 A favorite question in therapist offices everywhere, no less frequently heard in my offices : “how does that make you feel?” I ask it not for no reason! Getting in touch with your feelings is an important step to creating your best life. Today’s blog post spends some time on emotions 101- a nod to a blog post past and today connected to the theme of mindfulness.
In simple terms emotions are signals between our bodies and our brains to communicate information. They are physiological sensations often in unique combinations that have important messages to us about a threat, a need or overall sense of wellness. The process can be clouded by emotions’ tendency to not always be “logical”- the brain is needed to “assess” if anything is “needed” in response to emotional signals once received. The problem is, as human beings, thinking organisms as we are, we spend too much time in our brains and not enough time in our bodies. We lose touch with our emotions. They may be trained out of us by society. They may be labeled “good” “bad” or “valuable” “nonvaluable” to our lives. We suppress, ignore, or avoid. None of this prevents the signals of emotions from being generated by our bodies. Just as we are thinking beings we are also emotional ones. The emotional signals are going to be sent. What does this mean if we are not “listening” to them? Oftentimes in daily jargon or even in the therapy office we are cautioned not to “stuff” emotions or “bottle them up” or there can be negative consequences. This is not really a good explanation of what happens. When we stop paying attention to the emotional signals in our body what we are suppressing or ignoring is information. What we are really avoiding are uncomfortable sensations in our own bodies (aka- the actual emotion). The consequences of this are not an amorphous pressure chamber that will “explode” some day though it is a ticking time bomb of sorts. What we are doing by neglecting these signals of information is neglecting our needs. Imagine if you had a pet and each time this pet tried to communicate to you it was hungry, wanted to be pet, wanted to go for a walk and so on, you didn’t pay attention to it. Over time this pet would not be well. By not paying attention to our feelings we are essentially doing this same thing to ourselves. There are consequences like becoming more vulnerable to stressors in our daily lives because we are generally not taking care of ourselves as we could be. By using mindfulness we can begin to train ourselves to bring our attention from our thoughts where we spend so much of our time, to check in with what is going on in our bodies. We begin to get to know what physical sensations go on in our bodies throughout the day and what they mean. Do you know what your feelings actually feel like? Would you recognize them before they reached crisis levels? There is a lot of data about yourself to learn if you start paying more attention. It requires patience directing and redirecting wandering attention that wants to live in thoughts. It requires persistence staying with potentially uncomfortable body sensations we are used to ignoring. It requires daily practices and stick-to-it-ness. But it can truly change your life. And- as we have alluded to in posts past- being more in touch with yourself and your needs and improving your control over attention in general has positive impacts on your creative work as well. Curious how? Look back at creative block posts for “Get Unstuck with Mindfulness.” Ready to start your mindfulness journey? Want to live your life with more purpose, acceptance and peace? I can help. (C) 2019 Creatively, LLC Hello, wonderful, Creative People!Today we will talk again about one of the foundational concepts of the work we do at Creatively, LLC: that Creative People are unique! Creative People are a specific kind of people, with specific strengths and needs in their creative personality. The trouble is, most of us don’t know about them, and don’t take care of our Creative Personalities well. One of the hallmarks of a Creative Person, a Creative Personality, is strength.That means powerful drives, powerful passions, powerful impulses, powerful emotions- a Creative Personality has it all. It is Mother Nature’s gift to sustain the difficult work required of innovation and creation. Creation demands authenticity, questioning, and digging deep- often requiring Creative People to go against the flow, question norms, and form their own opinions. This requires a lot of power! That is why it is part of your personality. You will need it for the creative work you do!  Authenticity and Meaning-Making for Creative PeopleAuthenticity and meaning-making go hand-in-hand as two more features of your Creative Personality. Creative People are driven to live authentically, contribute to the world, and make meaning of their lives. When they are thwarted in one of these tasks in their lives, their powerful drives and feelings become frustrated and blocked. Your Creative Work is the main way in which you contribute meaning to your life. Your big passions allow you to reflect your experiences to the lives of others, impacting them in a meaningful way. When you live authentically, your creative contributions are truly important, unique, and your own. This is your recipe to good living as a Creative Person. But, Creative People Have Blocks! When, however, you become blocked in meaning-making, or, something is preventing you from living authentically, your powerful feelings, drives, passions, and impulses become blocked and/or unhealthy. If you are living within the confines of a creatively unsatisfying or unhealthy life, you may suffer from powerful anxiety, depression, or other emotional problems. You may have powerful impulses that stray from healthy, creative meaning-making urges, to more destructive, self-soothing, or numbing cravings. The World is Not Set Up for Supporting Creative PeopleUnfortunately, the problem is, the world continues to devalue the importance of creative living. Creative pursuits are undervalued, and creative professions are underpaid. Most creative individuals are encouraged to tamp down their passions, and spend time doing things deemed more “productive” by society. You become another cog in a wheel and are left confused as to why you are unhappy. How are you, and the other creative people you know affected?There are many Creative People in the world, and this is a true story told by too many. The truth is, the most stabilizing thing you can do in your life, as a Creative Person, is to be Creative. How is one to do that when they have systematically replaced all the Creativity in their life? When they aren’t sure what it even means to be a Creative Person anymore? What is Creativity Counseling or Creativity Coaching? Creativity Counseling and Creativity Coaching are designed with you in mind. Care specifically for Creative People, you regain control and satisfaction over your life in three main steps: 1) Master your Creative Personality 2) Discover the link between your Creative Personality and Mental Health 3) Establish a regular practice of Creativity in your life Start Creativity Coaching or Creativity Counseling: Change your Life Today!If you are interested in real, impactful, and lasting change for your creative mind, I would love to help you. Let's connect and launch your life to the next level! I have three steps you can take, right now from my site if you are ready to take an important step forward in your life: 1) Join my Artists in Residency Program. This is a Free, Online Community of Artists where you can build support, accountability, and a network of Creative People as a stepping stone towards reconnecting and committing to your authentic, creative self. 2) Book a Free Consultation. All new clients to Creatively, LLC are entitled to a 15 min, free consultation to sit with me and discuss your needs, services available, and we can problem solve and hand-pick the best next steps to help you succeed. 3) Book a Coaching Package. Are you a working Creative in need of specific support? I offer a range of Coaching Packages- let's get started with one that is right for you. More Articles for Creative People Creative People, Anxiety and IntuitionSomething I see often with the Creative People that I work with is an association between their creativity and anxiety. Specifically I mean worrying, dread, fear of uncertainty and about the future. There are some simple aspects of the creative personality that contribute to this, and one of these is the creative personality trait of intuition. Creative Personality and IntuitionCreative People are usually highly intuitive. By intuitive I mean they have a high capacity to see the potential in things. A common test of creativity in psychology is the “paperclip test” where participants are asked to list how many things you can use a paperclip for- and the quantity and variety of uses is said to correlate with higher creativity. This is just one was to illustrate the quality of intuition in creatives. We have a questioning, investigative nature, and are looking for the potential in things all around us.  Creative Personality and AnxietyWhat can happen to this intuition is it becomes impacted by our mental and emotional state. In other words, if we are highly tired, exhausted, frightened, sad and so forth, our intuitive capacity begins to make associations that are less productive are useful. Instead of seeing positive potential, we begin to see risks and fears. We make negative predictions. We follow pessimistic thought distortions. We begin to worry. The Link between Anxiety, Intuition, Creative People and WellnessThe antidote to this is really quite simple: 1) Educate yourself that your creative personality is intuitive and accept that this powerful intuition is impacted by your state of being. 2) When you find yourself negatively predicting the future, anxious and worrying, stop and ask yourself what unmet needs do you have? What in your life is causing you to be stressed, sad or fearful? 3) Meet those unmet needs! 4) Engage in grounding activities. Whenever you find yourself caught up in racing thoughts and worries, your best way to combat that is to bring yourself from the intellectualizing into the present moment and sensory experiences. 5) When you are fully grounded, and have met the unmet needs, send your intuition back out to reevaluate the positive potential in the situation.  Building Intuition with Creativity Counseling and Creativity CoachingSo, Creative People, you are intuitive. It might make you anxiety prone. But it is all ok. Try some tips and come sit on my couch to work more deeply on using your personality strengths to create your best life. Take one of these steps and get started building your intuition today: 1) Book a Free Consultation. All new clients to Creatively, LLC are entitled to a 15 min, free consultation to sit with me and discuss your needs, services available, and we can problem solve and hand-pick best next steps to help you succeed. 2) Book a Coaching Package. Are you a working Creative in need of specific support? I offer a range of Coaching Packages- let's get started with one that is right for you. More Articles Like Anxiety and Intuition in Creative PersonalitiesA Creative Personality Snapshot, Make Time for Art, From One Creative to Another, Finding your Creative Balance, 2 Fundamentals for HSPs, Dream Theory for Creative People, Launch Creatively Into Spring, Therapy for Creative People, (C) 2022 Creatively, LLC
www.creativelyllc.com  Coaching for Creative PeopleI have to title this post “Make the Time for Art” because this is so very crucial for Creative People! Creatives, not for the first time, I have tell you again how vital it is for you to be creative for your health and wellness! In my graduate thesis, I discovered very robust findings that the more creative the person the more impactful creativity is on their overall wellness. In other words, you need to create to be well! Not only is it crucial for you to be doing creative work to stay the best versions of yourselves, but never has it been more important to the fabric of humanity for creative visions to be shared to make room and hope for growth and change. Creativity lays the foundation for where we go in the future, and that, Creative, is you!  Busy Creative PeopleI know that even if you agree with me, and all of this sounds good, that life gets in the way. You may have a 9-5 job that occupies your time and leaves little time for any creative endeavors. You may be in a creative job but feel trapped in your creative business agenda and unable to invest in your own creative pursuits. You may have finished art school and not sure what to do with your art next. You may feel generally stuck or uninspired. You may feel inhibited by imposter syndrome. You may be raising children or supporting family members and feel you have no time to invest in your creativity. Money may be an issue. Resources can be a problem. Even our own bodies give us limitations. Believe me, I get it. As an artist I have faced some of these myself. Lives of Creative PeopleWhat I can tell you is it is normal for your creative journey and how and where you invest your time to change over time. You may go from a full time art student to a full time administrator with art as a side-hustle. You may be a dancer or a musician performing with a company and end up investing instead in a different profession and enjoy music and dance in your community as a performer or even teacher. You will need to create your creative journey over and over again. It will be frustrating to do this. You might feel like you sold out, failed or let yourself go, but this is just the normal process of change in life. You get to decide what you want to do with your life and creativity and when, and your pathway is your own. Tips for Busy Creative PeopleIn a recent #createwellminutecast on YouTube I shared a tip to get you started to find windows of opportunity to get reengaged in your creative work. Check it out- it was episode 103- but essentially the tip was write out a schedule of your typical day, and indicate ANYWHERE YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES OR MORE UNUSED. This time is enough for you to do some version of creative work. It is trial and error to see how and what fits into your life. It requires acceptance of where you are and what works. Connecting with Other Creative PeopleMy second recommendation to you is see how you can plug yourself into your creative community. There are opportunities all around you to get engaged- but you don't have to look too far! You can connect with my community of artists in the Creatively Online Residency! Try various things and get yourself plugged in. The culminative energy of creative people working together is beyond compare and the motivation of events, classes and even little project deadlines keep you engaged.  Creativity Coaching Supports Change for Creative PeopleFinally, change is hard and fitting yet one more thing into an already packed schedule I realize is a hard sell. That’s really what I am here for! To help you tease apart what is getting in the way of you and your creative work and blocking you from living your best life. Reach out to me at Creatively- I am here to help! 1) Join my Artists in Residency Program. This is a Free, Online Community of Artists where you can build support, accountability and a network of Creative People as a stepping stone towards reconnecting and committing to your authentic, creative self. 2) Book a Free Consultation. All new clients to Creatively, LLC are entitled to a 15 min, free consultation to sit with me and discuss your needs, services available, and we can problem solve and hand-pick best next steps to help you succeed. 3) Book a Coaching Package. Are you a working Creative in need of specific support? I offer a range of Coaching Packages- let's get started with one that is right for you. (C) 2022 Creatively, LLC www.creativelyllc.com More Articles like this for Creative People Authenticity in Creative PeopleCreatives, I toyed for awhile with several topics for today- and decided upon another snapshot of your amazing creative personality. It’s gonna be a short one today but what we may lose in length we will make up for in potency and relevance. So, here it is: Have you ever been called independent, adventurous or even oppositional? You may not be surprised to find out that “going your own way” is another fundamental part of your creative personality. A Creative Personality is OriginalLogically, this makes sense: Creative People have to be bold, brazen and independent enough to go against the grain, innovate and create something new. It takes questioning everything, going against the current and daring to be different. It also makes us stubborn, beholden to none, afraid of commitment and crappy with dates/times/deadlines/absolutes. A Creative Personality Dislikes ConstraintsSound like you? You like to flow with your feelings- go when you want to, stop when you are ready. You are spontaneous. You may also find that events scheduled on your calendar loom and may actually have a feeling of dread and heaviness associated with them. Rules even in the form of deadlines and appointment times to be places can feel confining, restricting and interfere with your ability to respond to your flow. Embrace your Creative PersonalityUnfortunately, Creative, there is no cure for what ails you. Your best bet is to face your struggle like you do everything in life- with passion. Embrace this quality- its enthusiasm, its curiosity and capacity to absorb and feel the world around you. You may be able to reduce deadlines and scheduling in your life and be more spontaneous, or you may not. Either way you have what it takes to do things according to your own schedule, or rise to the occasion when expectations are set out for you by others (even if you may not relish it the same).  Get Started TodayThere are tricks I can teach you to dread less, schedule better, set goals more and be both regimented and organic in the way you live. Creativity Coaching and Creativity Counseling are designed to make you and expert on your Creative Personality so you can live well and reach your dreams. Take one of these steps to get started today: 1) Join my Artists in Residency Program. This is a Free, Online Community of Artists where you can build support, accountability and a network of Creative People as a stepping stone towards reconnecting and committing to your authentic, creative self. 2) Book a Free Consultation. All new clients to Creatively, LLC are entitled to a 15 min, free consultation to sit with me and discuss your needs, services available, and we can problem solve and hand-pick best next steps to help you succeed. 3) Book a Coaching Package. Are you a working Creative in need of specific support? I offer a range of Coaching Packages- let's get started with one that is right for you. (C) 2022 Creatively, LLC www.creativelyllc.com More Articles Like "A Creative Personality Snapshot": The reason I became a Creativity Coach and a Creativity Counselor... ...is because of my own story. I understand those who have Creative Personalities that were misunderstood, unsupported, unrecognized by society at large, resulting in their needs being unmet, and the ultimate suppression of the creative strengths of their own. Ultimately Counseling for Creative People Started......from the ways I am helping myself. The philosophy I developed for creative minds stemmed from a search to help myself, and that is why I am so passionate about it all. That is why I know it works. Coaching for Creative People Started...I know living blindly to your own creative needs is painful, and to suppress your creative identity is a numbing, unfulfilling and a meaningless life for you as a creative person. I know the struggle of transformation from that to coming home to your creative self. I know it is possible and worth it.  Coaching and Counseling for Creative PeopleTo that end, I want to be more open and authentic about where I came from, and how it is going, in order to give my fellow Creative Minds the endless support have I have always endeavored to give, with all my heart. Healing of a Creativity CoachI am painting a series about my origin story right now that is both emotionally difficult and healing. Creatively healing from past difficulties through artwork is something I strongly encourage as an important part of Creativity Counseling and Creativity Coaching. Opening these past chapters is allowing me to integrate them into my life, after wading through what I had locked down about them. This is difficult, and very healing. My past loses control over me as I work. History of a Creativity CoachI have shared versions of my personal history before, to give context to my work in Creativity Counseling and Creativity Coaching. Essentially I was raised with a lot of rules that were not conducive to my creative soul. It was oppressive. Confusing. Disorienting. Guilt inducing. Shaming. Not only did I learn narratives that didn’t support who I was, but also blamed me for it. Naturally, I grew into a young person who was anxious, depressed and unhappy. I felt less- than, broken and doomed.  Needs of the Creative MindVital needs of a Creative Mind are to make your own meaning of your life, not take information for granted, and to form you own opinions. I was stubborn, tenacious, and determined. I was willing to lose everything to find my own way. I guess you could say I did do that. I challenged everything I knew and fought every system I had for the sake of authenticity. It was not pretty, nor was it fearless. But creativity is the master of invention, and I refused to give up. Creativity is HealingThroughout it all, making art grounded me. I painted endless portraits of myself, of women, of iconic religious women, of myself as iconic religious women, of feminist themes, of female empowerment and patriarchy. I explored and delved endlessly. I studied psychology while I studied art. I explored the human mind and neurotransmitters and operant conditioning, sociology and anthropology, I explored my own relationships. The most important step I took during this time in my authenticity, was to claim it, and step away from where I started my life, saying firmly, “not this.” This choice cost me support and safety for the sake of my authenticity. |