Nikki Starcat Shields's Blog, page 15

Dharma – It’s Complicated

I had one of those moments this past weekend where it was like: “This. This is an essential part of the work I’m meant to be doing in this world.” Have you ever experienced that? It’s such a powerful feeling.

I’ve felt it before, while writing (which can seem like such a solitary activity, though it’s really not) and when holding one of the books I wrote.

But this time it was at an in-person day-long workshop that I held at the home of a friend who lives near Boston (no, not the workshop show...

Starcat’s Favorites: The Turning of the Wheel

Suddenly it’s autumn! Well, it seems kind of sudden from where I’m standing. We had a whirlwind of a September, with my big 50th birthday celebration and a two-week visit from my daughter and her fiance. It was so much fun.

Now it’s almost October, and the leaves are turning. I’m craving soup and hot tea. Curling up with a good book and a fuzzy blanket is a favorite late-evening activity once again.

It’s time to start planning my NaNoWriMo novel writing project for this November.

Some people...

The Big Five-Oh!

Quester playing with the band!

I did it – I turned 50! I’m so thrilled!

In the “you can’t make this stuff up” category, my 50th birthday fell on Friday the 13th and the Full Harvest Moon. So, of course we had a big party!

Maybe you’re wondering why in the world I’m so excited to be what mainstream culture calls “over the hill.” Like many things in my life, I’m doing this unconventionally. I’m aging backwards. Curious? You can read more about it here, there, and most recently, over on Kind Ove...

What the…Faith?

I grew up in a household that I’d now describe as a combination of atheist and agnostic. We didn’t attend church – after a failed experiment of my Mom sending me to Sunday school at my Baptist paternal grandmother’s urging. Mom didn’t appreciate her little 4-year-old innocent child being sent home with pamphlets saying I was a sinner. Go figure.

We weren’t fans of Christianity, or at least the version we witnessed in the culture. Don’t get me wrong – if you’re following Christ and his tenets...

Ease, Revisited

EASE is my Word of the Year for 2019. I’ve been practicing it for quite a while now, and writing about it here, too. This summer I’ve uncovered a whole new level of ease – and also my hidden resistance to it.

Here are some notes from the field:

There are layers of resistance to ease. These can be buried quite deeply. I’ve worked on my core beliefs a lot over the past 10 years, and yet I was recently able to pinpoint a whole new level of resistance to my work being both easy and profitable.

Ke...

Starcat’s Favorites: Getting Results

It’s no secret to longtime readers that I LOVE summer. But it’s not just the warmer days and more time off to enjoy this gorgeous season. It’s also that it’s the season of abundance. Flowers, strawberries, vegetable stands, the trees, sunshine – it feels like everything is in bloom. Abundance surrounds us. For me, it’s a time when my creativity is especially expansive, and I can see the results of the inspired actions I take.

From the results my clients got in my summer retreat – one attendee...

There Will Be Ebb

If you’ve done any kind of sustained creative work at all, you know that feeling when inspiration strikes and you ride the wave of powerful creative flow. It’s so thrilling!

You also know that eventually that wave crashes on the shore, and the water ebbs away. You find yourself sitting in the sand, wondering what just happened. That’s when you know that it’s time to put aside your project for a while and rest.

I’m convinced that what we call writer’s block is sometimes just the ebb tide of cr...

A Hot Date With Yourself

 

I’m notoriously bad at selfies, but I took this one on an artist date a few years ago. Obviously I was having fun!

As a creative being, which I know you are, it’s essential to keep the wellspring of your creativity clear and flowing. The best way I know of to do that is to take yourself on a hot artist date. Not once a year, but regularly.

I first heard of this idea in Julia Cameron’s wonderful book The Artist’s Way. She says to take yourself on an artist date every week for a couple of hou...

Starcat’s Favorites: Summer Road Trips

I love road trips. Especially ones that involve concerts. Last weekend, we went on a really fun road trip, to Massachusetts and New York City to see Dead & Company. “We,” pictured here, being me, my husband, my boyfriend, and my husband’s girlfriend – yeah, I know, unusual (take a look at the About section if you’re curious about our alternative family). We had such a blast!

All of us except BlackLion have been longtime Deadheads. This wasn’t our first time seeing Dead & Company, either, but...

Summer Solstice Check-In

As we approach the Summer Solstice and the halfway point of the calendar year, it’s a good time to take a look at how things are going in our lives. What did you hope to feel, experience, and accomplish this year? How’s it going?

Let’s shine the light on things! It’s time for an assessment.

You might tend to focus on the goals that haven’t yet become part of your life. As an achievement-oriented Virgo, I’m guilty of that, for sure. After I recently shared my disappointment about not being clo...