Life is a Creative Process
By
I often hear clients say, “I am not a creative person,” or some other variation of that sentence with a similar meaning. This has become a source of amusement for me. When I hear these statements the detective in me emerges and I become curious to find the creative side within that person. Every single one of us is born with creative potential. It doesn’t mean we are all artists. It means we see, feel, hear, and experience the world in our own way. We create our life every moment. When we are free of self-judgment and limiting beliefs we have the capacity to share those interpretations through creative expression allowing the true authentic self to emerge.
During my most recent program: Flying on the Wings of Horses: A Shamanic Journey with Horses to Ignite Creative Expression, I watched each participant access their creative expression through engaging with horses. Some highly creative individuals expanded into greater levels of freedom of expression. Others worked through their limiting thoughts and beliefs to gain ownership of their abilities.
Throughout the weekend we danced between exploring the authentic self, intuition, shamanic journeys, ceremonies, deep work with the horses, exploring the potency of emotion and creative projects. There is something magical about bringing these three elements (creativity, shamanism, horses) together. The weekend was filled with the rhythms or the earth, a sense of community, and the insights of each person as they deepened their sense of self.
I found that putting the workshop together was a creative process in itself. Each individual who had originally committed to support, teach or help with the program dropped out. However, shortly after, several new people arrived. It was the best team I have experienced thus far.
Two great reminders continue to arise for me as I venture deeper into living a life based on creative flow. When my ego tries to control the circumstances of my life I have to remember to step back and ask myself, “What wants to happen?” This simple step invites me to pause and see what is emerging instead of forcing things to go my way.
Other times, when I become overly attached to such things as promises made, then broken; things planned, then re-planned; colors or shapes within my art, or items I can’t let go of, I must remind myself of the ART being of unattached. Life is a never-ending stream of experiences that raise one’s consciousness. What I see today I might see differently tomorrow, just as a horse sees the world differently each day. Can I trust the process enough to know all the parts will become a whole?
When I get comfortable with the process of letting go of control and attachment, and seeing what wants to happen, I allow myself to be carried by the river of life. Suddenly I find myself floating downstream, in peace, verses rowing against the current, or worse, stuck in an eddy.
Is it possible to truly live life like a horse, being only present in the moment not thinking about the past or looking to the future? Come talk to a horse and find out for yourself!
Mel and Lynn you were wonderful! And, many thanks go out to Kate dela Grange who offered the shamanic component. What a delight to co-facilitate with my teacher from ten years ago!
The samples of the creative process above are shared by Ivanaa Strasmajerova and Birgit Weskamp.