This Post is also a podcast episode!
Recently I returned from a three week trip to Costa Rica, which included a 6 day silent retreat in the jungle. Looking back, I see so many benefits to this period that I didn’t even count on, including taking a break from technology and my schedule, spending time immersed in nature, reconnecting to my inner voice, and much more. But one of the most valuable pieces is how it helped me nurture my creativity, and receive guidance from my intuition.
How do you re-charge your creative battery?
This is the #1 most important thing to help grow your business. Because if we’re not creating, inventing, solving and innovating– we’re not growing. Some say we’re in a “creative crisis” in our society now. We’re so bombarded by information, technology and other peoples’ ideas that we’re rarely taking the time to alchemize all of this and formulate unique thoughts, ideas, products, services, etc. For me, finding this “inner stillness” during the silent retreat was a huge shift. And amazingly, this resource is free and available to all of us!
So how can we incorporate ‘silence’ and ‘stillness’ into our everyday lives in order to improve creativity?
White Space Thinking Time: Clear your schedule, even if it’s just for 1 hour/ week (though daily is ideal!). Turn off your phone. Tell your family to leave you alone. Create a calming, peaceful environment. Allow your thoughts to wander and see what comes up!
Quiet Periods: After the retreat, my husband and I immediately started brainstorming ways to incorporate silence into our regular life. Maybe one day a week we don’t speak? Ok, that one seems unlikely. . . One day a month? Or perhaps we can just incorporate one hour of silence into our weekday morning routines.
Retreats/ Mini-Retreats: Taking a break from our day-to-day routine is SO important for creativity. If you’re not able to travel often (and I recognize how priveledged I am to do so!), maybe you can create mini-retreats in your own home, or in/near your hometown.
