Negotiating with an (overactive) creative mind
This article is an excerpt from a past monthly letter. If you enjoy this kind of grounding support, sign up to receive the monthly coaching package: it includes an article like this one, journaling prompts, creative practices, spiritual rituals and supportive tools to help you navigate your rebellious path as an artist or creative entrepreneur.
I don’t know about you, but January always seemed like an awkward moment to start a year for me. Spring feels like a more natural time for new beginnings, as Aries kickstarts the Astrological New Year around the Spring solstice— welcoming the Sun’s fiery energy. As the fire gets ignited within, as we take a big inhale full of hope and wake up from the dreamy states of Winter, another part of us also awakens: our (over)active creative mind. This vivid imagination may be a part of us that we consider more like a curse than a blessing— taking hostage our focus, holding our dreams captive and keeping us stagnant. I hear you.
I too, feel like despite my best intentions to commit to a project, new ideas and question marks keep appearing like shimmering obstacles steering me away from the intended path. And when I’m not being careful, I can easily get lost within the labyrinth of my creative mind, running around in circles, endlessly chasing novelty.
The first sparks of excitement might start feeling more like blazing frustration, impatience and discouragement. The initial enthusiasm might shift into aggression. We might turn this anger inward. And there we are again— throwing our dreams into the fire, watching the passion turn into ashes before our very eyes.
I’m not a mother, but I can easily imagine the struggle of wanting to get something done and getting constantly interrupted by requests, questions, cries, bruises and toys flying across the room. In some way, the ideas that get birthed into our imagination are little children screaming for attention. With a limited understanding of parenthood, I can only assume that just as we don’t want to silence a child, we also have to learn to care for those ideas that keep popping into our mind and derailing us from our goal, like kids running around unsupervised. (Note: I’m not saying children steer us away from our dreams, it’s an image).
How can we learn to find our way back on the path, while honouring our creative nature?
I believe it’s first and foremost a matter of caring and tending to our inner garden of ideas. In this garden, you are the mother. You are the father. You are the child. This inner family doesn’t have to be dysfunctional, as much as chaos might be something that feels familiar and safe to us. Sometimes, it may feel more comfortable for us to unconsciously recreate inner turbulence whenever this unfamiliar calmness arises. Something to ponder.
A lifetime of negotiation with my own creative mind has shed light on a few thoughts that I’d love to share with you.
+ Our creative mind is not something we should aim to tame. It doesn’t need to be cured, rather it needs to be loved for what it is— a wellspring of imagination. It’s not the abundance of ideas that get us stuck, but our lack of discernment— an uncalibrated inner compass. Left alone with no guidance in the lush forest of our imagination, these ideas also get lost in the maze of our creative mind. And we get lost along with them.
+ Your ideas don’t need to be birthed right away. They can wait. Things can wait. Rushing through anything strengthens fear and reinforces our beliefs around scarcity. The external noise might convince you to follow the nudges of your impatience— I'd invite you to be mindful of how this behaviour might lead you to dilute your art and exhaust your creative fuel. You can learn to trust in the divine timing of things and into your own ability to return back to an idea that’s worth your energy. What is the cost of fast action? What is the cost of instant gratification? What could be the payoff of patience?
+ Not everything needs to be figured out, now. Not everything needs to be figured out, period. Befriend the fogginess of this reality. One day you might look back on this time where you were seeking crystal clarity, and realize the beauty in the iridescence of ambiguity. How can you make progress, despite the fogginess?
+ New is not a synonym of better. Perhaps this season is asking you to seek balance between craving more and appreciating what you already have. In what ways may you be coverting dramatic changes and huge shifts, and ignoring the tiny ones that can offer meaningful joy?
At the end of the day, there are a myriad of techniques and tools you could choose to use to negotiate with your creative mind. I believe they all boil down to a few specific points:
1. Cutting the external noise and weeding out what might overstimulate you in a period where deep focus is what you need.
2. Inviting daily grounding activities to move the energy from the buzzing mind to the inner wisdom of the heart.
3. Implementing regular mind decluttering sessions to decipher through the thoughts, ideas and question marks that accumulated.
4. Slowing down and simplifying the creative process so you can be fully present for the nurturing of your ideas.
5. Reparenting yourself. Using your inner mother to nurture and soothe you and your inner father to set supportive boundaries.
FREE CREATIVE COMPANION
MUSED
Design a self-led creative retreat that will help you reconnect with the artist within, clarify your creative vision and find gentle structure to stay creatively consistent. Support yourself in building your own creative playground— an inspiring sanctuary for your artistic explorations, and find solutions to get unstuck when the creative process gets a bit messy.
the creative playground
the creative playground
The Creative Playground
Join an intimate group of kindred spirits for a Full Moon creative gathering. We’ll unplug from the external noise and reconnect with the artist within. Bring your cup of tea or glass of wine, brushes, pencils, yarn, journal, guitar, microphone... and an open mind to experiment and play.
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