by Cherie Ray | Apr 18, 2016 | Inspiration, Uncertainty & the Unknown
Recently, I had the opportunity to ask this question to a group of intuitive painters who were discussing their upcoming travel plans. One person was talking about visiting Egypt, another about her plans to see Japan, and another about her spring break in Portland. As the conversation unfolded, it occurred to me to ask, what excites you about travel? They looked at me with heads tilted and eyes squinted as if I were clueless. It was as if I had asked a question with the most obvious of answers. Here’s what they said: to see something they’ve never seen before, to have new experiences, to explore, to have more adventures, and to be surprised. From where I sat, all of these answers pointed to the same thing, a journey into the unknown.
As I listened to their answers it occurred to me how funny it is that our minds can hold the same idea in two distinctly different ways. When anticipating the unknown through travel, the departure date can’t get here soon enough. When anticipating the unknown through creating, we recoil as if there’s a reason to run. As B.B. King once sang, the thrill is gone! In both situations we’re still stepping into the unknown. Maybe what’s really on offer here, is to not take our state of mind as a barometer of what’s real. It’s a fickle-pickle that is inconsistent, fleeting, and illusory. It may carry the tone of an expert but that’s not a reason to take it seriously. Like the weather in Texas, it will soon change.
If you want to explore a different side to the unknown there’s no need to travel 6,000 miles. Those same goodies are waiting for you on the blank page. Creativity invites you into the adventure of seeing something new, exploring, having adventures, and being surprised. One of the best perks offered through creating is the opportunity to get very comfortable with stepping into the unknown. The unknown is never as scary as it once appeared. You transform your experience of the unknown into one of curiosity and wonder. Much like travel, the more you show up, the more is revealed and experienced.
by Cherie Ray | Feb 11, 2016 | Being Human, Coaching
Lately, in my coaching practice, I’ve heard many clients talk about feeling overwhelmed. They believe it’s from their current life circumstances, or from the amount of ideas that are coming into them. Oftentimes, when you open yourself to the truth that all things are possible, yes even for you, the flood gates seem to open. When this happens, it all appears chaotic or too much to deal with.
So, what can you do about it? First, recognize that overwhelm is a concept. Granted, a concept that people have bought into for a long time but one that often trips them up. For some people this concept doesn’t even exist in their lives. Secondly, that ‘too much’ feeling is not coming from the circumstances or ideas. It’s coming from the volume of mental chatter you have around what you’re seeing or the ideas you’re receiving. For instance, a new inspiration comes in, and it’s often followed, by the mind, offering a big laundry list of reality questions such as how, why, when, etc. Your head space starts filling up? This marathon of examination fills your head with a sense of it’s all too much. Hopefully, at this point, you’re seeing it’s not what’s happening in your life that’s too much. It’s what you’re making up about what’s happening in your life that’s creating this saturated feeling.
I feel very confident that the intelligence that brought you these situations or new ideas will bring you the how, why, when, and what to do about it. 
There’s no need to fill your head with logistical data that hasn’t arrived yet. What to do instead? In order for the saturated sponge to do what it does best, you have to lessen the amount of liquid in it. This allows space for the sponge to operate more effectively.
This is exactly what I invite you to do. I invite you to empty your mind of all that busyness. When more space is available inside you, you will operate more effectively. You will have space available to receive, hear, or notice the next piece this same intelligence is sending your way. Take a walk, tear paper, collage, watch a movie, listen to music, paint, or soak in the tub. You pick what does it for you. Then relax. You’re never given a situation without the information to execute your ideas. It’s that simple. It’s that easy.
