The Muse is IN Blog

That Wonderful State that Makes Art Inevitable

"The object isn’t to make art,
it’s to be in that wonderful state that makes art inevitable ."
~Robert Henri

I have this quote in my email signature because I love it so much. It’s a reminder to me that my art isn’t just about selling or displaying. It’s about the state I’m in when I’m painting.

Most of the time it’s a mindless state of bliss, but sometimes when the colors mix in a way I wasn’t expecting or when I put a streak of turquoise across the white and it reveals all the nuisances the world loves about watercolor, I can't help but feel an unexplainable depth of contentment. I am transported from all my failures, losses and regrets into turquoise mixing with the violet. When I paint a cat in orange and purple stripes, I feel liberated from the rules demanded from life and defiant about needing to meet anyone's expectations. 

One of the challenges that come up for my clients in creativity coaching is that they’ve lost that pleasure. They feel like everything they do needs to be something of value, something that can be sold, something to be framed. They want the joy back. Although I love having a finished product too, art is worlds more than that to me and I want my clients to experience those worlds too.

One of the foundations of creative blocks is the epidemic of unrealistic expectations we have in our society. These aren’t unrealistic in terms of people never being able to achieve the level of excellence they want. They're unrealistic in how quickly or how much can happen at one time. The same applies to enjoying the process.

You may have gotten into the habit of missing the bliss the process provides because you’re putting pressure on yourself to produce. It would be unrealistic for you to decide from now on you’re going to enjoy the process. That’s too big of a leap. Habits don’t change that quickly and then people assume the change can’t occur at all.

The first place to start is by changing the question your subconscious has been working on from, “Why can’t I enjoy painting (or writing, photography, music, etc) anymore?" to “What would it feel like to enjoy the process?”

Your subconscious will answer both questions but the second answer will serve you much more than the first.

There's no need to have an answer in the moment. Just ask the question and notice how it feels. Gradually you will be in that wonderful state that makes art inevitable.

When it’s Hard, the Reward is Greater

 

He conquers who endures. ~Persius

Writing my third book was not fun for the first year. It was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle whose pieces didn’t fit, and I kept accumulating pieces.

What I was trying to write kept getting bigger and more unwieldy. More than one piece wanted to fit in the same space so I had to eliminate pieces I fell in love with.

Then one day, it seemingly let me know what it wanted to be. And it became fun again. But I had to stay with it. I had to trust it was going to fall into place. It helped that I had two other books where creative chaos was also a frustration that I eventually tamed, but this one lasted longer and there were one or two moments where I thought to myself, maybe I should let this one go. It’s too big.

Actually they were more like seconds, because I was on a mission and I know creative missions are not always easy and that’s the very reason they are worth taking on. When it’s hard, the reward is greater.

The puzzle pieces started to fit and the exhilaration of what was forming was to me like skiing or surfing is to others. The path to finish the book rolled out in front of me like a carpet of wild flowers with stepping-stones in between. 

The reward was worth the hard work.

In order to stay with writing a book I make:

• showing up as easy as possible- with small steps and lowered pressured
• it desirable and enticing, entertaining, fun
• it gentle and loving
• it a habit

When we think something is supposed to be easy we often quit because we think there is something wrong with us. The creative process is not always easy. Running into creative chaos is normal. When you want to quit, stay.

Any fool knows that to work hard at something you want to accomplish is the only way to be happy. ~Eugene O'Neill

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein

 

KAIZEN-MUSE CREATIVITY COACHING TRAINING

Tilt Your Head a Bit to the Right

Creativity is about seeing things differently.

When I'm not getting to my creative pursuit as much as I'd like, I tilt my head ... in other words, I try looking at my approach differently.  Then I'm using creativity to be creative and I love creativity so I can't help but get my creative butt in gear. Although redundancy is not uncommon.

Here are five such head tilts:

1. We're fooling fear!

People run up against resistance when starting or returning to a creative pursuit because creativity triggers dastardly demons invented by fear including pressure, perfectionism, and comparison.

When I change my intention to doing something below-par for just five to fifteen minutes, fear is caught off-guard. Before fear catches on, I've created a momentum, engaged in the process for an hour or more, and below-par turns to better than I expected. Pisses fear off. Hahahaha!

2. Be nice to yourself 
I FREQUENTLY procrastinate when faced with a block of time that feels like pressure. Five minutes, especially with the addition of “lowered expectations about quality,” is not pressure. 

I show-up for low-pressured steps. Showing-up is the only way progress AND eventually, quality can happen.

3. Know how to create a new habit
New habits cannot be established in big chunks of time. To break established habits such as procrastination, tormenting inner-talk, and captivity to social media requires cunning and ease. Intending to work on my project for five minutes is both. Habits make getting things done easier.

4. Kindness and curiosity

Consider changing the wording of your intentions. This is how I word them:

I get to be curious about where this idea is going and practice kindness to myself in the process.

versus

I have to get a lot done and it better be good. 

The new approach takes the pressure off and reframes the time as an adventure. Not only THAT but I'm not just working on an idea, I'm working on  the qualities of a gentler, more fulfilling life.  Contrary to what task-masters say, I end up getting a lot done.  

 5. Just five minutes creates crucial momentum for continuing
The resistance is broken because a five minute step is small. At that point, people rarely stop. I regularly end up working hours with an initial five minute goal.

Setting a goal for an hour and completing 45 minutes can feel like a failure and it’s less likely I would be motivated to do that again. An intention of five minutes resulting in 45 minutes is a feeling of exhilaration, and generally I seek those out, over and over. I like the creative high.

My latest obsession has been detonated in the development a new program called:

Finding Uber Bliss- A Wildly Creative Journey to the Present Moment ™.

Speaking of New Angles:

The Head Tilt is one of the levels participants traverse on their way to Uber Bliss. 

In this level, approaches to writing, art, and smart phone photography are explored from a series of new angles. Most importantly, it gives participants ways to think like an artist of being alive, something new for the mortal who is constantly down on him or herself.

Finding Uber Bliss brings together the most celebrated teachings of spiritual joy with creative expression making both easier. It demonstrates how finding your creative voice is one of the most liberating things you can do in the short time we have on the planet.  

I'll be taking people through the journey in Delray Beach, Florida, January 19-22, 2017 (mosquitoes take the winter off). You are invited to either go through it to deepen your own creative-spiritual connection or to learn how to facilitate your own Finding Uber Bliss groups with friends or others for another stream of joy and income. More here.

 

 

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