Genius Moments #12 - Making Waves: Embracing Your Creative Power

Episode Summary:

In this honest and raw episode of Genius Moments, we dive into the profound world of creativity and the incredible impact it can have on your life and the world around you. In this mini-episode, hosted by a Kate Shepherd, you'll find yourself encouraged to unleash your creative gifts, express yourself authentically, and recognize the extraordinary power that resides within you.

In this mini episode

1. Unearth Your Creative Genius: This episode is dedicated to those who have felt a bit lost in their creative endeavours. Whether you're an artist, musician, writer, or creator of any kind, you may have faced challenges and doubts regarding the value of your work.

2. Navigating Creative Hurdles: The creative journey often involves hurdles, such as fear, self-doubt, and uncertainty. It requires bravery, practice, and resilience to express what's within you and to share your work with the world.

3. The Ripple Effect of Creativity: Your creative work can profoundly touch the lives of others, even when you don't realize it. Just as you've been moved by someone else's art, your creations can be a lifeline for someone in need, providing comfort, connection, and inspiration.

4. The Power of Gratitude: Expressing gratitude for the creative gifts that have touched your soul can shift your energy and deepen your connection with your inner self. Gratitude is the wellspring of your own creativity.

5. The Communion of the True Self: Connecting with your inner gratitude allows you to experience your true self, the radiant core of your being. This communion is what you truly yearn for, more than any external measures of success or achievement.

6. A Practice of Love and Connection: Challenge yourself to write a letter to the creator of something that profoundly affected you, even if they are famous or no longer alive. This simple act can strengthen your connection to your true self and create a ripple effect of love and light.

Why Listen to this Episode:

This episode is a beautiful reminder that your creative gifts are more valuable than you can imagine. By embracing your inner genius and sharing your creations, you can touch lives, bring comfort to others, and find a deeper connection with your true self. The practice of gratitude and connection explored in this episode offers a tangible way to rekindle your creative spark and create a ripple effect of love and inspiration in the world.

So, if you've ever felt uncertain about the value of your creative work or needed a reminder of the profound impact it can have, tune in to Genius Moments Episode 12 and be inspired to embrace your creative power.

Note: This episode includes a beautiful card reading. Here is a picture of the card Kate pulled for you

Stay tuned for the next episode featuring Dr. Heather Penny. In the meantime, take good care of yourself and keep making ripples of love and light in the world.

FULL TRANSCRIPT

Happy Sunday to you or whatever day it -----------is of the week that you happen to be listening to this. Genius --moments episode. This is number 12 in this little series of mini episodes. These are little episodes that I create in between the bigger episodes, not every week, but whenever I feel. Called to say something every once in awhile, I have a series of thoughts that kind of bubble up. And there's this feeling that goes with them, that they need to be shared. They need to be said out loud. And so when I have that feeling, I sit down and I record you one of these genius moments episode. So I'm. Honored. And very happy to be sitting down with you and sharing this little moment together with you today. This episode is for you. If you have been feeling a little bit lost with your creative gifts. If you have something. In your life that you have always loved.

Maybe it's music or art or sculpture or architecture or basketry or poetry, novel writing, memoir, writing, whatever. Something. That you love. That you've been practicing and that you put out into the world. And you've just been feeling like, , no, one's listening. No, one's no one's watching. Why is it so hard to share my gift? There's the whole sort of set of hoops. We have to jump through to even honestly express what's inside of us. There's bravery required. There's. Mastery required. There's practice and failure. And.

That's just to get it out of us in the first place. And then there's a whole other set of hurdles that happens once we, once this thing exists and it's in the world. Around the sharing of it and the giving of it

It can be hard to trust that what is inside of us is actually needed or wanted by the outside world. You know, I often even just in what I described to you about my process with these genius moments episodes, I often feel the need to say something. And sometimes I think, God, I can't that's too vulnerable or that's too.

Specific or that's too. I don't want to sound like I'm preaching or telling people how to think or feel. But I'll have this feeling that, you know, I really need to say it. And so I will say it .

. And every single time. There are people who show up to let me know that it is exactly what they needed that day. And there's always this sort of sparkly. Sense of wonder both on their end and on my end. How could you have possibly known so accurately what I needed to hear and I didn't know. I was just honestly expressing this thing that was coming through me. And that is no different than what you have inside of you when it comes to your creative love.

I believe that you're hearing this podcast today because you needed to hear this. I believe that you're hearing this because there's some thing in you that the world really, really needs. That you've been holding back. And editing or curating or trying to make it perfect before you really share it. And the message that the universe wants you to hear today right now in this moment. Is . Please stop holding back. Please stop trying to make it look perfect or look acceptable or look a certain way even before you let it out. And just please, please let it out.

Please share the thing. I don't know if you're ever back in season two. I had one of my very favorite musicians. An award-winning Canadian musician, Dan Mangan on the show. He talked about music being like smoke signals, and what it feels like to be on both sides of it, both as a recipient of music as an audience member. , you know, listening to another musician and feeling really seen or heard or acknowledged by elder Eric and how profound and experienced that can be when a musician articulate something that you thought only you felt.

It really can save your life. I mean, people talk all the time about how that song saved my life. Right. There was a lyric in it and I just played it over and over again. And it got me through that time. And that's what art does. That's what the products of creativity dues they can, they can reach into our soul. And acknowledge our existence and, and remind us of what we're loved by. And he also talked about what it feels like to be on this side of it. You know, being the person who's creating the work and, and writing the songs that, then people. I mean, in his case, people tattoo his, his lyrics on their bodies. He talks about what that's like. That's a great episode, actually, if you haven't listened to that, go back and listen to Dan Mangan or go back and listen to it again. But no matter which side of it, you're on. The part of it, we don't have any control over is who our work reaches, how it will reach them when it will reach them. But we can be guaranteed that, that our work is going to reach people and it is more needed than we could possibly know.

And if you're feeling. That.

You don't know if anyone's listening, you don't know if. You're ever going to have your big moment. You don't know if you're ever going to get to a place where. You'll. Make a difference or your work will matter to somebody else. I want to let you know, you already have. If you've ever created anything. It already has had an impact on someone and we just, we just don't get to know. There's there's ways that you've touched people, that you will actually go to your grave, not knowing. And I think there's a certain beauty in that. Just, just trusting that the very fact that you expressed it means that it will have had an impact on someone else or will at some point have an impact on someone else. It's inevitable. It's the way it's like gravity. It's just a law of nature.

If you're feeling like what you're doing, doesn't matter or no-one's listening or it's not needed. I want you to do what my old friend Joseph does. I used to work with a really wonderful ceramic artist and jeweler at the Granville island public market in Vancouver. Which is sort of the heart of the city to me at Granville island is the heart of the city. It's of course a massive tourist destination. I think 11 million tourists go through there every year. And if you're lucky enough as I was for many years to be an artist to getting it, you get a little table. As a, they called us Dave vendors. You go in the morning and you set up your wares and you stand there all day and you've talked to people from all over the world. And you sell your work and it's a rollercoaster way of living. Cause you'd never, it's not like having a nine to five job. You'd never know. You know, there are days we used to call them. Zero days, days could go by where you didn't sell a single thing. And then there were other days. But you could sell thousands and thousands of dollars of your work and in a single day, and you just, you never knew what you were going to have, and it is a crazy way of living. And if you're an artist. Uh, in any kind or, or a self-employed person in any way, you know, the feast famine kind of deal that comes with that territory. At the market if you get to noon and you haven't had a sale, What can start to happen is you can start to, I feel like you almost get into this like energetic loop with it. You've kind of decided that you're not going to have a sale that day. And then you're somehow broadcasting that energy out into the world. And then you really do create that for yourself.

I don't know. I. It was a weird phenomenon that happened. . And you see, do you see sports teams doing this too? You know, they, the other team gets a couple of goals ahead. And all of a sudden the whole energy shifts and, and they become a losing team before they even have to be a losing team. I learned a lot about how to navigate that kind of energy from a really beautiful artist named Joseph . Joseph would make these really beautiful ceramic pots and every single one of them had a little lady bug on them. If you're familiar with Granville island, you probably know Joseph's work. And, and then he branched out into jewelry and he made these really beautiful silver pendants. And his work is really beautiful and celebrated, and he's an amazing character. He's funny and charismatic and people are very drawn to him. And whenever he was having a bad day, whenever he was feeling like. You know what nobody's buying my work. , and the thing that happens when you go through a little bit of a stretch where nobody's interested in your work, all of a sudden, as you think that's it. I've exhausted. My reach I've exhausted. My good work. All my good days are behind me. All my good work is behind me. I've lost my mojo. I mean, there's so many things that start to go through your head. And you got to get a handle on that. And I learned so much about how to do that from this beautiful artist, Joseph from the market. What Joseph would do when he was having a bad day. Was, he would leave his table and he would go to one of the little coffee shops that dotted the edges of the art market. And he would buy two lattes. And then he would walk around the market. And I think he would look around for somebody who he thought was also having a zero day or a bad day. Cause you kind of can see when someone's having a great day. Versus when someone's not having a great day in a market like that. And he would bring the two lattes over. And he would give one to that person and he would stand there at their table with them and talk to them until the latte was done. And then he would go back to his table. And I think I didn't study it scientifically, but I think every single time Joseph did that, the energy changed both for him. And for the person who gave the gift to. The, you know, that would kind of break the seal, whatever was happening with the no sale thing. It would break it and the spell would be gone. And then you could create yourself a good day. And I learned. So much about dealing with stuck energy from just that simple act of witnessing Joseph, do that. I wanted to share that with you and if you're feeling a little bit stuck, like your work doesn't matter, you're not sure if it's needed or even wanted by the world no, one's paying attention. It's not needed. Your best stuff is behind you. Why are you doing this? I'm crazy for continuing on with this dream. If you're feeling any of those things at this point in your life at all right now. . wanted to offer you a little practice. You could take with you into your week, this week. Think about.

Something that someone did. Said. Or created and they can be living or dead famous or not.

That touched your soul. That affected you. It could be a painting that you saw that gave you an experience. It could be a lyric of a song that reached into your soul. And pulled you out of a dark time. It could be a piece of jewelry that you purchased for yourself that had a profound impact on you because it meant something, it symbolized something to you. It could be anything. And then I want you to write a letter to the person who created that thing. Telling them.

Your experience of their work, telling them your experience of their gift. And if this is a person that's alive, even if they're famous and you think they're never going to get it, send them the letter. That's the gift. That's that's you. Bringing them a coffee, the way Joseph would have brought some water coffee. On so many levels. This will do so many things for you. It will shift your own energy around the value of gifts.

It will connect you to your inner gratitude, which is the wellspring of your own creativity. It's where it all lives and Springs from.

I promise you. That if you do this right, write this person a letter, write the creator of this thing that affected you. A letter. It doesn't actually matter if you send it or not. It's magical if you send it, but it doesn't really even matter. It's the act of writing. It's the act of contacting your gratitude. You could even sit there, write them the letter and then close your eyes and imagine beaming the letter at them. If this person is no longer living.

You'll notice if you do this, there's a little thing that happens when you sit there, you close your eyes, you imagined beaming this letter at them. And at a certain point in that imagination. You will find a little smile will bubble up from your heart. Wait for that moment because it's going to happen. It happens every single time. And I believe that the mechanism what's happening there when you feel that little smile is that, that means that that other being received your gratitude on an energetic level, in a plane that we maybe can't see and understand. That's where I believe that smile comes from. It's like, It's like message received. That's like the little thing, you know, sent and received sound. That's what that smile is. So do that.

And if you do do this.

And you feel brave enough post about it on social media and use the hashtag creative genius ripple effect.

You'll be amplifying the effect of your ripple effect. . When you share your story like that. In a public way. It allows other people who are seeing it too. Be awakened by your story. So you tell a story about how a lyric touched your soul. And then in reading it, I moved maybe to tears even, and then it reminds me of a time that I was moved by something. And then maybe I see you sending that artist a letter. And I think, well, I should send a letter to, and then all of a sudden we've kind of started this chain. Ripple effect. Beautiful. Beautiful. Ripple effect of, of love and light and gratitude moving. And that's how we move stuck energy. And that's how we remind ourselves of what we really are.

And the bonus sweet, sweet bonus of all of this is that that will inevitably remind you. That absolutely. Of course your work is needed. Of course you are needed. And wanted. More than you could ever even imagine.

When you allow yourself to access that part of yourself, that feels grateful that had that. Tender soulful experience. Experiencing somebody else's art, somebody else's offering in the world. You are in communion with this soft, quiet part of yourself. That. You're yearning to be more deeply connected with all the time. That's the thing you're yearning for. You're not actually yearning for. Success as an artist or a bigger house or.

A bigger salary or more vacations or.

More freedom or more time, or you're not actually yearning for any of those things. Those are all bait and switch. What you're really yearning for more than anything else is to be in communion with the soft, quiet, pulsing, radiant. Self, your true self, your capital S self. I call it. And when you allow yourself to write a letter from that place to somebody else you're writing from that place in you to that place in someone else. You strengthen that part of you, that you're inviting that part of you to take a large step forward and to stand taller within you. And ultimately. When we do that enough times, it begins to run the show of our lives. And that's when the real magic starts to happen. And that's what we're doing . Every month when we practice activating intuition and creativity in the online workshop that I do. We're doing another one on Friday. It's not too late to sign up.

You can head over to Kate Sheppard, creative.com and look for the online virtual Lovette. It's easy to sign up. If you, just know that that's something that you want to join in and be a part of every month. You can sign up for the Patrion because at the colorful community tier of the creative genius patron, My virtual workshops are included in your membership and right there is the cost of admission alone. And there's other bonuses that you get at that level too. So it's kind of a no brainer. , and this is exactly the kind of work that we're doing. I give you. Different ways of. Accessing this part of yourself every month that you can practice and bring into your life and have tangible experiences like that little smile that comes when you send the letter. That's something that you'll actually start to know how to do intuitively on your own by habit when we build those habits together.

So I really, really hope you join us. In that community and in those workshops

So that was what I wanted to bring you in this little mini genius moments episode. And the last thing I want to do today is , pull a card from my beautiful deck. This is a deck. Called. B you do you for you? I saw Jonathan van ness pole. Uh, a card from this deck for somebody recently. And. I was so moved by it. That I actually had to go online and find out who created this deck and order it for myself and it arrived the other day. And I really love it. And talk about ripple effect. It also made me realize that I actually need to get on the creative genius deck. I have been wanting to create a deck for us for a really long time. Inspired by the angel cards that I pull for every episode. So that's coming. I don't know when that's coming, but it's coming. I'm in the meantime, I'm going to pull a , card from this deck.

I am going to take a picture of this and put it in the show notes on Kate Sheppard, creative.com for this episode, just look for the episodes page on Kate shepherd, creative.com and look for genius moments. Number 12. If you want to see a picture of the card, I just pulled. It's a beautiful heart that has a. Like thick pen and ink drawing of a woman's face with her eyes closed. She's got big, thick, beautiful eyelashes. And she looks very peaceful and resting. And, but a little bit serious almost like she's deep in thought or deep in meditation. With her eyes closed and the words on the card are I find love everywhere I go. It's all around me.

That is absolutely true. You are the love, you are the ripple effect and there can't be a ripple unless you create it. So I want to remind you. That's why you're here. You're here to make ripples. So go out there. My loves. And make some waves. Then I'll talk to you again on Friday with our. Amazing guest. Dr. Heather penny. In the meantime, take good care of yourself. And I hope to see you at the virtual workshop on Friday.