I have been reading Penney Peirce's wonderful book The Intuitive
Way. She speaks of the creative process as being a twin to the
intuitive process. It has been very enlightening for me as I tend to
get stuck in wanting to be inspired all of the time and often refuse to
take quiet-not knowing time to rejuvenate. My inner spirit has
literally forced me to slow down this past summer and as a result of
surrendering to it I am now feeling new inspiration and higher visions
come into my life. I will outline Penney's wonderful interpretation of
the creative process for you here as I understand it in my own life.
The Descending Phase of Creation:
Be-Do-Have-Be
1) Spirit-be swoops into mind-do: and this is spontaneous inspiration. This is spontaneous creativity - the acting on the first impulse. The first impulse is always the most true. If you want to check out this phase of the creativity cycle check out my e-course Collage For Self-Discovery.
It is here where we experience enthusiasm, purpose and the desire to
expand. We are motivated and have no doubt. There is a childlike
willingness to take a leap into the unknown.
Because I teach
this and love to live this phase of the process - I can tend to get
stuck here often....longing for the thrill of inspiration.
2) Mind-do swings to body-have: The goal is clear. Coming from higher guidance you launch into action. We experience an increase in intensity and focus during this phase, a threshold is reached and physical results manifest. This is the manifesting part of the creative cycle.
This would be what I term as my "busyness" syndrome. I
get so excited about creating my e-courses, and writing and painting
and drawing that I forget to return to being. My spirit literally
slowed me to a stop this past summer in order to realize this. This is getting stuck in "do-have".
Getting Stuck in do-have, do-have, do-have:
This
where we keep on creating what we have created before. We focus on
busyness out of fear of the unknown and creating something unknown. I
created my e-course Deepening Creativity
out of the desire and need to deepen in the midst of busyness.
Completing the the creation cycle by returning to being is out of the
question because often leaving the world of doing can feel like loss,
annihilation and "depression". In this place we are called to open up
to something new.
All summer long I have been struggling with
what can only be explained as a sort of depression and a refusal to
create much. My old ways of creating alone in the privacy of my own
studio, and at my computer have been feeling isolated and not as
challenging or as enlivening as they have before. I faced the need for
a challenge...it seems to be presenting itself as giving my gifts to
people in a living, face to face, breathing manner. Joining with people is now becoming one of my greatest joys and has become an process of awe and creativity for me.
Letting Go Into Being: As
soon as you let yourself not know, not think and not do your intuition
turns on again. This is presence and we can access it and rejuvenate it
anywhere, anytime in our lives. This is the place to take small,non
goal oriented, body inspired actions. Be insignificant and simple. This
is the place from where my free e-course Creative Intuition was born.
This past summer I have felt less than ordinary. Uninspired, simple. My
creativity was bare and simple. Often taking a nap or going for a walk
or just shutting off my mind and doing a simple manual task at work or
home that did not require a lot of cognition felt like the most
important thing. In this place peeling potatoes can be profound and I
often felt like I never wanted to be creative again! It is in this
place that I can feel my inner life. I can feel subtle vibrations in
different parts of my body. I feel profoundly loving, soft, open. One
thing this quiet past summer has taught me is to just stop when I
experience overwhelm. When it stops feeling easy and inspired I try to
just stop the trajectory and rest and wait. This has felt hard for me! Yet rest is profound. When I truly rest, my dreams are magnificent.
And then...Inspiration arises again! This
is where you feel lit up with burning inspirations and motivations and
a new and fluid direction comes clear. You are 100% full of energy and
ideas. You want to give birth to creations and be dynamic and life
looks full, active and positive.
What I have found in my what
our society would call a "depression" has been an internal recalibration...it is an ability to hold more love
and to love and accept more of myself. Slowing down as I have, I
realize been integrating a new vision for myself as being able to hold
and extend far more love and connection than I have been previously
felt capable of.
This past summer for me has been a profound allowing
of insight, self acceptance and from it birthed a new willingness to
extend more and receive more from my extending. I have a vision of
being to handle more relationships and connection in my life without
feeling overwhelmed. I have an energetic blueprint of the level of presence I need to maintain to live into the next phase of my life.
Love to you,
Shelley
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