Welcome to this guided meditation and art prompt,
Which invites you to connect with your creative true self.
This practice begins with grounding and centering through breath and body awareness,
Followed by a gentle inquiry into what creativity feels like when it's alive in you,
Not the art you make,
But the felt sense of your own creative true nature.
At the end,
You'll create an image of your felt sense of creativity.
You could call it a form of self portrait.
It will be the feeling of creativity made visible.
Let us begin.
Find a comfortable seat.
You may be in a chair with your feet flat on the floor,
Or on a cushion with your legs crossed,
Whatever allows your body to feel supported and at ease.
Let your hands rest wherever they're comfortable.
Your palms may be up or down,
Either is fine.
You may close your eyes if that feels safe or soften your gaze downward toward the floor.
Begin by noticing your breath.
There's no need to change the breath,
Just notice the natural rhythm of the inhale and exhale.
Notice if your breath is shallow or deep.
Notice if the breath stays high in your chest near your collarbones,
Or if it moves down into your heart space or your belly.
Begin now to breathe a little more deeply if you are not already.
Notice the gentle expansion on the inhale.
Take a brief pause,
And then exhale a quiet release.
Continue for a few rounds of breath.
As you return your breath to natural now bring your awareness to the body.
Begin by noticing the soles of your feet.
Notice where your feet make contact with the floor or earth beneath you.
Bring your awareness up through your ankles.
Notice your calves,
Your knees.
Notice the tops of your legs.
Just notice any sensation here.
Tension or ease,
Warmth or coolness.
Notice the texture of your clothing and the cushion you are sitting on.
Notice if there's any gripping in the legs and soften.
Bring your awareness now to your hips and pelvis.
Again,
Notice where your body makes contact with the chair or cushion beneath you.
Move your awareness up into the belly.
Again,
Noticing if there's a sense of tightness or gripping and soften.
Bring your awareness now up the spine and into your heart space.
Notice the rise and fall of your breath here.
Move your awareness up to the neck and shoulders down through the arms and into the hands.
Notice if there's a feeling of electricity or energy in the hands.
Move your awareness back up through the arms,
Up through the neck to the backside head.
Notice your ears,
Your jaw,
Your nose.
Notice your eyes,
The space between the eyebrows and your forehead.
Notice if you're holding any tension here.
And again,
Notice if you can soften in the face.
Finally,
Move your awareness to the crown of your head.
Notice any sensation there.
Take a full breath in now noticing the whole body from the soles of your feet to the crown of your head.
And as you exhale,
Imagine releasing tension.
Take one more deep breath in noticing what's here.
And then exhale,
Settling into stillness.
As you allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm,
I invite you to notice something.
Somewhere inside you.
There's a part of you that knows how to create that loves creativity.
This is a part of you that existed well before anyone told you whether you were good at art or not.
And before you started comparing your creative self to others.
Before you place value on the type of creative or kind of creative that you are.
That joyful,
Expansive,
Wondrous creative part of you is still here.
As we move forward,
I'm going to ask you a few questions.
You do not need to answer these with words.
Just notice what arises in your body and mind.
Notice images,
Colors,
Sensations,
Feelings,
And let them surface without judgment.
First,
When have you felt most creatively alive?
This could be at any age.
And this does not have to be an art making moment.
It could be while cooking something beautiful,
Or arranging flowers or writing a letter,
Or moving your body.
It could be while gardening or singing alone in the shower.
When did you last feel that creative aliveness?
Notice what arises.
Now what does that creative aliveness feel like in the body?
Not what it looks like what it feels like.
Is there warmth,
Expansion,
Lightness,
A sense of ease or giddiness?
Do you notice a particular energy in your hands,
Your chest or your belly?
Let your body remember and notice any felt experiences of creative aliveness.
Now,
I want to ask you something a little different.
Is there a part of you that has been told by culture,
By school,
By someone you trusted,
That you are not creative?
That creativity is for other people?
Or that you are not an artist?
Just notice if that belief is present.
You do not need to argue with it or fix it right now,
Just notice it.
And then gently set it to the side.
Because underneath that story,
Your true creative self is still there.
It has not left.
It has been waiting.
So what does it look like?
Or feel like?
Maybe you notice a particular energy,
A color or temperature or texture.
Maybe it feels very close to who you already are.
Maybe it feels like a version of yourself you haven't fully met yet.
Just allow an image or a sense of your true creative self to take form.
Now notice,
What is this creative self wearing?
Or is the experience beyond clothing,
Just pure feeling,
Pure energy?
For example,
Years ago,
When I asked myself this question,
My true creative self had her hair piled up,
And she wore long earrings and drapey clothes.
She felt like a distant version of me that I was trying to reconnect with.
Now when I ask this question,
I experience warm yellows.
It is an image of light,
Warmth,
Expansion,
And comfort.
She is not out there anymore.
Creativity has been integrated.
So today,
Your creative self may be a person,
Or it may be a feeling.
There is no right,
Wrong or best answer.
Just notice what is here.
And now take one more deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Thank yourself for being willing to look inward.
And for your willingness to explore this creative part of yourself.
When you're ready,
Bring some gentle movement to your fingers and toes.
If you have your eyes closed,
Gently flutter them open.
As you return to the space around you,
I invite you to create an image of what you just discovered.
Your creative self is a felt sense,
A color,
An energy or a form.
For this practice,
You can use any materials you have available or that you prefer.
Then create an image of your true creative self.
Not the art you make or you making it,
But the felt sense of your creative aliveness.
This could look like a figure,
A way of being how you imagine yourself when creative energy is flowing through you.
It may also be a representation of pure sensation.
Again,
There is no right,
Wrong or best answer.
If needed,
Take one more deep breath in and ask what does it feel like in my body when creativity is flowing.
Then exhale,
Open your eyes and let whatever wants to emerge to emerge.
As you create,
Stay connected to what emerged in the meditation and notice what colors want to come forward.
What shapes feel true?
What do your hands want to do without your mind getting involved?
Let your body lead.
Trust what wants to emerge.
You may wish to pause this recording while you work and return for the journaling prompts when you feel complete.
When you're ready to journal,
Consider these questions.
You do not need to answer each one directly.
Let them plant seeds as you process what your artwork is showing you.
First,
What does your creative self feel like in the physical body?
And when was the last time you felt this way?
Alive,
Expressive and connected to this part of yourself?
What gets in the way of your creative self showing up more often?
What would change in your daily life if you listen to this creative self a little more?
And what is one small thing you could do this week to tend to your creative self?
Write freely,
Let your words follow the images,
Let yourself be surprised by what you know.
I'll repeat those questions.
You may wish to pause the recording while you write or if you continue listening,
I have just a few more thoughts to share.
First,
To repeat those questions.
What does your creative self feel like in the body?
When was the last time you felt this way?
Alive,
Expressive,
Connected to this part of yourself?
What gets in the way of your creative self showing up more often?
What would change in your daily life if listening to this,
If you listen to this part of yourself a little more?
And what is one small thing you could do this week to tend to your creative self?
As we close today's practice,
I want to say something clearly.
Your creative self is not a luxury.
It is not separate or extra.
It is not something to tend to after everything else is handled.
Your creativity is the part of you that processes experience,
Makes meaning and expresses your truth.
It is the voice of your true self.
And the more you listen to it,
The more you give it space in your life in whatever form that takes,
The whole you become.
Because creativity is not something you do.
It is someone you are.
The goodness in me honors the goodness in you.
