Carry Me Home to Myself

I was recently at a drumming workshop (I am a rank beginner, but it was an amazing experience) and we worked with a song called
"Spirit of the Wind" (Perhaps you know it?)

Spirit of the Wind, carry me.
Spirit of the Wind, carry me home.
Spirit of the Wind, carry me home to myself.

Spirit of the Fire, my heart's true desire.
Spirit of the Flame, tell me my name.
Spirit of the Wind, carry me home to myself.

Spirit of the Storm, help me be reborn.
Spirit of the Rain, wash away my pain.
Spirit of the Wind, carry me home to myself.

Spirit of the Earth, lead me to rebirth.
Spirit of the Land, hold me in your hand.
Spirit of the Wind, carry me home to myself.

I thought, creativity is like the wind, carried on the wind, born in the fire, washed up on the shores of our
consciousness by storms, washed by the rains, warmed by the sun that leads us to our true self and thus carries us home.

And then I came across the wonderful John O'Donohue quote:
"A good story knows more than its teller" and I thought yes, that is so!

Creativity gives birth to our deepest longings; it is through our writing and our characters that we speak our truths often without knowing they are our truths.
Creativity is born of our hunger to lead the authentic life and drives us to take the risks demanded of the creative journey. It feeds
the passion of our writing and frees us to know a deeper self that we might not uncover otherwise.

As creative people, we experience the deeper reality of the invisible world. These soul
knowings, whether conscious or unconscious, at times keep us afloat and at other times draw us ecstatically into the dance.
And so what calls us is also the beauty of our self resplendent in the home of self.

A New Message from the Muse

“A good story knows more than its teller.”

John O’Donohue

Ten Tips on Creativity

Ten Tips on Creativity by Emily Hanlon

1. Don’t think. Creating a story or book has little to do with the intellect or language when we first begin. Our best ideas will emerge as a spark or image. Like dreams, they will make little sense. Followed, they will hold the key to the creative unconscious.

2. Creativity is cyclical. You cannot and will not be creative all the time. What is full must empty and what is empty will fill. Creativity has its own internal rhythms. Learn to listen to yours.

3. Nothing kills creativity faster than criticism. Don’t share your work-in-progress with people who are critical or those whose opinions leave you vulnerable, no matter how much you love them. Good critiquing should leave you inspired, not deflated.

4. Spend time listening to your inner critic. He or she is not comfortable with the risks demanded by a creative endeavor. By becoming aware of the foul jabber of your inner critic, you can see how your own mind puts up roadblocks to your creativity.

5. Being a creator is risky business. Don’t underestimate the tremendous emotional and psychic risks the journey demands. Learn to push ahead even when you are afraid. Learn to love the risk.

6. Don’t be afraid to fail. Every successful creator has failed hundreds of times. Failure is an integral part of creativity. It doesn’t mean you’re wrong or stupid. It only means you’ve uncovered a path or technique that does not work.

7. Don’t be afraid to write garbage. Every successful writer writes mounds of garbage. Give your work time to percolate. Play the What If game. For example, if you’re writing fiction and a characters is sweet and loving and you’re stuck, have the character mean and hateful. In the world of the imagination, anything can happen.

8. Nurture your creativity. It is as fragile as a budding flower. Open to the dance. Listen to music that makes you feel like flying. Go for a walk. Laugh with a friend, child or lover. Creativity is about feeling.

9. Be passionate. Creativity is passionate. Passion is always creative.

10. Learn your craft. And write, write, write! The more you write, the better you will get. Discipline yourself. Successful writers are disciplined writers.

©Ten Tips on Creativity, Emily Hanlon 1995-2004.
Ten Tips on Creativity may be be copied and used on other websites only after advising Emily Hanlon.
Credit must be given to Emily Hanlon with a link back to her website: www.thefictionwritersjourney.com

Explore Emily's other website: www.awritersretreat.com

These Ten Tips on Creativity were taken from Emily Hanlon's The Art of Fiction Writing . .

A fabulous new Message from the Muse

I just came across this in John O'Donohue's book, Anam Cara. It made me ache for its beauty....

"The imagination loves symbol because it recognizes that inner divinity can only find expression in symbolic form. The symbol never gives itself completely to the light. It invites thought precisely because it resides on the threshold of darkness. Through the imagination, the soul creates and constructs your depth experience. Imagination is the most reverent mirror of the inner world."

John O’Donohue