I spend a lot of time looking within myself, trying to understand spiritual philosophical ideas that resonate with me and then figuring out how to live them in my life.
This actually used to look rather self-focused and maybe even self-centered. Until I saw myself as an artist. And all art must originate within yourself.
There is art within you
You may get a nudge from something you read or see or hear; but to bring that feeling to life, you must go deep inside yourself. You have to absorb it, feel it, let it incubate until it’s ready to emerge.
The more self-aware you are, the more deeply personal is your work, and the more impact it has. When you do soul work, you have to be quiet and you have to listen.
How do you serve others with your art?
It bothered me that I was writing only what called to me. I wasn’t doing the normal business/marketing things like figuring out what people needed and giving it to them.
I’ve been compelled to travel on this inner journey. I’m going deeper than I ever have before, which means that there’s lots of contemplative alone time and many moments of joyful discovery.
But what about serving others? Am I being self-centered and self-focused? It’s the nature of art to make us go within and be receptive before we can share it with others.
The first step to originating art is to be still within.
What if you’re offering an intangible?
It’s tricky to try to measure results in personal growth. You can’t immediately recognize the impact of an inner shift in awareness.
But that’s what I offer. And because it’s so intangible, my impact or my effect on others is not only hard to measure but also difficult to define.
What part of your impact is intangible?
Trust the call
As I search where I search and write what I write, I have to trust my call. I have to listen to those inner urges and allow them to take me where they do. The purpose of my work is to bring what’s deep inside me into a shape and form that others recognize and respond to.
Trust what emerges
When you’re sharing your soul, whatever emerges is perfect. It’s exactly what you are to share here and now in this moment.
Yes, tomorrow will produce something different. Tomorrow may even bring a re-write on what you do today, but first you have to birth it. You have to give it shape.
These wisps of ideas and urges and nudges that surround you are to be caught and considered. Then you allow your intuition to tell you the form they are to take.
How can you define the intangible?
I couldn’t get a handle on what my “product” was. Sure, I am putting out posts and podcasts and videos and ebooks. Yes, I know it’s an exploration of spiritual philosophy, the meaning of life, including my part in it. But the results were hard to recognize.
People wrote that they were inspired and motivated and moved. But I didn’t know why or what I was doing exactly that made that happen.
Until I found a way to define the intangible.
The intangible gift is how you make a person feel. It’s what you make them understand. It’s how you offer then another viewpoint to consider. Your intangible gift is how you help them change. That’s hard to define, let alone explain.
And you have no idea how your gift keeps giving. You have no idea that how you made that person feel made a difference in how they turned around and shared their gifts with others.
Trust that what you do changes lives.
Because it does.
Are you sharing your subtle gifts?
It took me a long time to figure out that one of the gifts I share is my ability to explain the complex in simple terms so others get it. It’s not an uncommon gift, but it’s a subtle one.
Once I recognized the gifts that can be the most effective in helping others, I started to focus on using these.
What are your subtle gifts?
How can you put them into service?
How subtle is your passion?
As I listen quietly to my soul’s urges, I’m compelled to find ways to live a more meaningfully spiritual life.
It’s not about a religion. It’s about deepening my inner awareness and going in search of the answers I need for my own enrichment. As I explore the concepts that resonate with me, I learn to apply them to my life. I share what I discover with others.
Can you identify the subtleness of your passion?
Look closely to find your artistic product
It’s easy to recognize a song or a painting and know that the artist spent some alone time producing it. You know there was an opening to the soul that let that expression emerge.
Only recently did I realize that my art form is exploration.
Exploration is done within. It inspires me to be alone and be silent and contemplative. It’s not about what I can do for others. It’s about what I can uncover, in the quietest parts of my spirit, that I can understand, interpret and then share so that others understand too. That’s my art of exploration.
My product is my interpretation of the philosophical and spiritual concepts that resonate with me. I share what I uncover, and others respond.
It was a relief to put a label on my unconventional art form.
We’re all artists
Honor your need to be still and listen to the voice within. Learn to trust those ideas and urges that take you where you’ve never been before.
Reflect, absorb, interpret and then share what you find. That’s when you express your authentic voice. That’s how your art originates within.
Honor your own work
When we see our work as art, it’s easier to appreciate what we do. A carpenter can take pride in a well-crafted joint that holds up a building or admire a simple carved bowl that can hold a meal. A leader can be proud of her work when a member of her team takes a personal step forward. A writer can be proud when her words touch someone’s heart.
Notice how your work touches lives. Look for the subtle shape that only your work takes that makes it so effective.
Do you let your art originate from deep inside?
Do you need to give it more time or space to emerge?
All art must originate from within.
And we’re all artists.
To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
Are You In the Right Room
Engage in the Power of trust
Fitting In Is Not What You Do To Be Extraordinary
How to Develop Your Distinctive Voice
How Often Do You Redefine Yourself?
You Know More Than You Think You Do
30 – The No Plan Plan
27 – Why Have You Been Chosen
28 – How to Walk Beside Someone in Service
