Create Out Loud With Jennifer Louden

Creativity psychologist Kim Hermanson almost died in her 20s. After a brutal near-death, head-on collision, Kim was laid-out in the ICU when a nurse whispered for her to "imagine herself floating on a cloud," and she immediately felt the pain and trauma of the horrific ordeal leave her body. This completely shifted Kim's understanding of the power of our brains and completely shifted her path. Since that experience, Kim has become a highly respected thought leader in the world of creativity psychology. Primarily, Kim's research and coaching are centered on METAPHOR, and how considering our work within that paradigm can completely open up our understanding of what we make, and more importantly, why we make it. Kim's work is interesting, provocative, and challenging, but I encourage you to open your mind and your heart, because it may fundamentally shift the way you see your creative life!  2:33 - Accessing another way, shifting into a different way of being 4:20 - How a near death experience pushed Kim towards a creative path 8:23 - Finding metaphor by following what shows up 10:20 - How fascination led Kim to confidently follow her yearnings, even when it was hard 12:38 - Feeling our way through the world with metaphor as a deeper way of knowing 17:10 - How spirituality and a connection to the divine factors into our creative endeavors 19:00 - How science, in a way, backs up what spirituality reveals about creativity 20:45 - The depth, richness, and wisdom of the images and metaphors that speak to us throughout our lives 23:00 - Using metaphor to get unstuck by feeling into it 25:31 - We can only think what we already know, which can be limiting 27:35 - Hallucinogenic drugs and alternative ways of knowing  28:30 - Working with form and structure in the creative 32:10 - How to work with non ordinary intelligence through metaphor 33:00 - The remembrance that you are not stuck because there is a whole other space available to us 33:55 - Practical ways to work through creative blocks by accessing metaphor  42:40 - Using metaphor to tune back into a sense of self and a sense of wholeness 45:00 - The deep agency of creative work 47:00 - Embracing your full self, including your nerdiness    Visit jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit to get instant access to a collection of audios that  will help you with some of the most common struggles we creatives have to manage including fear of choosing, falling into compare and despair, managing the inner critic (s),  and feeling too exposed and vulnerable when you put yourself or your work into the world.

Whether it's on the page, on the canvas, or on the screen, the essence of creativity has always been storytelling. And if anyone understands the power of Storytelling, it's Devi Lockwood, who traveled the world on her bike, documenting the stories of everyday people whose lives have been affected by the increasingly problematic issue of climate change. That journey became a bestselling book: 1001 Voices on Climate Change. Learn how Devi fused her passions for social justice and creativity, "stumbled" upon her project, and learned to embrace the unknown in her quest for fulfillment. Jen and Devi also discuss:   3:30 - How Devi's torn ASL transformed into her "unexpectedly beautiful" passion for cycling.   8:58 - Why our approach to climate change activism is completely wrong.   14:42 - How to mobilize your creativity for social change.   19:22 - How Devi "hitched rides" on 7 boats through Asia and Oceiana to write her book   22:44 - How Devi bounced back from 40 book proposal rejections.    30:16 - How Devi discovered the structure for the book.   33:04 - How YOU can get published in the New York Times?   38:23 - Using the "3 Second Rule" to assess strangers.   Purchase Devi's Book!: https://www.amazon.com/001-Voices-Climate-Change-Displacement/dp/1982146710   Visit jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit to get instant access to a collection of audios that will help you with some of the most common struggles we creatives have to manage including fear of choosing, falling into compare and despair, managing the inner critic (s), and feeling too exposed and vulnerable when you put yourself or your work into the world.

Hey Create Out Loud fan! A little peak behind the curtain - we're doing some maintenance with our podcast feed, so we're doing a little test announcement to make sure we're keeping the train on the tracks! As all of you know as creatives, change is a good thing, but sometimes requires a little bit of re-orienting when we pivot. No action required on your end. In the meantime, thanks for being a Create Out Loud fan, and stay tuned for this Tuesday's amazing episode with climate change activist and bestselling author Devi Lockwood!

How many Opera singers/wellness experts/radio broadcaster/racial reconciliation thought leaders do you know? You'll meet one today: the remarkable Celeste Headlee. Celeste is a 3-time bestselling author, including of her most recent book Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism — And How To Do It, who specializes in studying, articulating, and teaching about the complicated nuance of human conversation. Whether that's professionally, creatively, or even culturally, I promise that Celeste will fundamentally shift the way we view human communication. She will blow your mind. 1:40 - Why Celeste has had conversations about race thrust upon her all her life 2:49 - Celeste's signature themes throughout her diverse career 4:29 - How she gets people back in touch with their base humanity 5:42 - How she balances different “modes” of work: self-help, reporting, speaking, singing, etc. 8:34 - The importance of staying present, and how music has TRAINED Celeste to be super present 11:50 - The actual definition of conversation 13:14 - What are we missing in the essence of conversation? What are our ethical obligations in conversation? 17:30 - If conversations make us feel good, why do we avoid them? 23:17 - Why accepting racial biases is the quickest way to grow out of them 25:20 - How can we begin to overcome our biases? 27:14 - How American gospel music demonstrates our unconscious biases 28:30 - Why it’s important not to shame people while they’re learning about race 35:06 - What to do when you make a mistake when it comes to race 41:44 - How Celeste’s Ted Talk opened doors in her career. (Don’t miss what she has to say about her speaker’s fees!) 44:45 - How making more money allowed her to express more of herself 46:23 - What Celeste’s book Do Nothing taught me about productivity culture and the Industrial Revolution 47:50 - The ridiculousness of “time is money” 49:00 - The shadow of being passionate about your work Get a copy of Celeste’s books here: Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism — And How To Do It Amazon Bookshop Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving Amazon Bookshop Visit jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit to get instant access to a collection of audios that will: help you with some of the most common struggles we creatives have to manage including fear of choosing, falling into compare and despair, managing the inner critic (s), and feeling too exposed and vulnerable when you put yourself or your work into the world. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-louden/support

Comparison is the thief of joy. It may be a cliché, but it is profoundly true, especially when it comes to our creativity. Ask yourself now: when will YOU actually feel like you're "enough" when it comes to your work. When you win a regional award? A Pulitzer prize? An Oscar? Stop waiting for your pat on the back. Pat your own back. Today, we discuss: :35 - Why we "despair" when we compare 2:05 - Understanding and normalizing "the gap" of creativity 4:51 - Understanding "conditions of enoughness" 8:48 - Engage In Facts 9:09 - Establish A Creativity "Container" 11:13 - Determine whether or not this fits in your life 12:19 - CELEBRATE Your Creative Achievements Visit https://jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit/ to get instant access to a collection of audios that will: help you with some of the most common struggles we creatives have to manage including fear of choosing, falling into compare and despair, managing the inner critic (s), and feeling too exposed and vulnerable when you put yourself or your work into the world. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-louden/support

One of the most important evolutions in creative history is the emergence of a female voice. Despite cultural sociologists of old focusing on men, Maria is among a number of important voices who can recognize that we can both acknowledge, even honor those historic works, but invite the female voice to break them apart. Do you ever feel overly constricted by ancient, patriarchal models of storytelling? Then THIS is the episode for you. Maria and Jen also discuss: 10:14 - How to avoid culturally repressive tropes in our art. 12:14 - Why was Maria drawn to fairy tales. 16:45 - How to respect the old while still exploring the new in our art. 21:32 - Valuing curiosity in ourselves and our children 24:18 - How storytelling gives us life 27:10 - How promote female models of storytelling while avoiding a gender binary 30:09 - Maria’s writing process 32:55 - Maria’s complicated relationship with Joseph Campbell 36:56 - How Maria collaborates with her students. 39:13 - Finding the bravery to take risks in our creative work. Visit https://jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit/ to get instant access to a collection of audios that will: help you with some of the most common struggles we creatives have to manage including fear of choosing, falling into compare and despair, managing the inner critic (s), and feeling too exposed and vulnerable when you put yourself or your work into the world. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-louden/support

The pressure to have to create, to write everyday, to make our creativity a "job" is relentless. But what if we gave ourselves SPACE to pick up a project and put it back down? What if we didn't feel shame when because we have to take a break from our work. If you've been in the creative pressure cooker lately, THIS episode is for you. Thanks to Podchaser: gl8o4U4IdQiuyy4n4ZvF --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-louden/support

Though she's now considered one of America's most important novelists, Ruth Ozeki didn't think of herself as a writer until her 30s. Before that, she had stumbled into a career editing schlocky, low-budget Japanese horror movies, struggling to find her way. But wisely, she knew, even then, that the experience would serve her. Because ALL experiences end up serving us in the end, right? Among other things, Ruth and Jen discuss: 3:00 - Inquiry-based creativity and writing. 7:12 - Allowing vulnerability and curious to guide our work 11:16 - Exploring self-trust. 16:14 - Understanding our readers interpret and create work. 20:21 - The profound power of storytelling. 30:31 - “Knowing your ruts.” 38:54 - Process and discipline. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-louden/support

When we think of "self-help" we typically think of cheery, bohemian women talking about astrology and crystals, but what if we told you that Edgar Allen Poe - you know, the tragic alcoholic literary genius - was one of America's most valuable self-help voices? Today, we chat Catherine Babb-Muguira about her process of falling in love with Mr. Poe, and he pulled her out of her own dark hole. Drawing deeply on his works and life, she takes the familiar image of Poe in a new and surprising direction in this darkly inspiring self-help book. Despite what you might think, Edgar Allan Poe is the perfect person to teach you to say "Nevermore, problems!" and show you how to use all the terrible situations, tough breaks, bad luck, and even your darkest emotions in novel and creative ways to make a name for yourself and carve out your own unique, notorious place in the world. Jen and Catherine also discuss: :40 - Addressing the dark side of self help. 6:03 - Trust your creative instincts because you never know where things will take you. 9:09 - The process teaches how to write the book. 12:43 - Is it FUN? A great litmus test for creativity. 16:21 - Don’t be afraid to write for an audience. 20:23 - Leveraging a famous subject to find your audience. 29:40 - Embracing and accepting feelings of validity around publication. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-louden/support

So often, we get caught up in the idea of who we should be as a creative. I should be a best selling author...I should be an award winning filmmaker...I should be giving my Nobel-prize winning speech. But what about who we already ARE? Even the greats wrestle questions of creativity identity and imposter syndrome, but remember, at the end of the day, YOU are your own greatest create superhero. Learn how to embrace yourself fully as you dive into the creative pool. Visit https://jenniferlouden.com/podcastkit/ to get instant access to a collection of audios that will: help you with some of the most common struggles we creatives have to manage including fear of choosing, falling into compare and despair, managing the inner critic (s), and feeling too exposed and vulnerable when you put yourself or your work into the world. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/jennifer-louden/support