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Creative Life Midwife

Inspiring Artistic Rebirth

We Wish You a Merry Vlogmas and Bountiful 2022 Word of the Year

December 8, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

I can feel it coming now!

Announcement of 12 Days of Vlogmas

Planning for 2022 have begun in earnest for some of us and for others, waiting and intuitive listening is the way to be open the “what’s next of 2022.”

Begin Your 2022 Preparations with a Word of the Year

Something I do annually is to craft – intentionally – a Word of the Year.

People create a word of the year in place of a New Year’s resolution – which is often broken or forgotten before the year even begins. It allows you to form your goals and intentions with the word as a theme or a frame for what you would like to take form in 2022.

Whether you take an intuitive or structured approach, this workbook will bring more insights before the new year begins.

Because I value taking time with the process, I have created a Workbook for you to use to purposefully bring your word for 2022 to light. It includes a 7 step process including creativity coaching questions, prompts and ideas.

If you take an intuitive approach, you are preparing and opening the door slowly.

If you take a more structured approach, this will help to bring energy and oomph to the work you are doing.

Vlogmas Video and Download:

To Download Your Word of the year Planner, visit here. I’m so grateful to be celebrating Vlogmas with you!

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she is working on finishing her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Adventures, Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, Goals, Intention/Connection, Writing Prompt Tagged With: Vlogmas, Vlogmas Gift, Word of the Year Planner

What’s Next? Creative Life Midwife Blog in December & 2022

November 30, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

Gratitude to the Blog Visitors: woman writing ina notebook and circles of gratitude in this holiday flavored image

During November, I participated once again in the Ultimate Blog Challenge. Although I wasn’t perfect in my participation, I would say I improved greatly from past challenges. A big part of that is from the community created by Paul Taubman with the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Gratitude: One of the Most Powerful Energies there is!

The people who are in the challenge are always a great support, but this year I took some risks in what I posted and was met repeatedly with meaningful comments and connections.

I have connected with some people in the challenge in the past, but this session was special because of the care of each comment participants made and how regularly my posts were shared with their audiences. I cannot thank each of you enough.

Please: if you have a blog consider participating in the next challenge by using the link above or this Ultimate Blog Challenge link right here! 🙂

What’s next? 12 Days of Vlogmas Gifts to Make Your 2022 Creatively Bountiful

I have been thinking of doing Vlogmas AND it feels so big, too big, especially as I didn’t quite make it through the Ultimate Blog Challenge for all thirty days THOUGH I was closer than usual thanks to batching my content.

I decided it would be really fun for me to do Vlogmas in 12 Days beginning on December 4th instead of 30 posts starting December 1 (though I leave room to add if I am having tons of fun and want to continue) and offer gifts – primarily tools I use that people may choose to use also via check lists, journaling pages, actual google docs to copy and things like that. 

Together, let’s delight in our individual and collective creative bount by giving and receiving the 12 Days of Vlogmas Gifts!

These tangible (and virtual) helps will make your 2022 more creatively bountiful than it would be on its own.

Who’s up for that?

Let’s Keep Our Connection Alive in December (and Beyond!)

I will share the posts in the Ultimate Blog Challenge group in December. I like popping in there even when there isn’t a challenge going as a way to stay connected on our “no challenge” months. Saying that’s part of my plan will make me more likely to follow through.

I will also be participating in the December Cornerstone Content Blog Challenge run by Jeanine Byers who I met from the Ultimate Blog Challenge. We have become better friends as the years and challenges have gone on. In the Cornerstone Content Blog Challenge. In December we are focusing on sharing on our Facebook Business Pages AND… truth be told I often repurpose a lot of my content sometimes with slight variations so ther 12 Days of Vlogmas Gifts may show up there on some days, too.

In 2022, I will be focusing on offering Soulful Writing Courses and Soulful Writing Circles in addition to launching other courses focused on intentional creative rebirth. In October 2022 I will be opening the doors to offering Intentional Holiday Circles, Even While Grieving again – and for those who want to process on their own, I am creating a journal now for that very purpose.

THANK YOU for being a part of my 2021 experience!

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she is working on finishing her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, End Writer's Block, Goals, Healing, Intention/Connection, Writing Prompt Tagged With: 12 Days of Vlogmas, Blogging, Julie JordanScott, Ultimate Blog Challenge, Vlogmas

Writing Flash Fiction for Fun to Ignite Memories for Life Writing (and even a Bonus Video!)

November 29, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

I didn’t feel like writing today. I am tired and more than a little bit grumpy AND I knew if I showed up at the page, anyway, something would happen.

I took a prompt from a community I am in and used it differently than expected. I don’t know why I felt like writing some very short fiction, but I did. From writing fiction, a memory of early childhood popped up wanting to be heard.

Show up at the page consistently and writing magic will happen.

I went from not wanting to write to having an a-ha simply because I showed up (even though I didn’t want to show up and write.)

I know not everyone agrees with the belief if you show up at the page everyday, your writing will improve. I believe some writing every day is better than no writing, anyday.

There is gold dust in this advice for me – is there any for you? Here are the steps I took on this day when I didn’t feel like writing.

Step One: Write Very Short Fiction Vignette

Laura felt herself shift slightly in her seat, not consciously meaning to shake off the nagging anxiety as she looked at Maureen’s instagram worthy kitchen. The simple act of pouring a cup of coffee was an artform to Maureen. She didn’t mean to make Laura feel anything but welcome.

“I have loved being here in Salem since Tom and I arrived last Spring,” bubbled Maureen, her words as effervescent as her kitchen decor. “I joined the women’s book club and the progressive dinner we have every month, are you interested to join us?”

Laura opened her mouth to respond but before she could say anything, Maureen continued speaking, “There’s no need for you to feel out of place. We don’t have many single women in the neighborhood… unless you count Barbara… and she is around eighty-years-old, after all, and a widow but she still sets an incredible table and bakes brownies like nobody’s business!”

Maureen made excellent coffee, dressed beautifully and seemed to be lonelier than she appeared, but Laura wasn’t sure coming over here was such a good idea. She sipped her coffee, attempting to look dainty and interested in the conversational monologue.

“We read “Little Fires Everywhere” last month. One of the primary characters was single and an artist, like you!” Maureen laughed.

“I loved ‘Little Fires,’ too.” she answered. “The Hulu series terrified me, though.”

Maureen’s neck stiffened and her eyebrows knit together. “Oh, I don’t watch much TV. Tom and I prefer reading or playing board games in the evening.”

Laura took a larger gulp of coffee and stopped hiding her awkwardness. Now is the time, she decided, to stop being herself and embody one of her more bubbly, Stepford Wives-like characters from her best selling cozy mystery series, “Crab Apple Cove Coffee Shop Girls”

“Really? Me, too! Do you like puzzles?” 

This lightened Maureen’s face right back into her happy hostess mode and the rest of the afternoon was an uneventful coo-and-awww party about the wonders of how to nurture a relationship with one’s accountant husband. 

At least Laura walked away with a new character sketch for her next novel. When Maureen said goodbye she was convinced she had made a life-long friend.

Step 2: Write a Vignette from your life: a mini-memoir

It’s surprising the memories that rise to the surface through visual imagery and storytelling. When I saw this image I wanted to replicate it in my world at first. Being new to Sussex, I have yet to make any “meet me for coffee” friends – though I trust I will soon.

I remembered as I wrote the fiction vignette how when I was a little girl, my mother was in the Junior League. Oftentimes the children who weren’t in school yet would tag along to the morning coffee meetings where the ladies would discuss their projects.

I think they were doing some sort of entertainment and my mother brought a bling-bling headband that wasn’t quite fancy enough for the character who became Maureen in the story. I remember even as a pre-schooler I realized my mother was hurt and felt less-than under the eyes of her fellow Junior-Leaguer.

Shauna Niequist said, “True hospitality is when people leave feeling better about themselves and not better about you.”

Neither the woman from nearly six decades ago did this for my mother nor did Maureen do this for Laura, even though Laura walked away with a new character sketch!

Step 3: Add some bonuses, like an engagement question and a video:

How can your events be more hospitable to those who attend, even if it is a simple cup of coffee one-on-one in a coffee shop or working with other women at a holiday fundraising event?

You might notice I even used the same graphic for the video cover and the featured image for this blog post. In less than an hour and a half, I have content I may reuse and repurpose – and made a good use of time on a day when I “didn’t feel like it”.

Below the video, you can see a place to join the Writing Group I mention in the video – a space where you may also receive writing prompts and community, the Let Our Words Flow Creative Community. I hope you will join us!

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she is working on finishing her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Adventures, Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, End Writer's Block, Healing, Video and Livestreaming Tagged With: Truth Filled Cliche, Write Every Damn Day, writing tips, Writing Video

Turning a Lose-Lose into a Win (or at least a Bit Better.)

November 29, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

Writing, planning.... is easier when you aren't surrounded by other people. Here I am in a park with my notebook, alone.

How did conflict show up in my writing this week?

Conflict showed up for my writing in how much time I wasn’t able to write, where I was and who I was with, which sounds more like excuses than I wish it did. Time, context and external interference. No one else I was with felt conflict, only me.

This is what happened that prevented me from writing in the week behind us. I was at an AirBnb with family. I wanted to keep up a modified but still focused on creating consistently. I am not sure exactly when things started falling apart, I just know they did. 

It’s funny how resignation works when you don’t show up at the page.

And another day you don’t show up at the page. Resignation builds.

And another day you don’t show up at the page. Resignation gets higher and higher.

Perhaps if I wrote a short story or a scene with these elements, I might be able to step out of myself and study it a bit without shaking my finger at myself, wagging like my third grade teacher, Ms. Pizarro. 

This sounds ideal to me: take what caused me conflicts in my writing and use it to fuel my creativity this week. Win-win-win.

How can you create a win-win with what might have felt like a loss otherwise?

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she is working on finishing her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, End Writer's Block, Intention/Connection, Writing Tips Tagged With: Writing Fuel, writing prompt

Begin to Connect with Your Creative Spark

November 22, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

White canvases surrounded by autumn themed lives twith title "how to connect with your creative spark" plus the authors name Julie JordanScott

Yesterday I was the guest host at the weekly #SpiritChat twitter chat. I have been a participant since the early days of SpiritChat – and it has been a staple of my connection with people of all different faith groups in many parts of the world who share similar heart spaces. Now that I live on the East Coast, it is much easier to show up for the 9 am chat since it is no longer a 6 am “call time” as it was when I was in the Pacific Time Zone in Bakersfield, California. To find out more about this weekly adventure in spirituality, growth and connection, please visit here.

I was asked to substititute in as guest host by the leader, Kumud Ajmani. What follows is the blog post I wrote introducing the theme to the Spirit Chat community. I plan to share some of the insights I have had on the theme that were inspired by the chat yesterday on my blog this week.

More than twenty years ago I was a guest teacher in a classroom of adults who were used to studying spiritual topics in depth.  I chose the topic “You are Art.”

What I remember most is before I started when a man who said, “I am a businessman, I am the furthest thing from art.”

I remember the naive, sweet version of myself felt a wave of incredulity, “You mean, you don’t see your business as an art form?”

My poet, singing, life purpose coach self may have even gotten tears in my eyes.

I was grieved he didn’t get it. He didn’t understand business is art. Getting dressed every day is art. Making a meal is art.

I don’t think that one particular hour-long session made a difference in his life, but I’m willing to suspend my disbelief to say “It could have. The creative spark could have risen from what we said and did in that session to invite him into the possibility that his business was, indeed, his creative project. His business was his art, his sculpture, his dramatic monologue, his pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, his photo, his poem.”

The creative spark – the initial entry into making things – beats in all of our hearts. It moves through our veins and is heard through our voices. 

American painter Robert Henri said,  “The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”

This wonderful state Henri refers to is where sparks fly and gather into something more than a single light. The creative spark is at the heart of conversations that leave an impression and sit in our memory decades later. It is the space where we go on walks and suddenly see light in a new way. It is when we solve a problem into a solution that benefits more people than we knew it could. 

The creative spark opens doors, breezes through windows and wakes us up from a long nap ready to dive into what we were afraid of before we fell asleep thinking we were stuck in a hopeless mess.

At the ripe old age of ten-years-old I first sang harmonies in a girls chorus class. My voice lifted up and hit higher notes than the melody. I could not believe how beautiful it was to join other voices to make such a glorious, blended sound I couldn’t make by singing alone.

It was like suddenly being a part of a divine miracle. Truth be told, it was a part of a divine miracle, never replicated.

By the end of that school year I abandoned my love of acting, a talent I possessed, was praised for and didn’t use again for three decades. 

I only started to act again because of a series of synchronicities and a moment of transcendence pushed me into a space where I could no longer deny this spark within me. 

Osho reminds us “To be creative means to be in love with life.” 

Let’s deepen that love, together, today and on as many days as possible in the future.    

 

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she is working on finishing her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Process, Goals, Intention/Connection Tagged With: #SpiritChat, Creative Spark, Robert Henri Quote, Twitter Chat

What is the Admission Price to the Path Out of Fear?

November 20, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

A small part of the Appalachian Trail is a piece of the story of the Path out of fear - and overcoming a challenge as written by Julie JordanScott

Yesterday I was writing a fairly innocuous seeming caption to a photo on facebook. I post photos to facebook on most days because of my personal #377TreeHug project. I use my facebook page as a means of documentation and accountability. Yesterday was no exception.

I had a marvelous tree hug of a hickory tree on the Appalachian Trail and I was extremely excited to post about it.

In one caption I wrote, “I love how the nuts are here to feed the animals. Once in childhood we saw a porcupine near the trail. I was scared of everything (even lightning bugs) so I had visions of the porcupine shooting quills at me from a distance… and was also convinced there were bears lurking inside fallen trees. How I survived and even loved these adventures even while petrified I’ll never know.”

I re-read my words and sat back in my chair, shocked at the truth within that seemingly simple, ordinary caption.

I was scared of everything (even lightning bugs)….. How I survived and even loved these adventures even while petrified I’ll never know.”

I was also teased unmercifully for my fear, which made it even worse.

I was afraid of things. I was afraid of being afraid of things. I was afraid to express my fear so I did my best to hide my fear, at all costs.

Somehow I did all this as a child and it continued – and in some ways continues still, today.

I realized the facts were to spend treasured time with my father, I would need to pay the price of admission. The fee was a lot of faking courage. I needed to be comfortable with pretending my fear didn’t exist or hiding my fear under an enthusiastic seeming smile.

I hid my fear by proclaiming my trust in God.

I hid my fear by looking on the bright side. I remember when my daughter died, for example, I comforted myself by saying, “God must have chosen me to have my daughter die because He knew I am strong enough.”

I hid my fear by doing things other people fear like being an actor and performing poetry in front of audiences and becoming a public speaker.

The thing is, those things don’t scare me, they exhilarate me.

Slowly, I hid myself and withdrew almost completely when I had too many sequential challenges. I no longer had the energy to show up because hiding one’s fear is exhausting. Exhausting one’s shame over being afraid is even more exhausting.

It was easier to disappear and infinitely painful when the people you love don’t even seem to notice.

Mary Oliver wrote in one of her most well known poems, “The Journey”

But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,

determined to do
the only thing you could do—
determined to save
the only life you could save.


In the depths of my sorrow and sadness of hiding and pretending pain didn’t exist, I had many difficult conversations with myself.

Shonda Rimes in her book “Year of Yes” reminded me eloquently this week, “I know on the other side of that difficult conversation lies peace. Knowledge. An answer delivered. Character is revealed. Truces are formed. Misunderstandings are resolved.”

Having time alone here in my “Long Term Self Care and Artist Retreat” I have had a lot of time alone to have tough conversations with myself. Real conversations with myself. Experimental conversations with myself.

There have been tears and laughter, tree hugs and walks, deep dives into memory, discovery and my dear old companion, fear.

It feels like everything up until now has just been practice for this and what is coming up in the next few months as I finish my book projects and continue to build my life coaching practice, do more speaking and keep showing up on video and here, on my blog and on social media.

I am doing things that scare me every single day, sometimes subconsciously I am getting tapped on the shoulder divinely or intuitively to take a closer or deeper look. I am no longer afraid of lightning bugs or bears or porcupine quills.

I still get a bit nervous about criticism from people I love or worse – people not caring at all.

I am not hiding and that, dear reader, is the best victory of all.

I could have told you today about my near death experience or many other twists and uncomfortable turns along the path, but this feels most like what we needed to talk about today.

What challenges have you overcome?

Julie JordanScott is a Creative Life Coach, an award-winning storyteller, actor and poet whose photos and mixed media art graces the walls of collectors across the United States. Her writing has appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List, the Amazon best sellers list and on American Greetings Holiday cards (and other greeting cards). She currently lives in a manse in Sussex, NJ, where she is working on finishing her most recent book project, hugging trees daily and enjoys having random inspirational conversations with strangers.

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.








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Filed Under: Creative Adventures, Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, Goals, Healing, Rewriting the Narrative Tagged With: 377TreeHugs, Appalachian Trail, Julie JordanScott, Tree Hugger

The Joy, Struggles and Satisfaction of 698 (and Counting) Days of Daily Consistency

November 19, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

Last year I realized how important consistent creativity was to both my healing and my growing confidence. I also learned if I created a particularly ambitious goal I didn’t think I could complete, I was more likely to abandon it – like leaping across a divide that was too wide for me to accomplish.

Learning to “not quite” reach a goal while also absolutely shining on another goal created success & self-compassion practice.

Because I was continuing to be successful with my daily haiku writing, my hiking goal “fail” was more easy to accept.

Seth Godin, one of the models of creative consistency, wrote in his book “The Practice” “Learn to juggle. Draw an owl. Make things better. Without regard for whether it’s going to work this time.” Sometimes we hit our goals and sometimes we don’t.

We may hear that showing up consistently is where the reward eventually comes, but in the early days of consistency the distance to our intended result may make it challenging to continue. The detachment from outcome and optimistic spirit is fuel for the ongoing effort even when you may not feel like moving forward on a less-than-stellar day.

Permission to Try Again:

I recently decided I am going to attempt the hiking goal again in 2022 AND I am going to continue my tree hugging I doggedly introduced at the end of 2020 and continued in 2021, even as it has proven more challenging than consistent haiku writing I started in December 2019 and continued for 377 consecutive days.

In 2022, I also plan to return to some form of daily poetry.

In the recent days my make-shift writing practice experiment of #rolloverandwrite has expanded into much more prose – from a scribbled and hurried maybe paragraph note to self to a note to my highest self and observations in the night before sleep and a waking written meditation. I am also laughing to myself because this morning’s #rolloverandwrite was the most terse I have written lately.

The most surprising discovery from consistent daily activity:

One of the most important lessons of 698 days (so far!) of intentional, consistent daily action of some form is I feel more centered, more content and more accomplished now than I did before I started this experiment in 2019.

 From having a self-created goal simply for the sake of having a reason to show up – which continued during the pandemic and an ever-widening divide in my country – the process of knowing every day I would take a specific action gave me something to look forward to, always. Even after the death of my father, a murder of a friend and many more subtle and not-so-subtle losses – having a space to share my consistent practice that morphed from haiku writing and became tree hugging at the end of 2020 and will continue into early 2022 –  with friends and strangers on my personal facebook page – has become a space of strength and healing.

Most people who are my facebook friends don’t know I consider them important accountability partners, but they are accountability partners to me! Especially since I moved across the country and doubt myself at least every other day, knowing people are curious about what sort of tree I discovered to hug on any given day helps me move forward with the project even when I don’t feel like it.

The reward is evident in both personal resilience and trust in the body of work as well as in my growing knowledge base and practice of speaking up with my discoveries.

Is all this tree hugging and poetry writing and hiking adding to my wealth?

Is it making me famous?

Not yet to either financial abundance or recognition, but I’m not counting it out yet. My writing improves with everything I write and my awareness and knowledge of trees has surprised me.

Have you ever tried a quirky, outrageous goal in daily consistency? What happened?


Julie JordanScott is a multipassionate creative who delights in inviting others into their own fullhearted, artistic experience via her creativity coaching individually or in groups, courses and workshops. To receive inspiring content and videos weekly and find out more about Coaching, Courses, Challenges and what’s going on in the Creative Life Midwife world? Subscribe here:

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, Daily Consistency, Goals, Intention/Connection

3 Effective Ways to Get (and Stay) in the Flow while Creating Content

November 17, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

An alarm clock is ringing to help remind us to stay in content creation flow

Sometimes I whip up a lot of energy while working on content creation for my blog and social media posts. I get excited as I notice I have created three excellent posts in an hour. “I’m in the flow, I’m in the flow!” says my happy heart. A part of me wants to keep pushing, wants to keep going thinks “If I stop now, I won’t be able to get back into the flow!”

Recently I had this exact experience. As a creative entrepreneur, I am in control of my calendar so I could have set everything aside in attempts to continue the flow OR I could instead choose to stay with my original plan: run errands and go for a walk.

When I went for errands, it temporarily broke the flow AND it re-energized me to return to content creation later in the day.

What I have discovered is managing the transition times between activities is where flow is birthed. When I am mindful and attentive to where my energy is going, my overall output is more engaging and from the heart. I am less frustrated and end my work days and work weeks feeling deeply satisfied and it shows in the work I do with my clients and students.

  1. Test your effectiveness in blocks of time in order to measure what amounts of time are the most fruitful. Set a timer to different segments of time. Start with raising your chunks of time by 30 minutes. Within a week or so, you will be able to see patterns, including when during the day you are less productive at the keyboard and might be better off using the time for exercise or chores.
  2. Experiment with short, medium and longer times – and begin to plan for segments of time when your productivity drops off.
  3. When your time is up, leave they keyboard right away and begin transitioning to another activity.

    In an article soon, we will explore how to make the most of transitional times.

Julie JordanScott is a multipassionate creative who delights in inviting others into their own fullhearted, artistic experience via her creativity coaching individually or in groups, courses and workshops. To receive inspiring content and videos weekly and find out more about Coaching, Courses, Challenges and what’s going on in the Creative Life Midwife world? Subscribe here:

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, Goals, Intention/Connection Tagged With: Content Creation, Content Creator, Content Writing Tips, Stay in Flow

Intentional Holiday Memories While Grieving: Decoration Making

November 16, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

Christmas ornaments in the background: Intentional Holidays While Grieving - Decorations and Ornament making by Julie JordanScott

One of the favorite activities we did in the infant support group I belonged to was annual ornament making in memory of our babies who had died. I enjoyed the camaraderie of group crafting and I also went on to create ornaments on my own or sometimes hosted Tree Trimming parties where guests would make ornaments that were not memorial themed.

Gathering Together to Create is a Healing Activity

I actually enjoyed the blend of memorial/not memorial ornaments because of how it felt so inclusive.

Those times were when Marlena, my daughter, felt right there with us.

One of the simplest ornaments to craft were inexpensive, shiny round balls I would write the names of people or messages on with the date. I even made sets for gifts for the grandparents, including all the grandbabies which I could add on in later years.

Each year when we take out our decorations, revisiting these ornaments allows us to reflect on where we have been and those we have loved. Rather than feeling sad, over time the gratitude and love increases. The healing continues. It also gives us a chance to talk about the one who was lost before new people came into our lives.

I have collected several links where you may see other ideas and at the bottom I have included some people who make ornaments for you.

Crafts & Ornaments to Make

9 different simple ideas, including ornaments made from clothing of a loved one.

This goes beyond ornaments into other types of keepsakes including wall art:

Make a Christmas Photo Memory Wreath:

Decorations to Purchase



Ornament Memorials: 35 different choices from an urn making company.

Search Etsy for makers who will use your materials or others – here is one example:

Most importantly, set an intention to enjoy the process of creating memories with your family now to honor your loved one who is no longer with you physically. Being together and sharing these moments will help your healing process.

Julie JordanScott is a multipassionate creative who delights in inviting others into their own fullhearted, artistic experience via her creativity coaching individually or in groups, courses and workshops. To receive inspiring content and videos weekly and find out more about Coaching, Courses, Challenges and what’s going on in the Creative Life Midwife world? Subscribe here:

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.


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Filed Under: Creative Process, Grief, Healing Tagged With: Holiday Art Making While Grieving, Holiday Grief

How to Use Journaling to Become Clear on Your Weekly Goals – and Beyond

November 15, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife

Because I am an artist, I have a lot of friends and coaching clients who are also artists – and many of my creative friends have an aversion to setting goals. While I know this is true in other fields, I must confess in my informal research from years of working with people on reaching their goals and fulfilling their hopes and dreams, we turn away from naming and claiming our goals for several reasons:

  1. We are afraid to speak our goals because if we speak them and we don’t achieve them, we convince ourselves this will mean we failed. It doesn’t mean we failed at all. If our goals don’t work out exactly as we planned means your results were different than expected. You got feedback. You experimented. You won!
  2. We are embarrassed about where we are or by what we want. People won’t understand us, won’t want to spend time with us anymore and worst, will judge us, abandon us and no longer associate with us. I can tell you, some of my wacky goals have helped me immeasurably in the “I don’t want to get tangled up in other people’s opinions” categories, so if I want to set and work toward a goal of leaving 100 pennies in random places for people to find, pick up and feel happier because of it – you and others may think I am incorrigibly silly. And that’s ok.
  3. We don’t believe we can achieve the goal anyway so… while the heart-call is there, the energy isn’t so we ignore it. Ignoring or denial is among the most dangerous actions to take. This is where block begins to build. When we resist the desire and pile up lots of over-thinking, underappreciative energy on top of the overthinking, the mindclutter can translate into life clutter. Even taking micro-actions will keep energy flowing and will help you gain evidence that you CAN begin and you CAN move forward.

Even if it is just for this week, try this exercise as an experiment.

If you feel doubt seeping into your thoughts, consider this wisdom from Eckhart Tolle, best selling author and thought leader who wrote, “When the basis for your actions is inner alignment with the present moment, your actions become empowered by the intelligence of life itself.”

We gain clarity when we write without editing, judgment or forethought. Our inner wisdom is given room to roam. We can explore what we truly want without letting other people or our own negative thoughts get in the way of becoming energized and empowered to move forward.

Write using a stream-of-consciousness or free flow,journaling style for five minutes following the framework in the prompt:

First free flow write or journal for up to five minutes using the prompt:

This week I want – and consider what you want to feel, what you want to achieve, who you want to connect with, what you want to let go.

Build on what you want by creating a connection with 

This week I intend: and base your intentions on what you discovered from writing about what you want. 

How often are our intentions the same thing we have automatically been speaking for weeks, months or a season but not related to our heart’s call? 

Using journaling as a tool of clarification will help you align your desire with your intention and then tie back together with what actions you will choose to take in the final prompt:

This week I will choose….which is where our goals, intentions, and vision takes form. You can want something for years or decades but if you do not set intentions and goals and move forward with love through action, you will more than likely find yourself ten years in the future in a very similar place now to where you were when you started.

Julie JordanScott is a multipassionate creative who delights in inviting others into their own fullhearted, artistic experience via her creativity coaching individually or in groups, courses and workshops. To receive inspiring content and videos weekly and find out more about Coaching, Courses, Challenges and what’s going on in the Creative Life Midwife world? Subscribe here:

Follow on Instagram to Watch IGTV exclusive videos, stories and posts about writing and the creative process.

Let our Words Flow Writing Community: the only one missing is you! Join us in the Private Writing Group by clicking here.

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Filed Under: Creative Life Coaching, Creative Process, Goals, Intention/Connection, Meditation and Mindfulness, Writing Tips Tagged With: Eckhart Tolle Quote, end writer's block, Weekly planning

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