10 WAYS TO NURTURE YOUR CREATIVITY

AND OPTIMIZE YOUR INTUITIVE POWERS

Whether you consider yourself a highly creative person or

not, it is possible for all of us to be more creative if

we'll take the time to nurture that part of ourselves.

These simple steps will give you direction in how to bring

more of your creativity to the surface and to optimize your

intuitive powers at the same time. Pick the ones that seem

to fit for you and give them a try.

1. Develop the habit of taking time for regular meditation

and/or reflection. Meditation doesn't have to be hard or

mystical. Start by simply setting aside 15-20 minutes once

or twice a day to simply sit and be quiet. There are

several techniques you can try such as concentrating on the

flame of a candle, or saying a word (commonly referred to as

a mantra) over and over to yourself. As far as I can tell

the method you choose isn't nearly as important as simply

choosing to sit and be with yourself on a regular basis.

2. Surround yourself as much as possible with an environment

that supports and nurtures you. This can include setting

aside a special place in your home where you can spend

quality time with yourself, or finding what I call 'sweet

spots,' places nearby that you enjoy spending time.

3. Try out different pastimes that energize you and help to

get you in the creative mood. This will vary for different

people, but here are some common examples: jogging or other

forms of aerobic exercise can have a meditative aspect to

them; bicycling or swimming are other possibilities; taking

long walks especially in natural settings; taking long

drives through the country side, try it with and without

soothing or inspirational music; or taking a long, soothing

bath by candle light.

4. Get plenty of sleep. For most people that's more than

they may think. While you might be able to do okay on 5-6

hours a night, the creative juices will flow more readily

with 7-8 hours. This may require taking certain actions to

create a most restful environment. (See "Seven Steps to

Turning Your Mind Off So You Can Get a Good Nights Sleep by

coach, Michele Lisenbury. You can request a copy from Life

On Purpose)

5. Identify and eliminate any habits which tend to interfere

with your creativity. Some of the common ones to consider

would be drinking alcohol, doing drugs, watching too much

television or consuming foods high in caffeine and/or sugar.

While none of these are necessarily detrimental in small

amounts, if it's habitual you're probably not partaking in

moderation.

6. Treat yourself especially nice at least once a week.

Creativity specialist Julia Cameron, author of The Artist's

Way, encourages her students to take themselves out on an

'artist's date', as a way to nurture themselves. These

dates don't have to be expensive or extravagant just as long

as their fun and energizing.

7. Exercise your creativity and imagination. Like so many

other things if you don't use your creativity it tends to

atrophy, it's the old 'use it or lose it' syndrome.

Spontaneous brainstorming sessions are one effective way to

stimulate your creative juices to flow. If you have a

problem try writing out a list of ten or more different ways

you could solve it. Or make a list of the ten most exotic

trips you could take then take the best ones, at least in

your mind just to exercise your creativity.

8. Make up life projects so large that they will require you

to be creative in order to fulfill on them. This is a

catchy one because if you aren't careful it can backfire.

The idea here isn't to necessarily fulfill on the projects

as much as to have the projects energize you to tap into

your creativity more. As long as you remember that the

purpose isn't whether or not the project is accomplished,

you'll be fine.

9. Take up a hobby or sport just for the fun of it, and have

it be something that you're not already good at. As we get

older we often get 'set in our ways,' which can be a real

killer to creativity. Taking up something that's fun but

that you aren't already good at will stretch you to develop

yourself in new ways. Become a student again at something

whether it's ballroom dancing, yoga, a martial art, or

underwater basket weaving. S-t-r-e-t-c-h your creativity

muscles.

10. This one is for you to create on your own. Make up a

tenth way to develop your creativity and intuitive powers.

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~ Vol. 2, Issue 22 PURPOSEFUL PONDERINGS EZINE   ~ October 28 , 1999

from Life On Purpose.com

Insights and Lessons in Living a Life of Purposeful Service,
Mindful Abundant Simplicity, and Spiritual Serenity.

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