It's Always Been More Than Creativity

What if spirituality isn't another self-improvement project? We live in a culture that tells us there's always something to fix, optimize, or improve about ourselves. But what if spirituality isn't about becoming a better version of yourself? What if it's about remembering who you've always been? In this episode, I explore why spirituality and self-improvement are not the same thing, how hustle culture has quietly shaped modern spiritual practice, and why my own journey has felt less like optimizing myself and more like remembering and reconnecting to my original nature. In this episode: • 0:37 — Why self-improvement and spirituality are not the same project • 2:14 — Why spirituality feels expansive while optimization can feel constrictive • 5:44 — How hustle culture has shaped modern spiritual practice • 6:47 — The questions self-improvement asks versus the questions spirituality asks • 7:49 — Remembering, reconnecting, and returning to your original self • 10:33 — Why you don't need to fix yourself to begin your spiritual journey Links and Resources: • ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) • Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content • Book an Awakening With the Animals: Animal Soul Reading with Grace • Visit Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path, and leave a review to help others find the show.

There comes a point on the spiritual path when hiding parts of yourself becomes more painful than the fear of letting people see who you really are. For Sylvia Wes, that meant bringing together two worlds she'd kept separate for years: a successful career as a science-based dog trainer and a lifelong spiritual practice of witchcraft centered on intuition, ritual, and magic. In this conversation, Sylvia shares the journey that led her to found Sisters of Alchemy and what it was like to step out of the "broom closet" and into a more authentic life. We explore intuition, ritual, energetic cleansing, grief, creativity, animals, and why reconnecting with your spiritual practice isn't about becoming someone new, but about remembering who you've been all along. Whether you're curious about ritual and magic, or simply learning to trust yourself more deeply, this episode is an invitation to reconnect with your intuition, create meaningful rituals, and return to your own original magic. In this episode: • 1:33 — Blending science and spirituality through dog training • 9:57 — Childhood intuition and remembering your original magic • 13:45 — Trusting your intuition through life's biggest transitions • 27:52 — Why Sylvia embraces the word witch and the meaning of alchemy • 33:51 — The courage to stop hiding who you are • 41:55 — Ritual, energetic cleansing, and creating intentional space • 54:58 — Why every human being has access to intuition and magic Connect with Sylvia Wes: • Website: sistersofalchemy.com • Instagram: @sisters.of.alchemy Links and Resources: • ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) • Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content • Visit Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path, and leave a review to help others find the show.

What if the way you see yourself isn't actually the truth? So much of how we see ourselves is shaped by our conditioning, our achievements, our fears, and the stories we've carried for years. But spiritual awakening isn't about becoming someone new. It's about expanding your awareness and learning to see yourself from a higher perspective. In this episode, we explore what awakening really means, why I believe we're here to integrate our human and spiritual selves, and how to see yourself more accurately by looking through the lens of higher consciousness. By the end of the episode, you'll have three simple practices to help you experience yourself the way your higher self and even your pet already sees you. In this episode: • 0:34 — What "awakening" really means • 2:32 — The purpose of life: integrating your human and spiritual selves • 6:11 — The wake-up call that changed my relationship with myself • 12:36 — The Empire State Building and learning to see from a higher vantage point • 14:38 — Practice #1: Seeing yourself through the eyes of your higher self • 16:25 — Practice #2: Seeing yourself through the eyes of your pet • 18:36 — Practice #3: A simple energy healing meditation to reconnect with your higher self Links and Resources: • ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) • Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content • Visit Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path, and leave a review to help others find the show.

What if your face is a map of your energy? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Jennifer Ng, a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, facial acupuncturist, herbalist, and Chinese face reader. Dr. Jen blends her background in aesthetics with the deeper principles of Chinese medicine, helping people understand the connection between health, energy, and the face. Through practices like facial acupuncture, face reading, and other traditional healing modalities, her work focuses on treating internal imbalances first and helping people become the most aligned and vibrant version of themselves. Together, we explore the fascinating world of Chinese face reading, the Five Element system, and how our emotional patterns, life experiences, and level of alignment can become visible on the face over time. We discuss what the face can reveal about personality, health, vitality, purpose, and spirit, as well as the deeper philosophy behind Chinese medicine and why treating the root cause matters more than treating the symptom. Along the way, we explore the relationship between joy, aging, energy, and what it means to become the most authentic version of yourself. In this episode: • 2:44 — What is TCM & the mind/body/spirit framework • 8:13 — Five Element Theory (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) • 11:02 — How face reading works & what your features reveal • 22:12 — Element types and constitutions • 40:23 — Chinese medicine vs. Western medicine: treating the root cause • 49:55 — Yin/yang balance and what your face says about your purpose * * * * * * * The Five Elements at a Glance Most people are a combination of elements, with one or two often appearing more prominently. • Wood — Driven, ambitious, and action-oriented. Often associated with stronger brows, a wider jaw, and a sturdy constitution. • Fire — Passionate, playful, and expressive. Often associated with pointed features, tips and corners, and bright eyes. • Earth — Warm, nurturing, and community-oriented. Often associated with fuller lips, softer features, and a welcoming presence. • Metal — Purposeful, discerning, and refinement-focused. Often associated with prominent cheekbones, a stronger nose bridge, and open space in the face. • Water — Intuitive, creative, and wisdom-seeking. Often associated with a prominent forehead, deeper eyes, and stronger bone structure. * * * * * * * Connect with Dr. Jen: • Website: acubyjen.com • Instagram: @acu.by.jen • Podcast: TCM Talk Therapy Links and Resources: • ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) • Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content • Visit Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path, and leave a review to help others find the show.

What if karma isn't punishment? What if it's a curriculum? In this episode, we explore two spiritual concepts that often get flattened in modern culture: karma and dharma. We look at how the patterns we carry shape our lives, why the same lessons seem to repeat themselves, and what it means to move toward the fullest expression of who we are. We also explore the relationship between healing karma and creation, and how every pattern we clear opens the channel for creativity, expression, and meaningful work. Because karma and dharma aren't separate from creation. They are part of the path that allows us to become who we are and create what we're here to add to the world. In this episode: 0:38 — The misunderstanding of karma 2:24 — Karma as the curriculum for growth 5:49 — Why patterns keep repeating 9:10 — Money beliefs, past lives, and subconscious programming 15:30 — What dharma really means 19:57 — Every pattern you clear opens the channel 24:24 — Why awakening and creation are the same path 25:05 — Healing through creating and creating through healing Links and Resources: • ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) • Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content • Visit Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Fear is often treated as something to overcome, avoid, or get rid of. But what if fear isn't a sign you're on the wrong path? What if fear is actually the portal to your transformation? In this episode, I share why nearly every major expansion in my life began with a decision that felt terrifying — from leaving science for art school, to starting a business, to stepping publicly into my spiritual work. Fear isn't the obstacle. It's the signal that you're standing at the edge of something that is truly meant for you. I talk about the difference between fear and true danger, how to recognize the voice of your intuition beneath the noise of your mind, and why courage has nothing to do with feeling ready. If there's something calling you that feels both exciting and uncomfortable, this episode is for you. In this episode: 0:54 — Choosing the scary thing, over and over again 3:36 — Your brain keeps you safe, but your soul knows better 6:36 — Fear as compression: how it shapes you into who you're meant to be 9:51 — Fear vs. danger: learning to trust your own body 13:57 — Courage isn't feeling ready — it's choosing yourself anyway 16:09 — How your inner work raises the frequency of the world around you Links and Resources: • ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) • Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content • Visit Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Have you ever looked back and realized that one small decision changed the entire direction of your life? In this episode, I'm sharing how my own awakening unfolded - one whisper, one breadcrumb, and one courageous choice at a time. I talk about what it looks like to start listening to yourself instead of everyone else's expectations, how the universe speaks through whispers and breadcrumbs, and why the thing you're most afraid to do is often where your next stage of growth is waiting. This is the story of how spirituality, intuition, and creativity came together to completely reshape my life and work. Sometimes the biggest changes begin with the smallest choices. The question is whether we're willing to follow where they lead. In this episode: 0:37 — Choosing yourself over external expectations 3:41 — How the universe communicates in whispers and breadcrumbs 6:20 — The difference between swimming upstream vs. going with the flow 10:10 — Developing intuition and psychic/spiritual gifts 11:04 — Shame, fear, and the courage to be seen 22:49 — Fear as your growth edge and portal to leveling up 28:56 — Astrology and your soul's blueprint 30:15 — The spiral nature of awakening and spiritual growth Links and Resources: • ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) • Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content • Visit Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path of awakening, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Welcome back. After three years away, I'm returning with a lot to share,  including a new name for the show, an honest look at what I've been up to, and where we're headed from here. Here's what I know to be true: creativity and spirituality have always been the same thing. After 20 years of building a career as an animal photographer, author, and creator, I'm done keeping those two worlds separate. On Awakening With Grace, we're going all in on consciousness, creation, and the unseen world of energy, metaphysics and more. In this episode, I open up about the single scariest thing I've ever done (hint: it wasn't quitting my corporate job or moving across the country for art school). And I share why I believe your awakening isn't just for you, it's for all of us. In this episode: 0:00 — The rebrand and what's changing 3:27 — The three things that sparked my awakening 7:12 — Why I kept my spirituality hidden, and why I stopped 8:50 — Fully coming out of the spiritual closet 13:20 — The loneliness no one talks about when you're pioneering your own path 18:21 — Why your awakening is bigger than just you 22:30 — Introducing Coffee and the Cosmos and what's coming this season Links and Resources: ☕ Join Coffee and the Cosmos (a free monthly gathering) Follow me on Instagram for weekly spiritual and creative content Awakening With Grace for more info If this resonated with you, share it with someone on their own path of awakening, and leave a review to help others find the show. 

Consciousness, Creation & Connection. Awakening With Grace is a show about the spiritual dimensions of creation, and what it means to bring your most meaningful work into the world. Hosted by energy intuitive, acclaimed animal photographer, and author Grace Chon, this podcast explores the intersection of creativity, spirituality, and the unseen. Through solo episodes and conversations with teachers, healers, and creators, you'll discover that the awakened life is also the creative one. Awaken and create. Transmit through delight. Leave life more fertile than you found it. If you've been here before, welcome back! Creativity School has grown into something deeper. Learn more at awakeningwithgrace.com.

This week on Creativity School, I'm talking to Esther Maloney, a multidisciplinary artist, educator and mama. She's the creator of award winning films, an author, a visual artist, and the founding director of Illumine Media as well as a founding member of the Creative Sovereignty Lab. Esther also facilitates The Vitality Collective and Making Sessions, two 10-week, online workshops offered for those ready to make powerful shifts in their creative work. Esther's work is rooted in the belief that our creative life is inseparable from our spiritual life, and she shares how to begin the process of developing trust in ourselves, our creative process, and the forces larger than us. We also discuss the inner voice beckoning creative people to listen, and how we can make space to hear it even when it can seem so hard to do this. Esther also speaks on the connection between nature and our creative practice and how our menstrual cycles and our creativity are deeply intertwined.     WORK WITH ME!⚡ BOOK 1:1 COACHING 🌟 BOOK AN AKASHIC RECORD READING CONNECT WITH ESTHER: Instagram | The Making Sessions | The Vitality Collective CONNECT WITH CREATIVITY SCHOOL: Instagram | Facebook Thank you so much for listening! Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and connect with me online! If you have any questions or comments for the show, click here