Wishcasting Wednesday

It's Wishcasting Wednesday. You can be a maker of magic and a tender of wishes.

Jamie's prompt today:

For what do you wish to acknowledge yourself?

Okay, I'll give myself a pat on the back today.

I acknowledge myself for inspiring creativity in others.

When I did my first Full Moon Dreamboard several months ago, I really enjoyed it. It was fun, it was kind of relaxing, and it was rather fulfilling. And I still love it. It's still up on my bulletin board, and I still love the colors and the pictures and the message that I know is there for me. I really, really believe that one reason, a big reason, a lot of us are unhappy in our lives is because we have no creative outlet.

Every kid loves creating. In fact, it is pretty much a given that every child is a little artist. We give them crayons and paper and pencils and glue. It's almost automatic - it's like it's as much of a requirement for a healthy child as drinking their milk and eating their vegetables. And we place great importance on their creations. We stick them up on the refrigerator with magnets or frame them and hang them on the wall. And every mother has a box or an envelope someplace where she's saved these precious masterpieces.

So what happens as we get older? What changes? Nothing changes except for what we perceive to be priorities. But I have discovered over the last few years that I need to play. I am a much happier girl if I'm creating. It can be (and has been) beading, or sewing, or scrapbooking, or rubber stamping, or painting. Or it can be as simple as cutting up a magazine and gluing pictures and words onto a big piece of paper.

I liked the Full Moon Dreamboard idea so much that I invited friends over to join me. I have hosted two Dreamboard Circles so far, and am planning my third one. My friends love it. (In fact, last month a special friend traveled 250 miles to come play!)

When I hosted my first Circle, I was right in the middle of a wonderful experience called "Wreck This Journal." Of course I had to get it out and show it to everyone, and one of my friends, M, actually helped me with a page. Just a few days ago, M called me from the bookstore. She thought it was so cool that she was buying one too.

So there you have it. I am a creativity inspirer. Or conspirer. See? I even create new words! It's all good!

To your creativity,

P.S. Please be sure to follow the link above to Jamie's Studio to visit other Wishcasters.

"Clutter Blocks Success"

On mornings when I steal a few minutes to read my e-mail before leaving for work, I usually have to pick and choose just a couple that sound especially enlightening or intriguing. Sometimes I hit the jackpot, and sometimes I don't. But today I opened a little pearl. It is both luminous and simple in its message, really, and the timing couldn't be more ideal for me.

Read more about the author, Christine Kane, below. And check out her blog and her music if you have the time.

The Year I Discovered How Clutter Blocks Success

I looked at my phone in horror.

"You want me to what?" I said into it.

"It's time, Christine. You've been talking about that basement for weeks now. It's time to deal with it."

I had been working with my coach for months at this point. And even though I had reached certain levels of success in my career, I kept getting stuck in the same old ruts. I was about to record my fourth CD, and I was ready to move to a higher level.

Thom was doing what good coaches do: listening carefully, seeing clearly - and of course, pushing me to take conscious action.

So, he encouraged me to start small and completely clear out the junk in my basement. Thirty minutes a day.

One section at a time. Building momentum as I went.

Each week, during our call, I'd report back on my progress. Each week, I had a new reason why I simply could not let go of some clutter-y item.

"But I spent so much on it!" "I might need it someday!" "I could gain weight and need this again." "I paid such a good price for it!"

To my credit, I did pretty well at letting go once Thom talked me through these old mindsets.

Then came the week I had to face one particularly significant section of the basement.

It was where I stored various pieces of furniture I had gotten at the Salvation Army and at local flea markets when I first began my songwriting career. A bookcase, a kitchen table, a dresser, and a few shelves. I no longer liked or used this furniture because my tastes totally changed. I had begun to cherish beauty and opulence in my surroundings. I wanted to fill my home only with items that I loved."

So, Christine," Thom asked. "Why don't you want to let these things go?"

I was embarrassed. But I told him the truth. "Well, here's the thing. If my music career doesn't work out, I might need them one day. If I fail, and I don't have any money, I might wish I had kept these things."

Long pause. "So, you'll be on the street - but at least you'll have that bookcase?"

I laughed.

Thom sighed. And what he said next has been a core lesson of creating my success and happiness.

He said that everything in our lives has energy. Everything has our thoughts and emotions embedded into it. Old furniture is no exception. In essence, what I was saying to the universe and to my subconscious, creative self was this:

I believe so deeply in my own failure that I'm holding onto physical things that represent that possibility. Every time I walk by these items in my basement, I will be reminded of my inevitable failure. Every moment I'm in my house, my subconscious will know that in the very foundation of my life (my basement), there are items that prove I don't believe in my own success.

That week, I called Goodwill, and scheduled an appointment to have the old furniture taken away.

I'd love to report that I smiled and waved as the old clunky furniture was carried away. But the truth is I was terrified. I was letting go of my Plan B. I was saying to the Universe:

"I thoroughly believe in my own success."

I had never done that before in such a concrete way!

As I wrote earlier, I began recording my fourth CD "Rain & Mud & Wild & Green" as I was clearing out the basement. That CD went on to sell five times more than any of my other CD's. It received rave reviews. Border's Books featured it on a listening post that year, and named it the top CD of the year in my category.

Now, even though I know this success wasn't ONLY about letting go of my old flea market furniture, I have become a firm believer that we each need to pay attention to the energy of the stuff that surrounds us. We need to pay attention to what we are telling our subconscious minds when we hold on.

Now you.

What are you holding onto? What thoughts and beliefs are you putting out into the Universe by clinging to it? Are you telling yourself you don't believe in the inevitability of your own success and prosperity? Or that you don't believe you can expand and create better things in your life?

Pick one thing - just one small thing - and let it go. Today!

Performer, songwriter, and creativity consultant Christine Kane publishes her 'LiveCreative' weekly ezine with more than 4,000 subscribers. If you want to be the artist of your life and create authentic and lasting success, you can sign up for a FREE subscription to LiveCreative at http://www.christinekane.com/.

Decluttering and Creativity

I have been cleaning, decluttering, purging -- whatever you would like to call it. I don't know if it's the hot (and I do mean hot!) weather, but I feel almost "stifled by stuff" at home lately. Things are not really out of place (except for the pantry and my closet) but our house is 13 years old and there is a list of things that are starting to look old and worn. It's time to start addressing that list, and it seems logical (to me anyway) that a good place to start is just with a good thorough cleaning - top to bottom, room to room, wall to wall - and maybe some fresh paint.

During my "rest breaks" (they are a requirement after all, what with the heat and everything), I've torn pages out of magazines and grouped them by themes. As time has permitted, I've quickly done some mini collages of some of my favorite colors and themes.

Such great fun. Hope to do more in the next couple of days.