Paint Splatters
Creative Dreams are Colorful, Fun and Messy!
Sometimes you just see a poem and have to spend some time with it. Or maybe it is a song or an image or a favorite comedy sketch.
These things that inspire us speak to us about who we are as creatives. Many wonder what is unique about them as an artist, poet, musician, actor, writer....
Maybe there are clues in what you are drawn to?
If you considered the combination of things you continuously return to as wells of inspiration, how does that speak your uniqueness?
Why is it that you return to those things? Is it the way they are created? The messages contained within the creations? The emotions that are evoked? The way in which they are shared with the world?
What patterns can you discover and how can you be in a process of exploration in which uniqueness reveals itself to you while you were just playing and being inspired?
A drawing using my non-dominant right hand. Such a fun exercise and surprisingly easy and flowing!
Reflection and Artwork by Sebila Kratovac
There is nothing so frightening yet full of possibilities than a blank page. We have all been there. I believe that we are born with the ability to create freely and abundantly but, as we grow up, we learn that things should not come so easily to us and that we have to work very hard to create anything worthwhile. Resistance creeps in and we manifest the pain that we originally believed was necessary to create what we desire. Inspiration, which is available to us as the air we breathe, seems to be in short supply and only accessible to “true artists.”
Creatives often find themselves in a situation where their passion is to make art but inspiration doesn’t always show up when they wish to create. They feel guilty, overwhelmed, and stressed out, an emotional space that can easily lead to a self-sabotaging downward spiral. Kendyll Hillegas, a freelance illustrator, talks about her struggle to keep inspired in her YouTube video The Truth About Inspiration for Artists and Illustrators. She believes that inspiration comes once we commit to a particular creative practice through all the trials and tribulations that can come with resistance. This period of testing our commitment is crucial to finding our true passion. If we find that we cannot stick with something through completion, we are then free to explore different ways to create or even completely change our direction in life.
Breaking through resistance and letting inspiration flow is not an easy endeavor, even when we fully commit to pursuing our passion. To complicate matters even more, resistance seems to be proportional to how much we love the work we do. In his must-read book The War of Art, dealing with ways to conquer resistance, Steven Pressfield writes that “the more Resistance you experience, the more important your unmanifested art/project/enterprise is to you - and the more gratification you will feel when you finally do it.” Where does this blockage to inspiration come from? Sometimes we are resistant because of perfectionism or pressure we put on ourselves to create in a particular way. In Hillegas’ case, she resisted her art practice because of pressure she put on herself to draw realistically. But, with constantly asking herself “Is this what I really am interested in and passionate about?” she found that the blood, sweat, and tears she put into her artwork were worth it. After that first breakthrough, Hillegas felt inspired to continue with realistic drawing, feeling more joyful and excited to see how she can improve her drawings with more experience.
As Pressfield puts it, by committing to creating something we love, we have earned favor of the muses and are now magnetized to attract synchronicities, guidance, mentors, insights, and ideas to help us get inspired. So, what are some of the ways that we can open up to inspiration? One way to get inspired is to bypass the brain circuits which we usually employ when we are attempting to create. For example, we can write down poems or stream-of-consciousness thoughts, draw or sculpt, or even brush our teeth using our non-dominant hand. As we are creating new brain circuits, we are also strengthening communication between the left and right brain hemispheres. Another way to trick our brain to welcome inspiration is to switch our tasks drastically. Instead of sitting frustrated at our desk, we can go out for a walk, prepare a delicious meal, or watch comedy skits for an hour. Connecting with others – going for a coffee with a friend, playing with our pets, spending time with loved ones – has the power to shift our mind from contraction to expansion. Movement, especially freestyle movement, can prepare our body and mind for inspiration. Yoga, sports, dancing, walking, and any other forms of movement increase the flow of energy and oxygen throughout the body and make us feel more embodied, grounded, and present. We feel that we can take up space and create, that our actions can impact something out there in the world. Far from distractions, these exercises are meant to save us time and energy we spend on resistance so we can get to the fun stuff.
For some people, bringing their mind and body into a relaxed state can be the most effective way to release resistance. Taking a bath, listening to soothing music, going to a sound healing class, having a hypnotherapy session, trying yin/restorative yoga and yoga nidra, and starting to meditate with binaural beats can bring the brain into the alpha and theta wave states of deep relaxation, priming us for receiving inspiration. And for an even deeper state of relaxation, how about taking a nap? Getting our brain to the delta wave state during sleep, gives us access to our subconscious through our dreams. Paying attention to our dreams can be a huge gold mine for inspiration. To go even further, exploring lucid dreaming (a dream state in which we are aware that we are dreaming and are able to influence the dream) can help us see that we have the power to create our own reality and that there is nothing that can stop us from creating anything we want.
When nothing else works, all we can do is surrender to the fact that we are not in a place to be inspired. As Hillegas advises, we can give ourselves some time and space to come back to this journey of creating. In her channeling work through Abraham, Esther Hicks talks about how each morning is a new opportunity to live our best life. When we are in that zero-point neutral state, before any negative thought enters our mind, everything is possible, even letting go of resistance. Coming to terms with how we are feeling, we can then move on with our day, wake up the next day refreshed, and start over anew.
Reflection and Artwork by Sebila Kratovac
When I worked in the science field, I was greatly surprised that most scientists believe they only operate from the rational, logical mind when developing science projects and experiments. Reflecting on my work in science, only when I allowed my intuition to guide me, was I able to experience breakthroughs which were not only exciting but usually went against any pre-conceived or pre-approved notions about the particular subject I was investigating. How could this be? I believe that when we create anything unique, we are receiving guidance from the intuitive voice that is internally guiding all of us, even without our awareness.
Not surprisingly, intuition plays a pivotal role in the creative process. Artists often speak of their intuitive guidance as the muses coming to cocreate with them. But even for scientists, it seems to be necessary for breaking the bounds of current scientific knowledge. The more we control the creative process, the more we seem to be led away from innovation. I recently listened to a very interesting and illuminating podcast by Inspire Nation, called “Intuition: Get Guidance and Hear It Loud and Clear!” In this episode, Australian filmmaker Bill Bennett talks about learning to listen to his intuition throughout his life. In his film “PGS: Intuition Is Your Personal Guidance System,” he documents his own experience with intuition and talks to people from a variety of backgrounds on this subject. In the podcast, Bennett beautifully discusses his five steps to consciously use intuition on our journey to fulfilling our purpose: Stop, Listen, Ask, Trust, and Follow. So, what is intuition and how do we become aware of this superpower that each one of us possesses? Let’s dive in!
Oftentimes, we feel stuck, not knowing which way to move toward fulfilling our dreams and our unique purpose. Although this situation might seem daunting, it is a perfect opportunity for us to become aware of and sensitive to our intuition so that it can be our guide in life. What if we are not hearing an intuitive voice at all or we can’t even begin to fathom what intuition sounds and feels like? In his short but priceless book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, Deepak Chopra describes how we can create a state in which we can begin to hear our intuitive voice. Chopra’s suggestions are akin to Bennett’s Stop and Listen. He recommends being in silence at least one hour a day, enjoying connecting with nature, meditating 30 minutes in the morning and at night, and observing how our body feels while minimizing all outside distractions.
To make things even more complicated, we may start noticing an inner voice guiding us to things that seem weird or irrational. Many different sensations can arise as we experience resistance, fear, or a sense of losing control. This is where experimentation comes in handy. We can try to do what we have always done and ignore this voice, opting for controlling every aspect of what we do…or we could follow this intuitive voice guiding us into the unknown. How does it feel when we follow our intuition and what happens when we don’t listen to it? After a few experiences, we will gather some invaluable information to be able to decide what approach works best for us. Even after experimentation, we can still have hard time trusting our intuitive voice, feeling that we will be disappointed if things don’t work out. We may have a lot of resistance to changing our life and doing something different because of previous trauma. Even if we are strongly guided toward a certain opportunity, we may be afraid that others will think we are crazy to go for it. What we can do is ask ourselves, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Even if we live out our worst nightmare, how can we see it as an experience that helps us know what we want and don’t want?
As we become more familiar with our intuitive voice, we can start asking it for guidance, knowing that it will act in our best interest. As Bennett further explains: Ask, Trust, Follow. What if our intuition guides us to do nothing? What if we follow a strong hunch but nothing happens for a while? Does it mean that we are left in the cold? In this world, we are used to pushing for something to happen and we want things to manifest quickly but, through this process, we learn that this approach is not necessary - something that is good for us in the long run will eventually come true and something that we force into manifesting will disappear very quickly and often painfully. Here is where divine timing comes into play – trusting and paying attention to signs or synchronicities internally and externally will keep us informed in the meantime.
How can we live a life of flow and intuitive guidance when there are so many distractions and pressures to “be in touch with reality,” to work hard until exhaustion because “no pain, no gain,” to act quickly or we will “miss out” on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Think of how we were as children before society’s programming got hold of us. If we could bring out our child-like qualities of curiosity, trusting and listening to our feelings, flowing with our inner guidance, creating without reservation, and tapping into the universal wisdom, our life could be our own, on our own terms. As we align more with who we really are and our life’s purpose, we can become better friends, parents, companions, and citizens of the world, having the health, wisdom, and vitality to truly make this world a better place.
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