Guest post by internationally bestselling author, Joanne Fedler
Creativity, like any other skill, can be nourished. It’s important to remember, though, that it takes time and dedication to tap into your inner wellspring of natural creative ability.
With that in mind, here are nine spiritual tips that help you tap into your highest creative self, and tune out negativity and distractions – no matter what your creative endeavor is.
1. Know that ego will only take you so far.
If your art is only about you all the time, you need to think bigger. Your art is in service to something much larger than yourself. Even if you achieve fame through your creativity, you should never forget that your achievements are fickle, and due to the work of a support team around you.
2. Use your voice to speak to the truth.
Bring the pain of the world into your art, keep reminding the world to hold the suffering of others in its gaze. Use your voice as a prayer.
3. Watch less TV (and read more books).
TV is the ultimate state of distraction and doesn’t help you connect in with yourself. You can get lost in other people’s (imaginary) lives. Many people waste a lot of time watching rubbish. Use your time as if it were running out (it is).
4. Do not read negative reviews, and do not write negative reviews.
Support other artists in their endeavors. Disengage from gossip. Don’t compare yourself to people on Facebook. Don’t write anything hateful or hurtful on Twitter or Facebook. Use your words to help people reach the light.
5. Be clear about what you want from life.
The universe cannot respond to vague intention. If you want to become an author, a screenwriter, an opera singer, an actor, have conviction. Trust your vision for your life.
6. Honor what is sacred, and that includes your longing to write or create.
A ritualized life helps you create meaning in a challenging world in which you struggle to be brave. Even just blessing food, or dedicating your yoga practice to someone who is ill, or silently thanking the universe for its benevolence brings you into alignment with a deep dignity in our lives about what it means to be human.
7. Talk less, listen more.
To create, you have to become a good listener – to the world around you, and to yourself. Listening is a skill. You have to be silent in order to listen. We have to be open and receptive, and free of judgments. These are all great practices in themselves.
8. Share your knowledge and teach others who need to know what you already know.
Don’t live from a place of constriction. Share with abundance. Give away your best information, spread it like love.
9. Keep learning your craft.
Never imagine you’ve “made it” or you have nothing new to figure out. Deepen your creative practice. Become more curious about it and your relationship with your voice. Humility helps us begin again and again, each time with wider eyes, deeper ears and a more compassionate touch.
Joanne Fedler has written 9 books, including the international bestsellers Secret Mothers’ Business and When Hungry, Eat. Her latest book Love in the Time of Contempt: consolations for parents of teenagers was released in mid-2015. Her real joy comes from mentoring other writers. For a free gift (21 tips on finding your writing voice), please go to her website. She also shares writing tips on her YouTube channel.