On SARK's 'Glad No Matter What' Book Interview November-27-2010
Transforming Loss and Change into Gift and Opportunity
If you're experiencing hurt from loss or change (death of a loved one, job loss, relationship issues, moving) and need immediate comfort and perspective on how to deal with your feelings, you'll find SARK's new book Glad No Matter What helpful. ...

Collage Diva's Free Printable Mini Dream Journal November-27-2010
Speaking of Transforming Your Life....
I appreciate when creativity coaches design small, free helpful coaching tools and make them available to others on their Web sites and blogs.

I enjoy doing this on CoachingYourCreativity.com (see the downloads page) as graphic design and writing are my creative passions, my primary expressive outlets, and I LOVE being in the moment, immersed in the process of manifesting ideas into form — even the impossible ones — and especially the humorous ones (i.e. PENatomy, Free Range Ant Farm, Creativity Patch, Money Plant, CreativiTEA).

I believe manifestation is one aspect artists (of all kinds) love about creating; the inventional projection and show-and-tell of imagination into the dimensional realm — even if it's not 3D — ala a flat screen, piece of paper, or canvas.

Which brings me to Kathryn Antyr (aka Collage Diva) who designed the stunning month on February for the 2011 Multicultural Collaborative Creativity Portal calendar.

Kathryn mentioned her "sweet little mini dream journal" to me — a coaching tool she created and turned into a printable PDF for readers to download from her blog to record weekly accomplishments, intentions, and celebrations. I adore this simple journal's whimsical style — it's a cute little work of art with a lovely tagline: "Weekly check-ins keep our dream wheels in motion."

If you like and use Kathyrn's journal, be sure to express your thanks to her for making it available. We don't always know how our coaching tools benefit others, so we're appreciative for your feedback and experiences. •

Chris Interviews K-5 PE Teacher and Fitness Author Michele Batz November-24-2010
What's Holding You Back?
Michele Batz is one of the most enthusiastic fitness experts I know. I met Michele in 2004 after she wrote her first book What's Holding You Back? A Woman's Beginning Guide to Fitness — an exercise journal with motivating back-to-the-basics workout advice for women. Michele's expertise and enthusiasm resonated with me on many levels (personal and professional) and we've been friends ever since. ...

Nurture Your Creativity #14: Notice Your Daily Lifecycle November-12-2010
What do you pedal your day away to?
Time management is integral to the smooth running our of lives. If time is energy, assessing how you're investing yours is important and connected to nurturing your creative life. Print my free Daily Lifecycle Assessment and Planning forms to bring more awareness to your life. ...

Judy Reeves On Why Writing is Important
November-5-2010
Writer's Book of Days Interview
My fascination with the revised book, A Writer's Book of Days, finishes this week at Creativity Portal with an interview with the author herself. How might you answer the question, "Why is writing important?"

I love how Judy Reeves responds:

"Telling our stories is a way we connect with one another and it’s this connection that keeps us alive as a species. . . .Writing allows us to claim our own truth. It invites self-expression. Writing gives voice to grief and pain and anger and helps us heal. When we write, we open ourselves to inspiration and through inspiration connect with something greater than ourselves."

You know when you see something so perfectly described in words by someone, you don't want to add anything to mess it up? That's how I feel about Reeves' answer. It stands alone as a jewel description to how I, and many others, feel about writing too.

But, not to limit perfect jewels to only one type of ring, let's see if Reeves' words can stretch across the creative canvas in a more universal way. Let's replace "writing" with appropriate forms of "creating" just to see how it reads:

Q: Why is creating important?

A: "Manifesting our creations is a way we connect with one another and it’s this connection that keeps us alive as a species. . . .Creating allows us to claim our own truth. It invites self-expression. Creating gives voice to grief and pain and anger and helps us heal. When we create, we open ourselves to inspiration and through inspiration connect with something greater than ourselves."

Feel free to replace "creating" with "painting," or "weaving," or "dancing," or "performing," or any other creative activity you enjoy ("weaving our tapestries," "performing our dances," "playing our music," "altering our books," "stamping our pages"). It works perfectly with Reeves' perfect words.

Learn more about Judy Reeves, her writing, and her work at JudyReevesWriter.com. •

For the Love of Wordplay! November-3-2010
Another Judy Reeves/Writer's Book of Days Excerpt
Since playing with words is one of my most favorite creative activities EVER, I was instantly attracted to the word play section in Judy Reeves' revised edition of A Writer's Book of Days, which in deep gratitude to the publishers at New World Library, is now the third excerpt from Reeves' book published on Creativity Portal. ...

Acknowledged in 3rd Edition of The Nine Modern Day Muses (And a Bodyguard) November-2-2010
15 Minutes of Fame
Yay! What an honor — this is the first time I've ever been mentioned by name in the Acknowledgements section of a book by its author. ...