Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Writing responds well to some gentle scheduling. A day job not only promotes solvency, it promotes creativity as well.
We are the ORIGIN of our art, its homeland. Viewed this way, ORIGINALITY is the process of remaining true to ourselves.
A sketch book freezes time. It is an instantaneous form of meditation focusing us on the worth of every passing moment.
Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.
Survival lies in sanity, and sanity lies in paying attention...the capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.
Exercise often moves us straight from stagnation to inspiration, from problem to solution, from self-pity to self-respect.
The voice of our original self is often muffled, overwhelmed, even strangled, by the voices of other people’s expectations.
Choice by choice, moment by moment, I build the necklace of my day, stringing together the choices that form artful living.
Our moods and insights are transitory. This current is a flow of grace moving us to our right livelihood, companions, destiny.
As an experienced artist, I carry my work like a secret pregnancy. I am always aware of inner life and the need to protect it.
'Faith and Will' is aimed at the same readership as 'The Artist's Way.' The book is for spiritual seekers in all walks of life.
The heart of creativity is an experience of the mystical union; the heart of the mystical union is an experience of creativity.
If you work on your creativity, you deepen your spirituality. And if you work on your spirituality, you deepen your creativity.
I always start everything with the weather, because the weather is the first thing that I notice when I wake up in the morning.
When we clear the physical clutter from our lives, we literally make way for inspiration and 'good, orderly direction' to enter.
In dance, in composition, in sculpture, the experience is the same: we are more the conduit than the creator of what we express.
Selecting a challenge and meeting it creates a sense of self-empowerment that becomes the ground for further successful challenges.
I believe that I am very lucky to have close friends who are faithful. From my friends, I have learned the importance of perseverance.
As children we hoard and gloat over words. Words give ownership: we name our world and we claim it...Children trust the power of words.
Life is what we make of it. Whether we conceive of an inner god force or an other, outer God, doesn't matter. Relying on that force does.
You have to muster a certain amount of belief that you're not making a mistake and you're not a fool. And this means you have to have faith.
The need to be a great artist makes it hard to be an artist. The need to produce a great work of art makes it hard to produce any art at all.
Just as blood is a fact of your physical body and nothing you invented, creativity is a fact of your spiritual body and nothing you must invent.
As artists, we must learn to be self-nourishing. We must become alert enough to consciously replenish our creative resources as we draw on them.
I learned to just show up at the page and write down what I heard. Writing became more like eavesdropping and less like inventing a nuclear bomb.
We don't always know what makes us happy. We know, instead, what we think SHOULD. We are baffled and confused when our attempts at happiness fail.
You do not need to work to become spiritual. You are spiritual; you need only to remember that fact. Spirit is within you. God is within you. (67)
Doubt comes to the door in darkness, pretending to be alone and in need of your compassionate ear. But if you let him in, he'll bring his friends.
When writing becomes too dominant, it gets leached of its own power. We spend more and more time writing and we have less and less to write about.
The tools of 'The Prosperous Heart' help people to embrace the life that they actually have, where they often find that they already have 'enough.'
Your mood doesn't really matter. Some of the best creative work gets done on the days when you feel that everything you're doing is just plain junk.
The growth of one blesses all. I am commited to grow in love. All that I touch, I leave in love. I move through this world consciously and creatively.
A God Jar is anything you wish it to be, in which you can put your wishes, dreams, problems, prayers. You may want to think of it as a spiritual mailbox.
A career must be husbanded. Care must be taken. Everyday must bring some small bit of progress. How would an artist with any self-worth act? Act that way.
It hurts like hell when the world won't invest in you. But it's excruciating, almost more than you can bear, when you don't believe and invest in yourself.
Rather than being taught to ask ourselves who we are, we are schooled to ask others. We are, in effect, trained to listen to others’ versions of ourselves.
Many of us believe that 'real artists' do not experience self-doubt. In truth, artists are people who have learned to live with doubt and do the work anyway.
We waste a lot of time and a lot of talent trying to write for the common reader, whom we will never meet. Instead we should be writing for our ideal reader.
Creativity - like human life itself - begins in darkness... bright ideas are preceded by a gestation period that is interior, murky, and completely necessary.
As you explore your inner world, your outer world will come more sharply into focus. As you face your imagined barriers, you will encounter real ones, as well.
When you are feeling too dull and too domesticated get on a horse, sit tall in the saddle, and for a moment live in a world that feels like risk and adventure.
My will for you is not harsh or unpleasant. It is gentle and perfectly tailored to your unique needs. Do not fear my direction. I am your heart's happiest guide.
What we focus on, we empower and enlarge. Good multiplies when focused upon. Negativity multiplies when focused upon. The choice is ours: Which do we want more of?
If we lean into what we love instead of soldiering toward what we 'should,' our pace quickens, our energy rises, optimism sets in. What we love is nutritious for us.
But do you know how old I will be by the time I learn to really play the piano / act / paint / write a decent play?" Yes . . . the same age you will be if you don't.
The creator made us creative. Our creativity is our gift from God. Our use of it is our gift to God. Accepting this bargain is the beginning of true self-acceptance.
The beginner's humility and openness lead to exploration. Exploration leads to accomplishment. All of it begins at the beginning, with the first small and scary step.
When I went in, my editor said, 'I hope you don't think you're a writer.' And I said, 'I hope you don't think I'm a journalist.' And, uh, turned out we were both right.
When I went in, my editor said, ‘I hope you don’t think you’re a writer.’ And I said, ‘I hope you don’t think I’m a journalist.’ And, uh, turned out we were both right.
"God does not give us more than we can handle," I am told but I wonder if God doesn't overestimate me just a little. Or perhaps, and this is likely, I underestimate God.