Friday, January 30, 2009

Secret #4: Surrendering to Creative Cycles

Before moving on to Secret 4, I want to send out some special Secret 3 love to everyone. A lot got stirred up last week. Fear, vulnerability, courage, hesitation, recognition, awareness and many more such companions made their appearance. So take a breath and a moment and acknowledge yourself. Whatever showed up, whatever you felt, whatever you did or did not do, acknowledge yourself for being on this journey with all its ups and downs.

Really do it. Deep Breath. Acknowledge you.

Namaste.

We've already experienced some hills and valleys. Let's use this week's look at cycles to discover more about this aspect of our creative adventure. The book offers some questions about the darker times, the void. I'd also love to know how you manage the bright spots, the peaks. Do you celebrate? Get on with what's next? Get overwhelmed? Pat yourself on the back? Tell everyone? Tell no one?

One of the joys of working through this book together is that we may see stories that powerfully reflect our own and we may also experience viewpoints that offer an entirely different view. When it comes to creative cycles, do you relate to how the book explores the question? If yes, where does it lead you? If not, what's your take? What are your questions? Fill in stories that may have been left out. Don't hesitate to respond in your own unique way. Your view is a gift.

Interview with Leah Piken Kolidas

This week Leah shares her wisdom, including the way she has come to love her creative cycles. You can hear the interview here.

32 comments:

Kathryn Costa said...

Excellent questions for this week. Yes! Each one of us does have a unique gift - our own views, our own voices. Thanks for recognizing this and giving us a place to share and connect.

Suzie Ridler said...

Thanks for that breather! I needed it after last week. What a wonderful way to move us into the next secret Jamie.

Anonymous said...

Once again Jamie, great lead in to this week's chapter!
(((hugs)))

Anonymous said...

Yep, this week's secret about cycles brought up a LOT of frustrations for me. Frustrations for how I work myself and frustrations with how we talk about creativity. I am still processing and my post today is just an exploration of the processing.

Ananda said...

Thanks for the questions Jamie. They really got me thinking.

LissaL said...

Loved the interview! Loved FINALLY getting the book. Great lesson this week. I look forward to reading everyone's posts:)

Jen said...

Wonderful Interview! Thank You again for this beautiful experience. It has helped me move forward and truly get to know myself as well as other kindred spirits!~

D said...

I feel like I am just scratching the surface. This book is bringing up tons of things I need and want to think about.

Anonymous said...

yay!!! secret 3 love to us all!!! it's so very fabulous to read everyone's take and experience with these chapters and to know we all have our very own way of interpreting the same words... thank YOU jamie for your great prompts and support!!!

peace and love to you!!!

esk said...

I enjoyed this chapter! And great questions, Jamie. When I make creative accomplishments, I tend to share with my friends and family. They are a tremendous support and offer such wonderful encouragement.

Unknown said...

This week's chapter came at just the right time!

Anonymous said...

Lots to think about with this chapter. I wrote and wrote and felt like I just skimmed the surface. May have more posts later in the week, too, as I digest and process...

Miss Kim said...

Thanks Jamie for the qeustions about dealing with the creative highlights in our lives. I was only seeing the negativity in this chapter. I needed your uplift!

Anonymous said...

Jamie,
I am really loving this process. Thank you so much. Wonderful interview and great prompts. I hope to use my blog for more celebrating when I have creative accomplishments. It feels so scary and vulnerable to share one's art in such a public way, but the blogging community seems so supportive! Thanks for connecting us all.

Best,
Michelle

Ixsandra said...

Yes Jamie, thank you so much for bringing us together.

I have been doing my best to visit every blog post each week. So much wonderful creativity here. So many individual creative styles. I feel must apologize for not leaving comments when I visit. My thoughts seem redundant after reading the comments of others. And... here's where my inner critic comes in... I spend too much time fretting over how to express my thoughts. Guess I'll have to work on that. :-)

Pearl Maple said...

Thank you to Jamie for hosting and finding this amazing group of artists.

Really appreciate what everyone is posting and sharing. Expecting a copy of the book to finally arrive next week so I can catch up with you all but really, what everyone has posted is inspiring in itself.

Cycles is a great theme, between moving and changing jobs, it is frustrating wanting to do so much more than time allows right now.

Crusing creative blogs sure help though.

Olivia said...

What a powerful reading this week! Leah's interview and the subsequent posts have touched off a very, very fierce and extraordinary week for many of us.

Julie Zaccone Stiller said...

This was a very powerful chapter, I'm looking forward to reading what others think about these cycles. Jamie, you asked about the high point in the cycle. When I'm on a creative roll I sometimes get this feeling like I'm a squirrel preparing for winter, storing up ideas and planned-out-projects for the fallow time I know is ahead.

Anonymous said...

Jamie,

You always have a way of brightening things up. Reading your perspective and questions really uplifted my post ideas. As always, thank you for your insight and wisdom. You are such a great leader!

Kathryn V. Crabbe said...

Just by reading about passion and creative risk it makes me even more passionate and risky in my life's work! I loved this chapter!

Kathy C.
http://SoulReaderBlog.blogspot.com

Mjfontaine said...

I feel so overwhelmed cause i want to post on everybody's blog and I can't :( but i hope to do 75% by the end.yeah...

wildheart said...

Greetings all,

I just discovered this wonderful community of creative women and the opportunity to play with you all using the 12 Secrets Of Highly Creative Women book.

I am looking forward to writing, reading, creating and getting to know all of you better!

Anonymous said...

just blogged !

rather a busy weekend hence so late but better late than never ....

mary
www.creativevoyage.co.uk

Rowena said...

I'm honoring my cycles by not freaking out over being a little late or not really being able to keep up with all the inspiration here and by recognizing who I am and where I've come from and how I get where I'm going.

Anonymous said...

This Chapter is full of delicious pools of deep dark void that when we trust our own creative spirit become the very inspiration we drink in.

risa said...

This chapter brought back a tough time in my life when I had to face the void head-on. It taught me a lot about the cycles of death and rebirth.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I have only just discovered this. It was very interesting to how other people deal with this. I'll probably contiue to freak out...but at least now I know I am not alone!

DS Borror said...

I enjoyed the last challenge of this chapter and hope to track what inspires me better.

DIANE said...

I loved the interview with Leah and how the "secrets" are correlating to the other book I'm reading with my artist group "Walking in This World" by Julia Cameron. Thanks, Jamie for your great book club!

Cindy Jones Lantier said...

Provocative thoughts about creative cycling -- especially for me, since I live with bipolar disorder. It's been interesting to visit other's websites and to read their thoughts.

Kristine said...

Catching up! :)

TesoriTrovati said...

Hello all you creatives! I am catching up! (But why do I feel like I am falling behind?)
Thank you for the interview with Leah...she is awesome!
Enjoy the day!
Erin, Tesori Trovati