unstuck yourself: an online master class

designed and taught by me!

Regular readers of this newsletter will know that in addition to my work as a writer, in recent years I decided to qualify as a cognitive-behavioural therapist and hypnotherapist. I first became interested in the practice two years ago, during a period of intense personal crisis and upheaval following the end of my marriage.

At the time I was suffering from debilitating anxiety and insomnia. I was deliriously overtired and gripped by the strange sensation my entire being was made of frozen crystal and might shatter with a dramatic “pop!” at anytime. Three sessions of hypnotherapy enabled me to sleep again, and by extension function. It felt magical and mysterious — like a kind of miracle. But it wasn’t.

Hypnosis, I soon discovered through research, study and practice was a skill like any other. Long before I began practicing it therapeutically on clients, I learned how to do it on myself. Since then, self-hypnosis and mindfulness has become a routine part of my everyday life and creative work routine. What I mean is that it enabled me, as a writer, to self-induce and sustain a state of creative flow.

Creative flow is a productive, unselfconscious state of play. It’s the “zone” all writers and creators are constantly seeking; the exhilarating moment in which everything else falls away and creative muscle memory and instinct takes over. Sentences and paragraphs materialise on the page. Characters seem to speak without puppetry and ideas form without self-conscious reasoning. The work feels easy and obvious, like a puzzle coming together of its own accord. There is a sense of “allowing,” rather than “trying.” We love this state because it is both pleasurable and productive and also because it produces our best work.

Flow states are hardly distinct to writers. If you’ve ever watched a professional athlete score a spectacular goal, you are witnessing a flow state in action. Flow states are largely born of practice but just like athletes, creators can sometimes “choke,” lose their way and get stuck in a rut.

When flow states elude us, self-doubt and anxiety creep in. We struggle to work and feel relaxed and content in daily life. Restlessness takes over and we fall into habitual patterns of diminished confidence and self-doubt, second-guessing our own best instincts. We fall into unhealthy habits to soothe our unease, become plagued by irrational fears and subject our work and ourselves to unnecessary judgement and scathing internal criticism, often without even being fully conscious of the negative thought patterns that are crippling our progress. Call it writer’s block, procrastination, depression, anxiety or low self-esteem, it’s all of a piece.

Our life is composed greatly from dreams, from the unconscious, and they must be brought into connection with action. They must be woven together.

— Anaïs Nin

In the world of professional athletics, performance is big business. Professional coaches, who know what actually works, have long employed hypnotherapy, self-hypnosis, mindfulness and visualisation techniques to produce the desired results in their players. Amateur athletes employ similar techniques when preparing for a race or event. They invest time and money preparing themselves mentally as well as physically to achieve their desired goal.

But creative work is more nebulous, subjective and emotional. There is no clear finish line or “personal best” we are gunning for, beyond doing the work and making it as good as it can possibly be. As a result, when artists and creators choke, we often blame ourselves instead of taking control of the situation with the tools that are readily available to us.

Many of us start and abandon projects. We procrastinate and wait passively for “the muse” to reappear or for “inspiration to strike” and lift us out of our creative funk. But there is no muse. And doesn’t have to be this way, I promise you.

If you or someone you love is stuck in creative rut, there are many well-evidenced and proven ways to identify and alter the negative thought, feeling and behaviour patterns that are preventing you from finishing what you started. This course is designed to help you learn how to find your way back to creative flow by gaining a better understanding of how your own mind works. The tools it provides are ones you can take into all aspects of your life. It’s simple, effective and research-based. And above all: it will be fun.

So if you are stuck and restless, unable to knuckle down, languishing in self-doubt or haunted by an unfinished project, why not consider signing up? (Info below.)

Or better yet, as a Christmas present, sign up loved one to show them you believe in their talent. (I will make a personal video message to all gift recipients just to sweeten the moment.)

The course is online and open to anyone, you can take it remotely from anywhere, there are no set times or mandatory course work. For more detailed information see below.

Note: This is not a creative writing workshop! It’s both simpler and more profound than that. The fact is, if you’re struggling to write and/or create in the first place, even a private mentorship with Margaret Atwood isn’t going to help you. Lots of us start novels, memoirs, essays, Substacks and other projects, sign up for countless writing courses, and still can’t bring themselves to sit down and do the work to bring them to fruition. What’s holds us back? How can we get past self-sabotage, effectively once and for all, and focus on the creative work at hand? I will give you the tools.

Remember: The obstacles that prevent us from accomplishing our creative goals are the same ones that hold us back from everything we want to do in life.

The centre that I cannot find is known to my unconscious mind.

— W.H. Auden

Unlocking Your Creative Unconscious with Leah McLaren

basic info:

The online course runs for one hour daily over seven days from Jan 19th — 26th

Price: £250 or $300 USD.

Places are capped at 16 (three already taken).

To book: email me at leahkmclaren@gmail.com.

I take payment by PayPal, or email bank transfer. First come first served.

PLEASE NOTE: The course is online and asynchronous. There are no mandatory set times or work requirements. All enrolees are encouraged to complete the exercises and receive feedback from me during the course, but it is not mandatory. You can participate daily or choose to lurk and learn. The course is designed to be useful for those who simply want to understand the basics of self-hypnosis and cognitive behavioural techniques for combating self-doubt, stimulating creativity and improving inspiration and general well-being. All the materials are accessible after the course ends, so if you are busy during the duration of the course, you can still ‘take’ it later and access the material at your leisure. Log on and participate whenever your schedule allows.

how it works:

For one hour each day from Jan 19th to 26th at 2 pm GMT (9 am EST) I will log on live for one hour and teach a “lesson” on the topic of the day, after which I’ll lead the class through a 20 minute guided group hypnosis session (both will be available for all enrolees to access later via video and audio download for future use). There will be daily class discussions and each day I’ll also assign an exercise you can employ and test out in daily life. There will also be live Q&As with high-profile guests (experts in the field of creative coaching) as well as more optional “assignments” you can choose to complete or ignore.

All course materials are evidence-based. No mystical spiritual journeys, ancestor appearances or hallucinogens involved, I’m afraid. As per my training, which you can read more about on my website, I’ll be using a mixture of cognitive-behaviour therapy, hypnotherapy, creative-coaching and mindfulness techniques, as well as hands-on editing for those who desire editorial feedback.

If you really want to take the course but cost is an issue, email me and we can discuss. I have reserved two discounted places for students and people on low incomes.

I cannot tell you how gratifying putting together this programme has been for me, both as a writer, editor and a therapist. Warning: I get pretty emotionally invested in the progress of the folks I work with, so be prepared for both laughter and tears (mine). My method is simple and it works — I know because I’ve seen the results.

My hope is that a natural byproduct of this course will be community, during the course itself, as read and comment on their drafts, and, often, afterwards, as people form relationships that extend past the life of the course.

The only thing I’m not psyched about is the marketing aspect of running a course. So if you like the idea and enjoy my work, please do help me spread the word by pressing the button below, I’d be most grateful.