From my journal: Staying rooted and stable while the world is unstable.
This has been one of my practices lately. It's the one we did together in the Staying Stable In Your Relationship With Money When The World is Unstable call last week. (Replay is available when you join Dream Book - find it in the "Zoom Calls" section)
That was a 90 minute class. In first part we did the practice of creating our own bubble of stability and then the second part we invited money in to work with it there.
By doing this work in the class we created a FELT SENSE in our bodies of having this bubble of space, which makes it easier to conjure that feeling on your own after.
And lately I am just doing that first part - creating that bubble of stability around me and staying there.
From this place I feel so much more creative and free. Like the stresses of the world aren't right up in my face, I have some SPACE for myself.
Having that space gives me the opportunity to figure out how I want to respond, instead of just reacting.
This is so helpful and healing for myself. And also - this is the way we can create a better world.
All those feelings we have in reaction to what is happening in the world - anger, frustration, terror, whatever it is for you - ARE VALID.
AND ALSO
Being reactive with these feelings is not usually helpful.
By sitting with them (validating, processing, expressing) we work through that flurry of sensations and come to a place where it's easier to connect with our truth and then we can ask: How do I want to respond? What do I want to do here? how can I act out of my values?
One of the things that starts to feel SO FREAKING IMPORTANT for me when I do that work is: Your gifts are needed.
EVERYONE'S gifts are needed.
Your books, art, coaching programs, healing modalities, blogs, events - the things you feel inspired to create, the ways you want to share your gifts. THIS IS NEEDED.
So for me, last week's call naturally leads to this week's call:
Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice.
Rooting in to your inner light and exploring how you want to shine/share it.
Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice is:
- practicing exploring this light
- practicing TRUSTING your light
- practicing shining your light and experimenting with all the different ways you can do this
- practicing sitting with all of the questions and feelings 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, and when we make more space for this part of the work, then the outer work all becomes less fraught and more clear.
Marketing as a Creative + Spiritual Practice on Zoom. Tuesday, Nov 8 at 1:00 pm Central (North America)
(Note: we did just have the time change for daylight savings. Use the Creative Dream Incubator Google calendar to double-check what time this is for you)
This is just the first call, it will be a monthly call inside Dream Book 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.
It's totally ok if you can't be there live. Make a plan to watch the replay ASAP and leave your thoughts, comments and questions in the comments under the video.
Hope to see you there. YOUR gifts are needed.
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.
I had a dentist appointment this morning, and on my way there I went out for a chai latte and journaling.
In preparation for our class on Wednesday (Staying Stable In Your Relationship With Money When The World Is Not Stable) I focused on two prompts:
What helps me feel stable? (Which sparked some thoughts about the nature of stability itself)
How do I want to feel about money? (Which also sparked some thoughts about money in general)
Some of the ideas that came to me were surprising.
Like at first, I know I want to feel EXPANSIVE and FREE and CREATIVE and POWERFUL in my relationship with money.
But the longer you sit with a question, the more answers you get, and an answer I got later on felt more true.
I want to feel neutral about money.
Also stability fascinates me the way it’s not a dream of mine… but without all dreams feel impossible. I thought of the forms of stability that I take for granted because they’ve always been there, and all the ways I can call it in for myself. I thought about it on a larger level - how do we help more people in the world be stable enough to dream? Because we do need everyone to dream our way into a better future for all.
As I keep exploring, I’ll probably find more surprises.
I hope you’ll join me for this on Wednesday.
We’ll explore and share together (this work is always so much better in a group) and do some energy alchemy around calling the things we need.
Details and registration are here.
How do I be grounded, stable, empowered, expansive and creative in my relationship with money...
... while the economy and world are so unstable?
This is the big question that keeps coming to me lately.
And as I've been sitting with it I realized I want to share this process with you.
So I'm doing this as a Zoom call, next week.
This past while has felt like an especially weird part of my path.
It’s like being on a long journey through a very dark forest, stopping at occasional waterfalls and meadows full of wildflowers, but mostly being in the forest, unable to see very far ahead, and having nothing but my own heart to let me know I’m moving in the right direction.
And then I stepped out onto a VISTA. Like I can see a whole new world of possibilities from here.
And my dream is like “YES! THIS is what I was trying to get you to see”
The Creative Dream Incubator is so much bigger and more powerful than I knew.
By that I mean the energy being that is the soul of the Creative Dream Incubator.
The Creative Dream Incubator created the Yes There Is Still Time For Your Dreams For 2022 To Come True class a few weeks ago and is still sending it’s encouragement and energetic support to all participants.
(And yes this includes you if you want to join us - you can get the replay right away when you join Dream Book)
The Creative Dream Incubator sees from a much wider and differently-focused perspective. It’s seeing how each of our dreams impact the world, and what the world would look like if we were all following our own hearts and dreams.
And it’s not doing this in an overly simplistic way. It’s talking about a revolution. Following your heart does often mean speaking up and actually fighting against forces of oppression just like it means healing your own trauma responses and taking responsibility for your behaviour.
Some days you’ve got to be a warrior in order to be an artist or healer.
This summer my dream had sent me this message: Slow the fuck down! BE as creative, powerful and magnetic as you ARE. I’ve been trying to listen, I’ve been exploring what this means.
I’ve had layers and layers and layers of things come up to explore around slowing down.
It’s really been an initiation into a whole new relationship with the Creative Dream Incubator which in turn creates a whole new relationship with my own dreams.
I think we’re all in a kind of initiation right now.
This is a time of transformation.
And I want you to know the Creative Dream Incubator is here.
Dream Book is a strong and sturdy container for supporting your process of transformation, healing and creative growth.
Together, our dreams can change the world.
There is lots happening at Creative Dream Headquarters right now:
Celebrating another book launch: I’ll be live on Instagram with Meliors The Holistic Tooth Fairy next Thursday! She’s written a book - The Secret Life Of Teeth. Her work is FASCINATING plus we’re going to talk about her behind-the-scenes process of writing the book and setting up a Kickstarter campaign to publish it. (Details are here - you can join live or catch the replay)
I wrote a blog post: 3 Steps to Stop Procrastinating, Overcome Resistance and Distractions and Actually DO Your Creative Dream. Read it here.
Year of Dreams 2023: The planner for Creative Dreamers is available here! This is a totally customization and magnificently supportive planner - watch the video on this page to see how it all works.
Impossible Project Self-Coaching Journals: This is a self-coaching program will will guide you through the process of actually DOING your “impossible project”.
Also, I am going to be opening up some one-on-one sessions. The work I’ve been doing with my clients lately has been so deep and rich and I want more! Normally these sessions are only available to Dream Book members, but for the rest of the year I want to offer them to anyone, at a lower price ($153 USD). I’ll be getting this ready for next week, let me know if you want to get on the waiting list.
Meet Meliors!
Meliors is The Holistic Tooth Fairy and she's written a book called The Secret Lives of Teeth.
She's launching The Secret Lives of Teeth in a kickstarter campaign, right now!
Meliors and I will be live on Instagram on Oct 27 at 3:00 pm (Central) to talk about The Secret Lives of Teeth and she is going to share some behind-the-scenes of how she used journaling and meditation - including Dream Book and the Impossible Journals with this project.
In August I did the Slow The Fuck Down! BE As Creative, Powerful and Magnetic as you ARE meditation and journaling invitation.
And it sparked A LOT of things.
One of the big things that happened for me is that I got in touch with this.... feeling in my DNA is the only way I have to describe it. Generations and generations and generations of people who worked as hard as they could because that was their only way to live.
It didn't feel like my own feeling, as much as an inheritance. A way of being so deeply engrained in my DNA that I couldn't even see it until my "month of slow the fuck down" brought me into a different perspective with it.
It felt really, really painful. Physically and emotionally. And it didn't feel like my pain, but I stayed with it.
And as I processed it in my own body, my relationship with "work" started to shift.
The unconscious drive to work hard doesn't seem to be there anymore.
I do feel love, excitement and enthusiasm for the new creative projects I want to do. I feel love and joy about tending to Dream Book. I feel AT HOME when I do my art and writing practice.
AND
This place where I had unconscious access to this whole stream of "work hard" seems to be... dried up.
It's like now I need to learn a new way of doing things.
Last week I wrote 3 Steps to Stop Procrastinating, Overcome Resistance and Distractions and Actually DO Your Creative Dream.
And I am noticing how those steps need something different from me right now.
The things that used to work don't work as well now.
I don't want to be fueled in the ways I used to be fueled.
Some days I seem to know how I DO want to be fueled... and some days I don't.
This is how it is.
You don't just magically step into a new way of being the moment you decide you want to.
You need to PRACTICE your dreams.
As often as possible.
PS: Come practice with me in Dream Book. Your future self will thank you.
My husband and I renovated the Dream Loft to add a bedroom downstairs and turn the upstairs into my creative workspace. We're not totally finished, but it feels like a home again, and it feels the way we wanted it to feel.
The big thing I want right now is to DEEPEN and EXPAND my art and writing practice.
And my new workspace feels like the place where this new practice happens.
And I guess a part of me hoped that once I had this dream space, I would just automatically do the things? That there would be no resistance or distractions, just me and my art (my cat Bear!) in this perfect sunny space.
And we would sail off into the rainbow, being effortlessly creative and finishing ALL of our projects.
I mean...
This is actually a Creative Dream Cliche and I totally fell for it.
We think...
Once the kids are in school. Once the kids move out. Once this big project is done. Once we've moved. One I've retired....
We keep expecting to land at this place in our lives where it's easy to do the things we most want to do.
And it's like... we WANT to do the things! We really, really want to.
So why is it so hard?
There are actually a million valid reasons WHY it's hard.
And because it's so hard, we say "once the... then I'll..." because when we believe that we'll do it "once the thing has changed" then we don't have to face the REAL reason why we're not doing it.
And I've been "once the new space is all set up I'll be sooooo productive" for some time. So it's time to get out of it.
Three steps to getting out of your resistance and getting into your creative project:
I always joke on my live classes about how I wish I could offer a three step system. And then I realised, in a sense there IS a three step system, it's just that each step can be... nebulous.
1. Feel your feelings. Yikes, I know. BUT/AND it's the feelings you have about getting to work that are stopping you from getting to work.
There are so many places that are fraught... what if I do really well, like REALLY well, like what if this idea is as genius as I think it is and everyone around me gets jealous? Or what if this idea is NOT as genius as I think it is and what if it's a huge flop? What if I can't get it to turn out the way I am imagining it? What if I put all of my money into making this and end up on the streets? What if no one understands this new direction I want to take with my work and it destroys my career? I mean, I could go on forever with examples of things people bring to our Dream Book calls. The "what ifs" that come from starting a new creative project are vulnerable and brutal.
But. Yes. Feel your feelings. Get to know what's happening beneath the surface. Write, paint, draw, dance, scream... explore how these feelings want to be expressed and express them.
Find out what the part of you who is MOST SCARED OF DOING THIS needs from you as you DO THIS. This is a part of the Inner Work that ALL dreams need (yes I can help you with this in Dream Book).
2. Connect with your WHY. Connecting with this is MAGIC. Remembering WHY you want to do this, feeling enthusiastic and excited and inspired helps you get into the flow.
You have parts of you who are afraid about doing this. You have parts of you who are SO READY to do this. You don't need to obliterate the frightened parts, just care for them so they're not freaking out, and then put a more brave part of you in charge of your creative project.
3. Figure out what will help you do the thing you want to do and then figure out how to get that.
Is it just that it's SUPER SUPER HARD to do this alone? Do you need more support (like joining me in Dream Book)?
Do you need better light?
A cozier space?
A more organized space?
A less organized space?
To re-arrange your schedule to make time for it?
To say no to other things so you can say yes to this?
Music that helps you get creative and focused? (I made a playlist for that here)
Aromatherapy? (I have a LOT of aromatherapy, but this is the one I am always using to help me get focused)
An accountability buddy (I can do this with you, in the Daily Mastermind blog in Dream Book)?
Making space to do the work is a part of the work.
This means the Inner Work of acknowledging and exploring your fears and figuring out how to bring them the healing they need.
And the Dream Work of connecting your dream for what you want to create and how you want to feel and all of the energy, enthusiasm, excitement and inspiration that is available to you there.
And the Outer Work of getting the support, space and time you need.
I wrote this for myself today, I hope you find it helpful too.
(Bear, sleeping in the "new" bedroom in the loft - this is the 1st of 3 murals I am painting in the loft right now. I am having so much fun!)
Yes There Is Still Time For Your Dreams For 2022 To Come True Alchemy Circle is happening TODAY at 1:00 Central (North America).
My vision for this call: creative dreamers gathering for healing, transformation, sudden insights and huge shifts in their inner relationship with their dreams.
You'll connect with your dreams and your inner knowing in a new way, and leave the call (or replay) with a boost of MAGIC and POSSIBILITY for finishing up the year.
PLUS you get to check out the Dream Book program AND get some support for playing/growing/healing/creating your way into your dreams over the next month - or longer, if you choose to stay with us.
The call willl be 60-90 minutes long. The replay will be available a few hours after we're done.
>>> Details + registration are here.
Hope to see you there!
Andrea
(Bear and I can't even tell you how happy we are with the new Creative Dream Headquarters. We are still in the process of re-imagining the whole Dream Loft, but we do have this section done, our new Creative Play Space and we are soooo ready for a winter of staying in, drinking tea, and making art.)
It's true. There is still time for all of your dreams for 2022 to come true.
The Creative Dream Incubator sent me this message - I woke up with it Thursday morning.
It's true not just for me, but for you, too.
The Creative Dream Incubator also sent me instructions for the: Yes There Is Still Time For All Of Your Dreams For 2022 To Come True Alchemy Circle, which will happen on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 1:00 pm (Central, NA) - but it will be recorded.
This is a burst of possibility.
And also a healing circle.
A new perspective.
And a shift in your INNER relationship with your dream, which will change EVERYTHING.
I do hope you will join me for that, but even if you don't, this message is for you.
Your dreams are ready and waiting to land.
This is NOT the time to give up.