yourself I mean really ask yourself. Spend some time with them and the answers and the feelings they spark.
Who are you jealous of? Why? Of course this shows you more about what you really want.
How does it feel? What does that say about you? Now this is where it starts to get interesting.
I'm jealous of so-and-so because she just got such-and-such and it makes me feel like I am never going to get it for myself.
I'm jealous of so-and-so because she just got such-and-such and now there is less for me.
I'm jealous of so-and-so because she just got such-and-such and now if I get it people will think I am copying her.
I'm jealous of so-and-so because she just got such-and-such and it makes me feel like I must be stupid and hopeless because I haven't figured out how to get it yet.
I'm jealous of so-and-so because she just got such-and-such so she must be better at it than I am.
The way the jealousy makes you feel shows you something about where you are stuck.
If you think someone else getting what you want makes it less likely that you will ever get it - this is showing you that you hold a belief in lack. There isn't enough to go around. Working on shifting this belief will help you be less stuck with your dreams.
If you think someone else getting what you want is a sign that you are stupid or hopeless or anything - this is showing you that you don't really believe that you are good enough. Working on shifting this belief will help you be less stuck with your dreams.
You may or may not be aware of these beliefs, they may be sub-conscious or not - doesn't really matter. Jealousy is bringing them to light.You see them now. One you see them, they are ready to be healed and shifted into beliefs that are going to nurture and support you.
Whatever it is, it is holding you back.
Invisibly and beneath the surface, jealousy trips you up and keeps you from shining your brightest light.
And it only pops up above the surface when it gets stirred up by something like jealousy.
So having it be up here on the surface where you can see it is actually a huge gift.
Because you can learn about it and change it and heal it and when you do, you open up more space inside you for your creative genius.
I'd love to SHOW YOU how this works.
I did a free healing circle and inner work workshop where I lead you through the process of working with your fear.
