Tag: creative flow

When the Rain Came

The air smelled of clouds and dust. Then the rain came. First, in spurts of light afternoon showers and then thunder showers are night.

I did what I love to do most. I sat by the window and watched it fall, and my writing flowed better than it has in a while. For the first time in weeks, the breeze was a cool cloak of comfort and rain drops fell through the open window and splattered on my back. The parts of me that had been parched and bare from the desert wave began to drink in the rain’s medicine. It’s as if I’ve had a pen full of dry powder and sand, unable to turn words out onto paper. Now, rain has fallen and turned the sand into ink, so that finally my hand can flow. It’s somewhat of an alchemical phenomenon, because it seems to turn the lead of my creative soul into inspired fluid gold.

I’ve never imagined myself as a river, but perhaps in some way, that is what I am, because these showers have made me feel like a river that is flowing again. I can see more clearly now why some women have written of finding the river within. Clarissa Pinkola Estes speaks of the Rio Abajo Rio, the river beneath the river, when she described the wild soul or creative instinctual life force carried with the feminine psyche. Abby Seixas spoke of it in Finding the Deep River Within too, where she wrote: “When I drop down or go inside, I often have the image of an underground river that is always there, always flowing through me, from a source beyond me, carrying deeply nourishing, life-giving qualities.”

This must be what the watery magic imbued rain awakens within me, drawing fragments of my feminine psyche to the surface so that I become aware of my underground river filling, my creative resources flowing and my wild essence unfurling.

How do you connect with your rio abajo rio? Do the elements and whispers of the Earth ever stir something in this deep and mysterious place?

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A Lavender Kissed Sky

Are you still basking in the afterglow of the Blood Moon’s magic?

The full moon was a quiet and peaceful one for me. I spent time under the stars, journaling by candle light as the moon rose across the sky. I said prayers to release the things that keep me stuck in situations that I’m ready to move on from. Mostly, I just enjoyed being bathed in the moonlight with my heart in conversation with Goddess.

So I didn’t expect to wake up to a morning where I felt stuck, frustrated and where things were just not flowing as I’d hoped. When I couldn’t get passed the invisible brick wall in my path, I took time out to get some sun, swim and read Mary Oliver at the poolside.

There was a strangely mysterious moment when I breathed, released my mucky thoughts and surrendered my body to float freely in the water. I looked up to see that the sky was an unusual shade of lavender, something I’ve never seen before. To be sure that I wasn’t imagining, I pointed it out to my husband. He too was amazed to see a lavender kissed sky. It was a rear treat, and to me, it was a moment of unexpected magic. I wish I’d taken a picture, but by the time I’d finished swimming the sky had returned to its normal bright spring blue. I wondered if it was a sign from the Universe, a signal to look at things from a different perspective, to look at things through the eyes of wonder and awe? Given what I’d been feeling, that would be an apt message.

After the swim and some breathing space, I felt my heart resting in inner peace. It was clear that the fluid vibration of water and a little time to play were just what I needed to shift things back to a space of inspired grace and clarity. I was reminded of the power of play and how making space for it during stressful moments can take you out of stuckness and reinvigorate your wild creative juices.

I returned to my writing desk with a lightness and the magic of the lavender sky stirring wild stories within. The second half of my day has flowed with greater ease, focus and productivity. There are a number of things I am working on behind the scenes – a guest blogging series, new meditations to offer you, an e-course and a short e-book series. I’m slowly getting started on book number 2 as well. All are quite exciting, but of course require a lot of work and a very balanced schedule. Some days I feel pulled in so many different directions. Today’s lesson reminded me that those overwhelming or frustratingly stagnant moments are the best time to disconnect, have a change of scene and shift into a more light-hearted space so that I renew my energy, tap into the flow and am able to return to my tasks with a fresh mind.

What are you learning right now? What soul lesson is the Universe teaching you?

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