Keep On Keeping On

It is a spiritual law that no loss is without meaning in all of creation.

Because creativity is a spiritual issue, injuries to that creativity are spiritual wounds. [A]n artist’s anguished prayers are always answered by the Great Creator. Even as we sob, “I can’t go on,” we are going on, and we are going on with spiritual assistance. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 244

Walking in the Wind

All of human life is a life of creativity. Each new day brings a new creation; each morning when we get out of bed we will be presented with new challenges for which we must find creative answers.

Sometimes life is extremely difficult and we may indeed cry out, “I can’t go on.” Whether we are facing an illness, a new marriage, or the loss of a loved one; whether we have had our manuscript turned down by a publisher, received a D for the school assignment we worked so hard on, or came in last in the swim meet, the disappointment and loss may be so overwhelming that we don’t think we will be able to try to do it again.

These wounds are more than physical, mental, or emotional—they are wounds to your soul and spirit and, as such, require prayers to be uttered for spiritual strength to be given you so that you can continue on with your life’s calling and challenges.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion, says St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.…Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Eph: 6 New Living Translation.

Keep on keeping on with God at your side; as it says in another translation of the words of St. Paul, “Stand firm therefore and, having done all, stand.”

©Judith Lawrence  

Prayers of Despair

When an artist sends up a despairing prayer, the Great Creator does hear and answer it.

As artists, when human powers fail us, we must turn to the Great Creator for help. We must “surrender” our sense of isolation and despair and open ourselves to the spiritual help we frequently experience as an unexpected inner strength. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 244

When we are in the midst of despair we may make a desperate call for help from God—O God help me, we may say, crying out loud in our desperation.

This prayer will be answered immediately and it is important to keep our hearts and souls open so that we can know the peace and assurance of the grace of God’s answer to our prayer.

If we make our prayer—our desperate cry to God for help, and then immediately go back to despair and anxiety about our situation, it is as if we have closed our hearts and souls to God’s inflowing grace; though we have sent up our request to God we have immediately shut up the conduit to receive the answer.

We are partners with God in both the praying of the prayer and in the receiving of the answer. We say the prayer to God; God hears the prayer. God gives the answer; we, with open hearts, minds, and souls, receive the answer.

It is like a circular flow of give and take, request and answer, speaking and hearing. God makes requests of us also. God calls us to a way of life, a way of creativity, a joyful and generous demeanour. When we respond to God’s call to us that is a form of thanksgiving and gives glory to God.

© Judith Lawrence

Trust in the Power that Created Us

Muskoka River

As we commit to our real dreams, we commit to ourselves. As we commit to ourselves, we also commit to trusting the power that created us. We are then aligning ourselves not with false gods but with the true power of the universe, the Great Creator through whose power all dreams are possible. Julia Cameron, Walking in This World Page 238

Committing ourselves to God in all areas of life makes it possible for all our dreams to become a reality. We commit to pursuing our creative dreams and, at the same time, we commit to trusting those dreams to the power of the one who created us. The Great Creator created us with those dreams instilled in our very being—the dreams we have for ourselves are the very dreams God gave to us at the time of our birth.

Canoe Ride

Sometimes we accuse ourselves of dreaming too big. This is false pride. In most cases we tend to dream too small. God has created us with amazing gifts and dreams and we barely touch the surface of what is possible for us. We doubt ourselves, our gifts, and our abilities instead of committing to and trusting in the power that created us.

Like the disciples, we are astounded by God’s promise to us, but Christ looks at us intently, deep into our soul, and says, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mark 10: 27 (New Living Translation)

Trust then in what is possible with God in your life and on your side; dream big and align yourself with the Great Creator; search deep within yourself for the dream that God instilled in you at the beginning of your life on earth; take hold of that dream and turn it into a reality to the glory of God.

© Judith Lawrence

Creativity as a Spiritual Experience

Composition for Classical Guitar by Morton Lawrence

What if creativity itself is, as our creative ancestors taught us, actually a spiritual experience, a way to touch the divine and allow it to touch us?…

We are an expression of the Great Creator, and we in turn are intended to create. It is not mere ego but our divine birthright to create. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 231

Many of the great composers—Brahms, Beethoven, Hayden—claimed that their music came to them from the divine. As they listened to God in the quiet they claimed to hear the Creator’s music and wrote down the notes that they heard. Living a spiritual life they were open to God within their souls; they were able to touch the divine in their spiritual encounters and thus could hear the music of the Creator and write it down for others to hear God’s creative music also.

The act of creativity is a spiritual experience, a spiritual endeavour, and a spiritual expression. Whether we are writers, composers, or artists we need to be open to listen to God the creator. It is in the quiet openness to the Spirit of God that we can receive the gift of creativity in whatever form God chooses to bless us.

It is up to us to be open to God’s spiritual gift, receive that gift, and use that gift to the glory of God and for the welfare of others on this earth.

© Judith Lawrence

Inner Well of Creativity

Rivulet in Woods

As artists, we routinely tap an inner well, and that well is fed by our spiritual condition. When we have kept our spirit carefully nurtured, the creative water seems to flow easily. When our spirit is dried out with unacknowledged discouragement, our inner well runs dry. Julia Cameron Walking in This World Page 224

Our inner well is kept filled and flowing by the nurturing of the Holy Spirit. In order for this to happen we must keep ourselves in touch with the God’s word through the reading of Holy Scriptures and through prayer and contemplation in our quiet times of communication with God.

Our inner well becomes dried out when we do not keep ourselves in touch with God’s word, when we neglect our times of prayer and contemplation, so allowing ourselves to become discouraged without the grace of the Holy Spirit.

Muskoka River in July

The water of life is always available to us but we have to ensure that we drink from it. God will not force it upon us but it is there for us to freely receive, fill up our cup, and drink from it.

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. Revelation 22: 1, 2.

Here is the source of all our creativity free to all who will accept it.

© Judith Lawrence