20 Nov
During the Creative Process
THE GREAT GRATITUDE ADVENTURE/ DAY TWENTY/ ALLOWING
“That which transforms your life is what you practice. And what you practice constitutes your personal laws of life—not what you merely believe in, but what you practice.”~Michael Beckwith
What are we practicing?
Hmmm.
There have been many books written on the how to’s of making art.
Specifics on mathematically precise ways to achieve a desired result—the nuts and bolts of creating something. I have no argument with this. I have in fact delved, consumed and put into practice a fair number of the ideas presented within those books.
There is one thing in particular though that piques my interest, that comes under an entirely different process.
It is the art of allowing.
I think before one even starts down this path of allowing we have to know that it calls for a belief in magic. Yep, I said magic:))
And by magic I mean recognizing that everything can’t be explained.
“Will you let me come in and play?”
This goes against most of what we have believed and trained for all our lives. Years of ingrained thinking that goes something like this:
- No pain, no gain
- Things are hard
- You gotta earn it
- It can’t be this simple
That is the moment. The moment of truth. The moment you decide to allow what is coming through to come through or you retreat out of fear and not knowing to the safety of the “known”–the old comfortable ways of how things are supposed to happen, be done, designed.
The things that amaze us, stagger us, cause our eyes to well with tears of deep joy come from these unknown places that ideas drop down from. We are, at our best, vehicles for this. Practicing this trust, this opening of the door to magic, gets sweeter and smoother and more beautiful with each engagement.
And that which transforms our life, our art, is not merely what we believe, but what we practice.
The art of allowing.
A worthy practice.
What are you grateful for today??
Thankful for good friends, good food & the 7 lbs. I gained over the holiday!!
Karen Jean
I am grateful for being alive and well on a beautiful day in Florida and to be able to turn on my iPad and find wonderful friends to inspire me, like you Dreama.
Patricia Steedle
Grateful for hot tea on a chilly morning, reading the paper with my hubby with all our pets nearby. Nancy Makar
Today I am grateful for learning to listen to the quiet little impulses that lead to delightful surprises in the final product.
Karen Giffod
I am thankful for friends ! Linda Will
I’m grateful for some time off…
I am grateful, my paintings was excepted into a juried show today.
Today I am so thankful that I was able to save a second cat family in less than a week from local shelters that are not no kill. Now on to fun part of watching these amazing kitties grow and learn!!! Thank you, Monica Avila
I am thankful to have a job, even though fsr from home. I am thankful to be going home for thanksgiving where i can spend a few days relaxing and indulging in some painting.
I am grateful for an invitation to Thanksgiving dinner with a walking friend even though she is probably the only one I will know there. Of course, that won’t last long. We will all be friends by the time the meal is over!
Mary Moran
I am grateful for the peace that comes with being grateful.
Brenda Smith
How thankful I am today for the sweet friends who invited my daughter and me to join them to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. They all know that my other daughter and my two sons and their families are scattered (she in another Texas city, the boys in Europe)and cannot be here.
Gratitude for being reminded to “KISS” Keep It Simple Silly!
Today I’m grateful that I finally remembered to connect an Ethernet cable to access my internet. Almost missed posting because I didn’t have internet for a frustrating day. Learning is a wonderful thing and remembering what you’ve learned is even better! Sea Dean
I am grateful for my sweet husbands hard work today putting up Christmas lights outside
Linda White
I am grateful for the beautiful music I listen to that helps keep me inspired!
Today I’m grateful for my friend, Judy. She’s a cancer survivor, and I’m so grateful to have her as a friend. Another true artist. We go to workshops together (Dreama’s in Kentucky and had a blast!). We’ve been to Door County, Wisc., Brown County, Indiana, Dillman’s Resort in northern Wisconsin, Chicago Art Expo, and in each others backyards. We just love to paint, drink wine, visit. It wonderful, and I’m so grateful to have Judy as my friend!
I am thankful for the beautiful brightly colored flowers I have been buying to brighten up my home. They make me smile when I pass them. My choices amaze even me.
I am grateful for the post by Pastel Artist Richard McKinley that I read today.
http://www.artistsnetwork.com/articles/inspiration-creativity/the-art-of-seeing-a-message-of-gratitude
Please read and share.
Grateful for listening with ears truly open for receiving the message.
I’m grateful today that I am passing the Thanksgiving chef’s hat to my daughter.It’s wonderful to have space in the fridge and to not be at the grocery store for all those last minute things. Most of all I’m so grateful to have my daughter and that she wants to host the family. Thirty three years flash before me and I won’t miss turkey#36 or is it #37?
Dianne Harrison
Dreama, I am so grateful you share so beautifully with your writing!
Oh Dreama! This is my favourite post so far! LOVE! I am so grateful that I ALLOWED myself to begin making art! A major achievement for someone who needs CONTROL!
I am thankful for my dogs, as they provide me with companionship, comfort and unconditional love.
I am so grateful that sometimes I do ALLOW myself to follow my dreams.
I am so thankful for my husband and family that ALLOW me to be me.
Thank you Dreama for your wonderful words of wisdom. Yes , allowing ourselves to create , allow, or simply make a mistake that turns out wonderful. I have had that happen in the kitchen, painting, and many other forms in life and I’m thankful for all of them. Thanksgiving can be hard on me trying to get my three children (grown adults) to help. I have two replaced knees and standing for too long can really hurt. I’m going to assign tasks for each of them to help me with. I’m grateful for my hard working husband who will be able to relax and enjoy Thanksgiving at home with us. Dreana “the room with a view” is simply perfect! I love it. My husband is in the hotel business coincidence maybe.
I am gratefule for my husbands brother and his wife visiting us from Costa Rica. They are wonderful people and fun to be with. Love them
lori Anderson, Folsom CA
I am grateful for a lunch time walk with my sweetheart on this beautiful fall day.
I am thankful for warm soup on a cold foggy day.
I’m grateful for the sweet pilgrims and Indians at preschool today who sang so sweetly in their Thanksgiving program! Their parents were so proud of them…it’s all about the love!
I am thankful that I live in a place where I can have at least a few flowers blooming through the winter. My sunflowers have finally finished and the camellias are just starting. Some of them look like roses — so It’s twice the impact.
So thankful that I am recovering from an illness and can get outside in the beautiful sunshine once again.
So Thankful for the magic in all of us
Today’s a tough one. Received some bad news that stressed me out. But I am grateful for my baby squirming around inside me letting me know she is doing well and getting ready to join us in the coming weeks!
Grateful for this post’s reminder, Dreama, we
have to step out of the way and allow that
inspiration through God’s beauty, His
promptings and whispers guide us…it is
magical.
Monica Dahl
Today, I am thankful for faith in God, faith in miracles, and faith in the power of the human mind.
Another great post!!! I will have to say I am truly grateful for the magic in my life. I will enjoy the allowing each day.
I welled up with tears reading your words today, Dreama. More than the usual, daily enthusiastic nodding of my head in agreement, more than smiling while reading.
Your words today touched me so deeply within. It’s so important to allow those little seeds of creativity, of imagination, those little sparks of colour, those little squiggles on the page or the canvas, to come forward and blossom and explode onto that page or that canvas. All we need do is believe – believe in our own creativity, our own imagination, our own magic.
I didn’t listen or believe or even allow – for a very long, long time. But I do listen now. And I believe. And I do – finally – allow. I believe in the magic, and the magic that comes with allowing.
Thank you so much for this, Dreama. Your words each day are gifts in themselves.
Today I’m grateful not only for these beautiful words you’ve expressed and shared with us, but also for the fact that after a nearly full day of the electric and phone being on and off again intermittently due to a bad storm, we’ve finally got the power back on again for more than a half hour at a time, and the phone/internet connection has been restored, as has the electric stove, the fridge, the shower.
I am grateful for so much! My family, friends, my talents, my health and my dog. My little Maxie (my poodle) means so much to me and his loving attitude is always there for me no matter what happens. When I am sad or sick, he cuddles with me and always lets me know he loves me. What a treasure from above. Merry Lund
I am thankful for another day of life. For being born in the US. And for the health of my family. For being together this Thanksgiving, giving thanks.
I am thankful today for my daughter-in-law. She is such a sweet girl and I am thankful my son found her and had the good sense to marry her.
Brenda Gibbs
Really nice post today… Today, I am grateful for the abundance of information available to me as an ‘always learning’ painter, and for all the people who are willing to share this information.
Thankful that I have a full month of enjoying your blog daily!
-gigi
Your message today is like a get of of Jail free card. Muchas gracias!
Thank you Dreama for your wonderful words of wisdom. Yes , allowing ourselves to create , allow, or simply make a mistake that turns out wonderful. I have had that happen in the kitchen, painting, and many other forms in life and I’m thankful for all of them. Thanksgiving can be hard on me trying to get my three children (grown adults) to help. I have two replaced knees and standing for too long can really hurt. I’m going to assign tasks for each of them to help me with. I’m grateful for my hard working husband who will be able to relax and enjoy Thanksgiving at home with us. Dreana “the room with a view” is simply perfect! I love it. My husband is in the hotel business coincidence maybe.
Thankful for all the wonderful people in my life.
Ha! I always sign my drawings in black…never once thought of using white….hmmm….would love to try this! Thanks! deb
nuleaf at comcast dot net
I am grateful for a loving family that will share Thanksgiving meals together. So many families cannot be together for Thanksgiving and so many other days of the year. Sharing life with people you love means everything.
Fran C.
I’m grateful to be cooking for a large Thanksgiving gathering and for the family I will share it with.
Today is our wedding anniversary and I am grateful for the years we have spent together and the joy of being retired and getting to spend our days together.
Barb Krell
Grateful for a husband with WAY better than average domestic skills!
Well…another inspiring post Dreama…thank you! Today, I’m thankful for my best friend and for sharing! She shared something so fun with me yesterday and I hope I can share the joy I had with others today!
Good Morning! I am grateful for the rain and warm weather rather than snow and cold!
I am most grateful for my special friend Kathy who listens, encourages and reminds me that ‘it’s not so bad’. She has an amazing heart that she generously shares with me ~ and most everyone else.
I am really working on the ‘allow’ thing because you’re right Dreama, just the opposite was drummed into us as children (well maybe not ALL of us), and to all of a sudden feel and know that it’s OK TO ALLOW……Well that’s just amazing and more fun than ever!!! Isn’t it a fabulous feeling?!?!?
Maybe allowing and giving ourselves permission are flip sides of the same coin. Today I will mix the most beautiful color I know (ice blue with Caribbean blue) and allow it to be used right there (see it?) on my canvas. Yes!
Joan Terrell
I’m grateful for airplanes that bring my son and daughter in law . .am leaving for the airport now! Yippee!
For my three beautiful children.
Grateful today to have my daughter accompany me into the city for some fine art viewing and art supply shopping at our favorite store.
Today, my thoughts are on the amazingly wonderful extended family that we are blessed with and that we will be driving to go see them tonight!
#20…wide-eyed wonder.
faye christian phillips
I’m grateful for a beautiful sunrise early this am! Also so glad to have a sweet husband who helped me run around town yesterday doing the mundane errands to prepare for ou thanksgiving day dinner. Made it more fun, lots easier and even stopped for a nice lunch break! Lucky me!! Linda, Nevada
I am grateful I have allowed myself to paint every day and that I have inspirational words to read on your blog to help keep me focused!
Today I am grateful for early morning talks with my husband. We always have coffee, check out the weather and talk about our plans for the day.
I am grateful for this day, the glorious sun shining through my windows as I prepare for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s so comforting to cook and bake for the people I love.
I am thankful to not have to be convinced of the power of magic. I believe.
Grateful for being allowed to make mistakes…and learning from them.
I am grateful for the fantastic birthday dinners that I enjoyed last night with my kids as part of our celebration of birthdays. A grilled portobello salad, excellent focaccia bread and dipping oil, half of a steak that nearly melted in my mouth, bites of my companions’ meals, and a perfect glass of red wine. It feels SO good to indulge a little bit — everyday life can get so…monotonous. This morning I still feel the glow of that meal. (Or…is that gas?…heh heh.)
I am grateful I have choices.
Allowing this day to receive the blessings that are meant to Be! Priceless!!!
I am grateful for my friend who said “I’ll be with you ” tonight when I need support and encouragement.
I am thankful that I have an appointment with my chropractor/kineseologist. I always get a life with a visit to his office.
I am thankful to be able to hold a brush and use my right arm to paint.
I am thankful today for some time to go to the movie with my family.
I am grateful I will have a little time to paint when I get home from work tonight.
I am grateful for all the families that intersect my life. Seeing them happy makes me happy as well. Cindy K
I am thankful that I am able to walk.
Dana urton
I am thankful that I can see the red camilia bush starting to bloom
I am grateful for a whole day to myself and wonder what I will create in my little art studio.
I am grateful for my students I will spend much of the day with before a 5-DAY WEEKED! I’m a little excited :n)
M.B. Harrison
So many things I am grateful for today, not the least of which is that my Italy trip was wonderful and I am now home safe and sound.
I’m grateful that I will see my son today…the first time since he left for college 🙂
I am grateful for my youngest daughter that spent Sunday with me.
Joanna Cranford
I am grateful to be making individual pecan pies today for my family, an old fashioned recipe from my mother in law! The cooked syrup has to spin a heavy thread. I am going to allow the calories! Thanks for your uplifting words and thoughts, Dreama!
I’m grateful for the Internet so artist can share with each other.
Another beautiful painting and great post, Dreama! I’m so grateful to be here at this time in history, on this beautiful planet, to have my good health and be wise enough to notice the magic of it all.
Grateful to have the “must-do’s-before-Thanksgiving” out of the way to ALLOW for the “want to’s”!!
I am grateful for the opportunity to spend the holidays with family.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to win one of your lovely prizes, but time is running. I sure hope I get lucky soon. xoxo
I am thankful for technology. It connects me with unexpected “friends”.
Am so grateful to those around me who care for me…with messages and phone calls. I hope they all know how much they are appreciated.
Laetitia Borden
It will be a quiet day, so glad. Gayle
I am grateful for a clean house! Lots of family to come Thanksgiving! Love this time of year with family!
Sue Taylor
I am thankful that we have a contract on our wonderful Tennessee cabin that no longer fits into our lives. I am hopeful that the new owners will love it as much as we enjoyed building and creating it. I am thankful that our son and DIL who love it as much as we do, will be able to share Thanksgiving with us there for the last time in that special place.
Becky Frame
I am grateful for my daughter and son who are wonderful, caring adults.
Marilyn Troutman
I am grateful for my family and look forward to most of us getting together here on Thursday. I am also grateful that my Florida part of the family who won’t be with us will be coming up for Christmas.
I am thankful for creative thoughts and ideas.
Carol Hickerson
I am grateful for another day of hope for change and strength.
I am grateful for the joy of my family and my art. They are what I live for each day…
Thanks Dreama!
Thankful that our son comes home from college today. It will be nice to have him home for Thanksgiving.
I am grateful to be invited to spend a few days with my brother-in-law and his wife for Thanksgiving holidays, even though my husband, (his brother) passed away almost
5 years ago. I am so grateful for the peace that painting brings me and the many friends I’ve made because of my newly found passion.
Grateful for a beautiful new morning and time with a special new friend to go hunt down and “borrow” some cotton bolls to decorate for the Holidays. It will be a fun adventure and smiles for us both!
I am thankful for this reminder to allow the voice within me to be heard. It has been silenced many times and I need to listen.
I am grateful for the creative process that is always amazing. It keeps me painting.
I was told over the summer that I need to ALLOW. Since then, the word pops into my experience whenever I need reminding! I am grateful today for another chance to remember to ALLOW.
I am totally thankful and grateful today for the electrician coming this am so I can finally wash and dry clothes!
Today I am gratefully celebrating the 30th birthday of my beautiful and talented daughter. It was her creativity that led me to look within myself and discover a passion for expressing my own voice through painting. I am forever grateful.
Here’s to allowing in all the random thoughts that percolate in my head and are so often not given the chance to be nurtured. Thanks so much, for the reminder Dreama.
Good reminder! I’m grateful for happy accidents and for this reminder to let them happen.
Today I am grateful for my health that is far better than my habits deserve!
Today I am grateful for my anti-depressants….my friends!!
so true! that and exercise are good medicine!
I never plan my work, paintings, 100%. As half the painting is abstract, It always comes out different and gives me surprises . That is exactly the kind of magic I love!!!
I paint thick in palette knife and always sign my name in the wet paint, befor it dries. I normally use a kebab skewer, as I have never see your “wipe out tool” in South Africa. Heres wishing !! Yvonne Ankerman from a rainy day in South Africa
Today I am grateful for the gift of insights in allowing…..thoughts, words, actions.
I am so grateful to our Creator for the inspiration to create beautiful paintings, music, sculptures, handwork like lace-making, knitting, crocheting, bead work and so on to make our lives worthwhile – passion, motivation, enthusiasm – all are magical and if we allow it, it happens. Thank you, Dreama, for your lovely writings and paintings.
Alma Marshall
Ideas are gifts. A perfect example is multiple discovery, where discoveries are made by people at the same time working independently of each other, IE. the theory of evolution, the phonograph, jet engines and the polio vaccine. When a gift knocks on my door I try to allow it to come in. If not me, who? Thanks for the reminder Dreama.
I believe in the magic too, Dreama. I am grateful for the magic. It’s so exciting isn’t it? Thank you for reminding me to notice the magic, and to allow it. Best Wishes.
I’m grateful for all the times I have allowed myself to substitute could for should – in my art as well as in my daily life.
What an incredibly beautiful, insightful, & inspirational article Dreama ~ you have a gift with words as well as with paint!!! As an artist, I’ve become more aware of the art of allowing recently; it’s what happens when we allow our right-brain (creative side) to have a voice and we learn to silence the left-brain (analytical/critical side). I’m thankful that I can feel the emotion of gratefulness; it makes me more aware and fills me with positive energy ~
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