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Revitalizing the Creative Spirit, by Lisa Hunt

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Nature has a lot to teach us. Just before a hurricane struck my town in South Florida, the animals began to act strangely: birds flew in a hurried manner, the usual cacophony of frogs grew silent, and my cats acted skittish and nervous. As the palm fronds began waving erratically the world assumed an eerie presence that spoke of the ominous event ahead. The ferocity of the winds grew in intensity and barreled down on us; lifting trees, roof tiles and screened-in porches, I started wondering about the many animals that were being exposed to winds exceeding 110 miles per hour. How can they survive under such extreme conditions?

After the storm, everyone emerged from their homes in my neighborhood to check on each other and inspect the damage. There was the initial shock upon looking at the devastation, but then many of us put on work gloves and began engaging in the arduous clean up. The plant life took a beating and I didn't hear the usual frog croaks, but as the hours passed I grew to appreciate the miraculous resilience of nature more than ever. Wildlife began to reawaken from its organic shelters in my garden. One emerald green fly was sitting on a leaf looking stunned but alive. After a few minutes, it spread its wings and flew into a now serene atmosphere. Great herons landed in the yard and began foraging through the rain-soaked grass, opportunitists in the midst of the disaster. Even the cats began to assume their normal feline antics. They instinctively knew the storm was over and that life goes on.

The persistent hot days of summer broke with a hurricane-steering cold front. The days grow shorter, the nights cooler and the festive tropical atmosphere that dominated the summer season is a little more subdued. As the days pass since that storm, I have become more reflective and more appreciative of nature's awesome power and resilience. I have been cajoled into a sort of hibernating mental state, letting mind and body rest after the intensity of the destructive hurricane season.

I have been understandably distracted, but at the same time, the hurricane and subsequent cooler weather has wakened me out of a seemingly deep sleep of unawareness. Before the storm, I was working too intensely and obsessively feeling driven by impending deadlines. Creativity is something to be nurtured and respected. It cannot be forced. It is an extension of a soul's need to express itself. I'm sure most of us have experienced burn out and many of us don't even realize that it is happening. The continual efforts that we put forth without pause can actually result in uninspired, lackluster material. It is as though we start peddling backwards with no landmarks of achievement in sight.

Instead of stagnating in the midst of a project, sometimes it is good to slow down, take a deep breath and allow the senses to be rejuvenated. We don't need a big storm to initiate this more sensible approach to creativity. Take a walk, read a book by the fire, or engage in a ritual that helps remove you from the mundane pressures of everyday life. Even though you may feel your creative endeavors deserve all your attention, you can actually trigger an aversion to what was once your most enjoyable pastime.

It is necessary to let yourself go and allow your mind to be fed, inspired and rejuvenated as a prelude to another spate of activity. People often ask me how I create so much artwork—where do all of those ideas come from? For me, inspiration is a combination of external stimulus and internal exploration. New ideas will spring forth after a period of dormancy. This is analogous to the new buds that start poking through the newly defrosted springtime soil. Creative vigor will return with an irrepressible energy if you let it. Ideas burgeon to life and manifest themselves in spirited articulations and depictions if you allow them to germinate as they will. After my own forced retreat into hibernation, I am starting to feel a wonderful rejuvenating spirit return. The post-hurricane haze is dissolving into a new cycle of creative need. This is when sketches, paintings and other gifts from the muse will overflow and ignite my creative passion. When creativity is exhausted, I have to recognize the signals for another cycle of reprieve. Maintaining a balance between proactive creative acceleration and reflective idea gathering is paramount to creative longevity. This is not always easy. It may take a conscious will of spirit to slow down and take a break.

If we look upon the patterns and cycles of nature, we can see the displays of nature as poignant metaphors of our own psychological makeup. Hibernation is nature's way of pausing. For many animals, their torpid states allow them to survive through inclement environments until spring beckons their revival. We can observe this cycle of activity and inactivity and apply it to our patterns of creative engagement.

Life after the hurricane will eventually return to normal. My shredded bougainvillea vine will sprout new buds and the frogs will return with their nightly symphonies. I am sure my garden will grow back stronger and more beautiful next season. And I intend to sketch its progress with renewed inspiration.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2005. All rights reserved.

My daughter often hears breathing near her that I can't hear. She says it only worries her because no one else seems to be aware of it. I did feel a presence once, only because I walked right into it. Our house is full of energy, and all of my kids have seen the same one or two spirits. However, I feel that this spirit only wants to be near Chelsea. I don't feel any negativity from it, only curiosity. Is it normal for spirits to single one person out? Should this concern me?

Thanks!

Tracy

Astrea:

Your daughter is a very special Gemini. While the spirits you all see in your home are the same, what she is hearing is not a ghost or disembodied soul. Chelsea is hearing the breathing of her psychic self and beginning to get in touch with her dual personality as a Gemini.

As wild and crazy as that may sound, I've known quite a few Geminis who have had the same kind of experience your daughter is having. The way you describe what is happening, even you sensing that energy too, all makes sense in that light.

Most people who are dual signs (Pisces, Aquarius, Gemini, sometimes Virgo) experience some sort of disembodied SOMETHING as youngsters. It isn't always breathing. I have one friend who saw eyes looking at her while she slept.

One friend says that even now, if he's about to make a stupid mistake in judgment, someone comes to him and shakes him from behind. Everyone is different in the way that they perceive their psychic other parts, but the dual signs have a leg up on getting messages from them.

Dual signs both physically and mentally separate themselves as young people. Many don't acknowledge how strong those feelings of detachment to another part of their own spirits are. They realize that something is going on with them, but it's a little confusing or scary at times, so it's good for them to have someone explain that they're not going crazy.

Fortunately, most people have a good sense of humor about this when it's happening. Some joke about how they've managed to suppress the evil twin inside of them. In some ways, dual signs are lucky to be able to do that, for being separated from their alter egos gives them a better sense of what's right and wrong, true and false.

Sometimes this can be an excuse they use for bad behavior, but on the whole, dual signs seem to have fewer personal hang-ups because after separation, they integrate the two sides of themselves into one whole person.

While only a few will talk about the experience with family and friends, they will if invited to do so. Most of the time, this happens in early adolescence when kids usually don't want to talk about anything personal, let alone something as weird as hearing disembodied breathing that no one else can hear.

Since your children don't seem to have a problem talking about what they sense, you must be a good mother. Talk to your daughter about what she's feeling and keep it up - it will bring you closer than you can imagine.

*****

Susyn:

It's not unusual for a spirit to single out a particular person, and (especially in the case of poltergeists) younger female children. You don't say how long this has been happening, but I would definitely keep an eye on her and watch for changes in mood or negative developments.

However, I think you can trust your instincts that so far, this spirit seems to be merely curious. There are endless accounts of people who can see, hear or talk to spirits that no one else seems to pick up on, so that's not unusual at all.

At the same time, you mention that your house is filled with energies and more than one spirit. This could suggest you are sitting atop of some type of vortex or portal, which would make it a place that entities tend to gather.

You may want to do some historical research on your property to learn more, for even if the spirits in your house seem friendly, if they can get in, so can entities of a less than benevolent nature.

I would recommend regular smudging of your house with a sage stick or sage incense, asking as you move from room to room that any spirits of a negative nature leave the premises at once. I would also make a practice of burning white or purple candles in your home to generate a high spiritual vibration.

Because it can be difficult to identify who, what, or how many spirits may be coming and going in your home, these rituals will help keep the entities there limited to those of only the highest, most positive nature.

I also sense that Chelsea may be a bit more empathic and psychically gifted than her siblings, which would explain why she is hearing the breathing and sensing a spirit no one else seems to pick up on. While you want to encourage her gifts, you also want to teach her how to protect herself as she grows in her powers.

Teaching her to visualize white light all around her is a great beginning. I would also give her and all the other members of your household some lapis lazuli, turquoise or malachite stones for additional protection.

You didn't mention how you felt when you encountered a spirit by walking right into it. Always remember to trust your instincts and rely on your gut feelings to determine if you need to take action or not.

If at any time you feel nervous, upset or troubled by these spirits, you'll want to clean house with the rituals mentioned above, and raise the vibration there.

For now though, it sounds like your awareness of the spirits is enough to keep them in check. If things change, you'll sense it right away.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.