Welcome to the Sunday Check-in (Spring Renewal!) Registration Page!

Hi Everyone!

This is an opportunity for all of you to stay connected in the Sunday Check-In Accountability Group.  A routine has been in place these past few months, and this will be a way to keep the momentum flowing!

The group will remain as it has run with weekly check-ins.  You can stay right in that groove if it feels right.

I will also be adding optional homework each week to bring you deeper into your creative journey (as it unfolds, because you are making time for your creative work by setting intention each week!)  You can choose to accept this homework invitation, or just stick to the weekly check-in.  It will be available to you either way!

Below is the information on what you will receive.  Sign-up in the next week and when June 15 is here, you will remain in the group on the FB page!

Here is the info!

Overview of the weekly check-in:

Each week you will receive a “reminder” email on Saturday for the “Sunday Check-In” to write the following:

• 3 “priorities” you wish to pursue for the week

• Pose one question you have about your creative journey to pose to the group

How the group will work:

• You will remain on Facebook group page (This will be our communication connection to list those 3 “priorities” each week. )
  

• The group will be facilitated by me, Susan Loughrin with a mid-week check in and an end of the week “reflection” time…and I will add in optional homework to dig deeper into your creative journey
  

• You will continue receive an audio recording by Susan that will lead you though the “how” and the “why” of setting priorities each week…and invitations to move into your creative journey
  

• The group will run June 15-September 15, 2013
  

• Investment:    for this renewal, the cost will remain at $57.00 (3 month full payment) -OR-  $25.00 (monthly payment plan)
  

If this sounds like a journey you wish to continue, I welcome you!

This is a renewal for the Sunday Check-In group that began this March. You will remain connected to the members of our group to keep the momentum going!  We are all holding a space for each other to create “time” to do what you love.

 Investment options:

Option 1:  $57.00 for the full three months June 15-September 15 2013
Option 2:  $25.00 paid each month (you will be sent a reminder email)

Routines are set in “chunks” of time. Taking a look over the week, there are definite “parts” of the whole.  Throughout each day/week/month patterns are set.

Taking the time to notice my own rituals or routines allows me to fully “see” the intentions I am setting.  I find I need to get into a routine this way:

1.  Watch for what brings me a calm sense of self-care
2. Look over my calendar each week and “chunk” out time for routines
3. Set up work/relaxation schedule
4. Reflect at the end of each week to see what routines were in place

I have found that the over-arching idea for each week is self-care.  When I take care of myself, I am able to handle all of the events that make up the rest of my life.

Giving myself pause for this, I have decided to take some time to write out all of the “self-care” rituals I have put into place.

Here is what I noticed:

1. Reading
2. Exercise/yoga
3. Writing in journal each AM
4. Time with the people I love
5. Eating well
6. Taking time out in nature

It is interesting to read back through this list.  I notice that the same patterns of self-care emerge.  I need certain things to be a part of my everyday routine/ritual.  Also, looking back over past journals, I see the same key elements appearing over and over.  When these elements are in place in my daily routine, I am centered.  I can create.  I am present.  I am safe.

What are the key elements for you to have a rich, fulfilling and creative life?

PS…if you wish to set your intention to create your own routines and rituals, I invite you to join the next Sunday Check-in Accountability Group starting on June 15!  Click here to register!

Each day you may wake up and write in your journal, practice yoga, meditate, or create something visual.  In other words, you may have a consistent routine of creative momentum that brings you joy.

But where does this daily practice lead?  You feel energized and creative; ready to begin your day, yet something seems amiss.  How can these creative activities lead you to a new awakening?  What are you yearning for that you would like to see brought to life?

It is at these times that we need to begin to formulate goals.  To see a bigger or greater project based on our daily creative routines.  It is vital and important to create each day.  Now becomes the time to shift the mind-set.

There seems to be a necessary play between what may be called Passive versus Active creative work.  The enjoyment of creating each day as part of your routine is necessary. Creating with a goal supports your need to actively participate in your life’s purpose.

What is the main creative outlet in your life that you wish to “solidify”? How can you work each day towards your project goal?

Below is a list of steps that will support you in creating goals for your project journey:

1.        Set aside time each day to do your “work”.

2.       Be proactive-you have a dream to create this project so set the stage for yourself and get to it.

3.       When fears arise, practice affirmations, get supportive friends and share your thoughts, let the negative thoughts pass and get right back in there.

4.       If a break is necessary, give it a time limit and get back to your task.

5.       Set your goals into reasonable chunks of time.

6.       Begin to look at venues that would be good to share your work.

Take a look now at marketing, preparing to share your work, shows, and presentations. This can be worked on in tandem, but is a necessary part of all creative work.  How will you share it with others? Visualize what this will look like to you.  Be thinking of your audience.  Who would be most interested? The greater picture is to present, perform, and share your work.

Perhaps you have always been about the process of your creativity, but the wheels keep spinning. The performance (the presentation of your work) is a chance to use the spinning wheels to propel your artistic work straight up with the power of intention.

Where are you on your creative journey?  Take the time to reflect on your own work and goals and share your brilliance.

I have been taking time to outline and create a “project”.  I am a part of a coaching group and this is the main focus of the group; to have time to work on a project of my own design.  One piece of my project is to create several articles on the thoughts, feelings and emotions that are bubbling up while sharing my thoughts and dreams with a group.

Through this process, I am beginning to hold myself accountable to writing each day.  I have begun to really notice how I organize my written work.  I began to see that I had a definite pattern for writing each AM.

Here is what I noticed:

1.  Writing in the morning.  This is where I let my mind flow.  I free write most mornings.  But sometimes, I reflect back on what I have written and “notice” what key ideas are showing up.

2.  Organizing my writing.  I choose a topic…and write it as if it is an article

3.   Re-writing.  I see that I take time to go back in order to change wordings and add details

From this, I see that I have created a consistent writing practice.  Sometimes it’s free and creative and other times it is structured and organized. The consistent thread through all of this is that I have a system; a Routine for my writing time that works for me.

Here is the flow from writing into creating an “article”.  (This is a piece of the “project” I am constantly working on.)

• Write every morning
• Reflect on writing to notice big ideas
• Create articles (these will go into my weekly newsletter)
• Type up the “article”
• Revise
• Publish

All of these steps have a grounding in my morning routine of writing.  They give me flexibly.  The only constant is to write.  HOW I write depends on the day and what I need.

What is an important part of your daily routine that moves you toward a greater goal?

A side note:

There may be chunks of time where I do not “write” specifically.  I may draw, dance, do yoga…other forms of creative expression that is a language e in and of itself.  These other forms of creative expression give me insights into my own creative journey.  They create an inner dialogue that gives thought to new and different ideas.  When I DO write, I have that much more richness from which to draw.

Being- is the basic experience of being alive and conscious

Doing- is movement and activity

Having- is the state of being in relationship with other people and things in the universe.

Each one supports the other.  Working at this triangle in terms of our daily lives creates harmony.  Sometimes, we are more in one area than another.  However, the need to balance all three throughout our work and daily lives creates the harmony we are seeking.

These ideas are not in conflict with one another.  There is no “challenge” to see which gets more of our attention.  The all exist simultaneously.

Be-who you truly are

Do-what you need to do

Have-In order to have what you want

Thoughts on each of these ideas:

1.  A state of “being” -meditation
2. A state of “doing”-working on projects, ideas, artist dates, creating, moving, exercising writing
3.   A state of “having” – much of the having is also related to the flow of “feelings” for me…having a sense of peace, a sense of service to others…a sense of community.  There is also the having of money as energy and receiving (compensation) for the work.When these all work in harmony, my daily life is fulfilled.  This brings in an intentional focus to each of these areas enriching my life and fulfilling each experience.

What are you noticing as you “be” who you truly are, “do” your work, and “have” a sense of connection and wealth?

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Arts Consultant and Creativity Coach Susan Loughrin helps people find the joy and creativity in everyday life. With the Inner~Creative~Voice Newsletter, she brings inspiration through creativity activities and ideas that can be implemented every day. If you are ready to learn how to bring creativity and wonder into your daily life, visit today and get your free Creativity Gift Pack. www.innercreativevoice.com.

Do you take time to reflect on what you do each day?  Do you hear yourself saying “Why am I so busy,”?  “Why does there never seem to be time for the simple things that are so important to my health, happiness, and well being,”?  How do we create habits in our lives that bring us joy, support a creative outlet, or rid us of unwanted routines?

Take a Look at Your Daily Routines

What do you do each day that is routine?  Take a moment to write out a typical day.  This could be a journal entry or a day from your diary/planner.  Look at the details.  Read back through your writing, looking closely at how you spend your time-even the smallest details.  Write down what you notice. These are your habits, your daily routines.

What works? What does not work?  What is missing that you might like to add?  Is there a habit within your day that you wish you could drop?

Create a Habit

Habits are ways of building specific day-to-day activities into your life through routine.  We live in a society that wants things NOW, but taking the time to reflect on your day-to-day habits may give you some insights into this rush.  To do this, you must bring your unconscious patterns (habits) into your consciousness (routines).

Creating a habit relies on time, patience, reflection, and repetitive actions. Putting a routine into place that eventually becomes a habit (an unconscious pattern), takes observation and close reflection upon your daily activities. For example, you may brush your teeth at the same time each day, or you may put your keys in the same location to be able to grab them quickly as you go out the door, or you might check your email as soon as you wake up.  It took time, commitment, and repetition to build these habits into your routine.  And now, they are so built into your life they may seem like breathing.

Perhaps you noticed that you have built habits into your life that take up, or waste your time.  What is something that you do routinely that you wish to drop from your life?  Say, eating too much chocolate or sugar, surfing the internet too often, biting your nails, or chewing on pen tops.  How can you rid yourself of these unwanted habits?

Here is a way you can begin to create a habit into your daily routine or rid yourself of a habit that is no longer necessary to your life.

What do you love to do?  What is something that brings you joy and you wish to be a part of your life?  Is there something missing- times when you say, “I wish” or “I wonder,” or “If only,”?  Choose something you wish to make a routine.  Ideas for this would be things you wish to bring into your life each and everyday.

Look back through your journal or the exercise from the start of this article.  What is missing that you would like to add? Is there something you have done and enjoyed, but have dropped out of your life?  Keep it simple-just one thing.  You may choose something such as practicing yoga or meditation for 15 minutes each day, or writing in your journal at a specific time each day, or listening to a favorite piece of music or drawing.  Whatever it is, it needs to be important to you and worth the commitment.

On the other hand, what is a habit that you wish to drop? Anything that you do that you could observe and stop doing for a month is worth a look.  Again, keep it to one thing that you really wish to commit to quitting. Again,routines took time to establish and will take time to change, should you wish to get rid of them.

Once you have chosen a habit you wish to build into your routine or drop from your routine do the following:

1. Write it down-this gives focus and clarification
2. Each day, once you have completed your routine or dropped it for the day, check it off on the calendar.
3. Take 30 days- check each day off on the calendar as after you have accomplished your commitment for the day. If you miss a day…start over and look to routinizing for the full 30 days.
4. Observe/Reflect in your journal each day. Do you see a pattern?  Have completed your task each day?
5. After 30 days-observe/reflect in your journal-What do you notice?
6. Reflect on any changes.
7. In your noticing, think back on the first day…what comparisons can you make?  What differences?
8.  Will you keep this routine?  Have you dropped the habit?  How does it benefit your life?

This exercise can be repeated each time you wish to begin to create a new habit or drop an old one.

Enjoy the little things in your life.  Take time to reflect and find the joy that is yours in each moment. Create a habit.  Why not start now?

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Arts Consultant and Creativity Coach Susan Loughrin helps people find the joy and creativity in everyday life. With the Inner~Creative~Voice Newsletter, she brings inspiration through creativity activities and ideas that can be implemented every day. If you are ready to learn how to bring creativity and wonder into your daily life, visit today and get your free Creativity Gift Pack. www.innercreativevoice.com.

How do you like to learn?  What is it that is fascinating to you and you wish to try?  Why do you want to learn new things?

Taking the time to learn and gain new information supports our growth.  We glean insights, make new connections and question our belief systems.

One of the ways I learn best is working with a coach one-on-one.

I took some time to write out my core values as suggested by my mentor.  After coming up with 10 words that encompass my core values, I wrote about my beliefs around those core values and created images that sprang up after writing.  I have posted them on my blog.

I shared this with my coach.  She took the time to read each post and noticed something.  She brought to my attention some questions she wanted to ask me in and around my stated value of “teaching”.  This word/value held many questions for me and she wondered if digging deeper might give me some insights.

I thought about the word/value of teaching.  For me, teaching brings with it a sense of structure…of rules of the society and higher learning institutions.

As I thought more about it, and questioned my beliefs around teaching, I found that “sharing” might be a descriptive word that better encompasses what I am really feeling at the core of my beliefs around the idea of “teaching”.

Working with a mentor, or coach, supports my growth and new learning.  A good mentor will gently challenge your beliefs.  She will notice things that maybe so deeply embedded in you that it takes another set of eyes to really “see” what is there.  She will support you in asking yourself “why” you hold these beliefs.  You are then given time to reflect back on your thoughts and ideas and questions, resulting in new ideas or re-organizing old ways of thinking.

There are so many ways to learn.  Take the time to reflect on how you learn best.

What did you discover?

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include this complete blurb with it:

Arts Consultant and Creativity Coach Susan Loughrin helps people find the joy and creativity in everyday life. With the Inner~Creative~Voice Newsletter, she brings inspiration through creativity activities and ideas that can be implemented every day. If you are ready to learn how to bring creativity and wonder into your daily life, visit today and get your free Creativity Gift Pack. www.innercreativevoice.com.

Intuitive Painting Workshop
CANCELED!!!

~Looking for some time to paint?
~Wishing you had some time to create?
~Do images show up to you in your daily life and you want some time to explore there deeper meaning?

You ARE creative!

On April 25, 2013 spend the evening finding clarity through your own creativity. This evening will be a time for you to connect with your heart and explore your inner thoughts and dreams.

During this workshop, you will be gently led to access your intuition through intuitive painting. Using color and shape on paper will give you insights into your deeper self.

Take some time to explore your thoughts and visualizations in color! An evening of painting…just for you!

 InnerCreativeVoice.com