I was never the “slow down and take time for myself” kind of person. In fact I only had one pace and it was high speed…I had completely forgotten how to relax. I’m serious! If I had two minutes to do nothing I’d fidget with my phone or create work because I had no idea how to slow down and relax. It ended up getting me SICK. I was in and out of doctor’s offices for years and finally found a doctor who was spot on, knew right away what tests to run and what was wrong then actually tried to help me heal instead of prescribing me more medicine. My issues were serious and I’m lucky I found out when I did while it was all still reversible. A client turned friend recommended something to me that I had never tried nor thought of trying – she said it saved her life. Meditation. Hhmmm meditation – me? Being a person who had no idea how to relax this idea was foreign to me! I am one of those people who will almost try anything once (as long as it’s legal, ha!) so I was up for it…it sounded exciting to me to learn what is was all about. I was realizing that relaxation is a huge piece of the puzzle in having good health and so I met with the person she recommended to do my first journey. Wow. It was so powerful! I learned things about myself I didn’t know and was able to get in touch with my inner self that I had become so detached from. It’s still a work in progress but I am learning how to shut off my mind and just breath! And you know what I learned? When you depend on creativity in your life for work or even as a serious hobby and it’s a big part of your life, you have to water the flower in order for it to grow! The creativity part of myself had started to shut itself off because I wasn’t allowing it to flourish. I truly believe when you get burned out and in a rut that meditation is all you need to help spark your creativity again. This is all new to me and I’m still learning what it looks like. I still have to work hard to make it a part of my routine and it usually gets only about 2 minutes of my day..but I still think it helps.

I think so many photographers go to Pinterest or Facebook or their favorite photographer’s blogs for inspiration but all you really need it right there within your own soul. You just have to let it grow, trust your vision and see within yourself so that you can unlock it!

You get a noticeable amount of clarity and focus when you take the time out to meditate and you can meditate with a specific intention in mind (ie: to find your inner creativity).

The cool thing about the perspective you find while taking the time to water your creative juices is that it is YOURS! It’s not the perspective of someone else. And you can be proud of that!

Sometimes I think it takes drastic measures for people to consider things they would have otherwise not considered. For me getting so sick was what it took for me to try things I would have never done unless I was desperate for relief. I am so thankful for learning about this piece of the puzzle because I feel like burn out will be less likely to occur and that I will be more thankful for having photography if my life…and that the creativity will keep on coming naturally!

So if you are interested in learning where to start I recommend going to this site called Mind Body Green. I linked you to the page of articles on how to get started with meditation. I get daily emails from them and find their articles interesting and helpful! A friend in the business sent me a book she  read called Heart Thoughts: A Treasury of Inner Wisdom which I also like. If you are like me and it’s hard to relax without a little help I find this Ashana music to be beautiful and calming. The person I learned from recommended listening to guided meditations in the morning or at night (or both) and starting with something like this from Deepak Chopra.

Obviously this post won’t be of interest to everyone. It might not be something you are interested in or it might not be the right timing for you but since I see a direct correlation between cultivating my creativity for photography and meditating, I thought I’d pass it on and if it helps even just one person it will be worth it.