Creativity, Conformity & the Courage to Change.

We come into this world full of wonder, taking in Life in all its newness and mystery, each day building upon the next,our perception of the world. As children our imaginations can create so many magical experiences~ I have memories of playing by the seashore where I grew up, absolutely enraptured with nature and my own unique relationship with it. I felt like I was a magical wizard working with the power of the ocean waves, opening portals to other dimensions. Yes, I was a magical child, and thankfully I still am a magical child, as I received support and freedom to express myself in my formative years. I have come into my adulthood, accepting that my natural gifts to offer are my music and voice (I have been musical and singing since before I could talk) and I know that this would likely not be the case if I had been brought up in a family that told me to “hush” when expressing my sometimes loud exuberance. I know this is sadly not the case for so many other children, for various reasons. Parents often reward their children for “good behavior” which is often the suppression of their childhood essense and energy. If you made it through your childhood retaining your authentic self then your culture and society will surely work to conform and condition you. Whether it be what we are taught in schools, to what we are fed through the media- we begin to form psychological constructs of what is acceptable and what is not. And because all beings want to be and feel accepted, we end up conforming in many ways. Through our cultural conditioning we form a view of the world and how it came to be and accept what we are taught in school as true- when the reality is that what we are taught by these establishments is what they want us to know, not necessarily what is true. When we reach our adult years, we might find ourselves in places, situations, jobs, or relationships that are actually not at all in alignment with our deep core values, which can create immense inner conflict. Sometimes it takes effort to get really clear with what our true core values are- because what we are conditioned by society to believe, might not be in congruence with our soul’s wisdom. Through the power of our courageous love and willpower we might take an honest look at our lives to examine all that we have learned or have been taught and all the precious parts of ourselves we might have overlooked or abandoned. Then we might seek to reclaim our birthright to BE who we TRULY ARE- and to peel off the layers of conditioning to REMEMBER that creative child within. Affirm “I am a Sacred Divine Soul with a Purpose. I desire to know and live this purpose for the Greater Good of All.”
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Within each and every one of us is a tender, pure, and innocent child that has love, joy, and a special gift to offer the world.  Think of a seed, that contains the blueprint for the plant that it will become. Perhaps it will become an oak tree, or perhaps it will become a sunflower. There are so many plants of so many different shapes, colors and qualities. Think of a sprout just bursting forth to the world from the earth, with so much potential, it is truly miraculous! We all have this same life force within us, driving us to grow, to realize our innate potential. 
Creativity is a unique quality of being Human. Our creative abilities are what have made possible all the technology that you use and see around you, all the Art and music in the world. When people hear the word “creativity” they probably think of these things.  There are many other ways we express our CREATIVE POWERS. What comes to your mind when you think of creativity? Because we are creative beings, we have the power to create our own reality just based on our perceptions and how we interact with the world.  The common phrase that has its roots in religious scripture: “Man is made in the image of God,” is interpreted by many in a spiritual context to mean just this. We create with our thoughts, feelings, words, and actions. The more we consciously choose our feelings, thoughts and actions the more we can consciously create our reality. For some, this seems like a very foreign concept: “Choose our feelings- what are you talking about? I FEEL what I feel, how would I choose that?” Emotions are very interesting and are intricately connected with our neural pathways and patterning. The more you react in a certain way will determine how you react in the future. So if you find yourself reacting emotionally in a way that is causing you to suffer, you might be a victim of your own patterning and its time you take your power back. If you want to understand this subject more then I recommend looking into “Neural plasticity” and maybe listening to or watching a lecture/presentation by Dr. Joe Dispenza. This is just one way we can use our power to CREATE. And you will NOT learn this kind of stuff in your elementary, intermediate or high school, unfortunately. You might learn these kinds of things much later in life when you are feeling so fucked up inside that you seek out of desperation for ways to CHANGE your life. But just imagine how different our society would be like if things like this WERE taught in schools to children- that they are powerful and can create their own reality!
CHANGE is something that humans have a challenging time with because we are creatures of habit and we tend to cling to our comfort zones and what is familiar and SAFE. Change can bring fear and feeling uncomfortable. Yet, if we don’t change we would stay stuck in old ways or places that no longer serve our state of being. Not changing can bring suffering. Just look at life itself as an example- Life is constantly growing, changing, and transforming with time. If a sprout is left in a small container, if it is not transplanted when it out grows the container it will become stunted and likely face a pre-mature death. Change comes in many forms and perhaps the most elusive and hard to face is the change that happens insideof you. Our human ego rallies against change in so many ways. Because we are naturally growing along in the cycle of life, we are naturally changing- but when changing means doing something differently, or giving up old habits we do all sort of things to avoid these changes. We can avoid to the point of feeling deep inner conflict, frustration or anxiety and then we might even attempt to mask these feelings with substances (alcohol,drugs,food) or other behaviors (shopping, projecting emotions onto someone else). Another word for change is transformation. There is no “how to” guide for your unique path of healing and transformation. We are each on our unique journeys and doing our unique alchemical work to refine and transform ourselves. It is our humility, our desire and our willingness to do the work that is required. When we take actions that will cause change, new opportunities are presented to us, new doors open, and new ways of thinking may come. So imagine if we consciously made the effort to EMBRACE change rather than resist it. Imagine the rapid transformation that could come. I automatically think of our society and humanity at large- what if our governments of the world stopped resisting the changes that are needed and made the actions to change outdated policies and install new ones that better serve the whole? Its our conformity in our society that actually continues serving these outdated ways- So is it not our responsibility as conscious co-creators to break free from the conformity make change happen? Yes, its true that the governments are corrupted and have gotten to a place of serving themselves rather than society as was their original purpose, but is this not also a reflection of ourselves? 
I didn’t know what I was going to write when I started writing this but it ended up being about these three words: CREATIVITY, CONFORMITY AND CHANGE- and how these three things are very much connected. I felt prompted to write because I am feeling the pushes of life’s changes and I am in acknowledgment that I too was resisting my own transformation, and have been feeling the frustration and inner conflict. Its also given me the opportunity to look deeper at where my own conditioning and perceptions work against me. And so, the process of change can often include very painful and honest introspection and sometimes even a symbolic death of self to reveal the True Self to resurrect. The natural ways that  I personally face change (especially inner change) is through my creativity- specifically, music, writing and painting. Many of my songs come through me in times of immense turmoil and transformation and they help to usher me into a new level of being, such as my song “Path of Transformation.” And sometimes my songs are reminders for me, as I can fall into a spell of forgetfulness. As a dear friend of mine sings in her song, entitled “Human Kind”:  “Oh, Awakening is so much sweeter, after we forget, you know…” 
 I am so grateful to know that my songs also help others in their transformative process. That is how I know it is my the gift to offer to the world. Sharing my truth and healing process in return can help others on their journey too. For that I am humbled and grateful.  I encourage You, precious being, to tap into Your own innate instrument(s) of healing You have within. (And feel free to comment and share with me too!) The Choice to embrace Change and Co-create your reality is truly Yours. Blessings on your Journey of Self discovery and creative expression!
Mary Isis