Ep #133: Rituals, Change, and Alignment with Amanda Gibby Peters

Amanda: I just think that rituals, for me, I think that they allow you to step into all of the energy that has ever existed around that ritual. So, it’s like, you know when you talk about alignment, you’re stepping in alignment with all of that wisdom that existed before and will exist beyond you. And there’s something, again, I’m going to use the word reassuring, about being in the presence of that.

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That was a clip from my recent conversation with Amanda Gibby Peters. Amanda is the voice and founder of Simple Shui, a modern-day mission-driven love-based practice of Feng Shui. Amanda is also one of our amazing Art School alum and she’s been on this podcast before, pre-entering the Art School. And so, I thought it would be so fun – and I heard rave reviews the last time we talked here – to have her back on and incorporate her Art School experience into this conversation.

And also, she has so much wisdom and is such a fresh and original thinker. So, she has so much to contribute to this conversation, which I love, which is about how to align with your intention. And I think this episode in particular will be fascinating for anyone who’s interested in aligning with abundance, aligning with affluence.

And as I relistened to our conversation, the phrase affluent artist kept coming to mind because I know so many people that are drawn to my work and that start the Art School have this desire and dream to be an affluent artist, to take their affluence to the next level. And really to me, affluence, it feels like aligning yourself with the flow of who you really, are, lining yourself up, mind, body, and spirit, with your intention and feeling that you both receive your gifts and you flow what is yours to create out into the world as well.

I had so much fun in this conversation with Amanda and I took so many notes as I relistened. So, this will be one for sure you might want to listen through once and then again with your journal, because she is so generous with what she shares. I hope you enjoy.

You are listening to The Art School Podcast; a show for artists and creatives who want to become the next greatest version of themselves. Learn how to cultivate an extraordinary way of being and take the mystery out of making money, and the struggle out of making art. Here is your host, master certified life coach, artist, and former lawyer, Leah Badertscher.

Hello and welcome, everyone to another episode of The Art School Podcast. Wow, what a day. This was the last day – I’m recording this on the last day of our 12-week Art School program. And it is always such a bittersweet day for me. We had some amazing celebrations today.

I want to give a shoutout to Kimberly Clark because she started working with me this time last year and we did this exercise that we do. Long story short, six impossible things. I may even have shared an abridged version of that here somewhere in a previous episode. I think that I have.

And the sixth thing on her list was to quit her job and be a full-time artist. And to the day, she was still employed at a day job last year. She has been in the Art School since last year at this time. And to the date today, she was accepted into a juried art show in Atlanta, Georgia. And this is after having quit her day job before the turn of the year. So, at the end of 2020 she left her day job to become a full-time artist.

And it got me all choked up and it gets me choked up and gives me the chills again to share that story with you, and that that happened just to the day, on this last day of Art School. So, congratulations and cowbell and all the snaps, Kimberly. And thank you for sharing your creativity, your courage, your extraordinary support always for everyone in that community, and for being an example of what is possible.

And I would love to highlight the stories of everyone in Art School. It’s so many beautiful stories to share. Also, I’ve mentioned Maria before on the podcast and I also want to shoutout to Maria because she shared this great post on Instagram, Maria Fowler, about she had been pulling a tarot card and one fell out of the deck and she thought, “Oh no, not that…”

But then she thought, “Well, that probably is it,” and picked it up and turned it over, and it was the artist card. And for anyone listening who has been through the journey of, “Am I an artist? Am I not an artist? Am I going to go for this dream of being an artist?” you’ll know the significance of that.

So, it was just amazing to have these women and so many others, seeing them move through this work, in their wise, open-hearted, courageous ways, going for it. Like, it is a risk to go for this dream, but nothing happens without that. Let’s ask the question, what if everything I want is on the other side of making these changes? And that actually, just spoiler alert, is going to be the coach with me today.

Because another synchronicity, it just happens to be a question that Amanda poses in this Art School conversation. And so, again, I want to do these Art School spotlights because I do think one of the alchemical features, magical, powerful, transformative qualities of the Art School are the extraordinary individuals who are drawn to this work.

And if you think about it, to make any kind of transformation usually means you’re leaving behind old conditioning, old cultural conditioning, familial. So, that conditioning was created in community. And so, to reinforce the intentional rewiring, the intentional designing of the new architecture of your mind, of your spirit, of your body, of your life and dreams, it would make sense that the most profound and also, I’d say fun, so much fun way to do that is also in community and in a generative – the word alchemical wants to be said again – empowering, supportive, creative powerhouse community. There’s just nothing quite like it.

And also, you have the benefit of obviously I am your coach, I am your coach, I am here for you through that entire time, onboard 100% and supporting you in creating your results and even something better and cultivating that way of life and way of being that is deeply nourishing and a life that you fall in love with along the way.

And you also have the benefit of these other lion-hearted women, these other brilliant creative perspectives from around the world, because this is around the country, or North America for sure, but also is an international community.

One of my masterminders was recently sharing with me that for her, it was one of the unexpected but has become one of her most cherished parts of the Art School, that we have these profound conversations. You are in a community of people who are in love with growth and transformation and contribution and just in love with being alive. And they’re from such different backgrounds and from all over the world that it’s so life-expanding as well as deepening and enriching.

And I am grateful for that. And so, again, for all of my Art Schoolers listening, I know this is a week past the last day, but I love you. You inspire me. You amaze me. You deepen me. And I am definitely a better person for having known all of you and for having the opportunity to be in your orbit. And I’m so proud of the work you’ve done and I cannot wait to see the astonishing things you will continue to do.

So now, let’s get to the part of the podcast where you have the opportunity to be introduced, or perhaps reintroduced to one of our amazing alum. Amanda Gibby Peters is so stylish, phenomenal, amazing, I love her, colleague, friend, client, and alum – I inserted that part. That’s not in her formal bio. I’m just riffing. But I digress. Here’s her formal bio.

She is the voice and founder of Simple Shui, a modern-day mission-driven love-based practice of Feng Shui. As a professional consultant and author, Amanda leads Feng Shui retreats and workshops, contributes her expertise to influencers, thought leaders, and corporations, and consults clients around the world.

After successfully teaching its wisdom and techniques for over a decade, here’s what she knows for sure. Feng Shui triggers opportunities, enhances potential for success, and reconnects us with our own wisdom to influence positive change.

Now, I love talking to Amanda any chance I get. I would talk to her any day of the week every day of the week if I could. And for this podcast in particular, I actually felt so crummy the morning I woke up and I was like, “Oh no.” I had probably a near migraine. It was hard to see out of one of my eyes. It has been a very full, stressful week. I had been in the ER with my daughter the night before. She fractured her wrist. She’s okay now, but any of you out there who’ve been in the ER, you know what that’s like, until the wee hours of the morning.

And so, I was like, “I can’t cancel though. It would be like missing Christmas. It would be like you’re a little kid and you’re like, I still want my friend to come over even if I’m sick, vomiting, I still want them to be here.” And I’m so glad that we got to have this conversation.

And when we did – because it’s always magic and always sparking when I talk to her. And I love the intersection of our worlds too because if you follow my work, you know I love talking about the creative ecosystem, the inner and outer habitat which you can cultivate so that your creative genius is nourished, that those god seeds of sacred dreams, your goals and dreams within you take root, have all the nutrients they need, thrive, flourish, blossom, and flow. And that also you allow yourself to be well-resourced. You receive abundance. You feel well-supported.

And I love the conversations we have around alignment because again, if you follow my work, you know that my core philosophy, my functional philosophy for creativity is that we are cultivating an extraordinary way of being in mind, body, and spirit that make the extraordinary results we dream of inevitable.

And a lot of what Amanda says today, it’s nuance and also striking, amazing wisdom, moving from this central topic of the power of intention, a power of knowing and then declaring your intention and then coming into alignment with that in mind, body, and spirit, including your physical environment and allowing that to support you, and also how you nurture yourself and you can nurture dreams through this relationship that you have with your environment.

I so enjoyed this conversation. And I will say too, I felt like I stumbled at the beginning when we were talking because I could not get my neurons to fire. But fortunately, Amanda’s sparkle just makes up for that and also the conversation got sparking and I got into the flow of it. And I think you will enjoy it and take as many notes as I did. So, have a fresh notebook ready. Grab yourself something beautiful to drink, a beautiful corner, and enjoy.

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Amanda: I loved the Art School. And honestly, I would have – had I known that this class wasn’t going to fill up, I would have had time. Maybe I wouldn’t have given how chatty many people are. But no, I loved it. It was such a great space, a great community. It’s so impressive.

In fact, I don’t often tell people different coaches to work with, but I am like, “Get in Leah’s class…”

Leah: Thank you.

Amanda: Yeah, it really is, it’s impressive.

Leah: Well I really appreciate that. Thank you. Especially I love your taste in many areas, so that means a lot. And you are a veteran, so that means a lot as well.

Amanda: Thank you.

Leah: Yeah, I really do appreciate that. And I would love – similar to the podcast interview we had earlier, I really just like things to be conversational, so it is an opportunity for people to eavesdrop on what your experience was like. So, we could even start there. What was it about the community? Or what about your experience would prompt you to recommend it?

Amanda: I mean, I’ll tell you a lot of things that I actually loved about the whole program. One, I love that Thursday art hour, creative hour and a half, the artist date. What is it called?

Leah: Yeah, the artist date.

Amanda: Yeah, so I love that because at first, I thought, “Alright, so I’ll be in class on Tuesdays and if I can make it Thursdays.” And they both were equally important to me after I got into that because I realized, to show up and hold energy for everyone else, to be respectful of everyone else, I needed to be contributing creatively to whatever I was doing.

And so, I would say that when I came into the Art School, I was toying with the idea of teaching the group consult. And I remember, I still have the notes outlining what I could teach. And in the process of being in class, that outline came pretty easily to me. There were actually two things I’ll tell you that happened.

One was that outline came to me and it was a strong enough outline, like it had a really good backbone, that I was able to, as class wrapped up, just tell people, “I’m going to offer this group consult. Here’s where it’s going to start.” And I didn’t even have all of it on paper. Like, it wasn’t formal yet. But I trusted that muse that came through enough and the information felt it was structured enough that yeah if people sign up, I’ll be able to do this. and I did. I sold out. Every single person in that class, I had 26 people, sent me a glowing review. It was just like beginner’s luck feel, like eureka I have found it.

Leah: Beginner’s luck, says the woman who has been doing this for how many years.

Amanda: Yeah, but it’s that whole, you never know – it was the holidays, it was the end of the year, COVID had just taken its toll and then some. And so, I thought okay let’s just see. Because I haven’t committed – the idea and the possibility and the potential is there. But let’s see if the yes is there. And it was just whole really beautiful cosmic…

That happened, and then I was invited to teach a creativity workshop by Zo, and that outline came to me also in the process of being in the Art School. And that little workshop is like one of my prides and glories. It’s so good, the way it came together in terms of in the class, you know, everyone’s like, “I want to get this. This is what I want to create. This is what I want to manifest.” And all I kept thinking was, oh my goodness, it’s like we’re calling all these things to us but are we taking time to prepare the space to receive them? That was the lesson for me, or the idea that came to me.

And from that came this whole workshop of how you create a space and you cooperate with the energy and then you cultivate it. Then it became this nine-step workshop and it was so fabulous, glowing reviews, a lot of positive feedback, people still reaching out today saying here’s what I’ve done from that.

And so, I learned long ago, because I’m in Feng Shui, you can call things a coincidence or you can just start to acknowledge, okay, I was in this space or I did this and this happened. Because that’s way more empowering than to just act like, okay, randomly… Like you’re not cocreating the something. And I credit the Art School for both of those because it created the space not only to be hearing other people, like the coaching and to hear other people’s blocks and to sort of check yourself. But then also to have that open space.

Open space, for me when I’m going into homes, is such an important concept because it really signals a lot of different things, but that we have room to receive, we’re letting our subconscious rest, nourish, like we’re not having all this noise constantly. So, having that artist date too was equally important. I can’t rave enough about it.

Leah: Well, I love hearing that too, about the experience, when someone has that experience of, like, you felt the backbone of your class come together first. You’re like, “Oh, it is already real and within me.” And so now, getting it out on paper is small potatoes.

Amanda: Yeah, and you know what’s so funny is for me, when people say, you know, how do I do this or how do I do that? And it’s just like, well sit your ass in a chair and write. That’s how you write.

To me sometimes, the hard work – and maybe it’s because I’m a Capricorn – the hard work never scares me. It’s getting the idea that you’re like, “Ah, I trust this one. This one’s good.” That intuition and that creativity and that everything is cooperating. And so, to have two really brilliant ideas sort of just download, for me, that’s worth the entire investment you know, in terms of resource, time, money, all of it. Because that’s something that you can’t just conjure on your own.

Like putting it together, yeah, there’s the hard work of then creating whatever your idea has presented. But to get those, and to come so effortlessly, oh my gosh, that’s the best feeling.

Leah: I mean, that’s the design of having the virtual artist date too, as you said. We call upon these things we want to create or evoke or manifest. And then I added that day because too often, you go out to your regular environment and things just become what they are. But I truly believe in the power of a sacred container, like a container with intention and, like you said, where the subconscious gets to rest and chill a little bit. Like that part of our central nervous system that’s like, “But what are you doing with this? How has your life changed? Are you making any time for these ideas?”

I think space, creating an intentional and honoring the intent of that space and showing up with a reverence for your creativity and what wants to happen, it sounds so simple. And it’s so profound. And that integration, like a second space for you to create from the place of, “Okay, what was it that we talked about on Tuesday? What is the way of being?” And here on Thursday is where the rubber meets the road.

Because it’s one thing to say, “I’m going to cultivate the mindset of a creative powerhouse. I’m going to cultivate the mindset of a wealthy woman.” It’s another thing then to go and say, “Here’s what I have in front of me. I’m going to create a course. Here’s what I have in front of me, a new body of work.” And you actually then are integrating those concepts of mindset and way of being as you’re creating.

And I think – well I know – it’s that where that rubber meets the road, where you are implementing via the thing you want to create in the world and you’re making it very real, and also, you’re internalizing it on a different level. And also by the way, I still hear about – so, when I had you teach a masterclass, I still have people say how much they love that. And then I heard all about what you did for Zo’s group still, and I’ve heard about friends of mine that were in your group consult and were blown away.

Amanda: That’s great. You’re right, I mean, I say beginner’s luck. I’ve been doing this for so long and so there’s an ease now. It’s so funny because you say that simple – we get these concepts on a Tuesday and then we show up to the artist date to do, and simple is never easy. It’s just that. You have to be committed. It’s like a consistency.

But if you’re consistent with things, then that simple does become a little bit easier. And so, in terms of teaching and having these great ideas that come, and then being able to full them out so they become something, you know, that comes from that consistency of showing up over the last 15 years and writing blog posts when no one read them, or sending out newsletters or answering people’s questions.

Sometimes there’s not a whole lot attached to what you’re putting out there when you look at, “Okay, what am I receiving in return?” But what you’re receiving is actually the ability to move in the world with that confidence. I have taught myself; I’m showing up for myself, I’m reinforcing these ideas and these concepts and these practices for myself so that when the bigger opportunities show up, you can step into them.

Leah: Yes, and you describing that completion muscle, which you have, like the muscle memory of completion muscle, and then that’s when the magic happens, when you have that muscle memory of completion muscle and then the ideas can come and they know they’re not going to wrestle with the part of you that’s like, “Oh, we don’t follow through…” right?

Amanda: My brain’s like, “Whoa, slow down because she’s going to make us do that.”

Leah: Well, it is so much about alignment. I know that you teach about aligning with fortune via design and your space, and so how can you set yourself up? How can you create a creative ecosystem, inner and outer, that sets you up so that your genius can flow and others can be enriched by your genius and you can receive the benefits of contributing in that way too?

I mean, I always love talking to you because I feel like that universal theme of how do you align, how do you align your environment – but also that means your inner environment. But it also means things like as seemingly pedestrian and mundane as 90-minute virtual artist dates on Thursday.

Amanda: Yeah, I mean, I think that’s one of the things that’s probably in the top five things I taught to my clients and people on Instagram, newsletter, wherever, is the power of ritual. I think there are a couple of things with ritual.

One, there’s this reassurance to doing something that is cultivating, creating, or improving the energy around you, whatever that is. It can be something like making a meal at a certain time every day. It can be sitting down to journal. It can be cleaning up your space. It can be showing up to create something. But there is some sort of reassurance. Like, it’s good for our brain, our bodies, like our subconscious feels good because it likes that routine.

As much as people want to be spontaneous and impulsive and I’m going to go wherever the wind takes me, we actually do, you know, we’re creatures that crave a little bit of predictability. So, I think there’s that with the rituals. I think rituals can be very soothing when everything else is chaotic around you and it helps to have a ritual in place before the chaos shows up, you know, so that you’re not trying to land in gale force winds. This is the thing that’s going to keep you tethered.

And I think that rituals, for me, I think that they allow you to step into al of the energy that has ever existed around that ritual. So, it’s like when you talk about alignment, you’re stepping into alignment with all of that wisdom that existed before and that will exist beyond you. And there’s something, again I’m going to use the word reassuring, about being in the presence of that.

Like, if you really allow yourself – I’ll give you an example. You know I talk all the time about sweeping. And I use the ritual of sweeping because I have plenty of people who reach out and they’re like, “I can’t do any of these things. What do you recommend?”

And if you can get a broom, you can sweep your porch. This ritual of out with the old, in with the new. You can set an intention. And I’ve had some really wild stories – it’s probably the most popular – I use quotations – popular suggestion I’ve ever made in terms of how much feedback over the years I’ve gotten on it.

But when I sweep, I’m not only just thinking about whatever it is I’m welcome into our home and to our lives. I also think about all the places I’ve visited in the world where I see people, oftentimes women, outside sweeping. It is so ingrained in the culture.

So, then I start thinking about how I’m connecting or lining up or plugging into all of these different spaces that are preparing their home. This is just part of their daily routine. That feels very connected. And then I think about all the people who have done that for thousands and thousands of years. And so, there’s just something that seems so ordinary becomes pretty profound and it’s a very simple thing that almost anyone can do.

Leah: And ordinary but profound, especially too with the backdrop you offered of you’re stepping in line. It’s not just the act, but within that ritual, you are stepping in line with that energy that’s been cultivated by that ritual from thousands of years prior, and then into the unforeseeable future, and that act of connecting in that way, connecting a seemingly mundane task to something profound like that. To me, that answers a craving within myself in the day to day.

Because otherwise, it can seem like you get caught up in the endless to-do without rooting in something. It is mundane but without rooting into that profound sense and acknowledging that there is something within us that craves that routine into profound, which is what I think ritual invites us to.

Amanda: Yeah, I think you touched on exactly that. I know when people read my posts sometimes, I’ll hear feedback that, “Oh, I can’t get anyone in my house to help me. I’m doing all this by myself.” And I immediately can sense, they’re treating this like the to-do list. Like, we can only have good Feng Shui if we do all these things. And no, it’s about intention.

There is cleaning your house and housekeeping. And then there is doing things with a very specific intention because you are trying to create or cultivate or call in a certain experience. And doing that from that space so that it doesn’t feel like a task that you have to cross off, that it doesn’t feel like martyrdom is calling you, “I have to do everything…”

But that you’re doing it again very deliberately, intentionally, mindfully changes it. And when you do it from that space, I will say this too. You’re more inclined to pay attention to things. You won’t overlook what shows up, that sort of vibrational callback. And then you have that experience of I did this, this happened, and so now this becomes a very empowering choice to make and something that you can turn to any time in your life. And so, now you’ve incorporated some wisdom into your way of being.

Leah: That and that opportunity to incorporate the wisdom and to be able to connect like this to that, even through a seemingly insignificant, giving people that hand hold, that foot hold is incredibly empowering. And as you were talking, I’m thinking about how it applies to the home and a family home and then also moving into the creative space, like your studio space or workspace and thinking, like, that’s my ultimate underlying, overarching intention with the Thursday dates, that this is not just show up to get your creative work done. Because I actually see that as, when I talk to people about completion muscle or follow through, I want it to be rooted in something meaningful and profound for them and not just, “Well this is one more thing I need to check off my list as I climb the ladder towards my goal, art career, whatever it is,” but to instead root in a true love and appreciation for the process.

Also thinking, on those Thursday dates, like I say, inviting everyone to open up to and connect to the greater collective Creativity, with a capital C, like stepping into a lineage of creatives and artists so that you’re not also just stepping into your own little small self, having to create, but you have this wind at your back and then also something deeper, in the community that’s there, yes, but then also this greater collective of humanity that’s always engaged in making and had a vision of creating something that hasn’t yet been created, have been in this craft of being vessels for creativity.

Amanda: Yeah, you know, you’re saying that and I think when people ask me, like, Feng Shui rules or whatever, I say I don’t really have rules. It’s these concepts though that I come back to that everything is alive with energy, everything’s connected, and everything’s always changing. And again, they seem simple, but you can dive pretty deep into each of those.

But one of the things that I am constantly sharing is the importance of preparing your space, taking care of your home, doing the things now so that when there are challenged or problems or any sort of unexpected knock at the door, that your home is in a space and a way that it can support you. Because it is a very reciprocal relationship and everything in your space is connected to you. It is energy that’s connected to you.

And because everything’s always changing, you can do something and even though you might change because of something external that’s happened, you can come back to this space and, one, it can keep you from hitting the ground as hard as you could. But it can also nurture and nourish you, tend you back to good, so there’s that.

And I think it’s that same thing with that Thursday date. And I don’t love the word synergy. I really don’t like it, but it’s the easiest to explain this. You’re in a group, and even if you don’t feel like you’re having ideas or you’re having the output or whatever the measurable is that you’re looking at everyone else, by simply being in the same space where everyone is in a different space, you are already benefitting from that energetically, you know, both being in the class conversation and at that artist date.

And so, by being in the presence of creativity, you are in fact having that nurtured. That’s fertilized. Whether it turns into something while you’re in that 90 minutes or maybe it’s nine months down the road, there is something happening because you are all connected.

Leah: I resonate with that so much and I want to hear more from your perspective. Because I have always felt that if I can just put myself in certain environments or in proximity to certain people, and I talk about it, I think I’m an energetic learner, I know my brain might churning slow at the time, but I know if I can just put myself in proximity of somebody thinking or being a different way, or even visiting incredible, breathtaking architecture, or for me, that’s the reason to go see amazing art at art museums is to be in the presence of that sort of energy, even if I don’t have a classical background in art appreciation. I feel like there is something that I can just, as a human, absorb and that changes me and that rearranges my cells. It’s the same reason I love to travel.

So, from your perspective, both personal and professional, what is your take about that, about putting yourself in proximity of certain energies that you want to learn from and integrate into your life?

Amanda: I mean, I could say so many things. I’ll just give two examples. One, you see this all the time. People go off to retreats. I don’t care if it’s your work retreat or you’re paying to go to some fabulous hotel and spa and be pampered and learn all weekend, whatever kind of retreat, you just leave your home, okay, vacation.

And you feel so inspired. I’ll use the word you just used. You feel rearranged. You feel like there is this warrior energy that wakes up in you. You are going to come home and you are going to change your life. And you’re so composed and you’ve, you know, you’ve got everything figured out. And then you step back into your space. And oftentimes, within a few days to a week, all of that gusto is gone. And that really speaks to the influence that we’re under in our spaces and our surroundings, that power of persuasion that we seem to think are just four walls, just some art on the walls, just a rug on the floor, just some knickknacks on the bookshelf.

But in fact, they are helping to tell your narrative. And so, when people go away, one of the things I recommend is when you go home, move things around, disrupt the patterns so that whatever it is new that you want to have held onto that you want to see through has a chance of landing in your space and being reinforced.

So, there are a lot of different ways you can do that. Another way that I see people say, “Well I can’t afford to go off and learn from my teachers or these people that I would love or I can’t afford this class,” or whatever. Look at the books on your shelves. We are, again, under the influence all the time. And so, are these voices that you emulate, are these ideas that you still agree with? Do these concepts or stories still woo you? Do they still lift you up Do they still resonate?

I think people want to change so badly but they’re so afraid to let go of something they’ve outgrown. And so, I really do think that where you are and what you put yourself in close proximity to is having an influence. And people know that.

In some conversations, people may dispute it. But we know, if we have to walk in somewhere we don’t want to be, how we feel. We know what it’s like when someone’s in the room that we do not agree with. There is an energetic shift. We are responding.

And the thing about our space is we just become so familiar and numb to it, that we don’t even realize the impact it’s having. It’s sort of like people who are stressed all the time and say they’re not stressed because…

Leah: It’s the baseline, normalized it, yes.

Amanda: It’s the same thing happening in our homes. And there’s just a lot of potential and opportunity to literally create support in your space by changing things around, by taking a mindful eye to, “Okay, here is what I want to become or here is what I align with or here is what resonates with me,” or whatever it is. And then making your space match the best that you can. It’s not about perfection. It’s about what is possible for you.

Leah: Yes, and too, creating a space in your life where you acknowledge what is connected to you, what speaks to you. Because what I find happens so often is people are dismissive. They’re like, “I love this tradition of woodblock printing,” and a particular artist and it goes back hundreds of years, “Oh, but that’s just an interest I have…”

But what if it – I speak to many people. Not everybody has that particular interest and feels that pull and has the same spark in them that flares when they speak about it. So, having the opportunity to be like, “Whoa, hold on a minute. Just hold on a hot second. What is that? What is speaking to me?” And not dismissing the things that light us up and as, like, that’s indulgent or that’s nothing.

But if we really took an orientation of, “No that’s sacred.” And that’s the sacred talking to you in the way that it lights you up. I know for me, traveling abroad when I was younger. But also after I had launched into my career as an artist and becoming an artist, visiting places that valued beauty so much, where the park bench is beautiful. Like to go to a garden in Paris where the park bench is beautiful.

And it spoke to me of like, “See…” beauty is, and beauty is, and beauty is. And you can love what you love and that is just part of who you are.

Amanda: You know, I think that’s what happened is we’ve all become so mental. And I mean that we need logic. We allow the cerebral to demand so much instead of letting ourselves be curious and letting something be without needing to prove its validity or worth.

So, I would say to people, change these things or do these things in your space, and people are hesitant. And to me, you change your house, don’t change your house, that’s totally up to you. But what I’m curious about is the connection between your hesitation doing something that doesn’t seem like it would be that big of a difference. And you can move it back. And how you’re probably hesitating a lot in your life.

Because that is what your home – I mean, it’s definitely a metaphor for your life, it’s the reflection, it’s telling a story. And so, yeah, that resistance to, like you said, that it might be indulgent. And? You say you want it. What is it you’re trying to create in your life?

Leah: Yeah. It’s such a great point. Obviously, we need logic. But when it has become – what’s that Einstein quote about we have elevated the servant, which is logic, and made it the master. The translation is that he said, you know, intuition is meant to be the master but it’s arguable if he just meant intuition or if he meant a different kind of consciousness. But it’s the consciousness that speaks to us and that we’re in conversation with in our environment too.

Amanda: Yeah, you know, one of the things that I teach in my group consult is the concept of yin and yang, because I think that people have this idea that one is better than the other. Usually people are like yin is like passive, weak, and yang is like hustle and bright and loud. And I explain these concepts, like walking people through the four seasons and what’s happening and all this kind of stuff. But also as a way of understanding that you can have spring and summer. Everything is happening. Things are bursting to life. Things are growing. Things are on display. Things are beautiful and they’re radiating.

But they don’t get that way without the end of summer, fall, and winter. Like, meaning there has to be this pause. You know, if you think of late summer, where everything’s held on for a moment, nothing’s really happening, but it’s preparing for a big transition and transformation.

We need that in our lives. And then we think of fall and the leaves falling off the trees and trees being very economical and pulling in resources and letting go of what’s no longer needed. That’s that reflection that we need on what we’re doing. And then the winter, you know, that season of nothing’s happening. But things are beneath the surface because spring doesn’t just come out of fall. There’s all of this mechanic happening deep beneath the soil, deep in the earth, and for that glorious spring morning where everything is suddenly green again, right?

And I think that specifically in the United States, I will say, people tend to focus only on that spring, summer of their lives. They want to be growing, doing, reaching, branching out, trying new things, goal-oriented, hustle. There’s so much doing. And then people are like, “But why am I not receiving anything for my effort?” And I’m like, well where is this happening? Where is your pause, your reflection? And then letting things re-fertilize, you know, regenerate. It’s so important.

So when I think about yin and yang, I often think about inhale exhale, eyes open, blinking. You know, one is not satisfying without the other, so there’s not really one that’s better than the other, but when you get out of balance, you’re not creating the circumstances for the follow through. And I think that’s a conversation that just needs to keep happening in terms of this process of – like you talk about these curiosities people have and then they’re like, “Well no that doesn’t make any sense.” But that can be the winter.

Something will come of it, but it doesn’t need to be immediately obvious for everybody. Sit there and explore it, you know, in the dark. Be with it. Because you never know where it’s going to lead. And that’s the thing, I just think what if though the thing you want is on the other side of making some of these changes?

Leah: Well, and you mixed a great point too because sometimes – we’re just talking about this, this week in the Art School – we’ll have, “This calls to me, this speaks to me. This particular thing always leads to something amazing for me.” But then getting 10 steps down the road about what if it doesn’t work? All the reasons it might not work, rather than having that space, as you said, sit with, allowing it to be what it is right now, just allowing it to be what it is.

And I so appreciate you segueing from the previous two podcasts, which I just recorded but haven’t been released yet, because I talked about having spaciousness in creativity. And the sacred container aspects and looking at two elements, like spaciousness, it doesn’t mean vacuous space. It doesn’t mean this is a right amount of space for everybody, but just approaching this conversation of spaciousness as a part of the creative process, but with definition, like with the constraint that makes us focus, like the walls provide definition and security and a boundary and a container.

But spaciousness, I think, particularly in the US, an undervalued part of the creative process because it seems like the winter. It seems too slow. It seems like we’re not doing enough, which

Then gets all of our virtue oriented overly conditioned brains that like to be virtuous, one must be always productive and doing and one must always have something to show for it. But then this really deprives us of this opportunity to drop deeper into the unknown and to be with the unknown and to experience what might arise from that. And meanwhile, it sends our logical brain and nervous system into a frenzy of, “What are you doing? Come on. Don’t you know, time is ticking, have you produced anything yet?”

Amanda: Yeah, have you produced? Have you made any money? What do you have to show for yourself? Yeah, all of that, that very driven hustle mentality. And the thing that scares me about that is without sort of that pause and reflection and going deep, I really wonder, are we getting the best that we could from people? No, we’re not. But what is the long-term consequence of that? And I think we’re seeing some of that.

And one of the things that I’ll tell my students in the class is just start embodying this in your own day. Like, get up and work out and then go into your day, so that working out is very much that wood energy. Be seen on Zoom and do your work and everything very fire energy and then, as the day starts to wrap up, come home and prepare dinner, settle in, earth energy, like kind of come back to self. And then metal, at the end of the day, prepare for bed. Have your rituals and routines, that kind of stuff. Release the day. But you’ve stepped away from work now.

And water is that sleep. It’s like going into maybe the journaling and whatever. But there’s no phone, there’s no computer, there’s no work. You’ve done that part of the day. And if we start to just embody that daily, I think it helps really call back that ritual because it feels like, how do we – you always hear these conversations about how everything is so tech-oriented and we’re always on our devices and again, it’s that hustle and it’s like, how do we embrace that feminine? Like, how do we receive? How do we do that?

And I’m like, you can just honor those cycles in your own day to day. That’s a really simple way to step into it so that when those seasons are upon you, you don’t necessarily freak out because you have some experience with them just in your own personal, again, your own rituals.

Leah: Yes, I love that. So, if people would love to work with you, I know you have your book.

Amanda: I do have my book.

Leah: And I love your book. You are such an artist at taking material that could be so dense and so overwhelming, and then presenting it in a way that is wise, does not at all detract from the wisdom of it, and also so simple and beautiful and assessable, and I will also say enjoyable to read. I love reading your writing. Do you have any other books in the works or?

Amanda: You know, I’ve been toying with it. It’s that whole like, I need to find my own little piece of earth to settle down. I do. I have ideas. So, we’ll see. I mentioned in the beginning, it’s that Capricorn in me. So, if the idea lands, you can count on it. I’m going to get on that mountain and climb.

But yeah, right now what I’m doing is wrapping up the group consult that I teach, that six-week program where I walk people through how to do a consult in their own home. So, instead of having me as the consultant, I’m taking them through my process. So, I’m going to teach that again in the fall. And I’m going to try to launch a level two this summer for people who’ve taken level one. So, hopefully by fall you can do level one and level two back-to-back.

And then, I would say, in terms of one-on-one consults, always. I mean, I only take on a handful of clients at a time because it is what I have learned, again, from 15 years of doing this is that when people get into this practice, when they start to have this wisdom explained in their spaces, they really want to understand it.

And so, at the end of last year, also another change I made while I was in the Art School. I decided, instead of trying to rush people through the process, meaning I can give you all the things to do in your house pretty quickly, and we can have a follow up conversation. But clients, you know, are emailing and asking questions because they really want to understand it.

And so, I stretch that one-month consult window to three months so that people could move through their space organically, meaning they didn’t feel like they had four weekends to crank through something. And that also we could have plenty of conversations so they actually understand what they’re doing and then they can carry that with them the rest of their lives.

So, I do have a handful of one on ones open every few months. And then Instagram. A ton of information over on Instagram. I’m always sharing stuff. So, that’s a great space to just get the good for free.

Leah: Yes, you are so generous on Instagram. And then I also can personally vouch for the one on one, because I had you do one with me for our new home. And it’s an enriching process, and the way you’re so thoughtful with it too, and you presented and eye perspective and insights, because I’m so up close to it that I would just not have arrived at by myself. And I think I love the metaphor in our environment and things like that, but it was just worth every penny times 20. So, I highly recommend those.

Amanda: I appreciate that. It is fun to see what your house is saying. And then, one of the weeks in the group consult we spend on is like, okay, qi challenges. So many people think Feng Shui is about moving furniture or bringing certain things in. But it actually can have a lot to do with what’s happening around your house, or just the way your house is laid out. It has nothing to do with anything you’ve done.

And so, people will do all these things, “I got rid of all my clutter. I bought a plant. I did this,” and still not seeing results. And it’s that, really understanding how energy is moving through your space, that one or two changes can make all the difference. And it’s such a fascinating wisdom to really have access to with someone who understands it instead of just grabbing it out of the magazine or whatever someone’s doing, “Here are the top 10 things you need to know.”

Leah: No, I think it’s with someone who understands it and someone who – again, you just saw things that I was just so familiar with that I just didn’t see. You do become somewhat desensitized or numb to it. And it was something, in retrospect, I’m like, I was totally tolerating that. I was totally just tolerating that. I didn’t even see it. I love that. It’s like when you get your mind blown in coaching and in retrospect, you’re like, “Why didn’t I see that?” But it’s just so awesome. You’re so grateful for the epiphany that was right before your eyes that someone pointed it out. It is magic.

Amanda: That’s so great. I love getting to go into homes and just seeing people’s faces because honestly there are so many things people instinctually do right or well and there’s always cause to celebrate that. And then it’s really exciting to me to empower people to say here are a few changes that will really make a difference. And then if they do, the stories, I mean, I live for that stuff.

Leah: So good. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. I loved having you in the Art School. I love any time I get to talk with you.

Amanda: You know I feel the same way. I love that space. I will be back. And I love our conversations so much. So thank you every time you ask.

Leah: Yes, we’ll do it again.

—

This brings me to the part of the podcast where I want you to do more than just listen. I want you to lean in, really work with me, coach with me. This is the difference between consuming and creating. This is the work of becoming, being, embodying the energy of being a creative powerhouse. So, take this information. Apply it to your life. Take action on it. Align with your intention in mind, body, and spirit, and create transformation.

So, let’s consider this question that Amanda posed. What if what you want is on the other side of changes you desire to make? So, thinking again about what is your intention. You could say it in terms of a goal, a dream, a desired result, who you want to be. And once you’ve set that intention, then it’s about lining up in mind, body, and spirit so that that desired result, you’re the channel for the energy that makes that happen.

So, for you, what is it that you want? What changes, what different choices can you make? And what is on the other side of those?

So, in terms of different choices you can make, I want to give you the prompt too to consider not only but also external changes to your environment, to your living situation, and your career, your health, your finances, relationships, putting yourself out there, taking a new course, doing something before you’re ready, doing something that you’ve been telling yourself, “Oh, that’s not really me. I can’t really do that. I haven’t perfected it yet.”

And then there is also creating that ideal inner creative ecosystem. How can you align your thoughts? How can you align your energy? How can you align your inner life so that you are a conduit, a channel for the kind of energy and creativity that will make these desired results inevitable?

So, again, what if what you want is on the other side of these changes? I have to say, I’ve just finished up an awesome last two-week session with this advanced coaching workshop, the Gold Medal Workshop series that I offered. And it was such a satisfying and fun and thrilling deep dive with this group of women. Thank you to all of you. It was just epic amounts of fun.

And one of the things that we talked about is having the experience of, yes, resisting something, yes, feeling discomfort around making a change. But oh my god, the epiphanies, the energy, the transformation, the life working and taking off that happens on the other side, this is another component of why I like to do this work in a group and in a community.

Because you get to hear too the testimonies of someone else who has made a change and what they’ve experienced on the other side. So you can hear them share their stories of any trepidation, hesitation, resistance, fear they had, you can hear them tell about their real experience of moving through it.

And also, you hear the part where not only did they live to tell the tale, but to share and revel in it and that it really was worth it. And I love this line of it’s not that we necessarily need more information. It’s that we need more stories to believe in.

So, put yourself in proximity of the kind of people telling stories of transformation, of how they changed their lives and changed the world, how they are human now or human then, how they experienced discomfort, how they resisted it, and eventually how they aligned, what it was like for them to align and what it was like for them to move through and what it’s like on the other side.

Put yourself in proximity of those people, of those stories, of that way of thinking, of that transformational capital C Creative way of living, and you will become them one of the people who has that kind of transformational story to share.

Thank you so much for listening to another episode of The Art School Podcast. If you have enjoyed this podcast, if these episodes have been useful, meaning, and powerful – and powerful, I meant empowered – inspiring to you, I’m so glad. That then is a good day’s work for me.

And if you would like to help me spread this message, the best thing you can do to pay it forward, to be a part of the movement, is to share, is to subscribe, is to go to iTunes and leave a review. And when you are ready to take this work deeper, when you are ready to experience an amazing, extraordinary community unlike any other one on the planet, I will say – I’m biased, I know – I would love to have you join us for the Art School.

The summer workshop series kicks off in June. So, we have a 90-minute workshop June, July, and August that is included. So, this three-month gentle runway of support and connection and coaching for anyone that chooses to enroll early in the Art School.

So, if you take that question from today’s coach with me, what of what you want is on the other side of these changes, if one of the changes you want to make in your life is that you surround yourself with extraordinary support, and that’s support in terms of coaching, guidance, and also an incredible community, people who are able to hold a space vast and big enough for the whole of you, the parts that maybe you don’t want other people to see, those quote unquote dark shadows, and also those parts that maybe you don’t want other people to see that are these stunning gifts of yours, that are these incredible ambitions and aspirations and desires and next-level goals and dreams.

This is a container, a sacred container where all of it is welcomed and all of it is necessary for this kind of alchemical magic. So, if that is the kind of change you are desiring to give yourself, just let yourself imagine, what if? What is on the other side of Art School for me?

So, to close today, I want to offer you a little bonus coach with me. So, I asked you to consider what if what you want is on the other side of these changes? And so now, we’re going to up the ante. What can you do this week? What tangible action can you take to align in mind and body, spirit out in the world? What kind of change can you make that aligns you with that desired intention, with that desired result?

I would love to hear, if you’d take me up on this invitation, on this capital C Creative challenge. You can tag me on Instagram. I’m @leahcb1. You can #theartschoolpodcast. I would love to hear from you. You can send me an email, support@leahcb.com. I would love to hear from you and I’m rooting for you. Have a beautiful week, everyone. And I will talk to you next time.