You, Yes You Are a Creative Channel: Unleashing the Power of Creativity and Spirituality Within

The Union Path Podcast

"You, Yes You Are a Creative Channel: Unleashing the Power of Creativity and Spirituality Within"

Episode Transcript:

00:20
The idea of a creative channel or channeling in general is pretty interesting. These days, these types of channels seem to be all over places like YouTube. I think it's interesting to deconstruct this a bit and look at this phenomenon, because perhaps I might have a slightly different, slightly unique point of view. When it comes to quote-unquote creative channels and that is basically put I don't think this is a unique ability. I think everyone is a creative channel to some degree. This fits into the idea that creativity and spirituality in a lot of ways are two words that mean the same thing and that when we get into a creative state, when we get into really being fully involved in the zone of creating something, I think it's interesting to take a step back and look at that state, look at what's involved with that and kind of ask ourselves is that really us? Is that coming from within our minds, from within our experience? Is that a distillation of all of our thoughts and talents and abilities, or does that actually come from somewhere else? Does that actually come externally? Is that quote-unquote channeled? I think it's interesting to think about this idea of creativity and spirituality being the same thing when it comes to something like channeling, because, at least in my opinion, at least in my experience we look at someone who's a quote-unquote creative channel and we have very strong opinions about that. That can be something we gravitate towards, is something we find repulsive regardless. That whole idea of some other being speaking through a person is interesting, is polarizing, but if we really kind of strip back what's actually going on there, I don't think it's really that unique. I don't think it's really that special, because think back to the times where you've really been in a creative flow, when you've really felt deeply inspired, deeply motivated. Does it really feel like you were generating all of that? That was all self-created, or does it feel like you were being animated, you were being informed by someone or something else? That's where I think this idea of creativity and spirituality being the same thing and really be seen is this idea of spirit. When we think about spirit and we think about being quote-unquote creative, I think they largely were down to the same thing. I think these are the same idea.

03:04
And when I think about various creative channels, especially creative channels on the internet, I think it's interesting to think why is this so appealing? Why do we do this? Why do we choose this? Why do we prefer this? I think the answer to those questions is a little bit complicated, but I think it gets into basically an idea of authority An idea of authority probably combined with an attraction of celebrity that we don't want to just listen to anybody.

03:32
We want to listen to someone special, someone that we hold in high regard, someone who has achievements and merit, has earned their authority, and so a lot of these channels will state that the messages that they deliver are coming from sources of authority, largely so that people will listen, and on one hand, you could look at this as a bit of subtle manipulation, but on the other hand, you could look at this as well is this just what people need? Is this assuming this form, because this is the form that people need in order to believe it, in order to listen, in order to take it in, in order to consider it? Do people need kind of a celebrity endorsement with their spiritual learning? And, if so, is that necessarily a bad thing? What's wrong with meaning people where they are? What's wrong with delivering something in the way that people will be the most receptive towards learning, towards growing, towards taking something in, and, of course, that doesn't mean anyone who claims to be a channel, should be an authority in any way. There's plenty of nonsense out there, but I don't think that's necessarily something that needs to be dismissed either.

04:43
In my opinion, it comes back to the idea of look at the moon. Don't pay so much attention to the finger pointing at the moon. Consider a message regardless of source. Don't immediately throw something away because it doesn't come from a quote unquote authority, but don't immediately accept and integrate something because it does. Maintain your critical thinking, maintain your discernment, maintain your awareness.

05:09
No matter where a message is received from, run it through the filters that you've already built up, the filters that you can trust. Run it through what you know. Keep those critical faculties alive, but don't let those critical faculties crowd out in and deny useful information if it comes from an unexpected source. At the same time, don't drop those critical filters down to the point where we just take everything in and accept things at truth, without any sort of verification, without running it through our own selves, our own filters, our own ideas of what's true and what's not. Not just accept something blindly because it comes from a really impressive source. Maintain our own autonomy, maintain our own authority. So, when it comes to this idea of being a creative channel. I think this is important to really think about. Well, what does this actually mean? Because, on one hand, if we really think about it.

06:14
Every single creative channel negates themselves. Every single creative channel invalidates the premise of what they're saying. And what I mean by that is, let's say, someone is a creative channel for an impressive, important, authoritative person that lived a long time ago, but they're speaking to you now through another person. The voice might say they're Alexander the Great, but they're speaking to you from Karen from Wisconsin. Okay, well, if we accept that premise, then that means that the being that is speaking through Karen from Wisconsin is eternal. And typically in most of these channeled conversations they talk about reincarnation, they talk about becoming physical multiple times. And so, if that's true, why isolate the one physical manifestation, the one physical presence named Alexander the Great and this being? If this spirit has been physical multiple times, why not speak from one of the other personalities? Because that's really all it is. That's really what we're latching onto a person, a personality, but this is spirit. This is something that's supposed to transcend both of those things. Plus, also, that person was Alexander the Great in a certain time, in a certain place, with a certain personality. That's a certain context that doesn't exist anymore. Yet they're reinterpreting, they're reintroducing that context into the present. It's kind of like going to a 30 year high school reunion and someone is still bragging about the touchdown that they had in high school. It's not really relevant anymore. It's just latching onto something to seem impressive, to have a place of authority to speak from.

08:10
So, at least in this way, when I read a channeled text, I take it with a grain of salt, but I also don't immediately throw it away, because there is something about this ability to channel that is the same as being deeply creative, deeply inspired, coming from some place, true and real and deep. It's a whether or not that it's some figure from history, some supernatural being, some alien presence, or they're just channeling Jerry Lewis. It doesn't really matter so much if the information is good, if it feels true. Maybe I'm unusual, but I don't really give a lot of credence to the quote-unquote channeled personality. What I really pay attention to is the message. What I really key into is how does this actually make me feel? Does this ring true? What is this activating within me? And, with everything else being equal, what I really care about the most is is what I'm listening to? Is the whole point of this message to increase liberation and decrease suffering? Because if both of those are true. That's usually the truth. That's usually something worthwhile to listen to. I can also tune into myself and say is this stoking any sort of feeling of manipulation? Is this bringing up an emotional response within me, especially a negative emotional response? Is there something in me that feels threatened by what's being discussed? Does this actually feel real and true and good?

09:55
But at any rate, I think the most important thing to keep in mind about this quote-unquote creative channeling is that this isn't an ability that's isolated to unique few. Everyone can do this. Everyone can make contact with inspiration, with energy, with spirit that seems to come from outside of themselves. In fact, if we really explore this energy, I think we can make the pretty compelling argument that this doesn't come from outside of ourselves at all. It just seems that way, because that's what we're used to, that when information comes to us in any other form, in any other medium, it comes from the outside. Whether we hear it, whether we read it, whether we watch it, that's all from the outside in, and so we're used to information coming to us in that way. But if we really spend some time with things like inspiration or the creative flow, I think we can make a pretty compelling, pretty logical, pretty interesting argument that that actually comes from within us, that creativity and inspiration comes from within, not from without. It comes from the inside, not from the outside.

11:13
This is also an area where we're listening to creative channels, but a little too much can get a little bit fraught, because a lot of times we can want to listen to someone else, especially a voice of authority, because we've learned to distrust ourselves, we've learned to ignore ourselves. But what if all the information, all the guidance that we'll ever need is already within us? What if the truth already lies within? And when we gather information from any external source, what makes that information get absorbed? What makes that information ring true? Is that it has a resonance. It matches a truth already within us On some level, something we already know. Is that what the recognition of truth is? A familiarity, a resonance, a match to something already within us.

12:09
And if we accept this idea that creative channeling really isn't that unique of a skill and that everybody has these abilities, although they may be latent, they may be dormant, they may have been ignored and atrophied for a long time, but if this ability to channel is inherent to the human animal, to the human being, then it's worthwhile to explore this a little bit, to try to open ourselves up to inspiration, open ourselves up to the truth that already lies within, to be our own channel, to be our own guru, to not depend on anyone or anything else to tell us our truth. Of course, we can gather information from many sources as we want, but we're the ones who ultimately decide who can ultimately know what's true and what's not. And if we want to build or enhance or strengthen these abilities, that's a project we can undertake. And we can start by subtly shifting our listening to be a little more inside and a little less outside, to consider ourselves a little more and to consider outside authorities a little less. Not abandoning the outside, but not solely putting all of our eggs in that basket.

13:32
Learning to tune in to our own feelings, our own intuition, our own discernment, our own truth. That lies within, maintaining our critical abilities to be able to judge things, to assess things, for ourselves To know that the truth is self-evident, that when something is true we know it and we can trust that. And, of course, since truth is personal, it's always evolving, it's always changing. There are very few, if any, absolute truths. Being truth is a lifetime project. It requires a fair amount of self-awareness. So it doesn't do us a lot of good to pursue truth if we're not really that self-aware, if we're not really running our own beliefs and ideas through the same critical lens that we run beliefs and ideas from others through.

14:29
We have to apply a little bit of criticism, a little bit of awareness, a little bit of discernment to ourselves as well, not just get high on our own supply, not just get arrogant and overconfident with our own knowing to always stay open, always stay questioning, always stay aware, always looking for opportunities to enhance and grow and inform and expand our own sense of truth. And we can expand our own creative channeling abilities by attuning to truth, by exploring within ourselves, finding truth there, finding truth within, getting down to the real, getting down to the fundamental, getting down to who and what we really are, what we're really made of, what we really care about, what really matters, why we're really here to ponder these age-old spiritual questions and do it earnestly, do it thoroughly, really seek after the truth. Because once we start really asking these big questions and we really start pursuing these bigger questions from the perspective of wanting an answer, those answers will come and they will come from within. When we start asking big questions, we will get an answer one way or the other. We may not like it, it may not be terribly convenient, but we will get an answer. If we ask, we will receive. If we ask for truth, we will be confronted with the truth. That's intention, and the intentions that we set, especially the big ones, especially the important ones, are paid off one way or another. May not be exactly what we want, may not be in the form of something that we actually like, but that answer does come. That fulfillment comes through.

16:24
As a human being, we are creative. That's what makes a human being so special. It's amazing, really. We look at all other animals. Human beings are the only ones that can do what we can do, that can create, and that the root of creation is intention. Setting out to do something on purpose, being intentional in and with our life. That is a unique human ability. That is an astounding gift, and the best part about it is that everybody has it. Creativity is not special. Everyone is being creative all the time. We can't stop it, we can't help it. It's not something we have to do, we're already doing it.

17:10
Look around in your life In your day to day. You are creating your day and, sure, a lot of things are happening to you. Some of you would call good, some of you would call bad, but those ideas of good and bad are yours. Your experience from your life is within. You can take two people and put them in the exact same circumstance, and to one of them that circumstance could be one of the best things that's ever happened to them, and to another person, that circumstance could be one of the worst things that happened to them. To one person it could be good, to the other it would be bad. These ideas of good and bad are personal, especially on a long time frame. Even though it can be really difficult to accept, there is no such thing as something that is inherently good or inherently bad. On a long enough time scale, some of the best things that ever happened to us can turn into some of the worst things that ever happened to us. In vice versa.

18:13
That these judgments are not so clear, are not so reliable, are not so obvious. The truth of what we experience evolves along with our experience. What something is grows and changes and evolves along with the rest of life. Everything is always changing all the time. Like that is our sense of time, is our perception of change. An inherent in this idea that change is always happening is what creates the opportunity to be creative. If nothing ever changed, creativity wouldn't be possible. Creativity requires change, creation requires change and change requires creation. This is the river of our life. This is what life is. Truth and change. You could say that life is change. The moment to moment difference is how we think of our life.

19:15
Each and every one of us can tap into these creative powers, these creative gifts, these creative abilities, whenever we want. Again, we're already doing it. We're already creating the life that we live, and we can make our life immeasurably better by utilizing those creative gifts intentionally living life on purpose, not being 100% passive, having an element of ourselves, of our being, of our way of being that's active, that decides, that commits, that sets a direction. Living life on purpose, because one of the really magical things that happens is once we do set these intentions, once we do set these directions, well then that creates a container for creative energy, that opens up a channel for creative energy to flow, because that is a request we've now asked and the answer comes flowing to us. We receive because we've asked. And this is how we engage. This is how we utilize our creative abilities. We set an intention, we ask, we ask life for something specific and then we co-create the fulfillment of that request. We cooperate. It's a partnership. We utilize our creative gifts to the fullest when we engage with them directly, when we engage with our creative abilities intentionally. We live our life with intention, with purpose. When we live our life on purpose, we become a creative channel for ourselves. When we open up to our own creative gifts, when we open up to the creative energy that flows through everything, when we allow life to animate us, inspire us, propel us. Because we're moving towards, because we're creating something we actually want or creating a life we actually want, we're living a life of increased liberation and decreased suffering, and we increase our liberation and we decrease our suffering by using our own creative gifts, by being our own creative channel, by being the creative channel that we already are opening up to the creativity of life to fulfill the requests that we're making.