Liberating Creativity

I would like to open up a conversation about the importance of the unique expressions our life-forces and the liberation of creativity. After several decades of working at the crossroads of spirituality, music, participatory and community sourced art making, community organizing and education, I am increasingly committed to the many acts of liberating creativity. When an internalized beliefs and/or oppressive systems limit a being and or community’s sense of safety and wellbeing, when they manage to mute or deny a persons vital and unique expression- we not only become weakened through disconnection to our source but all sorts of violences and diseases flourish.

Over the next year I will take time to reflect upon this critically important topic. This is not inservice of increasing productivity or furthering a brand - areas where creativity is often invoked. To the contrary, I am interested in something far more immediate, powerful and impactful…,our presence, our BEING-ness, the power of it and the way we come into sacred relation with ourselves, each other and the earth. This critical act of connecting-in, safe-making, being-with, wayfinding and more is a fundamental aspect of being human and is a fundamental way we can create meaning from distress and trauma as we heal, grow and evolve.

Waking The Oracle Minnesota Team ( missing is Semilla and The Wonders).

Notes From The Field- Benzie County, Michigan

I arrived in Benzie County, Michigan on March 6th of this year to start and lead a two month long project called Stories That Heal with Interlochen Public Radio. I wanted to respond as an artist and as a human to the deep emotional/mental health challenges we are facing in my own small way. Benzie is a county I have deep roots in and it is an honor to be working here.

I am reminded this week of how listening can be a profound act of healing. I have noticed over the past 29 years or so doing this kind of creative engagement work that deep listening itself often activates healing. It contains the simple message that the person or community listened to matters, this moment matters, and it matters that we are connecting. I may not be met with the same attention or perspective from those with whom I engage and I do not expect it. I am convinced heart-felt listening always has impact.

I have long subscribed to the power of the compassionate witness founded in deep listening. For me the true ability to realize being a compassionate witness comes from the internal process of turning into, and eventually integrating, the experiences of pain, discomfort and fear. Everywhere I turn people are facing deep losses, traumas and more - both in themselves and in the people to whom they are connected. I have as well. I have learned to steady myself over and over again in the face of uncertainty. I have learned to be more present through building an inner foundation freeing myself from a kind of inner bondage to habitual fear responses. As a result I feel spaciousness within and with that I am a much better listener to myself, others and to the world around me.

Now a month plus into this project I am beginning to piece together an internal understanding of where to connect in as a musical artist knowing the power of music and story to change narratives, to address systemic inequity and brutality, empower the unique life-affirming creativity that exists in each person and community, and lift spirits. There is a great power in the exchange and co-creation of stories that is the basis of this project. In doing so, in sharing our vulnerabilities, we can dispel some of the fear, shame and isolation that dampens our experiences and feelings of wellbeing.

I am convinced we can, and are, finding new capacities and strengths during these turbulent times. We can shape new meaning from the pain and challenges that many have experienced or are currently facing. I know we are truly stronger for it and in that our interconnected shared heart knows how to lead us if we allow ourselves to listen with an open heart.

About Stories That Heal

Choose Love

Dear ones,

Choose love as often as possible and do all in your power to release the core fears that create the bondage we have come to think of as reality. Rest in simple awareness. Your presence, all that you are in any moment, is the spirit gift of the world. We are each unique expressions of the divine. Remember are not alone nor have you ever been - though it often feels that way. You are deeply loved and always have been.

We Got This! I promise you.

“The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” ― Albert Einstein

STEP IT UP

A CALL TO MY WHITE BROTHERS AND SISTERS: STEP IT UP

I ask you with clarity and unwavering commitment to be fully accountable and step into your power now to devote your heart, mind and body to end racism over the long-haul. Here are some simple steps I recommend.

ONE: FACE IT
Learn to turn into and face the reality of the brutality of racism in the US and how we white people have benefited on the backs of others. Learn to turn into the shame, guilt and pain and to regulate your reactions in your mind and body. Learn to be deeply uncomfortable and make room for all of the hard feelings- yours and others. Turning away from the difficult emotions that surface such as pain and shame will never bring healing.

TWO: LEARN
Commit yourself to learning how white privilege and racism works in all forms. Get to know how it feels in your body, how it works in every system you are part of- leave no stone unturned. Learn to listen deeply to others experiences and work to create and support safe mutually designed spaces for people to express fear, rage, sadness and any other feeling. No healing happens without honesty. Above all take full responsibility for your own learning over the long-haul. It is messy. It is going to be messy. We are humans finding our way. Take the next best step…and then another one.

THREE: BE ACCOUNTABLE
Give up power in clear ways. Have people around you hold you accountable. Measure your impact in very concrete ways in the world.

FOUR: KNOW YOUR GOAL AND STAY ON TASK
It is not enough to sit around and say you don't agree or that you are broken-hearted. Address how white supremacy feels and functions in yourself, your family, your community, and the systems in which you participate in whole and specific ways. Be clear about where you give consent and where you don't. Have a plan, revise it, and stick to it. You can't do it all, choose your part wisely and be effective. Be on task!

We are all imperfect and we can heal!

In Love and Service- Molly

WE GOT THIS WORLD-SOS Soul Soothing Station!

The SOS Soul Soothing Station will be going online for one month starting April 15th, 2020 with students from Corcoran School of Art and Design/GWU Arts and Social Healing class and MANY others. Go to sossoulstation.org website to participate, activate and join us as an adaptive community learning to evolve in the times of Corona.

A message to the SOS Soul Station Students from Molly when COVID hit:

There is a message of support I want to give to you today.

There is a moment in any creative process when we move from ideation and experimentation into form. This process of manifesting often involves moving about on a spectrum between disorientation, illumination and clarification. This is the place where we get to develop the true muscles of trust, faith, and presence in the face of the unknowing and uncertainty. It is natural to doubt, fear, even to question oneself and one's efforts at a root level. Often people shut down. They stop and back away from the pain and uncertainty. You may notice this in yourself. I often have and do. See if you can watch it if you can. Allow it to breathe and then let it move when it does. See if you can continue one best step and then another. This is what we need to do in the face of such massive social and earth changes. In this small project we are doing our little part and together demonstrate what an adaptive, healing and creative community can look like.

Some of you may be experiencing waves of inner complexity and some of you may be steady on. I want to assure that we are on task and target . You are all doing great adapting to this stressful and uncertain time. I stand with respect before you. Allow yourself to feel all the feels ( lyrics from NOW NOW in the Oracle:)),...and see if you can continue to make space for the complexities and doubts.

Know you are not alone and that perfectionism has no place here as we find our way. Perfectionism tightens and contracts. It is a form of violence.

What we have together, in this little creative learning community, is our willingness to share our hearts and gifts, our love and goodness, and be vulnerable in the world. We have no idea how it will be received or if it will matter. We do not know if it will be liked or disliked. In many ways this kind of concern is irrelevant for we are a work in progress. Please do not forget that. Even more, embrace it as deeply human.

We are learning now to be human in a whole new way. We have done the old way of constant assaults to a living breathing wholeness. We have come to the end of a way of being where few benefit on the backs of others and the planet. In our tender sweet way with SOS we are contributing to a larger force catalyzing and bringing into form a paradigm of care.

If you need me let me know. I am here. Just text me. I will respond and I will stay with you through this and beyond. Continue to find your own pace and flow with the unfolding mystery. Reach out for and accept support when needed. Practice self-awareness and deep self-tenderness. Notice what comes up for you, what happens in your body, where there are breakdowns, where there is surprising resource. I think you will find it is many things all at once and we can't know the impact of this- not really. We are artists and in that is the possibility of speaking the language of the soul. The language of the soul is mysterious. What we can do is stay very connected to our hearts, be courageous, and be real.

Let us all stay on task as we are making a steady and true pathway toward a truly harmonious way of living together and with the planet.

Thank you for your work, your presence and your creativity. You must know, you are each incredibly powerful and beautiful.

In Love and Service,

Molly

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

I appreciate this quote by the poet June Jordan because I find that most of us are searching for something outside of ourselves to relieve our experiences of discontent and suffering. In my experience we each have ALL of what we most need and want (beyond survival needs) right inside of us. In this time of profound assaults to ecological health, which includes human well-being, I can think of nothing more important than each one of us realizing and resting in the fullness and authority of our spiritual essence AS our unique and creative selves - and the courage and generosity to share ourselves in collaboration with one another from that place.

What I really love right now...

…my daily DC bike commute and the fabulous-ness of disk brakes, my students at the The Corcoran and George Washington University (they are each a miraculous universe), my continued work on the new mythical musical meditation for the planet called Waking The Oracle (www.wakingtheoracle.com), lots of quite time, studying ASL, enjoying my morning cup of coffee , stillness & silence, my early morning workouts at Petworth Fitness(such a great gym), the finches and cardinals who visit me regularly, encountering true honesty and courage in myself and others, big belly laughs, having time with no plans whatsoever, unapologetic powerful women and girls, white people who seriously take on racism and privilege, camping in the wilderness, dips in freezing cold water, studying for my pilot’s license,….oh… and chocolate (of course).

Love All Parts

One thing I notice about working with individuals and groups over many years is that it is very challenging for most of us to truly welcome all parts of our experience of life.  Typically we hold parts of ourselves or our experiences at bay- hold them out of the light of care and loving presence.  This exclusion can happen so automatically. Habits of shame or judgment that diminish  our experience are often undetectable.  The result is a fragmentation of ourselves that undermines our well-being and ability to rest in our lives, experience our fullness and positive power,  and find peace.  Contemplative practices which cultivate our awareness are very helpful for addressing this. The very simple act of welcoming and allowing all parts of ourselves in with tenderness and openness, moment to moment, will bring us much greater freedom and relief.   The daily practice of bringing love to all parts of ourselves ultimately resolves in deeper presence and a more loving and healthful life.