Category Archives: Creating Art

Wealthy, Shiny People

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“There is a natural law of abundance which pervades the entire universe, but it will not flow through a doorway of belief in lack and limitation.” – Paul Zaiter

I used to believe this or maybe I used to try to believe it. Now I think it is complete rubbish. Total bullshit. I cannot count the number of people I know who have alot of money AND intense fear around money; the belief in lack and limitation mentioned in the quote. It almost seems like a belief in lack and limitation is a darn good prerequisite for attracting and holding a great deal of money.

What seems truer to me is this quote from Jung: “Until you make the unconscious, conscious, it will rule your life and you will call it Fate.”
And even more, this one: “One does not become enlightened by imagining futures of light, but by making the darkness visible.” But I would nix “enlightened,” and put in blended, integrated, unified.

Here’s the thing: not everyone has to do this. Blend their shadow. Make the fear known, conscious and integrated before enough or more than enough money shows up for them. The people I know who have abundant money and plenty of fear too (and I’m not talking about thieves and plunderers….don’t know any) do not have to do the hard inner work of integration before they acquire alot of money.
Though I had about a 10 year reprieve from the work and hardship of the path of needing-to-integrate-before-having, I seem to be called to this path whether I like it or not. This difference – some have to do the work, some do not – caused me confusion for years.

Mission Statements

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I am working on a mission statement for my business. After trying to make its different aspects (some are still in development) fit into one statement, I decided I would need two, maybe three mission statements. One for each part of the business.

The class I teach: gives creatives tools for more empowerment..
The one-to-one facilitation: I hold the space for you to create art despite resistance.
Books: I give children a sense of hope and joy about their world..

If I boiled down the details to their essence, I would say:

Your soul is already free.

and…

Life only happens NOW.

Saying Yes – Part 2

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At Work – photo by Stanley Zimney

While creating our art, there is often alot of thought-chatter in our heads.  Some of these thoughts may be fresh, valuable ideas about directions to take our art.  Chances are, most of the chatter is negative and unpleasant.  This chat is likely full of doubt, self-recrimination, fear and perhaps hurtful words spoken by others at a particular time in your life.

These voices tell you you’re not good enough to be an artist.  They critique your art and warn you about going in the creative direction you’re going down to what strokes to paint, words to write and materials to use.

Which, if any, of these thought-voices do you listen to?  How do you choose what you will listen to?  How do you weaken the negative chatter? How do you resist it?

First, you keep creating your art.  You get on a regular schedule and even if you give it 5 minutes, you give it 5 minutes.  Nothing…..NOTHING substitutes for this.  If you talk about it, think about it, do “shadow” activities (writing the most eloquent FB post ever!) instead of creating, you feed fear and resistance.

With resistance strengthened, the next time you think about creating, it will be easier to put it off.  The next time you actually do create, there will be a thicker layer of pain to wade through before you are in flow with your art.  It will make you cry.

First, show up for your work.  Create.  No matter what.

Second, meditate.  Meditation has a powerful ability to quiet the mind for hours after you do it.  One of the benefits I notice is it makes thoughts shorter.  It makes them less thread-y and tenacious.

Find a practice you like and even if you give it 5 minutes, give it 5 minutes.  Every day.

Saying Yes – Part 1

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I recently read Michael Singer’s book The Surrender Experiment.  I admire his intense commitment to discover the nature of spiritual reality and not live within the dictates of his ego brain (chatter). His willingness to say “yes” to whatever appeared in his physical reality is astonishing.

If something showed up in his life, he trusted it was sent by “life” and therefore worthy of his “yes.”  If his ego chattered about it (or anything), he would ignore it.

While I do agree it is useful or even necessary to say “yes” to more in life, I do not agree that everything that shows up in life deserves a “yes.”   If someone just up and started living on my land – which happened to him – they would encounter the most decisive “no” you can imagine.  However, as artists (of all kinds) how do we use his technique of ignoring ego/brain chatter?

First, we must identify what this “voice” is.  This is your first task.  You do this by observing, by listening to what is going on in your head.  If it helps to take a few minutes (o.k., maybe one minute) to write down every thought in your mind, do that.

Also, sensations invariably accompany thoughts, so watch what feelings are coming up.  Once you get the hang of it, see if you can trace the feelings to the thoughts.  Thoughts are very (very) fast, so you might need to work on this a bit.

(More to come…..)

Talent is the last thing

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Chihuly Lilies photo by Thomas N Texas

Chihuly Lilies photo by Thomas N Texas

One glorious summery November day in 2014, I went to see the Dale Chihuly glass sculpture installation at the Denver Botanical Gardens. It was a gorgeous show.

After a brief stroll through the garden, I sat on a bench across from a cluster of white lily sculptures under a waterfall. A woman sat down next to me and after a few moments gazing at the sculptures, turned to me and said, “What talent!”

I felt the heat of anger hit the back of my throat, but appreciating her pleasure and our shared enjoyment of the beautiful sight, I smiled and nodded.

She left and my inner rant started. “Lady, talent is the last thing I think when I see this sculpture. In fact, I do not think ‘talent’ at all. What I think is: courage, persistence, faith, brutally early mornings & weary late nights, surviving a million bouts of anxiety and self-doubt; peanut butter sandwiches for dinner while the submissions were rejected and the pantry was bare. I see a remarkable man who has survived this and more.”

What I heard her say behind her words is “I am not an artist and have no clue what it takes.”

I’ll nod to that.

I suspect certain people who are veteran spectators believe in a mysterious force called “talent.” A kind of supernatural power each successful artist possesses. A magical talisman that protects and propels of its own accord.

Don’t feel able to put your work out in the world? Bogged down by a merciless sense of vulnerability? No problem, Talent will do it for you. As if it shields the artist from the innumerable painful, chaotic forces most artists regularly confront.

It doesn’t.

I am not even sure what “talent” is, but if it exists as some kind of singular identifiable trait, it does not have supernatural powers. Every artist must deal with the forces of doubt and fear and for that, they deserve praise. Praise from the bench and praise from the heavens.