In an unpredictable and chaotic world, how can you find more calm and control? Actively crafting your experience can give you a sense of fulfillment and increase your satisfaction. So, how would this work?

For those who aspire to a life of creativity, what I’m sharing will likely resonate. Even if you’ve never had the desire to be an artist, I strongly recommend The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron’s seminal work on crafting a creative life. The book shares multiple practices to help you embrace your inner artist and uncover a path to more fulfillment.

Morning Pages, an activity I love and have done for years, is a daily journaling practice. As I’ve shared before, writing is a wonderful way to offload whatever is on your mind to access deeper inner knowing. Even if you never read what you write again, the simple act of writing will help you feel lighter as you release what’s on your mind. I am also a huge fan of clearing to make space for new possibilities and this is one way to start your day on the right foot, by unwinding heavy thoughts and lessening anxiety to make way for openness.

I strongly recommend another illuminating practice, the Artist’s Date, which is a solo weekly activity that you choose to do something that brings you joy. It’s intended to take you outside your comfort zone and allow you to indulge in something pleasurable and inspiring. You could go to a cafe to read a good book, explore a new neighborhood or start an adventurous undertaking.

What could you build? Where does your mind wander or your heart skip a jump when you think of embarking on something new? How might you indulge another side of your personality that doesn’t often get expressed? The possibilities are endless for what you might explore.

The Power of Practice

I had regrettably stopped this practice, and decided this weekend would be a good time to re-engage. So on Saturday, I committed to doing something creative for myself. I broke out some paints that were sitting in my closet for months (years?) and some glitter to create 2 works (a painted rock and an abstract painting).

While I hesitate to call these art, they were definitely lovingly crafted with my own hands which made them precious to me. Playing with color and liberating my expression were delightful. Most importantly, I found the process thoroughly enjoyable.

Exhilarated by my creative output and feeling things become unstuck, on Sunday I did another project. I made a beautiful necklace pouch to hold a crystal, combining several passions at once – my interest in jewelry-making, love crystals and sacred objects were a triple play that allowed me to fully express my creativity.

What did I notice by the end of the weekend?

Initially, as I was getting ready to start, I noticed some resistance and hesitancy. I wanted to make something beautiful and special, however this created a lot of pressure on me to perform (not exactly the energy I was going for in my desire to be fully present in the moment). However, once I gave myself permission to simply play, things opened up as I released the need for things to come out perfectly.

After that initial hump, I quickly eased into a blissful state of flow, immersed in my process. I enjoyed the act of creating for the sheer pleasure of being absorbed deeply in the moment. And it was so much fun!

Just committing to start brought me pleasant surprises as some happy accidents and delightful discoveries unfolded. Mostly I had the deep satisfaction of completing things that were special and meaningful for me because I made them with my own hands.

Your Turn

How might you adopt the Artist’s Date concept as a template for other experiments? What have you been longing to try?

My invitation is to consider how you can push outside your normal routines, to stretch your comfort zone so you can grow and learn something new. Why not adopt a sense of adventure and exploration to embrace: “what if…..?”

Here are my suggestions for getting started.

• Why not try something new? Is there an intriguing recipe you want to cook or a craft that’s calling you? Or better yet, a project you’ve been wanting to tackle, but putting off to focus on other seemingly more important priorities? What you do is less important than that you choose something.
• Schedule time in your week. Decide when and for how long you can commit to your activity and block the time in your calendar. Maybe it’s a weekday morning or afternoon, or perhaps the weekend would feel less constrained. Commit to making it happen.
• Stay accountable. Will you consider sharing with a friend or is making a commitment to yourself enough? To make progress on your important goals, who will you share your project idea with? Feel free to email me back and let me know what you decide to do – I would love to hear!
• Reflect on what you discover. What I hope you uncover is that your creative juices, once opened up, keep flowing as other inspiration arises.

Once we embark on the journey to uncover more fulfillment, the ball begins rolling and momentum builds. After I pulled out the art supplies hiding in my closets, I felt compelled to reorganize to make them more accessible so I could use them more. I moved around books, cleared off my side table and consolidated things I’d forgotten about. I enjoyed this surge of productivity and opportunity to reminisce with the unexpected knock on effect that I achieved so much more once I started the process.

You don’t need to make a big shift, just take one action – a small move in the direction of your dreams. You can make your project as small or big as you like. The Artist’s Date is meant to be a manageable activity completed over a short period of time. The art of craft is that you make it what you want through your attention and intention.

My guess is that once you get started, you will find more energy for other things you care about. At worst, you will simply enjoy the sweet satisfaction of taking time for yourself. Reclaiming joy these days can feel like a revolutionary act and you get to rebel in your own way.

Making Space for More

My final Authentic Alchemy Path workshop for the year is happening on Tuesday, September 30 from 6-7pm EST. I hope you’ll join me for the RELEASE Master Class where you will clear whatever may be blocking progress on your dreams. Receive reflection questions, a workbook, and the recording to help you move forward unencumbered by the past. This is an extremely powerful process and you will learn useful strategies you can return to again and again. Register HERE to get your ticket now!

For more inspiration, join me to Step Out of Your Head to Step Into Your Day, a workshop for female founders on Thursday, September 18 at 3pm. I will also be sharing Tips for Aspiring Writers to Seek Soul-Aligned Work at Easton, Pennsylvania’s Book Festival on Sunday, October 19 at 4pm. Please join me if these are a fit.

To crafting your reality,

Lenore

P.S. Want to realize your dreams? Schedule an Authentic Impact Call here to explore your next level of growth and how transformational coaching can support you.