I wrote the following in response to a friend’s question about how to proceed with her creative life and “make it work.” They seemed pretty applicable, so I share them here.
These questions are meant to help you align your various energies and express yourself energetically (mentally/emotionally/spiritually) in a clear, light, and joyful way. They are designed to center you in your higher purpose without apology and with an open heart, knowing/trusting that your (he)art is doing exactly what it needs to contribute to the world in a way that will be received by those who need/want it most.
1. How would you sum up the purpose of your work as a whole? This is the central question. If you cannot immediately answer, consider working on it gradually, let the meaning and form come on its own through your artful invitation/engagement (e.g., dream, dance, sing, journal…) rather than push it out. It might help to skip to the questions below and come back to this one to continue refining it.
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2. How do/will others benefit from your work — both specifically (materially-concretely) and generally (energetically-emotionally-spiritually)? Where is your work as a whole meant to take people? Let this one come from a relaxed and open brainstorm rather than from an intense or effortful mind.
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3. What is the “energy” behind and within your various works as a whole – color, shape/image, vibration, sound, taste, size, weight, temperature, etc.? It might be helpful to draw or paint this one, again free-form. As you tune into these, let the forms evolve and listen to them.
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4. What energy do you manifest when you carry your work into the world? Do you expect to be received, heard, appreciated, celebrated? Do you have fear? Anxiety? Pride? Something else? If you have fear or hesitation of any kind, it would be helpful to undertake practices to release these (i.e., accept/embrace and evolve the contracted egoic parts), and also meditation in order to disidentify from the patterns, and to center and stabilize the mind .
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5. If you could only do one thing, what would it be? What makes your heart sing most? Which activity would you find the most difficulty letting go of as an expression of your true self/gift/connection to the world? What is important about that activity? Why?