THURSDAYS
5 pm PDT /7 pm Central/ 8 pm Eastern*
January 2 - January 30, 2025
5 weeks
$195
*Course meets for 1 hour
“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” - Joseph Campbell
Why is a contemplative practice important for creatively-oriented people?
How may our well-being benefit from a contemplative creative practice?
How may our creative work blossom when accompanied by a regular contemplative practice?
We’ll investigate these questions in an empirical, embodied way during a five-week journey exploring contemplative creative practice that will allow us to practice trusting our creative intuition, explore creative play and flow-states, and enhance our creative practice in general.
Our exploration of contemplative creative practice will enhance nervous system regulation, allow us to recharge, forefront being vs doing, and unwind from, or set an energetic intention for the day.
Contemplative creative practice is another way of saying quiet, focused, sometimes flow-state, hand-brain forward, making. It is a personal pursuit but, like a meditation practice, can be very fulfilling to do in the presence of other like-minded humans in a group setting, allowing us to connect in creative community. During our weekly gathering sessions, we will practice contemplative creativity in real time, as a way to support an ongoing practice.
Some examples of what you might lean into during a contemplative creative practice session include: sketching, drawing, doodling, coloring, journaling, free writing, painting, knitting, sewing, collage, or anything else that feels relaxing and doesn’t require a lot of conceptual energy. You can choose what medium or materials feel best. There is absolutely no need to come with an idea or design in mind. The aim is for sessions foster gentle unfolding, relaxation and enjoyment. I’ll offer an optional prompt ahead of each session and/or a medium suggestion, or you can show up and work in whatever way you are drawn to.
You may want to explore non-dominant hand or eyes closed “creative meditations”. Feel free to wear headphones or play music… you can even just join us to just breathe and listen to the sounds in your environment. I’ll offer suggestions for gentle music to support your contemplative practice, which you can use during or outside our gatherings.
We’ll be exploring a present-moment unfolding in a safe, non-judgmental space. If you have taken my Conscious Creativity courses before you may remember the Pause, Presence, Movement, Intention states we discussed often in the early We’ll use this matrix as a container for our contemplative creative practice.
I have started and/or ended my day with a contemplative creative practice for many years. It helps ground me, assists me in clearing my mind and calming my system, and to relax. It also quiets and softens my psychic space. It’s a refresher. And, to be sure, a contemplative creative practice has been integral to an ongoing creative integration process that allows me to move from one mode or state to another. This is important for any lifestyle!
From a polyvagal (nervous system) standpoint, contemplative creative work can put us into a relaxed yet active ventral vagal state, turning on the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps us to relax, feel peaceful, and welcome a sense of curiosity, gratitude and joy.
So, I invite you to join me and a cohort of like-minded humans to ground out and free the mind from the clogs and chaos of the day while you allow your brain to pause and relax, and your hand to gently engage, inviting new modes of attention, perception and perspectives.
Participants may come away with a deepened sense of self-awareness, a sense of play, freedom and inspiration, a lightening up in their approach to their creative practice in general, and an embodied sense of themselves as creative beings.
I’ll offer reading or listening suggestions every week and will have lots of resources to share with you about contemplative creative practice that I have uncovered through my own independent research.
General structure of our hour-long contemplative practice gatherings will include:
5 min Guided grounding and breathing exercise to
40 min Time to create in real-time together (contemplative creative practice)
5 min Guided outro including breathing and grounding
10 min Share a few words and/or close quietly
“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” - Thomas Merton
To register: Send me an email and I’ll get you payment instructions.