Wealthcare Program Complete

Well, the Wealthcare Program is now complete. I have posted each of the Workshops over the last four months - Gratitude Garland, Accounting Your Blessings, Miracle Soup, and Creative Manifestival. I have decided not to continue with this blog with other posts, but leave is strictly for the Wealthcare Program. I will leave these posts indefinitely so that you may follow the workshops at your own pace.

You may do the workshops in any order, although the order in which I posted them made the most sense to me. I do see them as progressively digging deeper into your own psyche in order to help you manifest your own desires, goals, and dreams.

Please enjoy these programs and I wish you well in your journey.

I have started a new blog to pursue my own dreams of creating art. It is called "Dreaming in Orange". I will be posting about the various interests in my life: knitting and spinning, creating collage, drawing, encaustic painting, and photos from my daily life and travels. It is my own way to visually explore things in my life.

Enjoy,
Anne

Creative ManiFestival Day 30

As I searched for the best way to bring the course to a close, I knew that it was time to put activities and exercises aside for the last lesson, which would be on the subject of money. I knew that if I could get out of my own way, my own "teaching" voice would be able to step back and allow a greater teacher to come through.

For whatever reason, that voice came through as the voice of butterflies.

Please enjoy the PDF book, "Money-Morphosis: 10 Things Butterflies Can Teach Us About Money".

Also, take a look at a handy list of the 10 Steps.

Take time to use this process anytime you want to bring something, or more of something, into your life. These principles of manifestation are a fun and creative method in which to make significant changes in your life.


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 29

For the past 30 days, the Creative ManiFestival course has presented exercises, tools, and processes to tap into your right brain and make powerful shifts related to prosperity. We've focused on using the 10 Steps to manifest different things, and I hope it has become increasingly clear that these 10 Steps are appropriate for manifesting ANYTHING! Obviously, you may have to tweak some of the exercises, but this general progression of igniting a spiritual process with creative, imaginative exercises that build on one another modularly, WORKS.

For our final two days, I want to look at the specific topic of MONEY. Throughout the course, I've talked about abundance, prosperity, and right livelihood. Since this course is directly intended for creative people, we've covered specific issues that many creative people have in their relationship to abundance and prosperity.

Obviously, prosperity and the experience of wealth are about a LOT more than money. Yet, I did not think this course would be complete without addressing money directly, as it is something that many of us struggle with. So these two days will play with this topic and offer some tangible suggestions on how you may use the 10 Steps specifically for bringing more money into your life.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Remember Day One, when you had a cup of coffee with your creativity? I'd like to do something similar today.

Imagine that you are on a playground, having a play-date with Money. You and Money are playing on the see-saw, making mudpies in the sandbox, and pushing one another on the swings.

Imagine that you and Money take a break and lie down on a picnic blanket in the middle of the grass. You lie back and look at the clouds and talk about the different shapes that you see. Then begin to have a heart-to-heart with money...and record your answers in your journal.

If you like, you can alternate between your dominant hand ("your" voice) and non-dominant hand ("Money's" voice). If the hand-alternating gets too frustrating, drop it, and just write regularly, but see if you can change your pace or style a bit when you write from Money's voice. The idea is to bypass the left brain and get to heart of expression. You can write very quickly when you write for Money's. You can hold the pen in a fist. You can also do this at the computer by closing your eyes as you type when you are "taking dictation" from Money.

Ask Money these questions:

"How do you like living in my world?"

"What would you like to be different?"

"How can I help you?"

"How can you help me?"

"Who do you wish that I was more like?"

*******
After you've written your answers, go back and compare these responses with the remarks made by "Creativity" in Day One of this course. You asked your Creativity and Money the very same questions. How are the answers alike, and different? What realizations come to mind when you study the answers?

If you'd like to connect further with Money, here are some more questions to ask:

"How can I improve our relationship?"

"What would you like to do for me, that I'm not letting you do?"

"What beliefs do you wish I would change?"

"What can I do to spend more time with you?"

"How can I attract more of you?"

"What do you wish I understood about you?"

"What do you wish you understood about me?"


Spend time with these questions and see what you can uncover. What have you learned about creativity during the past 28 days, that you can apply to money?

We'll pick up with some more exercises tomorrow. It is your final day of the course, but only the beginning of what is to come!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 28

Today we're going to complete our "closer look" at each of the 10 steps by presenting Steps 9 and 10. Then, with only two days left in the course, I'll be throwing some new ideas your way, and also help you formulate an action plan for the future. After all, the end of the course is really just the beginning!

STEP 9: Use creative exercises to explore blocks or resistances around the topic.

To drive an automatic car, we use a combination of the accelerator and brake pedals. To move forward, we need to take our foot off the brake pedal, and press down on the accelerator. Merely lifting up the brake pedal, without pushing the accelerator, will not get us far. And pushing the accelerator at the same time as the brake pedal won't either. It's the combination that does it.

If we extend this metaphor to the process of drawing prosperity into our lives, we can compare releasing the brake pedal to letting go of resistance, and compare pushing the accelerator pedal to moving forward with positive thoughts and actions.

In other words, merely taking positive steps and reframing our thoughts, actions, and beliefs won't get us moving very far, unless the resistances are dealt with.

Resistances are the internal blocks that keep us from fulfilling out desires. These are blocks in our beliefs or thought processes that keep us from being successful, happy, and fulfilled. Sometimes resistances manifest themselves as external blocks, and it may seem that the world is against us! However, more often than not, the external blocks are reflections from limiting beliefs that we are holding, ourselves.

Earlier in the course, you've already explored a few techniques that apply your creativity to the act of releasing resistance. In this case, the exercises were specifically centered around releasing clutter, using your creative supplies, and coming into an acceptance that you can and deserve to sell artwork.

Here are a few more ideas of ways you can use your creativity to tackle resistances:

a. Try a movement exercise where you perform a "pas de deux" with your resistance. Put on some music that seems to exemplify your relationship with your resistance. Use your body to portray each "character" - first yourself, and then your resistance. Allow your resistance to move through you in powerful, passionate ways. Then use your body to allow the resistance to surrender while you and your resistance become one and inhabit a single body as you dance together. After the exercise, write down and/or meditate upon any discoveries.

b. Create a simple movement ritual which you use to release resistance. For example, you could develop a ritual in which you literally "shake off" defeating thoughts by shaking your right arm, as if you were grandly shaking a tambourine.

Or you could stand with your feet apart and your arms out to your sides, so that your body is a 5-pointed "star", that acts as a shield from negative thinking. Play with your body to develop such a tool, and use it as often as possible to help you diminish resistance.

c. If you are battling with an "I can't..." that repeats over and over in your head, try this: take a large piece of paper or poster board and write down an "I can't..." statement. Then write four subsequent statements, using the same words in each blank, following the progression below.

As you write each statement, ILLUSTRATE it with collaged images, drawings, symbols, and/or icons. This is a progressive affirmation that enables YOU to take the power away from the resistance to remind you that YOU are in charge. By adding the illustrations as you go, you are allowing each different level of the progression to sink in more deeply than if you were simply writing them down.

- I can't __________
- If I really wanted to, I could _________.
- I could ___________.
- I can __________.
- I __________.

Here's an example:

- I can't earn any money as a writer.
- If I really wanted to, I could earn money as a writer.
- I could earn money as a writer.
- I can earn money as a writer.
- I earn money as a writer.

Remember, you would spend a good chunk of time illustrating each one of these statements.

You might want to try this exercise spread over a few days, rather than all at one sitting. This will allow each level to sink in more deeply, which enhances your chance for success in truly reaching the next level with your full belief.

d. Draw a portrait of resistance with your eyes closed, and don't lift up your pencil. Just let it go where it takes you. When you feel it is complete, open your eyes and examine the portrait. Make note of anything realizations you've had or things you've learned.

Then close your eyes and ask this question: "What is the best action I can take with this portrait?"

Allow yourself to be guided as to the action that you take that will be for your highest good. It could be that you are guided to burn the page, or paint it with bright colors and hang it up, or anything else that comes through to you. Whatever your first impulse is, do it.

STEP 10: Actively invoke in the release-create-share-receive cycle in a way that is related to what you want.

Earlier in the course, we participated in this cycle by morphing clutter into both gifts and products to be sold. Please remember that you can sell art in the "Art Adoption for Abundance" section of The Shoppes of Artella whenever you are ready. Do NOT worry if you have not done that exercise yet! This is ongoing, powerful work, and you have an open invitation to use this forum.

But there are many other ways that this cycle can be used, outside of releasing unused art supplies. I have found, over and over, that this four-step cycle is practically a guarantee for bringing a desire full circle.

On a practical level, it opens us up to highly creative thinking and problem-solving. Often, the main thing standing between us and our desires is that we are trapped in linear thinking, believing that there is only one "standard" way for our desire to come to us. Brainstorming to get ideas for this cycle automatically places the desire in the right brain, and allows all kinds of inspirations to come through.

On a spiritual level, I believe that invoking this cycle from a pure heart immediately opens us up to abundance. When we can experience as much joy from releasing, creating, and sharing as we do from receiving, we become magnets for the perfect opportunities, people, events, and things that will bring our desire to us. By holding pure intentions and opening ourselves to these key elements, we make it much easier for God/the Universe to take care of the details.

So, brainstorm about other ways that you can invoke this powerful cycle by writing down this question in large letters:

In what ways can I release-create-share-receive?

...and let yourself go wild with brainstorming ideas. Write down even the ones that seem far-fetched. Allow yourself to think beyond "physical" items, and look to ways that you can use this cycle to release, create, share, and receive, using your time, talents, and gifts.

Keep this list where you can see it often and reflect on the different ideas from time to time, trusting that when it is time for you to put one of the ideas into action, you will have all of the appropriate motivation and tools necessary.

Here are some questions to ask to help you get your brainstorming going:

- What do I want to get rid of, either tangibly or intangibly? Is there some way that I use the action of getting rid of this to start the cycle?

- What have I always had a hunch about making or doing? Does that idea inspire a way to use this cycle?

- What is something that someone I know really needs or wants, that I have to share? How can that be a part of this cycle?

- What do I really need or want? How I can use this cycle to come to that conclusion?

When Steps 1-9 have built a strong basis of clarity and creativity around your desire, this cycle puts the concepts into action. Once your foot is released from the brake, this cycle joyfully presses the accelerator pedal to bring you toward your dream.


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 27

We're looking at Steps #7 and #8 today.

STEP #7: Add a musical element: what song(s) truly express the essence of your desire?

This step is deceptively simple, but I urge you not to skip over it. As you know, the purpose of the exercises in Creative ManiFestival is to encourage you to use the full range of your creativity in manifesting. To move beyond meditation and "new age" techniques to truly invoke your creativity as your most important ingredient in manifesting what you desire.

If you are primarily an artist, or primarily a writer, it is important and effective to call on the other arts to bring you into the full nature of your creativity. While art and writing exist on paper, music "exists" in the air, so to speak (well, at least, non-visible waves of energy). It affects us on a different level. When lyrics are added to the experience, the experience of selecting and listening to music becomes all the more powerful.

Here are some specific exercises to try out when approaching this step:

a. Envision the process of manifesting your desire as a film, and select different musical pieces for the soundtrack. Select various pieces in different music genres to symbolize separate parts of the journey you are taking to bring your desire forth into reality.

b. Go to your CD/cassette collection and pick an album and song at random. (For CDs, you could say to yourself, "I'm picking the 5th CD in the stack on the left, track 6" before even approaching the stack.) Play the track and see if the music and/or lyrics bring a new layer of understanding or sensibility to your desire.

c. When you are listening to different pieces of music with this exercise, allow your body to move along with the music. This allows your entire being to absorb the new "knowledge" of the song.

d. Experiment with music genres that are new to you. In day 10, I mentioned http://www.musicmass.com as a place to start for free downloads of music. Another option is to search the download library at Amazon.com, at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=artella-20&path=tg/browse/-/468646.

You can enter search terms in the Amazon search engine and find downloads that match specific search criteria.

Other downloadable music sources are:

http://www.napster.com
http://www.imusic.com

STEP 8: Listen to the music in #8 while making two lists: "Mine to Do" and "Universe's/God's to Do"

The process of making these two lists is very, very important, and playing your chosen song(s) in the background allows you to open up to new levels of awareness about the items you are placing in each list.

Why create these two lists? Why the distinction?

One of the most important aspects of manifesting anything - ANYTHING - is the act of surrendering. When we try to control every little thing, we are pushing up against the natural flow of our life.

I think where people have trouble surrendering is in not fully accepting what I believe is the nature of life - learning to surrender means coming to full acceptance of the fact that the nature of life is ALWAYS to flow to our highest good.

The world is full of proof of this concept: our bones automatically heal when broken; scientific studies show that our energetic fields are constantly drawn toward things we want, and away from things we don't want; when any body of water is agitated, it immediately levels out to rest; and a sunflower seed spends it life naturally manifesting to fulfilling its DNA characteristics that are included in the seed from the very beginning.

Many of us can accept that "everything happens for a purpose", but finding ease in surrendering comes when we can believe that "everything is moving me toward my BEST purpose."

If we can accept that the world is always flowing in the direction of our highest good, it is a natural progression to get out of the way when we want something. We can voice our desire but then surrender control. And that is what a "list for God/the Universe" to do is all about.

Marianne Williamson says:

"When we surrender to God, we surrender to something bigger than ourselves - to a universe that knows what it's doing. When we stop trying to control events, they fall into a natural order, an order that works. We're at rest while a power much greater than our own takes over, and it does a much better job than we could have done. We learn to trust that the power that holds galaxies together can handle the circumstances of our relatively little lives."

Here are some creative variations on this exercise:

a. Create a vessel or container and place in it symbols of the things you are surrendering. Some people call this a "God Jar" or a "Creation Box". Give this container your OWN name...something that makes you smile. Decorate it artfully and make the process of adding items to it a joyous experience. If you want to write the items on slips of paper, include doodles! Or try writing a haiku poem about each element that you place in the box. Make this such a joyful activity that, from now on, when you think about something you want, your first thought is, "Ooh, I can't wait to put this in my Tremendous Treasure Chest!!"

b. Create an art journal about faith, including your own exploration of images and words that push the boundaries of your current beliefs to open your mind to new possibilities.

c. Write/draw your "Things for God/the Universe to Do" list on a long piece of butcher paper hung on the wall. Rejoice in adding more things.

d. Look at the things on the "Things for ME to do" list, and make a plan. Shifts occur more quickly when they are achieved BOTH in the internal and external worlds. Decide what you need to do, and make a plan for doing it. Use your creativity (draw, write, dance) to express your relationship as co-creator with the divine force working along with you.

e. Keep track of your two lists, so that you can observe how many things are being accomplished, by both you AND the Universe!
Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 26

Today we are looking at steps 5 and 6. We'll start with Step 5.

STEP 5...Rewrite the entry for #4, replacing the circumstances with facts and details from your present life, but maintaining the essences.

This step is a wonderful challenge for your imagination. Throughout the course, you've learned various ways to use your creativity to express your vision of what your experience will be when your desire has come to pass. Step 4 invited you to create a very detailed picture of what this will look like, with a focus on the essences. You may want to review Days 9, 22, and 25 for ideas to prompt this exploration.

The idea is to create a DESIRE STORY via any artistic expression (through art, writing, dance, or a combination) that captures this desire and makes it real for you.

Once this picture is in place, it's just a matter of switching the details of the story with details of your own life.

For example, let's say that your desire story includes something like the following:

I walked into the dressing room, filled with anticipation for what was to come. I knew that any minute, I'd be meeting Oprah, and even though I was excited, I also felt a certain calmness, knowing it was exactly where I needed to be at the moment, and that I was here because of my hard work, faith, and trust. I knew I had something important to share, and that somewhere out there were viewers who really needed me. What a lovely feeling. I poured a glass of the sweet tea that had been left for me and felt instantly refreshed. I drank a toast to myself, with thanks for my gifts, for Oprah, the viewers, and for God’s blessings.

Now, while it may seem like a tough bill to fill, the trick is to keep the basic essences the same, but change the details with information in your own life. Here's an example of what could be done with the above paragraph:

I walked into my office, filled with anticipation for what was to come. I knew that any minute, I'd begin the first chapter of my book, and even though I was excited, I also felt a certain calmness, knowing it was exactly where I needed to be at the moment, and that I was ready to start this chapter because of my hard work, faith, and trust. I knew I had something important to share, and that somewhere out there, there were readers who really needed me. What a lovely feeling. I decided to go to the kitchen before entering, and make myself a glass of tea so that I could nourish my body and appropriately toast this occasion. I drank a toast to myself, with thanks for my gifts, for the new day, my future readers, and for God's blessings.

All that I did was change the details of the surroundings and occasion. The rest remained intact.

The example above shows the DESIRE STORY and the re-write in written form, but you could also express both of these exercises in the following ways:

- An expressive dance or movement exercise that depicts both the DESIRE STORY and then your "re-write"

- Two collages or other works of art; one for the DESIRE STORY and one for the rewrite

- Two poems or pieces of abstract writing

- Any other creative expression that you can come up with

If you're having a tough time, here are some hints for working with your DESIRE STORY in this way:

a. The "re-write" doesn't necessarily have to do with your creative passions, goals, or desires. It can do with anything in your life. For example, the above paragraph could also have been re-written to talk about the excitement of meeting a dear friend, spending some time gardening, or the anticipation of starting a new book, reflecting a desire to spend more down-time doing things you enjoy.

b. If you're stuck on where to start, just pick a room in your home. Any room: kitchen, dining room, bedroom, studio, office, backyard. Visualize the room, and figure out what you could be doing in the room that would be relatable to the feelings and essences described in the DESIRE STORY.

c. If the re-write seems completely impossible...just suspend your disbelief, for the sake of the exercise. There will be more instruction along these lines when we discuss Step 6, below.

d. If the re-write isn't coming, try a different medium. For example, if you wrote your DESIRE STORY, try creating a piece of art to reflect the re-write.

The purpose of this exercise is two-fold. First, it helps us realize that we are closer to our desires than we think! Second, it serves as a bridge to the next step, which is to create a plan for tangibly putting these essences into action, making a conscious effort to bring them into our lives.

STEP 6...Use the rewrite to determine ways you can achieve these essences related to your desire in your PRESENT life.

In yesterday's lesson, we looked at the BE-DO-HAVE paradigm as a powerful way to ignite your manifesting abilities. In addition to helping you become a more powerful magnet for what you desire, focusing on the BE first makes life a lot more enjoyable, too!

Step 6 involves taking a look at Step 5 and making a conscious plan to bring more of those core essences into your life on a daily basis.

The first step is to brainstorm on the ways that you can bring these essences to your life.

Taking the paragraph we've already used as an example, here are some things that could be on that brainstorming list:

- Start each writing session with a cup of tea, to remind me to drink a toast to life and creativity

- Create a collage to remind me of this scenario and tape it to the top of my computer

- Create a mental picture of a reader who will be really inspired by my book, and tap into that reader before I begin writing

- Create a reward system for myself to reward myself for each successful writing session

- Put a picture of Oprah on my computer monitor

- Play a recording of the theme to "Rocky" to kick-start my writing sessions

Really let your imagination fly as you brainstorm your list of things that you could do to actively bring these essences to your life. No idea is "stupid" or "silly". My golden rule in brainstorming is that each idea leads to the next...so every idea comes up for a reason.

When you are done, pick three to five things on your list that will serve as your ESSENCE INTENTIONS for seven days.

Ideally, these will be small actions that you can take on a daily basis to positively infiltrate your life with these core essences. However, if you want to include some actions of larger scope (say, things you can only do once a week, rather than daily), that's fine. Trust your guidance to help you know what to choose.

If you'd like synchronicity to decide, cut your list into slips of paper and choose a few of them at random. Or number each one and roll dice to determine which ones you'll try first.

However you select your three to five items, write them down in the Intention Log that you may download HERE. Then try this for one week: at the end of each day, put a check mark on the Intentions that you were able to fulfill. The Log also gives you some space for notes or remarks through the week.

The goal isn't to be "perfect"...it is simply to make you more mindful of your process of spicing up your life with your core essences. If this method works for you, keep it up after this course is complete. If not, release it, but take notice of any shifts that occurred while you were focusing on bringing more of these essences into your life.

Some creative variations on the Intention Log include:

a. Instead of check-marks, add drawings, doodles, stickers, or cut-out images when you "check off" your intentions each day.

b. Create an exciting border around the Intention Log, with images and words related to your core essences. Or create a collage on the back.

c. Create a larger-than-life Intention Log where you have plenty of space to write and create art, in addition to checking off your successful intentions. Consider hanging large poster boards or butcher paper on a wall, and creating an Intention Mural in this way.

As with all of these steps, the purpose is to move the "learning" from your left brain to your right brain. It's time to go beyond simply understanding concepts…and move to living them in the deepest cells and soul of your being. As we discussed earlier in the course, your creativity is your VERY BEST manifestation tool.
Don't be afraid to make it work!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 25

Continuing along with some further discussion about each of the 10 steps, we'll start with Step 3.

STEP #3......Record any and all reasons why you think you CAN'T have it, and then engage in a creative exercise to transform those very words into answers as to why you CAN have this.

There are generally two types of people -- people who see why things will work, and people who can clearly see why things will not work. Both personalities are very useful when it comes to making decisions. The approach addressed in this step works for BOTH types.

If you are person who can see the solution in any problem, it will be very easy for you to turn around the challenges that have been facing you. Furthermore, doing so will give you confidence and fuel your momentum, because you know this is your strength.

If, however, you are a person who can always find the problem with a given situation, this exercise is equally effective, because it puts you in the role of being a "devil's advocate". For many people, NOTHING gets the creativity rolling more than using the mind and imagination to point out flaws, hardships, and inconsistencies in a plan.

By using your creativity to fight against the reasons a desire can't happen, you can tap into that fiesty little part of you, and also send powerful messages to the Universe as to why you are readyand open for miracles to take place.

Like each of the steps, the Creative ManiFestival course encourages approaching this step from a creative, rather than a logical point of view. You've already carried out this concept in two ways. Youwrote a poem based on an upside-down view of your "can't" list, and you also rewrote a screenplay scene in which you literally played attorney to represent the cause of the CAN.

Here are some other ways to use your creativity to turn the CAN'Ts into CANs:

a. Draw or paint while thinking about all the reasons your desire can't come to pass. Just allow yourself to create abstractly and see where the lines, spaces, and shapes take you as your examine your desire for a closed, defeatist place. Then, literally rip the painting up into small pieces and then collage them back together while thinking about all the reasons your desire CAN come to fruition!

b. Do this exercise with an artist friend: each of you create a piece of artwork while thinking about all the stumbling blocks and mis-beliefs associated with NOT being able to achieve your dream. Then switch with one another, and re-create your friend's artwork to exemplify all the reasons it CAN happen for her (and, of course, she will do the same for you!)

c. You also can do the same "switching" technique with a friend using a piece of writing. Start by expressing the reasons why something can't happen, using poetry, essay, or script format. Then have your friend rewrite your piece showing why it IS possible!

d. HINT: when you do these types of exercises, look for *evidence* on what your dream can come true. What in the past has shown you that your dream is possible? Who else has tried this and succeeded? In what ways has the Universe made incredible connections for you in the past? Create a file folder of "evidence" on hand, so that when you engage in these types of "creative debates" between the CANs and CAN'Ts, you have a lot of evidence on hand to call upon.
********************************

STEP #4: Tap into the ESSENCES behind why you want this desire by writing about it with great focus on how you experience these essences.

Getting down to the ESSENCES of why you want something is SO effective. It sends clear signals to the Universe of what you want, and it helps you channel your desire into actions and feelings that will help you attract more of it in your life.

In other words, if you can clue into exactly WHY you want a desire, you can start implementing more of THAT into your life. If you want a new car because of the freedom it will give you, figure out other ways to ignite a sense of freedom into your life. Like attracts like -- so doing so will bring more freedom into your sphere in inward and material ways.

In the book "Conversations with God", Neale Donald Walsch explains this point so well that I will include an excerpt from the book, here:

"Most people believe if they "have" a thing (more time, money, love -- whatever), then they can finally "do" a thing (write a book, take up a hobby, go on vacation, buy a home, undertake a relationship), which will allow them to "be" a thing (happy, peaceful, content, or in love). In actuality, they are reversing the Be-Do-Have paradigm. In the universe as it really is (as opposed to how you think it is), "havingness" does not produce "beingness," but the other way around.

First you "be" the thing called "happy" (or "knowing," or "wise," or "compassionate," or whatever), then you start "doing" things from this place of beingness -- and soon you discover that what you are doing winds up bringing you the things you've always wanted to "have."

The way to set this creative process (and that's what this is...the process of creation) into motion is to look at what it is you want to "have," ask yourself what you think you would "be" if you "had" that, then go right straight to being.

In this way you reverse the way you've been using the Be-Do-Have paradigm -- in actuality, set it right -- and work with, rather than against, the creative power of the universe.

Here is a short way of stating this principle:

In life, you do not have to do anything. It's all a question of what you are being....to illustrate this, think of a person who just knows that if he could only have a little more time, a little more money, or a little more love, he'd be truly happy.

He does not get the connection between his "not being very happy" right now and his not having the time, money, or love he wants. On the other hand, the person who is "being" happy seems to have time to do everything that's really important, all the money that's needed, and enough love to last a lifetime."

Step #5 goes into greater detail about how to USE the essences, but it is very important to understand why it is necessary to dig until you find the essences.

We've already used writing as a vehicle for finding the essences...creating a scene in which your desire has come true that includes so many details, that the essences are apparent.

Here are some more ideas:

a. The question "why" does a great deal to help you get to the bottom of essences. Ask yourself, "Why do I want ____?" and then keep asking why, and why again, until you get to what feels like the CORE ESSENCE. Then create a piece of art that expresses that CORE ESSENCE.

b. Write a dialogue between the CORE ESSENCE and yourself. What is it trying to tell you? What do you need from it and what does it need from you? If you like, try switching between your dominant and non-dominant hands to have this conversation. Allow your essence to use your non-dominant hand, and your own voice to use your dominant. Lots of interesting stuff can be uncovered in this way.

c. Try another dialogue: write a conversation between your CORE ESSENCE and your CORE VALUES. Don't think too much about this -- just try it and see what happens!

d. Keep breaking the essences down until you have a single word, and create colorful posters with the word and illustrations to reflect the word.

e. Use index or playing cards to create a deck of cards, each one artfully depicting a difference essence that corresponds to WHY you want a particular desire to come true.


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 24

As promised, today we are looking more closely at the first two steps in strengthening your manifesting muscles. Today we are looking at the first two steps:

Figure out what you want and articulate your desire.

Use some method of creativity (art, writing) to create a vision of what you want in a tangible format.

STEP #1: Figure out what you want and articulate your desire.

My definition of manifesting is drawing to us that which brings a more fulfilled life…a life where we are actively involved in the art of living and invigoratingly involved in the cycles of giving and receiving in abundance.

I believe that we are constantly manifesting. It took me a long time to belief the metaphysical principles that, on some level, we have created everything in our lives, good and bad, by drawing them to us. I resisted this idea until I was blue in the face, but I now believe in it wholeheartedly.

For me, the secret was realizing that having some undesirable in our lives doesn't mean that we *want* it. It simply means that at some level, our soul needs it to be there. I see two main reasons that our soul desires less-than-desirable circumstances, people, and events to us.

The first is to learn lessons in the most effective way. The Universe can get drastic in the way it teaches us. Think back to some circumstance in your past that seemed unbearable at the time, yet now when you look back, you clearly see its function in your development to becoming who you are right now. This trajectory is true of any challenge we face.

The second reason is to break patterns. More and more research is showing that, on every microcosmic level, like attracts like. An incredible book on the topic of quantum physics and it relevance to laws of attraction in our lives is "The Field: The Secret Force of the Universe" by Lynne McTaggart.

I believe that we attract the people, circumstances, and events that mirror our beliefs, down to the last detail. Consider the metaphor that we are standing in a deep canyon, and the Universe echoes back whatever we say. We say, "I'm stuck, I'm not going anywhere, I'm running into problems at each turn..." the Universe says back to us, "Yes, you are stuck! You are running into problems at every turn..."

On the other hand, if what we are saying is, "Wow, solutions are showing up everywhere! My imagination is richer than ever and things are getting better every day!", the Universe responds: "Yes, right on! Solutions are showing up everywhere and things are getting better every day!"

It's THAT literal.

Continuing to attract the same negative things over and over is a way to make a situation so acute so that it is unavoidable, and this is often the best way to break long-standing patterns. You've heard that it is always darkest before the dawn, and our souls know that.

In "The Artist's Way", Julia Cameron says that one of the most important parts of the practice of Morning Pages (3 longhand pages of journal writing each morning) is that it makes it impossible to ignore what is going wrong…the things that we continue to complain about. By continuing to attract negative circumstances, our souls are helping us process in the same way.

If you can be open to the fact that we are constantly manifesting, it is easy to make the shift to understand that we can learn to manifest CONSCIOUSLY - to manifest what we want!

In order to do this, we must know WHAT it is that we want. Here are a few exercises to use regularly to help strengthen the "know what you want" muscle:

a. If you find your thoughts clouded by what you DON'T want, write down what you don't want on an index card, and then cross it out with a big black marker. Rewrite the statement to reflect what you
DO want. Place the card where you will see it often. It will not only keep your desires in clear sight, it will also remind you to retrain your mind to think about what you DO want, instead of what you DON'T want.

b. Commit to spending time each day imagining what you want. Details are important because they make the vision come alive, and they help you clarify what you want. See the rest of the lessons for ideas of ways to use your creativity to clarify your desire.

c. Keep a running log of your desires, and refer back to them often and update them as necessary. It is perfectly normal for goals and wishes to change as things shift within. Make a note of when and how your desires change so that your vision is accurate and clear.

*************
STEP #2: Use some method of creativity (art, writing) to create a vision of what you want in a tangible format.

"We are what and where we are because we have first imagined it." -
Donald Curtis

Take a look around the room. Every single thing you see - from the computer to the paint on the walls to the design on your shirt to this very lesson - was first envisioned by someone. Everything that happens must be envisioned first. This applies to all kinds of activities and processes, not just material objects.

We spend a lot of time envisioning what we don't want. We do this every time we worry! Why not transfer that time and energy to envision what we DO want? And, since we are creative people, why not use our creativity to do the envisioning.

Here are some exercises to try, to utilize the gift of your creativity to envision what you want, and make it very, very real:

a. Create an art journal (combining words and art) that reflects your life as if your desire has become your reality. Create a two-page spread at least once a week.

b. Design a handmade invitation to a party that you throw or is thrown for you when you accomplish your desire. What is the occasion? Who will be there? Where will it be held? What will transpire at the party? Create an actual invitation with all the details.

c. Write a daily "to do" list (perhaps illustrated by fun little doodles), as if you were in the middle of a regular day in which your desire has become reality. Take a few minutes and do this every single day.

d. Write e-mails to friends, full of descriptive details, AS IF your goal has already come true (and send the e-mail to yourself, if you like).

e. Write a newspaper article about yourself and how you accomplished your desire. Take picture of yourself, or ask a friend to do so, to accompany the article.

f. Pretend you are being interviewed for a TV or radio show about your experience in accomplishing your desire. This is a great activity when you're driving because you can talk to yourself fairly inconspicuously.

g. Have a "parallel universe" party with a friend. Go out for lunch or coffee and have fun going back and forth talking about how great your lives are, AS IF your desires were your reality.

h. Use your body to create a prayer dance of gratitude for what you will have received. Write a prayer of gratitude for the blessings you will have received when this desire has come to fruition. This is the true definition of faith - saying "thank you" prayers to God or the Universe before actually seeing the manifestation of what you have asked for.

I am sure that you can come up with an infinite number of ways to use art, writing, music, and dance to express your vision of your desire. Have fun with this, and dip into the well of your creativity often!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 23

By now, you've probably gotten the idea of the progression we're taking toward building your manifesting muscles.

There are ten steps in all. They go like this:

1. Figure out what you want…and articulate your desire. (Days 18-19)
2. Use some method of creativity (art, writing) to create a vision of what you want in a tangible format. (Day 7, 20)
3. Record any and all reasons why you think you CAN'T have it, and then engage in a creative exercise to transform those very words into answers as to why you CAN have this. (Day 8, 21)
4. Tap into the ESSENCES behind why you want this desire by writing about it with great focus on how you experience these essences. (Day 9, 22)
5. Rewrite the entry for #5, replacing the circumstances with facts and details from your present life, but maintaining the essences. (Day 9, 22)
6. Use the rewrite to determine ways you can achieve these essences related to your desire in your PRESENT life. (Day 22)
7. Add a musical element: what song(s) truly express the essence of your desire? (Day 10)
8. Listen to the music in #8 while making two lists: "Mine to Do" and "Universe's/God's to Do" (Day 11)
9. Use creative exercises to explore blocks or resistances around the topic. (Days 12-15)
10. Actively invoke in the release-create-share-receive cycle in a way that is related to what you want. (Days 16-17)


These steps have worked MIRACLES for me. While I have also experimented with methods such as meditation and chakra alignment to promote my manifesting skills, when I added the ingredient of CREATIVE EXPRESSION, something finally clicked.

The lessons took you through the majority of these steps, using the dream creative space as an example (remember - it's just an example! They can work for ANY dream). You then isolated a new desire and worked through step 6. To fully ignite your multiple senses in the creativity process, continue with the rest of steps for this desire.

Now that you are in the flow, you can continue the steps on your own, related to your current desire. Today's exercise will help you make a plan for what comes next. THEN, days 24-28 will take a closer look at the 10 steps, covering 2 of the steps each day, presenting "above and beyond" content and exercises for each.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Review the steps you have activated thus far, in relation to your new desire. Take a look at steps 7-10 and literally schedule time in your calendar to complete them.

When will you spend some time searching for the perfect music?
When you will work on dividing the tasks between you and the Universe?
When will you creatively participate in addressing and releasing resistances?
What will you do to invoke the release-create-share-receive cycle, and when will you do it?

With these scheduled, you can securely move through the next 5 days of digging deeper into the significance of each step.


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 22

Your time as a screenwriter isn't complete!

Yesterday, you wrote the dialogue of the courtroom drama that ensues when you must create a voice to defend the fact that your desire is on its way! Continue writing as a screenwriter for today's exercise, which is a slight variation on the exercise in Day 9.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

1. Do a super-quick "lightning-round" on WHY you want this desire. Why do you want it? Make your list focus on how you will FEEL.

2. Next, write a script for a movie scene, in which you are the main character. Write about having your desire in a very, very specific way, emphasizing the details, and zoning in on the ESSENCE of how the main character (you) feel in this space.

3. Next, pretend that the film's producer has asked you to rewrite the scene...keeping the essences alive, but placing the main character in a different situation, which just happens to look like YOUR "as is" life right now. Rewrite the scene according to these directions. When you are finished, go back and rewrite the script, keeping everything as-is, except replacing the details that have to do with your desire with things that are in your reach in your real life.

(For more information on how to do this, go back to Day 9).

New steps added for today's exercise:

4. After completing the rewrite in #3, write down a list of the CORE ESSENCES that you want to achieve with your desire, as well as any ideas about how you can ignite your current life with those essences right now.

5. Create a collage or other piece of artwork to serve as a visual commitment to remind yourself to practicing implementing those essences every day!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 21

The exercise for today is a variation on one that you did when you were working with your ideal creative space...remember that?

There are a few changes in the procedure, so follow the instructions, below.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

1. Write out, in long hand, a full page on why you don't think that you can really have your desire. Write quickly and don't worry at all about it being messy (messy handwriting is actually quite helpful in this exercise.) Write about what's in your way...what seems unrealistic...what seems unlikely...and why you believe those things. Fill up the whole page. DON'T go on to #2 until you finish #1.

2. Make sure you finished #1. :-)

3. Use what you have written in #1 as the basis for a MOVIE SCRIPT. You are working on a dramatic courtroom scene. Write out, in the format of script dialogue, the "prosecuting" testimony, based on what you articulated in #1, AS WELL AS the Defense attorney's response.

Through your dialogue, the defense attorney must provide arguments and evidence to the contrary of the testimony.

Build in dramatic moments! Create a climax! Find the triumph!

More soon....


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 20

Now that you've picked a desire on which to focus the rest of your lessons, we'll go ahead and proceed with today's ManiFestival...

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Follow these steps:

1. Ask a question related to your desire. Something you'd really like to know. (some examples: "What is the next best step that I should take related to this desired?" "What is standing between me and my desire?", etc.)

2. Get a book that is in your environment. Any book.

3. Close your eyes, and ask the question your put forth in #1.

4. Open the book randomly, and allow your eye to fall on five words that are scattered throughout the page spread that you opened.

5. Write each word down, and then work with the words to devise an answer to your question in #1.

6. Create a piece of art that combines images and those 5 words, and serves as a visual affirmation of the answer to your question.


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 19

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Take a look at your awesome 100 from yesterday, and pick one or two desires that you would like to focus on for the remaining eleven days of this course.

We'll be approaching them in a process similar to playing with your ideal creative space, earlier...but now, you can pick any topic you please.

Tap into your creativity to help you make the appropriate choice...where does your heart want to work?

More tomorrow...


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 18

Here's the plan for the rest of this course: you'll be working on creating art for the release-create-share-receive cycle explained in the last two lessons. In tandem with this effort, you also can focus some manifesting exercises on a specific desire.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Write down a list of NO FEWER THAN 100 things that you would like to be, have, or do.

That's it for today -- just do your list. And don't stop til you get to 100. :-)


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 17

Time for another conversation with your Creativity!

If you like - go back to the earlier exercises where you've chatted with your Creativity, to get a feel for his/her/its voice in you. Then, move on to today's Manifestival.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Have a conversation with your creativity about the challenge that was given to you yesterday....

Ask your Creativity questions like,

"What do YOU think about the release-create-give-receive cycle?"

"What do you think about me doing this challenge?"

"Do you have any advice for me for this project?"

"What items/materials do you want me to use in my project?"

"What do you most need from me right now?"

....and see where it goes!

This is a CO-CREATION...between you and your Creativity. Neither one of you can do it alone!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 16

Today, you'll be getting a challenge that will send you right into the middle of the creation cycle.

The cycle goes like this:

- Release
- Create
- Give
- Receive

Of course, it's entirely up to you if you'd like to take the challenge, but I encourage you to make a commitment to follow it through.

Here's the deal: when you think about something, when you process concepts, when you mull over shifts, that's all very well and good, but the Universe has a hard time responding to stuff that *remains in your head*.

When you transform your internal shifts into being, through physical action, you become a very powerful magnet toward bringing to you that which you want!

So, I encourage you to see this exercise as an opportunity for the above cycle (release-create-give-receive) to take physical form.
Trust me...this will give the Universe a LOT to respond to!

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Here's the overview of the challenge...go ahead and read it:

1. Release: Similar to the work you did in the past few days, the first step is to gather some materials that are ready to be released. The more of a "drain" that these items have been, the better. For example, art supplies that you feel guilty about buying because you never use them, a piece of clothing that is too small, old poetry you wrote about painful memories, etc.

2. Create: Use these materials to create TWO pieces of art. You can use other materials, too...you aren't limited to the "draining" items. But as you create, keep reminding yourself that you are releasing the items and transforming them into your creation.
Remember that "art" can be anything you want -- a collage, a greeting card, a sculpture, an altered book, a booklet of poetry, or ANYTHING else.

3. Give: Here's what it gets interesting. You will be releasing both of the things you created. Give one of the pieces away. It will make someone's day to receive something that you created. If you don't know you can give it to, try this: Sit very still and close your eyes. Ask "who needs this art?" and then "listen" for the answer. Be patient -- eventually a name will rise to the surface. Go with your first instinct, even if it seems odd. Your gut knows what it is doing.

After deciding who gets this piece of yours, give/send it to them. Do not make apologies or justifications for your work – simply tell them that you created this, and wanted them to have it.

4. Receive: The final step in this process is to SELL the other piece of art, in exchange for money. You can do this through your own venues, OR you can accept this invitation to participate in a brand new section of The Shoppes of Artella.

Marney is building a section in the Shoppes called "Art Adoption for Abundance", that will exclusively sell items created by people who are taking the Creative ManiFestival course. The only requirement to be part of this section is that the item must be priced at $10 or less, including shipping.

In this section, customers and sellers alike enter into a sacred agreement, understanding that the money being exchanged is a massively important part of shifts of consciousness. Again - it is so much easier for US to truly understand, and for the UNIVERSE to actively respond to a change in thought if we are taking action in the world.

Selling art that you have INTENTIONALLY created in the release-create cycle, even for just a few dollars, is a potentially life-changing event. You'll see that the cycle works...and the Universe will see that you are ready for more experiences of this kind. For you, that means MORE releasing, MORE creativity, MORE giving, and MORE money.

To sell your item through the shoppes, Marney needs the following:

- A photo of the item
- A description of the item (as personal as possible...share a bit of yourself with the world)
- Your price (under $10, including shipping)
- The completion of this sentence, "My wish for the person who adopts this piece is ______"

When the item sells, Marney will pay you via Paypal, OR you can use the funds toward an Artella purchase - your choice.

You may sell as many pieces as you like in this forum for three months from today.

SO, HERE'S THE CHALLENGE:

After reading through the description of how to physicalize the release-create-give-receive cycle, notice how you feel. What are your doubts about this process? What is exciting about it? Take a moment and write down your initial thoughts and feelings.

Next, make a commitment to yourself, in writing. I.e., "I will complete this cycle one time before the completion of this course." Or "I will complete this cycled twice in the next three months". Create a commitment that is doable, but also that will challenge you.

If you feel that you don't have time to create art -- remember that 10 minutes a day is an hour's worth of work, in less than a week's time.

So that's your mission, if you choose to accept it.

Do you?


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 15

For the past two days, we played with the idea of taking "stuff" that you didn't need anymore and making something out of it.

You made something "on the fly"...and it's up to you to determine what you want to do with it (i.e. completely dismantle it, give it away, throw it away, or keep it).

The purpose of that simple exercise was to demonstrate how objects that drain us CAN be utilized in different combinations or structures to create something.

Tomorrow, we're going to take this idea and place it in the context of the Universe's cycle of giving and receiving. To prepare for that, it's time to do a quick check-in.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Express yourself, responding to these questions.

You could:

- Write the answers
- Sing the answers
- Think and visualize the answers while moving your body
- Create a collage or other visual imagery to symbolize your answers
- Anything else you can thing of!

The questions are:

1. If I told you that I had a venue in which you could sell the creation you fashioned in the last two days, what is your response?

2. If the answer is "Ok, sounds good"...are there any hesitations involved with selling this particular creation?

3. If your response was "no way"...why? Why would you not want to sell it?

4. What would need to be different about THE ITEM in order for you to feel you could sell it?

5. What would need to be different about YOU in order for you to feel you could sell it?

6. What would need to be different about the UNIVERSE in order for you to feel you could sell it?

6. What is your INITIAL response to this statement: "You CAN earn money from the things you create?"

7. What is your INITIAL response to this statement: "You CAN earn LOTS of money from the things you create?"

Lots of good stuff here...and more tomorrow!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 14

You know the feeling when you wish time would stop, that a day would last forever?

It's very similar to feeling like you don't want to spend money because then it will be gone. Or you don't want to "use up" a good idea because then you won't be able to use it anymore.

You don't go outside and worry if there is enough oxygen, you trust it's there. The next time you feel yourself wanting to hold on to something...see what happens if you just let it go, instead...knowing there is more on the way.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

The creation you started yesterday...finish it!

It doesn't matter what your plans were for this work, just go ahead and just bring it to a close.

There is always more creativity, more art, more time, more resources. There are plenty more opportunities to create, and you'll get more in this course. This is not your "last chance". So just finish that baby up, today, and feel the grace in completion.


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 13

Yesterday you gathered some things that you don't use, things that drain you...today you're going to use them!

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Take the items you gathered yesterday and ~create something~.

It can be anything.

Make a piece of art from them.

You may be thinking, "how could I possibly make something that I could call 'art', from these things?"

The answer is simple: loosen your definition of 'art'. Art is anything that you create...and that includes whatever you come up with for this exercise.

If you are having trouble, think kindergarten. Kids see the world as building blocks and can make a pretend castle, or an outer-space easy chair, or a dream machine, or an imaginary friend out of anything. Loosen your definitions. Play.

See you tomorrow!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 12

Going back a few days, to Day 6, we spoke about how our "stuff" mirrors our relationship to creativity.

For example, the way to acquire, treat, store, display, and use art supplies is a good indication of creative patterns on a deeper level.

This holds true for other creative "tools" as well...

Consider other "stuff" that you gather...or avoid gathering...such as books, office supplies, CDs, self-help paraphernalia, etc. etc.

It all holds a significant layer of meaning, below the obvious.

Great news: making changes in the physical world can trigger reverberations of change in the inner world. And vice-versa!

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Put your hands on some creative tools that you never use, preferably ones that somehow drain your energy. (For example, you look at the yards of pink velvet you bought for a long forgotten project, and feel instantly guilty about the money you spent. Or the gorgeous hardback journal that you bought to house your life story...but it sits there empty, making you feel unworthy and ashamed because you haven't started.)

I have the feeling that you KNOW what those items are...the ones that you don't use and that drain you.

If nothing comes to mind, try this: pretend that you have an antenna at the top of your head, that is automatically tuned in to your most toxic "drainers" in your environment. Walk around your home (or your studio, or your office, etc.) and "tune in" for those types of items.

All you have to do for today is gather them up. We'll play more, tomorrow.

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 11

From music to motion...

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Take a piece of paper and create two columns ---

On one side, write "Mine to Do" and on the other side, write "Universe's to Do".

Listen to the piece of music you selected yesterday.

For the entire length of the song (or twice through, if you get on a roll), answer this question...

What needs to be done in order for this Dream Studio to happen?

Think wildly, out of the box. Write down what is yours to do, and what is the Universe's. See where the two lists cross and intersect.

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 10

Today we're going to do even more to solidify the ESSENCE of your ideal creative space. (Remember, we are just using the Dream Creative Space as a model...these are processes that you can use for ANYTHING that you want to create. More ideas for that, later...)

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Find a piece of music that exemplifies your DREAM CREATIVE SPACE.

Interpret this exercise in any way you wish. Some ideas:

- What does your studio sound like?
- What lyrics does it have to say to you?
- What music would be the perfect soundtrack, if your studio were unveiled in a film?

Locate this piece of music in your personal collection, the library, or search the Internet for music downloads. A good place to start on the Web is http://www.musicmass.com/, if you'd like to "play" a bit and see where the serendipity takes you!

More tomorrow!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 9

We've been talking about this DREAM CREATIVE SPACE of yours for a few days...(remembering, of course, that it serves as an example of just about anything you want to create!)

I've said that creating the image is the hard part, and manifesting it is the easy part.

I still stand behind that, but let me clarify what I mean.
"Creating the image" doesn't just mean to have an idea of the kind of creative space you'd like. It means that you hold the reality of this idea with intense passion, excitement, and joy. It's SO REAL to you, that it feels as if you actually had it!

In fact, you get so much joy out of it being so real to you, it's almost as if you don't even NEED to have it...you're so blissed out on thinking about it!

To hold this kind of emotion related to something you want, you have to be very clear about WHY you want it....and once that sense is very much alive, then figure out ways to integrate that ESSENCE into your daily life.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

1. Do a super-quick "lightning-round" on WHY you want that "dream studio" that you've created in your mind's eye. Why do you want it? Make your list focus on how you will FEEL.

2. Next, write a short story, in which you are the main character. Write about being in your dream creative space in a very, very specific way, emphasizing the details in the room and how they makes you feel.

Here's an example:

I walk into the room and instantly feels uplifted because of the pale blue walls that mirror the sky outside the picture window that takes up the entire wall. I allows my fingers to run through the premium Windsor sable paint brushes that are meticulously hung on the enchanting antique spice rack, which makes me feel proud and sophisticated. I smile when I see the drafting table in pristine condition, and feel like I am finally a "real artist". The classical music on the state-of-the-art sound system fills me with a sense of true freedom and bliss.

3. When you are finished, go back and rewrite your story, keeping everything as-is, except replacing the details that have to do with your dream room with things that are in your reach in your real life.

In other words, rewrite this story to indicate, in narrative form, how you can infuse the essence of WHY you want your studio in your current life, today.

Give this a try...it can be pretty powerful to figure out "what fills me with a sense of true freedom and bliss..."


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 8

Before you do today's exercise, make sure you've completed your creation of your DREAM CREATIVE SPACE from yesterday.

I said it yesterday...creating the image is the hard part...manifesting it is easy.

Today, we'll look at your BELIEFS related to manifesting the studio.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

1. Write out, in long hand, a full page on why you don't think that you can really have that studio. Write quickly and don't worry at all about it being messy (messy handwriting is actually quite helpful in this activity.) Write about what's in your way...what seems unrealistic...what seems unlikely...and why you believe those things. Fill up the whole page. DON'T go on to #2 until you finish #1.

2. Make sure you finished #1. :-)

3. Next, TURN THE PAGE UPSIDE DOWN and take out a new, blank sheet of paper. Allow your right-brain to scan the upside-down page and see symbols, patterns, new words, made up words...all hiding amidst the scribbles. If you don't see anything at first, squint your eyes and look a little deeper. Think abstractly...not literally.

Then, allow what you see on the upside-down page (words, symbols, patterns, signs) to inspire you to write, on the blank page, all the reasons why it IS possible. All the reasons why you really COULD have your dream studio.

There's no "right" way to do this...just jump in and give it a try.

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 7

Yesterday we looked at how art supplies (including other types of clutter) - and how they are treated, acquired, stored, and used - are indicative of the patterns in our lives.

Let's have some fun, today...

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Create your DREAM CREATIVE SPACE.

(This could be an art studio, a writing loft, a really inspiring office, a dance studio, or a cozy reading nook...whatever you want!)

Use any medium you wish to create a studio in your own image.

You might....

- Create a collage

- Write a highly descriptive story

- Draw or paint a picture

Take a look at "Photo Set A" that at this link:
http://www.artellawordsandart.com/manifestival.html

You'll see a collage that I (Marney) did that was my ideal "writing office" that I wanted to create. I wanted it to be orange and yellow, cozy and happy, and a cross between a playroom, and art studio, and a chic cottage.

Then you'll see three photos of what manifested...this is the office where I'm sitting right now, as I'm writing this. It all started with the collage!

So go...create your DREAM studio...your divinely inspired work and play space. Create it in your own image. (Believe it or not, THIS part, the creating, is the hard part...the manifesting is easy! Stay tuned...)

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 6

One way that "lack mentality" expresses itself is through our desire for, and acquisition of, "stuff".

Because of this, CLUTTER is often directly related to LACK. We grab things we don't need, or do not release things that we no longer need, because some part of us believes that having "things" makes up for a Universe that does not provide everything we need.

There is a very particular way that this affects many artists, and that is the way that lack mentality haunts our beloved art supplies. There is so much "art stuff" that we've acquired, and tons of that we never use, yet we yearn for more. We feel stabs of guilty when we see a particular art tool that cost a lot of money, and we've never used. We spend more time "organizing" our supplies, trying to fight our way through the clutter, than we do making art. We NEED a somewhat chaotic environment full of "the stuff" to keep us feeling creative, yet it also leaves us feeling drained.
If you are not an artist, in what ways do you create clutter with your particular interests? What is the problem clutter area of your life?

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Write and/or draw and doodle a response to what you just read. In what ways does this specific brand of lack resonate with you? In what ways do it not?

Allow yourself to write for 10-15 minutes along this topic. If you get stuck, consider these prompts:

- When you were young, how were toys and playthings handled? Did you wish you had more or less? How were they presented to you? How were they organized?

- Are there relationships (either direct or indirect) between the patterns of your childhood toys and your current habits and patterns with art supplies and other "creative toys"?

- Are there specific art supplies, tools, or other items that have held on to, even though you know (or strongly doubt)you'll never use them? Why are you holding on to them?

- How much money have you spent on art supplies this year? Do you wish you had spent more, or less?

- Are there media or types of creative expression you'd like to try, but you hold yourself because you don't have the materials? What would you have to do/find/earn/sacrifice in order to get the proper supplies?

- What does the way in which your art supplies are organized say about your relationship with art and creativity?
- What does the way in which your other clutter areas are organized say about your relationship with that activity?

...That's all for now...more tomorrow!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 5

Remember a few days ago, on Day 1, when you had coffee with your Creativity? Take a look at the answers to the questions you wrote in your discussion.

(If you need a refresher, or if you haven't done it yet, my suggested questions are below.)

"How do you like living in my world?"

"What would you like to be different?"

"How can I help you?"

"How can you help me?"

"Who do you wish that I was more like?"

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL

Follow these steps:

1. Write down a question of your Creativity, one that you have not yet answered.

2. Take a look at the answer to 2-3 questions that you have already written as your Creativity's "scribe". (Again, if you haven't done this yet, answer some of the questions above.) If you wrote the answers in a journal and you don't want to take the page out, either rewrite the answer on a separate piece of paper, or copy the page. If you copy it, you may want to blow up the page so the text is larger.

3. Use a pair of scissors to cut each word apart, so that you are left with a pile of paper-pieces, each piece consisting of one word.

(Have you ever played with one of those "Magnetic Poetry Kits"? That's what you'll be doing next...)

4. Work with the little pieces to create a poem. This is a combination of using creativity and also following intuition. Just allow your hand to pick the words that you are drawn to select, and then arrange them in a way that feels right until you have a poem that you feel happy with. Write down the poem so that you don't "lose" it, if one of the pieces gets lost!

5. Go back to the question you wrote in #1. Read the question out loud, and then read the poem your wrote in #4, AS THE ANSWER to the question.

How does your poem answer question #1?

Do any new insights come from this playful experiment with words and serendipity?

See you tomorrow!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 4

One part of manifesting creatively is to keep a close watch for synchronicity.

Synchronicity is finding meanings between objects, people, events, symbols, and feelings.

Jung coined the term synchronicity to describe what he called the "acausal connecting principle" that links mind and matter.

He specified that there were three types of synchronicity:

- the coinciding of a thought or feeling with an outside event
- a dream, vision or premonition of something that happens in the future
- a dream or vision that coincides with an event occurring at a distance

Some scientists see a theoretical grounding for synchronicity in quantum physics, fractal geometry, and chaos theory.

They are finding that the isolation and separation of objects from each other is more apparent than real; at deeper levels, everything -- atoms, cells, molecules, plants, animals, people – participates in a sensitive, flowing web of information.

Physicists have shown, for example, that if two photons are separated, no matter by how far, a change in one creates a simultaneous change in the other!!

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL:

Create an illustrated synchronicity log to track synchronicities as they occur. Think of it as using hieroglyphics to tell stories and record ideas. Whenever you notice a synchronicity, express it artistically! You can draw, collage, paint, sculpt, write poetry, etc.

This serves all kinds of powerful purposes. First, if you are logging synchronicities, you'll start to SEE them more! Try it for 7 days and you'll see what I mean. Also, by recording them in a creative way, you'll be tapping into your right brain to uncover deeper and deeper layers of meaning.

Keep all of your Log Entries together so you can reflect on them and glean more and more from each event!

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 3

The purpose of this exercise is to create a collage that is your "personal shield" that you can use as a visual reminder to RETURN TO WHO YOU ARE when you are worried about money.

When you get right down to it, there really are just two feelings....

feeling good

and

feeling bad.

Since the universe is a great big kaleidoscopic magnet, you want to create a collage full of images that make you smile and laugh and feel GREAT, so you can attract more of the same to you.

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL:

1. Find a quiet space and take several deep breaths to clear your mind. You may want to play some relaxing music in the background, or have a cup of tea close at hand...whatever makes you relax into a quiet, still, peaceful place.

2. Create a "stockpile" of images that you find from magazines, old greeting cards & calendars, catalogs, etc. Cut or tear out images that appeal to you when you think about what you want to create in your life.

Don't spend too much time THINKING during this activity...just go with a gut response. If a picture of a red tennis ball appeals to you, cut it out, even if you don't know why. On the other hand, you may see a picture of an outfit that looks like the clothes you would want to wear to the new job you hope to get this year...and that works, too! Just collect a "stockpile" of at least 15-20 images that speak to you, in one way or another.

3. Take a piece of paper and on it write a list of 25 words that come to mind when you think of the kind of peaceful, blissful life you would like to create. They can be nouns, verbs, adjectives...it doesn't matter.

Some examples:

harmony
restful
friendships
prosperous
energy
healthy
joyful
passion

Use your scissors to cut each word out, so that you end up with a pile of "word tickets" in front of you while you work.

4. After cutting out your words, stand up and move your body. Stretch and let out a yawn.

Take a quick walk outside and breathe the fresh air. Let your body dance for a few minutes. Let go of the "intellectual" process of writing words down. By moving your body, you are opening yourself up to imagination and creativity.

5. With this in mind, return to your workspace and select one or more of your words that feel wonderful, blissful, and joyful. Place that word or words in the center a piece of paper (cardstock/cardboard is best).

5. Start to build up the collage with images from your "stockpile". Select images that make you feel GREAT and radiate them out from your words at the center of this collage. This collage is a visual reminder or talisman that brings you back to WHO YOU ARE.

6. When you have finished with your Money-Worry Shield collage, give it a name. There is something powerful about naming something. It makes it real. It allows you to dialog with it. Also, if you need your shield and your collage isn't handy, you can invoke its positive power by calling it by name in your mind.


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 2

When I (Marney) sent a survey to about 200 creative people, asking them how they felt about their lives, there were several themes that ran consistently through the surveys like rivers in the rain: people wanted to have more creativity, more money, and more time.

One of the analogies I've been playing with is the idea that the universe is a big ATM machine, ripe and ready for our transactions. This universal ATM ("Art, Time, and Money") comes with a few instructions. I'm highlighting three of them here:

1. When we put something in, we get something out. I believe that the cycle of giving and receiving describes the physics of a fulfilling life. In order to give to others, we must first give to ourselves, freely and generously, otherwise our outward acts of giving are not as pure as they might be. What we tend to forget is that there are SO MANY ways to give and receive! We can give to ourselves by expressing our passions, by cultivating high levels of gratitude, and by experiencing ourselves as who we truly are.

From there, all kinds of ways are paved for making tangible contributions to others in physical, tangible, and EASY ways. This is where the "ATM" gets really fun to play with, as we can see time and time again the cyclical nature of "in" and "out."
2. Negative thinking "costs" us something. If you put a bank card in a machine that is sponsored by a different bank, you usually have a fee withdrawn. Think about times when your thoughts (the "in") didn't match up with what you really desired (the desired "out"). Have you ever had the sense that you are sabotaging yourself with negative thinking?

The bottom line is that negative thinking COSTS US, in terms of taking us backwards in our desired velocity of moving TOWARD what we want. For example, does it cost more to worry about money or not worry about money? What kinds of "bank fees" are we being charged that hold us back?

It's important to note that if we think negatively, we don't "doom" ourselves...we can STILL get the good stuff coming to us. But our wishes are coming to us more slowly because of all the fees being withdrawn!

3. Tapping into the true nature of who we are is the ultimate in convenience. When we are feeling at peace, worries about creativity, money, and time don't bother us. The great news is that just like a bank ATM, we can access our true nature ANYTIME, anywhere. At your nearest grocery store, on the street corner...anywhere you please! It's just a matter of knowing what works for YOU to get you there.

It's different for everyone, but whatever gets you to your true nature quickest...that's your ATM password!

TODAY'S MANIFESTIVAL:

What is YOUR password?

What is the quickest way that you can tap into the true nature of who you are?

Here are a few ideas. Place a checkmark next to any ideas that appeal to you, as possible "passwords" to try.

• Put on a piece of up-tempo music and dance around your room
• Make a delicious fruit salad
• Go for a run
• Punch a mound of clay
• Finger paint
• Write a haiku poem
• Visualize your perfect life
• Write an email to your best friend
• Sing in the shower
• Help someone in need
• Make a collage
• Read a chapter in an uplifting book
• Pray
• Drink a cup of tea
• Throw a party
• Hug someone
• Observe leaves, flowers, blades of grass
• Watch an inspiring movie
• Close your eyes and recall wonderful memories
• Look at childhood photographs
• Draw or paint
• Play an instrument
• Make a donation (even for $1) to a worthy cause
• Organize your environment
• Play with fabrics
• Rearrange a room
• Meditate
• Create new outfits from your closet
• Other
_________________
_________________
_________________

Next, write down the top three "passwords". Which of these ideas (including ones you came up with, yourself) resonate as being the QUICKEST ways to helping you return to your true nature?

Create a very simple piece of art that highlights these three (i.e., a collage, painting, or drawing) and place it where you will see it often. You can create your piece on a small surface (like an index card) so that you can carry it with you...or on a large piece of poster board to hang on your wall or refrigerator.

Have fun!

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Creative ManiFestival Day 1

Welcome to Creative ManiFestival!

The purpose of this 30-day course is to radically change the way you think about money, work, creativity, and time.

The lessons will serve as a guide, but YOUR creativity will be the actual teacher. It is the wisest teacher you will ever know, and it is already within you. This course is just here to help draw it out.

This is truly one of those experiences where your success will be directly related to the energy you put into the endeavor. A self-study course such as this requires a commitment on your part, and a certain amount of discipline.

That being said, it's also important to note that you will get out of this course whatever you are supposed to get out of it...right now.

That means that if you are in a mode to spend half an hour on this work every day...great! If you are in a mode to gather an hour or two here or there....that's fine. If you stop for two weeks and pick back up, that's cool. If you skip around, that's groovy. And, if you find that the lessons get away from you completely for the time being, that is also ok.

Creative ManiFestival will offer your LOTS more than you could ever do in a month. That's the spirit of abundance, and it is my hope that the very experience of this course will reflect that abundance in the Universe and within you.

In order to really embrace this concept, do everything you can to keep from feeling overwhelmed. New exercises in this blog will be posted every day...but it's TOTALLY FINE if you get behind and end up picking things up later. It will be here for you.

When there is more than enough (in this case, more than enough exercises to try), it means that you can experience the luxury of picking and choosing...and, furthermore, to trust in your own creativity to navigate the choices! (You'll get some specific tools to help you discern your creativity's guidance, later.)

On a practical note, I highly recommend that you use a special notebook or journal for all of your ManiFestival work. There will be times when you will go back to refer to work in previous lessons, and it will be helpful if you can locate the previous material easily. Also, a 3-ring binder works great, because you can print out your lessons and keep them all together in one place.

It's time to put all the instructions aside and jump into an exercise.....


******EXERCISE 1********

Invite your creativity for coffee.

Sit with your journal, and have a conversation between you and your Creativity. If you like, you can alternate between your dominant hand ("your" voice) and non-dominant hand (your "Creativity's" voice). If the hand-alternating gets too frustrating, drop it, and just write regularly, but see if you can change your pace or style a bit when you write from the Creativity voice. The idea is to bypass the left brain and get to heart of expression. You can write very quickly when you write for Creativity. You can hold the pen in a fist. You can also do this at the computer by closing your eyes as you type when you are "taking dictation" from Creativity.

To begin the coffee date, start by asking a question, from your own voice...and let your Creativity answer.

Here are some questions you might want to ask your Creativity:

"How do you like living in my world?"

"What would you like to be different?"

"How can I help you?"

"How can you help me?"

"Who do you wish that I was more like?"

....Just let the conversation flow. No judgment, no editing...just check it out.

That's it for today...more tomorrow!


Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of artellawordsandart.com. Used with permission by license.

Miracle Soup Day 30

This course has come to a close, but your cooking has just begun!

You've tried many exercises in these 30 days of to work with miracles in your life. Most likely there are things that you haven't even tried, yet. Truly, the fun has only just begun...and now it is up to your intuition to take the lead and propel you down this path.

TODAY'S RECIPE

Take a moment and answer these questions:

1. What does the word "miracle" mean to you?

2. Do you have an early memory of hearing the word "miracle"? What was the context?

3. Think back to your parents (or the most significant adults in your life) as you were growing up. What do you think the word "miracle" meant to them?

4. What is a miracle you'd like to see occur in your life that seems impossible?

5. Why does it seem impossible?

6. What is a miracle you'd like to see in your life that seems just a little bit possible?

7. Why might it seem possible?

8. What is a miracle you'd like to see in your life that seems very possible?

9. Why does it seem very possible?

10. Have you experienced miracles in your life? List any that come to mind.

Guess what? Those are the same questions you answered in Day 1.

How has your path changed? What's new? What's different?

Take a moment and reflect on this course by answering the following:

- Which of the exercises were your favorites?

- What are the exercises you wanted to do but never did?

- Set an intention statement for yourself for the NEXT 30 days.
You can use this format, if you like:

1. In the next 30 days, I, (Name), will use my power to gather the "ingredients" of new skills, habits and beliefs in the following ways:
________, _________, ___________.

2. In the next 30 days, I, (Name), will use my power to transform my beliefs, patterns, habits, and words in the following ways:
________, _________, ___________.

3. In the next 30 days, I, (Name), will use my power to tithe and provide acts of service in the following ways:
________, _________, ___________.

4. In the next 30 days, I, (Name), will use my power to receive more and more miracles every day in the following ways:
________, _________, ___________.

It has been a wonder to be a part of your journey.

Enjoy! ~ the soup!
Anne

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.

Miracle Soup Day 29

It's our second to last day, and I'd like to expand a bit on the topic of *evidence of miracles*.

We've already talked about how SEEING evidence makes evidence come.

It's a very simple cause-and-effect pattern:

Looking for small miracles makes you see them.
Seeing small miracles draws more to you.
Magnetizing small miracles makes you believe in them.
Believing in small miracles makes you see big miracles.
Seeing big miracles draws more to you.

We've talked about "signs" as a mode of evidence to help gather more and more miracles every day. Signs may be:

- Hunches
- Curiosities
- Synchronicities
- Repetitive elements
- Messages, hidden or obvious
- The right things happening in the right time
- Unexpected gifts that answer prayers and much more!

Another way to invite more evidence of miracles into your life is to use oracles.

There are people who regularly consult psychics and tarot card readers to gain insight, information, and answers to questions.
Even if you've never visited a psychic or fortune teller, you're probably seen of many oracles. Go to almost any bookstore or stationery shop and you'll see a whole palette of divination decks, as well as books that detail many ancient oracle traditions such as the I Ching, Druidry, and Tarot. And no matter how skeptical you are, you've probably engaged in fortune cookie reading at some point in your life. Oracles are all around us.

Here's a bit about my personal history with oracles.

I grew up with a very pragmatic father and in my adolescence and young adulthood sort of rolled my eyes when people talked about Tarot cards or believed horoscopes or fortune cookies. I had a real resistance to “new age” friends - I thought they were goofy, silly, and way too out there for me. I had a friend who loved to throw I Ching - which is a very old Eastern oracle and she convinced me to try it out. I remember when we asked a series of questions and got the answer, what hit me was not that the oracle was psychic, but that the responses elicited thinking in me from new directions.

I came away with some new understanding from that experience, and I realized that the new information hadn't come from the oracle, it had come from me. In other words, this knowledge was already in me, the oracle just helped bring it out. In that way, the oracle was no different than, say, an article that I would read, or an anecdote from a friend.

That is why I believe that ANYONE - regardless of his or her beliefs - can get something out of an inquiry with an oracle. Whether you believe that what you are experiencing are divine signs, or whether you are seeing them as interesting promptings to get YOUR creative thinking going --- or anything in between – there is value in seeing the world's information in a different way.

TODAY'S RECIPE

Go HERE to take a look at the Weekly Menu for Week 4. It contains a list of "Do It Yourself" Oracles that you can do at any time, and almost any place. Pick one or two that sound interesting and give them a try!

Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.

Miracle Soup Day 28

For the past few days, you've been looking for signs...signs that your desire is on its way. But there are other types of "signs" to look for as well as evidence of your miracle.

TODAY'S RECIPE

Today, instead of looking for signs that your desire is on its way to you, look for "signs" that serve as messages to show you that you DESERVE the miracle of your desire coming into your life!

Notice the subtle shift between evidence that it's on its way and evidence that you deserve it.

At the end of the day, answer these questions:

- Which kind of "sign" is easier to spot?

- Which kind of "sign" seems more possible?

- Do you have resistance to one or the other possibilities?

- Do you have a sense that one type of sign might deliver itself in a particular form, such as those we discussed this week (i.e., literal signs, sounds, people drawn to you, etc.)

- What other "signs" come to mind that would serve as messages of miracles taking place? What kind of evidence would ROCK YOUR WORLD?



Material copyrighted by Marney Makridakis of Artella.com. Used with permission by license.