Check in: Questions or Things You Want to Share?

[clairesutcliffe1]

Very good. Asking the questions seems to shut down the thinking mind and the answers come from a deeper place and say wise things that are clearly better than the sorts of things I think up 🙂

[Dave]

Thanks so much Claire,

You made me smile. It does that for me too. Gives me some breathing space from the daft nonsense my default mind waffles on with. And drops me into the place where wisdom comes from : )

[lac49]

1. My mind goes numb at all times… but noticed that i wasnt all that bad at talking about a few facts. I initially thought i would reaaaaaallly be terrible at it.

[Dave]

That noticing is a really good sign. To be positively surprised, even a little, is always worth noticing and appreciating. It’s a sure sign that we can surprise ourselves more and more, in many ways. A sure sign that if we keep practicing, without pressure or judgmement, we’ll be able to surprise ourselves more and more in positive ways.

[clairesutcliffe1]

We had a great play with the creativity stuff today.

I find the question, “What do you want to create?” triggers logic as I tune into my inner slave driver with her how-to strategies, goals, and to-do lists.

But asking in 3rd person, “What wants to be created through the person called Claire/ in the life of Claire?” switches off the thinking mind, and switches on a very soft, gentle, part of myself that wants effortless expressions of peace, beauty, joy, silent connection and community etc. Her ideas are so manageable and turn every act or connection into everyday sacred acts. I like her better. She is less conditioned..

[Dave]

That’s beautiful. Love it. It’s amazing the shift that can come from finding a flowy-question that works for us in the moment.

[lac49]

I was wondering or thinking about the same question. What is the difference between doing and creating? I think i should do or create whatever comes to mind… For example cleaning out my clutter creates peace of mind and clears my head..

[clairesutcliffe1]

I read a great quote by Helena Bonham Carter today: “I think everything in life is art. what you do, . How you dress. The way you love someone, and how you talk. Your smile, and your personality. What you believe in, and your dreams. The way you drink your tea. How you decorate your home. Or Party. Your grocery list. The food you make. How your writing looks. And the way you feel. Life is art.” I love this as everything we create is sacred and beautiful art.

[kwcole58]

Love this Claire. Very true. Thanks for sharing.

[rebeccanarva]

Hi Dave, Your teaching is Deeply unfettered and supportive. I Love talk on failure and success. Failure is such a troublesome,, sly, powerful painful beast. another monster to be loved and transformed. There must be magic there but so much ugliness shame guilt too.

[Dave]

Thanks Rebecca, it means a lot to read that.

I totally feel you on all of that tricky, sticky stuff. I have those things come up too, for sure.

For me, when the unhealthy, old patterns around failure and success raise their troublesome heads inside, I tend to try to look to two things.

1) I look at all the examples of humans who have done amazing things, and I see how they have generally ‘failed’ much more than other people. You see this with athletes, artists, scientists. You also see it with people who save lives on the frontlines, like doctors, nurses, firefighters, and so on. A doctor or nurse has ‘failed’ to save many lives. And they have saved many. You don’t get to do one without the other. because if you’re the person who keeps taking action, keeps doing what you can, you will ‘fail’ a lot, and in doing so you will create and achieve many good things.

2) I look at nature. A tree makes thousands of seeds. Only a few sprout, and even less of those grow. You see this with countless species, and in countless ways in terms of how ecosystems work. A tree does not worry about how many of its seeds will grow. It does not judge itself. It simply makes and gives all its seeds. It helps me to deeply look at trees, and nature of all kinds, and breathe with this. To ‘succeed’ as a creative of any kind, we must keep creating, and keep sharing our creations. For most of us, we have no control over which creations will be embraced, or how they will be embraced. The only thing we have control over is the choice to create, to develop and refine our craft, and to share with the world in whatever way is available.

Lots of love to you in all this.

[rebeccanarva]

Hi, Thanks for your words on this. Your latest video was all about this and so helpful in a true way. There is always an edge, risk vulnerability, right here. I deeply appreciate your direction toward strengthening, practicing, loving self that can get so battered and yet lives on.👋🍀

[Dave]

Thanks so much Rebecca. That’s totally it. The edge, the vulnerability, is a precious thing too, though it doesn’t always feel so easy : )

[Dave]

We can get so battered. And here we are, still growing and still feeding the good.