Be Well...Be Kind

Just a little reminder to be good to yourself and others today. 

Sent with love from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please share on Facebook and twitter using the buttons below!  If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

Recipe for a Dreamy Little Christmas

How are the holidays treating you so far? More importantly, how are you treating yourself?

I'm enjoying a rather smooth transition into the Christmas season. Not to toot my own horn, but I have to admit Create the Christmas of Your Dreams seems to be major reason for this!

Here are a few ideas that are helping me and the lovely members of our CTCOYD support group the most:

~ Any project, plan or party can be broken down into small, doable steps ~ or as I like to call them this time of year, Merry Little Movements.

Imagine my delight in realizing one Christmas project in particular could easily be divided into more than a dozen small steps. So long overwhelm ~ hello creative joy!

~ Enough really is enough. 

For example, I gave myself a decorating deadline. That meant any holiday decorating I intended to do needed to be finished by Sunday, even if that meant not putting out every single decoration I own. And you know what? It was not only enough...it was plenty!

~ Creative joy can be experienced in small little burst of creative play. 

Five or ten minutes coloring in a holiday mandala, creating a Christmas card or digitally enhancing a photo sparks creative satisfaction that lasts for hours. Here's a pinterest project using rolled magazine pages I'm creating during some of my brief of Christmas Oasis Moments.

~ Permission to embrace what's most important and release the rest. 

Rather than show up to a holiday gathering feeling frazzled and fatigued because I felt the need to create some gourmet dish from scratch along with everything else I had going that day, I chose to show up rested and ready to party with a store bought appetizer and a smile.

~ Good self-care is not optional ~ it's essential. 

With the social invitations rolling in, the pressure to finish shopping mounting, not to mention "end-of-year-everything," it's easy to tell ourselves we simply don't have time.

That's why it's so nice to be part of a group that knows the value of taking good care of ourselves, especially during the time of year we're often running on too little sleep, too many treats while dodging the omnipresent cold and flu bugs.

~ Good self-care is easier than you might think.

Something has simple as using some nice, rich hand cream, taking a walk around the block or enjoying a few deep breaths and stretches can revitalize you and keep you going strong throughout the holidays.

I invite you to use the recipe above with your choice of ingredients from the list below to create a dreamy Christmas of your own!

Click here to download your complimentary printable "Dream Christmas Ingredients" list.

Until next time, all the best from my Dreamy Christmas Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post and would like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this in my Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

May Your Heart Shine Like a Peace Sign

I took this photo of our vintage marquee peace sign for Day 30 of my #100HappyDays challenge.

The idea behind the #100HappyDays challenge is simple and inspiring and that's why I love it so much! 

Each day I get to take a photo of something that makes me happy and post it. Easy-peasy! (Click here to visit my #100HappyDays pinterest board to see the crazy variety of things that have made me happy over the last several weeks.)

The purpose of the challenge is to help people realize that it doesn't take a lot of time to be happy.

As a result of #100HappyDays I'm focused on seeing something good in my life at least once a day. Even the simplest things like a fluffed up bird sitting in a tree or the fact that tasty orange cuties are in season bring me happiness. Focusing on what brings joy to my life, even for the few moments it takes to snap a photo and post it, also brings me peace.

This aligns so nicely with my philosophy that even small amounts of time spend enjoying your Creative Oasis (whatever makes your heart sing and time fly) is time well-spent! 

This is the time of year we often hear the message "Peace on earth ~ good will toward men." Ironically, it's also the time of year that can stress us out so much we end up spending much of the time feeling quite the opposite of peaceful! 

So, what can we do about that? How can we experience more feelings of peace during the Christmas holidays?

When we make our own self-care a priority that helps us handle all of the relationships and responsibilities in our lives with more grace, ease and joy. This in turn helps the people in our lives to also experience more happiness, grace and peace. And so on...and so on...and so on. (If you're of a certain age please pardon the shampoo commercial reference.)

As the Christmas season begins, I invite you to choose an easy-to-do, soul-satisfying, peace-inducing creative challenge of your own. Here are a few ideas to help you begin...

~ Join me for the #100HappyDays challenge 

(www.100happydays.com)

~ Choose one thing you're grateful for each day in December and

write it in your journal, post it on Facebook or simply keep it in your heart

~ Ask yourself "What's one easy way I can help myself feel peaceful today?" 

(*Hint ~ it could be as simple as taking a few nice deep breaths.)

~ Enjoy 5 minutes of "I Get To" creative time 

(Easy ideas: doodling, coloring in a mandala, writing a haiku, stringing popcorn & cranberries)

I wish you many peaceful moments and a season filled with lots of love, laughter and light ~ especially the kind that makes your heart shine like a big ol' peace sign!

All the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ When I began playing with words to add to my peace sign photo for this post, I was delighted to realize that the "earth and heart" are anagrams. This felt like a special heemeesheemee to me. (*Heemeesheemee ~ my word for a serendipitous occurrence.) 

An Alternative to Cyber Monday Craziness...An Invitation to Create the Christmas of Your Dreams

Like you, I’ve been barraged with emails and ads for Black Friday and Cyber Monday...for doorbusters and price slashers and midnight madness.

Sound more like horror films than the beginning of the Christmas season, doesn’t it?

If you’re already over the over-the-top commercialism and stress the holidays can bring, I invite you to join me for “Create the Christmas ofYour Dreams” ~ a creative teleclass and support group designed to help you embrace holiday happiness, creative joy and good self-care this season.
(*Note: Registration closes Wednesday 12/3/14 at 11am central)

This class if for you…

~ If using your creativity more than your credit cards sounds like a good idea.

~ If you’d like to make at least one handmade Christmas gift or card this season. (Perhaps one of the approximately 738 you have on your pinterest boards?)

~ If you wish you could release the need to meet other people’s holiday expectations. (Hint: Martha Stewart is not my role model!)

~ If you’d like permission to enjoy some good self-care, even when there’s so much else to do. 

(BTW - the top three self-care contenders from my holiday survey were meditation, walking and massage and we'll be discussing ways to weave those into your schedule too.)

~ If you look forward to doing some holiday baking and want to feel that using premade cookie dough & pie crusts is not a punishable holiday crime this is the place for you!

If you can relate to any of these Christmas wishes, then I hope you’ll join me for Create the Christmas of YourDreams.

Once a week beginning this Wednesday, December third, we’ll meet up by phone to enjoy some creative prompts and play and I’ll share simple ways to experience a Christmas season that feels the way you’d like it to feel.

Giving yourself the gift of just one hour of Creative Oasis “me-time” for the next three weeks will help you feel energized and joyful rather than Grinchy & stressed out this month.

For about the price of a mani/pedi ($49.94) you’ll enjoy three one-hour phone sessions, including a packet of interactive creative sheets for each call, lovely e-mail follow-ups.

   

Click the button below to register.

                            

I’m really looking forward to sharing these simple and fun creative coaching tools & techniques to help your Create the Christmas of Your Dreams. (*Note: Registration closes Wednesday 12/3/14 at 11am central)

Just click here to register and I’ll send your first creative packet right away. I’ll even send you the recording of the “Warm-Up” call we had before Thanksgiving if you’d like to get started before our call this Wednesday.

I look forward to sharing this special time with you. I know that together we can hit shift from feeling like “The Nightmare Before Christmas” to “It’s a Wonderful Life!”  

All the best from my “let’s all take a nice deep breath” Christmas Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

Create the Christmas of Your Dreams!

Can you relate to any of these Christmas wishes?

You'd love to make at least one handmade gift for someone special

(perhaps one of the 867 Christmas projects you have pinned to your Pinterest boards?) 

~ You think it might be nice to use your creativity more than your credit cards this season

You'd like to feel energized and joyful rather than 

Grinchy and stressed out during the month of December

~ You'd love to create special holiday memories that you and your family will cherish 

~ You want to experience what’s most important to you rather than get swept up in the holiday hype

You wish you could release the need to meet other people’s expectations

(Example: you believe using pre-made pie crust is not a crime)

~ You'd like to embrace simplicity rather than giving into the "more is better" mindset 

You'd love the gentle support of a group of women with the same Christmas wishes as you

If you can relate to any of this, I hope you'll join me for Create the Christmas of Your Dreams.

What is Create the Christmas of Your Dreams?

A 3-week teleclass and support group 

to help you embrace holiday happiness, 
creative joy and good self-care this season

What does Create the Christmas of Your Dreams include?

~ 3 weekly calls with beautiful e-mail follow-ups
(all calls will be recorded and shared for those unable to attend live)

~ Enlightening creative prompts to help you 
easily and intuitively choose the Christmas experiences you most want

~ Printable interactive fun sheets

~ Easy and fun dive-right-in creative activities

~ Simple, low-pressure ways to help you enjoy your favorite holiday experiences

~ Permission to practice good self-care 

~ Gentle accountability and support from a compassionate 
group of women who'll be creating the Christmas of their dreams too

~ A private Facebook group for additional support and sharing 
(this is an optional bonus for those who like the idea of having a way to 
communicate and support each other throughout the week in addition to our calls)

If this sounds good, click the button below to quickly and easily register 
and give yourself one of the nicest Christmas gifts ever.

Our first call will be December 3, 2014
1 to 2pm (cst)

Special Early Bird Bonus!

Sign up for this special class by midnight Wednesday, November 26, 2014 and you'll receive a bonus one-on-one 15-minute creative coaching session during the month of December. (This is a special offer worth $25 and only available to members of the Create the Christmas of Your Dreams support group.)

You might be thinking, "Jill, this sounds really good, but..."

~ I'll be too busy during the holidays. This one hour a week will help make the other 167 hours so much more pleasurable and peaceful. And 3 hours of class time averages out to less than 10 minutes per day! As I love to remind my clients, 10 minutes is less than 1% of your day. Don't you deserve something that energizes and delights you for at least 1% of your day – especially during the holidays? Math may not be my strong suite, but I have to hand it to myself in this instance. :)

~ I shouldn't be spending money on myself now. For the price of a mani/pedi you'll enjoy three weeks of creative experiences, compassionate support and a peaceful perspective on an otherwise somewhat crazy season. Doesn't that seem like a reasonable gift to give yourself? Not to mention the fact that by showing yourself good self-care, you'll much less likely to be Grinchy during the holiday hustle and bustle...something your friends and family are sure to appreciate as well.

~ I've never taken teleclass before. Have you ever talked on the phone with a friend? That's what I thought. You've got this! Join me for the free "Warm-Up" call on November 19th to check it out and see how you like it. (Click here to take my quick 5-question survey and register for the free call.)

I'm truly looking forward to helping you Create the Christmas of your Dreams!

Ready to say yes to doing things differently this December? 

Click the button below to join me. 

                                          

If we haven't worked together yet, this is a great, affordable way to experience Creative Oasis Coaching with me. And if we have, welcome back! I'm excited to have you be a member of what I know will be an amazing group!

Remember, if you sign up for this special class by midnight Wednesday, November 26, 2014 and you'll receive a bonus one-on-one 15-minute creative coaching session during the month of December. (This is a special offer worth $25 and only available to members of the Create the Christmas of Your Dreams support group.)                                                                                                    

                                   

creativeoasiscoach@me.com

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

5 Quick Questions to Help You "Create the Christmas of Your Dreams"

Click here to take this fun short survey and grab your spot for my free "Warm-Up" teleclass for: 

Click here to take this fun short survey and grab your spot for my free "Warm-Up" teleclass for: 

 Create the Christmas of Your Dreams ~ 

 3-week Teleclass and Support Group 

where I'll help you embrace holiday happiness, 

creative joy and good self-care!

November 19, 2014

1 to 2pm (CST)

(Call will be recorded & shared if you're unable to join us live.)

Revoking My Martyrs-R-Us Membership

I’ll admit that though I try my best to practice what I preach through Creative Oasis Coaching, at times I fall short. Routinely rewarding myself for a job well done is a perfect example. (Feel free to substitute the word creativity, writing, gardening, crafting or whatever you consider your personal Creative Oasis for the word art in the quote above!)

Even though I know what a good idea it is to “treat yo self” (for all you Parks & Rec fans out there) after making headway on a project or crossing something off your to-do list, I often zip right passed this important step and onto the next big thing.

Luckily, last week the stars aligned and I revoked my membership to “Martyrs-R-Us*.” You know, the club where we put off anything mildly enjoyable because we must muddle through with our never-ending have-to-do list! Raise your hand if you’ve ever been a member.

Instead, I enjoyed several wonderfully nurturing experiences as well-deserved rewards to celebrate my one-year anniversary of Mid-Week OasisMoments. 

(Click here to learn how you too can celebrate by joining me for myfree teleclass “Creativity Cubed” on March 19th!)

I treated myself to:

* a fun two-hour catch-up lunch with a dear friend I hadn’t seen in ages

* a transcendent Abhyanga (Ayurvedic full body treatment) with Sweet Ojas

* a fabulous organizing session in my master closet with Make My Life Simplified

* and a full service and car detailing

All of which left me feeling lighter, healthier, happier and filled with renewed energy to get back to my passion of helping people make the time and space in their life for creative fulfillment and fun!

I share this with you as a reminder that though we often feel like taking time for self-care is taking time away from the things we should be doing, the truth is, our productivity, health and happiness (in body, mind and spirit) increases greatly when we nurture ourselves.

* You’ll find lots of wonderful reasons to practice good self-care and revoke your membership to the Martyrs-R-Us club in the Muse Song chapter of The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard by Jill Badonsky. For example:

“Stockpiles of guilt, and the fear of being selfish, may prevent you from operating at your full potential because you underestimate the effect that being good to yourself has on others. Taking care of yourself can awaken your higher self. This process has an almost magical quality to it because one of its foundations is the nurturing of our artist’s child. When nurtured, we return the favor with grand displays of creativity.”

(Is it any wonder that she helped me totally transform my life by introducing me to the amazing methods of Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching?!)

How might you give yourself permission to enjoy a little (or not so little) reward in the coming week?

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

* Enjoy 10 minutes coloring in a mandala

* Eat lunch outside on your patio 

* Sign up for a creative class or workshop

* Get a chair massage at Whole Foods

* Read a magazine during the day (gasp!)

* Dive in to some guilt-free craft time

* Try a new restaurant for dinner

* Take a nature walk with your camera

* Make a handmade card for a friend

* Write a letter and send it through snail mail

and this small, but oh so delightful reward I just gave myself for writing this Mid-Week Oasis Moment:

* one piece of Adora dark chocolate calcium followed by a ten minute catnap in the sun on my back patio

I guarantee as good as that sounds, it felt even better! 
(Note to self - this is your new favorite small reward!)

What sounds like a good self-care reward to you? I’d love to hear your ideas and better yet how you feel after you’ve given yourself permission to enjoy them!

Until next time, all the best from my self-nurturing Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my e-booklet that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!

Want to Create An Instant Holiday Oasis for Yourself?

Since December can feel overwhelming for so many of us…too many obligations…too many presents to buy…too much sugar to ingest…too little time for yourself, I’m offering a virtual Creative Oasis Day Trippers experience for the holidays that you can enjoy in the comfort of your own home whenever you like rather than my usual in-person excursion. (click here to learn more about Creative Oasis Day Trippers)

I’ve given you lots of options below, so you can create an instant Holiday Oasis that feels just right for you, and even included a permission slip to get you started. Now, please pick up a candy cane, raise your right hand and repeat after me:

* I hereby give myself permission to enjoy five or ten minutes of my own personal holiday oasis.

* I hereby further give myself permission to actually spend even more time than this if I am even remotely able.

* I hereby give myself permission to thoroughly enjoy my Holiday Oasis without guilt, without attempting to multi-task, and without further ado.

How to Create Your Own 

Instant Holiday Oasis: 

#1 – You get to decide when you’d like to enjoy your Holiday Oasis.

         

 A.  Right this very minute! (Good thinking!)

 B.  I get to put this on my calendar for sometime in the next week. (That’s fine…but please take a moment right now to write it in your planner…type it in iCal…or add it to your official schedule in whatever form that takes.)

C.  I’ll get around to it after I’ve finished all my shopping, wrapped all the presents and baked all the goodies on my list  – oh wait a minute no I won’t – please go back and choose either A or B. 

#2 –     You get to choose the atmosphere in which you’d like to experience your Holiday Oasis.

         

A. Snuggled up in front of the fireplace. (substitute with fireplace screensaver if you don’t have a real fireplace)

B. Cozy in my favorite chair next to a delicious smelling candle

with a cup of something yummy

C. In my car at stop lights while running some errands and         

frantically crossing things off my To-Do list – oh wait a minute,

that won’t work, will it? You get to choose A or B. 

#3 – You get to pour yourself a glass of cheer by enjoying one of the following:

A. Hot tea, cocoa or coffee

B. Eggnog or wassail

C. A glass of wine or champagne (with a large glass of water on 

             the side to maintain proper hydration)

#4 – You get to do something that you love to do during the holidays, but usually never get around to doing because of your busy schedule. Some ideas would be:

A. Sit and stare at the lights on your Christmas tree and let them

hypnotize you. (deep breathing recommended for this one)

 B. Pull a beloved holiday book off the shelf and enjoy reading it

and/or looking at the pictures

C. Write a letter to someone you haven’t seen lately who you miss just to let them know

D. Peruse favorite holiday recipes and choose something delicious to make sometime within the next couple of weeks. (leaving the cookbook or the recipe out on your kitchen counter could be a good reminder that this is something you’d really like to do)

E. String popcorn and cranberries like the good ole’ days

F. Make a chain out of colorful construction paper and for each chain think of one thing  for which you’re grateful

G. Run around like a chicken with your head cut off trying to make everyone in your life happy by fulfilling their every holiday wish and desire, saying yes to every invitation and obligation while ignoring your own needs and dreams and...wait a minute...wow this thinking is insidious isn't it? Please ignore G completely and choose something from A to F instead.

#5 – You get to make a quick list of some things you’d really love to do this season that will take longer than 5 or 10 minutes. Then you get to circle your very favorite one – the one that makes makes you feel like a kid again and add that to your calendar as well. (Pinky promise yourself that you’ll really do it or why not invite a friend to join you for added support?) Some ideas would be:

A.  Watch your favorite Christmas movie. (Mine is The Bishop’s Wife with David Niven and Cary Grant)

B. Look at Christmas lights on foot or by car

C. Have your picture made with Santa

D. Bake a pie from scratch

E.  Read an entire book in one sitting, stopping only to refill your

holiday beverage of choice and refill your snack plate (how amazing does that sound?)

Since this is your very own, personalized Holiday Oasis – you can also ignore every single suggestion that I’ve given you and come up with something that makes your heart sing…something that the very idea of doing fills you with peace or delight or energy or some other wonderful emotion.  If you’re anything like me, you’re to-do list this time of year is as long as Santa’s and not half has fun. Why not take a moment to put yourself on the nice list and luxuriate in some much needed self-care and holiday cheer?  Even spending just ten minutes doing something nice for yourself can lift your spirits enough to help you sail through the rest of the day with bells on. (and 10 minutes is less than 1% of your entire day – don’t you deserve that?)

I’d love to hear about your Holiday Oasis moments and hope you enjoy taking a little time for yourself to create them this season with my best wishes!

Lots of love and light from my Holiday Oasis to yours,

Jill

p.s. H O –H O – H O! (how's that for subliminal advertising?)

The Gift of Me

At the Double J Hacienda and Art Ranch over Thanksgiving weekend, I offered a holiday creative workshop. We had a cozy little group of wonderful women come together and took some time to stop and think about what we’d like this season to look like for ourselves. We began by quick-listing words and phrases from our pasts that brought up good memories of “Christmas” or “Holidays” for us: baking cookies, classic movies, looking at lights, etc… More often than not, our lists had nothing to do with shopping or gifts, rather our favorite memories revolved around shared experiences with friends and family.

We created mind-maps to expound upon the idea of intentionally creating a holiday season that would be fulfilling and joyful rather than stressful and filled with too many things that weren’t important to us or felt like obligations just to make someone else happy. From our mind-maps we created collaged postcards that I later mailed out as a fun reminder – a very personal Christmas card to ourselves. (That’s the front of mine above and the back below.)

What I realized was that I wanted to leave plenty of space and time this month to be with the people I hold dear and to share the gift of me with them – or rather, of my full attention and love.  I made myself a promise to cut back on multi-tasking and focus one thing at a time, especially when interacting with others. I also reminded myself that keeping enough time open for good self-care through meditation, exercise and journaling was a gift that I could give myself that would benefit me as well as my friends and family. You’ve heard the saying, “If momma ain’t happy – ain’t nobody happy – so true! And if I let self-care slide, I get pretty Grinchy pretty quickly. 

I’ll admit, it’s been a pretty jam-packed month, and there is still quite a bit left to do, but for the most part, I’ve enjoyed feeling in the flow of things rather than swamped, and that has been lovely. I'm so grateful for all of the special holiday memories I've experienced already: watching a young friend act in a wonderful production of "A Christmas Carol," seeing my daughter perform holiday numbers with her dance company at events around town, going with dear friends to see the musical "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," hosting our extended family Christmas party, playing Monopoly with my dad and daughter while my mom baked cookies and my husband played guitar – the good stuff you can't buy at the mall.  I feel sure that by taking the time to ask myself what I really wanted my holiday to look like, and spending some time with this awareness I've enjoyed this busy season much more than I would have otherwise.

What about you? There are a few days left before Christmas and over a week before the New Year.  There’s still time to create the experiences that you desire. Do you want to string popcorn and cranberries? Do you want to drink hot chocolate and watch “Charlie Brown’s Christmas?” Do you want to give yourself the gift of ten whole minutes just sitting in front of your Christmas tree enjoying the lights? Even the smallest of things can bring us an enormous amount of joy, especially when we allow ourselves to really be in the moment and immerse ourselves in it.

I wish you a Merry Little Christmas and the time and space to create at least a few wonderful holiday experiences that you’ll treasure now and always.

All the best from my Christmas oasis to yours,

Jill