Today’s post is the check-in for Week Ten, Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection. Here’s how the last week has gone in my journey through The Artist’s Way.

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100 Liminal Days is an experimental project of embracing my current transitional season after exiting my business by sharing an honest, real-time account of my self-initiation experience in daily posts. I’m using The Artist’s Way as a guiding tool, and sending shorter weekly recaps only via my newsletter. Visit Day 1/100 to learn more and sign up to get the weekly recaps delivered to your inbox.

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The Artist’s Way Week Ten Check-In

How many days this week did you do your Daily Pages? How was the experience?

This week on Saturday, I missed literally every daily habit including writing my blog post. We attended a celebration of life for a close friend’s father out of town that morning, and our visit extended into the afternoon. Exhausted and emotionally drained after a full day, I gave myself permission to just let it all go.

Outside of that anomaly, I enjoyed writing my pages this week and I sorted out some feelings and thoughts around a couple of volunteer opportunities that have presented themselves to me. Writing in my journal is one of the most potent ways I can support myself in making decisions about where to put my energy.

Did you do your Artist Date this week? What did you do? How did it feel?

I did not do an Artist Date this week. It seems like with the holidays approaching and more invites to social and networking opportunities lately, I have had a harder time fitting this in.

All in all, I am noticing that I am falling off the structure of The Artist’s Way more and more as I progress. In one way, I see this as a positive thing because I feel like I’ve healed a lot of parts of me that were creating the creativity block. Even so, I know that prioritizing time by myself to nurture my inner artist will be beneficial to me for a lifetime if I commit to it.

Did you experience any synchronicity this week? What was it?

There have been numerous magical moments throughout this week. Instead of listing the many interactions that have felt synchronistic to me, I’ll summarize by saying that it feels like God is moving in and through my life. Connecting in real life with a few people who are reading this blog has felt like fanning the flame – I’m receiving feedback that sharing my experience has been supportive to others in a liminal space, too.

Were there any other issues this week that you consider significant for your recovery? Describe them.

Related to the synchronicities of the week, I have noticed a shift in my confidence and inner peace when meeting new people. I met several new people this week – a few at a business “friendsgiving” party, but also some strangers in chance encounters. In each of these interactions, I notice that when someone asks me what I do for work, I cannot wait to tell them that I am writing and learning to teach qigong. I am no longer ashamed of my in-between status and I honestly am excited to share how this is going for me.

One of the people I met this week was a banker who is also a new dad. His son is 16 months old. The conversation we were having was around working hard particularly during the pandemic when he was working around the clock to help small business owners get PPP loans. We talked about how that certainly wasn’t sustainable, but also how he has continued to work hard and to nurture relationships with leadership at his organization in an effort to earn a promotion. I shared about my burnout and recovery journey.

Then as we talked, he paused and tilted his head for a moment. He said, “This is kind of weird, but I think I was supposed to hear this today.” He shared about some big changes at work, and said that maybe this is a sign he ought to take a season to slow down and spend more time with his wife and son. We chatted about how there can be seasons for hustle and seasons for rest and connection. It seemed to resonate deeply for him and I was on cloud nine because it felt like I was able to help him discover this for himself. That felt so good.

As I reflect on the big picture of what has been unfolding over the last week, I am reminded that there was another season of my life when I felt like this – like the air is heavy with possibility and magic. It feels like God is working and I am right where I am supposed to be. In 2008, I had a similar experience – a felt sense of God’s presence in my day-to-day life, and like I was collaborating with Spirit in some way. That time of my life was the first true spiritual awakening of my life, and strange and unbelievable miracles happened during this significant time of my life.

I have shared about a vision I had of a tree by a river with rotted roots that I cut with an axe, then watched as the hand of God formed new golden roots in their place. This vision came to me in 2008. During this same several months of time, there were other mystical experiences, but the one that stands out the most is hard to believe, but I’ll share it anyway.

The husband of one of my coworkers at the time had lung cancer. It was advanced, and he was scheduled for a surgery to remove his entire lung that was eaten up with tumors. I, along with some other coworkers, formed a prayer circle of sorts at the hospital where I worked and the same place where his surgery would happen that week. We prayed together for our friend and colleague and her husband during such a difficult time.

The day of the surgery came and we were all waiting eagerly for the update that it went well. But the report was beyond anything we could imagine. When the surgeons opened his chest to remove the lung that had been covered in tumors, to everyone’s astonishment, the lung was completely healthy. There were no tumors. The doctors checked and rechecked the scans that had been taken before and it was nothing short of a miracle. Nothing could explain it, but the cancer was gone!

They sewed him back up without taking his lung, and he lived to tell his miraculous story. I will never forget this – not just because it as an astonishing story, but because I felt like I was part of that story because of the prayers. Collaborating with God and asking God to move in this situation. I will always believe in the power of prayer because of this.

So all of that to say, the same electric energy I felt back in 2008 when this happened is present in my life today. If that doesn’t give me a sense of amazement and hope, I don’t know what could! I am full of gratitude for this incredible season of my life.

The Artist’s Way Week Eleven is about recovering a sense of autonomy and separating our self-worth from external validation like financial success. There are just two more weeks left in The Artist’s Way and I’m excited to see what other little jewels come forth 🙂

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