Ep 19: Unblocking Creative Constipation

“A river of material flows through us.

When we share our works and our ideas, they are replenished.

If we block the flow by holding them all inside,

the river cannot run and new ideas are slow to appear.”

― Rick Rubin, The Creative Act: A Way of Being

House of Creative Growth Series

Today’s episode explores reasons why we get “backed up” and seasons of having “the runs” - creatively speaking.

The creative poop metaphor came out of a writing course I took recently that offered a way of understanding creativity akin to a daily physical need. It a visceral reminder not to belabor the act of writing, speaking, drawing, designing, painting, creating… just shit and/or get off the pot.

Easier said than done.

Lately I’ve had too many ideas without a way of relieving myself and so this episode is honestly a way for me to loosen things up and take some of the pressure off. There’s no straining here - I even chose to not edit the ummms out of this one.

So here we go - let’s consider the energy of our own creative cycles in relationship to:

• where ideas come from and where they go

• outlets and containers for creativity

• noticing times of gestation

• tracking times of output

• looking to the harvest cycle as it relates to the energy of the Leo archetype

• remedies for creative constipation

After recording this episode I realized there is more to say about clearing the blockages, so look for Part II next week.

Spirals at the center of the seed

Pomegranate seed reference image mentioned in this episode: Punica granatum in Köhler's Medicinal Plants 1897 by Walther Otto Müller

The process from draft to completion

This is the Harvest Cycle Artwork series that I created last year for the 2024 Lunar Wall Calendar. In the episode I share about why I left this particular one until the very end and some of the layers of symbolism.

First Draft of House of Creative Growth

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Before you go, please consider leaving a comment about your own experiences with cycles of creativity and what you do to keep from getting backed up because I’m sure you have some ideas that would be helpful for others to hear :)