So, when I heard about this blog tour and the 2 CD album that was a retrospective and interview of Dan’s work on the 25th anniversary of his career, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
After listening to the CD, I was even more enamored with how Dan created.
His music and words were always so deep and he knew how to tap into mood, weather, setting and emotions. He was indeed not just a musician, but a storyteller.
In listening to the interviews, I saw that Dan knew how to take the little snippets of his life – even ones that were not all that dramatic -and from them he went deeper, adding in the setting around him. Not only were the words powerful but the musical arrangements took the listener to the place where he was-to the top of the mountain; to the streets of Tucson; to the cabin in Tennessee…and created songs that we all could connect to and songs that gave us hope and made us feel that even when life seemed to suck, we could go on.
Hearing Dan talk about his path of creativity was so inspiring for me as an artist.

Sales of this CD benefits Prostate Cancer Foundation in the amount of $3.00 from each CD
sold.
This 2 CD Collector’s Edition is available for $29.95 at: FM Odyssey Radio
If you are a Dan Fogelberg fan, it is a very worth while purchase to hear him talk about the making of some of his songs.

I didn’t have the time with this post to go further into his insights for this blog tour, but I will be posting more on some of the things he brought up that are great lessons for those of us living the artist/writer/creative life.

I am very grateful to have been able to be a part of this and to have the CD to listen to.

Thank you Fred for such a great interview and for putting this out there for all of us to enjoy, learn from and to remember one of the greats.

photo credit: telemetry9
Today, I drew the 2 of Hearts. I have drawn it several times in the past week, so I took a closer look at it today.
The 2 of Hearts is about partnerships, romance and affairs. But there is another aspect of it:  the overly sensitive person.
A 2 of Hearts type:

1. Deeply affected by your surroundings
2. Sensitive to how others think of you and treat you.
3. You have a tremendous need for everyone to love, support,encourage,  acknowledge and accept you.
4. If you don’t feel you have the above, you can become ill or depressed.
5. You often misunderstand the motives of others.
6. Your sensitivity distorts your perception of the actions of others.
7. You have a strong desire to learn and knowledge nourishes your soul.
8. You tend to chose one thing over another.
9. You yearn for companionship.
10. You can sabotage relationships based on false expectations.

I’ll (begrudgingly) admit, this is so me. And, yes, it held me back in my creative endeavors for a big part of my life.
While the sensitivity helped my creativity, it also sabotaged it. It held me back from doing what I really wanted to do because I was waiting to receive permission, support and acceptance and I was basing too much on the need for others to give me the nod before I tried something.

Let’s face it, while we can have many loving, supportive people in our lives, when it comes to creating-especially in the creative arts- folks react to it in so many ways: jealousy, envy, denial, beliefs in lack or the misconception that nothing in the creative arts can succeed,or just plain ole lack of knowledge in that area.
If we are overly sensitive to types like that, it can blow a hole right through our ideas and sink us fast.
As well, being overly sensitive can keep us from taking those first few steps in making an idea a reality. It takes work to get a jumble of ideas out of our heads and down on paper, or onto a canvas or whatever medium we have chosen. It takes time and devotion to step away from our usual routine and begin creating. We are going to experience some type of reaction from those around us regardless of how supportive they are. Acting on the desire to create is powerful energy and it does rock the boat we are in.

Does any of this sound familiar to you?

Are you a 2 of hearts type?

Has it affected your desire to create?

This week, I’ll be posting more on this: the advantages to being overly sensitive and how to use it to unleash your creativity, and, how to keep your sensitivities from sabotaging your desire to create.

1. Being with my other writer friends; we share or talk about our writing and I always want to go home and write after wards. Writers can be loners- we need to talk with and be around other creative writers.
2. Watching a movie with interesting characters or a theme that inspires a new storyline for me.
3. Looking at Decorating magazines-this has always been the case for me. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to look through my mom’s decorating books and pretend that those rooms/homes belonged to someone and then I would go off into my imagination about what those people were doing and how they lived. Still today, I can glance through a decorating magazine, find a room and suddenly see characters!
4. Music- music is such a strong emotion invoker for me. When I listen to music, I see scenes for my characters and it can also stir things up visually.
5. Watching the background in movies- I spend more time looking at what is in the background in movies than I do on the characters sometimes. It goes back to looking at a room and feeling a story. I take note of the walls and what’s on them as well as the setting. Great backgrounds stir new art and story ideas for me!
6. Dreams- In my dreams, there might be a snippet of dialogue or an odd person or an odd place that stays with me after I wake up-those are always fodder for getting the juices flowing!
7. Reading works by great authors- this really helps when I feel what I am writing is dry or lacking something. I pick up a book by Barbara Kingsolver or Jane Austin or other really good writers and even after reading a few paragraphs, I’ll get an idea of what to do next with mine.
8. Imitating sentences- this is something I learned in the last workshop I attended by L. McKenna Donovan. We learned to find sentences by other good writers and to break them down and imitate them. Its not an easy thing to do, but doing this always gives me a new perspective and many times will help me move past a block.
9. Taking a bubble bath or swimming- hey, its a fact, water has negative ions and negative ions help us with our creativity! Time in water for me is transformational!  I start asking my characters whats up or I meditate and bam!-the answers are there as I relax in a mound of juicy bubbles!
10. Walking through an Art Gallery. This is pretty much a no-brainer, but I love looking at artwork in galleries if I need inspiration.
11. Watching reality shows where creativity is the theme  Shows like Project Runway and Top Chef inspire me!
12. Traveling- Going to new places always stirs my imagination. Writers and artists can write off all travel for that reason, correct?
13. Dealing with powerful emotions-this is going to be a topic for another post, but when I go through something that has powerful emotions- after I have recovered- I can use those feelings to evoke scenes or experiences for characters or even for color ideas for artwork.

One of the thoughts that the Sun shares is: True freedom exists when we are free from the fear of loss.

I got to thinking about the state of our society right now. So many people who were use to having it all, are now facing losing it all. The American life of the big house and the big car and whatever material possessions we want-we can have, is collapsing. The material things and the balance in our bank accounts and the status of  those things, for some, is what defined us. What defines us when we lose it all? Who are we if we have to move in with our parents, or start delivering pizzas instead of being the big guy on the block who had everything?
The other irony of this card draw for me is that this is exactly what the protagonist in my novel is going through. She based her life on her success and material acquisitions – she  is then thrown a curve ball by having to go back to her roots and past, something she has avoided for a really long time, and she *thinks* that it will, in the end, add some more to her bottom line. Instead, she learns what real abundance is.

We became such a disconnected society. Now, with what is going on, we are learning to reconnect. Before, when we needed help, we whipped out the checkbook and paid for help. Now, communities are coming together to provide help, not with monetary exchanges, but with hands on help.
The message of the 8 of diamonds is that with abundance and power comes responsibility.
The message of the Sun card is that we have choices to make and we need to make them based on careful observations and practical application.
It is humans who do the work of the Divine. When our hands refuse to reach out and help, the bounty of the Sun (Divine) is limited and lack is experienced.
How is this about creativity? Creativity is power. Ideas are power and can create abundance. We are going through a time when we need new ideas; we need new perspectives and the ideas that we share with our creativity can help move us in a new direction. We also need to support one another. We have lived the time in America when it was all about competition and about seeing who could grab onto the most and have it all to themselves.  And, how did that work out for us?
There is nothing wrong with abundance; the Sun card and the 8 of diamonds affirms that Divine infinite provision is offered, and we do live in the land of plenty and endless bounty.  Creativity- that ability to create our reality- that innate power within us, is always there. We can responsibly utilize it or we can destroy everything with it.
Maybe we should have a new slogan- instead of  “What’s in your wallet?” – how about  “What’s in your creative hands?”

The 3 of spades is creative inspiration – it is such a strong creative energy, that unless the person is focused on a venue for that energy, they can become scattered and indecisive.
I am one of those who has too many ideas and I don’t like staying with one for a long time. I could never work for the same company my whole life or work on a factory line. I can’t stand routine or ruts. I’m not one who enjoys strict structure and rules. I like dabbling here and there, trying out a multitude of ideas that flood my head as I try to fall asleep. Barbara Sher even wrote a book for folks like me:Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams

The 3 of spades MUST express themselves. It is about varied interests and being talented on more that one front ( I seriously envy those who have one great talent and they are working in a field using that talent) and those who are this card are good at a lot of different jobs. The issue happens when the person is unsure of their goals in life; all that creative energy turns to worry. Constant, debilitating worry.

What this card teaches is that with enormous creative energy one must also utilize patience and persistence; one must also have a clear cut goal.

I knew exactly what the card was saying to me when I drew it. In an earlier post, I realized I needed a new list of goals. Well, as exciting as that is, I went into hysterics over it…..because I like to dabble in so many things. And I tend to feel that I need to let go of what I am currently working on and try something new.
What the card was saying to me was: If you want to achieve success, adopt a slow but sure approach. Listen to your intuition and inner vision.
Allow the creative energies to be the source of inspiration, not a distraction.

What I have learned is that we can know we are on the right path (with a job, a relationship, a project) when what we need to make it work appears for us. A mentor, help, advice, materials, education and of course positive feelings about all of it. Then it is a matter of sticking to it and using the creative energy to feed it. The trick is in realizing that a lot of creative energy can also feel like discontentment: a feeling that we should go off in another direction instead. It can be hard to discern a lot of energy from restlessness and confusion over what to do.

In talking with other writers about writing a novel, we all are experiencing that realization that it takes time-dedicated, focused time. Its an odd gig. It can take years to complete. Unlike a painting that we can watch come together and even if it takes a few weeks or a few months, the end result is there in front of us, we can see it, touch it. A novel in progress is partly in our heads, some on paper, some on the hard drive. Months can be spent on research, weeks doing something else while it brews in our subconscious. Folks can’t see the work we are doing.
But, the creative energy is flowing through us; it can feel antsy, disheveled, and it can make us worry. Are we on the right track? Is this project going to be worth it in the end? Why am I really doing this? Is it as good as I originally thought it would be?

The thought for today is: Be easy on yourself. With a lot of creative energy comes opportunities and ideas, which can lead to indecision and stress. if unsure of what direction to go in, go do something physical, move, go out into nature…then tune in to your inner voice and trust yourself.

Are you one who can stick with something for a really long time and see the outcome? Or, do you like to go off in a hundred different directions? Do you have a way to keep yourself on track?