SharedBliss: Interview with Creative Self-Development Coach, Jamie Ridler

Jamie Ridler, "Downtown"
(Go ahead -- sing it!)

Listening to: Check out this woman's energy. (Something extra special for Jamie.)

Bliss: The recent decision that I write about below. Though like with all big decisions, I had some immediate anxiety and backlash, I stuck with it, did some breathing, remembered what Jamie is all about, and worked through the panic part relatively quickly, knowing all along that the decision is right and good.

This year, my word is fly, as many of you know. At first, I had quite a bit of anxiety about this word. For good reason. At the top of my anxiety list was the fact that I didn't quite know why I had picked it or what it would concretely mean in my life.

But I started by taking some small risks. For one, when the opportunity presented itself (in my email inbox, at that), I jumped on the book-club-with-Jamie-Ridler bandwagon!

And since then, some magic has ensued.

Thanks to Jamie's book club, I have met some amazing women and bloggers. They have made me think. They have made me reevaluate.

Yesterday, a lot of things came together all at once, and as I talked from my part time job on the phone with my partner, I realized that I had to put in my notice.

You see, my partner and I don't need my part time job; this is not due to luck but due to some good choices in the past, first and foremost buying half the house that the banks told us we could.

But I have all these issues about jobs and identity and worth, yet Jamie's book club made me see what I was doing: exchanging valuable creative time and energy for play money.

What!?

Marcy and I are both writers and she is an artist and that work deserves the full attention of at least one of us if we are able, and we are able.

So, thank you, Jamie and the rest of the book club participants. I got my focus on!

Jamie is not only a stupendous life coach, but she also is a creative blogger, a painter, a Nia blue belt instructor, and runs Circe's Circle, where she acts as a midwife to your creative projects. You can also find her on Twitter! (How does she DO it!?)

Basically, she is a wizard performing daily acts of magic!

Describe the PrimaryBliss of your life. How did you come to know that this was your Primary Bliss?

Ooh, this is a hard question to answer. My blisses range from dancing to collaging to developing workshops to blogging to painting to… I’m sure you get the bliss-picture! But when it really comes down to it, my primary bliss is making something wonderful happen. One minute there was nothing and then there was a book club. Or one minute there was nothing and suddenly the table is sparkling and beautiful and ready for guests. I find that magic. Maybe that’s it – my primary bliss is magic.

What types of choices and sacrifices did you make to be able to craft this bliss-filled life?

I don’t believe in sacrifice but I do believe in choice. Because I get excited about so many things, it can be challenging to say no. In the past, that has led to exhaustion or that panicky feeling that I’m missing out on something. Recently I had an a-ha that helped. Another way to look at all of these delicious choices is that you simply can’t get it wrong. Whatever you choose will provide lots of richness in your life. So choose away and enjoy!

The other thing that has been absolutely essential in crafting a bliss-filled life has been bravery, the willingness to show up even when it’s scary, the willingness to get it wrong, to make mistakes and to do so publicly (my personal favourite – ouch!). These are all tough but not nearly so tough as not living your bliss.

How does your PrimaryBliss radiate out into the rest of your life?

It has been such a powerful experience for me to know my own loves and passions and to build a bliss-full life around them that I’ve been inspired to help others do the same. That’s why I’m a creative self-development coach. I specialize in working with established and emerging creative and wellness professionals, and it is amazing to see that as each of my clients begins to live according to their bliss, not only are their lives wildly better, but they spread that joy wherever they go. Amazing!

What are some other activities that also give you this sense of bliss? Things that make you lose track of time?

Working on a creative project, dancing, Nia, collaging, planning, visioning, blogging, reading, going to art galleries and museums, enjoying coffee and conversation, puttering, walking through a new and interesting neighbourhood, gardening, traveling, reading, thinking...

There are so many things to enjoy in this world. I often think of something one of my mom’s friends used to say when anyone said they were bored: “And you live in this world?”

What is your daily or weekly spiritual practice?

Writing morning pages and collage journaling at the end of the day is my practice. I want to incorporate movement into this routine as well. Going for a walk can really help me connect with the powers that be.

What music is your bliss?

I have rather diverse taste in music, so the real answer is music that perfectly suits my mood at any given time, whether it’s funky or industrial or meditative. But whatever the mood, the Indigo Girls are always musical bliss to me. Recently I’ve been addicted to the song Life is Unbelievable by John Southworth.

Name books or authors/poets or people who are your bliss, who influenced your bliss.

My life has been profoundly affected by the teachings of Pema Chodron, particularly The Places that Scare You – a Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times and the recording of Getting Unstuck. Recently I read the introduction to Alice Walker’s Anything We Love Can be Saved and felt I could read it every day to remind myself of the kind of person I want to be in the world. Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way has been instrumental in 2 significant turning points in my life. And in the past few years, it’s really been in the creative blogging community that I have found joy, inspiration, encouragement, strength, love and an amazing generosity of spirit.

What advice would you give to someone who feels they have not yet discovered their PrimaryBliss?

Spend time with yourself. Pay attention to what you enjoy, what catches your eye, what bothers you. Become a student of your self. Your body and spirit are giving you feedback every moment. Learn to listen. Journal. Hire a coach.

Do you have a favorite quote you would like to share?

“Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
--Howard Thurman

"My primarybliss is making something wonderful happen." I LOVE that! And thanks to Jamie's own self-awareness, she is able to share hints about the path of bliss with so many people.

Even a girl who calls herself Blisschick gets lost now and then and is grateful to find someone carrying a flashlight in the dark!