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An excerpt from The Power of Daily Practice 
by Eric Maisel, PhD

I’ve been working with creative and performing artists for more than thirty years, and so the most usual daily practice that a client of mine needs to create is one centered around creativity. This might be a writing practice, a painting practice, a composing practice, an instrument practice, or something else expressive. I encourage every client to begin and maintain such a practice, because without it, an already hard thing, living a creative life, is made that much harder. Having a strong daily creativity practice in place is the best way to realize their dreams and accomplish their goals.

Consider Joanne. Joanne had been hoping to write a fantasy novel for more than a decade. She had a vague idea for it and a handful of notes but spent very little time actually being with her novel. The way she let herself off the hook was by saying, “I don’t feel inspired.” Partly she meant it, as she did hold a core belief that without inspiration she would produce a lifeless thing. But more centrally, invoking that need for inspiration was the way that she avoided the hard work of bringing a novel-length work of fiction into existence.

I shared with her one of my favorite quotes, from the Russian composer Tchaikovsky: “I’m inspired about every fifth day, but I only get that fifth day if I show up the other four.” She smiled at that and nodded. “I’m sure that’s true,” she said, but without much conviction. She did, though, agree to commit to a writing practice of twenty minutes a day, first thing each morning. But over the course of those first few weeks, she got to her writing only a total of three times.

As she struggled to get her daily practice into place, it became very clear to her which element of practice was the hardest for her: discipline. “It isn’t that I can’t be disciplined,” she told me. “It’s more like I’m fighting with the idea of it. I feel like a little kid who’s been told to sit still and just hates the idea.”

I advised her to try a very simple thing: to write “Hate” in big letters on one side of a sheet of paper and “Love” on the other side of that same sheet of paper in equally large letters. “Right now, in some deep place you hate the idea of discipline. Let’s see if we can turn that around,” I said. “Just do the following thing. When you think about your daily writing practice, look at that sheet of paper. Look at the ‘Hate’ side. Really be with your hatred. Then turn it over and really be with ‘Love.’ You are trying to turn hate into love.”

A week later, in a Zoom session, she caught me up. “I wrote four days this week,” she said. “And I had this vivid memory. It had to do with practicing the piano. My mother wanted great things from my piano playing. I think that secretly she wanted me to become a concert pianist. But I hated it. Not the piano, not the music, not even the idea of it, but the ridiculous pressure, her watchfulness, her false praise, the whole thing. Discipline and my mother are the same thing.”

I asked her what she wanted to do with that insight. “Maybe I could ceremonially cut something — a thread, maybe — to cut the connection between my mother and the idea of discipline. I do want to love the idea of discipline. Maybe somehow literally cutting a cord is the thing to try?”

Joanne knew that she was embarking on something edgy, something that almost felt like a betrayal of her mother, but she committed to that ceremonial cutting. Afterward, she told me, “It’s funny. I did that cutting. I literally cut a piece of rope. And something really did change. All that work around the word discipline and around the idea of discipline, and suddenly that all receded into some distant background. It was like it was never an issue at all.”

As with so many clients, Joanne then proceeded to work steadily on her novel. She had her bad days, her days of crisis, and her days of loss of faith in the project; and she had all those skipped days because life got too busy, too chaotic, or too pressure filled with other things. But most weeks she wrote four or five mornings, which naturally led to the novel getting built over time. Within six months she had a draft of her book, a feat she hadn’t believed she could pull off.

There is no single more important thing that a creative person can embark upon than creating and maintaining a daily creativity practice. That practice will likely make all the difference between having and not having a creative life. When nothing could feel more natural than that daily practice, you will become one of those very rare creatures, someone who virtually effortlessly produces a body of creative work.

You’ll be asked, “How did you pull that off  ? How did you become so amazingly productive?” And you won’t know what exactly to say, since the true answer will sound too simple. But that simple answer is the true answer. “I just get to work every day. That’s about it.” What you’ll get in reply is a shake of the head, meaning, “No, there must be more to it than that!” All you’ll be able to do is shrug and maybe repeat yourself: “No, it’s really that simple. I show up just about every day, and the work accumulates.”

Food for Thought

Would a creativity practice serve you? If you think that it could, what might its contours be?
In contemplating your prospective practice, what do you think is going to prove most challenging about it?
What strategy might you employ to meet that challenge?

Eric Maisel, PhD, is the author of more than fifty books on creativity and personal growth, including The Power of Daily Practice. Widely regarded as America’s foremost creativity coach, he writes the Rethinking Mental Health blog for Psychology Today and facilitates creativity and deep writing workshops around the world. He lives in Walnut Creek, California. Find out more about his work at EricMaisel.com.

Excerpted from the book The Power of Daily Practice. Copyright ©2020 by Bridgit Dengel Gaspard. Printed with permission from New World Library.

I was born 1/3/81. I dreamed I was pregnant with a baby girl, and in the dream, the baby moved, so my mother and my grandmother were all very happy about the baby. I woke up very happy, and I actually felt the baby move even though I am not pregnant in real life! I'm wondering what this dream may mean.

- Maria

Astrea:

The most common explanation for a woman dreaming about being pregnant is that she wants to become pregnant. When a man dreams of something like this, it may mean he wants to start a family. Following are some other possible interpretations:

There is something or someone in your family that you wish you could avoid. You may have heard the term, hiding behind the pregnancy used when someone uses the fact that they are pregnant to avoid a family gathering or a family event. They may be too ill to travel if they are expecting a baby, and they get out of the situation without any confrontation occurring simply because they're expecting. If that's the case here, it may explain the presence of your mother and grandmother.

It could also mean that there is a relationship that needs healing. Being pregnant in a dream sometimes means that you should look at a different solution for the problems occurring in the relationship.

A long time ago, if people were having marital problems, it would be suggested that they have a baby. Thank goodness that's not a reasonable solution for people to suggest nowadays. While a baby will certainly change things, it won't magically solve everything. When pregnancy dreams are designed to address relationship problems, they mean that you are being urged to look at things in a different way.

Being pregnant in a dream may signify a change in your career. If you are unsatisfied at work or you feel unappreciated by your employer, being pregnant in your dream may signify that you desire a new beginning, a new career, or perhaps a different approach to making a living/ financial well-being.

In fact, being pregnant in a dream might signify that you want a new beginning in terms of your whole approach to life. Perhaps your mother and grandmother, these relatives you love, are going to be there to help you through this transition with love, encouragement and excitement, just like they would if you really were going to have a baby. They'll support your decisions and be happy for you.

Regardless why you dream of being pregnant, a very old interpretation would suggest that something you have wanted for a long time is finally going to appear in your life - most likely love. The message of the dream is to get ready for this monumental change.

*****

Susyn:

What a wonderful experience! Since you aren't pregnant, this dream might have made little sense to you at the time, but it is definitely a sign of great things to come.

Often when we dream, every aspect of the dream pertains to us personally. You'll note that there are four females in this dream: Your grandmother, your mother, yourself and the baby. Four generations of women, all focused on the concept of a new life beginning to emerge. This part of the dream represents the strength you possess as well as the lessons and support you've received from your mother and grandmother.

Your dream is a message from Spirit that wonderful things are coming your way, and that there is a new life cycle growing within you. New beginnings are on the horizon, so this dream is a wake-up call to get ready and start preparing for them. Just as if you were pregnant in real life, there will be much planning to do. You're going to have to make some personal changes.

Whether you are longing for a new career, thinking about relocating, or wishing for a loving life partner, this dream is Spirit's way of telling you to get ready because the seeds you're planting now will bring life-changing results.

Also, the fact that you felt the baby move not only in the dream but after you awakened suggests that things are already starting to stir in regards to your future, and that your dreams are alive and on the verge of manifesting.

If you've been feeling stuck, lost or blocked from attaining your personal goals, this is a very good sign that the barriers will soon dissolve, and you'll begin to receive clear direction on how to make your dreams reality. In the meantime, it would be a great idea to keep a dream journal to record similar night visions that come your way. If you start with the dream you described in your email and write down what you can recall, even more information or memories of this dream might emerge and offer you additional clarity.

There's also the possibility that this dream could be the foretelling of an actual pregnancy (when the time is right), which would also direct you to make important changes in your life. So, all in all, the reason this dream made you so happy is because it is a direct message from Spirit that some wonderful wishes are on the verge of coming true.

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.