The Power of Your Creative Heart
By Elisabeth Moss, BFA
a beach fort; from selecting our clothes, to caressing an infant with the depth of our love; from stacking stones into cairns, to getting down-and-dirty in the garden; from spontaneously sharing your lunch with a stranger, to asking your boss for a raise; from sewing a Halloween costume, to praying for those in pain. We are all naturally, irrepressibly, creative, unless we have
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become blocked. Most people I know, including myself, can become blocked to some degree or another. In our goal-oriented, outer-fo- cused culture, creative ennui, is, unfortunately very common. When we block our creative flow, wittingly or not, we can feel adrift in a flat internal landscape. We are missing our soul mate within, our creative spark, the fire in our heart that we are all born with. How can we go about resuscitating our creative juice? In addition to a wealth of books, creative classes and workshops on this topic, I would like to share a few of practices and ideas I have found useful in opening and living from my own creative heart.
I Say Yes to My Heart and No to Distractions An initial step in reviving or jumpstarting creative connection is
simply saying yes to my heart and no to the jillion reasons my mind invents to keep me from showing up for my juicy self; all the soulless distractions that ultimately leave me feeling hungry and blah. We all have our favorites.
A Clearing Meditation Another vital step to connecting with your own authentic cre-
ative voice involves naming and clearing internal obstacles or nega- tive self talk. While there are many paths to clearing internal debris, I offer you a clearing meditation that was inspired by Geshe Tenzin Wangal’s excellent article “Three Steps to Creativity,” Shambhala Sun, November 2012.
Identify a primary internal obstacle, by noticing your internal
dialogue. For example, “I can’t draw”, “No one will like what I have to say”, or “I’m not good enough”. Let this thought go for now and sit comfortably. Close your eyes and relax into the spaciousness of your breath. Take long, slow, smooth, easy breaths in and out, letting your thoughts go, bringing your awareness to your breath. Rest in the openness of your mind and silence, as you breathe in this gentle rhythm for several minutes. From this place of openness, bring your primary obstacle into your awareness. See it nakedly without judg- ment or interpretations. Now take in a deep breath of pure aware- ness and light, and bring it directly into the image or energetic felt sense of the obstacle you got in touch with earlier. On your exhale, breathe out this obstacle and experience it dissolving into space. Re-
30 Natural Nutmeg December 2012
e all are creative, whether we think so or not. Practically everything we do involves using our creative abilities. From how we communicate, to making a soup or building
peat this letting go if it feels right. Rest here gently for a few minutes. Once the shadow of negative self talk has stepped aside, begin
to cultivate and visualize an inner sense of your unlimited possibili- ties. Open to the realization that you are not only more than you had always thought you were, but your entire being is full of infinite beauty and creative richness. Breathe into this expansion for several minutes or longer. Trust your own knowing. From here, you can begin to nurture a sense of warmth. Sit- ting or lying down, breathe in a natural easy and full way. Feel your in-breath and your out-breath connected and smooth, like waves coming up on the shore and flowing back into the sea. Now bring your awareness to your heart and to the crown of your head. Imagine as you breathe, these areas are softening and opening. With each in-breath, visualize light, sweetness, and compassion flowing in through the top of your head and slowly pouring down through your entire body, saturating all the molecules of your whole being with love. Rest for several minutes or longer, basking in the peace and fullness-of-heart you have received.
Ideas and Images Arise
As I welcome my own heart in quiet, whatever I am called to authentically express is revealed to me through ideas and images that arise spontaneously within. Our creative life speaks to each of us in a unique language, when we listen with kind attention.
Letting Go, and Being Present
At the point when I ‘show up’ and begin creating, there are two things that really foster the flowering and unfolding of my authentic voice. The first one is letting go of my attachment to the outcome and being fully present in the moment-by-moment process. The sec- ond one is releasing perfection. The practice of becoming aware and letting go of these creative constrictors opens the way for more joy, surprises, beautiful ‘accidents’ and discoveries of hidden power that just channel through me when I let go of being in control and the
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