About Me

Michelle James

Hi, I'm Michelle. Like many of you, I was brought up thinking we had to separate our creative aliveness and meaning from our "real job" that paid the bills. I spent years trying to integrate the them – through trial and a lot of error (navigating many fears, doubts, and challenges along the way) – until I came up with an organic, creative, emergent way to do that in my own life – and discovered the first version of my signature creative emergence process. I started sharing my whole-brain, whole-being integrated approach with friends and colleagues who got great results and started referring me...and Creative Emergence Coaching was born. 

That was over 2 decades ago. I have since learned much, and evolved my process and my own way of being within it. After working with thousands of people, I've accessed certain similar organic patterns embedded in every client's unique emergence process, and I use various creative approaches to engage it, customized for each client. 

Helping you birth anything new, authentic, meaningful, and unique is up my alley - from a workshop or product  to a  business. I'll help you birth it, own it, structure and design it, clean it up, create it out, get paid for it, and get it ready for the world. I'm the midwife, not the nanny. 

My background

I've been using universal creative principles and the process of emergence as the basis for my work with thousands of people - individuals, corporations and communities - for over 2 decades. My passion is infusing creativity and imagination with knowledge and information for individual, organizational and social transformation. My commitment is to cultivate and focus creativity, aliveness and meaning in work and life as part of the emerging, holistic new work paradigm - one where creativity, service, purpose and generating income are linked. Especially, I love to work with conscious individuals to help them structure their meaningful, income-generating work.

My personal transformational experiences led to the discoveries I use in my work. The Creative Emergence Process is both a framework and an integrative approach. Also Informing my work is extensive experience and education in: creative processes and techniques, brain research, organizational change, group process work, depth and somatic psychology, integral theory, emerging group/system dynamics approaches (such as holacracy, appreciative inquiry, world cafe, open space, futuresearch, polarities, psychodrama, dialogue, participative design), accelerated learning, the arts, movement, bodywork, mythology, improv theater, systems thinking, consciousness studies, storytelling, and the complexity sciences. 

I also weave the expressive arts into our sessions. I performed full-length improvised plays with Precipice Improv for 10 years, and currently perform Playback Theater with Virginia Playback Theatre. I'm an abstract painting artist, and a CoreSomatics Movement and Bodywork© Master Practitioner, and take various aeriel classes. I founded and ran the Capitol Creativity Network in DC, and the Applied Creativity Network Meetup. I produced and curated two Creativity in Business Conferences in DC, a Creativity in Business Telesummit, and an accompanying ebook, Navigating the New Work Paradigm. My work has been featured in telesummits, podcasts, books, and on television. My recent book on creativity facilitation, Pattern Breaks: A Facilitator's Guide for Cultivating Creativity, is now available for purchase on Amazon at  https://amzn.to/3QDbZ65 

About me

About Me

Michelle James

Discovering and owning our unique calling – with passion, purpose, and creative engagement – is one of the most empowering and enlivening things we can do.

My background

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on Applied Creativity and the Creative Life.

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Creative Emergence Coaching