A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

When I was in Hawaii I did some creative recovery.

What do you mean by that exactly? 

Well, recovery is a word often used by people who are healing from addictions. And that's basically what I was doing. And being on a remote island, it was almost like being in rehab. I had not other choice but to kick them and heal.

So you were creatively healing from addictions? And what kind of addictions. I thought all this yoga kept you pretty addiction free.

I was healing from the all the things that I have allowed to kept me from reaching my full potential as an artist and a creator. Many of those things would count as addictions, though most people wouldn't think of them as addictions--but they are! And in freeing myself, I was finally able to unblock my lovely, lively, joyful inner artist. The mantra I have been chanting for most last year was also a big part of my unblocking...

I wouldn't have thought of you as blocked. You get so much done.

Getting things done is a wonderful way to stay blocked from the things you really want to do. Must do, or you will die like a crushed flower....

That was dramatic.

Yes it was. But true... Anyway... I wasn't all blocked, but I was partially blocked for a few years and not as alive as I could have been.

You do seem different now.  Lighter. And you look a lot younger.

I feel 16 going on 17! It's crazy! I burst into song outside the Hawaii temple on the hill where they have some benches set in a circle. It reminded me of that scene from The Sound of Music where Liesel sings and jumps from bench to bench. Nancy took a picture of me and I look like I am 16.

I also don't feel tired all the time, or much at all anymore. And I actually enjoy playing with my daughter.  She was a little surprised at first to see me climbing trees with her but it just comes naturally now. I want to climb the tree.... 

Do you think creative recovery will solve my energy crisis?

Yes. Most people are creatively blocked, and it requires a lot of energy to keep being blocked, but it's scary and vulnerable to unblock, so we tend to prefer the stressful known. It's sad...

So what have you created?

It's not about the end result, although things have been created.... It's about the joy in the process. it's much more fun be writing a novel than to say I wrote a book a few years ago. 

It's cool to have written a book a few years ago....

But the magic is in the moment. When I look at a the translucent skin of the pear and think how I will describe its specific angle of repose. Or when I notice the way the bees buzz around the statue of Quan Yen under the oak tree. Or when I use my camera to make an image of something strange and beautiful--like the dog next door who looks like an old man. It makes me giddy. Sometimes it makes me sad too, to think of all the people missing this joy. And all the years I missed it.

So how is it spiritual?

Well, in recovery, the first step (usually there are 12) is to admit you are powerless on your own to overcome the things that are plaguing you, and you turn it over to your higher power. And that higher power is a creator and happens to love artists.... even though many of us have not been trained to think of God as an artist and have often been fed a load of garbage about how artists are irresponsible or they starve or they should be doing something more productive with their lives...

Sounds like my father talking...

And my father, who is also a blocked creative. The truth is that there is nothing the world needs more than people being creative for creativity's sake. The energy of it is amazing. I believe it is the only antidote to war, and also for sexual healing or any second chakra issues. It's the power of God. Love. Creation. It's atomic power--times a billion. If just a few people wanted to join me in an experiment and whole-heartedly commit to creative recovery, the energy generated would spread over the whole planet like a hundred atomic bombs... except that the mushroom clouds would be purple and pink and aqua blue and would drop happy fairy dust instead of radiation. The whole destiny of the planet would shift. As is it already did this summer.

What happened this summer?

We changed time streams. I'll tell you about it another time. Or maybe I'll write a sci-fi novella about it. No one will believe it otherwise. Sometimes only fiction can approach spiritual reality.

Like imagery....

Yes.

So what do I have to do.

Well, I don't recommend trying it on your own. It can be a roller coaster. That's why I am making a support group to go along with my 12-week series called Kundalini Yoga and The Artist's Way. It's an online yoga class series. But i's gonna be way more than yoga...

Support groups sound stiff.

Think of it as a play group.

Ok. I'm in.