Julie Hilsen (00:06)
Hello dear friends and welcome to Life of Love where we explore what our life of love looks like each week and honor this community of curious souls willing to, willing to go there, even look at what life of love and life of love could look like and in the messy days and the easy days, those are all held with compassion and understanding and we’re here for each other. So thank you for being a part of the community. I’m going to go ahead and set our intention. We have such a lovely guest today.

I’m really excited to bring forth her message about creativity and being, daring to be bad. So we’re going to go into that. So stick with us the whole time. We’re very excited. Okay. I’m just going to get into my heart, ground my feet. And if you’re not driving, I welcome you to do the same, but if you are driving, just get into the mood of, just, you know, putting your shoulders down and being in your body, but aware of your surroundings with love.

Okay. Dear God, goddess, creator, thank you for giving us this time today to settle, to reflect, to explore. I ask you to work through us and for us with our divinity, which is in us and every cell is perfect. All of us are connected to each other through your wonderful creation and

We honor each person’s unique sovereign ability to contribute to this beautiful place that we’re here for such a short time. And we hope that we can do the best to show up as our highest selves with compassion and grace. And so we hold space for this. We hold space for our individual expression, our uniqueness, our quirks, the things that we criticize. We want to shine at those.

those unique abilities, we want to honor those. And today we hold space for that.

And I ask my guides to come forward for the highest good, my angels of God and of love and the Holy Spirit to amplify this message to reach the hearts which would who wish to soften and the ears which wish to hear. And I ask this to be brought forth with kindness and compassion to our highest selves again and

And so it is because we’re open and we said yes. And so it is. So it is. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Alright, Susan, welcome to Life of Love!

Susan Hensley (02:40)
thank you Julie. I’m so so happy to be here and that was beautiful. Thank you.

Julie Hilsen (02:44)
well, Susan Hensley, your transformational coach and author, a creative guide, and you’re here to help us unleash our joy of creativity and resilience and, you know, reflect our authentic selves and in the way that you’ve been called to bring forward. So I’m just so honored to have you here to share your work, your offerings, and help us navigate life’s transitions with heart and courage and

and everything that you’re about. So thank you, thank you, thank you for saying yes to Life of Love.

Susan Hensley (03:16)
Well, thank you. I’m honored to be here. And I thought that was a beautiful intention because what I’m trying to share hits people differently and hopefully where they need, right? Rather playing with art is a respite and just a moment of peace or joy, or rather it’s unlocking challenging emotions, or rather it’s…

tapping into their authentic self and looking for some guidance. I think it’s a really interesting process and a way to help us step outside of our busy minds sometimes and hear and see what comes up differently.

Julie Hilsen (04:00)
Yeah, I think that was a really fun part for me this morning. I shared with you in our pre-interview that I did a quick little… And my psyche, my ego was like, you’re too busy. You need to get your computer set up. You need to get your lighting. You need to make sure everything’s working in the studio. You don’t have time to play with art before you do this interview. And I was like, no.

this is what this is about. And so I was like, no, Julie, sit your butt down. And I just cleared out a cabinet where I had some pastels. I’m like cleaning through things because my boys are both at school. And I’m like, I’ve just got to clean through some things. If I pick one cabinet a day or one drawer a day, before I know it, my house is going to be more organized. And so I’ve been trying to do that. And in cleaning out these little spaces and making making space for things that I want and donating things I don’t I’ve

Susan Hensley (04:25)
Hahaha!

Julie Hilsen (04:53)
uncovered like I found beautiful little artwork that my kids did like I found one that my son Blake did it was when he was in second grade and he carried around the monkey and showed the monkey to his class like everything he did over the weekend so that was really fun to see that because when we had the monkey we went to New York City and it was an adventure so so I uncovered that pearl and then I found my pastels were in that cupboard with with my

Susan Hensley (05:11)
wow. Yeah, that is an adventure.

Julie Hilsen (05:19)
like paper for art. So it’s sitting right there. I’m like, Julie, it’s freaking sitting right there. You have no excuse. You don’t have to go in the art cabinet to find your materials. They’re sitting right there. You just uncovered them this weekend. So I did. I was like, okay, I’m gonna sip on my coffee and I’m gonna do my my sunrise picture.

Susan Hensley (05:37)
I love seeing that. And also the way you describe it, it’s sort of like that signal or sign, right? You’re cleaning out anyways, and then you find it, and then you set it aside, and then you sort of, you want to, but we talk ourselves out of it sometimes, right? In our busyness, in our need to keep doing and preparing for the next thing, we can deny ourselves little moments of play.

Julie Hilsen (05:39)
So.

you

Susan Hensley (06:05)
And I love what you did. you share how you felt doing it and after? Because I see how you light up. mean, you have a lot of light and a beautiful smile anyways. when you showed me, because you’ve showed me twice, it’s like you’re sort of excited about it. Can you talk about how it felt?

Julie Hilsen (06:18)
Thank you.

Yeah.

Yeah, well, what I like about is, I like the chalk and pastels because you can smear it. But I like picking out my four colors. I’m like, OK, here’s my four colors. And I just sort of get out of my head and just let my emotion pick the color. Really one, two, three, four. And then just sort of be free and just move your hand.

Susan Hensley (06:34)
Yeah.

Julie Hilsen (06:52)
It’s not a plan. don’t, I don’t, I’m not a huge artist where I had a plan out exactly how it’s gonna look. It’s just like a free thing. And then smearing it and I was like, that’s interesting the way the colors went together. And then I noticed myself sort of judge like, I don’t even know if I’m gonna show Susan this. I’m like, no, I mean, this is just art. Who cares? If someone hates it, that makes it better art.

Susan Hensley (07:06)
Yeah.

Yeah!

Right. And you’re doing

it for you, right? The book and the… Well, exactly. mean, but you’ve tapped on, thank you for sharing, first of all. And I love what you did. And it’s one of the reasons in the book that I wrote, you know, Art for Your Sanity, how art journaling can like manage chaos and unleash joy, is I’ve been playing with it. I stumbled into it, right? I don’t view myself as an artist. I don’t…

Julie Hilsen (07:20)
Yeah, yeah, I’m not going to send this to my mom or anything, you know, like.

Sure.

Susan Hensley (07:44)
make things I put up on my walls, but I found the play of it, the release, the few minutes while I was having coffee, it started to unlock so much. And the fact that it was just for me, to your point, this is just for you. You knew we had the podcast, but you were curious, which is whenever I teach a workshop and in the book, I always start with.

This is just about being curious, right? You’re not going to show this to anyone. You’re not going to hang it anywhere. You can keep it if you want. Most of the when people are using journal, you shut the page, just like if you kept a diary and you just move on. It’s the act of play that sometimes as adults, or many times as adults, particularly if you’re raising a family and you’re…

Julie Hilsen (08:34)
you

Susan Hensley (08:38)
job and all the things you’re trying to do, right? We’ve talked about pets. We’ve just, there’s a lot that’s asked of us in a day and it’s easy to just run onto the next thing, next thing. And we don’t take time to be curious and to play in that way. And that’s what I found that the playing with art, if people come to it, just a little bit of curiosity, you see what comes up. And a lot of people will say they feel

They felt really free for those few minutes. They felt more relaxed afterwards. It reminded them of how good it felt as a kid, you know, to just like play with no purpose. And so it’s interesting what it starts to unlock and some of the reflection of, do like those clothes. Ooh, it’s fun to smear it. And you may start one way and then you look and you’re like, I didn’t know where that was.

Julie Hilsen (09:15)
Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley (09:33)
going and we try so much to control where we’re going, know, envision to plan. And I think there’s a place for all of that. But in the place for all the planning and moving forward, I think we have shut out the place for exploration and curiosity. And that’s what playing for art, that’s like with the playing with art. That’s what the book tries to bring about and encourage people to do.

Julie Hilsen (10:00)
That’s lovely and I mean it did bring me back to childhood with them. I don’t know if you remember the Crayola crayons not just the big the huge box with like the hundred and eighty colors, but that

Susan Hensley (10:09)
yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Julie Hilsen (10:15)
I used to have the carousel. It was a plastic, like lazy Susan, and you could organize and you could put your markers in the middle. And how awesome was it to open up a brand new yellow marker? And the yellow is perfect. It hasn’t gotten dirty with the other colors. And the points are perfect. And you know, the new school supplies, I guess I’m just a nerd, but I the new school supplies in that.

Susan Hensley (10:18)
⁓ yeah.

Yeah!

Julie Hilsen (10:42)
that freshness of a possibility, you know, just tapping into possibility of what could be. And that’s, that’s what I really enjoyed with putting myself in that space again. And, and you’re right, it’s an untapped

We get so busy, don’t think about how our soul just needs to just play a little bit. And literally, it takes three, four minutes. mean, you could do it. Instead of going and checking your Instagram feed, you could doodle in the morning with your morning tea or whatever morning ritual you have that supports you. You could do art instead of doom scrolling.

Susan Hensley (11:08)
Right, right.

Yeah.

Yeah, you touch on so many interesting things there. I want to look to the last one. People always say they don’t have time. And I start with three, four minutes. it really, I will suggest if someone’s curious, that you just eliminate one time of checking your feed, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, because it’s amazing how that sucks our attention.

Sometimes you’ll find things you really enjoy. I try and really, if you will, curate my feet, meaning things that bring me joy. So I’ve got puppies, I’ve got babies, I’ve got, right? And I’ve got all the fat bears in Alaska, right? Right now, whatever it is. So I try to be really intentional so that I’m smiling when I’m scrolling, but it does take you completely out of the presence. Whereas taking those three or four minutes, and sometimes those can turn into

Julie Hilsen (11:58)
Mm-hmm.

you

Susan Hensley (12:16)
10 and 20 minutes, but taking even three and four, and it’s how I started art journaling, I would be making breakfast in the morning for my family. And there’s inevitably, would make oatmeal, the slow oats. You’re waiting for water to boil, right? And so, although I’d have my coffee, I would just be playing with art, doodling.

And to your point, there’s nothing better. I tell people all the time, if you’re curious, don’t invest in fancy art supplies, right? Because that brings in your critic. Go down Art Isle, where the kids section, kids section, buy the ones that you loved as a kid. If you loved the carousel, tap into that. I loved the glue sticks.

And I have untold, and they’re like the Elmer’s glue stick, they’re white. Not like the thicker ones, not the thinner ones. Some people love paste, the little brown jars and the smell of paste. And so I really encourage people to tap into that memory. It could be Play-Doh, right? And then you’re not art journaling, but you’re, it’s that smell of it, right? And so it doesn’t necessarily have to fit in art journal, but what was sort of that supply that you loved as a kid?

Julie Hilsen (13:09)
Yeah.

Susan Hensley (13:31)
Buy it again and keep it nearby and just see if you can replace once a day, maybe one time you would reach for your phone and just do some playing and curiosity. And then just note how you feel after that versus sometimes how you feel after the equal time on your phone.

Julie Hilsen (13:51)
Yes.

Susan Hensley (13:51)
It’s a really interesting

exercise to just observe yourself. I mean, there isn’t a right or wrong. It’s just an observation of how you feel when you’re creating and playing versus taking what other people have put up. Like even if you’re not doom scrolling and getting down rabbit holes that you find very triggering or you’re finding yourself getting argumentative, right? Even if you’re just finding things, there’s a difference between doing

and actually creating and just taking in and the numbing that can come with that sometimes.

Julie Hilsen (14:24)
And no judgment, like we’re holding compassion, but yeah, what’s serving you and what feeds you and what’s depleting? And we spend so much time looking at computers anyway that, you know, it’s like, give yourself a break. And I have made a commitment to listen to my inner child more. And this is an alignment with her because I can let her speak and I can listen and we can share something.

Susan Hensley (14:27)
Yeah.

Yeah!

Yeah.

Exactly. Yeah, for anyone who’s made that commitment, playing with art, shoot you there immediately because the concept is you’re going back to that time before you got any messages or even if it wasn’t an external message that maybe you weren’t most creative or the best at this, it’s the…

your sense of self judgment, a time when everything you did, you felt great about. And I ask people to be sort of their own proud parent, like hang it on the refrigerator. That’s how I knew I loved it. Or just admire what you created and thank yourself for taking the few minutes, right? You know, I try and really honor and acknowledge when I do things that I enjoy because it’s easy to beat ourselves up.

when we do something like we know maybe we shouldn’t have done, right? We’ve lost our temper, we’ve eaten something we shouldn’t have eaten, whatever it is, or we have some judgment about it and it’s easy to beat ourselves up. And then you’re like, no, I should be self-compassion. Then you’re like beating yourself up for not having come up. Right, it’s a funny cycle. And what I like about the plane with…

Julie Hilsen (15:57)
For not being, yeah, yeah. Yes, yes, yes.

Susan Hensley (16:06)
is it gives us enough separation to catch that cycle. If you will, we were talking a little bit about this and just to become aware of it. And then when you’re aware of it, you can, like I said, I always thank myself and admire what I’ve done. Like I love what you did. But it’s not about me. I keep thinking about the look on your face when you’ve showed me and your explanation for it, right? And it was like, you were lit up. You were relaxed. You were joyful. It’s like,

look and I try and just really enforce that it’s fun to create and it’s fun to let my inner child have fun. I should let her have some fun.

Julie Hilsen (16:42)
Yes, yes, yes.

Okay, so that was that leads to my next thing I want to talk to you about. So if you haven’t been in the creative space, you never consider yourself creative. How do you how do you encourage people to just let their hand be free? Or is there a shape that you have them start with and then expand on that? Because it is daunting to sit down to a blank piece of paper and say, How do I start?

And I think that’s the biggest hurdle we have is just starting. So how do you help people bridge that gap or break that barrier of, I don’t know what to do. I’m not creative.

Susan Hensley (17:11)
Yeah.

So many of us feel that way. I feel that way. I don’t view myself as a creative person. And what’s interesting, so I just tell people what happened to me inadvertently and then what I’ve seen work really well in workshops and trainings is I ask people that sort of the opening exercise, whether it’s in my coaching practice, if a person wants to play with art or in workshops that I’ve done.

is it’s a three minute exercise and they have a piece of paper like five by seven, not big, it’s not eight by 10, we’re just starting like a little piece of paper and I’ll pass around a bowl and say, just choose two crayons. So it’s two crayons, three minutes, here’s all we’re gonna do. I’m gonna play a three minute song, something usually upbeat and that fits the audience. Some country songs, it sort of depends, but something,

sort of upbeat. And all we’re gonna do is for three minutes, you’re just gonna fill this piece of paper. I don’t care how you fill it, right? You’re not gonna show it to anyone. You’re going to throw it away if you want. You can keep it if you want, but you’re not showing it to anyone. We’re not even gonna talk about what you did or didn’t do. I’ll suggest if someone’s looking at stuff, it’s like, think of what you used to do. Think of what you used to draw as a kid. Maybe you like shapes, maybe you like hearts, maybe you like.

cats, whatever, or don’t draw anything, just scribble, but you’re filling this thing. And then we just go, put on the music, it’s three minutes, you just fill it. And afterwards, we talk about that because it didn’t matter what they did as long as they freed themselves because what I’ve noticed, I’ve yet to find an adult that takes themselves seriously holding two crayons.

Right? And that’s, it’s a big key to unlocking. I’m stuck. Right? If I had given them a fancy paint brush or something expensive, they just have two crayons that they just chose from a bowl. They may not even like the two colors they got. Right? And so in, in eliminating all of that, that perfectionism, that wanting to be good, I’m basically giving them permission, if you will, to be bad, to make a mess. I I’ve said scribble. don’t really.

Julie Hilsen (18:59)
you

Yeah, yeah.

Susan Hensley (19:29)
The only thing you need to do is keep your hand in motion for three minutes. It’s like, can people do that? Yes. Right. And that, what that exercise does for your question, like, I don’t know where to start, is it sort of shows you can start anywhere. It’s like, it’s jumping into a pool, but it’s a, it’s like just stepping into a little one inch of water, right? It’s not a big cold plunge. It’s not hard to get into. It’s very safe.

And none of us have an expectation holding two crayons in a three minute exercise that we’re going to create a masterpiece. Right. And that really helps because then what we talk about isn’t what they created. It’s so funny because everyone’s trying to show everyone. like, don’t show anyone. This isn’t about showing people. And they’re still wanting to show people because the act of creating was so fun. We talked about how do you feel free? The time went by.

I thought I was going to be really worried. I wasn’t. It felt good for my hand to go in a circle. I liked the way the crayon smelt. It felt playful. It felt silly. So that’s the starting point that really helps people and luck. And anyone can do it, right? Those are very simple instructions I just shared, right? Any listener can turn us off right now. And if they’re curious, do it for three minutes.

Julie Hilsen (20:52)
Right, right. And even if you don’t have art supplies in your house, next time you got to eat, just borrow a couple crayons from the kid. The kid, you know, that what they give at the hostess stand, you know, just grab two crayons. You have to buy it. That is brilliant. just

Susan Hensley (21:00)
⁓ absolutely, I tell people that all the time. Yeah, no, I tell people that all the time, yeah.

Julie Hilsen (21:11)
And it’s such a metaphor for for us because we’re creative beings like we that’s part of our God spark is to be creative and when you’re focused on producing or your results and you’re you lock into is this gonna be meaningful am I maximizing my time you know like I gotta you know I so much to do and and life goes so fast and and it’s the opposite of what feeds our soul because

you know, to be free and just explore that helps your creativity. and, you know, you’re gonna, you’re gonna be more productive when you’re creative at how you do things. It’s gonna, it’s gonna feed everything to be more efficient and joyful. Because there’s no joy in deadlines and, and expectations and you know, performance anxiety, there’s no joy.

Susan Hensley (21:54)
Absolutely.

Julie Hilsen (22:02)
So yeah, this is, it’s a great metaphor. And if this is really hard to take two crayons and fill up a piece of paper in three minutes while you’re listening to a fun song, you know, how, how can that give you insight on something bigger in your life? If you’re willing to look at that and say, wow, this is really something, this is something I didn’t see before.

Susan Hensley (22:18)
Yeah.

You know, gosh, that’s just made me think of as I was listening to you, something that popped into my head. I was doing a workshop at a wellness spa and after I do two timed exercises, this was about an hour, hour and a half workshop and a lovely, beautiful, like really lit up woman came out.

up to me afterwards and very accomplished by all the things that we would look at from the outside. And she came up, she beautiful smile and she goes, you know what? That’s got me thinking. And she was raised three children, so empty nest. And she goes, that’s the first time since I became an adult I did something without following an instruction.

And I said, really? And we thought about it for a moment because it had really hit her. And she said, yeah, everything, whether it’s cooking a recipe, whether it’s how to parent. mean, right, there aren’t always instructions. She was a dental hygienist was her profession. There’s a prescriptive way. And she goes, I always look to something else for an instruction. And it was interesting because I

gave instructions, but what you did in the instruction was entirely her. And she just kept saying, I feel so free. just, made me realize how fun it was to play. Right. It was just an interesting insights, not bad. It’s an insight that’s worth exploring, if you will. And where is my creative impulse versus

Julie Hilsen (23:40)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley (24:03)
Where do I want an insight as to how I should be doing something or should be behaving?

Julie Hilsen (24:08)
Yeah, and that freedom, it doesn’t really matter. Nobody’s gonna look at you and say, well, you did that the wrong use, you skipped, you know, you went to the store and you, you didn’t go the outside aisle and then the inside aisle and nobody cares. Like you don’t have to follow roadmaps. And it’s

Susan Hensley (24:20)
Right.

Right, exactly. Yeah, it’s just, it’s an interesting

and fun way to start to observe beliefs or routines, right? Actions, habits, right? There’s a lot of different things we can call it. It’s just a way to start observing those. And then you can judge after you’ve observed them, you can decide, this serve me? Is it in service of my values? Is it in service of the way I want to live? Maybe it is. And that’s great if it is.

If it’s not, what does the little tweak look like?

Julie Hilsen (24:57)
Right, right. So if you’re willing to see, and I think this information comes at a time where, you know, it’ll hit you or you’re not, but I think if someone’s still listening to us, they probably are very curious about it. So I’m ready to deep into our next topic. So.

Susan Hensley (25:14)
Sure.

Julie Hilsen (25:15)
Yeah, we have talked about it, how the creativity can lead to personal growth and illuminate blocks that you may have in your creative, your problem solving in your life. And this isn’t fringe because I have to share, was watching, I don’t know if it was a football game this weekend with my husband. I don’t watch a lot of live TV and a lot of commercials, but a commercial came on with zombies.

Susan Hensley (25:42)
Okay.

Julie Hilsen (25:42)
There’s

a whole city zombie apocalypse, dark, know, zombie walking dead type situation. And it was a Lego commercial because they’re launching their adult Lego, like the flower, like

Susan Hensley (25:58)
Yeah

Julie Hilsen (25:59)
bouquets and like the people started putting the Legos together and they started getting light in their eyes and their skin started to brighten and they started looking at each other and they put their phones down like they did a whole commercial they probably spent you know millions of dollars so this isn’t fringe this is something that

A lot of people are feeling this zombie, like our electronics have taken over our creativity and we want to break free. But I mean, if anyone has seen that commercial, let us know in the comments how it hit you. Cause I was just like, well, this is so creepy. And then even, you know, that, that the Legos were tapping into that. And I love Legos. Like we, I still have all the Legos for my boys and I’ll just keep them until, you know, someone else is ready to play with them. But you know, this highlights that.

Susan Hensley (26:42)
Yeah.

Julie Hilsen (26:49)
This is something really important. I thought that was interesting timing.

Susan Hensley (26:52)
Yeah,

I’m have to search that commercial for sure. Yeah, it’s interesting because it’s not fringe, right? We’re creative beings and I think we can get just stuck in a rut that we forget that we’re creative and in plain and I love the Lego things because I’ve talked to people, it doesn’t have to be art.

It can be Legos. It can be, if you have some sort of musical instrument, it can be dancing. The concept works equally for anything that is a form of playful expression that you’re doing for the joy and the curiosity of doing it. You’re doing for the…

If you can come to it, will meet you. One other thing that’s really nice is it will meet you where you are. Some days you may be having a really difficult emotion and you do it just to process the emotion. I joke that like I will rage crayon. Something is really at me versus like being snippy with someone else. It’s a very safe way to draw like little screaming emojis or little lightning bolts, whether it’s crayons or…

Julie Hilsen (27:58)
Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley (28:09)
with watercolors, it’s a great way to process it, because the emotions there and versus suppressing it or telling myself I shouldn’t feel that way or reframe it or look at the bright side, all of which are fine, but not till you’ve let that emotion move through your body, right? And have its day. And I realized for years, I would feel something uncomfortable and try and reframe it too quickly.

Julie Hilsen (28:27)
Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley (28:38)
go immediately to gratitude or there’s another way to look at this. And it was just too fast. And I wasn’t allowing the experience in a, if you will, in a safe, supportive way. It’s just, no, right now I’m having passed through me. I’m not anger, rage or fear, anxiety or whatever, the uncomfortable emotion. And I’ve learned I can…

play with art during that time. Like one of my favorite things, draws little screaming faces. I mean, really, it sounds so funny. I said that when someone, said, you don’t seem like that sort of person. I was like, yeah, because I draw little screaming faces. I feel it. Their hair’s going up. once again, know, light bulbs, it’s whatever sort of works for you. But I found there’s actually joy and compassion.

in holding space for all of your uncomfortable emotions when you use something like that. And like I said, it’s so much more productive than some of the other skills we have, which could be numbing, it could be, like I said, being snippy or being frustrated with someone else. could be whatever the behavior is, we all have them. our…

Julie Hilsen (29:51)
Right, we’re gonna process those emotions one way or the other, whether

we’re projecting it on somebody or being short tempered or like, yeah. So, and I truly believe that I’ve noticed when I’ve tried to just push something away, it just comes back a little harder because it’s like, you have to deal with it. Even I’m reading a book right now about, oh, I can’t remember the author, but it’s about our souls and reincarnation. And this man puts people in a deep.

Susan Hensley (29:57)
Exactly.

Hmm

Julie Hilsen (30:19)
hypnotic state and and they talk about this they talk about you know they went back because they never dealt with this

Susan Hensley (30:25)
Yeah.

Julie Hilsen (30:26)
They

avoided this. And so you’re really feeding your soul’s ascension by looking at the dark side of your feelings and giving yourself a chance to process them because they’re there for a reason. It’s a reality because it came in your mind. You’re not broken. Your soul is just asking for release and it’s from the higher realms. So you’re supported and you can ask for God’s help and love and the angels to support you.

Susan Hensley (30:44)
No!

Julie Hilsen (30:54)
highest light and love to get through it but getting through it is your mission.

Susan Hensley (30:59)
Exactly.

Not running from it. And one thing I’ve noticed is I’ll go back and reflect sometimes my art journal. And I have such compassion. I won’t even remember why I was so distraught, right? When I took to that page in that way. But I will see a little screaming face or the lightning bolts or the little flames, whatever I drew to express what I was feeling or the little

small stick figure hunkered in a corner or a crying eye, right? Those are all symbols I’ve used at different moments. And I have such compassion and gratitude and then remembrance that it moves through us. Like I didn’t show it down, but it passes. I’m not that, I can turn the page. It can be so, so healing. And after a while,

You start to see insights in a different way from that. I feel, I have felt, and it’s one of the reasons I wrote the book, because it can be so many things. It can be stress relief, it can be a place to process difficult emotions. I really feel that at many points it’s allowing my soul, my authentic self to speak to me, to help me see things.

more clearly than I may be when I’m just processing. It sounds funny to say I get signs from what I create, but I’m not really sure what I’m creating when I create it or the patterns. And so it’s really interesting to go back and see, if you will, the guidance and the timing that has emerged from art journaling.

Julie Hilsen (32:36)
So how many years have you been consecutively art journaling? I’m just curious how far you can go back.

Susan Hensley (32:43)
So I can go back, let’s see, now eight years.

Julie Hilsen (32:47)
Wow, so you have them all lined up and do you date everyone at the, do you have dates on them?

Susan Hensley (32:51)
I do.

One thing I notice is I will go back a couple times to different pages and sometimes I’ll add a border, sometimes I’ll add this. I don’t know, it just feels good to play. But yeah, I do date things and I date similar. I’m a written journaler and it’s just interesting to see the seasons. The funny thing about being a written journal is I can’t read my own writing because I also don’t want to write. I want to sort of free flow.

Julie Hilsen (33:11)
Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley (33:17)
with the art and the images, it gives me almost a better understanding than the writing, just because my writing when I do it is so hard for me to read. I mean, can obviously make out words, but it’s very funny that the images and symbols and colors, I will use a lot of collage and I’ll remember how I felt about.

Julie Hilsen (33:24)
than the writing.

Susan Hensley (33:42)
that picture or that image of that woman say jumping off a cliff or a long and winding path. I can, the image brings back the memory more clearly and then you see what it is. it’s, no, it’s fun to have, I didn’t initially start looking back, right? I didn’t, I thought it would be similar, if you will, to my written journaling, that it would be a way of processing that and then turn the page, move forward and.

with the art journaling, like I said, I have found a lot of guidance and a lot of wisdom that feels like it is coming from my soul or a higher power.

Julie Hilsen (34:20)
Yeah, well, I you know there is channeling you can channel through artwork so it could be your channeling your higher self

Susan Hensley (34:24)
absolutely. Yeah, I firmly

believe that. Yeah.

Julie Hilsen (34:29)
Yeah, that’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. That’s, I could see why or how there’d be patterns and, and then you can look back and have that feeling of that that transition in your life. Because, I mean, gosh, there’s a lot of transitions right now, we’re dealing with a lot of change. So be really interesting to look over the last five years and see, see how your subconscious is processing all these things. And, and

Susan Hensley (34:49)
Yeah.

Absolutely.

Julie Hilsen (34:59)
colors and the shapes and and you also say you can use stickers if you you can slap a sticker and do your design around the sticker or just you know like

Susan Hensley (35:04)
absolutely.

Yeah.

You can use, so I want so many things. I realize people like some guidance, but I try not to be prescriptive. You can use stickers. One thing I’ve used, like you may get a card, birthday card, some sort of card. And if the image on the card really speaks to you, I mean, you may choose to keep the card, not do it, but I have cut up cards that I’ve particularly liked and glued them and then designed around it.

wrapping paper. mean, it’s things that sort of spark a little curiosity and a little excitement like, that’s sort of pretty, but that you might stick it in a bag or get rid of it. It’s like, no, this would be actually fun. I’m going to glue this on the page and then maybe draw around it. It’s just, you don’t have to know why it catches your eye. It’s a little bit like browsing in a store or even browsing. It’s like something makes you stop.

picture of a seashore, you see you’re out on a walk or you’ve gone on vacation and something really struck with you, you know, a blue door. You can draw a blue door. mean, just interesting things like that. think it’s fun to play with and design around. Yes, you don’t always need to come at a blank page. A lot of people have asked me, know, adult coloring books. I’m like, that’s great. There’s, it has, has lines, but you’re choosing the colors and it gets you used to playing. It’s, you’re noticing how you feel.

after you create. You’re trying to just move and tap into that side of you, that playful, curious, creative space.

Julie Hilsen (36:39)
Yeah, what came to me when you’re saying this is, you know, if you have a favorite dress, or like a nightie that doesn’t have this elastic anymore, but you you really loved it. But you, it’s hard to get to me, it’s hard to get rid of things that have memories like a special dinner or an anniversary or something. You could, you could cut it and stick it in your journal. And then you have that memory, but you don’t have it in your closet cluttering your life. And how I love the greeting card idea because yeah, you might recycle on but they’re beautiful.

Susan Hensley (37:02)
Exactly.

Julie Hilsen (37:08)
and we’ve gotten so stark in our decorations.

Susan Hensley (37:11)
We have, no, they are, so I love the idea about a favorite piece of clothing. I mean, really, it’s interesting, because I’ve seen the t-shirt quilts and the different things, but yes, that can be a bigger project than you want or take up more room, but yes, a swatch of something, or yes, if you had a favorite that was logo or design, it is, it’s an interesting way, you know, it gets you,

You can see how it’s sort of like kissing cousin with scrapbooking, but you’re sort of designing around it. And I use it, you know, to sort of lead me forward to capture who I was, where I was. And then, and I love that you brought up channeling and then to just sort of see what’s coming up and why is this coming up.

Julie Hilsen (37:47)
Yes,

It might, you might even be able to tap into past lifetimes. You know, maybe that, that color, like you said, that door, that the blue door, maybe there’s a blue door from a previous life or, you know, we don’t know how all these things come together, but just giving, giving space for that information to come to you and, feed you and, and validate it’s fortifying. It really is.

Susan Hensley (38:01)
Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah. Now I think that’s

a great word. Yeah, I find it can be a way to sort of get into flow and to feel like your guides are with you or at least to look up from being caught in the day. It’s a great presence tool.

Julie Hilsen (38:37)
And yet the episode we recorded yesterday was about the woman who went across the country hugging and we were talking about how our hands connect to our hearts and so when you’re connected to your heart and then you put your pen to paper that’s another avenue. ⁓

Susan Hensley (38:43)
BOOM!

Hmm

Well, that is, that’s lovely. Yeah, I always, one

of the things I suggest in the book and in my trainings is,

few moments if you can of deep breaths before and a couple moments after you’re done where you sort of thank yourself for doing it and be open to what what comes next.

Julie Hilsen (39:13)
Yes, I love it. And we’re coming up on our time. So I want to I want to get to the nitty gritty. And then I want to also talk about your TED talk. You did a TEDx talk about dare to be bad. And so I guess that’s my that’s my call to action is, you know, dare to dare to try and celebrate if it’s really bad. Like who give yourself permission to be bad? How many times do we just

Susan Hensley (39:23)
I’m sure.

Hahaha

Julie Hilsen (39:39)
Do something just to make it ugly. Who cares?

Susan Hensley (39:42)
It’s

interesting that the TEDx and it’s interesting what resonates in some of the comments I’m getting there. We’re always trying to improve. I worked out this morning and I tried to lift heavier and run just a little bit faster, Just to do a little bit more and which is great. And there’s nothing wrong with trying to always improve. It is so…

Julie Hilsen (39:53)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Susan Hensley (40:10)
freeing though when you actually turn it on its head and you’re like I’m gonna spend three to ten minutes to create something that’s that’s bad that is intentionally breaking all the rules that I can look at and it’s funny because very rarely do you look at what is is bad and outside the lines and hate it you’re actually sort of a bit

Julie Hilsen (40:24)
Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley (40:40)
mesmerized by it. It’s really, it’s really interesting. And yeah, people’s reactions to that, that Ted talk this summer have just been really interesting in the liberation. You know, once again, I always joke that not talking about your job, I’m talking about, you know, that right exactly as a parent or a spouse, right? This, this is

Julie Hilsen (40:59)
Yeah, right, right. You don’t want to be bad at work on purpose. It reminds me of that movie Office Space.

Susan Hensley (41:08)
This is like the best kind of bad. It’s that freedom to just see what comes up without that internal critic saying, don’t, don’t, don’t, or go this way, go this way. So it’s sort of a following that’s really, really fun. Thank you. Thank you.

Julie Hilsen (41:26)
Yeah, well congratulations on that. That’s amazing. ⁓

so I want to direct people to your website so they can learn about what you’re offering and explore that. And I just thank you for your time. And was there anything else you wanted to share?

Susan Hensley (41:45)
no, it’s been a joy. It really has. Thank you. And my website’s pretty simple. It’s just susan-hensley.com. There’s a free downloadable PDF. And I don’t send you a bunch of emails. You just need to give me your email and that’s how you get it. But I don’t do a lot. If you’re curious how to get started, books available, know, Art for Your Sanity, anywhere you buy books. And yeah, it’s, I answer any.

Julie Hilsen (41:58)
Mm-hmm.

Susan Hensley (42:08)
comments or questions that come in, but it’s been a really fun tool to go with my my I help people I do a lot of coaching through life transitions and adding some art and play and creativity is so important when we’re going through a art or a big life transition so And when we’re really uncertain finding some things that get us unstuck

Julie Hilsen (42:27)
Oh, it sure is.

Susan Hensley (42:36)
and help us envision a future that we can’t yet even imagine is really great.

Julie Hilsen (42:41)
Right, because when you get down to it, our thoughts and our feelings create our future. So explore what could be and…

Susan Hensley (42:49)
Exactly.

Julie Hilsen (42:52)
every day’s a chance to live the life of your dreams. So that’s, you know, that’s my tagline, go get it, you know, like, play with it, you know, you’re given, like, you know, there’s transitions where you feel this emptiness, but that’s, that’s when you deal with the emptiness and the feeling of loss, what’s left is space to create your next adventure. So it’s freeing you, it’s freeing you.

Susan Hensley (43:12)
Absolutely. It is. It’s

freeing you. It can be both scary, because it’s scary to be free, right? That’s why sometimes an animal doesn’t talk about a horse that won’t leave a corral or something, right? Because you don’t know. And yet, that’s where our next best life is. It’s where we’re being drawn. But sometimes it’s nice to have some tools and some support along the way.

Julie Hilsen (43:38)
Yes, and we’re here to support everyone. So please, you know, lean on us if you’re feeling scared or just try to jump in. You know, I remember whenever I did something hard as a kid, I counted to three, one, two, three, and just do it one, two, three.

Susan Hensley (43:51)
YEAH

Julie Hilsen (43:53)
get into your heart. You know, that’s why I do the intention before my podcast, because I’m freaking scared to go come on here every time. Like, what am I going to say? And who’s going to listen? Is it going to make sense? You know, it’s like, it’s really, really scary. So that’s why I have to go in my heart and trust that, you know, it’s worth jumping off the cliff. Thanks for jumping with me.

Susan Hensley (43:53)
Yeah, that’s true.

Thank

No, that’s wonderful.

my pleasure. It’s wonderful. And thank you again for having me. I really, really enjoyed it.

Julie Hilsen (44:25)
Thank you.