Embracing Creativity with "The Artist's Way "

In this podcast, Kelly shares how discovering her own creativity through Julia Cameron's book The Artist’s Way has transformed her life over the past four years. 

God's gift to us is creativity; by embracing our creative selves (in whatever form that comes for each of us),  we can align with our true nature and invite more joy and fulfillment into our lives.  By tapping into our creative energies, we can connect with the vibrant life we were meant to live!

Main points: 

• Know that creativity is the natural order of life - it is not just reserved for some people.  It’s for ALL of us. 
• Believe that your creativity matters, and find an outlet for it so it can grow and develop. 
• Try the two practices of Morning Pages and Artist Date.

Links 

• Join Kelly's Group Coaching Program
• The Artist’s Way

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Transcript

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Hey friends, this week on the podcast, I'm going to be sharing a little bit about The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron, and specifically I'm going to be going through the importance of understanding that we were meant to be creative. I hope you enjoy this week's podcast. Welcome to the Live a Vibrant Life podcast. I'm life coach Kelly Tibbetts, and each week I'll be here to encourage and equip you with the tools you need to grow in self awareness and invest your best energy in your dreams and your purpose. I believe self awareness changes everything. Let's get started. Hey friends, my podcast this week is on one of my very favorite books. It's called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. Today I wanted to talk about the high level reason that Julie Cameron wrote it. And that is that each of us was created by the creator to be creative. And I'll tell you, I lived most of my life, not believing that. I had a lot of stories in my head about how I'm the serious person and I'm definitely not fun. And I didn't allow myself to enjoy the part of me that enjoyed creating things. I loved it for my children. We had lots of art supplies and we would do fun birthday parties and cupcake decorating and all kinds of things. I loved it for them, but I didn't think it was appropriate for me. And discovering Julia Cameron, About four years ago has really transformed my life. This is my fourth summer of going slowly through her book, The Artist's Way. And I truly am. I'm one of these people that loves to read quickly. This is not a book you can read quickly. It's meant to be digested in small pieces and transform your life. So I've shared another podcast, two of the big ideas from The Artist's Way that really has helped me a lot. One is the idea of getting up every morning and noticing the thoughts that I'm thinking and putting them to paper. So she calls that your morning pages. It's journaling. deciding that you are creative enough to come up with fun little poems or even if you don't know where to begin, just writing. I don't know what to write. And eventually you start to unlock that part of you that wants to share information. And I am so thankful for the morning pages. I've not done them every single day, but looking back over the last four years of my life, I really can see the patterns of thinking and how coaching has really helped me to transform my thoughts and become a healthier version of me. The other big idea that she shares in the artist way is the idea of taking yourself on an artist date. When I was younger, my mom used to always say, don't wait for some man to buy you flowers. Go buy yourself flowers if you want flowers. And I love that. And my girls buy themselves flowers and shout out to Trader Joe's where you can get a cute bouquet for like 4. But we also don't have to wait around for somebody else to take us out on a date. Every single week there should be something that you and I are looking forward to. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money. In fact, a lot of the artist dates I've discovered are very inexpensive. I live in New Hampshire and there's a beautiful place in Hudson called Benson's. It used to be an animal farm and now it's just this gorgeous park. Costs zero dollars to go there and see the water and walk around. Go through your neighborhood. And just notice any of the pretty flowers or trees. But it also could cost a little bit of money. You go to that coffee shop you really like or go get a glass of wine in a beautiful place. In fact, that's the photo I'm going to share with this podcast is, I was able to be in a business class with one of the people I truly admire, Amy LaBelle, who owns, quite a few impressive businesses. Businesses in New Hampshire, I was in her business program with her and, on the last day of our business program, I went to LaBelle early and got myself my favorite wine, which is her cranberry Riesling and just sat in the sun and enjoyed it. So whether you spend a little bit, a lot, whatever, I love that my daughters will spend, you know, decent money going places and doing things and enjoying their one precious life. So those two podcasts recorded, I will make sure I link them in the notes. But today I want to talk about the basic principles of The Artist's Way. And so her first principle, is that creativity is the natural order of life. You and I were created to be creative. So I'd love, you know, whenever you're hearing this, go out and buy yourself some inexpensive art supply. You could buy Play Doh, you could get a fresh journal and just doodle, you could get some watercolor paints, you could, you know, make little objects out of clay and use it to put your rings in. Find a small way to be creative. Life is energy. And the more creative we are, the more we're going to connect to that vibrant energy. I think you and I were created to live a vibrant life. And so maybe you want to put pictures into a frame or you want to bake something beautiful. You want to put some flowers into a vase, find a way to go be creative because life is energy and creativity is the best, purest form of energy. There is point to an underlying creative force in all of life, including ourselves. Have you ever sat and watched a bee as it's, you know, getting the nectar from the flowers? Have you ever just watched birds make a nest? There's so much creativity to be found. And so creativity is an underlying force of life. And so that's what I hope this podcast just re inspires you to believe that your creativity matters, and we need to find an outlet for it so it can grow and develop. When we start to open ourselves to creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us. Isn't that a powerful thing for you to think that it's just a part of who you are? You are creative. Maybe you want to take some time and just organize a closet or a space. That's creativity. Maybe you want to write a poem or a song. It's worth taking the time to use your creativity because it's actually a gift that's been given to you. I think the more aligned we are, the easier it is to find our way back to this honest, creative version of ourselves. And again, it's going to look different for all of us. Some of us express our creativity through recipes, some through dance, some through painting, some through poetry. I don't know what it is for you, and you might not even know what it is for you, but it's worth taking the time to discover. When we are open to our creativity, we're opening ourselves to God. And at the cornerstone of who God is, God is love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness. gentleness. When you see that part of yourself, I think you're allowing yourself the gift of creativity in some form. When all of our life is filled with things that are urgent and responsibilities and we're not taking the time to pour first into our own selves, it is very hard to be patient and kind and gentle. And so that's why I'm offering this, that if we can discover this, we can become the people that I think we were meant to be. I spent too many years as a mom over giving, and then I was resentful and frustrated. And the people that I love the most did not get the most beautiful version of me. And so now I'm trying to learn to be a creative, aligned, energetic person, having the life experiences that I have. Some days are hard and some are easy, but together it makes a vibrant life. At the same time, allow the powerful transformations. And so the reason I offer group coaching is I think these life changing thoughts, feelings and actions require time and space and community. It's one thing to just read this list, to write it down even. It's another to take small daily practice steps in the right direction and become a different version of ourselves where we allow creativity to be a part of who we are. It is safe to open yourself to greater and greater creativity. I want you in our coaching program so that you can be surrounded by other people and you will feel held and safe enough to discover that part of you that makes your life so beautiful. And if you already know where it is, you're already aware, Hey, I'm a poet, I'm an artist. I love to make sure there's beautiful flowers inside and outside my home. I love to bake things and share them with my people. Whatever it is that you notice as your creativity, it's good for you to give yourself the time and the resources to enjoy that part of who you are. Our creative dreams come from a divine source. I noticed this in my own life. One of the greatest areas of creativity for me has been growing and developing this group coaching program. And I look back on my notes on these morning pages that I have over years and years, and I see alignment. I see the thoughts that I hadn't even ever thought are just a part of what my brain processes on repeat, because I've thought that so many times it's growing stronger and more and more true. And one of those true thoughts is I am creative! That's what I want to talk about today is the power of this book. I know if you've met anybody who's read it, they will tell you the same thing. It's an absolutely transformative book. Again, whenever you're hearing this, through the summer of 2024 we're going to take her 12 chapters go slowly through it, try to take out that little nugget that can apply. And the beauty of my coaching program is I record everything and then I have it available for you to listen to as it works for you. And my goal as a life coach is to offer a coaching program that is affordable for everyone. I think everybody needs somebody to help them notice what they're thinking, decide if that's the thought they want on repeat. allow the feelings that are flowing through our body and make the small decisions of aligned energy leading to action steps that are creating results that are important. So what's an important result for you as a creative person? Do you need more time? Do you need some more alone time? Or do you need time with people? Do you need maybe just to go out and buy yourself a fresh journal or a new set of paint? Or maybe some beautiful cinnamon to make some new cookies, whatever it is. I hope that you take the time today to grow in your creativity because you are worth it. You were created to be creative and to live a vibrant life. I look forward to connecting soon. Thank you for joining the live a vibrant life podcast. I hope our time together encouraged you and will equip you with the tools you need to move into the vibrant life you desire. I'm here to help you live a brave, creative, purpose filled life. And if you'd like to learn more, you can follow me on Instagram or Facebook, Kelly Tibbetts Life Coach, or visit my website, kellytibbitts.Com. I look forward to connecting again soon.