In this season of giving, what will you give to your creativity?

It is the season for giving and for celebration. Each year, I seek to make the holiday season less frantic and calmer. I decline to do things that don’t really add to my experience of the season. I expect less of myself. I simplify. Yes, I will be together with folks I care about, and yes, there will be simple presents. I will continue to feed the wild birds, and I will provide a gift for a local child in need. I will look up into the cold night sky and admire the beautiful stars. In itself this approach to the season is a gift to me and to my family. When I am with family, I am really there. I’m not over tired or stressed.

But there is a deeper gift I seek from myself; a gift to my muse; a gift to my creativity. It is not something that can be wrapped. It is the gift of respect and appreciation. As I respect my creativity, I create time and space for my art. It comes in near the top of my list, along with breathing, and eating and sleeping. It is no longer near the bottom of my list, after cleaning the bathroom. As I appreciate my creativity, I am more open to experimentation, knowing I will find my way. With increased appreciation, I trust in my process, and know that I create from my powerful center. My art needs to be in the world, and I must make it so.

What gifts will you give your creativity this season?

Creating in Our Own Authentic Voice

One day not so long ago I was walking back to the house from the studio, a walk of about only 80 feet. It had been a pretty good day in the studio. I had been making collage, painting papers, tearing edges, arranging shapes, and gluing pieces down. What was appearing on the paper was something I had never seen before, and it looked good, really good. And it was unique. And I knew that through my work I was speaking about breathing room, and calmness, and the state of being. The work I did that day was fresh, clean and strong. I was feeling very satisfied.

As I walked back to the house I was carrying my bucket of dirty brushes in one hand and my tea mug in the other, as the studio is unfinished and has no running water yet. I suddenly stopped and had an epiphany. I was truly speaking in my own authentic creative voice! Gosh, I thought, this feels so good, why would anyone try and speak in someone else’s voice? That was when I decide to really zero in on the process of becoming an artist and creative person with a unique and very authentic expression. My curiosity was piqued. What is the whole process of becoming someone who can and does express herself uniquely, and from her own truth? Hence, my current focus is on authenticity in the creative process. How do we get there? What is the process, and how can we enhance that uniqueness, that authenticity in our expression? What is the value of authentic expression?

What ever it is we are currently doing it is a step on the path. What ever it is you and I are creating today, it is the way we deepen own unique creative voice. Michelangelo said David was already in the marble, the artist just chipped away the excess to reveal the statue. As well our voices and our authenticity are with us right now, we just have to tune in more clearly, and allow the flow.

The landscape listens and we hear it call our own name. – Emily Dickinson

Tell Your Inner Critic “Shhh! I’ve Got My Work To Do!"

If you do anything but what you want to do the inner critic wins.

The following is an article from my new Creativity Newsletter. You can sign up to receive my newsletter here, no strings attached. I love writing encouraging articles for those of us who love to create!

What would your creativity be if you heard less from your inner critic, and danced more often with your muse?

Many people identify that their inner critical voice is relentless in chattering away, finding fault, disapproving, fussing and nitpicking at all we are and do. All topic areas seem to be open to the inner critic - the way we keep our space, manage our resources like time and money, the amount of work we produce, the quality of work we produce, even predicting the response of other people to what we do. On any given day the inner critic might not like what we are creating, what we are wearing, how we look, or what we eat. And most ravaging of all, the inner critic knows our sensitive sweet spot, and will target right in on our creative efforts.

Just writing that paragraph I can feel the weight of the critic sitting on my shoulder. I can feel myself start to sink down, and get smaller. Oh, that critic, she thrives on attention. The more she gets the more she wants. She has an unending supply of things to say, things to keep safe and tight, ways to be small and in apparent (false) control.

Before we give this critic any more fuel, let us step back a moment. Let’s prepare ourselves. Take a few slow deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Now, invite the critic to go somewhere – somewhere that will entice the critic. Perhaps she would like to be outside at the patio table with a comfortable seat and a nice cold beverage, reading a good book. Or send her off to the beach, to walk on the sandy shore and collect things. You decide, and then close your eyes for a moment and send her a heartfelt invitation to go. Make the destination enticing enough that she will really want to be there.

All right. Now that the critic is occupied elsewhere, let’s talk about this dysfunctional relationship - a relationship you would most like to change. We need to keep in mind that the only person we can change is our self. That means we can change our response to the critic.

Remembering that your critical inner voice is currently otherwise engaged, recall times you have faced challenge, done what was called for and landed on your feet. Recall times when life dished you up a lot, all at once. You came out the other side O.K. Perhaps you put your head down and your shoulder to the issue or issues. Perhaps you came up with an ingenious curative solution to the problem you were facing. The point is, you made it through those challenges.

The first thing to do when quieting the inner critical voice inside of you is to be well armed; not with weapons of mass destruction, but with a strongly worded antidote. From your recall of times when you have persevered, met adversity and done well or ingeniously found a creative solution, form a strong statement.

Life can be really difficult, but I always come out on top.

Challenges can seem really big, but I always do what needs to be done to take care of the situation.

The going can get hard, but I am tough and I do make good decisions and come out O.K.

This is your statement. Spend some time working it out. Make it short but very strong. Make it true. Then own it. Write it down. Keep it handy. When the self doubt starts to rise up, when the inner critical voice starts to weasel into the soft underbelly of your vulnerability, take out your statement. The true statement about you and your power. Read it out loud to yourself. Post it where you see it - in your car, on the mirror where you get ready for the day, in your studio, anywhere you are going to see it regularly.

Congratulations! You now have two tools for quieting the inner critical voice. You can send her away to an enticing spot, away from where you are working. You can use your personal strength statement to remind yourself who you really are, and that you do have incredible power. The more you practice these skills the more the inner critic will become quiet.

It takes time for new behaviors to take root and become second nature. I have developed a work shop of eight weeks duration which will begin soon. It will be group interaction by phone and on the internet, where we will share successes, art, ideas and thoughts. If you would like to learn to apply these skills as well as others to quiet your inner critical voice, increase your creative time management and dance with your muse, please send me an email to coach leslie at olypen (dot) com (remove the spaces), and I will let you know the details.

Small group coaching is affordable and effective to develop new intentions, skills and behaviors that support your creativity. My clients have said “What has surprised me in this work is how soon a connection with someone half way across the world was made and allowed us to just begin. Magical as it may sound, the conversation contained all the nuances, pregnant pauses and laughter that would have occurred if we had been talking in the same room. It felt like the most natural conversation in the world. In addition, the power of this work has shaken and energized me into stepping forward, at ease with myself."

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. – Anais Nin

Being Creative

There is no higher calling than to be your self. It is what the universe wants of you. It is the work you have been given to do. And the universe is reaching out to you day and night to help you be just that – your self.

Pause a moment. Breathe that in. Your work is to be your self.

Move past doubts and fears, past the voice of your inner critic to the full passionate expression of your own authentic creative voice. Move to the place of being human – you. It is not about what you are doing, it is about who you are being. We need you. We need to hear your voice.

Ahh. That place of being has real breathing room, room for exploration, curiosity, authenticity and awareness. There is room and time here for you, your art, your writing, and your self.

My passion is for every creative person to speak in their own authentic creative voice. This vision is powerful for me because I can sense the profound impact these voices have in the world. Your voice, my voice, each voice. Positive creative energy creates momentum for more positive creative energy. Creating a piece of writing, a poem, an iconic photograph or a painting is as beneficial as any other humanitarian act because it resonates with the humming of the universe. It brings up positive energy from the deep well. Others are encouraged by your creativity.

If you are struggling with full expression of your creativity, there is help. What I offer is a small group to address issues of quieting the inner critical voice, and claiming fully your time to create. Overcoming these barriers to expressing your creative gift and doing your work is the focus of my coaching practice. This work is my passionate expression of who I am as a creative person. Coaching is part of my work. Coaching is part of who I am. And I love to coach!

If you are interested in reading positive articles on nurturing creativity, consider signing up for my newsletter. I will issue this letter about every three weeks, and send it directly to your inbox. There are no strings attached. My letter will be more in depth than a typical blog post. If you enjoyed reading about the Big Rocks Theory of Time Management you will likely enjoy the newsletter. My newsletter is for creative people who enjoy reading inspiring and thought provoking words about the creative process. Sign up here. The next issue is about quieting your inner critical voice.

If you are interested in joining a small group addressing the issues of time management and quieting the inner critic, please send me an email. This group is currently forming and will run for 8 weeks. This group will consist of weekly group phone calls, and internet postings of work and thoughts. As long as you have access to a phone and the internet you can participate from anywhere. It is full of information and exercises designed to help you create to your fullest potential, get the upper hand on your inner critical voice and take charge of your creative time. Group work is affordably priced and provides you an opportunity to experience some of the positive benefits of coaching.

For highly focused individual coaching work to propel you forward creatively, contact me for information about individual coaching. I can be reached at (remove the spaces) coach leslie at olypen.com.

One of my clients recently said “Coaching has brought me right up close to a vision of a creative life that had previously felt tantalizingly just out of my reach and always blurred around the edges. What has changed is that I'm now in touch with this vision, not just as a possibility, but as a vivid daily reality. I have made a shift in my belief - a shift that has quite literally moved me.”

Life is daily. Live it creatively!

Five Ways to Move Past a Creative Block

Every so often I find myself at a loss for words or the ability to put something meaningful down on my painting surface. Yikes! This doesn’t feel very good! Having just talked myself through a recent bout, I offer here five ways that can help you through a block and out the other side back to your creativity.

Relax. Relax is number one because from a place of anxiety or worry we don’t have flow. Once on a retreat weekend we were handed little thermometers to hold between our thumbs and forefingers. The higher the temperature reading, the more we were in flow of the mind body connection. One woman had a low reading, and being a compliant person, she wanted to “improve” her reading. So she squeezed. Harder. H-a-r-d-e-r. And her number went down. She inadvertently had the opposite effect by trying harder. So relax, breathe and become curious about your temporary block.

Move. One way to get our creative voices coming in loud and clear is to move the big muscles of our bodies; dance, walk, run, do yoga, twirl. When our circulation is increased, our hearts and brains experience the flow at a higher level, creating just the kind of environment our muse likes.

Sleep on it. Creativity loves a healthy, well rested person. When our self care is positive and supportive – good diet, exercise and quality rest the muse will come calling. Actually my muse insists I am well rested. If I am tired, I am not creative. Period.

Listen. Be open and curious to the visits of your muse. If we are relaxed, flowing and receptive our intuition will whisper to us; perhaps in that space of time between sleep and wakefulness, or while you are in the shower or washing the dishes. Be silent and listen to your intuition. If we are in an attitude of gratitude and openness, the flow will happen.

Extend an invitation to your muse. State your open invitation by writing it down in your journal, or in an email to yourself, or out loud. Once you have issued the invitation make sure the door is open. Be at the ready – keep a notebook and pen handy. Use the voice recorder on your cell phone as you walk. Send yourself an email. If you record your thoughts and ideas you create an open channel and more will come to you.

There are many more tips one could identify to help move past a time of creative block. Leave a comment if you are so inclined and share your ways to move past a block. The point is it may be more about who we are being, rather than what we are doing.

Why I am a Coach

As I launch this coaching blog as a companion to my art blog, I think about all that has brought me to this point in my life. My love of life. My love of art and the creative process. My absolute delight in seeing the creations of others. My enjoyment of people. The joy I take in the success people can experience when they stretch and grow. My deep sense of compassion and honor for my fellow human beings and creative souls.

I have also been propelled along to this point by making choices; saying “yes” to good training experiences, “yes” to making a choice for a b-i-g goal, and following though with all that it entails to reach a goal. I have said “yes” to investing in myself.

I have said “yes” to working with mentors and guides who have wisdom to share. I have traveled both literally and figuratively to this point, along highways and intercity streets, through airports and across time zones and weather changes. I have said “yes” to learning, “yes” to more, and “yes” to a better fitting life.

My passion for this work has been the fuel for this journey, along with the sure knowledge that the world is ready for a change. The world needs positive, creative passion to be expressed fully –yours and mine. The world needs creative energy to problem solve, to connect people all across the globe, to bring us into balance with our environment, our fellow human beings and to celebrate the delight that living on this planet and in this time can be.

The rewards I am experiencing are great. I have connected with many individuals in a variety of corners of the world. I have had the pleasure of watching as my clients’ visions expand, goals have been set, and success reached. My clients have done substantive work, and have been rewarded for that work. I applaud them all for reaching out, seeking their true vision, and doing the challenging work necessary to get what they really want. I am honored to be your coach.