Creativity and Spirituality: the Enduring Path: inner growth

27 November 2014

Remembering True Self

Remembering that you have a True Self....

I have come to believe that the most challenging aspect of the spiritual journey is the simple act of remembering that we have a True Self who, if allowed, guides our path with grace, compassion, and expectation. Remembering is easier when life is peaceful, but it is quite another thing to remember, much less call upon True Self, when we are in the midst of an emotional storm.

Leading an aware life comes from remembering that you are

19 March 2014

Risk: An Essential Ingredient in Creativity

You cannot be truly creative until the gypsy in you dances.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Imagining your creative desires is the first step on the journey to getting them. The pursuit is not an easy one. Creativity doesn’t just happen. Wildly creative people aren’t the beloved children of the Fates. Creativity is hard work. It is risky business. Creativity is something we must choose every day of our lives.

Creativity is active and passionate. Creativity is about doing and feeling. The rich fertile ground where creativity is born and nurtured lies in the heart and the gut. Creativity rises from the unknown, the unseen, the forgotten. Creativity laughs and cries, it dances and sings, it creates and destroys.

14 March 2014

How Do We Attain Creative Success?

Nourish your creativity and it will nourish you! It's a two-way street, really!
To be “successful” in creativity we cannot lust after outcomes. This does not mean that we do not desire to have our book published, our play produced, our song heard, our garden flower, our path known. It does mean that we have to, as Emerson said, "Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience."

Does nature want her flowers to bloom, her grass to green and her sun to shine? Does nature want day more than night or summer more than winter? Does nature, the most creative force in life, want anything?

05 March 2014

Why Do We Impoverish Our Creativity With Wanting?

Creative Success Cannot Be Defined by Fame and Fortune

The Alchemy of Unattached Creativity

The creative flow is an organic process that embraces and defines us when we open to it from the heart and not the mind. Its success cannot be defined by fame and fortune. Its success is a deepening of soul, a greater awareness of the expansiveness and truth of our being as well as our connection to others. For as we serve our own deeper truth, we are serving as a guide into the deeper truth of the greater society.

Creative spirits have been historically and mythically the light bearers for human kind. We are the risk takers, those who journey beyond the boundaries of human consciousness into the Mystery where knowings that serve as keys to destiny can be found.

When we become skilled practitioners of creativity, we journey with a kind of unattached consciousness. By this I mean, we are mindful that we are on the journey without needing to control its outcome. This is vital, for creativity rises up the great seething chaos of the unmanifested and moves towards the manifesting of that which has not been before. This is the ongoing journey of transfiguration of the human soul and creativity is its midwife.

15 February 2014

Prayer to Grace

Search for me in the barren desert of false self.

Search for me in the bitter landscape of fear.
I wear my loathing like a skin I did not know I grew.
And now I wonder:
How many skins lie below this skin,
the ghostly remains of a motherless child.

Grace be my Mother,
Cradle my frightened self.
Breath sweetness into my heart.
Say a prayer over stillborn selves
Smooth away the dead skins.
My stillborn selves hunger
For the sweet breast of Grace.

18 January 2014

How Is Water the Key to a More Fulfilling Life?

Do you have the patience to wait
til your mind settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving
til the right action arises by itself?
~Tao Te Ching

Water as a Metaphor for Conscious Living, Quote Tao Te Ching

Water flows in the path of least resistance. This is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary, water is one of the most powerful forces on earth. Water flows around, over and under. With the patience of the seasons, water carves its way through mountains. Water falls from great heights with nary a thought. It sparkles in sunlight and whispers to the soul on a moonlit night. Water is serene and violent, clear and murky, shallow and deep. All this without regrets.

This is the nature of water... Water is true to its nature.

What might your life look like if you did not fight against the natural currents and rhythms of your true nature? How might your life change? In exploring the nature of water, we deepen our awareness of our own deep, true Self.

03 January 2014

Do You Know How to Uncover the Real Plot of Your Life!

Uncovering the Real Plot, Story, of Your Life! A Journey of Soul

"Perhaps we could say that the soul joins the great Actors' Guild
of the Human Race when it takes a physical body and is born on earth." ~ Vivian King

Woke up early to a slowly graying sky and a snow laden world. So beautiful as I stared out my window. I thought, however, to go back to sleep, but Phoebe, my dog, had other ideas. She wanted out, or at least thought she did! Once I opened the door, I had to give her a strong nudge, and while she went about her business, I went about mine of making coffee! By the time Phoebe scratched to come in, the coffee was done and she and I, with coffee cup in hand, went back upstairs ― she intent on curling up under the covers, me intent on reading the book with which I fell asleep last night.

Soul Play, Turning Your Daily Dramas Into Divine Comedies
After Phoebe was settled under the covers, I reached for my book. As I did, I noticed another at the bottom of my bedside pile of books. It was a book I had ordered a while ago and really wanted to read, but somehow had forgotten about. It's called, Soul Play, Turning Your Daily Dramas Into Divine Comedies, by Vivian King. Immediately I set to reading.

What a treat! I could hardly contain my excitement as read on. Her processes resonated deeply and added to my own as a soul journeyer and Life Coach for creative women and men. What I love best are her playfulness and deep connection to the creative process and storytelling. It was when I came across the following passage that I knew I wanted to share this with all of you...

01 January 2014

Being a Spiritual Warrior: Thoughts for the New Year

Spiritual Warrior: Thoughts for New Year

Being A Spiritual Warrior
Some Thoughts for the New Year

In 2014, I find I am enough.

In 2014, I fall into confusion and forget.

Humanity is filled with bumps and warts.

Meanness and jealousy,

greed and hate come with the territory.

Imperfection is a given.

In 2014, I stumble and fall,

and forgive my humanness.

Laughing, I embrace the fall,

receive a gift,

a promise

an offering

to remember

there is more to me than I suspected.

In 2014, I embrace compassion

fierceness and strength,

joy and adventure.

This is who I truly am.

More than I ever dreamed.

Me, in all my glorious humanity

I am a spiritual warrior.

I break the distorting mirror

and remember who I truly Am.

27 December 2013

How To Stop Failing Even When You Succeed

Most of us see ourselves as the accumulation of stories defined by our role in the outer world.
These stories can be ones of success and hold moments of joy, feelings of being alive, worthy, respected and loved. Paradoxically, even when the outer world stories are positive, what we mistakenly believer are the deeper truths invariably seep in. We think to ourselves things such as:

1. My success won't last long... It really was a fluke.

2. The goodness, ability, intelligence, etc. that people see in me will ultimately be revealed as false glitter.

3. I am unworthy and if people knew the true me, they would see what a terrible person I really am – a fraud and imposter.


Are you ready to take off your mask?

We put on a good face to overcompensate
We feel this to a greater or lesser extent, and there are ways that we “put on a good face” to over-compensate for our fears of being "found out." Inside, however, we fall victim again and again to the fraud and imposter syndrome that that convinces us we are terrible people, unworthy, shameful, stupid... whatever is your false version of self.

Most people never awaken to the fact that the self they secretly condemn is not the real Self. It is the small, ego self. Perhaps you are nodding as you read this, thinking, yes, yes, I know this about my ego. But there seems little I can do to affect change.

You can’t force self-change.
You can’t even understand it. You can only have the experience and feel the embrace of True Self.

Your True Self never condemns or hides.
Your True Self is filled with compassion, joy and unconditional love.
Your True Self doesn’t categorize what happens in life as good or bad. All is part of the adventure, part of your path and another opportunity for growth.
Your True Self never hides. It is your ego self that can spend a lifetime hiding from True Self.

The journey to True Self is not an easy one. It means defying a lifetime of false stories and ego lies.

Interested in this extraordinary journey to True Self? Explore my Life Coaching.

26 December 2013

Transform the Way You See Creativity and Yourself

The multifaceted journey of creativity is not limited to the arts.
Creativity is not an end in itself. Creativity is a path from which the journey of life is explored, the mystery embraced. The multifaceted journey of creativity is not limited to the arts. There is another level of creativity that beckons, awakening us to the deeper truth of who we are, or who we would be. This is the journey of soul, an ancient quest central to the great myths and integral to the creative process. Then creativity is synonymous with life itself and a powerful source for personal spiritual growth and healing.

Anorexic Creativity...

09 December 2013

If You Aren't the CEO of Your Life, Who Is?

Creativity, Risk and Claiming Your Own Life

Pursuing our creative passions, even admitting to them, can be risky business.

Will I make money from our creative pursuits?

Will I be seen as selfish?

Am I wasting my time?

Will I fail?

Will I find out I have no creativity?

Such fear-based questions are the enemies of happiness and growth.

02 December 2013

Why Creativity Is a Journey Into the Dark!

In Hamlet, Shakespeare said, "Nothing's either good or bad but thinking makes it so." So tell your Inner Critic to put that in his pipe and smoke it when next it tries to stop you from following the passion of your creativity!

Creativity is a labyrinthine journey that takes us deeper and deeper into our self. With every twist, turn and seeming two (three and four!) steps backward for every step forward, we learn more, let go more, fear, love, cry and dance for joy.

Creativity is a journey into the dark and it must be.
Why? Because as creators, we are manifesting the unmanifested.

Where is the unmanifested found?

Where are seeds found?

What gives birth to dawn?

From where does the butterfly emerge?

What is the warm, encompassing darkness that gives birth to every living thing?

The answers are all around us.

Creativity is BIG STUFF!
Don't underestimate the power of the journey! And if you feel at times, and we all do, that you're not up to the task, think of this: if you don't risk the journey, you risk even more.

Explore The Cycles of Creativity

23 November 2013

How to Deepen Creativity By Embracing Your Own Shadow

Embracing the Shadow: A Journey Toward Wholeness

"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." ~ Carl Jung

Everyone has a shadow, much of which was created in childhood when our need for love and protection caused us to reject parts of us deemed shameful, unworthy or dangerous by family, teachers, religious leaders, friends and even our enemies. These disowned parts of us were exiled to the darkest depth of our unconscious, hidden from the world and often from ourselves.

This is a huge problem, for the shadow is a powerful part of us. We cannot will it away or think that it remains subdued just because we have forgotten its existence.

23 May 2012

Why the Shadow Needs Love Not Fear to Come Into the Light

There's an old story usually attributed to a Native American elder, that's meant to illuminate the power of attention.

A grandfather, imparting a life lesson to his grandson tells him, "I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is vengeful, fearful, envious, resentful, deceitful. The other wolf is loving, compassionate, generous, truthful and serene."

The grandson asks which wolf will win the fight. The grandfather answers, "The one I feed."

Which wolf do you feed?

03 March 2012

Fear Is the Fire Breathing Paper Dragon

Change terrifies us. Fear grips us. I didn’t ask for this. Why am I always the victim of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune?

When fear steps in...
Even when we are hungering for the change, fear steps in and makes the change seem impossible.

The truth is You, the True You, knows that there is nothing to fear. The True You came into life for the adventure of life and knows fear is part of the journey,
but doesn’t take it as fire breathing dragon appears to be.

The True You knows that illness, loss of a job or relationship, a betrayal, an illness and death are a clarion call to change! Yet fear is feels very real. It isn't. Fear is the fire breathing paper Dragon set off by the ego.

Change is the core of life. Terrified or not, change happens, all the time.

13 February 2012

Life as a Living Prayer

I receive Daily Meditations from Richard Rohr and this is one that I particularly like, and so I am sharing. It changes the word "prayer" in a dramatic and life-giving way. This is for anyone who is consciously on the journey of inner change, simplicity and peace.

The word prayer has been trivialized
"The word “prayer” has often been trivialized by making it into a way of getting what we want. But I use “prayer” as the umbrella word for any interior journeys or practices that allow you to experience faith, hope, and love within yourself. It is not a technique for getting things, a pious exercise that somehow makes God happy, or a requirement for entry into heaven. It is much more like practicing heaven now.

Such prayer, such seeing, takes away your anxiety for figuring it all out fully for yourself, or needing to be right about your formulations. At this point, God becomes more a verb than a noun, more a process than a conclusion, more an experience than a dogma, more a personal relationship than an idea. There is Someone dancing with you, and you are not afraid of making mistakes."

From The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See.

28 November 2011

Winter, Goethe and Death As Zen Master: A Quote

Goethe As Zen Master or Death as Promise. Goethe Quote

As we go into the dark womb time of the earth, where dying is the promise of new life, I think of this by Goethe:

And so long as you haven’t experienced
This: to die and so to grow,
You are only a troubled guest
On the dark earth.

As I look my life from where I am right now,
this quote makes me feel.....

Please post your writings on the blog!

07 January 2011

Five Truths About Happiness

The other day, I suggested you list three ways to nurture your happiness. Have you done that?

This morning, my husband and I talked about that very idea by exploring what had made us happy yesterday. This is not something we usually do and it was fascinating. The conversation that made us both more conscious of the happiness we had experienced that we hadn't taken note of and appreciated.

Talk About Happiness, You Might Be Surprised by What You Say...

30 December 2010

Happiness Is Not A Commodity that Can Be Given or Stolen from You.

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

I love this quote from Eleanor Roosevelt and, in fact, think of it often. For our purposes, exploring happiness, we can paraphrase her this way: "No one can make you unhappy without your consent." And "No one can make you happy without your consent." Now pause a moment and ask your mind what it thinks about this observation. Don't censor the mind. Just let it have its say...

26 December 2010

Happiness Is Always In the Present

When the mind-rage takes over
The other day I was in a meeting with my husband and son about a business we have been developing for a very long time. I was interested, listening, participating, and all of a sudden my mind took me to "fear." It shouted, "This is the same old, same old!" "This business will never open!" "This so-called business is going to put us in the poor house."

Listening to my mind-raging fear scenario, I felt my anger rising at an exponential rate.. It was all I could do not to say something to my husband and son, something which would have been bitter and destructive. I didn't want to do that. And then I remembered "happiness."

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