“Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow…”—Kurt Vonnegut
There is little in life that doesn’t require creativity.
Even if we have the same daily routine, there are choices to be made. Every day is different from the one that came before; we’re always deciding something. We need to make simple choices, such as what to wear and eat, or more complex ones, such as how to deal with work issues or relationship challenges. Whatever you choose and make a priority, you’re helping to create your life, your world.
Each of us creates differently, and each has a unique path to follow.
Some of us want to create a business, a garden, a family, a home, a new system, or a way of living. And some of us want to create an art form, whether it’s dance, music, theatre, drawing, painting, photography, writing, sculpting, or something else.
Artists can see things in new and unexpected ways and feel a calling to put their vision into form. Psychologist, author, and artist Rollo May said: “If you do not express your original idea, if you do not listen to your own being, you will have betrayed yourself.”
However, some of us may not believe we can bring our art to life.
Maybe we think we don’t have the talent, the time, or the resources.
Or maybe we start to create and then lose courage.
But that small voice that compels us to create won’t go away.
In ancient Greece and during the Renaissance in Italy, philosophers spoke of a creative spirit called the daimon. This spirit is born with each of us and guides us throughout life.
Even when we don’t know what to do, the daimon gives us hints to help us on our way.
The daimon is a kind of messenger that moves between the divine and mortal worlds. The daimon urges us to fulfill our life purposes through thoughts, feelings, signs, and symbols.
Follow Your Creative Spirit: Bring Your Art to Life examines the yearning many of us feel to create something of meaning and value. This longing comes from a place of mystery and depth and is a key to finding fulfillment.
Yet it’s often difficult to know how to begin or, once a project is underway, to continue working on it and bring it to completion.
Following your creative spirit means believing in your talent, abilities, and unique creative power.
Along with exploring the concept of the daimon and how creative people from various disciplines lived and worked, Follow Your Creative Spirit: Bring Your Art to Life provides tools to help you connect your creative desire with the thoughts, behaviors, and actions needed to manifest your inner vision and bring your art to life.
“Whatever happens, never lose heart. Whoever says to himself, ‘I will succeed’ will reach his goal. But if you think ‘It’s impossible, I don’t have all my faculties, I will never manage’, then you will fail. As the Tibetan saying goes, ‘One cannot shake off poverty by losing courage.'”
– His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
