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Read My Mind, Baby!


Here's where you'll find all my writings — articles on creativity, creative productivity, getting unstuck, being a passion pluralite, and more, and behind-the-scenes journal entries on the wonderful, messy, sometimes really hard reality of living a creative that so few ever actually share.


I have a lot of other blog feeds here that you might also be interested in, though:


Podcast – my weekly podcast, The Creative Sandbox Way™.


Animation – fun with stop-motion animation!


Art in Progress – works in progress (be a fly on the wall in my studio!)


Calligraphy – calligraphy videos, tips, and tutorials


Music Loops – audio experiments in being a one-woman band, using Loopy app


Project 3x5x365 – my year-long tiny-but-daily writing experiment


Why Sucking At Meditation Rocks

Image: You mean sucking at meditation is a GOOD thing? Hmmm...

From the archives! I talk about meditation a LOT, so it seemed like this post, originally published on August 2, 2012, was due for re-publication. In Your Big, Bold, Creative Life Academy meditation comes up in almost every class, because it is just such an astonishingly powerful tool to help lean into fear, avoid getting sucked into distractions, practice self-compassion, and so much more! I hope I inspire you to try it yourself, if you aren’t already a meditator. ~Melissa

I am a meditation moron.

I can’t [Read more…]

6 Reasons Why You NEED to Indulge Your Creative Urges

The Universe Wants You to Create 3 - calligraphy art by Melissa DinwiddieThere are so many reasons people cite for why creativity doesn’t hold a bigger place in their lives.

Time is certainly a big one — I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have way too much to do and not enough time to do it in.

Then there’s self-doubt — the gremlin voices that tell you you’re not good enough, you’ll never be good enough, and certainly never as good as your heroes, so why bother? And who do you think you are to even try, anyway?

And then there’s the nagging sense of [Read more…]

How Getting Mugged Gave Me Back My Creativity

Yes Yes Yes - calligraphy art by Melissa DinwiddieOne from the archives! Originally published on December 1, 2011, this post is worthy of a revisit, and especially timely, in light of the re-opening (on January 20th!) of Your Big, Bold, Creative Life Academy! Enjoy. xo,Melissa

The mugger had a firm grip on my ankles.

“NO!” I screamed, flipping onto my right hip and yanking my left leg back. I kicked back out sharply while pulling up my right leg, smashing his hand in the process. “NO!”

I flipped to my other side and repeated the process, yanking and kicking and scraping, bicycling my legs as best I could with a 180 pound man hanging onto them.

In the background, I was aware of his partner looming, even [Read more…]

The Ultimate Secret for Getting from Small & Timid to Big & Bold

Bring Your Dreams Out Into the Light - calligraphy art by Melissa Dinwiddie

Memory (cue the harp music):

Music camp, a dozen years ago. I’m watching in awe (and not a little envy) as another camper performs in the student concert.

She seems so relaxed and confident onstage. She owns the stage, has the audience in the palm of her hand.  How does she do it, I wonder?

I’m careful not to let anyone know, but I harbor a secret fantasy of being able to perform like that. Maybe even being paid to sing!

Of course, I know this is impossible, but that doesn’t stop me dreaming. In my dreams I sing for appreciative audiences around the country. [Read more…]

Looking Down the 2014 Staircase

In the end, will you say you followed your dreams? - calligraphy art by Melissa DinwiddieFor eleven years, back in my 20s and 30s, I saw this wonderful therapist named Laurel. She had short, white hair (my own hair was long back then), and was very warm and wise.

I loved this woman. She helped me move past the crushing grief that paralyzed me after an injury cut short my budding dance career. She helped buoy me up during the depressing years of my first marriage.

I remember thinking that she was like my village wise woman. A thousand years ago we might have had the same relationship, me tromping through the forest to seek her counsel instead of driving across town. I imagined me showing up at her hut to sit on the dirt floor and spill my sorrows and partake of her wisdom. Instead of tearing a check out of my checkbook, I’d offer up a chicken or a basket of berries. [Read more…]

Spend 5 Days Creating with Me, and Walk Away Transformed - Come to Creative Sandbox Retreat

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