Dear Artist,

As many of you already know, our beloved friend Lisa Goodwin passed away last Tuesday.

My heart is really heavy.

Lisa was one of the kindest people I knew. She was so sweet, so considerate, so open, so loving. She was the kind of person who was always thinking about other people, even while she was carrying so much herself.

Over the past few mo…

Dear Artist,

I want to share my secret to activating and awakening creativity with you.

It starts with a T, and it is probably not what you think.

My secret is to find ways to trigger myself.

Not trigger like I am mad or upset. I mean trigger muscle memory. Trigger somatic memory. Trigger something in my head, mind, soul, heart. All of my systems. All of my portals. All of my channels.

Something that tells me:

When this happens, we are about to create.

And it is way easier than you think. It needs to be easy. It cannot be complicated.

IN THIS VIDEO, YOU WILL LEARN:

* How to trigger muscle memory and somatic memory so your whole system knows: we are about to create

* How to stop waiting for the muse to find you and create an invitation for the muse instead

* How smell, sound, and touch can become portals into creative expression

* Why starting small works better than trying to do too much, too fast

* How to build a simple ritual or routine that helps you enter a locked-in creative state faster

HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN CREATIVE TRIGGERS: CHEAT SHEET

The lesson here is not to copy my rituals.

The lesson is to stop waiting for the muse to find you and create an invitation for the muse instead.

1. FIND SOMETHING THAT BRINGS YOU INTO YOUR SENSES

For me, one of those things is sage or palo santo.

Maybe you believe, like I believe, that these sacred Indigenous medicines can clear energy. And if you do not believe that, they smell incredible.

They bring me out of here, out of my head, and into my senses.

The smell triggers something in my system:

Oh yeah. We are about to create.

This would be the first of three pieces.

2. USE SOUND TO SHIFT YOUR STATE

Another trigger for me is sound.

Binaural beats. Simple music. Singing bowls. A couple of tracks that I know can shift something in me quickly.

I put the music on, and my system starts to recognize:

When these sounds come, we create.

It does not need to be complicated. It just needs to be something you enjoy enough that, over time, the sound becomes connected to the memory of creating.

3. LET TOUCH BECOME THE PORTAL

For me, it is the feeling of a pen touching paper.

I secretly believe, maybe not so secretly, but sacredly believe, that when this pen touches this paper, a portal opens up.

A portal to the infinite.

Is that an entirely made-up belief?

Yes.

But I believe it.

And when you put enough energy behind a belief, it becomes true for you.

So I do not wait until I know what to write. I will literally write anything.

The pen touches the paper.

The portal opens.

And I have already begun.

OPTIONAL JOURNAL PROMPT

I secretly believe, maybe not so secretly, but sacredly believe, that when my pen touches the paper, a portal opens up.

A portal to the infinite.

That is an entirely made-up belief. I made it up, but I believe it.

What is one belief you could make up that would help you create?

Maybe it is a smell. A sound. A song. A certain pen touching the paper.

Finish this sentence:

When this happens, we create: __________.

IN CLOSING

The lesson is not to copy my rituals.

The lesson is to find your own simple experience that tells your mind, heart, soul, and body:

We are about to create.

One thing. Two things. Three things.

Something easy. Something accessible. Something you genuinely enjoy.

The more those things become connected to the memory of creating, the faster you can fall into that locked-in state.

Instead of waiting for the muse to find you, create an invitation for the muse.

No waiting.

We invite.

The muse loves joy, pleasure, and play. She can’t stay away.

Big love,

D

P.S. COME WRITE WITH ME THIS WEEK

If you’re looking for accountability, structure, and a community of writers to grow with, come join us this Tuesday inside the Artist Morning Writer’s Club.

We start with a short meditation made specifically for writers. It helps open us to the energy of our hearts, minds, and stories.

Then I share an optional writing prompt and open up 66 minutes for us to write.

It is incredible how much people get done in that time.

There is also a growing collection of workshops and community initiatives inside our Members’ Library, so there is lots of support, accountability, and guidance available to help you develop your writing and your writer self.

Come write with us this week.

Dear Artist,

There is a voice inside all of us that loves to make predictions.

This will not work.You are going to embarrass yourself.Nobody will care.You should stop before you get hurt.

The problem is that we often treat this voice like it knows the future.

But it does not.

In fact, some of the most important moments in our lives began with fear telling us not to move forward. And sometimes, the most empowering thing we can remember is this:

Our fear has been wrong before.

IN THIS VIDEO, YOU WILL LEARN:

* Why some of your most convincing thoughts deserve less authority

* What your own history can reveal about the reliability of fear

* How being wrong can become evidence in your favour

* The subtle difference between caution and resistance

* A practical way to keep moving when certainty never arrives

OPTIONAL JOURNAL PROMPT:

Think of a time when fear was certain something would go badly, but it did not.

* What was fear predicting?

* What actually happened?

* What became possible because you moved forward anyway?

Now bring to mind something you are hesitating to begin, share, finish, or say.

What is fear predicting this time?

And what evidence from your own life suggests it may not be telling the whole truth?

IN CLOSING

Fear does not need to disappear before you move.

It only needs to lose its position as the final authority.

You have already lived through moments when it told you to stop, hide, wait, or turn back. And sometimes, you listened to something deeper.

That matters.

Because every time you discover that fear was wrong, you gather new evidence about who you are, what you can survive, and what may still be possible.

You do not need certainty to take the next step.

You may only need to remember that the voice predicting disaster has made mistakes before.

Big love,

D

P.S. Come Write With Me This Week

Some of your most important writing may be hiding behind the voice telling you it is not ready, not good enough, or not worth sharing.

That voice may sound convincing, but it has been wrong before.

If you want accountability, structure, and a supportive community to help you keep writing every week, come join us inside The Artist Morning Writers Club.

Every Tuesday, we begin with a 10-minute meditation, then we write together for 66 focused minutes.

You’ll leave with fresh words on the page, more courage to share them, and a stronger weekly writing rhythm.

There’s also a bonus workshop or community conversation each week, plus a growing Members’ Library filled with past workshops, practices, and conversations you can return to anytime.

Dear Artist,

Joy is wildly underestimated.

We treat it like something childish. Something frivolous. Something we can return to after the real work is done, the problems are solved, and life finally becomes easier.

But I believe joy is far more powerful than that.

Joy is the key that opens the gateway to your wildest dreams.

In this video, I share three very different types of joy, including the one most of us overlook completely.

IN THIS VIDEO, YOU WILL LEARN:

* Why joy is not a distraction from your dreams, but a doorway into them

* How to find joy when life is flowing and when resistance is standing in your way

* How to turn even tiny moments of joy into a full-body experience

* How to recognize the “green doors” the Universe is already opening for you

* Why learning to fully absorb joy can be as important as learning to process pain

THE THREE TYPES OF JOY: A CHEAT SHEET

Not all joy arrives in the same way.

Sometimes life opens the door and invites you in. Sometimes joy is buried beneath resistance. And sometimes joy is already here, but we move past it too quickly to let it fully enter the body.

Here are three ways to recognize, access, and deepen the joy available to you.

1. GREEN DOORS

Green doors are those moments when the Universe makes its answer unmistakably clear.

An opportunity appears. The right person arrives. One open door leads to another, and suddenly it feels like life is carrying you exactly where you want to go.

I call them green doors because they are part open door, part green light. They are life saying, Yes. Come on in. Keep going.

This is the easiest type of joy because there is very little resistance. Your job is simply to notice the invitation, trust it, and walk through.

2. THE DIAMOND INSIDE RESISTANCE

Some forms of joy do not arrive through an open door.

They are hidden inside the thing you have been avoiding.

The book you keep thinking about writing. The project you cannot stop dreaming about. The idea that excites you and terrifies you at the same time.

Around that joy is often a hard shell made of old stories, fear, perfectionism, comparison, and years of believing you cannot do the thing.

This kind of joy asks more of you.

You have to stay with the resistance long enough to break through it.

And when you finally reach the thing on the other side, there is a special kind of joy waiting for you.

The joy of becoming the person who did not give up.

The joy of discovering the diamond inside resistance.

3. JOYGASM

Most of us know how to internalize pain.

One criticism can outweigh a hundred compliments. One difficult experience can replay in the body long after the moment has passed.

But when something beautiful happens, we often rush right past it.

We finish the project. Receive the praise. Share the thing. Reach the milestone.

Then we move on.

A joygasm is the practice of doing the opposite.

It is allowing a small moment of joy to move through your whole body. Letting yourself breathe it in, feel it, hold it, and return to it.

This has nothing to do with sexuality. The word simply points to a full-body experience of joy.

A deep breath. A smiling heart. Goosebumps. A moment of letting joy become bigger than a thought.

Because if the body can learn to relive pain, perhaps it can also learn to relive joy.

OPTIONAL JOURNAL PROMPT

Where in your life is joy already trying to reach you, and where are you refusing to let it in?

What green door keeps opening that you are still standing outside of?

What dream have you buried beneath resistance, fear, or the belief that it is too late?

And when something beautiful happens, do you let yourself fully feel it, or do you rush past it because struggle feels more familiar than joy?

What might change if you became as devoted to remembering joy as you have been to remembering pain?

IN CLOSING

Many of us have spent years becoming fluent in fear, disappointment, and pain.

We know how to brace for what might go wrong. We know how to replay criticism. We know how to carry difficult moments long after they have passed.

But joy deserves that same level of devotion.

Joy is not childish. It is not frivolous. It is not something you have to earn after all the serious work is done.

Joy is guidance. Joy is fuel. Joy is the key that opens the gateway to your wildest dreams.

Sometimes joy arrives through a green door. Sometimes it is waiting inside resistance. And sometimes it is already moving through you, asking you to slow down long enough to feel it.

Perhaps the practice is simply this:

Notice it.Trust it.Let it in.

Big love,

D

P.S. Come Write With Me This Week

Some of the greatest joy available to you may be hiding inside the writing you keep resisting.

If you want accountability, structure, and a supportive community to help you keep writing every week, come join us inside The Artist Morning Writers Club.

Every Tuesday, we begin with a 10-minute meditation, then we write together for 66 focused minutes.

You’ll leave with fresh words on the page, more courage to share them, and a stronger weekly writing rhythm.

There’s also a bonus workshop or community conversation each week, plus a growing Members’ Library filled with past workshops, practices, and conversations you can return to anytime.

P.P.S. Explore Carl Jung’s Active Imagination with Saqib Rizvi

My good friend and fellow mastermind member, Saqib Rizvi, is leading a one-month meditation training called Active Imagination Mastery.

I know Saqib personally, and I am happy to share his work with you.

If you have ever been curious about Carl Jung but wanted something more experiential than simply reading the theory, this may be for you.

Across 12 guided sessions, Saqib will help beginners and experienced practitioners explore Active Imagination, archetypes, shadow, healing, alchemy, the Self, and the unconscious.

This is not simply a program about Jung.

It is an invitation to practise Jung.

Dear Artist,

Feeling stuck is one of the most frustrating parts of the creative process.

You care about the work. You want to move forward. You may even know your next step. And yet, something inside you feels frozen, discouraged, overwhelmed, or completely disconnected from your own power.

I know this feeling well.

In this week’s video, I’m sharing a simple four-part framework that has helped me move through creative stuckness and reconnect with my own power.

Not by forcing myself.

Not by pretending everything is fine.

But by learning how to meet myself where I am and move from there.

In This 8-Minute Video, You’ll Discover:

* How to reclaim a sense of power and possibility when you cannot see a clear way forward

* The shift that can help you move from fear and frustration into trust

* How to recognize the meaningful action that is actually yours to take right now

* Why taking action is not the same as controlling the outcome

* A four-part framework for moving through uncertainty without giving up on yourself or your creative dream

The Four Levels Of Creator Consciousness (Cheat Sheet)

After you watch the video, use this cheat sheet to identify where you are, understand what this level may be showing you, and find your next step forward.

1. Happening To Me

You may be here when:You feel powerless, blocked, discouraged, or convinced that circumstances are controlling your creative life.

The benefit:There can be comfort in believing that none of this is your fault. There is always something external to point to: a family member, a partner, a boss, a political figure, the weather, the economy. Believing it is out of your control can temporarily relieve you of responsibility.

The limitation:It is easy to use that comfort to give away your power. You forget that you still have agency. You still have choices.

The way forward:Decide that you are done blaming anyone else and ready to try something different.

2. Happening For Me

You may be here when:You begin to wonder whether this challenge is teaching you, redirecting you, or helping you grow.

The benefit:You regain hope, meaning, and a wider perspective. You may also begin to feel that something beyond you is supporting and guiding you.

The limitation:Trust can become passive if you use it to avoid taking action.

The way forward:Ask what meaningful action is yours to take now.

3. Happening By Me

You may be here when:You recognize your power to make decisions, create movement, and influence what happens next.

The benefit:You reconnect with courage, responsibility, and creative momentum.

The limitation:You may start believing that everything depends on you and that you must control the outcome.

The way forward:Continue taking meaningful action, then bless and release your grip on what happens next. Find your own version of sacred surrender to forces beyond yourself.

4. Happening Through Me

You may be here when:You are creating, acting, and participating, but you no longer believe you have to force or control everything. The creations that emerge from this level are often the most magnetic because they are not attached to a specific outcome.

The benefit:You can experience more flow, trust, and freedom while creating more magnetic projects with less effort.

The limitation:This level can feel incredible. If you are not careful, you can start expecting it or becoming attached to it, which can quickly drop you back down one or two levels.

The maintenance:Be fully committed and attached to nothing. No one stays in this fourth level forever. Trying to remain there becomes another form of attachment. Instead, keep practising the rhythm of trusting and letting go, trusting and letting go.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

You may move through all four levels in a single day. The goal is not to judge where you are. The goal is to recognize where you are and know what might help you move forward.

Optional Journal Prompt

I shared this question during Artist Morning LIVE this week, and it opened up a powerful conversation:

Do you believe the Universe is a safe place?

There are no right or wrong answers here. Do your best to approach the question with curiosity and honesty. There is no need to judge yourself or anyone else for their answer.

Whether your answer is yes, no, or somewhere in between, explore what this belief gives you.

How does it support you?What might it cost you?

Then zoom out and look at your actions, not only your stated beliefs.

Do the choices you have made this year accurately reflect your answer to the original question?

What might your actions reveal that your words do not?

BONUS MEDITATION 🧘🏽

I also shared this meditation yesterday during Artist Morning LIVE, and it was very well received.

I’ll share it on Insight Timer and YouTube in a few weeks, but here is a sneak peek.

The meditation explores The Four Levels of Creator Consciousness. Instead of only understanding the framework intellectually, it gives you a chance to feel and experience each level.

CLICK BELOW FOR THE GUIDED MEDITATION

In Closing

The next time you find yourself feeling stuck, don’t ask, “How do I get unstuck?”

Instead, ask yourself:

“Which level am I experiencing right now?”

Awareness is often the first step toward movement.

I’d love to hear from you.

Which of the four levels do you find yourself in most often these days?

Leave a comment below and let me know.

Big love,

D

P.S. Come Write With Me This Week

If you want accountability, structure, and a supportive community to help you keep writing every week, come join us inside The Artist Morning Writers Club.

Every Tuesday, we begin with a 10-minute meditation, then we write together for 66 focused minutes.

You’ll leave with fresh words on the page, more courage to share them, and a stronger weekly writing rhythm.

There’s also a bonus workshop or community conversation each week, plus a growing Members’ Library filled with past workshops, practices, and conversations you can return to anytime.

Dear Artist,

There is a lot happening in the world right now. War. Politics. Rising costs. Fear. Uncertainty. There are real reasons to feel overwhelmed, discouraged, and even hopeless.

And somehow, despite all of it, I still feel hopeful.

Not the passive kind of hope where we sit around, cross our fingers, and wait for the universe to fix everything. I’m talking about the kind of hope that begins in the heart. The kind that believes possibility is still alive, that you are good, your gifts matter, and life can still surprise you in beautiful ways.

For a moment, I felt guilty about that hope. I wondered if I was naive, oblivious, or living inside some carefully protected bubble.

And then I realized something.

Hell yes, I live in a bubble.

I designed this bubble. I worked hard for this bubble. I filled it with hope, joy, play, love, creativity, and possibility. And I’m damn proud of it.

Because the energy we live inside shapes what we believe is possible. It shapes what we write, what we make, what we share, and whether we keep creating when the world gives us plenty of reasons to stop.

This week’s podcast is about protecting the inner world where your ideas, your courage, and your joy can thrive.

In This Episode, We Explore:

* What if living in a bubble is not the problem, but one of your greatest creative powers?

* How to stay open, hopeful, and creatively alive without pretending the world is not heavy

* Why the reality you build around yourself may determine which ideas you bring to life and which ones never leave your notebook

* What happens to your creativity when fear, outrage, and other people’s urgency are constantly shaping your inner world

* A guided meditation to help you build a bubble around yourself filled with hope, joy, and possibility

Journaling Practice

Think of something you are nervous to create, share, begin, or bring into the world.

Now write as if it has already happened, and you absolutely crushed it.

“Wow, I am so proud of the courageous post I just published.”

“Wow, I loved the talk I gave last night.”

“Wow, I finally shared the idea I have been sitting on for months.”

“Wow, I launched the thing, and it went beautifully.”

Write from the day after. Describe what happened, how it felt, and the moments that made you feel proud, alive, and confident.

This is a practice in hope.

Not passive hope. Not crossing your fingers and waiting for something magical to happen. This is you choosing, even for a few minutes, to place your attention on the possibility that things could go well. That you could be supported. That your courage could lead somewhere beautiful.

We are playing here. Do not let Resistance convince you that you are doing it wrong. There is no wrong way to do this.

You’re allowed to have fun with this. :)

In Closing

You do not need to know exactly how everything will unfold.

You do not need proof that your idea will work, that people will understand it, or that the thing you are building will become what you hope it can become.

Sometimes hope is simply your willingness to take one more step before the evidence arrives.

Write the post. Send the email. Share the idea. Make the invitation. Begin the thing.

Protect the part of you that still believes something beautiful is possible.

Then let that part lead.

Big love,

D

P.S. Come Write With Me This Week

If you want space, guidance, and accountability to write every week, come join us inside the Writers Club.

You’ll leave each week with fresh words on the page, more courage in your body, and more clarity about what you’re here to say.

There’s also a bonus workshop every week to help you write with more courage, clarity, and momentum.

You can browse past workshops inside the Members’ Library.

Dear Artist,

How much longer are you going to wait before you share the thing you know you’re here to share?

I ask that with love because I am asking myself the same question.

In this episode, I tell a real story about how resistance got me tangled up in perfectionism, comparison, and waiting for the “right” moment before sharing my next creation.

Not because I don’t care, but because I care so damn much. Because the work feels sacred. Because I want to get it right. Because part of me is still scared that if I fully share the thing I’m here to share, people might not understand it, receive it, or value it.

And maybe you know that feeling too.

That strange place between knowing you have something real inside you and still finding very convincing reasons to wait.

This episode is for that part of you.

In this episode, I share…

* Why the work that feels most sacred is often the work we protect, polish, delay, and hide

* What to do when you know you have something powerful to share, but you keep finding reasons not to share it yet

* How to stop letting comparison drain your creative energy and pull you out of your own lane

* The sneaky way resistance can make waiting feel wise, mature, and responsible

* A different way to think about your gifts when you’re tired of trying to fit into someone else’s lane

This Week’s Writing Exercise

This week, choose one thing you have been waiting to share.

A piece of writing.A story.A practice.An offering.A truth.A part of your voice.

Then write your way through these questions:

1. What is the tiny, teeny step?

Instead of trying to turn this into a big theatrical production, what is the smallest honest version you could share?

Could you make a pilot?A draft?A short post?A voice note?A simple invitation?A small first version that gets resistance off your back and helps you step into the river of momentum?

2. What resistance needs to be named out loud?

Write the sentence:

“I am in resistance because…”

Then tell the truth.

Name the fear.Name the comparison.Name the perfectionism.Name the part of you that keeps waiting for the “right” time.

Every time you speak resistance out loud, it loses some of its power.

3. Who can hold you accountable?

Choose one person, group, or community you trust.

Ask them to check in with you this week and ask:

“Did you take the tiny step?”

Creative flow matters.

But creative flow needs a sacred structure.

Give this thing a small deadline, a real witness, and one tiny step forward. Then let that be enough for now.

In Closing

If this episode speaks to the part of you that knows you have something real to share, I hope you give yourself permission to take one small step this week.

Not the perfect step. Not the impressive step. The honest one.

The one that keeps your creative channel open.

Big love,

D

PS: Come Write With Me This Week

If you want space, guidance, and accountability to write every week, come join us inside the Writers Club.

You’ll leave each week with fresh words on the page, more courage in your body, and more clarity about what you’re here to say.

There’s also a bonus workshop every week to help you write with more courage, clarity, and momentum.

You can browse past workshops inside the Members’ Library.

Dear Artist,

The last time Lilian and I recorded a podcast together, something incredible manifested.

It was the second-to-last day of 2023. I was near the end of my 365-day Substack experiment, where I shipped one new post a day.

For this second-to-last post, I decided to ask Lil to join me for a deep dive podcast convo. I think I was partially exhausted from writing all year, and I wanted something a bit easier. But this was also the year I fell in love with my best friend, and it felt important to capture that moment in time.

At the very end of the podcast, we both very shyly talked about what the next year might look like for us. We were nervous to say too much because we were super fresh in our romantic relationship. At least that’s how I remember it. I’ve never re-listened to the podcast, so I might be wrong.

All this to say, we began to imagine 2024, and one of us boldly mentioned a baby.

I remember the feeling of that moment.

It felt like something important had happened. Like a portal opened, and God gave us an opportunity to claim what we really wanted in this next year.

Guess what happened in 2024?

We got pregnant.

And in the summer of 2025, our baby boy, Teyo, was born.

Maybe this sounds silly to you, but I honestly felt like the podcast became a portal to our dreams. As if the Universe was waiting for us to speak the words out loud and claim it.

Today the movers come, and we say goodbye to this magical loft.

So before leaving The Loft, we decided to sit down one more time and open that portal again.

In the middle of boxes, baby monitors, moving chaos, and one of the most tender thresholds of our lives, we decided to put Teyo to sleep and sneak in one last time capsule conversation inside this incredible, creative sanctuary.

We talk about what we’re leaving behind, what we’re carrying with us, and what we’re calling into this next era of life, family, creativity, love, and Artist Morning.

It’s intimate. It’s honest. It’s a little messy.

And maybe that’s the point.

Because sometimes the dream doesn’t arrive through a perfect and pristine plan.

Sometimes it starts as a conversation.

A moment to reflect and remember.

And an invitation to speak your dreams into a portal so that all the Universe can hear.

In This Episode, We Explore:

* What can happen when you stop keeping your dreams vague and finally let them have a voice

* Why the next version of your life may require you to grieve the version that got you here

* The quiet fear that shows up when your creative life starts asking you to become more visible

* What becomes possible when you stop asking the world for permission and start speaking from the part of you that already knows

* A behind-the-scenes glimpse at the next evolution of Artist Morning

* The creative work Lilian is finally beginning to claim out loud

This Week’s Writing Exercise

Is there a new era of your life quietly asking to be claimed?

Take a moment to imagine yourself standing in a doorway.

Behind you is the chapter that brought you here. The lessons. The grief. The growth. The people. The versions of you that did their best.

In front of you is something not fully formed yet.

A dream.A project.A version of yourself.A life that feels more honest.

What are you ready to speak out loud before you know exactly how it will come true?

What are you calling in?

And what part of you is finally ready to stop asking for permission?

Even if it’s foggy or scary, even if you have no idea how you’ll get there, use your writing time this week to give it space to leave your mind, move through your heart, and touch the air of this world.

In Closing

This one felt like a time capsule from the doorway.

One era ending.Another one beginning.And a chance to speak the next dream out loud before we know exactly how it will happen.

Huge thanks to my partner in shine, Lilian, for joining me.

She writes a beautiful Substack called Into The Body, where she explores somatic healing, embodiment, motherhood, intimacy, and coming home to yourself through the body.

I have a feeling a lot of you who follow me here on Substack will enjoy her writing too.

Thanks for listening.

Big love,D

PS: Come Write With Me This Week

If you want space, guidance, and accountability to write every week, come join us inside the Writers Club.

You’ll leave each week with fresh words on the page, more courage in your body, and more clarity about what you’re here to say.

There’s also a bonus workshop every week to help you write with more courage, clarity, and momentum.

You can browse past workshops inside the Members’ Library.

Dear Artist,

This one feels tender.

This is the last podcast I will ever record in The Loft.

Next week, my family and I are moving into a new home, and I couldn’t leave this space without telling the miraculous story of how this loft came to be.

This loft became the birthplace for almost everything I’ve built over the last nine years.

* The Artist Morning

* The Creative Sanctuary

* The Writers Club

* HEARTshots

All birthed here, in The Loft.

It’s where I recorded hundreds of meditations, photographed hundreds of amazing souls, fell in love with Lilian, and became a family.

The Loft didn’t just hold my work. It held some of the deepest healing of my life.

But this episode is not just a goodbye to this wonderful home.

It’s a story about what happens when you commit to the thing your soul has written on your heart.

What Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist, calls your personal legend.

The dream. The path. The quiet knowing that may not make sense to your mind, but refuses to leave your heart alone.

In this episode, I share the story of how this loft came into my life, how it shaped the last nine years of my work, and what happened when I finally committed to the path my soul had been whispering to me all along.

My hope is that this story helps you remember your own personal legend. The dream written on your heart. The door waiting for your courage. The quiet truth that when you really commit to the path that is yours, the Universe begins to meet you there.

In this episode, we explore:

* What happens when you stop ignoring the dream that won’t leave you alone

* Why the path meant for you can feel foolish before it feels faithful

* How to invite the Universe to collaborate with you on your dream

* How to metabolize the lessons, hardships, and wisdom of your past into nutrients for your soul

* A guided meditation to help you remember what your soul has written on your heart

This Week’s Writing Exercise

To integrate today’s episode, I want to invite you to look back at one era of your own life. (5 to 10 years).

Not to judge it.Not to cling to it.But to metabolize what it gave you, so you can carry its wisdom into whatever is calling you next.

Writing Prompt:

Choose one era of your life that feels complete, or nearly complete.

It could be the last few years, the last decade, a relationship, a season of work, a home, a role, or a version of yourself you are slowly outgrowing.

Take a little time to honour what happened there.

* What did this era give you?

* What did it teach you?

* What did it ask of you?

* What did it awaken in you?

Then gently ask:

* What wisdom am I meant to carry forward?

* What am I ready to leave behind?

* What dream is still written on my heart?

You don’t need to force a perfect answer.

Just listen for the thing that still feels alive.

In Closing

As I say goodbye to The Loft, I feel the grief, the gratitude, and the mystery of what comes next.

This space gave me more than I could have imagined. It gave me a place to practice listening. A place to create. A place to become.

And my hope is that today’s episode gives you a little more courage to listen to what has been quietly calling you too.

Not because you need to blow up your life.Not because you need to have it all figured out.But because there may be a dream, a path, or a deeper truth inside you that is ready for a little more devotion.

Start there.

Listen.Write.Take one honest step.

And trust that when you begin walking toward the thing your soul has written on your heart, life will begin opening doors you could never have opened alone.

Big love,D

PS: Come Write With Me This Week

If you want space, guidance, and accountability to write every week, come join us inside the Writers Club.

You’ll leave each week with fresh words on the page, more courage in your body, and more clarity about what you’re here to say.

There’s also a bonus workshop every week to help you write with more courage, clarity, and momentum.

You can browse past workshops inside the Members’ Library.

Dear Artist,

Some creative projects don’t die.

They wait.

They wait while life moves on. While we get busy. While we lose faith. While some part of us quietly wonders if maybe it’s too late.

Jessica Amos wrote her poetic memoir, My Life in Moments, 13 years ago.

And last week, she finally published it.

This conversation is about that. But it’s also about much more.

It’s about staying with yourself when life pulls you away from your own truth. It’s about caring deeply without carrying what isn’t yours. It’s about creative timing, memoir, meditation, and the strange, beautiful courage it takes to share the stories that shaped you.

If you’ve been sitting on a story, a dream, a book, a Substack, a poem, or a piece of yourself you’re not sure the world is ready for, I think this conversation will meet you in a really tender and inspiring place.

In this conversation, we explore:

Why “stay with yourself” is more than a nice phrase

Jessica shares the simple coffee shop moment that helped her realize how often she was abandoning her own pace, needs, and inner knowing.

How to care without carrying

A powerful conversation for sensitive, generous humans who want to stay open-hearted without taking on everyone else’s pain, pressure, and energy.

Why meditation can become part of your creative process

We talk about using meditation not just to calm down, but to listen more deeply, receive ideas, and create from a clearer place.

How to write personal stories without forcing them into a traditional shape

Jessica shares how My Life in Moments became a poetic memoir built from snapshots, memory, spaciousness, and truth.

What to do with a creative dream that has been sitting for years

This might be my favourite part. Jessica wrote this book 13 years ago, but never published it. And somehow, it still found its way into the world at the right time.

This Week’s Writing Exercise

One of the things I love most about Jessica’s book is the form itself.

This poetic memoir approach feels brilliant to me because it gives us permission to tell the truth without having to explain everything. Just moments. Just fragments. Just little living pieces of a life.

Inspired by Jessica’s poetic memoir, My Life in Moments, today’s invitation is to write your own tiny version of a life in moments.

Choose one decade of your life.

It could be ages 0 to 10.Or 10 to 20.Or the decade you’re living right now.

Then move through that decade year by year and ask yourself:

What, if anything, do I remember?

Don’t try to make it beautiful.Don’t try to make it poetic.Don’t try to explain the whole story.

Just write down a few moments.

Something you remember directly.Something someone told you about yourself.A room.A smell.A person.A game.A sentence.A place you lived.A strange little detail that somehow still lives in your body.

Try writing 3 to 5 moments for each year.

Let them be messy. Let them be simple. Let them be incomplete.

You might write:

Age 4: I remember hiding behind the couch while everyone laughed in the kitchen.Age 7: I remember the red bike I was too scared to ride.Age 9: I remember the teacher who told me my story was good.

That’s enough.

This is not about making a memoir today.

It’s about listening for the small moments that still have a heartbeat.

Write quickly. Write imperfectly. Write for yourself.

Then see what starts to shimmer.

In Closing

I loved this conversation because it reminded me that our stories don’t always arrive in clean, perfect, linear ways.

Sometimes they come as fragments.

A sentence.A memory.A strange little detail.A moment we didn’t realize still mattered.

And sometimes the thing we thought we had missed, lost, or waited too long to share is still quietly alive inside us.

Maybe your story doesn’t need to be forced.

Maybe it just needs to be listened to.

Maybe it’s still waiting for you.

You can find Jessica’s beautiful, poetic memoir, My Life in Moments, here.

Big love,D

PS: Come Write With Me This Week

If you want space, guidance, and accountability to write every week, come join us inside the Writers Club.

You’ll leave each week with fresh words on the page, more courage in your body, and more clarity about what you’re here to say.

There’s also a bonus workshop every week to help you write with more courage, clarity, and momentum.

You can browse past workshops inside the Members’ Library.