The Bright Way. Diana Rowan

task to be performed.

      •Other things in your environment that perhaps you can increase your Sacred Reciprocity with?

       Creativity and Sacred Reciprocity: The Fuel-Fulfillment Loop

      While the concepts explored here may seem lofty, it’s easy to know on a heart level when we are creating in Sacred Reciprocity. When we marry creative engagement with Sacred Reciprocity, we experience the heart-centered sensations of faith and courage. These can only be felt via direct experience. This is why active engagement in life is key. No amount of reading can substitute for experience. It would be like trying to describe the taste of an apple to someone who’s never eaten one, as my mum once said.

      When you’re in Sacred Reciprocity, you’re functioning from and sharing your highest self. Your true self comes from a source, however you define that mighty energy, whether as God, spirit, higher power, or life force. Your creativity gives form to this great life spirit. Given the magnitude of this, your creative urge must be fulfilled, and your message must be heard, even if by only you.

       Your creative urge must be fulfilled, and your message must be heard, even if by only you.

      A void opens in our hearts when we ignore our creative voice. This hole often gets filled with external activities and expectations misaligned with our true selves. We fall prey to the mercy of goods, substances, and other people, immersed in fearful living. We’ve all been there and will be there again. Yet there are reliable routes out of this dead end. The Bright Way is one of these routes.

      Throughout human civilization we have pondered whether the universe is friendly or hostile, or perhaps even indifferent. Living in Sacred Reciprocity, we affirm that the universe is friendly. We know the universe as our beloved collaborator, a perspective that in itself can transform our life for the better. Allow in the positive energy that wants to reach you: lower your shield of fear. Imagine yourself as a solar panel, effortlessly attracting sunny energy. This is available to you right now. We’re in this together. My story is your story. Let’s make our stories shine bright!

       The Bright Way Ignites

      Where I am now on the Bright Way path, I feel miles away from when I plunged off that cliff of performance anxiety. Having fallen so low, how did I find the strength to turn this all around, to take action in the first place? Crawling up a cliff after a catastrophic flop feels like a Sisyphean task. Let me say up front: small actions are key, and they often end up having much more significance than we might initially assume. Can you look back on an action that seemed tiny in the moment but turned out to be life-changing for you?

       Small actions are key, and they often end up having much more significance than we might initially assume.

       Small Steps

      Returning to my story of creative recovery, after the Orbit Room encounter with my mother, my opening for action glimmered. At the very least, I could bring music back into my life for my own enjoyment. Why not give it a try? I rented an upright piano, playing for myself as if for the first time. I relived innocent moments, those times of joy and freedom before the heaviness descended.

      My roommates asked me to show them little things on the piano, and I found it fun to share music socially, something that had never occurred to me before. Maybe as a glint of premonition, I had bought a print of Renoir’s two girls at the piano even before my return to the instrument. Seeing the Renoir girls in this newly dawning light, absorbed in making music for its own sake, enjoying each other’s company as my friends and I did, gave me hope. I posted a teaching flyer, and a few students showed up. Sharing music was my sole agenda. It was tremendous fun, and to my surprise I found I was actually a decent teacher. More students came, and my studio grew.

       BRIGHT WAY ACTIVITY

       One Tiny Action

      One small action can change your life. When my roommates asked me to play them one of the songs from the movie The Piano, unbeknownst to any of us at the time, they were pointing me toward a new way of life. By taking a few minutes and playing them a few things, I set wheels in motion that ultimately led to the writing of this book.

      Take one tiny action step today in service of your creativity. Call that teacher you’ve been considering for a preliminary hello, attend an open mic, go to an art opening, agree to share a little part of your wisdom with someone. Pay attention to small signs and openings. Today something magical will happen if you open your heart to it.

      While I delighted in witnessing my students’ pleasure in playing, I was shocked to discover how common performance anxiety and general self-doubt were. I thought I’d been suffering alone, but my students showed me that I was in good company. Looking at them from the outside, I could see their potential straining to burst out. Yet I also felt the barrier of fear holding them back. They were mirrors to me, reflecting that fear is the most formidable opponent to our creativity.

       Fear is the most formidable opponent to our creativity.

      Fear takes many forms: as anxiety, shame, guilt, regret, self-doubt, and overwhelm, and many targets: as criticism, loss, and lack, to name a few. A funny thing about fear, though, is that although it seems strong, it actually has very little power unless we fuel it. I understand how hard it can be to step aside from fear. But as in many epic tales, creative victory is yours when you recognize your true power. Everything you need is already inside you and within reach.

       BRIGHT WAY ACTIVITY

       Reflect on Your Strengths

      Tapping into the idea that what you need is already inside you and within reach, take a moment to reflect on your strengths. This might feel awkward at first; we’re often much more comfortable detailing our perceived weaknesses. Start building up your inventory of positive personal qualities. Are you kind? Enthusiastic? A keen focuser? Write down your findings, for your eyes only.

      Spurred on by allies near and far, present and past, I took up piano lessons again shortly after graduating from the university. I struck gold with my first phone call, to Amelie. To cut a very long story short, by focusing on the joy-centered Suzuki Method — which I’ll describe later — Amelie helped me take my first baby steps toward dissolving my fear of performing. Finding this footing gradually led to the jump of pursuing a master’s degree in classical piano performance. A bold move, this leap involved bypassing the entire bachelor’s degree program.

       Everything you need is already inside you and within reach.

      Immediately after the audition for the master’s program, a formidable concert pianist named Roy Bogas stepped away from the jury and approached me directly. I braced myself to hear, “You know, this might be a bit too much for you.” Instead, I stood agape as Roy smiled and took my hand: “I can see what you’re trying to do, and I like it. I want to be your teacher.” After recovering from this head-spinning turn of events, I couldn’t blurt out yes! fast enough. I count this among my most blessed moments in life so far, and I’m honored to bring Roy into your life as a Bright Way ally. Roy’s philosopher-king approach to music study is full engagement: to him, music is about connecting to human experience and giving it full vent. His skill level is just as impressive as his artistry. Among the many lessons I learned from Roy is that skill and magic must come together in order to create meaningfully.

      Honoring only skill or magic — being concerned only with technique or, conversely, focusing solely on expression — leads to incomplete creation. If you’ve been wondering why