The Bright Way. Diana Rowan

I gained a tentative toehold back in the music world, the how of which I’ll share with you later, I didn’t abandon my work in shelters and continued on as a volunteer. I remember teaching piano to a gentleman in the halfway house in San Francisco’s notorious Tenderloin district. Despite struggling desperately with addiction, when he picked out his bare-bones blues during lessons on that big old donated Hammond organ, he lit up, fueled by his own steam for the first time in a long time. The energy in the room changed palpably as his true power sparked to life. I remember a woman who had suffered major depression for forty years telling me with amazement that playing harp was more effective than any of the dozens of strong medications she’d relied on to remain in this world.

      Experiences like this convinced me that reconnecting to our creativity is one of the mightiest healers, even if we’ve hit rock bottom. These courageous people reminded me of creativity’s sheer strength and that we can all access it even in the direst of situations. Through these people’s eyes, I saw that creativity’s most powerful function is not to impress or please others. It is to return you to your true self.

       Creativity’s most powerful function is to return you to your true self.

      Now in my early twenties and hungry to maintain my newfound yet precarious strength, I began to study the practices of great artists and thinkers, as well as cultural movements of the past. I was astonished as a vast network of intertwining philosophies that have been all but lost lit up my consciousness. These forgotten philosophies — many tapping into the power of nature herself, such as traditional Celtic beliefs and the transformational insights of ancient Egypt — married with inspiring global creative practices, such as the Indian classical music model of apprenticeship, to birth my philosophy, the Bright Way creative path you are about to embark on.

       BRIGHT WAY ACTIVITY

       Who Supports You?

      Just as my many allies have helped me, I hope to be your ally as we traverse this Bright Way together. What other allies have been quietly gathering around you? Take a moment to reflect. Who has been silently supporting you over the years? Even someone who gave you one word of encouragement counts.

      When I consider my allies, I realize they all have a common quality: they are purveyors of growth. They believe we can grow and flourish at any time, any place. Limitations, as much as these sage allies acknowledge them, are treated as opportunities for growth, not permanent states or indictments. Who in your life has believed in you and pointed out your constant potential for growth? You may well have a fleet of guardian angels that you never noticed before. Write these names and energies down, for your eyes only.

      During the unavoidable challenging moments this school of life throws at us, look at your list of allies and feel heartened. You may even feel inspired to deepen your relationship with them, now that they have emerged from the shadows!

      If no one or nothing pops to mind, try this exercise: stand up, close your eyes, and feel your feet firmly planted on the ground. Sense each foot in complete contact with the ground. Spread your toes out confidently into the earth. Notice the implicit trust that you’ll stay rooted to the floor rather than fly off. Feel Mother Earth’s unconditional support of you, her gentle presence holding you. You don’t have to grasp for or earn this support. Simply because you are alive, Mother Earth is here as your constant ally. Gather strength from her love.

       Heart Connection Practice

      In this spirit of recognizing allies and honoring connection, now is the perfect time to tap into your heart energy as a prime source of strength, intelligence, and wisdom. Though this may sound like a lifelong quest, I promise that it’s possible to get in touch with your heart energy right at this moment. Your heart, your ultimate ally, is always with you. We’re discovering more and more about how much the heart really knows. This was clearly understood in the past with the “cardiocentric” views of ancient Egypt and Greece, which place the heart as the primary seat of intelligence. Let’s reclaim this ancient wisdom!

       Your heart, your ultimate ally, is always with you.

       We Are Here in Love

      Try this heart-connection practice now. Close your eyes and think of someone, something, or somewhere you love unconditionally. Easy choices are family members, pets, holiday spots, or anything noncontroversial and joyful for you. Fill yourself with the image and energy of this being, this object or place. Breathe deeply. Feel your heart warm. Allow the sensation in your chest to expand like an infinite balloon. Keep breathing. Keep loving. Keep warming.

      If you can’t think of anything you love unconditionally, try this: put your left hand over your heart and close your eyes. Pause. Connect to your heart’s beating. Let a few breaths sink in. Repeat out loud, “We are here. We are here in love. We are love.” Feel your heart courageously pulsating, your steadfast friend. Feel its unconditional love as it gifts you life itself.

      Now open your eyes and notice how you feel. Do you feel more hopeful, loving, trusting, strong? Whether or not you do, take heart: you’re already well on your way simply by initiating this practice. You’ll learn how to connect with your heart energy more fully in step one. Practice even now as you read these passages by keeping your heart energy open and engaged. This is your path. Trust your heart as your mind and spirit’s surest ally.

       BRIGHT WAY ACTIVITY

       First Love

      Do you remember the moment you first fell in love and connected with your art (which could be anything from painting landscapes to baking cakes)? Do you remember getting lost in an activity, that thrill of total engagement? How did you feel about yourself? Did you feel strong, excited, or another intense sensation? Write down your memories from these moments, as emotionally and viscerally as possible.

      There are many benefits to writing down your feelings and thoughts, from greater insight to increased follow-through. Keeping a creative diary will be one of our main tools on our journey, and you’ll learn more about this artistic ally in the “Bright Way Spiral” chapter. For now, write in whatever is handy, and we’ll collate your work in the diary shortly.

       The Principle of Sacred Reciprocity

      Your human creativity enables you to wield massive power, a power that affects almost every element and living thing today. How you use that power is up to you. Sometimes people fear that when they open the creativity floodgates, terrible things will be unleashed, as in the myth of Pandora’s box. They cite the creation of the atom bomb as one of the worst examples of this. They see it as the ultimate example of creativity gone wrong, of creativity in service to life destruction rather than life affirmation.

      I understand this valid concern. I’m grateful when people bring it up because it ushers in a key principle of the Bright Way. There is a way to ensure you create from a place of positivity, heart-centeredness, and life affirmation rather than life destruction. It’s a technique I use every day to guide me toward creating with love, not fear. What is this creativity safety valve? It’s called Sacred Reciprocity. The energy of Sacred Reciprocity weaves through every page of this book.

       Sacred Reciprocity is the force that seeks balanced relationship in all things so that healthy life can flourish.

      Sacred Reciprocity is a South American wisdom philosophy with parallels in most other cultures and eras. In a nutshell, Sacred Reciprocity is the force that seeks balanced relationship in all things so that healthy life can flourish.

       Figure 1. The Flow of Sacred Reciprocity

      Sacred Reciprocity represents an equal