Hi Creative Friends,
When I was a miniature muse, I was a wild child -- rarely disciplined by my parents to be or do anything in a certain way. Perhaps, they were afraid of me because my real mom was Ruler of the Amazons and dad was Zeus… Oh wait, that’s not me, that’s some wondrous bracelet-wearing woman. But I was an imaginative and willful imp who liked to do things my way, which is not rare in the land of creative kids. Maybe you were a wild child too and that’s why we get along so well.
My parents kinda gave up.
The good news is because of the no-discipline-thing no-supervision thing, wolves raised me. Dang, that wasn’t me either, that kid hung-out with a bear. I wish! Back to the good news: I didn’t experience the limitations that came from parental discipline.
In fact, I had to figure out myself how life worked which, although a little lonely, made me ruggedly independent, boldly confident, and comfortable with owning many of my imperfections – which is a form of freedom I’m grateful for and encourage you to try if you’re trying to defend being perfect. It came from experiencing frequent errors involved in the trial and error of trying to figure out how to maneuver through life; either you learn acceptance or live under a bed (dust bunnies don't like that).
The bad news is, with no opportunity to develop internalized discipline, the shoulds, have-tos, or directives from myself to show-up were (and still are), met with rebelliousness because as a wild creative child I had the words, YOU CAN’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, stamped on my forehead. That means I was the one I was rebelling against most of the time, I was my own worse enemy and it was a struggle to get to my creative passions. It’s not anymore because I don’t tell myself what to do anymore.
Despite lack of discipline, I did stuff I’m really proud of like designing three trainings, writing and illustrating four books; having a body of art work; writing and performing a full length one woman show; writing creative speeches; helping a myriad of people use an original approach to creativity coaching, and playing two and half songs on the ukulele.
It’s not about being perfect, because some days I rebel against having to do anything, and I know that’s okay because acceptance is freedom
Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.
~Rumi
Rumi:
I let myself be silently drawn to the things I love. Rumi, of course, is right. Being drawn to what I love IS a stronger, more enticing and therefore more effective than pressuring myself do things. Instead of discipline and following the often rigid directions that many claim to be the only way to succeed, I find that focusing on what I love about what I do makes showing up effortless. What we focus on becomes our world.
Focus on your procrastination, resistance, and inability to show-up, focus on what others are doing and you’re NOT doing, focus on not feeling good enough, that becomes your world too. And if that’s been your usual focus, it’s going to take a little ruthless practice to shift. Love is often the answer, and it is in this circumstance too. “Only love can truly save the world.” ~ Wonder Woman said that and here’s how I want to translate that for you – love will save your creativity. Practice loving your creative call, before, during and after answering it. Make love toward what you do as much of a skill as the sport of writing, art, and living.
- What do you love about your creative passion? Ask that, close your eyes, and see how many things you can conjure up.
- How can you show up for yourself with love?
- How does your creative call love you? (suspend logic all you literal thinkers).
Ask those questions without needing an immediate answer and watch what happens.
When we show-up with love not only is the process sweeter, we are likely stay longer and perseverance is in the top three qualities of successful (and content) creative people.
Creativity Out There in the Cyberland:
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February 15- 19, 2019
The Muse in Winter Taos Creativity Retreat in February fills every year. 16 max to keep it intimate and get to know people. Especially made user-friendly for introverts and those worried about what the hell a creativity retreat is... You get pampered, inspired, well-fed and entertained!
It's a good time to sign-up for the Muse in Winter Retreat. If you start a monthly payment plan, the registration is easier to complete. Winter is especially a cozy time to bring the creative process out of hiding
Writing, art, improv, laughter, a private concert, reconnecting with your creative self, transcending the world and finding fun. kindred spirits. For people who don't THINK they are creative, those who want to expand their creativity, and anyone who wants to be pampered and stay where creative greats have gone for many, many years for creative restoration.
. More here
NOVEMBER 1-4, 2018
 SKETCHKON 2018 PASADENA is filling up fast!!
For three fun-packed days, we’ll experience a non-stop smorgasbord of rich visual presentations, inspirational talks, collaborative art projects, technical demonstrations, sketchcrawls, and one-on-one advice.
For the first time ever, over five hundred creative folks — including many top sketchbook artists from around the world — will gather in sunny Pasadena to celebrate our art. I will be giving a keynote and a workshop*. SIgn-up soon!
*Kamikaze Drawing and Low-Flying Creativity See More Here
Using fleeting multimedia projections, poetry, music, the silly and absurd you will be tricked into effortlessly colliding with your true creative voice without overthinking or scaring it away. Any perfectionistic tendencies, hesitancy, and/or immobilizing self-judgment will be terribly confused and ask to be excused from this workshop.
You will experience
- The unleashing of a deeper creative voice.
- What it’s like to generate a plethora of sketches in a short amount of time under the influence of an altered state of sketching.
- Learn techniques that make sketching not only easier but a hell of a good time to create.
- Go home with at least three sketches you’ll want to frame, share with the world, or simply become.
Mondays, January 28 - May 20, 2019
Become a Certified Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coach
And now for a very DIFFERENT way to learn to mentor people using creative tools, take your creativity (and your life) to a whole new level, and create another stream of income. Using intuition, imagination, in-session experiences. The tax-deductible investment pays off in many many ways. More here on KMCC, payment plans available.The training begins every August and January.
Parallel Universe Time Mondays!
An hour every Monday at 8 am pacific/11am eastern to get to your creative work or anything you've been putting off. This is a sacred, grounding time where we hold the space for each other to focus. It's been happening for nine years now. No charge. All are welcome Save this link and show-up whenever you like:
Join from your computer or tablet: https://zoom.us/j/632116972 (cameras are off)
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +16465588656,,632116972# or +16699006833,,632116972#
Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 632 116 972
International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/cQ40oRm5e
The Writing Club:
Try it one month for free For the structure you need and the odd-ball irresistible prompts inspired by The Awe-manac and The Muse is In: An Owner's Manual to Your Creativity, join a low-pressure writing club that provides that all important impetus and inspiration to keep your practice alive. The more you write, the more you ENJOY writing, and thus you write more. Click write here
Haiku and Painting
To me, a palm tree
Is like a giant pom pom
Cheering all day long.
Find a painting and write a haiku to it. Send it to me and be in a drawing for an Awe-manac
Let Love Be Your Refuge,
Jill Badonsky
Jill Badonsky, M.Ed. is head muse of the Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching Certification Training founded in 2004, multimedia artist, yoga teacher, and author/illustrator of four books on creativity.
<She doesn't get out much
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