Cultural Creatives on Creativity

Hi Michael. Please tell us a bit about yourself, your business, and/or your passions.

I am 59 years young and a family man with a wife of over 35 years and 3 grown children. After a nearly 40 year career in the construction management field, I experienced a spiritual re-awakening approximately 2 years ago. A number of amazing synchronicities lead to my losing my employment and hence to the study of Soul Realignment ™, of which I am now a certified practitioner. I also began expressing abstract and spiritual concepts through metal sculpture. I hope to be able to build my practice (and my art) to enable me to spend the rest of this lifetime bringing healing and light to those who are drawn to me.

Spiritual work: www.healedspirit.com

Art: www.manifest-concept.com

Great! Please share three interesting/crazy things about yourself.

1.) I ride and build Harley Davidson motorcycles.

2.) I have had a chrome-plated semiautomatic pistol pointed at me by an F.B.I. agent.

3.) While at my maiden Aunt’s home at the age of 3, I emerged from the bathroom after urinating alonside my father and announced that his penis was huge.

What is the most courageous thing you’ve ever done?

Left the safety of the workaday world for a second career as a healer at the age of 58 with no monetary safety net to speak of (in progress).

Name your top five books, movies, songs, musical groups, and/or websites. Are there any books or movies (genres) that you avoid?

Stranger in a Strange Land; Blade Runner; Here Comes the Sun; The Beatles; The Library at Halexandria. I only avoid what doesn’t interest me.

Based upon the description of a cultural creative, do you feel you are one? If so, why?

My work in both areas reflects the thoughts expressed in the defintiion provided.

What made you first want to become an artist, writer, a creator?

Simply not interested in doing anything else.

Does spirituality play an important role in the creative process for you? If so, how?

99% of my art is based on spiritual concepts. Everything in the physical world is an expression of energy and I find it easiest to express the world as close to the root as possible.

What is your first memory of creating something you were proud of?

Crayon drawings in school.

Now look at what Michael creates!

What three words best describe the feeling you get when your creativity is flowing?

Absorption; meditation; ecstasy.

What sparks your creativity?

Intuitive nudges.

What was/is the biggest obstacle you’ve faced? How did you overcome it, and what did you learn from the experience?

Stepping into authenticity – acknowledging that I am more than the image I have presented thus far, and allowing that image/ego to dissolve to reveal my true soul. I have learned that it’s easier than I thought, that there’s nothing to be afraid of.

Putting your vision into the world can be scary. Many of us wonder if we’re good enough. How do you respond to negative self-talk? What tools do you use to help work beyond your self-doubt?

I don’t care if I’m not good enough. Good enough for what? I do it anyway.

Are there any archetypes (hero, warrior, goddess, messenger, trickster, fool, savior, wanderer, magician etc.) that you resonate with which you feel have helped guide you on your creative journey? Does someone or something sometimes act as your muse?

I’ve done the warrior and the hero to death – they got in the way. Now I am the wind that powers the windmill. If I have muses (musi?) they are my spirit guides.

Are there any recurring motifs in your sleeping dreams, and if so, what do you think they symbolize? Is there a bigger message for you? Do your nighttime dreams ever spark your creativity?

Good for blog posts sometimes. Lot of tearing down and rebuilding going on. Nuttin’ special.

In what ways do you promote your work?

Websites; pay-per-click ads; joining an arts collective. Aw, if they find it they find it. If they don’t I get to keep it.

If you use social networking sites, have any been particularly helpful in helping you spread the word about your work? If so, which one(s) and how?

Hmmm. Have used Facebook a little but it’s full of narcissistic blowhards so I’m put off.

What’s your favorite Internet tool either for promotion or enhancing your creativity?

Tool? I love forums but looking for the ideal one. Most can’t handle my honesty. (Michaelite… sorry). Enhancing? Er…nope. Daydreaming, and the sky and trees enhance my creativity.

Cultural Creatives tend to want their work to impact society in a positive way. Is changing/improving society with your work part of your goal? If yes, please elaborate a bit on your vision.

It’s there. It pleases me. Since we are all One, that’s good enough. If other souls find it pleasing, so much the better.

Have you been able to earn a living while pursuing your creative passions? Is there anything from a business perspective that stands out as a key or catalyst to your success that you’d like to share?

Not yet, but I will. I could write a book on this based on my Teacher’s guidance. Start with what you truly want (not what you think you should want or what’s “possible”), then ask for guidance on how to get there. Don’t make too many plans, or too far ahead. The brightest headlights only show you a few hundred feet ahead, but you still get there. Trust and surrender. Expect your dreams to come true, but replace attachment with curiosity. Your soul is the Divine Creator, not your ego.

Thanks so much for your time and interesting insights Michael!