Breathe in and breathe out. Maybe you have heard the secret to losing weight is to burn more calories than you eat. And you have probably heard that the secret to getting out of debt is to save more than you spend.
Imagine inside of you is a container of creative and spiritual energy. Inside of of that container is placed every single thing you witness as entertainment, from the videos you watch, the movies you enjoy to the jokes at which you hear and laugh. You are taking in creativity. This can birth much inspiration as well as feed your soul. But like anything, we become what we behold. As we consume creativity, from the movement and energy of others, we can be at risk for blockage. Blockage, from a spiritual point, can look many ways, but some ways that I’ve heard of and in my own life shows up like this:
- Spending more time browsing with no intention of buying
- Criticizing your intuitive ideas before you have a chance to manifest them
- No one in your life with whom you can share your insights
- Stomach trouble
- Checking your phone – again.
When I browse on the internet for purchases, I recognize that this is a signal. It tells me that somewhere, I have a project that I should be working on but can’t seem to gain momentum towards progress. I then choose the numbing effect by gazing upon things that I have no business buying as if the purchase itself would inspire me to greatness! Purchases are fine, but things themselves are resources, not points of satisfaction. Satisfaction comes from me releasing creative energy and making something in the world. Purchasing cheats me by side stepping the creative work to obtain something cheaply – with only the use of money.
Critical thoughts are the enforcers of a low level creative system. There are many ways that our lifestyle gives rise to multiple criticisms, usually they have grown up alongside us. But growing up requires us to set aside some childhood imaginations, including the ones which criticize every idea before you have had a chance to bring it to life. In a high level creative system, in which you are creating often, the critical thoughts simply cannot enforce the freedom you have allowed yourself to flow. They will always be there, but their affect will diminish the MORE you create. The cure for criticism is to simply disobey their commands. Their threat is failure and you are just not going to fear it anymore. Create it anyway.
Isolation, we have seen, can breed all kinds of mutations in our society, including our own personal culture. In gardening, I have read, that a patch’s survival depends on how often it can crossbreed and cross pollinate with other plants, flowers and bees. Intersecting ideas and freedom to share thoughts with other living creative forces is imperative for spiritual survival. Of course, on spiritual paths, there is always a season for isolation, but that, I believe, is often to balance the amount of noise one hears in crowds. When I look around and have no external force to receive honest feedback, I am not surprised that the flow within me has ceased. Nature abhors a vacuum and friends and confidants act as a vacuum in which our ideas can move towards, only to be reciprocated. Only empty glasses can be filled and when I see myself in frequent isolation, this should beg me to ask, “am I blocked?”
I’m sure you have seen information that the brain and the gut are linked by wires and nerves, dare I say, our entire bodies are connected to our spirit? There are no silos within living systems, whatever is affected in nature, affects nature. You are a system of many systems, but one I want you to consider is that your stomach will often tell you the truth before your brain. Upset stomach, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, or a change in bowel habits can all be markers for disruptions within your spirit. Your creative energy will flow, but sometimes, your body will act as a signal to let you know that something is off. The key is to work backwards, starting with the stomach, by doing the right things physically whether it be increasing water, fiber, taking an honest and detailed food diary, or limiting the amount of foods you already KNOW disappoint your stomach. Then, get to work by diving into production. By now, you already have a creative outlet. Go to it. Create and watch the combination of effort between your stomach and spirit unite to get you back into a healthy rhythm, in the bathroom and in the studio.
I call out myself. Please, cut back on scrolling, cut back on swiping, cut back on gazing upon the “one eyed glowing god” in which we have sacrifice countless hours and precious minutes. Have you ever heard of a music band describe how they discovered their “hit” single? Often I have heard they played a melody and wrote the entire song, front to back, within 10 minutes! Of course, they didn’t just wake up with talent or skip past hours of practice building skill, but stories like these show that 10 minutes, combined with creative force, can become a memory. Time shifts from chronos to kairos. A minute becomes a moment that lasts a lifetime.
Granted, no one is constantly creating. I am a grand believer that we do not rest from our work, but rather we work from our rest. We breathe out only because we have already breathed in. We are skilled because we practice. There exists intentional time for rest. But don’t let self-care descend into self-indulgence. Make the rest count, and rest with creative force.
Stand up, stretch your body, breathe deeply within and imagine that spark of inspiration happening when you are busy in movement, busy in life and simply creating.
Sojourners, awake!
