Discovering Soul Modes:
Super, Sparkle, Wild, Bear!!

My recent discovery of Carlie Maree’s Soul Modes work is one of those things I couldn’t not share with you!

It’s no secret that I LOVE discovering (and sharing!) ideas, books, courses and other resources to help women move forward creating an awesome biz and life.

Over the past several years I’ve stumbled upon SO many amazing resources, tips and tricks, including a handful that have changed my own life in ways I never expected:

  My discovery of Flylady’s website and her book Sink Reflections, back in 2005, helped me find a way out of our constant clutter and chaos and to make space for possibility in my life. Her work was instrumental in me starting to dream of the biz and life I’d love to create!

  In 2008 I read Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way, picked up a pen and notebook and have been writing ‘Morning Pages’ ever since. I wrote about my experience of Morning Pages in 2011, but can also tell you now that it’s this daily habit that gave me the space I needed to write my way out of my toxic, soul-destroying marriage over the following two years.

  Ah, green smoothies … one of my greatest loves!! And another daily habit that has continued now for close to ten years! I’ve shared all my love for green smoothies in my book, but for me, learning that health could be delicious (not just nutritious) was another truly life-changing discovery for me.

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Of course, there’s so much more – which is part of the reason why creating this space to share amazing, life-changing resources and ideas with you is so important to me. But before now, those have personally been my most transformative discoveries.

Soul Modes - Carlie Maree (eBook Cover Image)Until a few months back, in one of the beautiful Facebook groups for female entrepreneurs that I’m in, I stumbled across Carlie Maree’s ‘Soul Modes’ work.

I have to admit, I wasn’t quite ready for this work when I first discovered it! But somehow I found my way back there again over these past few weeks.

And WOW!!!

In Carlie Maree’s words:  “You’re not just one woman. You’re four remarkable ones!” (Which unfortunately does bring back memories for me of the book Sybil that we had to read back in high school … but if it does for you too, don’t let that put you off. This work is absolutely worth exploring!)

According to Carlie Maree, both her own experience and the experience of the many women she’s worked with show that women have a distinct cycle through four different ‘Soul Modes’. The Soul Cycle is usually separate to our monthly cycle or the lunar cycle. For some women, it may take a month to cycle through the Soul Modes, but then others may move through the Soul Cycle easily in under a week.

Super, Sparkle, Wild, Bear …

The names that Carlie gives to identify these four modes are:

  • Super mode
  • Sparkle mode
  • Wild mode
  • Bear mode

Each Soul Mode has it’s own unique characteristics, and in each mode, we have completely differing needs as to what will give us satisfaction and fulfillment – and allow us to then move easily into the next mode of the Soul Cycle.

The Four Soul Modes

Carlie Maree has just written a book on her Soul Modes work, which will be published in just a few months. (Update: The book, Soul Modes, should now be available in your favourite online bookstores. I also have copies available in The Resource Cafe Bookshop, or you can get the Kindle version via Amazon here.) You might also want to follow the Soul Modes Facebook page, where you’ll find a wealth of videos sharing different aspects of how Soul Modes relate to both life and biz.

My {still new!} experience of the four Soul Modes … (aka Why I love Wild Mode!!)

Although Carlie Maree’s work is such a new discovery for me, it makes so much sense! Already, in just these past couple of weeks, I’ve experienced myself moving through Bear Mode (I think I got stuck there for a while!), on to Super Mode (where there was a LOT of list-writing, but also plenty of doing), to a brief Sparkle Mode, and these past couple of days in Wild Mode.

Ah, Wild Mode … I like you! A little bit sweary, irreverent, unfiltered (lover of beach walks and with a clear appreciation for surfers – much to my 17 year old son’s disgust!) … energetic, passionate … It seems the Wild version of me is the one who is comfortable sharing all the stuff in a blog post, whether that be the tears from my recent post or a little surfer reference here or there!! This is the version of me that can actually sit down and write, and not stop until I hit ‘publish’. So yeah, I really like Wild Mode!

And then there’s Bear Mode … I mentioned before that I think I got ‘stuck’ there for a while. Which could have a lot to do with the fact that instead of processing my emotional stuff, which Bear Mode allows (and seems to need) us to do, I just ate a lot of chocolate and watched a LOT of Netflix. Until the emotional stuff that I was totally avoiding caught up with me! That’s when I found myself having a BIG cry in my naturopath’s office, another big cry in my wellness coach’s office, and THEN (as if I wasn’t all cried out already) falling into a blubbering heap that night watching August Rush

Before waking up the next morning clearly in Super Mode! Exhausted after all those tears, but SO ready to write out all the ‘To-Do’s’, plan all the blog posts (that may or may not ever be written!!), and get in and get to work. Action mode! Superhero mode!!!

I do feel like I ‘missed’ Sparkle Mode this time around. Not that I actually skipped it, just that I barely noticed it. But I’m pretty sure that a few weeks back, when I sat down for an afternoon art sesh with my daughter, creating alcohol ink ‘masterpieces’ (hers more so than mine!), and then later pulled out all the fabric and made scrunchies … Pretty sure that was Sparkle Mode! And I’m very much looking forward to catching and enjoying it this next time ’round!!

Why Soul Modes make me feel ‘normal’ …

It makes me laugh a little bit writing that! It’s kind of ironic that something that’s not that easy to explain makes me feel SO normal. (And believe me, I did try to explain Soul Modes to a friend, but struggled to not sound a little crazy!!)

For me, Carlie Maree’s exploration and explanation of the Soul Cycle and the four Soul Modes explains SO much about the way I work – and about the struggles I’ve had to be and feel consistent with my work.

I’ve written heartfelt blog posts (clearly in Wild Mode), but then immediately retreated into a Netflix and chocolate binge session – for not just hours, but sometimes days – along with all the feelings of unworthiness and not being ‘enough’ (welcome Bear Mode, right on cue!). I’ll spend a few days working on one project, but then feel like I’m done with it, and ready to move on to something else. But not without all the negative self-talk and beating myself up for not ‘finishing’ what I start and not pushing through when things get hard.

I’ve started blog posts, and never gotten back to finishing them – because the following day my energy has totally shifted and I’m in a different space entirely. A different ‘Mode’ entirely!

You’ve no doubt experienced it too … Feeling that what your working on is not working, that it’s just too hard and you need to put it aside. But then, a week later,  coming back to it and flying through the work with ease!

It feels so good to understand, through seeing how our Soul Cycle works, that there’s nothing wrong with us, and that none of this means we’re destined for failure and should start madly updating our resumes and sending copies out!!

Use this framework to ‘hack’ your business and life!

Carlie Maree describes Soul Modes as a way to ‘hack’ your life, and I totally get that. It’s really easy to see that having an understanding of the Soul Cycle, and exploring our personal experience of the Soul Modes, has the power to totally transform both our business and life.

Even this blog post is an example of that for me. If you know me, or have read some of my earlier posts, you might know just how much I struggle to write, finish and publish a blog post. Some posts have taken me days (or even weeks) to finish. And for the longest time that’s really bothered me. Sprinkled somewhere in there have been those occasional days where I’ve started to write and the writing has flowed so easily that I’ve hit ‘publish’ by mid-afternoon.

I can see now that those ‘easy’ days, I will have been in Wild Mode. And that if I want to make this easy for myself (as I have today) Wild Mode is the very best time for me to write when I need my writing to flow. (Super Mode is apparently a great time to write list posts! And if it’s not too late to join the Be Seen Get Paid Online Party on Facebook, you can learn more about how Soul Modes relate to content creation in Carlie Maree’s ‘Soul Modes and Social Media’ session.)

By working with our Soul Modes, and giving each version of ourselves what she needs in order to feel fulfilled, we can make our lives SO much easier!

Forget that it all sounds a little weird, maybe hard to grasp, and even harder to explain …
Do this as a favour to yourself: Grab a copy of Soul Modes (and maybe even the Soul Seasons Planner if you really want to dig into the work) and see how it all resonates with you.

Because for me, I have a strong feeling that this Soul Cycle idea is going to be right up there on my list of those ideas that has totally transformed my life. And that’s just a little bit (actually, a LOT) exciting!!!!

PS. I would love to hear your thoughts about exploring the four Soul Modes within your life and biz. What do you think your favourite Soul Mode would be? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

More Soul Modes resources from Carlie Maree:

♥   Soul Modes book
♥   The Soul Modes Movie
♥   Soul Modes by Carlie Maree (Facebook Group)
♥   Formidable Women Membership




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