The power of investing in your creativity

(pic via Isabel )

Just over a year ago, I sent out a request on my instagram account asking if two volunteers would like to join me in a type of experimental program I was running.

I didn’t have a name for the program and although I roughly knew the general framework and outline of what tools, practices and techniques I wanted to share and teach to them, I was also totally open to the program evolving into a life of it’s own with the two people who joined me. And it definitely did.

All I knew was that I had this wealth of inspiration, knowledge, tools and teachings that I HAD to share with people.

From the mass of people who volunteered, I chose two people to join me (Lettie and Isabel) completely at random and we had an incredible journey together over 7 and a bit weeks.

A few months ago, almost a YEAR since finishing this program I received an email in my inbox from Isabel, who joined me on the soul-discovery journey.

I wanted to let you know, almost a year after our little journey, how much it all meant to me to join you and Lettie in something amazing and unexpected.

Being chosen to participate in your trial run felt like delightful serendipity. It gave me the confidence to keep putting myself outside of my comfort zone and to take risks that have paid off. Despite my tendency to jump to conclusions that the internet and social media are inherently bad, I have used my amazing experience with you and Lettie to be more open to meeting new people through unconventional means. Since then, I have made new friends through ‘blogger meetups’ and am even taking a trip to Iceland this summer to focus on my photography with a group of people who came together *via the internet.*

I find myself often referring to the creativity lessons that we did together, and I think my idea of myself as a creative being has permanently changed. I have confidence that despite my professional life being thoroughly non-creative (at least in a traditional sense), I have no question that I am an inherently creative person. I have learned to let my mind wander as I fall asleep and come up with fascinating new ideas I want to paint or write or photograph. I also have learned to put less pressure on expecting every creative idea I have to turn into the next great novel or an award-winning photograph and just enjoying the experience of creating. This is what a creative person does, whether or not they are making a living doing it!

I almost cried when I got this email as it made me so happy. And actually (interestingly!) I had received a similar email from Lettie about a month previously with “The way you changed my life last year is something I will never forget and can never repay you for. But I believe that I am here to do something similar in my own way for others.” and the amazing life-changing direction she’s been inspired to take in her life!

It’s difficult really to define what exactly the program has evolved into – yes there is creativity for sure, yes there is meditation, yes there is yoga, yes there is some philosophy teaching, yes there is manifesting work, yes there is some self love exercises and yes there is for sure open hearted conversation.

But – I’m not a coach. And it’s not a coaching program.

It’s a “YOU” program. It’s a what YOU need program and everyone who has been on this journey with me I think has taken away something slightly different from it.

One of the biggest learnings that I’ve learned recently about the concept of “creativity” is that the “creative acts” (the writing, the drawing, the singing, the painting) are completely secondary to the things we need to learn about ourselves before we can access them.

Or in another way – imagine you have deep within you, this giant bubbling over WELL of inspiration, creativity, paintings, songs, ideas, quilts etc – but on top of that well is a gigantic pile of ROCKS.

Any good creativity ‘program’ is not concerned with teaching you how to paint/draw/sing/quilt/sew  – (there are thousands of YouTube channels for that) – a successful creative program is about removing all the ROCKS, so that you can allow the well to BE.

And – that is also where yoga comes in because sometimes you need to physically shift some shit around so that those ROCKS get rumbled up to the surface and you can observe them and remove them much easier.

 

 

I was recently at Liz Gilbert’s creative writing workshop and overhead a man turn to someone and say, “I thought this was a writing workshop”

Because the thing is,

Liz’s creative writing workshop wasn’t focused on “the correct sentence structure follows: subject, verb, object…” or “the protagonist must have 3 identifiable traits…”

The entire “creative writing” workshop was focused on getting YOU more in touch with YOU.

Uncovering your fears, your hopes, the things that bring you alive, the resiliency you have and the connection you have to The Divine. Because really when we get in touch with those things – we NATURALLY create.

Create joy, create abundance, create excitement, create things and create the most wonderfully rich life experiences for ourselves.

Because all those things enable us to live incredible joyous fulfilled and intentional lives.

And that is exactly what I want for everyone who joins me on my soul-discovery-self-loving-creative-prompting-yoga-living-powerful-manifesting journey.

Pics snapped from Isabel’s instagram account – and the pottery class she felt called to sign up to after working with me!

 

If you are interested in joining me on this program take a look at what it involves and get in touch, I have only two spaces available.