Podcasts about muse

I've been looking for a way to celebrate America 250 as this year goes by and I don't want it to be relegated to July 4th or certain events. So, I thought maybe I would search for primary documents, written for or by the Founding Fathers (and a surrounding cast of historical characters) for as many of the days of the year as I can. Since I'm starting in February, I think it's fitting that my search brought me first to a set of letters exchanged between Phyllis Wheatley and General George Washington. Below is the poem that prompted Washington to write to the formerly enslaved poet, Phyllis Wheatley. His Excellency, General Washington by Phyllis Wheatley Celestial choir! enthron'd in realms of light,Columbia's scenes of glorious toils I write.While freedom's cause her anxious breast alarms,She flashes dreadful in refulgent arms.See mother earth her offspring's fate bemoan,And nations gaze at scenes before unknown!See the bright beams of heaven's revolving lightInvolved in sorrows and the veil of night!    The Goddess comes, she moves divinely fair,Olive and laurel binds Her golden hair:Wherever shines this native of the skies,Unnumber'd charms and recent graces rise.    Muse! Bow propitious while my pen relatesHow pour her armies through a thousand gates,As when Eolus heaven's fair face deforms,Enwrapp'd in tempest and a night of storms;Astonish'd ocean feels the wild uproar,The refluent surges beat the sounding shore;Or think as leaves in Autumn's golden reign,Such, and so many, moves the warrior's train.In bright array they seek the work of war,Where high unfurl'd the ensign waves in air.Shall I to Washington their praise recite?Enough thou know'st them in the fields of fight.Thee, first in peace and honors—we demandThe grace and glory of thy martial band.Fam'd for thy valour, for thy virtues more,Hear every tongue thy guardian aid implore!    One century scarce perform'd its destined round,When Gallic powers Columbia's fury found;And so may you, whoever dares disgraceThe land of freedom's heaven-defended race!Fix'd are the eyes of nations on the scales,For in their hopes Columbia's arm prevails.Anon Britannia droops the pensive head,While round increase the rising hills of dead.Ah! Cruel blindness to Columbia's state!Lament thy thirst of boundless power too late.    Proceed, great chief, with virtue on thy side,Thy ev'ry action let the Goddess guide.A crown, a mansion, and a throne that shine,With gold unfading, WASHINGTON! Be thine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sophia Eliana is a Denver-based queer folk musician, florist, and dancer originally from Monterey, California. She fosters the craft of storytelling through lyricism that weaves wit and warmth, allowing laughter to spill from each song like sunlight dappling through the leaves of a dense forest. Her undergraduate studies began as a voice principal at Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. Among sheep and root vegetables, she concluded her undergraduate studies farming at College of the Atlantic on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Sophia Eliana has embarked on multiple national and international tours, performing at venues such as Mengi (Reykjavik, Iceland), The 1932 Criterion Theatre (Bar Harbor, ME), The Artist bar Valencia (Valencia, Spain), Sonoma Bluegrass & Folk Festival (Sonoma, CA), and Underground Music Showcase (Denver, CO). She has opened up for notable artists including The Ballroom Thieves, Emma Klein, Marielle Kraft, and Spectre Jones. Anyone attending Sophia Eliana's shows is guaranteed to walk away with a belly full of giggles, a softened smile, and an ooey-gooey heart. Listen to her studio sophomore album, “Glitter Bug,” recorded at The Wonderhaus with Jacob Williams and Noah Dearbon, available on any streaming platform now.Connect with Sophia https://www.sophiaeliana.comInstagram @thesophiaelianaSupport the showThanks for listening and for your friendship. Interested in taking a yoga teacher training, working with me as your Ayurveda Health Counselor, or going on an upcoming retreat? Check out the Madre & The Muse website for details.www.madreandthemuse.com For info about the Tulum retreat, please visit http://www.inlightenretreattulum.com.

Phoenix and Mercedes Arn-Horn are the twin siblings behind the Juno-nominated shoegaze duo Softcult. While Softcult has been celebrated all over North America, opening for bands like Muse and Incubus, they're only just releasing their debut album today. It's called When A Flower Doesn't Grow and it's a record that's been years in the making. Phoenix and Mercedes join guest host Talia Schlanger to discuss life outside the major label model, why they decided to call out the abuse they faced in their life and in the music industry, and how they see their role in supporting abused and marginalized people.

If you want supplements that work, check out Drive Boost .Visit vb.health and use code [Erotic] for 10% off or click the link in the episode descriptionOur sponsor, FLESHLIGHT, can help you reach new heights with your self-pleasure. FLESHLIGHT is the #1 selling male sex toy in the world.Looking for your next pocket pal? Save 10% on your next fleshlight with Promo Code: 10EROTIC at fleshlight.sjv.io/eroticstoriesPlease support our show and get discounts on our favorite brands by using our sponsors' links here!EroticStoriesPodcast.comAdvertising/Collabs/Stories: sensualroleplayasmr@gmail.comIf you enjoy this podcast, remember to leave a review on your favourite listening platform.See you next week.Mia xErotic Stories: Where you can Immerse yourself in sensual storytelling, intimate roleplay, and immersive soundscapes. From whispers to wild fantasies, each episode is designed to ignite your imagination and heighten your senses. #Erotica #EroticStories #SexyStories #AdultStories #AudioErotica #EroticPodcast #EroticFiction #SpicyStories #SensualStories #NSFW #Podcasts #Storytelling #RomancePodcast #SexyAudio #SpicyAudio #EroticASMR #ASMRRoleplay #RoleplayPodcast #AudioRoleplay #WhisperAudio #ASMRCommunity #SoundFX #AudioDrama #ImmersiveAudio #FantasyAudio #SexyWhispers #EroticRoleplay #IntimateAudio

There is a quiet abandonment built into motherhood. After the baby arrives, the world gently but decisively turns its gaze. Questions shift. Attention moves outward. The mother is expected to hold the rest privately…recovering offstage, adapting without pause, needing little, asking less. Within that quiet expectation, something internal begins to form. Women start to minimize their own truths. They tell themselves it's not that bad. They learn to translate exhaustion into gratitude, confusion into shame, grief into something to be endured rather than spoken. What cannot be neatly named is often swallowed whole. Women don't stay silent because they want to. They stay silent because our culture tells them there is no room for the truth. In this episode, I sit down with Kate Hernandez, founder of Postparty, a company built on a radical premise: that the recovery of mothers is essential, not optional. Together, we name the truths that are often minimized or ignored: the fear and guilt new mothers carry, the physical realities of postpartum healing, the emotional rupture many women experience, and the permission to hold gratitude and struggle at the same time. In this conversation, we explore: Why birth is celebrated while mothers are quietly abandoned afterward. How shame keeps mothers from asking for help when they need it most. The cultural obsession with bouncing back and who it actually serves. Why "being cleared" is not the same as being cared for. How virtual and in-home care can close dangerous access gaps. The cost of ignoring maternal wellbeing on families, children, and future generations. What becomes possible when mothers are finally centered and supported. Why postpartum never really "ends", it simply evolves. Because birth is not the finish line. It's the handoff into a years-long transformation and the way we show up for mothers in the weeks, months, and years after birth reverberates through families, communities, and generations. If you're pregnant, newly postpartum, supporting a new mother, or holding your own birth story in silence…this conversation is for you. Because when the mother is well, the family is well. And when the mother suffers, we all suffer. If you want to continue this work of honoring the mother, not just the birth, my book Muse is available now. A guide for women reclaiming their identity, restoring inner authority, and returning to themselves in every season. Connect with Dr. Amanda on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/midlife.muse/ Connect with Kate Hernandez: https://www.instagram.com/yourpostparty/ Order your copy of Muse https://amandahanson.com/muse/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=kate_hernandez

En janvier 2018, Jean-Alphonse Richard consacrait un épisode de 'Confidentiel' à France Gall. France Gall, née le 9 octobre 1947 à Paris, a connu une carrière bouleversée par sa rencontre avec Michel Berger. De l'ingénue de "Sacré Charlemagne" à l'icône de la chanson française, son parcours est jalonné de succès, d'amour et de drames. Découvrez comment cette artiste a su se réinventer et marquer son époque.Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Is grief overwhelming you? Are you tuned into your muse? Do you believe that grief and creativity are connected?Nina Rodriguez, host of Grief and Light podcast, writer, seasoned speaker, and grief-informed guide, joins Kathy in talking about how grief changed her life and creativity after the passing of her brother, Yosef.Tune in and learn how there can be a lighter side to grief, why we tend to look for signs or messages from loved ones after they have died, and how creativity can lessen grief and grief can be the spark of creativity. "Grief can breakdown your excuses, imposter syndrome...if you lean into grief it dissolves all of that." ~Nina RodriguezListen to Grief and Light podcast and follow Nina on IG @griefandlight.Follow Women Who Sarcast podcast on IG @womenwhosarcast and Women Who Podcast magazine @womenwhopodcastmagazine. Get the current issue of Women Who Podcast magazine at womenwhopodcastmag.com.Show music provided by Drrrakhan.All content © 2026 Women Who Sarcast and WWS Productions.

In this episode, Sophie joins In Her Shoes to talk about how she navigated university, why she almost dropped out of UAL, and what ultimately pulled her towards joining Aimee at Odd Muse, one of the fastest‑growing female‑founded brands. We get into her curious, hungry, entrepreneurial energy (aka #Milhamenergy), the reality behind glossy social media moments, and the highs and lows of making a big career move that everyone was watching – her shift to SULT.If you're looking for a boost of positive energy and a gentle shove to finally make that move you've been thinking about, this conversation is for you. It's honest, upbeat, and a reminder that backing yourself can completely change your path.This episode is sponsored by Treatwell, Europe's No.1 hair and beauty booking app. Treatwell makes it easy to discover trusted salons, compare reviews, and book everything from a last‑minute blow dry to a full self‑care reset in just a few taps, so you can feel your best without the faff.We're also partnered with RISER, like a dating app - but for YOUR career. Get ready to make a move by uploading your 60 second elevator pitch and connect with real hirers who have uploaded a video too! You'll get recommendations based on compatibility not just simply keywords. Join 1000's of RISERs on the app landing opportunties with companies like Beauty Pie and Tiktok.

Psychopompos - a new mythology takes on a very famous myth, The Weaving Contest, which pits the famed and arrogant mortal weaver Arakhne against the Goddess of the Loom, Athena. Narrated by Calliope, the Muse of Epic Poetry and the Chief Muses, she paints the scene as Arakhne disparages Athena to Pan and his friend, the satyr Marsyas, until the great goddess arrives to put her in her place.Content Warning: Explicit Language, Violence.For more information about the story and podcast, a full transcript of this episode, or if you like what you heard and want to donate to this project, visit our site:www.psychopomp-cast.com.Cast:-Anya Clingman as Calliope-Miguel Long as Pan-Valerie Lyvers as Athena/Old Woman-RJW Mays as Arakhne-Mandyn Mueller as MarsyasCrew:-Tate A. Geborkoff - Author & Producer-Rachel Staelens - Director & Producer-Joe Palermo - Director of Sound-Roy Freeman - Musical Director & Composer

WHAT YOU'LL EXPERIENCE IN THIS 20-MINUTE MEDITATION:* Build your personal attunement temple – a sacred space customized by your imagination, heart, and body (not just your mind) and I will meet you there.* Ground into earth energy and call in star energy – create the “weave” that holds you between gravity and elevation, rooted and lifted simultaneously* Move and sway to find your body's song – gentle, intentional movement that creates coherence between your body, heart, and brain* Travel into the quantum field while staying in your body – learn to manifest from connection, not abstraction or ego - but from the body* Discover what wants to be created THROUGH you – receive 1-3 aligned next steps (not forcing a whole plan, but finding what's truly attuned to you right now)* Experience collaboration with seen and unseen helpers – ancestors, community, and creation itself are co-creating with you* Practice “effortless grace” – everything you need has already been provided; you're learning to see and receive it - this is about what nature has provided, and being able to see that - even with all the other things.This week I am offering a complimentary experience in the Attunement Temple - this meditation is just a taste of it. Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

“They're kind of like a hidden superhero in your body and we just didn't know they existed. Muse cells eat the damaged cells, and they can actually turn into new cells using the cellular machinery.”Dr. Adeel Khan is a global thought leader in regenerative medicine. He is the CEO and Founder of and founder of Eterna Health, whose work with MUSE cell therapy—developed in collaboration with its discoverer, Professor Mari Dezawa—has made him the go-to expert for world leaders, athletes, and celebrities Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, and Tony Robbins. In this episode, we move beyond the hype of "anti-aging" to explore the hard science of Muse cells (Multilineage-differentiating Stress-Enduring cells). Dr. Khan breaks down how these unique cells differ from the "medicinal signaling cells" (MSCs) found in most clinics and how they act as a bridge to a future where tissue regeneration is standard care.(0:00) The "Repair Guys" & The Muse Difference Dr. Khan explains why traditional stem cells (MSCs) often disappoint and how Muse cells offer the "best of both worlds": safety and pluripotency.(2:19) Smart Cells: How They Find the Damage Understanding the "homing mechanism" that allows Muse cells to sense inflammation and instinctively travel to injured areas like the brain or heart.(3:11) Curing the Incurable: Diabetes & Alzheimer's The potential of the "cure triad"—stem cells, gene therapy, and FMT—to treat complex autoimmune diseases within the next decade.(4:40) Biological Noise & The Symphony of Health How "static" in our gene expression indicates aging, and how cellular therapy can reduce this noise to restore the body's harmony.(6:40) The Viral Monkey Study Dr. Khan discusses a recent study showing significant de-aging in monkeys through high-frequency cell dosing.(7:32) Unshakeable Foundations: Lifestyle as MedicineWhy advanced therapies must be paired with purpose, community, and mindfulness to create a "bulletproof" body.(8:44) From Sketchy to StandardizedNavigating the regulatory landscape: why Muse cells are being classified as a drug in regions like the UAE and the path toward FDA approval.(12:24) A Personal MissionDr. Khan shares the origin of his journey: trying to find solutions for his mother's chronic illness when traditional medicine failed.(14:16) The Cancer HunterUnlike other pluripotent cells that risk tumor growth, Muse cells have a unique mechanism that can detect cancer cells and trigger their death.(18:30)Future Outlook: AI, Nature & Blue Zones Reflections on the risks of AI, the importance of "Blue Zone" city design, and reconnecting with nature in a post-human world.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“They're kind of like a hidden superhero in your body and we just didn't know they existed. Muse cells eat the damaged cells, and they can actually turn into new cells using the cellular machinery.”Dr. Adeel Khan is a global thought leader in regenerative medicine. He is the CEO and Founder of and founder of Eterna Health, whose work with MUSE cell therapy—developed in collaboration with its discoverer, Professor Mari Dezawa—has made him the go-to expert for world leaders, athletes, and celebrities Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, and Tony Robbins. In this episode, we move beyond the hype of "anti-aging" to explore the hard science of Muse cells (Multilineage-differentiating Stress-Enduring cells). Dr. Khan breaks down how these unique cells differ from the "medicinal signaling cells" (MSCs) found in most clinics and how they act as a bridge to a future where tissue regeneration is standard care.(0:00) The "Repair Guys" & The Muse Difference Dr. Khan explains why traditional stem cells (MSCs) often disappoint and how Muse cells offer the "best of both worlds": safety and pluripotency.(2:19) Smart Cells: How They Find the Damage Understanding the "homing mechanism" that allows Muse cells to sense inflammation and instinctively travel to injured areas like the brain or heart.(3:11) Curing the Incurable: Diabetes & Alzheimer's The potential of the "cure triad"—stem cells, gene therapy, and FMT—to treat complex autoimmune diseases within the next decade.(4:40) Biological Noise & The Symphony of Health How "static" in our gene expression indicates aging, and how cellular therapy can reduce this noise to restore the body's harmony.(6:40) The Viral Monkey Study Dr. Khan discusses a recent study showing significant de-aging in monkeys through high-frequency cell dosing.(7:32) Unshakeable Foundations: Lifestyle as MedicineWhy advanced therapies must be paired with purpose, community, and mindfulness to create a "bulletproof" body.(8:44) From Sketchy to StandardizedNavigating the regulatory landscape: why Muse cells are being classified as a drug in regions like the UAE and the path toward FDA approval.(12:24) A Personal MissionDr. Khan shares the origin of his journey: trying to find solutions for his mother's chronic illness when traditional medicine failed.(14:16) The Cancer HunterUnlike other pluripotent cells that risk tumor growth, Muse cells have a unique mechanism that can detect cancer cells and trigger their death.(18:30)Future Outlook: AI, Nature & Blue Zones Reflections on the risks of AI, the importance of "Blue Zone" city design, and reconnecting with nature in a post-human world.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“They're kind of like a hidden superhero in your body and we just didn't know they existed. Muse cells eat the damaged cells, and they can actually turn into new cells using the cellular machinery.”Dr. Adeel Khan is a global thought leader in regenerative medicine. He is the CEO and Founder of and founder of Eterna Health, whose work with MUSE cell therapy—developed in collaboration with its discoverer, Professor Mari Dezawa—has made him the go-to expert for world leaders, athletes, and celebrities Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, and Tony Robbins. In this episode, we move beyond the hype of "anti-aging" to explore the hard science of Muse cells (Multilineage-differentiating Stress-Enduring cells). Dr. Khan breaks down how these unique cells differ from the "medicinal signaling cells" (MSCs) found in most clinics and how they act as a bridge to a future where tissue regeneration is standard care.(0:00) The "Repair Guys" & The Muse Difference Dr. Khan explains why traditional stem cells (MSCs) often disappoint and how Muse cells offer the "best of both worlds": safety and pluripotency.(2:19) Smart Cells: How They Find the Damage Understanding the "homing mechanism" that allows Muse cells to sense inflammation and instinctively travel to injured areas like the brain or heart.(3:11) Curing the Incurable: Diabetes & Alzheimer's The potential of the "cure triad"—stem cells, gene therapy, and FMT—to treat complex autoimmune diseases within the next decade.(4:40) Biological Noise & The Symphony of Health How "static" in our gene expression indicates aging, and how cellular therapy can reduce this noise to restore the body's harmony.(6:40) The Viral Monkey Study Dr. Khan discusses a recent study showing significant de-aging in monkeys through high-frequency cell dosing.(7:32) Unshakeable Foundations: Lifestyle as MedicineWhy advanced therapies must be paired with purpose, community, and mindfulness to create a "bulletproof" body.(8:44) From Sketchy to StandardizedNavigating the regulatory landscape: why Muse cells are being classified as a drug in regions like the UAE and the path toward FDA approval.(12:24) A Personal MissionDr. Khan shares the origin of his journey: trying to find solutions for his mother's chronic illness when traditional medicine failed.(14:16) The Cancer HunterUnlike other pluripotent cells that risk tumor growth, Muse cells have a unique mechanism that can detect cancer cells and trigger their death.(18:30)Future Outlook: AI, Nature & Blue Zones Reflections on the risks of AI, the importance of "Blue Zone" city design, and reconnecting with nature in a post-human world.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

Tonight's illustration acting as prayer…This might sound so simple. You will feel better if you pick up a pen and put it to paper. Your hands are craving the invitation to move. I am telling you the truth. These times require that we tend our hearts and bodies and minds. Pen and paper can help, really.We need to tend our energies, not just once in a while. Every single day, several times a day, right now, is a good time to breathe. The stress mounts and the stories confound. Our reality as we know it is shape-shifting. Our bodies and brains struggle to know how to be. But I will tell you this.Breathing happens when the pen moves. Right now, you can pick up a pen and begin to let your energy flow out the end in shapes, marks, and sparks. It doesn't matter what you draw. Just move the pen as if it has a life of its own. Let your pen be a wild pony.You can even close your eyes. As you do this, you say to yourself, or something like, I am releasing any energy that is trapped inside of me that does not belong to me. I am letting go of what I am holding so there is more space to love and learn and be present.Right now as I move this pen, I become more myself again. It is happening now. Right now, you can pick up a pen and begin to write what comes. It doesn't matter what you write. Just move the pen and let the words fall out the end. Watch the end of the pen as it moves on the paper.Pretend it is a thread emerging from within the inner tapestry of your body that must be stitched into creation now. And as you write with your magical thread, say to yourself, or something like, The energy inside of me that feels impossible to hold is being released right now. As I move this pen, I regulate myself,I care for myself, and I know there is enough space to love right now. I choose presence right now. I am here. I am alive and I love and I'm becoming more myself again and it is happening right now. My mother used to say we can write a poem anytime.Just pick ten things right around you and make a list and string them together like beads. Oh, won't you… Right now, you can pick up a pen and let the energy flow out. Your body isn't made to hold all of these images and stories and headlines.Picking up the pen allows them to spill out of the too tight places and squished up, tangled up, emotional landscapes. They need light and pens and paper. The sorrows around us, it is all happening, but it did not have to happen. And we grieve because we know this isn't how it is supposed to be,but it is how it is right now. The desire to help and serve can feel maddening because sometimes we feel helpless. Self-expression turns helplessness into life force. We are not helpless. We are helpful beings. We are walking each other home. We remember it will not always be this way,Yet the turn in the story toward what our heart desires isn't in sight yet. Right now. Will you pick up a pen and just keep that energy moving? Don't let it freeze in place. Don't let it get stuck. Those images and energies, they don't belong to you. You cannot hold them all inside.It won't help anyone for you to try to hold the pain of the world. You can love just as much without digesting the pain. Your empathy is being overtaken by the collective suffering, and that is understandable, but, dear one, right now, you can call it back.Mark the page with your truth, your shadow, your angst, your love, your hope, your optimism. You know, the optimism that won't go away?Bring it, bring it, bring it, bring you. The page does not fear your grief. The pen does not resist your pain. When I say you might feel better by picking up the pen...It is not so that we don't see what is happening or to bypass reality. Rather, it is an invitation to feel just a little tiny bit better so actions are more clear and energy is more available and heart is not defended. It is hard to not have a defended heart, the pen and the paper open.Consider saying this or something like this. Right now I call my energy back to myself. Right now I release holding what isn't mine to hold. Right now I love with my whole heart without taking on someone else's pain. Right now I pick up the pen and self-express the impossible.If this gets me through the next day or hour or minute, So be it. If this clears my mind and shows me the actions I need to take, that is good enough. If this keeps me from being frozen and numb, I will take it. This pen and this paper hold my prayer.Dear One, your hands are craving the invitation to move. Dear ones, my prayers flow together with yours in this great river of life. Tonight, as I draw the elemental feminine rising up from stardust dreaming, I express my pain with a pen. I am stardust dreaming of becoming earth and tree and bird.I am stardust dreaming of becoming water, sparking life into creation through lightning. I am stardust dreaming of becoming fire, the sun shining on smooth skin. I am stardust dreaming of becoming the sky. The clouds rise up from my mind. The sun and the moon and the stars are in my pen and in my paper.Without the sun and the rain and the tree, there would be no paper, no pen. Everywhere I look,I am stardust dreaming of returning home to myself. When this world has become too dense for beauty to reveal herself, then I remember I am stardust dreaming of becoming me, and that is enough.One day long ago, a star dreamed of having an identity, and that identity is me. When I create, I remember the ancient stardust that I am. ”We are all cooling sacks of stars” says Sue Hoya Sellers.Prayers and candles and pen and paper from Minneapolis and all that are hurting for so many reasons.It doesn't have to be this way, but it is. And so we must choose to continue on in a good way, loving, healing, and becoming. Start us dreaming. Thich Nhat Hanh says, if you are a poet, you will see clearly that there is a cloud floating in this sheet of paper.Without a cloud, there will be no rain. Without rain, the trees cannot grow, and without trees, we cannot make paper. The cloud is essential for the paper to exist. Sending love from my heart to yours. Can you feel it?Shiloh Sophia Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

"The repair mechanisms don't work as well as you get older... The whole idea was: if we can give you more of the 'repair guys,' maybe we can reverse disease."Dr. Adeel Khan is a global thought leader in regenerative medicine. He is the CEO and Founder of and founder of Eterna Health, whose work with MUSE cell therapy—developed in collaboration with its discoverer, Professor Mari Dezawa—has made him the go-to expert for world leaders, athletes, and celebrities Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, and Tony Robbins. In this episode, we move beyond the hype of "anti-aging" to explore the hard science of Muse cells (Multilineage-differentiating Stress-Enduring cells). Dr. Khan breaks down how these unique cells differ from the "medicinal signaling cells" (MSCs) found in most clinics and how they act as a bridge to a future where tissue regeneration is standard care.(0:00) The Future of Regenerative Medicine(6:13) The Muse Difference: Why these cells are "pluripotent" (able to become any tissue) without the cancer risks of Yamanaka factors.(10:29) Curing the Incurable: Diabetes & Alzheimer's (11:27) The Cure Triad: How combining stem cells, gene therapy, and Fecal Microbial Transplants (FMT) could cure complex autoimmune diseases within a decade.(12:56) Biological Noise: Measuring the "mistakes" in our gene expression to quantify aging.(16:42) Lifestyle as Medicine: Why Dr. Khan prescribes community, mindfulness, and nature immersion alongside advanced therapies.(18:13) From Sketchy to Standardized: The Regulatory Landscape(23:25) A Personal Mission: Trying to Save Mom(25:38) The Cancer Hunter: How Muse cells naturally detect and trigger cell death in tumors.(29:02) Quantum Biology & Healing Frequencies(41:13) The AI Pessimist: Planning for a Post-Human World(44:03) Reconnecting with NatureEpisode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

"The repair mechanisms don't work as well as you get older... The whole idea was: if we can give you more of the 'repair guys,' maybe we can reverse disease."Dr. Adeel Khan is a global thought leader in regenerative medicine. He is the CEO and Founder of and founder of Eterna Health, whose work with MUSE cell therapy—developed in collaboration with its discoverer, Professor Mari Dezawa—has made him the go-to expert for world leaders, athletes, and celebrities Chris Hemsworth, Kim Kardashian, and Tony Robbins. In this episode, we move beyond the hype of "anti-aging" to explore the hard science of Muse cells (Multilineage-differentiating Stress-Enduring cells). Dr. Khan breaks down how these unique cells differ from the "medicinal signaling cells" (MSCs) found in most clinics and how they act as a bridge to a future where tissue regeneration is standard care.(0:00) The Future of Regenerative Medicine(6:13) The Muse Difference: Why these cells are "pluripotent" (able to become any tissue) without the cancer risks of Yamanaka factors.(10:29) Curing the Incurable: Diabetes & Alzheimer's (11:27) The Cure Triad: How combining stem cells, gene therapy, and Fecal Microbial Transplants (FMT) could cure complex autoimmune diseases within a decade.(12:56) Biological Noise: Measuring the "mistakes" in our gene expression to quantify aging.(16:42) Lifestyle as Medicine: Why Dr. Khan prescribes community, mindfulness, and nature immersion alongside advanced therapies.(18:13) From Sketchy to Standardized: The Regulatory Landscape(23:25) A Personal Mission: Trying to Save Mom(25:38) The Cancer Hunter: How Muse cells naturally detect and trigger cell death in tumors.(29:02) Quantum Biology & Healing Frequencies(41:13) The AI Pessimist: Planning for a Post-Human World(44:03) Reconnecting with NatureEpisode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

Stardust Bones 2025 - Teaching Painting from one of the last Intentional Creativity Certifications, this is the painting that sparked the change. This is my story in a single image with hundreds of stories within…Dear Ones, Today I'm reminded of a letter that I received in 2020 from our Elder Carmen Baraka. It was written to me and Jonathan, and here's one quote that I love. “To know you are between worlds, the I am that I am. I am most comfortable here in this place of giving and receiving. In this place of quantum identity where you find out and can feel this realm in a profound way. An actual view that we are all interconnected in alignment with the stars. When you can actually experience what you feel is your deepest truth. Hold it in your hand and have it be tangible. That is the gift. That is pure joy. That is the awakening.” Carmen Baraka. For those of you that don't know, Carmen was our indigenous elder within all of our communities. We got to guide ceremony together for over 10 years. She walked into her future in 2021 right before my mom, Caron McCloud So today, I'm signaling a change (breathing)And I want to begin with acknowledging that everyone in our community of Musea is a part of my life. MUSEA means many museums and many muses in the plural. MUSEA goes on. The Intentional Creativity Foundation, our 501c3, will continue with Musea. MUSEA is the greater community, a collective.My art studio, is just one MUSEA, albeit it's an important one. Yet I am taking my position as another artist in the lineage of Intentional Creativity Teachings, and I remain the Co-founder with Jonathan McCloud. Yet, it is essential for me at this time to curate my personal part of our work. Since 2008, the first legend, I've been bringing forth the lineage teachings as they came through. Nine certifications later, I am complete with that particular transmission with the last Legend and the last Color of Woman that I will personally lead. And all of that completes in March 2026 with our All Tribes Gathering, which is for Graduates and Guild members of the certifications.Legend was a significant course for me. Because before 2008, I had already created a million dollars worth of revenue with my paintings. I had galleries in San Francisco and Sausalito, Sonoma and Mendocino. I was living the life of a fine artist and having pretty incredible success, all things considered. But then it occurred to me….And I remember because I was with Mary MacDonald, it occurred to me that maybe what people wanted instead of my paintings, well not instead, but like more than my paintings, is to be able to paint their own. They were drawn to my images so powerfully, it was more than just about a painting.We took the huge leap and we decided to teach the first legend. Mary, my mother Caron, and my other mother Sue sat down at the table that's right in this room with me, that I call the Feast Table of Love. We sat down and we reverse engineered a way to make a painting. ALSO let it be known that it was Mary MacDonald that said - “Let's turn on the camera and see what she does”The rest is herstory.Because even though I had the opportunity to be trained in painting, we say Painting with a capital P, which is a more fine art way of painting, I did not take well to it. And Sue had to create what she called “a way of working” which is not, in her world, painting with a capital P.It's like making a way through for someone who really isn't able to follow the how to paint instructions. And so Legend was literally the reverse engineering of the 13 steps of how to make a painting, if you don't know how to paint, that Sue designed for me. And we labeled them and named them. And now we've taught it. literally to thousands and thousands and thousands of people and probably over 800 graduates who learned the 13 steps. And it literally still works to this day… and when I'm teaching paintings of the feminine form, I still use almost the exact formula because it's basically a build.My husband at the time, Isaiah, was so concerned that if I taught people my method, we would lose all of our money. And guess what? I thought we wouldn't. And guess what? We did. There was a moment at the completion of that marriage, actually, when we went to zero after creating so much abundance for ourselves and investing so heavily in community.It turns out Intentional Creativity and the feminine image is what women wanted. They wanted to paint their own image more than they wanted to purchase my paintings. I still sell paintings, by the way. I have lots available lol. But now thousands and thousands of people have their own images instead of mine. What an incredible journey. So it took a while to rebuild with this model. But at that moment, something happened… I moved out of the individual serving my own creative desire and I moved into this bigger framework of serving the community with the feminine image. There's so much behind why that matters, and why that's important and how we've had 40,000 years of images of the feminine and then the past 5,000 to 8,000 years intentional silencing and erasing of the feminine and her presence. When women reclaim the feminine image it is so huge, and to do that instead of my own paintings has been so powerful!!And it's also emotional because my style changed dramatically to reverse engineer it for others. I look at my paintings before I started teaching and I wonder where I'd be.. how I might have developed… a but I really did put my work in service to creation. I really did do the great work of the Ancestors. I really did bring through what my mothers taught me, and with the help of Mary MacDonald and Jennifer Owen and Elizabeth Gibbons in particular, brought forward Intentional Creativity at an all gorgeous level. I then taught it since 2008 until this year. I didn't expect to get so emotional. Tears flowing. So it is essential for me at this time to begin my own work with painting and writing. And it will still be in service to the community, but in a different way because it won't be certifications which require such a high level of integrity and management. The certifications will continue to be managed by the Intentional Creativity Foundation, our 501 c3. My own work begins nowand of course it's still connected with all of you. It's called the Stardust Lineage. It's the evolution of Cosmic Cowgirls, whose anniversary founding is today in 2004. I have no idea what my new work is going to be yet, and I suspect that the new work is the old work in different forms. Especially this year because I'm crossing a bridge of change and going one step at a time across that bridge. I'm not running across. I still have lots of work to do to complete, and it's utterly overwhelming to complete a legacy while you're alive. (More tears)Of course, whatever I do will be connected with MUSEA. Of course, whatever I do is coming from the Ancestors, and it's also my work now. Of course, Intentional Creativity will continue. That is my work and many of our work. But it's time for me, having delivered what feels like the great work of the ancestors, to now begin to reveal my own. The work started when they were living, but continues after. And so many of the teachings, they came through my “shiloh filter” but they weren't really from me. I could never just bring that out. I think of Carl Jung's Red Book where he said that there was more than enough material for one lifetime and that it was so much that it threatened to break him.In 1957, near the end of his life, Jung spoke about the Red Book and the process which yielded it; in that interview he stated:“The years… when I pursued the inner images, were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to be derived from this. It began at that time, and the later details hardly matter anymore. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. That was the stuff and material for more than only one life. Everything later was merely the outer classification, scientific elaboration, and the integration into life. But the numinous beginning, which contained everything, was then.”For me, there were moments when there was so much coming through, I was like how am I gonna get this all down in time??!!?? And I did it. And I did it with all of you who participated in the certification. I don't know what my work is going to mean from now on. I know that I had to do Path of Mystics, guiding women to develop their intuition and their spiritual gifts as a part of it. I have a teaching for healers and entrepreneurship. That's a part of it. I mean, I'm going to keep teaching because that's what I am. I'm just not going to do the certification. I'm also changing the name of the Sonoma property from MUSEA Center to Stardust Ranch. That's a part of it. Stardust Ranch is a MUSEA Center. It's just that holding and financing the entire container for the community isn't something I can physically and financially do anymore. I have to make it more personal to me and my work because most of the time, I'm there by myself. it's a huge space to be in, 6,500 square feet and it's a community space but the community is not there like except for events and that's like one or two times a month. So I have to make it my own somehow in order to continue. But we're still a MUSEA Center. All right, let me get through this. The truth is that my brain has been entirely occupied with the certifications and the structure of the community, aka the corporation, the legality, the paperwork. Oh my gosh, I have like four corporations. It's just insane. I want something much more simple for myself. And I haven't had the spaciousness to develop my own work. I really haven't. I haven't developed my own painting.There just wasn't enough hours and brains in the day. This work had to come through and I let it because this work was the work of this lifetime. It's work for these times. Intentional Creativity is what to do in times of chaos and suffering. It just is. It works. It helps every time.I believe in Intentional Creativity so powerfully… and I I don't regret it, although I have my moments. As most of you know, I didn't get to have children. I wanted to. And many miscarriages. And I think of that one child who kept trying to come through as an ancestor now, Her name is Musette. She's mine and Jonathan's love child. And the mother love that I had for that child, literally since the time I was born, I knew she was coming. That love went into this work. I gave the mother love I had into the community and this matriarchal space that we co-create.So I want you to know I'm not stepping out. I'm stepping in. But as the artist and as the author. Here I go. Oh, so slowly. Slowly. The reveal is almost suspenseful as my Soul is offering only one little glimmer at a time. And this is all I can take, really.Because I still have months and months of work and paperwork and emails to edit and pages to build to complete this cycle in a good way. As you likely know, some of you don't. My beautiful husband, Jonathan, and I, we completed our marriage at the end of last year, 12-31-2025. Our deep abiding friendship and connection is growing daily. And we've spent lots of time together over the past couple weeks. Including today, we're going to be together. We are teaching a new Apothecary based on his work called Chaos is the New Black. And the class is Apothecary, which was always his curriculum. But this one is going to be even more so rooted in his work. And I'm the backup singer on this one. On 12-12, the feast day of Our Lady, with the support of my CFO (Jen) and my best friend Amy Ahlers and Jonathan and Michelle Pappe and Ali Stoddard and many community members on so many levels, I moved to Sonoma Mountain. Sonoma Mountain is the birthplace of creation of the Coastal Miwok people and is in the glen called Glen Ellen. This is actually one of the places of my first significant trauma of being removed from my home because we were under threat because my family was protecting women. Interestingly enough, I had a space clearing person clear the ranch in another part of Sonoma County, like 20 minutes from here. And they said I was forcibly removed from that property in another lifetime. So I have this pattern of being removed against my will. And then the fires just perpetuated that.So I find it interesting that I'm back on the mountain to complete my life here. I pray I never have to move. And if I do, then I accept that. But I'm moving in as if I'm going to stay forever. There's a burnt ridge out my bedroom window and it reminds me that everything is temporary and I honor that…and so unless fire or flood make me move I'm hoping to stay here. I am grateful to have purchased a home with the generosity of the Ancestors who made it possible. Because I did not personally have enough to make it happen. But my Ancestors made an offering that's old, old, from my grandparents on my father's side. And I was able to purchase this home with the down payment. Humbled, grateful, in awe.Meanwhile, the world around us needs Intentional Creativity more than ever. And even with that need of the world, I need to find a way to myself, my original Legendary self.My first legend painting is coming true now. This is that place, and Stardust Ranch, is that ranch where my Legendary self works. So I will be in circle with all of you for the next 500 years. So please do not think I've gone anywhere. The Cura Council is the place where all the communities converge in ceremony.I'm not going anywhere. Quite the opposite. I am right here. with my quantum identity, emerging my Legendary Self. Stardust Lineage is the name for my personal work, but held within the greater framework of the Intentional Creativity Teaching. So you could just think of it as my MUSEA Center, called Stardust Ranch.My teachings are through the Stardust lineage. And anyone who works with me becomes a part of that. So this is a life…a story…a lineage to be continued. Big, big love. I just want to say that the biggest love I've ever experienced, what Carmen calls quantum love, which was the name of the subject line of that email, Quantum Love…Learning to love people that I've never met, learning to love you so much that I would actually stop my own art career and painting process in order to see if that's what you wanted. Loving you so much to give the mother love I had for my own baby to all of you. To Love you in that quantum way, meaning virtual, to reach people across the miles. I'll never forget the feeling on that first day that we Live streamed. He brought the technology. and I was able to reach you all. Not just through video. But through live transmission. Everything changed. That was in 2013. And amazingly. About nine months ago, I was brought in to be a speaker at a place called Edge City that was in Healdsburg, a pop-up. Literally my exact teaching spot to broadcast from was that exact building where Cosmic Cowgirls was and the exact spot where I first taught the very first live stream. You can't make this stuff up. You know what I mean? You just can't make it up. I have so many more things to say, but I'll keep saying them.That quantum love is the biggest experience that I've ever had in my lifetime, and I try to teach it to all of you. I think it's the key, actually, to our intuitive gifts and spiritual transmissions and businesses and even income and being able to create what you love with joy and service is this feeling of loving someone that you've never met. The first time I ever heard about it was reading in a book from Pema Chodron where she talked about the Bodhisattva, which is this unreasonable desire to end suffering. And in particular for people that you've never met. I'm not saying I'm a Bodhisattva or anything, but that feeling of loving you. It's huge. It's my biggest experience. It is quantum love and I can't recommend it enough. And I think I do see it all the time, because you fall in love with each other. And friendships happen when you've never even met. Sometimes at the Stardust Ranch, I get to see you meeting each other for the first time. And sometimes people come, like a new and special friend, my Star, who come and they say, I'm here for this. I'm part of this lineage. So my life continues in this curious and delightful way. Love is here. Relationship is here. Evolution is here. Sharing my new household with someone that I love is here. Healing is here. The ongoing story of the Stardust Lineage is right here as the sun comes up over the mountain and shines its light in my home. Breathing through this share, thank you for caring enough to listen and loving me in the quantum way that you do. Sue had a painting that said, I have loved you from my deepist heart. So dear ones, with the deepist heart love and stardust, I love you. I'm grateful for you. May our journey continue for generations to come. I'll be here.Will you?p.s. on the painting she spelled it, deepist. Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

En este episodio platicamos sobre cómo dejar de identificarnos con la mente y comenzar a reconocer la energía divina que somos.Exploramos por qué no eres tus pensamientos, y cómo tu frecuencia —más allá de la claridad mental— siempre está atrayendo experiencias que reflejan tu vibración. A veces, de forma activa e intencional; otras, de manera pasiva, cuando no sabes exactamente lo que quieres… pero tu energía sí lo sabe.Este episodio es una invitación a reconectar con tu esencia, reconocer tu campo energético como la verdadera brújula de manifestación, y usar tu conciencia para cocrear desde el alma.Amo saber lo que mueven los episodios en ti… mándame un mensaje por IG en @mujerconcalma o déjame tus preguntas o comentarios aquí abajo. Si todo lo que escuchas en este podcast resuena demasiado en tu energía, te recomiendo ampliamente explorar los cursos o experiencias que comparto para tener más claridad sobre tu diseño divino y tu proceso de transformación. Si te gusta hacer el trabajo interior a tu propio ritmo, inscribirte a SOUL JOURNEY y aprovechar todos los recursos a lo largo de un año. Su aún no has leído mi libro ES AHORA, te recomiendo comprarlo en tu librería favorita en México, Amazon.mx o en cualquiera de sus formatos digitales. -------------------------------------------------------- - Si vives en México, prueba los tés para meditar que diseñé para hacer de esta experiencia una más profunda: encuéntralos en Eurtoté.com - Te recomiendo algunos productos que considero muy valiosos con los cuales con tu compra, recibo una comisión, y por supuesto, tu, un descuento especial_ Muse headband: una maravilla para medir las ondas cerebrales y tener un entrenamiento personalizado para aprender a...

Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but The Muse wouldn't let her. The inspiration for her latest record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa's vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals. Find her at the links below and on all major streaming platforms.Website: https://www.lisapmusic.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisapiccirilloYou Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@lisapmusicRadiate Record: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lisapiccirillo/radiate-2

Lisa Piccirillo almost gave up on songwriting, but The Muse wouldn't let her. The inspiration for her latest record came to her as a vision: the silhouette of a woman, backlit by the sun, alongside the word RADIATE. Fueled by this idea and the desire to reclaim her creative identity, Lisa devoted herself to daily songwriting sessions at sunrise and the new record was born. An unapologetically loud follow-up to her mellow and folky 2008 debut (momentum), RADIATE chronicles Lisa's vast emotional landscape with her signature blend of vulnerable songwriting and powerhouse vocals. Find her at the links below and on all major streaming platforms.Website: https://www.lisapmusic.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisapiccirilloYou Tube: https://www.youtube.com/@lisapmusicRadiate Record: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lisapiccirillo/radiate-2

What if the most transformative thing you can do for your writing craft and author business is to face what you fear? How can you can find gold in your Shadow in the year ahead? In this episode, I share chapters from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words. In the intro, curated book boxes from Bridgerton's Julia Quinn; Google's agentic shopping, and powering Apple's Siri; ChatGPT Ads; and Claude CoWork. Balancing Certainty and Uncertainty [MoonShots with Tony Robbins]; and three trends for authors with me and Orna Ross [Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast]; plus, Bones of the Deep, Business for Authors, and Indie Author Lab. This show is supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn  Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, and memoir as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. What is the Shadow? The ‘creative wound' and the Shadow in writing The Shadow in traditional publishing The Shadow in self-publishing or being an indie author The Shadow in work The Shadow in money You can find Writing the Shadow in all formats on all stores, as well as special edition, workbook and bundles at www.TheCreativePenn.com/shadowbook Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words The following chapters are excerpted from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words by Joanna Penn. Introduction. What is the Shadow? “How can I be substantial if I do not cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole.” —C.G. Jung, Modern Man in Search of a Soul We all have a Shadow side and it is the work of a lifetime to recognise what lies within and spin that base material into gold. Think of it as a seedling in a little pot that you're given when you're young. It's a bit misshapen and weird, not something you would display in your living room, so you place it in a dark corner of the basement. You don't look at it for years. You almost forget about it. Then one day you notice tendrils of something wild poking up through the floorboards. They're ugly and don't fit with your Scandi-minimalist interior design. You chop the tendrils away and pour weedkiller on what's left, trying to hide the fact that they were ever there. But the creeping stems keep coming. At some point, you know you have to go down there and face the wild thing your seedling has become. When you eventually pluck up enough courage to go down into the basement, you discover that the plant has wound its roots deep into the foundations of your home. Its vines weave in and out of the cracks in the walls, and it has beautiful flowers and strange fruit. It holds your world together. Perhaps you don't need to destroy the wild tendrils. Perhaps you can let them wind up into the light and allow their rich beauty to weave through your home. It will change the look you have so carefully cultivated, but maybe that's just what the place needs. The Shadow in psychology Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychologist and the founder of analytical psychology. He described the Shadow as an unconscious aspect of the human personality, those parts of us that don't match up to what is expected of us by family and society, or to our own ideals. The Shadow is not necessarily evil or illegal or immoral, although of course it can be. It's also not necessarily caused by trauma, abuse, or any other severely damaging event, although again, it can be. It depends on the individual. What is in your Shadow is based on your life and your experiences, as well as your culture and society, so it will be different for everyone. Psychologist Connie Zweig, in The Inner Work of Age, explains, “The Shadow is that part of us that lies beneath or behind the light of awareness. It contains our rejected, unacceptable traits and feelings. It contains our hidden gifts and talents that have remained unexpressed or unlived. As Jung put it, the essence of the Shadow is pure gold.” To further illustrate the concept, Robert Bly, in A Little Book on the Human Shadow,uses the following metaphor: “When we are young, we carry behind us an invisible bag, into which we stuff any feelings, thoughts, or behaviours that bring disapproval or loss of love—anger, tears, neediness, laziness. By the time we go to school, our bags are already a mile long. In high school, our peer groups pressure us to stuff the bags with even more—individuality, sexuality, spontaneity, different opinions. We spend our life until we're twenty deciding which parts of ourselves to put into the bag and we spend the rest of our lives trying to get them out again.” As authors, we can use what's in the ‘bag' to enrich our writing — but only if we can access it. My intention with this book is to help you venture into your Shadow and bring some of what's hidden into the light and into your words. I'll reveal aspects of my Shadow in these pages but ultimately, this book is about you. Your Shadow is unique. There may be elements we share, but much will be different. Each chapter has questions for you to consider that may help you explore at least the edges of your Shadow, but it's not easy. As Jung said, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. The latter procedure, however, is disagreeable and therefore not popular.” But take heart, Creative. You don't need courage when things are easy. You need it when you know what you face will be difficult, but you do it anyway. We are authors. We know how to do hard things. We turn ideas into books. We manifest thoughts into ink on paper. We change lives with our writing. First, our own, then other people's. It's worth the effort to delve into Shadow, so I hope you will join me on the journey. The creative wound and the Shadow in writing “Whatever pain you can't get rid of, make it your creative offering.” —Susan Cain, Bittersweet  The more we long for something, the more extreme our desire, the more likely it is to have a Shadow side. For those of us who love books, the author life may well be a long-held dream and thus, it is filled with Shadow. Books have long been objects of desire, power, and authority. They hold a mythic status in our lives. We escaped into stories as children; we studied books at school and college; we read them now for escape and entertainment, education and inspiration. We collect beautiful books to put on our shelves. We go to them for solace and answers to the deepest questions of life. Writers are similarly held in high esteem. They shape culture, win literary prizes, give important speeches, and are quoted in the mainstream media. Their books are on the shelves in libraries and bookstores. Writers are revered, held up as rare, talented creatures made separate from us by their brilliance and insight. For bibliophile children, books were everything and to write one was a cherished dream. To become an author? Well, that would mean we might be someone special, someone worthy. Perhaps when you were young, you thought the dream of being a writer was possible — then you told someone about it. That's probably when you heard the first criticism of such a ridiculous idea, the first laughter, the first dismissal. So you abandoned the dream, pushed the idea of being a writer into the Shadow, and got on with your life. Or if it wasn't then, it came later, when you actually put pen to paper and someone — a parent, teacher, partner, or friend, perhaps even a literary agent or publisher, someone whose opinion you valued — told you it was worthless. Here are some things you might have heard: Writing is a hobby. Get a real job. You're not good enough. You don't have any writing talent. You don't have enough education. You don't know what you're doing. Your writing is derivative / unoriginal / boring / useless / doesn't make sense. The genre you write in is dead / worthless / unacceptable / morally wrong / frivolous / useless.  Who do you think you are? No one would want to read what you write. You can't even use proper grammar, so how could you write a whole book? You're wasting your time. You'll never make it as a writer. You shouldn't write those things (or even think about those things). Why don't you write something nice? Insert other derogatory comment here! Mark Pierce describes the effect of this experience in his book The Creative Wound, which “occurs when an event, or someone's actions or words, pierce you, causing a kind of rift in your soul. A comment—even offhand and unintentional—is enough to cause one.” He goes on to say that such words can inflict “damage to the core of who we are as creators. It is an attack on our artistic identity, resulting in us believing that whatever we make is somehow tainted or invalid, because shame has convinced us there is something intrinsically tainted or invalid about ourselves.” As adults, we might brush off such wounds, belittling them as unimportant in the grand scheme of things. We might even find ourselves saying the same words to other people. After all, it's easier to criticise than to create. But if you picture your younger self, bright eyed as you lose yourself in your favourite book, perhaps you might catch a glimpse of what you longed for before your dreams were dashed on the rocks of other people's reality. As Mark Pierce goes on to say, “A Creative Wound has the power to delay our pursuits—sometimes for years—and it can even derail our lives completely… Anything that makes us feel ashamed of ourselves or our work can render us incapable of the self-expression we yearn for.” This is certainly what happened to me, and it took decades to unwind. Your creative wounds will differ to mine but perhaps my experience will help you explore your own. To be clear, your Shadow may not reside in elements of horror as mine do, but hopefully you can use my example to consider where your creative wounds might lie. “You shouldn't write things like that.” It happened at secondary school around 1986 or 1987, so I would have been around eleven or twelve years old. English was one of my favourite subjects and the room we had our lessons in looked out onto a vibrant garden. I loved going to that class because it was all about books, and they were always my favourite things. One day, we were asked to write a story. I can't remember the specifics of what the teacher asked us to write, but I fictionalised a recurring nightmare. I stood in a dark room. On one side, my mum and my brother, Rod, were tied up next to a cauldron of boiling oil, ready to be thrown in. On the other side, my dad and my little sister, Lucy, were threatened with decapitation by men with machetes. I had to choose who would die. I always woke up, my heart pounding, before I had to choose. Looking back now, it clearly represented an internal conflict about having to pick sides between the two halves of my family. Not an unexpected issue from a child of divorce. Perhaps these days, I might have been sent to the school counsellor, but it was the eighties and I don't think we even had such a thing. Even so, the meaning of the story isn't the point. It was the reaction to it that left scars. “You shouldn't write things like that,” my teacher said, and I still remember her look of disappointment, even disgust. Certainly judgment. She said my writing was too dark. It wasn't a proper story. It wasn't appropriate for the class. As if horrible things never happened in stories — or in life. As if literature could not include dark tales. As if the only acceptable writing was the kind she approved of. We were taught The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie that year, which says a lot about the type of writing considered appropriate. Or perhaps the issue stemmed from the school motto, “So hateth she derknesse,” from Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women: “For fear of night, so she hates the darkness.” I had won a scholarship to a private girls' school, and their mission was to turn us all into proper young ladies. Horror was never on the curriculum. Perhaps if my teacher had encouraged me to write my darkness back then, my nightmares would have dissolved on the page. Perhaps if we had studied Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, or H.P. Lovecraft stories, or Bram Stoker's Dracula, I could have embraced the darker side of literature earlier in my life. My need to push darker thoughts into my Shadow was compounded by my (wonderful) mum's best intentions. We were brought up on the principles of The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and she tried to shield me and my brother from anything harmful or horrible. We weren't allowed to watch TV much, and even the British school drama Grange Hill was deemed inappropriate. So much of what I've achieved is because my mum instilled in me a “can do” attitude that anything is possible. I'm so grateful to her for that. (I love you, Mum!) But all that happy positivity, my desire to please her, to be a good girl, to make my teachers proud, and to be acceptable to society, meant that I pushed my darker thoughts into Shadow. They were inappropriate. They were taboo. They must be repressed, kept secret, and I must be outwardly happy and positive at all times. You cannot hold back the darkness “The night is dark and full of terrors.” —George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords It turned out that horror was on the curriculum, much of it in the form of educational films we watched during lessons. In English Literature, we watched Romeo drink poison and Juliet stab herself in Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet. In Religious Studies, we watched Jesus beaten, tortured, and crucified in The Greatest Story Ever Told, and learned of the variety of gruesome ways that Christian saints were martyred. In Classical Civilisation, we watched gladiators slaughter each other in Spartacus. In Sex Education at the peak of the AIDS crisis in the mid-'80s, we were told of the many ways we could get infected and die. In History, we studied the Holocaust with images of skeletal bodies thrown into mass graves, medical experiments on humans, and grainy videos of marching soldiers giving the Nazi salute. One of my first overseas school field trips was to the World War I battlegrounds of Flanders Fields in Belgium, where we studied the inhuman conditions of the trenches, walked through mass graves, and read war poetry by candlelight. As John McCrae wrote: We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields. Did the teachers not realise how deeply a sensitive teenager might feel the darkness of that place? Or have I always been unusual in that places of blood echo deep inside me? And the horrors kept coming. We lived in Bristol, England back then and I learned at school how the city had been part of the slave trade, its wealth built on the backs of people stolen from their homes, sold, and worked to death in the colonies. I had been at school for a year in Malawi, Africa and imagined the Black people I knew drowning, being beaten, and dying on those ships. In my teenage years, the news was filled with ethnic cleansing, mass rape, and massacres during the Balkan wars, and images of bodies hacked apart during the Rwandan genocide. Evil committed by humans against other humans was not a historical aberration. I'm lucky and I certainly acknowledge my privilege. Nothing terrible or horrifying has happened to me — but bad things certainly happen to others. I wasn't bullied or abused. I wasn't raped or beaten or tortured. But you don't have to go through things to be afraid of them, and for your imagination to conjure the possibility of them. My mum doesn't read my fiction now as it gives her nightmares (Sorry, Mum!). I know she worries that somehow she's responsible for my darkness, but I've had a safe and (mostly) happy life, for which I'm truly grateful. But the world is not an entirely safe and happy place, and for a sensitive child with a vivid imagination, the world is dark and scary. It can be brutal and violent, and bad things happen, even to good people. No parent can shield their child from the reality of the world. They can only help them do their best to live in it, develop resilience, and find ways to deal with whatever comes. Story has always been a way that humans have used to learn how to live and deal with difficult times. The best authors, the ones that readers adore and can't get enough of, write their darkness into story to channel their experience, and help others who fear the same. In an interview on writing the Shadow on The Creative Penn Podcast, Michaelbrent Collings shared how he incorporated a personally devastating experience into his writing:  “My wife and I lost a child years back, and that became the root of one of my most terrifying books, Apparition. It's not terrifying because it's the greatest book of all time, but just the concept that there's this thing out there… like a demon, and it consumes the blood and fear of the children, and then it withdraws and consumes the madness of the parents… I wrote that in large measure as a way of working through what I was experiencing.” I've learned much from Michaelbrent. I've read many of his (excellent) books and he's been on my podcast multiple times talking about his depression and mental health issues, as well as difficulties in his author career. Writing darkness is not in Michaelbrent's Shadow and only he can say what lies there for him. But from his example, and from that of other authors, I too learned how to write my Shadow into my books. Twenty-three years after that English lesson, in November 2009, I did NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, and wrote five thousand words of what eventually became Stone of Fire, my first novel. In the initial chapter, I burned a nun alive on the ghats of Varanasi on the banks of the Ganges River. I had watched the bodies burn by night on pyres from a boat bobbing in the current a few years before, and the image was still crystal clear in my mind. The only way to deal with how it made me feel about death was to write about it — and since then, I've never stopped writing. Returning to the nightmare from my school days, I've never had to choose between the two halves of my family, but the threat of losing them remains a theme in my fiction. In my ARKANE thriller series, Morgan Sierra will do anything to save her sister and her niece. Their safety drives her to continue to fight against evil. Our deepest fears emerge in our writing, and that's the safest place for them. I wish I'd been taught how to turn my nightmares into words back at school, but at least now I've learned to write my Shadow onto the page. I wish the same for you. The Shadow in traditional publishing If becoming an author is your dream, then publishing a book is deeply entwined with that. But as Mark Pierce says in The Creative Wound, “We feel pain the most where it matters the most… Desire highlights whatever we consider to be truly significant.” There is a lot of desire around publishing for those of us who love books! It can give you: Validation that your writing is good enough Status and credibility Acceptance by an industry held in esteem  The potential of financial reward and critical acclaim Support from a team of professionals who know how to make fantastic books A sense of belonging to an elite community Pride in achieving a long-held goal, resulting in a confidence boost and self-esteem Although not guaranteed, traditional publishing can give you all these things and more, but as with everything, there is a potential Shadow side. Denying it risks the potential of being disillusioned, disappointed, and even damaged. But remember, forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes. Preparation can help you avoid potential issues and help you feel less alone if you encounter them. The myth of success… and the reality of experience There is a pervasive myth of success in the traditional publishing industry, perpetuated by media reporting on brand name and breakout authors, those few outliers whose experience is almost impossible to replicate. Because of such examples, many new traditionally published authors think that their first book will hit the top of the bestseller charts or win an award, as well as make them a million dollars — or at least a big chunk of cash. They will be able to leave their job, write in a beautiful house overlooking the ocean, and swan around the world attending conferences, while writing more bestselling books. It will be a charmed life. But that is not the reality. Perhaps it never was. Even so, the life of a traditionally published author represents a mythic career with the truth hidden behind a veil of obscurity. In April 2023, The Bookseller in the UK reported that “more than half of authors (54%) responding to a survey on their experiences of publishing their debut book have said the process negatively affected their mental health. Though views were mixed, just 22%… described a positive experience overall… Among the majority who said they had a negative experience of debut publication, anxiety, stress, depression and ‘lowered' self-esteem were cited, with lack of support, guidance or clear and professional communication from their publisher among the factors that contributed.” Many authors who have negative experiences around publishing will push them into the Shadow with denial or self-blame, preferring to keep the dream alive. They won't talk about things in public as this may negatively affect their careers, but private discussions are often held in the corners of writing conferences or social media groups online. Some of the issues are as follows: Repeated rejection by agents and publishers may lead to the author thinking they are not good enough as a writer, which can lead to feeling unworthy as a person. If an author gets a deal, the amount of advance and the name and status of the publisher compared to others create a hierarchy that impacts self-esteem. A deal for a book may be much lower than an author might have been expecting, with low or no advance, and the resulting experience with the publisher beneath expectations. The launch process may be disappointing, and the book may appear without fanfare, with few sales and no bestseller chart position. In The Bookseller report, one author described her launch day as “a total wasteland… You have expectations about what publication day will be like, but in reality, nothing really happens.” The book may receive negative reviews by critics or readers or more publicly on social media, which can make an author feel attacked. The book might not sell as well as expected, and the author may feel like it's their fault. Commercial success can sometimes feel tied to self-worth and an author can't help but compare their sales to others, with resulting embarrassment or shame. The communication from the publisher may be less than expected. One author in The Bookseller report said, “I was shocked by the lack of clarity and shared information and the cynicism that underlies the superficial charm of this industry.” There is often more of a focus on debut authors in publishing houses, so those who have been writing and publishing in the midlist for years can feel ignored and undervalued. In The Bookseller report, 48 percent of authors reported “their publisher supported them for less than a year,” with one saying, “I got no support and felt like a commodity, like the team had moved on completely to the next book.” If an author is not successful enough, the next deal may be lower than the last, less effort is made with marketing, and they may be let go. In The Bookseller report, “six authors—debut and otherwise—cited being dropped by their publisher, some with no explanation.” Even if everything goes well and an author is considered successful by others, they may experience imposter syndrome, feeling like a fraud when speaking at conferences or doing book signings. And the list goes on … All these things can lead to feelings of shame, inadequacy, and embarrassment; loss of status in the eyes of peers; and a sense of failure if a publishing career is not successful enough. The author feels like it's their fault, like they weren't good enough — although, of course, the reality is that the conditions were not right at the time. A failure of a book is not a failure of the person, but it can certainly feel like it! When you acknowledge the Shadow, it loses its power Despite all the potential negatives of traditional publishing, if you know what could happen, you can mitigate them. You can prepare yourself for various scenarios and protect yourself from potential fall-out. It's clear from The Bookseller report that too many authors have unrealistic expectations of the industry. But publishers are businesses, not charities. It's not their job to make you feel good as an author. It's their job to sell books and pay you. The best thing they can do is to continue to be a viable business so they can keep putting books on the shelves and keep paying authors, staff, and company shareholders. When you license your creative work to a publisher, you're giving up control of your intellectual property in exchange for money and status. Bring your fears and issues out of the Shadow, acknowledge them, and deal with them early, so they do not get pushed down and re-emerge later in blame and bitterness. Educate yourself on the business of publishing. Be clear on what you want to achieve with any deal. Empower yourself as an author, take responsibility for your career, and you will have a much better experience. The Shadow in self-publishing or being an indie author Self-publishing, or being an independent (indie) author, can be a fantastic, pro-active choice for getting your book into the world. Holding your first book in your hand and saying “I made this” is pretty exciting, and even after more than forty books, I still get excited about seeing ideas in my head turn into a physical product in the world. Self-publishing can give an author: Creative control over what to write, editorial and cover design choices, when and how often to publish, and how to market Empowerment over your author career and the ability to make choices that impact success without asking for permission Ownership and control of intellectual property assets, resulting in increased opportunity around licensing and new markets Independence and the potential for recurring income for the long term Autonomy and flexibility around timelines, publishing options, and the ability to easily pivot into new genres and business models Validation based on positive reader reviews and money earned Personal growth and learning through the acquisition of new skills, resulting in a boost in confidence and self-esteem A sense of belonging to an active and vibrant community of indie authors around the world Being an indie author can give you all this and more, but once again, there is a Shadow side and preparation can help you navigate potential issues. The myth of success… and the reality of experience As with traditional publishing, the indie author world has perpetuated a myth of success in the example of the breakout indie author like E.L. James with Fifty Shades of Grey, Hugh Howey with Wool, or Andy Weir with The Martian. The emphasis on financial success is also fuelled online by authors who share screenshots showing six-figure months or seven-figure years, without sharing marketing costs and other outgoings, or the amount of time spent on the business. Yes, these can inspire some, but it can also make others feel inadequate and potentially lead to bad choices about how to publish and market based on comparison. The indie author world is full of just as much ego and a desire for status and money as traditional publishing. This is not a surprise! Most authors, regardless of publishing choices, are a mix of massive ego and chronic self-doubt. We are human, so the same issues will re-occur. A different publishing method doesn't cure all ills. Some of the issues are as follows: You learn everything you need to know about writing and editing, only to find that you need to learn a whole new set of skills in order to self-publish and market your book. This can take a lot of time and effort you did not expect, and things change all the time so you have to keep learning. Being in control of every aspect of the publishing process, from writing to cover design to marketing, can be overwhelming, leading to indecision, perfectionism, stress, and even burnout as you try to do all the things. You try to find people to help, but building your team is a challenge, and working with others has its own difficulties. People say negative things about self-publishing that may arouse feelings of embarrassment or shame. These might be little niggles, but they needle you, nonetheless. You wonder whether you made the right choice. You struggle with self-doubt and if you go to an event with traditional published authors, you compare yourself to them and feel like an imposter. Are you good enough to be an author if a traditional publisher hasn't chosen you? Is it just vanity to self-publish? Are your books unworthy? Even though you worked with a professional editor, you still get one-star reviews and you hate criticism from readers. You wonder whether you're wasting your time. You might be ripped off by an author services company who promise the world, only to leave you with a pile of printed books in your garage and no way to sell them. When you finally publish your book, it languishes at the bottom of the charts while other authors hit the top of the list over and over, raking in the cash while you are left out of pocket. You don't admit to over-spending on marketing as it makes you ashamed. You resist book marketing and make critical comments about writers who embrace it. You believe that quality rises to the top and if a book is good enough, people will buy it anyway. This can lead to disappointment and disillusionment when you launch your book and it doesn't sell many copies because nobody knows about it. You try to do what everyone advises, but you still can't make decent money as an author. You're jealous of other authors' success and put it down to them ‘selling out' or writing things you can't or ‘using AI' or ‘using a ghostwriter' or having a specific business model you consider impossible to replicate. And the list goes on… When you acknowledge the Shadow, it loses its power Being in control of your books and your author career is a double-edged sword. Traditionally published authors can criticise their publishers or agents or the marketing team or the bookstores or the media, but indie authors have to take responsibility for it all. Sure, we can blame ‘the algorithms' or social media platforms, or criticise other authors for having more experience or more money to invest in marketing, or attribute their success to writing in a more popular genre — but we also know there are always people who do well regardless of the challenges. Once more, we're back to acknowledging and integrating the Shadow side of our choices. We are flawed humans. There will always be good times and bad, and difficulties to offset the high points. This too shall pass, as the old saying goes. I know that being an indie author has plenty of Shadow. I've been doing this since 2008 and despite the hard times, I'm still here. I'm still writing. I'm still publishing. This life is not for everyone, but it's my choice. You must make yours. The Shadow in work You work hard. You make a living. Nothing wrong with that attitude, right? It's what we're taught from an early age and, like so much of life, it's not a problem until it goes to extremes. Not achieving what you want to? Work harder. Can't get ahead? Work harder. Not making a good enough living? Work harder. People who don't work hard are lazy. They don't deserve handouts or benefits. People who don't work hard aren't useful, so they are not valued members of our culture and community. But what about the old or the sick, the mentally ill, or those with disabilities? What about children? What about the unemployed? The under-employed? What about those who are — or will be — displaced by technology, those called “the useless class” by historian Yuval Noah Harari in his book Homo Deus? What if we become one of these in the future? Who am I if I cannot work? The Shadow side of my attitude to work became clear when I caught COVID in the summer of 2021. I was the sickest I'd ever been. I spent two weeks in bed unable to even think properly, and six weeks after that, I was barely able to work more than an hour a day before lying in the dark and waiting for my energy to return. I was limited in what I could do for another six months after that. At times, I wondered if I would ever get better. Jonathan kept urging me to be patient and rest. But I don't know how to rest. I know how to work and how to sleep. I can do ‘active rest,' which usually involves walking a long way or traveling somewhere interesting, but those require a stronger mind and body than I had during those months. It struck me that even if I recovered from the virus, I had glimpsed my future self. One day, I will be weak in body and mind. If I'm lucky, that will be many years away and hopefully for a short time before I die — but it will happen. I am an animal. I will die. My body and mind will pass on and I will be no more. Before then I will be weak. Before then, I will be useless. Before then, I will be a burden. I will not be able to work… But who am I if I cannot work? What is the point of me? I can't answer these questions right now, because although I recognise them as part of my Shadow, I've not progressed far enough to have dealt with them entirely. My months of COVID gave me some much-needed empathy for those who cannot work, even if they want to. We need to reframe what work is as a society, and value humans for different things, especially as technology changes what work even means. That starts with each of us. “Illness, affliction of body and soul, can be life-altering. It has the potential to reveal the most fundamental conflict of the human condition: the tension between our infinite, glorious dreams and desires and our limited, vulnerable, decaying physicality.” —Connie Zweig, The Inner Work of Age: Shifting from Role to Soul The Shadow in money In the Greek myth, King Midas was a wealthy ruler who loved gold above all else. His palace was adorned with golden sculptures and furniture, and he took immense pleasure in his riches. Yet, despite his vast wealth, he yearned for more. After doing a favour for Dionysus, the god of wine and revelry, Midas was granted a single wish. Intoxicated by greed, he wished that everything he touched would turn to gold — and it was so. At first, it was a lot of fun. Midas turned everything else in his palace to gold, even the trees and stones of his estate. After a morning of turning things to gold, he fancied a spot of lunch. But when he tried to eat, the food and drink turned to gold in his mouth. He became thirsty and hungry — and increasingly desperate. As he sat in despair on his golden throne, his beloved young daughter ran to comfort him. For a moment, he forgot his wish — and as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek, she turned into a golden statue, frozen in precious metal. King Midas cried out to the gods to forgive him, to reverse the wish. He renounced his greed and gave away all his wealth, and his daughter was returned to life. The moral of the story: Wealth and greed are bad. In Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge is described as a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner.” He's wealthy but does not share, considering Christmas spending to be frivolous and giving to charity to be worthless. He's saved by a confrontation with his lonely future and becomes a generous man and benefactor of the poor. Wealth is good if you share it with others. The gospel of Matthew, chapter 25: 14-30, tells the parable of the bags of gold, in which a rich man goes on a journey and entrusts his servants with varying amounts of gold. On his return, the servants who multiplied the gold through their efforts and investments are rewarded, while the one who merely returned the gold with no interest is punished: “For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Making money is good, making more money is even better. If you can't make any money, you don't deserve to have any. Within the same gospel, in Matthew 19:24, Jesus encounters a wealthy man and tells him to sell all his possessions and give the money to the poor, which the man is unable to do. Jesus says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Wealth is bad. Give it all away and you'll go to heaven. With all these contradictory messages, no wonder we're so conflicted about money! How do you think and feel about money? While money is mostly tied to our work, it's far more than just a transactional object for most people. It's loaded with complex symbolism and judgment handed down by family, religion, and culture. You are likely to find elements of Shadow by examining your attitudes around money. Consider which of the following statements resonate with you or write your own. Money stresses me out. I don't want to talk about it or think about it. Some people hoard money, so there is inequality. Rich people are bad and we should take away their wealth and give it to the poor.  I can never make enough money to pay the bills, or to give my family what I want to provide. Money doesn't grow on trees.  It's wasteful to spend money as you might need it later, so I'm frugal and don't spend money unless absolutely necessary. It is better and more ethical to be poor than to be rich. I want more money. I read books and watch TV shows about rich people because I want to live like that. Sometimes I spend too much on things for a glimpse of what that might be like.  I buy lottery tickets and dream of winning all that money.  I'm jealous of people who have money. I want more of it and I resent those who have it. I'm no good with money. I don't like to look at my bank statement or credit card statement. I live off my overdraft and I'm in debt. I will never earn enough to get out of debt and start saving, so I don't think too much about it. I don't know enough about money. Talking about it makes me feel stupid, so I just ignore it. People like me aren't educated about money.  I need to make more money. If I can make lots of money, then people will look up to me. If I make lots of money, I will be secure, nothing can touch me, I will be safe.  I never want to be poor. I would be ashamed to be poor. I will never go on benefits. My net worth is my self worth. Money is good. We have the best standard of living in history because of the increase in wealth over time. Even the richest kings of the past didn't have what many middle-class people have today in terms of access to food, water, technology, healthcare, education, and more. The richest people give the most money to the poor through taxation and charity, as well as through building companies that employ people and invent new things. The very richest give away much of their fortunes. They provide far more benefit to the world than the poor.  I love money. Money loves me. Money comes easily and quickly to me. I attract money in multiple streams of income. It flows to me in so many ways. I spend money. I invest money. I give money. I'm happy and grateful for all that I receive. The Shadow around money for authors in particular Many writers and other creatives have issues around money and wealth. How often have you heard the following, and which do you agree with? You can't make money with your writing. You'll be a poor author in a garret, a starving artist.  You can't write ‘good quality' books and make money. If you make money writing, you're a hack, you're selling out. You are less worthy than someone who writes only for the Muse. Your books are commercial, not artistic. If you spend money on marketing, then your books are clearly not good enough to sell on their own. My agent / publisher / accountant / partner deals with the money side. I like to focus on the creative side of things. My money story Note: This is not financial or investment advice. Please talk to a professional about your situation. I've had money issues over the years — haven't we all! But I have been through a (long) process to bring money out of my Shadow and into the light. There will always be more to discover, but hopefully my money story will help you, or at least give you an opportunity to reflect. Like most people, I didn't grow up with a lot of money. My parents started out as teachers, but later my mum — who I lived with, along with my brother — became a change management consultant, moving to the USA and earning a lot more. I'm grateful that she moved into business because her example changed the way I saw money and provided some valuable lessons. (1) You can change your circumstances by learning more and then applying that to leverage opportunity into a new job or career Mum taught English at a school in Bristol when we moved back from Malawi, Africa, in the mid '80s but I remember how stressful it was for her, and how little money she made. She wanted a better future for us all, so she took a year out to do a master's degree in management. In the same way, when I wanted to change careers and leave consulting to become an author, I spent time and money learning about the writing craft and the business of publishing. I still invest a considerable chunk on continuous learning, as this industry changes all the time. (2) You might have to downsize in order to leap forward The year my mum did her degree, we lived in the attic of another family's house; we ate a lot of one-pot casserole and our treat was having a Yorkie bar on the walk back from the museum. We wore hand-me-down clothes, and I remember one day at school when another girl said I was wearing her dress. I denied it, of course, but there in back of the dress was her name tag. I still remember her name and I can still feel that flush of shame and embarrassment. I was determined to never feel like that again. But what I didn't realize at the time was that I was also learning the power of downsizing. Mum got her degree and then a new job in management in Bristol. She bought a house, and we settled for a few years. I had lots of different jobs as a teenager. My favourite was working in the delicatessen because we got a free lunch made from delicious produce. After I finished A-levels, I went to the University of Oxford, and my mum and brother moved to the USA for further opportunities. I've downsized multiple times over the years, taking a step back in order to take a step forward. The biggest was in 2010 when I decided to leave consulting. Jonathan and I sold our three-bedroom house and investments in Brisbane, Australia, and rented a one-bedroom flat in London, so we could be debt-free and live on less while I built up a new career. It was a decade before we bought another house. (3) Comparison can be deadly: there will always be people with more money than you Oxford was an education in many ways and relevant to this chapter is how much I didn't know about things people with money took for granted. I learned about formal hall and wine pairings, and how to make a perfect gin and tonic. I ate smoked salmon for the first time. I learned how to fit in with people who had a lot more money than I did, and I definitely wanted to have money of my own to play with. (4) Income is not wealth You can earn lots but have nothing to show for it after years of working. I learned this in my first few years of IT consulting after university. I earned a great salary and then went contracting, earning even more money at a daily rate. I had a wonderful time. I traveled, ate and drank and generally made merry, but I always had to go back to the day job when the money ran out. I couldn't work out how I could ever stop this cycle. Then I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, a book I still recommend, especially if you're from a family that values academic over financial education. I learned how to escape the rat race by building and/or accumulating assets that pay even when you're not working. It was a revelation! The ‘poor dad' in the book is a university professor. He knows so much about so many things, but he ends up poor as he did not educate himself about money. The ‘rich dad' has little formal education, but he knows about money and wealth because he learned about it, as we can do at any stage in our lives. (5) Not all investments suit every person, so find the right one for you Once I discovered the world of investing, I read all the books and did courses and in-person events. I joined communities and I up-skilled big time. Of course, I made mistakes and learned lots along the way. I tried property investing and renovated a couple of houses for rental (with more practical partners and skilled contractors). But while I could see that property investing might work for some people, I did not care enough about the details to make it work for me, and it was certainly not passive income. I tried other things. My first husband was a boat skipper and scuba diving instructor, so we started a charter. With the variable costs of fuel, the vagaries of New Zealand weather — and our divorce — it didn't last long! From all these experiments, I learned I wanted to run a business, but it needed to be online and not based on a physical location, physical premises, or other people. That was 2006, around the time that blogging started taking off and it became possible to make a living online. I could see the potential and a year later, the iPhone and the Amazon Kindle launched, which became the basis of my business as an author. (6) Boring, automatic saving and investing works best Between 2007 and 2011, I contracted in Australia, where they have compulsory superannuation contributions, meaning you have to save and invest a percentage of your salary or self-employed income. I'd never done that before, because I didn't understand it. I'd ploughed all my excess income into property or the business instead. But in Australia I didn't notice the money going out because it was automatic. I chose a particular fund and it auto-invested every month. The pot grew pretty fast since I didn't touch it, and years later, it's still growing. I discovered the power of compound interest and time in the market, both of which are super boring. This type of investing is not a get rich quick scheme. It's a slow process of automatically putting money into boring investments and doing that month in, month out, year in, year out, automatically for decades while you get on with your life. I still do this. I earn money as an author entrepreneur and I put a percentage of that into boring investments automatically every month. I also have a small amount which is for fun and higher risk investments, but mostly I'm a conservative, risk-averse investor planning ahead for the future. This is not financial advice, so I'm not giving any specifics. I have a list of recommended money books at www.TheCreativePenn.com/moneybooks if you want to learn more. Learning from the Shadow When I look back, my Shadow side around money eventually drove me to learn more and resulted in a better outcome (so far!). I was ashamed of being poor when I had to wear hand-me-down clothes at school. That drove a fear of not having any money, which partially explains my workaholism. I was embarrassed at Oxford because I didn't know how to behave in certain settings, and I wanted to be like the rich people I saw there. I spent too much money in my early years as a consultant because I wanted to experience a “rich” life and didn't understand saving and investing would lead to better things in the future. I invested too much in the wrong things because I didn't know myself well enough and I was trying to get rich quick so I could leave my job and ‘be happy.' But eventually, I discovered that I could grow my net worth with boring, long-term investments while doing a job I loved as an author entrepreneur. My only regret is that I didn't discover this earlier and put a percentage of my income into investments as soon as I started work. It took several decades to get started, but at least I did (eventually) start. My money story isn't over yet, and I keep learning new things, but hopefully my experience will help you reflect on your own and avoid the issue if it's still in Shadow. These chapters are excerpted from Writing the Shadow: Turn Your Inner Darkness Into Words by Joanna Penn  The post Writing The Shadow: The Creative Wound, Publishing, And Money, With Joanna Penn first appeared on The Creative Penn.

APPLY for Magnetic Muse >> https://www.khorrocks.com/coachingDM me on Instagram >> https://www.instagram.com/kat_horrocks/This episode is for the woman who has built a beautiful life on paper… but doesn't always feel good inside it.You're capable, intelligent, successful, and trusted by everyone around you. And yet, your nervous system rarely switches off. You overthink behind closed doors, hold yourself to impossibly high standards, and struggle to fully let go of control.In your relationship, things might feel loving but flat. More roommate energy than romance. More logistics than desire. You miss feeling pursued, chosen, and deeply connected, but you're exhausted and rarely fully present.And underneath it all, you don't want to burn your life down. You're grateful for what you have. You just want to feel more alive inside it.In This Episode, We Explore:The signs you're successful on paper but disconnected in your bodyWhy so many high-achieving women live in constant overdriveHow over-functioning, control, and people-pleasing show up in work and relationshipsThe difference between understanding change and embodying itWhy embodiment work creates shifts in love, leadership, and lifeThe moment Kat knew she had to train in sex, love, and relationship coachingWhy your intuition often speaks before your mind catches upHow Magnetic Muse was shaped through real client work and lived experience

"Halstonette" Chris Royer joins us for to discuss her life working alongside the legendary designer Halston and her instrumental role in keeping his legacy alive to this very day. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠classes⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠bookshelf⁠⁠⁠ with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Halstonette" Chris Royer joins us for to discuss her life working alongside the legendary designer Halston and her instrumental role in keeping his legacy alive to this very day. Want more Dressed: The History of Fashion?  Our ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠classes⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ Our ⁠⁠⁠bookshelf⁠⁠⁠ with over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

En este episodio te invito a elegir una palabra que guíe la energía de tu año, que funcione como una brújula energética que te ayude a mantenerte conectada con tu intención.Platicamos también, sobre cómo la Luna Nueva en Capricornio nos recuerda que la responsabilidad y compromiso con uno mismo es un gran poder: el poder de elegir cómo caminar tu camino, con qué actitud, y qué dirección tomar.La energía de este momento nos muestra que nadie más tiene injerencia sobre nuestra evolución más que nosotros mismas. Y desde ese lugar, sembrar tu palabra del año puede ser un acto poderoso de coherencia.Te comparto al final del episodio una práctica para conectar con la tu palabra de este año.Amo saber lo que mueven los episodios en ti… mándame un mensaje por IG en @mujerconcalma o déjame tus preguntas o comentarios aquí abajo. Si todo lo que escuchas en este podcast resuena demasiado en tu energía, te recomiendo ampliamente explorar los cursos o experiencias que comparto para tener más claridad sobre tu diseño divino y tu proceso de transformación. Si te gusta hacer el trabajo interior a tu propio ritmo, inscribirte a SOUL JOURNEY y aprovechar todos los recursos a lo largo de un año. Su aún no has leído mi libro ES AHORA, te recomiendo comprarlo en tu librería favorita en México, Amazon.mx o en cualquiera de sus formatos digitales. -------------------------------------------------------- - Si vives en México, prueba los tés para meditar que diseñé para hacer de esta experiencia una más profunda: encuéntralos en Eurtoté.com - Te recomiendo algunos productos que considero muy valiosos con los cuales con tu compra, recibo una comisión, y por supuesto, tu, un descuento especial_ Muse headband: una maravilla para medir las ondas cerebrales y tener un entrenamiento personalizado para aprender a...

durée : 00:48:58 - La 20e heure - par : Eva Bester - Musicien éclectique aux accent seventies, passionné par le cinéma et la musique à l'image, Émile Sornin revient avec un nouvel album, "Mechior vol.1", chez Born Bad Records et retrace pour nous son parcours d'autodidacte et son activité parallèle de réalisateur - invités : Emile Sornin - Emile Sornin : Multi-intrumentiste et réalisateur de clips - réalisé par : Lola COSTANTINI Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

This week I am joined by the incredible Gary Vee…a visionary who often speaks about hustle, but today, sits with us to talk about heart. The conversation began before the microphones turned on. With my own children gathered around him, asking questions and soaking up his words. He took the time to talk with them and share his wisdom. It spoke volumes about who he was, how he relates to people of all ages, and the valuable words he has to offer. Once we started recording, he continued the conversation with the same authenticity. We stripped away the layers of "shoulds" and expectations that society places on us. We explored what it really looks like to stop apologizing for who you are and start celebrating it. Gary shares his unique perspective on why the fear of judgment is what's standing between you and the life you crave, and how self-awareness is the ultimate form of self-love. Inside this episode, we discuss: Why success doesn't shape character…it exposes it How fear gets passed down quietly through generations Why so many adults are still waiting for approval long past childhood How entitlement replaces gratitude and erodes resilience without us noticing Why failure is formative, not damaging What happens when self-awareness replaces performance The moment adulthood actually begins If you have been feeling the call to reinvent yourself, to pivot, or simply to show up more boldly in your own skin, this episode is for you. Remember, it is never too late to become the woman you were always meant to be. If you want to continue this work of remembering who you are beneath the noise, my book Muse is available now. A guide for women reclaiming identity, authority, and their inner voice. Connect with Dr. Amanda on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/midlife.muse/ Connect with Gary Vee: https://www.instagram.com/garyvee/ Order your copy of Muse https://amandahanson.com/book/

Dans les années 1930, Henri Matisse est déjà un artiste consacré. Mais une rencontre avec une jeune Russe va l'aider à renouveler son œuvre. Lydia sera sa muse, et beaucoup plus encore…Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic's Daily Shots of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates -- three separate podcasts -- every weekday morning on the DK Pittsburgh Sports podcasting network, available on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/dkpghsports Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

¿Con qué actitud vas a elegir caminar este 2026? En este episodio platicamos sobre el mindset y la diferencia de la experiencia de vida cuando elegimos ver con un ángulo que favorece la realidad o no. Inscríbete al Soul Journey y aprovecha el Detox Energético que esta incluido.Descarga los ejercicios que acompañan la meditación aquí.Adquiere los tés para meditar aquí. Amo saber lo que mueven los episodios en ti… mándame un mensaje por IG en @mujerconcalma o déjame tus preguntas o comentarios aquí abajo. Si todo lo que escuchas en este podcast resuena demasiado en tu energía, te recomiendo ampliamente explorar los cursos o experiencias que comparto para tener más claridad sobre tu diseño divino y tu proceso de transformación. Si te gusta hacer el trabajo interior a tu propio ritmo, inscribirte a SOUL JOURNEY y aprovechar todos los recursos a lo largo de un año. Su aún no has leído mi libro ES AHORA, te recomiendo comprarlo en tu librería favorita en México, Amazon.mx o en cualquiera de sus formatos digitales. -------------------------------------------------------- - Si vives en México, prueba los tés para meditar que diseñé para hacer de esta experiencia una más profunda: encuéntralos en Eurtoté.com - Te recomiendo algunos productos que considero muy valiosos con los cuales con tu compra, recibo una comisión, y por supuesto, tu, un descuento especial_ Muse headband: una maravilla para medir las ondas cerebrales y tener un entrenamiento personalizado para aprender a...

Nico, au-delà du Velvet Portrait de Nico, bien plus qu'une des grandes icones du rock du 20ème siècle. Covergirl, actrice, musicienne, compositrice, chanteuse, muse, c'est tout cela et bien plus encore qu'était Nico. Si on la connait surtout pour avoir joué et chanté avec le Velvet Underground, Nico a aussi une longue carrière musicale en solo, 6 albums fascinant et singuliers, faits d'ombre et de lumières, de cordes fantomatiques et d'orgues graves. Rencontre avec la journaliste et réalisatrice Clémentine Boulard, qui vient d'écrire le livre « Qui a peur d'être dans le noir » paru aux editions Le boulon… Merci pour votre écoute Un Jour dans l'Histoire, c'est également en direct tous les jours de la semaine de 13h15 à 14h30 sur www.rtbf.be/lapremiere Retrouvez tous les épisodes d'Un Jour dans l'Histoire sur notre plateforme Auvio.be :https://auvio.rtbf.be/emission/5936 Intéressés par l'histoire ? Vous pourriez également aimer nos autres podcasts : L'Histoire Continue: https://audmns.com/kSbpELwL'heure H : https://audmns.com/YagLLiKEt sa version à écouter en famille : La Mini Heure H https://audmns.com/YagLLiKAinsi que nos séries historiques :Chili, le Pays de mes Histoires : https://audmns.com/XHbnevhD-Day : https://audmns.com/JWRdPYIJoséphine Baker : https://audmns.com/wCfhoEwLa folle histoire de l'aviation : https://audmns.com/xAWjyWCLes Jeux Olympiques, l'étonnant miroir de notre Histoire : https://audmns.com/ZEIihzZMarguerite, la Voix d'une Résistante : https://audmns.com/zFDehnENapoléon, le crépuscule de l'Aigle : https://audmns.com/DcdnIUnUn Jour dans le Sport : https://audmns.com/xXlkHMHSous le sable des Pyramides : https://audmns.com/rXfVppvN'oubliez pas de vous y abonner pour ne rien manquer.Et si vous avez apprécié ce podcast, n'hésitez pas à nous donner des étoiles ou des commentaires, cela nous aide à le faire connaître plus largement. Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Episode 92 - Murdock and Marvel: 2018 It was a great year for comics, everywhere except the shops, and movies, graphic novels and TV continued to do well.  The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Comics Top Comic News Notable Passings Marvel Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil v5 #595-610, Daredevil Annual #1, She-Hulk #159, Falcon #6, All-New Wolverine #33, Avengers #687-689, Hunt for Wolverine #1, Hunt for Wolverine: Weapon Lost #1-4, Hunt for Wolverine: Dead Ends #1, Infinity Countdown: Daredevil #1, True Believers: Infinity War #1, True Believers: Fantastic Four – The Wedding of Redd & Sue #1, True Believers: Marvel Knights 20th Anniversary – Daredevil by Bendis and Maleev #1, True Believers: What if Kraven the Hunter Had Killed Spider-Man? #1  Writer: Charles Soule (#595-610)  Pencils: Stefano Landini (#595-597), Ron Garney (#598-600), Mike Henderson (#601-605), Phil Noto (#606-610)  Inks: Stefano Landini (#595-597), Ron Garney (#598-600), Mike Henderson (#601-605), Phil Noto (#606-610)  Most of 2018 is devoted to one storyline – Mayor Fisk. The Kingpin has fully legitimized himself — not in the shadows or backrooms like the past, but right out in public with a suit, a flag pin, and a press conference. His first major move? He weaponizes the entire NYPD against vigilantes. Anyone in a mask is now considered a rogue element. And he's specifically asked the DA's office, and in particular Matt Murdock, build a case against Daredevil.  But that doesn't last very long as Fisk offers Murdock a job as Deputy Mayor (keep your friends close…) which Murdock surprisingly accepts. Fisk's plan is to keep him occupied with things of his choosing so Fisk can continue what he's doing without Murdock full attention.   Meanwhile, the inhuman serial killer Muse escapes from prison so Frank McGee (head of security force for New Attilan) asks Daredevil to help find him while Muse creates new pro vigilante art throughout the city. But it's Blindspot who ends up coming face to face with the killer who once took his sight. Meanwhile, 6 cops get killed in the Meatpacking District and Fisk uses it as an opportunity to further demonize vigilante's by blaming the killings on Frank Castle aka the Punisher.    In an oversized issue 600 adorned on the cover with the who's who of street level heroes and villains behind our man in red. In it we see a trap set by Fisk to roundup street level heroes as well as the confrontation between Blindspot and Muse that ends up having major consequences. This issue will be our spotlight story this week.  Over the next few issues, we see Matt Murdock as the acting mayor and see him enlist heroes and then villains in the fight against the hand. Murdock fires Welsey, Fisk's chief of Staff, for fighting him every step of the way and installs his lifelong friend Foggy Nelson in the role – He also gets to act as cover so Matt can go out and fight the hand as Daredevil. This continues until the Hand launches their latest offensive – a gas cloud that incapacitates Matt Murdock who was looking down at the city from the roof of city hall. And he's only able to be awoken by Father Jordan, Matt's priest, who arrives at city hall offering the help of Ordo Draconum, The Order of the Dragon, of whom Jordan is a member.   The story comminates with a final battle at City Hall that includes horses and swords. It ends with Daredevil plunging a sword into the Beast and a bright white light. With the Hand now defeated, Matt and Wilson Fisk, who has recovered, talk. To spare New York further stress and political turmoil, Matt agrees to relinquish the mayor's office back to Fisk, but only on the condition that Fisk ends his anti-vigilante crusade. Fisk agrees to the terms. As Matt and Foggy are leaving, Matt overhears Fisk and his associate Wesley admitting to rigging the mayoral election.  Now knowing for sure the election was rigged, Daredevil reaches out to Frank McGee to help him start an investigation into Wilson Fisk. McGee brings in a couple inhumans to help them with the case. Cypher, who can read and understand any code or language as well as Reader (and his dog Forey) who has the ability to make anything he reads manifest into reality 3 times per day.   In a short 2-book story in the latter part of the year, we see the return of Mike Murdock – and not just Matt Murdock pretending to be his twin brother but an actual separate person. Daredevil saves Mike from some C list villains at the Bar with No Name. We learn Reader read Mike into existence and can easily erase him. But Mike insists on talking to his brother Matt. He escapes and enlists Foggy's help (at gunpoint) in setting up a meeting.   The two meet in public and after talking Matt lets Mike leave saying it's not their decision to erase Mike anymore. Mike then approaches Wilson Fisk and to prove he's not Matt, tells Fisk that Matt knows he rigged the election and is trying to build a case against him. The story ends with the Hood offering Mike an opportunity to prove himself.  The year ends with the start of the final story arc of volume 5 “The Death of Daredevil” which spills over into 2019 so we are going to save this story until next episode. This Week's Spotlight: Daredevil Volume 5, Issue 600 May 2018 “Mayor Fisk part 6”  Recap Why We Picked This Story Daredevil Rapid Fire Questions The Takeaway Everything is a circle! Questions or comments We'd love to hear from you!  Email us at questions@comicsovertime.com or find us on Twitter @comicsoftime. ------------------ THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CREATORS AND RESOURCES  Music: Our theme music is by the very talented Lesfm.  You can find more about them and their music at https://pixabay.com/users/lesfm-22579021/.  The Grand Comics Database: Dan uses custom queries against a downloadable copy of the GCD to construct his publisher, title and creator charts.  Comichron: Our source for comic book sales data.  Marvel Year By Year: A Visual History  DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_English-language_comics  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Marvel_Comics_superhero_debuts  https://comicbookreadingorders.com/marvel/event-timeline/  https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards/past-recipients/past-recipients-1990s/ 

Start Artist Song Time FEATURED ARTIST 0:00:56 Neil Wighton Wings of Gold 9:24 The Muse 2026 0:12:13 Neil Wighton Precious Life 6:50 The Muse 2025 0:20:12 Neil Wighton Cry an Ocean 7:31 The Muse 2026 0:28:33 Neil Wighton Among The Living Dead 10:14 The Muse 2026 0:39:38 Neil Wighton Lonely Waters 7:26 The Muse 2026 0:47:05 Neil Wighton There Will Come A Time 3:46 The Muse 2026 0:52:21 Neil Wighton The Secret 6:34 The Muse 2026 NEW SINGLES 0:59:57 Ozul Cold war in silence 6:17 Stillborn Hope Vol. I 2026 1:07:49 The Guv Angels and Jerks 2:51 Single 2026 1:10:40 Witchcraft A Sinner’s Child 4:24 Single 2025 1:15:04 Trope Sigil 5:18 Dyad 2026 0:10:45 newspaperflyhunting A Moment 8:54 Timeless EP 2025 1:30:04 Paper Crown Someone Else 3:45 Letters 2026 INSTRUMENTALS 1:35:05 Ulver They’re Coming! The Birds! 2:47 Neverland 2025 1:37:52 Tollheit Left Hand Path (Part 1) 2:25 Guilty Pleasures 2025 1:40:18 Tollheit Left Hand Path (Part 2) 3:29 Guilty Pleasures 2025 1:43:47 Andrew Latimer War Stories Pt. 3 3:52 War Stories 2025 1:47:38 The Rome Pro(G)ject VI Ad Gloriam Romae 6:01 … and thus The End 2025 NEW ALBUMS 1:55:09 Colin Clue Ultimate wisdom 6:20 Ultimate Wisdom 2025 2:01:28 Imperial Measures Taking My Time 3:47 Threefold 2025 2:05:16 Imperatore Orion 4:52 The Lionspirit 2025 2:10:08 Darktribe Son Of Illusion 5:54 Forgotten Reveries 2025 MULTI PLAYED ALBUMS 2:16:50 Alpenstock Back in the Spiritual World 2:54 Boudu Story 2025 Hypnotic Floor Sunlight 6:13 The Friendly Moss Forest Creatures Lived Happily In Perpetual Twilight 2025 Atomic Sun Atomic Sun Suite (Part 2) 8:49 Atomic Sun 2025 3rd Ear Experience Longchenpa’s Call 2:58 The Twilight Sutra 2025 Mind Overclock I Am A Son Of The Cosmos (feat. Marco Ragni) 4:13 Cosmic Rituals 2025 The Prophets of Zarquon Pastoral 5:53 Galleon Ascending 2025 Paravane Miserable With You 9:03 Forever Is A Long Time Ago 2025 Crack the Sky Artificial Man 3:47 Blessed 2025 The Imperfectionist Collective Blue 3:47 Solitaire 2025 WORLD PREMIERE SINGLE Falling Edge Lost in Avalon 9:06 2025 BACK TO MULTI PLAYED ALBUMS Maze of Time Look Beyond the Shadows 7:21 Look Beyond the Shadows 2025 Stinkbug Hourglass 7:57 Between Timid and Timbuktu 2025 NeversiN V 7:41 The Loop Theory 2025 Homme Mon évidence 6:24 Ma Vie en Théorèmes 2025 John Hackett Band Too Easy 5:42 Red Institution 2025 Alan Morse Everyday Is Insane 6:06 So Many Words 2026 Tollheit Nectar of the Gods 16:11 Piper’s Honey 2025 NEW PETER GABRIEL SINGLE Peter Gabriel Been Undone (Dark-Side Mix) 7:38 o/i 2026 PETER JONES FEATURE Tiger Moth Tales Music from The Balcony 2:02 The Piano Chronicles, Vol 3: Teignmouth Inspirations 2025 Tiger Moth Tales Fall at Your Feet (Crowded House Cover) (bonus) 3:07 The Piano Chronicles, Vol 3: Teignmouth Inspirations 2025 Andrew Latimer War Stories Pt. 1 6:28 War Stories 2025 Andrew Latimer War Stories Pt. 5 7:32 War Stories 2025

part 2 on https://www.patreon.com/churchofchill please help spread the word and support WILD MAGIC https://www.wildmagic.tv New Church of Chill hoodies, shirts, and stickers available on Etsy. https://www.churchofchill.etsy.com

Oh my goodness dear ones….sigh. Big stuff happening…Here are a few invitations for how to care for yourselfSacred Time - to slow downSacred Space - walking in natureSacred Self-Expression - become obsessed with your creativityand of course…Tea with the MuseThese are ways to regulate your own nervous system by conscious choice. Intentional chemistry and intentional creativity go hand in hand.And my thoughts on this topic, of which I know so little. Don't take it from me, find your own sources….Tea with the Muse features my thoughtrs, poetry and invitations to self-care and self-expressionMore to come as we learn more... Get full access to Tea with the Muse at teawiththemuse.substack.com/subscribe

Ce week-end, découvrez A la folie, pas du tout, le podcast de Bababam qui raconte l'amour et le désamour. Derrière la belle histoire, nous vous racontons l'envers du décor... Découvrez la face cachée d'un couple de peintres : Françoise Gilot et Pablo Picasso. Cinquante ans après sa mort, le monde de l'art rend encore hommage à l'œuvre monumentale de Picasso. Pourtant, ces nombreuses expositions occultent souvent le calvaire qu'il a fait vivre à ses compagnes, et surtout, le courage de celle qui lui a dit non. En 4 épisodes, à travers ce couple, nous allons vous dévoiler comment Picasso est passé maître dans l'art de la violence. Un podcast Bababam Originals Ecriture : Lucie Kervern Voix : François Marion, Lucrèce Sassella Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recorded in Paris at Muse & Heroine's Healing House, Mikaela MacLean (Director of Intuitive Skin Science at LILFOX) sits down with founder and beauty curator Janine Knizia for an insider conversation on skincare rituals, longevity, and next-generation ingredients. Janine shares how her early obsession with INCI lists led from a career in fashion to building Muse & Heroine, curating brands with uncompromising standards, and launching her own skincare line.They cover what it really takes to vet a skincare brand (and why it can take months), the daily rituals Janine refuses to skip, and the growing future of ocean-derived biotechnology, bio-fermented microorganisms, NAD, senescent “zombie cells,” and exosomes. Plus, lessons from the beauty industry, boundaries, integrity, and the personal “why” behind longevity.Stay tuned for an exciting collaboration announcement from Muse & Heroine, LILFOX + Mikaela MacLean...Highlights:How a true beauty curator evaluates brands and why vetting can take 3–6 monthsThe non-negotiable rituals that keep skin resilient: masking, sauna, and AM/PM routinesWhy Janine moved from fashion into wellness and beauty, and her stance against devaluing productsThe longevity conversation inside skincare: telomeres, mitochondria, senescent cellsWhat's next in skincare innovation: bioidentical exosomes and ocean-based ingredientsBoundaries in the beauty industry and choosing founders with integrityDesert island skincare picks, including the "iconic” LILFOX Flower Goo and Janine's Taffy Creme Longevity + biohacking framed as holistic lifestyle (not bro science)Muse & Heroine: website https://museandheroine.com/Instagram: @muse_and_heroine & @janinekniziaskincareLILFOX: @lilfox.beauty 

Send us a textIntro: Low by Flo RidaAlbum 2: Black Holes and Revelations by Muse (2006)Song 1: Map of the ProblematiqueSong 2: AssassinSong 3: City of DelusionAlbum 1: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends by Coldplay (2008)Song 1: 42Song 2: LowSong 3: Death and All His FriendsOutro: The Escapist

Farrah lives a life devoted to the high heart and sacred spirit. She grew up in Boston, MA and now lives on the coast of North Carolina with her orange tabby cat named Baby.From a very young age she has always been deeply connected to Spirit and finds fulfillment in sharing what she experiences, integrates, and reflects upon. She is a devoted yogi, writer, artist, and spirit channel. She hosts live monthly writing workshops focused on spirituality, self reflection, connection to the infinite and beyond. In an age of advancing A.I and false voices, Farrah's goal is to support the community in finding their authentic & unique voice expression, empowering them to use it and to grow this community of soul writers like a star constellation imprinting their essence into the galaxy.On instagram and substack you can find her @spiritcrescendohttps://substack.com/@spiritcrescendo/note/p-182174623?r=2e4fuq&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-actionSupport the showThanks for listening and for your friendship. Interested in taking a yoga teacher training, working with me as your Ayurveda Health Counselor, or going on an upcoming retreat? Check out the Madre & The Muse website for details.www.madreandthemuse.com

Esta es una meditación de Año Nuevo para conectar con la sabiduría del alma y, desde ahí, poder ver con claridad el rumbo y la proyección del deseo profundo que el alma tiene para esta vida.Antes de entrar en la visualización, guiamos a la mente a través de una inducción suave de hipnosis, creando un estado de profunda relajación y conexión interior. Desde este espacio de calma y presencia, la mente puede ponerse al servicio del alma y abrirse a recibir su guía.Esta meditación es una invitación a recordar el camino verdadero, a escuchar la promesa con la que tu alma nació y a soltar los caminos falsos o forzados que ya no están alineados con tu esencia. Permítete entrar en un estado interno de confianza, verdad y coherencia, desde donde los deseos más auténticos encuentran dirección y vida.Ideal para el inicio de un nuevo año, cierres de ciclo o momentos de renacimiento interno.Que esta práctica te acompañe a volver a tu centro, honrar tu camino y elegirlo con amor.Acompaña el trabajo junto con el ejercicio que preparé para ti, solo tienes que descargarlo aquí.Descarga los ejercicios que acompañan la meditación aquí.Adquiere los tés para meditar aquí. Amo saber lo que mueven los episodios en ti… mándame un mensaje por IG en @mujerconcalma o déjame tus preguntas o comentarios aquí abajo. Si todo lo que escuchas en este podcast resuena demasiado en tu energía, te recomiendo ampliamente explorar los cursos o experiencias que comparto para tener más claridad sobre tu diseño divino y tu proceso de transformación. Si te gusta hacer el trabajo interior a tu propio ritmo, inscribirte a SOUL JOURNEY y aprovechar todos los recursos a lo largo de un año. Su aún no has leído mi libro ES AHORA, te recomiendo comprarlo en tu librería favorita en México, Amazon.mx o en cualquiera de sus formatos digitales. -------------------------------------------------------- - Si vives en México, prueba los tés para meditar que diseñé para hacer de esta experiencia una más profunda: encuéntralos en Eurtoté.com - Te recomiendo algunos productos que considero muy valiosos con los cuales con tu compra, recibo una comisión, y por supuesto, tu, un descuento especial_ Muse headband: una maravilla para medir las ondas cerebrales y tener un entrenamiento personalizado para aprender a...

Also: is shortsightedness part of human nature? This episode originally aired on May 30th, 2021. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In today's episode I sit down with Frank, Kathie and Jonny Muse and talk with them about how they came to be the business they are today. Frank and Kathie have worked together for many years, and they wouldn't want it any other way. Building and growing a business for them has always been about family, treating their employees and customers right, and never being a single service outfit.We also talk about their involvement in the Sierra Cascade Logging Conference and how they've grown strong connections between industry and the community through their work with the SCLC. The annual Forest Products and Construction Equipment Expo will be held at the Shasta District Fair & Event Center in Anderson, California from Thursday February 5th to Saturday February 7th, 2026. The area will be filled with vendors from all sides of the industry, a log loading competition and an excavator rodeo. You won't want to miss this event.I would like to thank Frank, Kathie and Jonny for taking time out of their busy day to sit down and chat with me.

Meet @msmaverickmuse, vintage queen, creative powerhouse, and estate-sale treasure hunter! She and Get Thrifty host Maggie Scivicque (@podcastwithmaggie) talk Hollywood glam, turning thrift finds into opportunity, and how to be your own muse.   SHOW NOTES: Epic vintage and Hollywood glam! Tips on being your own muse! Develop a "Designer Eye" for fabrics and patterns. Estate sales are hidden treasures, especially for vintage. Don't overlook thrifted finds for resale. Her amazing brand collabs! How thrifting helped her launch her creative career in LA. How shopping secondhand can empower artists and creators financially and creatively.

How can you be more relaxed about your writing process? What are some specific ways to take the pressure off your art and help you enjoy the creative journey? With Joanna Penn and Mark Leslie Lefebvre. In the intro, Spotify 2025 audiobook trends; Audible + BookTok; NonFiction Authors Guide to SubStack; OpenAI and Disney agreement on Sora; India AI licensing; Business for Authors January webinars; Mark and Jo over the years Mark Leslie LeFebvre is the author of horror and paranormal fiction, as well as nonfiction books for authors. He's also an editor, professional speaker, and the Director of Business Development at Draft2Digital. Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers, dark fantasy, and memoir as J.F. Penn. She's also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. Mark and Jo co-wrote The Relaxed Author in 2021. You can listen to us talk about the process here. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights, and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why the ‘relaxed' author Write what you love Write at your own pace Write in a series (if you want to) Schedule time to fill the creative well and for rest and relaxation Improve your writing process — but only if it fits with your lifestyle You can find The Relaxed Author: Take the Pressure Off Your Art and Enjoy the Creative Journey on CreativePennBooks.com as well as on your favorite online store or audiobook platform, or order in your library or bookstore. You can find Mark Leslie Lefebvre and his books and podcast at Stark Reflections.ca Why the ‘relaxed' author? Joanna: The definition of relaxed is “free from tension and anxiety,” from the Latin laxus, meaning loose, and to be honest, I am not a relaxed or laid-back person in the broader sense. Back in my teens, my nickname at school was Highly Stressed. I'm a Type A personality, driven by deadlines and achieving goals. I love to work and I burned out multiple times in my previous career as an IT consultant. If we go away on a trip, I pack the schedule with back-to-back cultural things like museums and art galleries to help my book research. Or we go on adventure holidays with a clear goal, like cycling down the South-West coast of India. I can't even go for a long walk without training for another ultra-marathon! So I am not a relaxed person — but I am a relaxed author. If I wanted to spend most of my time doing something that made me miserable, I would go back to my old day job in consulting. I was paid well and worked fewer hours overall. But I measure my life by what I create, and if I am not working on a creative project, I am not able to truly relax in my downtime. There are always more things I want to learn and write about, always more stories to be told and knowledge to share. I don't want to kill my writing life by over-stressing or burning out as an author. I write what I love and follow my Muse into projects that feel right. I know how to publish and market books well enough to reach readers and make some money. I have many different income streams through my books, podcast and website. Of course, I still have my creative and business challenges as well as mindset issues, just like any writer. That never goes away. But after a decade as a full-time author entrepreneur, I have a mature creative business and I've relaxed into the way I do things. I love to write, but I also want a full and happy, healthy life. I'm still learning and improving as the industry shifts — and I change, too. I still have ambitious creative and financial goals, but I am going about them in a more relaxed way and in this book, I'll share some of my experiences and tips in the hope that you can discover your relaxed path, too. Mark: One of the most fundamental things you can do in your writing life is look at how you want to spend your time. I think back to the concept of: ‘You're often a reflection of the people you spend the most time with.' Therefore, typically, your best friend, or perhaps your partner, is often a person you love spending time with. Because there's something inherently special about spending time with this person who resonates in a meaningful way, and you feel more yourself because you're with them. In many ways, writing, or the path that you are on as a writer, is almost like being on a journey with an invisible partner. You are you. But you are also the writer you. And there's the two of you traveling down the road of life together. And so that same question arises. What kind of writer-self do you want to spend all your time with? Do you want to spend all your time with a partner that is constantly stressed out or constantly trying to reach deadlines based on somebody else's prescription of what success is? Or would you rather spend time with a partner who pauses to take a contemplative look at your own life, your own comfort, your own passion and the things that you are willing to commit to? Someone who allows that all to happen in a way that feels natural and comfortable to you. I'm a fan of the latter, of course, because then you can focus on the things you're passionate about and the things you're hopeful about rather than the things you're fearful about and those that bring anxiety and stress into your life. To me, that's part of being a relaxed author. That underlying acceptance before you start to plan things out. If the writing life is a marathon, not a sprint, then pacing, not rushing, may be the key. We have both seen burnout in the author community. People who have pushed themselves too hard and just couldn't keep up with the impossible pace they set for themselves. At times, indie authors would wear that stress, that anxiety, that rush to produce more and more, as a badge of honor. It's fine to be proud of the hard work that you do. It's fine to be proud of pushing yourself to always do better, and be better. But when you push too far — beyond your limits — you can ultimately do yourself more harm than good. Everyone has their own unique pace—something that they are comfortable with—and one key is to experiment until you find that pace, and you can settle in for the long run. There's no looking over your shoulder at the other writers. There's no panicking about the ones outpacing you. You're in this with yourself. And, of course, with those readers who are anticipating those clearly communicated milestones of your releases. I think that what we both want for authors is to see them reaching those milestones at their own paces, in their own comfort, delighting in the fact their readers are there cheering them on. Because we'll be silently cheering them along as well, knowing that they've set a pace, making relaxed author lifestyle choices, that will benefit them in the long run. “I'm glad you're writing this book. I know I'm not the only author who wants peace, moments of joy, and to enjoy the journey. Indie publishing is a luxury that I remember not having, I don't want to lose my sense of gratitude.” —Anonymous author from our survey Write what you love Joanna: The pandemic has taught us that life really is short. Memento mori — remember, you will die. What is the point of spending precious time writing books you don't want to write? If we only have a limited amount of time and only have a limited number of books that we can write in a lifetime, then we need to choose to write the books that we love. If I wanted a job doing something I don't enjoy, then I would have remained in my stressful old career as an IT consultant — when I certainly wasn't relaxed! Taking that further, if you try to write things you don't love, then you're going to have to read what you don't love as well, which will take more time. I love writing thrillers because that's what I love to read. Back when I was miserable in my day job, I would go to the bookstore at lunchtime and buy thrillers. I would read them on the train to and from work and during the lunch break. Anything for a few minutes of escape. That's the same feeling I try to give my readers now. I know the genre inside and out. If I had to write something else, I would have to read and learn that other genre and spend time doing things I don't love. In fact, I don't even know how you can read things you don't enjoy. I only give books a few pages and if they don't resonate, I stop reading. Life really is too short. You also need to run your own race and travel your own journey. If you try to write in a genre you are not immersed in, you will always be looking sideways at what other authors are doing, and that can cause comparisonitis — when you compare yourself to others, most often in an unfavorable way. Definitely not relaxing! Writing something you love has many intrinsic rewards other than sales. Writing is a career for many of us, but it's a passion first, and you don't want to feel like you've wasted your time on words you don't care about. “Write what you know” is terrible advice for a long-term career as at some point, you will run out of what you know. It should be “write what you want to learn about.” When I want to learn about a topic, I write a book on it because that feeds my curiosity and I love book research, it's how I enjoy spending my time, especially when I travel, which is also part of how I relax. If you write what you love and make it part of your lifestyle, you will be a far more relaxed author. Mark: It's common that writers are drawn into storytelling from some combination of passion, curiosity, and unrelenting interest. We probably read or saw something that inspired us, and we wanted to express those ideas or the resulting perspectives that percolated in our hearts and minds. Or we read something and thought, “Wow, I could do this; but I would have come at it differently or I would approach the situation or subject matter with my own flair.” So, we get into writing with passion and desire for storytelling. And then sometimes along the way, we recognize the critical value of having to become an entrepreneur, to understand the business of writing and publishing. And part of understanding that aspect of being an author is writing to market, and understanding shifts and trends in the industry, and adjusting to those ebbs and flows of the tide. But sometimes, we lose sight of the passion that drew us to writing in the first place. And so, writing the things that you love can be a beacon to keep you on course. I love the concept of “Do something that you love, and you'll never work a day in your life.” And that's true in some regard because I've always felt that way for almost my entire adult life. I've been very lucky. But at the same time, I work extremely hard at what I love. Some days are harder than others, and some things are really difficult, frustrating and challenging; but at the end of the day, I have the feeling of satisfaction that I spent my time doing something I believe in. I've been a bookseller my entire life even though I don't sell books in brick-and-mortar bookstores anymore—that act of physically putting books in people's hands. But to this day, what I do is virtually putting books in people's hands, both as an author and as an industry representative who is passionate about the book business. I was drawn to that world via my passion for writing. And that's what continues to compel me forward. I tried to leave the corporate world to write full time in 2018 but realized there was an intrinsic satisfaction to working in that realm, to embracing and sharing my insights and knowledge from that arena to help other writers. And I couldn't give that up. For me, the whole core, the whole essence of why I get up in the morning has to do with storytelling, creative inspiration, and wanting to inspire and inform other people to be the best that they can be in the business of writing and publishing. And that's what keeps me going when the days are hard. Passion as the inspiration to keep going There are always going to be days that aren't easy. There will be unexpected barriers that hit you as a writer. You'll face that mid-novel slump or realize that you have to scrap an entire scene or even plotline, and feel like going back and re-starting is just too much. You might find the research required to be overwhelming or too difficult. There'll be days when the words don't flow, or the inspiration that initially struck you seems to have abandoned you for greener pastures. Whatever it is, some unexpected frustration can create what can appear to be an insurmountable block. And, when that happens, if it's a project you don't love, you're more likely to let those barriers get in your way and stop you. But if it's a project that you're passionate about, and you're writing what you love, that alone can be what greases the wheels and helps reduce that friction to keep you going. At the end of the day, writing what you love can be a honing, grounding, and centering beacon that allows you to want to wake up in the morning and enjoy the process as much as possible even when the hard work comes along. “For me, relaxation comes from writing what I know and love and trusting the emergent process. As a discovery writer, I experience great joy when the story, characters and dialogue simply emerge in their own time and their own way. It feels wonderful.” — Valerie Andrews “Writing makes me a relaxed author. Just getting lost in a story of my own creation, discovering new places and learning what makes my characters tick is the best way I know of relaxing. Even the tricky parts, when I have no idea where I am going next, have a special kind of charm.” – Imogen Clark Write at your own pace Mark: Writing at your own pace will help you be a more relaxed author because you're not stressing out by trying to keep up with someone else. Of course, we all struggle with comparing ourselves to others. Take a quick look around and you can always find someone who has written more books than you. Nora Roberts, traditionally published author, writes a book a month. Lindsey Buroker, fantasy indie author, writes a book a month of over 100,000 words. If you compare yourself to someone else and you try to write at their pace, that is not going to be your relaxed schedule. On the other hand, if you compare yourself to Donna Tartt, who writes one book every decade, you might feel like some speed-demon crushing that word count and mastering rapid release. Looking at what others are doing could result in you thinking you're really slow or you could think that you're super-fast. What does that kind of comparison actually get you? I remember going to see a talk by Canadian literary author Farley Mowat when I was a young budding writer. I'll never forget one thing he said from that stage: “Any book that takes you less than four years to write is not a real book.” Young teenage Mark was devastated, hurt and disappointed to hear him say that because my favorite author at the time, Piers Anthony, was writing and publishing two to three novels a year. I loved his stuff, and his fantasy and science fiction had been an important inspiration in my writing at that time. (The personal notes I add to the end of my stories and novels came from enjoying his so much). That focus on there being only a single way, a single pace to write, ended up preventing me from enjoying the books I had already been loving because I was doing that comparisonitis Joanna talks about, but as a reader. I took someone else's perspective too much to heart and I let that ruin a good thing that had brought me personal joy and pleasure. It works the same way as a writer. Because we have likely developed a pattern, or a way that works for us that is our own. We all have a pace that we comfortably walk; a way we prefer to drive. A pattern or style of how and when and what we prefer to eat. We all have our own unique comfort food. There are these patterns that we're comfortable with, and potentially because they are natural to us. If you try to force yourself to write at a pace that's not natural to you, things can go south in your writing and your mental health. And I'm not suggesting any particular pace, except for the one that's most natural and comfortable to you. If writing fast is something that you're passionate about, and you're good at it, and it's something you naturally do, why would you stop yourself from doing that? Just like if you're a slow writer and you're trying to write fast: why are you doing that to yourself? There's a common pop song line used by numerous bands over the years that exhorts you to “shake what you got.” I like to think the same thing applies here. And do it with pride and conviction. Because what you got is unique and awesome. Own it, and shake it with pride. You have a way you write and a word count per writing session that works for you. And along with that, you likely know what time you can assign to writing because of other commitments like family time, leisure time, and work (assuming you're not a full-time writer). Simple math can provide you with a way to determine how long it will take to get your first draft written. So, your path and plans are clear. And you simply take the approach that aligns with your writer DNA. Understanding what that pace is for you helps alleviate an incredible amount of stress that you do not need to thrust upon yourself. Because if you're not going to be able to enjoy it while you're doing it, what's the point? Your pace might change project to project While your pace can change over time, your pace can also change project to project. And sometimes the time actually spent writing can be a smaller portion of the larger work involved. I was on a panel at a conference once and someone asked me how long it took to write my non-fiction book of ghost stories, Haunted Hamilton. “About four days,” I responded. And while that's true — I crafted the first draft over four long and exhausting days writing as much as sixteen hours each day — the reality was I had been doing research for months. But the pen didn't actually hit the paper until just a few days before my deadline to turn the book over to my editor. That was for a non-fiction book; but I've found I do similar things with fiction. I noodle over concepts and ideas for months before I actually commit words to the page. The reason this comes to mind is that I think it's important to recognize the way that I write is I first spend a lot of time in my head to understand and chew on things. And then by the time it comes to actually getting the words onto the paper, I've already done much of the pre-writing mentally. It's sometimes not fair when you're comparing yourself to someone else to look at how long they physically spend in front of a keyboard hammering on that word count, because they might have spent a significantly longer amount of a longer time either outlining or conceptualizing the story in their mind or in their heart before they sat down to write. So that's part of the pace, too. Because sometimes, if we only look at the time spent at the ‘writer's desk,' we fool ourselves when we think that we're a slow writer or a fast writer. Joanna: Your pace will change over your career My first novel took 14 months and now I can write a first draft in about six weeks because I have more experience. It's also more relaxing for me to write a book now than it was in the beginning, because I didn't know what I was doing back then. Your pace will change per project I have a non-fiction work in progress, my Shadow Book (working title), which I have started several times. I have about 30,000 words but as I write this, I have backed away from it because I'm (still) not ready. There's a lot more research and thinking I need to do. Similarly, some people take years writing a memoir or a book with such emotional or personal depth that it needs more to bring it to life. Your pace will also shift depending on where you are in the arc of life Perhaps you have young kids right now, or you have a health issue, or you're caring for someone who is ill. Perhaps you have a demanding day job so you have less time to write. Perhaps you really need extended time away from writing, or just a holiday. Or maybe there's a global pandemic and frankly, you're too stressed to write! The key to pacing in a book is variability — and that's true of life, too. Write at the pace that works for you and don't be afraid to change it as you need to over time. “I think the biggest thing for me is reminding myself that I'm in this to write. Sometimes I can get caught up in all the moving pieces of editing and publishing and marketing, but the longer I go without writing, or only writing because I have to get the next thing done instead of for enjoyment, the more stressed and anxious I become. But if I make time to fit in what I truly love, which is the process of writing without putting pressure on myself to meet a deadline, or to be perfect, or to meet somebody else's expectations — that's when I become truly relaxed.” – Ariele Sieling Write in a series (if you want to) Joanna: I have some stand-alone books but most of them are in series, both for non-fiction and for my fiction as J.F. Penn. It's how I like to read and write. As we draft this book, I'm also writing book 12 in my ARKANE series, Tomb of Relics. It's relaxing because I know my characters, I know my world; I know the structure of how an ARKANE story goes. I know what to put in it to please my readers. I have already done the work to set up the series world and the main characters and now all I need is a plot and an antagonist. It's also quicker to write and edit because I've done it before. Of course, you need to put in the work initially so the series comes together, but once you've set that all up, each subsequent book is easier. You can also be more relaxed because you already have an audience who will (hopefully) buy the book because they bought the others. You will know approximately how many sales you'll get on launch and there will be people ready to review. Writing in a non-fiction series is also a really good idea because you know your audience and you can offer them more books, products and services that will help them within a niche. While they might not be sequential, they should be around the same topic, for example, this is part of my Books for Authors series. Financially, it makes sense to have a series as you will earn more revenue per customer as they will (hopefully) buy more than one book. It's also easier and more relaxing to market as you can set one book to free or a limited time discount and drive sales through to other books in the series. Essentially, writing a book in a series makes it easier to fulfill both creative and financial goals. However, if you love to read and write stand-alone books, and some genres suit stand-alones better than series anyway, then, of course, go with what works for you! Mark: I like to equate this to no matter where you travel in the world, if you find a McDonald's you pretty much know what's on the menu and you know what to expect. When you write in a series, it's like returning to hang out with old friends. You know their backstory; you know their history so you can easily fall into a new conversation about something and not have to get caught up on understanding what you have in common. So that's an enormous benefit of relaxing into something like, “Oh, I'm sitting down over coffee, chatting with some old friends. They're telling me a new story about something that happened to them. I know who they are, I know what they're made out of.” And this new plot, this new situation, they may have new goals, they may have new ways they're going to grow as characters, but they're still the same people that we know and love. And that's a huge benefit that I only discovered recently because I'm only right now working on book four in my Canadian Werewolf series. Prior to that, I had three different novels that were all the first book in a series with no book two. And it was stressful for me. Writing anything seemed to take forever. I was causing myself anxiety by jumping around and writing new works as opposed to realizing I could go visit a locale I'm familiar and comfortable with. And I can see new things in the same locale just like sometimes you can see new things and people you know and love already, especially when you introduce something new into the world and you see how they react to it. For me, there's nothing more wonderful than that sort of homecoming. It's like a nostalgic feeling when you do that. I've seen a repeated pattern where writers spend years writing their first book. I started A Canadian Werewolf in New York in 2006 and I did not publish it until ten years later, after finishing it in 2015. (FYI, that wasn't my first novel. I had written three and published one of them prior to that). That first novel can take so long because you're learning. You're learning about your characters, about the craft, about the practice of writing, about the processes that you're testing along the way. And if you are working on your first book and it's taking longer than planned, please don't beat yourself up for that. It's a process. Sometimes that process takes more time. I sometimes wonder if this is related to our perception of time as we age. When you're 10 years old, a day compared to your lifetime is a significant amount of time, and thinking about a year later is considering a time that is one-tenth of your life. When you have a few more decades or more under your belt, that year is a smaller part of the whole. If you're 30, a year is only one-thirtieth of your life. A much smaller piece. Just having written more books, particularly in a series, removes the pressure of that one book to represent all of you as a writer. I had initial anxiety at writing the second book in my Canadian Werewolf series. Book two was more terrifying in some ways than book one because finally, after all this time, I had something good that I didn't want to ruin. Should I leave well enough alone? But I was asked to write a short story to a theme in an anthology, and using my main character from that first novel allowed me to discover I could have fun spending more time with these characters and this world. And I also realized that people wanted to read more about these characters. I didn't just want to write about them, but other people wanted to read about them too. And that makes the process so much easier to keep going with them. So one of the other benefits that helps to relax me as a writer working on a series is I have a better understanding of who my audience is, and who my readers are, and who will want this, and who will appreciate it. So I know what worked, I know what resonated with them, and I know I can give them that next thing. I have discovered that writing in a series is a far more relaxed way of understanding your target audience better. Because it's not just a single shot in the dark, it's a consistent on-going stream. Let me reflect on a bit of a caveat, because I'm not suggesting sticking to only a single series or universe. As writers, we have plenty of ideas and inspirations, and it's okay to embrace some of the other ones that come to us. When I think about the Canadian rock trio, Rush, a band that produced 19 studio albums and toured for 40 years, I acknowledge a very consistent band over the decades. And yet, they weren't the same band that they were when they started playing together, even though it was the same three guys since Neil Peart joined Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. They changed what they wrote about, what they sang about, themes, styles, approaches to making music, all of this. They adapted and changed their style at least a dozen times over the course of their career. No album was exactly like the previous album, and they experimented, and they tried things. But there was a consistency of the audience that went along with them. And as writers, we can potentially have that same thing where we know there are going to be people who will follow us. Think about Stephen King, a writer who has been writing in many different subjects and genres. And yet there's a core group of people who will enjoy everything he writes, and he has that Constant Reader he always keeps in mind. And so, when we write in a series, we're thinking about that constant reader in a more relaxed way because that constant reader, like our characters, like our worlds, like our universes, is like we're just returning to a comfortable, cozy spot where we're just going to hang out with some good friends for a bit. Or, as the contemplative Rush song Time Stand Still expresses, the simple comfort and desire of spending some quality time having a drink with a friend. Schedule time to fill the creative well and for rest and relaxation Mark: What we do as writers is quite cerebral, so we need to give ourselves mental breaks in the same way we need to sleep regularly. Our bodies require sleep. And it's not just physical rest for our bodies to regenerate, it's for our minds to regenerate. We need that to stay sane, to stay alive, to stay healthy. The reality for us as creatives is that we're writing all the time, whether or not we're in front of a keyboard or have a pen in our hand. We're always writing, continually sucking the marrow from the things that are happening around us, even when we're not consciously aware of it. And sometimes when we are more consciously aware of it, that awareness can feel forced. It can feel stressful. When you give yourself the time to just let go, to just relax, wonderful things can happen. And they can come naturally, never feeling that urgent sense of pressure. Downtime, for me, is making space for those magic moments to happen. I was recently listening to Episode 556 of The Creative Penn podcast where Joanna talked about the serendipity of those moments when you're traveling and you're going to a museum and you see something. And you're not consciously there to research for a book, but you see something that just makes a connection for you. And you would not have had that for your writing had you not given yourself the time to just be doing and enjoying something else. And so, whenever I need to resolve an issue or a problem in a project I'm writing, which can cause stress, I will do other things. I will go for a run or walk the dogs, wash the dishes or clean the house. Or I'll put on some music and sing and dance like nobody is watching or listening—and thank goodness for that, because that might cause them needless anxiety. The key is, I will do something different that allows my mind to just let go. And somewhere in the subconscious, usually the answer comes to me. Those non-cerebral activities can be very restorative. Yesterday, my partner Liz and I met her daughter at the park. And while we quietly waited, the two of us wordlessly enjoyed the sights and sounds of people walking by, the river in the background, the wind blowing through the leaves in the trees above us. That moment wasn't a purposeful, “Hey, we're going to chill and relax.” But we found about five minutes of restorative calm in the day. A brief, but powerful ‘Ah' moment. And when I got back to writing this morning, I drew upon some of the imagery from those few minutes. I didn't realize at the time I was experiencing the moment yesterday that I was going to incorporate some of that imagery in today's writing session. And that's the serendipity that just flows very naturally in those scheduled and even unscheduled moments of relaxation. Joanna: I separate this into two aspects because I'm good at one and terrible at the other! I schedule time to fill the creative well as often as possible. This is something that Julia Cameron advises in The Artist's Way, and I find it an essential part of my creative practice. Essentially, you can't create from an empty mind. You have to actively seek out ways to spark ideas. International travel is a huge part of my fiction inspiration, in particular. This has been impossible during the pandemic and has definitely impacted my writing. I also go to exhibitions and art galleries, as well as read books, watch films and documentaries. If I don't fill my creative well, then I feel empty, like I will never have another idea, that perhaps my writing life is over. Some people call that writer's block but I know that feeling now. It just means I haven't filled my creative well and I need to schedule time to do that so I can create again. Consume and produce. That's the balance you need in order to keep the creative well filled and the words flowing. In terms of scheduling time to relax instead of doing book research, I find this difficult because I love to work. My husband says that I'm like a little sports car that goes really, really fast and doesn't stop until it hits a wall. I operate at a high productivity level and then I crash! But the restrictions of the pandemic have helped me learn more about relaxation, after much initial frustration. I have walked in nature and lain in the garden in the hammock and recently, we went to the seaside for the first time in 18 months. I lay on the stones and watched the waves. I was the most relaxed I've been in a long time. I didn't look at my phone. I wasn't listening to a podcast or an audiobook. We weren't talking. We were just being there in nature and relaxing. Authors are always thinking and feeling because everything feeds our work somehow. But we have to have both aspects — active time to fill the creative well and passive time to rest and relax. “I go for lots of walks and hikes in the woods. These help me work out the kinks in my plots, and also to feel more relaxed! (Exercise is an added benefit!)” –T.W. Piperbrook Improve your writing process — but only if it fits with your lifestyle Joanna: A lot of stress can occur in writing if we try to change or improve our process too far beyond our natural way of doing things. For example, trying to be a detailed plotter with a spreadsheet when you're really a discovery writer, or trying to dictate 5,000 words per hour when you find it easier to hand write slowly into a journal. Productivity tips from other writers can really help you tweak your personal process, but only if they work for you — and I say this as someone who has a book on Productivity for Authors! Of course, it's a good idea to improve things, but once you try something, analyze whether it works for you — either with data or just how you feel. If it works, great. Adopt it into your process. If it doesn't work, then discard it. For example, I wrote my first novel in Microsoft Word. When I discovered Scrivener, I changed my process and never looked back because it made my life so much easier. I don't write in order and Scrivener made it easier to move things around. I also discovered that it was easier for me to get into my first draft writing and creating when I was away from the desk I use for business, podcasting, and marketing tasks. I started to write in a local cafe and later on in a co-working space. During the pandemic lockdown, I used specific playlists to create a form of separation as I couldn't physically go somewhere else. Editing is an important part of the writing process but you have to find what works for you, which will also change over time. Some are authors are more relaxed with a messy first draft, then rounds of rewrites while working with multiple editors. Others do one careful draft and then use a proofreader to check the finished book. There are as many ways to write as there are writers. A relaxed author chooses the process that works in the most effective way for them and makes the book the best it can be. Mark: When it comes to process, there are times when you're doing something that feels natural, versus times when you're learning a new skill. Consciously and purposefully learning new skills can be stressful; particularly because it's something we often put so much emphasis or importance upon. But when you adapt on-going learning as a normal part of your life, a natural part of who and what you are, that stress can flow away. I'm always about learning new skills; but over time I've learned how to absorb learning into my everyday processes. I'm a pantser, or discovery writer, or whatever term we can apply that makes us feel better about it. And every time I've tried to stringently outline a book, it has been a stressful experience and I've not been satisfied with the process or the result. Perhaps I satisfied the part of me that thought I wanted to be more like other writers, but I didn't satisfy the creative person in me. I was denying that flow that has worked for me. I did, of course, naturally introduce a few new learnings into my attempts to outline; so I stuck with those elements that worked, and abandoned the elements that weren't working, or were causing me stress. The thought of self-improvement often comes with images of blood, sweat, and tears. It doesn't have to. You don't have to bleed to do this; it can be something that you do at your own pace. You can do it in a way that you're comfortable with so it's causing you no stress, but allowing you to learn and grow and improve. And if it doesn't work but you force yourself to keep doing it because a famous writer or a six-figure author said, “this is the way to do it,” you create pressure. And when you don't do it that way, you can think of yourself as a failure as opposed to thinking of it as, “No, this is just the way that I do things.” When you accept how you do things, if they result in effectively getting things done and feeling good about it at the same time, you have less resistance, you have less friction, you have less tension. Constantly learning, adapting, and evolving is good. But forcing ourselves to try to be or do something that we are not or that doesn't work for us, that causes needless anxiety. “I think a large part of it comes down to reminding myself WHY I write. This can mean looking back at positive reviews, so I can see how much joy others get from my writing, or even just writing something brand new for the sake of exploring an idea. Writing something just for me, rather than for an audience, reminds me how much I enjoy writing, which helps me to unwind a bit and approach my projects with more playfulness.” – Icy Sedgwick You can find The Relaxed Author: Take the Pressure Off Your Art and Enjoy the Creative Journey on CreativePennBooks.com as well as on your favorite online store or audiobook platform, or order in your library or bookstore. The post The Relaxed Author Writing Tips With Joanna Penn and Mark Leslie Lefebvre first appeared on The Creative Penn.

In this episode of the Optimal Body Podcast, Doc Jen and Doctor Dom, both Doctors of Physical Therapy chat with neuroscientist Ariel Garten, co-founder of Muse. Together, they explore how brainwave-sensing technology can make meditation more effective, support stress reduction, and improve sleep and pain management. Ariel shares practical tips for building healthy habits, explains the science behind meditation and brain health, and highlights Muse's research-backed benefits for women's wellness, including how it can improve sleep quality. The conversation is both empowering and approachable, offering actionable insights for women seeking to enhance their mental and physical well-being through mindful routines and innovative tools that can also help improve sleep.Needed Discount:Jen trusted Needed Supplements for fertility, pregnancy, and beyond! Support men and women's health with vitamins, Omega-3, and more. Used by 6,000+ pros. Use code OPTIMAL for 20% off at checkout!Muse Discount:Interested in what Muse can do for you? This tool has been shown to reduce stress, improve sleep and increase performance across multiple aspects of brain health. Check it out HERE and get a special 15% discount!Dr. Mina's Resources:Muse WebsiteMuse on IGMuse YoutubeMuse FacebookMuse DiscountWe think you'll love:Free Week of Jen HealthJen's InstagramDom's InstagramYouTube ChannelWhat You'll Learn from Ariel:04:44 Ariel explains brainwaves, how they're measured, and their significance in understanding brain activity.06:59 Discussion on how brainwave patterns relate to anxiety, depression, and brain region activity.09:35 How meditation and technology like Muse can influence brainwaves for better sleep and focus.11:57 Evidence for meditation's benefits, optimal durations, and Mayo Clinic...For full show notes and resources visit https://jen.health/podcast/439 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This one's on Dan Muse, the 0.1 that got away. Hear award-winning columnist Dejan Kovacevic's Daily Shots of Steelers, Penguins and Pirates -- three separate podcasts -- every weekday morning on the DK Pittsburgh Sports podcasting network, available on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/dkpghsports Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we explore two of the most mind-bending and controversial topics of our time: the nature of the cosmos and the truth behind so-called “contact.” These themes—drawn from Mark Gober's books An End to the Upside Down Cosmos and An End to Upside Down Contact—take us straight into the heart of scientific assumptions, cultural conditioning, and what it really means to seek truth in a world built on inherited narratives.Mark and I dig into why foundational claims about cosmology, physics, and even medicine may not be supported by direct evidence, and how easily our collective worldview can be shaped by unexamined premises. From the Big Bang, dark matter, and the globe model to NASA imagery, eclipses, and observational anomalies, we break down what can actually be verified—and what cannot. The goal isn't to replace one belief system with another, but to follow a disciplined, evidence-based approach that challenges dogma on all sides.We also explore why questioning these topics triggers such strong reactions. Mark explains how career investment, identity, compartmentalization, and cultural reinforcement keep people aligned with consensus models—even when contradictions are hiding in plain sight. The conversation moves beyond physics into consciousness, spirituality, and the possibility that confusion about where we live may be part of a much larger, long-running strategy to disconnect humanity from its inherent power. If you're curious, skeptical, or simply hungry for deeper clarity in a world drowning in assumptions, this episode will challenge your perspective in the best possible way.DISCLAIMER: This podcast is for educational purposes only and not intended for diagnosing or treating illnesses. The hosts disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects from using the information presented. Consult your healthcare provider before using referenced products. This podcast may include paid endorsements.THIS SHOW IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:BON CHARGE | Go to boncharge.com to save 25% off everything sitewide. LEELA QUANTUM TECH | Go to lukestorey.com/leelaq and use code LUKE10 for 10% off their product line.JUST THRIVE | Head to justthrivehealth.com and use code LUKE20 to save 20%.BEAM MINERALS | Use code LUKE for 20% off your order at beamminerals.com/lukeMORE ABOUT THIS EPISODE:(00:00:00) Kicking Off the Deep Dive into Cosmos & Contact(00:35:29) The Motives Behind Cosmic Misdirection(00:46:12) The “Seeing Too Far” Problem & Other Observable Anomalies(01:05:40) The Antarctica Puzzle & Why Exploration Restrictions Matter(01:30:42) Interdimensional Beings, UAPs, & the Consciousness Puzzle(02:00:07) Following the Muse, Spiritual Discernment, & Not Getting DupedResources:• Website: markgober.com • Instagram: instagram.com/markgober_author • Facebook: facebook.com/markgoberauthor...

In episode 1972, Jack and Miles are joined by by creator and host of JennaWorld: Jenna Jameson, Vivid Video, & The Valley, Molly Lambert, to discuss… Damning FBI Report On Kash Patel, Melania Trump Is Getting Into The Movie (Bribery) Business, Black Friday Was A “Success”, Back To Court For Kevin Spacey, Of Course Netflix Crashed Because Of Stranger Things and more! Keystone Kash Tantrum Exposed in Bombshell Dossier on His ‘F***ed Up’ FBI $40 million Amazon documentary deal for Melania Trump slammed as corporate 'pandering' Melania Trump Announces Muse Films Production Company Melania Trump Announces New Side Hustle Amazon Announces Yet Another Way It’s Cozying Up To Donald Trump Black Friday retail sales up despite economic jitters K-shaped economy and inflation boost Black Friday sales by 4.1% from last year, online spending jumps 9.1% Kevin Spacey to face 3 more sexual assault allegations in London court Kevin Spacey Set to Face Three More Sexual Assault Claims in London Civil Court Kevin Spacey Says He’s Homeless and ‘Living in Hotels,’ Claims Hollywood Exile Would Be Over ‘If Scorsese or Tarantino Call Tomorrow’ Kevin Spacey Clarifies That He's Not Homeless After Saying He Has 'No Home' in Interview Netflix crashes under ‘Stranger Things’ Season 5 frenzy as viewers get served an odd cake LISTEN: Vista by OkonskiSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Shownotes: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/podcast/athena/ My guest on this podcast is Ariel Garten, the founder of InteraXon, maker of Muse. Ariel studied neuroscience at the University of Toronto and worked in labs at Toronto’s Krembil Neuroscience Centre, researching Parkinson’s disease and hippocampal neurogenesis. No mere science nerd, Ariel is a fashion designer whose clothing opened Toronto Fashion Week in 2003 and has had her work displayed at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Ariel’s distinctive combination of science and art is integral to the design of Muse and to InteraXon’s unique approach to brain sensing technology. As a neuroscientist and former psychotherapist, Ariel Garten witnessed firsthand the struggles many face with mental health and the search for effective, accessible solutions. Inspired to make a real difference, she channeled her expertise into co-founding Muse, a healthtech startup aimed at revolutionizing brain health through technology. Episode Sponsors: BiOptimizers Holiday Offer: Trust me when I say this – you won't find a better Black Friday deal anywhere else, not even on the mighty Amazon. The biggest discount you can get and amazing gifts with purchase are available only on my page bioptimizers.com/ben with code BEN15. BON CHARGE: BON CHARGE is a holistic wellness brand with a wide range of products that naturally address the issues of modern life. Their products can help you sleep better, perform better, recover faster, balance hormones, reduce inflammation, and so much more. Go to boncharge.com/GREENFIELD and use coupon code GREENFIELD to save 15%. Organifi Shilajit Gummies: Harness the ancient power of pure Himalayan Shilajit anytime you want with these convenient and tasty gummies. Get them now for 20% off at organifi.com/Ben. LMNT: Everyone needs electrolytes, especially those on low-carb diets, who practice intermittent or extended fasting, are physically active, or sweat a lot. Go to DrinkLMNT.com/BenGreenfield to get a free sample pack with your purchase! Quantum Upgrade: Recent research has revealed that the Quantum Upgrade was able to increase ATP production by a jaw-dropping 20–25% in human cells. Unlock a 15-day free trial with the code BEN15 at quantumupgrade.io. Troscriptions: Explore Troscriptions' revolutionary buccal troche delivery system that bypasses digestion to deliver pharmaceutical-grade, physician-formulated health optimization compounds directly through your cheek mucosa for faster onset and higher bioavailability than traditional supplements. Discover a completely new way to optimize your health at troscriptions.com/BEN or enter BEN at checkout for 10% off your first order.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.