“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”  ~Albert Einstein

Have you ever gone a little too long without doing something creative?

I can always tell when it happens to me because I catch myself doodling or writing in different color ink, or playing the drums on my car steering wheel. When we look at our lengthy to-do lists, doing something creative might not seem like a priority item, but perhaps it is important to our overall mental health and happiness.

Natural Awakenings uncovers many great outlets for expressing creativity, which we hope nudges you to discover a channel for your creative passions. I encourage you to keep an open mind, and pick a few new things to try. Our calendar section is a great place to look for ideas. You never know what you will stumble upon.

One of my favorite lessons of this sort happened the year that I failed to purchase my family’s tickets for the professional stage production of the Nutcracker Ballet before they were sold out. Since I didn’t want to break an annual tradition, I checked around and found a small production that was put on by a local dance studio. We took a chance, and it was amazing. We loved being so close to the small theater stage, and the little five-year-olds playing the mice were adorable. It turned out to be a wonderful experience, even for my son, who wasn’t particularly thrilled about going to a ballet at that time.

It seems like when I am able to make time for little outings and creative hobbies, such as knitting or sewing, other areas of my life are positively affected. If I force myself to work on a project when I don’t want to, I often accomplish very little. Instead, if I have taken a break to do something creative and fun, and then come back to a task, it just seems to flow effortlessly. I have read that the subconscious mind needs time to process, and that changing one’s focus through a repetitive task, meditation, or even a change of focus to something creative can help to facilitate the mind’s inner processing time. It rings true for me.

For many people, yoga provides the release for the subconscious mind. Detroit is blessed to welcome Indian mystic and yogi Sadhguru, founder of Isha Yoga and the Isha Foundation, to Cobo Center, this fall (See interview, p. 30). He delivers a powerful message in the Isha Foundation’s flagship intensive personal growth program, Inner Engineerging. I encourage you to explore it further at one of the many pre-seminar events that are scheduled locally.

In addition, this issue offers a very informative article about gluten that you don’t want to miss (See p. 26) Once you understand more about the production of wheat, and how it can impact your digestive system, you might want to try a few of the readily available ancient grains. The good news is that loads of wonderful gluten-free products are now available at most local grocery stores. I took a 90-day break from gluten a couple years ago, and it really wasn’t as difficult as I thought that it would be.

Healthy living is truly a continuum, and we’re all at different points along the way. You don’t have to overhaul every aspect of your life all at once. Sometimes, all it takes is trying something new. You’ve taken a very good step in picking up a copy of Natural Awakenings and reading some articles each month. You will be amazed by the changes you can make simply by incorporating into your life a few small changes and new
pieces of knowledge each month.

Live well,

Mary Anne