I want to offer what I can to be of service during these volatile times of transformation and external upheaval.  If you think you are helpless and there is nothing you can do you are disillusioned.

We are counting on you.

While there is a lot of emotional energy being expressed in the world right now, catalyzed by the recent election here in the US, I want to write to those in despair, apathy and rage to see the light within the global uprising and world stage.

Trump and Clinton are mirrors.

They are mirrors for the light and the dark for which we see (or don’t see ) in ourselves as individuals and also as a collective as the US.  I mean, we just nominated a ‘megalomanic Reality TV start who loves to play to tyrant on TV to the White House!  If that isn’t the collective US shadow expressing itself in full color I don’t know what else is.

Whatever your strong reaction is, will lead you to the areas within yourself that need more compassion.

Where have you been self absorbed? Where have you been watching too much TV rather than being the star of your own life? Where in your life have you been tyrannical? Where have you not taking control of your own life?  Get my drift?

Shadow work as we have been talking about in The Empowered Creative Master Class, is the work of bringing the unconscious, conscious.

So whatever triggers you about another candidate is something you do not own within yourself.  And that may mean growing into a certain aspect a bit more within yourself too.  your full expression of wholeness needs it.  Your next evolution of growth needs it.  We need it.

If you think Hillary is a liar then you need to look at your own patterning of lying and not telling the truth to yourself or others.  If you think Trump is a mysogynist where have you shamed women (even if you are a woman) or men for being in her power?  Are you owning your own power?  Where are you giving it away?

If you are appalled by Trump’s perceived reckless uninhibited self expression, how can you you be a little less contained and speak more of your mind without caring what other people think of you?

These leaders bring lessons of the highest order.  And we need them.

See where I am going with this?  You with me?

<I giggle as I type this as Sophia is at my feet, kicking my laptop – certainly in her power in getting my attention!>

The real opportunity here if you find yourself in despair, depression, fear, anger frustration is to feel all of your feelings.  Do not deny them. Give them a voice. Write, paint, dance them out, tell a trusted friend, by all means let that energy flow and be sure that it flows to action. when we honor our feelings we honor ourselves, each other and the world.  IF you stay stuck in the emotion place (sadness, grief, despair) then you are attaching to your emotion from a place of identity ( I am sad, vs. I am feeling sad) and you may need outside help to shift that energy so it to alchemize it rather than keeping you stuck.  Ask for help.

Trump and Clinton are catalyst an all your unresolved personal and collective trauma is coming to the surface through this spectacular GLOBAL event.  Have compassion first and foremost for whatever comes up for you and then bring your attention to your inner reality.

Here are some tips to support you in taking this seemingly challenging event, reclaiming your power and creating the opportunity to thrive beyond our social programming:

15 Keys for reclaiming your personal power from your TV and rocking your freedom in your life and business:

1. Feel all of your feelings, express them, receive the gift they are bringing and let them go.
2. Detach from the drama without judgment.  This can be hard.  We as a culture are addicted to drama and suffering.  It sells.  It stimulates.  It is a great distraction from our SOUL. Ask for support. Find compassion. Peace starts with each and every one of us. Be the Change.
3. Break the trauma/drama cycle.  You do not have to suffer when others are surfing, have compassion, yes. And keep your vibration high.  Stay out of creating more suffering for yourself and others. Focus on the light in yourself and every situation.
4. Refrain from tolerating abuse of any kind by honoring your boundaries and disengaging with people who are coming from fear rather than love.  You know what love feels like.  You can feel where a person is coming from.  Listen to your gut.  Don’t know what your boundaries are?  Book a session with me and I can support you in discovering them.
5. Keep your vibe high, focus on your joy.  Find  your passion.  Do it.  Do what makes you happy, this is what the world needs more of.  It is contagious. Your happiness is infectious and lifts up everyone around you.Happiness from the inside out. It starts with you. If you don’t know where to find this, invest in support to discover what this is for you.  Take a class.  Pick up a brush. Go for a walk.
6. Keep it light.  Find the humor, find time for pleasure, joy and fun!
7. Stop complaining and start creating. If you don’t like something fix it. If you can’t fix it, create something new.  Its your duty to create as a creative being on this planet.  Here is a great way to paint with me in Austin next month and discover your true passion, purpose and awaken your creative power to create your life from the inside out.
8. Focus on solutions.  Look for your highest purpose.  Are you upset with the current government? Get involved. Activate your right to freedom by taking action toward what you want to see happen.  Stop fighting and protesting and start creating your vision of what’s possible.  It starts with you.  Plus action is a wonderful anecdote to depression or feeling helpless.  Take a small step in your own life that is easy and start creating momentum in this direction.
9. Unplug from the Media.  Notice when you feel depressed or drained.  Start honoring your own psychic boundaries and …with the media and other people.  Be responsible for the energy you bring in to a space.  (including Facebook) You are responsible for your e-motions, energy-in-motion.
10. Focus on what you CAN control.  You have control over one thing, and that is YOU!  And you are a POWERFUL creator full of life force energy and wisdom just waiting to be tapped into.  Your happiness. Your choices. Your perspective is up to YOU.  You can not control other people.
11. Govern your own mind. Stay in your power and BE the authority in your own life.  Take your power back from thinking anyone is going to rescue you.  Like the government (funny how the word government breaks down to govern+mental)   Let go of giving control of your thoughts to the president, your religion, your job, your boss, your car, the neighborhood where you live or whatever.  No one is coming to save you. Be the savior in your own life by starting to create change from the inside out.
12. Remember God is in everything and ask for Divine Guidance daily.  Pray. Intend to be the highest expression of yourself. Ask. Listen. Act = Align!  Let this be your guide. Your heart, your intuition, higher self, Source, Universe. Allah. Ja. Jesus. Christ. Mary. Buddha Self.  Goddess. Whatever your pleasure. However you relate to this Supreme Knowing.  You can also look to trusted sources for inspiration and guidance and if it resonates fantastic.  Take responsibility for curating your own inner wisdom and relationship with all that is.
13. Get Focused. Discover your Soul’s blueprint within your own heart and live it! What are you here to contribute in this lifetime?  Where do you find meaning in your life? When you start living your unique path with purpose, your life takes on a whole new level of love, clarity, confidence and fulfillment.  The world needs you!
14. Choose to evolve beyond the blame, shame, guilt, game.  Its a vicious cycle of fear and hate.  We can get stuck in if we are unaware of how we too, are participating.  Stop playing the game. A bully needs attention and stage.  The smartest way to fight it is by taking your attention away from this type of behavior.
15. Stop bullying yourself. You think Trump is a bully, what about the bully within you?  You think he is affecting the right for you to choose?  You know who has more power over you than anything externally is your internal bully.  That’s right.  Your inner critic. Its sabotages your intuition and keeps you small, afraid and from growing into the greatest version of yourself. The bully that keeps you from doing what you know in your heart is right for you.

So there you have it. I trust these 15 keys for taking your power back and rocking your  freedom in your life and business will serve you.

To creating a new free world with you,

Like so many of you, I have had my share of creative ‘curve balls’ in my life…

• from leaving a 6-figure corporate job to follow my soul’s calling, only to find myself deep in the midst of a potent spiritual awakening that rocked my world…

• completing my 5 year Masters and Clinical Training in Transpersonal Psychology with a focus in Creative Expression, $150,000 later only to discover that I didn’t want to be a therapist…

• to unexpectedly getting pregnant last summer and making the hard choice to be a single mother.

This is my latest ‘curve ball’…

Sophia Flora

…and I am proud to say she is the BEST thing that has ever happened to me.  I know it may sound cliche, and I don’t care— it is so so very true!  She has changed my life and opened my heart in ways that I am still discovering and growing into.  I am forever humbled and honored to be her mother.

So yeah, I know a little bit about ‘creative curve balls’ and windy roads towards the ever evolving path of success. Success, however you define it, IS NEVER A STRAIGHT LINE. This is the mystery and magic of the creative process.

*For me success is knowing that I am following my heart, growing towards my full potential, expressing my creativity and calling authentically, in a way that expresses my highest values of love, joy, freedom and abundance for all.

If you have been in the studio painting with me before you may have heard me talk about how in the intuitive painting process, we have a saying that there are no mistakes in your painting.  Think Bob Ross wisdom. You know the early 70’s painter and TV host:

Yeah, that guy.  Everything that shows up in your painting, is part of the process.  Is part of YOUR process, your creative process, your awakening process, your process of self-realization and stepping into your creative potential as a co+creator in your life, in your relationships in your business.

YOUR PERCEPTION OF YOUR EXPERIENCE HAS THE POWER TO SHIFT EVERYTHING 

A CREATIVE MINDSET WILL SET YOU UP TO RECEIVE MIRACLES

As a professed, idealist, I could have played the victim. I mean after all, I have been teaching creativity, CLARITY, the creative process and authentic self-expression for the last 10 years.  This was not looking like the picture I had dreamed about.  Talked about, held in my heart for so long. I could have thrown a tantrum, let my inner child drive the bus into despair, taking a wrong turn down the road to scare-city thinking, doom and gloom.  I could have thought to myself ‘this circumstance this is insurmountable’…that I was a failure, and I should just throw out the towel, now. I mean how can I make a living doing what I love, raising a child by myself?   This was not my ultimate dream and vision to be a solo parent.

But I couldn’t allow my ego that much power, I had a little one that needed me to show up and be the MOM I had visioned and knew I wanted to be.

Then  remembered my own intuitive painting practice and what I tell others in the studio when we bump up (pun unintended!) against our inner critic, 

TRUST YOUR PROCESS.  YOU AREN’T DONE YET, YOU ARE STILL IN THE FLOW OF YOUR CREATION.  YOUR VISION IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE.  IT MIGHT NOT LOOK EXACTLY HOW YOU THOUGHT IT SHOULD, RIGHT NOW, IN THIS MOMENT– IT IS STILL IN THE PROCESS OF CREATION.

Phew. Like a baby in utero, we are all in process. A powerful moment when I had to take a big hefty dose of my own medicine.  There is a supreme creative intelligence working through us when we surrender, have faith and continue to take inspired action.   We truly become surprised and delighted.  We ARE supported, when we support ourselves by opening up with this generous mindset. It is our little minds who think they know and need to control our creativity, inspiration, passion and dreams. 

So can you think of a creative ‘curve ball’ in your life? 

How can you transform it into the best thing that ever happened to you?

Need help with this?  Let me support you.  I have a passion for supporting others in transforming pain into power, passion, purpose and prosperity….

Of course there are many more lessons to unpack here.  Join me in the coming weeks as I reveal more of my story and I step into my vision of empowered motherhood as I go into my 10th year of Fire Tree Studios..

When we let go and trust, we go with the flow and it is much easier and full of grace to take the next inspired step towards fulfillment.  This is key in supporting ourselves with a generative prosperous mindset. 

Only 5 days left to save this month, <<< The Abundant Creative e-course.>>>   Take your first step in shifting your mindset from one that generates prosperity vs. scarcity and begin to create miracles and opportunities for an abundant creative life.

If you are feeling stuck around a creative curve ball, register now for a Breakthrough Session also on special this month as we celebrate 9 years of Fire Tree Studios.

To all your creative curve balls and the surprising joy that they bring…

xx

Happy Summer!  By now if you are in the warmer climates, you are feeling the heat of summer. I have been in Texas all summer and its Hot!

Embrace the Heat.

It is no surprise that I love fire.  From a perspective of wholeness, fire is an essential part of the creative life cycle, it has the power to both create and destroy.  When used wisely, fire has the potential to burn up what is no longer serving us and also ignite the passions of our next best step.

I think by now everyone can agree that we are in times of radical change.  And change, while often uncomfortable …because it takes us out of our current comfort zone… is also a very exciting time of transitioning into one stage of growth from an earlier one.  And fire, as an element, is a big ingredient for this natural alchemical process to happen. And we can either be proactive with the inevitable change ahead or we can let it drag us around and down.  What do you choose?

How can you proactively work with the fire in your life?

In celebration of Fire, Transformation and Fire Tree Studios 9th Birthday!!!

and… moving back to Texas for a bit…I am having a Summer Anniversary Sale!

Some Like it Hot *Anniversary* Sale!

Add a little *fire* to your life.

For the month of August, just for my current tribe and subscribers, I am offering $100 off my Breakthrough Deep Dive Session for new clients and $150 off for folks who have worked with me before. 

For More info on the Breakthrough Deep Dive Session, click here.  In short this is a one-time intensive session that entails pre-session prep work and post session accountability follow up designed to support you in creating a breakthrough in your life in an area you feel stuck in.

Also ON SALE:  The Abundant Creative: End the Starving Artist Myth Forever Course is $50!!! (That is $125 off!, Regularly $175.)  All for the month of August as a thank you for allowing me to serve you and live my passion!

*Must purchase sessions and e-course by midnight on August 31st, 2016. Limited number of private Breakthrough sessions available, so act now!

Breakthrough Sessions such as…

• Ignite your Life!
• Ignite your Business!
• Freeing Trapped Trauma
• Intergenerational Healing: Clearing the Family Imprint
• The Abundant Creative: Shift your Mindset to Prosperity Thinking!
• The Phoenix Rising Experience: Discover Passion, Purpose & Prosperity!
• …and more!

This FIRE Sale is to celebrate life, love, freedom and FIRE Tree’s 9th year in business and all the creativity and transformation that has been inspired both inside and out.  Thank you for all your love and support and for the commitment to your own growth, passion and creativity.  In the spirit of Fire and Transformation, Fire Tree Studios, too is going through some changes and with that some very exciting new programs are evolving and in new ways to serve more of you, in easy and more affordable ways, to support you in thriving in an artful life and business– while also being available to my daughter, Sophie.

Therefore, in the spirit of creation and destruction, we are building new things, keeping all the wonderful content curriculum and programs created over the last 9 years and evolving them to better serve you.

Stay tuned for a cool new survey to help us better serve you and also updates on our new programs! Thanks again for all your love, passion, creativity and support over the last nine years.

Some Like it Hot *Anniversary* Sale!

*Must purchase sessions and e-course by midnight on August 31st, 2016 to receive the savings. Private Breakthrough sessions are limited.

1. Click here for $100 off a Breakthrough Deep Dive Session for new clients.  If you have been wanting to work with me for some time now, here is a super opportunity to jump start your growth and creativity!
2. Click here for $150 off a Breakthrough Deep Dive Session for existing and previous clients.
3. And Click here to purchase The Abundant Creative Self Study Course and End the Starving Artist Myth Forever! for $50!!!! I really want you to have a breakthrough on your mindset and create the environment for you to live life as your greatest work of art!   As science has proven, success is 90% mindset and 10% action!  So starting with a prosperous mindset is essential to long lasting fulfillment  transformation and success ( however you define it).

I look forward to igniting the fire with you!