In the past week, there were multiple social media posts in which I shared previously hidden parts of myself - including words and skin:
I was feeling compelled to share more of my dance story in hopes that it would help and inspire others out there who were holding themselves back from dancing - whether it was because of body image or other reasons.
I poured days of time and energy into preparing and sharing my “dance-inar” that went live Wednesday night.
And after all of that…. the curtains closed (meaning, the video session ended) and there I was - alone at my desk.
[crickets]
I didn’t hear from many people during or after the class. I didn’t get any immediate sign ups for the dance program I shared at the end of it.
I felt exposed and even embarrassed and worried that I didn’t really make a difference at all. Maybe I offended someone or just bored them.
After processing some of these feelings, I picked up one of my latest favorite books - What We Ache For by Oriah Mountain Dreamer - and read this excerpt from the chapter on “Being Received.”
“When we put our creative work into the world we sometimes feel as if a piece of ourselves is exposed to potential rejection or acceptance, praise or ridicule. But we are wrong. As important as our work is, we are not the work we create. If we can keep and cultivate this perspective, we will be less likely to become attached to achieving material success, to having our work acknowledged or received in a particular way.
“I take it as a necessary part of the process that I feel a deep sense of attachment to the work I am currently doing. [...] The work I have created often feels like a beloved child. But when the time comes to let the work be received, I need to let it go and let it make its own way in the world.”
I’m learning this lesson with every dance video, dance-inar, or blog post I put out in the world.
And it’s a good reminder before starting a new creative process next week in the You Can Dance Again program. (And by the way, there now are people signing up for it - and today is the last day for registration if you’ve been thinking about it!)
And that’s the message I wanted to pass onto you this week:
Love your work deeply, put your heart and soul into it, and then release it.
Allow it to be received.
You can’t control how it’s received, and you might not immediately - or ever - know how it’s landing for people, but that’s ok.
Don’t let it stop you from creating again.
Your job is to follow that creative impulse inside of you and trust that if something is wanting to be expressed, there’s a reason for it.
Tell me -
Have you ever put something out into the world and felt like hiding afterwards?
Share in the comments below so that we can all help each other feel a little less alone in the vulnerability of it.
And then, keep creating.
with you on the front line and behind the scenes,
Jess
p.s. If you missed the whole “dance-inar” experience on Wednesday, I encourage you to watch it here, and pass it on to another dancer in your life who might be letting her negative body image interfere with her true passion for dancing.
Just write (dance/sing/paint/create/insert-your-passion-here)!
Stop getting distracted. You’re thinking way too much and you need to come back down to Earth. You need to.
One thing at a time.
Start by celebrating what you’ve already created, accomplished, overcame.
Celebrate it. Take it in. It’s great. Stop thinking.
Stop thinking.
Breathe.
Dance.
The world needs you to dance. Ok?
Spread the love and joy. It’s time.
It’s time.
You hold the key to unlocking dreams. Yours and others. You are ready.
You are so ready.
For abundance and love and wholeness and fulfillment.
Fulfillment with just enough yearning.
You can learn from your mistakes. You grow. You thrive.
This will all come together.
You are grand.
Take your space.
It’s time to make space.
Go ahead.
Put yourself out there.
It’s time.
Don’t hold back. The world truly needs you.
Shine your light. Be you.
Trust your own power.
It is there and waiting to be accessed if you let it.
Create something, already.
We’re waiting.
p.s. need a nudge in the direction of your creativity? click here to send me a note and set up a time to talk. I'm known for seeing things in you that you didn't even know you were possible. plus, I have a few openings in my upcoming programs waiting to be filled by passionate creatures who are so ready to stop settling for an unfulfilled existence.
If you’re an artist or creative person, you’re probably familiar with the phase of “UGH.”
“Ugh! I just can’t seem to focus.”
“Ugh! I’m stuck in this job/relationship/situation, and don’t have any time to work towards my real dreams and goals.”
“Ugh! I’m so overwhelmed and tired that I just want to curl up and go to sleep for 3 days.”
If you’ve been there or are there now, you are not alone.
No matter how rough the “UGH” phase can get, it’s nothing that can’t be worked through.
Today I want to give you some practical tools to get through it and get your creative energy back in action.
I’m also excited to share my client Mary Massie’s Showcase video (below). Her story of getting out of a very stuck place and back into her creative flow was the inspiration for today’s article. In fact, the 3 tools I’m going to share here are exactly the 3 pieces that Mary said were most helpful to her throughout our work together in the Thriving Artist’s Program.
Get the tips and watch Mary share even more inspiration in her Showcase video!
3 ways to get out of a creative rut
1. Make space.
One of the simplest things you can do when you’re stuck in a rut is to literally, physically, make space in your environment and inside of you. Start by getting rid of clutter in your physical environment. Then make space in your schedule for some personal quiet time. Especially if you’re someone who gets addicted to being busy, this is key. Even if it’s only 20 minutes once a week, do it! Then you can start making space in your mind and body. You don’t have to “do” anything or force anything to happen. Just be still. Try the next 2 steps.
2. Dance.
Whether or not you’re a “dancer,” you can find movement in your body that feels great AND do it on your own terms in your own time. (In other words, you don’t need a formal dance class to get your body moving.) A regular movement practice will help you find joy, relieve stress, and feel free. It will get you out of your head and into your body, which is HUGE for getting creativity flowing. Try dancing for 5 minutes before you have to do any kind of mental work, and notice what a difference it makes for you! More focus, more energy, more creativity = YES!
Note: If you need guidance here, check out this quick video movement prompt from me and my Find Your Rhythm 6-week program, which is full of dance and movement prompts. The current round is already in session, but there are still a couple of late-comer spots open!
Writing can be done in many ways. What I’m suggesting here, for the purposes of getting out of a rut, is to use writing as a way to learn more about the inner workings of your Self. Personal inquiry, if you will. You can write to the part of you that is stressed out or stuck, and then respond to see what comes through. You can write to your future or past self, and then respond from that persona. If you don’t think about it too much and just let the words flow, you’ll be amazed and touched by the wisdom that can come through you.
Sometimes witnessing real-life stories and inspiration can be the best help for getting out of a rut.
So I’m really happy to share with you Mary Massie’s Showcase Video - check it out below!
Watch and read more about her story, and please comment below and let us know what you found most valuable about the experience.
To letting it flow,
Jess
In Mary's words....
Some of the fears I worked through involved using my voice more, both metaphorically and literally and finding cohesion for my varied interests. I felt stuck in so many areas of my life and now I really feel like I'm finally moving.
I think there are three specific things that I will take with me beyond our sessions. One is the importance of physical movement facilitating movement in other areas of my life. I'm not a dancer per se, but I found a real joy in dancing in my room and knowing that I have so many options for moving my body. I see the power of getting out of my head and into my body whether that's through a walk, a yoga class, or taking a dance break. And I love that I have so many wonderful options when I listen to my body. I used to get hung up on say, doing yoga. If I didn't go to class, then I didn't think about having other ways to move. And I also reconnected to the little girl in me who would joyfully dance and sing along with the radio. Priceless.
I also found the power of writing in a new way. I've journaled a lot over the years, but Jess helped me hone in on asking the right questions and listening for my intuitive response through writing. I learned that I have the answers inside when I'm willing to ask and listen to a response. The act of writing keeps me in motion too and gets me out of my head. The prompts Jess suggested really helped me find clarity through the act of writing.
I also found the importance and power of creating space in my life through my sessions. Realizing how I physically take up in space in this world was so insightful! I became more aware of my need for space in my life in order to allow rejuvenation and creativity in.
I thought when I started working with Jess, that I needed to get back to painting as that used to be my main art medium. What I found though is that I kept taking photos and found the reasons why that's what I'm really loving at this point in my life. Sharing my point of view and focus is another way of using my voice. I'm also feeling freed up by having camera and my digital images.
The world is my studio and I don't feel weighed down by canvases and paints right now. I showed a photograph in a show in May. It was the first time in five years I've had a piece of art in a show and the first time I've shown a photograph. I created a tumblr blog online for my photos as a space to share my work.
I also made a piece of jewelry on commission and sold it last month. I used to make jewelry and sell it on Etsy, but hadn't done it in over five years. I used to love making this jewelry that incorporated drawing and found it so gratifying to reconnect to that part of myself. Connecting back to the visual artist in me has been so gratifying.
I'm putting myself out in the world far more than I used to. I feel like I'm on the other side of a huge block.
I feel like I'm finally getting comfortable and more confidant with owning my varied interests. I used to feel like a bit of a flake and apologetic that I couldn't just focus on art or on music. I'm now seeing how each informs the other, making me uniquely me and being appreciative of what each of my passions bring to my life.
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Feeling stuck in your life and need a boost?
Applications are re-opened for the Thriving Artist's Program.
Your creativity is not a luxury to reserve for the moment when everything is perfect again.
Your creativity is your savior right now. Right in the midst of all the tough stuff and your busy schedule.
Your creativity is what will help you pick up the pieces, smush them back together, and present them back to the world in a new and unique way. In a way that is purely, genuinely, vulnerably you. In a way that will elicit emotions and connection from other human beings, inspiring them to feel something long tucked away.
It has the potential to change lives. To save lives.
Do not forget this.
It’s time.
Come home to your creative self.
If you don’t know how, just start somewhere. Do a dance. Draw. Sing. Make something.
When have YOU experienced creative or artistic expression as a life saver or life changer? Has it ever helped you get through a rough time? Please share below!
The running from one thing to the next until you end up crashing.
Then that moment when you wake up.
Am I really happy?
Am I doing what I really want to do be doing?
Is what I want even possible - or deserved?
Is it too late to try?
If you’re asking yourself those questions, you’re probably an artist.
Not necessarily a paintbrush-in-hand kind of artist, but an artist at heart, no matter what medium you choose to use or not use.
There’s something in you that longs to be expressed.
You can ignore that calling, or you can follow it.
When you listen to the part of you that is unfulfilled, you start to understand what your life is truly about.
I get this reminder often, for example. It took me floundering all day yesterday, doing my work, attempting to write a blog post but feeling stuck, wandering, being stuck in my thoughts, and all the time feeling like I was missing out on something. (What was it?) The feelings of impatience, longing, and grasping for something that would satisfy.
Finally I landed at a dance studio at 8:15pm. I walked into the place and my whole body released. Home. That unmistakable feeling of home.
I stepped into the Afro-Brazilian class and the teacher had us walk in a circle while stretching and rolling our shoulders. We stopped and faced each other, reaching up to the sky and down to the floor.
And then. The drums.
The drummer started playing and I almost cried.
Nothing else mattered in that moment - not the time I had wasted earlier or the frustration I had been feeling - because I was there dancing to the drum beat.
And something interesting happened while I was going through the class -
I would think about people in my life and dedicate the dance to them. I felt my heart opening as I did that, and each movement took on even more meaning and oomph.
Some might say a dance unseen doesn’t impact the world, but I beg to differ.
And so on this Friday afternoon, I encourage you to dance your dance. Find your dance - your literal or metaphorical dance. Find your home.
When you find your dance, you come home to yourself, and you realize that it really never is too late. Because all that matters is what’s happening right now, on the dance floor and in your body.
If you are experiencing that longing, if you’re worried it might be too late to listen to the hole inside of you, if you don’t know where to begin, it’s time to reach out. Because you don’t have to flounder anymore. You don’t have to go at it alone.
Here’s the opportunity -
In July, spots will be opening up in my Thriving Artist’s Program, the creative coaching program I designed to guide you back home into the truest expression of your artistic self.
If you’re serious about making a change in your life,
If you no longer want to settle,
If you feel excited or terrified about the idea of connecting deeply to your artistic self,
Oh honey, this is for YOU!
Because this is such a unique and tailored experience, and because of how deeply I believe in this work, I’m opening up 9 spots for a complimentary Creative Guidance Session with me. Next Friday is the deadline to sign up.
We can talk via phone or skype, so it really doesn’t matter where you live. What matters most is that you feel ready to take action and that you desire a shift. What you’ll get is a 30-minute space focused on you, time to talk through what’s been holding you back, what you see possible for yourself, and the path we will take to help you get there more gracefully. I might even teach you a new dance move.
Do you SHOW UP for yourself throughout all those cycles?
Do you make space consistently for connection to yourself and your creative expression?
If not, read on.
(If yes, then do a happy dance and let me know so I can do one with you!)
This week the message is simple - make space for yourself and your art CONSISTENTLY.
Schedule it into your calendar. Sign up for a class or program if you can’t motivate yourself to do it solo. However you need to, set aside that time.
Having space will allow you to FEEL what’s happening inside. It will help you take a break from the day-to-day and take a step inside of yourself. From that place you can get clarity about things and connect to your intuition. You can create something.
And, the consistent practice of coming to this place, no matter how up or down you’re feeling, will influence your art and your life in big ways. If you wait until you feel happy to make a dance or write a poem, you’ll only be tapping into one emotion. If you keep working on that dance or poem through all your feelings and states, you’ll access depth and authenticity.
Not having space can leave you feeling frustrated, lost, and out of sorts with yourself. It can leave you overly influenced by the demands and opinions of others. It can stifle you and make you want to jump out of your skin! (I know because I’ve been there!)
If you’re saying, “Jess, I get it but I have no idea what I’d actually DO if I created that space for myself...”
I hear you. The empty space can be a scary thing. So scary that we’d rather fill space with a bunch of other crap to avoid it.
If you need a plan of action, I created a quick set of instructions you can follow.
What to do in a creative session with yourself:
First thing’s first: Make the space in your calendar. Schedule it in. Rent studio space if you need to, or just clear out all other distractions for an hour or however long you need.
Start out the session with movement. Do the Dance Shuffle Solution or just simply play a couple of songs and let your body warm up and move intuitively. It doesn’t even have to be “dancing.” You can roll around on the floor or stretch or run around or whatever your body desires.
Next, go to your notebook and write. Set a timer for 10 minutes and do some free writing - about the random thoughts in your head, or about a particular theme that’s coming up for you in your life.
Then, lie down and do nothing. You can set a timer for this too - maybe 5 minutes. Allow things to settle. Call it meditation or just call it doing nothing. Most importantly, just do it and see what comes up. You might feel emotions. Great. Let them flow through you - cry, laugh, make sounds, or do whatever needs to come through.
Finally, make something. If you have a go-to artistic discipline, this step will be obvious - just go and do that thing (i.e. dance, paint, write, etc.). If you don’t have a go-to thing, then this is your time to experiment. The most important part is that you just commit to trying something.
Set up another time in your calendar for next week (or tomorrow) and repeat the process.
p.p.s. I’m also opening up Creative Office Hours this coming Monday June 8th only.Book a complimentary 15-minute time slot with me to jam on what's happening - or not happening - in your creative life. I'll give you my best guidance and laser-focused coaching to help you dance away from the call with a new perspective and motivation to do what you want to do.
Some of the fears I worked through involved using my voice more, both metaphorically and literally and finding cohesion for my varied interests. I felt stuck in so many areas of my life and now I really feel like I'm finally moving.
Today’s message is short and sweet:
