Many of us are dealing with a lot of grief right now. There is so much pain and suffering in the world. On top of that, the Holidays bring up difficult memories and feelings for many people. Grief is very present for many of us now. As artists and sensitives, we are meant to feel everything, both the worst parts of humanity and the best so that we can transmute it into healing and beauty that can be shared with others. But during these difficult times, this can feel impossible to bear.

What creative project are you working on at the moment? I am in the Winter season of my creative process because I just wrapped up several projects and I am now resting and finding inspiration for what will come next. If you are at the end of a project, you are in the Fall Season and you are workin' it! When we are in the Winter and Spring seasons of our process, we may feel guilty because these times don't FEEL as typically 'productive', they are more about rest, inspiration, and play. But if we are in the Fall, we are at our most productive.

Are you feeling stuck in your creative process? You've gone through the exploration phase (Winter), and nurtured all your new ideas (Spring). Now what? You might find yourself frozen or unfocused and not know how to get back on track.

If you've been following me for a while, you know that I talk a lot on my podcast and in these newsletters and blog about creative seasons. I'm not necessarily talking about the seasons in the year (although they could correlate) but about THE STAGES OF YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS. I've shared about Winter and Spring in this newsletter. But what about Summer?

A few weeks ago I shared the Body Mapping technique I've been practicing to disperse trapped energy. This week I wanted to give you a breakdown of exactly HOW to use it.

You can use this technique any time you feel overwhelming emotions like anxiety, sadness, or fear, or you can use it if you have pain in your body. I would suggest not using it if the emotions or pain are overwhelming, so much that you cannot sit still or this may cause more trauma. Please seek help or get treatment if this is the case. For instance, I use this when I feel a mild migraine coming on, but if it feels severe, I take medication and THEN do this technique.

A couple of months ago I was driving down to see my friends in Portland. I love driving, and it's about a two-and-a-half-hour trip from Seattle so I was prepared for a nice, relaxing time alone on the road when I felt a migraine coming on.

Some of you may know, I've had chronic migraines for over 25 years now, sometimes being put out of commission for weeks at a time. My Capricorn nature drives me to always want to find solutions, so I've tried EVERYTHING to heal these migraines over the years, doing everything from herbs, medication, and acupuncture to restrictive diets. All with little or no success.

It's finally Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, but is it Spring in your Creative Process? Anytime we begin something new like a creative project or like looking for a new career, home, or partner, there is a process. It's how nature creates anything. If we really study how creativity and how the natural world work, we notice that there is a method to it. We can fight this flow or we can allow it to be the natural and intuitive process that it is.

Sitting down to write about what has happened in the past few months seems a bit daunting. It's been a wild ride. So I will start with the word SURRENDER.

Many of you who may be following me on social media may know that in November of last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Even though it was the very best kind of breast cancer (early stage/contained) it still was a lot to process. I went through many tests and scans and then had a lumpectomy and very easy recovery in February (thank you health care team).