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Embrace Your Story: The Path of Authentic Expression
What is the story you want to tell with your life?This week a couple dozen people are asking this question with me, in my annual 7-day Story Challenge. Whether you not you’ve ever gone through the challenge process, it’s a question worth exploring at different points in life. The trick is to explore the question with grace and curiosity rather than expectation and judgment.The word story comes to us from the Latin word historia. And it is our stories with which we weave our futures as well as our histories. So what we choose to...
read moreHow You Perceive: 6 Practices to Consciously Shape Your View of the World
“All our knowledge is the offspring of our perceptions.” – Leonardo da VinciIn an age where our senses are bombarded with information, discerning the essence of reality becomes an art form. The way we perceive the world—people, events, and even ourselves—is tinted by the lenses we choose to wear. But what if we could take charge of those lenses? What if we could consciously adjust our perceptions to foster understanding, compassion, and innovation?In the realm of creativity, our perception is not just a passive receiver but an active player...
read moreCultivating Creativity with Love: Rituals to Nurture Your Creative Process
It’s Valentine’s Day!Yes, it's the day we celebrate love. But whoa! What a lot of baggage poor St. Valentine must carry these days: the anxiety, resistance and desperation felt by all those who aren’t currently “spoken for”, stirred up by marketers with products to sell. What have we lost in this disconnected definition of love?Even as we find ourselves flooded with the hues of love and passion, February is the perfect moment to cast a wider net on what love means, especially for those of us on the creative journey.“The soul of creativity is...
read moreYour 2024 Creative Restart: The Year to Reawaken Dormant Dreams
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." — SenecaJanuary is a month for new beginnings. As we stand at the threshold of a new year, I'm reminded of Janus, the ancient Roman god of beginnings, gates, and transitions. He's a symbol of the paradox that every beginning is tethered to an ending, and every ending paves the way for a fresh start. To move forward in life costs something.This week I turned my attention to an abandoned lover. After months walking past, touching but never holding, I picked up my guitar again. I...
read moreExpress Yourself: Six Strategies for Authentic Creating
Last week, Merriam-Webster announced its Word of the Year for 2023. The word they chose is Authentic. In an interview with the Associated Press, the dictionary’s editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski reflected on why. “We see in 2023 a kind of crisis of authenticity. What we realize is that when we question authenticity, we value it even more.”From fake news to artificial reality, what is real is constantly being manipulated and redefined. So 2023 has been a year of searching for the truth. According to Merriam-Webster, meanings...
read moreRadical Gratitude: A Place for The World at Your Thanksgiving Table
“Live in the space of radical gratitude.” —Oprah WinfreyNovember ushers in a season of reflection, a time in the year when the idea of gratitude takes center stage. It's easy to appreciate the good things in life, the moments that bring joy and fulfillment. Yet, true transformation often emerges from the challenges we face, the setbacks that test our resilience. This year, at this season of Thanksgiving, we are called to do more. We are called to be radical with our gratitude. This year we are called to cultivate a more profound appreciation...
read moreMaster Your Mind, Master Your Life: 10 Strategies to Manage the Nuclear Power of your Mind
I’ve long felt that the human mind is like a nuclear reactor. Its energy is almost inexhaustible, with enough power to shape our reality and determine our actions. But, in order for its current to be creative, it has to be managed, controlled and directed. Otherwise, if left unchecked, it can become the fuel for self-sabotage, destroying the possibility of everything we wish for. The good news is that with the right strategies, you can harness the power of your mind to inspire your dreams, manifest your vision and even solve the world’s...
read moreFrom Dreamer to Doer: 10 Strategies to Get Your Creative Mojo Back
As the air turns crisper and the leaves start changing their colors, there's an undeniable change of direction in the air – some are getting back to school, some back to work. But when will you get back to your creative vision? And how will you find your creative mojo to get there?It’s enriching to step away from your creative work at times, as you might have done this summer. Go ahead and let yourself off the hook for having a great summer. But now there are gears to shift to build up speed again and recapture the momentum you lost doing...
read moreVision and Visibility: Conquering the Fear of Being Seen
"The power of visibility can never be underestimated." (Margaret Cho)In the world of creativity, there exists a powerful force that can propel you to greatness. Visibility is the spotlight that turns your work from a whisper to a resounding echo in the hearts of those who witness it. Yet, a curious phenomenon can seriously hamper your progress: the fear of being seen.Let me share a transformative insight that shattered my own glass wall. Years ago, in the heart of Chicago, I found myself in a monologue class at the Victory Gardens...
read moreCreating Space: How Receptivity Transforms You and Your Creative Projects
I’ve just started singing lessons again after decade-long intermission. Once again, singing is teaching me more about living than any book ever could. Each breath makes a space in me for my authentic sound to come through. Using the instrument of my body to shape that sound has mostly to do with not doing something. There is a great and subtle work required to perfect that skill. This week’s lesson is to be the glove rather than the fist. And I am, once again, a beginner.The act of creating follows the act of receiving. The sound follows the...
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