How Can Winter Inspire Your Creative Genius?

 
The winter season is a wonderful time to immerse yourself in the creative process!
 
It brings a rich opportunity to awaken the “creative genius within” by exploring the gifts that are found in darkness. It allows us to reflect on our personal and creative journeys, taking a closer look at who we are – underneath the layers of life.
 
By looking for the “light” – and knowing that it’s there, somewhere, waiting to be discovered – we can reach a place where our personal reflection begins to shed its own light.
 
It’s a time to ponder where we’ve been, how we got to where we are now – and where to go from here. It’s an opportunity to explore new ways of thinking and to prepare for a new path of travel. It also marks an ideal time for connecting with our creative voice and our true heart’s desire.
 
  • How will your “creative genius” be inspired by the darkness of the winter solstice?
  • What magic will be created within you – as you move through the winter season and into spring?
  • How will this magic be expressed through your creative work – and brought into springtime’s full bloom?
These are great questions to explore as we approach the winter solstice and move into the winter season – a time of rich reflection, introspection, renewal, and a thirst for all that is light.

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What Masks Are You Wearing?

As we approach one of my favorite times of the year, Halloween – I’m reminded of all the costumes and masks people wear to celebrate this festive occasion.

It triggered my thinking about the many masks we have all worn in our lives – and may still be wearing.

How many of these masks serve as an authentic extension of who we are? And how many of these masks are a cover-up for drowning out our own inner voices?

Have you ever stopped to think about the many labels that you wear in life – maybe you’re a spouse, a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a loyal employee, a neighbor – and the different masks that are required to show up in these roles?

For some of us, these labels are true extensions of who we are – therefore, there are no masks required. We just show up authentically and shine our inner light in a different direction.

But for many of us, these labels serve as expressions of obligations or beliefs that were imposed on us, by self or others.

On an evening walk two weeks ago, I couldn’t help but take in the beauty of our lunar goddess as she began to make her way out of her new moon darkness and into her first sliver of light. It was a glorious sight!

It was just enough light to see the definition of the moon in the night sky, bringing her out of complete darkness – but not quite enough light for the waxing crescent phase.

It reminded me of those many times in my life, when I would peek my head out of that place of “not knowing” into the light of possibility – with a vulnerability and a curiosity about what life might be like if I stepped out without my masks?

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Finding Light in the Darkness

Like the moon, we all go through phases in our lives. We have ups and downs, we go forward and backward – and sometimes we seem to circle back around. We may hide behind the clouds or peek from beneath the clouds. But in the midst of what can feel like a blackout, when we are open to making a connection with our creative voice, we can get to a point where we’re able to beam with full light

During a new moon phase, the sky is completely black, with the exception of little sparkles of light in the form of stars. It’s the point in every month when the moon takes a retreat and begins to grow again, redoubling her light and reflecting new creative energy on all worldly things.

For creative souls with a desire to live more authentically, this phase represents a time for our own retreat and withdrawal from the outside world. During the darkness, it’s an opportunity to reflect on who we are – underneath the layers of life. It’s a time to turn within and write about our inner thoughts and feelings. 

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Full Moon Dreaming

For many centuries, the moon has inspired thousands of beautiful stories, songs, dances, paintings, and poems. Through her many phases, she has served as a muse in a variety of ways.
 
What is it about the moon that stirs our innermost thoughts and inspires our deepest creativity?
 
What is it about her that unleashes the magic of our dreams?
 
The full moon brings a time of high energy and great sensitivity. It’s also a period of extraordinary creativity. Dreams (both day and night) are at their height during this phase – with the potential to activate possibilities that you never thought were possible.
 
 
As you take in the radiant light of tonight’s full moon, notice what comes to mind.

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Giving Courage to Your Creative Voice

Imagine picking up the cosmic phone and scheduling an appointment with your creative voice to discuss the next steps that will bring a dream to fruition.
 
During a new moon phase, the lines are clear – so feel free to ask for what it is you need and desire.
 
The new moon gives us the courage to step into our true voice with a fresh set of eyes and a desire for new beginnings. It gives us the ability to believe in the power of our own authenticity.
 
Take a moment to think about your “life story.”
 
How has it played out – up to this point?
  • Where you encouraged to take risks?
  • Or were you told to “play it safe” – always making comfortable, practical choices?
  • Was your voice heard and received with love and respect – making you feel like your opinions, your thoughts, and your emotions really mattered?
  • Or were you silenced – making you feel like you weren’t worthy of having an opinion, a thought, or an emotion?
​​​​As Oprah Winfrey once noted, “I was once afraid of people saying, ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am.’”
 
 

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Turning Brokenness into Beauty

Many of us are familiar with the saying, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

And in several cultures, beauty is celebrated in unique ways, depending on how it’s viewed.

In Japan, for example, broken objects are often repaired with gold. The flaw is seen as a unique piece of the object’s history – which adds to its beauty.

Thinking about yourself and your own life, what do you consider “broken?”

And how might another see this “flaw” as beauty?

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