All you need to do is start.

Posted on April 29, 2011 by spiritmovesdance

As I was listening to my interview on Creative Living with Jamie (I will never get tired of saying that! :P), I realized that one of my favourite parts got cut off in the technical glitch. So I thought that I would share it (or a version of it) here. I’ll share my 5Rhythms Friday post either tonight or Saturday:

Here is what I would say to creative beings who are just starting out on their journey:

Just start. It doesn’t matter what you do. Just play. Follow the joy. And remember this:

Everything in this world -the books you read, the movies you watch, the songs you hear, the buildings you walk through…everything began as someone’s creative dream. At some point, everything in this world was an idea in someone’s head. And that someone dreamed about it and worried about it and worked on it and decided to have faith in it in spite of everything…until it came to be in this world.

(From the recipe we used to the tower he’s standing on to the clothes he’s covering with chocolate to the music that was playing while we made brownies…this moment -like EVERY moment- was full of dreams made real)

I find that so immensely inspiring. The people who created these things were (and are) just like me and you. They worried, they doubted, they questioned. They messed up, they started over. But they kept working…and playing. And they did it. And now it’s real.

And this means that you can do this too. Your ideas and inspirations are just as valid, just as full of possibility. And all you need to do is start.

xox

Meg

Podcast Fun! and Collage Magic: Right Brain Business Plan Part 1

Posted on April 28, 2011 by spiritmovesdance

Before we begin…GUESS WHAT! I am a guest on today’s episode of Creative Living With Jamie! Click the link or the badge in the sidebar to listen! YAAAAAY!!! Thank you, Jamie, for being such a magically spectacular host! ❤

And now…Pssssssssst!

Want to see what I’ve been working on lately?

This, my friends, is the beginning of my Right Brain Business Plan (except for the rainbow flower…that’s a creative journalling page that I LOVE but can’t share in detail because it’s a top-secret e-course thingy). The plan is currently occupying one corner of one of the walls in my office/the guest room. By the time it’s done, it will probably take up the entire wall. On a side note, maybe I should invest in some sticky tack so as not to COMPLETELY DESTROY the apartment’s paint job…

I’m working through the book chapter by chapter with some other Goddesses in the Goddess Circle. I love that we can all share the process as we go along, and I think it will become even more important when things get a little trickier (I’m just heading into Chapter 3 now, and I’m finding the whole “look at your competitors and your business challenges” thing a titch scary). From an outside perspective, it might seem weird that you can gain clarity and insight through collage…but try it someday.

Anyway…let’s explore!

1. Big Vision Collage.

The first exercise you do is a guided visualization of your dream business. I’ve done these before, but it’s only been in the past few months that I’ve gotten an image that feels completely right. This really worked for me. After the visualization, I started going through magazines and cutting out words and images…and here’s the result:

Close-ups:

Part of the visualization involved defining the core values of our business. We had the option of making a separate deck of “Values cards” to illustrate them, and I LOVED this idea. Here they are:

And, finally, we worked through some journalling exercises to create our “Passion and Purpose Proclamation” (which is sort of like the core manifesto of your business)

And here’s the result of that:

That’s all I’ve done so far. Having it hung on my wall is so great because every time I go into my office, I smile. It’s also where I do my dance practice, and it’s like all of these little voices whispering encouraging words while I move.

Inspiration Tuesday: Dancing Mamas Check-in and Link Magic

Posted on April 26, 2011 by spiritmovesdance

Happy Tuesday!

What a day! My Dancing Mamas Tribe is undergoing a minor renovation this week: we’re changing time slots! After 3 weeks of hauling my family out of bed an hour early and dragging them to the studio for 8:30…it occurred to me that possibly the lack-of-attendance issue was due to the fact that MY CLASS WAS TOO EARLY. Imagine! So we’re rectifying the situation. From now on, Dancing Mamas Tribe meets at 10:15am on Tuesdays…I’m in the process of changing over all of my announcements to indicate this (fun times).

This is good! I’m happy to have learned a very valuable lesson. I’m also thrilled that I’m not kicking myself particularly hard about this. Very unlike my usual patterns.

I swear it’s all because of this song right here. Amen, sister!

How’s that for an Inspiration Tuesday kickoff?! Hehe!

Here are some beautiful things that have rocked my world and made me think twice this week:

Andrea Schroeder at The Creative Dream Incubator reminds us that our dream is growing (it is! it is! YAY!!!)

And here’s someone else whose dream is growing: Sara Lacy. She’s about to head off to a very-prestigious art program in France. If you donate $20 or more toward her tuition, she’ll take you with her in her suitcase! WICKED.

Now here’s something that will keep you busy for hours:
Kind Over Matter’s Kind Kindred series. Fifty-four articles by different and amazing creative beans. I haven’t even scratched the surface of these treasures…sooooo much goodness there!

Speaking of Creative Beans, Havi Brooks shares how a seemingly frivolous arts and crafts project led to unexpected magic. Havi’s posts have a vocabulary all their own…and I LOVE it. Click the link for fractal flowers, rabbit holes, treasure maps, monster negotiation, and shoes (it all makes sense, trust me).

Here is a brand-new-to-me site that I will probably end up linking to again and again! What loving yourself really means on cynosure…a lot of food for thought here!

There was a definite theme this week…here is a post on loving our stomachs that sort of made me want to give my midsection a big hug. Another new blog for me, and one I want to explore! Expect to see more of kyliewrites.com in coming posts!

(No, I’m not pregnant…this is my belly back in early 2008. Pregnancy was one of the few times I really DID love my belly)

Quick question: Are you breathing? No, seriously, when was the last time you took a deep breath. Try it right now…does it feel unfamiliar? Because, I gotta tell you, I just took one and my poor body went “Oh, THAT’S what oxygen feels like! More please!”

This week, I read this article called Can You Breathe and Write at the Same Time? My answer is no, not really. And apparently I can’t read, cook, do chores, watch TV, draw, play Lego, or bathe either. Not good. *deep breaths*

A few more things I am loving this week (would you believe me if I told you that every week I have to pare down my link list by about half?! Because it’s true!)

Check out the lovely Jenn Hicks’s Everybody Dances Show and Tell Contest! Awesome! I haven’t decided on my entry yet, but I most certainly will be participating! You should too! Because EVERYBODY dances, and that’s something to celebrate!