Add Creativity to Your Calendar & Joy to Your Life

This past Sunday I reveled in several hours of guilt-free, low-pressure creative fun with people I love dearly. Sounds good, doesn't it?

And just so you know, being a creativity coach doesn't guarantee that this is a regular thing for me. While I do my best to weave creativity into my life on a regular basis and help others to do the same, this was different, deeper, dedicated creative time and wow, did it feel great!

Here's how it came to be:

First, I gave my mom a gift certificate for an All-Girl Creative Oasis Play Day for her birthday. My sister-in-law and daughter were invited too since they're awesome, creative-loving gals.

Next, we set a date and we put it on our calendars. Seems like a simple step, but it’s huge. Putting creativity on our calendar transforms dedicated creative time from a “wouldn’t that be nice” thought to a “this is gonna happen” event. (My e-booklet Creative Oasis Dates–  Make Time to Pursue YourCreative Passion in Five Easy Steps walks you through the process.)

After we gathered around the table and took out our supplies, we found an acoustic guitar station on Pandora and relaxed into our time together. Sometimes we chatted…sometimes we just listened to the music while we dabbled with our various projects. We all agreed it was a peaceful, fulfilling and fun way to spend the afternoon.

I started off with some doodling using a kit I recently purchased. You can see the results in the time-lapse video up top. (You can find this fun-filled kit by Stephanie Corfee in my amazon associate store by clicking here.)

It was a great low-pressure way to enjoy some pure creative process and not worry about the end result. Doodling is one of my favorite dive right in Instant Oasis moments ever and this how-to book has lots of great ideas to try. I love it!

My sister-in-law, Shannon, brought a package of adorable, tiny little canvases – talk about Kaizen! They feel so small and doable - not intimidating in the least. I had a blast using watercolor and markers to create my teeny-tiny masterpiece below.

Shannon created a pinterest inspired project that was super cool! Though I didn't get a shot of the final piece, here's one in progress. (Can you see a glimpse of the painting for R.S.V.P. by Tori Pendergrass peeking through?)

My mom brought some knitting and also a cute little sprite from her fairy garden that needed her paint freshened up. Too cute, right?

Does some relaxing creative time like this sound good to you? Why not take out your calendar right now and choose a date? Can you think of some friends or family members who might like to join you? What if you forward this post to them right now with an invitation to set up your own Creative Oasis Date? 

As always, I’d love to hear all about it if you do. Please post your comments below and let me know how it goes.

Until next time, here’s to putting our Creative Oasis time on the calendar a little more often and enjoying life more than ever! 

Jill

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!

Creative Bliss in 3 Easy Steps

I have an idea! What if we reframe sunsets as mini-creative workshops? You may be wondering "How in the world would we do that?" and even "Why in the world would we do that?"

Well, sunsets are beautiful to behold, occur daily and they're free. More importantly, taking a few moments to enjoy a sunset happens to be an awesome example of exposure, an extremely important, but often overlooked step in the creative process –  not to mention a wonderful way to increase your personal creative bliss. 

Exposing ourselves to the wonders of nature as well as other people's art, music, writing, recipes, ideas…in fact, all manner of creativity...shifts our focus from our own pursuits (and how much progress we're making…or not making…with them) and helps rev up our creative energy! 

It's so easy to get caught up in measuring the progress of our creative projects that we often neglect our desire to soak up our sponge with creative goodness in other ways. (Plus, it can be so damn fun that we may feel guilty even considering it.) Allow me to help alleviate that guilt for you. 

Consider this…doesn't it make sense that Van Gogh spent a good amount of time simply gazing at the golden beauty of sunflowers before he was able to paint some of his most well-known masterpieces?  That Julia Child sampled copious amounts of buttery sauces before perfecting and sharing her own? That Aretha swayed to the gospel of many a church choir before gracing us with R-E-S-P-E-C-T?

When we stop to appreciate the beauty around us we nourish our creative spirit.

How might you treat yourself to some inspiring exposure this week? 

What if you...

 Listen to the birds outside your window…

Savor your morning cup of coffee or evening glass of wine…

Take flight in a pretend rocket ship to the moon with your niece…

Watch a documentary art film…

Listen to some world-beat music...

Stop to smell the honeysuckle blooming in your backyard…

Listen to the rain on the roof in the middle of the night…

Try out that new Cuban restaurant around the corner...

Can you come up with three ideas to practice exposure that sound good to you? 

I'd love to hear them in the comments section below!

Until next time, all the best from my sunset Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

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!

Good Things Come in Microscopic Packages

photo by Dr. Gary Greenburg

Seeing gorgeous photographs of grains of sand magnified over 250 times reminds me that good things do indeed come in small packages. In this instance, even microscopic packages!

The microphotography of Dr. Gary Greenburg's book, A Grain of Sand: Nature's Secret Wonder, shares the complex and amazing beauty of single grains of sand from beaches around the globe giving new meaning in stunning 4-color imagery to the words of William Blake:

"To see a world in a grain of sand, 

And a heaven in a wild flower.

To hold infinity in the palm of your hand, 

And eternity in an hour." 

                                               – "Auguries of Innocence" 1805

A Grain of Sand - Nature's Secret Wonder by Dr. Gary Greenberg

We'll be exploring the topic of good things coming in small packages (small steps and small questions as well!) while tapping into the secret wonders of our own Creative Oasis Moments during the free teleclass I'm sharing to celebrate the one year anniversary of Mid-Week Oasis Moments (to join us drop me a line at creativeoasiscoach@me.com by 9am central 3/19/14 so I can send you the printables and call-in numbers):

“Creativity Cubed”

Create your own Instant Oasis Cube
and multiply your creative joy

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Noon (central time)

Click here for all the details about my free Creativity Cubed Teleclass

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

Jill

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!

Time to Celebrate! 52 Mid-Week Oasis Moments & Counting

Today I’m celebrating the One Year Anniversary of Mid-Week Oasis Moments! (Woo-Hoo!)

That’s right. You my friend are reading Mid-Week Oasis Moment number 52 which means over the past year I’ve:

* Dreamed up the concept for Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration delivered each week)

* Written more than 20,000 words

* Created more than 50 visuals

* Connected with hundreds of fabulous readers like you consistently each and every Wednesday for the past year.

As a recovering procrastinator/perfectionist extraordinaire I have to tell you – this is a big deal for me – so believe me when I say I am ready to celebrate!

I’d love for you to help me celebrate this major milestone by being my guest for my all new complimentary teleclass – “Creativity Cubed” where you’ll get to create your own Instant Oasis Cube and multiply your creative joy! You’ll find all of the details here and at the end of this post.)

If you know the story of my creative journey you know that once upon a time follow-through was not my strong suite. There was a time I had about a million creative dreams I longed to bring to life but didn’t have the tools to make that happen. So I spent a fair amount of time feeling stuck, frustrated and unfulfilled.

Then I found Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coaching and all that changed. Using the “this stuff will change your life!” methods of KMCC I’ve:

•  Earned my Kaizen-Muse® Creativity Coach certification and was chosen 
to be one of the very first Master KMCC coaches

• Started my own business – Creative Oasis Coaching™



• Written, recorded and released my solo CD, “Dancing In Limbo”



• Created and hosted “Infinite Possibility – A Night of Music, Art & Women Helping Women” a benefit that raised more than $10,000 for Women for Women International

• Trained for and ran my first half-marathon



• And perhaps, most importantly, learned how to weave creative satisfaction into my life in small, doable ways on 
a daily basis

Today I get to add my one-year anniversary of Mid-Week Oasis Moments to this list!

How did I move past the creative blocks so many of us share? I dipped into my treasure chest of creative coaching tools that helped me to:

• Take small steps – like playing in my creative space for just five minutes.

• Ask small questions such as What Lights Me Up?

• Lower the pressure. I decided Mid-Week Oasis Moments would be short and sweet and therefore doable and fun for me!

• Embrace gentle accountability. Because I promised you that I’d deliver a Mid-Week Oasis Moment to your inbox each and every Wednesday without fail I’ve been inspired to keep to my promise and my writing schedule.

• Keep it fun! I played in my Creative Oasis Journal, went on photographic scavenger hunts and colored in mandalas.

• Cut myself slack. We creative types need to be gentle with ourselves you know.

You can count on me to practice what I preach in my own life! I use all of these methods and more…the very same ones I share with my one-on-one coaching clients and classes and, happily, in my Mid-Week Oasis Moment.

So back to that celebration! I wanted to find a way to say thank you to all of my lovely Mid-Week Oasis Moment followers and so I created a fun free teleclass to share.

I’d love for you to celebrate this milestone by being my guest for a complimentary teleclass: 

“Creativity Cubed” 

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Noon (central time)

You can find all the details by clicking here or read on...

We'll create personalized Instant Oasis Cubes and play with new ways to multiply the time we spend enjoying our creative passions! 

To register, drop me a line here so I can save you a space, send you all the details, call-in information and everything you'll need to join us.

This special no-charge teleclass will be great for you if:

* You need a little help giving yourself permission to spend time with your creative pursuits and passions

* You could use the gentle reminder that experiencing creative joy and fulfillment doesn’t have to take a lot of time

* You’d like to contemplate what Instant Oasis Moments might look and feel like in your busy life

* You’d enjoy some fun, low-pressure creative play with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidance

* You'd like to celebrate with me and other amazing members of the Creative Oasis tribe!

It has been a true pleasure and one of the greatest experiences of my creative life to create and share Mid-Week Oasis Moments with you each and every Wednesday this past year and I'm ready to par-tay!

I do hope you'll join me Wednesday, March 19 at noon central time for "Creativity Cubed" – a fun FREE teleclass created especially to celebrate the one year anniversary of Mid-Week Oasis Moments! 

Drop me a line here if you have any questions or want to save your place for the call.

In the meantime, I'm off to celebrate and enjoy some small rewards (another great creativity coaching tool!) for a job well done – lunch with a dear friend and a massage. Woot!

Until next time, all the best from my celebratory Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Let's Celebrate with a Free Creative Teleclass!

I’m thrilled to announce the one-year anniversary of  

Mid-Week Oasis Moments!

I’d love for you to celebrate this milestone by being my guest for a complimentary teleclass: 

“Creativity Cubed”

Create your own Instant Oasis Cube
and multiply your creative joy

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Noon (central time)

We'll create personalized Instant Oasis Cubes and play with new ways to multiply the time we spend enjoying our creative passions! 

To register, drop me a line here so I can save you a space, send you all the details, call-in information and everything you'll need to join us.

This special no-charge teleclass will be great for you if:

* You need a little help giving yourself permission to spend time with your creative pursuits and passions

* You could use the gentle reminder that experiencing creative joy and fulfillment doesn’t have to take a lot of time

* You’d like to contemplate what Instant Oasis Moments might look and feel like in your busy life

* You’d enjoy some fun, low-pressure creative play with easy-to-follow, step-by-step guidance

* You'd like to celebrate with me and other amazing members of the Creative Oasis tribe!

It has been a true pleasure and one of the greatest experiences of my creative life to create and share Mid-Week Oasis Moments with you each and every Wednesday this past year and I'm ready to par-tay!

I do hope you'll join me Wednesday, March 19 at noon central time for "Creativity Cubed" – a fun FREE teleclass created especially to celebrate the one year anniversary of Mid-Week Oasis Moments! 

Drop me a line here if you have any questions or want to save your place for the call.

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

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

The Happiness Secret

I came across this photograph I took at a friend's place years ago. It always makes me smile and seemed like the perfect image with which to create this Mid-Week Oasis Moment:

"Learn to let go. This is the secret of happiness." 

– Buddah

Reading this quote, this question came to mind:

When giving ourselves permission to spend time with the creative pursuits we love, what would be helpful for us to let go? 

What if we practice gently letting go of:

* the need to please everyone else

* inner critic voices

* perfectionism

* comparison 

* judgement

* self-doubt

If these seem too daunting, what if you practiced letting go of them just 5% more? 

What if you start by simply reading the words, feeling a glimmer of hope and thinking: 

"Hey! Wouldn't that be awesome if I let go of 5% of my perfectionism today and just enjoyed my creative process?"

Here's to letting go of the thoughts and feelings that don't serve us and embracing our creative spirit instead! 

All the best from my Happy Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

p.s. – If you’d like to receive Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration) as well as my e-booklet, “Permission to Be Creative 101” with my compliments, you can sign up for both right here.