Give Your Ego a Clear Job Description

Here's mine:

TO: My Ego
FROM: Susan
RE: Your Job Description

Position: Reality Coordinator; Your job responsibilities fall into three categories to ensure your successful collaboration with my creative side:

1. Support my creativity by collaborating with it on:

-my self-care.
-my marketing plans.


2. Back off and defer to my creativity while it's:

-brainstorming.
-daydreaming.
-interpreting dreams.
-cross-training in other artistic areas.
-journaling.
-working on projects in the early stages of development.


3. Take the wheel in your areas of expertise, including:

-logistics and technical considerations.
-handling rejection.
-pricing and other financial matters.


In Summary: Please hang this prayer over your desk.

The Ego's Effectiveness Prayer

Please help me to enhance Susan's creativity where I can,

Back off where I can't,

And have the discernment to know the difference.

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Readers,

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Please comment on the role of your ego in your creative work so we all can compare notes!

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A complimentary trial coaching tele-session is available to you on this topic or most others. Set yours up by emailing me at scleaver@dejazzd.com. With the holidays coming, you may also want to inquire about my gift-boxed set of inspirational quote cards on the Law of Attraction ($10 US plus tax and shipping that will depend on where you live).

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Sample Quote:

"What we need is more people who specialize in the impossible."

--Theodore Roethke

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Happy Halloween,

Susan

Shaping Our Lives, Imperfections and All

Being human is like throwing pots...very messy. A beautifully shaped piece on the wheel can turn into a wobbly mess in the blink of an eye. And glazing pots is like getting dressed in the dark. Until they're fired, you don't see the true colors and how they'll blend.

A potter's wisdom is in his body and results from lots of trial and error (on resumes we call it "experience.") We can't learn to throw pots by just reading about it or watching a demo. You have to do it. And at first, you have to do it badly.

As time goes on, the potter will surprise herself with what comes through her, because she has prepared herself as a vessel in order to create amazing vessels on the wheel! She's been shaping herself as she shaped the pots, just as we all shape ourselves through our art and the art of living.

Will others resonate with the art and life you have shaped for yourself? Some will and some won't, of course. But hold your self-styled art and life dearly to your heart anyway! The right companions will find you, and the right patrons will find your art. Love your life and live it to its fullest, imperfections and all.

Imperfectly yours,
Susan

P.S. To sign up for a complimentary trial coaching tele-session or to order my guided journal, The Whispering Heart, email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com.

Tune Into Your Muse

Have you ever felt that you and your muse are on different wavelengths, resulting in a frustrating creative block? From a metaphysical perspective, that's exactly what happens.

The conditions in and around us during a creative breakthrough are those that foster a higher vibration that closely matches what we call the muse...that special blend of creativity and intuition that we've been wanting to tap into. So here are some ways to raise your vibration and that of your environment to reduce the mind static between you and your muse.

• Apply basic Feng Shui principles to your work area and to the area between your ears. Clear out physical, mental, and emotional clutter. If you can do this on your own, great! Go for it. If not, get a friend, coach, or personal organizer to help you with the physical clutter. For the mental clutter (long to-do lists, too much debt, etc.), set aside time to attend to each item, ditch it, or delegate it, as appropriate. If the issue or item looms large, you may need to put a system in place for step-by-step progress. For emotional clutter, try journaling or writing an imagined dialog between you and the issue. If you need help, do yourself a huge favor and find a good therapist to help you sort things out.
• Hug a tree! Communing with nature raises our vibration gently and pleasantly.
• Listen to energizing music. If your energy is really down, start with music that is slightly livelier, then move to progressively more energizing pieces.
• Clear out internal energy bottlenecks with Reiki and/or massage.
• Eat light meals consisting of fresh foods that haven't had the life force energy processed out of them. Bless the meal and express gratitude for it.

If you'd like to explore this idea of rising to meet the muse's frequency further, email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a complimentary trial coaching tele-session.

As you experiment with these ideas, please post your experiences in the comments section!

Thanks,

Susan

Good News About Creativity and Aging

Here are 12 reasons why creativity and aging make great partners:

1. You may have more time to create after raising kids and/or retiring.
2. If you're a grandparent, this wakes up your creativity as you see it in the little ones and as you use it yourself to entertain and communicate with them.
3. You are clearer about your wants, needs, values, and preferences and how you want to express them in your art.
4. Your self-esteem may be stronger and can hold up better to criticism and stereotypes.
5. You probably feel more free to be who you really are, and that will come through in your work.
6. You may be in a better financial position to support the launch into the creative field of your choice.
7. You may have a clearer mission (see last week's post) about how you want your art to serve the world.
8. You may have more time for fun and relaxation, both of which open you up to the creative process!
9. Wonderful technology to support your creative and marketing efforts is available now that was not around when you were younger.
10. Mentoring and/or being a role model for younger people can be very rewarding. Even others in your age group may be inspired to follow your lead.
11. Being creative is a great way to keep your mind active and healthy as you age.
12. Your experiences and personal growth have enriched your potential for creative output.

So don't say, "Oh, I'm too old to start painting (or writing, throwing pots, etc.). Instead, say "My age is adding a whole new dimension to my work!" Plant your creative seeds in the rich soil of your life experience, and see what emerges!

Still not convinced? Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a complimentary trial tele-coaching session so we can apply these points to your specific situation.

Wishing you fulfillment always,

Susan

Mission and Motivation

Tying your art to a mission will liven up your motivation and creativity. It'll add a whole new depth to what you're doing, no matter what form your art takes!

Rafael Bejarano, Multi-Cultural Ritualist and Educator, Musician, Artist, and Healer

I saw this amazing guy perform last spring. His mission is to help with the care and feeding of the sacred music traditions and instruments of the indigenous cultures of the world. He has won the respect of those cultures through his sincere interest, and they have taught him what he needs to know to carry out this mission. What a new world this has opened up for him and his audiences, both children and adults alike!

Here's a quote from Rafael's brochure: "Through the use of indigenous instruments from around the world, I feel I become an 'instrument' myself...a messenger for the ancient ones....Together we can co-create a better world for ourselves and our future generations." What an inspiration for the rest of us who are holding missions close to our hearts! You can check out his website at www.soundsofcreation.org.

And What About You?

Of course only you can decide what mission you are passionate about. But for the sake of an example, let's say your mission is to keep the arts alive and fun in the schools. Maybe you win a grant that allows you to run a program in your local schools. You've added another dimension to your work by becoming an important role model for young people!

With that example in mind, take a look at your passions and clarify a mission that will expand the world for yourself and others. If you already have a mission that feeds your creative motivation, please tell us about it in the comments section!

Thanks,
Susan

P.S. Need help clarifying your mission? Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a complimentary trial coaching tele-session, and I'll help you get started sorting it out.