The Art of Creative Living

You can use this beautiful heart-based meditation to gently bring an intention into your heart and infuse it with more clarity, peace and inspiration. Perhaps you want to carve out more time for yourself amongst the demands of daily life, or you're feeling a craving to be able to express your creativity more freely and joyfully.  Listen to this calming meditation when you want to bring your desire into your heart. Allow your intention to inspire you and draw you forward into the next chapter of your life. You are welcome to return to this meditation any time you need some calm, gentle focus to refocus on what is important to you.  Please share this episode with other Creative Hearts and help me share tips, resources, and inspiration by reviewing my show on iTunes! You can easily do that by clicking here. Your review will help the show find its way to more people who want to prioritise, nurture and express their creativity and live intentional, creative lives! Thank you for helping me spread the word! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nicola-newman/message

I’m joined by Annie Gichuru, who is the founder of Uplifting Studios, a platform dedicated to supporting migrant women of colour. As a life coach and the producer and host of Uplifting Studios TV, Annie teaches how to unshackle self-limiting beliefs. Born in Kenya, Australia is her home where she lives with her husband and two young children. In this conversation we explore the topic of Creative Legacy and how we can intentionally cultivate creative projects that are meaningful, fulfilling and make a difference in the world. Motivated by those facing the same challenges she faced, Annie believes your future can be one of purpose and impact. Now in Season 3, Uplifting Studios TV is founded on positive storytelling, and showcasing inspiring stories through guest interviews and documentaries. In this conversation we explore Annie’s personal creative living story, we discuss racism and learning about other people’s perspectives, the process Annie guides her clients through when they are facing limiting beliefs, plus her personal gratitude practice and how she’s simplified it over time, and lots more. I loved recording this episode with Annie and I’m so honoured to have her on the show. I’m really thrilled to share this one with you today. Annie Gichuru's Social Media and Popular Links Website: https://www.upliftingstudios.com.au/  Life Coaching with Annie Gichuru FREE Mindset Audio Guide: 3 Steps to Unshackle Your Self-Limiting beliefs LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/anniegichuru Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/upliftingstudiostv/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/upliftingstudiostv/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/UpliftingStudiosTV Flourish: The Art of Creative Living  Join us for a year of creative living in my global creativity school, Flourish: The Art of Creative Living.  Flourish: The Art of Creative Living is a global, year-long creativity school for Creative Hearts who want to learn how to paint, dissolve creative blocks, build a loving relationship with themselves, cultivate mindfulness and expand their personal creative expression. Explore painting with acrylic, oil and watercolour paints, creative writing, photography and poetry. Flourish includes 12 months in my Creative Hearts Community to foster connection with like-minded souls and access fun-filled live creative workshops, virtual retreats, guest teachers, and monthly community calls. Find out more and join us here: https://www.nicolanewman.com/flourish/  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nicola-newman/message

Today, I’m joined by Heather Ashley Baker, a creative business owner and coach, who is devoted to helping women move from dreaming into doing. She's a lifelong creative -- having spent time acting, directing, and working a 12 year career in design and tech. Originally from the US, Heather now proudly calls Australia home. Heather and I connected after she reached out to me just before the pandemic, and we’ve become firm friends over the past year. In this episode we explore her personal creative living story, her experience working as the manager of a design team for Cricket Australia, four ways she loves to talk back to the inner critic, her journey to finding her creative purpose, launching her business amidst a global pandemic and lots more. As always, I absolutely loved recording this episode with Heather. I could talk about these topics all day. Her story is so inspiring. I hope as you listen in, you feel inspired to listen to yourself, build your self-trust, be brave and follow your heart. I can’t wait for you to hear our chat. Let’s dive right in.

Today, I'm joined by Heather Ashley Baker, a creative business owner and coach, who is devoted to helping women move from dreaming into doing. She's a lifelong creative -- having spent time acting, directing, and working a 12 year career in design and tech. Originally from the US, Heather now proudly calls Australia home. Heather and I connected after she reached out to me just before the pandemic, and we've become firm friends over the past year. In this episode we explore her personal creative living story, her experience working as the manager of a design team for Cricket Australia, four ways she loves to talk back to the inner critic, her journey to finding her creative purpose, launching her business amidst a global pandemic and lots more. As always, I absolutely loved recording this episode with Heather. I could talk about these topics all day. Her story is so inspiring. I hope as you listen in, you feel inspired to listen to yourself, build your self-trust, be brave and follow your heart. I can't wait for you to hear our chat. Let's dive right in.

I’m delighted to bring you today’s conversation with someone who’s energy, creativity, wisdom and experience inspires me in so many ways. She is a heart-led creative entrepreneur, writer and teacher who I could spend hours talking with about the joys and intricacies and practicalities that come with embracing creative living. Beth Cregan’s teaching experience spans over 30 years. In 2010, she founded Write Away With Me, an organisation dedicated to inspiring the next generation of writers. She has presented writing workshops across Australia and internationally for primary students to teenagers and adults.When it comes to teaching writing, Beth has a keen sense of fun and a passion for words and language. She believes we are all storytellers and writers at heart and her workshops inspire writers to connect with their creativity and unlock new and exciting ways to tell their story. Beth has been a member in Flourish: The Art of Creative Living for many years now and this year, I’m delighted she will also be a guest teacher, sharing a new workshop in writing poetry and listening to yourself with members. In this workshop, she will guide you through playing with poetry and using poetic structures to give form and shape to your ideas. This is such a powerful way to bypass the inner critic and unlock your creative power. She will also play with journalling techniques that reach into your being and shine light on your hidden thoughts and desires, as well as show you how to use words and images as anchors to help you chase your dreams. In this podcast episode we explore Beth’s personal creative living story, how she wove creativity into her days alongside her daughters when they were little as a busy mother, the value of embracing partial solutions to help circumvent perfectionism, and following your own heart instead of measuring yourself in comparison with others, and much, much more I absolutely loved recording this episode with Beth. I think you’ll feel like you’re eves--dropping in on a conversation between friends, and that’s because that’s exactly what this is. I’m excited to have her on the show and I’m so glad you are listening in to our chat. You’re in for a meandering wander through the meadows of creative living. Let’s dive right in.

I'm delighted to bring you today's conversation with someone whose energy, creativity, wisdom and experience inspires me in so many ways. Beth Cregan is a heart-led creative entrepreneur, writer and teacher who I could spend hours talking with about the joys, intricacies and practicalities that come with embracing creative living. Beth's teaching experience spans over 30 years. In 2010, she founded Write Away With Me, an organisation dedicated to inspiring the next generation of writers. She has presented writing workshops across Australia and internationally for primary students to teenagers and adults. When it comes to teaching writing, Beth has a keen sense of fun and a passion for words and language. She believes we are all storytellers and writers at heart and her workshops inspire writers to connect with their creativity and unlock new and exciting ways to tell their story. Beth has been a member in Flourish: The Art of Creative Living for many years now. I'm delighted that this year in 2021 she will also be a guest teacher, sharing a new workshop on writing poetry. In this workshop, she will guide members through playing with poetry and using poetic structures to give form and shape to your ideas. This is such a powerful way to bypass the inner critic and unlock your creative power. She will also play with journalling techniques that reach into your being and shine a light on your hidden thoughts and desires, as well as show you how to use words and images as anchors to help you chase your dreams. In this podcast episode, Beth and I and talk about her personal creative living story; how she wove creativity into her days alongside her daughters when they were little as a busy mother; the value of embracing partial solutions to help circumvent perfectionism; following your heart instead of measuring yourself in comparison with others - and much, much more. I think you'll feel like you're eavesdropping on a conversation between friends listening to this episode - because that's exactly what this is! I'm very excited to have Beth on the show. Let's dive in!

For today’s episode, I’m joined by Kelly Herrick, a British contemporary landscape artist who helps people fall back in love with nature. Kelly is also a guest teacher in Flourish: The Art of Creative Living and we talk about her guest teacher workshop. She’s a wonderful inspiration of someone who has bravely embraced creative living. Kelly creates art and creative wellbeing events, is a creative strategist in an international design agency, and mum of two boys. In this episode we explore her personal creative living story, the power of letting go of old or outdated stories we carry about our creativity, she shares a peek into her creative wellbeing workshops in the woods, and she shares how mindfulness and flow in her creative practice help with managing stress, and lots more. I absolutely loved recording this episode with Kelly. She is so full of life and fun and overflowing with creative wisdom. I’m honoured to have her on the show and I’m so glad you are listening in to our chat. You’re in for a real treat. Let’s dive right in.

Kelly Herrick is a British contemporary landscape artist who helps people fall back in love with nature. Kelly is also a guest teacher in Flourish: The Art of Creative Living and we talk about her guest teacher workshop. She's a wonderful inspiration of someone who has bravely embraced creative living. Kelly creates art and creative wellbeing events, is a creative strategist in an international design agency, and mum of two boys. In this episode we explore her personal creative living story, the power of letting go of old or outdated stories we carry about our creativity, she shares a peek into her creative wellbeing workshops in the woods, and she shares how mindfulness and flow in her creative practice help with managing stress, and lots more. I absolutely loved recording this episode with Kelly. She is so full of life and fun and overflowing with creative wisdom. I'm honoured to have her on the show and I'm so glad you are listening in to our chat. You're in for a real treat. Let's dive right in.

So for today’s episode, I’m joined by Emma Shields, who is a life coach and somatic therapist-in-training and has been a member of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living for many years now. In fact, she was part of the inaugural round way back in 2015 and I’ve loved being part of Emma’s creative living adventures ever since. In this episode we explore her personal creative living story, how she learnt to cultivate a creative process that was easeful and produced results she felt proud of, how creative expression supports her in her full-time role at work, and lots more. I loved recording this episode with Emma and I’m so honoured to have her on the show. I’m really thrilled to share this one with you today. Let’s dive right in.

In this episode, I'm joined by Emma Shields, who is a life coach and somatic therapist-in-training and has been a member of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living for many years now. In fact, she was part of the inaugural round way back in 2015 and I've loved being part of Emma's creative living adventures ever since. In this episode we explore her personal creative living story, how she learnt to cultivate a creative process that was easeful and produced results she felt proud of, how creative expression supports her in her full-time role at work, and lots more. I loved recording this episode with Emma and I'm so honoured to have her on the show. I'm really thrilled to share this one with you today. Let's dive right in.

So what do you do when you want to express yourself, complete a new project that’s important to your heart, your work, or to your creative legacy, but the fear of putting yourself out there is too much and you find yourself falling into a creative shame spiral? You’re sitting on the couch and your mind is telling you that what you have to share, say, write, paint or produce isn’t good enough, isn’t polished enough, isn’t unique enough. You don’t have enough time, resources or experience to bring this important, heart-led project to life. Perhaps the deadline is looming. Or if you don’t have a deadline, perhaps you just simply avoid the project altogether. Because the emotions that come up when you are about to pick up that paint brush, or begin to write those words or breath life into that project are too overwhelming. Too uncomfortable and icky. I’ve been there. So. Many. Times. When I’m working with private coaching clients and also sometimes members of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living, they might share how surprised they are to discover the intensity of some of the emotions that can be triggered during the creative process. Simultaneously, they are also relieved to hear they are not alone, strange or weird to be experiencing those emotions. Expressing our creativity is a vulnerable, brave thing to embark on. And depending on your personal Creative Living Story and history, it can be triggering or it can be joyful, full of freedom and playfulness. Meeting yourself with compassion and acceptance with whatever your experience is, will make the creative process easier, sustainable and a wonderful anchor to living authentically and finding more satisfaction. This process was adapted from Bari Tessler's framework for navigating difficult money situations. I love Bari and her work and find this process also works so well when applied to creative living. Let's dive in!

Hello everyone and welcome to season two of The Art of Creative Living Podcast. I’m your host, Nicola Newman. I’m a professional artist, creative mentor, author and creator of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living, which is a global year-long creativity school for creative hearts who want to build a loving relationship with themselves through mindfulness and creative expression. I’m very excited to share some wonderful guests with you this season. I’ve had so many really great conversations with folks from my community and I’ll be sharing a selection of excerpts from some of the guest teacher’s sessions inside Flourish: The Art of Creative Living too. We’ll also hear from a few Flourish members themselves as they generously share intimate conversations giving insights into their personal creative stories, and how they’ve overcome creative blocks, moved through creative shame and used mindfulness and creative expression to come home to themselves, regulate their nervous system in the face of the unknown, be kind to themselves and find deeper fulfilment in their lives. Let's dive in!

So what do you do when you want to express yourself, complete a new project that's important to your heart, your work, or to your creative legacy, but the fear of putting yourself out there is too much and you find yourself falling into a creative shame spiral? You're sitting on the couch and your mind is telling you that what you have to share, say, write, paint or produce isn't good enough, isn't polished enough, isn't unique enough. You don't have enough time, resources or experience to bring this important, heart-led project to life. Perhaps the deadline is looming. Or if you don't have a deadline, perhaps you just simply avoid the project altogether. Because the emotions that come up when you are about to pick up that paint brush, or begin to write those words or breath life into that project are too overwhelming. Too uncomfortable and icky. I've been there. So. Many. Times. When I'm working with private coaching clients and also sometimes members of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living, they might share how surprised they are to discover the intensity of some of the emotions that can be triggered during the creative process. Simultaneously, they are also relieved to hear they are not alone, strange or weird to be experiencing those emotions. Expressing our creativity is a vulnerable, brave thing to embark on. And depending on your personal Creative Living Story and history, it can be triggering or it can be joyful, full of freedom and playfulness. Meeting yourself with compassion and acceptance with whatever your experience is, will make the creative process easier, sustainable and a wonderful anchor to living authentically and finding more satisfaction. This process was adapted from Bari Tessler's framework for navigating difficult money situations. I love Bari and her work and find this process also works so well when applied to creative living. Let's dive in!

Hello everyone and welcome to season two of The Art of Creative Living Podcast. I'm your host, Nicola Newman. I'm a professional artist, creative mentor, author and creator of Flourish: The Art of Creative Living, which is a global year-long creativity school for creative hearts who want to build a loving relationship with themselves through mindfulness and creative expression. I'm very excited to share some wonderful guests with you this season. I've had so many really great conversations with folks from my community and I'll be sharing a selection of excerpts from some of the guest teacher's sessions inside Flourish: The Art of Creative Living too. We'll also hear from a few Flourish members themselves as they generously share intimate conversations giving insights into their personal creative stories, and how they've overcome creative blocks, moved through creative shame and used mindfulness and creative expression to come home to themselves, regulate their nervous system in the face of the unknown, be kind to themselves and find deeper fulfilment in their lives. Let's dive in!

I’m completely thrilled to share with you a very heartfelt conversation with Bronnie Ware, best-selling author, speaker, free spirit, mother, story teller, nature lover, teacher, song writer, traveller and gentle rebel. She’s been called many things, but above all, she is authentic and bravely lives how her own heart guides her to live, free of any such labels or expectations. I have loved Bronnie and her message from afar for years now, and always hoped to get to connect with her after reading her incredible book, which you may have heard of, The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. In fact, I was reading her book just at the time when we had decided to sell everything and buy a sail-boat, and it was confirmation during that time of transition that this was something my heart was calling me to do. Bronnie’s journey to publishing the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying is a super inspiring one too - after being rejected by 25 publishers, it has now sold more than a million copies, been published in 31 languages and is also being transformed into a film. Bonnie and I had the most wonderful time chatting about the intricacies involved in following your heart. We explored everything from immersing yourself in the creative process, to setting boundaries to allow you to live a life in line with your values, to the importance of taking care of yourself while you create, why she left the stable world of working in finance, her practical advice to anyone wanting to reconnect with their creativity, and much more. I absolutely LOVED recording this episode with Bronnie. I don’t recall ever speaking with someone who so clearly articulates and values the process involved in following your heart, rather than your fears, as Bronnie does in this conversation. I have learnt so much from this kind-hearted woman about what truly matters in life through her words and her writing, so I’m very, very honoured to share this chat with you today. Let’s dive in.

I’m completely thrilled to share with you a very heartfelt conversation with Bronnie Ware, best-selling author, speaker, free spirit, mother, story teller, nature lover, teacher, song writer, traveller and gentle rebel. She’s been called many things, but above all, she is authentic and bravely lives how her own heart guides her to live, free of any such labels or expectations. I have loved Bronnie and her message from afar for years now, and always hoped to get to connect with her after reading her incredible book, which you may have heard of, The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. In fact, I was reading her book just at the time when we had decided to sell everything and buy a sail-boat, and it was confirmation during that time of transition that this was something my heart was calling me to do. Bronnie’s journey to publishing the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying is a super inspiring one too - after being rejected by 25 publishers, it has now sold more than a million copies, been published in 31 languages and is also being transformed into a film. Bonnie and I had the most wonderful time chatting about the intricacies involved in following your heart. We explored everything from immersing yourself in the creative process, to setting boundaries to allow you to live a life in line with your values, to the importance of taking care of yourself while you create, why she left the stable world of working in finance, her practical advice to anyone wanting to reconnect with their creativity, and much more. I absolutely LOVED recording this episode with Bronnie. I don’t recall ever speaking with someone who so clearly articulates and values the process involved in following your heart, rather than your fears, as Bronnie does in this conversation. I have learnt so much from this kind-hearted woman about what truly matters in life through her words and her writing, so I’m very, very honoured to share this chat with you today. Let’s dive in.

I'm completely thrilled to share with you a very heartfelt conversation with Bronnie Ware, best-selling author, speaker, free spirit, mother, story teller, nature lover, teacher, song writer, traveller and gentle rebel. She's been called many things, but above all, she is authentic and bravely lives how her own heart guides her to live, free of any such labels or expectations. I have loved Bronnie and her message from afar for years now, and always hoped to get to connect with her after reading her incredible book, which you may have heard of, The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. In fact, I was reading her book just at the time when we had decided to sell everything and buy a sail-boat, and it was confirmation during that time of transition that this was something my heart was calling me to do. Bronnie's journey to publishing the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying is a super inspiring one too - after being rejected by 25 publishers, it has now sold more than a million copies, been published in 31 languages and is also being transformed into a film. Bonnie and I had the most wonderful time chatting about the intricacies involved in following your heart. We explored everything from immersing yourself in the creative process, to setting boundaries to allow you to live a life in line with your values, to the importance of taking care of yourself while you create, why she left the stable world of working in finance, her practical advice to anyone wanting to reconnect with their creativity, and much more. I absolutely LOVED recording this episode with Bronnie. I don't recall ever speaking with someone who so clearly articulates and values the process involved in following your heart, rather than your fears, as Bronnie does in this conversation. I have learnt so much from this kind-hearted woman about what truly matters in life through her words and her writing, so I'm very, very honoured to share this chat with you today. Let's dive in.

So for today’s episode I’m joined by the awesome Hayley Carr, a life coach for superfreaks and folks at or near the top of their game. She’s a 9-time karate world champion and one of the most wonderful humans I know. We dig into her routine and how she follows her heart, finds courage in the face of fear and creates more in her business and life. We also explore the journey of defining her personal values and how they underpin the work she does in the world. Hayley is a Guest Mentor in the Gentle Business Mastermind in 2019 and she has so much experience in building a business that is aligned to your strengths. I loved recording this episode with Hayley and I adore her as a friend, coach and superfreak, so I’m super excited to share this one with you today.

So for today’s episode I’m joined by the awesome Hayley Carr, a life coach for superfreaks and folks at or near the top of their game. She’s a 9-time karate world champion and one of the most wonderful humans I know. We dig into her routine and how she follows her heart, finds courage in the face of fear and creates more in her business and life. We also explore the journey of defining her personal values and how they underpin the work she does in the world. Hayley is a Guest Mentor in the Gentle Business Mastermind in 2019 and she has so much experience in building a business that is aligned to your strengths. I loved recording this episode with Hayley and I adore her as a friend, coach and superfreak, so I’m super excited to share this one with you today.

So for today’s episode I’m joined by the awesome Hayley Carr, a life coach for superfreaks and folks at or near the top of their game. She’s a 9-time karate world champion and one of the most wonderful humans I know. We dig into her routine and how she follows her heart, finds courage in the face of fear and creates more in her business and life. We also explore the journey of defining her personal values and how they underpin the work she does in the world. Hayley is a Guest Mentor in the Gentle Business Mastermind in 2019 and she has so much experience in building a business that is aligned to your strengths. I loved recording this episode with Hayley and I adore her as a friend, coach and superfreak, so I’m super excited to share this one with you today.