The Inner Studio - Riverside Architectural Press

PART FIVE | USING THIS LIFE TO BE CREATIVE AND WISE
8. “I’ve got a headache”
Put your pen or pencil down, take your hand off the mouse, allow
yourself to let go. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and as you
exhale let your shoulders drop and your face soften. After a few
normal breaths, direct a question inward to your headache or to the
tension in your body. Ask the suffering part of yourself to comment
on the best way toward a healthy resolution, saying, for instance,
“Dear headache, I am ready to listen to you...what do you need
from me?” You may be surprised by the earthy, grounded advice
you receive.
You may need to take a walk or breathe fresh air. You may need
to sleep. You may need to stop thinking. You can write to your
headache or perhaps write a letter as though your headache
wishes to communicate with you. The discomfort of a headache is
a form of communication that needs to be listened to if it is to
transform into a more useful type of energy. We want to learn to
hear its message and then understand where it is coming from.
Remember that whatever your headache has to say is only the first
part of the exercise. The exercise is completed when you can bring
its answer into your project. For example, when you are trying too
hard, you may literally be gripping your pen too tightly or straining
through your hand, arm, and shoulder. You may be holding
your head in a way that stresses your entire body. All of these
conditions are going to find their way consciously or unconsciously
into your work and are likewise experiences that can be
transformed into new ways your project can release, expand, or
soften in its realization.
9. “I feel as though I’m on a roller coaster of hope and despair”
The creative process can offer great highs and great lows.
Sometimes these moods are completely intertwined. Sometimes
demons have the upper hand, and sometimes the muses are victorious.
Over time you will get to know more and more of the feeling
of both aspects of yourself. The best place to be in the creative
process is the middle, but the very identification with design that
makes it so much fun also brings these emotions. Try to remain in
contact with your inner voice and its knowing way of directing
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