Hello and welcome to this guided meditation and creative practice.
Today we'll be exploring what a deeply satisfying,
Sustainable creative practice looks and feels like for you.
This meditation includes grounding and centering,
Guided imagery,
An art-making invitation,
And journal prompts to help you clarify what your practice truly wants and needs.
You are welcome to complete the art prompt or not.
Let us begin.
If it feels safe to do so,
Allow your eyes to close or soften your eyes and allow your gaze to fix on a spot in front of you.
Begin by notice what is supporting you right now.
Feel the floor under your feet.
Feel the chair or cushions as they support you.
Notice your body being supported.
Now bring attention to the breath and take three slow nourishing breaths beginning with the inhale.
Let the breath arrive all the way down into the belly.
Pause just long enough to feel the steadiness of this moment and then exhale allowing the body to soften.
Pause,
Then again inhale fully and completely receiving the breath.
Pause,
Notice any tension you're carrying and then exhale.
Release what doesn't need to be held right now.
One more time inhale.
Imagine you're filling the body with warm light.
Pause,
Exhaling,
Again releasing and softening.
Continue for a few more rounds of breath noticing the expansion in the heart space,
Belly,
And lungs as you inhale and notice the sense of release and resting with the exhale.
Continue for a few more rounds of breath at your own pace.
Now I'm going to invite you into a guided meditation about your creative practice.
This is a creative practice that is genuinely nourishing,
One that supports your emotions and your overall wellness.
At this time you can allow your breath to return to a natural rhythm and please bring one hand to your heart and one hand to the lower belly.
Ask yourself gently,
What does a sustaining creative practice feel like when it's truly enough?
Not perfect or impressive,
Just nourishing.
What does that feel like?
Let an image form in your mind,
You engaged in a creative practice that truly supports you.
Notice,
Where are you?
What are you making,
If anything?
What is the ideal pace?
What does enough look like here?
Be with this image in your mind for a few moments,
Just let yourself observe what feels sustainable and satisfying.
Now shift from the picture to the felt sense.
Notice what is happening in your body as you imagine this nourishing creative practice.
Do you experience warmth or spaciousness?
Perhaps calmness?
Do you feel more space in your chest or lightness?
Do you notice sensations or colors or anything else surfacing as you bring your awareness to the body?
Notice if your body gives you any signals,
If it does not,
That is okay.
There's no right,
Wrong or best here,
Just notice.
Continue for a few more rounds of breath noticing the felt experience of creative nourishment.
And now allow a word to rise.
One or several words that name the benefits of your creative practice.
Maybe you notice peace or clarity or calmness.
Maybe you notice steadiness or relief or connection.
Let this be simple.
There's no need to solve or force.
Just let the word or words arise.
Stay with this felt sense for a few more breaths.
You in this space,
You enjoying creative nourishment.
Noticing the felt experience and the felt benefits.
Good.
As we close this guided meditation,
Take one more long breath in.
Pause and a long breath out.
Good.
Allow the breath to come back to natural and allow yourself to become fully aware of the present moment.
Once again noticing the floor beneath your feet and the chair or cushion as it supports you.
We are now ready to move into the creative invitation.
Bring small movements to your fingers and toes.
And when you're ready,
You can flutter your eyes open.
If you wish to move into a practice of art based mindfulness,
I invite you to create an abstract image that represents the felt benefit of your sustainable creative practice as you saw and or experienced it in this guided meditation.
This is truly not about making a picture of yourself creating.
This is about capturing the feeling itself,
That quality,
The energy or essence.
In other words,
If the word that came to you was peace,
What does peace look like visually?
What colors?
What shapes?
What textures?
What creative processes feel peaceful to you?
Consider using these as you make the image.
You can work with whatever materials you have on hand.
Don't overthink this.
Just gather what's accessible to you and take some time to translate your felt experience into visual form.
This doesn't have to be a long time,
Even 10 minutes or a doodle will do.
But here's one important thing work intuitively don't plan.
Just let your hands move.
Let your color choices surprise you.
Let the image emerge.
Here as you work,
You might wish to pause this track.
And when you feel complete with the image,
I invite you to press play as I guide you in journaling with your artwork.
Once you've completed your artwork,
Look at what you've created,
Really look at it without judgment.
And then ask your image the following questions,
Writing down whatever comes without censoring or judgment.
First,
You can ask the image where can I cultivate more consistency in my practice?
Where do I need to allow more flexibility or breathing room?
So again,
Asking the image about consistency and flexibility.
You could pause this meditation while you write what comes.
Pressing play when you're ready.
Again,
Where can you cultivate consistency but also allow yourself to be flexible?
The second question that you can ask of your image is what rhythm can I actually sustain with my creative practice?
Is it daily or weekly or monthly?
Notice what commitment honors your real life while keeping you connected to your creative practice.
So again,
What rhythms can sustain your creativity daily,
Weekly,
Or monthly?
What intuitively feels like an honoring commitment for your life?
Again,
Let the answers come.
Try not to force this.
Third,
How can I bring witness into my practice?
Is witnessing myself enough right now?
Or do I need others to see my work?
Who or what could witness me?
Do you need to practice in community?
Again,
Write what emerges.
And fourth,
Where can I find companionship on this path?
Am I doing this completely alone right now?
Is that serving me?
Do I need to invite others into my journey?
Write what is true for you.
And then fifth,
What practices am I trying to maintain separately that could actually be woven together?
In other words,
If you have a meditation practice and yoga practice and an art practice,
Is there some way that you can bundle these or braid these into one efficient practice,
If doing these separately leaves you feeling fragmented?
So think about integrating creativity into other practices in your life.
Notice what your artwork reveals about this.
Now,
Notice that these questions are not meant to be answered perfectly or completely.
They're meant to open exploration and to help you see more clearly what your sustainable creative practice actually needs.
So pause to witness your artwork,
And write what comes.
Be honest,
And be gentle with yourself.
Remember,
There is no right or wrong way to create this image.
And it is not necessary to dialogue with it in your journal.
But the important thing is to spend time with this felt experience of creative nourishment.
And to observe.
Whether or not you choose to write about it,
You might be surprised what your image has to share.
I thank you for practicing with me today.
The goodness in me honors the goodness in you.
