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Let nature be your muse: 9 ideas to boost your creativity!

Yuck! Those creative funks. They’re the worst: writer’s block, uninspired environments, lost muses – we’ve all experienced our share of creative fogs. But how do we get out of those paralyzing pauses? Let nature be your muse. For many, directly experiencing nature has a way of releasing our inhibitions, so when we connect with nature (in whatever capacity) we open ourselves to uninhibited, earthy inspirations meant to help us fulfill our creative calling.

Below are nine nature-inspired ideas to try the next time you feel artistically stuck. Even if you don’t consider yourself a nature lover, these creative suggestions for a change of scenery may be just what you need to get your creativity flowing!

1. Funk-buster pebbles: Collect 15 small pebbles (they should all fit easily in the palm of your hand) and arrange them in different patterns throughout the day. Try to express your mood or some other information with your designs, or freely whatever comes to mind.

two. Tweet sheet. Pick up soft, fallen leaves, grab a Sharpie and doodle, write haiku, a love note or words of wisdom on them (140 characters or less) and “flick through” for people to find.

3. Go for a walk with the moon. At least once during the next full moon, go outside and see for yourself how the moonlight sculpts the land, the plants, and your imagination. (Watch for wildlife or other hazards.) Don’t turn on your flashlight, let the bright moonlight guide your eyes. Take note of how familiar items look different in this new light.

Four. Free writing, of course. Choose a natural object or setting (rock, a leaf, a piece of driftwood, your favorite lunch spot in the park) and write down each word or phrase that comes to mind. Make a list of words that describe it, or how it makes you feel, or what textures and patterns you see. Anything. There are no rules, just let your mind take you.

5. Dig in your heels. Take off your sandals, or shoes and socks, and walk down the beach. Or feel the wet, fluffy coolness of the morning grass, or the sand slipping between your toes in your child’s sandbox! How about rolling in some natural clay or mud at your favorite hiking hideout or dirt spa? The goal is to feel the elements between your toes and fingers and delight in the therapeutic energy of organic and earthy textures and fragrances.

6. Art for art’s sake. Join a “found art” group of artists who create art to leave behind anonymously for others to find! I left my art on trails/trailheads and in parks through the Flickr.com group: Found Art Tuesday. Sometimes an upcoming public event will inspire a piece, sometimes a random piece I’ve created eventually finds a perfect home in a public place. It’s fun, it gives back, and it’s incredibly inspiring, not to mention a little therapeutic!

7. Try your luck with land art. Go to a favorite natural area and unleash your inner Andy Goldsworthy. Survey the landscape for available natural materials (sand, shells, rocks, leaves, sticks, seed pods, flowers, flowing water…) and try conscious expression right there. One rule: use only the natural materials you have on hand, responsibly, without shovels, glue, string, paper clips, tape, nails, etc.

8. inspiration sticks (or use smooth river rocks): Collect a personal set of smooth sticks (8″ to 10″ long) from the garden and write creative messages on them for quick ideas and activities to get your creativity flowing. For example, you might have sticks that have the above seven ideas listed as prompts: found art, earth art, digging, freewriting, full moon, leaf tweet, funk-busters. Or you can write a color per suit, or an environment indicator. Have blank sticks ready for those creative sparkles to add to your jar! Store them in a recycled spaghetti sauce jar or can for easy access.

9. creative meditation. Meditate somewhere different, take it outside, in your backyard, on a huge rock, on the beach. Find a safe and comfortable place to practice a meditation that energizes your creativity chakra, also known as the sacral chakra, located in the lower abdomen, approximately 2″ below your chest. novelI mean your navy.

Good luck and have fun! Go.Create. Inspire others.