Winter Dream Lab with Brene Brown*

brene_brown_2011_700.jpg
Brene Brown, photo by Karen Walrond

About this time last year, a friend of mine was close to the end of her pregnancy. I excitedly left her a voice mail asking if she wanted to get together for a visioning session in the new year. She called me back and surprised me by saying nope, she just wasn’t in the “visioning space” at that moment. “What?!” I thought. “How can that be? She’s always into this kind of thing! Was she depressed?”

I could appreciate it in theory but I didn’t really get it until now. I am currently not in that visioning space either. Or at least not in the way I normally am. Every goal I have seems to be sidelined by the very immediate task of keeping my baby alive. Every time I entertain my future dreams (in the 7 seconds I have between feedings, cleaning the house, etc.) I put that baby back on the breast and my mind goes fuzzy. What were we talking about? Those hormones kick in and erase any ounce of ambition I once had. Whatever! My body says. We’re here! We’ve got this! There is nothing else! Maybe this is some kind of hormone-induced zen.

I’ll take it.

And that’s why I’m so excited about our winter dream lab. We are collaborating with Dr. Brene Brown (pictured above) who does the most extraordinary, ground-breaking work about what she calls The Gifts of Imperfection (Also the name of her most recent book)

I started wondering: What if 2011 was simply about being enough? Our bodies, our work, our lives? What if we chucked our insatiable drive to self-improve and simply created from a space of enoughness? What then?
What if instead of designing our year from a place of lack, of trying to fix what’s broken (my list is long on this one) we created a solid foundation for ourselves? A place from which to create that was full and rich and a-okay?

I am going to find out.

Join us while we explore the Gifts of Imperfection for the next 8 weeks! More details here…

P.S. Brene is currently featured on the home page of Ted. (I am a total Ted talk nerd) Her talk is the second most viewed Tedx video in the world. We are so lucky to have her!!

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Hi, I’m Andrea

On this blog you’ll be learning with me how to use our voices, share our creative superpowers and live life in full color.

As an artist, photographer, life coach + mentor, I’m redefining what it means to be a SUPERHERO — ‘cause in my world, it’s got nothing to do with capes, spandex or sidekicks and everything to do with tenderness, intuition & baby steps of bravery.

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20 Comments

  1. Elizabeth

    I love it! Having three children of my own, I completely identify with your hormone induced zen. It’s such a wonderful thing. Enjoy your baby.

  2. melissa

    happy new year. happy family bonding. and thank you for this beautiful mondo beyondo invitation. love. love. love.

  3. kristy

    Whoop whoop, that sounds just right to me!

  4. cjm

    I know this post is about a million other things but can I just say that reading this makes me very happy?–“Every goal I have seems to be sidelined by the very immediate task of keeping my baby alive.” As a soon-to-be new mom, this is my only goal. I hear about other new moms with lofty ones and I shake my head. Perhaps being enough is a good thought for 2011.

  5. Christine

    A friend pointed me in your direction, and I’m so glad she did. I’ve keen on the course, and will definitely consider signing up!

  6. Life in Eden {amy}

    Oh this sound so wonderful — but I am already signed up for Mondo Beyondo, and somehow I’m not sure they would complement. What do you think?

  7. michelle

    I love the idea of 2011 being the year of enough! Wow that one line really hit home with me – could enough be my word of the year instead of nourish? Hmm something to noodle over!

  8. Erinn

    Excellent. Thank you. This is just how I felt the first several months of my daughter’s life. I feel a relentless push to become “a better person” without fully knowing (the potentially great) person I already am.

  9. Yasmin

    Thank you so much for this and for the Brene Brown link. 2010 was a troubled year and I was starting 2011 with bad thoughts and negative visions. I so needed to see this…thank you again. I am enough…love yasmin xxxx

  10. Sharon

    I’ve wanted to take one of your classes since first finding your blog. I can’t even remember how long ago that was, but it’s been a while. I had written myself a note to check in in January to see what was going on. Last year was such a bad year for me and for my family. Actually, I’ve had several bad years, but last year was the worst. I’ve been living my life trying to remember and show myself that I am enough for more than a year now. This post and class hits home for me. I’ve signed up and I cannot wait to get started! I wish it started tomorrow. Thank you.
    Sharon

  11. Alison

    Thank you so much for this post. I’ve been thinking a lot about this foundation in myself and how this works. How does one create this foundation in themselves? A solid place to stand, a strong grounded place to come back to and to be sure of when everything else is shaky and rocky and unsure? That’s my new year’s resolution: commit to building a foundation in myself. YES. Thank you Thank you Thank you. Any thoughts on logistical steps? What does it mean to build a foundation in ourselves? That’s definitely something I’m going to be journalling about for a while.
    Thank you Andrea. You are wonderful. Love to you.

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  15. Tom Mohan

    I’m a big Brene fan now thanks to you. Appreciate the tip.

  16. Leia

    I’m a Brene fan too (because of your blog). I can so relate to what you wrote about the nursing and losing your train of thought and being in the now. I have been using my iPod to listen to pod casts of Eckhart Tolle and Oprah chapters 1-10 from the class they did on his book A New Earth. It’s funny, I watched those Skype classes and read the book along w/ them back in 07′ or 08′ but it never sunk in until now. Now as I listen to the pod casts on my escape walks on the weekend when I can leave the kids w/ my husband in-between nursings The Now and all the pain body and ego stuff is all making a lot more sense and seems a lot more comforting. It all fits in w/ the idea that I am enough and this is now and not to choose worry over being in the present etc. That feeling like I have failed because I am not doing more or giving more is a my pain body talking. Anyway . . . I’m not very eloquent but what you said in this post resonates and is where I have been in listening to these pod casts which I barely can listen to during my boy’s waking hours. 😉 -L

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  18. Jennifer

    so excited to be in dream lab :0) With the three of you beauties together it is bound to be magic.

  19. How to Lose Weight Fast

    Aw, this was a really quality post. In theory I’d like to write like this too – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get something done.
    Regards!

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