Category — Train with Magpie Girl
Power Stories: Pay-What-You-Will Special Offer
UPDATE: The Pay-What-You-Will Offer is now closed. Thank you and congratulations to the 50 new class members who joined us during this special offer. If you’d still like to join us click here for the sign up page. See you September 13th when class begins. Let’s learn to STAND!
Hello Magpies!
Due to a deep-felt need on both our parts, I’ve decided to offer Power Stories: tips and tales for standing in your own power on a Pay-What-You-Will basis through September 3rd. All the info is in the video, plus the low-down on how the class works, who’s teaching along with me, and why you should take it.
Oh, and if you’re worried about not having time right now, grab the Pay-What-You-Will special now, save up the course materials, and do them at your own pace. It works just fine that way.
PAY-WHAT-YOU-WILL Sept 1-3
Email me your offer and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.
moi at magpie-girl dot com
Prefer info in print? Want to read some testimonials from my last class? It’s all waiting for you below. See you in class on September 13th!
What: 6 weeks of inspiring stories and practical lessons on how to stand in your own power.
When:course begins Monday September 13th.
Price: $100
PAY-WHAT-YOU-WILL Sept 1-3
Email me your offer and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.
“Standing in your own power” is a phrase I use to describe a certain way of be-ing that involves listening to your intuition and following your gut. Too often, these things are programmed out of us by social norms and well-meaning institutions.
This course is designed to help you tap into your intuitive source of guidance; and to shut down noisy interlopers. As a result you will move through life from a place of powerful internal authority.
Learning to STAND results in:
- a strong sense of direction about personal relationships.
- confident, “right fit” work decisions.
- the strength to live into your own spiritual or religious beliefs.
- a life that feels stable and energized – not timid and depleted.
Like all my best work, this course has emerged out of the intersection between the things I love + the stuff you need. It started with a simple *8Things list, and grew to become a full-grown course with two dozen lessons, seven wise voices, and a whole lot of helpfulness going on. Why? All because YOU asked for it! (Thank you.)
Here are the weekly stages in Power Stories:
Stage One: Get Grounded
Stage Two: Kick it to the Curb
Stage Three:Re-Establish Your Own Truth
Stage Four: Listen to Your Muse
Stage Five: Become Embodied
Stage Six: Move Onward
Each of the stages have 3-5 pieces. These will arrive in your inbox every few days over the course of 6 weeks. You’ll get videos, essays, and really cool worksheets from the creator of Magpie Girl’s new look, Neil Sittler of stickflower graphic design. (Don’t you just love his stuff?) Plus, 7 of the lessons are taught by a community of women who have got your back on this power-standing thing. And, of course, there will also be one or two special surprises in the pack, because I just cannot resist giving you presents.
Need a little encouragement to join? Here’s what people are saying about my past Magpie Girl courses:
- “I love, love, love the work you are doing here. You are such an inspiration for and to me.”
- “You are really a great addition to my mornings…upbeat, inspirational, thought provoking and just pleasant and cool an fun to be around.”
- “Thank you so much for creating this wonderful e-series! I am encouraged and uplifted every time I read one of your emails, and it is a blessing to know that others are struggling with similar issues…helps me to not feel so along. Thanks, Rachelle!”
We’re on a fantastic journey. Let’s learn to STAND!
Much Warmth,
Rachelle Mee-Chapman
Your Magpie Girl
Power Stories: 12 Year Olds and our Truest Self
On her Facebook page, my 12 year old daughter Eden describes herself this way:
Hey there what’s up. i’m a sk8r girl wannabe, a math whiz, an ex-pat, bilingual, the odd-one-out, a crazy reader, and totally topsy-turvy.
Wouldn’t it be great to know yourself with such clarity?
You once did.
You can again.
Listen to the podcast below to hear how Eden taught me to stand in my own power, and why who we were at 12 might just be the best glimpse we can get now of our truest self.
Listen to the podcast here:
Subscribe to Magpie Girl podcasts on Zune, or on iTunes, or via RSS.
If you’d like to learn how to stand in your own power and move through life with confidence and clarity, join us at Power Stories: tips and tales for standing in your own power. Click here for more info, or sign up below. Class begins online September 13th.
Price: $100
Need a little encouragement to join? Here’s what people are saying about my past Magpie Girl courses:
- “I love, love, love the work you are doing here. You are such an inspiration for and to me.”
- “You are really a great addition to my mornings…upbeat, inspirational, thought provoking and just pleasant and cool an fun to be around.”
- “Thank you so much for creating this wonderful e-series! I am encouraged and uplifted every time I read one of your emails, and it is a blessing to know that others are struggling with similar issues…helps me to not feel so along. Thanks, Rachelle!”
For more testimonials about soulcare with Magpie Girl, click here. I hope to see you at Power Stories.
Power Stories: tips and tales for standing in your own power.
Hi Magpies!
I’d like to introduce you to my new course Power Stories: tips and tales for standing in your own power.
What: 6 weeks of tips and tales for standing in your own power.
When:course begins Monday September 13th.
Price: $100
“Standing in your own power” is a phrase I use to describe a certain way of be-ing that involves listening to your intuition and following your gut. Too often, these things are programmed out of us by social norms and well-meaning institutions.
This course is designed to help you tap into your intuitive source of guidance; and to shut down noisy interlopers. As a result you will move through life from a place of powerful internal authority.
Learning to STAND results in:
- a strong sense of direction about personal relationships.
- confident, “right fit” work decisions.
- the strength to live into your own spiritual or religious beliefs.
- a life that feels stable and energized – not timid and depleted.
Like all my best work, this course has emerged out of the intersection between the things I love + the stuff you need. It started with a simple *8Things list, and grew to become a full-grown course with two dozen lessons, seven wise voices, and a whole lot of helpfulness going on. Why? All because YOU asked for it! (Thank you.)
Here are the weekly stages in Power Stories:
Stage One: Get Grounded
Stage Two: Kick it to the Curb
Stage Three:Re-Establish Your Own Truth
Stage Four: Listen to Your Muse
Stage Five: Become Embodied
Stage Six: Move Onward
Each of the stages have 3-5 pieces. These will arrive in your inbox every few days over the course of 6 weeks. You’ll get videos, essays, and really cool worksheets from the creator of Magpie Girl’s new look, Neil Sittler of stickflower graphic design. (Don’t you just love his stuff?) Plus, 7 of the lessons are taught by a community of women who have got your back on this power-standing thing. And, of course, there will also be one or two special surprises in the pack, because I just cannot resist giving you presents.
Once you register for the course, you’ll also be able to hop onto our affiliate program, which means you’ll get $25 back for everyone you refer to Power Stories. If 4 friends join you, it’s like getting the course for free.
It sounds good right? So good.
What: 6 weeks of tips and tales for standing in your own power.
When: course begins Monday, September 13th.
Price: $100
We’re on a fantastic journey. Let’s learn to STAND!
Much Warmth,
Rachelle Mee-Chapman
Your Magpie Girl
Ask Magpie: 7 Ways to Find Time for Creativity
Ask Magpie Girl: 7 Ways to Find Time for Creativity from Rachelle Mee-Chapman on Vimeo.
Neato Things Rachelle Mentions in this Video:
- My free course, Magpie Speak: a new vocabulary for soulcare. (Feedback from this course inspired this post. I LOVE responding to Magpie Girl readers’ questions!)
- Work-at-Home mom and creative business woman Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl records a video post “How I Get it All Done – 3 Tips for finding more time.” (Originally posted at Perideau Designs.)
- Rowena Murillo of Warrior Girl gets an impressive amount of creative work done in snippets — and this inspite of working a part-time(?) job and being a Warrior Mama.
- Stacy de la Rosa has a baby, a toddler and a creative business. She wrote about how she does it at her blog, Bella Wish.
And the Questions We Need YOU to Answer (pretty please.)
- What are your biggest roadblocks to creative pursuits?
- How do you find time to pursue your creative projects?
- What sticking points can the Magpies help you past?
Don’t miss your chance to Train with Magpie Girl. Catch all my training posts, watch the video posts, and sign-up on my mailing list for advance sign-up opportunities and special discounts. (Top of the column, stage right.) Thanks for being here!
Chronically Creative: Living with Art and Biopolar Disorder
This week at Behind the Mic we have part three of Chronically Creative, a series of posts about working with chronic illness. Today we meet Abby from Life at the Poles, an artful soul working with Bipolar Disorder. Abby writes, paints, spins and dyes yarns, and rescues people like me when stuck on knitting patterns. She’s a keeper! Abby, set right up…
Living with Art and Bipolar Disorder with Abby
Q: Not to be all “Suzie Sunshine,” but sometimes a chronic condition can drive us into new working patterns that end up being positive for us. I think of this as turning something typically seen as a weakness into a superpower. Is there any way in which having Bipolar Disorder has become a superpower for you creatively? Does it in anyway empower or enhance your creative self?
I’m (slowly for me) learning how to use my moods, emotions, energy levels, mind sets to allow me to get the most done. I know when I’m in the middle of the higher part of a cycle, I can accomplish a tremendous amount of creative work – most of my artwork and design is the result of me tapping into the energy of the high points. However, I’ve also learned that I can accomplish a lot of nothing too, which leaves me feeling uninspired and extra depressed when that up phase ends and the lower part of the cycle kicks in, because I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing. (Which is kinda true.) Right now, I’m working on recognizing up and down phases and then getting to work on what I know I can best accomplish during each phase that I can’t during the other. For example, I can come up with one or two web site designs in a day when in the middle of an up phase, but if I even try and sit down to code basic CSS or XHTML when up, I will have to fight with myself to focus. However, during a down phase, I actually benefit from “getting lost” in the hundreds of little steps involved in taking an image to the web. Like making sure I spelled “background-image” correctly.
It’s feels a bit like I’m a firehose for creative energy – some days I’m on full blast and other days you shake the hose and wonder if there’s a kink in it somewhere. Knowing where I am in that cycle allows me to focus on getting what I CAN get done, done. So I guess in some ways, it’s as if I was given this superpower that I am just learning to tap into, but that tends to fire off on it’s own. I have to learn how to control it when it fires off on it’s own, and slowly learn how to tap into it the rest of the time. I figure with time and practice, it will be more at will and less at random. ;)
Q: What tips and tricks have your figured out for working with your creative + Bipolar cycles? Do you have things you say to yourself at different stages? What helps you survive and even thrive creatively with Bipolar challenges on your plate?
To pay attention to myself! I ask myself almost constantly “Why do I feel this way?” Am I just having a really good day? Did something happen that has me feeling down? Or is this less situational and more cycle related? I give myself permission over and over and over to feel whatever it is I’m feeling, as long as I’m going to work out WHY I feel that way sooner than later. It’s important to me to know and understand what is going on inside my head and heart so I know when there is a real issue to work through and when I just need to find my headphones and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist. At least until this phase passes.
Knowing what is going on inside also gives me some measure of control over a disorder I don’t have much control over. I may not be able to control how my brain and nervous system reacts tothe day to day and to normal brain chemicals, but I can control how much I express those feelings. There is also a very real comfort in knowing that hey, I am NOT crazy, this just happens. It enables me to rise above it as much as I can, and keep going. So I guess I just ask WHY of myself a LOT, and then do my best to answer, as my primary way of surviving the constant changing of my emotional tides.
What enables me to thrive is being able to view this disorder as not just a challenge, but a gift and tool. I have learned so much from having it, and am a much stronger person because of it. It also augments my love of art and helps me break outside of the box – something many people with Bipolar Disorder (and many mental disorders, actually) have an easier time doing. I apply that to my art in all of it’s forms, and also with how I deal with others. (Or I TRY at least!) For whatever reason, years of not being able to figure out what I was feeling helped me strongly identify and empathize with others. THAT is a gift I’d not trade for the world.
Q: What would you say to someone who has just been diagnosed with Bipolar disorder? What little nugget of info might carry them through the initial stages of learning to live with this particular chronic sidekick?
Journal, write, and give yourself permission to really feel and express how you feel during that time. And no censoring! (That’s important!) If you are angry, BE angry. Write angry. If you are soaring among the stars, then feel it, and write it. No one else has to read it, so it doesn’t matter how it reads. The important part is just that you get down what you are going through at the time, and what made you feel that way, if anything. Over time, you’ll start to see patterns, triggers, cycles, timing. And THAT is the best tool you can have in dealing with this disorder, after your medications (whatever they may be) and a good counselor. Actually, knowing your cycles and patterns will help your counseling/therapy progress. Knowing your patterns and triggers helps you maintain control over your life, even if you can’t control your disorder, or your mind set, intially. You’ll know what signs to look for that signal mania or depression, and you’ll know what to avoid to keep stable and when you are going to need a little help from friends and family.
Don’t let the disorder own or control your life – it doesn’t have to. And it does get easier. Like GI Joe says… knowing is half the battle. The better you know yourself, the easier living with Bipolar Disorder gets. Use the tools at your disposal, because that is what they are – tools.
Bonus Question: What have you got going on right now and how can we find you?
Oh my gosh, what DON’T I have going on? I’m in the middle of a minor identity crisis, so I’m playing with almost anything that comes my way, while learning to live productively and positively with this disorder. Even though I can remember feeling these cycles as a child, when you begin treatment and take control of your disorder, everything changes, including your sense of self. It’s incredibly freeing, but is it ever terrifying to not know who you are! So, I’m just going one day at a time trying to figure out who on earth I really am! And taking my own advice, I write about it a LOT at Life at the Poles. . And tweet about it almost just as much; I’m OririDraco on twitter. (I talk a lot though, you’ve been warned! ;)
Behind the Mic: Are you working with a chronic condition? How are you managing to live creatively with both your work and your illness? Please add to our Giant Pool Of Wisdom by commenting below. To read all the posts in this series click here; and stay tuned next week for another addition of Chronically Creative.
Car-Free Living with Magpie Girl
…in which I lay out a plan to remain car free. with kids. in America. And not jut because it’ green. (It’s good soulcare!)
Neato Things Rachelle Mentions in this video.
- No one wears lycra in Copenhagen. Check out Cycle Chic , especially the category “cycling in furs.” Plus, they have a great tag line “Hold my bike while I kiss your girlfriend.”
- Zip Car : for the places the bus and bike can’t reach.
- Super Cool Cargo Bike by Madsen. If we make it thru our first year car-free in Seattle, we may get one of these with a StokeMonkey motor.
- The only step thru electric bike I’ve found. Not as cute as my beautiful Amsterdam classic from Electra with Queen Bee saddlebags. Vanity Jones here is hoping she can just add a motor to her baby.
Today’s Artisan: Ten Things
- Visit Danish artisan Julie K. from Moments of Perfect Clarity and shop for some Clarity Birds.
- Don’t forget — all my art is packed on a ship for two month. So send me present from your hand-made artisan products and I’ll chant your praises in an upcoming video post at at Magpie Girl.
Rachelle Mee-Chapman
2311 N 45th St, #203
Seattle, WA 98103
And the questions we need YOU to answer (pretty please!)
Give us a Q for any of these A’s and enter to win a Clarity Bird for your very own window sill.
- What about your transportation life style? Do you have aspirations to do it differently? How have you become less car dependent.
- Present draw: What are you doing to live greener. (Is that a word? Greener?)
Don’t miss your chance to Train with Magpie Girl. Catch all my training posts, watch the video posts, and sign-up on my mailing list for advance sign-up opportunities and special discounts. (Top of the column, stage right.) Thanks for being here!
Chronically Creative: Art Practicalities with Sarah Marie Lacy
This week at Behind the Mic, part two of Chronically Creative, a series of posts about working with chronic illness. Today we have Sarah Marie Lacy, fine art painter and chronic fatigue survivor since age 12! I met Sarah when she was doing a stint of live painting on line at Watching Paint Dry. Her youth and her talent inspire me on a regular basis. Sarah, set right up…
Art Practicalities with Sarah Marie Lacy
Q: How does art serve you in times of poor health? Does it inspire? Comfort? Companion?
Art definitely inspires me when I’m relapsing or ill. If I’m in a bad relapse, I’m usually too sick to make any art, and of course that’s frustrating. But it gives me something to focus on. It acts as a lifeline, something to hold onto when the seas get rough. It gives me something to look forward to – “When I get better, I can do this and this and this!” I can paint in my head, I can plan paintings, or I can ponder new directions I want to take and new skills I want to learn.
When the pain or the exhaustion is really bad, it allows me to look forward, into a future that’s much more pleasant.
I think art is literally how I stay sane. It gives my life purpose, and it gives my pain expression. I think that’s why my art isn’t necessarily about rainbows and sunshine. It’s about pain and hope, at the same time. For me, it’s about expressing the hurt, but it’s also about finding the light. What can I say? I’m a paradox.
Q: How do you manage the ebb and flow of productive times, and rest/healing-up periods? How do you talk to yourself about success during these periods? [Read more →]
Reality TV and Standing in Your Own Power
Neato Things Rachelle mentions in this video:
- Flock is now Open! Come join us and see my video post, Tips and Techniques for Dealing with Transitions.
- Missed last week’s related video post? It’s here: Reality TV and the Myth of the Big Break.
- Ida Saki’s performance. Here with better film of the detailed movements. Here without the annoying commentary.
- Are you a Scanner or a Specialist? This book is great for helping Scanners manage the crazy: Refuse to Choose!: A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything That You Love
.
- My Life Coach, Jena Strong is tops!
- Get your free gift! Proverbs Cards, the Creative Truths Collection.
- Join the notification list for our late Summer class:
Power Stories: tips and tales for standing in your own power.
Email Marketing You Can Trust
Today’s Artisan: Neil Sittler of stickflower design.
And the questions we need YOU to answer (pretty please):
- Has there been a time when you stood in your own power and made what seemed to be an “illogical” choice to others? How did that turn out? How did you know to make that choice? Do tell in the comments below, or post about it and give us the link. We need your power stories. (Testify!)
- Got a question for Magpie Girl? Pop it in the comments below and see it anwered in a future Ask Magpie video.
Don’t miss your chance to Train with Magpie Girl. Catch all my training posts, watch the video posts, and sign-up on my mailing list for advance sign-up opportunities and special discounts. (Top of the column, stage right.) Thanks for being here!
Chronically Creative: Making Art & Managing Illness with Kirsty Hall
This week at Behind the Mic we kick off Chronically Creative, a series of posts about working with chronic illness. Kirsty M. Hall, artist, chicken wrangler, and CFS surivor is guest posting with us today. I met Kirsty on Twitter where she hands out only the most helpful and inspiring art links. I’ve been inspired by how she creates an artful life, in spite of having CFS. Kirsty, step right up…!
The Art Of Illness
by Kirsty M. Hall
Originally posted March 31, 2009. Re-posted by permission.
Since I’m currently in the midst of a Chronic Fatigue relapse, I thought I’d do a post about how to continue making art whilst managing an illness. I know it won’t apply to all of you but hopefully it will be useful to some.
Be Realistic
Firstly, it’s important to recognise that ALL artists have challenges in their life. Although it may seem incredibly unfair that you’re limited by your illness or disability, in reality ‘normal’ artists may be struggling just as much to make their art.
It’s easy to look at healthy people and feel jealous but try to remember that NO ONE has unlimited time, energy or money. Many artists need to work part or full time jobs to pay the bills, which drastically reduces the amount of time and energy available for art. Children or other family commitments can also be a serious limitation. Artists working on large, expensive projects may face endless frustrating delays while they scrabble around for funding. No one ‘has it easy’.
Identify Strategies
Don’t make yourself more sick by carrying on doing something that is clearly too much. If you are finding it hard to walk or you’re in a lot of pain, then a very active practice that involves shimmying up and down ladders or hours of gruelling physical work may be impossible. Instead, tailor your practice to what you can do and find creative ways to continue to make art.
If you want to carry on making physically demanding things, then maybe you need someone to do a lot of the prep work for you. When Eva Hesse became ill with a brain tumour she employed assistants to make sculptures to her specifications. I employ The Wonderful Zoë two mornings a month to help me with things like admin, framing, organising and anything that involves heavy physical work.
You may need to change the scale on which you work or employ different materials or new techniques. When her almost constant migraines kept her bedbound for months and she could only paint for small stretches of time, Sarah Raphael divided her canvases up like strip cartoons and painted in tiny daily chunks. She also had to switch from oils to acrylics because the smell of the oils was a constant trigger.
When his eyesight started to fail due to cataracts, Monet loosened up his style and began working on his famous waterlily paintings.
I’ve found that having a small, manageable, daily practice like my current ‘Objects For March’ project or The Diary Project is helpful – ‘little but often’ apparently works well for me. I’ve also annexed an old spare laptop and I’ve written most of this in bed over the space of several days: right now it’s making the difference between being able to blog and not.
Don’t Compare
It’s easy to feel jealous when your peers can accept exciting opportunities that are impossible for you but try not to compare yourself to others too much: it just leads to despair.
I’ve found that it’s more useful… [Read more →]
Reality Tv and the Myth of the Big Break
Hi Magpies! Welcome to my first ever video post. I can’t figure out how to select a more flattering screen shot on my video editing program. It’s appalling! Nontheless, the show must go on! Enjoy.
- Neato things Rachelle mentions in this video:
Michael Buckley on What the Buck (get your shot of goofy sunshine.)
Britain’s Got Talent: The artful and creative winners Spelbound.
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life
- Today’s Artisan: (Who’s name I pronounced wrong. Sorry Mate-y) Mati Rose
-
And the questions we need YOU to answer (pretty please):
What do you think about reality TV? Have you learned any positive lessons from reality TV?
What terms do you use to define success for your creative projects?
What have you learned from your own creative journey about how long it takes to get there?
