Hello,
This is Sydney welcoming you to Day 7,
Getting Started and Keeping it Going.
It's part of the 10-part series,
Unlock Your Creative Potential.
I'd like to remind you that you're invited to bring pen and paper to the lessons,
So you can either journal about your creative process during the lesson or directly after.
I also encourage you to work on your creative endeavors directly after the lessons and see what happens.
By now,
You're either getting started on your work of art or you need to start the next step in the process.
You are staring at that hunk of clay,
That blank song sheet or blinking cursor on your computer.
Or perhaps you're halfway through your creative work and feel blocked.
But remember,
As they say,
Rome wasn't built in a day,
So slow down and take it one step at a time.
Today,
You'll work on freeing yourself from performance pressure and learn how to honor your own flow.
So it's time to get comfortable laying down,
Sitting down or standing up.
Close your eyes or make your vision soft as we take three big belly deep breaths in.
Ready?
In.
Breathe out.
In.
Out.
Last time in.
And out.
Let's really get ready for a meditation with a full body scan,
Starting with the toes and really feel creative energy moving around your feet and ankles and out.
Draw that energy up your calves and up your shins.
Breathe the energy into your knees.
And now up your thighs,
Front and back.
Feel the energy in your bottom and your pelvis.
Now breathe it up into your belly,
Your sides and halfway up your back.
Feel the energy flow up your back and around your shoulders.
Move the sensation into your chest and breasts,
Down to your belly.
Now starting back at your shoulders,
Move the energy down your arms,
The front and back down to your elbows.
Now let that energy flow from your elbows to your wrists.
And from your wrists to your hands and fingers.
Feel that creative energy moving around your neck.
From your neck up the back of your head,
Up the front of your head,
Your ears to your crown.
Now let's start today's visualization meditation.
See yourself standing in a clearing by a stream.
The stream takes some twists and turns and you can't see the end,
But you know without a doubt you want to get to the bottom.
It's a beautiful day.
You can hear birds chirping and a cool breeze on your skin.
The sun feels glorious and the water is just right,
Cool and refreshing.
You're ready to take this journey and you're going to start by stepping in the water and getting on the raft or the tube or the flotation device of your choice.
The stream is steady and slow.
You ride easily and effortlessly on the current.
You close your eyes.
You feel the coolness of the water on your hands and feet and the warmth of the sun on your face.
When you open your eyes again,
You see a tuft of grass with some beautiful flowers,
Your favorite on the bank.
So you paddle over to the flowers.
You can smell their fragrance and it's your choice if you want to spend some time here.
Just look at the flowers or pick one.
Now the current picks up a bit,
Not much,
Just enough for you to notice.
You trust that you're going at the right speed.
The fragrance of the flowers linger and butterflies fly all around you.
You see a boulder in the middle of the stream.
You can't see what's on the other side of this boulder,
But you trust that it will be fine.
So you keep going.
You choose to go left or right.
As you gently spin around the boulder,
You come to the other side of it and you see that the stream just continues on.
You look back at the boulder and laugh to yourself that you were ever worried about it.
You can't see the flowers,
But you know that they're there and you look forward down the stream.
As you luxuriate in the pace,
Ease and flow of the stream,
You see that there's a little waterfall that's joining the stream.
It's very short and very gentle.
And as it cascades into the stream,
Water froths back up with golden glimmers.
Again you have a choice.
You can spend some time with the waterfall playing under it,
Or you can watch it from afar and just continue on your journey,
Appreciating its golden glimmer.
Finally,
You come to a flat part of the stream where the water swirls in a circle before continuing down.
You decide this is a good place to stop.
You paddle over to the side,
Get off your raft,
And you sit on the grass,
Lay out on the sun and let the cool breeze and the warm sun dry you off.
You know that this is only part of your journey and there's more to go.
You look forward to that,
But for now it's time for a little stop.
We'll also end the visualization here knowing that at any time you can pick up from where you are and continue on this journey.
And like any journey,
You have to start somewhere and complete segments as you go.
So now let's think about our creative works,
Where we are in the journey.
Where do we want to go?
What's the final destination?
Think about that or write it down.
Do you see yourself with a published book?
An art exhibit?
A fashion line?
On your way to your goal,
What are some of the major steps that you need to take to get from where you are now to that goal?
Ask yourself what's the next major step I can take?
And within that step,
Break it down into something you can do right now,
Today or this week.
Let's say you're writing a script and you've stopped halfway.
Maybe you can print the script out and read it to get back into the groove of writing this particular script.
When you finish that step,
Think of the next step.
Maybe it's writing the next paragraph,
Writing the next line of dialogue.
The steps don't have to be momentous as long as they're steps that keep you going.
Also,
You can experiment with the size of the step you take.
Perhaps little bitty baby steps work for you or perhaps bigger steps work for you.
Maybe you feel more of a sense of accomplishment that carries you through to the next step.
Try some different things,
See what works,
And then repeat it.
Our next step for the day is our closing affirmation.
Repeat after me out loud or to yourself.
I am bold,
Brave,
And kind.
Happy,
Healthy,
And wealthy.
Beautiful and brilliant.
And I am loved.
Let's close out the meditation space with a great big breath in and out.
I am so grateful you spent this time with me on day seven.
Next is day eight,
Going overboard.
Until then,
I'm Sidney.
Stay creative.
