Ep #94: Creativity Through Consciousness

A desire to get out of one’s own way and to have the innate genius or higher creativity flow through you is a desire of many creatives, whether you identify as an artist or not. It’s a theme I talk about a lot on this podcast and with my Art School clients and private clients. And I’ve said before on this podcast, and in the Art School that the opposite of self-consciousness is not a lack of self-consciousness so much as it is consciousness.

And what does this have to do with creativity? Well, creativity thrives in the absence of self-consciousness. And this is because creativity flows from consciousness. So, how do we cultivate this highly creative way of being where we’re not stuck in self-consciousness, we don’t get mired down in patterns of self-doubt or self-defeating, self-destructive behaviors or thoughts or actions, but instead, we cultivate a way of being that is extraordinarily creative, resilient, and flows?

You are listening to The Art School Podcast; a show for artists and creatives who want to become the next greatest version of themselves. Learn how to cultivate an extraordinary way of being and take the mystery out of making money, and the struggle out of making art. Here is your host, master certified life coach, artist, and former lawyer, Leah Badertscher.

Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Art School Podcast. First of all, I have to say, I am sending love to California and everyone there affected by the wildfires. I have clients there. I know I have Art School Podcast listeners there. So, we are wrapping you in good intentions and prayers for your safety and for the safety of your neighbors, loved ones, homes, and also for those first responders and firemen, everyone that is working to keep those communities safe and preserve what they can preserve. So, thinking of you all.

And then also, lots of love to those in Iowa and Illinois that were affected – there was some devastating damage done by storms last week. I am from Iowa, so I’ve seen and known a lot of people who just experienced tremendous loss and fortunately not the loss of life, but nonetheless, tremendous damage to property, farmland, and crops. And so, again, our hearts and prayers go out to them.

We had storms here in Michigan, but fortunately we missed the worst of it. and today is really a beautiful day here in Michigan, a beautiful summer August day. So, if you are needing some calm beautiful summer day vibes, I’m sending them out to you. The sun’s shining. The trees are green. We moved over our chicken coop from the old farmhouse and so we have lots of happy hens clucking around in the trees out there, so far hiding from the hawk. So, let’s just hope that continues.

And our prairie right now is glorious. A lot of people have asked, what do you do with 40 acres? And it’s funny, because I think if you grew up on a farm, it doesn’t seem like an astronomical amount of land when you are just used to having a lot of space around you. But I get it if you didn’t grow up with that. And it’s a good question too.

So, there was, when we first purchased this farm in 2013, there were about 30 tillable acres. So, that means it was being farmed. And since then, there’s still some of it that is farmed. Probably about 10 acres. And then about 20 acres, we have put into what’s called a CRP, a conservation reclamation program. And we planted it in native wildflowers and grasses.

A couple of years ago, my mom was out here and she helped us with that. So, we had a few adept tractor drivers, which helps when you’re covering that much ground with tiny seed. We for sure didn’t do that by hand. That’s another question we get a lot. But it is really magical and it’s fun to see the waves of different flowers that come up and for us to learn the names and the Latin names, if we don’t know them already.

We have planted so many trees. And by we, I mean mostly my husband. He is the tree-planter around here. He is a college professor by day and loves to do manual labor. Still a farm boy at heart. So, he is awesome about doing all those things. And we’ve planted probably over 100 trees now on this property cumulatively since we’ve lived here. And probably more than that because for sure 50 just within the last year.

I think I mentioned we planted an orchard when my mom was here too and we’re looking forward to gardens. So really, our long-term vision is turning this into a garden-like setting and I have my visions of that. My husband has his visions of that. And I have my vision too of my dream studio out back and he has his of his barn, which I would love a barn too. Above where the haymow would be, we are going to put a basketball court for this cold Midwestern winters so we can have family hoops up there. And when COVID is over, invite friends over for pickup games and have a gym out there. and my husband is going to have his workshop and tractors and stuff beneath.

So, all of that, just to share a little bit about what’s going on, on the farm around there. Because so many of you – I didn’t realize there would be so much curiosity about what one does with 40 acres or why you’d want to opt to live on a farm. And I love it. It just gets in your blood, I think, growing up with this. And it feels like a great place to put roots down. And for sure, we love this space for our family and sharing it with friends.

So, on with today’s episode. Because, as promised, I am here to help you with your creativity and to help you thrive and to help you meet all of your creative dreams and then go beyond. And it’s also been fun to feel like I have a relationship with many of you from how you write in or having become members of the Art School.

And so, I think in those organic relationships that happen, I think it’s natural to share some of these aspects of sort of behind the scenes looks at life. Because I definitely want to walk my talk about cultivating a way of being that is really aligned with your values and the way you love your life as much the part of the dream as a one-time achievement or creation of things or number in a bank account or whatever it is.

And my way of being is very much nourished by nature and by certain aspects of home. and so, I do share some things about that, and family on my Instagram account. Because I’m an artist, I’m a writer, I’m a coach, obviously a podcast creator and coach. I’m an entrepreneur. And I’m also a mother and I’m also an athlete and I’m also a wife and I’m also a friend and I also love to cook and I also love to garden.

And it’s looking at the person, the thriving creative as the whole person. Which is really relevant to the tool I’m going to share with you in a little bit. So, let’s back up to how I introduced this podcast with the intro about how creativity really thrives when there is a lack of self-consciousness. Creativity really flows.

And it seems we all have a pretty innate natural understanding of that, but can get bottlenecked or frustrated with, “But how do you do that?” So, the tool I want to share with you today is, again, one of those things that seems so simple that people doubt it, they discount it, and they don’t do it.

But what it is, is an awareness-raising tool and what happens when you raise your awareness is that you raise your consciousness. And the more you can raise your consciousness, then the more things that were problems before either seem to dissolve, or the more you have access to a higher level of thinking, a different way of looking at things.

As Albert Einstein said, “The level of thinking or consciousness that’s required to solve the problem or find a solution is not the same level of thinking or consciousness that created the problem.” So, how do you make that shift? There are many ways of going about it. And I am particularly interested in a kind of creativity that addresses all of the ways.

I’m not solely a cerebral intellectual person. I am not solely a technique person. I like thinking about this as the human being as a whole; physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, relational. As you’ve heard me say before, if it’s spiritual but not pragmatic, to me it’s not spiritual. But if it’s pragmatic and not spiritual, to me it’s not spiritual either. So, this tool I think really addresses all of these aspects.

And again, keep an open mind and don’t discount it if it sounds too simple. The bulk of this tool, I learned from a dear friend and mentor of mine, Dr. Molly Marti. You’ve heard me talk about Molly on previous episodes. Molly was the one that introduced me to Dr. Tererai Trent and Molly is long overdue, if you’re listening, Molly, to be a guest on this podcast. But she is currently writing a book, not to mention leading international organizations, consulting – I can’t even mention all the places and people she consults for. But she’s quite the individual.

And so, when she introduces a tool to me – and it wasn’t only to me. It was for one of the organizations that she founded that, at the time, I had been serving as their creative director, the National Resilience Institute. And so, when we would come together, those of us working for NRI or when we would come together and have a board meeting, we used this tool called PIES.

And what it was, each individual would do a check in. And PIES is an acronym. It stands for physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual. And I should back up for a moment and say that Molly is not only a lawyer but she also has her Ph.D. in psychology and she is the consummate researcher, scholar, and an expert on resilience and wholeness. So, this tool comes from the best and it was used in an organization, the National Resilience Organization, which then became the International Resilience Organization.

And so, this is what we used as a group, as an organization at our meetings and at our board meetings. And each individual would do a check in. And what it is, is you go through PIES. And you can think of it like a pie. And each of these slices is a different area within yourself.

You are the whole, but it’s checking in with these different aspects of yourself, asking yourself, how do I feel physically? Have I been tired lately? How’s my energy? Have I been getting enough sleep, eating activity? And then intellectual, how’s my intellectual life? Emotional, how am I feeling emotionally? How have I been? And spiritual.

So, it is a simple tool of self-assessment and check in. But it’s amazing how much information this little tool yields in a short period of time. And it was also such a gift in an organization like this to keep us connected and abreast of how our colleagues were doing and where they stood. Because the health and resilience of any community, obviously, stems from the health and the resilience of the individuals.

And so, you can use this tool in community. And it’s one that I’ve introduced in the mastermind and that we will be using in the Art School. And it’s also one that I’ve added my own aspect on at the end, a twist, that I call the W for the wildcard. Because what I’ve found is that this is not only an excellent tool for self-reflection and it raises your awareness. But by this act which seems so simple again but profound, of raising your awareness, it’s a conversation starter between you, your mind, and your deep self.

And you’re taking time to give your own precious self precious attention and to ask questions and listen. So, again, you do this on a community level, but you also do this with yourself. Part of the cornerstone of the work we do in the Art School is cultivating this deeper relationship with yourself. Because I know cultivating that way of being where you are out of self-consciousness, you’re out of your head but you’re coming from the deepest aspect of yourself and you’re strong and you’re flowing, that comes from building a healthier more resilient relationship with yourself.

That’s how you get out of your own way. And when you raise your awareness, it doesn’t make you self-absorbed or neurotic. It actually does the opposite. When you’re giving yourself a high quality of attention, you don’t have to do this self-obsession or the obsessive thinking that can go on that is the hallmark of self-consciousness or self-conscious patterns of thought.

So, this one little tool, it raises the quality of your relationship with yourself because it raises the quality of your awareness. It raises the quality of the conversation that you’re having with yourself. And it raises maybe your awareness that you are having a conversation with yourself and that there is a voice in there between your mind that thinks and the I am, the consciousness, that’s ongoing and it just makes you aware of that so you can get some separation between who you are and the mind, the part that thinks, that’s generating those 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day.

Again, this tool will raise the quality of your awareness, and I promise you, raise the quality of your awareness and you will raise the quality of your life. And not from a place of having to effort or do more or accomplish more, but simply by raising the quality of your awareness by engaging in a higher quality conversation, reflection with yourself.

And so, onto the W part, which I added. Because what I noticed, after taking this practice and then integrating it into my own daily life, and into my work, a lot of times which is solo as an artist or an entrepreneur, is that places that had felt like problems or if I had been feeling bound up or just overwhelmed or overcome with some sort of emotion that was not an expansive emotion, but I was feeling limited or stuck in some way.

I would do this assessment tool and a lot of times find that just by having the conversation with myself and raising my awareness and looking from a non-judgmental, compassionate, curious place, from the place of the observer, the watcher, about what was going on with me, a lot of times those difficult things, those negative things, those limiting stuck contracting sort of feelings would dissipate or dissolve.

And other times, well that happened. And what also could happen was that I did definitely fee; that just the quality of my mind changed and the quality of my state of being changed and I felt more connected, more open, and I felt more creative and more trusting and I could tell that the quality of my thinking and my creativity had changed.

And so, again, after doing this over and over again and applying it in my studio, or when working on my business, or before a coaching call, you know, with a client when I wanted to get out of my own head and out of my way and be present for my client, I would do this and find, gosh, I feel so much more connected to who I really am. I feel so much more present and like I come from the core of my being and I am not in my head, overthinking things, or judging myself as I’m coaching, or as I am painting or drawing or writing.

So then, I started to become more intentional, more deliberate about using this as a tool to tap into my intuition and to strengthen my connection to consciousness and to open my channel and clear the way for a higher quality of thought, for creativity. And that’s when I decided to add this next element, the W for wildcard.

Because after checking in with the physical, the intellectual, the emotional, the spiritual, I always felt like then I had come to this place where I felt more centered, more open, more expansive, again, more intuitive, more tapped in, more alive, more like myself, less in my head. And so, it seemed like the perfect place then to leverage that while standing there and saying, you know, what else is there? Is there anything else that wants to be known to me, from the deepest aspect of me?

Or from wherever it comes, whether it’s God, the universe, your higher self, something bigger than you, life force. And I was open to that. And be open to a wildcard, to receiving a message or a knowing that maybe I’m not expecting, that maybe doesn’t fit into one of those categories so neatly, doesn’t fit precisely into a category like physical, intellectual, emotional, or spiritual. But to be open.

Because oftentimes, what comes in comes in the form of an image or a symbol. And it’s not something your rational analytical mind can draw a straight line from to say, this goes into his category, or this is why you’re receiving this image. But it’s you’re being open to whatever and then doing with that information what you may.

One example of the message I received was I kept getting the same one about dance. And I thought, “Well, I guess that could be physical, but it’s not something when I did my physical check in, it didn’t come up. But it came up more through this wildcard.”

And the long story short, then following through on that and going to dance and going through the months of feeling terrible at it, it was so healing for me on so many levels and so enriching and has impacted so many areas of my life in a positive way, my coaching, my art. And I for sure learned how to blast through money blocks and underearning obstacles with the metaphor, but also like the literal experience of dance, that I wasn’t able to learn from in traditional formats, like finance courses or online marketing courses or learning how to do funnels or this way or that.

So, something within me knew there was so much available through this very unexpected route and then also, I’ve started writing, I think it’s a manuscript, or maybe it’s a screenplay. But anyway, it is a whole lot of damn fun. A story about a studio and women who come together and dance, all ages of life. And possibly it’s even a musical. But it has been such an invigorating, fun project.

I have used it with my commission aspect of my business for art too. As some of you know, I’m not taking commissions right now. So, hold off on that. But I had a thriving commission practice for my art and I did a lot of intuitive commissions for people.

So, other than if they absolutely did not want, let’s say, butterflies in their painting – that was one request one time, no butterflies – or there was a certain color pallet they wanted, or if there was certain imagery that was important to them, significant to them, or certain words. And I’d always interview the client too very open-ended, sometimes probably seemingly random questions I felt guided to ask them. And then I would run with it.

There’s not a lot of other input from them because it was just based on then my intuition after that session with them, after that conversation. And so, a lot of times, if I felt like I’d come up against a wall, when I was doing one of these intuitive commissions, I would do this PIES work and do the wildcard check in. And then I’d run with whatever image I got. It often seemed very random to me, and not connected. But I just learned to trust it.

And without fail, it was always something that came through as being significant for them in a way that I never could have thought out, anticipated, for sure would not have been as cool if I had known that information in a straight forward way.

I think this wildcard aspect too also just deepens your relationship with yourself because your psyche speaks to you in ways that are not always rational, that are very non-linear, and usually imagistic. And so, it develops this conversation where you just trust what you get and you follow through on it. And it helps you get around the limitations of your mind.

And that can be a place where we get stuck and where our creativity gets stuck is where we get in this loop where we just start to feel a little lost or we feel a little dried up or disconnected or not so alive or like we’ve lost our mojo. And if you are a very creative person – and by the way, if you’re new here, I believe if you’re human, you are a creative person.

So, this wildcard helps us get out of that analytical mind which can get stuck in ruts and loops, even very logical ways of thinking can be deeply rutted or in loops. And it’s hard to think your way out of that.

Again, go back to that Einstein quote where the level of thinking that created the problem is not the same level of thinking that is the solution or is the alternative possibility that you are looking to create. So, how do you leap out into something unknown, that you feel is a possibility, but it’s unknown so you don’t know how you get there. You can’t logic your way there.

So, this PIES gets you connected. But then the wildcard helps you make the jump with your imagination, often in the form of an image or maybe it’s a word even, but it helps you make the leap because you’re not expecting it to be rational or logical. You’re just trusting what you get. But trust that it comes from an infinitely wise deep mystical mysterious part of you that knows you so deeply well and knows exactly what you need. Overthinking will keep you stuck. But trust the wildcard to help you make the leap.

So, this brings me to the part of the podcast where I want you to do more than just listen. I want you to take this information and not just consume it, not just be entertained by it, but to take it and be a creator, implement it in your life, integrate it, take it and apply it and make it transformational. That’s part of becoming a creative powerhouse. Like I’ve talked about in recent previous episodes about shifting your identity, your way of being from being a consumer to being a creator.

And I know this PIES tool is such an essential piece to have in your toolkit to help you make that shift from consumer to creator. Because who you are innately deep down is creative. You are a creator. And the more you build this robust healthy loving intimate relationship with who you really are, then the more you’re going to be connected to that creativity that is your original medicine, that is the essence of who you really are. And this PIES tool is a wonderful tool to help you build that kind of relationship.

So, here is my assignment, my invitation, my offer and challenge for you. For the next 31 days, use this tool. Use the PIES plus W. So, physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, plus the wildcard. This can actually all be done in less than three minutes. You know, five if you are feeling it and want to give yourself some more time. Or maybe it’s something that you want to do before your journaling session, and then you want to take notes. Do this for 31 days and see how that relationship to your creative self changes.

So, I want to try something new here on the podcast. I want to get to know more of you better, to connect with this community more. So, if you do this, and other assignments, if you go back to the podcast, please #taschallenge and #creativegenius. Because I want to grow this community so that you have this feeling of support and you get to ride the momentum of the community. And I also want you reaffirming this connection to yourself as a creative genius.

So, try PIES for a month and if you want to share your experience, I would love that. You can share photos, journals, wherever this journey takes you, and just #taschallenge, #crativegenius. You can tag me, @leahcb1. You can also, if you like longer hashtags, #theartschool. I’d love to connect with you there and I would love for you to connect with more creative geniuses in this community.

As I like to say, a rising tide lifts all ships. And creativity and creative success is absolutely contagious. So, let’s spread some positive social contagion and be a part of the movement.

Thank you so much for listening to another episode of The Art School Podcast. If you’ve enjoyed this podcast, if these episodes have helped you move the needle in meaningful ways in your life, the best thing you can do to pay it forward is to share, is to spread the news. Help m expand my reach and help more people get unstuck and learn how to access their own creative genius.

I know the more that creatives thrive, then the more the world thrives. Creativity is innately healing and so, if we can spread this work, if one by one by one people develop this greater relationship with this true essence of themselves, this creative essence of themselves, then that healing has ripple effects that reach far and wide.

So, I would greatly appreciate it if you would make sure you’re really doing this work yourself, and then also share and create community and engage with the community. Join our free Facebook group, @theartschool1 on Facebook. And also, leave a review. Subscribe to the podcast.

I always love hearing from you and what resonates, so I read each and every one of the reviews and appreciate it so much. And if you would love the full immersive experience in the greatest creative community on the planet, the Art School, then there is one more chance to do that yet in 2020.

The Art School fall 2020 starts up the first week in September and, if it’s bene calling your name, babe, it’s calling your name. Now is the time. This is going to be a phenomenal semester for everyone involved, pivotal to say the least. And I would love to have you there. I would love to coach you. I would love to introduce you to the other extraordinary members in this community. I can’t wait to see what you will do with this work in 12 weeks. You would be astounded how much you can change, discover, grow, and create in 12 weeks, not to mention all the fun you can have.

So, if you want to take the cards that 2020 has played and the material that life has handed you this year and create something deeply meaningful, powerful, beautiful, create something that will last you a lifetime and skills that will carry you forth and that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life, then I’d love to have you join us.

You can email us at support@leahcb.com or go directly to the Art School link on my website, www.leahcb.com and sign up there. We’re happy to answer any questions and again, we’d love to see you in that opening class.

To close, well first, I have to say, when we started the podcast, I wanted to paint you a picture of this beautiful Michigan summer day. And then, all the creatures and children, other beings that also live with me here, I think also wanted to conspire to contribute something as well because there was so much noise going on around as I was making this. And I rewound my tape, child of the 80s, rewound this a little bit to listen through. I don’t think you can hear all the screaming, hens clucking, dogs barking, little voices having a great time.

But they were all having a great time. They decided part-way through this podcast that – outside my window, there’s this little slope, a little valley our into the back yard. And they’re riding their bikes up and down the hills, like through the sprinkler, screaming. And then the dog got in and was barking. And then for some reason, it sent all the chickens clucking. But again, I don’t know that you could hear that. But just in case and you were wondering what the heck is going on there. That’s what the heck was going on here. And yay, still, I got this podcast finished for all of you. So, thank you so much for being here.

The closing thought I have for you today is to consider what, for you, would it be like to create from a place where there is an absence of self-consciousness? What would it be like for you to create from a place, a heart-centered place, a solar plexus-centered place, to march forward into the world, heart forward, mind in the backseat, where you’re flowing, and you’re flowing who you’re innately meant to be here as, and to become, and to do, and there’s more of a sense of quiet about it and less of a second narrative of chatter or judgment going on?

So, again, what would it be like to create from a place where there’s an absence of self-consciousness? I think it would be like creating from consciousness. I think it would be like experiencing yourself as maybe you’ve never experienced yourself before.

Set the intention that you’re getting there. If you’re not already there, set the intention that you’re getting there. if you get there sometimes, set the intention that that’s going to become your predominant state, that pure creative essence that’s who you are. May you all flow it and enjoy it and may it flood out into the world. Have a beautiful week, everyone. Thank you do much for being here and I will talk to you next time.