Express Magazine March 2014

ExpressMarch 2014 Vol. 1, No. 2

BurnOut

The Artist’s Way for Parents

Book Review

Express March 2014 2

In This Issue

Express

page 5

Making your meals more col-orful can improve both your health and your mood.

Burn out is experienced in every field and discipline, and it can happen at any time. What are the warning signs? And how can we avoid it, or return from it?

page 3

The Artist’s Way for ParentsBook Review

page 7

Eat Your Colors

Burn Out

Publisher - Anuradha KowthaEditor - Sarah Sayles

Subscription Rates. Subscription is currently free. The ezine can be found at issuu.com/ExpressMag and articles are published on lifepurposeembodiment.co.uk.

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Any editorial content or photos are submitted at the sender’s risk. Unsolicited material may be published or disposed of at the publisher’s discretion. Photos must include publication consent from the photographer or be clearly in the public domain.

Express is a publication of Ancient Tribal Wisdom Limit-ed, Unit 11, Fonthill Road, Hove, BN3 6HA, Reg. Eng & Wales, 8045429. This fully digital ezine is published monthly. No part of this issue may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

Are you the parent of a budding artist? Publisher Anuradha Kowtha reviews a book that helps parents develop creative time for their children that is both fun and educa-tional.

page 8Setting intentions, quotes, and more

Express March 2014 3

Feeling the Burn

The last few years, our little family struggled immensely with burnout. We had all the typical symptoms that you hear about--overwhelming tiredness and the apathy and despair that comes with it. My heart hadn’t been in most of the things I did, but I forced myself anyhow. The need to do it all myself, my people pleasing ways and my lack of self care were getting in the way of my actual survival. For years I had prioritized others and their needs above my own needs and desires. I gave up my creativity because ‘they’ disap-proved. I made the biggest mistake any of us can make, I used ‘them’ as an excuse not to live my dreams. It took a devastating and eye opening jaunt down the alley of adrenal fatigue to snap me out of it. Though it felt like it happened all of a sudden, it actually had crept on us for weeks and months, eve-

years. Seemingly overnight, we regularly were dragging ourselves out of bed, despite longer sleeps. The simplest chores, like cooking or getting groceries, took twice the time and would tire us out. Our joy vanished, only to be replaced by drudgery and hopelessness. My own mind became so foggy, quick thinking and level headedness gave way to repetitive negative thinking or else very little thought. And our bodily symptoms only made it more dif-ficult to cope. Our digestion became sluggish, our sleep restless, and our energy level plummeted. We would joke that we always were hungry and no matter how much we ate nothing satisfied the desire to eat. In addition, my hair fell out at an alarming rate, my skin became dry, and my cycle and mood became erratic and unpredictable. It seemed the only time we had energy was in the

evenings as if we had just then woke up, making it more difficult to fall asleep at night. It was a trial on many levels. Our family struggled to stay peaceful and calm, each new event or aberration would cause upset and stress. Yet, I think the positive and necessary consequence of the overwhelming fatigue was a need to focus on my own needs and learn to find comfort in the small joys of life. Yet, what led to these events? I could tell you of the struggles to be accepted by my peers and family. I could tell you the seemingly uphill battle to create my dream or endless red tape and bureaucracy I faced when in the places I was a teacher. I could tell you about following advice that wasn’t right for me, or chasing others for love and acceptance. But in my heart of hearts, it was not loving myself enough to go for

Causes of, and solutions to, artistic burnoutBy Anuradha S Kowtha

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Express March 2014 4

3my dreams with full faith in the universe to support me, come what may.

So what causes artistic burnout? I narrow it down to three behaviors and beliefs: 1) Not fully living or accepting your life purpose. 2) Feeling the need to do it all (or all on our own). 3) Burning the candle at both ends.

Before you were born, your soul chose to embark on this journey and in doing so it came to express through your physical body the full-ness of a purpose. Performers need to perform. Artists need to create and receive their applause. Writers and speakers need to communicate their message. It’s as simple as that. Or is it? It seems that our society prefers the ‘nice’ or ‘giving’ person who sacrifices for others. People pleasing and putting the needs or desires of others before your own is dangerous because it keeps you from living in the present moment and unfolding your own journey. Instead, we become wrapped up in what is said or what others want. It insidiously under-mines our own feelings and needs. As Abraham Hicks notes, what we think about we create, so when we’re not honoring our own feelings and dreams, we’re creating what others want for us instead. For a performing artists this is more detrimental, because the audience is such a huge part of the magic of their unique creations. Think of the pressure to keep the crowds, their agents and parents and so on happy with them. We’ve all seen it: when a performer starts to go that way, they often lose their talent and their work falls flat.

For others, the fear of criticism keeps them stuck, trapped. From this frozen place, we’re hesitant to move forward. We believe that we can’t succeed, we listen to the evidence that we will fail. Each negative comment weights heavier than all the support and love. If we be-

lieve the criticism or fear of criticism more than our own worth, we hide and burnout the logical consequence. From that perspective of intense dis-ease, a quick fix, a panacea, and instant healing seems like the best answer. We want to get better, and now!

No, yesterday, actually. And there are no shortage of healers, nutrition-ists, supplement manufacturers, feng shui consultants and so on that promise the instantaneous & exceptional health we seek. However, the ‘quick fix’ solution is often what propels us down this road in the first place. Rush-ing through life, pushing ourselves to constantly improve and do more--as a result, our sleep suffers, we eat foods that don’t nourish us and we’re feeling something is lack-

ing every step of the way. A quick fix is what brought us, so a new perspective is needed to bring relief. Nature provides us another answer, shows us another way. As any gardener knows, there is a time for growth, a time for harvest, a time for rest and a time for

planning. A perpetual state of harvest is not possible, yet we can allow for the cyclic nature of our bodies and the creative process. Become aware of that cycle within each moment, each day, each month and each year. It means, however inconvenient, we must make time for real and whole foods. We must get adequate sleep regularly and we must recharge ourselves through play and fun. These are all things we’ve all heard before, yet why does it take intense suffering to make us heed these words? The artist who continues to create from that place of joy and bliss tend to continue to reinvent themselves and spend more time in the creative flow. So, I urge consistently and cou-rageously waking up and putting your time and effort to your art and your desires. Make time and space to practice. Find time to connect to

your own inspiration. Enjoy and take in the beauty of the world. We need time to heal. We need to change our be-lief that what we want is just as important as the needs of others. We need to seek the quiet answers that only come from peace, love and gratitude. We need to embrace

our creativity and solitude. And we need to reconnect to the true purpose of life and relationships--not to get ahead, but to let the journey unfold and enjoy the ride. The pearl is created from that grain of sand, irritating the oyster. The tree be-

comes strong from standing strong in the wind. And the bone, once broken heals ever stronger. Similarly, once we’ve overcome burnout, we learn to listen to our bodies and heed the inner whispers to create and connect. It takes courage and baby steps to recover from burnout, but the way is clearer than you can have imagined. The time is now to honor your feelings, honor your art, and honor yourself.

“Leadership is an active role; ‘lead’ is a verb. But the leader who tries to do it all is headed for burnout, and in a powerful hurry.” Bill Owens

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein

Express March 2014 5

Purple Blue and Red

It’s easy to love berries in season, and who doesn’t want a fresh tomato in the middle of winter? According to Diabetes Forecast, the pigments that give red, purple and blue fruits and vegetables their color also provide powerful antioxidants. From the painkilling properties of peppers to the pop of Vitamin C in most berries, these colors will improve your mood along with your health.

Yellow and Orange

The yellows and oranges are rich in beta caro-tin, which is great for eyes and skin. Pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash are all high in blood pressure–lowering potassium.

Green

Greens may be the easiest of the veggie and fruit world to come by. They are the base of every salad, and include other favorites as well, such as broccoli, peas, and kiwis. The greens include herbs as well, and

Ricotta & Summer FruitPrep Time: 5 minutesYield: 2

Ingredients:Ricotta Cheese - 6 heaping tbsp

Peach - 1/2 ripe, cut into cubes

Strawberries - 2, slicedBlueberries - 1/4 cupWheat Germ - 1/2 tbspHoney - to tasteInstructions: - Add 3 heaping tbsp or ricotta cheese for each

serving in 2 small serving bowls.

- Divide the fruit and add evenly for each

serving. - Sprinkle 1.5 tsp of wheat germ in each bowl.

- Top with desired amount of honey & enjoy!

From colorfulrecipes.com

Eat Your Colors

the great mix of flavors is almost rivaled by the great mix of vitamins and minerals. Leafy greens are a sur-prisingly good source of calcium, and the dark vegeta-bles are rich in Vitamin C. White

Don’t believe every bad thing you hear about “white foods”--white fruits and vegetables are full of good things. White beans, mushrooms, even bananas are the good kind of white foods. The whites are full of fiber, but they aren’t lacking in nutritients. You will find niacin and riboflavin, along with the fruitie-veggie standards, Vitamins A & C.

Recipes

So, are you ready to dive in to some great new colorful choices? Mix it up this week for your health.

What color is YOUR food? Maintaining a healthy diet can be as easy as cooking with more col-ors. So get out of your rut and find some new healthy recipes that will spark your energy.

Express March 2014 6

Kale & Pink

Grapefruit S

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Prep Time: 10

minutes

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

1 pink grapefruit,

segmented and membrane

s

removed

2 tablespoo

ns extra-vi

rgin olive o

il

Kosher salt

and freshly gro

und black pepp

er

8 cups thinl

y sliced kale

(center ribs

and stems

removed)

1 avocado, hal

ved, pitted, slic

ed into 1/2-in

ch

wedges

Instructions

:

- Segment th

e grapefru

it and remove t

he mem-

branes, plac

ing the frui

t in a small bo

wl to catch

the juice.

- Pour the

juice off an

d whisk with the oil.

- Tear up th

e kale and place

it in a larg

er bowl.

- Coat with th

e dressing and

toss. Allow

to stand

for 10 minutes

.

- Toss once

and arrange the

grapefruit

segments

and avocado slic

es on top.

From bona

ppetit.com

Oven Roasted CauliflowerPrep Time: 45 minutesServings: 4

Ingredients:1 head of cauliflower2 Tablespoons olive oil1-2 teaspoons coarse saltInstructions:- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

- Cut the cauliflower into 10 pieces.- Rinse and toss with olive oil and salt.- Arrange in single layer on baking sheet.- Roast for 20 minutes, remove from oven and

stir placing cauliflower in single layer.- Roast for 15-20 minutes more.- Eat hot or cool.From colorfulcooking.net

bonappetit.com

ColorfulCooking.net

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T

Raising Creative Children by Julia CameronThe Artist’s Way for Parents

his book showed up for me at such a critical point in my own career and the development of my daughter. I was in the midst of a huge realization that in order to serve artists as their business coach, my own artistic endeavours need to be given higher priority. Though I had set aside time for my various arts & crafts, I hadn’t given myself permission to follow through and have fun with my work. And my own daughter is very much in the creative play age and creating more opportunity for my own fun would give her the opportunity as well. As a result of reading this book, it shifted my perception of creative time ‘as a nice to have’ to a ‘need to have’ in our lives. True to her style, Cameron, uses rich exam-ples straight from her own life and from her clients to illustrate her points. I also love that in giving children

the space for their creative play it nurtures them, but often gives the parents a chance to reconnect to their own inner creator and can be very healing and sooth-ing. Many of the parents she talks about are over-stressed and in making time for fun, the entire rela-tionship with themselves and their children opens up. It is like magic! I have noticed that same trend in our life, the more we stress, the more that fun time makes everything run smoother and we get along better. My favorite suggestions from her book in-volves an hour of unscheduled time without television or computer each day for fun, solo activities. Another practical suggestion is to have simple toys like blocks, paints, and clay around for easy play and clean up. I see so many homes where there is no space for fun toys or art supplies. Even a small shelf or table can be

enough for hours of fun. It was refreshing to see that such basic things could make for fun and that as parents, we probably are doing many things to support our children cre-atively. We already allow Audrey to spend her saved money or birthday money as she wishes, spend time saying what each of us is grateful for and planning ad-ventures. Reading Cameron’s sections on clutter and money gave me fresh ideas on how to approach these issues as a family and be more intentional as we move forward. It’s a fast read and many of the activities are blocked out, easy to find and implement. If you’re someone struggling to uncover your artistic gifts, all her books can give you hope as well as practical sug-gestions to move in the direction of your dreams.

Book Review

Express March 2014 8

2. Let’s work on setting some intentions.Create one intention per aspect of your vision. Each intention needs be written in the present tense, as if it is already here! Focus more on how you will feel and less about the specific thing, focus on the gratitude that it is here, how it smells, how it feels, what is around you. The more imagination you can muster the better! And remember to put how you are showing up, who you are and WHY you want this intention.

Typically, a basic goal might read like this: ‘I want to perform to make money’.

This example could be better. It is written from a place of lack, wanting; not a place of it is! It is not specific and it is missing the why! Why do you want it? How does it feel to have it? What does it look like?

Better Example: ‘I am abundant & the universe supports my endeavours to perform. I happily share my artistic gifts with the world and they are graciously received.’

I suggest writing this down on an index card or, even better, a colored card that matches the chakra associated with it.

Safety & Security – Red Creativity & Relationships – Orange Work & Power – Yellow Love & Nurturing – Green or Pink Expression & Manifestation – Turquoise Wisdom & Intuition – Blue Spirituality & Purpose – Purple or White

Setting Intentionspart 2 of a seriesby Anuradha Kowtha

QuotablesOn self-care and the arts:

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.” ~Ovid

“If you can’t please yourself some of the time, how do you expect to please people all the time? Not everyone is going to appreciate you for your efforts and deeds.”~Author Anthony Liccione

“I know something about performing. I know that when it seems like the ava-lanche is about to roll over you, you face into it and keep both arms swim-ming as hard as you can. You smile and you sell it.”~ Jillian Lauren, Some Girls: My Life in a Harem

“Find your authentic voice, become vulnerable, and then put yourself out there.”~Singer/songwriter Meredith Brooks

On the Web

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