Creativity is an exploration of all that is, all possibilities, ideas and emotions, even fear.
As a creative being you sometimes misunderstand the power of your fears and what they can teach. You decide to create around them instead, practicing avoidance, shutting down your heart or putting away your dreams. A reaction like this limits so many aspects of your life, not just your creativity.
These behaviors may serve to protect the mind, giving you a sense that you have some level of control. In truth, they limit your ability to create, and keep your fullest self-expression in the shadows – until it turns into one.
Why do we dread fear so much? Is it because it invokes a sense of powerlessness? Discomfort with the feeling of not knowing? Perhaps it’s the series of chemical and physical reactions within the body that heighten all the sensations, making things feel bigger than you can manage?
Or, is it that we see fear as the enemy when it comes to our creative self, the same way we view physical or emotional danger?
What if you were able to shift how you see and embrace the fear you feel about your own creativity, self-expression and power? What if you could see the various emotional reactions and sensations as an invitation to stretch yourself, your creative muscles, as well as practice being OK with “not knowing” and busting through all kinds of resistance?
“Going Under” Takes Courage, But Gives you Freedom
The decision to “go under” and open up to self-examination is already a practice in facing fear. It’s a courageous choice, even when you feel you have no other option.
To embark on your creativity deep dive, start simple. Get into a quiet space where you have time alone, put on relaxing music, incense or candles and have a notebook handy.
Then it’s time to test the waters with some self-reflection questions:
- What am I afraid of, and what sparks it?
- Do I feel like a victim, or as if I’m not strong or creative enough to push through the fear and thrive?
- What experiences inspire me? What experiences cause me to withdraw and keep my creativity quiet? Write down a list of both.
- Is there a pattern or a root to the experiences that cause fear to rise with me? Is there a specific person or type of person, situation or trigger?
- How is a particular fear experience holding me back from my fullest creative self-expression or in making important life choices?
Be Patient, Embrace Yourself and the Totality of the Experience
During a dedicated self-inquiry session like this, it may take a few sessions to really get to the truth. Be patient. Take deep breaths if emotions come up and sit with them. Acknowledging the fear helps to diminish or lessen its grip, a little at time. It can also help to reframe the experience you have of fear and the power if can have over you when it arises.
As you grow into deeper layers of self-awareness, the sensation of fear may feel the same, but take on a different nuance. It also may be harder to pin down, behaving more like a shadow following you around rather than surfacing as a result of a specific experience. Use this simple deep dive exercise as a framework for you to re-examine and explore what’s slipping in at any time.
Creativity is a way through to your deeper, more expansive self. When you know what your fears are, and understand how you limit yourself to avoid them, you remove the smog to clearly see your creative gifts. Call on those gifts to re-instill confidence in yourself, as they are the truth to believe in amidst the temporary feeling of fear.
[bctt tweet=”Where there’s fear, there’s growth. Don’t be afraid to grow. You already know how that story ends. “]
Want to read a little more about managing fear? Check out my previous post on Do You Have a Creative Fear, or Fear of Being Challenged? or Creativity Kick-Start: Confess a Creative Fear. To connect with me for an intuitive reading or support, visit my services or How I Help. You can also check out my podcast, Flirting with Enlightenment for even more tips on how to tap into your inner wisdom.
Photo credit: Stan Lupo – osprey, Leo Grubler – hands