Photo by Sparks Reliance on Unsplash
We're all plugged into systems - ways of being, ways of thinking, ways of feeling, ways of doing - that are not in alignment with our values.
This is just a part of what it means to be alive at this time.
There's the dream that we can just rise above. Just don't focus on the hard stuff. Be happy and free.
This is what the Life Your Best Life Industry has been selling for so long. The idea that we can change our thinking about ourselves, go after our dreams, and that this contributes to making the world better.
And I have felt that way in the past.
Feeling good about making money and then using that money to support the things I want to see in the world.
Feeling like that's somehow enough to transform entrenched systems of patriarchy, white supremacy and colonialism in our capitalist society. And not learning enough about how these systems actually function to know, for sure, what it would take to transform them.
AT THE SAME TIME
Of course I believe that every dream made real contributes to making the world better.
HOWEVER
When talk about dreams, I am talking about something very specific. I am talking to listening to your inner truth. FOLLOWING your inner truth. Living your values, in a meaningful way.
I'm not talking about winning the lottery and buying a Greek island and living happily ever after. Or building a 6 figure online business in 3 months.
I am talking about something much deeper - which of course can result in big businesses and Greek islands but more often is not so flashy.
The work it takes to hear your heart's desires and act on them is the work that grows you.
No one like to grow up. No one likes to take responsibility. Everyone likes to avoid discomfort.
And - in general - this Live Your Best Life Industry is going shallow when we need to go deep. Spiritual by-pass instead of growing up.
Manifesting big bucks instead of sitting honestly with our feelings, our behaviour, the state of the world and what we might be able to contribute to improving it.
We need to do better.
Because you are a part of the earth. So your true heart's desires are not going to contribute to climate collapse.
Living your values would have you actively supporting a livable future for everyone.
You are a part of humanity. So your true heart's desires don't contribute to the oppression of other humans.
Living your values would have you caring about everyone having a good life, not just you and yours. Living your values would have you looking for ways to show up and BE the change.
But we're so tangled up in colonial ways of thinking, in unconscious white supremacy, in capitalism, that these systems are infecting our dreams and making us feel discouraged and like the idea that a society where EVERYONE has EVERYTHING they need is preposterous.
It's not.
We need to get free. Truly free.
Not by thinking positive and letting go of everything that holds us back.
By making space to really hear our deepest inner truth, to really hear what our hearts are calling us towards - beyond all the ways we've been brainwashed by colonization and capitalism - and then getting our lives into alignment with our deepest inner truth.
AKA by creative dreaming.
This is one of the paths that lead to a better world.
This is a part of the Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 Journaling EXTRAVAGANZA of mini-classes, happening all month long.
This is a journaling + meditation class for calling in the things you want to receive in 2022.
So have your journal and pen handy and let's do this!
A quiet interrupted space is great - but not necessary. Work with what you've got - don't waste a bunch of time "waiting for the right time" just do it!
In Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 we are working with the journaling prompts from the Year of Dreams Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal and Creative Dream Playbook.
Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 is sponsored by Dream Book!
This is a part of the Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 Journaling EXTRAVAGANZA of mini-classes, happening all month long.
This is a journaling + meditation class for getting in touch with how you want to feel, and exploring what helps you feel that way more often.
So have your journal and pen handy and let's do this!
A quiet interrupted space is great - but not necessary. Work with what you've got - don't waste a bunch of time "waiting for the right time" just do it!
In Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 we are working with the journaling prompts from the Year of Dreams Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal and Creative Dream Playbook.
Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 is sponsored by Dream Book!
This is a part of the Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 Journaling EXTRAVAGANZA of mini-classes, happening all month long.
This is a 6 minute meditation and journaling class for communing with the YOU you want to become in 2022.
So have your journal and pen handy and let's do this!
A quiet interrupted space is great - but not necessary. Work with what you've got - don't waste a bunch of time "waiting for the right time" just do it!
In Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 we are working with the journaling prompts from the Year of Dreams Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal and Creative Dream Playbook.
Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 is sponsored by Dream Book!
What do you want to do in 2022 is a part of the Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 Journaling EXTRAVAGANZA of mini-classes, happening all month long.
This is a 9 minute Meditation + Journaling Class for creating the dreamiest to-do list ever.
In Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 we are working with the journaling prompts from the Year of Dreams Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal and Creative Dream Playbook.
Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 is sponsored by Dream Book!
Visioning 2022 is a part of the Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 Journaling EXTRAVAGANZA of mini-classes, happening all month long.
This is a 10 minute Meditation + Journaling Class for capturing the essence/vibe/energy of what you want in 2022.
In Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 we are working with the journaling prompts from the Year of Dreams Weekly Planner, Visioning Journal and Creative Dream Playbook.
Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 is sponsored by Dream Book!
I want to do 11 simple tasks.
So why am I not doing them?
I just don't want to
Ummm no, I know you DO want to.
I do want it done. I don't want to do it.
Don't you want it done MORE THAN you want to not do it?
No, obviously. Or else we wouldn't be here.
Right.
I don't want to do it. End of discussion.
No, actually, that's the beginning of the discussion.
Heavy, dramatic sigh.
This is the work. We know this. We've got to keep showing up, and our next steps for showing up are doing these 11 things.
ARGGGGGH!
Yeah, you can feel that way about it, that's valid. But I am REALLY curious WHY you feel that way about these particular tasks.
[draws a blank]
It's interesting, isn't it? Because these tasks are actually enjoyable. So I don't think it's true that you LITERALLY don't want to do them. I think you want to do the task AND ALSO there is something about COMPLETING these tasks that you are resisting.
Ugggghhhhhh.
Yeah, that's how it feels, to shine a light on resistance.
My back and shoulders are all stiff now. Can we just have lunch?
We can have lunch right way, but before lunch we have to work this out. We can't keep avoiding these tasks all day.
I think we can.
And then what?
Then the whole project gets delayed.
Oh, so you don't want to do the project.
I mean I want it to happen, I just don't want to be the one doing it.
That is a FASCINATING attitude to have about your own creative work. Who else would do it?
I just want to be done, I don't want to be doing.
Is that even true? Feels like a "resistance trying to make things more complicated than they are and saying ridiculous things to do so" kind of vibe.
No, of course it's not true. Of course I like to do this task, and I want to do it, and I'm just terrified that this will flop.
There it is. Can we deal with the terror? I really don't want to circle around it all day in avoidance, I want to just get this done.
OK. I am terrified of doing my best, and it being a flop and that meaning that I AM a flop and then then not having any options for what to do next. This is a sharp, painful sensation in my chest.
Let's offer it some light, healing, love, patience, validity and acceptance.
[we do this... the sharp sensation turns to candy floss]
And now?
I still feel like there are a ton of excuses to not do this, I can just juggle them all day.
OR
I can start doing these 11 tasks.
And then a lightbulb went off in my mind.
I was starting with the most logical one to start with, which is the one I am stuck with. How about starting with the easiest one to do?
Oh, sure, I can do that.
✨✨✨✨✨
These are notes from the Un-Sticking Station in my Dream Book from a few days ago.
Since then, I finished those 11 tasks which meant I could start the Goodbye 2021 Hello 2022 Journaling EXTRAVAGANZA on time, yesterday.
This is the inner work that makes the outer work possible. Dream Book offers the support to keep showing up, and keep doing this work consistently enough to get the momentum you need with your dreams.
We're going to spend December journaling, dreaming, visioning and creating the best new year ever in this series of mini-classes.
We start tomorrow with some journal prompts for reflecting on 2021.
We'll be using the prompts from the Year of Dreams 2022 Planner, Visioning Journal and Creative Dream Playbook.
The Year of Dreams 2022 is available as a full colour printed book, or a DIY printable version you can customize to your heart's content.
Creative Genius Planning Sessions are about doing your weekly planning from your most wise, brave and creative self. You get to your next level with your dreams by being your next-level self, doing next-level things.
Do them with me every Monday and you'll AMAZE yourself.
There is a 15 minute Basic Creative Genius Planning Session right here (meditation + journaling class) for planning your amazing week.
AND I am creating a full "expansion pack" of extra videos that address specific situations that you’ll come up against with your planning. I’m sharing a new one, with a new theme, each week.
This week we're looking at how to approach your planning when life is in the way and you can't even:
If you're in Dream Book - watch this on our private blog, with a link to the Making Your Trust In Your Dream Bigger Than Your Fear Alchemy Practice - plus a private comment section for sharing your goals for the week, asking questions and getting extra support.
If you're not in Dream Book - if you like the Creative Genius Planning Sessions you will LOVE Dream Book.
A conversation between:
I want To Meditate
and
I Don't Want To Meditate (in italics)
So, I want to meditate. Like, I really want to meditate. I want to enjoy that feeling of meditation and then also have that spaciousness in my day that comes from meditation.
I want to just check my phone.
Check it for what? You already checked it.
Check it for what's new.
Nothing is new. It's 5 am. You already checked it. This is meditation time.
I just can't. I'd rather check an already-checked phone.
Can you tell me why?
Just so I can avoid everything?
Really? How so? How does not meditating avoid everything?
It's not just meditating I want to avoid. I want to avoid everything.
Oh.
Like - fuck! There's too much happening.
Well, so much of it is good stuff though. Stuff that is happening because I put it into motion because I want to do it and now you feel overwhelmed by it?
Oh.
Yeah. And if I could meditate for longer, then I'd have more of that mental clarity and just, that energy I need to do these things I want to do. This "avoiding meditation" makes everything else harder so then you just end up with more things you want to avoid.
You mean avoiding is not helping?
No, definitely not.
I thought it was helping. I thought avoiding was like taking a break.
No, taking a break is taking a break. And I don't think taking a break from meditation is really what you want. What do you want to take a break from?
Overwhelm.
Well, meditation is really a perfect break from overwhelm.
Well....
So.... can we try again?
🧘🏻♀️
Update: yup. We did it. Meditated for 30 minutes.