It’s Only A Super Moon

As I journey further along the Mindfulness Path and my belief in the Holistic Approach to life is further reinforced I find myself drawn more and more to each full moon. My ever present cynical self questions the whole concept of the moon’s magic.  And my mindful self surrenders to the fact that it is what it is.

Many holistic and creative practitioners put great emphasis on the power of the moon, offering monthly workshops and creative classes.  My beginner mind on this is embracing the ethos of asking a meaningful question each month and very much trusting in ‘everything I want and need coming to me in the perfect way’.  Don’t get me wrong I’m not really a believer in the law of attraction being I put it on a moon board and it will come to me.  But I do believe that vision boards are powerful conduits, especially for the creatives among us who are very much visual learners.  From an early age I have had a strong belief that if I can imagine something, and I can draw it or write it down then the only person preventing it from truly being is me.  And if I can find pictures that reinforce that dream then I’m on the right path.

Jamie Ridler offers a workshop each month – the message of this month’s moon being “You know what your dreams are.  What’s your gut telling you?”  (If you think you’ve missed this magic window apparently the magic sticks around for 3 days either side of the Full Moon).  Anne Hayman, who many of you may know for her gorgeous ‘Indie Lovely’ magazine, offers an e-course on Full Moon Manifesting and has a Virtual Full Moon Ceremony each month – you can check it out on her FaceBook page.

Whatever your feelings about moon cycles – (I’m sure I’ll come back to that when I finish my current read, recommended by Lissa Rankin; Sarah Drew’s Gaia Codex.) – it is a Natural reminder to check in with your dreams and what you’re doing about living them on a daily basis.  And if you are in any doubt of the magic that's been surrounding this weekend the largest Global synchronised meditation for World Peace took place and I am still feeling the love.

So what are your dreams – and is your gut happy with them?

Namaste

Catherine x

Look What I Made – A Commitment to Craft

If you read my post on Wednesday you would have seen me make my commitment to completing 3 books by September .

This is part of an all encompassing plan for my Freestyle Life. The resources available via the World Wide Web (apparently the typing of  www dot is no longer necessary) are pretty amazing.  I’ve realised that you don’t have to spend a fortune setting up a web site, nor do you need to be an expert in the craft in order to produce a good looking site and have it do some snazzy extras.  Just some extra reading , or watching a You Tube video.  I recommend this one by Tyler Moore I used a different Responsive Theme but all in all it made the whole journey a lot less daunting.

I have, until now, resisted the urge to create a “list” (an email list for marketing/promotional  purposes) mainly due to the niggly feeling of the whole “hard sell” vibe to them.   Which I think goes along with my muddled feelings about money.  Perhaps it also goes with my afore felt self doubt. Not imagining that a “list” of people would be interested in my creative journey.  Who am I to expect people to want hear what I have to say?  Slowly, I have come to know the truth of Marianne Williamson’s often mentioned quote “....As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”  Always worth Tweeting.

 Whilst I have admired many lifestyle coaches over the years I have found myself turning away from them as they seem to enjoy more commercial success.  I’ve seen it as a kind of selling out.  Lissa Rankin highlighted a talk on facebook this week by Sera Beak which in a way went along with my feelings on the subject.  However as I have moved along my own creative and sharing path I have found a new point of focus.  In order to maintain this creative and enriching life it is necessary to create an income.  Surely the ideal way to create this income would encompass the sharing of this creative knowledge.  Back to Marianne “And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.” In order to shine times are a changing and it may be necessary to go ‘a little’ commercial.

And so I am creating a list in order to share the light and share my journey along this creative path, the first stage being the 3 books.  You can add your name to my list, firstly I’m planning on sending out a more detailed update of the writing process that will only be available here.

For Me Made May ’14 this week I wore a piece of my Ribbon Jewellery each day.  It’s bringing up lots of ideas for new pieces and helping me find what works and does not, in a way this is bringing in the market research I never really done first time round. 

May 5-10 Me-Made-May'14

Looking at what others have been doing (great Pinterest pics here) I am feeling the urge to make an outfit before the end of May.    Off to check blogisphere for other creative magic making this week over at Handmade Harbour and Jamie Ridler’s Studio.

Namaste

Catherine

Imperfect Perfectification

When I say ‘look what I made’ this week, my ‘mades’ have been around for a while.  In keeping with my pledge to wear a fashion garment or accessory made or transformed  by me throughout May.  This week I chose to wear some of my ribbon jewellery; Thursday I wore a cream necklace and bracelet; Friday I wore one of my favourite creations a black and brown chunky link necklace; yesterday I wore my multi-coloured link bracelet and Sunday I had a lazy day and stayed with my jammies so no garments or accessories for Sunday.  I’m looking forward to cracking out some different pieces this week.

My first few days of Me Made May '14

In uncovering these pieces I was conscious of having had them in my Etsy Shop for quite some time – and without an Etsy sale.  I closed my Etsy shop toward the end of last year.  There were a number of reasons for this, not least of all the lack of sales.  The reason for my lack of sales?  I’m not really sure. This MeMadeMay journey has already brought some answers and given me some modifications I can make both in products and marketing as I move forward.

What I do know to be true is that everything happens for a reason.  And as my print says – mine is not to question this truth but to believe and grow.

 I have surrendered to this truth and got on with the growing, and look forward to revealing just how much here on Wednesday as I introduce my new, using what I’ve got and adding texture, venture.

Until then I’ll be checking out all you creative folks participating in Me Made May and checking in at Handmade Harbour and JamieRidler’s Studio to see what Craft Therapy you have all been indulging in.

Namaste

Catherine

Pinch Punch – First of The Month

May is my Birthday month and as I move toward 49 and my 50^th year I have a lot of plans for this month.

Out with the old and in with the New

I’m starting fresh with new journals and sketch books.  I work with 2 journals.  An A5 size that I keep at home, use for morning pages and at when I’m at my desk and an A6 notebook that I can carry in my handbag.  I download the ‘good stuff’ on a regular basis to writing and inspiration files.  I’m looking forward to drawing and designing a lot more starting this month and so have replaced my A6 carry everywhere sketchbook to an A5 size.  Another thing I treated myself too was a box of crayons, inspired by a new Spoonflowerchallenge for Crayon Drawn Monsters and my wanting to reproduce some of the early pieces created on my creative journey.  I intend to have a post about that later on in the month.

Out in the world wide community I’m joining Zoe atSozoWhatDoYouKnowBlogspot on the Me Made May Challenge. 

My pledge:

I, Catherine McAtier(http://catherinemcatier.blogspot.co.uk/ ), sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '14. I endeavour to wear at least one garment or accessories made or modified by me each day for the duration of May 2014' (not the bracelets I always wear).  I am challenging myself to show my work - and be proud of it.

I’m sure there’s still time for you to sign up, or just join in.  I’m not one for ‘shoulds’ but we really all ‘should’ share our creativity with the world and show it where we can.

I’m also taking part in Mindful in May, making a contribution to Charity Water and sticking with my Daily Meditation.  It really does make a difference.

And I’m looking forward to getting my May Full Moon Dream Board put together with Jamie Ridler.  May is truly shaping up to be a Blooming Lovely Month.

All that and I’m getting to work on my book/s – more about that one later.

Here’s to a Very Happy May.

Namaste

Catherine

Look What I Made

It's been a while and I have so much to tell you about what's been going on in my life.  Resisting the crazy urge to tell you everything at once and throw everything out there I am sticking with my new self imposed structure and focussing on one thing at a time.

Monday has always been about making and I see no need to reinvent the wheel, especially as there are already such strong foundations in this realm, with Handmade Monday to mention but one.  And my resolve on this decision has been strengthened further by Jamie Ridler's introduction of I Made This Monday - I will be linking to both once I've completed this post and checking in on all the other great creative minds out there regularly.

So with no further ado I will start with a picture of what I made.  Look...

My Beautiful Bathroom Space.  I am so proud of this.  I used what I had, balls of wool(yarn), twine, fabric and buttons, lots of buttons.  The pelmet was an old roller blind, ends cut off and appliqued with Relax in wool and multi-coloured buttons; the rugs were made from pom poms inspired by Pip Lincolne at Meet Me at Mikes; loving the pom poms I made flowers inspired by the lovely vase always on display at Marie Forleo's Studio; and the little containers were little terracotta pots, a little chipped and cracked, pulled back together with a roll of twine and some gorgeous fabric I found in my stash. I really am loving this space and inspired daily to crack on with making the rest of the house  feel as fresh, light and sparkling.

Another thing I've been working on this past week with the arrival of the Full Pink Moon has been this:

My Full Pink Dream Board for 2014

I took Jamie Ridler's 'Pink Moon Dream Board Workshop' and loved every minute of it.  My board is virtual rather than paper and glue because my life is pretty virtual these days and I like the idea that I see this on my screen whenever it lights up.  The five words were inspired by my Desire Mapping work with Danielle La Porte, that journey has been and continues to be truly enlightening.  Thank you so much ladies.

Whilst I made March a month of meditation, and I'm looking forward to doing a lot more of that in May, April has all been about Spring Cleaning, inside and out.  This has been spurred on with the help of two lovely ladies.  Anna Kunnecke who has introduced me to the Queen Sweep and has definitely helped me see the beauty and serendipitous timing of my beautiful space coming together.  The other, Rebecca McLoughlin brought me 'The 5 Key Ways to Wake Up & Love Where You Live' and again my appreciation of my space and taking gentle steps is helping me with the task at hand.  I am still working my way through my work with both ladies along with Desire Mapping with the ever sparkling Danielle La Porte and checking in daily with Jamie Behind the Scenes of Her Studio.  Like I said at the beginning there has been so much going on and there are lots of beans still to be spilled on another day. 

I am so grateful for the inspirational people that have shared my life recently and definitely brought lots more light.

For now I'm going to get back to editing (thank you Anna) my studio - Editing fits me so much better than decluttering, with the editing I'm taking what I've got and finding it a better place.  Decluttering, well I'm just not going to go there any more - perhaps I should be doing some laundry, but I don't do 'should' any more either.

Enjoy the links and the creativity and I hope the sun is truly shining with you, physically and/virtually.

Namaste

Catherine x

A Professional Mindset

Day 5 - Still Clarifying the Mindset

TODAY’s challenge:

1. Write a response blog post to this question:

What’s does your perfect day look like?

My Perfect Day looks like:

 Autumn Sunshine.

Did you want more?

Usually I'm all about the visual.   I listened to a webinair recently that had no visual aids and it was great.  The presenter, Samantha Bennett, explained that as her audience comprised of creative folks that she felt that the best pictures came from our own imagination.  This had at least 2 great results.  1. I got to appreciate my creative imagination. and 2. My answers were not coloured by someone else's ideas.  That really is the way to get the creative juices flowing.

I chose 'Autumn Sunshine' because of the way it makes me feel and the wonderful memories and pictures those feelings evoke.  Cosy days complete with sunshine and layers, filled with creativity and happy thoughts.  I wish I could show you a picture, but then, maybe I already did.

They say a picture can make 1000 words, sometimes a couple of words can create 1000 pictures. (as Marie Would say it's a tweetable)

Day 6 - Time to prioritise

TODAY’s challenge:

1. Write a response blog post to this question:

What are my three priorities for the next 30 days that will move me closer towards living life on my own terms?

Three priorities :
1.  Monetise my free range life
2.  Learn about Aspergers
3.  Be Creative


Day 7 - 

TODAY’s challenge:
1. Write a response blog post to this question:

Which key tools will you turn to regularly to maintain your mindset and how will you use them effectively?

In the spirit of using what I've got, the tools I intend to use to maintain my mindset are:
Meditation - I intend to meditate daily, I'll use the creative sources I've already tried i.e. Jamie Ridler's Creative Visual Meditation and Lissa Rankin's Self Healing Meditation.
Reminding myself daily that the professional mindset gels fully with my authenticity.

Day 8 - 

TODAY’s challenge: is to take a break

Failing this one miserably - as taking a break is not really an option as I'm cramming 30 days worth of challenges into 9.

Namaste

Catherine

xxx

In Just 9 days?

Wednesday is for ...

Wishcasting on WHENsday

Just because I'm re-organising doesn't mean everything has to change.  I like the idea of Wednesday Wishcasting and so popping over to Jamie Ridler studios on a Wednesday for now is a keeper. Albeit Jamie seems to be short, or late on wishes today.

I'd already chosen my wish for this week without a prompt - I found it via the OCG project with an edited version of Bob Perks 'I wish you enough'

From TheOCGProject

I am learning daily about the beauty of enough, and wish everyone enough. This past year my son has been suffering from, what we now know to be, pseudo seizures.  They are scary enough to watch and I can only try to imagine how scary it is on the other side of them.  We had a really good day at the beginning of last week where he got up, and went for a walk round the park before going to school.  I had been giving some thought to defining happy - and that was 'enough'.  My hopes and wants have scaled back tremendously over this past year.  To have some happy, healthy, quality time with family - that is ENOUGH - in fact it felt almost overwhelmingly more so.

May all your wishes be cast into the world and bring back ENOUGH.

Catherine

xxx

Usual Sunday BS – Checking In / Moving On - What week?

That was the week that was _over a week ago_

Monday 10th I'm creating a procrastination list, I really enjoyed this take on procrastination when I was reading Free Range Humans and would have added this to last week's post but....

Find this and more on the Free Range Human Site

The week’s discoveries/rediscoveries:

Springforest Healing Fest - I started this journey but once again let life take over, I really need to work on that.  The key  things I took from this were that western medicine is a passive healing, it's not preventive and looks only at the symptoms and not the cause of the illness - treating the whole person is the way of quigong.
energy is effected by - emotion - nutrition - changes in weather/season - environment - wrong medication - injury
To experience this healing energy go into the emptiness
keep everything simple
use your consciousness
elements - breathing, postures of body, mind and sound
faith, confidence, call upon the master's energy, visualisation, focus, consistence
love, forgiveness and kindness
Life is for happiness
When it is time - it is time
xoxo
Pinterest I pin to share as much as to remind myself of the idea.  Am I the only one who finds myself going to repin something of mine that someone has repinned - because I like it, still.

xoxo

I'm loving the Intention Video from Apple:

xoxo

Loving these definitions/descriptions:

A great description of meditation:

Meditation, the way he described it, was a way to stop running. You sat still, and watched your thoughts and emotions and desires and aversions come and go, and you resisted the urge to try to flee from them, to fix them, or to cling to them. You practised non-attachment, in other words. Whatever came up, negative or positive, you stayed present and observed it. It wasn’t about escaping into ecstasy – or even into calmness, as the word is normally understood; and it certainly wasn’t about positive thinking. It was about the significantly greater challenge of declining to do any of that.

The importance of routine:

[T]he daily rituals and working routines of prolific authors and artists – people who really do get a lot done – very rarely include techniques for ‘getting motivated’ or ‘feeling inspired’. Quite the opposite: they tend to emphasise the mechanics of the working process, focusing not on generating the right mood, but on accomplishing certain physical actions, regardless of mood. Anthony Trollope wrote for three hours each morning before leaving to go to his job as an executive at the post office; if he finished a novel within a three-hour period, he simply moved on to the next. (He wrote forty-seven novels over the course of his life.) The routines of almost all famous writers, from Charles Darwin to John Grisham, similarly emphasise specific starting times, or number of hours worked, or words written. Such rituals provide a structure to work in, whether or not the feeling of motivation or inspiration happens to be present. They let people work alongside negative or positive emotions, instead of getting distracted by the effort of cultivating only positive ones. ‘Inspiration is for amateurs,’ the artist Chuck Close once memorably observed. ‘The rest of us just show up and get to work.’

Via Austin Kleon

And Danielle La Porte has some pretty profound stuff to say The real you emerges.Because it’s already there — beneath beliefs, and untruths, and fatigue, and wonderful experiments.  DLP

xoxo
 I was especially taken with Seth's making a point:

Seth Godin - 'making a point' via Miss Swiss
"ideas that are free spread faster and ideas that spread win"
xoxo Is it sad that I really want to send myself a Burberry Kiss - 

xoxo

I found the magic of space held by the Yoga Mat via Jamie Ridler I just need to find my Yoga Mat now!

xoxo

I realise this is all a bit 'bitty', it's a reflection of life around here recently.

Still, over the next week I intend to get organised, get things in order, finish stuff I've said I'll finish and move on.

Here’s to another week
And to using up lots of stuff

Catherine xxx

Wishcasting on WHENsday

Pondering over which one to pin at I Am The Lab, resisting the urge to pin all - it suddenly struck me it's WHENsday.

I just love the whole I AM THE LAB concept

Wishcasting on WHENsday

and

Storytelling for Change

I originally started writing this post a few weeks ago.  I had planned on tying together the Storytelling for Change Labs I've been doing and what I really want The MacsX to be.

As I put my necklace on this morning I had that ‘aha’ moment.  That’s the story I want to tell.  What I like to call the story of WHEN.

I’m sitting on the top deck of a London bus looking through the window.  And then I stop looking through and start looking in.  Etched in the window is the word WHEN.  And it’s as if that window is speaking to me – bear in mind that I am on the edge of a major melt down – WHEN?  When does my life start? when do I get what I want? When do I get off?(and I don’t mean the bus).  There were a whole host of other questions that really needed to be asked.  But it was if I were hearing my own voice for the first time in a very long time.  Really hearing me. And really recognising that I was not happy with my lot – sure I had loads to be grateful for but I hadn’t found ‘it’.  What I wanted to be when I grew up – ‘happy’.  That one word etched in the window in August 2004 was the beginning of a monumental journey, which I take a new step on each day.  I am Catherine McAtier and in finding my authenticity I hope to light the way for others.  And NOW is WHEN.

That was how the day started then life took over and I got kind of derailed.  This is the first Wednesday in what seems like forever I've been able to get back to focusing on the MacsX.

Working my way through my Feedly stuff I was delighted to see my #ImaPiece jigsaw piece included in the Craftivist Collective post today.  My piece is end right on the middle row.

My contribution to #imapiece

And the when messages just keep on coming, I especially love the 'dispel the "I'll be happy when..." myth' over at Kind Over Matter This  was posted on Monday but I'm playing Feedly catch up today.

So, today I'm finally getting back to some semblance of order - and getting to use what I've got.  I have a whole host of info on Feedly, I seem to be finding pins worth looking at over on Pinterest and I'm looking forward to getting my Etsy Shop back on track with a new improved look (more later...).

And finally over at Jamie Ridler Studios it's back to Wishcasting Wednesday - Today's prompt is What Do You Wish to ....

Me, I want to discover my Authentic Life, I've been doing some work in the background between life's interruptions and hope to put all my discoveries together very soon.  So far my moon board is kind of moon oriented but over the next week or so I'm hoping to add some wishes.

In the meantime I wish everything my fellow wishcasters wish for themselves and may they discover their wishes in the way and at a time that is best for them.

Today is a Good Whensday

Catherine

xxx

A Perfect Day - Wednesdays are for Wishing

Working on recalibrating my GPS when asked about my favourite day one of the first things that springs to mind is Wednesday.  I love Wednesdays because they are 'my' day - Wednesday is the day I get to focus on me and on The MacsX - no 'day job' influence.  It's also the day for wishes, Jamie Ridler offers prompts for Wish Casting Wednesday (not this week because her mum's not well - so let's send all those wishes of love and healing her way today) and Alex Loves often  shows Wednesday Wish Lists (loving the orange over there today).

So if Wednesdays are for wishing, today's wish is for me to work my way through Free Range Human and get this Authentic Abundance Centre up and running.

Making This my Pin for Today

Recent Feedly Finds

(recent highlights from my Feedly Feeds)

Callie at Createavity recommended Craftsy which has been added to my research list for this week.  Also with Carly I'm looking forward to Storytelling for Change - really looking forward to getting my story together and learning about everyone else's.

Wynona Ryder looks as haunting as ever on her Interview Cover over at Trend Council.  I really want to see The Great Gatsby.

I am loving all of the wonderful wisdom over at Tiny Buddha and loving the idea of scheduling Simple Pleasures at Creating Space, Mindful Living.

May all  of your Wishes  come to fruition

In the best way, and at the best time

For You

Catherine

xxx