KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

by Melissa Harris

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Perhaps you don't consider yourself creative. But, we are all creative: our creativity simple emerges in different ways. Consider the imagination one employs to make intelligent financial decisions, or how one can come up with yummy and inexpensive recipes with healthy ingredients. We call upon our creative selves many times in the course of a day, but some of us don't count these acts as imaginative. We have been conditioned to believe that only those that paint, write, play music, etc. are officially the "creatives." Our beliefs that we are not creative sometimes begin early on if we were not encouraged in that way by our families. Perhaps we may have been told in school that we should stick to more practical subjects. It's easy to fall prey to accepting the image of how someone else sees us. When we know ourselves well and are confident in our abilities, the reflections of others do not affect us.

The following are some ways to support your creative urges. If you don't think you are creative, or if you are feeling creatively blocked, these five simple suggestions will help you push through.

1. 1. Mindfulness
      When we are not mindful we may miss opportunities for finding inspiration. What do I mean by "mindful?" When we are mindful we are completely present in the moment; when we are present we are not focused on the past or the future. Our attention is on our in-the-moment circumstance, and we have an awareness of our surroundings by way of all our senses.Track yourself to observe how present you are just for one hour as you are going about your day. Stop to check in often to see if your mind is on the past or if you are thinking ahead. Inevitably, you will be doing this to some degree. When you catch yourself, gently bring your focus back to present time. As you get in the habit of monitoring yourself this way, it becomes more automatic and easier to stay in the moment.

      Now that you are present and available for inspiration you may discover that the beauty of the road you drive down each day inspires a painting. Or that the sound of the birds singing lifts your heart and puts you more in the mood to clean or re-arrange your home. With a clear head you may find that conversations with friends may act as fodder for a piece of writing. The rewards of a clear and peaceful mind are many.

1. 1. Enlarge Your Vision
      Take a moment to contemplate how you may be keeping your vision small. "Your vision" of what?, you may be asking. This could include a specific project on which you are working or even how you view your life. I speak to many folks who don't even bother to try and think big because they have felt trapped for so long. Often when we have been stuck in a rut we forget that there may be solutions or options of which we have not even thought. Conversing with a trusted friend is a good way to shake things up as long as we are not complaining, simply conversing.I remember feeling stuck with a particular painting. A friend was visiting, and she remarked that it would look so good with……….and made her suggestion. I followed up with her vision and was pleased at the way it turned out. I was surprised that I had not thought of it. My ego stepped out of the way in order to be open to her suggestion—another aid in the creative process. Opening up to the ideas of others has also helped me when it comes to other areas of my life.

      It may not be necessary for you to share with others. I find it helpful to view a problem or project from angles that may not have been obvious in the beginning. Your creativity will be heightened just in the act of thinking outside the box.

      More creative energy is available to you when your life is running more smoothly. When we apply the practice of looking at situations with a broader perspective, our lives benefit by our being able to implement new ideas and solutions to situations that may have previously been problematic.

1. 1. Show Up
      Numerous successful people have made the statement that more than half—or even most—of the work is showing up. How do you avoid your own successes? Are there instances where you have sabotaged yourself in regard to your creative desires? Does one of your frequent statements include the phrase "someday?" "Someday, I'd like to learn to play guitar." Or, "Someday I'm going to write a book." I hear this so often.Fear is probably the biggest factor in the way of creative fulfillment. Have you identified any fears related to procrastination of your desired activities? Journaling without too much thought, just free writing, is helpful in exploring one's inner feelings. Just open yourself up on the paper and let your thoughts flow without censorship to see what may emerge. I have surprised myself more than once with what came pouring out.

      If this is true for you, try addressing something on your "someday" list by taking very small baby steps toward that goal. It may be too scary to select the thing that you want the most, so choose what seems to be the most attainable.

1. 1. Take Notes/Keep Records
      It doesn't matter what you want to do creatively or if you have even identified what you want to do creatively. Keeping a record of what inspires you or things you notice throughout your day that interest you are fuel for later projects. If you find yourself waiting in the dentist's office, make use of that time to thumb through magazines; if you find something of interest for later, take a photo or make notes. File these gems away for when you are ready to work with them, whether they be a recipe or a room you would like to take some decorating ideas from. If you are driving home and the clouds are particularly spectacular, take a photo in case you may want to use the clouds in a painting.I have an accordion file of photos that has been a valuable resource for me for years. I call upon for this file for use in my paintings. The folder is divided up by subject matter that I tend to use in my art work. On a day that I have the urge to paint and don't have anything in mind, I may peruse the file and find images that inspire me. Or I may find myself in the midst of a painting and feel that there is something I want to add to it, or I may wonder what kind of tree may look the best in the piece. I also collect beads, bones, shells, feathers, fabric, and anything else I find I may want to include in my collages.

      This practice is not just for visual artists. I have a musician friend who records anywhere and everywhere she goes, and has been doing so for years. She doesn't confine this to music, eitther: she recorded the street sounds of the colorful neighborhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, including the whistle warnings of the local drug dealers. She also managed to record a "heartbeat" from the ancient stone formations in Malta. These sounds were woven into musical compositions she used in theater pieces many years after. If you like to cook, don't hesitate to ask for the recipe or at least ingredients of a dish you enjoy while eating out; don't forget to write it down!

      Keeping a journal is another handy tool for recording thoughts or ideas for later use. If you are a writer, chances are that you already make a habit of this. People you meet on an everyday basis may become characters in that next piece of writing.

1. Lose Any Competitive Edge
   Face it. There will most always be someone smarter, faster, better looking, etc., than ourselves. If we waste energy on comparing ourselves to others we may never take the first step toward our desired goals.I teach art classes, and I have had many folks come to me with stories of how their mothers, husbands, or others were artists and they didn't want to disappoint themselves with how they might not match their own ideals. These ideals were set either by these others in their lives or by their own impossibly high standards.

   I teach art-making workshops that are open to anyone. When a new student learns that they may be asked to share what they have done with the others, their fears set in and they often try to talk their way out of it. Ultimately, they learn from the others in the group.

   We have to begin somewhere, sometime. If we allow the abilities of others to stand in our way we are doing ourselves a huge disservice. When my students do put their work on the wall for others to see, they are always surprised by the positive qualities that the other students find in their art. We all have our unique talents. If you have the drive to do something and let others stand in your way, you may never discover a vision, or voice, or other skills that may be resting within.

Allow yourself to expand creatively by taking a risk. Begin today and enjoy the benefits a life with more creativity brings.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2015. All rights reserved.

I recently lost my father in a very sudden and shocking manner, for he was fit as a fiddle with no ailment whatsoever. A day after his burial, I dreamed that my husband (God forbid!) went off somewhere and also died. In the dream, I was crying and wondering what would happen to my two little boys. Just then, my father came into the dream and consoled me. When I woke up, I felt sick. My head was heavy and it took me a while to realize that this was just a dream, that my husband was alive. This was not the first time I dreamed of his death. The first time was a couple of years ago, when I dreamed that he died in a car accident and an ambulance came to our house. Please help me understand why I'm having these dreams. Since my father's death I have become so scared. I love my husband very much and just can't imagine life without him. Do you think these dreams are trying to tell me something? They are deeply upsetting. Can you help?

Sumaira

Susyn:

Dreams can be unsettling, especially when they portray the loss of a loved one. It's important to remember that our dreams are one way we process our deepest fears; they allow us to live out our worst nightmares in our subconscious instead of facing those events in real life.

Your father's sudden death left a huge hole in your heart and in your life. It's not uncommon to develop fears of losing your husband or other loved ones when something like this happens, for it heightens your awareness of death and makes you much more aware of how precious and short life can be.

Both your father and husband play important roles in your life, so losing one or the other is sure to affect you on every level of your being. The dreams you are experiencing are not prophetic; they do not imply that your husband will pass soon or in an unexpected way. Your subconscious is not warning you about the future; it's using these dreams to help you process some overwhelming fears.

There are a few things you can do to feel more empowered and less fearful. You can start a daily meditation designed to send protection to your husband as well as your sons. Asking Spirit to watch over them when you can't will help to disable your fear and diffuse your sense of powerlessness.

You can provide your husband and sons with protective stones to wear or carry. Quartz crystal, turquoise and lapis lazuli are great choices for creating a protective energy field around your family. You should also wear one of these stones and place one under your pillow to counteract these upsetting dreams.

I would like to mention that the dream in which your father came to visit and comfort you was actually a visit from him. It was so moving and realistic that you weren't sure if it was real or a dream. You also had a strong physical reaction. These are signs that this was a spiritual experience quite different from the other dreams you describe.

You can ask your father to visit you in your dreams and request that he give you other signs of his presence. As he recovers from his transition and grows stronger on the other side, you'll be able to interact with him on a regular basis, which should make your grieving process go much faster.

Your fatherís sudden passing has reminded you of how precious each day is because our loved ones can be gone in an instant. This awareness can be put to good use by treasuring the time you spend with your husband and sons, and shifting your perspective when things become trying or frustrating with them. As you move forward with this, your ability to practice unconditional love will grow, and your fear of losing your loved ones will diminish.

*****

Mata Maya:

I'm glad you asked about this, for what you describe is a common pattern of experience: Your father dying unexpectedly threw your whole being into something of a spiritual crisis, and now you are struggling to work through your beliefs and feelings about death.

You wrote that ever since your father's demise, you have been very scared. This fear is what is behind these dreams. Since you've been unable to find the understanding you need to be at peace in your waking life, your subconscious mind is working overtime to help you to process this traumatic experience and move toward a higher level of relationship to it and death in general.

Whenever we carry the fear of something happening that we believe would utterly destroy us emotionally, our subconscious minds will lead us back to that issue in various ways so that we can begin to get a handle on it.

Back when my children were babies, I was overcome with intense fear of something happening to them. Before that time, I had been more curious than fearful of death, so this was most unsettling. I would constantly worry about what could go wrong, and in so doing, I visualized some terrible things in my head.

Worriers believe on some level that by thinking of everything, they will be able to control what happens. Of course, none of us can really control destiny, so eventually, we must begin to make peace with all that is beyond our influence. These dreams are showing you that you have a lot of work to do in terms of making peace with the inevitability of death, developing a sound spiritual belief system, and cultivating faith in a higher plan.

Believe it or not, there are people who are at peace with death because their faith in a higher plan is even stronger than their love of this life and the temporary forms their various soul friends are taking this lifetime. Just the other day, I was talking to a woman about the need for us all to seize the day, and she just shrugged and said, Whatever comes after this life will be just as good ñ probably better!

Your father's death has pushed a big spiritual button for you. These dreams are asking you to consider how you would handle it if someone even dearer to you were to die. They are calling you to study spiritual teachings related to death so that you can begin to weave together a belief system that resonates with your soul and helps you face life's uncertainties with equanimity.

With this in mind, I encourage you to begin reading the fascinating research available on subjects like near-death experiences, reincarnation and afterlife communication, for the more you know and understand, the more at peace you'll be.

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.