A creative impulse is intoxicating. The rush of inspiration you feel in your mind and body lights you up, offering a body buzz that sends endorphins sky high. It’s dreamy, exciting and fun all at the same time. When the initial feeling passes and your body settles down, sometimes the mind can come barging in with an agenda of it’s own. It’s not trying to ruin your fun on purpose, it sometimes just let’s the ego drive the bus instead of the heart. So when you … [Read more...]
Clearing Out Weeds in your Creative Garden
July 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment
A creative garden is the space you set up to play with new ideas to see how they grow. It’s like an incubator for cool ideas and inspirations you want to simmer a bit longer. The seeds you plant could be for your business, career or personal life - whatever feels intriguing but doesn’t require immediate action. The class you were thinking of attending or developing? It’s a seed in your creative garden. Your latest passion for biking? It’s in there too. Thinking of trying … [Read more...]
Piggy Banks and the Art of Being Mindful
June 5, 2014 By Leave a Comment
The practice of being mindful is a lot like the experience of getting your first piggy bank as a kid. No matter what shape, color or type of “bank” you used, it served as a simple symbol of your resources, connecting the concept of being mindful to a tangible physical form. Sliding the change through the slot, making it a habit, day dreaming about just how much was hiding behind the walls, picking up extra change you found to deliver it safely to your growing … [Read more...]
When Creative Tinkering Goes Wild
April 17, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Creative tinkering is part of any process. Fully shaped ideas don’t often (if ever) fall out of your brain without the need to fine tune them at least a bit to make them ready for prime time. While working with the seed of an idea can feel energizing and intoxicating, sometimes your brain won’t stop yapping at you long enough to let an idea live and breathe on it’s own. This is when you know you’ve encountered a bout of creative tinkering gone wild. Sound like you? Join the club! I’m a … [Read more...]
Stress and Creative Genius: The Playful Art of Push and Pull
March 27, 2014 By 1 Comment
Stress can inspire creative genius, especially when you are pushed into a corner and have to figure something out in a flash. This high-octane approach can work in small doses when it creeps up on you (see procrastination) but it’s not the best solution for long-term creative inspiration. Stress is especially challenging for sensitive folks, who quickly get burnt out and take a while to recover a sense of balance to get back in sync. I believe there can be a balance between these … [Read more...]
Balancing Tension Between Productivity and Creative Flow
March 6, 2014 By 2 Comments
Productivity is a common benchmark for determining perceived value in the world of work, but while ticking items off a to-do list can feel fulfilling, using the same approach to measure the value of your creative flow falls flat. That’s why you may sometimes feel a sense of underlying tension around expressing yourself creatively - there’s no set way to determine the value of the effort. You just need to trust the act of creating is valuable, and that can feel awkward for people used to more … [Read more...]
Follow the Chaos to Creative Inspiration
February 13, 2014 By 2 Comments
Chaos may seem like the enemy, but to the creative part of your soul, it’s the catalyst for real, heart-driven, soul-tingling inspiration. There are gifts in the chaos that greet us, gifts that empower us to embrace change and heal what blocks our creative flow, leading us straight to “THE” idea. So when chaos shows up in your life and space, how you do work with it? Hide, delve into distractions or meet it straight on? There is no right way, only your way to work with chaos, but … [Read more...]
Creative Power Lies in Your Personal Practice
January 2, 2014 By 1 Comment
At the start of the new year it can feel like you want to change everything at once to kick-start your creative power. The inspiration to change something, anything, is in the air and it can be very intoxicating. So when you feel the urge to switch things up and fuel your creative power, where do you start -- with habits visible to the outside world or by crafting and committing to a new personal practice? While there isn’t a specific magical balance of these two internal/external forces … [Read more...]
A Time for Creative Rest
December 26, 2013 By 2 Comments
I think the day right after a big holiday is one of the best times of the year to practice full-on creative rest. It’s just before the end of the year when your mind shifts into reflection mode and you are able to see what did and didn’t work for you with more clarity and objectivity. You are also looking ahead to see what seeds you may want to start planting in the new year, allowing yourself more permission to dream and explore. But before you jump right back into action mode, a small … [Read more...]
Loving What you Perceive as your Creative Flaws
December 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Is it easier to point out your attributes or list your creative flaws? If I were to guess, I would say your list is a bit lopsided, and your ability to pick out what you would change is not only longer, but easier to write. So instead of looking at the points on your list as things to overcome or fix, why not take what you perceive as your creative flaws and learn how to love them? The willingness to see all of who you are and use it to fuel your self expression and creative projects opens up … [Read more...]