Creativity and Meditation Archives

How to Turn Melancholy into Creativity

how to turn melancholy into creativity

How to Turn Melancholy into Creativity

Hello my friends, how are you?? Summer is almost over, leaves are turning flaming colors, the air is a bit cooler and a new season is here.

Whenever this happens I am happy because I love fall and at the same time I feel a hint of melancholy, saying goodbye to the warm sun.

The last few weeks I heard lots of friends complain about feeling melancholic, so I thought it´s a good idea to write an article, how to turn this melacholy into creativity. First let´s see what Wikipedia has to say about Melancholy:

A feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.

Now… how does this melancholy feel in my body?

Heaviness in my heart area
Very little excitement
Lethargy, (a lack of energy and enthusiasm)
Everything brings up tears
A feeling of hopelessness

These feelings are very familiar to me, I used to call them depression. Thanks to some people and wisdom in my life, I learned about a kinder way to talk and think about it.

The last few years, I have been immersed into Human Design which taught me that all these feelings and states of mind are mechanical energies that just happen.

Sometimes its due to life circumstances, or planetary energies that activate certain energies, sometimes it´s the energy of other people.

When I found out that I have lots of energies, that are actually melancholic, but at the same time very creative, I thought ok, what can I do with this insight? The answer was: melancholic states are great times to be creative.

What a great time to write poetry, write into a journal, write a book, paint a picture, create a collage, plant flowers, try a new recipe, make a beautiful table arrangement, or whatever your creative muse wants to do.

The trick is to actually do it….Somehow human beings are strange and that includes me too. You know what would be good for you, but you avoid doing it.

Has that that ever happened to you? That you rather clean the house, spend money, watch TV, drink a bottle of wine, start some drama, get into a fight…

Sounds familiar? I did all of those things… 10 years ago I stopped watching TV, quit drinking, quit immersing myself into drama… but I still have my ways of avoiding to meet my creative muse.

I hate so say it, but sometimes gentle force is needed. These days, I kindly force myself to be creative and the melancholy feels a lot lighter. These little actions help me:

I bought myself a good speaker to fill my space with beautiful music.
I always collect materials, to have everything ready to create collages when the creativity calls.
Sometimes I take my journal to the park, sit on the grass or a bench and start writing, which at one point might morph into a book about my crazy life.

The most important lesson in all this is to make a choice: To get depressed… or to do things that will actually help the energy to move through your body. Do something creative and as a bonus, you might be left with a beautiful piece of art.

Love you all

Marita

What is your experience with melancholy and creativity? What do you do when you are sad? Please share it with us and leave a comment.

What is Creativity Anyway?

What is Creativity Anyway?

Hi Marita here…. I came across this article by Ian Philips and found it very interesting. Working as a coach I noticed that one of the essential keys in order to live happy, peaceful, fulfilled lives is: to be authentic and express who YOU are. To express your creativity is a way of expressing your gift. Sounds very simple doesn't it? Well unfortunately it's not, but it can be practiced.

The question is: "What inspires you to create?" Using your creativity does not mean you have to be artists. "Every day" creativity is expressed when you cook, or talk, how you dress. It can be expressed through gardening or how you decorate your homes. Even sports can be a great way to express creativity and of course there are many more ways.

As long as you are immersed in the activity and find joy…………. you are creative…. the key is to dare to "be it and do it", it's a life purpose… Enjoy the article!

"Creativity is our gift from god, using it is our gift to god" Julia Cameron

Have you ever had the thought, "I'm not creative. I can't even draw a straight line"? If so, you're not alone. Many people think that there is some essential relationship between creativity and the ability to make art. If they can't paint like Picasso, sing like Josh Groban, or sculpt like Henry Moore, they don't dare claim to be creative. It feels like an arrogant thing to say about yourself, if you're not an expert, not making a living from your creations, not well-known and publicly acclaimed for your imaginative gifts.

Why, when creativity is our very birthright, do so few of us feel creative? Why, when we're asked to think of someone creative, do we rarely think about ourselves, but of the public figures that have defined creativity over the years? We think of Monet, Mozart, Jackson Pollack, Martha Graham, Ansel Adams, always the figureheads, when the real truth is that every one of us is a born creator. That's the hallmark of being human: the ability to create, to turn something invisible into something visible, to forge a poem out of a feeling or a song out of a sorrow.

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, says that creativity doesn't happen in our heads but in the interaction between our imagination and our social context. It's a matter of experience and response, a matter of relationship to others and a commentary on the significance of our encounters. Creativity is the vivid expression of who we are in the world–our imagination begets our thoughts, our thoughts beget our words, our words beget our actions, our actions beget our experience, our collective experience and expression begets our culture. Each of us is contributing to the creation of the cultures we participate in.

The world is not divided into two groups of the creative and the uncreative. If there's a distinction, it's between those who are creatively productive and those with unexpressed potential. We're creative by default. We're genetically predisposed to create. Each of us, to varying degrees, is intrinsically motivated to create, to be original and to solve challenging problems. The question to ask is not, "Am I creative?" but rather, "What inspires me to create?"

Personal creativity is not about intelligence or information. It's about inspiration, from the Latin spiritus, meaning "breath, courage, the soul." Creativity is about being fully alive, living courageously, or as the painter Joan Miro´ says, "Expressing with precision all the gold sparks the soul gives off." When is the last time you felt fully alive? What is it that calls forth your courage and trumps your fear of sharing your soul? Knowing this is the key to discovering the creativity that is waiting to be expressed through you.alive, living courageously, or as the painter Joan Miro´ says, "Expressing with precision all the gold sparks the soul gives off." When is the last time you felt fully alive? What is it that calls forth your courage and trumps your fear of sharing your soul? Knowing this is the key to discovering the creativity that is waiting to be expressed through you.

…….I hope this article was useful. Now I will inspire you to use some very basic tools to get into the creative zone.

Morning pages are a great meditation and very simple, all you do is: write 3 pages freestyle, whatever comes up and do this every morning. The only rule is not to think and not to edit. It's a way of getting all the rubbish out of your head, that prevents you from doing what you love to do.

Here is a sample of my morning pages: I hear the birds singing, oh I forgot to buy coffee, this woman really bothered me, I cannot believe she said that. Oh my god I don't want to judge people, but I don't care, I think I need another cup of coffee, I can write what I want. Somehow my nose is itching, this is such a beautiful song on the radio, I feel like dancing, it reminds of when I was on one of my beach walks………The beach is so beautiful, I miss the beach, I should have gone to the beach more often. Sometimes I like to write………….there is a big pile of stuff on my desk, why do I get so messy, oh well, right now I just write.

Try it, it's one of my favorite practices, I get addicted to it…

How do YOU express your creativity? Please leave a comment, it's always great to hear what YOU have to say.

Simple Tips To Find What You Love To Do – Part 2

Simple Tips To Find What You Love To Do – Part 2

Hello again my friends, today we will explore a few more tips on how to find the things you love to do. Below are a few questions that I would like you to ask yourself. Yes it may be strange to ask yourself, but it's more like asking the question to the universe, you’re higher self or whatever you want it to be.

We have all the answers inside of us and yes even if you do not believe this you have them too. The trick is to get quiet enough to listen. The stronger your personality is; the harder it is to listen, so please, please, please do yourself a favor start to meditate and listen, it's the only way 🙂

• What are you passionate about?
• What is your biggest dream?
• Who do you want to become?
• What do you want to give?

I suggested 3 simple tips in the first part and today we will explore a few more. Please take the time and do the action steps, otherwise you can be sure that nothing will change. Small action steps repeatedly taken are required in order to create your dream life and please do remember: Everything we do that's new will feel uncomfortable.

7 years ago I did not have any idea what my passions are and if somebody asked me about my goals, it made me feel uncomfortable and I was avoiding the answer. It made me feel bad that I did not have any; actually I was afraid of goals, I was afraid of them because I knew that it would require commitment and commitment scared me, it was associated with: that's too hard.

Life felt stuck and I thought there must be something wrong with me, if I cannot answer these questions. The good thing is: today I am crystal clear about my passions and the goals I want to achieve and all I did was practice all the little simple exercises and practices, I am giving you right here.

The answers just appeared like magic out of nowhere, but I had to let it go when they come and how they come.

◾Get your local community college schedule and sign up for a class
◾Go to the museum, or a concert and get inspired
◾Take some time out and do something completely different
◾Get some inspiring books, for example the "Artist Way"
◾Find some interesting groups on Meet Up and join

Always, always, always keep the meditation going, even if it's only a few minutes. It will help you to get beyond your conscious mind, into the subconscious mind. You must make it part of your daily routine like food, drink or exercise, yes it's that important. Just let it happen whatever idea comes up: explore it.

The mind does not want to do new things and will come up with all kinds of reasons why not to do it. It's not the mind's job to make us happy; it just wants to keep us safe. This sounds self-defeating and yes it is. But the good news is that with some awareness and practice we can learn to move beyond the fear and do it anyway.
This is it for today, please leave a comment and if you have tips that I did not mention, please share it.

More instructions about:" how to make a vision board" when you watch the videos or click the links below

Vision Board Samples

Vision Board Meditation, created by Marita and lead by Marcela Manesis

How to help visualize and manifest your fitness and health goals with a vision board

David Lynch On Creativity And Meditation

David Lynch On Creativity And Meditation

Hello again; YOU are here that means YOU are interested in creativity and meditation, I am so happy you have found this 🙂 Getting in touch with creativity and letting go of the thought that being creative means YOU have to create incredible artwork can be life changing.

Just on a side note; if you practice to get in touch in your inner creativity the result might be great artwork. The difference is that you are not trying hard to do it, but YOU let it happen. Wow, it's the possibility of a new life how wonderful this that! Now….. if YOUR intellect tells YOU, ah, this is all bullshit, YOU have a choice to listen to it, or say: thanks for sharing but I would like to try this…………. I hope you enjoy the presentation as much as I do.

Filmmaker David Lynch is talking about the connection between creativity and transcendental meditation and how this simple practice can change YOUR life, if YOU let it!

You will hear how it changed his life, from a very angry man to a man enjoying his life, his creativity and spreading joy instead of egomania….., a quality filmmakers are famous for. This is such an inspiring video recorded life in Boston. I soaked up every word; everything he said rang a bell, ding dong 🙂

Question from audience: How do you think meditation helps the creative process?

Answer DL: Meditation creates more awareness, which is consciousness. Inside of us we have an ocean of consciousness, meditation will expand this ocean. Scientists call this ocean the unified field. Everything arises from this field, creativity, and bliss, universal love, intelligence. Side effects are; that negativity, anger and depression will start to recede.

Depression is a killer for creative people. With meditation you can grow solutions inspiration, innovative ideas and joy in life. Ideas just flow…………………….

Question from audience: What effect does pure consciousness have on our creative work?

Answer DL: Anxiety lifts, wellbeing and peace improves. Bliss is happiness from within

What do YOU think? Well I love it and I am happy to share that I have experienced this myself. Improved awareness and consciousness will let the creative juices flow. It's a right brain process, you just do it, for example meditate and see what the results are, it’s that easy. Just go with the flow…………………………

Sample of simple 3 minute meditation

I found this wonderful easy to do 3 minute meditation for YOU, created by Deepak Chopra, check it out and do it, if YOU like it please let me know and let others know by leaving a comment or and sharing this post. Meditation is not only important for YOUR well being, it's also important for the well being of our world. If we all take care of ourselves we will have a better world!!!!!!!

How Vision Boards Can Empower Your Life

How Vision Boards Can Empower Your Life

Most of us want change at some point in our life, but on the other hand we don’t. Change can be scary and it's definitely kind of uncomfortable, but also essential in order to grow.

A few years ago, I started to Feng Shui my home and all of a sudden my life was upside down. It wasn’t really what I wanted right at that moment, but now I know it was all good and in my best interest.

A vision board is a great tool to empower your life and if you create it, your life will change. How it will change is up to you, the more intentions you set, the more you visualize, the more you will attract those things to you.

Continue reading “How Vision Boards Can Empower Your Life”

How Your Thinking Will Effect Your Life

Beware of how you feel and think, your life depends on it. This is a huge part of making a Vision Board work. What you focus on expands, or like energy attracts like energy. There is nothing woo woo about it. It's a quantum physics law.

Positive emotions will change your reality, effecting what happens in your life and especially the condition of your body and mind. Since you attract conditions that reflect your thoughts and feelings, positive emotions create peace and happiness within your body and spirit. Relaxation of stress and fear will start dissolving the blocks to your energy flow.

This is great and it is scary at the same time, because it is normal to constantly think negative thoughts but that's what we get in corresponding energy. So the most important action is: Be aware of what you think!

Negative emotions keep you angry, afraid and so full of frustration that you get ill and stay that way.

To achieve a state of well-being and improve your own health, practice feeling gratitude for what you already have in your life, for the people in your life, that you have a bed to sleep in, food to eat just this alone will develop a sense of humor, love and well being.

Improving your attitude and beliefs about yourself will increase your own power to heal yourself and attract good things into your life. For example believing that you will get well will start the process of actually getting well. Feeling the money you have coming in, even if it is not much will help to attract more, seeing yourself in the career you want to be in will help you get there and so on.

Do you get the strategy? Humor and play- fullness are required and do not try and understand it, just do it!

What do yo do in order to be more positive? Let me know leave a comment below.

Being Authentic Helps To Achieve Your Lifegoals

I learned one important thing over the last few years of transformation: To be aware of my thoughts and actions. Lately I noticed that I have lots of judgements coming up, not big ones but it still bothers me and makes me feel weak and kind of jucky.

So my practice is that as soon as I notice the judgement, I say to myself: I forgive myself for my judgement and I really would like it if I would not judge people and things any more. I try one step at a time and I do it less and less, but it requires constant awareness.

The other thing is complaining, I do not like myself when I do it, it makes me feel bad, but it is such a habit, that it still sneaks up on me. The practice is always the same, the key is to not beat yourself up, but be gentle and patient with your self.

This method works for all different kinds of habits, I use it like a game. It is important to know yourself if you want to be successful and achieve your goals, the more authentic you are the easier it is to achieve your dreams. Try it out!

What do you think? do you have a practice you would like to share? Please leave a comment below.