Host Christopher Miller interviews Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Therapist, LCSW Peggy Roberts on the definition of Transpersonal Therapy. Discussion enlightens what it means to connect to a power greater than one's own and be in the state of a “Spiritual Artist.” Peggy details the difference between the creative process performed by ego as opposed to Spirit and reviews Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Conversation highlights the importance of ritual when engaging Spirit, creating a sacred space and solitude. Peggy presents different tools to employ that release your creative Spirit including music, dance, meditation, yoga, memory recall and even humming!
Peggy explores her use of color therapy as a healing mechanism and explains its roots in Steven Vasquez’ process of Emotional Transformation Therapy. Conversation ends with the importance of learning to “be present to oneself” and remembering the truth of your being.
Peggy provides therapy and coaching in issues of anxiety, coping skills, divorce, processing grief, life coaching, relationship and self esteem. She is available in person or online. For more information, call 817.988.3578.
Host Christopher Miller interviews Licensed Clinical Social Worker/Therapist, LCSW Peggy Roberts on the definition of Transpersonal Therapy. Discussion enlightens what it means to connect to a power greater than one's own and be in the state of a “Spiritual Artist.” Peggy details the difference between the creative process performed by ego as opposed to Spirit and reviews Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Conversation highlights the importance of ritual when engaging Spirit, creating a sacred space and solitude. Peggy presents different tools to employ that release your creative Spirit including music, dance, meditation, yoga, memory recall and even humming!
Peggy explores her use of color therapy as a healing mechanism and explains its roots in Steven Vasquez’ process of Emotional Transformation Therapy. Conversation ends with the importance of learning to “be present to oneself” and remembering the truth of your being.
Peggy provides therapy and coaching in issues of anxiety, coping skills, divorce, processing grief, life coaching, relationship and self esteem. She is available in person or online. For more information, call 817.988.3578.
Welcome to The Spiritual Artist Podcast. This is Chris Miller. I invite you to join me as I interview artists from a variety of disciplines. We'll share powerful stories and lessons learned while making their art Today. I'm in conversation with licensed clinical social worker and therapist, Peggy Roberts. Peggy is very special to me. She recently served as my mentor while I worked toward my certification as a licensed spiritual coach with the center for spiritual living in Dallas, and she is going to help me pinpoint some ways that I can improve my process as a spiritual artist. Good morning. Good morning, Chris. How are you today? I'm great. How are you? Perfect. Perfect. Peggy, we were just discussing, and I want to share this with our listeners, that you have so much experience in therapy and licensed clinical social work. I met you as my mentor. You were my licensed spiritual coach while I went through the process myself. And so listeners, I've learned so much working with Peggy, and I want to share that with you. Okay. So Peggy, one of the things that I came up with is that I want to tell you my little journey as an artist. So I started painting a long time ago. I think it was in the year 2000. And when I painted, I started realizing that when I got into what I call the zone or flow, when I was able to kind of stop my thinking and just be in the moment, be present as Eckart Tolle says, I kind of reached this really incredible sensation. And it was a feeling of connectedness, a feeling of being connected to something bigger than me. And that is probably where I was introduced to the spiritual aspect of painting. And that is where I've come up with this whole, my whole book, the spiritual artists. So it's interesting to me to explore this. And my goal here has always been to share this process with other people because the creative process, it's not just about painting, is it?
Speaker 2:No, it's not, no,
Speaker 1:It's everything. It's when we engage in something consciously. So I have shared this. We've had people on this show that are landscape architects. We've had actors, we've had musicians, we've had give name it because the creative process can be anything from baking something in your kitchen to raising children, to of course helping people through coaching. So tell me this, tell me about this. I discovered this in your bio and it found it fascinating transpersonal therapy. Um, can you explain that a little bit?
Speaker 2:Well, just a little bit. Um, so what I, what I've found with seeing clients as we come in and are they come in, come see me and, and there's an issue. And sometimes that issue is based on what they've experienced in their childhood and their growth. And, and so it's a self. And so sometimes that's where their focuses and when they focus on that, they have this breakthrough and the breakthrough is the resolution of the past. And then they are in this spiritual journey. It's a place where they can connect to the God within and the God outside of them. And so it's a beautiful journey. Now, some people will come in and just feel disconnected and, and not, um, not wanting to look at their past and they want the spiritual connection. And that's great. That's great. And then we have to, we have to go into where, where they're not in touch and where they're not aware of what their consciousness is, if that makes sense, you know, because we have different levels of consciousness. One of the levels of consciousness, which I think is really important is like, how do I show up and how can I continue to show up as me and not from an ego place, but from a humanistic place, from a place of who my best self is. And then we have the part that's spiritual, you know, the part that is God and the part that's creative and the part that connects to everything in the universe. And, and so we work in that area. Does that make sense to you, Chris?
Speaker 1:A little. I'm kind of like. It does, because what's interesting for me when I was doing art, I had to stop. I stepped back and watched my thoughts.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Learning to watch the signals in my head that were saying stuff like"you can't paint, or you're not an artist, or you're never going to be good enough." And only by stepping back and watching them first, I've watched them. And then I kind of let them go. I said, these aren't true thoughts. These aren't real thoughts. Was I able to get to that spiritual level.
Speaker 2:And I think, you know, that's probably the way of our journey of life is, you know, like when you start painting or you start drawing, you're doing it from your ego perspective, you're doing it from the Chris that thinks you supposed to paint like this, or these colors I've been told match, and this is what I'll do. And I'll put these shadows in. And then when you have that development, they'll grow, then you move through that. And you're in the zone as I like to call it, you know, you know that it's not just Chris, it's not ego Chris, that the, the spirit takes over and, and then begins to paint, or then begins to, to cook or bake or whatever, whatever your creative path is. Eventually spirit shows up. What I like to happen is as soon as I pick up that paintbrush, that signals spirit is present, like to have that consciousness change from here it is. I'm Chris, the human being in my ego. And here it is, I'm Chris in the divine flow. I don't know if that makes sense to you.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I would think that the act picking up the brush, you could, you can work on what I would call ritual.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1:Ritual can put you help, help guide you into that state. Once you discover that state, you know, a lot of people never discover the state. And my original title for the book was the state of the artist, because it's, how do you get there? And so, as I explored each chapter, I was like, okay, so you have to stop your thoughts. You have to recognize your thoughts. You have to look at your emotions and learn to ride them and let them be. And, and, and so there's this practice of what you can do to get into that place. You know, now, is that something that you work with with transpersonal therapy?
Speaker 2:Well, I think each individual, it would be different about what is the, you know, what's the brush, what's the key, what's the, I could have answered first. Yes. But that would have made sense, but what's the key. What, what's it going to be for me? What's it going to be for me that says I'm, I'm connected to God. I'm connected in that special place of seeing that. I am not just one. I am here in the universe and, and it's all flowing through me. Um, I wanted to tell you about this experience I had as a child where I go into the Catholic church and in the Catholic church, I was raised Catholic. And you would, you would put your hand in the Holy water and then you do the sign of the cross. And I was told, you know, you're just doing that. Cause you're in God's house. And later a priest told me that you do that. You put your fingers in the hall, notice you only do two, and you do then the sign of the cross. And what that is do is it's take you into the ritual. It takes you into, I am here, present with spirit. And so at a very early age we are introduced. I know lots and lots of people were introduced to different rituals and we didn't even recognize what they were doing or what they were supposed to be doing. And so we can choose what our ritual is. You can choose that if I pick up the paintbrush, that's, that's moving me into a spiritual place and you get quiet and you allow yourself to feel, and you allow yourself to experience more when you pick up that magical paint brush.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's interesting. You know, I did reflect on that. I was raised Catholic also, and that's one thing that they are known for, that they, they are really supportive with is the act of ritual. You know, whether you kneeling or crossing yourself or, or, or walking in. And, and, and that ritual is important, um, to, to create what I call a sacred space. Um, when I would go to Santa Fe and paint with my mentor, my art mentor, um, I loved the way she held this energy in the art room. You, you would walk in and it was this wonderful energy of everything is safe here. This is a place to explore. This is a place to just let yourself be to not judge. The most important thing is not non-judgment. And I think that that idea of a ritual is so key to anybody listening to this, the listeners, to the re adding ritual into your process.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely. I mean, that's why people have prayer shawls when they sit in their meditation, it's signifies that when they put that Shaw around them, that the rest of the world is closed out, that they are just being one with the spirit and that God is just flowing through them. And they're not going to let anything interfere. It's a consciousness, but it's not, it's not what, when people talk about, you know, that conscious raising your consciousness as a spiritual connection, it's first on the humanistic part first being a human, Oh, I'm going to do this so that I can get to this process. Right. Does that make sense?
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I think you do have to start with yourself.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. And you know, when you described your art and how, when you start started, and then eventually you saw that and you felt like, Oh my gosh, God is right here. And I'm doing this from a very creative space. You trained yourself that, that, that the art brush was the thing that changed you. It was the ritual that you began, you, you started developing your own ritual.
Speaker 1:Right. It's very interesting. So, you know, we were talking about this where, um, this transpersonal therapy starts based off of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Am I saying that correctly hierarchy, hierarchy of needs. Yes. And how this is, this has been added. This was added to the top of that process, where, where, and so listeners, what that starts with is your basic needs are your physiological needs, you know, just food house. And then you go up to safety and then, then you look for love and belonging, and then you're working on esteem. And these are the steps. You, you could see it in your children, you know, as your children grow, you can see where they're exploring certain needs. And then they get into esteem and self actualization where they're actually, um, what would you say that is, uh, consciously choosing what they,
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's your highest self, not, not the higher self in the spiritual aspect of it. It's the part of, I have, I think people might want to say I've arrived and it's kind of like beyond your, um, beyond your hurt behind, beyond your childhood, um, experiences, it's the adult that is not really so attached to the ego. It's a place that the ego doesn't drive, but being it's we as a human, we have ego. Right. But I want to say, I want to say, is that, that place, that, that, we're just more, it's the combination of spirit and humanness together. It's that place of, I don't right now, it's just, I've arrived and I've come out of the darkness of whatever my childhood was. Everybody doesn't have a dark childhood, but it's just that childhood influences. We do have a condition cell. And so we're no longer living in the conditioned self.
Speaker 1:And I love that and explore that a little bit further for the listeners conditioned self is the things that we've learned through being raised by our parents and society and the system, the country that we're in the religion that we, we were raised in. That's our conditioned self. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:That's right. Thank you. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 1:And then we, we get to choose, we get to a certain point, a self actualization where we choose which aspects of that we want to carry on. Right? Yeah. Great. I had a good coach. So, so this is more, so this is a little bit past self actualization. This is where we're transpersonal, where it's connecting to realizing there's something more.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Well, I wouldn't tell you this story. That was amazing to me. But about four years ago, I got to go to Costa Rica. And I, I really felt like I shouldn't be going because my husband was unemployed and you know, but I had already paid for the ticket. No, it was prepaid. And he said, go, go. You've already paid for it. And I said, okay, I'm going to go because I want a spiritual experience. That's why I'm going. And so, so I got to go and I had a little tiny budget and I got to walk in the rain forest and I went, it was guided tour. And I told the guys, look, I'm only here because I need a spiritual experience. I have to have that. And he said, okay, Peggy said, here's what you need to do. And he was right. He said, you need to hold back. You need to be by yourself. You need to be here alone by yourself. And then they experience, and, and there were 25 people on the tour. And so I held back, I really held back and I, and I just gone into this really quiet space. And I looked around in the forest for me. I wanted to find me like, where was I in the poorest? And I looked all around and I saw this plant that all the sunlight just shined right on that plant. Everything else was in shade, but just this one, I have to say it was beautiful. It was this really big Fern. And it must have been about, I don't know, eight feet tall. And the light was just shining on it and nothing around, it looked the same. It was the only unique plant that I saw right there at that moment. And I, I took it in. I was like, Oh my God, thank you. That's me. I'm unique. I'm unique with all of these others that, you know, there's green all around us and they're all plants. And so we all belonged. I was just being unique, uniquely me. And what happened with that is like this, this, my vision changed. I was like looking through a mesh where everything had a different dimension and everything became one and separate at the same time, it was an amazing experience. And I was so grateful to be able to go through that journey alone and by myself and find me. And then I started looking at all the different things along the path of how it was, how it was telling me and giving me messages, you know? And it was just such a beautiful, wonderful experience. I'm glad we've never shared that before. Chris. I'm really glad that I could share it with you.
Speaker 1:You know, I loved it. There was so many things that you mentioned in there that I was commenting on in my head. There's just so many things. The concept of, of being alone, it is important. Um, I go, I have gone to Santa Fe every year for a week. I go just for one week, but I stay alone and people always ask you, where are you seeing this site? Are you going to this tourist destination? I'm like, no, I'm staying out in the country. I watch nature. I get grounded. You know, I sit there, I sit there with my coffee, I've watched the sunset. And, and like you said, it's that I call them moments of all, just moments of all, where you sit there and you see something and you, and you hit this feeling envelop you. And you know, I'm not just this isolated person, even though I'm alone, right. I am connected to all this other, just other
Speaker 2:You belong and you belong.
Speaker 1:It's an incredible sense of love, which I do think is the channel that you are in when you experience those it's, whether you're looking at that light, hitting that plant in the woods, you're loving it. You're appreciating it. You're seeing it for what it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And the beautiful thing of it, where I'm just going to share this, do it's like I came out of there with, I am amazing. It's like, you know, like, Oh no, you're not, no, I am amazing when you can see yourself as this unique individual and that you're part of something and that you are that something it is amazing. And if it is amazing, then therefore you are amazing. And that's beauty, you know? That's great. I appreciate you sharing your experience in Santa Fe. Oh yeah. No, it's,
Speaker 1:It's incredible. I think, um, you're correct. You're right. It's that, just that, that, that love of everything around you and yourself. I I've realized that when I do the creative process, it's my ritual, the whole creative process itself is sort of my room ritual to get there. And I used to feel, and I want to share this with my listeners. You don't have to go somewhere to get that because I fell into that trap. And for seven years, I would just wait, count down the days till I was going back to Santa Fe. And then, and then one time I came home and I sat in my own studio and I thought, wait a minute. If I can do this in Santa Fe, if I can be calm, be quiet, meditate, sit and look at the world and paint. Well, I can do that here in my studio. And I did, I sat down and I just looked out the window and I thought, ah, we don't have to, we it's a good practice. It's good training. Like you said, you know, going away separating yourself from the every day was wonderful for you to get away from it all.
Speaker 2:Well, I think what you're saying is you're, you're absolutely right. I totally agree that you don't have to go anywhere. I think what we need to do is remember, I think that before we're born, that there is this spiritual connection that we have, that we really are connected. And what happens when we come through the womb, sometimes that conception, maybe we forget, Oh, this is all hard place to meet. And so it takes us out of remembering our spiritual place. And so that quiet does that place of, of being one. We have to remember. And that part, when I went to the, to Costa Rica and saw that plant, it reminded me of who I am. And so for you, it's it, you remember who you are, you remember not just the humanness, but the spiritual part of you and you let that spiritual aspect of you just flow. It's just, it's a wonderful gift that you have that you can let flow. And so when other people are, they forget, that's what I was saying in the beginning or earlier, you know, it's like people come to me because really they've forgotten who they are. They've forgotten their spiritual aspect. And so whether that's going through their past and clearing that out and coming to peace with that, and then moving forward or whether that's like, you know what, let's just embrace who you truly are. And let me help you see the truth of your being because you've forgotten. And that's, that's the veils that, that just cover us up.
Speaker 1:Oh, how beautiful. I mean, it's beautiful. Yeah. It you're right. I mean, that's, that's your, what, what is yours to do?
Speaker 2:Yeah, everyone was right.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah. I mean, I have worked a personal level with that, but I could see how you do that for others. You know, you sit down and you help them. Um, and, and I do think you step back and you look at it and you look at all that consciousness that is handed down to you that, and, and, and you decide, but that's wonderful. What a wonderful gift that you have, which is why I say that a spiritual artist. I don't want to confuse people to think a traditional term of an artist, a painter, someone that works with clay, an artist is someone that is consciously connected to what they do, which is what you just described. When you sit with someone you're totally present with them. Cause I've, I've been through sessions with Peggy and, and she's right there with you and consciously focused on you, you know, and it is an experience. It's an incredible experience.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you. I really enjoy sitting with people and seeing their truth because it it's sad that you could lose. You could forget, you can not know who you are and when you don't know who you are, unfortunately, people around you can't recognize it. Sometimes, sometimes they can recognize it, but sometimes they can't recognize what a beautiful person you are, what a beautiful, not just human being, but what a beautiful spirit you are because you get in a rut and you start showing up, not my experience of you, Chris. Oh, that'd been in ruts. Right. And so when we're in that rut, sometimes we need that other person to just be with us and know our truth and, and not give up and not give up on us. Yeah. I don't know. You know, there was a time when I, I didn't know me and, uh, and I wanted to not get out of bed then and not be me. I didn't want even be. And so, uh, so I'm glad that I, that was long ago and I am here today, presently.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's wonderful. You know, uh, so we mentioned a couple of things here that I guess being the organizer that I am, I tend to, my gift is to organize things. Um, I'm organizing the process here. We talked about, um, being quiet and alone. We talked about ritual. Um, what are some other ways that people can, um, practice to enter this kind of final step of Maslow's needs? And into that Southwestern,
Speaker 2:You know, this may not surprise you, but dance and music and movement can take you into this place of spirit, to that connection. And, and it's like, you know, it's what your heart draws for you. So it could be that, like I said, it could be music listening. It could be movement through it. Movement is great because movement grounds you. Um, and there's different types of music that are really important. You know, all that African drumming is good for grounding, you know, and then you need something lighter to move into the spirit. And, and there's some studies on, on the vibrational frequency of music, which, you know, um, notes have different resonance, like heart or throat chakra or, you know, theatrical music. The other thing is color. We use color to move or through our, um, shock risk system and go into the highest realm in meditation. We talked a little bit about that, but sometimes if you're able to meditate and you see colors, like when you close your eyes and you're really connecting, what happens is your system connects to the chakras and you'll start to begin to see each of your Chakra colors in your third eye, you'll start to experience them. And that light can take you to another place to where you're seeing purple and magenta. And so I, I like the meditation looking for God, you know, I'm just being observant. Just, um, another thing that's really important is not to be hard on yourself. You know, like people, like, I'm not, I'm going to sit here and I'm gonna meditate and meditate and meditate. Maybe that's what you need, but maybe you need movement. Maybe you need flow fluidity in your body to move whatever stuck. And to go into this very spiritual place. A lot of times, I think people need to do that by themselves because no one's watching. Right. Right. And if, if we become, if our consciousness isn't in the flow of what's going on inside of me, what's going on inside of me, and they're concerned about what someone else is watching them move while they're meditating or scratch their eye or their head, or, you know, you get so involved in what I look like, or if you're in the movement of dance, then it's like, if somebody watching how I move my arm or do I do I really flow the way I want to. Right. So that's one of the reasons you want to do that by yourself is just so it's your experience.
Speaker 1:That's interesting. So, so many things. So once again, you said so many things, it's hard to comment on each one of them, but in an earlier episode of podcast, I talked with Lisa coil. She is a yoga instructor. And, uh, she, um, goes through, we talk about how your body can lead your mind, you know, in house. And I have found that simply going through poses can release and move me into an emotional state through, and then also into a
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. And, and, um, so I know
Speaker 1:Never thought of colors though. So is it, do you sit and just let the colors come to you in a meditation or do you purposely choose them? Because I liked it.
Speaker 2:That's a great question. That is awesome. Awesome, awesome. Great question. Because each color has a vibrational frequency. That's attached to an emotion. I don't know if you knew that or not. And so I work with color, a color palette so that I can help people move through where they're stuck, places are so that they can, um, go on to the, go on to the next, like they're not stuck in what the emotion, whatever they experience, what emotion blocks them. But yes, a color would change your mind. A color would change your heart. A color would change your attitude. And if you wanted to add, let me give you an example. So, you know, I was raised Catholic. You know, the high services are, the garments are purple, right? Purple is the color for trust. Isn't that interesting when you're looking at that person that is giving that sermon and they're wearing purple you're attuning to trust.
Speaker 1:What's also, I heard why like royalty purple was Kings and Queens it's royalty. So, so when you say you give them color and you have a color wheel, I needed a more, do you, you actually have them focus on the kids.
Speaker 2:I do. I have sent people these color palettes, where I have about 13 different fabrics. And while we're talking, I'll listen to, um, what the emotion you're stuck, where we need to, what you need to look next and then, excuse me. And then, um, as you're, so I might, so you, let me just give you an example. So you're, you've got a lot of fear, not you, Chris, but you know, the perfect. We had a lot of fear, like there's Covid-19 right. And so everybody's really afraid. And so I might have you look at the color maroon because that's a grounding color and it also is related to survival. And so you'll, I'll have you process and I'll have you move your eyes, like it's about, uh, Oh, uh, eight and a half by 12 or something piece of fabric. And I'll ask you to move your eyes out, tune in to you and say, okay, you know, I want you to just to look at this fabric and I want you to move your eyes in the infinity, the shape of the infinity as you look at this. So what that does, it allows the light to reflect onto the fabric and the, that vibration frequency goes into your eyes and into your brain in different places in your brain when you're moving your eyes. And it allows that transformation. And it allows us issues to come up that are lodged in your brain.
Speaker 1:That is fascinating. I have, is there a name for this type of work?
Speaker 2:Well, there there's this, um, this psychologist, his name is Steven Vasquez. He developed emotional transformation therapy, which is a take on emotional transformation therapy. It is, um, it is, it's my version, Oregon, but they're colored EFT has been around for a really, really long time, you know, but if you're using color therapy you're using vibrational energy. So, so let's say you had some hurt heart issues. Well, the heart is green. And so I've purchased fabrics that are, you know, like two yards by 60 inches and hung those up. So you can just focus. You could be focusing on this green color, so you can just be in the vibrational frequency of love. Now, let me tell you that color is on a spectrum. Emotions are on a spectrum. So when you're looking at, at this green, you might first feel unloved, sad, really sad, sad, sad to where that transforms into joy and to feeling, wow. I feel love self-love, that's what color is really powerful. And as an artist.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was thinking, I say as an artist, I wonder if when we paint, you know, cause I often just sit there. People say, do you preplan? Do you, I don't, I just, I just sit there and I start letting things fall onto the canvas or board and, and I just intuitively feel the color and, and I will sometimes place a color and then a couple more and then go back and erase out a color because there is a harmony that I find in them and how they come together. Um, and so I wonder if that is a reflection of the state I'm in the emotional state I'm in, when I do the work.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, I'm, I'm just curious that like looking at your picture or painting behind you, you know, so black is a grounding color. So if you didn't have the black and the, in the painting you have behind you, it might be too much. It might be too, uh, too wild. Cause there's a lot of movement and a lot of fluidity. Right. And so the, but the black then lets you appreciate it and then be grounded in it and then let you appreciate more of the movement and then be grounded in it. So I kind of wonder about your question. It's a good question. And I bet it has the same answer. It's like, yes, it changes. I would love to send you, um, a chart of what all the colors mean, but I don't want that to get in your way sometimes too much information is too much information. Right. And then it would get in your way. So you, you are experiential painting, you know, it's, it's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah. It's um, I really do believe that when I do a painting, it's a recording of the state I'm in, you know, um, and I just let it happen. Um, and it flows out to whatever fit feeling I am. And, and I was telling a friend of mine the other day that I had, I usually paint enjoy. I usually do painting joy, but a few years back, my father passed away and, and I had two bad things happen to me that's in the same week. And suddenly I was just so sad. I went into the studio and I painted this very dark, dark painting. Um, but it was, it was interesting. It was an interesting painting. And so a year later I had an art show and a woman came up to me and she said, I have to have that painting. Wow. And I didn't want to tell her the history. I didn't want to change her mind or, or war per mind, but she was, she goes, I'm so drawn to that painting. And the painting was, this was a recognition that we all pass away, that everything is transient. And that my father was no longer with me. And, and it was a great painting, but I thought isn't that interesting that she responded to the work of art yes. On a level that didn't even grasp, you know, we didn't know what, I didn't know what I was doing, what I did it, I'm not sure she knew what she was seeing, but on some level of her consciousness she was attracted to it.
Speaker 2:Yes. And that's probably that she was at that same vibration that you were when you painted it. Right. And so, and you didn't know you were painting it for her. You thought you were painting it for yourself. Yeah. I wonder when you were, when you were painting it, did you feel the movement that the spiritual movement inside of you or did you feel was where was the ego connected to the painting? You know, you went in with that. Sadness is about your dad.
Speaker 1:It was sort of a release. Um, I, I, I have learned with art and creating art to what I call, ride your emotions. I like w I liken it to a surf, a surfer on the ocean, the waves, your emotional waves come in. And sometimes you don't know where they're coming from, you know? Uh, but you just learn to ride them instead of resist, you know, don't stand in front of the wave and try to stop it. That's the emotion. Don't try to stop it, just get on top of it. And, and as, as a creator, as a creative person, just let it express, you know, cause some people say, I think there's always a good time to go into your studio. It's always a good time. Whether you're happy, sad, lonely, because you can use that energy, that emotion to propel the work to actually push you through the work.
Speaker 2:Well, and then you're, then you've created something that was an expression of your emotions and you can let go. It's like you, you documented how you were feeling. You didn't have to hold on. It's a way of letting go. It's a beautiful way of letting go. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. There's so many levels I do want to share. I'm so impressed with your knowledge. There's so many techniques that you incorporate into your counseling and coaching. There's so many different fields of knowledge. I, I can't even list them all though. There'll be in the bio section. I just tell the listeners, but I think that that's what shows so much, that you are a spiritual artist and what you do and, and, and that you're always drawn to expanding that and bringing something new into the process. So, um, I love that. I definitely work with the colors. And, um, so if I, if I was, let's just give you a example, say I go into the studio and I don't, I just don't know where I'm at. I just, I feel a little ambivalent. I'm not ready to pick up the brush. Um, what, what would I, could I just look at colors or could I, uh, what would I do?
Speaker 2:Well, I think you can make some choices. You are, as an artist might look at colors and you mentioned yoga as one of the things that open people up. So bioenergetics is another practice that I have another, um, therapy that I do with people. Of course, it's a body oriented therapy that your body and says, you know, this is what I see for your body. This is where I see some blockages. This is where I see you can hold energy. This is where I see energy. You're not able to hold the energy that you know, that you want. So it, so that would be a choice you would get to go in there. And if you had these ideas, well, I could, I could meditate for a little bit. I could think about memorizing. I mean, I'm sorry. I'm, re-experiencing a good memory, changes you, it changes your brain. And so you could have a list of here's five things I could do. I could think about a good memory and I could sit in this place of remembering a good time. And your serotonin is going to change in your brain. Right? You could do some stretches or some grounding, and you could bring up that energy and you could feel really solid, very, very solid. You could do some, um, some of the yoga that did I just say that, do the yoga, you can do the colors, the stretches, you could do the colors. You could also do calming. There's like, just that I'm putting the top of your, your tongue on the top of the roof of your mouth then opens up your brain. I mean, your, your, your skull, you know, it gives you, it makes the change. Just try it. Then you say, yeah, where are you going? Hm. Yeah. Never heard that. Try it, try it and see. And when you're present to your body, when you're, that's probably the key, the key is to go into your studio, being open, to being present to you and, and kind of, kind of scanning, wow, what do I need? Do I need something from my feet, from my pelvis, from my heart, from my head, what do I need? What's blocked and what can I open physically? And so not even a place of, um, what am I going to paint next? Or what am I going to draw next? Or what's going to next just by being present you, what a gift, what a gift it is to be present to yourself to saying, I need this and I can give it to me within just a few minutes. Things will start changing. And it's true by the way, even better yet, even better. It's true.
Speaker 1:So it's, it's um, that being present, just being present and being present to yourself can expedite that creative process or just help, help you enter that creative process and going into that, that next level, that higher state of consciousness that we're talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I think when, when, um, when you feel under pressure, you're not, you're not really being present to yourself. You're being in the problem, right? Like, like I can't create today. I can't, I can't do it. I can't do it. I can't do it. And at that, that is being present to your problem, to the issue. But if you had five things just sitting over there on, well, some people might call it an altar, but some people might call it a desk. And if you, if you have five things that you say, okay, I'm having a challenge being present to me, let's see which of these five things I'd like to do. And maybe you don't even have to ask yourself, which you'd like to do. You just close your eyes and pick up one of them and know that this is the right one that I need to do today. Oh, it says I need to stretch. Okay. It says, I need to ground. I'm going to do that. Right.
Speaker 1:Well, I love that. Um, what I would encourage listeners to do is something I do is I have a sheet on the wall and I call it my toolkit and I write it up there. And so every time something comes to you like this, and you can obviously pick and choose. Peggy has so many choices here. You can say, which works for you. And which doesn't you write that down on the list. Maybe it's just sitting quietly. Maybe it is listening to music. Maybe it is doing some yoga stretching. And so reminding yourself, reminding yourself for future, when you come back into the studio, maybe it's the ritual. I do have a ritual in my studio and, and it's important. So, um, all of those things are ways that we can engage and enter into that creative process. So, um, this has been a wonderful interview. I, gosh, very, very dense. There's so much to talk about, but I think this is a great starting point for people to, to actually see this creative process. And, and, and obviously, and when I want to end it with one last thing, I have all my life gone to counseling. And for, for various reasons, I've gone to counseling at different parts of my life and coaching, and I meet people that haven't ever gone to a counselor. And it just amazes me. It's, it's not weakness to go to a counselor. It's showing that you trust the universe to support you. And there are people out there that are trained with, like
Speaker 2:You said, with these wonderful techniques and tools and so on, right.
Speaker 1:Encourage any of my listeners that have never, ever gone to a coach, a counselor to do it. It's a wonderful thing. And it just shows a sense of, um, spiritual artistry that you're taking charge of your life. Yeah. Yeah. And so I can't praise more. What you do, you know, it, it's a wonderful gift to share with people. Thank you. Thank you. I feel very fortunate. I, I love how I show up for other people and I'm, I'm showing up for me. And so I appreciate being, having the opportunity to just share these thoughts with you, Chris. That's what we do it is. And I'll tell you what I can tell already. We're gonna probably have you come back at a later date. Cause there's, there's just so much information here. So anyway, thanks for being on the show. Oh, you're welcome. You're welcome. I'll see you soon. Okay. Bye. Bye. Bye. Thanks again for listening to the spiritual artist podcast, whether you're watching this show on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Google play, or iHeartRadio, make sure you choose the subscribe button so that you will receive updates when new segments are released, most importantly, be still listen and know that you are a spiritual artist.