Creative Stewardship

Hi!

We have all been blessed with the wonderful gift of creativity. (Yes, even those of you who don't see yourselves as creative...yet!) We have been entrusted with a sacred stewardship of this precious gift. Here are a few ideas for nurturing and protecting it.

Roots and Wings

Your creative nature needs the security of a strong root system. This includes taking excellent care of the vehicle through which it emerges...you! Also, keep financial pressure off of it and you by arranging a dependable way to stay solvent while your creative dreams are developing. You may need to keep a full-time or part-time job and/or simplify in order to do this, depending on your situation. I know, it's a bummer, but you will be glad you did.

Learning and practicing your craft will help provide roots, too. So does patience.

Your creativity also needs wings! The wings can be developed and strengthened by the following, to name a few:

• intuition
• passion
• enthusiasm
• experimentation
• joy
• play
• authenticity
• spirituality

Trust Yourself

I love this quote from Dr. John Dimartini: "When the voice and the vision on the inside become more profound and more clear and loud than the opinions on the outside, you've mastered your life." Dr. Dimartini is one of the teachers from the DVD/book/audiobook The Secret (www.thesecret.tv).

Protect Your Ideas from Premature Criticism

Examine and adjust your self-talk and limiting beliefs about yourself and your work. Share your blossoming ideas only with those you can trust to give them the gentleness they need to thrive.

Review My Past Posts

Most of my past posts offer ideas that will also help you to best carry out the fulfilling responsibility of creative stewardship.

Share What You Know

As we support each other in this effort, we are taking the idea to creative stewardship to a higher level by supporting not just our own, but the creativity of our world community. So please share your ideas, comments, and questions here, and anywhere else that they will stimulate thought and elevate the positive effects of the creative process.

Thanks,

Susan

Multi-Tasker's Delight!

Greetings!

Are you a multi-tasker? Here's a buffet of practices and healing modalities that double as jump-starts for your creativity and intuition!

Hydrotherapy
Let's start with a very easy and accessible one that you do already every time you take a shower! Your mind wanders and leaves space for the ideas to come through. A bath is great, too, and a whirlpool is even better! What a great invitation for your right brain to kick into gear!

Journaling
Journaling expert Kathleen Adams calls her journal her "79-cent therapist," because it's always ready to listen without judgement. Julia Cameron, best-selling author of The Artist's Way, has an exercise in that book called "Blasting Through Blocks" that I use a lot in my journaling.

The guided journal I've written, The Whispering Heart, contains fifty quotes and accompanying questions to get your thoughts moving. It's available through me for $10 US. Please email me for more information at scleaver@dejazzd.com. Tax and shipping will depend on where you live.
Or you can ask for a free 5-page sample!

Meditation
Meditation is also great for getting out of your own way to let the ideas and intuitions come through. Meditating with a group is even more powerful. If you have trouble with sitting meditation, try walking meditation. The rhythm of the movement is a plus.

Reiki
Intuitive pops are common during Reiki treatments for both the giver and the receiver. Reiki practitioners generally see this get stronger over time in themselves. Level One practitioners can give Reiki to others and to themselves.

If you'd like to know more about Reiki, you can send me your questions anytime at scleaver@dejazzd.com. I've been at the Master-Teacher Level of Reiki for about a year, and I've noticed some interesting ways that is has affected my outlook (and therefore my output.)

Massage
Again, this is a way to open the door and let the "still, small voice" be heard. I particularly love Shiatsu massage, which works by stimulating the accupressure points along the body's meridians.

However, as long as the method you choose is gentle enough to be relaxing, I believe it can double as a welcome mat for creative ideas and intuition.

Dream Study
You can do this on your own, or better yet, with a therapist who is experienced in working with dreams. Dreams are loaded with creative and intuitive messages! A good therapist will know what questions to ask to help you make connections between your waking life and your dream life. Keep a notebook and pen by your bed so the dreams don't slip away. The symbols and metaphors will amaze you!

Labyrinth Walks
This ancient form of meditation takes you on a meandering path to the center of the Labyrinth, where you can sit and meditate for a while and then meander back out. It produces a similar quieting of the mind as I have discussed above, and again, it invites your creativity and intuition to come out of hiding.

There are indoor Labyrinths, outdoor Labyrinths, and even finger Labyrinths that I've seen carried in catalogs. Give it a try!

Life Coaching
Coaches are trained to ask expansive questions, to be thoughtful listeners, and to be effective brainstorming partners. We also encourage you and hold you accountable during that bumpy stretch between your "ah-ha!" and your finished product.

Please contact me for a free trial phone session at scleaver@dejazzd.com!

Gestalt Therapy
This is an interesting and revealing ride, and your imagination is in the driver's seat! The therapist will guide you as you act out dialogues between one part of yourself and another or between you and another person, object, animal, dream figure or creative project! And because you are doing this without forethought, you get to the heart of the issue quickly. Your left brain doesn't have time to interfer or object!

Please post your comments about your experiences with these practices!

Thanks,
Susan

Connect the Dots to Holistic Creativity

Hi All!

Our creativity is intregrated with almost everything we do. What habits do you need to adjust to structure the areas below into a firm foundation for your creativity?

Your Body
This one sounds so obvious, but in the past, I've been guilty of overlooking it. I was living in my head all the time while my body was screaming for restoration of my health and energy. As you can guess, all that pushing and striving didn't do a thing for my creativity or my well-being!

Your Mind
Provide your mind with lots of fertile input about your topic and about life in general. Keep your mind clear and relaxed, and choose the right level of challenge for you that will put you into the flow state, where concentration becomes effortless and you lose track of time.

Your Spirit
When I started studying the creative process about 20 years ago, I was surprised to find that it was linked to spirituality! Julia Cameron covers this beautifully in The Artist's Way; I highly recommend it. Develop your intuition (there are lots of great books available on this). Give meditation and solitude a try.

Perhaps the trickiest part is the paradox of passive volition. This is where you clarify what it is you want to create, and maybe play around with it a bit. Then you back off, and keep an open, accepting attitude, listening for the pieces as they come together. If you're a fan of the movie/book/audiobook "The Secret," by Rhonda Byrne, (www.thesecret.tv) then you are familiar with this already.

Your Emotions
The best advice here is simple but not always easy: feel your emotions, acknowledge and process them, and keep them moving on through. Don't bog yourself down with stuck emotions.
Journaling can help a lot here. I've written a guided journal called "The Whispering Heart," available through me for $10 US. Please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com. Tax and shipping will depend on where you live. You can also request a 5-page free sample from the book!

Your Environment
See last week's post on creativity and your environment. Your work environment doesn't have to be opulent, but it does need to be nurturing and supportive.

Your Community
In The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron says that we need "believing mirrors." These are the people who will hold faith in your work until you are ready to hold it for yourself. Barbara Sher, a career counselor and author, says, "Isolation is the dream-killer."

My friend Mary Beth and I have weekly "Dig-Ins" where we call each other and state what we are going to work on for the next hour. Then we hang up and get to work, followed by a check-in call at the end to see what we've accomplished. Instant accountability and focus! After our first hour, Mary Beth said, "I got more done on this project in one hour than I have in the past month!" It sounds simple, but it works. Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com if you'd like to try it. I don't charge for this; it helps me, too!

All my best,
Susan

P.S. A special note to those who feel they have put their creativity aside in order to raise kids: raising children is one of the most creative things you can do! You wear many creative hats as a parent: entertainer, problem-solver, role model, soul soother, cheerleader and facilitator for their talents, and much more. Enjoy your on-the-job training!

Design Your Environment to Boost Your Creativity

Greetings,

Create a supportive space where you and your creativity can thrive! Clutter clamors at us, draining our energy, fracturing our attention, and causing energy blocks that leave us feeling stuck. So out with the old to make room for the new! Nature will fill the vacuum with great ideas and inspiration.

See decluttering and establishing order in your workplace or home as a form of self-care. (See my last post for more about self-care.) When I see it as self-care, it seems like much less of a chore.

I also work on the clutter in short bursts to keep my resistance from coming up. Be compassionate with yourself. Focus on the solution rather than wasting energy beating yourself up about the mess. I teach what I need to learn, and I'm still working on these things myself. It's a very common issue; you're not alone if you have clutter or organizational issues!

Develop a system of organization that fits your personal style. Many books are available on this topic, including at least one for creative types and at least one for those with ADD.

The order you create will be soothing to the eyes and the soul. Color and harmony in your environment are very important, too. Ideally your environment should get lots of sun and have windows that open so you can air the space out often, Feng Shui experts tell us.

Sound is another thing to consider in your environment. Music affects the energy in a room and your own energy. If you're feeling droopy and down, start with a piece of music that closely matches your mood. Then gradually bring your mood up by playing successively more lively pieces of music.

Also consider how the space will cater to your kinesthetic sensibilities. Consider the ergonomics of the furnishings and the textures of the fabrics in your environment. If you're the sort of person who thinks better you have something to fiddle with, consider keeping some small puzzles or a squishy stress-relief ball handy.

On an old TV show called "Thirty-Something," two of the main characters worked at an ad agency, and they had to be creative at their jobs. They put a small basketball net right in their office and played a little one-on-one to loosen up their thinking. (See my last post for more on the value of play.)

Taking these steps to improve the energy of your environment will make you a worthy steward for more creative ideas to come to fruition under your care!

Please add any victories or blunders you have to report around this topic from which the rest of us can learn. If you're finding more blunder than victories, I'd love to coach you on this topic! Email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com to set up a complimentary trial phone session.

Cheers,
Susan

P.S. to Betsy: Thanks for the thought-provoking comment for my 2/20/07 post on reframing success. I agree; it's very grounding to stay in touch with our mission and values. I also love what you said about being more inner-directed in spite if all the advice that is coming from the outside. Just like a store full of shoes, the suggestions of others are not always going to fit!
Love,
Susan

Rx for Creative Blocks

1. Let go of striving and resistance. Accept this part of the creative process with as much grace, faith, and patience as you can. The harder you push against the block, the more entrenched it will become. Einstein said, "A problem cannot be solved by the same level of mind that created it." O.K., so how do we get to another level?

2. Press "pause." Julia Cameron, author of the modern classic, "The Artist's Way," asks, "Have you learned the art of doing nothing so 'something' can emerge?" Solitude and meditation can support this period of incubation. Let go of how and when the solution will come. Just let your mind play with the pieces of the puzzle "off-line." If meditation isn't for you, try journaling or any repetitive activity that allows your mind to wander.

3.Press "Play." Martin Buber said, "Play is the exaltation of the possible." While your subconscious mind is playing, consciously play also! Find a healthy balance between solitude and time with others. Brainstorming is a great form of mind play, whether done alone or with friends, but "Mental expansion is found in the inspiration we give to each other," (author unknown). Allow yourself to explore, experiment, make mistakes, and have fun!

4. Try some cross-training. Include in your play some time to dabble in other forms of creativity. They will keep the creative juices flowing while your subconscious mind works on the block. Experiment with different structures and tools. This can change your perspective and relieve the stress around the original project, which you can later return to feeling refreshed.

5. Get out in nature. Walking in nature is even better, because of its repetitive, meditative qualities. Try doing your brainstorming out in nature, too. You will feel a different kind of energy supporting you and carrying you along.

6. Take small steps. When you return to your project, do so gently. Set a timer for 15 minutes and play around with any new ideas you garnered from taking the steps above. If nothing comes together, back off and try again later. Once something clicks for you, you'll be off and running!

7. Self-care is the common theme in all of the steps above. Julia Cameron asks, "Do you remember that your body and your body of work are connected?" I wish I could give you (and myself) a quick fix for creative blocks, but this is another one of those situations where it serves us better to go with the flow. See my post from 2/12/07 called "Patience Is Power!"

Please add your comments about how these or other block-busters work for you!

Thanks,
Susan

P.S. I used some of these steps while writing this post!

Reframe What Success Means to You

Hi All,

I love this quote, rumored to be on a sign in Einstein's office: "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." To me this means that the "bottom line" isn't always the "bottom line." And it's particularly true for creative endeavors!

Then there is the wonderful ending to Emerson's famous poem entitled "Success": "...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success." Money represents an exchange of energy, but there are many other ways to offer or exchange energy in our world.

Dr. Wayne Dyer says, "Do what your heart tells you will bring you joy, rather than determining whether it will be cost-effective."

Now you may be saying, "That's very nice, but I have to support myself, either through my art, another job, or both!" I have a few suggestions for that dilemma:

*SIMPLIFY, downsize, or whatever you need to do to keep your expenses down in your personal life and your business if you have one. Lessening your need for money can be as liberating as earning more of it! Check out the great book, "Simplify Your Life," by Elaine St. James. She walks her talk!

*REDEFINE your relationship with money. See money as what enables you to experience the joy of creating, rather than seeing creating as the means to get more money. Check out two great books by Marsha Sinetar: "Do What You Love, the Money Will Follow" and "To Build the Life You Want, Create the Work You Love."

Christopher Morley, an author, says, "There is only one success...to be able to spend your life in your own way...."

But here's the quote (author unknown) that really touches me deeply: "No matter what our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides." Wow! If I can do that, I'll be thrilled with my "bottom line"!

Be well,
Susan

P.S. Please see last week's post for details about my complimentary DIG-IN DAY on Feb. 28!

Also, take advantage of my complimentary COACHING HOTLINE on Thursday, March 1, from 4:00pm to 9:00pm Eastern time. Sessions will run about 30 minutes each; first-call, first-served. The HOTLINE NUMBER is (610) 385-3766. All coaching topics are welcome, and there are no strings attached!

Patience is Power!

Greetings!

Those of you who are Stephen Covey fans have no doubt heard him talk about "The Law of the Harvest." He points out that waiting until August to start planting will leave you pretty hungry! Farming, he says, requires much more planning, patience, and faith than the earlier method of hunting and gathering, but what a leap for those who were willing to take that long-range view! We can apply this to our creative projects as well.

What about your creative projects? What are they asking of you? Here's what mine are asking:

*"Let us grow organically."
* "Keep the big picture in mind."
* "Plant lots of seeds, and don't dig them back up to see if they're doing anything! Instead, go out and plant some more."

The potential of your idea is staggering! Otherwise, it wouldn't keep nudging at you. Patience will give you the power to see it through. Happy planting!

News to Use

Check out Dorian Abel's new yoga website at www.healingyogapa.com!

Check out www.opendoorfitness.com for info on a day of music, movement, and meditation with Betsy Chapman and Kathy Gracenin on Sat., Feb. 24, at The Open Door!

February Dig-In Days! Please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for more info or to register for this fun way to support each other on our projects via teleconference technology. The calls are short; the time in between is independent work time in your office, home, or studio! I have two sessions scheduled: Wed., Feb. 21 and Wed., Feb. 28. Each will run from 1:00 pm Eastern until 3:10 pm Eastern. You may join either one or both with my compliments; your only expense is your long-distance charges for the three brief check-in calls to the teleconferencing service. Please register by noon the day BEFORE your chosen session or sessions.

This method of supporting each other in our work has been wildly successful in the coaching community, but why should coaches have all the fun? Here's what one of my non-coach participants, Mary Beth Krawchuk, had to say about her first Dig-In hour: "I got more done in the first hour than I've done on this project in the past month!" Please join us!

The price has dropped on my 50-page guided journals, "The Whispering Heart"! They are now
available for $10. Please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com for shipping and tax details that will depend on where you live. You may also request five sample pages free of charge!

Blessings,
Susan