Awakening Creatives

The future is full of rainbows.

If you know anyone who is:
- gender expansive
- over 18
- a parent of caregiver of someone under 18
- has parented or pursued parts of their fertility/gestational journey in a US state with restrictive LGBTQ+ laws..
They may qualify for participation in a co-research collective exploring gender expansive parent and caregivers practices of worldmaking. Please refer them to my last post!

I’m writing to share an invitation to participate in a doctoral research study exploring the lived experiences of gender expansive parents and caregivers, including transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-diverse people, who are raising or caring for children.

The study, “Gender-Expansive Worldmaking in Webs of Relationship: Co-Creating Intergenerational Q***r Flourishing,” explores how amid oppressive circumstances gender expansive parents and caregivers cultivate intergenerational flourishing through care, belonging, and imaginative worldbuilding practices within their web of relationships that extends beyond the human world to include land, plants, animals and spiritual relationships.

Participation may include:
- 30-minute intake call
- Optional asynchronous review of discussion prompts (~30 minutes)
- A 2-hour online opening circle to build connection and share stories
- A 2-hour co-dreaming and co-creation circle to express experiences through art, imagination, or conversation
- Optional one-on-one interviews (about 60 minutes)
- Optional collective analysis to interpret and make meaning together

All participation is voluntary, flexible, and confidential. This research is being conducted by Liberty Gonzalez (they/them), a doctoral candidate at Pacifica Graduate Institute in the Depth Psychology program's Community, Liberation, Indigenous and Ecopsychologies Specialization.

If you or members of your community might be interested in participating, please feel free to share this invitation or direct them to contact me for full details and the brief screening survey.

Thank you for supporting this work toward collective flourishing.

Warmly,

Liberty Gonzalez (they/them)
Doctoral Candidate, Pacifica Graduate Institute
[email protected]

Awakening Creatives is in a season of meaningful transformation, and we’re excited to share what's evolving.

Over the past few years, our work has been growing branches: empowering leaders to embody living systems wisdom for cultural transformation and equitable relationships in their organizations and communities. As part of this evolution, we’re preparing to introduce a new branch of our practice: Woven Grove Consulting. A formal launch will unfold in the coming weeks.

While the full reveal is still ahead, today we’re celebrating the return of Awakening Creatives to the creativity-focused foundations of our work. Awakening Creatives was originally conceived in 2014 as a fertile homeplace to cultivate visionary, imaginal and embodied wisdom of our innate collective creativity. Basically, Awakening Creatives imagines a world where our collective creativity is awakened in service to better lives for all of earth's beings.

Along the way, the Covid-19 pandemic created an opportunity for q***r and BIPOC artists from around the world to visually dream about what "Liberatory Care" means to them in their respective communities and experience. Five years later, we are releasing a 2nd Edition of the coloring book to celebrate the homecoming of Awakening Creatives to its creative roots.

So, the Liberatory Care Coloring Book is officially relaunched.

This project has always held a special role in our ecosystem — an accessible tool that supports reflection, grounding, and creative regulation during times of change. It’s a resource designed for leaders, teams & individuals navigating complexity and looking for ways to cultivate steadiness and imagination.

Whether used in leadership development, retreats, wellness initiatives, or personal practice, the coloring book offers a simple but powerful invitation: to pause, reflect, and reconnect to the kind of care that sets us free.

Support the artists and give a meaningful gift this winter. Explore the coloring book at the 🔗👆🏻

Thank you to our community and partners who have been part of this work as it grows and we look forward to sharing more about Woven Grove Consulting in the coming season.

I cannot tell you how honored I am to be able to offer an ecstatic dance DJ set at least one more time before having baby #2 and then moving back to the West coast 😭. DJ Mad Libz gets one last spin!

This is a special opportunity to move into the dream space with others in this ecstatic dance set crafted for the dreamers. If you need to dance through some winter sludge, shake the collective madness and connect to hope and possibility, this set is for you.
..And at the beautiful space at we will be well held. Come and dance, y'all! No experience required.

Saturday, March 8th
More deets in the pics

In my transition away from Meta, I am creating a new space to respond to the very real need for community support and connection, as well as structured spaces to get motivated and take action. We do NOT have to do this alone.

There are a million dysregulating distractions in today's chaotic world and Mondays can be especially disorienting after the weekend change of pace. Having a supportive start to the week can be the difference between celebrating and spinning out. For those of us leading change, the world demands more, work seemingly never stops, and burnout is always lurking at the edges.

But what if we could start the week rooted, calm and clear? What if there was a place to support our work getting off on the right foot?

✨ Mindful Monday Motivation is a virtual space on Zoom to ground, reflect, and step into the week with clarity and intention.

Whether you're a:
🌿 Leader balancing purpose with exhaustion
🌿 Creative visionary struggling to find focus
🌿 Movement builder needing a moment of clarity
🌿 Neurodivergent thinker looking for structure...

This space is for you.

What to Expect:
✔️Mindful space to drop-in and realign
✔️Guided reflection to center your intentions for the week
✔️ Silent co-working time to move into mindful action
✔️ A community of people who get it
​
Because leadership shouldn’t be lonely. And support shouldn’t feel like a transaction.

📍 Get your tickets now & join us for your first session free with code CLEAR.

Let’s start the week rooted, intentional, and together.

https://www.awakeningcreatives.com/mindful-monday-motivation

***Divesting from Meta - Pinned Post***

Like many of my friends and colleagues over the last few months, I am in the process of divesting from technologies, platforms and businesses that deny the existence and agency of the most marginalized. That includes institutions that have uplifted the current federal regime in this country.

Although I am not planning to leave Meta completely and permanently yet, I am beginning my significant divestment, namely revoking my attention, my energy and power from the grips of the addictive scroll troll, the all-go-rhythm.

This dysregulating force has messed with my most sacred rhythms long enough and nothing is more important right now than protecting and savoring our powerful creative forces. Our genius is needed to be fully engaged in our communities and relationships at this time.

I am elated to be returning my attention to what matters the most.
This means that I will be posting less and less on the platforms that are the biggest energy suck and least aligned with my values. I'll be carefully consuming news and connecting with real humans at a manageable pace.

It also means that for now my Meta accounts (Facebook, Threads, Instagram) will remain archives and bulletin boards for where to find the emergent aliveness coming through me and my projects, , , etc.

It does NOT mean that I want to abandon my meaningful relationships I have nurtured here, and I intend and hope to stay connected in other ways. This post will contain the various ways that you can find me and we can continue to go EVEN DEEPER in more conducive spaces.

Although the mass divestment from Meta in particular raises concerns about the future of our relational fabric, I am starting to see this movement as a very positive move back towards relational wellbeing.

This is a psychospiritual frontline that is bringing me a lot of hope in these times. The best is yet to come, y'all!

The newest and most exciting place to connect face-to-face from anywhere on is through my new offering: Mindful Monday Motivation, a weekly community co-working space to get centered and clear for the week ahead. I am stoked to offer a regular space (with sub or parental sabbatical TBA in May) where community can come together, drop in and get focused for the important work we have ahead of us, namely, rooting back into our creative aliveness.

Learn more here: https://www.awakeningcreatives.com/mindful-monday-motivation

Other places to find me:

Join my newsletter: https://www.awakeningcreatives.com/Journal: https://www.awakeningcreatives.com/journal Let's connect on

LinkedIn! https://www.linkedin.com/company/awakening-creatives

Substack: The Liminal Space (Pronouns: Us/Them) https://awakeningcreatives.substack.com/

Bluesky (experimental mode): .bsky.social

You may see a few straggling posts and engagement from me here as I work to transition my connections to other places and I transfer my data elsewhere. It's been an interesting nearly 15+ years, Facebook 👋

~ May all beings be free to create ~

Liberty Gonzalez (They/Them) M.A.
Coach, Consultant & Facilitator for Community Liberation at Awakening Creatives

I am beginning the divestment from the Metaverse. This Substack explains a bit, but there is more to come. Moreso, this Substack article asks us all to dig those roots deep in these chaotic times and reflect on:

"What is keeping me here?"
Here on earth.
Here in my body.
Here in my liberatory work.
Here on social media.

What are the most sacred values that keep us rooted in times of the chaotic storms of change?

Is it a ritual, a person or an ancestral practice?
Is it the trees, the birds, the sounds of water trickling?
Is it the vision of a more wonderful world?

What is keeping you rooted as this world moves through a liminal space into what's next?

My posts on this platform are about to wane as I shift my energy and attention to what really matters to me... writing, music, my babes and fur babes, serving my community.

NOTHING is more important than reclaiming our energy, attention, and ALIVENESS in these times.

I want to stay connected, so stay tuned for a few more posts about how to do that.

I will not be deleting my Meta accounts for a long time, but they will not be places to connect with the emergent aliveness blossoming from Awakening Creatives. They will be archives and bulletin boards for where to tap in to go deep.

See you on Substack, my blog and newsletter, and a few select platforms where we can really do the damn thing together, folks!

Read the Substack Article: https://open.substack.com/pub/awakeningcreatives/p/re-rooting-in-the-storm?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2oyco7

The winds of change are howling. From political shifts to global crises, from movements for justice to the ever-evolving demands of leadership, we are in a time of deep uncertainty and intensity.

In moments like these, it’s easy to be pulled in every direction. We are tempted to react, to pivot, to question what’s next. But real leadership, real impact, doesn’t come from chasing every storm. It comes from staying rooted in who we are at the core.

When working with organizations, I often invite the wisdom of nature to guide our visioning and big decisions:

🌱 The roots - our values, histories, and the interconnected relationships that sustain us.
🌳 The trunk - the tools, skills, structures and systems that uphold our vision, no matter what name or strategy we give it.
🍃 The branches and fruit - the directions we reach, the impact we cultivate, the work that emerges, and the legacy we leave behind.

No matter which way the wind is blowing, our roots remain. Whether we are calling the work DEI, liberation, leadership transformation, or organizational resilience, the values of compassionate connection, fairness, humanity, and community support are what nourish us.

This is the work I do: helping leaders and organizations stay connected to those roots, work them into the trunk, and nurture their fruits even in turbulent times.

Because this is not just a moment to react... it’s a moment to lead. To build structures that hold us steady. To ensure that what we grow today will sustain us for the long road ahead.

So I ask you: what’s in your leadership trunk? What structures are keeping you, your team, and your work deeply connected to what truly matters?

🫘🌱🌿 How are YOU cultivating rooted liberatory leadership in these times? 🌳🌼🍎

If you’re navigating these questions, let’s connect. This is the work I do, and I’d love to be in conversation with you.

I am a consultant, coach and educator supporting leaders and communities to cultivate cultures of flourishing. If this post speaks to you, reach out or follow me for more.

Over the past week, I have received a number of messages asking me about how to navigate the world as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community. I love to see it, and it does give me hope. These questions are so important AND so needed, because there are definitely ways that one can act on good intentions and accidentally cause more stress and harm to folks right now who are dealing with an onslaught from many different directions.

As of right now, all of my low-cost sliding scale coaching spots for q***r folks are full. If you are an endeavoring ally and need a 1-on-1 or group session for yourself or your organization around LGBTQ+ allyship in light of recent events, I am offering special pay-it-forward sessions through the month of February. One third of every booking will go to expand low-cost coaching access for a q***r person this spring. Be it coaching, training, or consulting, we can find the best way to support you and the q***r folks that you serve.

I would LOVE to see at least 5 allies commit to this focused education and strategy support for you or your team. This is a critical all hands on deck moment to keep q***r practitioners and allies serving the q***r community to the best of our ability.

DM me or drop your interest below 👇🏼 Feel free to share or just show this post some love because the all-go-rhythm may keep it from circulating.

This is quite a time to be a DEI practitioner. One big takeaway I have from the training I facilitated today focused on having "Difficult Conversations" is that when we are dysregulated, we react from fear and contraction. When we learn to regulate our nervous systems, even amid very dysregulating circumstances, we can access more of our creativity and in turn, possibility.

In these upsetting times, we must remember that we have more power than we often acknowledge. When we stay rooted and connected to our communities of support, we get to choose how to use our power creatively to co-create the world we want to live in.

While the recent executive orders feel like a direct attack on the progress we’ve made & have immediate affects on people's lives, let’s remember that our power doesn’t come from policies alone—it comes from our collective commitment to equity, justice & belonging. Yes, these orders are upsetting, but they are also a call to action—a reminder that change is not linear, and resistance has always been part of the struggle for liberation.

We can respond by doubling down on our values, staying grounded in our purpose & finding innovative ways to continue this work. Let’s get curious: How can we amplify our impact despite these obstacles? How can we build stronger communities & networks of care to ensure that no one feels isolated in this fight?

Unfortunately, it is a hostile environment for DEI work, but it IS an opportunity to strengthen the research, make better cases for initiatives and to work them into the fabric of our organizational cultures, rather than residing only in departments or positions that can be eliminated at the swipe of a pen.

This is a moment to come together, regulate, and reclaim our creativity, not just to resist but to reimagine. The systems we are building can outlast temporary setbacks because they are rooted in a vision of collective flourishing. Let's move forward with courage, care, & conviction, knowing that no executive order can take away the power we hold when we act together.

In the widespread trend of leaving social media platforms that no longer align with our values (or because of government control) Awakening Creatives has left X. Not much of a loss, as we stopped posting there in 2020, but it's making us reflect deeply today on the other misaligned platforms, such as this one you're reading on now (see image #2).

Although M3T@ is headed in a direction that is misaligned with our commitment to protecting and serving the q***r community and condemn the anti-LGBTQ+ policy and algorithmic changes that deprioritize marginalized voices, we also have cultivated community here, a central value to the mission of Awakening Creatives. We are torn, and have not made a final decision about what to do.

This is an example of a values conflict that we support our clients through frequently. Embodying our values is not always a cut and dry process. Sometimes it requires careful research, weighing of risks and benefits, and at the end, unfortunately, we often compromise with oppressive systems and institutions in order to reach the people who need us most.

How have you been affected by the social media platforms changes recently?

This one is for all my worriers out there. The other day, I found myself spiraling...

I was sitting in the bath, overwhelmed by the weight of all the things:

- A cold that wouldn’t quit
- A toddler on illness number four in 2 months
- Pregnancy exhaustion
- A snowstorm raging outside
- Trying to organize a massive move
- And to top it all off: the house was still a post-holiday disaster—ornaments and menorahs out, toys everywhere.

My ADHD brain was screaming: “Fix it! Clean it! Put it all together NOW!” Because of course, it’s the New Year, and despite all the unlearning, I still fall victim to narratives of "starting the year strong."

Capitalist, colonial garbage, right?

Then, in a rare moment of pause, I asked myself: “Why am I worrying about that?”

The question was simple, but it stopped me. I tried turning it into an acronym (WAYWAT), but my neurodivergent brain was like, nope. Then I flipped it:

W-A-T-W-A-Y.

“Worry About That, Why Are You?”

It sounded like Yoda, and I laughed. But it was also a powerful self-coaching moment—a curious, compassionate way to pause, challenge my anxieties & redirect my focus:

What way can I move towards more ease?
What way can I lower my stress?
What way can I redirect myself toward health, joy, and flourishing?

In that moment, I realized the most important thing wasn’t the ornaments, the toys, or some arbitrary expectation of “togetherness.” What mattered most was holding space for myself in chaos, resisting perfectionism, & choosing what truly matters: ease, health, joy & flourishing.

This little Yoda wisdom has kept me grounded and has joined my self-coaching toolbox. Self-coaching is a powerful practice that I teach in my coaching & consulting work. Whether you’re a DEI leader, a business owner, or a parent juggling a thousand responsibilities, the world will constantly pull you in many directions. Ultimately, your attention is up to you, but sometimes we need the inner coach (or Jedi) to come online:

Worry about that, why are you? What way can you move forward with more ease & clarity?

Sometimes, all it takes is a little Yoda wisdom to remind us: we don’t have to carry the weight of everything.