Creativity and Sprituality

On my creativity and spirituality path, I have come to the conclusion that they are one and the same. As I delve more into my creativity, what I experience is very similar to spirituality. I have given it a lot of thought and I have come up with a theory.

The purpose of Source or God is to create. So when we tap into our creative source we are most like Source. And there is an immense amount of pleasure that arises from being creative.

Ask any hobbyist. Anyone that gardens or sews or tinkers in the garage or makes art will tell you that something happens to them when they get immersed in their act of creativity. Time and space seems to stop and they are transported to this other place filled with peace and happiness even joy.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about the state of flow in this video.

When we access our creativity we are most like the Creator.  That explains why creativity and spirituality are so closely connected. So pay attention next time you are in the ‘flow’ (although you probably won’t notice it until you are out of the flow) and see if you don’t agree with me.

The question is, how do you get into the flow. Let me know in the comments.

Creativity and Spirituality is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Total Alignment | Balance

Total Alignment – Balance is the second painting from the free workshop series over at Dirty Footprints Studio. Connie Hozvicka shares a process she calls Fearless Painting and combines it with some yummy yoga. This workshop helps you get in alignment with the truth about who you really are. It aligns mind, body and spirit.

The reason I love this series so much is because Connie uses art as a way to connect with your authentic self. I love how she says that you don’t even have to like what you paint. That the important part is the process.

For those of you willing to take courage and explore paint and process, you definitely should take this workshop.

Here is an introductory video to the Total Alignment – Balance workshop.

And this is the speed painting version.

Total Alignment | Balance is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Breathe courtesy of rshartley on Flickr

Pranayama, breath and abundance. {deep inhale in} Pranayama or yoga breathing is a way to connect the body with the mind.  {deep exhale out} Depending on who you speak with, it can include yoga or simple breath work. {deep inhale in} I am fascinated by the breath work aspect of it. Click here for a detailed description of pranayama and it’s many forms. {deep exhale out}

Breath is so simple. It’s always there and ready to help you explore.

About a year ago, I took a writing class that included some breath work. I now believe it was a form of pranayama. But what is really interesting to me is breath and abundance. Is it possible to use breath to enhance abundance and to erase limiting beliefs? The breath is a gateway connection the body to higher consciousness. As I discover more about breath work and it’s benefits, I’ll be sure to update you.

In the mean time, take a deep breath, and be good to yourself.

P.S. Let me know about your experience with breath in the comments.

Pranayama | Breath and Abundance is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Writing to Impact Change by Heather Plett

Are you writing to impact change? If you are a blogger, you are definitely seen as a leader whether you are doing it consciously or not.  My friend Heather over at Sophia Leadership collected beautiful writing tips and compiled the most delicious, fr*ee ebook. There is no opt-in. She’s just giving it away for free. And do you know what tickles me the most…. I’m in it.

You can see my page to the right. Isn’t the image beautiful? Heather took all the photos herself. (except the last page was taken by her daughter Maddy)

I’m so honored to be included in this beautiful and powerful book. The tips are fantastic and the images are beautiful. Did I mention it was fr*ee?

The ebook contains fr*ee tips to help your writing impact change. Click the link and make sure you leave Heather a comment.

Writing to Impact Change – Free Ebook is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Sierra Vista Red Rock Syrah

Sierra Vista Winery makes terrific wine. Since I love to drink wine, and I love creative businesses, I had to let you in on a secret. Sierra Vista Winery is rocking their business creativity. Did you know they were the first winery in their region to install solar panels at the winery?

If businesses don’t continually innovate, they aren’t going to make it.

Plus, way before it was cool, Sierra Vista Winery started using sustainable agriculture. Check out their cool practices they use to make their Syrah and all their other wines.

A year ago they teamed up with a good buddy of mine Patrick McIntosh to do some awesome online promotions. Check out his post Syrah! Skiers and Soccer Players’ Favorite Wine. So if you are in business, you must find ways to be creative and innovative!

Patrick scored a special discount for all you wine lovers. (not an affiliate link) So click here for a special discount on their Syrah wine and all the other fantastic wines they produce.

Syrah Sierra Vista Winery | Creativity in Business is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Total Alignment - Heart

Total Alignment is a fr*ee art workshop over at Dirty Footprints Studio. This workshop series helps align your mind-body-spirit with Creative Source. So if you have been feeling disconnected, out of sorts, or confused about the future, I recommend you check it out. Connie Hozvicka teaches a painting process called Fearless Painting. She encourages you to pick up a paintbrush and paint like you were 5 years old.

It’s an amazingly therapeutic process. Check out the video and the painting I did to the first prompt “Opening the Heart Center.

Click here for Total Alignment

If you are interested in watching the painting evolve from beginning to end, you can see the video here.

The heart is organic, pulsing and free

It’s roots grow deep into the sea… pulsing, floating, free

I am evolving, rising, expanding

I am growing stronger as my roots get longer

I am breaking free of the darkness that surrounded me

Total Alignment | Heart is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Energy Healing courtesy of o5com

Energy healing — EFT, Intuitive Bodywork, and Healing Touch, for example — can benefit cancer patients in many ways. While this form of therapy cannot cure cancer, it can help patients explore the roots of their disease. And it is quite effective in helping patients manage their cancer symptoms.

Energy therapies are complementary treatments that work alongside mainstream medicine. Each method, in its own way, supports natural healing by clearing energy blocks at several levels: physical, spiritual, and emotional.

Ultimate Healing

Many cancer patients call energy therapy the ultimate healing tool, one that supports their journey back to wholeness. Conventional medical treatments such as chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation can have painful, negative side effects. Energy therapies minimize the effects to improve health and restore balance to the spirit, mind, and body.

According to the National Cancer Institute, many patients today choose energy healing and other complementary practices as part of their cancer treatment. Energy therapy helps patients cope with the worries of cancer, as well as the physical side effects of pain, nausea, and fatigue. They give patients a sense of control when everything seems out of control. And they offer hope to patients even in the dire cases like an unfavorable mesothelioma prognosis.

Emotional Freedom Technique

EFT, also known as Emotional Freedom Technique, is similar to acupuncture. It uses tapping and the repetition of phrases to trigger harmful emotions and release them from the body. EFT is a great tool for cancer patients because it helps them manage physical and emotional pain in a safe, non-invasive manner. Ideal for patients with a short life expectancy, such as those with mesothelioma or pancreatic cancer, EFT helps them accept death and reach inner peace.

Intuitive Bodywork

Intuitive Bodywork is another non-invasive energy therapy. A type of therapeutic massage, Intuitive Bodywork removes energy blockages in the body to promote the flow of life energy. Sometimes therapists bring out past emotions or consult with spirit guides to remove negative elements and promote the flow of energy. Cancer patients who use Intuitive Bodywork in their cancer treatment report pain relief, reduced stress levels, faster recoveries, and a better quality of life.

Healing Touch

Healing Touch, another form of therapeutic massage, is extremely useful in cancer treatment. Trained therapists use very gentle touch to promote natural healing. According to Healing Touch International, research suggests that women with breast cancer showed improved their physical and emotional health when they received Healing Touch after radiation. Some treatment programs integrate Healing Touch with Intuitive Bodywork or other energy therapies.

It is natural for cancer patients to want to fight their disease, and most patients do this any way they can. Conventional medical treatment is proven to fight cancer, but complementary and integrative therapies can help patients cope with the side effects. EFT, Healing Touch, Intuitive Bodywork, and other energy therapies may not work for everyone. But patient testimonials make energy healing worth a try. Since each healing method differs from the next, patients should do their research to make the right choice for them.

Melanie Bowen is an advocate for natural health and cancer cure initiatives. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English with a specialty in Psychology and Medical Research, you will often find her highlighting the great benefits of different nutritional, emotional, and physical treatments on those with illnesses in her efforts to spread awareness. You can find Melanie’s blog at http://miladyknows.blogspot.com/

EFT, Healing Touch, And Intuitive Bodywork: Integrative Therapy For Cancer is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Delphi Temple courtesy of Mr. G's Travels

The wisdom of your heart. Have you ever heard it? Whether you call it intuition, your higher self, your subconscious, Source or collective consciousness… we all have the ability to get answers to our questions. Dr. Wayne Dyer says that he doesn’t write the books. He simply connects to Source and the words flow through him.

Most of us have had that experience. The experience of FLOW. Time almost stands still and it’s like you are not really connected to the outside world. Any creative activity can generate the experience of FLOW. (video on Creativity and Flow from Mihály Csíkszentmihályi)

Everyone knows the story of the Oracle of Delphi. It was an imp0rtant Greek shrine built around a sacred spring. People came to Delphi to have their questions answered by the priestess of Appollo, Pythia. You could get any question answered. “When should I plant my corn?” to “When should we go to war?” Many times the answers were confusing, but the Oracle would gladly give another answer for more gold.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was an Oracle of Delphi today? A place we could go and get answers to our questions. I’ve been asking questions since I was a young girl.

Is God angry?

Why would He love some people but not other people?

Why is there war?

What is my purpose?

Why do I feel so sad?

And I’ve made and amazing discovery. We all contain an oracle. It’s the wisdom of your heart!

Inner Critic

What if we could uncover and heal our limiting beliefs… uncover and heal our childhood wounds..and discover and develop our true passions? Well we can through expressive art. Expressive art is all about the process, not the product. It’s about expressing your feelings through art. And art can be more than just visual art. Expressive art can be writing, or dance/movement, or poetry/sound.

My favorite way of using expressive art is for self discovery. The image to the right was in response to the question “What do you want to bring healing to?” I immediately thought about the fact that my shoulder had been bothering me for some time. I had had some physical therapy and massage, but I still had some pain. But I really wanted to get at any underlying problems that might be causing my shoulder pain.

When I came to the page I thought, “I would like to bring healing to my shoulder.” Then I just drew intuitively. I tried not to think too hard about what I was doing. If I had an impulse to use purple, I did. If I had the impulse to smear it with my finger, I did.

The amazing part isn’t the image. The amazing part is what comes after the image. Art and the Oracle… When I finished the image I flipped over the paper and wrote the words “I am.” I took a breath, closed my eyes, opened them and wrote…

I am judgmental and critical. You are not worthy. But I am organic. I originate from kindness and got transposed in the delivery. I came from the sea and there is no blame. Only responsibility to shed light on darkness.

I realized that this was my inner critic. The little voice that whispers in my ear and tells me to be careful and don’t get hurt. It’s purpose is to keep us safe, but it’s not qualified to make most judgments. Because my inner critic was out in the open, it lost most of it’s power. And I could recognize when it was speaking and not my authentic self.

I have an exciting online workshop I’m developing so you can experience the wisdom of your heart.

Wisdom of Your heART is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Creativity Quest courtesy of superk8nyc

My quest for creativity started when I reached adulthood. When I was growing up, education was really emphasized in our house. Don’t get me wrong. There was a lot of love and connection, too. But creativity wasn’t valued as much as getting good grades. Although my parents oooohhed and aaaahhhed over my artistic creations, A’s and B’s in school were highly prized.

Confounding my creativity… I was blessed with academic ability. School was easy for me. Apparently, this quest for creativity is true for a lot of people according to Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” He feels we are all born filled with creativity, but school squashes it out of us.

Once I reached adulthood, I felt like something was missing. I looked at my friends, and a lot of them seemed to have some sort of creative hobby. One friend liked to make pottery. Another friend made home furnishings like draperies and pillows. And I had another friend that liked to refinish old furniture. But I didn’t have any of these talents. (and I mistakenly thought these were talents, not pursuits)

The only art classes I took in school made it very apparent that I didn’t have any talent. (who knew that many artists have years of training) But I clearly wasn’t as good as some of my friends. So I gave myself the label ‘Uncreative.’ And I believed that label for a long time. But as I became an adult I longed for some sort of creative expression.

I went to the art super store and bought a couple of their kits. You know the kind… paint a flower pot, make a stepping stone or string some beads. None of them ever looked like the picture on the label. All of them confirmed my belief. I was definitely uncreative. Although I do recall writing poetry in junior high, I struck that off as teenage angst.

Gia and Ches

Then my children were born and the quest for creativity returned. This time the urging was louder. I remember when they were still in strollers, I would take them to the fabric store just so I could drink in the color. I couldn’t sew. I almost failed Home-Ec in school. But those trips to the fabric store filled my soul. I would later discover that Julie Cameron would recommend activities like this called “Artist Dates” in her book The Artist’s Way.

One day, while strolling around the fabric store, I saw a pumpkin costume for a toddler. Wouldn’t Chesney (she was 2) look adorable in a pumpkin costume for Halloween? How hard could it be? What was it, like six football shaped pieces sewn together? Besides, it’s a costume…. If I mess it up, who cares? And what do you know? I am creative. Now this is actually my second daughter Gia in the pumpkin costume. And you can see my second attempt at creativity in Chesney’s ballerina costume.

How do you express your creativity? (you ARE creative you know)

My Quest for Creativity is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings

Finding Yourself by Making Art

Finding Yourself - Physical

But I can’t even draw a straight line. I don’t have any artistic ability. I’m not creative at all. These are all the phrases I hear from people. My company, Invisible Heartstrings, specializes in helping you find yourself by expressing your own, authentic images. But I can’t even draw a straight line.

We have fantastic tools to connect you with your innate creativity. And by doing so, you can unleash your intuitive wisdom. Making art is a simple way of finding yourself. To read more about how I found myself many years ago read Finding Yourself.

Making art as a tool for personal growth has nothing to do with artistic ability. It has everything to do with learning to understand yourself through a different medium. We traditionally use words to express ourselves and many times those words do not convey a full emotion.

I am not the pioneer of this type of work. It is called expressive arts. Here is an example of a creative exercise inspired by Daria Halprin. I used 3 large pieces of paper (18 x 24) and taped them to a wall one at a time. I allotted myself 5 minutes for each drawing. For the first piece I spent a few minutes thinking about my physical body. How did it feel? But instead of thinking about it in words, I just tried to experience it. This is the drawing that resulted.

Finding Yourself - Emotional

I taped the next paper to the wall and contemplated my emotional state. How was I feeling emotionally? Again I took 5 minutes to make the drawing. As you can see, this method of creating art has more to do with connecting with your own authentic images than making a great work of art.

And anyone can see a lot more in the drawing than if I tried to describe how I was feeling.

The final drawing represents my mental state. I have to say, after the first two drawings, this final drawing was a bit of surprise.

Finding Yourself - Mental

It was clear that my mental state was quite different than my physical and emotional states.

But what does this have to to with finding yourself? Expressing yourself this way is a great tool for discovering who you are; what your challenges are, what may be holding you back.

Imagery is a the language of the mind-body. What better way to connect with your authentic self than to tap into your body’s language. It helps you connect with your intuition.

And just in case you still think that you don’t have a creative bone in your body, watch this video.

Have you every used art to express yourself through art, poetry, song or dance when words didn’t seem adequate? Let me know in the comments.

But I Can’t Draw is a post from: Invisible Heartstrings