You deserve to be wildly creative, to look out your window and dream.
You have everything you need inside of you to bring your visions to life.
You know the words you need to hear and the feelings you need to feel.
You might be looking out that window, wondering where the answers are and who will give them to you.
Close your eyes. Look through those windows inward.
In your soul, in the inner sanctuary, in the center of your being, is there a still quiet place?
Direct your focus inwards, take all this energy you feel and guide it upwards.
Offer it all up to god. What is god? Maybe if you focus inwards and upwards you’ll know for yourself.
when you feel rushed to succeed
At first, I pushed myself. I challenged myself to write songs, to perform despite my fear and the resistance of getting started. I pushed myself to step into new places and to behave like a different person, a different version of myself, a bigger version of myself, a version of myself who can sit on the mainstage at the Gorge before thousands of people and sing freely, commanding attention and moving energy. I transformed myself through the images I saw in my imagination that I decided to view again and again, and figure out how to live into. I pushed myself to step onto the stage.
Then I took a break. I paused to turn inward, to go into a cave and do the work. I had create a vision of who I wanted to become and realized that I already am that person. The only difference between where I am now and where I am in my imagination (or the future) is the work that I must do. So for hours a day, four hours a day, I do the work. I sit alone but I’m not alone. I have music instruments and feelings, ideas sparking in the front of my head and rhythms in my body that know will ripple through a crowd one day soon. I work with focus and patience until the day when I will step onto a stage again. I will wait until I am called on stage. I will wait until my presence is requested by the audience and then I will deliver.
Then they pushed. Messages started coming in. People nodded at me at parties. I heard the word “should” too much. You should put out an album. You should be a professional singer. You should totally perform at this venue. You should totally cover this song. You should.” Frantically, I worked to keep up, telling everyone, I’m going as fast as I can. It’s be out soon. I’m planning on it. That’s a good idea, I’m already doing it. I’ll try it. And then one night in the kitchen, someone said should and I said, “Do not rush me!”
Now, I set the speed. It’s 6am and I’m in my studio about to start producing. I have production deadlines on my calendar, and they’re flexible. I’m not afraid of performing anymore and I’m not push-roundable anymore. I will perform when I want to. I push myself to face new challenges that scare me but now because I must prove something but rather because I desire growth. I step outside my comfort zone, not to escape but to explore. I create not for some special reason but for some simple reason.
No music industry big boys will scare me into signing myself away. No algorithm will convince me I’m not good enough. No blue lights will steal my sleep and no doubts will steal my dreams. This is the path I have chosen and I choose to enjoy my journey. I travel at my own speed; I stop to smell the roses and I sprint to see the sunrise.
❤ CHA
when you need to dream bigger, dream better
Space and time has us trapped by its laws and we have the option of moving through this reality in a spirit of expansion, aiming higher, growing ourselves ever larger until we are all encompassing and capable of entering into our dreamscape, ambulating through as humanoid giants above a galactic countryside. If we can dream it, we can somehow do it, apparently. Our dreams must exist out there somewhere. So it becomes a journey of discovering the path to that hidden pocket of the universe whence the dream called us. Think quantum Dr. Strange style shit… a dream could be a spot in the universe, sending it’s signal into our brain and then we are pulled to go find it and experience the imagined inside the present. Could we dream any bigger than this?
What are you dreaming? Quitting your job, running away to live in a pink VW van and watching sunsets on an exotic beach i your perfect body? Yes please. How about walking onto a big stage, spotlights shine in your face and the crowd cheers as you drop the sick beats. Yep. Those are pretty big dreams…how do we go even bigger? Should we go bigger? Is there bigger? I could colonize Antarctica or cure cancer or become a teenage mutant ninja turtle. But I don’t care about those dreams.Don’t go big for the sake of going big. It’s better to take what we love and explode it with dream steroids.
I love to paint human size sunsets in my garage. → BIGGER → I will paint on larger canvases. → BIGGER → I will own my own art studio. → BIGGER → I will hang my paintings in a national museum. → BIGGER → I will sell my paintings at big art auctions. → BIGGER → I will paint artwork that is studied in universities. → BIGGER → I will inspire young girls to paint and be artists when they grow up. → BIGGER → I will lead artist retreats that fund a foundation or scholarship for girls’ art education. → BIGGER → I will be a spokesperson for the value of art and increase art funding in public schools. → BIGGER → I will retire my family with the money I earn from the paintings I sell. → BIGGER → My art will be elected as a representative of the human race when we send our cool shit out on the exploration rockets or whatever the fuck. → BIGGER → I will pick up a Guinness world record for painting an art collection under the ocean… I could go on forever with these ridiculously creative and yet somehow obtainable ideas.
As I make the list, my imagination is sparked. How fun to think outside of the box! But quickly, the game loses its appeal. Bigger doesn’t mean better. Most of those things I listed sound cool on paper but I seriously doubt if I would actually have the desire the follow through on the epic amounts of work required to paint under the ocean or the stomach to handle the highbrow critic-full art industry. It’s easy to dream so big up there in your head that you lose the pulse of your own heart, beating in your chest for the most simple of reasons, the most simple of dreams. I paint because it makes me happy. I love colors. I love being surprised by what comes out on the canvas and the joy of staring at the designs for hours after, the conversations that spark when people stand beside me and together we gaze on the art that came through me. It’s the same with the music I create. I love the music itself and I don’t care anymore where it goes or what it does with its life. Just as if the music were my children. I love them because I love them. It was pure pleasure and honor (and a fuck ton of hard work that made me feel even more committed to the loving of them) to give birth to them, raise them and send them off in the world. I don’t care what my kids do, I just want them to be happy. I don’t care what my art accomplishes, I just want it to be in the presence of happiness, being enjoyed by myself and by others. That can happen anywhere people know how to slow down and be.
The world is changed in the real life present moment. Only in our vague ass imagination do these dreams take up so much space that they actual convince us that our actions will wash over the world like a tidal wave that transforms everything. Not so. Even the pandemic pulses of politics and climate don’t rattle the steadiness of time and space and how they are still just right here and now, equanimous, unruffled by the waves of changing details crossing through the environment of human consciousness.
I drop acid and boom, I’m right here and now again. I look at my cat and she’s like “Hello, I’ve been waiting for you to chill the fuck out and join me here in the present moment again.” I meditate for ten minutes and squirm around uncomfortable and impatient and then around 15 minutes suddenly boom, I’m back in the present moment and my body, just like the cat, raises its eyebrows as if to say, “Took you long enough. Why do you keep leaving?” Whatever dreams materialize in this lifetime, you’re going to experience them in the present moment. You’re going to be standing on that big stage with the spotlights and you’re going to look down and see your piano, the same one that usually in your garage. You’re going to feel like you need to crack your back or you’ll be annoyed that your tongue is burned because you drank too-hot tea before you walked on stage. When you get to that dream moment, it’s going to be the real moment and if you know how to live in the present moment, then it will be magical…equally as magical as every other moment; no more and no less.
So we can dream and we can dream bigger just in the same way we can climb a mountain and get excited about which mountain we’ll climb next BUT the best and biggest dream of all is that we get to live fully along the way. Live in this present moment as you climb your mountain to your dream summits, take every step with loving care and you’ll build that mountain with love from the ground up. I want to stand on top of a mountain made of love, not a pile of shit and stress. When you dream your big dreams, pay attention to the little details of how you will live in that moment of reality.
I dream of performing at The Gorge Amphitheater (it’s my favorite dream and I visualize it as a reference for every song I create). How do I dream bigger here? I don’t need to dream of a stage that is bigger than the Gorge. That won’t make me happy. I want to play the Gorge. End of story. I dream BIGGER by dreaming better. Before I walk on stage, I have the most enriching meditation session overlooking the Gorge. I melt a piece of chocolate in my mouth and my senses light up and I feel so excited. I see all of my friends in the audience. I am on stage with people I LOVE playing music with. I feel confident to try out something new so I feel nervous and excited. I gave away some free tickets to girls who dream of being artists one day. I have my paintings on the stage behind me and on all the merch… oou my paintings could be printed on fabric and floating above the stage in the wind. That looks Gorgeous in my imagination. This is fun thinking this way. This is a much better use of my imagination than pushing myself to be in some national museum or breaking into that museum as a ninja turtle. Simply dreaming “big” might distract you because who decides what counts as “bigger” anyway? Dream better by dreaming bigger life into your dream. Stick with your original dream and fill that dream with bigger intention, bigger mindfulness, bigger heart, bigger love, so you can be more present in every moment on this journey start to finish. Bigger presence is the only thing that’s going to fulfill your hungry spirit, my love. LOVE ❤ CHA
when aliens are watching, represent humanity
If you want to explore your spirit wilderness you have to follow the signs you feel inside rather than the signs someone else stuck in the ground outside around you.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher. I dreamed of being a ballerina, a marine biologist and a fashion designer. I thought about being a gynecologist and I talked about being a diplomat. I trained to be a spiritual leader. I became a photography business woman. I realized I’m an artist. I’ve always been a writer, a singer, a painter, a dancer, a photographer, a storyteller, a girl who likes to play outside and help other women and build deep spiritual community. It’s taken me thirty years to see this pathway that I’ve walked down. Nothing was linear or planned and yet everything is tied together. Since high school, I’ve had one clear intention. Do what feels most exciting. This approach ensures that I’m excited about whatever I’m doing every step of the way and that the destination will reveal itself naturally based on the stepping stones we trusted.
”Chamonix keeps changing jobs!” said one of my mom’s friends once. Up popped a bunch of self-doubt after hearing that. She was right. How could I build a steady growing career if I kept switching around. My mom was a champion for me and defended that everything I did was connected by common themes and every step built upon the previous one. Thanks mom. However you’re living, that’s how you’re doing it. There are over 7 billion different ways to live a human life. When you realize the freedom in this, you’re going to have so much fun sculpting the lifestyle that makes you feel most alive. We are not role models for each other copy. We are inspiration for each other to keep doing our own thing. I want to see you do your own thing because that gives me permission, confidence, excitement to do my own thing too.
Imagine a high school friend group, a cliche in which every person is the same. Little clones of each other. It’s boring as fuck looking at them (apart from the gawking factor). Imagine the best friend TV shows of all time like Friends, The Big Bang Theory and New Girl…we freaking love watching friend groups that have extreme diversity. We love identifying with one character in particular and watching how drastically different personalities can be friends and live together. I’m not alone in day-dreaming of living a life like I’ve seen on these TV shows and I’ve gone out of my way to manifest it for myself. I currently live in a house with 5 adults and we’re crushin’ the diversity game and it feels wonderful. This is so attractive to use because we’re hardwired for community. We are tribal creatures who survive and thrive on a living in community with diversity. We need many people around us who specialize in different jobs and bring different energy to the table. I need my husband around for his big muscle protection and solid logical problem solving mind. I need bestie around for her mama-bear cuddle me, wipe my tears away and slap me in the ass to get shit done vibe. I need my gay best friend around for his constant uplifting mindful energy that keeps our house living positively, intentionally improving our spiritual and social connection. I need my brother for his chill don’t worry about it attitude and his mechanical skills for fixing everything. I could go on forever with these friend descriptions because they’re so fun and I recommend you do the same for your friends.
Make sure you’re a part of a diverse community and that you’re making life decisions that are exciting and fueling LIFE and not death. Your life is composed of days. How you spend your days is how you spend your life. Are you feeling excited to wake up in the morning? Do you feel deeply rooted in your spiritual practice? Do you even have one? Do you even know where to start? I can help you if you’re feeling lost here. Just message me. Do you feel alive in your creative projects and are you satisfied with your progress? Do you love what you see when you look in the mirror? Do you love how it feels when you walk into the doors of your home or work? Ask these questions about every detail of your life. Do you feel good when you open the refrigerator? How about your toothbrush? Do you enjoy brushing with it? Would you have more fun brushing your teeth if you had a different color toothbrush? Seriously. Comb through your life and up your game in every department so every moment has the potential to be enjoyed and more alive. Even if you’re sitting in the hospital waiting room waiting for terribly scary life changing results….can you sit up straighter so your body is more comfortable and not cramping? Can you eat your snack more slowly and savor the taste with gratitude? Can you put your earplugs in and listen to your favorite music or podcast instead of putting up with the less-than-awesome radio playing on the office speakers? Up your life, my love. You deserve this, like we all do.
Humans…we don’t get to choose to be born and to be here. We’re just fucking here. Everyday, still here. If you continue to choose to be here with us, let’s make it as fucking great as possible. Make it better for yourself and the light inside you is going to shine brighter for those around you and they’re going to have a better time too. And then when some aliens look down at our planet and see our human race they’ll see these beautiful bright shiny lights of souls having a good time loving and creating each other. We are legitimately a part of this universe and we can represent ourselves well to the rest of the galaxies. Like, seriously, let’s wave our human flag with pride and self respect and love. We have no idea who is watching and if someone’s watching then we have so much potential to shine bright and inspire them and show them how fucking beautiful humans are. When we are at our best, as a tribe we are beautiful and though I don’t support envy, I dare say we’re rather enviable for what we have as happy humans full of love and joy. Okay, enough for today. LOVE Cha