My Life My Design

One Decision Can Slowly Save Your Life

A very little over a year ago, I made a seemingly small, but rather significant decision. I love the beach. I love it in all kinds of weather and for all kinds of reasons. It is just one of those places where I find it so easy to feel connected to God. Rainforests, trees, gardens, wildlife, singing, writing, drawing, sitting on a sun soaked deck in winter, or listening to the song of the wind play in the leaves-all of these are joy for me this way. February 2010, I decided I wouldn’t wait to move beach front before I enjoy the beach daily. My decision was to be down there, walking its length and back every day. I wanted to create the state of feeling like I already lived there. I live 6 kms west of our incredible Ozzie Gold Coast.

Over the last year, I built Burleigh into my psyche as the place I want to be permanently and I made a powerfully resonant connection.

Alignment brings Freedom

The first and immediate advantage was that I was getting a 4km (50 min) walk every day and some nice colour. It didn’t take long for me to feel like Burleigh was My beach. I wanted Burleigh beach front and I was there faithfully. Sometimes I swam, and other times I lay in the sun. Even though I’ve always felt this way about the beach, and lived close by for the 15 years before that, I hadn’t done any of these things since I was a kid. I had suffered from eating disorders and body image issues and so had deprived myself of decades of pure pleasure. How tragic that we humans do such things. But one choice aligned to your inner Truth can change it all.

I felt SO good even on that first day, that I felt inspired to do a video ( for my Utube channel) and call it Designer Alignment which became the first of a year-long DIY Designer Living Series. I also birthed a Blog Talk Radio radio show and blog series by the same name.

Do What You Love

The point is this one decision was so aligned to my authentic nature and things I desire and am passionate about, that the next year has brought wave after wave of new freedoms that have rippled directly out from that one intentional act. I knew I was wanting to create in myself the state of being harmonious to living at the beach, but the “across the board” shifts this brought to every area of my life has left me breathless with joy.

Firstly, the exercise which provoked better eating, and all that productivity and creativity (photography/writing) sprang from it. But also, I felt so much better about everything and about myself and so much more at home on the sand that I even began to lie in a bikini when sunning. This was a HUGE step. The beach feels “safe” to me. These new levels of freedom just grew stronger and stronger to the point where I can genuinely say I so love my body (called Rosita lol) exactly as she is and this confidence has an impact on everything, not least of all my performances. I am a professional musician/singer and looking and feeling your best counts for a lot!

Fears Fall, Love Reigns and Life is Lived to the Full.

The personal expansion and growth I’ve been experienced continues to amaze and delight me. A year ago I couldn’t see how I could have a place on the beach at Burleigh. I just believed I could and would manifest it at some point. Now, a year later, both of my remaining offspring ( I have five) moved out within 8 days of each other and I find myself in a position to find my new dream place. I am applying for one tomorrow that is perfect!

Another lovely realisation I’ve had this last week, is that I’ve started to “play” in the waves and body surf again. I find myself laughing, tumbling and enjoying the activity amid flashbacks to my 12 yr old days in Avalon ( Sydney’s Northern beaches) which would have been the last time I did that. I had become so self conscious about my body after that, and fearful of the waves that I couldn’t enjoy these things any more.

Both of these barriers to living my life fully and completely and joyfully, have crumbled under the power of this one aligned and whole hearted decision, which led to consistent action that broke through to create this new state of being.

These days I’m down there morning and night-closing the distance to my brand new life as a single, dependentless individual and transitioning fully into the life I began to consciously create a year ago.

What this Means to You

Figure out, if you don’t know already, what it is that you deeply desire. Choose one thing and think about what you can begin to do NOW and in an ongoing way, to begin to generate that state for you. A simple example could be that you want to grow your own food. A vegie garden and chook pen could be too much but some potted tomato vines, sprout tubs and small herb planters are easily undertaken. BEGIN! Don’t wait till you finally have that larger lot. Begin and watch what happens inside you as you continue along the path that is authentically you.

Live Like You Mean It Pt 2!

Last week I wrote a little about this, inspired by my time in a Surf Museum. Below, are a couple of paragraphs I'd like to bring to your remembrance.

DO What YOU Love

Something about the raw passion of the people who had surfed those boards infiltrated my soul. The old boards murmured to me of days gone by-of laughter, sun, personal challenge, edgy lifestyles and travel...living the dream...I saw 'flashbacks' and felt the purity of passion based adrenalin rushes and the exhilaration of truly LIVING LIFE--for the sheer joy of it!

I want to reunite people with this immense sense of connection and oneness...through their passions. We really DO touch God through the intense pleasure we know when we are living passionately. They, our passionate desires, are our key to ALL we could ever want to know, have or experience. My heart ached with longing not only to sing my own song, but to see others release their own. To not die with their song unsung and their vision still in their bellies like a still born child. I felt a sense of urgency to make this my priority.

The words “Do what you love! Do what you love! Do...” kept rolling over and over as I felt the energy in that room of people that had done just that!

This wasn’t something just for me to “tell” others. It was a resonating admonition to LIVE it before others in order that they may be empowered and encouraged to do so themselves. It was a strong reminder to me to document my journey, taking others with me, allowing them to see HOW I do it.

Two Degrees off Truth

How much of your time is spent doing what you love doing?

How often do you find yourself groaning over what you feel you MUST do?

Or are you one of those people who has begun to make those changes and have created a niche marketing some version of your passion but it doesn’t quite “hit the mark” for you?

I have always felt I would, could and should write books and be a successful author. I also believed I could be famous as a singer. I am a firm believer that if you have a strong desire for something, then you have within you the means to release some version of that desire that fulfils you AND sustains you-financially as well. We are MEANT to be happy in our vocations.

Yes, I want to write. I am a chronic journaler. I don’t just WANT to write. I HAVE to in order to make sense of my world and balance all the day’s activities in an orderly way. And I feel I have so MUCH to say, but whenever I “try” to write a conventional non-fiction book, the gears just seem to seize up.

I think I’ve finally realised that the love I have for “making” books is where I need to place my efforts. I LOVE making books-out of the weirdest things! I love surprising people with a snippet from my life that falls out of an “Eclipse” mints tin, or reads through round pages stored in a CD case. I love making books out of boxes and boxes out of books and I love adding texture, sound, scent.

Now, when it comes to writing fiction...that’s a different story entirely. And I think it’s because it is a STORY. I am a storyteller, and I like sharing the stories from my own life immensely. I dubbed myself the Family Scribe- “The Maker and Keeper of Memory”. I want all my children and their children and their children to know me and about my adventures. Just teh same way I wish I knew such things about those in my history.

I want the chance to love and be loved by them.

I am an artistic and experiential storyteller who wants to share the tales of her life for the inspirational benefit of others. To try and write a conventional self help book is to be TWO DEGREES off my mark. It doesn’t flow.

It would never give me the joy, satisfaction or fulfilment that making my own book will. So I have asked myself the question for years and argued about the value of such books for any other than my family. But it is not the BOOKS that I need to market. IT IS THE PROCESS.

Understanding how you can find something inside the perfect version of doing what you love is the key. But you will never find it by stepping sideways into a lesser likeness of it.

Think unconventionally. Give your most fiery passion and deepest delight your time and energy. Think about WHY you love what you do and how can you use it to help others experience that feeling. Please live your BEST life!

Live Like You Mean It!

I think people start thinking somewhere along the line that “it’s too late” for some reason. Either there isn’t enough time left for them to reach some level of success with their passion, or they are too deeply invested in an alternate reality.

This just isn’t true. Yes, I know it can look like it but you really don’t have to bulldoze the whole mountain to begin to feel the fire of having reached its summit. You can make the tiniest turns toward your true core and begin to experience the magic of living in that place of fulfilment.

I guarantee that when a person is truly ready to sell out to bringing passion back to the centre of their lives, colourful ways to traverse the lack lustre landscape will appear. It’s never too soon to believe in an impossible dream and it’s never too late to go for it. You're never too young or too old.

I once heard someone say something like “if you’re dream is easily attainable you’re aiming too low”. You are the Creator of you own Experience. The spinner of your own story, the writer of your own script, the painter of your own masterpiece...be extravagant!

It’s time to “Live like you mean it!!”

:-)

J

Live Like You Mean IT!

just SO love how we are guided from the Inside out!!

The Passion Coach.

Next week, on my radio show, I have a guest called Katey Shaw. Katey did coaching sessions with me, after which she dubbed me the Passion Coach, which I REALLY like! :-)
She did this because she felt that I helped her through a refining process of defining what she wanted to a much greater place of clarity.

The reason I mentioned this is because last night when I attended the networking event, it was hosted by the "Surf Museum". Walking through this space of boards, press releases, photos and smiling faces had an instant and profound impact upon me impressing deeply upon me a clarity of purpose. It's not like it's anything new, but to have these moments of weighty significance when you are reminded what really matters to you are priceless.

Something about the raw passion of the people who had surfed those boards infiltrated my soul. The old boards murmured to me of days gone by-of laughter, sun, personal challenge, edgy lifestyles and travel...living the dream...I saw 'flashbacks' and felt the purity of passion based adrenalin rushes and the exhilaration of truly LIVING LIFE--for the sheer joy of it!

I want to reunite people with this immense sense of connection and oneness...through their passions.We really DO touch God through the intense pleasure we know when we are living passionately. They, our passionate desires, are our key to ALL we could ever want to know, have or experience. My heart ached with longing not only to sing my own song, but to see others release their own. To not die with their song unsung and their vision still in their bellies like a still born child. I felt a sense of urgency to make this my priority.

THIS IS MY PASSION
And I know that I'll do it through selling out to my own.
My desire to sing and play my way around the globe will open the way to others to follow their dreams whatever they are.

Pass It On

As soon as I emerged into the main room from the museum two men began speaking to me and all I could talk about was living passionately and how they were , or could be, doing that. Something had shifted in that space/time.BIG TIME. Back in church days, we'd say something like "a new mantle" or a "fresh anointing" had fallen upon me. However, you want to say it, that is what happened.

I went home and immediately captured and posted a video on Facebook. This week's content "Live Like You Mean it!"
I had a message form someone who watched and was emotionally touched. They shared their dream and how they felt they'd been skirting around it and how that video spoke directly to them.

I FEEL THE POTENCY OF PASSION IN THIS WAVE-and I'm riding it!

DIY Designer Passion Vol 1

Here's the compiled 4 part Vol 1 of the written content.
Please leave a comment on how this material may help/inspire you... or even suggestions on how It could better do so!
Thanks

Happy Creative New Year

Hello all you groovers and groovettes!

Welcome, welcome, welcome to 2010!!

I am VERY happy to be here, and to be living my life and enjoying all the wonderful experiences that make up each moment.

And yeah...I actually mean that! :-)

LET'S GET PERSONAL

So, what I thought I'd do is share a little about CTT-Creative Thinking Technology. I never want to be starchy and formal-just wouldn't be me. Creative and colourful are more my way, and dangerously transparent. I believe in integrity and excellence, but this blog will likely be quite personal in content at times, so be warned.

In the same way, that I am my favourite guinea pig, and I test all my theories out on myself, so I also use a lot of illustration from my own life. This is what gives me authentic power to speak about the content I share. I live it! And where I've not perfected the practice of it, I will be always committed to doing that.

I'll make mistakes, like everyone does, but I will learn from them, and I'll make an example of myself that way too. So...please, be gracious. :-)

CREATIVITY VERSUS ARTISTIC

As the video states, creativity and artistic are not the same, although these two terms are commonly used almost interchangeably. Most dictionaries agree that for something to be creative it should be "novel and of value in meeting a situational need". I can think of lots of artistic things that are not 'novel' in the sense of innovative, nor considered all that valuable.

In fact, the value of an artwork is VERY subjective. Value in anything for that matter is all about perception-but I'm getting ahead of myself!

I LOVE the Arts, practice in several different fields of the Arts, and even love blurring the boundaries between in very clever ways ( a conceptual artist), but it is true that a painting can be done mechanically, with little to no creativity, just like a piano recital can be dry and unmoving.

It is the same of any discipline. Science, mathematics, literature, music, dance...all of them. The discipline is for helping us to understand the principals of the subject, master the tools needed, and learn to wield all with skill, but having done that, it's time to EXPLORE EXPRESSION. We learn our 'ABCs', in hope that we will learn to communicate and comprehend through words-express our ideas, and enjoy being stimulated by the thoughts and ideas of others.

My point: any subject can be dull and boring, and any subject can be fascinating and adventurous! A creative outlook will turn everything into an epic journey of joyful discovery.

AWAKEN, AROUSE AND ANIMATE

NOTHING LIGHTS OUR FIRE LIKE FASCINATION.It awakens us.

Desire ignites us with a wondrous sense of invigorating energy. We are aroused. We feel ALIVE.

Creativity uses ideas to awaken passion, and passion is our life blood, spurring us on to be animated and take action toward our dreams.

THE NECESSITY OF CREATIVITY

When creative exploration and expression are stilted or squelched, so much of the psyche gets buried. Sometimes, never to productively surface again in that life. This breaks my heart.

We so NEED our dreams. We need to know we can attain them, or at least be free to pursue them. They are our freedom.

A person on fire with the passion of their desire for authentic freedom is irresistably beautiful and attractive. Such healthy pursuits will draw out our best from core, stretch us in every way, and expand us into who we truly are...powerful and heroic co-creators.

The practice of creativity keeps our hearts and minds open to these possibilities, gives us courage in the face of fear, and will even show us how to be intentional Master Designers of our lives.

Come, journey with me awhile, and I'll remind you of your greatness, and show you how to reconnect with it on purpose. Creative Thinking Technology ( CTT) is for those who want to TRULY live abundantly.

2010

Get ready for the ride of your life!