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 As I mentioned in the last Artellagram, my little son Kai just turned two years old last month. We had a wonderful birthday party with good friends, fun gifts, and impossibly delicious cake. :-).
What's even more yummy than the cake is the fact that his celebratory spirit is STILL partying. Weeks later, he loves recreating his birthday party with his stuffed animals and dolls, building an Elmo birthday cake out of playdough and pretending that blocks are imaginary gifts he calls "peasants". :-) As I watch him enjoy "make believe" as much as the real thing, I have once again realized the power of our imagination to lift us out of even the most challenging times.
We've all heard various old adages to act "as if" something were true. I have conducted many personal experiments with this mindset and I've found that it really DOES work when we DO it. It's quite easy to wish and hope for something, and then assume that we are acting "as if". But as long as we are in the "wishing" state, we aren't in the "acting" state. Kai isn't giggling with joy because he is sitting and wishing he is having a birthday party, he is singing and dancing and laughing because he is MAKING the birthday party happen, right in the middle of a normal day. He may be pretending it’s his birthday, but his celebration and joy are overwhelmingly, and instructively, real.
Moving from just thinking and dreaming to actually acting upon your plans means doing something, anything really, that is tangible, real, and physical. For example: if you want to write a book, start actually writing even the roughest of rough drafts, design a cover or three, just do something and put it in a real, physical format. Perhaps your dream is instead to be a more confident person; then try going to a room of complete strangers and mingle with even one person, as if you are naturally outgoing. If you want to share your art with a world-wide audience, take the steps to start sharing it this week in wider and wider concentric circles, even if that just means beginning a few blocks from where you live or work.
Really, truly acting "as if" means having faith in the things that we don't know. We can adopt this approach to living so that ACTING becomes as second-nature to us as breathing. It certainly helps when we have some support in doing so, and below, this Artellagram includes two neat opportunities to support you in taking tangible, real action toward your more-yummy-than-cake dreams: an invitation to attend the first class for Summer 2010 Dream Boogie with SARK for free, and an invitation to sign up for a free ARTbundance™ Coaching Session.
Einstein said, "Imagination is more than knowledge"; in addition, truly acting "as if" makes imagination even more important than evidence, as well.
For those short on time, to simplify this week's Artellagram, here are some ”quick links” to the highlights in this edition. You can simply follow the links that you're interested in and go directly to that section.
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 1. Free Class with Author and Artist SARK! If you have a project, business, or idea that you're ready to take from DREAMing to DOing, you might be interested to know that bestselling author and artist SARK is starting a summer session of her awesome Dream Boogie with SARK class on this coming Wednesday, June 16, and anyone is invited to attend the entire first of eight "Share-And-Tell-A-Classes" completely for free -- with absolutely no obligation or strings attached.
I have loved being involved with the first Dream Boogie session – it was great fun being the guest teacher for one of the eight classes, and I also had a blast conducting the inspiring "Inner Views" with an amazing list of folks. You can listen to some snippets from my interviews with them here!
You can also download a bunch of other free "Dream Boogie" samples, including colorful SARK videos, sample workbook pages, and a really great audio of actual participants in the first Dream Boogie session sharing their experiences with the program…all I can say is WOW, their personal stories about dancing from DREAMing to DOing are SO very inspiring and full of great ideas and insights.
There’s lots of great things in it but I think the most valuable part about it all is you get to work directly with SARK, and, under her live guidance, actually begin moving from dreaming to DOing. If it sounds interesting, just sign up for the first class for free and give your dream a fun little kick in the caboose!
 2. Still time to sign up for a free ARTbundance™ coaching session plus lots of great goodies! We're still accepting volunteer clients to work with our talented Coaches in training in the current group of trainees in Artella's ARTbundance™ Coach Training Program. An ARTbundance™ Coach is a pioneering, unique hybrid of inspiring coach, creativity teacher, workshop leader, and spiritual guide. The 2010 Trainees are near the completion of their certification training, and they are looking forward to working with volunteer clients in one-on-one coaching sessions!
To participate, you simply receive your free live one-on-one coaching in a 30-minute session, by phone, and fill out a follow-up feedback questionnaire following your session. In addition to the free ARTbundance™ session, you also receive a bonus gift of an ARTbundantly overflowing package of unique and inspiring goodies as our thanks! Since the free coaching sessions have been very popular but we only have a limited number of coaches, we can now only take signups on a first-come basis, after which, like last time, we will start a short waiting list. Those on the wait list, however, will still get all the freebies outside of the coaching session, and will be contacted if a space opens up.
You can get all the exciting details and sign up for your complimentary session, here!
I've been getting lots of inquiries about the next session of ARTbundance™ Coach Training. The official date hasn’t been set yet, but right now it looks like we'll be starting our next group sometime in the fall of 2010. If you would like to receive notification and an application for the next ARTbundance™ Coach Certification Program, simply fill out the form on this page.
 3. What's new in the Artella Store? Here are some of the newest things we've added to the Artella Store…
 4. NEW! June YOUpon codes are here! Take a look at the June YOUpons, and you'll find discounts on many of our favorite Artella goods!
 5. Earn money and great prizes for spreading the word! Join Artella's generous Affiliate Program! If you're looking to make a little bit of extra spending money this year, join the affiliate program and find out about the great bonuses we have going right now!
 6. Interested in Becoming Part of Artella's Team?We are expanding our team for all the great things we're planning to do in 2010. So if you're interested in becoming part of the Artella Team, check out this post in the Artella Cafe for details.
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 For today's "In the Studio" Interview, I'm delighted to present an interview with Certified ARTbundance™ Coach Marguerite Bryant.
Enjoy getting to know Marguerite!
Artella: ARTbundance™ Coaching is based on nine ARTbundance™ Principles. Do you have a favorite Principle, or one that you really enjoy activating in other people? Which one, and why?
Marguerite:I love all of the ARTbundance™ Principles, and my favorites change depending upon what’s going on in my life. When I went through the ARTbundance™ course, my favorite principal was Service. Service continues to be intricately woven into my everyday life, and I am grateful. Lately though, I have been fascinated by the magic of Intuition in my life and the lives of others. General society tends to view intuition as a “woowoo” concept, but I am finding that tapping into and heeding my intuition has added a sixth sense to my five senses. It makes me more alert and aware of the small but important shifts in energy that affect my life. Using my intuition allows me to make adjustments so that I am flowing with the current of life and not against it, ultimately saving my most precious commodity: time.
Artella: In your mind, how are creativity and spirituality related?
Marguerite:Creativity is like a portal to spirituality. When I am lost in creativity, whether it be writing, making art or making music, I am communicating with my creator and He with me. This is my favorite state to be in!
You can read the rest of Marguerite Bryant's interview, here
If you would like to receive notification and an application for the next ARTbundance™ Coach Certification Program, simply fill out the form on this page.
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 One of my very favorite ways to act "as if" is the "Accounting Your Blessings" project, which I first introduced way back in Artella's early days. To "Account Your Blessings", you use a typical financial tracking system (i.e. a checkbook record, accounting recording book, accounting software, etc.) to keep track of your blessings. You can even assign a "prosperity value" to each blessing, so that you can literally do the books at the end of each week, and experience your "balance" getting bigger and bigger, the more aware of gratitude that you become.
I did this myself during an extremely stressful time in my life and was amazed at how much RICHER I felt, and now people all over the world have tried this practice and seen how well it works. It works because it takes us from thinking to DOing in a really innovative way, one that seems to be particularly suited for creative individuals!
This is an excellent way to cultivate a regular gratitude practice and it creates a sense of "muscle memory" for wealth. This practice is also very helpful at taking the emphasis off of financial concerns, to become more aware of the riches that ARE in our lives. You'll find that the more aware you become of blessings, the more blessings come your way, often in synchronous, surprising ways!
If you like, you can also learn more in depth at these two links about Artella's "Accounting Your Blessings" eCourse, and The Wealthcare Program.
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This Quotz Crystal is a high-resolution jpeg image, suitable for printing. Print it out and hang it up to remind you of the power of "acting as if"…
~Loving all of delicious dreams,
 Marney
Artella Founder, Mango Lover, Hula Dancer
Artella Land ~ the creative isles of words, art, and spirit
Artella 9090 Skillman #182A-116 Dallas TX 75243
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