Spirit
SPIRIT IN MOTION
In the Body and Mind sections of this book, we explored some of the ways our physical bodies and intellectual faculties can influence and inspire our creative journeys. Now it’s time to dive into another great arena of sacred mystery and sublime wisdom: Spirit.
Writing about the connection between spirit and creativity feels a bit like trying to explain a deep mystical journey between two lovers. They come together to dance, inspire, challenge, provoke, and ultimately lift each other upwards. Their connection runs so deep, some might say they are essentially the same thing or two sides to the same coin.
I like to think of creativity as spirit in motion.
Regardless of definitions, I think it’s safe to say that we each have our own unique relationship with spirituality and this speaks volumes about the great mystery itself.
For many, spirit is intrinsically connected to a specific religion, while others subscribe to a more universal understanding. Earth-based forms of spirituality can also play a large role, while some people are quite content in the “un-knowing.”
While humans seek many different ways to make sense of the world, the creative process offers a vehicle to explore self-discovery in a beautifully universal and tangible way. The act of creating something out of nothing, whether it’s a painting, poetry, or any other form of expression, gives us a chance to make the invisible visible, while potentially learning potent life lessons.
Whether you call it inspiration, the muse, God, consciousness, or simply flow, this relationship to something greater than ourselves invites a sense of curiosity and wonder. It also offers the much-needed gifts of presence, playfulness, growth, and connection.
To give you a sense of my own relationship with spirit, we’ll have to go back to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where I was born.
I grew up in a Midwestern household and attended a Congregational church every Sunday. While my family was open and progressive, I used to think “sacred” or “spiritual” needed to look a certain way—like this seemingly elusive way of experiencing the world was something that could only happen in a church, on a meditation cushion, or in the presence of an enlightened being.
In other words, I used to think there were rules.
Despite my limited understanding of what living a sacred or spiritual life actually meant growing up, I knew my craving for this kind of meaningful connection ran deep. Even as a young kid, I had no interest in simply going through the motions of day-to-day life. I craved a sense of belonging. I wanted to experience the world in a profound, authentic, and connected way—I wanted to feel passionately alive. As a child, I found this feeling through nature, art, and moving my body.
“To me, looking into a painting made with the intuitive process is like looking into the world of Spirit. Pure magic.”
—RACHEL LEIGH HUDSON (BLOOM TRUE STUDENT)
FINDING MY WAY
As I grew older, I continued to follow my heart toward this feeling of aliveness, and this insatiable appetite brought me to some very interesting places. I traveled all over the world, volunteered in disaster zones, joined a sustainable farming collective, made annual pilgrimages to Burning Man, tried my hand at off-the-grid living, and backpacked hundreds of miles through remote wilderness areas.
I learned how to track wolves and start fires with sticks, devoured every self-help book I could get my hands on, and became a yoga teacher and massage therapist. I raved till the sun came up, sweated my heart out in Lakota sweat lodge ceremonies, sat with Peruvian shamans in the Amazon, attended ten-day silent Vipassanā meditation retreats, and tried out a raw vegan diet.
And yes … I joined a circus.
Throughout these years of soul searching, two things remained constant in my life—my passion for making art and my pa...
