Creativity is Fundamental and Universal

Creativity is the fundamental nature of the universe. It is the process of creation itself, not just random insights of a few creative people. It is a basic, everyday, human capacity.

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There are many different perspectives about what creativity is and what it means. Webster’s Dictionary definition is simply “the ability to create” and the Oxford Languages dictionary defines it as “the use of imagination or original ideas, especially in art.” Many people think of creativity in relation to artists or “creative people”, and may categorize themselves as creative or not creative. In our modern world, the potential for creative processes to have an impact on business models has been more prominent and incorporated into daily practices for new ideas to emerge towards successful bottom lines.

Everyone is creative…it’s how we work. We have creative minds and spirits meaning we have the ability to create things. Create with our hands, our minds, our bodies. We all have the ability to come up with solutions to problems and that takes creativity. Not just artists have the use of their creativity, although they may be more tapped into that inherent part of themselves. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go ’round, and we each have a natural affinity for certain types of work or ideas, based on who we are. Some kinds of work or projects require a formula or a prescribed way of doing it to get the best result, but that doesn’t mean that creativity can’t play a part in how that formula gets used.

We may not be fully aware of all the decisions we make, but whether it’s conscious or not, we create our lives the way they are. It may not always feel that way to many of us, as we can feel forced into certain roles, certain positions in our society, and feel like we had nothing to do with how our lives are lived. Although this may be true to some extent, given we live in a world of inequality and disparity, creativity opens up the possibility to change it and to make decisions that move us into a place of infinite potential.

“It opens our hearts and doors to our mind. It brings us to hidden parts of ourselves. It allows recognition of uniqueness and identity. It can help draw out what is already there within – hidden talents and inner capacities can emerge. It connects us with our passions.”

This is just one reflection received by a group of 30 young people who immersed themselves in creativity, reflection, and connection to each other and then shared their own reflections from the experience. This exercise was done through the National Youth Council of Ireland (nyci) and focused on why creativity is important and what it contributes to how we view the world and potentially make changes in it.

We have the capacity for creativity at all times in our daily lives. We use it to make decisions about how we decorate our homes, what we wear, how we put ourselves out into the world. We are creating all the time, even if we don’t realize it. We can nurture that creativity through regular practices, like pursuing interests that energize us, taking time out for regular meditation and reflection, spending time in nature, trying a hobby just for fun. Trying anything new or different can expand our minds and hearts into more possibility and help us tap into our creative spirit.

In “The Artist’s Way” (not just for artists), Julia Cameron teaches the use of “Morning Pages” which is 3 pages every day of free writing first thing in the morning, as a fundamental practice for tuning into our creative selves. Any type of journaling for self-reflection can have a great impact on our understanding of ourselves and help us navigate through our thoughts, our emotions, our awareness. Some people use journaling along with their daily movement and/or meditation practice, to reflect on it and process anything that may have come to the surface during their practice. Many people keep a journal next to their bed to write down dreams that they want to remember and work through later. When we write or journal in free flow form, it can stoke our creative fire in all areas of our lives.

What are some of the ways you like to tap into your own creativity? How do you see creativity showing up in your daily life? Bring some awareness this week to how you go about your day, and see if you can notice any times that you’re using your natural creative ability. You might just be pleasantly surprised.

The Noise that Leads to Silence

Ohhh our wonderful, creative, imaginative, intelligent, mysterious and constant minds. The human mind is a wonder isn’t it? It’s capacity is so vast, scientists say we only use 10% of our total brain capacity. Yet, it seems to be in constant motion – solving problems, imagining endless creations as different as the number of humans that exist on the planet. Our minds go through so many calculations on a moment to moment basis and if you’re like me, you’re doing your best to have it focused on the things that matter most to you. And if you’re like me, you sometimes get distracted from those things and spend time worrying about things you can’t do anything about, or trying to figure out a difficult situation, or just plain letting your mind run amuck with the patterned thoughts that have become the default of your conscious and unconscious mind. Ohhh that’s a whole other animal, the subconscious mind! Let’s not get sidetracked on that just yet, although it plays a part in the constant noise that runs in our heads. The question for this post is what do we do with that noise, and how can it lead us to the silence and stillness that I believe is crucial for a higher vibration and connection in our being?

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In order to function in the world, we have these incredible minds that DO help us solve problems and figure things out. They’re capable of very high level thinking and calculation, as well as a grand spectrum of ideas, creativity and imagination. We apply our thoughts to things in different ways that are very useful for much of what we need to do in our lives. We can also get “caught up” in our thought processes and in the stories of our minds’ patterned thinking, which can lead to more suffering instead of resolution. This is when many people might suggest to “let it go” so that something other than our minds – our soul, our spirit, our intuition – can have a shot at running the show. We use our minds to keep control of things that are hard to let go of, or things that were a matter of survival in the past but no longer pose any threat. In this keeping of the status quo of ego control, there can often be a lot of “noise” to contend with. Noise that we would like to quiet if only we knew how.

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For those who have ever done any type of meditation or relaxation techniques to quiet the mind, you have some idea what it’s like to get a “break” from the noise. Even if that’s just the 10 minutes you spend in savasana at the end of a yoga practice, or the moments at worship you spend in silent prayer. Or maybe it’s when you’re walking in the woods, listening to the sounds of nature instead of the barrage of noises in your mind. A lot of times, though, these are the only times we get that break from the noise and as soon as we’re back in our lives, the noises come back with us. There are a couple of things we can do to shift these patterns and start to hone our awareness so it can be back on those things that really matter to us rather than being held hostage by our minds.

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Whether it’s in meditation, in prayer, in the woods, or any other place you go for some quiet time, one of the first techniques you can incorporate into that time is embodiment. When we bring awareness to our bodies and connect them to our minds and hearts, we start to build a framework and reference point that we can come back to when we are not in that quiet time. It’s still important to take that time of silence and stillness regularly, but it’s not the only time we can find peace in our minds. And as we get better at embodying the feeling of that still, quiet space, we realize it is always there for us to access, even in the midst of all of the noise.

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This brings me to the second technique which is a little more interesting and maybe more challenging concept. It is simply the practice of not trying so hard to quiet the noise. Often when we are meditating or looking for silence and stillness of the mind, we try and force the noise out, or push it away, or push it back down from wherever it bubbled up. There can be nuggets of wisdom and even direction in the noises of our minds and we when we try to just ignore them we may be missing out on important information. So the trick here is learning to listen a little bit without judging the noise so we can start to discern what’s useful and what’s just endless, patterned story and reactions. Are you able to sit with the noise of your mind, settle into your own embodiment, and let the noises calm down on their own?

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I invite you to play around and experiment with the noise in your head. See if you can “catch” it when some patterned thinking arises that just feels like noise. Even if you catch it 5 minutes later, 2 hours later, or the following week. That awareness is a gift and you will start to catch it more quickly and more often. I also invite you to embody the noise and surround it with softness, not judging it or trying too hard to do anything about it. Shift your focus to the inside of your lower belly and see what happens to the noise. Or bring it to your heart space. Try connecting physically so that it’s not all just mind, mind, mind noise. Remember, some of that “noise” may be useful and may even lead you to the next level of silence and stillness you’re looking for.

The Beauty & Delicacy of New Growth

Spring comes earlier here in my part of the country, but this year it seemed to come even earlier than usual with some extremely warm weather a few weeks ago. Unable to stop the momentum, the azaleas have already started blooming and some are in full blossom. The flowers on these early spring shrubs are delicate, yet plentiful and they fill up the landscape in a way that makes me feel light-hearted and full of wonderment. They burst with vibrant shades of color in pinks, purples, and reds. Many of the new spring blossoms and blooms are of a more delicate nature, and it’s got me thinking about when we have new ideas or new things we want to implement in our lives and how they can be bursting and beautiful, yet delicate as well.

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Do you know the excitement of a new idea? When we have them they can give us an immediate sense of joy and of possibility. Maybe it’s a new art project, or a new direction in our career, or a new passion we want to pursue. Whatever it is, we might follow the new idea, start to take steps to create it and incorporate it in our lives, feeling excited and even wanting to share that excitement with others. Just like new blossoms, we must take special care with it, lest it get caught in the “frost” of an early blooming. You see, the azaleas start blooming here on those first warmer Spring days, when the weather isn’t consistently warm yet, and they are in danger of some cold nights or even a frost that could quickly hasten the experience of their glorious gift. To protect them, some people will cover the azaleas when they know the weather is going to drop and this will save the delicate flowers from a premature demise. In the same way, we want to protect our new ideas by discerning with whom we share them, especially in the beginning phases of their creation. A marvelous and beautiful yet delicate idea could be easily frosted out or cooled off by “well meaning” criticism or sharing it with someone who cannot see it for what it is and care for it properly. When we are just starting to consider and shape a new idea, it is also still new to ourselves so we’re also at risk of self-criticism or self-doubt and really only need loving support to pursue it in those early “Springtime” stages of it’s manifestation.

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Azaleas are also some of the first food for pollinators like bees and butterflies. As your new ideas come into fuller fruition they will be nourishing to you too. And, slowly, thoughtfully, as their progression warms the environment of their creation, they may be nourishing to people you share them with as well. Just remember, in those early days you might want to have a “frost cover” handy to protect the beauty and the delicacy of your inspirations. As you’re thinking about where you’re headed in your life and the new things you’re excited to create, be excited, be open hearted, but hold those ideas close to you just a little while longer as they come into full bloom. And maybe find some friendly bees and butterflies in your life to encourage the “pollination” of those ideas out into the world.

Energized vs. Drained

The past few years have been challenging, and for many of us, very draining in different ways. It’s also been an interesting time full of transition and new, exciting opportunities that have expanded how we communicate with each other. There have been opportunities to try new things, learn new skills, and expand our perspectives in our personal development journey.

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If you are someone who had to shift to an exclusively online format for your job instead of being in person, you may have felt that draining energy more acutely. Even if you’ve only been online sometimes, it’s probably more than you ever had to be before. In the middle of a pandemic, that online format saved businesses and schools and other services from complete shutdown if they were able to pivot and make the transition and that was a blessing. It helped us stay in touch and stay connected when we couldn’t do that in person. All that time on the computer has given us some new skills, too, and a way to communicate and expand our reach globally. That has been amazing and exciting and I feel truly grateful for those opportunities. It has also taken its toll to have THAT much computer time, and especially I think when we are needing to put out extra energy to do it. I have heard from many friends and colleagues how “over it” they are being on Zoom or how draining it feels.

Personally during these past few years, I have had the opportunity to connect online with some amazing new people and be part of events and workshops that have literally changed my life. If they had been in person, the cost for travel and accommodations to attend them would have been prohibitive, so I feel truly blessed that those offerings were open to me. I have expanded my friend base, met people I probably wouldn’t have ever met otherwise and started a new coaching career, all online! So, although I too can feel the effects of excessive computer time, my online experiences for the most part have not felt draining to me, but rather energizing in many ways.

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This has got me thinking about what is actually feeling draining to us when we are online now or on yet another Zoom call. Is it just the fact that excessive computer use drains us, or does what we’re doing on the computer factor in to how we feel about it too? Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that being on the computer TOO much can drain our energy, especially if it’s not balanced with time away from the screen, time outside in nature and time with other people in person. There are real, negative effects too much computer time can have on our body and energy and those affect some people more than others. There are also ways to counteract those effects like placing certain gemstones and crystals around our computer and work area, taking certain supplements, exercising and eating healthy foods to keep our system functioning at a high level. AND…I think if you’re doing something on the computer that’s beneficial to your personal well being, you might be able to feel energized from it rather than drained.

During Covid lockdown, one of the things I did was play games with my family online. We usually like to play card games together in person, but games like Yahtzee or other dice games are good ones that worked well when we weren’t able to physically be together, so we played those a lot. We did also eventually find some card games we could play together online through an app. This time with my immediate and extended family was special and memorable. It was extremely important to get to connect with them online during that time, even though we couldn’t always hear each other clearly or had technical difficulties. I also celebrated birthdays with groups of friends, participated in virtual happy hours with co-workers, and taught yoga classes, all on Zoom. If you were able to make these kinds of connections, too, you know what a blessing that was. At the same time, we were missing those people too, and missing daily in person interaction, so that separation was taking a toll on our mental and energetic resiliency. I believe we humans flourish when we have in person contact with each other, feel each other’s physical and energetic presence, and stay nourished by those connections. We all struggled with losing that contact, and I think most of us are still recovering from those effects, which in part, may be making us feel like we don’t want to be online for anything ever again unless we HAVE to.

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Besides playing games with my family & friends, I was also expanding my knowledge to grow personally and professionally. I learned how to use applications like Canva and PowerPoint (had wanted to learn that one for years!), in order to create social media posts and presentations. I also had time to take trainings to expand my skills as a coach and learn more about energy work and embodiment work so I could move into a career that felt more aligned with my heart and spirit. Rather than feeling hesitant about jumping on a Zoom call, I was excited and eager to soak up new information and start applying it to my life. I was excited to meet new like-minded people, connect with them and learn from them. I discovered that, even though it is different than being in person, other people’s energy comes through the screen – you can feel theirs and they can feel yours. I learned how to increase my own energetic presence so that others could feel it even more, without leaving me feeling depleted or feeling like I was giving more than I had to give. And, I learned how to tap into my own energetic field in order to raise my personal vibration, which makes me feel uplifted rather than drained.

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As we slowly make our way into fully reclaiming our in person connections, our connection to ourselves, and recovering from the physical and mental toll the last few years may have taken on us, I’m hearing and feeling a lack of desire to be online as much or to even engage through online portals as much. This is completely understandable. But it also struck me as I have been listening to that feedback from friends and loved ones about being online, that my experience has been a little different, and that maybe it doesn’t HAVE to be a depleting and draining experience. Without negating that excessive computer time CAN lower our energetic output, perhaps what we are doing on the computer and how connected we are to our own energy and presence can actually make a big difference in our experience. It has certainly made a big difference in my experience.

What are some ways that you lose connection to yourself when you feel drained or depleted? How might things be different if you could stay connected to your internal source and have more energy and presence in your day-to-day life? Because of the training and experiences I’ve had over these last few years of connecting with and shifting my own energy, I have felt inspired to teach others how to do that as well. If you’d like to learn how to do that for yourself, I invite you to join one of my free monthly classes that will show you how to tune in to yourself in a whole new way, shift your energy, and show you how you can feel energized instead of drained, not just when you’re on the computer but in all aspects of your life.

Uncovering Your “Light Shadow”

When we consciously step on the path of personal growth and development to “better” ourselves in some way, the journey is about uncovering those parts of us that are keeping us stuck or in patterned behaviors that we want to break, or wanting to live a more fulfilling life that is free from past experiences that keep pulling on us day after day, year after year. We tend to label our behaviors as good or bad, and part of that is the conditioning we all receive from our families, our cultures, and the societies we live in. As we grow up, we make our own way, come to our personal sense of understanding and decision about how we want to be in the world, partly in agreement with our conditioning, and partly in opposition to it, or with different ideas about what we accept or don’t accept. Within this understanding that we create for ourselves, there are “shadows” that linger in the background and part of the personal growth journey is shedding light on those shadows so we can emerge from their pull on us.

As we make these discoveries, we tend to feel like we need to “fix” all the “bad” things that are plaguing us so that we may be better humans. So, we focus on what’s wrong with us, what needs fixing and find ways to improve our perspective, our reactions, and our mindset. We feel a bit better about ourselves and a little bit freer from the hold of those old patterns that were holding us down. But some things we can’t see so clearly and they linger, like a shadow that is following us around whether we’re aware of it or not.

There is a book by Debbie Ford called “The Dark Side of the Light Chasers”, which is all about these “shadows” that hang out in the background of our being. In her book, she holds out that as humans we are all the qualities that any one human might express. This means we are each bold AND timid, smart AND stupid, brave AND scared, kind AND mean, sweet AND bitchy, modest AND arrogant…you get the idea. But what we tend to do is reject the ones that we don’t think are “good” (either through our conditioning or our decision), and by rejecting them, the energy of them gets stuck in shadow land and can pull us out of balance until we fully claim that quality and integrate it into our being.

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When we point our ship towards personal expansion, we firstly tend to focus on the “dark” shadows, again through conditioning or decision, thinking they must be “bad” and need the most attention. One of the first shadows I worked on that was a big eye-opener for me was being STUPID. I mostly thought I was smart, and I am smart, but not fully embracing when I was stupid actually kept me feeling stupid, but not being able to show it and therefore also sometimes questioning how smart I was. I thought it was bad to be, look, or even feel stupid about anything because then people might treat me badly or look down on me, or not take me seriously. I was lucky to be exploring this at a workshop one weekend with another friend who did not have the same shadow around being stupid. She told me she LOVED being stupid sometimes, the freedom of not having to know everything and letting someone else figure things out. I was shocked! Truly. It even took me a minute to realize she was serious and not joking. I thought everyone wanted to hide their stupidness, like I did, and it honestly took me a few hours to even start to loosen up the stuck energy around it and see what might be good about it. And that’s the thing, those “dark” places that we think are bad, actually have a use and are “good” in their own way. We just have to integrate them in our psyche and break the beliefs and patterns we have about them to them in order to operate with more freedom and flexibility in our lives. Not accepting that I was stupid, kept me from asking for help when I didn’t know things and kept me separate from people. I’m happy to say I’ve mostly integrated that one now and I’m soooo much more relaxed about it. What’s a “dark” shadow/quality that you find hard to accept about yourself?

After doing some shadow work on the “dark side” of things, it becomes apparent that we have “light shadows” that need integrating too. Not very surprising, right? In my experience, these light shadows can be holding us back just as much as the dark ones. How easily can you feel into your GREAT-ness? We are each amazing, truly amazing, in our own way. Our friends and loved ones may tell us things they appreciate about us or think are so cool or wonderful about us, and some of it we may agree with completely and be able to take in. Other things we can’t quite accept fully and so we brush them off with a “thank you”, but don’t really let them in. We can also feel like we are great or amazing because of the things we do or do for others, so it has a condition on it. You are that great and amazing and beautiful and strong and wonderful without any conditions. When others see our LIGHT, they reflect it back to us, but if that light is in the shadows of our being, we can’t fully embrace it. Can you take a moment and just feel into the truth of that? Try feeling in to something you DO think is true about you and see if you can hold the energy of that quality without putting any conditions on it.

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So, here are a couple of things you can do to figure out what your light shadows are, and start to integrate the truth of them into your being. To start, write down the name of a woman you admire and then list all the qualities you admire about her. Then write down the name of a 2nd woman you admire and list all the qualities you admire. Then write down the name of a 3rd woman you admire and do the same. Look at the lists and pick out any qualities that repeat for each of the women you listed. These qualities are true about YOU, too. What you see in those women you admire is your true nature being reflected back to you. You just haven’t been able to step into it, either because of conditioning or decision, but it’s always been a part of who you are. The second thing you can start doing to notice and integrate your light shadow is this – whenever someone pays you a compliment or gives you an appreciation, before you even say “thank you”, blow it off, or deflect it somehow, pause for a moment to notice what they said, know that it’s true about you, and let it into your heart. Then, to add the next layer of integration, say to yourself “I am that”, “I am ________ (insert wonderful, beautiful, amazing-whatever the quality is). Now, I am saying this in a very simple way, but with full understanding that it is not the easiest practice. I know because I’ve tried it and done it, and it takes some effort. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be a shadow! Be kind to yourself as you go through this process and just keep trying it out until it starts to sink in.

Shadow work is one of the things I teach and facilitate in my coaching as well as in the energy and embodiment practices I offer. It is one of those personal development practices that I consider a “game-changer” and that upgrade and uplevel your being in a fairly short amount of time. I encourage you to consider taking on the challenger of doing some shadow work for yourself, whether it’s with me or someone else. You ARE an amazing light that the world wants and needs…let’s get her out of the shadows!