Welcome to this meditation on the Excessive Artist Energy.
And with all the energies,
What I found interesting is that you can get the same results whether you're being excessive or deficient.
We might avoid creating something in deficiency,
Or we might become perfectionists in excess and then not create because it's not just the way we want it.
It's really fascinating how if we go to one extreme or the other,
We end up getting a similar result,
Which is we don't actually get the results that we're looking for.
Or if we do,
They make us unhappy.
I know a lot of workaholics,
Artists in excess,
People who go so far that even though in the eyes of the world they achieve a result,
They're unhappy because of the path they took to achieve it.
So,
With the seven energies of the soul,
We're always looking for balance,
We're always looking to fulfill our potential,
But we're looking to do it in a way that makes us happy,
That brings contentment to us,
Not just achieving a goal for the sake of achieving it.
With that attitude,
Let's sit down and meditate on the Excessive Artist and see if we can find balance in this energy.
And the Excessive Artist might show up as perfectionism,
Over-competitiveness,
Lots of comparing to others,
Maybe a very idealistic point of view.
I remember once I had a friend say to me,
She was studying art history,
And she said,
People who don't know art history,
Why are they even here?
What are they doing with their lives?
I would guess many other things.
Maybe somebody in Excessive Artist energy might be obsessed with creativity or have an insatiable need for external validation.
They might even have a poor relationship with money because they're so obsessed with their art,
They're so idealistic,
That they're not willing to do anything for money because it's not pure,
And then they end up in a difficult practical place in their lives.
So as we step into this Excessive Artist energy,
I'm going to ask you in a moment to find some of that in yourself,
And we're going to work on it.
Even if you don't think you have any,
You probably do.
We all do in some way,
Shape,
Or form.
So be open to how that arises for you.
Go ahead,
Close your eyes.
Let's jump into meditation.
It's fun jumping into meditation.
It could be an enjoyable experience.
So eyes closed,
Relax your shoulders.
Take a few soft breaths.
You might even notice that excessive energy in relationship to meditation,
Or you have to control the experience,
Or you have to do it right.
There's no doing it right here.
Let's meditate like really good,
Healthy artists,
Just being open,
Playful in the moment,
And of course,
Focused.
And let's be creative with our meditation this time.
What I'd like you to do is imagine in the center of your head,
You have a pen or a paintbrush,
Something you want to draw a color with.
And in front of you,
There's a big canvas.
And I'd like you to begin,
Even if you don't know what the image is yet,
Just drawing a moment in time where you've had difficulty with a project,
Something that involves some creative thinking.
It doesn't have to be an art project per se.
It could be,
But it could just be something that involves some of your own creative energy,
Where you have to think of an idea or a solution.
But one where you've had some trouble,
One where you've gone into excess,
Some kind of need for control or perfectionism or external validation.
Perhaps there's some idealism there,
A need for purity.
Allow yourself to start drawing or painting this image.
It might be a memory,
But you're going to create it in this artistic form.
It might be like a cartoon version or a sketch,
Like an outline,
Watercolors.
Or maybe it comes out like a very realistic portrait.
So it's just a moment in time.
Let's see what comes up for you.
And because we're working on our artist energy,
It's important that we're somewhat visual here.
See if you can notice some more detail in the image,
Some color,
Shape.
Shade.
You may not be a painter in the physical world,
Or you might be,
But you can be one here in your inner mental world.
And then I'd like you to notice the energy on this image,
On this painting.
So what is this excessive energy?
And I'd like you to see it almost like weather around the image.
Maybe there's colors to it.
So,
For example,
If there's perfectionism in this image,
In this memory,
What colors does that perfectionism have?
If it looked like clouds or a storm or shapes around the image,
What would it be?
What would invalidation look like?
Overcompetitiveness?
Ego?
Notice how you're becoming in touch with energy through seeing images and seeing colors.
And a good artist separates the critical,
Judgmental mind,
Let's say the inner critic,
From the creator.
So there's nothing to criticize here right now.
You're just looking.
That's all.
Once you identify this energy and you feel it,
See it,
Know it,
Perhaps you can start to recognize that you don't have to live it or live in it forever.
It's just energy.
It's a memory.
It might be a pattern of behavior.
But as you bring some warm,
Compassionate awareness to it,
Maybe it starts to melt off the image.
Maybe the image starts to change.
What would you look like in this image if you overcame perfectionism or ego or control?
Allow the image to start to transform into a healthy,
Balanced version of you.
And let any of that excess start to melt off.
Excessive energy feeds on your attention and your belief that that's the way it is.
This is who I am.
I'll always be like this.
But when we cultivate awareness and we can see through something,
That's when the energy starts to break up and melt away.
So can you in this moment start to feel differently?
Embrace what it's like to be a healthy artist.
Validate your creativity and recognize you don't have to be better than anyone or perfect or always in control.
What's it like to just be in this moment?
And let your true artist energy flower.
And you might notice some secondary energies melt off like stress,
Anxiety,
Fear.
You might get some deeper realizations.
Really allow this image to transform.
Start embracing a balanced artist energy.
Recognize that life wants you to succeed.
It gives you these challenges so you can grow through them and transform.
Not to punish you or to hold you back.
Sometimes the excessive parts of ourselves thinks it's us against the world.
It's me versus time.
It's me versus my competitors or my parents or whoever invalidated me.
But a balanced,
Fulfilled energy doesn't have to be in competition or fighting.
The pure artist energy is here to create and to share.
Just for the joy of doing it.
Let yourself tap into that energy for a moment here.
Go ahead and take a deep breath.
When you're ready,
You can take this image.
Maybe you put it somewhere in your kind of mental office or creative space to remind you of what's possible.
Of who you're becoming as an artist,
As a person.
A little homework or life work is to cultivate this artist in yourself in a healthy way.
Let yourself be creative,
Think creatively and see yourself as a creative person or all creative beings.
Embrace that and enjoy being a creative being while you're here on this planet.
Thank you so much for sitting with me.
When you're ready,
You can stretch and open your eyes.
Great work on the artist energy and I'll see you in the next one.
Be well.
