Creativity Therapy Part 1

Introduction:  My Story

In reading articles and watching leading videos on self improvement I have gained priceless tools for working through my own challenges.

They all say "find the thing that is uniquely you and do that", or "follow your dream".  

Recently I enjoyed Anita Moorjani's video about who we would be if no one was watching.  This lead me into deep reflection of my life, emerging with a sense of gratitude that I am indeed being authentically me, without apology.

I believe this is where we have to start, by first finding ourselves, claiming it and then expressing it.  A tall order for most of us.

For me, creativity in general has been the therapeutic vehicle through anything challenging in my life.  When I am creating, I am not "thinking" about anything else because I'm in a zone, which is much deeper than a thought process.  If I do get stuck on something I stop, meditate, do nothing or just do something mindless until it eventually comes to me what to do next.

When I'm working on a project it is like therapy, taking my mind off any challenges I may be facing.

Resilience plays a huge roll too.  I think I am by nature, resilient.  Perhaps from a lifetime of uncontrollable circumstances.  However I got that way I'm grateful, because this is therapeutic in itself.  It's the way "through" anything.  To let go of the unknown, breathe and just allow things to unfold, is a gift.  Perhaps it's like faith.

So what I want to do in this little three part mini blog series, is to explore creativity as therapy.  To ask ourselves some honest questions about who we are now and who we really want to be.  

To find our own unique calling means to open up and let go of who we (or someone else) thought we should be, at any age.  To let go of the judgement and shame that may have been within us for a lifetime.

Some of this wisdom has come to me through reading and watching Brendon Burchard's material.  He puts such an authentic and meaningful spin on rediscovering ourselves.  My breakthrough was to fully embrace myself as a creative being.

I believe that any creative endeavor can help us through challenges and I hope you'll tune in for part 2 and 3, Finding Ourselves and applying The Therapy.

Risk Authenticity

I have been mulling over how to write my own version of the election results here.  I am one of many who are disappointed in the results, however, what I really want to express came after some reading I did from Buddhist leaders, and today I watched a Ted Talk from Brene Brown about Vulnerability.

Risk authenticity and just express how you feel.  I find it best to do this within my own tribe first, to get my feet wet, then branching out from there.  But be informed and be kind.

Personally, I don't vote for anyone who supports racism, but I also didn't think it wise to let someone run the country who had never been a politician.  We don't usually hire managers off the street, so that was just bad business.
I let my gut tell me how to feel about a person, I always have.  I have good instincts and high intuition.  I knew he wasn't right for the job.

Aside from all the obvious stuff that has already been aired, I really see this as a Shift, an opportunity for Big change.  OK, it's out, and the country is split. everyone is mad as hell, and at each other.  This is not where we should start.

For me personally, it became apparent just a few days after the results were out and I was on a day trip with a friend who happens to be a conservative republican.  I was hoping to not talk politics at all, and we almost got through the whole day, but somehow it came up and I feel I was ambushed into a corner.  Not really her fault.  My lesson there was how apparent it was to me that I was uninformed and couldn't even defend myself!  My fault.  Knowledge is power, that is correct, and I have seen the light!

After a recent meditation I came away feeling compassion for all of us.  I also felt hope and acceptance.  But it will take some time to sort things out before others calm down, some just won't, but that's in their nature.

So risking authenticity is to be vulnerable, and vulnerable is a state of openness.  The risk of course is not knowing the outcome, but that's just life. 

I think this Shift will be different for all of us, it will be very personal and many will grow because of it.  I know I have already.