Staying Creatively Juiced

One of the big questions in any creative life is “How do we stay inspired?”

There is a natural rhythm to our creativity that ebbs and flows like the tide. When we are in an ebb of creative juice, sometimes we think we’ve “lost it.” – lost the magic, lost the connection to source.  What I’ve found over my four decades of creative practices is when I’m experiencing an “ebb” of creative juice, it’s a sign to do something else.

That’s what I do.
I now trust the process that all things come and go and will most likely come around again.

The natural “ebb” time of our creative flow is an opportunity to go do some things that will spark your sense of PLAY, CURIOSITY and EXPLORATION.

Here are five things I do when I’m filling up my cup of inspiration.

1. Practice Seeing Differently. A fun thing to do is to go for a walk – in your neighborhood, in nature, in another neighborhood – and choose a color you’re drawn to. Then be on the lookout for that color and take pictures of what shows up. For example, if I choose RED as my color and I’m out an about, I’ll take pictures of anything I see that’s red – the bicycle ( I may not have otherwise noticed) the flaming red poppy, the red door in the neighborhood, a kid in a red T-shirt. You get the idea.

   
   This is a chance to open your eyes in one way and narrow your focus in another. Your focus is on RED. That means you’re filtering out other things. The fun and play in this is that you have no idea what will show up for you.
   
   Then, if you want to play further, you might make a collage of the things you saw on your walk that were red. You might NAME the objects that were red and write a short poem with those words in the poem. And/or you might ponder what each of these objects symbolize for you and how they might be a message for you now.

2. Borrow from Other Artists. A fun way to get inspired about your own creative flow is to look at what other artists are doing. If you’re a visual artist, you might peruse through art books, social media, or art magazines to see what other artists are doing and then try out something you see. OR just take in what you see and let it percolate within you for some future time when you’re making art.
   
   I love going to museums and galleries to see what other people are doing with their work and if I’m inspired, I’ll try it out in my own work.

3. Take a Road Trip or a Trip Abroad. One of the magical things about getting away from where we live is that we stir the pot and wake up to the new images, scents, roads, landscape of a new place. If you’re feeling really stuck, giving yourself the opportunity to go somewhere new is a fun way to stimulate a sense of aliveness and alertness. I’ve always found traveling an inspiration for my creative life. Especially when I’m able to go to other countries where the customs, language, visuals are so different from at home.
   
   When you go, take your journal with you if you have one, and take notes. What’s piquing your interest. What is activating your heart? What’s calling your spirit. Trust your intuition and follow the thread of where you feel drawn to go and explore.

4. Peruse a Book Store. Writers invite us into their worlds through story, poetry, and so many other kinds of writing. Take yourself on a trip to a bookstore and just walk around. See what books call you and why. Is it the cover art of a book? Is it the title of the book? Is it the author you know? Pick up some books and flip through them. See if there are any messages for you to glean as you walk through the store. Maybe treat yourself to a new book and see what it stirs in you for your creative life.

5. Do a Ritual. Most of the time we are moving through life with our to-do lists, going about life in a super-habitual way without thinking too much about the deeper part of our being and what it needs. I LOVE ritual to bring myself into a more present, aware state of being. There are so many ways we can do rituals (which is another blog post!) but for now, I’ll share these few ideas:

   Gratitude: Before you eat your food, take a moment and pause to find the gratitude for the food you’re about to eat and all the people who made it possible for it to land on your table.

   New Moon and Full Moon – they happen every month: The new moon is a great time to set intention for yourself. It’s a time to call in new things that you want to manifest. The full moon is the cycle of completion, a great time to offer thanks and look at what you completed in the past month.

   Birthdays: I LOVE celebrating birthdays. My own and other peoples. The birthday is SUCH an amazing time to celebrate someone you love. To honor them and let them know how important they are to you. Next time a friend or family member has a birthday, write them a little love letter about what they mean to you in your life.

We all experience energetic ebbs and flows in life. When you relax into what is truly here for you rather than fight against it, life feels easier. You, quite literally, feel more “in the flow.” The same is true for your creative practices.

When you find yourself in a creative “ebb” relax and enjoy the opportunity to feed your creativity in a different way. Try out some of these ideas, not with the intention of “getting your creative juice back” but to stoke the fire that will eventually rekindle itself.

 Blessings on the creative path!

I've Been Binge Watching TV Shows!

I’ve been binge watching a new TV show and I notice my inner critic is having a field day. 

“You could at least watch something educational.”
“You might want to read a book.”
“What about meditation? Where’s that gone?”

But my rebellious teenager is fighting back:
“Give me a fucking break. 
I’ve had CoVID. 
I’m still tired at night and I don’t want to use my brain. 
So, LEAVE      ME        ALONE!”

She tells me it’s ok to sit around, make hot chocolate and watch hours of How to Get Away with Murder. 
She does it. 
She has no problem wiling away the hours staring at the walls. 

Pondering. 
Thinking. 
Feeling.

The truth is, I really can’t do much at night lately. It’s been three weeks, and I’m back to the daily rituals of cooking, laundry, dog walks and work, which feels like a minor miracle.

When the big C-bug took me down, I could barely move out of bed the first week. Making breakfast was a heroic effort, much less feeding my dogs and then getting ready to nap. I was lucky to get a sunny week, so I spent languorous hours resting in the warm sundrenched rays stretched between my dogs in the backyard, soaking in vitamin D. 

I felt my body relax. I felt my whole being relax. 

Something was changing.
Shifting.

I got some information while resting.
I reflected on how hard I work to make things happen.
How much I try to manipulate results – of my work mainly.

I could feel myself starting to let go.
Let go of how I do things.
Let go of my ideas about how to make things happen.

It felt like the creative process in play. 

It felt exactly like the process of creating a painting. I know that point where I have to let go into the abyss and settle into the discomfort of not knowing. Rest in the place of trusting some outcome that hasn’t arrived.

Yes, that was it. 

Except the creative process was about my life, and the balance of all the parts – my passions, my financial flow, my adventures, my relationships.

I began to ask myself questions like, “What do you REALLY want to do?” “How do you REALLY want to spend your time?”

I’m still in the process. I continue to ask the questions and listen for the answers. I follow intuitive leads and I’m excited about unknown possibilities. 

I have no idea how it will all turn out.
I have no idea where and when those magical moments will happen, but I know they will happen. I know I will land in some new paradigm of my life that will last for a while until some other transformational experience comes along.

So, the TV shows – in the end I trust my intuition to choose and to teach me what I need through the characters, the plot or simply the rest from thinking too much.