Tag Archives: resistance

creativity, excuses, inspiration, inspirational, motivational, resistance

Who is in charge?

February 11, 2017 Maria G

Who is in charge? You or your ego / resistance? I know I have written about that before, but through my experience over time, I have realized that inspiration is not some kind of random thing that only comes to a lucky few.

Inspiration is a good habit to grow in your art practice. Inspiration is not a fickle muse or a random occurrence. It is yours to command if you show up consistently.

I wasn’t going to write a blog post today, but I had promised myself to write one this week. Kinda late in the game since it’s Saturday. My excuses were:

I’m not inspired

I have nothing to say

I’m too tired to write now

I’d rather be painting (when would that ever be an excuse??)

When I show up to paint, I get the same bullsh*t excuses. Life would just go by without me accomplishing anything I have set out to do.

I have “make art” written on every day of my calendar. I do miss some days, but for the most part I show up even if it’s only for 10-15 minutes at the current painting or art journal page.

I count my crafts as art too since I’m using my creativity. Here is what I made today.

mermaid polymer clay mosaic — Believe in magic

I woke up and really wanted to get going on this mermaid. Part of me said, go for it, the other said, sleep in.

There will always be some bullsh*t excuse for not doing what we know will make us happy.

Same crap as with exercising regularly…

Saying “no” to the resistance is a muscle that can be toned and strong. At one point the resistance gets the message and moves over a bit so that you can get to the action you want quickly.

The point is to stick with the action you have set for yourself. If that is “do more art” it’s something that is “holy.” There is no argument allowed and as “do more art” becomes a habit, you have won.

Remember though, resistance will always be there lurking in the background, but if you have set a “no compromise” status for yourself things have to move forward or YOU will feel like crap while resistance smirks in the background. Been there too many times.

If you expect inspiration to be there, IT WILL BE.

Excuses are not allowed.

NOW, go do it! 🙂

Maria

P.S. My free 2017 art journaling challenge is going strong. If you’d like to have the prompt emails. sign up HERE. Guest teacher for March will be Julia Ostara. The mermaids are available in my etsy shop Earth and Faery.

art, resistance, stuck, unstuck

Are you stuck?

November 26, 2016 Maria G

Are you stuck right now? I have been stuck many times, and since I’m a DOER I’ve always struggled and fought against the condition. It happens when I don’t have clarity of where I’m going.

It’s ok to be stuck. Actually, invite the sucker in and sit with it for a while, fix it some tea, and see what it has to say. Stuck came to me like a brick wall, and I sat by the wall and asked what it needed to be happy.

Security, safety, it said. I don’t want to change; it’s too risky.

To get unstuck involves change.

If you have an idea what you want to do, but stop yourself before you even get started, you have fear. My brick wall was solid fear, but when I accepted it, relaxed into it, and had the conversation over tea, it released somewhat. It became more reasonable.

Embrace the fear, allow it a voice, and see how you can accommodate it and watch it melt away. Make a friend of fear, and know it’s not the end of the world.

When you are struggling and trying to break through with force, you’ll only get more stuck.

Making friends, relaxing, allowing, embracing all of you in a caring manner is the way to release the resistance.

Stuck no more!

It might take a few tries, a few conversations with your fear, but after a while it will melt away, and the path forward gets clearer every day.

I have been painting quite a lot lately. Here are some pictures of my latest art.

Lots of soft shades of blue and turquoise. I’m really into those colors lately.

I have a sale right now in my two etsy shops. 20% off everything until midnight Sunday November 27. EARTH AND FAERY and GREENE EARTH ORIGINALS. The above paintings are for sale in the last etsy link. Christmas is coming…

I wish you all sorts of great creativity in the coming week!

Maria

art, artist, inspirational, resistance

Treacherous comfort zone

November 7, 2016 Maria G 2 Comments

Treacherous comfort zone is something I try to avoid at all cost. I’m not always successful and it’s easy to sink down into my new recliner and read a book when I need to be more productive. (Picture is a stock photo. 🙂

I actually fight that urge every day, but I know what needs to be done, so I have a choice of following my lazy side or the side that really wants to accomplish something useful for me and others.

Useful as in art inspiration. Sometimes it’s hard to be inspired and produce art, but to break that lazy habit you have to show up at the easel or art journal. Once that resistance is broken, I can then face the resistance of the art itself. Nothing but hurdles, haha.

The art resistance is harder to break than the habit of what to do with my time. I usually force myself over that hurdle and things open up.

There is a third resistance and that is to try some different art modality. If painting faces was my thing I might try landscapes. That resistance might be stronger than anything. That’s why you see artists painting the same thing over and over because it’s safe, tried and true. Not that the art lacks merit, but you get in a groove and staying there is more comfortable than taking a risk.

That’s maybe why people paint photographic perfection instead of doing risky forays into the loose and undefined. Technique is safe.

I watched a documentary yesterday, Sky Ladder, on Netflix about this famous Chinese artist Cai Guo-Quing. He uses fireworks to create his huge pieces of art, and he also designs massive firework displays (opening of Olympic Games.)

It was wonderful to follow his creative process which is on a huge scale. His art is subtle but right in your face, and I was mesmerized and also mortified at my own small thinking. I highly recommend the documentary to all artists as an inspiration to stretch boundaries.

Life really is about stretching boundaries and trying new things. So what if it fails? It’s just another step in the exploration called life.

It’s important to have a balanced inner life, but also so important to do the “right thing,” it being the work that fires you up.

Right now I feel that I’m at a crossroads. Either I break through to the next creative level or I make deeper grooves in the rut that I have dug in the past. Life is constant evolution. (Or painful boredom.)

Standing still equals staleness.

To live a creative life is to be dynamic and open to the possibilities as they happen. I saw those in the eyes of that Chinese artist. He’s is fluid, open, present, and seeing the biggest opportunities for risky expansion.

He spoke to my heart.

I also saw lots of bravery and a conviction that it’s only possible to move forward. No choice really.

So I come back to the choices we make every day, whatever work we do.

Yes to being proactive.

Yes to expansion and greater things.

Yes to creative risks.

Yes to LIFE, not habits or ruts.

What is the risk you need to take today?

I cheer you on from my studio, not my recliner….

Maria

P.S. I have lots of art for sale in my etsy shop. Christmas is coming… There is a price range for everyone. CLICK HERE.

art, inspirational, life, motivational, self help, transformation

Patience is a virtue.

June 9, 2016 Maria G

Patience is a virtue is an old-fashioned saying, but one that is truly vital to a good life experience. It is as relevant now as it was in ye olden times. I looked for the saying in Bartlett’s but could not find any reference to it. There were however lots of references to the word “virtue,” as in females who lost their virtue basically lost everything. That is a whole other post.

This is day 3 of my 30 day blogging challenge.

Patience, when practiced, gives us pause to be present and allow things to unfold. We live in a “take charge” world so it’s not easy to release that insistent pattern and allow patience in. One place to practice patience is while driving in heavy traffic. Another is when someone bugs the crap out of you and you just want to leave the room or slug them.

To allow oneself to be patient is to open up to new possibilities and to be vulnerable. I don’t have to be right. I can allow others to step ahead or be right. That can be tough since the tendency is to always want to be right. We proclaim that loudly and ferociously.

Patience and art are kind of the same thing, if gentler. It can be uncomfortable to sit with the art that is going nowhere and see what unfolds (if anything.) If it doesn’t what holds you back?

I ask that question of myself all the time because more often than not I meet that old specter “Resistance” when I venture into my studio.

Patience allows the moment of NOW to unfold and show where the art wants to go. But I want to hang out of my “virtual car window” and yell at the art to get a move on. So, if I had infinite patience, I would:

be able to see the spirit of my art and where it wants to go.
allow more.
be patient with people in every situation.
be patient with situations that need solutions and see what genius idea might come up instead of barging in and fixing things or people.
know that my turn will come at the right moment. Trusting.
be able to relax and stay in relaxation.

On a larger world scale:

there would be no wars since all people would slow down and see what is really going on.
people would take the time to go within and experience their inner life since there is no need for stress and hurry.
people would slow down enough to see the value in everyone else and want a harmonious relationship with their neighbor–and nature.
people would not chase after money like crazy since patience might unfold better ways of dealing in the world and make money that is based on respect for self and others. That is a personal experience, but what if everyone was doing it?
Patience would show everyone the true value of life since there would be no rat race.

Let’s all wake up and start looking through the eyes of patience.

I know something holds me back from fully allowing and letting go. It is my fearful mind, the one that says “be cautious” don’t give it all away. Hold back…showing vulnerability is me coming from a point of weakness. If I let it “all hang out” I might get punished.

That is bullshit that old experiences created. Fear to be oneself and live out loud.

What to do about it?

Sit with whatever it is and wait for some inspiration, or take some action that is contrary to the status quo. Patience is doing the right thing at the right time.

Patience always leads to inspired action but it will always challenge the go-go-go tendency we have.

Splash some mad color over the art and then wait and see where that leads. Experiment while practicing patience and there will be an opening, a step forward (probably not some action you expected.)

That is how art moves in a new direction and you follow the lead. Trust your gut and let it all hang out!! Yeah.

Create something today! Don’t waste this day of possibility. Cruising Facebook is not worth it. 🙂

Maria

P.S. I offer 1-on-1 coaching using my psychic abilities and help you set up a plan of action for more creativity in your life. It’s not all about art, it’s about a better life experience. CLICK HERE.

art, art journaling, creativity, inspirational, muse, resistance, writing

The muse is a fickle b*itch.

May 31, 2016 Maria G

The muse never was very trustworthy in my opinion. None of them. No wonder they are mythical (as if we can trust anything the ancients dreamed up, archetypes or not.) Some might argue they exist on another plane of energy, but for the most part they are not for hire.

In the past I paid homage to the Literary Muse, and she would strike inconsistently and then crack the whip until you stayed up all night to write and your fingers bled. Then she would be suspiciously absent for loooong periods of time. But no matter what, I wrote.

Nowadays if she shows up I give her a token eye roll and say I AM not for hire any longer, so there. Go find another victim.

However, sometimes I think I have to pay homage to my art muse who is more often than not totally absent, day or night.

I also have to pay a price for her to show up.

*I have to dance naked at midnight in my backyard first Sunday of the month and sing off-tune songs until my neighbor calls the police.

* I have to offer up my first child as a sacrifice. It’s lucky I don’t have any kids, but then again, my muse gives me the cold shoulder because of this.

*I have to eat raw kale for breakfast every morning (not a problem since I often put that in my green smoothie, na-na-na-nana.

*I have to spend $$$$$$$ on all the latest art tools and pay homage to all of the art teachers out there who offer torturous lengthy courses that make you feel like crap if you don’t finish all the assignments. And you never do.

*The muse always reminds me that I’m never “deep” enough in my art. In fact, I skim the surface of drek and I’m too happy about it. 🙂

So, what do you do when the muse is absent? Tell her to never show up because you don’t need her sorry ass.

You go in to your studio every day even if your body sends out the “fight or flight” signal.

You wrangle that art journal that can never lie quite flat and slam your fist into the page just to show who is the boss.

The unseen barrier of resistance that the evil studio fairies wove while you slept last night is thick over the empty pages. Is that a spiderweb over there in the corner? And who glued the pages together?

Ah yes, I did.

You look over the paints and with a sigh you decide, “what the heck, I might as well slap on some purple and green paint down and go from there.”

Every brush stroke is a pain. The paint decides to spurt out in a great big glob or even leak from the bottom. So you smear that sh*t all over the page. Now that page looks like a Rothko painting… Maybe you could sell it as such on eBay, you think for $$$$. Con-woman thoughts aside, why did Rothko always paint the same thing??

His muse must have been nuts or she avoided him altogether with the excuse that she doesn’t do horizontal lines.

Anyway, you sit with your Rothko art journal page and decide it’s not interesting enough so you start doodling in pink neon color or slap some brightly colored washi tape down. Much better already. Things are still similar to slogging through mud, but you persist.

And then suddenly you see a face in the mess on the paper, and find joy in adding some features.

After that some more doodling commences and all is well. In the end, you created a piece of art and all is good. All in the face of the muse who tried to actually distract you with everything else except art. (Yes, I totally blame the muse.)

Art without the muse becomes an exploration to see what you’re made of. Either you give in to the resistance and go clean the kitchen, or you slog through the barrier and find what is on the other side.

It’s the only way to approach art and get something done. (For me anyway.) Otherwise, I suspect the kitchen would be spotless and the studio full of dust.

Do you have balls enough to push through?

Only by doing will you find out. Make it a habit and give the muse the boot if she dares to show up (late.) You don’t need her because you already had the commitment down.

You don’t need the muse because you have your own voice and inner wisdom. That is enough!

Lots of daring and determination to ya!

Maria

P.S. if you want to spend some hard earned cash on art, please visit my etsy shop HERE.

ecourse, inspirational, life, motivational, self help, transformation

Hating self-help questionnaires.

July 29, 2015 Maria G 4 Comments

Why would I write such a title, “hating self-help questionnaires?” If you’re reading this you have read and filled out many worksheets, or skipped them altogether. I know you all hate them. I know I do. They are boring, a thorn in the side.

I’m working on an e-course that is about finding your inner true north using your intuition. It’s about making choices that are healthy for you. The question is, do we want health? I mean health in every sense of the word.

We do and we don’t. The side of us that wants a healthy balanced life answers the deep inquiries and works on the issues or try to. The other side flings the dang workbook across the room as the inner rebel rears up, refusing to reply to any questions that might overturn the status quo. Heaven forbid we would change! We don’t need to change, right?

What is the wall that comes up and says “stop, do not move any further.” It has many names but the most common name is resistance. If you dig deeper you come across fear and all sorts of unworthiness issues hiding behind resistance.

Most people avoid those uncomfortable feelings at all cost.

Questions are what start us on the road to inner discovery.

Writing on a workbook right now, I’m struggling with how to make the questions less confronting and more acceptable. What would make people look forward to going in deep and releasing the beliefs and trapped feelings within? What would make them actually finish the course and work through the issues?

There is a need for structured questions for sure, but what if another person asked them? No writing down answers, just discussing what comes up and looking for “aha” moments. A lively interaction between two people who trust each other might make going through a workbook desirable.

A bottle of wine, some yummy snacks, and a deep discussion based on the workbook could very well be the answer!

I don’t know how many times I have read a great self-help book, but when I reached the questions I skimmed over them or ignored them altogether.

How many self-help books have your bought and never finished?

We like the IDEA of changing ourselves for the better, but when it comes to the actual work we often balk.

Workbooks and questionnaires might be out of style in this fast-paced world.

What if it became a more dynamic process?

I believe it’s more important to be open to the signs around us, accept that the world mirrors our states of mind. If there is a traffic jam maybe it’s a sign to slow down. If we keep making the same mistakes over and over, what belief / feeling INSIDE of us makes that happen? If we can be aware and open in the now, all our shi*t will be revealed, and then we have to choose whether to work with it, or keep living in denial. Denial will inevitably create more difficulties.

Some people do not believe in a world that mirrors your inner stuff, but if you do, it can be a hugely beneficial “school room.”

Life can be smoother, easier to accept with its ups and downs if we agree to work on our shi*t. As you create peace with yourself, you create peace in the world.

My suggestion is, have a party with one or two friends, off-line or online, who are on the same path, or working on the same workbook. Get the stuff behind the resistance out into the open and decide to deal with it.

That is one way past resistance and into a life of fresh perception.

Maria Greene @ Greeneearth

Tag Archives: resistance

Who is in charge?

Are you stuck?

Treacherous comfort zone

Patience is a virtue.

The muse is a fickle b*itch.

Hating self-help questionnaires.

Artist and writer