How Does a 3-Step In-Box Detox Sound?

Does your in-box overflow with e-mails, marketing messages and newsletters that leave you feeling overwhelmed? I can relate.

That's why I invite you to join me for an easy 3-Step In-box Detox!

I have detoxing on the brain lately since I'm doing my first ever cleanse. Scary...but doable...and it has me feeling a little like Wonder Woman right about now having made it to the half-way mark and lived to tell the tale.

It also has me contemplating the many ways letting go can be good for us. The Colorado Cleanse has been a great opportunity for my body to release toxins and to let go of old habits that were no longer serving me.

Spring is a nice time for...well...spring-cleaning. It's a great time to dust off the cobwebs and clean out our lives in lots of ways...from our bodies... to our closets...to our in-boxes.

If this sounds good to you, I propose this 3-Step In-box Detox:

Step #1: Take a few minutes to peruse the emails, newsletters and reminders you receive each week and ask yourself, "Does reading this feel like a Get-To-Do or a Have-To-Do?" 

Step #2: Over the next week simply notice which messages tend to pile up before you read or delete them. (For me, a dozen is usually a good indicator that I'm no longer interested.)

Step #3: Give yourself permission to unsubscribe - guilt free! That goes for my Creative Oasis Pages and Mid-Week Oasis Moments too.

If what I'm sharing isn't truly serving, inspiring or enlightening you in some way right now by all means, please unsubscribe. I promise my feelings won't be hurt and the last thing I want is to add to your e-mail overwhelm. If you decide to return in the future you'll be welcomed with open arms.

If you still enjoy receiving my creative inspirations and updates please know that I'm so honored and happy to have you as a member of the Creative Oasis community!

Look for some brand new on-line programs coming soon to help you enjoy more creative fun and fulfillment in your busy life!

Here's to saying goodbye to things that no longer serve us and making room for our own Creative Oasis - the joyful things that make our hearts sing and time fly – kind of like Wonder Woman! 

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!

When You Wish Upon a Tree?

Can you guess how delighted I was to come upon this glorious Wishing Tree on my final morning in Portland, Oregon after my Art & Soul workshop last week? (If you guessed “extremely delighted” you are correct!)

My best friend and I were heading home after a lovely walk through the brilliant flowering trees (plum, cherry, dogwoods, magnolias etc…) when we were stopped in our tracks by the sight of hundreds and hundreds of tags attached to a big old beautiful tree. 

Hanging on the trunk from a rusty nail was a clipboard with a pen, a plastic bag filled with empty paper tags and an invitation for people to share their wishes.

The tree was brimming with the handwritten messages that upon further examination ranged from a wish to do well on final exams to a wish that 4^th grade had never happened to a wish to find a new job to a wish to find true love and many, many more.

How cool that someone chose to transform this tree into a constantly evolving work of art and a living creative experience!

I immediately added a couple of wishes of my own to the tree. On one side of my tag I wished things just for myself and then to spread the love I wished for some major love, light and peace for the rest of the world on the other.

The giddiness I felt upon discovering something so unexpected, creative and enchanting brought to mind a wonderful childhood memory of wishing on the first star of the evening. I remember the words we used felt like an mystical incantation: “Star light…star bright…first star I see tonight. I wish I may…I wish I might have this wish I wish tonight.”

I still believe in the power of wishes but I also believe that we need to be active participants to help make our wishes come true. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that wishing is a great first step!  

Here are five super quick prompts to put you back in touch with the power of wishing and your creative dream. If you give yourself permission to do this exercise quickly and intuitively without over thinking your answers I promise it will be much more powerful, not to mention more fun!

1. My favorite creative wish is that someday I will…

2. When I allow myself to daydream for a minute or two about being in the creative flow with this wish I feel…

3. One small step I can take this week to help my creative wish come true is to…

4. One way I could make this small step even easier is to…

5. One way I could make this small step even more delightful is to…

Here’s to taking time to honor our creative wishes and then taking the small steps necessary to help them come true! I truly believe that wishing can open the door to doing if we let it.

I’d love to hear what about your creative wishes. Please leave a message in the comments section below and let me know what these prompts brought up for you.

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis Wishes 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!

Mother Nature Makes a Good Point

Mother Nature gave me a wink and a nod last week when my friend took me to the beautiful Multnomah-Wahkeena Falls. As we hiked lush trails that wove in and out of moss-covered trees and flowing waterfalls I snapped photo after photo while soaking up nature's powerful inspiration with delight. Talk about Creative Oasis Moments!

Since the name of the workshop I'd come to Art and Soul Portland to teach was entitled, "So In The Flow" (Maintaining your creative moment even after the retreat) the serendipity of having the opportunity to spend time trekking alongside these falls was not lost on me.

I hope the above image and haiku serve as a nice reminder that the free feeling of being in the creative flow is as natural as a waterfall - not to mention as energizing and refreshing!

Here are three simple ways we might take a page from Mother Nature's book:

#1 – Water flows downhill. It doesn't fight gravity. It literally goes with the flow. When we remember that the struggle is optional and we can choose to try things the easy way rather than the hard way, we open ourselves up to enjoying our creative pursuits more easily and frequently.

This may be as simple as remembering to ask ourselves, "How can I make this easier?" or "How might I make this more fun?"

What's one creative project you might try this with today?

#2 – Running water is an extremely powerful force. It can move heavy tree limbs, boulders and people down a mountainside with great force. Our creativity gives us super powers of our own.  When we embrace our creative flow we have the awesome ability to turn bad days into good days…wash away negative thoughts from our inner critic…and add positive energy and joy to the people in our lives.

What if being in the creative flow was your super power? How might that look? How might that feel?

#3 – Simply taking a moment to drink in the beauty of a waterfall feels like a sacred creative act.  Giving ourselves the opportunity to just enjoy the creative output of others is an important and delightful part of the creative process that we sometimes forget about. We become so focused on producing…doing…making…checking things off our list that we forget the importance of filling our own well.

Why not read an inspiring article or gaze at the lovely images in a coffee table book…watch a good movie or listen to a new style of music…take a walk in nature or enjoy a stimulating TED Talk video?

What's one way you might enjoy creative exposure this week?

Until next time I'll leave you with a few seconds of the lovely sound and image of a waterfall and the the wish that you'll give yourself permission to try at least one of the suggestions from above to dive into your own Creative Oasis flow very soon!

All the best from my 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!

Are You Making Enough Messes?

The marvelous mess above was created by the wonderful women in my Creating Time for Your Creative Oasis class last week.

The pigment splatters on the paint trays (recycled deviled egg trays from Whole Foods), the wadded up paper towels, the jars filled with colored pens, the torn paper scraps and scribbled notes blend to together to create a beautiful messy reminder:

“No chaos, no creation.”

Isn’t that what stops us from diving into our creative passions much of the time? Fear of making a mess?  Fear of adding chaos to our perfectly scheduled lives?

And yet, how many delightful creative moments are experienced without a little mess or chaos of some kind?

Case in point: my daughter’s earlier attempts at baking. (Come to think of it, her current attempts are none too neat, but that’s not the point, is it?)

The point is that usually

A Little Mess + A Little Creativity = A Lot of Fun

and sometimes a batch of tasty muffins in the bargain!

How might you make a little mess or create a little chaos today in the name of saying yes to your own creative joy? Don’t know where to begin?

* When’s the last time you experienced the joys of finger painting? There’s a reason kids love to finger paint – it’s all kinds of crazy fun! Bonus – when you complete your masterpiece you can hang it up on the fridge just like your mom used to do. (If that never happened when you were a child – all the more reason to do it for yourself – you’re the boss now. Woot!)

* What if you whip up a new dish for dinner tonight using whatever you have on hand in the fridge and pantry. Try to make it as colorful as possible and for bonus fun talk like Julia Child while you prepare it!

* Ever heard of a Chaos Garden? I recently read about this concept and just love it! You just toss random seeds out and plant them where they fall. Imagine how surprising and delightful it will be when random flowers and plants begin to pop up!

* Have some of random fabric lying around? Why not create a crazy quilt? You can use any material you like, cut into any shapes you like, using any stitches you like! Doesn’t that sound fun? (Want to lower the pressure even more – why not start with a crazy napkin – much smaller than a quilt!)

Here’s to making messes, embracing chaos and nourishing our creative spirits in the process!

Until next time, all the best from my messy 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!

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