Chapter 5/ Part 2: Bliss Nook

00V of potential hindrances to our creative development continued… In the last two articles I suggested that inspiration is something that is infinitely available to us, so long as we are available to receive it. I mentioned using our conscious awareness to direct our thoughts toward subjects that make us feel uplifted (versus troubled) so that we have… Continue reading

Chapter 5: To Breathe

Next up on the list of presuppositions that could open or close the doors to our creative field is:  00V: We need to be ‘inspired‘ in order to create. I’m not about to argue whether this statement is true or not. It has certainly felt true to me. I used to say it all the time—… Continue reading

Chapter 4: Wind-up

I spent this last chapter unwrapping the presupposition that the best work is made with great skill and labour and time AND entirely by the artist (without cheating).  Let’s say we fully align with this statement and spend a great deal of time gaining and honing skills and executing them through highly demanding physical/mental work… Continue reading

Chapter 4/ Part 4: Sham-less

00IV of potential hindrances to our creative development continued… Have you ever been really ramped up over an idea that came to you and then dropped it because you knew you couldn’t make some component yourself or you didn’t know how to draw something or you didn’t have time (or weren’t interested) to learn a new skill etc.? Did… Continue reading

Chapter 4/ Part 2: maybe Play for it

00IV of potential hindrances to our creative development continued… Back when I felt orphaned from any creative source, I noticed my tendency to choke out anything I didn’t recognize, understand or like in my work. These were parts I thought of as fugly or mistakes. It was part perfectionism, part self-doubt (your typical shame stuff) and there was a… Continue reading

Chapter 4/ Part 1: I could tell you about the river or we could just get in

00IV of potential hindrances to our creative development continued… In the last post, I left off with the question: what is it about loving something that makes it feel easy? This is something I have wondered about almost obsessively. What I mean by ‘love’, in regards to creativity, is a non-resistant energy that holds our attention in the present… Continue reading

P.S. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of potential hindrances to our creative development: **00III: You need to know the rules before you break them** I couldn’t help adding this P.S. segment to this chapter because I feel like I missed out sharing some of the stories that have inspired me to get past some resistance conjured by conventions. These may or… Continue reading