Author Archives: adairheitmann

Dreams: Snakes, eels and me . . . oh my!

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You may be asking right about now, “What do snakes and eels, of all things, have to do with being creative and how the heck do they relate to wellness?” Dreams, my dear Watson, dreams. Our nighttime dreams hold the wisdom of our souls. They offer us the equivalent of decades worth of free psychotherapy in our lifetimes. As a dreamer and as an educator about the wonderful world of dreams, I have learned over the years to trust in my dream imagery 100%. Dreams provide us with an uncensored window into our waking life. Knowledge garnered from nighttime dreams actually helps me create the life I love.

Recently snakes and eels have shown up in my dreams. Their appearance helps anchor me in my own symbolic mythology. In everyday life I may shutter or jump at the sight of a snake, but in my dreams I receive the emotion that is in the dream, without editing it. Using the art of metaphor, I glean my dream’s message. It’s like unraveling a ball of yarn, tugging at possible interpretations until one feels right.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Listen to your nighttime dreams. Refrain from judging your own symbolism. Let your nighttime dreams speak to you in their unique language of colors, animals, and intricate texture–your waking life will be richer for it.

Composure

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I’m sitting at my computer, exhaling. This week has been full of new beginnings. My twin is this season called Spring. Green stems from bulbs planted long ago are poking through fertile earth, like the ideas that I’ve been planting and fertilizing over time that are beginning to bloom. I’m reminded that patience works. All we have to do is let Mother Nature teach us. She shows me how to create new seeds of ideas and then to gently nurture, nourish, and protect them. Trusting that when they are ready the ideas will spring forth–healthy and ready for the light.

Creativity and wellness message for today: What seeds of new possibilities are you planting in the garden of your life? Let the wisdom of Nature guide you to your own place of calmness, tranquility and self-possession.

Clarity

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Have you ever completed a project and felt a sense of perspective? Well, that happened to me a few minutes ago. I’ve just finished writing a workshop titled “Creativity and Well-being” that I’ll be giving at a social services community center next week. The program is all about my mission that creativity is handling life’s challenges from an enlightened perspective. The program inspires wellness by teaching that we can all experience balanced free-flowing energy on many levels–body, mind, emotions, and spirit. As I was creating the workshop I remembered when I recently experienced an illuminating view of clarity.

A few weeks ago, I was in the throes of a professional metamorphosis, with the same level of stress that, many of you may be feeling right now too. I gave myself permission to trust in the unknown and simply take a step in the right direction, not fully knowing where that step might lead me.  In an instant of pure trust, a union of my mind, body and spirit occurred, like a clear, glacier-fed stream in the Canadian Rockies. Clarity came to me quietly, without judgment and flowing freely. In that crystal transformation my soul had no agenda. Validation wasn’t necessary, pure essence was all there was.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Be open to receive clarity. It can come to you softly, without fanfare or drama. It will simply exist and in the moment you will know you are walking in truth.

Putting One Foot . . .

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You know the rest of the title “. . . in front of the other.” Sometimes that is what’s asked of us–to make a decision, be clear in our intentions then, get busy. Creativity can come into play in our attitude, and in our willingness to be open to new ideas. As a practicing fine artist and educator I am enchanted by what I call “happy accidents.”  In artwork its when the ink spills or the camera shakes and you realize that perfection has happened. One day, my friend P. was painting a stylized picture of a dancing couple, their feet perfectly poised on an ornate rug. In the pristine white borders of her picture a blob of gouache accidentally dropped . P. was aghast. I saw what happened and noticed that the shape looked like a pair of scissors. In that instant of unconscious creativity I blurted out, “You could title the painting, ‘Cutting Up the Rug.'”

Creativity and wellness message for today: Get to work, do what you need to do and delight in the unknown. Sometimes being aware of a happy accident is all that is necessary to lighten the moment and take the next step.

Revisit Stillness

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Today I stopped midstream, seems like I’ve been doing that a lot recently. The pressing need for an immediate and total halt in order for me to rejuvenate. This morning I sat, I meditated, I centered. Almost immediately clarity came, my breathing deepened and the pressure in my chest went away. Unexpectedly, in the stillness, in the quiet, creative ideas floated into my consciousness about a new book proposal. When my mind and body paused, my spirit awoke.

Creativity and wellness message for today: Dip into the stillness, no matter what. A wellspring of reverence is there for you every day, every moment. Stop, immerse yourself in the quiet. You just may discover that sometimes non-action is the key to action.

Consider Being Imperfect

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As a perfectionist, a number One on the Enneagram and with an astrological Sun sign that leans, if not immerses itself in being perfect, today a whisper of change came into my mind. I was between venues–exercising and work, I was in a transition mode. Frankly, I was also worrying about stresses in life, when a little voice inside my head said, “Consider being imperfect.” What a freeing thought. Just for a moment, a day, I will do my best, and yet  I’m going to loosen my grip on my performance and the outcome. I’m going to lighten up. Breathe easier.

My creativity and wellness message for today is: Make peace with imperfection. It might just give you the understanding that you need, to be human.

Creative Meditation

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Do you ever have the feeling that you are doing too much? Are your responsibilities overwhelming you? Is it pull-out-your-hair-time? If so, you are not alone. This afternoon I was hard at work, systematically producing against deadlines and I felt that familiar stretching across my forehead. That’s my signal, that I need a break. Luckily I could escape phones and computers for 20 minutes. I found a quiet place, closed the door and meditated. I used the simple TM (Transcendental Meditation) mantra that I’ve used for decades. Immediately a wash of clarity came over me.

While I meditated images and words that I’d been stuck on in my work — lifted, regrouped and crystallized. After 20 minutes in silence I stood up, with clear intention on the changes I needed to make.

My creativity & wellness message for today is: Take a break when you need to. Stop, sit, breathe and meditate. The world will still be there when you return, what will be different is you.

Wellness Message From the Water

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I’ll be making entries to inspire you to create the life you love. Entries will be geared toward sharing information about how to feel well, even in troubled times. My tried and true definitions of creativity and wellness follow:

* To be creative is to handle life’s challenges from an enlightened perspective. Creativity honors the unknown, it delights in and ignites spontaneous joy.

* Wellness is the experience of balanced, free-flowing energy on many levels–body, mind, emotions, spirit. To feel well is to accept the whole of who you are.

This morning, when I swam laps at a local pool, the lanes were already full when I arrived. The only available lane was the narrow-close-to-the-wall one that I hate. I wanted to swim, so I moved myself into that lane, even though I didn’t like it. Luckily after five minutes of being squeezed but sharing, the other swimmer finished. I enjoyed two lanes, in my all-to-myself-glory, with plenty of room for the next twenty minutes.

My creativity and wellness message for today is go on ahead and jump in, even if the water isn’t fine! Jump in, do what you can, and sometimes, the way opens up for you.

Thanks for reading, stay tuned.