The Bright Way. Diana Rowan

By mindset, I mean what you believe body-mind-spirit about yourself and about what’s possible for you.

      Simply put, if you believe you can do something, you can. If you don’t believe you can do something, you can’t. If you place limitations of any sort on yourself, I have to tell you, they will play out. While this might sound scary, the opposite is also true: if you adopt a mindset of possibility, growth, and unlimited potential, your life will blossom in response. This is the mindset I invite you to adopt on our path.

      As Above, So Below; the Bright Way will ask you to change your mindset on many things — always from a compassionate place of love, growth, and connection — so that your life reflects your innermost dreams. You’ll have the opportunity to let go of old ways of thinking and being that have held back your creativity — until now.

      If our process begins to feel shocking or brings up fear, remember this: the Bright Way stands for life affirmation of the highest order: affirmation of your life. Furthermore, you are not alone on this path. I am here with you, along with the many other Bright Way practitioners spanning the globe, all in a fellowship of life celebration. We are excited you are here!

      Changing your mindset is exhilarating, liberating, and, yes, rigorous. This is why part 1 of this book is called “Invitation and Initiation.” It prepares you to take the Five Bright Way Steps explored in part 2 by gently initiating you into the philosophy first. I hope you receive this invitation wholeheartedly and voluntarily. You are in charge on this path. There are no gatekeepers on the Bright Way, no bosses; it is your courage that urges you on. Propelled by your courage, you’ll self-initiate into the great secrets of creativity that have been known throughout the ages. You are here because you heeded the call.

      Let’s begin your initiation with one of the most important Bright Way principles: creativity is connection.

       Creativity Is Connection

      When you create, you connect. As you engage with your chosen activity, you become one with it. We’ve learned from physics that when we interact with something, we change it. This interaction is connection made manifest, sparked by your direct engagement.

      When we make our mark on something through creative engagement, we see our true selves reflected back. This mirroring gives us a deep sense of belonging and meaning. Our existence is affirmed. We know that we matter. Our confidence is restored. Your entry point to this way of life? It’s what you already possess: your creativity.

       Your entry point to this way of life? It’s what you already possess: your creativity.

      This is why creativity matters in and of itself: it is a reflection of you that literally makes you feel more, well, you. It confirms your place in the world. It acknowledges your dignity and your right to exist — and everyone else’s — simply because you’re alive. Creativity reminds you that you are worthy in and of yourself. Therefore, it is the act of being creative that matters most, not the products of your creativity, because creativity has no agenda beyond life affirmation through connection.

      All tangible side effects such as glorious works of art, inspiring performances, and brilliant innovations are magnificent blessings and encouragements. Yet they all spring from same source: life affirmation. Keep focused on this primary matter, this first principle, and your creative process will flourish.

      Disconnection is one of the most terrifying sensations we experience as human beings. Think of the immediate and intense distress babies feel when separated from their parents. When we get disconnected, we feel horribly unsafe. Disconnection doesn’t have to be dramatic to have an impact. Simply feeling set apart from others in everyday life can trigger extreme anxiety and depression. Disconnection from our true selves is perhaps the most frightening of all when, severed from source energy itself, we wonder if life has any meaning.

       Creativity has no agenda beyond life affirmation through connection.

      Our survival as human beings depends on being connected. The reality is, most of us wouldn’t last more than a few days alone in the forest. Surviving, let alone thriving, demands creativity. Humans are not endowed with protective fangs or formidable physical strength. We don’t even run very fast relative to other creatures! Our superpower is our spectacular creativity. It’s our adaptability rather than our strength or intellect alone that has allowed us to survive. Creativity is by its nature ever changing. Adapting to the present situation, creativity then elaborates on it, bringing forth ever more vital expressions of life force. The circle of life turns: creativity affirming life, life sparking creativity.

      Our creativity has protected humanity through millennia of radical change. Creativity urged us to evolve. If we want to keep evolving — if we want to further our individual and collective life force — we must stay creative. All this points to creativity’s grandest message: life is worth affirming and amplifying, because it is the energy of connection — love — made manifest.

       Life is worth affirming and amplifying, because it is the energy of connection — love — made manifest.

      Many types of therapy aim to reconnect us to the world, to ourselves, to our source. Astounding breakthroughs can happen when we reestablish the connections in our lives, as neuroscientist Candace Pert affirms: “Love is an integrator and a healer, but you have to do the work to love yourself, and you can start by loving others. That’s the core of human health.”

      I had a stunning revelation during deep meditation when I suddenly perceived how everything is interconnected. A wave of relief washed over me, and my life changed forever. While this may sound incredible, my direct experience tells me that when connection is restored, we are safe again. Fear fades, love takes center stage, and we become ourselves once more.

      This illumination has stayed with me, and those close to me have remarked that I have been more myself since then. The change can become permanent because once you receive this knowledge, you can’t un-know it. This is why your creativity, your direct engagement with life, is so important: it reconnects you, for life. I want this for you.

      Engaging your innate creativity is one of the quickest, safest, most available, satisfying, and positive ways to do this. As Above, So Below: reclaim your creativity, reclaim your life. On the Bright Way, it is an article of faith that you aren’t broken. The Bright Way doesn’t try to “fix” you. Rather, it reminds you of who you truly are. By being creative, by actively engaging in your life, you will remember who you are. Welcome to the magnificence of your true self.

       Engaging your innate creativity is one of the quickest, safest, most available, satisfying, and positive ways to restore your connection to yourself and to the world at large.

      Welcome home.

       Your Story Is My Story

      The creative quest is one of the most thrilling journeys we can take. Yet it can also feel overwhelming at the outset. I understand this because I lost touch with my own creativity for decades.

      Adrift starting around the age of ten, I only regained my bearings in my early thirties. Despite years of musical study and accomplishments, I felt as if I was clawing around in darkness for a thread of security. Those nightmarish fears performers have? You’ve already seen that I endured them in public: suffering major memory lapses onstage, throwing up before performances, feeling humiliated as I shook like a leaf in front of hundreds of people, running offstage, refusing to go onstage — among other horrors. Performance anxiety is one of the most traumatic and seemingly mysterious problems artists endure. This fear isn’t just theoretical; it was physically, emotionally, and spiritually crushing.

      Years