Creative Alchemist - Artist

To say I'm currently hyperfocused on the half-mandala is a bit of an understatement!

Another half mandala using only blues and greens.

A progression of how I create my half mandalas.

Another half-mandala seeing as that's my current

This half mandala looking like a bird lol

Half-mandala done with and

Half using and

art

The Guardian of the Moon.

A bit obsessed with pointillism at the moment.

For justice, truth, clear seeing, balance and love shining down on all.

Sometimes, trauma isn't what happened, sometimes trauma is what did not happen too. We can feel traumatised by the lack of care, support or love we received when we really needed it. Trauma does not always have to be associated with an experience or event to be valid.

The invitation is to not judge our or others' trauma. Whether it is big or small, trauma is trauma and your feelings are valid and worth expressing and validating.

I'm not sure I 100% agree with Gabor Mate here. What are your thoughts on this quote?

I think maybe it is a desire to disconnect from the event that caused the trauma and disconnect from our emotions connected to the event, I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it's a disconnect from self.

Deep Doubt, Deep Wisdom, Little Doubt, Small Wisdom.

This is a Chinese proverb. I had never heard it until I contributed to the book Deep Doubt, Deep Wisdom and realised what it actually means.

For those who do not doubt, they gain little wisdom. For those who doubt deeply, they gain deep wisdom. If you know me, you know I believe in everyone's inate wisdom and this book shares the lived experience of numerous women's own journey's of doubt and through that doubt, finding their own deep wisdom.

This book is chock-full of our stories and the tips or processes we went through, not necessarily to overcome doubt but to be able to move through the world alongside it and strive for our dreams and desires regardless of the doubt.

When you don't question you don't gain wisdom. So if you find you doubt yourself a lot, it actually means you very likely question a lot, you think and reflect. We are often conditioned to believe this is a bad thing and allow our doubts to hold us back. This book invites you to changed that perspective and see how your doubts serve you up a lot of wisdom.

If you would like some new tools or processes that can help change your mindset and the way you see your doubt, and to find the gold in your self-doubt and insecurities - join us by purchasing Deep Doubt Deep Wisdom where we share our wisdom with you.

*** Newly released today, Friday 21st April on Kindle. Purchase via links in comments. ***

**Hard copies will be available in a few weeks, I'll let you know when.

Sometimes it can feel like everyone is staring at us, analysing us and judging us, especially for those who experience Rejection Sensitivity Disorder (RSD), when in reality they are also too busy being worried that people are starting at them, analysing them and judging them!

Yes, sometimes people are doing that but it's not as often as you probably think. Even if they are, their opinion, their thoughts, are actually none of your business and are a reflection of them, not you. You do you and don't worry about people who don't matter in your life.

What happens to you is an experience. Trauma comes from our reaction to the experience, which is why there's no point in judging your trauma compared to someone else's. Just like everything in life, we are all different, we feel things differently, we think differently, we have different tastes, different pasts, different longings and dreams.

Your trauma is valid, even if someone else's seems worse than yours, even if someone else didn't end up as traumatised as you from the same experience. YOUR trauma is valid and real and deserves to be held safely while you express it.

People who experience Rejection Sensitivity Disorder (RSD) can be plagued by guilt or bad feelings about mistakes that they have made in the past or the way they have behaved in the past, completely beating themselves up about it.

I'm here to let you know, whether you have RSD or not, it's okay to make mistakes! It is how we learn, it is how we grow, it is how we discover what not to do or how not to be. Making mistakes is normal and natural and necessary for growth.

So the invitation is to forgive yourself for your mistakes and to recognise that:

The invitation today is to create something without thinking about it. Just follow the next thing you feel called to do, even if it doesn't make sense. Are you drawing something and then all of a sudden want to sew a button into it? Do it! Perhaps you're doing some collage but get an urge to lay some paint down over top... do it!

There is never a right or wrong with art, only ever if you are trying to stick to a particular genre of art. Your art though, your unique creative way of expression, there's no rules for that. Follow your inner urges and see what you create.

I'd love to see any pieces you might do, feel free to share them in the comments!

While we can trust our feelings, we can't always trust our thoughts. People who experience Rejection Sensitivity Disorder often fall prey to false thoughts and it becomes a battle to convince themselves otherwise. This is not just a one-off fix, this is something that needs to be worked on consistently and indefinitely.

The good news is that once we become good at spotting the intrusive thoughts, we can get better at challenging them and calling those thoughts out on their BS.

The beauty of creative expression is it doesn't have to look a certain way. It can be abstract, it can be realistic, it can be messy, it can be symbolic, there are no rules when it comes to creative expression.

So the invitation today is to find a way that creatively expresses how you are feeling. Perhaps you can do a collage, or create something using things found in nature (sticks, rocks, flowers, etc), you could just get out some crayons and scribble whatever colours you're drawn to on this day in this moment. Simply find a way to express yourself.

If you do end up creating something I'd love to see what you did in the comments.

It's time to practice your breathing if you feel called to.

In, two, three, four
Out, two, three, four, five, six

Invite your body to relax, just a little bit.

In, two, three, four
Out, two, three, four, five, six

Invite your mind to quieten, just a little bit.

In, two, three, four
Out, two, three, four, five, six

Remind yourself that right now in this moment as you read this, you are safe.

Scan through your day and see if you can find any good parts, fun parts, slow parts, boring parts, parts where you held your boundaries or accomplished something.

Before you go, find three things to feel grateful for. Share them with us all if you feel like it.

Hey you, yeah you. If you're reading this your Higher Self would like you to drop your shoulders away from your ears, unclench your jaw, smooth your brow, roll your head around on your shoulders and look further away than the screen for a few seconds.

Did you do that? Awesome! How about some breathing? Just three slow conscious breaths?

In, two, three, four
hold, two, three, four
out, two, three, four
hold, two three four

In, two, three, four
hold, two, three, four
out, two, three, four
hold, two three four

In, two, three, four
hold, two, three, four
out, two, three, four
hold, two three four

Now scan through your day and see if you can find at least one moment that was better than the rest and remind yourself that there are moments that aren't as bad as the rest of them.

Before you go, think of at least three things you feel grateful for right now. Share them with us if you feel called to.

And that's a wrap on Tuesday here in the Great SouthEast of my glorious state Queensland in beautiful Australia. If you're reading this, no matter where in the world, no matter what time, this is your invitation to take just 3 conscious breaths in this moment, real quick, gift yourself some oxygen and rid yourself of some carbon dioxide.

Breathe in, two, three, four, five, six
and breathe out, two, three, four, five, six

Breathe in, two, three, four, five, six
and breathe out, two, three, four, five, six

Breathe in, two, three, four, five, six
and breathe out, two, three, four, five, six

Remember to thank yourself for putting yourself first in this moment and gifting yourself this very small amount of time to replenish the oxygen stores in your blood supply.

While you're here, if you have the time, scan through your day and notice all the different levels of energy in your day so far, the ups the downs, the sideways, the pauses, the go-go-gos, just notice all the different moments we experience in our day, notice your life.

Before you scroll on, take another moment to find at least 3 things you feel grateful for right now. If you have the time, share them in the comment section if you feel called to, I always love to read them.

Rejection Sensitivity Disorder (RSD) can make us feel like nobody loves us, nobody cares, nobody wants to be around us, that people are sick of us and our never-ending problems. RSD can make us read into facial expressions and words leaving us feel alone and lonely.

If you experience RSD, I just wanted to leave this message here for you:

Breathe out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Breathe in, two, three, four.

Breathe out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
Breathe in, two, three, four.

Breathe out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

Look for the good parts through your day, acknowledge them, celebrate them, give them some energy. We all too easily focus on the bad stuff so we need to make a real effort to focus on the good.

Name three things you are grateful for today. More if you can manage it. When you find those things to feel grateful for, think about why you are grateful for them too.

Feel free to share with us in the comments. I'll leave my gratitude there in case you need something to bounce off.

I'm the triceratops :) I do not have the answers for you. I might have some tools but the answers are yours to discover. You do this by expressing what needs to be expressed which then allows you to find a new perspective or gain some insight.

Book in with me soon and find out! Facebook or email [email protected]

Hey you, you ready to do some breathing with me? I'm thinking some triangle breathing tonight if you wanna pause here with me. While we're breathing, be sure to scan through your day and acknowledge the different levels, the ups the downs, the turns, the plateaus, just acknowledge it all because it is your life.

Breathe in, two, three, four, five, six
Breathe out, two, three, four, five, six

Hold, two, three.

Breathe in, two, three, four, five, six
Breathe out, two, three, four, five, six

Hold, two, three.

Breathe in, two, three, four, five, six
Breathe out, two, three, four, five, six

Hold, two, three.

Keep doing this for as long as you feel called to. Notice how you felt before and after. For some, focusing on breathing can make them more tense, for others it is relaxing, for others nothing changes. How is it for you?

Before you go, be sure to find at least three things to feel grateful for and perhaps spend a moment on why these things create gratitude in your heart and of all the things you could have chosen today, why those three? You don't have to have any answers, it's just information to think about and let go.

We can practice positive self-talk first by noticing when we are speaking unkindly about ourselves, either out loud or in our own head. The next step, once you notice it, is to challenge it. Is it true? Then practice saying the opposite of what you just said about yourself.

So the invitation for you today is to say something encouraging to yourself about yourself. Feel free to tell me something nice about you in the comments :)

OK Sweet Soul having a Human Experience, let's drop our shoulders away from our ears, unglue our tongues from our mouths and let our tummy's hang out.

Let's take a few conscious breaths in and out, you don't have to change how you're breathing, just noticing that you are, in fact, breathing. Notice that you do, in fact, have a body and you do, in fact, have thoughts and feelings and sensations.

As you become acutely aware of yourself in this moment, in this space, in this life, the invitation is to scan through your past day and find the good moments. Big or small, loud or quiet, find them and acknowledge them.

Lastly, the invitation is to look for at least three things to feel grateful for. As always, feel free to share with us all as I will do in the comments below.