Creativity is intelligence having fun ~ Einstein.
Creativity is a big part of our lives and we experiment with different ways to nourish it, channel it, and express it. In our creative sessions we fell in love with the effect of cacao. It supports our creative flow with focus and a positive mindset.
Do you enjoy a creative flow in your life? It can stream through you like a strong current - overflowing your mind with new ideas and surprisingly fun connections. At other times, the well seems to be empty and the flow seems to be gone.
What do you do when the flow stagnates? In this blog, we share a few insights and tools that we work with to nourish our creative flow. Cacao has often accompanied us on these journeys.
Nourishing your creativity.
Creativity needs nourishment. Feed your mind with inspiration - images, texts, play, movement and new ideas - those will be the building blocks in your creative sessions. We notice that spending lots of time in the ‘doing-state’ - fixing problems, arranging logistics, getting our lists of ‘to do’s’ done - we can feel depleted on a creative level. If we take time away from our daily schedule, play and enjoy ourselves with seemingly random things, the flow starts to come. Unexpected conversations, eye-opening connections, a happy heart - it all nourishes creation.
In the book ‘The Artist’s Way’ Julia Cameron writes about creative recovery. Amongst other practices, she suggests the Weekly Artist Date. A commitment to yourself to take a solitude moment every week, and treat yourself to an activity of playful fun. It can be anything - swim in the sea, paint, take a sculpture class, shoot an analogue photo tape, go to (ecstatic) dance, read in a book, go to the library, sit in the sun silently for 15min, … what would you do? Committing to this weekly quality time has worked for many people to get their creative flow going strong. And, it’s a whole lot of fun too!
How cacao supports your flow.
Cacao is like a secret weapon for creativity. Especially when we experience a writers’ block or if we’ve lost inspiration, cacao can be our companion to accept it in the moment and make way for a new flow to arise.
When taking cacao into your creative sessions, the effects start with the preparation of the drink. Making your cacao drink with full attention trains your mind to be present in the moment. While mixing your drink, you can set an intention/focus for your session - it helps to aim your energy into a specific direction.
Slowly, you are creating a little bubble of focus around the project and you. When you sit down and enjoy your intention-fused cacao drink, the bodily effects start to arise. A gentle awakeness and soft stimulating energy. You can feel nicely warm and activated. When you start working on your creative project - you may find yourself a little later in a delicious flow state. We often forget time when we work on our projects with cacao.
Next to all these things, we are amazed by the subtle effect of positivity cacao brings. Sometimes a project can feel like a lot, or you may not feel very excited about it. Cacao stimulates a more positive mindset. You may notice more thoughts coming in like: ‘okay, I am ready, let’s go!’. Positive vibrations :)
Working with time and timelessness
Letting go of time can give rise to amazing and original ideas. If you have the time to set a day (or more) aside and dive deeply into one topic, you can diversify and explore many paths beyond common thought. Visiting these new territories is a lot of fun.
Eventually you may want to bring the new ideas into reality. Going from diversive thought processes into a specific form, you will need to work with time and concrete action.
Our routine for creative projects
Lately we had a lot of joy and creative productivity with the following routine. Take these steps and see if it also works for you:
⬖ Commit. Pick the project you want to take steps in, and commit to focussing on this topic for this session.
⬖ Set up your workspace. Prepare your work space - clear it and put the things you need on it. If you can arrange a room without disturbance, that's great. Pick a music playlist that helps you get into the flow. We love ‘mattimatti - tomrum’ for these sessions.
⬖ Prepare your cacao with intention. Take time to make your cacao drink. While making it, start tuning into the project you will work on.
⬖ Set a timer. Setting a timer creates clarity about your commitment. Be honest with yourself and pick a time window that works for you today. Sometimes it is better to focus 30 minutes than 3 hours. It also depends on your energy level. Set yourself up for success, set the timer and go!
⬖ Enjoy it :) Let yourself go, let your critic go and give yourself space to flow. Just start and express what comes up when connecting to your project. If your mind starts to wonder about other projects and ideas, remember your commitment and get back to the current project.
⬖ Finish the session. When the timer goes, finish what you were doing and take some distance from your work. Release it for now. Even when it's not done yet it is good to give it some space. When we take our brains off a task, we make way for unexpected connections to arise and new ideas to come up. Very important to really let go and get back to it later with a fresh mind.
Enjoy playing with your gift of creativity!
♡
📸 Photo credits to Danique van Kesteren