I really struggled with the God language in this chapter. She completely lost me here, “God has lots of money. God has lots of movie ideas, novel ideas, poems, songs, paintings, acting jobs.” P. 92 She centres God as a source of abundance and creative power, but then she attributes concrete man-made things to God, like money and acting jobs? She also seems to interchange God with “the creator within,” which could work for me, except how does the creator within have lots of money – a capitalist invention that has nothing to do with creativity? I feel like there is inconsistency throughout around how she uses language around God and spirituality, which I think adds to my difficulty in searching for meaning and validity in her words. Maybe this will be addressed more in Chapter Six (or I will continue to question her ideas) since a peek ahead has Cameron suggesting that Nancy, who doesn’t believe God gets involved with money, needs an overhaul of her God concept.
Clare, I understand this completely: "I would really like to challenge my mindset around money, scarcity and security." I grew up in a poor household and had to count every penny to put myself through university and pay off student loans. I save items that I think might be useful (to save money and the environment), and make careful decisions around purchases. I know logically I don't have to be concerned about financial security and haven't had to for decades (recent stock market drops aside), yet it is always a concern at the back of my mind and informs decisions I make and how I guide my children. Thank you for reminding me it's my body that remembers even though my mind knows otherwise.
You make some really good points here, Tracey. I like the idea of making space for creative flow and maintaining some mystery around the process of creation. But it's a whole other thing to expect God/creativity to provide for our material needs. It's a stretch for me to think about God in that sense and I'm open to trying it but when she collapses the distinction between creative abundance and the reality of our day-to-day lives, it makes it harder to trust the rest of her teachings. As you say, I think we'll explore this more in Chapter 6 which I suspect will be one I struggle with a lot!
I hope you'll take good care of yourself! I know you had it in you, you know how important it is and you shoo away exhaustion and burnout! Sending love🩷
I loved your recap as always🩷 I'm sorry but I laughed out loud at this: 'List 10 ways I’m mean to myself. Only 10? 🙃' :DDD I laughed because I'm the same. It's such a valuable insight though! Phrasing and writing your mean thoughts about yourself, letting them go starts with noticing them while you do them. THEN you can stop them!
So glad it made you laugh, Mazsi 💕 I did the activity during the week and it was one of my favourites of the process so far. I had no idea I was so casually mean to my inner artist/self. Really recommend it, if you haven't given it a try? It was so helpful for me.
Clare, I was struck by your remark that you’ve never experienced a “presto” moment in your creative career. I’m curious to learn more about what a presto moment might look like you. Is it about an internal feeling of satisfaction, or about a particular accomplishment, or something else?
This is such a good question, Rachel. I imagine it as a kind of internal clicking, a kind of recognition in seeing something I've made and feeling like it echoes the vision I had for it in my mind. It's an almost child-like sense of awe at something I've managed to create that feels both like mine and something far beyond me.
I'm not sure this makes sense. It's like trying to describe a dream, or that spacey, stoned feeling but that's my own sense of a "presto" moment. I'm curious if you've ever experienced one? How would you describe it?
Thanks, Clare! I think for me, the closest I’ve come is watching The Sex Myth: A Devised play in NYC. But that’s partly because it was a collective accomplishment; something that was built on my work, rather than built by me alone.
That must have been an incredible night, Rachel. I love what you said about collective accomplishments too. Writing is such a solitary profession and honestly, I often find it quite lonely (even as someone who's very introverted!) But I love the idea of seeking out more ways to find collective accomplishment. That's a worthwhile goal 💕
I really struggled with the God language in this chapter. She completely lost me here, “God has lots of money. God has lots of movie ideas, novel ideas, poems, songs, paintings, acting jobs.” P. 92 She centres God as a source of abundance and creative power, but then she attributes concrete man-made things to God, like money and acting jobs? She also seems to interchange God with “the creator within,” which could work for me, except how does the creator within have lots of money – a capitalist invention that has nothing to do with creativity? I feel like there is inconsistency throughout around how she uses language around God and spirituality, which I think adds to my difficulty in searching for meaning and validity in her words. Maybe this will be addressed more in Chapter Six (or I will continue to question her ideas) since a peek ahead has Cameron suggesting that Nancy, who doesn’t believe God gets involved with money, needs an overhaul of her God concept.
Clare, I understand this completely: "I would really like to challenge my mindset around money, scarcity and security." I grew up in a poor household and had to count every penny to put myself through university and pay off student loans. I save items that I think might be useful (to save money and the environment), and make careful decisions around purchases. I know logically I don't have to be concerned about financial security and haven't had to for decades (recent stock market drops aside), yet it is always a concern at the back of my mind and informs decisions I make and how I guide my children. Thank you for reminding me it's my body that remembers even though my mind knows otherwise.
You make some really good points here, Tracey. I like the idea of making space for creative flow and maintaining some mystery around the process of creation. But it's a whole other thing to expect God/creativity to provide for our material needs. It's a stretch for me to think about God in that sense and I'm open to trying it but when she collapses the distinction between creative abundance and the reality of our day-to-day lives, it makes it harder to trust the rest of her teachings. As you say, I think we'll explore this more in Chapter 6 which I suspect will be one I struggle with a lot!
I hope you'll take good care of yourself! I know you had it in you, you know how important it is and you shoo away exhaustion and burnout! Sending love🩷
I loved your recap as always🩷 I'm sorry but I laughed out loud at this: 'List 10 ways I’m mean to myself. Only 10? 🙃' :DDD I laughed because I'm the same. It's such a valuable insight though! Phrasing and writing your mean thoughts about yourself, letting them go starts with noticing them while you do them. THEN you can stop them!
So glad it made you laugh, Mazsi 💕 I did the activity during the week and it was one of my favourites of the process so far. I had no idea I was so casually mean to my inner artist/self. Really recommend it, if you haven't given it a try? It was so helpful for me.
Clare, I was struck by your remark that you’ve never experienced a “presto” moment in your creative career. I’m curious to learn more about what a presto moment might look like you. Is it about an internal feeling of satisfaction, or about a particular accomplishment, or something else?
This is such a good question, Rachel. I imagine it as a kind of internal clicking, a kind of recognition in seeing something I've made and feeling like it echoes the vision I had for it in my mind. It's an almost child-like sense of awe at something I've managed to create that feels both like mine and something far beyond me.
I'm not sure this makes sense. It's like trying to describe a dream, or that spacey, stoned feeling but that's my own sense of a "presto" moment. I'm curious if you've ever experienced one? How would you describe it?
Thanks, Clare! I think for me, the closest I’ve come is watching The Sex Myth: A Devised play in NYC. But that’s partly because it was a collective accomplishment; something that was built on my work, rather than built by me alone.
That must have been an incredible night, Rachel. I love what you said about collective accomplishments too. Writing is such a solitary profession and honestly, I often find it quite lonely (even as someone who's very introverted!) But I love the idea of seeking out more ways to find collective accomplishment. That's a worthwhile goal 💕
Thank you for the mention! I hope you make that vision board! I'd love to see it!
Thanks Jen! I'd love to make one too 💕