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You know how great it feels, how life is so much easier, when you are making your creative work.
But it is not always easy. There are internal roadblocks that get in the way. Those roadblocks are parts of yourself that are scared and trying to protect you from harm. They happen because real, heart felt, creative work is vulnerable. It is stepping into the unknown. It is discovering the tender parts of yourself. There is healing work to be done to move past those road blocks. It is not about tearing them down, it is about stopping and really seeing them for what they are and bringing compassion and gratitude for the work they are trying to do. It is also about letting them know that you are in charge, and you can handle it. And making a clear choice to move forward. None of this is easy. It sounds simple, but it is deep work. I am excited to be offering a workshop that opens up this healing work, and I hope you will join us. It is going to be juicy because we get to play in the imagination as we enter this work. And it will be deep and it will be tender and safe. Coming back to Center: the Path March 9, 2022 1:00-3:00 ET
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It can get very overwhelming to have too many ideas that you are working on at once. I know, I have spent most of my life doing it. But what I have found is that I like having a lot of ideas going- they feed off of each other. Yes- it can be helpful to simplify. If you are stopped up because they are all clamoring for attention and you can't get a good grip on any of them, it is a good idea to clarify which one or two you are working on right now. But do not ditch the others. Just put them aside and let them rest. They will gestate- they will develop in the background without you having to do anything about it. As a potter and a sculptor, I have had long stretches when I am not making pots. And then I come back to it, and fall in love with pots all over, I find that the shapes and ideas that I was working on before have developed without any direct attention from me. Same is true with the sculpture, or I should say with the various types of sculpture that I do. The cycles can happen within a week, within a year, within a month. The rhythms will change and are very particular to you. So how do you figure out what to let rest and what to put your focus on right now? When you feel that irritation or frustration that you are not getting anywhere and they are all clamoring, there is part of you that is asking you to pay attention. And if you listen carefully, you will be able to hear the one that has lost its energy and motivation, that needs to take a nap, and the other one that is itching for attention. It is really ok to listen to your desires here. I find often that when I get that irritation it is because one of the things that I have been letting rest needs to wake up- and when I sit with it for a minute- it will become clear very quickly what needs to be done- what the next right step is. Its winter in New England. It is so easy to feel trapped inside because the weather is crummy. I was just out in it, and I want to encourage you to get out there too. I bet it will energize you. There are so many things getting in your way as an artist or a creative. Whatever it is that you want to build, create, put out in the world, there are two kinds of blocks. The outer blocks are things that you need to get or learn or get help with. Those are manageable when you figure out what they are and what the next step is.
It's the inner blocks that can be really challenging. Those are the nasty inner voices that are telling you that you are not good enough, the project is not worth while, no one will care, etc etc. They are yelling at you any time you dream up a risky thing to do, and really they are trying to protect you. Learning how to deal with these voices is essential if you are going to get anywhere as a creative. And it is not about killing them, squashing them or shoving them in a box. Come to the workshop! Coming Back to Center: The Path March 9, 2022, 1-3pm et zoom It can be very fun to push into the high energy of a big deadline. You let go of various other responsibilities and hone in on the one thing and go go go. Flow is happening and wouldn't it be great to do this all the time! And then the deadline comes and you get it done and suddenly you are in free fall. Have you been there? It can feel really painful and scary. Even without the big deadline- there are times when your creative juices are flowing and other times when they just aren't, and you can wonder if you are not really a creative. There is a natural tendency to start berating yourself with thoughts like, "I will never be able to sustain the creative energy." and "I don't have any ideas- I'm not a real artist."
The thing is that there is a cycle to the creative process as there is any thing. You need to exhale. You have been building and building and pushing- it is like the inhale part of the breath, and you need to let yourself rest, let go, exhale. You can trust that after you have rested, there will be a natural inclination to start to build again- to inhale. It is in the exhale of the big project that you both rest and also settle back into all the of the little things of life- the parts of you that keep you connected to your world. We have cycles within cycles - larger longer ones, like the creative push I am talking about, and daily ones, like day and night, awake and asleep, activity cycles within a day, all the way down to the actual inhale and exhale and even the heart beat. So let yourself have the rest, the release, the sense of safety and connection to all things. Let yourself have the exhale in all of these cycles. And trust that you will have a natural inclination to inhale- to engage your creative activity! You can start with "I want" but it has to shift to "I choose".
So journal with the question "I want"- let yourself dwell in that sense of longing that comes from a lack. Find the quality of being that you are longing for, maybe pleasure, play, creativity, openness, whatever it is for you. And when you are ready to step into it, say "I choose". And choose it over and over and over. Keep coming back to that quality of being in everything you do and see what happens. When you have the negative voices in your head telling you things like, "you never follow through" or "you are not reliable as an artist or creative, you don't complete anything, you don't stick with it," don't just ignore them.
Stop and listen. Find out what they are saying. Not so you can believe it, but so that you can get the real message about what is important to you. What is that horrible nasty voice talking about that is important to you. "You never follow through" is really "I want to follow through on this important thing to me." It is a call to come back. So stop listening to the insult and hear the call. If you find yourself not wanting to set New Years intentions because you are sure you will fail again- this is for you. It is a little piece of third hand wisdom. The seed is from a Buddhist teacher named Susan Piver, offered to me by my very wise and talented sister Jen Gilman (an amazing artist and architect ) and now on to you. It gets translated a little differently each step of the way- so put your spin on it and pass it along! The point is to recognize that consistency and success is not a straight line. Rather is coming back over and over.
It is fresh starts. And you have an infinite number of fresh starts available to you. So let go of the shame and guilt about having stopped previously. Forgive yourself. Know that you may stop again, but that you can always come back. And that is what is important. Coming back to a fresh start on something that you care about. I love the ritual of new year's intentions, but sometimes it doesn't work out well. As you prepare for your intentions, keep these 4 things in mind: 1. Pleasure- make it something you enjoy! Really! If you want to get more exercise, make sure you are asking yourself to do it in a way that is fun. Otherwise all those gremlins are going to come out and sabotage your efforts.
2. Choice- If you find yourself saying "I should" or "I need" or "I want", notice the feeling under those words. For it to work it needs to be "I choose" and if you do not really feel that sense of empowerment and self direction, make sure you find ways to tweek the intention so it really is from a clear place of self motivation and empowerment 3. Flexibility- If you are too rigid, there is going to be an insurrection of the internal forces. Make sure you have built in flexibility! 4. Singularity- cut it down to one intention! I know this is rough because there is a huge list of things. But if you can Check out the Winter Workshops! Early bird deadline is coming right up  I was just out walking in the woods and got drawn to a beautiful ice formation. I have no idea whether or how it will make its way into my creative work, but it is compelling to me. So I stop and look at it and soak it up. What I have found over and over is that later, sometimes much later, I will realize that I have made something that was inspired or influenced by something I saw. Its like it goes in and sits in the reservoir, or maybe it ferments like a good wine or a cheese, and emerges of its own when it is ripe. The other thing about it is that taking that time to be pleased by what pleases me, is nourishing and gives me energy to keep moving with all that I am doing and creating. It reminds me that I am connected to something much larger than myself, that I am part of a living breathing earth. I don't have to feel so alone. And, as an added bonus, that niggling hunger that is never really satisfied with the chips and chocolate that calls to me when I am not feeling nourished subsides a bit.   |
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