Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Thursday, 5 April 2018
The Star - Tarot
The Star - Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly
The Star Tarot card brings renewed hope and faith and a sense that you are truly blessed by the Universe at this time. Courage, fulfillment, and inspiration are in your life. You are entering a loving phase in your life, filled with calm energy, mental stability and deeper understanding of both yourself and others around you. This card is saying to you that, over the long-term, you should have faith and trust in the Universe. A better future is waiting for you but in order to reach it you must trust that it is indeed possible.
When the Star appears in a Tarot reading, be open to new ideas and growth. Listen to the still small voice within. You have a strong desire now to find or rediscover a sense of meaning, inspiration, or purpose in your life. You are making some significant changes in your life, transforming yourself from the old you to the new you, and in doing this you are bringing about a fresh perspective on life. You may also be feeling that you are finally honouring the person who you truly are or want to be, rather than simply following a routine that has little meaning to you. There is a deeper spiritual journey that you are going through which is all about bringing greater meaning and purpose into your life and renewing your inner energy. You hope your future will be better than your past. This card is the call of destiny that motivates you or compels you to go on. Your desire is not in vain as you will ultimately find what you are yearning for.
Wednesday, 4 April 2018
The Fool ~ Tarot
The Fool ~ Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly
The Fool Tarot card is a card of potential, new beginnings and innocence. This Tarot card shows the highest potential for your life, reaching a state of renewal and new beginnings, where each day is an adventure and each moment is lived to the fullest. The Fool card represents the beginning of all creativity and a desire to accomplish new goals (or to, at least, start the process of working towards those goals). The Fool indicates that anything can happen and the opportunities are just waiting to be taken advantage of.
In a Tarot reading, the Fool represents the need to set forth on a new journey, one that is completely unknown and will take you to uncharted territories. The Fool is all about new experiences, personal growth, development, and adventure. The Fool Tarot card asks you to take a ‘leap of faith’ and to trust in the Universe in that if you begin a new journey, you will find success. This Fool lives a carefree life, free from worry and anxiety. He does not seem to mind if he does not really know what lies ahead.
The Fool Tarot card may represent a choice to be made—one of vital importance. However, there are always many different options available and the choice must be made wisely. If you are facing a decision or moment of doubt, the Fool encourages you to believe in yourself and follow your heart no matter how crazy or foolish your impulses may seem. This is a time when you need to truly ‘believe’ and have faith in where the Universe is taking you.
Four of Cups - Tarot
Four of Cups - Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly
This young woman and her predicament suggest the story of the Buddha under the Bodhi Tree, contemplating the state of the Universe and unwilling to rise until she has reached the Truth. She is not taking the cup and indeed appears to be paying no attention to it whatsoever. She misses this gift of love and opportunity because she’s completely tuned within.
The Four of Cups often appears when you are bored or dissatisfied with the status quo. You may be feeling disengaged, apathetic, or unmotivated. Life has become stale or ‘flat’ and there is little that excites you anymore. To overcome this, the Four of Cups suggests a need to re-evaluate your situation and to look deep within your own psyche to find understanding and meaning. Turn your attention inward to find the Truth for which you are searching. Avoid distractions and examine your heart and mind to gain clarity.
Similarly, the Four of Cups signifies disappointment in someone or in a situation. You may be growing tired of the same old struggle that has been carried on too long in the past. As a result, you have started to withdraw and go within yourself to seek greater peace and tranquillity. If you are becoming particularly ‘pouty’ or sulky about your predicament, the Four of Cups is then a call to action; it is time to wake up, be alert and to be open to new experiences that offer a more positive outcome.
The Sun - Tarot
The Sun - Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly
SUN TAROT CARD MEANINGS AND DESCRIPTION
The Sun is an image of optimism and fulfillment, the dawn that follows the darkest night. As the source of all life on earth, the Sun represents the source of life itself. The child playing joyfully in the foreground represents the happiness of our inner spirit when we are in tune with our truest Self. He is naked, having nothing to hide. He has all the innocence and purity of childhood. The white horse upon which the child rides represents strength and purity of spirit. The horse is without a saddle and is controlled without the use of the hands. This is a symbol of perfect control between the conscious and subconscious. The child holds an orange banner in his left hand, showing that control has passed from the conscious to the subconscious.
The orange represents action and vibration, and the rays of the sun represent the same thing. The straight rays are action while the wavy rays represent vibration. The sunflowers in the background represent life and the fruitfulness of the spirit under the nourishment of the Sun. There are four sunflowers, representing the four suits of the Minor Arcana, as well as the four elements. The astrological correspondence to this card is the Sun, of course.
The Sun represents success, radiance, and abundance. The Sun gives you strength and tells you that no matter where you go or what you do, your positive and radiant energy will follow you and will bring you happiness and joy. People are drawn to you because you can always see the bright side and you bring such warmth into other people’s lives. This beautiful, warm energy is what will get you through the tough times and will help you succeed. You are also in a position where you can share your highest qualities and achievements with others. Radiate who you are and what you stand for. Shine love on those you care about.
You have an innate sense of confidence right now. Life is good, the sun is shining and you are on your way to achieving your goals. The Sun represents that feeling of getting up on Saturday morning, with the whole weekend ahead of you, and you open the curtains with the sun shining on your face. Having struggled through the shadow sides you now know yourself and know where you are heading, and the sun illuminates your path.
The Sun is a ‘yes’ to life! It brings with it luck, wellness, positive consciousness, enthusiasm, attainment, and success. It is about embracing your destiny and giving it everything you have got. If you have been having a difficult time, the Sun brings you the message you have been waiting for – that things are going to get better – a lot better! You know that the rain clouds will soon give way to the rays of the sun and you will feel warmed to the soul once again.
Source HERE
love and light,
Trace
xoxo
The Magican
The Magican by jasmoonbutterfly
The Magician Tarot card typically appears in a Tarot reading at a time in your life when you have the creative power and energy to create a new life cycle for yourself. You have the ability to take the power of the Universe and manifest your desires. The Magician Tarot card suggests that a situation has been (or soon will be) presented to you that has all the inherent components to allow the manifestation of your desires. Those desires may be spiritual (fire), physical (earth), emotional (water), or mental (air), and are each aligned with the four elements of the Tarot. You have the ability to make it happen!
With the Magician Tarot card, you are inspired to apply skill and initiative to accomplish all your goals. You have a strong desire to begin something new, to ‘do, act, or go forth’. A ‘can-do’ attitude and strong sense of optimism will dominate a new beginning and thus the decisions that you make will have positive results.
The Magician card sees you creating success in everything that you do. This is a Tarot card about manifesting your goals by utilising the skills, tools and resources that are available to you. The Magician suggests that you will come up with creative ways to solve problems and you will be able to use your existing knowledge and networks to arrive at solutions.
The Magician Tarot card is a good omen when you have a specific wish, when you begin a project involving creativity, or when you need to make a transformation of any kind. This is a great Tarot card for meditation when you need to call all the elements for help and wisdom.
The Magician Tarot card indicates that you can benefit from your creative forces if you can claim your power and act with awareness and concentration. This card is a signal to act consciously and act now provided you understand exactly what you want and are committed to getting it. You need to know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Be clear about your underlying motives and intentions.
The Magician is also a Tarot card of deep concentration on a specific task or activity. You need to be focused on a single goal or purpose at this time and you need to channel all of your energy, tools and resources towards this one goal. Commitment to the task is essential and as such, you will need to eliminate any distractions that will take your focus away from what you want to achieve.
The Magician shows that you are doing a great job at pulling together all of the skills, resources and tools that are available to you in order to bring about an outcome that suits you. You are keeping a very pragmatic head about you and you are trying to remain as objective and ‘can-do’ as possible, even if you are worried on the inside. Keep this up as it will help you to create as much success as possible. Keep thinking about what other skills and resources you can use and keep focused on the task at hand.
Source HERE
Tuesday, 3 April 2018
Queen of Swords - Tarot
Queen of Swords - Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly
Upright: Quick thinker, organised, perceptive, independent
Reversed: Overly-emotional, bitchy, cold-hearted
The Queen of Swords represents the sternness of a mature intellect which is devoid of emotion. In mythology, the feminine is associated with emotion, yet in this card, the woman is stern and composed, and without much feeling. This card, therefore, represents the intellect’s ability to judge and discern impartially, without the influence of emotion or sentimentality. She likes to know the how, what, why, where, when and who of everything to help her make sense of her environment and to better understand others. It is not that she does not care about others but she connects to other people through an intellectual understanding rather than an emotional understanding.
Lady of the Lake
Lady of the Lake by jasmoonbutterfly on Polyvore
The Lady of the Lake is a sorceress in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and legend about Great Britain. She plays a pivotal role in many stories, including giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father.
The Emperor - Animus - Tarot
The Emperor - Animus - Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly
The Emperor is the complement to the Empress. He is the Masculine Principle, the Animus, and the Patriarch. He represents power and authority, and his stern attitude is quite a departure from the sensual beauty of the Empress.
Twin Flame
Twin Flame by jasmoonbutterfly
There tends to be a lot of confusion about what a “twin flame” relationship really is. Unlike “soul mates,” which are our perfect matches (or our spiritual family) twin flames are our perfect mirrors. Relationships with twin flames tend to be on-again-off-again, intensely passionate, and sometimes intensely painful.
When you meet someone you have a karmic connection with, a spark of recognition ignites in your soul. You'll feel a haunting familiarity, a sense of having come home, a longing for something not quite remembered.
The Lovers - Tarot
The Lovers - Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly on Polyvore
The Lovers represent perfection, harmony, and mutual attractiveness. Their trust in one another gives them strength and confidence to overcome the obstacles in life. The bond that the two lovers have created is incredibly strong and is often reflective of a marriage, soulmate connection or very intimate and close relationship.
The Lovers can also indicate a very strong sexual connection that goes beyond instant gratification and lust to suggest a very deep desire and passion that exists between two beings. The physical attraction is strong and so too is the desire to be intimate with one another.
One of the associations of Air is communication, necessary for a healthy relationship. The sun shines brightly over the couple, bringing warmth and security. The earth at their feet is green and fertile and suggests life and happiness. The snake in the fruit-laden tree behind the woman suggests the story of Adam and Eve, the fall of humanity from grace, and the temptations of the world. The snake is also a symbol of the senses. The flames behind the man represent the flames of passion, indicating the primary concern of the man. Equals the path of the conscious to the subconscious to the super-conscious, or from physical desire to emotional needs to spiritual concerns.
Source HERE
Strength - Tarot
Strength - Tarot by jasmoonbutterfly
The Strength card represents inner strength and the power of the human spirit to overcome any obstacle. The meaning of the Strength Tarot card is about knowing that you can endure life’s obstacles by drawing upon your inner strength and confidence. You have great stamina and persistence, tempered by an underlying patience and inner calm. You are focused on what you need to do, and you go about it in a way that demonstrates great composure and maturity.
Upright: Strength, courage, patience, control, compassion
Reversed: Weakness, self-doubt, lack of self-discipline
The Strength archetype teaches you that you have the strength to tame the beasts within yourself. Meditating on this card can assist your process of honouring and experiencing the inherent strength that is within your nature.
The lion in the Strength card symbolises your animalistic nature. And the young woman symbolises your opportunity to 'tame' the wild beast within. So, when you learn to fully master your raw, instinctual behaviours, thoughts and emotions, the positive qualities of the Strength Tarot card will emerge from within you.
The Strength Tarot card represents a higher level of consciousness that allows you to take responsibility for yourself so that you can master yourself and your world.
The Strength archetype teaches you that you have the strength to tame the beasts within yourself. Meditating on this card can assist your process of honouring and experiencing the inherent strength that is within your nature.
The lion in the Strength card symbolises your animalistic nature. And the young woman symbolises your opportunity to 'tame' the wild beast within. So, when you learn to fully master your raw, instinctual behaviours, thoughts and emotions, the positive qualities of the Strength Tarot card will emerge from within you.
The Strength Tarot card represents a higher level of consciousness that allows you to take responsibility for yourself so that you can master yourself and your world.
Friday, 30 March 2018
Thursday, 29 March 2018
Tuesday, 27 March 2018
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Why the 9-to-5 day is so tough for Creative Folk.
Creativity works in mysterious and often paradoxical ways. Creative thinking is a stable, defining characteristic in some personalities, but it may also change based on situation and context. Inspiration and ideas often arise seemingly out of nowhere and then fail to show up when we most need them, and creative thinking requires complex cognition yet is completely distinct from the thinking process.
And psychologically speaking, creative personality types are difficult to pin down, largely because they're complex, paradoxical and tend to avoid habit or routine. And it's not just a stereotype of the "tortured artist" -- artists really may be more complicated people. Research has suggested that creativity involves the coming together of a multitude of traits, behaviours and social influences in a single person.
While there's no "typical" creative type, there are some tell-tale characteristics and behaviours of highly creative people. Here are 18 things they do differently.
They daydream - Creative types know, despite what their third-grade teachers may have said, that daydreaming is anything but a waste of time.
According to Kaufman and psychologist Rebecca L. McMillan, who co-authored a paper titled "Ode To Positive Constructive Daydreaming," mind-wandering can aid in the process of "creative incubation." And of course, many of us know from experience that our best ideas come seemingly out of the blue when our minds are elsewhere.
Although daydreaming may seem mindless, a 2012 study suggested it could actually involve a highly engaged brain state -- daydreaming can lead to sudden connections and insights because it's related to our ability to recall information in the face of distractions. Neuroscientists have also found that daydreaming involves the same brain processes associated with imagination and creativity.
They observe everything.
The world is a creative person's oyster -- they see possibilities everywhere and are constantly taking in information that becomes fodder for creative expression. As Henry James is widely quoted, a writer is someone on whom "nothing is lost."
The writer Joan Didion kept a notebook with her at all times and said that she wrote down observations about people and events as, ultimately, a way to better understand the complexities and contradictions of her own mind:
"However dutifully we record what we see around us, the common denominator of all we see is always, transparently, shamelessly, the implacable 'I,'" Didion wrote in her essay On Keeping A Notebook. "We are talking about something private, about bits of the mind’s string too short to use, an indiscriminate and erratic assemblage with meaning only for its marker."
They work the hours that work for them.
Many great artists have said that they do their best work either very early in the morning or late at night. Vladimir Nabokov started writing immediately after he woke up at 6 or 7 a.m., and Frank Lloyd Wright made a practice of waking up at 3 or 4 a.m. and working for several hours before heading back to bed. No matter when it is, individuals with high creative output will often figure out what time it is that their minds start firing up and structure their days accordingly.
They take time for solitude.
"In order to be open to creativity, one must have the capacity for constructive use of solitude. One must overcome the fear of being alone," wrote the American existential psychologist Rollo May.
Artists and creatives are often stereotyped as being loners, and while this may not actually be the case, solitude can be the key to producing their best work. For Kaufman, this links back to daydreaming -- we need to give ourselves the time alone to simply allow our minds to wander.
"You need to get in touch with that inner monologue to be able to express it," he says. "It's hard to find that inner creative voice if you're ... not getting in touch with yourself and reflecting on yourself."
They turn life's obstacles around.
Many of the most iconic stories and songs of all time have been inspired by gut-wrenching pain and heartbreak -- and the silver lining of these challenges is that they may have been the catalyst to create great art. An emerging field of psychology called post-traumatic growth is suggesting that many people are able to use their hardships and early-life trauma for substantial creative growth. Specifically, researchers have found that trauma can help people to grow in the areas of interpersonal relationships, spirituality, appreciation of life, personal strength, and -- most importantly for creativity -- seeing new possibilities in life.
"A lot of people are able to use that as the fuel they need to come up with a different perspective on reality," says Kaufman. "What's happened is that their view of the world as a safe place, or as a certain type of place, has been shattered at some point in their life, causing them to go on the periphery and see things in a new, fresh light, and that's very conducive to creativity."
They seek out new experiences.
Creative people love to expose themselves to new experiences, sensations and states of mind -- and this openness is a significant predictor of creative output.
"Openness to experience is consistently the strongest predictor of creative achievement," says Kaufman. "This consists of lots of different facets, but they're all related to each other: Intellectual curiosity, thrill-seeking, openness to your emotions, openness to fantasy. The thing that brings them all together is a drive for cognitive and behavioural exploration of the world, your inner world and your outer world."
They "fail up."
Resilience is practically a prerequisite for creative success, says Kaufman. Doing creative work is often described as a process of failing repeatedly until you find something that sticks, and creatives -- at least the successful ones -- learn not to take failure so personally.
"Creatives fail and the really good ones fail often," Forbes contributor Steven Kotler wrote in a piece on Einstein's creative genius.
They ask the big questions.
Creative people are insatiably curious -- they generally opt to live the examined life, and even as they get older, maintain a sense of curiosity about life. Whether through intense conversation or solitary mind-wandering, creatives look at the world around them and want to know why, and how, it is the way it is.
They people-watch.
Observant by nature and curious about the lives of others, creative types often love to people-watch -- and they may generate some of their best ideas from it.
"[Marcel] Proust spent almost his whole life people-watching, and he wrote down his observations, and it eventually came out in his books," says Kaufman. "For a lot of writers, people-watching is very important ... They're keen observers of human nature."
They take risks.
Part of doing creative work is taking risks, and many creative types thrive off of taking risks in various aspects of their lives.
"There is a deep and meaningful connection between risk-taking and creativity and it's one that's often overlooked," contributor Steven Kotler wrote in Forbes. "Creativity is the act of making something from nothing. It requires making public those bets first placed by imagination. This is not a job for the timid. Time wasted, reputation tarnished, money not well spent -- these are all by-products of creativity gone awry."
They view all of life as an opportunity for self-expression.
Nietzsche believed that one's life and the world should be viewed as a work of art. Creative types may be more likely to see the world this way, and to constantly seek opportunities for self-expression in everyday life.
"Creative expression is self-expression," says Kaufman. "Creativity is nothing more than an individual expression of your needs, desires and uniqueness."
They follow their true passions.
Creative people tend to be intrinsically motivated -- meaning that they're motivated to act from some internal desire, rather than a desire for external reward or recognition. Psychologists have shown that creative people are energized by challenging activities, a sign of intrinsic motivation, and the research suggests that simply thinking of intrinsic reasons to perform an activity may be enough to boost creativity.
"Eminent creators choose and become passionately involved in challenging, risky problems that provide a powerful sense of power from the ability to use their talents," write M.A. Collins and T.M. Amabile in The Handbook of Creativity.
They get out of their own heads.
Kaufman argues that another purpose of daydreaming is to help us to get out of our own limited perspective and explore other ways of thinking, which can be an important asset to creative work.
"Daydreaming has evolved to allow us to let go of the present," says Kaufman. "The same brain network associated with daydreaming is the brain network associated with the theory of mind -- I like calling it the 'imagination brain network' -- it allows you to imagine your future self, but it also allows you to imagine what someone else is thinking."
Research has also suggested that inducing "psychological distance" -- that is, taking another person's perspective or thinking about a question as if it was unreal or unfamiliar -- can boost creative thinking.
They lose track of the time.
Creative types may find that when they're writing, dancing, painting or expressing themselves in another way, they get "in the zone," or what's known as a flow state, which can help them to create at their highest level. Flow is a mental state when an individual transcends conscious thought to reach a heightened state of effortless concentration and calmness. When someone is in this state, they're practically immune to any internal or external pressures and distractions that could hinder their performance.
You get into the flow state when you're performing an activity you enjoy that you're good at, but that also challenges you -- as any good creative project does.
"[Creative people] have found the thing they love, but they've also built up the skill in it to be able to get into the flow state," says Kaufman. "The flow state requires a match between your skill set and the task or activity you're engaging in."
They surround themselves with beauty.
Creatives tend to have excellent taste, and as a result, they enjoy being surrounded by beauty.
A study recently published in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts showed that musicians -- including orchestra musicians, music teachers, and soloists -- exhibit a high sensitivity and responsiveness to artistic beauty.
They connect the dots.
If there's one thing that distinguishes highly creative people from others, it's the ability to see possibilities where others don't -- or, in other words, vision. Many great artists and writers have said that creativity is simply the ability to connect the dots that others might never think to connect.
"Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they've had and synthesize new things." - Steve Jobs
They constantly shake things up.
Diversity of experience, more than anything else, is critical to creativity, says Kaufman. Creatives like to shake things up, experience new things, and avoid anything that makes life more monotonous or mundane.
"Creative people have more diversity of experiences, and habit is the killer of diversity of experience," says Kaufman.
They make time for mindfulness.
Creative types understand the value of a clear and focused mind -- because their work depends on it. Many artists, entrepreneurs, writers and other creative workers, such as David Lynch, have turned to meditation as a tool for tapping into their most creative state of mind.
And science backs up the idea that mindfulness really can boost your brain power in a number of ways. A 2012 Dutch study suggested that certain meditation techniques can promote creative thinking. And mindfulness practices have been linked to improved memory and focus, better emotional well-being, reduced stress and anxiety, and improved mental clarity -- all of which can lead to better creative thought.
Source - HERE
The post by The Atlantic became very popular—viral if you will—at midday on a workday. It remains so. The concept clearly resonated with many creative people.
The reason creative people may be unable to thrive or advance in their profession is in fact because they are too creative. The creative person is unduly burdened, marginalized by default. Many, as one told me on condition of anonymity, "just could never do the nine-to-five thing. Like it wasn't for me. Just not my thing."
1. You sometimes feel unfocused early in the morning.
The aforementioned article cited academic research that found some people are not maximally productive until four hours after waking up. ("It can take up to four hours for your mind to crank itself up to full awareness and alertness—and in that time, you won’t make good decisions.") You understand that it does not make sense to work until then. You are most productive at midday, not in the morning when a "job" demands it. Why is a job making these demands? The system is wrong, and sleep researchers have proven it, and you understand this.
2. Your brain won't allow you to work for eight hours in a day.
You may not be a good neuromatch for the structure of a "job." For creative people, the nine to five routine is just not a good brain fit. Neuromatch is a scientific term I just coined. Most people love the daily routine of going to work and spending most of the day working, but creative people can feel bogged down, or stuck in a rut. You might feel that you can do some work later in the day when, as the article described, you "get another energy boost in the late afternoon when lung efficiency peaks."
Many creative minds are stifled by the dailiness, too, of the working. After hours of working, the creative may become less efficient. The monotony of steady income can grow suffocatingly predictable.
3. You understand the science of creativity, which proves why you can't work in a cubicle. A cubicle is literally a box that you are put inside, and this is the least comfortable place for your brain.
The wrong colours in a room, or the wrong music—the sort of factors rigorously documented in Jonah Lehrer's Imagine—may be to blame for the unrealized potential of thousands of creative people. This can make the creative brain simply a brain.
4. You understand that at least one day a week, you should be allowed to play acoustic guitar for much of the workday.
You understand why this is important.
Source HERE
Image Source HERE and HERE
love and light,
Trace
xoxo
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