creativity Archives - Aesha Kennedy | Mindful Creative Living: Recent Episodes
Aesha Kennedy
Ageless PresenceThe Gift that Keeps on GivingOne of the most remarkable gifts we have is to be AWARE.
It is really why we are here in this human experience.
To remember we are much more than a physical body, or a mind.
To know ourselves as a vast mystery, infinite energy, unconditioned love. To be in this place of aware consciousness and presence that is ALWAYS there, and has always been there.
While the body ages, and the mind becomes forgetful and less flexible, this presence is ageless.
We’ve all experienced this aware presence that is always here.
You can close your eyes and tune into it right now by being still and being with what is there that is not a thought.
There is a ground of stillness, silence that doesn’t need a thing. It’s only the mind that “needs”.
This silent ground is full and empty simultaneously and flows effortlessly.
An aware consciousness that sees itself through its individual expressions. And what an amazing planet of creative expressions and beauty.
It’s why ageing seems so strange to us.. We don’t feel old internally. We feel the same as we always have.
The body ages, but this aware presence that has always been with us and is always available HERE right now whenever we pause and take that moment to be silent and drop into it. It’s AGELESS.
It's easy to forget that this aware presence is here with us when we are caught up in the activities of doing and we believe in the thinking mind that can feel so real and solid when it’s only thoughts streaming through and there isn’t any solidity or reality to them unless we believe them to be real.
But what’s real and always here is this aware presence. The ageless. The gift that keeps on giving because it is unchanging and always available.
What helps us to remember and to connect into this constant unchanging presence?It may differ in the ways we connect into this aware consciousness, or presence. It’s good to explore what helps you drop into this ageless presence.
- Maybe for you it’s being in nature and listening to nature sounds
- The practice of a type of yoga that allows for some stillness and being.
- Meditation to let the silence behind the thoughts become more prominent
- Sojourn, a solo journey to be alone with yourself and invite a deep listening of your soul
- Silent walks
- Retreats that focus on connecting to this presence that is always there.
- Creative expression where you make art to release the dominant left brain analytical side and become more attuned to the right hemisphere of connectedness and oneness.
I’d love to hear what helps you connect into this ground of silence beneath the surface of chattering thoughts.
If you are interested in joining me on a retreat you can visit my retreat page HERE
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Why I don’t charge extraThis is something I have done for many years but I never really spoke about the reasons why I don’t charge extra.
I used to use the standard marketing strategies, like early bird price, VIP price, extra cost for payment plans. I have learned this from other business owners, coaches, and it seems standard practice.
- Early bird means you pay less if you commit early.
- VIP means you pay extra and get special treatment or extras.
- Payment plans usually incurs an additional charge to pay over time.
I’ve never been comfortable with any of these things.
This comes with having had my own experience around this and it didn’t feel right or aligned with me.
It was about 10 years ago, when I was taking my first steps into creating an online business and I signed up to a conference, which was about women in business. It was a big investment for me at the time.
There was early bird pricing (with a penalty for not taking up the early bird offer, which was a higher ‘regular’ price).
Another was having to pay a higher price if you chose a payment plan to pay over time.
And then there was the option of paying extra on top of the normal cost to receive VIP treatment which included some extra perks.
Why I don't use these practices nowAt the time of this first conference I attended, I couldn’t afford to pay extra for VIP and I felt diminished when it was obvious during the retreat how the VIP people were treated differently to the rest of us.
I also couldn’t pay all at once. I needed a payment plan. This was a big investment for me at the time, and having to pay extra because of my financial situation was also not a pleasant feeling.
In general it felt like punishment. That might be a harsh word, but I couldn’t settle it inside myself that just because I couldn’t pay the total up front I had to pay more.
These practices still turn my stomach.
I understand the marketing logic, but for me it creates FOMO and falls into fear based marketing.
It can make people feel diminished when they are equally competent as anyone else but their life situation might be one where they need a payment plan, or they can’t pay early.
Ultimately my choice to not use these standard practices comes from how I feel about using them and how I want to run my business.
So yes, at that time of that first conference I made a note to myself that I wouldn’t make anyone ever feel like I felt at that conference if they wanted to work with me as a client or come to my retreats.
In the past, however, I did initially follow those accepted strategies.
And then I stopped.
It doesn’t feel good for me.
And the early bird pricing is one I only recently stopped. I questioned myself about this and came up with a better solution which is to offer the best price I can. For everyone.
I accept and honor others who adopt the standard practices and I have no judgment on them. We each follow our own paths.
When I listen to my heart I go with what feels right and that means letting go of any fear based elements in running my business.
If you're a business owner, or have been in a similar situation as I described I’d love to hear from you and how this article lands for you.
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Ambition is beautiful when it comes from your heart.Be ambitious AF, set goals, and envision your future but do it all without expectation.
Yep
That's the key to effortlessness, relaxed state of flow, MAGNETISM
Expectation carries with it a root of disappointment. If you explore this for yourself you will see it. The expectations are already tinged with an expected disappointment, even though we may not want to see that.
And yes, there are times when your expectations do unfold as you envision, and then you think it's because of YOU and something you did and your control over the situation that made it happen.
Not true.
Control is not needed (although your mind will convince you otherwise).
When we let go of control, we let LIFE flow through and guide us.
We listen from the heart and attune to our body to what feels really joyful, aligned, expanded, and inspiring.
The body knows, the mind doubtsSet your goals but let go of expectation of how it's supposed to unfold. Make your intentions and then let them unfurl - free from the constraints of expectations.
Intentions are creative and open when the intention comes from the heart.
Intentions you make don't need a specific outcome or need for it to be one way. This openness allows the magic of life to flow through you and show you pathways that you hadn't even thought of.
I often set an intention and then end with, 'this or something better'. You could say, "something wilder, or something bigger. It's an open door for life to support you in ways your mind couldn't imagine.
If it feels odd to not control and have expectations with your ambitious goals it's not surprising as most of us grew up in a patriarchal society and things were done in a more masculine mind-based way.
I encourage you to explore your feminine power of listening to your body, your gut, your intuition, your inner authority, and trust more and more in this part. It can feel scary, but keep going and learn to trust it. Find a friend or coach that can hold your hand in this new territory of having ambition with heart and letting go of expectations in your intention setting.
Let the mind be a servant, in service to the divine feminine creative energy that points us into the unknown adventure of life and living in FLOW - Free, Liberated, Open, Wild.
Give it a go and see how you flow.
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What’s the difference between Neutrality and Mediocrity?There seems to be an attraction in this human life to high drama or even medium drama. Or drama full stop.
Maybe it’s the wisdom that comes from age and life experiences but I much prefer the calm lake to the whirlwind hurricane drama that has one on the edge of one’s seat, and then feeling triumphant when making it through. And conversely, down in the dumps when you don’t sail through like you thought you would.
I was pondering, (as I do) about the beautiful calm lake feeling that comes with neutrality.
It reminds me of this well known Buddhist saying:
Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.After enlightenment, chop wood, carry waterAn equanimous state where life events come and go and there is a consciousness of being that’s untouched, neutral to whatever happens in the moments, impartial because of understanding that things change and come and go in this life.
The Buddhist often describe this neutrality of mind as equanimity. A mental attitude of balance, impartiality, and detachment (which probably means detachment from identification with any thought).
Perhaps the ‘addiction’ to drama in our society is to counter the idea that being neutral is BORIIIIING..
It may also get confused with the idea of mediocrity..
And no one wants to be mediocre or feel mediocre.
But it’s not the same thing.
Here’s why:
Mediocrity is described as being average or ordinary. There’s a negative connotation to being seen or felt as mediocre, even though there is really nothing bad about being ordinary. And who’s deciding about that anyway.
Neutrality can be described as impartiality.
An absence of decided views, expression, or strong feeling.
This description might give a false idea that it means we are emotionless. A zombie. Have no feelings about anything.
Our current societies seem to view being mediocre as not something to aspire to and in fact do whatever you can to NOT be mediocre.
However, I tend to view neutrality as a gift
You feel EVERYTHING and yet there is NO DRAMA.Ahhhhh … I sigh at the very words, no drama.
Centered in the infiniteness of being a neutral observer, an impartial witness, where one can simply be equanimous with the movements and creative flow of life’s dance and enjoy the “movie”.
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Are you noticing how being more YIN is in?This is a sort of pun, but it’s true that yin reflects the movement into a more feminine energy which IS more of a going “in”, as well as being more receptive, quiet, and passive. But not the kind of passive we’ve learned to equate that word with.
It’s not submissive, or meek.
It’s more like REST, or pause which may SEEM passive, but it’s rest that brings us a quiet strength for our creative life force to move us powerfully into actions and create forms – all in it’s divine timing.
How does this relate to our day to day lives?
It means we can let go of our conditioning to always be busy (thus perhaps feeling important), drop the notions of rest being lazy and judgements that it's a bad thing and know that rest is required.
We can also let go of the conditioning to push to get what we think we want which is a form of forcing. And if you are familiar with the Dao, there is no need to force anything, ever.
Life takes care.
If we pay attention to life’s flow, we can flow serendipitously with life’s signals and directions with ease. No need to go against life’s current and totally exhaust ourselves trying.
Instead, we can LISTENListen deeply to our inner authority that is there to guide us. Understand how it works for you, trust it, and use it so it becomes second nature and always steers you in the direction you are meant to go.
It reminds me of a Japanese word Ikigai, which I was reminded of recently.
Ikigai loosely translates to “reason for being”.Ikigai is your purpose of life and identifying your ikigai takes willingness, perseverance and ongoing refinement which requires you to constantly observe yourself, reflect on your actions, behavior, and how you interact with the world around you.
Every week in my Yoga classes I invite us to set our Sankalpa, an intentional vow you make and commit yourself to.
It can be anything but usually I suggest it center around,
how you want to feel each day and how you want to relate to the world.Your reason for being.
Ikigai is said to be Japan’s secret to happiness.
Helpful tip for the month:Deep LISTENING so you can tune into your inner authority, and to be in flow with your Ikigai. Here is my suggested helpful tip for this month:
- When you are listening, be aware of your breath simultaneously.
- This may be listening to another person speak, or it may be listening to sounds in your environment.
- You can listen AND be aware of your breathing at the same time.
- See if you notice a shift.
- If you listen deeply to others by also being aware of your breathing it helps release that automatic movement of mind that's already formulating a response to what’s being said while the person is still speaking.
- If you listen more deeply to your environment and feel your breath and the senses of your physical body at the same time, you will find the mind noise volume reduce significantly. You rest in the presence of being in the moment.
Give it a go and let me know how you go.
I’d love to know.
P.S. If you want to explore how your inner authority works uniquely for you based on your Human Design, I offer readings. More info here.
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I recently heard a description that the sound of OM is an energetic expression of YES.
A deep yes to life.
The vibrational sound of OM is oft described as the sound of creation and it makes vibrational sense that this sound can be translated as an energetic yes to the creative life force flowing throughout the universe.
It reminds me of that wonderful artwork created by Yoko Ono in 1996.
It was a ladder you had to climb to the top, and when you got to the top you looked up and used a magnifying glass that was there to read the tiny writing above. And what you saw magnified was the word YES.
It was called by the NY Times a positive thinking artwork.
But I feel it points to more than positive thinking. It is pointing to something beyond the mind.
Yes as full surrenderA surrender to the illusion of the mind that separates us from all that is.
Without thoughts that separate, there is no sense of duality. There is only connectedness, oneness, and an energetic YES to all that is, and all that happens moment to moment.
Life flows through us, when we don’t resist or try to control it.
Being in flow in this way is a YES to life as it is.
It feels restful to flow with life even in the discomforts.
Trying to control life or resist what’s happening, is like an energetic no to life. And it can feel like struggle, suffering, pain.
Let go and let god. While you may not resonate with the word “god,” you get the drift.
Trusting in the bigger picture, the mystery of life, and learning to trust in how things unfold without trying to control it all.
There is thought and there is reality. And they’re not the sameThe two are not the same even though we may be so totally convinced that they are.
I encourage you to investigate this though.
Start to see that thoughts are simply thoughts and are not reality. Thoughts center on the past or the future and thus veil the immediacy of what’s right here now in all its spectacular splendor. Caught up in past or future thoughts we miss the moment before us.
Yes can feel like a noYes to ourselves sometimes results in a ‘no’ to the outer situations and circumstances.
When we say yes to ourselves we might find ourselves having to say no to others. This can be challenging for us, especially women, who have been trained to be more submissive, polite, don’t rock the boat, care for others first.
This conditioning is unhelpful, even when we’re trying to help.
So the next time you find yourself in a yoga or meditation class or perhaps on your own and you sing the sound OM, feel that opening in your heart and let yourself surrender to life. Let go of your need to control, and trust that the forces of the universe are always supporting you to be true to who you are and not what others would have you be.
It's a deep honoring of yourself as an integral, unique, expression of the whole.
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It’s a funny thing about desires vs. conditioning. I remember a time in my 20's walking directly home after work in the city and I panicked. I had nothing to do. Most evenings after work I had something on. I was ALWAYS busy doing something. And this one day there was nothing to do after work […]
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Contentment and SantoshaWhat is Contentment?The Sanskrit word, Santosha, is often translated into English as contentment. It’s close but there is a difference.The difference comes from our conditioning and understanding of what the word contentment means. It’s defined in one dictionary as a state of happiness and satisfaction.However, what brings us happiness and satisfaction can differ […]
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The day my vision board came crashing down on the floor changed everything.Bang. It thudded to the floor of my office without warning. I was dismayed at first. Almost superstitiously so. Omg what does it mean? Then as I stared at the board lying on the floor a voice somewhere in my head said, well that’s it […]
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There once was an old Zen farmer. Every day, the farmer used his horse to help work his fields and keep his farm healthy. But one day, the horse ran away. All the villagers came by and said, “We're so sorry to hear this. This is such bad luck.” But the farmer responded, “Bad luck. Good luck. […]
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This is the question I ask myself when faced with trying to make a correct decision whether to go ahead with something or not. It might sound pessimistic or even negative. But hear me out, because it’s not the same as ‘what’s the point’ or similarly, ‘why bother’. Can I be bothered is a soul searching question […]
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There is in-breath (inhale) and there is out-breath (exhale), and together is breathing. But who is it that’s doing the breathing? Most of the time we barely think of breathing and yet it happens without us DOING it. It requires no effort. We live in a dualistic world here on planet Earth and tend to forget the […]
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What I have fully realised in my wizened crone years is this: Of all the things one can focus on in life, first and foremost in importance is to focus your attention on your own vibration, frequency, resonance on a daily basis. Everything is energy. Science has begun to catch up to what seers, sages, yoginis have known […]
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What do clients really want to know before buying your service? What most clients really want to know is, What’s in it for me? This is one of the business strategies I learned. I was taught that if you answer that question for your potential clients they are more likely to buy your service. And […]
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Visibility & Consistency Online Fear says: People won’t trust you if you appear and then disappear. You need to be visible all the time to gain trust. Do you also have this fear? I had this fear and it made me question a few things. What is consistent? And do people trust quantity over quality? Sure […]
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Floating and Surrender Without warning I found I had crossed an invisible boundary and there was no turning back. I was in a dream swimming in a river by the ocean when the next thing I knew I had crossed from the calm swimming area into a strong current and choppy water. […]
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