Embracing the Mess Together

Welcome to another captivating episode of Full Spirals, where creativity, authenticity, and self-expression collide in a whirlwind of growth and healing.

In this episode, join your host Stacy as she reflects on the winding path that led her to the present moment – a moment of embracing imperfections, letting go of comparison, and boldly stepping into vulnerability.

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Episode Highlights:

• A Full Spiral Unfolds: Stacy invites you into her world, sharing her journey through the creative process. From struggles with self-doubt and comparison to rediscovering the core purpose behind her art, she navigates the ups and downs of crafting something meaningful from nothing.
  
  
• Breaking Free: Drawing inspiration from Geneen Roth's wisdom, Stacy confronts the trap of comparative judgment that stifles creativity. The realization that creative freedom lies in breaking free from self-imposed constraints becomes a turning point in her journey.
  
  
• Unveiling Full Spirals' Principles: Stacy introduces the three guiding principles that define Full Spirals: the healing power of art, the cyclical nature of life's lessons, and the interconnectedness that shapes our stories. These principles set the stage for a deep dive into the heart of the podcast's purpose.
  
  
• Seasons of Growth: Reflecting on the podcast's evolution, Stacy takes you through the journey of Season 1, where she shared her stories of hope and healing through the arts. In Season 2, she opened the stage to women with their own tales of resilience, amplifying voices and fostering community.
  
  
• Moving Beyond Seasons: Stacy ponders the path ahead and the decision to embrace a new era – the "NO SEASONS" era of Full Spirals. This marks a shift towards constant creative energy, an unending spiral of authenticity and vulnerability that refuses to be confined.
  
  
• A Glimpse of the Future: Stacy unveils her plans for the future, from captivating interviews with fellow creatives to mesmerizing minisodes. The spotlight also shines on a fresh project, the "SAGES EPISODES," dedicated to the wisdom and stories of elder women.
  
  
• Stay Connected: Make sure you're following the show to stay in the loop with all the exciting content coming your way. Whether it's interviews, minisodes, or the enlightening SAGES EPISODES, you won't miss a beat.
  
  
• Join the Community: If you're moved by the stories and energy of Full Spirals, consider supporting the show's production costs by becoming part of the online community of spinners. Check out the Patreon link in the show notes to join in and make a difference.

In a world filled with noise and comparison, Full Spirals brings you back to the essence of creation, growth, and authenticity. Join Stacy on this transformative journey as she embraces the mess and invites you to do the same. Remember, in the dance of life's full spirals, imperfectio

Transcript

Full spirals comes full spiral this season and the process hasn’t been pretty–but I’m here, once again standing in all my messy glory–warts and all– so we can share the adventure together.

Hello, hello, hello! Yes, Full spirals comes full spiral this season—And OH My God, how I struggled to get to this point.  But in the end, I found the freedom I was looking for—and of course I found it in the same place I always do.

So what happened?

Well, as I began putting things together for the “Season Launch” this month

I wrestled with everything.

What to include moving forward ? 

What to skip? 

How to structure things?

Whether or not to continue with “Seasons”

And I got SO caught up in creating art for the sake of consumption that I forgot why I even started doing it to begin with. 

Instead of just creating I got completely bogged down with Comparing my work to the work of others—they’re formats, their downloads, their numbers, their workflows

Until I was completely stuck in COMPARE AND DESPAIR–the ultimate KILLER of creativity.

Geneen Roth says in her book “This Messy Magnificent Life” that It takes courage to question our comparative judgements—those places where we measure ourselves–asking whether or not we’re ENOUGH—and she mentions that freeing ourselves means seeing that we are MORE than the sum total of our accomplishments, our relationships, our so called failures, etc.

She says: Being free takes first realizing we’re imprisoned and then questioning what imprisons us”

And I realized that what I was being imprisoned by was the creative process itself.  The one that says: This is Aweome.  This is Tricky.  This is SHIT.  I AM SHIT. This might be okay.  This is awesome.

As Anyone who has ever created something from NOTHING can attest —The creative process can be super messy, but to a large extent that IS what this podcast is all about.  And all of these struggles that I went through just felt super ironic to me—because the process I got bogged down in, is the very process I’m always striving to normalize here on the pod!!  

So I asked myself the question:  Stacy, WHAT IF you can’t screw it up?

What if instead of haranguing yourself, you went back to being gentle?  What if you reminded YOURSELF of what this work is all about?

SO HERE IT IS:

Full spirals is based on  3 principles :

• Art heals—and participating in the creative process is ALWAYS good for us

• We get the same lessons handed to us again and again in life.  We just learn them on a deeper level each time.

• We’re ALL connected and our lives change each others lives as we grow spin through.

Ultimately Full Spirals is a platform for creativity, authenticity—for presence and self-expression

In the first season of Full Spirals I told MY stories of hope and healing through the arts while really emphasizing the  STRIKING similarities I’ve noticed in my life between the healing process and the creative process.  I’m still constantly blown away by it—and if you haven’t caught Season 1–check it out!

In Season 2 I opened up the platform to other women–so they could tell their stories of hope and healing through the arts.  These creative women bravely shared THEIR stories,  THEIR experiences, THEIR strength and their processes for growth and healing.  The centerpiece of the season was all about amplifying women’s voices.  

I felt then and still feel that it’s what  the world needs more of.  LOTS more of.

• To foster and model self trust, and 
• To help build a safe and nurturing community 

To let women take in these messages:

• We deserve to be heard at all times
• We deserve to be seen
• We deserve to take up space
• We deserve to be believed and affirmed

And As I strive to continue to amplify the voices of women and tell their stories of healing through the arts—I also aspire to bring forward the voices of other marginalized populations and tell THEIR stories.

Which brings us up to date where I began to ask myself: Where do I go from here??

I want to continue to share the way I see the world as a living breathing spiral—always conspiring to lead us home.  Home to the inner truths we didn’t even know were waiting to be discovered.  

And you’re Listening from all over the world– Frankfurt, Germany to Louisville KY.  From Santa Clarita to Poughkeepsie..  From Missoula Montana  to Houston Texas—and everywhere in between.  Sure, Wisconsin is home for me, but these themes are universal—and I SEE YOU. 

So Moving forward,   I’m  just gonna lean into vulnerability—REALLY lean into it—warts and all–to be completely authentic and honest with you as I present each episode.

I don’t want to be so afraid of “screwing up” and I don’t want  to put myself or these episodes into tiny little boxes.  

SO My plan is to once again put my perfectionism on the back burner.  To worry less about what’s right and wrong and more about what’s real and true—cuz baby, I’m a one woman show–and trusting myself and my own creative path is the whole point of this work.  

I’ll continue to follow mine—while you follow yours. 

TOGETHER, 

We’re launching into the “NO SEASONS” era of full spirals—No season 3, season 4—just constant creative energy spinning us along together.

——————————

So what’s this gonna look/sound like?

In addition to interviews with fellow creatives, I’ll be spinning out minisodes and a brand new project designed to tell the stoires of Elder women.  Be on the lookout for SAGES EPISODES that tell their stories, or shine a spotlight on their wisdom.  

If you’re not yet FOLLOWING the show, make sure you do so NOW.  Yeah you can actually do that RIGHT NOW.  I’ll hang out while you press pause and go click the follow button—THERE!  Now you won’t ever miss an episode or mini sode.  And if you’re moved by the work we do here and are able to support the production costs of the show—join our online community of spinners by visiting that patreon link that appears in the show notes.