I like to think of myself as a creative person, and I am, but I am creative in spurts. I will catch a creative wave, ride it, and then get back to everyday living. Take decoupage for example. I saw a magazine photo of a reader's use of the magazines nature photos to decoupage a bench and I was hooked! I quickly found some trashed chairs and stools and I used the technique on them to create colorful and functional furniture. After 4 or 5 projects, I was done with that!
I have always wanted to make a living utilizing creative energies but I never found anything that would translate into marketable objects. After all, who would pay a sustainable wage for a magazine-plastered chair?
And then on November 13, 2015 I went to a retreat with two of my soul friends. I had found the retreat and the description suited all of us. We would receive one hour of spiritual direction within this program. No where did it say it was to be a silent retreat (or we probably would not have signed up). But it was wonderful because I sat in a recliner for hours journaling. In the midst of it I watched the day unfold from my third floor window and was inspired by the sights. I even wrote a poem that the spiritual director encouraged me to submit to a spiritual journal for possible publication.
At the close of the retreat we had a prayer service themed around the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving. We could each pick a piece of folded paper with a quote written inside about giving thanks. Mine said, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. - Melody Beatty." I didn't know who she was so I asked the group and no one could say more than "she writes books."
So after the retreat I used that paper as a bookmark and eventually looked her up. I did know of her work after all.. The description of her book Journey to the Heart, written in 1996, really hit home. It said that this book "guides us on a sacred journey as we learn to expand our creativity, embrace our powers and open our hearts."
"Sign me up," I thought. So I ordered this book on-line along with some other books. I read the other books first but then came across the bookmark with her quote once again. It was time to open the book, right now. I say right now because with creativity you must strike while the iron is hot. If you have an idea, you must act on it, or at least write down the idea; otherwise it floats away and good luck catching it!
Because the book is set up with daily meditations I thought that I could comment on some of the entries. Comment is probably not the right word because what I mean is that I would use her thoughts as a writing prompt. It would help me tell my story. And so I began on page 360 with a meditation for December 18. That will be posted on another day. But for now, let's reflect on creativity.
Reflective questions:
1. Do you remember any of the creative ideas you had? Is it because you wrote them down or you kept them alive inside?
2. Are any of your ideas worth pursuing?
3. Is it in your best interest to let the ideas go for now? Can you do so without regret?
Friday, December 18, 2015
God, what do You want me to know?
I love making new friends. I find people so interesting, their way of life, their habits, their preferences, their dislikes. Sometimes people will tell you all about themselves readily. Most often, you need to invite them to do it. This happens by asking questions.
Of course when it comes to having a more personal relationship with God*, this approach never crossed my mind. When someone suggested it to me, I immediately thought, "Why didn't I think of that on my own?" For me, I think it's because I was taught to revere and praise God from a distance, that there is an invisible line between my space and God's hallow ground, and that I was not to cross it. But then the suggestion seemed so natural and made sense and was so simple. To have a more personal relationship with God, I just needed to engage in conversation by asking questions.
What I learned is that the simplest question to ask, and the one I use most often is this: "*God, what do you want me to know?" Then I give God the room and the time to answer. It might not happen immediately, but eventually I get a response. The trick is to figure out how God is trying to reach you.
It might be through your dreams. Maybe, for example, you wake up with a song on the brain. Maybe it's images of a story that plays out in the night. Either way, pay attention to the words or the images or how it makes you feel or of what it reminds you.
Maybe it's not just songs from your dreams, maybe it's songs on the radio. You keep hearing the same song on the radio and it's not one that is popular right now. Maybe it's the words from a piece of music that your teacher has given you.
It might be that someone or something crosses your path multiple times. For example, maybe the answer comes from an individual. It could be immediate or maybe you keep running in to the same person over and over and you get an answer from these interactions. Maybe you get "poked" or "pinged" three or four times, either explicitly or implicitly. For example, maybe the answer is in a book that one person recommends, another person has sitting on their coffee table, and a third person, a total stranger in front of you, is checking out from the library or purchasing at the book store. And if you are not a reader, God knows that's not how to engage with you. Maybe the title of the book you keep seeing tells you the answer.
The point is there are endless ways that God may be answering you and these ways will change as circumstances change.
The main things is to ask the questions you seek answers to and by all means PAY ATTENTION to what crosses your path.
Reflective questions:
1. Have you ever felt like you were being "poked" or "pinged" by God or the Universe?
2. Do you ever ask God what He or She wants you to know? Why or why not?
3. Do you want a personal relationship with God now? Why or why not?
* I use the term God as a universal term. You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you for today. It is not for me to decide.
Of course when it comes to having a more personal relationship with God*, this approach never crossed my mind. When someone suggested it to me, I immediately thought, "Why didn't I think of that on my own?" For me, I think it's because I was taught to revere and praise God from a distance, that there is an invisible line between my space and God's hallow ground, and that I was not to cross it. But then the suggestion seemed so natural and made sense and was so simple. To have a more personal relationship with God, I just needed to engage in conversation by asking questions.
What I learned is that the simplest question to ask, and the one I use most often is this: "*God, what do you want me to know?" Then I give God the room and the time to answer. It might not happen immediately, but eventually I get a response. The trick is to figure out how God is trying to reach you.
It might be through your dreams. Maybe, for example, you wake up with a song on the brain. Maybe it's images of a story that plays out in the night. Either way, pay attention to the words or the images or how it makes you feel or of what it reminds you.
Maybe it's not just songs from your dreams, maybe it's songs on the radio. You keep hearing the same song on the radio and it's not one that is popular right now. Maybe it's the words from a piece of music that your teacher has given you.
It might be that someone or something crosses your path multiple times. For example, maybe the answer comes from an individual. It could be immediate or maybe you keep running in to the same person over and over and you get an answer from these interactions. Maybe you get "poked" or "pinged" three or four times, either explicitly or implicitly. For example, maybe the answer is in a book that one person recommends, another person has sitting on their coffee table, and a third person, a total stranger in front of you, is checking out from the library or purchasing at the book store. And if you are not a reader, God knows that's not how to engage with you. Maybe the title of the book you keep seeing tells you the answer.
The point is there are endless ways that God may be answering you and these ways will change as circumstances change.
The main things is to ask the questions you seek answers to and by all means PAY ATTENTION to what crosses your path.
Reflective questions:
1. Have you ever felt like you were being "poked" or "pinged" by God or the Universe?
2. Do you ever ask God what He or She wants you to know? Why or why not?
3. Do you want a personal relationship with God now? Why or why not?
* I use the term God as a universal term. You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, etc. better suits you for today. It is not for me to decide.
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