Nurturing Our Creative Soul as Conscious Writers

Nurturing our creative soul as Conscious Writers involves frequently filling our inner creative well so that it never runs dry and always allows our creativity to flow freely.

Conscious Creativity teaches us to do this by connecting with the whole creative cycle, and honouring each and every phase.

Yet such an approach is rarely accepted as a valid use of our precious time. Instead we are drawn by the demands of contemporary life in the western world to busy ourselves with endless ‘doing’, and direct our energy exclusively outwards to support family and friends, earn our living, and maintain our personal space.

Whilst we all need to honour our commitments respectfully, let’s remember this process begins with honouring our commitments to ourselves.

In the fast lane of doing all that seems essential, we often forget to replenish our inner resources beyond basic recharging which sees us through to the next stint on the treadmill of activity.

As a result, our output frequently far outweighs the input so we end up feeling exhausted, empty, and eventually, resentful and unwell. No wonder creative dreams are so often unfulfilled!

Staying the Course

Engaging in any kind of creative project like writing a book entails having strength and stamina to say the course. Authorship is a big commitment and calls for us to be ready with fresh ideas and creative insights over relatively prolonged periods of time.

It is true that writing and publishing books can be done at an impressively fast rate these days. However, the more usual story is that it takes many months and often years to write and publish quality books that will stand the test of time.

Creativity is involved at every stage, including the birth of the book in the world and ensuring it ends up in the hands of interested readers. Authors need to maintain the momentum of spreading the word well beyond the initial launch if the book is to become fully established instead of sinking without trace.

Conscious Writing respects the duration of this journey and underlines the importance of how we get to our intended destination. From a holistic perspective, it is not enough to arrive regardless of the potential cost to ourselves and our creative outcome.

Consequently, as Conscious Writers we prioritize nurturing our creative soul right from the start and continue this practice along the way so our inner well remains topped up and available to feed whatever creative output is required.

Breathing In and Breathing Out

This approach echoes the understanding that conscious and creative living includes phases of ‘breathing in’ and ‘breathing out’. Here, the ‘in-breath’ signifies filling our creative well and receiving the inspiration to do our work; the ‘out-breath’ represents giving the fruits of the transformed essence away freely as we express ourselves creatively – on the page and in the world.

Nurturing our creative soul is also fundamental to developing and strengthening the new neural pathways we create in our brains to support all aspects of our creative expression.

The Four Phases of the Creative Cycle

Nature offers us a perfect example of the creative cycle. The seasons unfold through the year and reflect back to us the very flow of life itself.

The stillness of winter becomes the backdrop to the first shoots appearing in spring as the light and warmth of the sun create the right conditions for the natural world to awaken. The fullness of summer leads eventually to the harvest of autumn before the inevitable return to the sleeping winter state in advance of the cycle beginning again the following year.

These natural phases are all exquisitely related and flow effortlessly from one to the other in the cycle of life, death and rebirth.

1. Stillness, Silence, Space and Solitude

In creative terms, stillness, silence and space are powerful gateways to presence and the deep authentic part of ourselves that is naturally creative. So it comes as no surprise that the true creative impulse originates here just like the perennial seeds which require the harsh conditions of winter to germinate.

Our most original creative insights arise from the still depths which lie beyond the intellectual workings of the everyday self. This occurs whether or not we are consciously aware of it, and naturally signifies the starting point for the creative cycle which returns again and again to this quantum level of infinite possibility.

2. Inspiration

The first spark of the creative fire to arrive in our conscious awareness is the initial flash of inspiration which reflects the early flowers of spring emerging from the bare winter soil. When we feel inspired and in touch with our muse, we effortlessly transcend our everyday self and sense unlimited potential from our ignited view.

3. Imagination

As the smouldering blaze burns ever more brightly, our imagination is activated; ideas are developed and details are added to bring the colours, shape and texture of our inspiration into full bloom like a magnificent array of summer flowers.

4. Creative Expression

As the wheel turns, our creative harvest becomes visible as our words meet the page and the autumn fruits show up in linguistic form.

Here we continue to play with essence and form, back and forth; dipping in and out of earlier phases of inspiration and imagination in a creative dance… until we sense the deepest resonance – the moment when our writing fits seamlessly with its subject as if it is one facet of a fractal whole.

Then we stop, return to stillness, and breathe in deeply before the cycle begins again.

1. Stillness, Silence
Space, Solitude
WINTER

4.Creative Expression                                                   2.Inspiration
AUTUMN                                                                            SPRING

3.Imagination
SUMMER

The Four Phases of the Creative Cycle

Giving ourselves permission to slow down enough to connect fully with each phase of the creative cycle is one of many significant thresholds we need to cross on our way to becoming fully fledged Conscious Writers.

In the process, we learn to live the reality that Gandhi summed up so well, ‘There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.’