Ep. 78 How Getting in Touch With Your Creativity Can Lead to Positive Change with Laura Gurney

This week I interview one of my students, Laura Gurney about her journey when she joined my course, Awaken the Creatrix and how it transformed her life. We discuss how taking part in the walking and writing process helped her get back in touch with what she really wants to do, the changes she’s made to her life and the amazing things that have happened since she took time out to really connect with nature and her true purpose.   Episode Highlights: (02:08) Laura’s background (03:12) Laura’s experience on the Awaken the Creatrix course (05:46) It’s been a therapeutic space (06:47) Often when we walk in nature we’re not mindful (08:10) If I had known writing would affect me like this I would have done it years ago (09:01) Having you guide us is amazing (09:37) We’re on a wider mission but in this safe circle   Connect with Claire:  To find out more about the six-week online Awaken the Creatrix course that starts in September go to  https://creatrixjourney.com/online-course-in-creative-writing/   To learn more about our in-person walking and writing retreats In July and October go to https://creatrixjourney.com/walk-and-write-retreat/   Get your free creative writing guide here: https://creatrixjourney.com/free-writing-guide/    Email: [email protected]      To find out about 1:1 content coaching go to:  www.clairewinter.info   Free Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/crackingcontent/   Website: https://clairewinter.info/   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clairewinteruk  About Laura Gurney: I have literally never aspired to be a ‘marketer’ and yet, here I am, a ‘Digital Marketer’ working with organic and affiliate marketing on social media! I have worked for 30 years between academia and marketing, both paid and self-employed, specialising in the visual arts, working behind the scenes for Simon Gillespie of ‘Fake or Fortune’ & ‘Britain’s Lost Masterpieces’ fame; teaching anthropology of art at Leeds Uni, researching contemporary arts practice in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, working to support artists exhibit their work in the UK and now feel really happy as a ‘people person’, helping others to make connections. I love doing this work; especially when I can help a business I truly believe in to attract new clients; I have a few strategies that I think are unique on social media, that are ultimately rooted in old-fashioned networking. If it hadn’t been for Lockdown, I am not sure I would have taken the Zoom networking so far, and I probably would have missed this writing course. I am also keen to work with women; women trying to fit so much into their lives and creating businesses from their dreams; this is where I can now make a real difference.  I always wanted to be a writer when I was a child. I created endless characters and fictitious stories about astral travel and soul journeys. I was obsessed, I wrote poetry, won awards, had a vision of writing that gradually faded as I became tired from my day jobs and my writing moved into purely academia or publicity material.  One of my life loves is Buddhism and more recently Taoism, Tai Chi and Qi Gong and whilst my teacher has been keen for me to get my class up and running, I have been reluctant to start until Claire’s writing course aligned me with the natural elements in such a mindful way, that It became startlingly obvious that I needed to ground myself and connect my energy with the heavens and get writing. I have become unstuck, following her structure and guidelines I am full again of the writing dreams that I had as a child. And more than that, I have established a new Qi Gong class which is devoted to healing, harnessing the power of the elements; we have been running for 2 months now and are growing steadily. Its odd the way a writing course helped to pull me further into alignment, and therefore my life and hopefully others through my qi gong class, but it has. Putting my conscious awareness deeply into the elements and writing about them opened something new up; or rather, something that was hidden/ buried. I hope to continue writing and expanding in this way!