Whenever I’ve taught any type of art class or any version of Julia Cameron’s seminal book “The Artist’s Way” I hear a common mantra. I’ll ask students to share who they are and why they are in class, and one of the first things that they will say is “I’m not creative, or I’m not good at art”. It’s heartbreaking to hear anyone say that out loud to me it’s the equivalent of calling yourself stupid.

Most of us are clear on the difference between artist and creative, yet many of us still conflate the two words. They are very different and I believe that every single one of us is creative, it takes many forms like cooking meals, putting together a well-thought-out outfit, creating a beautiful PowerPoint presentation, planning a special event with extra attention to the details of the experience, to a very readable spreadsheet for a budget meeting and maybe even a try at a watercolor painting. Creativity is always accessible to us.

Nature itself is pure creativity. Every single mother has created something, a child. Your being alive and walking this earth is a result of an act of creation on the part of your parents. You are the end result of your parent’s act of co-creation.

It’s worth pausing and asking yourself, when did you start believing that the process of creating wasn’t for you? When did you start believing that you weren’t allowed to paint, dance, write, create delicious meals, or knit a cute beanie? When did you start believing that what you created had to look a certain way or fit into a certain box for you to be able to call yourself creative?

Now take another pause and ask yourself, when did you start judging what you created? Was it school that told you your creation wasn’t worthy, a teacher, a boss, a well-meaning friend, or parent? When did you start believing that creativity or art were not for you?

Creativity is

• An energy in all of us.
• Our true nature, it’s how we express ourselves or express love for each other and the world.
• Magic, a channel to the divine.
• Mystical
• Love

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I believe that

• Creativity is generosity. Generosity to ourselves, to others, and to our connection with the divine.
• Creativity begets creativity.
• Giving ourselves time and space to create is imperative to the development of our souls and the journey of our souls.
• We are often afraid to allow ourselves the act of creating because somewhere deep inside us we know it is a portal, a door to our true selves our intuition, a spiritual door to our higher power.
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If you intentionally create you open a sacred door, and once you open that door it can not be closed. You can not unring the bell. You can not unsee what comes up when you create. Intentional creativity unlocks inner knowings, longings, dreams, and silent prayers.

If you give yourself permission to start to play creatively, especially as a woman it can feel dangerous. It feels dangerous because creating allows you to tap into your own power and knowing. It’s why your inner critic rears its ugly head when you create. When creating unlocks your inner power your inner critic (an extension of your ego) gets very loud because it wants to keep you safe. To your ego and inner critic your inner power can feel like you’re wielding a chainsaw. And even though a chainsaw is an incredibly useful tool it’s not safe if not handled properly. Your ego doesn’t want you to lose a limb.

When we create the inner critic whispers “You’re not good at this”, “You’re not an artist”, and “What makes you think you’re creative”, not because those things are true, just the opposite. Your inner critic is lying to you because it knows if you start creating and like it, even a little bit, you’re opening Pandora’s box.

Opening this box doesn’t mean you have to blow up your current life and throw away everything you’ve built. What it means is that you will now need to nurture the part of you that is a creator, nurture the part of you that holds creative power and allows you to communicate with the divine. This is why we are terrified to own our creative selves.

Your inability to own your creative side is a desire to keep your inner power, intuition, and knowing in hiding. It’s a way to stay small and safe.

Writing Prompts:

1. Make a list of all of the things you tell yourself about your creativity (good or bad).
2. What do you believe creativity is? Define it.
3. Make a list of what you believe about creativity.

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Then reply to this post and let me know if anything I wrote resonates or feels true to you.