Speaker #0Have you ever been through a time of crisis? If so, how did you create through that? Or even after it started to pass, how did you think about your creativity? How did you start to bring it out again? Is it even possible when you're still in the thick of everything? Today, I'm going to share how I've been thinking about creativity and being creative as we continue to deal with the fires and the aftermath in LA, and how you can do the same during or after times of chaos, crisis, or trauma in your own life. Welcome to Unleash Your Inner Creative with Lauren LaGrasso. I'm Lauren LaGrasso. I'm a Webby Award-winning podcast host, producer, singer-songwriter, keynote speaker, and creative coach. This show is meant to give you tools to love, trust, and know yourself enough to claim your birthright to creativity and go after all of your heart's desires. Today, I'm going to give you tools I have been using to access my creative self as we go through and start to come out of the crisis that is the LA Fires. These tools will be applicable to any crisis, trauma, or difficult time in your own life. Before we get into it, a couple things. I am recording from my bed because that's what I could handle today. So you might hear a little echo in this room. If you do, just forgive it and, you know, pretend like you're having a sleepover with me. A platonic one, of course. I'm engaged. Please. And also, we are back in LA. I just wanted to give you a little update because last time I was on the pod, we were in San Diego with my cousins. We ended up staying there just over a week. It was beautiful. I got to spend so much time with my cousin Christina, her husband Jesse, and their kids Lucy and Ollie. And it was just a really beautiful time. I even got to put Lucy, who's three, about to be four, to bed most nights. I got to read her children's books. And it was just a really healing time where I got to feel super human. Not super human, but like a human being. Being with the kids really took my mind off of things. So I'm just so eternally grateful for that. Also, just getting to be out there and breathe in the fresh air and be near the ocean. And it was just really, really beautiful. But we decided to come back to L.A. because the fires were starting to get more contained. We felt like we wanted to get back to our base and figure out our next steps. Also, we had food in the fridge and I really didn't want that to go to waste. And sometimes I think you just like once things settle down, need to get back to a place where you can be a little bit more stable and make your next choice. So for now, we're here. I'm being extremely careful. I still have great concern over the air. And I have a lot of people and experts that I have spoken to who share that concern. These toxins that are in the air and have been let out from all these homes that burn that because that's really the issue, the homes that burned. and the stuff that was in the homes. My doctor that I saw for seven years, eight years, I only stopped seeing her because she stopped taking my insurance, but she's wonderful. And I really trust her. Dr. Sayana has said to continue to mask for four to six weeks after the fires go out. And none of the fires, as of me recording this podcast, none of the fires are completely contained yet. If you are listening to this and you're in the LA area, please mask up. You will not regret it. if it turns out that you needed the mask and you didn't wear it, you will. This is an unprecedented disaster that is still unfolding in LA and the repercussions of it are only just now coming to light. And yeah, just please protect your precious lungs, your health, your fertility. Don't think just because the fires are going out that everything is over. We need to continue to be vigilant. Stay inside as much as you can. And when you go outside, wear a mask. It's like the opposite of COVID. I wear my mask outside and then I take it off when I come in. So anyway, we're back in LA. But I do want to give you these tools that I have been using to, first of all, just survive, but also to get out and be able to express myself through my creativity. And again, I am not batting at 100 right now. I don't even know if that's a saying. I always get sayings wrong. It's just kind of my thing. It's part of my charm. So I'm not batting at 100, though. So basically, just forgive me if any part of this is rambly or weird. I am still getting back to myself. But these are the tools that I have been using to get back to myself and to start creating again. Here they are. My steps are for getting through a crisis and finding a way to be creative as you're going through it. You have to first deal with what's at hand and take care of yourself. Be safe physically and emotionally. Then calm your nervous system. Then make compassion your first line of defense. Move your body. Stay away from your phone as much as possible, especially in the mornings, and have a very strong morning routine. Treat yourself like a toddler and be a very good parent to yourself. Do only the creative tasks and output that is really necessary for you in that time. And then for your other creativity, for your elective creativity, trust what wants to come out, even if it's different than what you normally do. Finally, as you're moving through it. and out of it, turn your pain into purpose. So number one, you have to deal with what's at hand. So if you are in the thick of a crisis or even just coming out of it, like you've gone through the initial phase, but now you're kind of coming to terms with everything that's happening. The first thing is quite obviously, take care of whatever you need to be safe physically and emotionally. You cannot create when you're in the midst of terror. If you're running from some sort of disaster, the last thing that's on your mind is like, let me write a song. And that also goes for something emotionally. If you're in some sort of emotional peril, you have to take care of it and address it first. So the first thing is obviously move through it, take care of yourself, figure out whatever tactical things you need to figure out to do so and handle that first. After you get your basic needs met emotionally and physically, your nervous system is going to be wound up so tight from whatever you're going through that you really need to, in order to even think about getting to a place where you can be creative, calm the nervous system. So the first thing I have been doing when I'm in one of those really wound up states, which quite honestly is still happening daily, is breathe. And I'm going to teach you my special breath. I know I've done it on the show before. But I want to do it again because it really is something that I feel is foolproof. I pictured the breath, I pictured this air coming down from heaven, coming down from the sky and going in through my head, down through my neck, down through my chest and stomach, through my legs, and then pulling into the earth. Now, the reason I do this is because I want to remember that I am a spiritual being connected to the divine. having a physical experience here on this earth, taking up space and that I hold both truths and I hold both connections. And also it's just really nice to picture this breath going through your body. So why don't we take three of those breaths right now? We'll picture it coming in through the heavens and then pulling through your body and rooting you into the earth. So here we go. One. And it's going through your head, into your throat, your chest, your stomach, and breathing out through your legs, your feet, and into the earth. And one more time, breathing in through the heavens, bringing the breath through your head, your throat, your chest, your stomach, and breathing out. pulling the breath through your legs, your feet, and into the earth. And one more time, breathing in, pulling the breath through your head, your throat, your chest, your stomach, and breathing out, pulling the breath through your legs, your feet, and rooting into the earth. One more breath to seal it out. and open your eyes if you closed them. If you were driving, I hope you didn't, but I closed my eyes when I did that and it felt really nice. So after you breathe, I would recommend mindfully doing something mundane, like brushing your teeth and really focusing on how every little sensation feels when you brush your teeth, putting lotion on your hands and really feeling into it. Like another thing you can do to just... get into your body. Have some sort of like physical task you do. Maybe it's making coffee and feeling what the tablespoon feels like in your hand. And then, you know, noticing every little thing to bring you back into your body and bring you to presence so that your brain isn't racing toward all the what ifs. And then it really does help to get support from friends and family and people who are. going through something similar to you or thinking similarly about what you're going through. If you have a therapist, this is a really good time to schedule a session and just get your nervous system in place. And in my therapy session this past week, I wasn't really even able to do anything. Usually I go in there and I'm like, hey, I want to work through this, this and this. And I wasn't really able to do that this time. I was just like, I'm just going to vent about everything going on. And then at the end, oh my gosh, I'm going to have to. get this meditation from her. She had me do this incredible meditation where she had me meld with a tree. I know it sounds weird, but it was the most peaceful thing. And I became one with the tree in front of the house I grew up in. It was so beautiful. I heard a message from the tree. And for that 10 minutes where I was doing that meditation, I was totally not in the problems of the crisis. Meditation is obviously also something huge that I would recommend. Also praying has been huge for me, like every day praying and praying for other people too who are going through all this. So I have friends who have lost their homes or businesses, making sure to pray for them every day. I've been praying for God's protection. I've been doing protection meditations. Like this has been a time and that is the cool thing about going through something hard. I hate that it takes this so often, but... Going through something hard, if you have a relationship with a higher power, is a time when I always feel most connected. I remember there's some scripture that says something like, God is close to the brokenhearted and saves those that are crushed in spirit. And I do think that people who are going through some sort of heartbreak or trauma, you're just, I don't know how and why, but it's a time when you can really deepen your relationship with God and your higher power. and yourself in life. So I've been really, really leaning on that. And while you're going through this time where your nervous system is wound really tight, you're stressed, you're feeling traumatized, another tip is make compassion your first line of defense. Whenever you go to get angry at yourself that you're not performing well enough, or you feel like you're in a daze, try to just say like, okay, I understand why you're having a hard time, and why it's frustrating because you Here's the hard thing, like when you're not in some sort of immediate crisis, or even when you are, people still expect you to act business as usual. And so you have to get certain things done. And doing these things can take so much longer, like the most mundane task, when you're in a state where you're like coming out of a really hard time, it feels so much more difficult. It's kind of like an extreme version of being in burnout. But If you can make compassion for yourself your first line of defense, you're actually going to get through the task faster and it's going to be easier. Another tip I have is move your body. When you're in a state like this, it's really easy to just want to lay around. You know, I don't even know. I feel like the symptoms I've been having moving through this have mirrored depression in a lot of ways. Like I've been feeling. hopeless. I've been feeling lethargic. Like some days I just don't feel like getting out of bed and honestly like pretending it's not happening at times. But doing that only begets more of that. I finally, over the past couple of days, have gotten up the courage and the energy after letting myself rest to move my body. And it does help. It really does give you endorphins. It makes you feel alive. It helps you release trauma. All animals pretty much release trauma through shaking their bodies. And we are included in that. So I highly recommend dance. If you have access to a gym, you can run, go on the elliptical, like do anything that moves your body. But like dance or yoga are really good because you're getting into every nook and cranny of your body and really like getting the junk out. And if you can break a sweat, you feel even better after. So that has been really helpful. And every time I notice after I move my body, I have more to give to all of my life, but especially my creativity. OK, this is a big one, especially with everything we have going on with L.A., politically, just the world in general. Stay away from your phone as much as possible, especially in the mornings. Like be. vigilant. Do not look at your phone for the first hour of the day. I know everybody says this. But I was noticing, you know, I couldn't help myself. And you know what? The first couple of weeks I had to because I was on that watch duty app and I needed to look every single minute to know if the fire was coming toward us and where the evacuation zones were. But now that that seems to be, at least for the moment, lessening where we're not having to be as vigilant with these apps, I have been putting my phone on airplane mode and do not disturb every single night as I always have done in the past. except for these past few weeks because I wanted to make sure I got the alerts. So I'm back to airplane mode and do not disturb every single night and not looking at it for the first hour of the day. I'm going to get into this, but I've been doing morning pages. When I do my morning pages, I literally throw my phone across the couch because I don't even want to be tempted. I notice, and this is something we can get into at another time, but I am very addicted to my phone. And I notice if I leave my phone next to me while I do my morning pages, I'm scrolling. I'm like through 15 scrolls of Instagram before I even realize I've picked it up and like set my pages aside. So for me, it's vital. And like if it requires you to throw your phone across the room, it requires you to throw your phone across the room. You need to be able to not look at it except like for an alarm clock. to do a guided meditation, but like not look at your phone for the first hour of your day. You don't need to be taking in bad information or like other people's agenda for your life from the moment you wake up. And that has really helped my anxiety around this time and helped increase my creativity. During this time, it is also vital to have a good morning practice. If before you had one thing you did for your morning practice, have four things you do. If before you had nothing you did. at least one thing you do for five to 10 minutes before you step into the day and let it take you away. So I'll tell you what my current morning practice is. I wake up, I do a meditation. Lately, I've been doing two meditations. I do guided meditations. I can put some of them in the show notes if that's something that's of interest. So I do those. After I do my meditations, I usually pray. I either do a novena, I pray for somebody that I'm thinking about, I pray for my protection and Timmy's protection and our health. So I have some private time with God. Then I get up, I make my coffee. While I'm making my coffee, I'm listening to an Abraham Hicks morning rampage, which is basically like her just saying, it's a good morning. You're gonna have a good morning. Like I need to be inundated with good thoughts right now. Then I do my morning pages. And those have been so helpful because I can really see what it is that I'm worried about that I'm writing, what I really wanna do. what I'm feeling frustrated by. And like we've talked about before, it just gets all the junk out of your brain. And then after all that, it's usually been about an hour and I get ready for the day, shower, get into my email. But for that first hour, I'm really not looking at my phone except to play the meditation and maybe to read my novena and to turn off my alarm clock. But that is it. And that has made a huge... Huge difference for how I feel for the first part of the day. Again, it sounds extreme. I know not everybody's going to have the privilege to take that much time if they've got kiddos or if they work a really intense, long job. But for me, I am not a morning person. I hate the mornings. I, up until recently, thought all morning people were lying until I experienced being a morning person for like two weeks when I got home from Europe. And I was like, oh, this must be how other people feel when they like wake up and they hear the birds chirping and they're like excited about it. But for me as like a vehement non-morning person, it is so worth it to wake up an extra half an hour or hour earlier to get this time in to put a wedge of positivity and possibility between me and the day. When I started enacting this practice is when I started feeling hope again. I threw out this. past few weeks. I've always had a good handle on hope my whole life, and I'm going to be writing about this. We'll get to it in a bit. I've had hope my whole life. Never, ever have I not felt hope. But these past few weeks, I've been like, what if things don't get better? Between the fires and the politics happening right now, it just felt really, really dark. And this morning routine has helped me to be able to see that good things can still happen and that I need to only take in as much information as is helpful for me to then take action on that information. So sitting there reading 15 articles about the air quality, probably don't need to read more than like two to get the information I need to then take action to make my life better, to spread the word to other people, to help in whatever way. You know, I probably don't need to read 10 articles about the latest fuckery that Trump is causing. So I can just take in the information I need in order to act and do something about it. And then I can leave the rest there. Like, I don't need to spin on chaos and crisis all day. There's enough of that. All I need to do is take in as much information as I need to take in so that I can do something about it. And that's also something really important. to remember when you're in a time of crisis is how helpful is it to spin on the thing that I'm upset about? How much do I need to know about this thing? Do I need to think about this thing in order to take some action toward fixing it? And what is my cutoff point? Okay, so now I'm going to get to something that you might not expect, but this is something that I actually did. tonight because right before I recorded, I was like, I don't know how I'm going to record. I feel so exhausted. I feel so burnt out. I feel like numb. And I frankly was kind of acting like a little kid. I was like, I want to get ice cream. I mean, literally, I was acting like a little kid. I'm like, I can't record until I have some ice cream. As I say it, I'm just laughing at myself. And I was like, well, why don't you record your podcast first? And then maybe we can go get ice cream after. but I did like come to bed with the intention of recording the podcast, but I'm like, I'm so tired. And after I like had complained about a few things, I finally realized I'm like, oh, like the little kid inside of you is scared, overtired, and trying to get attention right now. And instead of like making up 15 excuses of why you can't record your podcast, Maybe you could listen to that little version of you that is alive right now. And so here's what I did. I like kind of let myself be like, oh, like I don't want to do this. I'm too tired. I don't even know if I have something to say. Like I let myself like kind of whine. And then I told myself, I basically, I don't know how to say this without sounding crazy, but basically like you have to be apparent to yourself during these times because really you're scared. A lot of times you're overtired, you're wound up, your nervous system is dysregulated. Maybe you're hungry and you want a treat, you know. So here are some things that I would say. Let yourself throw a tantrum or whine and then explain to yourself, like give yourself deep compassion the same way you would to a little kid. Explain what's going on, that it's okay. Yes, it feels hard because it is, but you're going to get through it. And then maybe what you do. is you take a little nap because maybe you're overtired. So right before I recorded this, I laid down and I listened to like some sound healing and I just kind of like meditated for a little bit and I let myself rest for 30 minutes. And then I decided to give myself a little treat. So while we don't have ice cream here, I did have some Earl Grey tea and I put some milk in it and I had some little sweet biscuits, like, you know, the British biscuits, like hard biscuits. And I ate a couple of those with the tea and it was such a little treat. And I was like, okay, and if you get done with this, maybe you can go out and get ice cream. Kind of like incentivize yourself to do the things you need to do. Recognize when you need to take a nap and recharge for a bit. Maybe give yourself some screen time as you would with a little kid. Not something that's like going to spin you out and... make it much less likely for you to do the thing you need to do or want to do creatively. But something that is like a warm blanket to you, something that maybe it's like a show you've watched before. For me, it's The Office. You might have a comfort show. This would be a good time for you to watch an episode or part of an episode of a comfort show just to kind of like get back in your body, regulate, and like let yourself know it's going to be okay. And... Just recognize that you're probably acting this way because you're feeling overwhelmed and you just need to parent yourself in that moment. Hear your younger self out that's scared or whining. and then give them what they need in order to do the thing that they need to do creatively or work-wise or socially, whatever it is, when you're getting through this time of crisis. Everything feels harder, and I think sometimes that little three-year-old within just needs to let out their pain and whine. Getting to that, during this time, do only the tasks and creative output that is really necessary. you are not going to have the energy that you need or want to do, you know, 15 things. Like, I've been disappointed that I haven't been able to tackle some of my New Year's goals the way I wanted to. But I just have to have compassion. Know like, okay, Lauren, you're doing the best you can. This is a very odd and abnormal time. And look at what I absolutely need to do, like the work I need to do. the creative projects I need to push forward, and then just forgive myself for not being able to get to the rest right now and know I'll get to them later. And for your other creative time that isn't necessary for your job or for the projects that you have to put out or want to put out in the next bit of time when you're in this creative crisis, for the other creativity, like the free flow creativity, trust what wants to come out, even if it's different. than what you normally would do. So for me, what I've been hearing when I'm doing these morning pages is write. Things have been coming out of me that are not my normal things. Essays, snippets about life, spirituality, and music. I'm getting called to write to people directly. That is something I've toyed with, but it's never been something that's been at the forefront of my mind. But right now, like... The main thing I feel called to do and that I want to do is freeform writing, essays, poetry. And so I'm trusting that. And I've been writing in the mornings. And I've been pretty happy with what's coming out. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to start a sub stack page and start sharing some of that with you. So if that's of interest, you can go to my website and subscribe to my newsletter. But yeah, trust what's coming out and it's okay if it's different than what normally comes out. Maybe this moment of crisis in your life calls for some sort of different creative outlet. So pay attention to unusual creative calls that come in. Also a note that creativity might drip in during this time. More likely than not, unless you're using it as a coping mechanism, which is also beautiful, it might not come in like a flood. it will come in like a drip. And it's important to honor whenever it comes through and whatever amount it comes through in. So the other day, I got an idea for a song. I had the time, so I immediately followed it. And only the chorus came in. But I was just so grateful for that because it was a song about the situation we're in and how creativity is the key to... helping change the world through some of the most treacherous things we're going through. And so whatever amount your creativity comes out when you're in a time of crisis, trauma, of deep pain of any sort, honor it, follow it, and go with it. Like any amount in these times is a blessing. And the final thing you're going to want to think about when thinking about creating through a crisis is how to turn your pain into purpose. How can you use your creativity to address the problem that you're facing right now and make an impact? How can you use your creativity to cope just yourself? How can you use it to move through this moment? And the question I always ask people when I'm helping them find what I call the creative thesis statement, but in this time it might be the creative crisis thesis statement, is what's the midpoint between your greatest suffering right now and your greatest talent or joy. How can you use that point to help others and yourself? So for me, things I've been thinking about doing, as I've told you, is creating a course that is literally about how to turn your pain into purpose and doing that as a workshop and giving the proceeds to benefit the fire relief here in LA. One of my talents and passions is teaching and helping people unleash their creativity. One of my greatest pains right now is being an LA resident and seeing my city go up in flames and having to deal with the aftermath of that. An easy way to do it is doing a course on how to turn your pain into purpose in the midst of so much pain in the world. It doesn't have to be the fires, obviously, but whatever your pain is, how to take it and make it into some sort of action, some sort of creative outlet. and share it with the world. Another thing that I'm going to be doing is a series on this show, and please do write in if there's anyone you want to hear from in particular, but a series on the show about people who are using their creativity to make the world a better place. As I've said many times, we need creative solutions to the world's problems. And the first person I'm having on is a dear friend, Patrick Murphy. He's a climate change activist and expert. And I'm going to have him on the podcast to talk about where we're at with climate change, what's at stake, and what we can do about it together. So I am having him on this Thursday. We're doing the interview on Thursday. So if there's anything in particular you want to hear from him, please write me ASAP, UnleashYourInnerCreative at gmail.com. But also write me to let me know what other sorts of experts, activists you'd like to hear from who are doing great work out in the world, who are using... creative solutions to help change the world. This will become a recurring series, and I'm really, really excited about it because I think it is so deeply needed right now. If we do not act swiftly on climate change, there will be nowhere on earth that's safe. Right now, LA isn't safe, but if we don't do something, nowhere will be safe. So especially with the current leadership, it is up to us, the citizens, to do the work. In conclusion, I know this was a little bit of a long and winding road, but my steps are for getting through a crisis, finding a way to be creative as you're going through it. You have to first deal with what's at hand and take care of yourself. Be safe physically and emotionally. Then calm your nervous system. Then make compassion your first line of defense. Move your body. Stay away from your phone as much as possible, especially in the mornings. and have a very strong morning routine. Treat yourself like a toddler and be a very good parent to yourself. Do only the creative tasks and output that is really necessary for you in that time. And then for your other creativity, for your elective creativity, trust what wants to come out, even if it's different than what you normally do. And remember, creativity might come in in drips. That's okay. It's important to honor whatever comes in. Finally, as you're moving through it and out of it, turn your pain into purpose. Take the crisis, the pain, the sadness, the trauma you've been through and find a way to meet it with your greatest creative talent, to turn it into a purpose and share it with the world. Thank you so much for listening. I love you. I'm really, really grateful for you supporting me through this time and always. And I just hope you take really good care of yourself right now. and we all have to take care of each other too. We're all we have. So with that said, I'll do my little spiel, my normal spiel. This show was executive produced, hosted and actually edited this week by me, Lauren LaGrasso. If you like what you heard today, please share the show with a friend. Podcasts are mostly spread person to person and there is no greater influencer in our lives than our friends and family. So share it with someone you love. Give it a rating and review if you like what you heard. It means so much, and that really helps us rise up the charts. Actually, I wanted to tell you, we were on the spirituality charts last week. We reached as high as 70, so thank you so much for listening. It really means the world to be in the top 100 of our category. If you're in the middle of something right now, my heart is with you. Take care of yourself first, and then once you feel strong enough, start creating because we need to hear what you have to say. Creative people will get us through these times. I love you and I believe in you. I'll talk with you next week.
