In WATER, my fourth novel, I describe my own dark night of the soul more than 25 years ago, and how finding my voice as a novelist and mystic helped pull me out of it.
Today, depression, and anxiety are skyrocketing as the world goes through an unprecedented shift.
Just as meditation, yoga and exercise can help during dark times, so too can a disciplined, ongoing creative practice.
Here are some tips for using your creativity to pull you back into the light.
1. Slow and steady wins the race. Set regular days and times aside for your creative practice. Over time that schedule will get locked into your psyche. Clients will call me to discuss their dark nights of the soul. I’ll ask them about their creative practice and sometimes they’ll answer, “Yeah, yeah, I did the ‘creativity’ thing last year. Been there. Done that.” That’s like saying, “I watered that plant a year ago, I don’t know why it’s dying!” It’s like going to the gym once a year and wondering why you haven’t built any muscles. You have to do a creative practice regularly for years to see real results. You have to build the muscle over time.
2. Paint the darkness. Write the darkness. I’m working on a young adult novel now called Indigo — and I’m folding in the wildfires into the narrative. I was evacuated one year ago this month as the Riverside Fire burned 276,000 acres of forestland. The way I deal with the emotions around this is to enfold it into the plot and characterization of my novels. To find poetry and soul amidst the destruction.
3. Creativity is so wonderful because it uses every emotion. You don’t have to have it together. You don’t have to look good. You can use every single emotion in the painting and in the writing. That’s why I love being an artist. No hiding.
4. Do your creative practice even if you feel like crap. You don’t have to feel good to do good art or writing. In fact, some of my best art comes when I feel horrible, broken open and raw.
5. Don’t think: What use is creativity now? You’re wrong. It’s of tremendous importance. Look at what happened with the pandemic. Where did people turn? To the artists, to the writers, to the filmmakers, to the actors — to Netflix and Hulu and Amazon Prime and Apple TV. Who created the content? Artists. Writers. Actors! Your craft is needed now more than ever. People need a soulful way to approach this chaos.
6. Many of us have more time now than ever before because of the pandemic. Look at the lockdown as a way to go deeply into yourself, find that creative spark, blow on it, nurture it, build it into a transformative force.
Want to know more about the dark night of the soul and creativity? Listen here to my conversation with Coach Ellen Newhouse.
Need more guidance? Besides ongoing book coaching, I offer all kinds of sessions to help you get back on track with your creativity. I’m passionate about helping people reconnect with their raw, passionate, innate creative power — because I know that CREATIVITY is the answer to all of the destruction we’re seeing. Contact me to set up your personalized creative healing session. Buy and read WATER here.
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A reminder that I’m now doing in-person healing sessions in my Oregon yurt, using tarot, shamanism and energy work. Please note that COVID distancing and hand sanitizing using organic sanitizer is available. Contact me if you’d like to come to the yurt, or if you’d like to work remotely. More info on the yurt sessions can be found here on my website.