Welcome to The Alchemist’s Way Episode No. 7.

In this latest edition, I had the pleasure of dropping in with my brother and fellow creative soul adventurer, James McCrae.

James is an author, poet and teacher best known for his Words Are Vibrations body of work on Instagram, where he innovatively uses memes to share powerful, bite-sized nuggets of truth and wisdom that have resonated with millions of people worldwide. James’ viral poem “Instructions Before Visiting Earth” has also been translated into many languages, turned into a song and most recently inspired a couture fashion collection that was featured in Vogue.

At the heart of his genius, James is an artist of ideas with a gift for capturing the profound and expressing it in simple, relatable and beautiful ways. He is a deep thinker, an explorer of consciousness and the human experience, a true lover of art and culture, and a creative seeker dedicated to the mastery of his crafts.

In our heart-to-heart, artist-to-artist conversation, James set the tone by sharing openly about the current season of uncertainty and transition he’s navigating.

We touched on the importance of the spiritual and creative practice of letting go, shedding old skin and releasing attachment in order to make space for the new.

We dove deep into the art of approaching the blank page with what James describes as a “layered intention”. James also challenged the widely accepted wisdom of Rick Rubin as we explored the balance between the alchemy of creative expression for oneself versus creating with our audience in mind.

James also shared passionately about some of the fascinating ancient art forms that are currently inspiring his efficient, minimalist approach to writing; his love of the culture and the craft, and his intuitive sense of the future of the artist in this age of AI and massive collective change.

Grab a cuppa your favourite tea and a chocolate chip cookie, get cozy and join us for this inspiring and insightful deep dive.

Much love,Chris

Key Themes We Explored:

* Letting go, shedding identity, and making space for the new

* Moving towards “being nobody” and becoming more oneself

* Evolving as an artist instead of clinging to past formulas or versions of self

* Teaching from personal process rather than pretending to have the answers

* Developing taste through deep study, lineage, and consuming great art

* Simplicity, brevity, and timelessness in craft

* Craftsmanship as devotion, discipline, and daily ritual

* Layers of intention when approaching the blank page

* Intuition, embodiment, and listening beneath the mind

* Craftsmanship, devotion, and daily ritual

* Creating for oneself versus creating for the audience

* Adaptation, experimentation, and the artist’s role in a new renaissance

I’ve been talking to God a lot lately, asking for guidance and direction as I navigate the twists and turns on my path during this ongoing season of inner transformation, outer change, and all the uncertainty that comes along with it.

In the last few days, I’ve found my prayers flowing with a different kind of earnestness and intimacy. It may sound obvious and perhaps even a little cliché, but I’ve been talking to God as I would a dear friend. That has felt like a revelation in comparison with some of the more formal approaches to prayer that I’m accustomed to.

As this conversation has been deepening and the channel of my communication to God has been opening up in this new way, I’ve become more curious about how I can really hear God’s voice and response to my prayers.

How do we actually receive God’s answers?

In this episode, I share my personal experience of conversing with God and explore some of the many ways we can receive Divine guidance, clarity, insight, and inspiration, and get better at hearing and recognizing God’s answers to our prayers.

Much love, Chris

Key Themes In This Episode

* Talking to God as we would a friend

* Learning to receive the answers to our prayers

* Creating enough space and stillness to truly hear God’s guidance

* Tuning in to intuition, feeling, and inner knowing

* Recognizing the many ways God communicates with us in everyday life

* Paying attention to what we see, hear and what we seek.

* Scripture, devotional reading, and sacred wisdom as living guidance

* Music and creativity as channels for Divine guidance

* Writing as a practice for receiving insight

* Nature as a sanctuary for prayer and listening

* Walking by faith through seasons of uncertainty

* Opening ourselves to receive greater clarity, insight, and inspiration

Welcome to The Alchemist’s Way Experiment No. 5.

A soulful conversation with my dear friend and spirit sister, Renée Mifsud, founder of Ritual Of Heart.

I came across Renée’s work a couple of years ago and felt an immediate resonance with her wise and deeply intuitive messages, her dynamic artistic expression woven throughout her shares, and her laid-back, good vibes.

Since then, I’ve had countless moments of landing on her page and receiving the perfect timely message of truth, inspiration, and encouragement for exactly what I was navigating at the time.

Renée is a multi-passionate artist, alchemist, and wellness visionary. A true renaissance woman with a gift for sensing the subtle energetic currents of life and helping others navigate their path and live a grounded, heart-led life through the art of ritual.

This conversation was a while in the making and it was well worth the wait.

We dropped into a rich exploration of Renée’s personal journey, from the birthing of her thriving Ritual Of Heart Instagram channel, to her less conventional upbringing in the Midwest that encouraged individuality and non-conformity, to her current path of fusing her passion for spirituality and restorative justice.

The episode is filled with highly relatable and easily applicable nuggets of embodied wisdom for the creative path, building community, and courageously embracing more of who we truly are, all through Renée’s unique lens of renewal.

We also both shared about the creative edges we are personally meeting and what next frontier is calling to us beyond our current comfort zone. And last but not least, we shared in a special chocolate chip cookie ritual with some added elements to take it to the next level!

Grab a cuppa your favourite tea and a chocolate chip cookie, get cozy and join us for this inspiring and insightful deep dive into rituals of heart, and the medicine of rebirth and renewal.

Much love,Chris

Key Themes We Explored:

* Rebirth and renewal

* Listening to the heart as the compass

* Limiting input and keeping the energetic field clear

* Not overbooking ourselves and allowing enough spaciousness

* Spontaneous creation and following through on inspiration when the magic strikes

* Embracing our intensity and uniqueness instead of suppressing our life force

* Expressing from the heart and trusting the voice in real time

* The bridge between spirituality and restorative justice

* Fusing multiple passions into one dynamic flow of expression

Renée’s Prayer For Aligned, Heart-Connected Expression:

“Let the wisdom come through, from the golden light, through my heart, and out my mouth.”

Early this morning, I woke up and the voices of doubt in my mind were louder than they have been for a while.

Right on time, as I’m about to step into a big creative leap of faith.

In two days, I will get on a plane and fly across the country to Victoria, BC to spend five days immersed in the studio recording new music with my longtime collaborator, dear brother and producer Joby Baker.

Being well versed in these self-sabotaging thought streams, I turned to my morning practices to find my way back to a state of love and trust; to faith and belief in my path, my gifts, and my vision; and to a restored connection to the possibility of magic unfolding on the journey ahead.

This conversation and transmission is what ensued. I recorded it in my PJs, fresh out of meditation and prayer. In it, I spoke about the ongoing initiations on the creative path that ask us to overcome doubt and strengthen faith each time we step forth into new territory, into something that will expand us, and each time we meet an opportunity to become a bigger, bolder version of ourselves.

I addressed the reality of having to find a way to keep going, to persevere and hold fast to our dreams and heart’s desires, especially in those moments when we feel like giving up and throwing in the towel, when we can’t yet see the tangible evidence of what we are moving towards and our prayers have not yet been answered. I also shared openly about my own process leading up to these BC recording sessions, the inner nudges that have been getting louder and calling me forth into a sound and direction that I’ve not explored before, and my approach of setting an intention before embarking on a new project.

I concluded by passing the microphone to you and asking some juicy questions to spark your own inquiry into what’s calling you forward, where you might be holding back, who you have to become, and what you might have to let go of to step into this next version of you and your expression.

Grab a cuppa your favourite beverage, a chocolate chip cookie (IYKYK) and join me for this heart-to-heart that will give you a boost of faith to keep going and the courage to take your next leap.

Much love, Chris

Key Themes In This Episode

* Faith and belief in our vision, our dreams, and our gifts

* Overcoming the voices of doubt

* Holding the vision and staying the course

* Leaning into the unknown and making space for magic, miracles, and grace

* Play, joy, and letting go of attachment to outcomesThe blank canvas analogy and creating from intention

* The inner nudges getting louder

* The tension between what feels safer and more predictable and where we’ve never gone before

* Bringing the invisible into visible, tangible form

* Trusting that the source that put the desire in our hearts will support us in bringing it to life

Welcome to Experiment No. 3.

A heart-to-heart, artist to artist conversation with my dear friend, Avery Florence.

Avery is a wonderfully gifted singer-songwriter and soft-soul artist with an equally angelic and gritty, soothing and soulful voice that I instantly fell in love with the first time I heard her sing.

She is also a passionate activist and gifted creative arts therapist. She shares her magic across a range of spaces, from concerts to workshops, from festival stages to more intimate studio settings.

Above all, she is a truly inspiring and soulful human. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know her and collaborate with her over the last year and I’m always left with an appreciation for her open curiosity and humble approach to art and life, to the big questions as much as the minute details that go into making something special.

In this raw, honest and playful conversation, we explore one of the central challenges faced by all artists and creatives, especially in this digital age.

How do we remove any and all self-interference to allow our expression to move freely?

How do we show up in the different spaces where we share our heart and our art as authentically as possible? How do we hold on to our Joy and continue to create a sense of freedom and permission for ourselves to share more of who we really are?

We also shared in the beautiful ritual of enjoying a chocolate chip cookie, before Avery treated us to a sneak listen of her newly written, absolutely stunning song that opens with the line “I’ve been terrified to begin…”.

I invite you to get cozy, grab a cuppa your favourite beverage and a chocolate chip cookie if you’re into that sort of thing, and join us for this deep dive conversation into the artist’s quest for freedom.

Much love, Chris

Key Themes We Touched On:

* The “Hitting Record” effect.

* Staying natural vs performance (esp. on social media)

* Tension in sharing different versions of ourselves (silly vs serious; raw vs polished)

* Freedom as one of the ultimate intentions in our creative expression

* Reframing fear and nervous energy as fuel

* Taking creative risks without overwhelming the system

* Owning our unique niche & integrating multiple identities (artist, healer, facilitator)

* The importance of finishing and releasing work

* Choosing joy and play as a creative compass

* Raw vs. polished expression in art

* Trust, vulnerability, and the courage to begin

BONUS: Here’s a little clip of me & Avery singing together captured at our first ever jam and collab session. This is still one of my fave musical moments we’ve shared and I feel it truly encompasses so much of that joy, permission and freedom we spoke of.

Welcome to Experiment no. 2.

In this transmission, I intentionally leaned into slowing down to create a greater sense of permission and safety for myself to go deeper and see what would come through in the absence of a false sense of urgency or performance.

In that spaciousness, something truly magical and powerful happened…

I followed the thread of what was most alive in me, moment to moment, and dots connected in a way I couldn’t have predicted or scripted. A clear theme and arc of transformation emerged and revealed itself in real time.

What began as a reflection on how Justin Bieber's Grammy and Coachella appearances stirred something in me, opened up into a deeper, rich exploration of authenticity, faith, connecting to the younger parts of ourselves, and what it means to feel safe enough to tell the truth.

The conversation touches on slowness, inner child healing, creative safety, and a more personal share about my own relationship with God and Jesus, which I have not always felt comfortable to speak about publicly. At the heart of the conversation is a simple question: what becomes possible when we create enough safety for the most innocent parts of ourselves to be seen, heard, and expressed?I would love to hear what this stirs in you and if you have been navigating any of these themes on your own journey.Thank you for being here. I'm grateful to be walking the path together. Much love, Chris

Well, I did it.

I took a risk. I HIT “Record”, and let it fly.

My intention was simple… to do an experiment and to have fun.

What would it be like if I had my own P@dc*st or Talk Show? (I’m not ready to say that P-word yet, even though I did say it in the video.)

What would it be like to give myself permission to show up and express in a way that has been on my heart for some time but that I haven’t really leaned into?

The truth is, I’ve got a lot to say.

And as I’ve shared recently… in my stubborn pursuit of one specific vision of my artistry and my career as a musician, I’ve muted some of my other gifts and not given them the attention and airtime they deserve.

The result is that I have felt stifled, not fully satisfied and worst of all, not fully SEEN and HEARD.

Which makes sense… How could I feel completely fulfilled and honoured for who I am when I’m not honouring ALL OF ME? When I’m not really seeing and hearing myself?!

So… in the spirit of taking risks, I’ll take it one step further and share that the vision on my heart is bigger than me. It definitely goes beyond me just talking solo, being silly and enjoying the sound of my own voice, although that actually does feel like a good place to start.

For a long time, I’ve received countless nudges and soul whispers that have gotten louder and LOUDER and LOUDERRRR to curate a series of conversations where I can have meaningful, soulful, deep dive, heart-to-heart chats with some of the beautifully inspiring humans, artists, thought leaders, change makers and shiny souls I have the privilege of knowing.

Conversations about artistry and the creative hero’s journey. Explorations of the different ways we can tap into the alchemy that allows us to turn our greatest challenges and the pain of the human experience into beauty, power and purpose. A space where vulnerability, authenticity, truth and less commonly talked about themes such as grief, faith, and prayer are welcome and approached with curiosity and reverence.

That’s ultimately where I could see this going but first things first, this is about me reclaiming my creative sovereignty and taking my power back.

It’s about me doing the revolutionary act of giving myself FULL PERMISSION to create FOR ME, for the pure JOY of it. It’s about making something honest and detaching from the constant consideration of outcomes, audience, algorithms or anything that would threaten the authenticity, realness and purity of what I’m sharing.

Because when it comes down to it, I’ve come to realize that that’s the only way I can go forward in integrity and in a way that is going to be sustainable for me, energetically, spiritually, and holistically.

And today, this is what felt alive for me.

So here we are… Experiment # 1. And I’ll be honest, it feels good and I had a lot of fun making this.

How could I not?

I ate a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie and slurped my peppermint tea on camera to kick things off. That feels badass and liberating just writing about it! I also shared some of that cookie goodness with my unofficial co-host and legendary furry best bud, Reggie, who blessed me with the perfect cameo before peace’ing out.

And then just like that, I gave myself some space to speak honestly about a range of things that are present for me in this moment. I shared about the first seed that was planted for this P-thing I’m exploring by my incredibly inspiring friend Blu of Earth during a Gene Keys session we did five years ago.

Blu has her own wildly successful podcast called Deja Blu, that grew exponentially from the most humble beginnings. In our session, we discovered that she and I have both been on a journey of losing our hearing, and that we also both have a very unique and rare Gene Key in common, Gene Key 43, which explores the initiation of deafness.

From there, I took a moment to go on a long overdue rant about AI, sparked in part by my first in depth encounter with ChatGPT today. I shared about the beautiful and catalytic process I was guided through by my homie, Darius Bashar, that really landed the realization for me that I’m genuinely creating for ME first, which was further encouragement to take this leap and just do the damn thing for the sheer fun of it with zero attachment to how it turns out and without needing to be perfect, polished or even postable!

This was a transcript of my spoken answer to Darius’ question, “Who are you creating for, really?” The best part is that ChatGPT, in reflecting on the answer said: “That is probably the most honest answer you could give.” 😮

Touché, GPT. Maybe you’re not all bad after all.

That was the last little nudge I needed.

And so, just like that, I found myself at the mic, camera on and rolling with no idea what was gonna come out. Taking a tiny step in the direction of actualizing a big vision I’ve had for a long time because I couldn’t stand NOT doing it any longer.

I made something for ME and had fun doing it. And now, I’m sharing it with you in the spirit of setting it free and letting my expression flow forth from this new place.

I hope we get to share a chocolate chip cookie together in person sometime soon.

Much love, Chris

Ps. Here’s a sneak peek of my latest batch!