The Bright Way. Diana Rowan

important thing to remember as you go through this process is that the products of your creativity reflect only part of you. They are not actually you.

      I remember back when my whole identity was wrapped up in being a musician. Whatever state my music was in, that’s how I felt about myself as a person. If things were going well musically, I felt great. If they were going badly, I felt worthless.

       The products of your creativity reflect only part of you. They are not actually you.

      What I didn’t realize at the time was that my musical output wasn’t me, any more than your reflection in the mirror is actually you. Your work is a snapshot in time. A very important snapshot, true, but not your actual soul. Even your creative journey is not you; rather, your creativity is a way back to your true self.

       My Bright Way Vision for You

      My vision for you is that your creativity shall be your life ally from now on. My dream is for you to engage wholeheartedly with your life, know personal fulfillment, and shine your light back on our world. My hope is that your dreams guide you again — as they once did back in your golden age, no matter how briefly — and that you live your desires out loud from now on. This path is a way to manifest it. Whatever your chosen form of expression, it is your birthright to be creative and live your truth. You can live a connected, engaged life, whatever your current and ever-changing circumstances.

      I’m here to assure you: your creativity is alive and wants to emerge in all its glory. . .for you. Yes, others may enjoy, admire, and benefit from your work, but it’s by keeping a firm focus on your creative purpose for yourself that you’ll thrive and stay true to your path. If I had to boil down everything we’re focusing on here to one message, it is this: creativity is a way of life, not merely a goal.

       You can live a connected, engaged life, whatever your current and ever-changing circumstances.

       BRIGHT WAY ACTIVITY

       Creativity Is a Lifestyle

      Write “Creativity is a way of life, not merely a goal” on several sticky notes and place them in your planner, on your bathroom mirror, in your car, and anywhere else you visit often. Notice how the layers of this message’s meaning unfold for you. They’re still unfolding for me, even after all these years!

      As a consequence of walking this path, your work will become more powerful, and more beautiful, and you will achieve things you’ve always longed for. Products will happen and goals will be achieved naturally along the way as milestones of accomplishment. Yet in the end, creativity is the reflection of your ever-evolving, connected, true self; a traveling star, not a fixed point.

       Creativity is the reflection of your ever-evolving, connected, true self; a traveling star, not a fixed point.

      When you choose to activate your creativity, you affirm all life, not just your own. You take up your torch in the procession of human civilization as a creator, not merely as a consumer. You connect with the flow of all who came before us. You set the stage for those who will follow us. We are the universe creating itself. Even the smallest act of creativity echoes through the sweep of human existence. The first person to recognize the beauty of a plucked bow string didn’t know they were setting the stage for the invention of all stringed instruments. Where would we be without that person today? We need you, even if you don’t think you have anything earth-shattering to share. One tiny thing you create tomorrow may be the answer to something crucial a hundred years from now. Or it may not be! It’s not your worry, either way. You just have to show up and connect with life. You are enough. Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book and constant inquirer into the interplay between structure and freedom, concluded: “No price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.”

      When we see someone — like you — step into their true power, it’s the most thrilling thing. We witness magic coming to life. Our faith in humanity is restored. As we reclaim our inborn courage, our love radiates out far and wide, connecting us to everything around us, making sense of life.

       The magic is already inside you.

      Now, this might feel like a lot. Do you wonder where to even start on our epic journey? Take hope: the magic is already inside you. Hildegard of Bingen is again with us: “Humanity, take a good look at yourself. Inside, you’ve got heaven and earth, and all of creation. You’re a world — everything is hidden in you.” Let’s reveal you!

       The Bright Way Philosophy

       Past Wisdom + Present Illumination

      As your final stage of initiation into the Bright Way, it’s time to master the philosophical basis of the Bright Way System. This sets you up with the optimum mindset, that body-mind-spirit knowing, for our journey together. It also provides a lighthouse to reorient by as you navigate the creative life’s ups and downs.

      The Bright Way System is a confluence of two mighty sources. The first is what I call “past wisdom,” that vast archive we have assembled as a civilization. This Bright Knowledge is “a great treasury of learning, knowledge, and wisdom, a candle that was eternally renewed as the light passed from recipient to recipient so that a brighter light might illuminate the world.”

      The second Bright Way source is what I call “present illumination.” This represents intuition, sudden knowing, sensing beyond what is rationally learned and categorized. The Old Irish word imbas (pronounced IM-bus) means “vision that illuminates” or “instant illumination.” It has parallels in many cultures and eras, such as the intense enlightenment experienced upon emerging from Plato’s Cave. In order to access intuition, we first sit in darkness, either literally or metaphorically, inhabiting the unknown. In the shadows, we wait agenda-less for whatever wants to be revealed. In this open, intuitive state, we become receptive to sudden bright flashes of insight. Breakthroughs and quantum leaps of understanding become possible. We let go of everyday consciousness, even past wisdom that we might hold sacrosanct. New ways of thinking, being, and feeling flood in, uncensored. New possibilities open up, new ideas and inspiration appear, seemingly out of nowhere.

       The Bright Way respects the past, integrates the present, and calls on you to engage with the grand design.

      Light and dark marry: past wisdom lights our way through knowledge while present illumination provides the fertile darkness our intuition requires to take root in. The Bright Way respects the past, integrates the present, and calls on you to engage with the grand design.

      All these dimensions synergize with one another. Combining the skill of historical knowledge — not some moth-eaten museum exhibit, but a living, breathing manifestation of distilled human experience — with the magic of present-day experience, you add to the conversation as much as you listen to it and take it in.

       Figure 2. The Intersection of Past Wisdom and Present Illumination

      When we look back, it’s astonishing how profoundly the sages of the past understood human nature and what it takes to live a meaningful life. Aristotle’s and Hildegard’s words are as fresh to us as if they lived today, not thousands of years ago. Much of this knowledge went underground and was rarely taught in standard education forums anyway. Now is our opportunity to reclaim this wisdom of the past, grow from it, and add to it. History doesn’t simply act on us; we create it, every moment of every day. This is our moment.