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{creating dreams come true} adventure: let life scoop you up and bring you somewhere

abccreativity — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 12:00:07 +0000

it’s sunday – which means it’s creating dreams come true day. creating dreams come true is an ongoing free e-course and creative community to support you in living your dreams. if you are new, please feel free to join in. the more creative dreamers the better!

i am currently making one of my big dreams come true – i am on vacation in turkey and egypt! thanks to the magic of technology, i was able to write this post ahead of time and schedule it to post now so that the creating dreams come true posts continue to go out while i am away and your creative adventure continues. please be aware that i am not checking in while i’m away, so i won’t be answering questions or commenting on posts. so i encourage you to visit each other, to support each other and cheer each other on with your dreams. i’ll be back march 15.

adventure gets us out of our routines, shakes us up a bit, it is fun and exciting and even thrilling. adventure generates positive energy and positive energy fuels creative dreams.

adventure can be big or small, all that is really needed is an open mind and a willingness to have an adventure.

one day i was at a new restaurant with a friend. he asked “where’s the washroom?” and i said “i don’t know” and he said “well then, i’m off on an adventure!”. you can go quietly look around for the washroom, you ask the waitress and get the best route to the washroom or you can take an adventurous path and be open to what happens along the way.

taking the adventurous path opens up new possibilities because it puts you in new situations. talk to strangers, go places you haven’t been, do something that scares you.

your dreams are all around you waiting for the opportunity to come in. shaking things up with an adventure provides an opportunity. and it’s fun.

i am adventuring right now in turkey and egypt. on the day when this post is posted, i will have just flown back to istanbul from cairo, and trying to make my way to cappadocia. cappadocia has things like cave hotels carved into mountains:

cave hotel in cappadocia

underground cities and houses that look like fairy chimneys – the whole area just feels like an adventure to me. we don’t know how we’re getting there from istanbul (it’s about a 12 hour drive) though we have done some research so we know what the possibilities are. there are planes, buses and overnight trains. we’re going to wait and see what feels like the most fun, and do that.

but a vacation itself isn’t necessarily an adventure. adventure is more of a state of mind. opening up and letting spontaneity flow, letting life scoop you up and bring you somewhere. letting go of control.

creative dream assignment for next week: go on an adventure this week. report back next sunday.

creative dream check-in:

my check-in: i did create a new space for a dream the week that i wrote this (i am writing this on feb 18). to support my dreams of being healthier, stronger, more fit and more present in my body, i turned my living room into a yoga room. it’s delicious! a peaceful haven to come into and do yoga. a wall lined with buddha statues, flowers and candles. peaceful lighting. a mat in a position where it’s easy to see the tv and follow along with my yoga dvds. creating this space has supported me in enjoying my yoga practice more fully and doing it more often. i will share more about this change, and some photos of the space, later on.

meet in the comments section below to share what happened when you investigated ways to create more space for your dreams. also don’t feel shy about checking in even if you didn’t do last week’s assignment. just let us know what is happening with your dreams – we love watching them grow.

(remember i am away and will not be commenting. i encourage you to visit each other, to support each other and cheer each other on with your dreams.)

andrea schroeder creates creativity workshops, downloadable creativity kits, art and guided meditations to support you in knowing and remembering that you are a creative being and you can create anything.

creating dreams come true: creating space for dreams

abccreativity — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:00:46 +0000

it’s sunday – which means it’s creating dreams come true day. creating dreams come true is a free ongoing e-course and creative community to support you in living your dreams. if you are new, please feel free to join in. the more creative dreamers the better!

sometimes our lives are so full that there is no space for a new dream to come in.

one dream that i am living is the dream of being an artist. i create art most days. one reason why i am able to live this dream is because there is a physical space, in my home, for me to do this in. the space is bright and cheery, well organised and filled with inspiration and wonder. on days when i feel tired and cranky and not creative, all i have to do is make a cup of tea and sit down at my art table. once i am there, surrounded by art supplies and wonder, creativity flows freely and i find myself making art. my creative space supports my dream.

my creative space

one dream that i am not living is the dream of sewing – both sewing my own clothing and creating textile art. i have a bachelor of applied arts in fashion design, i have years of experience as a sewer and textile artist, i have fabric and notions, a sewing machine and a surger. i have everything i need to make this dream a reality except the right space. my sewing room is in my basement and i hate basements. my sewing space discourages my dream by placing an obstacle between me and it – i have to go down into the creepy basement.

i have an obvious solution here. there is space in my creative room upstairs for my sewing machine and notions. i know this dream will become much easier for me to live as soon as i move my sewing supplies up into my creative space.

sometimes we have the space but it’s not organised to support our dream. sometimes we don’t have the space. sometimes we think we don’t have the space but all we need is some ingenuity and re-arranging. sometimes we have to get really creative with this.

our dreams need space to grow and become real. we have to believe that our dreams are worth the energy, time and money it may take to make this happen.

creative dream assignment for next week: look around your life, is there a dream that you are not living that you can create a space for? how could you create that space? the assignment is not to actually do it, unless you feel inspired to take action, but to simply investigate it and consider what your options may be. (go for it and create the space if you feel inspired after your investigations)

creative dream check-in:

meet in the comments section below to share what happened in your explorations of working with affirmations, and let everyone know what’s new with your dreams. also don’t feel shy about checking in even if you didn’t do last week’s assignment. just let us know what is happening with your dreams – we love watching them grow.

(remember i am away and will not be commenting. i encourage you to visit each other, to support each other and cheer each other on with your dreams.)

just as i am

abccreativity — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 13:00:46 +0000

my friend robbin participated in this amazing project called just as i am. this is from the just as i am website:

Over the past few years I have been amazed at the number of people who have come into my studio with “body issues”, I’m always amazed at this and am saddened by how many people don’t see the beauty that is inside of them. Just As I Am is a project that has come out of this desire for people of all ages and cultural backgrounds to come together in a project to see that we are more similar than we are different. Through this project I hope that more people will also have a greater appreciation for the beauty and complexity that is the human body and come to a place of feeling that we are all beautifully made. Thousands of years ago Job wrote “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart.” Most of us seem to be able to accept this, it’s the in between time that many of us struggle with.

Most of the time between birth and death it seems we are all slotted somewhere in the pecking order from first class to baggage and one of the beautiful things about this project is that whether a millionaire or a homeless person we will all be depicted as equal; there will be no suits or jewellery to hide behind, it will simply be a person photographed “Just as they are”.

Who we are is so much more than simply our bodies or what we look like, the reality however is that when people look at us the first thing that they see is our appearance. I have found in the past that when I’m with clients photographing nudes that it is much easier to see into the soul of my clients. It seems that when there is nothing to hide behind the real person emerges.
This project involves a 10 minute photo session for each participant and each person is asked to come with a couple of sentences or phrases that they think are descriptors of who they are.

Our hope is in the next few months to put together a gallery show of images from the sessions and if all goes well possibly a book as well as the website where many images will be posted along with the phrases of who the subject is.

they did put together a gallery show!

and that show opens tonight.

i am in turkey and not able to be there but i wanted to join in on the celebration somehow so i thought i’d share it with you here. if i was at home, tonight i would be going out for dinner with robbin to celebrate this amazing event, to celebrate that openness and willingness to be seen just as we are. and to acknowledge the courage it takes to do this.

we tend to think of bravery as being strong and taking action and doing big things out in the world. but this is real bravery. opening up, being real and allowing yourself to be seen.

please use the comment section to send robbin your congratulations and good wishes. and if you’re in winnipeg – go see the show!

bags are packed i’m ready to go…

abccreativity — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:58:14 +0000

bags are packed

guidebooks and sufi poetry.

i’ve also got a new moleskine and some art supplies in there.

i’m all set.

see you march 15th!

the process of letting go

abccreativity — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:00:23 +0000

for a few weeks now, i have been wanting to stay home and do yoga instead of go out and have fun.

i’ve been doing less art and more nothing.

i have been living in stillness.

not wanting to go out, not wanting to play, not wanting to make new art, not wanting to work on the new creativity kits, not wanting to put new workshops together, not wanting to take ACTION on anything. i’ve been in this space before and i know it is a space of renewal and rebirth. i know that creativity needs downtime in order to flourish. and yet this can be very difficult for me because i am impatient. there is so much i want to DO and i want to do it RIGHT NOW. but that has felt impossible lately.

well, i have been doing a little bit of art… i have been wrapping myself up in the soft and gentle healing space of my cocoon of creative journaling. i was painting and re-painting and re-painting this page. here it is after about 17 layers:

art journal page background: layers and layers of colours

doesn’t look like much but it finally felt just right. looking at it somehow made me very happy. and then a few days later it became clear and i finished it:

art journal page: totally ready to go now, and saying goodbye to the parts of me that can't come where i am going next

i get it now, what the stillness is about and what this time means for me.

recently my creative journal has been getting all filled up with really amazing images and pages that i don’t quite feel ready to share. there is new energy, new colours, new shapes, new figures, new inspiration, new words – new everything. and all of it is encouraging me to step into this new world, showing me the path into it, reminding me that i am ready.

but, in any change, no matter how positive it is, something gets left behind.

the parts of me that want to stay small.

the parts of me that want to hold onto excuses.

the parts of me that are afraid.

they can’t come where i’m going next and i can’t get there if i don’t let them go.

but these are my friends, i have lived with them for so long. saying goodbye is a bit of a process. and that’s what i have really been up to the last few weeks. letting go. getting ready to move forward, from the inside out.

i am thinking about my trip to new york last january. i spent a week soaking up inspiration – visiting art galleries, shopping, exploring, eating amazing vegan foods. i came home absolutely filled and fueled. i started this blog. i started experimenting with bringing my work online. i started doing more art. i started exploring business options. boom boomboom boom – creative explosion. traveling inspires me.

i leave for istanbul on thursday morning. i have wanted to go to turkey for as long as i can remember. the landscape, the people, the colours, the textures, the design, the coffee, the lokum, the mosques, the whirling dirvishes, the amazing underground cities, the markets… it’s a creative explosion for me just thinking about it. and then egypt, pyramids, alexandria… that part feels like a dream.

so what new directions will this trip inspire me to take?

it’s exciting to wonder.

and i will find out soon.

right now all i can do is let go of the parts that i know can’t come with me. to prepare not just for the vacation but for what comes after – when the real adventure begins.

creative journaling: you have something amazing inside you

abccreativity — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:00:44 +0000

my friend reta has amazing enthusiasm for life. always exploring new ideas, she saw what i was doing in my creative journals and decided to try it for herself. i just love what she did here! it’s amazing how much can be expressed with some colour and a simple drawing.

when reta showed this to me, i asked her if i could share it here because i think it’s such a perfect illustration of the beauty and power of creative journaling. you don’t have to have a lot of experience with it to get a lot out of it. if you sit down to try it, something amazing will come out because you have something amazing inside you.

your something amazing is always on the lookout for an opportunity to come out. creative journaling is an opportunity.

creative journal page: happy growing sprout

this is what reta had to say about it:

After coming home from one of Andrea’s workshops, I felt that my perspective on my own life was shifting. No longer did I feel that I had wasted years needlessly, I started appreciating what I had learned through the ordeals that I faced, the challenges I overcame. A seed is truly a symbol for potential, and for me, it felt like after a long winter, it was time to grow. After listening to Andrea, I came to realize that I was rather impatient with myself and I wanted to express something, a reminder to be in the moment more. So I drew a sprout – that doesn’t regret not having pods yet, doesn’t fret when the blossoms will come – just trusts that in time all things are possible.

(I suppose grow a bit each day is a bit of sage advice?)

and i want to see your something amazing! if you are a creative journaler, comment here with a link to some of your work.

if you aren’t a creative journaler, but feel like you might like to try, please consider this your invitation to the world of creative journaling.

let’s inspire each other.

{creating dreams come true} working with affirmations (part 2)

abccreativity — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 12:00:55 +0000

now that we have created our perfect, powerful, personalized affirmations (see here for last week’s affirmations post if you missed this part) what do we do with them?

the simple act of creating an affirmation can be healing and transformative and can open up new paths to your dreams. but once they are created, the more you work with your affirmations, the more useful they are going to be for you. there is no right or wrong way to use affirmations, the only rule of thumb is “if it feels good, do it”. so i am going to share some ways that i work with affirmations and you can use my ideas as starting points in your explorations in discovering your perfect way to work with affirmations.

how i use affirmations:

i use them in affirmative meditations to relax, get centered and really get into the feeling space of the affirmation
i write them out, over and in over. when i’m doing this, if i experience negative reactions to the affirmation, i write out those thoughts also. then i write new affirmations to work on shifting those negative beliefs.
i put affirmations onto my art
i journal about my affirmations, making collages or pictures of them, writing about how they feel, exploring them from every angle
my favourite way to work with affirmations is to write them in my datebook. i love doing this, it feels like i’m not just writing an affirmation, i am setting a clear intention for how my day is going to feel.

affirmations and positive energy in my datebook

when i am feeling like i don’t have enough time to do everything, i take the time to write, and colour, “there is more than enough time”. once i’ve done this, i have relaxed. once i am relaxed everything flows better and there really is more than enough time for everything.

relax a bit - enjoy the day affirmation in my datebook

those are the main ways that i work with affirmations. i first learned about affirmations from louise hay who has many more wonderful ideas for working with meditations, such as looking at yourself in a mirror as you repeat them. louise hay and i are both new thought practitioners. if you like affirmations, i highly recommend taking new thought classes as a very powerful way to learn the philosophy behind working with affirmations and learning to work with affirmations in a way that gets consistent positive results.

creative dream assignment: experiment with your affirmations to see if you can find a way of working with them that feels inspiring and uplifting for you. come back next sunday and share your experiences.

creative dream check-in:

meet in the comments section below to share your affirmations and create a circle of affirmation goodness. also please feel free to share any creative dream news – good things that have happened, roadblocks you may have stumbled upon, anything and everything. that is what being a part of creative community is all about.

note about check-ins: i know that many of you are not able to keep up with the assignments every week and this is completely ok! there are no obligations here – only opportunities. know that even if you did not write your affirmations last week you are welcome to say hello and to share where you’re at with your dreams. sharing your progress and being supporting along the way by a creative community is a really powerful process. even sharing your stuckness helps get it moving again.

my check-in:

well actually i didn’t write any new affirmations in the past week. my make it happen in 2010 creative visioning map is filled with affirmations and i continue to work with those.

i leave this thursday for istanbul!

with a side-trip to egypt!

i will be back march 15. while i am away, sunday “creating dreams come true” posts will still be auto-posted but i won’t be here to comment. so please visit your fellow creative dreams and offer your support and encouragement. we are all in this together and together we can make our dreams come true.

i look forward to reading your updates!

journaling into new territory

abccreativity — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:00:12 +0000

my creative journal has long been my soft and gentle cocoon that i can crawl into for exploring, stretching and growing in my personal life. recently i created a business planning art journal to support me in building a thriving business around my workshops and art as a way of creating meaningful, enjoyable and inspiring work for myself.

but i have been feeling really awkward about sharing it here. i’ve been trying to write this post for about 2 weeks and it just isn’t coming out right. i guess i don’t really know what to say about my business planning art journal, this is all new territory for me.

this is a a page i just finished for the new creativity kits i want to make:

i started writing my ideas for the new kits, and then collaged, painted and doodled on top of the writing. i feel like the creative aspects of the page opened up new possibilities and directions that i wasn’t going to get to, just writing it out and making a careful plan. at some point, i need to bring in colour and play if i want my work to be the best it can be.

i also have to let go of it being a straight line direct path kind of thing. this page has really inspired me, but i am still not sure what the kits are. i don’t know what to *do* next with it and that’s just the thing. my best work never comes when i know what i’m doing. my best work comes when i am open to where i am, willing to be uncertain and moving forward anyway.

so that is where i’m at with this today. i love the direction i’m going in, i don’t know what the destination is but i do know i will love it when i get there.

if you have a project you are working on, or an issue you are facing, i encourage you to journal it. write it out, collage it, paint it, draw it. you don’t have to be an artist to do this. swirl paint around on the page, use glitter glue to stick magazine images on top. if you don’t have art materials – go get some inexpensive children’s art supplies and play with them. spend time exploring your situation with creativity and new solutions are bound to spring up.

creative visioning spotlight: mo

abccreativity — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:00:51 +0000

i am shining spotlights on some of people who are working with the wonderful creative visioning process, to show you what they are up to and how they are creating a path to their dreams come true. it is so cool to see everyone working with the same material to create their totally unique and beautiful dream maps. these are participants from my make it happen in 2010: creating a year of abundance, possibility and healing creativity workshop or people who purchased my e-guide version of the workshop create a map: a simple guide to creative visioning.

our next spotlight is on mo, also known as crazycrone/wildwoman. i met mo recently online and was really struck by how her amazing energy comes right through the screen. you can meet mo here on her blog.

in mo’s words:

The dreams I’m working with now are to:

Attract abundance – overcome my fear of actually having money in the bank and trusting that what I need financially will pour in once I’m open to feeling worthy of receiving goodness.

Write My Book – long-threatened but actually a project underway now I’ve sorted out how to progress courtesy of my dream visioning board.

Get Healthy and Fit – I’m not feeling healthy and now I’m in a lovely area surrounded by hills and parks, I intend to walk and enjoy nature. I used to do so much walking as a kid and I’d forgotten how much I love it. Oh, and dance too. Can’t play an instrument but my body as an instrument can dance with the best of ‘em. I’ve got rhythm, baby, yes ma’am!

Lighten Up – I get my nose stuck in my computer and I need to get out and about and kick my heels up.

Travel – The big surprise addition, ta-daaa. Wasn’t expecting this but it’s been a lovely feeling to put my travel dreams down in print.

What did I get out of the map creation process?

Very interesting this. I felt excited but also focused in actually setting down my dreams and then finding out just what came out of my sub-conscious in relation to each dream. And now I find I’m actually getting down to the priority work which is to write my book. I feel energised and enthused. Quite a surprise and very unexpected. A terrific, inspiring process to follow.

How do I feel my map will support me in going forward with my dreams?

I’ve actually got my map pinned up in front of my work area so I CAN’T MISS IT, lolol. I can be quite absent-minded, so it’s a visual reminder and support for me every day to get organised, stop procrastinating and be confident in what I have to offer in terms of my skills and gifts and talents.

thanks so much for sharing mo, you are such an inspiration!!

{creating dreams come true} working with affirmations

abccreativity — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:00:20 +0000

this week we will be generating more positive energy for our dreams by creating affirmations. affirmations are little bursts of positive energy that help us soar towards our goals, lifting us up and over obstacles, bringing us right into the right place at the right time. affirmations are one way to tap into the infinite possibility that exists all around us.

what is an affirmation?

an affirmation is a positive statement that affirms the best in us. affirmations are best when they are positive, present, first person statements that make you feel good.

positive statements:

affirmations should be positive and focused on what you do what, and not on getting rid of what you don’t want. this is because when you bring what you don’t want into the affirmation, you are remembering what you don’t want, and giving that energy. our goal here is to give energy to what we do want. for example:

i don’t want to deal with stressful situations at work.

can be changed to:

i now accept and enjoy an easy and peaceful work environment.

present statements:

affirmations should be focused on the present and not be about the future. this is because affirmations can only have power in the present moment. for example:

i will increase my income this year.

can be changed to:

my income is steadily increasing.

first-person statements:

affirmations should always be written and stated in the first-person. this keeps the power and intention of the affirmation where it belongs – in you. as much as you may want to – you can’t change anyone but yourself. for example:

my boss treats me with respect.

can be changed to:

i respect myself.

that may seem like it doesn’t really address what you really want – which is for your boss to respect you. but by bringing what you do want – in this example, respect – under your own control, by choosing to respect yourself, you are actually creating more respect in your life. when you truly respect yourself you will either know how to stand up for yourself with your boss, or stop caring whether or not they respect you. this same concept can be applied to almost anything. whenever you want something from someone else, the empowering solution is to find a way to give it to yourself.

i put together a simple worksheet you can download and use to guide you in creating powerful, personalized affirmations:

creating powerful affirmations worksheet

so this week we’re going to write powerful, personalized affirmations. you can write as few or as many as you like. next week we will start experimenting with different ways of working with affirmations to make our dreams come true.

affirmations

creative dream assignment: create your own affirmations. come back next sunday to share them, we will create a circle of positivity by bringing our inspiring and powerful affirmations together.

creative dream check-in:

meet in the comments section below to let us know how you did with the affirmative visualization. also feel free to share any new updates, stories, successes or challenges relating to your dreams.

my check-in:

of course, i love affirmative visualization! i enjoyed working with the meditation and feel like it helped me open up to new possibilities and new ways of having my dreams come true. in other words, i feel myself letting go of needing specific outcomes in order to be happy. i am finding a lot of joy in the process, especially related to growing my creative business. i’m feeling hugely inspired but at the same time feeling comfortable to move in my own time, and not rush/run forward with ideas just because i can. slowing down and allowing ideas to fully incubate feels luxurious. while there is a lot for me to learn and to do, i feel certain that i am on the right track, moving forward at the right pace. this feeling is a real gift.

i’ve also had some amazing shifts in my health, which is one thing i wanted to work on this year – both getting more exercise and finding easier ways to eat healthy, mostly feeling healthier, stronger and more vibrant. i have fallen in love with yoga and am inspired and excited to do shakti yoga twice a day. this is helping me to relax into myself and be more present in my body. i’ve also fallen in love with arctic garden frozen veggies which are amazingly delicious, like way beyond any other frozen veggies i have ever tried. my freezer is stuffed full of them and it 10 minutes or less i can turn them into a delicious meal.

i am also preparing to make a big dream come true – i leave for turkey and egypt in less than 2 weeks! omg! very excited. as a part of my preparations, i am creating and scheduling “creating dreams come true” blog posts to post while i am away so the creative adventure here will carry on.

i also want to say - happy valentine’s day. if you missed it, please join in on the heart celebration here.

i look forward to reading your updates!