Do you live in DFW? Please join me Saturday June 20, 2015!

Building Creative Confidence Workshop ~ Creative Arts Center of Dallas ~ Saturday, June 20, 2015

You dream of spending more time with the creative endeavors you love. 

You have lots and lots of ideas for creative projects and possibilities but you don't know where to begin. 

You know you want to experience more creativity in your life, but you're not sure what that would look like. 

Everything else in life pushes creativity to the bottom of your to-do list.

You find procrastination and perfectionism keep you from your creative passions. 

You just feel stuck.

If any of these sound familiar I hope you'll join me for my next live workshop at the Creative Arts Center of Dallas, Saturday June 20, 2015.

During our afternoon together I'll introduce you to several of the same simple yet powerful Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching tools and techniques I use with my one-on-one creative coaching clients around the world. 

The methods I'll share will help you: 

*Move past common creative blocks such as procrastination and perfectionism

*Diffuse feelings of overwhelm and not knowing where to begin

* Dive into low-pressure, hands-on creative activities to start your creative juices flowing  to 

* Help you quickly and easily make more time and space in your life for the creative experiences and expressions you desire

* Build your creative confidence

* Give yourself permission to live the creative life you're meant to live 

* Enjoy more time with Creative Oasis Moments (creative experiences that make your heart sing and time fly!)

"Jill's workshop gave me permission to take time for myself and 

not feel guilty about it. It inspired me and got me going!" 

~ Sherry Houpt, Creative Oasis Coaching class participant

Your Creative Oasis can be so much more that art, music, writing or other traditional artistic outlets. It's any activity or experience that makes energizes and delights you. 

It could be gardening, cooking, yoga, dance, entertaining, comedy, reading, scrapbooking, photography, jewelry making, traveling...you name it. 

Whatever puts you in that lovely creative "freedom zone" where you're fully engaged in the joy of the process...that's your Creative Oasis and I'm delighted to help you weave more of those experiences into your life on a regular basis! 

Sound good? 

Join me for my Building Creative Confidence Workshop, and take the first small steps into the wonderful feeling and flow of creative momentum! 

What:

Building Creative Confidence Workshop

When:

Saturday, June 20, 2015

1 to 5 pm

Where: 

Creative Arts Center of Dallas
2360 Laughlin Dr.
Dallas, TX  75228

Cost:
$65 for CAC members
$95 for non-members
plus $10 material fee

*Note: This workshop is limited to 10 participants with
pre-registration required.To register call the Creative Arts
Center of Dallas at 214-320-1275 or visit their website at www.creativeartscenter.org

“I absolutely loved Jill’s workshop. I’m more mindful and aware of new ways to acknowledge and incorporate creativity in my everyday activities. I'm inspired to give myself permission to get my creative stuff out and use it.  It was like a massage for my mind! Thank you!” ~  Denise R.

Hope to see you there!

All the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

P.S. ~ If you don't live in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area, or you can't make it to the workshop but still want to add some creative fun and fulfillment to your summer check out my "Create the Summer of Your Dreams Do-It-Yourself Kit" by clicking here. 

Be Here Now = Be Happy Now

It's so simple. Right here...right now...this moment is our life, as so beautifully put by Omar Khayyam:

"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life."

~ Omar Khayyam (1048 – 1131)

Khayyam was a Persian philosopher, mathematician, poet, musician, polymath, astronomer, physician and a bit of an overachiever if you ask me. (Just kidding.) Though Omar was definitely what I would call a multi-passionate creative! 

We all have memories of the past and dreams for the future...but it's only in the present moment that we truly live our life. 

So why does it often seem so difficult to "Be Here Now" as the western-born yogi Ram Dass was advised by his guru Bhagavan Das. (I googled it.)

Do you ever find the "if only" mantra playing in your mind? It sounds a little something like this:

If only my space was completely uncluttered and organized then I could finally make art...write my book...crafting...learn to play the banjo...take up tap-dancing...plant a garden.

If only I had more time then I could finally make art...write my book...crafting...learn to play the banjo...take up tap-dancing...plant a garden.

If only I was younger then I could finally make art...write my book...crafting...learn to play the banjo...take up tap-dancing...plant a garden.

Notice, the dreams remain the same...only the excuses differ. And I've got a million of 'em – don't you? A million dreams and a million excuses. 

But luckily, I also have the wonderful tools and techniques of Kaizen-Muse Creative Coaching to help me move gently past my million excuses as well as common creative blocks like procrastination, perfectionism, lack of time, overwhelm and get stuff done! 

Today my energy is zapped and truthfully I don't feel so hot. I'm shaking off the tail end of a head cold. Given how I'm feeling it would have been easy to go straight into "if only" mode...

If only I felt better I could write my Mid-Week Oasis Moment.

But by using a few of my favorite Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching methods and allowing myself to accept and embrace the moment for what it is, I'm in a pretty good place. In fact, I'm even creating this post! Here's how...

Small Questions

By asking myself questions such as: "What's one thing I am grateful for today?" and "How would it be if I'm be gentle with myself while I"m not feeling so hot?" I opened the door to practice permission and compassion. 

Permission/Self-Compassion 

By giving myself permission to be gentle with myself (which means rather than force myself to get up, get dressed and go work at my desk I get to remain huddled in bed wearing two sweatshirts with a cup of hot tea) I'm happily creating today's Mid-Week Oasis Moment in this moment. 

In the next moment I may be napping...and that's okay too. (self-compassion)

Small Steps/Timer

Since my energy is much lower than usual, using small steps is the perfect, low-pressure way to make it through my day. I'm setting a timer and working for 15 minutes or so then giving myself a break to close my eyes or make another cup of tea or read my Joni Mitchell book. 

I hope that you feel fantastic and healthy today, but the next time you're feeling under-the-weather or overwhelmed, I invite you to try using these simple (but so powerful!) methods to move past "if only" and into the now because for most of us, the now is a pretty wonderful place to be. 

All the best from my "Be Here Now" 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.

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.