Creative Bursts

(mouse clicks) (gentle music) Headspace Studios. (light music) Greetings. Greetings, everyone. It is Wednesday and I welcome you to "Radio Headspace." My name is Kessonga. So as I sit here tapping into my creative juices to write this episode, I feel compelled today to focus on, well, creativity. I humbly believe that our creative side is designed to nourish and to feed our spirit, and this creativity comes in so many different forms, from writing, as I'm doing right now, to painting, to drawing, dancing, making music, cooking, and the list just goes on and on. There's no better feeling than completing a piece of work that you've created yourself. And I thoroughly feel this way every time I finish writing a "Radio Headspace" episode. I also believe that we are born with this creativity already within us. Just watch a baby as they play with blocks, or scribble on a piece of paper. What I think happens is as we get older, and the different stages of life begin to happen, you know, we start school, we form relationships, we get jobs, et cetera, et cetera. Well, stress kind of pulls us away from our creative side. The societal norms kick in, and we're fed messages like, "Get a real career. "That won't pay the bills," and so we may give up on our dream of being a fashion designer or a jazz saxophonist, for example, and oftentimes we end up miserable and stressed out with our everyday life, and we may not even know why. So how do we reignite the spark of creativity within us? Well, meditation can certainly help. What meditation allows us to do is to tap back into our mindful center, meaning taking a pause and being aware of what's around us, what we see, what we hear and observe through our senses right in the moment. When we're able to tap back into our mindful center, then it's almost like we're tapping back into our true selves. We're stripping away the pressure and the expectations that have been set on us, and just tuning in to what's happening in the here and now. And we may rediscover that creative side that we've lost touch with. For instance, if you practice mindful cooking, you're actually taking time to notice what you're doing as you're doing it, rediscovering that you love the smell of a certain spice, or the texture of a vegetable, instead of rushing to get to the next thing. And that could remind you that you love cooking. I've had numerous clients experience a scenario just like this, and some of them realize that the path they took in life is not expressing who they authentically are. And if that's the case, I gently invite you to think about what's practical before making a drastic career change. So for instance, if you're a corporate lawyer who financially supports your family, and you really yearn to be an abstract painter, it might not...