Art Journal with the Moon for March 11-17, 2024

The moon is growing in power and light this week.

Lately, I’ve been enjoying working with the waxing moon phases. Part of the reason is because my energy and vitality feels like it is increasing. If my life were the moon, I think right now I’d be in a waxing phase as well. My health has improved so much. I’m seeing the results of the deep inner healing work I’ve been doing for a few years. I’m more emotionally resilient. I feel stronger. I love what I’m doing with my life and how I’m doing it. 

I wish the world felt like it was in a waxing moon phase but, to me, the world can feel dark and heavy and like it’s collapsing and falling into the underworld. That’s just my perspective lately. I don’t always feel like that but sometimes it all gets a little much – the wars, the changes, the decline, the climate, the robot dogs becoming part of the NYPD and the LAPD. There is so much to process and digest.

My mom and I were talking on the phone this morning about this very thing – that it feels like there is never enough time to emotionally process and digest from one new event to the next. One cataclysmic event follows another in succession at a pace that my little heart and my burdened nervous system struggle to contend with. And I’m a sci-fi-loving, technology-appreciating, robot-buddy-wanting woman. I can’t imagine how people who abhor technology and the changes it brings must be feeling. 

This week, I want to talk about working with the waxing moon phases to help you achieve your creative dreams but first I want to acknowledge that it’s hard to turn inward and imagine a brighter future when the world seems chaotic and heavy with issues like war and conflicts, environmental crises, and rapid technological changes. Your heart and nervous system are probably like mine – constantly trying to process and adapt to these global shifts, which can drain your energy and make it difficult to think about your creative goals or dreams. 

I suspect part of this difficulty stems from a deep sense of empathy and a recognition of the privileges I have that others do not. Knowing that I have opportunities and safety that many people are desperately fighting for or may never have can lead to feelings of guilt or the belief that pursuing my personal creative ambitions is frivolous or insignificant in comparison to the larger struggles facing humanity.

This perspective is understandable; it reflects compassion and a desire for a more just and equitable world. However, it’s also important to recognize that engaging with your creative dreams isn’t frivolous—it’s a fundamental expression of your humanity and a contribution to the beauty and diversity of human experience.

Creativity can be a powerful force for change, offering new perspectives, inspiring others, and bringing light to dark situations.

Moreover, pursuing your personal goals doesn’t mean you’re indifferent to the suffering of others. It’s possible to hold space for both—contributing to positive change and supporting those in need in whatever ways you can, while also honoring your own path and the importance of fulfilling your potential. In fact, by nurturing your creativity, you may find yourself better equipped to make meaningful contributions to the world, using your talents and privileges in service of a greater good. This is my hope.

Maybe it’s a balance. Acknowledging and addressing in a meaningful way the suffering in the world, but also allowing yourself to pursue your dreams and goals. Both can exist together, and doing so can lead to a fuller, more compassionate engagement with both your own life and the wider world.

Visualization and goal-setting can serve as anchors amidst the storm. They remind you of your agency, your capacity to shape some aspects of your life, and the power of your inner world. By focusing on what you love and envisioning your future, you create a sanctuary of hope and direction that can sustain you, even when the world outside feels daunting.

Moreover, this inward focus nurtures your emotional resilience. Like exercising a muscle, regularly visualizing your goals and engaging with your creativity strengthens your ability to remain centered and calm, even in turbulent times. It helps build a resilient spirit that can navigate challenges with grace and maintain a sense of purpose and direction. This is my hope anyway.

Despite the overwhelming pace of change and global challenges, dedicating time to visualization and pursuing your creative dreams may be a profound act of hope and resilience. 

So this week, I’m going to cry and grieve and allow myself to be with the hard feelings that come with being alive AND, while the moon is growing in energy and power, I’m going to spend time imagining that the book I’m working on is finished and some of you love it as much as I do. 

If you’d like to join me in working with the waxing moon this week to achieve your creative dreams, here are my thoughts on that.

Working with the Waxing Moon to Achieve Your Creative Dreams

In the context of our intentions and personal power, the waxing moon serves as a reminder of growth, expansion, accumulation, build up and increase. Just as the moon’s light grows brighter, so too can our intentions, personal power, and inner light.

The waxing moon says growth is a process, and with consistent effort and belief in yourself, you can see your intentions begin to manifest into reality. It encourages you to believe in your ability to bring about change and to recognize the power you have to shape your life. It’s a call to focus your energy and attention on what you want to grow and to trust in the natural progression from intention to manifestation. It’s also an ideal time for taking action towards your goals and dreams.

The waxing moon also teaches you about the importance of patience, perseverance, and faith in your abilities. Just as the moon does not rush to become full overnight, you too can embrace the truth that growth, results and success take time and dedication.

The waxing moon phases are also a great time to work with the idea of magnetization.

Magnetizing with the Waxing Moon

Magnetization is the belief that our thoughts, emotions, and energies can influence what happens in our lives. By focusing our minds and hearts on positive, constructive goals and feelings, we can ‘magnetize’ or draw those good things towards us.

Magnetization teaches us about our connection to the universe and the power we have to co-create our reality. It encourages personal responsibility for our energetic output and reminds us that by aligning our energies with what we wish to attract, we can influence our life in meaningful ways. This concept can empower us to take charge of our spiritual and material well-being, promoting a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of all things and the active role we play in our own lives.

However…

Something to Consider Before Moving Forward

I think it’s important to approach the concept of magnetization with a deep awareness of broader societal issues like white supremacy, colonialism, privilege, unconscious bias, class structures, and unequal power dynamics. These systemic factors play a significant role in our lives and opportunities, often creating barriers that no amount of positive thinking alone can overcome.

While the idea of magnetization promotes personal empowerment which is a great thing, it’s crucial to recognize that systemic inequalities can significantly impact your ability to create change in your life.

Blaming yourself for not being able to achieve certain results or for experiencing challenges like illness or addiction without taking into account oppressive systems and how they impacted you, consciously and unconsciously, is not only unfair but harmful.

It overlooks the complex realities many people face and oversimplifies the challenges of navigating a society where opportunities and resources are not equally distributed.

I believe if we try, we can find a balance between utilizing our personal power while at the same time acknowledging the systemic barriers that exist. I also believe this encourages a more compassionate and realistic approach to personal growth and manifestation. It involves advocating for social change to address systemic issues while also using principles of magnetization to work towards personal goals and dreams. It’s about striving for positive change in both our inner lives and the world around us, working towards a reality where everyone has the opportunity to move closer to their dreams and potential.

Using Magnetization to Heal What is Hiding in Your Subconscious Realm

I use visualization techniques and magnetization a little differently than most people. What I like about magnetizing and using my imagination to visualize the changes I’d like to see in my life, is how it naturally activates beliefs, memories or old emotional baggage I’m carrying that stands between me and the future I’m envisioning.

When you use magnetizing and visualization techniques to imagine the changes you want in your life, it’s like setting off an internal alarm that wakes up various thoughts, beliefs, and emotions buried deep inside you. These could be positive beliefs that boost your confidence or negative ones, like doubts and fears, that have been quietly influencing you from the shadows.

By bringing these hidden parts of yourself into the light, you now have the opportunity to address them. You can work through these old beliefs and emotions, perhaps by understanding where they came from, why they’re no longer relevant, or by replacing them with more supportive thoughts. Personally, I use the MAP Method to do this which means I surrender the healing, tending and releasing of old beliefs, memories and emotions to my subconscious mind. However you do it, the process of bringing hidden parts of you to the light and tending to them helps clear the way, so your current beliefs and emotions are in harmony with the future you wish to create.

Being aligned means your current thoughts, beliefs, and emotions support your goals and desires. It’s like rowing a boat downstream; everything flows smoothly, and you move forward with less effort. For example, if you’re aligned with the idea of that new career, you feel optimistic, capable, and excited about the possibilities, even in the face of challenges.

When you’re not aligned, it’s like rowing upstream. Despite your efforts, you feel stuck or struggle more than necessary. You might constantly doubt your skills, fear making a change, or feel unworthy of success, which can halt your progress, cause you to procrastinate or avoid taking action or make the journey feel harder in a hundred different ways.

Waking up and working through the old baggage helps you align with your goals because you’re not just blindly pushing forward; you’re actively removing the internal blocks and conflicts that hold you back.

Put it Into Practice

Here’s a simple, step-by-step guide to help you use magnetization to clear the blocks that are hiding in your subconscious realm.

I encourage you to practice this technique daily during the waxing moon phases, which lasts until March 25th. This period is especially potent for initiating growth and attracting new opportunities. By aligning your visualization practice with the waxing moon, you tap into a natural cycle of expansion, enhancing your ability to manifest the changes you desire in your life.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Clearing Your Subconscious Blocks with Magnetization

1. 1. Visualize Your Change: Close your eyes and picture the change you wish to see as vividly as possible. Imagine the scenario in detail—where are you, what are you doing, how do you feel? Engage all your senses. What can you see, hear, touch, taste, and smell? Make the scene as real and as detailed as you can.

   2. Feel the Emotions: Focus on the emotions associated with your visualization. How does achieving this change make you feel? Happy, proud, relieved, peaceful? Really immerse yourself in these positive emotions and let them fill you up.

   3. Reflect and Notice: After you’ve completed your visualization and are still in a relaxed state, take a moment to reflect on what you noticed during the process. Pay attention to any physical sensations, emotions, or thoughts that arose. Did you feel tension, warmth, ease, or discomfort anywhere in your body? Did certain emotions become more pronounced? Mindfulness is about observing these experiences without judgment.

   4. Be Curious and Explore: Approach what you’ve noticed with curiosity. Gently explore what’s awakening inside you as a result of the visualization. Ask yourself if there’s anything that needs tending to. For example, if you noticed tension in a specific part of your body, consider what that might be telling you. Is there fear or resistance related to the change you’re visualizing? If emotions surfaced, acknowledge them and inquire into their source. This step is about being present with your inner experience, understanding that each sensation, emotion, or thought might be a message related to your journey towards your goal. Ask yourself, “What might this sensation/emotion/thought be trying to tell me?” Consider that your body and mind might be using these signals to draw your attention to something important about your goals or the changes you’re seeking.

   5. Seek Patterns: Look for connections between what you experience in your visualization and what happens in your life. Does thinking about a specific goal always bring a sense of tightness? Do certain ideas consistently make you feel light and expansive? These patterns can reveal what truly resonates with you or what might need more consideration or change.

   6. Connect the Dots: When you visualize a desired change or outcome, your emotional and physical reactions are not random; they are responses triggered by your subconscious mind. These responses can provide valuable insights if you learn to interpret them correctly. Sometimes, the messages aren’t obvious. A feeling of tension might be related to underlying fears about the change you desire. A burst of happiness could be affirming that you’re on the right path. By connecting how you feel during visualization to your wider life context, you can start to understand these inner experiences as meaningful insights. Ask yourself: Have I felt this physical tension or emotional response in similar real-life situations?

   7. Interpret Physical Sensations: If you notice a sensation in your body when you visualize, it might not be immediately clear what this means. This physical sensation could be signaling anxiety or fear about stepping into a new experience or it could mean something else. If you name your sensations then one by one, get curious and ask yourself what they might mean, you’ll hear or see things you didn’t realize were there. It’s about being curious and open and listening then trust whatever comes to you.

   8. Understanding Emotional Reactions: Similarly, an emotional response goes beyond just a momentary reaction. Unexpected and unexplained emotions often arise when you visualize. Start by assuming you are experiencing the emotion for a deeper reason then get curious and try to figure out why. Why does visualizing these changes evoke these emotions? What from your past might be tied to these emotions?

Going through this exercise might reveal patterns, beliefs and memories you weren’t fully conscious of. Recognizing this, you can now address these directly and clear your path forward.

You don’t always have to go it alone.

If you find this practice challenging or you simply want to do it more regularly and receive support while you’re doing it, having an external perspective can be invaluable. Sometimes, when you want to clear blocks that live in the hidden realms of your subconscious mind, it can be challenging to put the pieces all together on your own. Getting support like the kind I offer in my Intuitive Support Sessions can help.

Whether you seek out support or go it alone, being mindful of your inner world and deciphering the messages it is sending you is a skill that develops with practice. It requires patience, openness, and a willingness to explore the depths of your being. Each sensation, emotion, or thought that arises during visualization is a piece of the puzzle of your self, offering insights into your fears, desires, and the path towards your true goals. By listening and responding to these messages, you can navigate your journey with greater awareness and alignment with your deepest self.

Let’s Do the Work Together

In this week’s Held by the Moon online creative gathering, we will art journal with the waxing moon and work with the  MAP Method to practice using magnetization to clear the blocks that hide in your subconscious realm.

We’ll start by playing in your art journal while you vividly imagining your creative dreams manifesting in reality. It’s a powerful process that not only sets the stage for what we’re aiming to attract but also helps to uncover what lies beneath the surface of our conscious mind.

As we allow ourselves to dream and visualize, it’s natural for various thoughts, feelings, and even memories to bubble up from our subconscious. You might notice sensations of joy or excitement, but you may also encounter feelings of doubt, fear, or resistance. These emotions are clues, guiding us to understand deeper internal conflicts or barriers that might be holding you back from fully embracing your creative potential.

With curiosity and compassion, we’ll explore these arising sensations, trying to understand their origins. Are they tied to past experiences, beliefs you’ve adopted about yourself, or perhaps fears of failure or success? Are they generational? Are they from this life or another? Identifying these emotions and their roots helps you tend to what stands in your way.

Finally, we’ll work with the MAP Method, a transformative tool designed to neutralize emotional memories that may be causing inner resistance or conflict. By working through these emotions, we aim to rewire your brain to align more closely with your creative dreams. This alignment clears the path forward, reducing the internal struggle that can lead to procrastination or self-sabotage.

The goal of this gathering is to leave you feeling clearer, more aligned with your creative dreams or goals, and ready to take the next steps forward with confidence and ease. Instead of being hindered by internal conflicts, you’ll be supported by a newfound clarity and a deeper connection to your creative flow – or, at the very least, you’ll be one step closer to experiencing this.

You deserve to follow your creative dreams.

If you want to work with the waxing moon to magnetize your creative dreams and you like the idea of tending to any inner resistance you might be holding in your subconscious realm or you just love to hang out in sacred space with your art journal and the moon, I’d love for you to join me.

These classes are held in my online Zoom meeting room and they will be recorded.  A recording will be emailed to you later in the week if you cannot attend live.

Don’t worry. You don’t need an art journal or art experience to enjoy these online gatherings. The exercises are simple and more about the process than the end result. Pencil crayons or markers on whatever paper you can find are perfectly fine.

Learn More or Register Here