How Cool is This?

​Recently I had such a wild experience that I just had to share it with you. Because if it can happen to me, it can certainly happen to you.

Although I haven’t yet achieved superhuman status yet (honestly I have a very long way to go), I like to think of myself as having made some significant strides in understanding how my state of mind affects how I create things - whether it’s with paint or with words or in giving a presentation. Recently, I was so up in my head overthinking a project that I started worrying whether I could even finish it by the time it was due and would it really be any good.

Ugh. I hate that scenario. It’s happened a lot over the years. The way it gets me so emotionally tied in knots and how it feels in my body and how my receptivity to an inspired idea seems far, far away. This time, I found myself searching for a reason why I was so stuck in the mud - had I procrastinated too long? Did I really know what I was talking about?

But somehow in the process of rummaging through possible causes, it suddenly occurred to me that I was using my feelings as an indication of something that I had done wrong. And then the light bulb went off: oh, wait a minute! My feelings are simply telling me my thinking is muddled. 

The moment it occurred to me that feelings aren’t a reflection of my outer reality (my precious creation), but are just an indication my thinking is unclear (and insecure), an opening occurred in that sludgy brain of mine. And out of that opening came a fresh wave of thoughts that gave me just what I needed to keep going. I was able to streamline much of what I had already done and finish it in half the time I assumed it would take.

So, what’s my story got to do with you? In this instance, I wasn’t just lucky enough to be tapped on the shoulder by the muse of creativity. I think this happened because more and more I look to see what’s really getting in my way and what's true for all of us, not just me. And more and more I see (even if there’s a bit of a lag time) that I can use my feelings to set myself free instead of beat myself up. And when I do that, a miracle happens and I find myself being a conduit for the real source of overflowing creativity that we all have access to.