Author: marisavictus

Are you creatively blocked? Forcing perfectionism isn’t the answer. PLAY is!

Feel the Fear…& PLAY anyway!

In my STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT☕️🍵, we’re doing a deep-dive into The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (“JC”). This week is Week #9: Recovering a Sense of Compassion.

In Chapter 9, JC asks us to stop mislabeling ourselves. Instead of calling ourselves lazy, we need to be compassionate with ourselves and recognize that we aren’t lazy. We’re “creatively blocked.”

All because of fear.

This can be rooted in our upbringing, she says. Especially when our decision to pursue creative work requires us to go against our parents’ wishes. As she puts it, we put immense pressure on ourselves “right off the bat [to] be great artists in order to justify this rebellion,” which makes it even harder to succeed. Because the “need to be a great artist makes it hard to be an artist” at all.

To overcome this, we need to coax our child-like Inner Artist out. Discipline works, but not for long, she says. Instead, we should entice our artist to come out by setting small goals and…

Encouraging your Inner Child to PLAY.

Play is precisely what will help us to build sustainable momentum and produce great work.

As usual, JC also does a fantastic job of normalizing what can go wrong, by emphasizing that most artists who are creatively blocked will suffer from Creative U-Turns, when creatives sabotage themselves “on the eve of or in the wake of a first creative victory.” Again, laziness is not the cause. Fear is what causes us to retreat. Because the prospect of success can induce fear, too.

But being overly strict or heavy-handed with ourselves is not the answer. Sympathy is. We must realize it’s normal to be like a “skittish horse,” coming “up to a creative jump,” then needing to “circle the field a few times before trying the fence again.”

What a revelation to see that failures are normal!

Successful artists are successful simply because they’ve learned the trick: how to survive failure.

It’s quite comforting to remember that “even our most illustrious artists have taken creative U-turns in their time.”

Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your own life:

⭐️ Do you recognize any Creative U-Turns in your own creative journey?

⭐️ Do you know of any other Creatives who have had U-Turns and recovered successfully? If not in real life, what about Creatives you admire on Substack or elsewhere?

⭐️ How can we use those Creatives as examples, to help us lessen our fear so we can jump the fence again?

⭐️ Examine whatever you’re currently delaying. Might that be fear, disguised as procrastination?

⭐️ How can you release the fear or anger that’s keeping your inner Artistic Child blocked?

⭐️ ARE YOU READY TO PLAY?!

🎃 Halloween’s the perfect opportunity to do so.

Especially because you can do it with the support of your friends & family.

Why not? No matter what age you are, it’s important to strike an air of conviviality with your friends and family — and, perhaps, most of all, children.

Including the Inner Child in each of us.

One of my absolute favorite fall activities is Trick-or-Treating to celebrate Halloween with my kids. My kiddos wear their favorite costumes that change year-after-year.

And, guess what? I get into it, too!

First, I get dressed up.

Using black eyeliner, I bring out the artist in me. I paint on a lil cat nose and whiskers, and I don a pair of fluffy cat ears.

We walk the entire neighborhood, and we’re blessed to have a neighborhood where everyone gets into the Halloween spirit. Even if our neighbors don’t have kids, they set up firepits, enjoy drinks, and hand out candy. They decorate their homes — inside and out — with all sorts of spooky and not-so-spooky sights. Families from all over drive to our neighborhood to enjoy the night out.

When we get home from exploring and trick-or-treating, with my kids’ bags full of candies, my kids are just as excited to hand candies out to the other children who visit our home.

The entire process reminds me of what it was like, to be a kid, so excited to hand out all of the candies I’d prepared for my friends.

I don’t see myself stopping, not even when my kids are older. Like my neighbors, I’ll be getting into the Halloween spirit forever! It’ll keep me young, because there’ll never come a day when I consider myself “too old.”

Second, I participate in the pumpkin carving.

My kids each get their own pumpkins to carve. I help them to carve their chosen designs, and then I turn my attention to a pumpkin devoted just for me.

Yes, you read that right! I buy my very own pumpkin, and I dive into a detailed pumpkin carving.

Over the years, I’ve done so many. They’ve gotten more intricate over time. Morphing from the black cat with its arched back, to Elsa & Olaf one year, to Harry Potter and a Dragon next.

Like this:

I’ve gotten so into it and become attached to some of the designs that I’ve even started buying Foam Pumpkins so my carvings don’t have to rot away come November.

Like that:

Now, some people might laugh at me and think, “She’s a grown adult! She must be so childish” to be into Halloween like this.

But, these simple, traditional activities have brought me so much joy!

And quite a challenge, as well!

Because pumpkin carving’s NOT so easy.

You have to create a design that’s essentially backward, because the areas that you sketch in black need to be the pumpkin you LEAVE ALONE. And the paper that you’ve left white needs to be the pumpkin you CARVE AWAY. You also have to be careful that you leave the pumpkin that’s left ATTACHED to the rest of the pumpkin! (Believe me, if you make a mistake, it can be quite a challenge to correct an overzealous knife!)

It’s a little exercise in mental gymnastics that I’ve gotten better at year after year. And, yet, so much time passes between Halloweens that it does take me a few minutes to grow accustomed to it each time I start the carving process.

I’ve also created some tricks to be able to tell what the final carving will look like when it’s lit up. And I find it quite funny when you compare and contrast the ugly look of a fully-carved pumpkin under the glare of kitchen lights, versus how it looks at night, when it’s lit from the inside, by candlelight. Sometimes, your brain can hardly believe it transforms from something so hideous and unrecognizable into something that resembles what you’ve chosen it to be once it’s lit up. Yet again, it’s the mental exercise that’s so interesting and fun to me.

Most of all, it’s the emotional feeling it gives to me that makes it all worthwhile.

Whether it’s trick-or-treating, carving a pumpkin, or decorating the house for Halloween or fall, I absolutely love the sense of freedom it gives me to PLAY!

Play must be an extremely important part of everyone’s life — whether we’re children or adults.

It allows our brains to maintain flexibility. It reminds us to stop pursuing Perfectionism. It opens us to trying and being willing to fail at new things. It prevents us from taking ourselves or life too seriously. It feels absolutely amazing in our bodies. And, especially for me, it heals my Inner Child, who was raised to pursue the “A” so much that she believed we have to be serious all of the time to be successful.

No! How wrong I was!

It’s when we play that our brains love to learn.

It’s when we play that our spirit’s able to soar.

It’s when we play that we have the freedom to be who we truly wish to be.

So, as Halloween rears its spooky head today, please do yourself a favor…

Ghost your tendency to button down!

Dress up. Get silly. Eat some yummy candy. Now, go out and have yourself a blast!

The Sally (& Jack) Skellington in me honors & respects the Sally or Jack Skellington in each of you,

Marisa

⭐️ Remember, we don’t have to figure everything out, all alone. ⭐️

We can find solutions, together!

Please join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Join chat

I host Notes Boost Challenges (NBC) every Friday in my STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT.

Feel free to share your latest Note or Post of the week, so we can Like/Comment/Restack yours & you can do the same for others, so we can all GROW!

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT! Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

Subscribe if you want to see where this Creative Journey can take us!

BONUS — Did you know that all SUBSCRIBERS can read the 1st Book of THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES (OBSIDIAN: Birth to Venus) for FREE?

READ THE SYNOPSIS

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are. And…

We’ll combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will supercharge our self-improvement & give us unstoppable self-belief!

When you SUBSCRIBE TO MY SUBSTACK, you’ll gain access to these 2 resources:

(1) Every week, you’ll get my free Non-Fiction Newsletter on Substack, entitled Marisa VICTUS: Science of Synergy & Self; and,

(2) Every day, you’ll be able to entrain your brain — the quick & easy way — with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

I’m building my own Mindset & Meditation (M&M) Community, so we can all invest in our truest, most Authentic Self.

🌸 Every day, I write ✍️1 handwritten✍️ M&M (Mindset & Meditation) Note.🌸

🧘🏻‍♀️If you want to grow with me, repeat these daily affirmations like I am.🧘🏻‍♀️

🙌Let’s entrain our brains to adopt these empowering beliefs.🙌

Plus, if you’d like to see me succeed (or flop 😂) as I practice in public,

(3) SUBSCRIBE to my free YouTube Channel!

Fear’s inevitable. Now, what can we do about it?

Feel the Fear…and Do It Anyway!

As you know, in my STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT☕️🍵, we’re doing a deep-dive into The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (“JC”). This week is Week #8: Recovering a Sense of Strength.

In Chapter 8, JC asks us to beware of all the ways our inner turmoil can derail us from walking our creative path:

• To beware the “teacher” whose suppression of their own Inner Artist has caused them to give us poor advice, like an inaccurate or unhelpful assessment of our creative capabilities.
• To avoid being a victim of chance, the whims of the industry, and/or decisions from gatekeepers that we can’t control.
• To make sure we aren’t refusing creative opportunities that come to us because of our own self-doubt.
• To create our own creative opportunities by looking for the “other door,” when what we originally tried has failed to work for us.

For each, JC does a fantastic job of illustrating all the ways in which we can get stuck when we believe in false narratives and fall into a hole of rumination. And she describes many ways we can protect our egos by not trying:

• When we delay our creative work until retirement or another time that’s “better.”
• When we act like our creative work will completely derail our relationship/life plans, when it really won’t.
• When we allow our minds to waste time contemplating “the odds” of “making it,” as if we’re being asked to leap off a cliff, when that’s not what we need to do at all.

That’s a lot of mental pitfalls.

But, I love how JC shows us…

It’s NORMAL for Creatives to wrestle with all this inner drama.

How can we save ourselves?

We just need to focus on taking the next ”right step.”

And she gives us plenty of examples from her and other artists, to demonstrate how we can save ourselves from getting stuck in these mental traps.

Ultimately, what’s the takeaway?

Feel the Fear…then Find a Way to Do It Anyway!

I definitely recognize these mental traps in myself.

For example, for the longest time, I told myself I could not post any music because I didn’t know how to record my piano playing well.

And I didn’t have a full backing track to sing any songs.

I told myself lots of stories about this, like no one would want to listen to my singing a cappella, without any music to accompany it.

Then, one day, I decided to tell a story about an incident that happened to me when I was in middle school, when a fellow classmate criticized my singing.

Like JC said in Ch. 8, this past criticism derailed my willingness to sing again publicly.

But, as I described in the video I recorded, I learned to overcome it with a lot of healing & humor.

I posted the story with my singing, entitled [SING-ALONG STORYTIME VIDEO] How to Use Humor to Heal & Flip the Script on Limiting Beliefs, and I was so thankful when it was well-received on Substack.

It was a great lesson for me to learn: Limiting beliefs can be overcome, when we feel the fear and take action anyway.

I’ve done a few more videos like it since, that I now call my “Sing-Along Storytime” Series.

For me, this represents my taking the “next right step.”

I wonder what other “next right steps” I can take? Perhaps I can study how other people make high-quality audio recordings for their piano playing.

Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life:

⭐️ Do you recognize any mental traps in your own creative journey?

⭐️ Do you have a plan to get yourself out of a creative hole?

⭐️ Is your plan too complex? Can you come up with a simpler plan to take the “next right step”?

⭐️ Have you ever challenged a Limiting Belief by taking a smaller step, like me?

⭐️ Are you in the process of finding the “other door” that you can open, right now?

⭐️ If you can’t see any “other door” at the moment, what’s a “next right step” that might lead you there?

The Feelin’-Fear-&-Doin’-It-Anyway Creative in me honors & respects the Feelin’-Fear-&-Doin’-It-Anyway Creative in each of you,

Marisa

⭐️ Remember, we don’t have to figure everything out, all alone. ⭐️

We can find solutions, together!

Please join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Come join us in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 !

From Monday 2025–10–20:

It’s WEEK #8 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Strength.

Please share your thoughts in the Chat!

Let’s support each other so we can all grow in the direction that we choose for ourselves.

We got this! 🔮💪🙋🏻‍♀️🙌🔮

From Wednesday 2025–10–22:

STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT — 🤗 Let’s SUPPORT EACH OTHER with a NOTES & POSTS BOOST! 🚀

Let’s celebrate the Messy Middle with “WEDNESDAY WIPs”! Post a Note featuring a Work In Progress — to intentionally celebrate what we are in the process of creating, so we can SAVOR & CELEBRATE the Messy Middle before it’s finished!

It’s a fun way for us to see what we’ve been up to, cheer each other on, & Like/Comment/Restack, so we can all GROW!🙌

Like the Sketch I included in the CHAT. It’s a sketch that represents my willingness to listen more & enter a state of Receivership, as JC recommends in The Artist’s Way.

The Before & After Sketches I shared (above) show the MESSIEST MIDDLE for my figure drawing: HANDS!

From Friday 2025–10–24:

Looking for a regular place to help boost each other’s Notes & Posts every week?

I host Notes Boost Challenges (NBC) every Friday in my STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT.

Feel free to share your latest Note or Post of the week, so we can Like/Comment/Restack yours & you can do the same for others, so we can all GROW!

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT! Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

Subscribe if you want to see where this Creative Journey can take us!

Share

Leave a comment

BONUS — Did you know that all SUBSCRIBERS can read the 1st Book of THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES (OBSIDIAN: Birth to Venus) for FREE?

READ THE SYNOPSIS

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are. And…

We’ll combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will supercharge our self-improvement & give us unstoppable self-belief!

When you SUBSCRIBE TO MY SUBSTACK, you’ll gain access to these 2 resources:

(1) Every week, you’ll get my free Non-Fiction Newsletter on Substack, entitled Marisa VICTUS: Science of Synergy & Self; and,

(2) Every day, you’ll be able to entrain your brain — the quick & easy way — with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

I’m building my own Mindset & Meditation (M&M) Community, so we can all invest in our truest, most Authentic Self.

🌸 Every day, I write ✍️1 handwritten✍️ M&M (Mindset & Meditation) Note.🌸

🧘🏻‍♀️If you want to grow with me, repeat these daily affirmations like I am.🧘🏻‍♀️

🙌Let’s entrain our brains to adopt these empowering beliefs.🙌

Plus, if you’d like to see me succeed (or flop 😂) as I practice in public,

(3) SUBSCRIBE to my free YouTube Channel!

Let’s FLIP THE SCRIPT!

CHANGE YOUR WORDS, CHANGE YOUR MINDSET, CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

Do you call yourself a “Worrywart” or a “Worry Warrior”?

It’s all in the eye of the beholder!

Remember, the words we choose to label ourselves matters tremendously.

In a way, I use my worry to be an Attorney. Worrying is another name for identifying potential issues and strategies for overcoming them. And not only in an adversarial context, but also in negotiations where everyone can win in some way.

What’s more, my worries have absolutely saved our family thousands of dollars when I hire the right people and negotiate contracts for house repairs/renovations/insurance, etc.

I don’t think I could do it without “worrying.”

When it’s in a proper healthy amount, I just call it good “preparation.”

Plan in advance and there’s no headache, I say!

And avoid the sting of calling yourself the wrong thing. There’s no need. You know what’s true for you.

Worry Warriors, UNITE!

Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life:

⭐️ When your mind ponders the “what-ifs” of life, do you subconsciously label yourself a “Worrywart” or a “Worry Warrior”?

⭐️ Do you ever take time to elevate your mindset, by choosing better words to define yourself?

⭐️ Do you have a Limiting Belief about “worrying”?

⭐️ Do you tend to “worry” an unhealthy amount? Or, do you stay within a healthy amount of “preparation”?

⭐️ Can you FLIP your words, to ELEVATE your mindset, to IMPROVE your life?

⭐️ This week, experiment with using better words to Flip the Script & feel better now.

The Worry Warrior in me honors & respects the Worry Warrior in each of you,

Marisa

⭐️ Remember, we don’t have to figure everything out, all alone. ⭐️

We can find solutions, together!

Please join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Here’s what we’ve been up to in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 !

From Tuesday 2025–10–14:

It’s WEEK #7 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Connection.

Come join us in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 for WEEK #7 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Connection.

In Chapter 7, JC asks us to recover a sense of connection by focusing on:

(1) our receptive ability (how open we are to listening for & receiving help, direction, and guidance from the Universe); and,

(2) our active skills (the actions we take to do the creative work itself, that may be helped or hindered based on our perfectionism and/or willingness to take risks).

Many of us focus a lot on (2) and less on (1).

Personally, I find it fascinating that Julia Cameron defines art as “not about thinking something up. It is about the opposite: getting something down.”

JC makes it sound like art is something that the artist downloads from the ether, from the greater universe, from “the stratosphere….” And, when artists do this, “there is no strain. We’re not doing; we’re getting.”

So much so, the art itself “has its own plan. When a painter is painting he or she may begin with a plan, but that plan as soon surrendered to the painting’s own plan.”

⭐️ Does this this concept of Receiving come naturally to you?

⭐️ Is this an accurate depiction of your own creative process?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

⭐️ On a scale of 1 to 10, rate if you agree with JC’s opinion or not (where 10 means that you agree with JC’s opinion 100%).

🤔 Do you believe that your current rating is helping you in your creative work?

⭐️ Or, do you want to change your rating?

🤔 Do you want to be more open to Receiving?

🤔 Do you want to take more Active steps?

⭐️ If you want to change your ratings, how do you plan to change them?

Please share your thoughts in the Chat!

Let’s support each other so we can all grow in the direction that we choose for ourselves.

We got this! 🔮💪🙋🏻‍♀️🙌🔮

From Wednesday 2025–10–15:

STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT — 🤗 Let’s SUPPORT EACH OTHER with a NOTES & POSTS BOOST! 🚀

Let’s celebrate the Messy Middle with “WEDNESDAY WIPs”! Post a Note featuring a Work In Progress — to intentionally celebrate what we are in the process of creating, so we can SAVOR & CELEBRATE the Messy Middle before it’s finished!

It’s a fun way for us to see what we’ve been up to, cheer each other on, & Like/Comment/Restack, so we can all GROW!🙌

Like the Sketch I included in the CHAT (above). It’s a sketch that represents my willingness to listen more & enter a state of Receivership, as JC recommends in The Artist’s Way.

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT! Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

If it’s not your cuppa tea/coffee/chai/matcha/whatevs,

Please Note:

For anyone who does not wish to participate in the Study, Savor, & Support each other CHAT, no problemo!

I will still publish my Newsletter, M&Ms, Sing-Along Storytime, Music, Videos, Science Fiction writing, & more!

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send me a DM.

Have a fantastic weekend!

The Creative in me honors & respects the Creative in each of you,

Marisa

Subscribe if you want to see where this Creative Journey can take us!

Share

Leave a comment

BONUS — Did you know that all SUBSCRIBERS can read the 1st Book of THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES (OBSIDIAN: Birth to Venus) for FREE?

READ THE SYNOPSIS

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are. And…

We’ll combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will supercharge our self-improvement & give us unstoppable self-belief!

When you SUBSCRIBE TO MY SUBSTACK, you’ll gain access to these 2 resources:

(1) Every week, you’ll get my free Non-Fiction Newsletter on Substack, entitled Marisa VICTUS: Science of Synergy & Self; and,

(2) Every day, you’ll be able to entrain your brain — the quick & easy way — with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

I’m building my own Mindset & Meditation (M&M) Community, so we can all invest in our truest, most Authentic Self.

🌸 Every day, I write ✍️1 handwritten✍️ M&M (Mindset & Meditation) Note.🌸

🧘🏻‍♀️If you want to grow with me, repeat these daily affirmations like I am.🧘🏻‍♀️

🙌Let’s entrain our brains to adopt these empowering beliefs.🙌

Plus, if you’d like to see me succeed (or flop 😂) as I practice in public,

(3) SUBSCRIBE to my free YouTube Channel!

Their words echo in my mind. No wonder why I’m Bleeding Love.

“YOU can’t make money doing Creative Work.”

As you know, in my STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT☕️🍵, we’re doing a deep-dive into The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (“JC”). This week turned my world upside down because we are on Week #6: Recovering a Sense of Abundance.

Do not let that title fool you. This Chapter is really not for the faint of heart.

It struck me like a lightning bolt, to the core of Who I Am.

I’m not talking about some little gut punch, or a blissful A-ha moment.

That doesn’t capture how much it’s transformed my mindset, changed my trajectory, and altered the structure of my life, to become the person that I choose to be.

You’re probably wondering, What could possibly be so scary about abundance?

I can tell you right now, it’s because JC’s asking us to…

Tackle the monster of all Limiting Beliefs:

💵 Money, Money, Money! 💴

JC says some people believe money is bad. Others will only spend money on necessities, but refuse to spend money on things that are frivolous “luxuries” — when, really, buying them nurtures our creative spirit and is therefore necessary self-care.

And, beyond the necessities, money can allow us to be better stewards, to take care of ourselves, those we love, and society.

Most of all, money can give us freedom. To spend time doing what enlivens us. To live where we want to. To travel the world. To enjoy life’s many pleasures. To broaden the potential experiences we can enjoy in our lives.

Money matters! We all want it. We all need it. But do we have Limiting Beliefs about how we have to earn it?!

According to JC, people often believe that it’s hard to make money doing Creative Work. That the Universe will help us to make money if we’re working a serious, usually stressful, job, but the Universe wouldn’t help us just as easily to make money doing a job that’s fun or creative.

As JC puts it, “Most of us harbor a secret belief that work has to be work and not play….”

It’s time to get real.

I confess, I find it hard to believe that I could make enough money to not only survive, but thrive with Creative Work.

Even though there’s obviously tens of thousands of people making money with their Creative Work, I have a hard time envisioning me being able to do it. Because of how I was raised and told to pursue a limited number of “professions” — all of them “serious” and stressful — I often feel like other people are “allowed to have” creative careers, but not me…. Never me.

At my age, it’s laughable that I still feel this restriction inside of myself. But it’s rooted so deep in my lived experience, felt emotions, and sense of Self that I need to make a concrete plan to overcome it. Not just intellectually, but in my emotions and body. Or I will not be able to remove this. It’s blocking my ability to make money with my Creativity.

How can I do that? The practical mindset. The Type A, To-Do List Go-Getter inside of me immediately says, “You have to research exactly how other people make money doing creative work. Then see, if you do the same exact thing, will it work for you?“ In other words, reverse-engineer all of it and do everything methodically step-by-step until you achieve success. Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful plan? It sounds perfectly reasonable.

But, when journaling, I found myself troubled by a specific Limiting Belief: I don’t have enough time. Because I’ve taken so damn long to honor my Authentic Self and go on this “Attorney-to-Creative” Journey.

I thought I was “over it” — that I had gotten rid of the Limiting Belief “I don’t have time” — by committing myself to making 1 Substack Post per week. I might be slow, but at least I’d be making progress every week. That helped me to calm down and ease some of my anxiety about my Creative Work. But, then I had my recent health scare, and the same Limiting Belief came roaring back, screaming, You don’t have enough time! You’re too late! Game’s over!

That’s the record that kept replaying in my mind the entire time I waited for the results of my breast biopsy. Thankfully, it was benign.

But, my mind still whispered, “For now.” There’s been many cancer-related deaths in my family, on both sides. I’ve accepted that I might be diagnosed with cancer one day. It’s not certain, but it is a likely possibility. Sadly, that record’s going to keep replaying.

BUT, what if “You don’t have enough time” is a blessing in disguise?

While I was waiting for the results, I experienced an amazing synchronicity.

I logged into my YouTube and watched a video posted by Substacker Marketing Pro, Kristina God, interviewing one of my favorite writers, Karen Salmansohn.

This was a match made in heaven. Kristina’s shows everyone how they, too, can make money writing on Substack and Medium. She’s generous with her knowledge. She & Patrick just created a Collaboration Tool for Substack. And she inspires me as a fellow YouTuber, too!

And here she was, interviewing Karen, a bestselling author & designer. I’ve been a fan of Karen’s for a long time! I distinctly remember reading her books years ago, when I was deciding whether I could be brave enough. To ignore the naysayers who could only see me as an Attorney, who warned me to not-write fiction or pursue music or art, lest I be seen as “not a serious Attorney.” I loved reading Karen’s books. I saw how she’d melded her writing with awesome visuals that spoke directly to the Artist inside of me. And she gave advice about how to navigate life’s ups and downs in a way that was realistic, engaging, and funny!

As you know from reading my Substack Bio, or any of my work on Substack/Medium/YouTube, I firmly believe that self-improvement doesn’t have to be boring or stuffy; we can entrain our brains to get rid of Limiting Beliefs and adopt unstoppable self-belief in a way that’s not only science-backed, but FUN!

Ultimately, Kristina, Karen, and many other Creatives on Substack are PROOF that there is a way for me to make a living with my Creative Work, too.

And, what perfect timing, too! Check out the title of their YouTube Video: “Life is Short! Write NOW!” That’s the message in Karen’s new book, Your To-Die-For Life!

Seriously, could the topics they discussed be any more timely for me? Like this one:

• Why writing with the end in mind, even imagining your own eulogy, can fuel your most meaningful work, among many other insightful topics.

The Creative in me was screaming, “YASSSS!” 🔥

It felt MAGICAL…like synchronicity!

Even though I’m an I-want-it-to-be-science-backed type of person. A skeptic.

Even though my mind loves data & always asks, “Is that true?” Despite all that…

Just like JC said, it felt like the Universe was showing me a SIGN: You better pay attention, because their message is MEANT FOR YOU.

So, OF COURSE, I had to let them know:

Their Video was the message that I really needed. I was so grateful to hear it, especially while my nerves were frayed, waiting for those biopsy results.

And, how blessed I was to finally get the results later that same afternoon: Benign.

Not like my great aunt, who’d died from breast cancer.

Not like my two friends who’d had cancer, too.

Not cancer. Not for me. At least not now.

I could be GRATEFUL. I could relax a bit.

I did have time. And renewed motivation to not waste it.

I felt BLESSED. So blessed, I wrote this Post, dedicating myself to having a regular Death Practice: Memento Mori vs. When Shit Gets Real, are you ready?

I thought that was it.

But WAIT…there’s MORE!

Out of the blue, a few days later, Kristina let me know I WON a Paid Subscription to Karen’s Substack Newsletter, The Stand Up Philosopher: Weighty Musings, Lightly Served.

The Creative in me was screaming, “YASSSS!” 🔥 — again!

What does it all mean?!

The meaning I’m choosing to give it:

I’m letting Julia Cameron’s message sink in, too. I’m ready to launch into the Unknown.

Instead of relying solely on my typical preference for the highly-practical and logical Left Hemisphere of my brain, that relies heavily on me being able to control all of the inputs in the hope that I can control the outcome of everything I do, I’m going to…

• Study the Business side of making a Creative Career work: Marketing, Advertising, and — YES — Monetization

But — for the first time in my life — I’m going to take the completely opposite Right-Hemisphere approach, as well. Why? Because I’ve lived my life for decades the Left-Hemisphere-ONLY way, and it hasn’t worked for me: For the longest time, I didn’t publish any of my creative work. I didn’t share it with the world because I far too logical and “sensible.” I tried to stay in my box, to draw inside the lines, to do what other people said I “should do.” To check off all the boxes that people said I “have to” check off.

Where did that get me? It’s gotten me far enough that I’m actually publishing my creative work — whether it’s my science fiction series or my artwork or my music. But it’s never gotten me over the finish line. It hasn’t allowed me to eradicate this Limiting Belief that “YOU, Marisa, cannot make money doing creative work.”

So I plan to take the exact opposite approach: Instead of only creating a To Do List, and following it to a T, I’m going to lean into my intuition, into the creative Right-Hemisphere side of my brain, and just see what happens.

Like JC recommends, I am going to clearly identify the WHAT that I want:

“I want to make so much money with my creative work that I can choose to do it full-time if I want to.”

Omg. Did I say that out loud?! Did I just write that — where people can actually see it?!

I can’t stop laughing. It sounds absolutely ridiculous to me to be writing that right now.

No part of my intellectual side believes that this is ever going to be a possibility.

But the Dreamer inside of me, the Creative inside of me, is screaming from the depths of my soul, “THIS is what I want!”

But, my dear fellow classmates, that’s not even the hardest part. Teacher says:

JC says that we need to identify the WHAT, then let the universe take care of the HOW.

Honestly, I find this incredibly hard to believe. IT FEELS EXTREMELY WOO-WOO.

But, at the same time, it also feels strangely comforting.

To believe that the Universe will bring me the opportunities, people, and experiences that I seek, and — if I accept them & take action — my actions will propel me closer to my goal…it will WORK?!

That I can feel my way through the darkness, using my intuition as a guide?

It makes me feel…what? Uncertainty yes, but also a bit of comfort, and excited as well.

WISH ME LUCK!

• I am going to try to have a more open mind.
• I am going to lean into not-knowing.
• I am going to meditate & enter a state of Receivership.
• I am going to leave room for the Universe to surprise me with the HOW. And,
• I am going to listen to my intuition, just like Kristina & Karen said: starting right NOW!

So, this morning, I recorded this song.

If you listen to the lyrics, you’ll see how perfectly it describes how I fractured my Self when I failed to honor my creative dreams for so many years.

These words capture my pain and the fear that I’ve had for most of my life: That if I truly embodied my Authentic Self and went 100% all-in, to being a Creative who makes money doing creative work, I would not be loved or accepted.

But I’m no longer willing to make the mistake of listening to those naysayers, to those gatekeepers who are keeping me from being my true Authentic Self.

Ignoring my Authentic Self is what cut me open, and failing to honor my Creativity is what caused my Bleeding Love.

That’s why I’m singing this “Bleeding Love” song today, not as me singing to some lover, but me singing to the Creative I long to fully be. The Creative I wish I could be in this world.

Could I ever make money doing creative work?

Would people pay for my music, my creative writing, or my artwork?

Would people part with their hard-earned money to buy

• A Paid Subscription to my Newsletter?
• my music on SoundCloud?
• my science fiction books on Amazon?

Can I make $ with my Creative Work, anywhere?

I don’t know. But singing this song lets me express the longing I feel, to be who I truly am. And I’m going to keep singing & using my voice. In writing. In music. In art.

Here’s to not-knowing, but doing the work anyway.

Here’s to proclaiming the WHAT and not-knowing the HOW.

Here’s to being who you CHOOSE to be.

The Mind That’s Open to Receiving in Me honors & respects the Mind That’s Open to Receiving in You,

Marisa

🤔 Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life: 🤔

⭐️ Do YOU have Limiting Beliefs that are blocking you from making money doing what YOU love to do? What actions are you taking, to pursue what you really want before Death comes knocking? ⭐️

Please join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to Share Our Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Subscribe if you want to see where this Creative Journey can take us!

Share

BONUS — Did you know that all SUBSCRIBERS can read the 1st Book of THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES (OBSIDIAN: Birth to Venus) for FREE?

READ THE SYNOPSIS

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are. And combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will supercharge our self-improvement & give us unstoppable self-belief!

Plus, if you’d like to see me succeed (or flop 😂) as I practice in public,

(3) SUBSCRIBE to my free YouTube Channel!

You thought you were “over it,” but then there comes that same Limiting Belief, rearing its ugly head again!

Let’s SERENADE Our Inner Critic

in my STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT (link below), where we love to celebrate the Messy Middle!☕️🍵

I wrote this in the middle of the week —on Wednesday — a.k.a. “hump day,” as some people like to call it.

I say it’s the perfect time to celebrate the “Messy Middle,” no matter what that might be in your life.

What is the “Messy Middle”?

It could be anything. But, whatever it is, it’s definitely something where you’re making progress, but you’re no where near finished.

I’m a firm believer in:

★ NOT waiting until a goal is accomplished to celebrate the journey.

★ BEING GENTLE with ourselves when it’s a struggle, something’s off, or it’s just not finished yet.

Today, I’m tackling the Messiest Middle that ever was: The Inner Critic.

Recently, when I was journaling, I found myself troubled by a specific Limiting Belief: I don’t have enough time.

I know why:

Because I’ve taken so damn long to honor my Authentic Self and go on this “Attorney-to-Creative” Journey.

I thought I was “over it” — that I had gotten rid of the Limiting Belief “I don’t have time” — by committing myself to making 1 Substack Post per week.

I might be slow, but at least I’d be making progress every week. That helped me to calm down and ease some of my anxiety about my Creative Work.

But, then I had my recent health scare, and the same Limiting Belief came roaring back, screaming,

You don’t have enough time!

You’re too late!

Game’s over!

Good thing I have a VOICE & I’m not afraid to use it.

Indeed, I LOVE to sing — not only for fun, but to soothe & heal.

I often sing songs to nurture my Inner Child, like in these two Videos: Sing-Along-Storytime #1 or this Sing-Along-Storytime #2.

But…

What About Serenading the Inner Critic?

That’s what I aimed to do in the Recording above:

To serenade my Inner Critic, in the hope that — one day — it will finally LET ME LET GO

of this Limiting Belief

and all the other Limiting Beliefs that plague me.

What About YOU?

Take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life:

⭐️ When you listen to the lyrics and imagine them being sung to your Inner Critic, does it help to soothe you?

⭐️ Do you ever take time to celebrate your “Messy Middle”?

⭐️ What’s a Limiting Belief that’s ailing you now?

⭐️ Do you ever wish your Inner Critic would finally LET YOU LET GO?

The Letting Go in me honors & respects the Letting Go in each of you,

Marisa

⭐️ Do you have all the answers? No? Me neither. ⭐️

⭐️ No problem, because we don’t have to figure it out, all alone. ⭐️

We can find solutions, together!

Please join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Here’s what we’ve been up to in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 !

From Monday 2025–9–29:

It’s WEEK #5 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Possibility.

Come join us in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 for WEEK #5 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Possibility.

In Chapter 5, JC asks us to examine how we subconsciously or consciously limit the potential goodness — the “possibilities” — that the Universe brings to us.

According to JC, we place false limits on the opportunities, experiences, and people that the Universe is capable of bringing to us. We don’t take it seriously. We don’t believe it’s possible. We dismiss our dreams as “grandiose.” So when we receive a gift from the universe, we disbelieve, so much so, we sometimes reject the gift by giving it back! What’s the source of the problem? Our Scarcity Mindset, this false belief that the Universe has limited resources.

JC believes in the opposite. According to her, “we are in the spiritual position of having an unlimited bank account.” JC encourages us to dream big, believe it’s achievable, and accept the possibilities that come to us.

How? JC says the solution is to open our minds and our hearts to receiving help from anywhere, no matter the source, because what we seek may come to us unexpectedly, via unanticipated synchronicities and unexpected sources.

JC says we can reduce our skepticism about external sources by working on it internally, in our Morning Pages (MPs). We can use our MPs to “ask for answers in the evening; listen for answers in the morning. Be open to all help.”

As we become more open to receiving external possibilities and expand our internal Mindset with our MPs, JC says we will experience a change in ourselves, like a “current, or river, [that] is a flow of grace moving us to our right livelihood, companions, destiny.”

⭐️ What about you?

🔬 Let’s reflect & examine our progress as we’ve been reading Chapters 1 to 5 in this book:

🔬 Do you see a river of change in yourself?

🔬 We can take measurements to find out:

⭐️ On a scale of 1–10, let’s give ourselves 2 ratings:

• (1) Disbelief about external possibilities; and,

• (2) Internal avoidance, as expressed in our MPs.

⭐️ Give yourself one set of ratings before we started reading The Artist’s Way.

⭐️ Give yourself another set of ratings now that we’ve read Chapters 1 to 5 of The Artist’s Way.

⭐️ Is there a change?

⭐️If our 1st ratings decreased in number, it indicates that we are more open to accepting external possibilities from the Universe.

⭐️ If our 2nd ratings decreased, it indicates that we are less resistant/avoidant, internally; we are more open to identifying and receiving solutions in our MPs.

⭐️ Did your ratings decrease or increase?

⭐️ Why do you think there’s a change?

⭐️ is there an External reason? Or Internal reason? Or, maybe both?

Feel free to share your observations in the Chat, like this:

For me, my numbered ratings for external disbelief decreased. Meaning that I am more open to accepting possibilities. I know this is because of the synchronicities I’ve experienced since I started reading this book. I am not to the point that I believe without skepticism. But I remain open-minded and feel better the more open-minded I become. And I always feel grateful for the goodness that has come to me. Especially for the kind and creative people I have met since I started my Creative Journey. Becoming friends with the *right people* who are also dedicated to living creatively and authentically, has been the best part of my creative journey. It’s made my creative work much more enjoyable and increased my enthusiasm to do it. I think that’s why I also see a reduction in my numbered rating for internal avoidance as well. I am still striving to meet my creative goals, and I am far from being done. But I can definitely say that I am enjoying the journey much more than before. Even though I have not reached my intended destination yet.

⭐️ What about you?

⭐️ Do you observe a shift in your own ratings?

⭐️ How has your river changed?

⭐️ Do you feel a sense of expansion as your numbers decrease? Or, a feeling of being blocked, as your numbers increase?

⭐️ I think it helps to remind ourselves that there is no “right way” to travel along our river. We are not “bad” for feeling any particular way.

Many times, we have to work through blocks to get to the other side, like lifting boulders that block our Flow. This not only helps us to let go of what no longer serves us, but also allows us to have a strong enough current to give birth to our Authentic Self. I find it’s helpful to remember that we must be gentle with ourselves no matter what we are experiencing. To just experience and notice what we notice in an accepting way.

⭐️ Please share your thoughts.

⭐️ Did anything from Chapter 5 resonate with you?

⭐️ Is there a different journaling prompt that’s been helpful for you?

Let’s support each other in the Chat!

We got this! 💪😉🙌

From Wednesday 2025–9–24:

STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT — 🤗 Let’s SUPPORT EACH OTHER with a NOTES & POSTS BOOST! 🚀

Today, let’s celebrate the Messy Middle with “WEDNESDAY WIPs”! Post a Note featuring a Work In Progress — to intentionally celebrate what we are in the process of creating, so we can SAVOR & CELEBRATE the Messy Middle before it’s finished!

It’s a fun way for us to see what we’ve been up to, cheer each other on, & Like/Comment/Restack, so we can all GROW!🙌

Like the Sketch I included in the CHAT.

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT! Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

If it’s not your cuppa tea/coffee/chai/matcha/whatevs,

Please Note:

For anyone who does not wish to participate in the Study, Savor, & Support each other CHAT, no problemo!

I will still publish my Newsletter, M&Ms, Sing-Along Storytime, Music, Videos, Science Fiction writing, & more!

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send me a DM.

Have a fantastic weekend!

The Creative in me honors & respects the Creative in each of you,

Marisa

Subscribe if you want to see where this Creative Journey can take us!

Share

Leave a comment

BONUS — Did you know that all SUBSCRIBERS can read the 1st Book of THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES (OBSIDIAN: Birth to Venus) for FREE?

READ THE SYNOPSIS

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are. And…

We’ll combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will supercharge our self-improvement & give us unstoppable self-belief!

When you SUBSCRIBE TO MY SUBSTACK, you’ll gain access to these 2 resources:

(1) Every week, you’ll get my free Non-Fiction Newsletter on Substack, entitled Marisa VICTUS: Science of Synergy & Self; and,

(2) Every day, you’ll be able to entrain your brain — the quick & easy way — with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

I’m building my own Mindset & Meditation (M&M) Community, so we can all invest in our truest, most Authentic Self.

🌸 Every day, I write ✍️1 handwritten✍️ M&M (Mindset & Meditation) Note.🌸

🧘🏻‍♀️If you want to grow with me, repeat these daily affirmations like I am.🧘🏻‍♀️

🙌Let’s entrain our brains to adopt these empowering beliefs.🙌

Plus, if you’d like to see me succeed (or flop 😂) as I practice in public,

(3) SUBSCRIBE to my free YouTube Channel!

When shit gets real, are you ready?

My RECIPE for Happiness

In this POST, I gave you my Recipe for Happiness.

In this POST, I tweaked my Recipe to add Self-Love & Connection in Community.

In this POST, I emphasized the importance of Being Playful to enhance the Fun & Flow we can experience in our lives.

In this Post, I described how experiencing Wordlessness can help us to stop our Monkey Minds from Labeling people, opportunities, and experiences with pre-judgments that can cause unnecessary suffering.

Today’s Post tackles how the Dark can help us to see the Light

Do you have a Death Practice?

Do you give yourself a specific amount of time to stare death in the face?

Like giving yourself a good dose of Existential Crisis — on Purpose?

I’ve always been a fan of the Stoic Phrase memento mori.

It’s a Latin phrase that reminds us we will all have to die.

It’s that icky tap on the shoulder, the haunting whisper in our ear, pointing out the inevitability of death.

I have pondered death from time to time. But, I wouldn’t say that I have a devoted “Death Practice.”

I’ve maintained a Daily Gratitude Practice, instead.

Every weekend, my entire family — including my two young kiddos — have joined in. We list whatever we’re grateful for on that particular day.

Then, shit got real: I had The Real Death Practice hoisted on me.

My doctor became concerned by an area in my left breast.

What was the recommendation? An Ultrasound-Assisted Breast Biopsy.

What would be involved?

✓ Ultrasound.

✓ The prick of a needle and some pain before the numbing agent sets in.

✓ Incision into breast.

✓ Inserting a 4–8” Needle with a hollow core.

✓ Pressure and poking. Pressure and poking. Pressure and poking.

✓ Loud clicking noises as the doctor takes tissue samples for biopsy.

✓ Waiting…and wondering…and ruminating…for the results from Pathology.

Sound good to you?

As unappealing as it sounded, as the doctor recommended the procedure and described the steps to me, before he’d even asked at the end, “Do you have any questions?”

I already knew my answer, “Yes, I want the biopsy.”

Absolutely. Without reservations, YES.

Don’t get me wrong.

I’m not some Stoic Warrior, at the front of the line, ready to charge ahead into battle, screaming like I belong in Braveheart.

MY FEAR RUNS DEEP.

Two of my dear friends have had Breast Cancer.

One told me about her own breast biopsy procedure and described how her doctor refused to tell her the results on the phone, insisting instead that she come in with her husband, to hear the results in-person. She had surgery and survived without extensive chemo and without losing her hair.

The other had to do extensive chemotherapy and lost all her hair. She said it was brutal, but she survived.

This is what was running through my mind. Like everything our brains are primed to do, my brain ran through the list of similar stories and experiences from which I could draw. And, from my friends, 2 out of 2 breast biopsies resulted in cancer findings.

Plus, my Great Aunt died from breast cancer.

In fact, cancer runs on both sides of my family.

Both my parents have cancer (luckily, they’re both in remission).

But, they’re the rare two among many cancer-related deaths on both sides.

So much so, cancer’s always been in the back of my mind, like “One day….”

I try not to think like that. I tell myself not to. I don’t want to brainwash myself into believing that it’s inevitable. Because it’s not. Epigenetics and all that.

But, realistically, that word — “cancer” — has come up so much in my life, it’s like…

I’ve been training for this probability for my entire mental and emotional life.

I just never anticipated having to do it anywhere close to NOW.

Some people avoid going to the doctors because they’re afraid of what they might find.

Some people sense something’s off with their bodies, but they’d rather continue living without knowing, so they can stay oblivious to what might ail them.

As long as they don’t know for sure, they can live blissfully, I guess.

What about me?

Was I ready to dive in with that needle and get to the bottom of this?

YES.

And, it surprised me to see that all my mental chatter wasn’t focused on the prospect of dying.

I zoomed into what I wanted to keep living for:

• I love my family.

• I want to live for my kids.

• For my husband.

• For myself.

I wasn’t sad.

Instead, felt this dogged determination, to deal with it, come what may.

To be there for my kids and family. To get to see them grow up. To see them become who they’re meant to be.

To enjoy my parents and extended family, as much as possible.

And for me, I thought, “It’s taken me far too damned long to get myself to this place, where I am ready to wholeheartedly embrace my Authentic Self. Whatever I need to do, I’ll do. I want to LIVE.”

The Logistics

“How soon should I do this?”

“Can you do 9 a.m., tomorrow?”

Okay, so they want me to do it ASAP.

“Do you want us to turn off electronic notifications? So the doctor can call you with the results? Some patients don’t want to see the results themselves.”

Huh?! I thought, Don’t you dare turn off the electronic notifications! I want them ASAP!

Of course, I didn’t put it like that, though, and just asked them nicely. “Please keep the electronic notifications on.”

But, inside? Yeah. I wanted to be notified immediately. So I could see the scans and biopsy results in all of their Radiological glory.

Turns out, I didn’t have to wait to see.

During the biopsy itself, I got to watch the screen. I got to see the exact Ultrasounds as they were scanned, recorded, and photographed into the digital record.

I got to see the (hopefully little) shit that decided to scare me shitless.

The Before: Pre-Diagnosis

Before the Diagnosis, I told myself:

“HAND OVER HEART, if this turns out to be breast cancer, it’s going to light a fire under my ass so hot that I won’t bother sitting down.”

“HAND OVER HEART, if this turns out to be a benign, non-cancerous cyst, I will make it my Death Practice to pursue my Dreams with more Passion & Purpose than ever before. We all die, but I won’t have to look far to feel it in my body. All I’ll need to do is place my hands over my chest, and know that THAT’s how close my heart could have broken. THAT’s how time might be measured. With each single beat. Tomorrow’s not guaranteed.”

The During: Ultrasound-Assisted Biopsy

Throughout the procedure, the doctor was as gentle as she could be.

Before starting, she let me hear the click of the sampling device, so I wouldn’t be shocked by how loud it could be.

She warned me before each sampling was taken, so the pressure and clicking wouldn’t startle me.

She confirmed I was numb and comfortable.

And, throughout the procedure, a nurse held my hand and stroked my arm so gently.

The After: Diagnosis

BENIGN.

What changed?

Everything’s Changed.

I don’t have to worry that something malignant is going to metastasize from my breast to other areas of my body.

I don’t have to worry about surgery.

I don’t have to worry my family or friends by telling them I have cancer. And yet…

Nothing’s Changed.

The exact same rules apply:

It’s literally DAYS I have, to lose or to live wholeheartedly.

That’s how time is measured, by the rising and falling in my chest.

Same as yours.

And, no, tomorrow’s not guaranteed.

Not for me.

Not for anyone.

It’s literally DAYS we all have, to lose or to live wholeheartedly.

Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life:

⭐️ Do you have a Death Practice?

⭐️ Do you need to go to the doctor?

⭐️ Do you need to take better care of your body?

⭐️ Do you have something health-related that’s bothering you, that needs to be diagnosed?

⭐️ Have you noticed anything suspicious, something you know you ought to get checked?

⭐️ Are you open to finding out what it is? Or, do you lean toward blissful obliviousness?

⭐️ Do you live your life with purpose & passion, knowing that your days are numbered?

⭐️ How might pondering death help you to live life, wholeheartedly?

I’m making it my Goal to start a regular Death Practice. So I’m ready whenever shit gets real. I hope you’ll join me, to remember:

Memento Mori.

It’s literally DAYS we all have, to lose or to live wholeheartedly.

Now Let’s get Livin’!

The Hand-Over-Heart in me honors & respects the Hand-Over-Heart in each of you,

Marisa

⭐️ Do you have all the answers? No? Me neither. ⭐️

⭐️ No problem, because we don’t have to figure it out, all alone. ⭐️

We can find solutions, together!

Please join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Join chat

Here’s what we’ve been up to in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 !

From Monday 2025–9–22:

It’s WEEK #4 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Integrity.

Come join us in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 for WEEK #4 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Integrity.

In Chapter 4, JC warns that many of us will feel the urge to shy away from, or completely avoid, writing our Morning Pages when we’re on the cusp of making a breakthrough.

Because the MPs force us to be honest with ourselves, to go beneath the surface-level platitudes we might say when asked, “How are you?” Instead of giving a cursory answer like, “I’m fine,” our MPs force us to tell ourselves the truth.

⭐️ I find like this pep-talk helpful, don’t you?

Because, let’s face it:

Life gets so busy, it becomes very easy to skip our MPs.

And I did skip my MPs a few times this past week. It’s not that I wasted my time. I got other writing done. So the time was spent doing Creative Work.

But, from reading Chapter 4, I’m reminded that MPs are the equally (sometimes more important) Self-Work that I need to prioritize — if not during the Morning, then sometime later during the day or before bedtime.

Even if I don’t have time to do 3 full pages, I do have time to write a few paragraphs. A little is better than nothing, right? 😉

⭐️ What about you?

⭐️ Have the MPs helped you to unearth any truths, hidden beneath the surface?

⭐️ Have your MPs given you any surprising revelations about yourself, like JC’s examples (e.g. a painter who realized she wants to write comedy)?

⭐️ Feel free to share as much or as little as you feel comfortable.

⭐️ Have you done your MPs every day? No judgment here!

⭐️ But, let’s get curious! If you skipped, what got in your way: external commitments or internal obstacles?

⭐️ Are you going to do anything to change your MP routine, to try to stay on track?

I want to dedicate more time to checking in inside this Chat, to hold myself more accountable with your help (a.k.a. the wonderful power of community)! Even if it’s just typing in a little emoji, like ✅📝, to share with everyone, “Hey, I did my MPs today!” I mean, who doesn’t like the satisfaction of writing a green check mark? Feel free to join me, using whatever emoji you’d like.

I think it’s worth it, if it motivates me to keep going.

Because the MPs have produced some interesting observations for me. Like I described in my last Post (linked below), I realized my wordy Writer’s Mind was getting in the way of my Piano Practice, and I needed to embrace Wordlessness to fix the problem.

Would I have made that connection without my MPs? Perhaps. But, I do think that my MPs got me there faster than if I had not given myself the time to deliberately reflect the way that MPs force me to do.

Here are some journaling prompts to consider this week:

🔬 Do your MPs help you to eliminate ambiguity and clarify your opinions about the people and/or experiences in your life?

🔬 Let’s be honest with ourselves. When we skip our MPs, are we secretly trying to avoid taking action?

🔬 Do we feel fear or optimism when we write our MPs? If it’s both, do our MPs help us to shift from fear to optimism?

🔬 If we did our MPs, would we be open to changing directions, like trying a different, possibly better path in our lives?

🔬 Do our MPs empower us to make better, more mindful choices?

⭐️ Please share your thoughts.

⭐️ Did anything from Chapter 4 resonate with you?

⭐️ Is there a different journaling prompt that’s been helpful for you?

Let’s support each other in the Chat!

We got this! 💪😉🙌

From Wednesday 2025–9–24:

STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT — 🤗 Let’s SUPPORT EACH OTHER with a NOTES & POSTS BOOST! 🚀

Today, let’s celebrate the Messy Middle with “WEDNESDAY WIPs”! Post a Note featuring a Work In Progress — to intentionally celebrate what we are in the process of creating, so we can SAVOR & CELEBRATE the Messy Middle before it’s finished!

It’s a fun way for us to see what we’ve been up to, cheer each other on, & Like/Comment/Restack, so we can all GROW!🙌

Like the Sketch I included for this POST (above).

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT! Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

If it’s not your cuppa tea/coffee/chai/matcha/whatevs,

Please Note:

For anyone who does not wish to participate in the Study, Savor, & Support each other CHAT, no problemo!

I will still publish my Newsletter, M&Ms, Sing-Along Storytime, Music, Videos, Science Fiction writing, & more!

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send me a DM.

Have a fantastic weekend!

The Creative in me honors & respects the Creative in each of you,

Marisa

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I’m building my own Mindset & Meditation (M&M) Community, so we can all invest in our truest, most Authentic Self.

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Is it even possible?!

My RECIPE for Happiness

In this POST, I gave you my Recipe for Happiness.

Today’s Post tackles Ingredients #3 to 7, and Adds a Dash of…WORDLESSNESS?

3 🧘🏻‍♀️ Immerse yourself in your physical senses.

4 🌹 Feel your feelings.

5 💨 Breathe through all of them.

6 🌻 Pay attention to your thoughts,

7 🧘🏻‍♀️ mindfully without judgment 🤗.

This Recipe allowed me to realize that part of my Creative Routine was not working.

You see, it’s my Goal to practice piano every day.

Does it happen?

Nope!

Well, sort of.

Every night, I do go through all 88 notes on the Treble & Bass Clefs because it’s part of my nighttime routine. It helps me to go to bed when I picture the notes in my head as I’m drifting off to sleep.

Now, since that’s a fully-entrained habit, I’ve decided to focus on sitting at the piano and actually practicing every day.

But, as any piano enthusiast will tell you, there’s a BIG difference between playing for fun at the piano; and practicing deliberately, to learn new pieces, troubleshoot problem spots, and gain a practical grasp of music theory.

My goal is (1) Deliberate Practice, followed by some fun (2) Playing.

My Recipe helped me to see myself clearly — mindfully & without judgment.

In the past few weeks, I’ve noticed that Deliberate Practice requires me to SLOW down to focus and do what feels like tedious work.

Ironically, after a long day, this makes my verbally-minded Writer Mind SPEED UP.

All of a sudden, my mind will not stop its chatter.

Then comes the dreaded…

PROBLEM: Labeling.

When my experience of (1) Deliberate Practice is “bad,” (2) Playing doesn’t happen. As in, I don’t sit down at the piano at all.

Notice I used the word “bad.”

My mind automatically used these words, too:

• “Hard”

• “Laborious”

• “Boring”

Or, my personal favorite,

• “Ugh!!!”

SOLUTION: Tweaking my Recipe…again

Whenever I have something that’s not working in my life, I try to take an experimental mindset, like I’m a Scientist, troubleshooting an N=1.

Or, if you’d rather I not mix metaphors:

I will tweak my Recipe, like I’m Marisa, a Michelin Chef. 👩🏻‍🍳

Having prepped my Ingredient #6 (Pay Attention to Your Thoughts)…

I realized that the thoughts I am thinking about Deliberate Practice, as opposed to the Deliberate Practice itself, are spoiling my recipe!

It’s bitter. It’s sour. What I’m anticipating is so bad I won’t even step into the kitchen.

Now, I move onto #7 (Mindfully Without Judgment):

I remind myself that this doesn’t mean I “suck” as a Chef.

It doesn’t mean that I am a “bad” Musician.

As any piano player will tell you, there’s a lot to learn, practice, and master before you can truly express yourself at the piano, to “become one with” the music.

Like any skill, it requires time, determination, and grit.

Plus, you have to entrain your brain and body to be physically and mentally capable of identifying the correct notes, and controlling your fingers to play the correct keys, at the right tempo, with proper expressiveness.

In other words, it’s not easy.

Old Perfectionistic Marisa would have rushed to call myself “Bad.”

Recovering Perfectionist Marisa gives me an extra dollop (or, better yet, dumps the entire container) of #7: being Mindful — Without Judgment.

It doesn’t help me (or anyone around me, who has to hear my playing 😂) to label myself or the task of Deliberate Practice as “bad.”

If I label Myself “bad,” my playing will automatically be worse than if I used positive thinking or appropriate praise to motivate myself.

If I label Deliberate Practice “bad,” I just don’t sit at the piano at all.

The easiest way to improve? Go heavy on Ingredients #3, 4, & 5:

3 🧘🏻‍♀️ Immerse yourself in your physical senses.

4 🌹 Feel your feelings.

5 💨 Breathe through all of them.

After a long day, I realized that these 3 ingredients change exponentially, depending on the Words that my mind automatically uses to LABEL my experience.

And, interestingly, my mind has a tendency to PRE-LABEL my experience BEFORE I do it.

So, I started to experiment with how I might be able to damper my Wordy Writer’s Mind.

Using #3, I focused on the physical sensation of sound. I closed my eyes and listened more closely as I played.

Then, I focused on #4 & 5: I breathed through any discomfort I felt when I made mistakes; and, I felt the expansiveness of my breath when I allowed any positive emotions to grow as I entered a state of Flow.

When that still wasn’t enough, I realized how crucial Ingredient #3 (Immerse Yourself in Your Physical Senses) is for me.

At its max, it’s got to be so physical, it’s WORDLESSNESS.

Is that even possible, though — for a Writer’s Mind like mine?

Can I shut off my words?

YES!

I’ve discovered that I can!

It’s not easy (especially if I’m playing something like the score to a Pop Song).

But, it is possible. And the more practiced I’ve become at this, the easier

(1) Deliberate Practice and (2) Playing have become for me.

When it comes to Music, I’ve found that Focusing on

JUST THE MUSIC = The Secret Ingredient!

Suddenly, I am able to play without the Labeling, before I start or during!

It’s like the Notes hit my eardrums and, as soon as I perceive the sounds they produce, they calm & quiet my Wordy Writer’s Mind.

Yet again, experimentation to find a better way of Being is the path forward.

It’s still not easy.

It doesn’t work every time.

But, I think it will work better & better, the more I keep at it.

Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life:

⭐️ What’s YOUR Recipe for Happiness?

⭐️ Do you ever tweak your Recipe?

⭐️ Do you have something in your life, a Goal that’s thwarted by an annoyingly verbose mind?

⭐️ Do you tend to Label tasks you have to do, making it that much harder to get it done? Or does it make you avoid the task altogether?

⭐️ Do you ever drop into Wordlessness?

⭐️ If not, do you think you might give Wordlessness a try?

⭐️ How might Wordlessness help you?

The Deliberately WORDLESS Writer in me honors & respects the Deliberately WORDLESS Reader in each of you,

Marisa

⭐️ Do you have all the answers? No? Me neither. ⭐️

⭐️ No problem, because we don’t have to figure it out, all alone. ⭐️

We can find solutions, together!

Please join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Here’s what we’ve been up to in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 !

It’s WEEK #3 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Power.

In Chapter 2, I loved how JC normalized all the negative outside obstacles we might encounter, to emphasize that they are not defects, but simply part of the design on our creative journeys.

In Chapter 3, JC normalizes the seemingly-negative inner experiences that we may have:

• Anger

• Skepticism about Synchronicities

• Shame

• Criticism

I find it helpful to remember I have a choice when facing all these challenges.

⭐️ Don’t you?

It makes me realize that my initial reactions — especially if they’re negative — might be showing me only one side of the coin.

Here are some journaling prompts to consider this week:

🔬 Can we pay closer attention to our initial — often emotionally painful — reactions?

🔬 Can we ask ourselves to examine the opposite (how might this serve us)?

🔬 Does considering the opposite make us feel resistance, or does it expand our perspective?

🔬 Does this practice empower us to make better choices?

🔬 Does this practice point me in a better direction?

⭐️ Please share your thoughts.

⭐️ Did anything from Chapter 3 resonate with you?

⭐️ Is there a different journaling prompt that’s helped you to grapple with these concepts?

Let’s support each other in the Chat!

We got this! 💪😉🙌

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT! Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

If it’s not your cuppa tea/coffee/chai/matcha/whatevs,

Please Note:

For anyone who does not wish to participate in the Study, Savor, & Support each other CHAT, no problemo!

I will still publish my Newsletter, M&Ms, Sing-Along Storytime, Music, Videos, Science Fiction writing, & more!

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send me a DM.

Have a fantastic weekend!

The Creative in me honors & respects the Creative in each of you,

Marisa

If you love to learn about the science of self-improvement, please Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and signup for my free Substack Newsletter.

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are, and combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will:

• Enliven our emotions & creativity;

• Enhance our efficiency & productivity;

• Foster a greater depth of Self;

• Build the Secure Attachment that we need to develop a Growth Mindset; and,

• Reprogram our minds to pivot from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System when we need it to, more often than not.

I’ve planned so many exciting & fun things to share with you (in addition to music!) and I can’t wait for you to get all the FREE goodies I’ve prepared for you.

We CAN do this, TOGETHER!

Are you serious about self-improvement & want to have unstoppable self-belief?

Then SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE SUBSTACK and entrain your brain the quick & easy way, with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

Every day, I write & share 1 handwritten M&M in my “Notes” if you want to grow with me.

To learn how, click this link.

In addition, new Chapters for my serialized science fiction series (THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES) are released every weekend, and Subscribers can read the 1st Book in the series for FREE! Just click here (or visit https://marisavictus.substack.com/account) to opt-in + receive my Fiction writing!

Marisa

Where’s the HELLO KITTY in your life?!

Remember, My RECIPE for Happiness?

In last week’s POST, I gave you my Recipe for Happiness.

POP QUIZ!

What was Ingredient #2?

🌸 Be playful!

OMG, how incredibly LONG it took me to do this.

Seriously, I am rage-crying at myself for taking so god-damn LONG to get here. 😭🥹

Why?

Because I think of ALL the years I wasted being too serious.

Too stuffy.

Too miserable.

Looking back, I try to give myself grace, because I was raised by Perfectionists.

To not only get the A but, if there was any extra credit, well I better earn all of it, to get that A+.

Did it stop when I graduated from college?

When I went to law school?

When I became an Attorney?

Nope.

It morphed.

The Pitbull Partner became my new measuring stick.

“Are you like him?” I subconsiously asked myself.

“Do you have what it takes to be successful, like he is?”

Ignoring the fact that I despised his personality and mean-spirited temperament, that’s what was on my mind.

Because he appeared to be what would make me a successful Attorney, too.

It took me five minutes to see that his personal life sucked. He was miserable. On his fourth marriage. Soon to be divorced, yet again.

And, ultimately, less than a year for me to see that there were better ways to practice law.

I only had to see a far more intelligent Partner practice to see the light at the end of that tunnel.

Seeing better ways of Being was the path forward.

Was it easy?

Absolutely not!

Because…

My Upbringing made me A Perfectionistic Curmudgeon.

I realized this slowly.

And in the subtlest of ways.

Take my iPhone for example.

For YEARS, I only allowed myself to buy something “Professional.”

Something “sensible.”

Something that was Grey.

Or Black.

In other words, DULL.

My Inner Child had other plans.

I grew up OBSESSED with Hello Kitty.

I could go into a Sanrio store and get lost in all the cute little toys and stationary and stamps and key chains for HOURS.

I loved all the characters.

I wanted one of absolutely everything!

And yet, my Inner Critic whispered…

You’re a “Grown Adult” now.

“A Serious Attorney.”

“A Litigator.”

“A Negotiator.”

“A Counselor.”

I had to exude not only confidence and legal prowess, but Seriousness.

The kind that had to be dressed in a Power-Suit.

All the while, my Inner Child longed for something Sanrio.

Sanrio was my Creativity.

It was my Personality.

It was what I adored and loved.

The same way I’m in love — and will forever love — Creative Writing. Art. Music.

Everything changed when the Zealous Advocate I was trained to be, started to FINALLY advocate for my Authentic Self!

“Don’t do it!” they warned me. “You WON’T be seen as a Serious Attorney!”

Listening to them for YEARS was my biggest mistake.

I fractured my Self when I hid all of my Creative pursuits.

Until one day, I realized, “This suffering isn’t worth it.”

My body pained me with migraines, depression, and anxiety, until I declared “No more!” and realized,

I needed to advocate for my SELF!

I let loose My Inner Hello Kitty! RAWR!

I LET GO of the Limiting Belief that I had to change who I am to be successful, respected, or loved.

I learned that there’s tremendous Power when we allow our True Self to be seen.

And I found FREEDOM!

In wearing PINK.

Yup! That’s how it started. So very, very small.

Until it morphed into so much more.

Wearing pink and every color imaginable, something bright and bursting with joy, each and every day.

So much so, strangers who see me often will come up to compliment me and say, “That pink you wear? That’s your signature!”

They ask me, “Where do you buy your pink lipstick?” I tell ’em and they buy it for themselves.

And — it warms my heart! — when I see all my friends who mostly wear black excited to show me they’re wearing bright bursts of color! “We match!” they exclaim, with massive smiles.

It’s just COLOR, but for our spirit, it’s INVIGORATING!

Together, we revel in the freedom — the FUN & FLOW — we gain from LIVING, carefree!

YES, in this most subtlest of ways, we get to be free from the confines of a society that tell us that you can only be successful, respected, and/or loved if you behave / dress / talk / exist in a certain type of way.

And it makes you wonder…what other silly Limiting Beliefs am I allowing?

Are they helping me to TRULY LIVE my life?!

We can QUESTION our Inner Critic.

We can ask:

Who are we performing for?

Who are we living for?

Who are we masking for?

I’ve stopped hiding who I am. See?

Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life:

⭐️ Are you happy living in the shadows?

⭐️ Or, are you shining bright, in the light?

⭐️ Is your Spirit bursting full of color?

⭐️ Are you allowing your Truest, Most Authentic, Self to be seen?!

Take it from me, there’s so much to be gained when you stop living like the shell of who you are.

Embrace the REAL YOU.

Live Authentically.

STOP pretending you’re happy.

START being happy.

The Hello Kitty in me honors & respects the Hello Kitty in each of you,

Marisa

⭐️ Remember, you don’t have to have all of the answers. ⭐️

⭐️ And you don’t have to figure it out all alone, on your own. ⭐️

You’re welcome to join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Join chat

Here’s what we’ve been up to in the STUDY, SAVOR, & SUPPORT Each Other CHAT! ☕️🍵 !

It’s WEEK #2 of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: Recovering a Sense of Identity.

I love how JC warns us about the common pitfalls all Creatives encounter when they embark on their journey of self-discovery & creative expression.

What makes it so refreshing is how she normalizes all the challenges:

• It’s normal to have an Inner Critic who needles you with little mental digs, to undercut the progress you’re making.

• It’s normal to be misguided, distracted, and sometimes completely thwarted by other people who are Blocked Creatives themselves.

• It’s normal to be targeted by Crazymakers who try to pull us into their storm centers.

• It’s normal to have an Inner Skeptic who doesn’t accept or is quick to dismiss the creative opportunities that come to us.

• It’s normal to Daydream of the past or of the future, rather than focus on what’s possible in the present moment.

I find it helpful to Normalize all these challenges.

⭐️ Don’t you?

It makes me realize that facing any of these challenges and the related feelings of discomfort, avoidance, annoyance or fear are not defects. They’re simply part of the design.

They’re steps on the journey that most, if not all of us, will face from time to time. And that’s perfectly okay.

Even better? Coming together as a community of Creatives — among other Writers and Artists like you! — who “get it.” It’s freeing to realize we’re not alone in our struggles. It’s normal to have doubts, even normal to want to run for the hills!

But what we must not do is give up.

I feel stronger with the support of you all here. I hope I can encourage you to keep going, while I do the same.

⭐️ What about you?

⭐️ Please share your thoughts.

⭐️ Did anything from Chapter 2 or even Chapter 1 resonate with you?

Let’s support each other in the Chat!

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT! Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

If it’s not your cuppa tea/coffee/chai/matcha/whatevs, please Note:

For anyone who does not wish to participate in the Study, Savor, & Support each other CHAT, no problemo!

I will still publish my Newsletter, M&Ms, Sing-Along Storytime, Music, Videos, Science Fiction writing, & more!

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send me a DM.

Have a fantastic weekend!

The Creative in me honors & respects the Creative in each of you,

Marisa

Subscribe if you want to see where this Creative Journey can take us!

BONUS — Did you know that all SUBSCRIBERS can read the 1st Book of THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES (OBSIDIAN: Birth to Venus) for FREE?

READ THE SYNOPSIS

If you love to learn about the science of self-improvement, please Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and signup for my free Substack Newsletter.

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are, and combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will:

• Enliven our emotions & creativity;

• Enhance our efficiency & productivity;

• Foster a greater depth of Self;

• Build the Secure Attachment that we need to develop a Growth Mindset; and,

• Reprogram our minds to pivot from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System when we need it to, more often than not.

I’ve planned so many exciting & fun things to share with you (in addition to music!) and I can’t wait for you to get all the FREE goodies I’ve prepared for you.

We CAN do this, TOGETHER!

Are you serious about self-improvement & want to have unstoppable self-belief?

Then SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE SUBSTACK and entrain your brain the quick & easy way, with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

Every day, I write & share 1 handwritten M&M in my “Notes” if you want to grow with me.

To learn how, click this link.

In addition, new Chapters for my serialized science fiction series (THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES) are released every weekend, and Subscribers can read the 1st Book in the series for FREE! Just click here (or visit https://marisavictus.substack.com/account) to opt-in + receive my Fiction writing!

Marisa

My Recipe for Happiness is Authenticity over Approval. What’s yours?

My RECIPE for Happiness

Over the years, I’ve come up with my own recipe for happiness:

Welcome the day with

🙏 gratitude & curiosity🌈.

🌸 Be playful.

🧘🏻‍♀️ Immerse yourself in your physical senses.

🌹 Feel your feelings.

💨 Breathe through all of them.

🌻 Pay attention to your thoughts,

🧘🏻‍♀️ mindfully without judgment 🤗.

🦸🏻‍♀️ Live authentically.

💯 Be true to YOU!

All of these ingredients help me to honor myself & live by my new mantra:

💥 Authenticity over Approval 💥

💥 Authenticity over Approval 💥

💥 Authenticity over Approval 💥

It’s completely transformed my mind, my work, & my physical and mental health.

Because there’s limitless opportunity for transformation…

And tremendous Power when we allow our True Self to be seen.

But sharing your True Self can also be HARD.

So I’ve had to tweak my recipe.

When being TRUE to YOU is challenging,

add 2 special ingredients:

(1) Special Ingredient #1 =

🙋🏻‍♀️ Self-Love

Self-Love’s been my #1 solution. The more I’ve come to accept who I am and love myself — regardless of what other people might think — the more safe & secure I feel to keep learning and keep growing, without that urge for approval I used to have.

(2) Special Ingredient #2 =

🤗 Connection with Community

This is the special ingredient that brings PURPOSE & MEANING to my Life.

And it’s a total 180, compared to how I used to live.

I used to hide who I was.

I used to suffer in silence, all alone.

I used to feel like no one in the world knew who I truly was.

They saw me (and didn’t want to see me as anything other than) as an Attorney.

They didn’t know I loved to do creative writing, art, or music.

And — when I was finally brave enough to share — they not only “didn’t get it.”

They told me to NOT do — or at least hide — these things.

Talk about feeling rejected!

I felt so alone.

Because I didn’t know any other Writers, Artists, or Creatives like me.

Without realizing it, I became a “Shadow Artist” — a term coined by Julia Cameron in her book, The Artist’s Way.

As she puts it, I was one of the “Young writers…pushed toward lawyering, a talky, wordy profession….”

She even described what happened to me: It’s the “rare family, faced with the myth of the starving artist, [that] tells its children to go right ahead and try for a career in the arts. Instead, if encouraged at all, the children are urged into thinking of the arts as hobbies, creative fluff around the edges of real life.”

“They [were] raised to the role of shadow artist and…need to work consciously to dismantle it.”

Dismantling may be hard, but that’s precisely what I aim to do for the rest of my life, however long it takes!

💥Creative Fluff, no more!

💥Shadow Artist, be gone!

Yes, this is the time to fully express and honor who I am: A writer! An artist! A musician!

Now, take a Mindful Minute to reflect on your life:

⭐️ What about you?

⭐️ Are you ready to set your intention for your lifelong Creative journey?

⭐️ What kind of Creative do you intend to fully be?

⭐️ What’s YOUR Recipe for Happiness?

Remember, you don’t have to have all of the answers.

And you don’t have to figure it out all alone, on your own.

You’re welcome to join us in my

This is a special group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

It’s the perfect way to

Share Our Recipes for Happiness:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to private journaling & Artist’s Dates; and,
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Share Our Work (allow our True Self to be Seen):

With Notes Boost Challenges (NBC), we can share our favorite Notes of the week.

And, when we’d like, we can share our Works In Progress (WIP) and/or Final Posts, Music, & Art…whatever we’re proud of!

So we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work to…

Share Our Joy (experience Connection with a kind & supportive Creative Community):

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Join chat

Please Note:

For anyone who does not wish to participate in the Study, Savor, & Support each other CHAT, no problemo!

I will still publish my Newsletter, M&Ms, Sing-Along Storytime, Music, Videos, Science Fiction writing, & more!

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send me a DM.

Have a fantastic weekend!

The Creative in me honors & respects the Creative in each of you,

Marisa

Subscribe to my Substack at marisavictus.substack.com

If you love to learn about the science of self-improvement, please Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and signup for my free Substack Newsletter.

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are, and combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will:

• Enliven our emotions & creativity;

• Enhance our efficiency & productivity;

• Foster a greater depth of Self;

• Build the Secure Attachment that we need to develop a Growth Mindset; and,

• Reprogram our minds to pivot from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System when we need it to, more often than not.

I’ve planned so many exciting & fun things to share with you (in addition to music!) and I can’t wait for you to get all the FREE goodies I’ve prepared for you.

We CAN do this, TOGETHER!

Are you serious about self-improvement & want to have unstoppable self-belief?

Then SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE SUBSTACK and entrain your brain the quick & easy way, with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

Every day, I write & share 1 handwritten M&M in my “Notes” if you want to grow with me.

To learn how, click this link.

In addition, new Chapters for my serialized science fiction series (THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES) are released every weekend, and Subscribers can read the 1st Book in the series for FREE! Just click here (or visit https://marisavictus.substack.com/account) to opt-in + receive my Fiction writing!

Marisa

Let’s Get this BOOK PARTY started with our 1st Book Selection! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

Welcome to the Study, Savor, & Support Each Other CHAT! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

In last week’s Post, I announced that I would be using my Substack CHAT to host a group for Writers, Artists, & Creatives like us, to have deep conversations about the Books that we choose, so we can implement what we learn, and unearth our truest, most Authentic Selves.

Yes, we will Study, Savor, & Support Each Other in our Creative Pursuits…

But this will NOT be some uber-serious, stuffy exercise.

Every week, we will take one Chapter and do a deep dive to STUDY the practical methods that are recommended to support our minds, bodies, and/or emotions, to pursue the Creative work that we choose.

And I’ll provide Journal Prompts to help us in our private journaling, so we can put the knowledge that we’ve gained into practice.

Having said that, I’m also a firm believer that self-improvement should not be too serious or boring.

We can use fun & humor to build sustainable habits.

And we should SAVOR the experience!

We should enjoy our Creative Journey, in the present moment, no matter how much progress we’ve made!

So I propose that we focus on SUPPORTING each other!

Let’s:

• Have fun together;
• Share our triumphs;
• Vent from time to time — we’re human after all!
• Take a lighthearted approach to journaling;
• Grow the CREATIVE GENIUS inside all of us! 💐🌺🌷🌸🌹🌻🌼

Let’s SHARE OUR WORK!

Yes, there’s power in allowing our True Self to be seen!

• With no pressure to perform or pretend to be farther along when we’re not.
• That means sharing drafts, if we’re comfortable.
• Sharing unfinished, imperfect work.
• Whatever we feel we need to share, we can share, to be supported by other Creatives who “get it.”

And, when our work’s finally finished, we can share our Final Posts, Notes, Music, Art, whatever we’re proud of, so that we can Like, Comment, and/or Restack each others’ work.

This is how we can come together, to grow through our own individual efforts, and feel the support of a kind & supportive Creative Community, too.

If that sounds good to you, then please join us & say hello!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Join chat

To start, we’ll be practicing THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron.

If you’re not familiar with Julia Cameron’s book then you’re in for a real treat.

This is the 12-week Program for Journaling & Artist’s Dates that Elizabeth Gilbert has praised so much, she’s said, “Without The Artist’s Way, there would have been no Eat, Pray, Love” — Elizabeth’s global sensation that went from being a NYT bestselling book, to being a Julia Roberts movie. It’s the seed that sprouted Elizabeth’s lifelong Creative Career!

If this practice was able to help fortify Elizabeth’s mindset, to be brave enough to share her writing with the world and live a monumentally successful and fulfilling Creative Life, on her own terms, then…

Why not try it for ourselves?

That’s my thinking: “If it’s good enough for her, if it’s worked for her, why not try it, to see if it can help us to be true to our Creative Self?”

We’ve got nothing to lose, and so much to gain.

It’s part of our Evolutionary Programming.

Yes, we cannot be Human and not-be-Creative!

We are hard-wired for creativity.

Nature made sure of that.

Otherwise, our species wouldn’t have evolved.

We wouldn’t have survived if we weren’t able to create: Tools. Language. Stories.

Indeed, what is an Artist? A human who creates.

That’s the only criteria.

Making money — while preferable — is not a requirement.

Being “Perfect” is not required, either.

In fact, in the INTRODUCTION to The Artist’s Way, I absolutely love how Julia Cameron tells us her own story:

In the most authentic way, she makes no effort to hide the fact that she struggled with alcoholism, to the point that she became concerned she might not be able to experience the same level of creative success if she quit drinking. As if her creative power might disappear.

But she was brave and did it anyway.

She became sober and — with the help of her Morning Pages — she found she could Unblock the inner dialogue that was keeping her in her own way.

I love how this proves none of us have to be “perfect” to be successful creatively.

And it’s precisely the messiness that’s in our Morning Pages that can free our creativity and enliven our spirit.

Yes, We are all capable of Creativity — regardless of Our Personal Beliefs

A Note:

I know from reading some reviews of Julia Cameron’s work that her personal belief in God has made others shy away from trying her program in the past.

Indeed, JC gave her book this subtitle — The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity.

However, in the edition that I have, she also emphasizes that believing in “God” is not required or expected for her 12-week program to work.

She says, “Do not call it God unless that is comfortable for you.”

She recommends substituting the word “God” for whatever resonates with us personally, whether that’s “flow” or “Mind” or “Source” or “Universe.”

Or, she says, if none of those apply — “if you remain forever an atheist, agnostic — so be it.”

In this way, I think she opens the door for Believers and Non-Believers alike to be open to trying her creative practices, to see what resonates with us as individuals, and let go of the rest.

This is important to me because I want everyone in the Chat to know that they are welcome to participate however they would like, to honor their own personal beliefs.

What matters most is that we come together to STUDY, SAVOR, and SUPPORT Each Other on our unique creative journeys.

I resonate most with the Connection we can all feel, to ourselves and to other people when we create and share our creations.

It’s amazing to

Envision words or art or music in the privacy of our minds;

Craft them with our hearts, hands, and words;

Share them with the world; and

Feel that amazing feeling of understanding and empathy that’s possible when other people are touched by what we create.

It’s like a little bridge that connects us, when others see themselves reflected in you.

And so healing when we see ourselves reflected in them.

Plus, I love the idea of helping each other to be brave — to get over our Limiting Beliefs, so we can all be our Authentic Self.

I don’t know about anyone else, but for me when it comes to living authentically, it’s about damn time! 🤣

So, if that sounds good to you, please join us in the CHAT!

Join Marisa Victus’s subscriber chat

Available in the Substack app and on web

Join chat

Pull up a seat & come to our comfy & cozy Creative CHAT!

Here’s to the Creative CHAT for me & you! 🎉📚🥳📚🎉

Please Note:

For anyone who does not wish to participate in the Study, Savor, & Support each other CHAT, no problemo!

I will still publish my Newsletter, M&Ms, Sing-Along Storytime, Music, Videos, Science Fiction writing, & more!

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to send me a DM.

Have a fantastic weekend!

The Creative in me honors & respects the Creative in each of you,

Marisa

If you love to learn about the science of self-improvement, please Subscribe to my YouTube Channel and signup for my free Substack Newsletter.

Together, we’ll explore all the ways that we can 10x our life — mind, body, & soul.

We’ll learn the scientific, physiological, and psychological reasons why we are the way that we are, and combine that understanding with simple, active practices that will:

• Enliven our emotions & creativity;

• Enhance our efficiency & productivity;

• Foster a greater depth of Self;

• Build the Secure Attachment that we need to develop a Growth Mindset; and,

• Reprogram our minds to pivot from the Sympathetic Nervous System to the Parasympathetic Nervous System when we need it to, more often than not.

I’ve planned so many exciting & fun things to share with you (in addition to music!) and I can’t wait for you to get all the FREE goodies I’ve prepared for you.

We CAN do this, TOGETHER!

Are you serious about self-improvement & want to have unstoppable self-belief?

Then SUBSCRIBE TO MY FREE SUBSTACK and entrain your brain the quick & easy way, with my daily Mindset & Meditation (M&M) practice.

Every day, I write & share 1 handwritten M&M in my “Notes” if you want to grow with me.

To learn how, click this link.

In addition, new Chapters for my serialized science fiction series (THE OBSIDIAN CHRONICLES) are released every weekend, and Subscribers can read the 1st Book in the series for FREE! Just click here (or visit https://marisavictus.substack.com/account) to opt-in + receive my Fiction writing!

Marisa