Do You Let Yourself Be Satisfied

The world is really a beautiful amazing place and our lives are actually filled with moments and experiences of fulfillment and satisfaction. Yet we hardly ever allow ourselves to feel them. Our minds push us ever onward to the next thing never stopping to savior the moment.

What does it take for us to be satisfied? Where does the constant restlessness and striving come from? Certainly we live in a culture that asks us to keep wanting: the bigger house, the newer car and so much more. Perhaps some of the lack of satisfaction stems from our soul's longing for a more authentic life, one that honors and allows for the expression of our uniqueness.

Still we can learn a lot from being satisfied in each moment and that can help us identify what brings us happiness and joy on a deeper level. Take a deep breath and notice everything about this moment. No matter what is going on in our lives in each moment everything is usually okay. It's when we run ahead of ourselves and anticipate a future based on our past that anxiety and doubt creep in.

Being satisfied is especially important when it comes to engaging our creativity. We need to learn that it's enough that we show up during the day to play with a creative project or idea even if only for fifteen or twenty minutes rather than thinking we should have worked for two hours. Then be satisfied by what you learned from whatever time you spent. Young children are good reminders of how to do this. They are just happy to be absorbed in the play and hold no attached to outcome. Adopting this attitude during the process of creating can really help our creativity flourish and allow us to feel more satisfied with our lives as a whole.

I've begun a daily practice of noticing moments of satisfaction. It can be eating an artichoke which is one of my favorite food experiences. It can be looking out the window and catching the streaks of pink, orange and red in the sunset sky and stopping to breath the beauty in. It can be working on a draft of a poem with gratitude that the muse joined me in the work. As we cultivate a sense of fulfillment we actually find more to be satisfied by.

Ready to Set Your Creativity Free?

Does it feel like your creativity is locked up tight in a box you are afraid to open? You put it in there long ago when your third grade teacher didn't like your drawing or your father disapproved of you wasting your time writing poems or your grandmother told you that you didn't have as good a singing voice as your sister.

It happened to me in junior high school when my in my design class the teacher exclaimed about a drawing I actually really liked, "Suzanne, you can do better than that". Decades later I've yet to pick up another drawing pencil. The creative self is a tender and vulnerable part of us, so it doesn't take much to discourage it.

I could have left the creative urge locked up with my drawing pad but fortunately I found other outlets. In college I developed a passion for black and white photography for creative expression. It was a fine replacement for drawing. Eventually creative writing became my main form.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a city, San Francisco, and with a parent, my father, who valued the arts so I wasn't weighed down by the general cultural beliefs that the arts and creativity are frivolous. I had implicit permission to play with creativity from early on and it informs my life in countless ways.

Back before I started my own writing and creativity coaching business and needed a resume to apply for work, the line that got me the most interviews was "creative problem solver". My relationship to creativity allows me to use the process to access the field of all possibilities so that I can come up with new ways of looking a situation and new solutions.

We all have this capacity. I just was lucky enough to grow up in an environment that age me permission to play with it. Whether you know it or not you probably are using this ability to some degree on a regular basis. You've all had the experience of trying to solve a problem at work using your rational, linear mind. Frustrated to give up and let it go, you drive home and as you pull up to the house the solution pops into your head. That's one way the creative process works. You learn to trust that if you give a problem over to your subconscious the answer will show up.

So to reclaim your creativity, to set it free, consider the ways you are already creativity in every area of your life and the benefits it brings. How have you been discouraged over the years from being creative and what action could you take today to begin to reclaim those gifts. Play with the idea. Have fun. That's the heart of the creative process. Joy and a deep sense of satisfaction.

Finding the Rewards of Being Creative

There is a growing awareness that creativity is a capacity that everyone has, though they may not understand what is involved in accessing it. One of the main things that gets in the way of people embracing their creative gifts is a belief that creativity should be easy; that it should just flow out. They think they should be good at it immediately. If they are not and it's not easy, there is a tendency to think there is something wrong with them and it's never going to work.

Yet creativity in whatever form you choose to pursue is a complex process that actually asks a lot of us. This is why is feels so good to engage since it helps us discover that we are capable of more that we thought possible including working from expanded abilities. It is a muscle that we need to work with to develop, just like if we decided to run a marathon we would understand we needed to run daily for shorter periods to build up to the full distance.

Creativity is a practice that you have to stay with even when doubts arise. It tends to progress in a stair step fashion. We spend time showing up to the work each day for weeks, maybe months and we don't seem to be getting any better. Then one day we have crossed a threshold to a new level where we can do things we have been unable to. We will need to work on that plateau for a while before being boosted to the next level.

Being creative also involves studying our chosen form of expression. Long before I wrote my first personal essay, the writing form that almost seemed to choose me, every time I went into a bookstore I was drawn to the essay section. Those were the only books I read. I was learning to write in that form by reading it. So when I started to write, my creative mind already had a sense of what to do. Sort of.

I then had to practice, writing pages and pages that never went anywhere but taught me a lot. I learned to trust that things were cooking on the level of my subconscious and super conscious minds. The more I showed up to practice, the more I had a sense of what to do and how to work with the material on a conscious level. The more I stayed with it, the more the wonderful, magical state of flow would occur where I was definitely operating in an expanded state.

Being creative feels like a beautiful dance. Engaging in the process feels good, so I never really thought about all the time and work I had to put in to become an accomplished writer. For me the act of creativity has always been it's own reward. That has allowed me to stay with it through the doubts and slow going.

Now more than ever we need to resist the distractions like social media and the internet that give us a sense of instant gratification, making it more difficult to go the distance with our creativity. Keep in mind that you can make great progress with small steps taken day after day.

Try it: Pick a creative project. Then show up ten minutes a day to play with it. I did this recently in a form new to me, nature collage. I asked a painter friend about the best materials to use. Then with acrylic paint, glue and objects from nature, I let myself be intuitively guided in what to do. It took a bit before any of them turned out in a way pleasing to me. Yet each one taught me something.

As you play with your project resist the urge to judge. Put it away and look at a few days later when the critic has quieted down. Keep showing up, ten minutes day after day and see if you don't feel the deep satisfaction that comes with opening to your creativity.

The Power of Commitment and Practice

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets: "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!" - W.H. Murray The Scottish Himalayan Expedition

Whether its for writing, meditation, exercise, or anything you want to do but feel resistance to, establishing a practice can help you move forward in magical ways. It signals to the universe that you are committed. Having a practice means that you show up every day, no matter what. You are going to want to release all expectations of outcome or where you think you want things to go. It doesn't matter how good you are or what you accomplish or what happens with the practice. You sit down to meditate and your mind goes wild with chatter the entire time, that's fine. You show up to write and find yourself whining on the page, that's okay. The point is to show up and practice.

A lot of things are happening when you show up consistently to something. You begin to forge the neural nets in your brain needed for the task and strengthen them so that whatever you are committed to actually becomes easier to do and you are able to increase our level of skill. In writing your subconscious mind is working 24/7 on whatever you give it to focus on, so showing up everyday allows you to access new insights and ideas arising from your expanded mind.

You commit and take the action. The universe responds in kind, to the power of your willingness and the force your commitment. Free from expecting that you need to accomplish something, you relax and open up to allowing. In this receptive state, the your subconscious mind aligns with the workings of the Universe and you find support, synchronicities and inspired ideas coming to you.

Establishing a practice helps you move beyond any resistance that has been in the way. When you release the need for instant gratification you slip into a sense of satisfaction from the simple act of showing up for yourself. You learn to find joy in the practice itself and this allows you to expand your creative capacity.

To begin, start small. When I coach writers who are having a hard time showing up, I ask them at first to commit to writing ten minutes a day. This helps you cross the threshold of resistance and move past the associated voice that tells you that you don't have enough time. Once you have established the habit of showing up you will find things flowing with greater ease.

Working with an Imaginary Mentor

Imagination is everything. It is the preview to life's coming attractions. - Albert Einstein

I've been asking myself, how can I best help empower others at this time of great global change. The first answer that came in the flash of inspiration was the word imagination. Einstein regularly insisted that imagination is more important than knowledge. But the thing is, it's not just for geniuses. It's for everyone. We have just be taught to favor the rational mind at the expenses of capacities that actually can help us in amazing ways. It's easy to reclaim.

Years ago I learned an exercise from Jean Houston, noted author, visionary and one of the founders of the human consciousness movement. It involves working with an imaginary mentor to get advice on any question that we have for any area of our life. Using our imagination and intuitive mind give us access to a deeper wisdom and way of knowing beyond the capabilities of our linear mind.

I have used this exercise for years in teaching writing and with creativity coaching. I have been amazed and delighted that my students get much better advice than I could have ever given with all my years of experience. Everyone in class could hear the wisdom coming through as we shared our answers. Most remarkable is that the answers actually sounded like they were coming from the individual asked. If someone asked Mark Twain, the response would sound like something Mark Twain would write. Tapping your imagination and writing in flow can give you access to expanded awareness and better answers you could think up.

TRY THIS: Pick someone you think would give good advice. It could be Einstein, Plato or your grandmother. Imagine you have written him or her a letter asking a question you have about anything in your life. It helps to be specific. Then using the technique of free writing (writing as fast you can without censoring) you write the response to you as if it is coming from your imaginary mentor. Really let go on this one. Don't think. Just let the answer flow out of the pen or the keyboard for at least ten minutes. Then read the answer with an open curiosity as if you really have just received this letter in the mail. Be open, be objective. The more you play with this, the stronger the muscle of your imagination grows.

OR TRY THIS: You can also go for a walk with your imaginary mentor and have a conversation with them in your imagination. The key is to play and be open. Let go of thinking that you have to figure out everything with your mind.

Walking Helps Your Creativity and Brain

All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking. - Frederick Nietzsche

By Suzanne Murray

When you are engaged in a project and feel the creative inspiration has dried up, take a break. Anything that occupies the consciousness mind in a physical way can open you to the flow of fresh ideas and insights. Doing the dishes or taking a shower are good ways. One of my favorites is going for a walk. You could simply stroll around the block or walk deep into nature.

I have not been alone in my awareness that walking opens creative channels. There is a long list of well known creatives who walked to allow ideas and connections to flow . Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth, Nikola Tesla, Aristotle, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Jefferson, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Beethoven to name but a few.

Scientific studies have now found that creative problems can indeed be solved by walking, especially in nature. While walking the brain undergoes physiological changes that lower frustration and stress, increase your awareness and engagement with the world, allow for a natural meditative state and improve your mood. All of this helps you to experience more creative connections and flow.

Walking on a regular basis has also been shown to be good for your brain. It promotes new connections between brain cells, reduces atrophy of brain tissue that can come with age, increases the volume of the hippocampus, part of the brain important for memory, and stimulates the growth of new neurons.

Walking also allows you to balance two states that enhance creativity. Mindfulness, where you are present in the moment, and mind wandering or daydreaming, where you allow ideas, connections, dreams and visions for the future to come to us from the deeper realms of consciousness.

Try it. Next time you are looking for some creative inspiration take a walk. If you aren’t used to walking or don’t have a lot of time, simply start with a walk around the block. Find a park or a trail in nature and see how your muse opens up for you. Your body and health will love it too.

Engaging the Arts Helps Us to Thrive

by Suzanne Murray

I’ve long known that being creative has increased my sense of well being and satisfaction with my life dramatically. I have also seen this in the people I’ve worked with in my writing classes and creativity coaching over the years. Now I am reading fascinating book titled Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross that documents research showing how much this can be true for everyone.

Out this year, the book draws on cutting edge neuroscience and medical research to provide a wealth of information and insights on how engaging with the arts offers tremendous benefits to our physical, mental and emotional well being. This includes our appreciation of the arts, like visiting a museum or attending a concert, as well as our personal creation of art.

This relationship to the arts doesn’t have to be complicated or take a lot of time for us to feel the affects. You don’t have to be “good” at it. The authors site that “just twenty minutes of doodling or humming” reduces stress and improves our physical and mental state. Using a very broad definition of the arts there are countless ways for us to reap the rewards including music, singing, dance, movement, theater, poetry, writing, pottery, gardening, cooking, mask making, painting, collage and drawing.

Neuroscience shows that we are actually wired for the arts. We now know that our brains have the capacity to physically rewire and create new pathways in response to environmental stimulation throughout the whole of our lives. Being creative, as well as appreciating the arts, provide new experiences and an enriched environment that are good for the brain.

I’m only a third of the way through the book but wanted to share just how much evidence they show for the importance of engaging the arts in our lives. Creativity offers tools that can help us in these challenging times. A few examples of the research results include: In working with the arts our physical health improves including increased longevity; there are successes in dealing with pain; teens who read, even comic books, are less likely to get involved with drugs; the arts help mental health professionals get to the core of trauma to facilitate healing. It appears the arts are every bit as important to our well being as a good diet and exercise.

I think one of the reason engaging with the arts is so effective is that it brings us into the moment and satisfies some deeper part of our self. Like meditation, this relieves stress in the body and helps quiet the mind allowing us to feel connected to something larger than our everyday self. In this relaxation we can find a place to thrive.

Now Is the Time to Get Really Creative

by Suzanne Murray

The only truly happy people are children and the creative minority. -- Jean Caldwell

For the past couple of months the words "the time is now" have been running through my mind. I think a lot of people are feeling this. The momentum of change in the world nudging us all forward in new ways, asking us how do we want to create our lives moment by moment.

If our lives are the blank page, the white canvas and creativity is an energy that connects us to something beyond our everyday self allowing more of who we really are on the level of our heart and soul, then what do we want to create. This involves bringing creativity into our day to day life.

To start consider all the ways you are already creative in your life including cooking, gardening, decorating, parenting, teaching, work, business and every other area of your life. Often unless we are actively involved in some form of creative or artist expression we tend to dismiss our innate creative tendencies and gifts.

We just automatically think, "oh, I'm not creative". On top of this we have learned to see creative endeavors as frivolous. I work with a lot of creativity coaching clients who, at first, have a hard time showing up to the work of exploring and supporting their creative self because they have been taught from an early age that creativity isn't valuable. If you can't make money at it, it's a waste of time.

Yet our creativity is our greatest strength and gift in times of change. It gives us an ability to see what is possible and discover new ways of getting there. Daydreaming where we allow our minds to wander becomes a valuable tool when we understand that creativity involves a willingness to receive and be open to new ideas. As the French philosopher Joseph Joubert said, "the thoughts that come to you are more valuable than the ones you seek."

What would it take for you to develop a new relationship with your creativity. Consider giving your creativity a personality. Talk to your creativity. Ask her what she needs. If you have neglected your creativity for a long time you may need to do some coaxing to get her to talk to you.

I often suggest to people who are looking to reclaim their connection to creativity to get a box of crayons and start doodling and drawing the way you did as a child. You can ask questions like "what do I need to know right now?" and doodle the answer. And look at the doodles the way you ponder your dreams or messages that are wanting to arise from a deeper part of yourself. Most important. Play. Joy lies at the heart of our creative practice.

Think You Have to Be Original to Be Creative?

by Suzanne Murray

You don't have to reinvent the wheel. . .just steal the hubcaps. - Michael P. Naughton

One of the misunderstanding around creativity is that you have to be utterly original to do it. Yet the truth is all creative people stand on the shoulders of those who came before. Writers learn to write by reading, painting students are sent to museums to copy the masters, while great chefs learn the already tested basics of cooking in order to create some new dish.

Pulitzer prize winning poet Mary Oliver in her poem titled Stanley Kunitz, honoring one of her mentors, has a great line that describes this, "like the human child I am/I rush to imitate." We play with the work of others as we develop the sense of how it works and then how we can make the form our own. Ultimately our own unique creative expression is a remix of all our influences. Most of this is going on at the level of the subconscious and comes out when we get to work.

Innovation stands on a platform that already exists. Yes inspiration is involved, those flashes of insight, the ah...ha moments. Yet you start with something that already exists and take it to another level. So relax. Let go of thinking you have to do something original. Take the pressure off. Celebrate that there is all this help available.

One the best exercises I use as a writing and creativity coach, is having people ask advice of an imaginary mentor. I teach this as a stream of consciousness writing exercise, where you ask a question of someone you admire, like Einstein or Emily Bronte. Then writing faster than you can think, you write the answer as if it is coming from them. Ten minutes is usually enough time to get good advice.

Try this now. See if you don't feel the support of those you have come before you in what creative form that calls to you.

Think You Need to Wait for Inspiration

Recently a new writing coaching client emailed me to say, "I haven't been writing. I just don't feel inspired." I immediately shot a message back explaining that "You can"t wait for inspiration. If you get nothing else out of our coaching together beyond this awareness it will make a huge difference in your creative life."

No writer or other artist waits for inspiration before showing up. Painter Chuck Close said, "inspiration is for amateurs - the rest of us just show up and get to work." Flannery O'Connor, the noted Southern writer, described her habit of going to her office everyday from 8am to noon, “she wasn't sure if anything was going to happen but she wanted to be there if it did.” 

Most writers just start writing and find inspiration along the way. John Steinbeck would always end one day's writing in the middle of the page, so he could pick up the thread the next day. He insisted that "In writing, habit seems to be a much stronger force than either willpower or inspiration."

Current research in the neuroscience of the brain shows that creativity is activated when we are in the brain wave states of alpha and theta which are associated with meditation, intuition and information beyond our conscious awareness. This is why a writer often needs to write a page of what feels uninspired in order slow the mind down and hit the zone.

This is true of all acts of creativity. We have to show up and begin to play with the process to access the place of inspiration. The more we commit to our creativity through our intentions and actions the more our creativity flows and the more juiced, excited and inspired we feel.

Are You Ready to Create Your Life?

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. - Steve Jobs

It's hard to describe the creative process with words and rational thought. It's really a dance, a song, music in the blood, rising on the breath of inspiration. It's a flow of energy that connects you to the heart of the universe. When you enter that river it feels really good. You are alive in the moment, expressing the uniqueness of you.

You can create anything from this place: a poem, a song, a garden, a solution to a problem or a new story for your life. Take a dash of inspiration, a flood of ideas, woven into a images in the mind's eye by your imagination. Your heart and intuition play a key role, too.

What if you really knew that you could create anything from this place? What if you understood that you could rearrange the creation of your life by what you imagine, what you pay attention to, and what you choose to focus on.

Begin by relaxing your hold on whatever you think of as your story now. Suspend disbelief and imagine that you can change the story of your life more easily than you think. Consider that you have an opportunity for rebirth. What would that look like if you had a magic wand that allowed you to access infinite possibilities?

TRY THIS: Take a moment and consider the life you desire for yourself. What do you feel called to create? What areas aren't working the way you would like? Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths. and drop your attention down into your heart. Then imagine yourself journeying to a place where anything and everything is possible. As you leave your old story behind feel the creative excitement and energy of the new life that wants to be born. Invite your soul to participate and ask the universe to help.

Imagine the elements of your new life coming toward you. What do you see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. Using your senses makes the experience feel much more real. Know that whatever you can imagine is possible. In your mind's eye try on whatever comes to you. How does it feel? Do you feel expanded? Does it feel light? If so, this helps you discern what is for your highest good. The more you play with this exercise on a daily basis the more you are energizing the potential for what you want to create.

To help your creativity along begin to break out of habitual patterns. Find new ways to creatively engage even the most ordinary aspects of your daily life. Put your clothes on in new order. Eat new foods. Find meaningful and inspiring challenges. Explore new possibilities for interacting with your inner and outer worlds. This generates new opportunities that will lead you to the future you feel called to create.

You can use this exercise for anything you want to create whether it's engaging with a new art form or creating a whole new life. In the changing world we live in using our expanded capacities of imagination and intuition can open you up to things happening in magical and unexpected ways, that our mind would never have considered. Living from this place allows you to tap the creative flow in every area of our lives. It leads to our greatest happiness and fulfillment.

Creativity: Co-Creating with Creation

It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance .. I know of no substitute whatever for the force and beauty of its process. - Henry James

There is nothing more satisfying to the human spirit, the human soul than being creative. You don't have to write the great American novel to qualify. A woman in one of my creativity coaching classes decided that she wanted to tile her bathroom. She took great delight in the entire process of researching the method, planning the tile pattern and executing the project. Now every time she uses her bathroom she feels a real sense of satisfaction.

That the spirit of creativity, whether we are writing a poem, painting a watercolor, planning and planting a flower garden or developing a new recipe in the kitchen. Our willingness to engage in making something new brings a quality of joy to the process regardless of where it flows easily or not.

Theologian Matthew Fox, in his brilliant book, Creativity: Where the Divine and Human Meet insists that when we are creativity we become co-creators with creation. I agree. I think that why when we are being creative it feels divine.

I want to stress that everyone is creative - it's our birthright. So many of us had it thwarted at an early age. Our creative self is a tender and vulnerable aspect, so she needs to be encouraged. It doesn't take much to send her into hiding.The good news is that you can bring her back out by a willingness to play in whatever way calls to you. A willingness to be messy, to draw outside the lines, to think outside the box.

Take a moment. Take a breath. What does your creativity look like? What would bring you joy and satisfaction? Suspend the critic and be willing to play with the idea. What contribution can your unique expression of creativity make to the world? It is through our creative imagination and abilities that we have the capacity to make the changes the world need at this important time in human history.

The Importance of Embracing Your Creativity

I believe this passionately: that we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out if it. - Ken Robinson

The title of Ken Robinson brilliant book, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative, springs from Robinson's belief that at this time in human history if we fail to promote and support the vast reserves of latent creativity and innovation living within every person, then we must be "out of our minds".

He insists, and I agree, "that everyone has a huge creative capacity as a natural result of being a human being." The challenge is the lack of cultural support and permission for reclaiming the creative gifts that we have been largely schooled out of. There needs to be an atmosphere where it's okay for everyone to be creative rather than holding the assumption that it's the domain of a select few.

On a global level, we are in the midst of a major paradigm shift where old structures unravel because they no longer really serve the greater good. Humanity is in the process of evolving from a world based on competition to one where cooperation and co-creation holds the key to our well being and survival. Since entirely new ways to doing things need to be developed, engaging and expanding our creativity and innovation are absolutely critical. Creativity is where our intuitive and imaginative minds play with the field of infinite possibilities.

Since most of us have had our creative efforts discouraged from an early age, we have a hard time wanting to re-open that door. Start with this. Look at all the ways you are already creative in your life. This includes creative problem solving. Many years ago at a wilderness trailhead miles from help I fixed the broken cable to my gas pedal using a paper clip and rubber band so we were able to drive home.

In the past couple of years we have all been asked to figure out new creative ways of doing things. I suspect that if you look at your creative self in this new light you will come up with a long list of all the ways you are already creative. Then ask yourself, "how can I expand my creative capacity?" and "how can I support others in being more creative?"

Along with helping the world, on a personal level being creative feeds our own heart and soul. When we fail to use our creative capacity we limit our experience of the joy and presence that being absorbed in the creative moment brings.

Ask yourself"how can I bring more creativity into my life and the world", let it go and just see what pops into your mind when you aren't thinking about it. Pay attention to synchronicities, those chance occurrences that hold meaning. I've had books I've needed to read literally fall off the bookstore shelf at my feet. I tend to get goosebumps at such moments as if my body recognizes the communication from a higher source at work. That's part of how creativity works.

Opening more fully to our intuition, imagination and creativity can be key in navigating the rapid pace of change in the world. Accessing the expanded way of knowing, at the heart of being creative, can keep us from feeling overwhelmed by our sense of uncertainty.

The more complex the world becomes, the more creative we need to be to meet its challenges. - Ken Robinson

How to Invite Creative Inspiration

I often invite inspiration by asking my creative spirit or muse for help. Whenever I teach a class or get ready to write my monthly newsletter I always ask in advance, What's the theme for this one? or What do I need to know for this?. I say it silently to myself, directing the question to the part of me that knows what would be of highest value or support to my students or readers. Then I let it go. I don't think about it or try to figure it out. The answer always comes to me. It can be hours or days later, but I always get the answer in time. It comes as an idea that flashes into my mind or something someone says to me in conversation or the title of a book I see in the library. I'll have an ah ha moment, where I just know, that's it.

This works a lot better than trying to figure it out. When it comes to creativity and inspiration the mind really doesn't know. It's not capable of knowing in expanded ways. In fact you mind will usually start to tell you all the reason what you are wanting to create won't work. Trying to figure anything out generally leaves you feeling like a hamster on a wheel, exhausted and not really getting anywhere.

To be inspired the answer has to come from our Being or expanded Self. You can call it your subconscious mind or imagination. We all have access to this capacity. Yet since we have learned to glorify the mind and rational. linear thinking we are in the habit of looking there for answers. This limits what is possible. Our mind is like a computer, it can only draw from existing data banks. It isn't capable to coming up with something new. That comes from our imagination.

When we invite inspiration our subconscious or expanded Self goes to work on the question or problem. It will silently work on it 24/7 until the solution rises to the surface. It can come as an ah..ha or a whisper. We have to practice asking and trusting that it will come. We also need to pay attention to the world as the solution can also come as a synchronicity that speaks to our knowing.

This works when you stuck in your writing or other creative acts. It works if you are having a problem at work or in your relationships and more. You could also ask what contribution can I be to the world or the earth at this critical time. Play with this and see how your answers arrive.

Creativity and Consciousness

Consider consciousness providing a connection or a doorway to the field of infinite possibilities, and creativity as one way of accessing that place. Anytime you begin to play with the creative process, whether through art or gardening or cooking or tinkering in your garage or problem solving at work, you open up to your expanded capacities and more of who you truly are. You tap into the field of Oneness, the domain of the infinite. It feels good. You have a heightened sense of awareness. Time seems to stop and you lose track of the world around you. You are very much in the Now.

You don't have to be doing anything big or dramatic. It can start as simply as writing the draft of a poem or preparing a new dish without a recipe. Creativity happens when intuition, inspiration and attention intersect. We invite this mysterious process in when we start playing with a poem, a painting, an idea and allow it to be born from a deeper knowing. Our cognitive mind moves out of the way as if it grasps that it doesn’t have the answers. It feels nervous at no longer being in control. At this point if you really let go, suddenly you find yourself in the creative dance where time stops and inspiration and an awareness of what step to take next is obvious.

We were meant to live this way. Sailing the seas of imagination. Asking what else is possible. Creativity is literally a gift we are all born with. It's about more than arts and crafts. It expresses itself in a myriad of ways, in the unique form calls to us. It is also a capacity we use for everyday problem solving and creating our lives. It's about being connected to Spirit and the invisible realms that are eager to support us. It is a doorway into higher consciousness. It is the place we will find the solutions needed to create positive change in our lives and the world.

Nature and Creativity Offer Inspiration in Troubling Times

The earth has music for those who listen. – George Santayana

Nature and creativity are doorways to the sacred. They can help us connect to the deeper parts of ourselves, the knowing of our hearts and souls. They can assist us in being more present in the moment and give us access to expanded capacities of intuition, inspiration and imagination.

Connecting to the natural world opens us to our own creative gifts, allowing us to bring forth new possibilities and solutions for our own lives and our troubled world.

The ongoing tragedies and stresses in the world, combined with instant access to these events through the news and social media, can leave us feeling helpless and hopeless. Our psyches and nervous systems overwhelmed.

Spending time in nature as well as creative play can be a balm for heart and soul and help us ground our lives in an expanded sense of self. They relax our body, bring us more into the moment where we can breathe more deeply and release our worry about the future. They can increase our sense of well being allowing us to connect to a sense of peace.

Here’s a bit of inspiration from Pulitzer Prize winning poet Mary Oliver from her poem Praying in her book Thirst. She explains how to connect to nature and creativity wherever your are and how the deeper threads of knowing can find you in the process.

It doesn’t have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in the lot, or a few
small stones: just
pay attention, then patch

A few words together and don’t try
to make them elaborate, this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak. . .

It doesn’t have to be a poem or even words. You can draw or doodle or dance or sing or cook what comes to you. The key is to reclaim your child-like sense of wonder where you are playing with creation free of any expectations. Relax and have fun. Who knows what inspiration might come.

Living and Creating with the Unknown

The scope of challenges we face in the world today is staggering. Everything seems uncertain. We can feel overwhelmed and very uncomfortable in the face of so much unknown. Yet the unknown is really the only place for any new creation. How do we work with it without feeling paralyzed by our fear of the uncertainty?

Trusting that something larger than our everyday selves is available to support and guide us is essential. Creativity, our ability to come us with new ideas and solutions in every area, is impossible without a willingness to be open and surrender to the inspiration that wants to come through us.

Creativity is all about working with the unknown. Whenever I start a piece of writing I rarely have more than a vague idea of where to even begin. Yet as I show up inspiration arrives to guide me as I go. I may ask a creative question, like what is this newsletter about, then let it go. This month I got living and creating with the unknown as the topic. As I sat down to write it came to me in pieces that I could weave together from my intuitive knowing. That’s how we can create anything, even our lives and our world.

Visionary creative Jan Phillips suggests “once we begin to see ourselves as creators of our lives, we can start to see ourselves as makers of the culture. And from there, we can weave our personal hopes and commitments into the social fabric around us . . . No political leader has the power to override or diminish the public imagination.”

We often resist playing with our imagination and opening to create new possibilities because some part of us considers the unknown to be unsafe. We can experience a physical sense of discomfort in our body that can keep us from even trying something new.

Try this: Close your eyes and take a few slow deep breaths relaxing your body on the exhale. Relaxing your body can make it easier to access your imagination. See your mind a blank slate as you continue to breathe. Focusing internally in a meditative way actually slows our brain waves down from everyday beta waves of the analytical mind to alpha waves of the intuitive mind. This doesn't need to take a lot of time. In ten minutes we can feel more peaceful, centered and open to our creative imagination and the flow of new ideas and new stories for our lives and our world.

When we get a new idea that feels inspired we can act on it. Step by step, we can create new ways of being in the world and navigate these uncertain times with grace and empowerment seeing all the changes and challenges as a tremendous opportunity.

How Being Creative Makes Us Happy

Years ago I heard Nobel Prize winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney give a lecture at the University of Washington. In the middle of this very academic speech, he paused, threw up both his hands and said, "oh, just write for the joy of it" and then dipped back into the lecture. I don't remember anything else from the talk, but Heaney's sudden burst of inspiration stayed with me because it really captured an essential element to being creative.

Whether you are cooking a great meal, growing a beautiful garden, writing a poem or singing in the community choir, you likely feel a deep sense of satisfaction and a joyfulness that comes with being creative. Creativity draws on the best of human nature: perception, imagination, intellect, inspiration, courage, intuition, and empathy. The urge to create asks us to bask in the experience of the world, to see, feel, taste, hear, and smell the magnificence around us. It allows us to celebrate, with a spirit of gratefulness, every aspect of our lives and the beauty and complexity the world offers. It can help us make meaning from our sufferings.

Being creative also breaks us free from our ruts and habits allowing us to look at the world anew. We are able to tell a story that touches others, envision a unique way of solving a problem or offer counsel with fresh clarity, even if we have struggled with the same material or ideas a hundred times before. Embracing our creativity allows us to tap a deeper more insightful way of knowing beyond our conscious mind and thoughts.

I think being creative feels so good because it connects us to divine imagination and when we actively participate in developing and fulfilling our gifts it feels like a mystical experience. We intuit that we are connected to something larger than ourselves which is perhaps the greatest gift that comes from following our creative urges.

Early in my work as a writer when I became aware that I was writing from an inspired sense of flow, I would get this urge to look around the room to see where is was coming from because I sensed it was exactly coming from me. Now I am just always deeply grateful when I tap fully into that vein and welcome it with a sense of grace.

In looking for your own ways of being creative you can start by celebrating your uniqueness. There never was, nor ever will be, anyone exactly like you. In exploring your uniqueness there is often a central preoccupation, an interest or passion that runs through your life? There can also be more than one.

If you can't name it right now, think of something that you are fascinated by again and again. The possibilities are infinite; from needlework to rock climbing, from bird watching to playing the piano, from English country dancing to writing haiku, from gardening to giving foot massages. Look for what brings you joy and then begin taking actions to embrace your creativity and enjoy the process. One small step a day will set you down the creative path to increased happiness and fulfillment.

How Do You Take Inspired Action

I taught the Heart of Writing classes for more than twenty years. When people ask me about the main focus, I will sometimes laughingly respond, "I teach people to loose their minds." If we are going to really engage our creativity and expand our possibilities, we need to let go of the rational mind's need to figure things out, and allow inspiration, imagination and intuition to inform our decisions and guide our actions.

Much of the time, we try to figure things out with our minds, hoping we will be able to find a way to make the changes we desire. We make up a daily to-do-list based on what we think we should do to make things happen. Yet things often don't work as well as we would like. Our rational, linear thinking minds can only draw on past experience, so it leads us to repeat variations of the same pattern. We feel frustrated because we "think" we should be able to figure out how to change our situation.

Yet, the linear mind really can't create anything new. It's not designed to comprehend spiritual or creative matters. That's the domain of our imagination and intuition which connects us to expanded ways of knowing and being. Our being is connected to the field of Oneness or all possibilities, so it can guide us to situations we would never have considered from the limits of our thinking mind. This is the place creativity comes from. This is the domain of inspiration. If you want create newness in your life you need to access this deeper way of knowing.

Intuition and inspiration usually come as a soft whisper or a felt sense of lightness in our bodies. If our mind is busy chattering, we can't pick up these signals. When we do pick up on the guidance, we often feel fear because we are being asked to step out of our comfort zone. Our mind tells us that fear is protecting us, keeping us safe. Our mind wants us to believe that worrying is productive. Yet, have we ever solved a problem with worry or have we just dug ourselves in deeper?

If we really want to live a life of peace, happiness, freedom and creativity we have to learn to quiet our minds. Meditation can help. So can yoga or a walk in Nature. Using our breath to be more present in our bodies can bring us into the moment and the awareness that wants to be revealed. We have to learn a new language. One that involves a felt sense of knowing, an openness to being pleasantly surprised, and an awareness of synchronicities, the way the universe supports us and reassures us we are on the right track.

If I need to make a decision and find myself stuck running a mental loop, I use the technique of free-writing or stream-of-consciousness writing to gain clarity. I will often start with the question, "What do I need to know right now?" Then I'll write the answer as fast as I can. If you write fast, your rational mind can't keep up and you tap a deeper knowing. I always get much better advice this way than if I tried to "figure it out".

From this place of knowing rather than thinking we are able to take inspired action that supports our deeper desires and goals and we can experience miracles as we open to the help of the universe.

Using the Power of Your Imagination

Everything you can imagine is real. - Pablo Picasso

Imagination is at the heart of creativity. It offers us offers us a doorway to expanded possibilities and ways of knowing. Imagination is a powerful capacity for creating not only stories or pictures or music but our very lives. With it we can find solutions to problems, for ourselves and the world, that our rational minds couldn’t solve.

In my own creativity as a writer and photographer as well as my work as a creativity coach, I’ve always insisted that our imagination is smarter than our mind. It allows us to access expanded states of consciousness where fresh ideas spark and we find the flow of infinite possibilities and intuition. If we can imagine something, see it in our mind’s eye or get feeling sense of it, we can create it, often in ways that seem miraculous.

Most of us have been discouraged from engaging our imagination with comments like "stop daydreaming” or “why are you wasting time staring out the window.” or “oh you’re just making that up.” These activities all allow our creative mind to run free to make new connections and give birth to new ideas. Rather than being encouraged to dream big, to ask questions or expand our awareness beyond our linear rational mind, we have been consistently schooled in restricting our imaginative potential.

As adults we often define ourselves as not being creative and imaginative. Yet it is a gift we were all born with and something we can easily reclaim by our willingness to play with it. One way to start is with “just pretend”. Just pretend what you want your creativity or life to look like if you had no limits and all was possible. Imagination is the faculty that can take you there.

Our imaginations are like muscles. If they haven't been used they atrophy and we to strengthen them to allow for optimum access. As we start to exercise our imaginations we actually form new neural connections in our brain.

Try this. Take three deep breaths all the way down into your belly and with each exhalation let everything go and let the peace of simply being present in the moment enter you. Then imagine being in a favorite place. What do you see. If you are not visual, don't worry about it. Instead focus on what it feels like to be there. What sounds, scents, tastes are involved. Use all your senses. The body can't distinguish between a real experience and something that is imagined so this is a great way to give yourself a mini vacation without leaving home.

Then try this. Try using your imagination to talk to a tree, a squirrel or a stone. See what they have to say to you. Just pretend and play with it. Have fun.