The three most important things you need to engage your creativity

Those of us who use our creativity to help support our lifestyle know that the muse doesn’t show up regularly until we do too. In my last post, I shared how to create a fertile ground to invite the muse, but that’s just the beginning of the story. 

To really engage our creativity, we also need to pay attention to energy.

At its core creativity is an exchange of energy.  Like a light bulb - when we engage, we glow. We tap into our divine source, according to our understanding, and allow that expression to come forth.  Through this process we gain insight and feel joy.  We understand ourselves more deeply.

Creative energy resonates in the observer.  Often it’s physical: an intake of breath, closed eyes, synchronization with the beat, or perhaps weakened knees. When we experience a divinely-inspired creative offering of another, we feel what they felt.

The energy of creativity changes both creator and observer.  Great art, moving dialogue, hypnotic dance, majestic music… even a simple dish prepared with love can be a transformative experience.

That transformation is creativity’s gift.  It’s how we were created by divinity, how we have transformed our surroundings over the millennia, and how we will survive as a species.

Here’s how to engage your creativity:

Engage presence

Where our attention goes, energy flows.  Be present in the moment to allow divinity  the space to design its version of your desire rather than erecting boundaries around what you think should be in place.

Expectations are the foundation of disappointment. 

When we lose sight of the joy of creating, the joy of being in the moment, and instead shift our focus to the outcome, that joy can dissolve. Stay with the process rather than trying to control the outcome or result.  Attention to refinement can come later. 

When we are present, a gate opens to release what needs to emerge.  Stay with that moment and allow the transformative energy to flow.

Engage a sense of awe

Awe, that feeling of witnessing magnificence, inspires us to create.

Looking at a sunset, holding a sleeping baby in our arms, gazing at the night sky - these are all timeless human activities that connect us to divinity.  In that moment, we realize we are incapable of creating them on our own.

Awe ignites love in our heart and helps us see our connection to the whole of creation.  When we allow ourselves to embrace the magnitude of the magnificent, it awakens a creative urge as visceral as hunger or thirst.

There is a lot more about awe here, including how to access it more readily.

Engage gratitude

Like awe, gratitude connects us to energy that is beyond us. When we acknowledge and appreciate what surrounds us, it generates a resonance with all that is good.  We feel protected and safe.

Find ways to experience gratitude on a regular basis.  Many find that writing down moments of blessing that happened during their day reminds them how supported and loved they truly are.

Time spent in prayer and meditation amplifies awareness of divinity and reminds us of our purpose.

Finally, remember that spirit works in its own time. 

I recently watched a biography on PBS of that creative force Buffy Sainte-Marie.  You can watch it here.

There was a long period where she was ignored and her messages went unheard.  When recalling that time she said, “Sometimes you have to carry the medicine for a long time before it’s time to administer it.”

Her words reminded me that the Aramaic word for evil is “unripe.”  The harvest isn’t ready until it’s ripe.  What we desire might not be in the best timing for its fruition. Patience is our friend.

The muse inspires what is important to do next.  When we stay present, embrace awe, and express gratitude, we receive inspiration more directly.  We are pointed to the best next step we can take.

Inviting and befriending the muse magnifies creativity and leads us toward our transformation.  I believe it’s why we’re here.