This practice is for anyone who has ever found themselves stuck in the creative details,
Perfecting,
Rearranging,
And revising.
We will begin seated with a few grounding breaths followed by a few moments of somatic awareness.
From there,
We will explore a simple brief art prompt,
And then conclude with a few questions in your journal.
Let us begin.
Find a comfortable seat.
Allow your hands to rest softly in your lap.
And if it feels comfortable,
Close your eyes.
You may also let your gaze go soft,
Resting on a point just in front of you.
Take one deep breath in,
Simply to arrive,
And then exhale.
Continue.
As you continue,
Let the inhale expand through the chest,
Perhaps move down into the belly,
And then pause.
And with a long,
Slow exhale from the belly,
And from the chest.
Continue this for a few rounds of breath.
Now let your breath return to its natural rhythm,
And bring your attention to physical sensation.
Notice the feeling of the floor beneath your feet,
And the chair or cushion as it supports you.
Starting with your feet,
Move your awareness up the body,
Noticing the texture or tactile quality of your clothing.
Notice any other obvious sensations.
Now open your ears wide,
And bring awareness to sound.
What do you hear right now in the room or just outside it?
Notice stillness as well.
Notice the fabric or textures of these sounds.
Now bring your awareness to scent.
Is there anything in the air right now,
Something faint,
Something familiar?
Perhaps there's a candle lit or a cup of something warm nearby.
Let that fragrance arrive.
Scent is a fast pathway into the body,
So let it do its work.
And now just briefly notice taste.
Is there something lingering or simply a neutral taste?
Take a moment now to notice the experience of sound,
Scent,
Taste and texture.
In a moment,
We'll move on.
As you're ready,
You may flutter the eyes open.
Today's art prompt is about spontaneity.
Set a timer for 15 minutes and make something.
You can use any materials.
And the only rule is this,
You cannot revise,
Erase or redo anything.
Whatever mark you make stays.
Simply work with what emerges,
Including the mistakes,
Especially the mistakes.
Feel welcomed to rip,
Wrinkle or fold.
Go with the flow and have fun with this.
As you work,
Notice your physical experience.
Notice how and where you experience joy or conversely resistance.
Treat this creative spontaneity like an experiment.
And if this is activating for you,
Know that the process will be complete in just a few minutes.
When the timer goes off,
Stop.
Sit with what you made for a moment.
Observe it and try to avoid judgment about it.
Also try to avoid judgment about yourself or your process.
Instead,
Be curious.
What works about the piece?
What does not?
How did it feel as you created it?
Then in your journal,
Consider these questions.
What did it feel like in your body to work without the option to revise?
When you look at what you made,
Is there anything that you like that your perfectionism would have polished away?
Just use these questions as a guide and then write whatever else comes up for you.
I hope that today's practice invites in a bit of creative freedom and playfulness.
I thank you for practicing with me today.
The goodness in me honors the goodness in you.
