As artists, it’s easy to let recognition, rejection, awards, and sales tell us whether our work is “good.” In this episode, I share a very recent experience with a juried art show—one that stirred up all those very human questions about being seen, being recognized, and wondering whether anyone really understands what we’re doing.

But Spirit had another lesson waiting for me.

Our work isn’t validated because it wins an award, and it isn’t validated because someone buys it. We create because something happens when we’re truly aligned with ourselves—when we feel the rightness of what is moving through us.

Maybe creating isn’t really about other people seeing you.

Maybe it’s about you seeing you. You feeling you. That’s why you create.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

While working on his painting this morning, CJ was inspired by a message and decided to share it with his listeners. CJ shares his experience with his tremor and how it has formed a relationship between him and his art. It is only by accepting all of yourself—including those things you may consider shortcomings—that you can expand your creative expression. We bring our complete selves to the creative process.

If you’ve been avoiding creativity because of some perceived limitation, consider how you might continue creating despite it—or perhaps even because of it. CJ has learned to develop a style of painting that includes his tremor, and it has become part of what makes his work uniquely his own.

What is includes the tremor, your body, your circumstances, the paint, the unexpected mark—and even what comes back from the creative field. You’re not overcoming reality in order to create. 

CJ also explores how we are in relationship with the creative field of intelligence. That’s right—we are constantly receiving guidance, messages, and feedback from the creative field. How we choose to respond is key. Do we move with the flow, or do we resist it? Either way creates an outcome, but one way empowers us.

Choose relationship. And watch your creativity grow.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

CJ explores the difference between deterministic computing, where instructions lead to defined outcomes, and probabilistic AI, which uses learned patterns to predict what is most likely to come next. And suddenly, AI begins to look surprisingly human.

How often do we do the same thing?

We bring our histories, assumptions, habits, and emotional patterns into a conversation and begin predicting what someone means before they have finished speaking. We formulate our response while the other person's mouth is still moving. Instead of responding to what is actually happening, we respond to what we expect to happen.

True listening asks something different of us.

For the Spiritual Artist, the practice is to align, listen, and then respond. To become present enough to notice when prediction has replaced perception.

Perhaps one of the unexpected things AI can teach us isn't found in its extraordinary capabilities, but in its limitations. By seeing the machinery of prediction so clearly in AI, we may begin to recognize the same machinery operating within ourselves.

And yes, Soma eventually calmed down.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

In this episode, CJ Miller explores how the overwhelming flood of information in today's world is calling us into a new stage of human development: The Age of Listening.

Drawing from Paul Baker's Integration of Abilities, CJ traces the evolution of human communication—from the Storytelling Age, to the Gutenberg Age of books and external authority, to today's Information Age, where knowledge is abundant but discernment has become essential.

Rather than simply collecting more information, CJ suggests that our greatest challenge is learning to listen intentionally. True listening is not merely intellectual. It includes the wisdom of the body, the heart, intuition, feeling, and conscious awareness.

Using his creative philosophy of Align. Listen. Create., CJ explains that creativity—and life itself—begins by first aligning with the greater field of Creative Intelligence. Instead of constantly telling life what we want, he invites us to become quiet enough to hear what life may be asking of us.

The conversation explores:

• Why information alone no longer leads to wisdom.
• How intentional attention can transform the way we experience the world.
• The difference between listening and defending our beliefs.
• Why intuition, feeling, and embodied awareness deserve a place alongside reason.
• How creativity becomes a practice of participating with life rather than controlling it.

Ultimately, this episode is an invitation to move beyond reacting to the endless noise around us and into a more grounded, compassionate way of living—one where we align, listen deeply, and create from the intelligence already flowing through us.

"The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear." — Rumi

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

In this fascinating conversation, I sit down with painter, teacher, and author Jordan Wolfson to explore painting as a practice of awareness. Jordan describes how, over the years, his sense of self has become more porous and less fixed, allowing him to respond more openly to both life and the creative process.

We discuss why some paintings feel profoundly alive while others, though technically accomplished, do not. Jordan shares insights drawn from artists like Cézanne, Monet, and especially Berthe Morisot, whose expressive mark-making helped shape modern painting in ways that history has often overlooked.

Along the way, we explore nondual awareness, presence, emotional energy, and why truly meaningful art often emerges when we stop trying to force it. I also share how my own doodling practice, along with a simple moment making toast alone in Santa Fe, taught me that everyday acts can become gateways to presence.

Although Jordan and I often use different language, we discovered we were pointing toward much the same experience: creativity not as something we manufacture, but as something we participate in.

If you've ever sensed that painting is about more than paint, this conversation is for you.

To purchase Jordan’s book:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/jordan-wolfson/power-and-presence/paperback/product-q6wm9wr.html?q=&page=1&pageSize=4

For more information, visit his website https://jordanwolfson.com/

Jordan Wolfson received his MFA from the Yale School of Art in 1991. An internationally exhibited painter, his work explores the relationship between perception, mark-making, and consciousness, viewing painting as both a creative practice and a path to deeper understanding. His work is included in collections around the world, and he has received numerous honors, including grants from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Ingram Merrill Foundation.

"Painting isn't about making a picture; painting is about exploring life."

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

I'm excited to announce the release of my new Spiritual Parable As a Daily Practice Companion Coloring Book! Created to accompany my book Spiritual Parable As a Daily Practice, this unique collection invites you to deepen your reflection through mindful coloring and creativity. Featuring original illustrations inspired by 25 spiritual storytellers, it's designed to slow you down, quiet the mind, and transform each parable into a personal, creative practice. Available on July 15. Thank you for supporting independent artists and authors!

Do you lead a spiritual group, book club, or creative community? If your group chooses Spiritual Parable As a Daily Practice as a shared reading experience, I'll happily provide up to 7 complimentary Companion Coloring Books to help enrich your discussions and creative practice. Just email me at [email protected] for details.

Artists included in book:

Ariel Basso

Leonor Alvim Brazão

Molly Sanger Carpenter

Dan Collins

Rebecca Collins

Sue Griebling

Elaine Jary

Tina Jacobson

Matt Kaplinsky

Kaye Levy

Chris Mack

David Lee Mask

Jason W. McDonald

Iseult McCormack

Christopher J. Miller

Crystal Nelson

Kat Reyna

George Reyna

Lauri Rose

Claire Takahashi

Victoria Tara

Sister Diane Tenbrink

Eneida Valverde

Valerie Wallace

Maureen "Ki" Watkins

#ColoringBook, #AdultColoringBook, #MindfulColoring, #CreativeSpirituality, #SpiritualPractice, #Meditation, #Creativity, #SpiritualArtist, #ChristopherJMiller, #SpiritualParable

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

Have you ever wondered whether that quiet inner voice is genuine guidance... or simply your own hopes and fears talking?

In this fascinating conversation, CJ sits down with spiritual teacher and author Gary Temple Bodley and spiritual medium Christy Levy to explore one of life's biggest questions: How do we recognize authentic guidance?

Gary shares the remarkable story of how meditation led him into direct communication with a collective consciousness known as Joshua, eventually inspiring him to write four channeled books and launch the Joshua Live podcast. Christy describes her own journey into mediumship, automatic writing, and connecting with spirit guides and historical figures to help others discover greater clarity and purpose.

Together they explore a radically different way of viewing reality: that your perspective creates your experience, and that shifting your perspective naturally changes your emotional state, your vibration, and ultimately your life. Along the way, they discuss limiting beliefs, why emotions can serve as guides rather than obstacles, and how curiosity can transform even life's most difficult experiences.

The conversation takes a deeply personal turn when CJ asks about living with chronic pain. Rather than asking, "Why is this happening to me?" Gary offers a different perspective, suggesting that pain can become a messenger rather than an enemy when we approach it with openness instead of resistance.

Near the end of the interview, Christy offers CJ a spontaneous reading that brings forward the symbolic presence of Beethoven and John Coltrane. Their message moves beyond music into the creative process itself, exploring the relationship between listening, surrender, and following what is quietly calling us forward. In one particularly moving moment, CJ is invited to exchange the question, "Why is this happening?" for a far more empowering one:

"Who am I becoming through this experience?"

Whether you're curious about channeling, fascinated by consciousness, searching for deeper meaning in difficult experiences, or simply trying to trust your own inner wisdom, this conversation offers thoughtful insights into creativity, healing, perspective, and the possibility that guidance is always available to those willing to listen.

Sometimes the answers we're searching for aren't found by thinking harder.

Sometimes they arrive when we become quiet enough to hear them.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

What if you stopped believing you are the storm and remembered that you are the sky?

In this thoughtful conversation, CJ sits down with Pastor Greg "PG" Stamper to explore the spiritual journey beyond certainty, fear, and rigid beliefs. Raised in the Pentecostal tradition before finding a home in New Thought, PG shares how leaving familiar ground became an invitation into a larger understanding of consciousness, compassion, and transformation.

Together they explore meditation, neurodivergence, the surprising connection between science and spirituality, and why daily practices help us navigate life's changing weather rather than avoid it. Along the way, PG offers one of the most memorable metaphors you'll hear: You are the sky, not the weather.

The conversation also touches on Joseph Campbell, Rumi, creativity, music as spiritual download, and the practice of living with curiosity instead of certainty. If you've ever wondered how to remain centered while life changes around you, this episode offers a gentle reminder that above every storm, the sun is still shining.

If you'd like to learn more about Pastor Greg "PG" Stamper, you can connect with him through Celebration Spiritual Center, where he co-pastors a global online New Thought community with inspiring Sunday services and weekly programs. You can also find his music, teachings, and resources through his Multimanifestor coaching platform. Follow Greg on Instagram, TikTok, X, and Facebook at @iamgregstamper, or search for Celebration Spiritual Center on YouTube to experience more of his message of compassion, consciousness, and practical spirituality.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

In this episode of The Spiritual Artist Podcast, CJ Miller speaks with coach and author Joey Lott about the actual nature of experience, the limits of the thinking mind, and the freedom that becomes possible when we stop trying to control every sensation, emotion, or moment of discomfort.

Joey shares his own journey as a long-time spiritual seeker who once believed peace would come through elevated states, spiritual practices, and finding the “right” answer. Over time, he discovered that true freedom did not come from escaping experience, but from becoming genuinely curious about what is actually happening in the present moment.

Together, CJ and Joey explore chronic tension, social media triggers, somatic awareness, creativity, and the courage it takes to live from the unknown. Their conversation invites listeners to stop collapsing life into labels and instead remain open, curious, and alive to the mystery of direct experience.

Three key themes emerge throughout the conversation:

• The actual nature of experience — learning to meet life directly rather than immediately labeling or resisting it. Joey invites us to look beneath labels like anxiety, depression, stress, or pain and ask, “What is actually here right now?” Instead of rushing to fix, explain, or escape discomfort, he suggests meeting experience with curiosity.

• Staying with the question — discovering that openness and inquiry can sometimes be more transformative than rushing toward certainty or answers. Rather than using questions only to find quick answers, Joey describes inquiry as a living practice. The question itself can open space, soften urgency, and keep us from collapsing life into rigid certainty.

• The body as a doorway to aliveness — recognizing chronic tension, bracing, and overthinking while allowing the body to reconnect us with presence and authentic living. Joey talks about chronic bracing, tension, and the way many of us live from the thinking mind. By noticing the body and allowing feeling to reawaken, we begin to experience life more directly, even when it feels messy, uncomfortable, or unknown.

CJ and Joey also discuss creativity as a spiritual practice, the role of music and memory in awakening aliveness, and how true creativity often emerges from stepping into the unknown rather than repeating what is already familiar.

For more information about Joey’s work or to schedule a coaching session, visit joeylott.com. His book, “The Best Thing That Never Happened,” is on Amazon.

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Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

Have you ever had a week where you questioned whether your work even mattered?

In this deeply personal episode, CJ Miller shares a raw recording captured just minutes after receiving a handwritten letter from a young artist on the West Coast who had read his book, The Spiritual Artist. The unexpected letter arrived during a week filled with doubt, uncertainty, and questions about purpose. What CJ discovered inside the envelope moved him to tears.

The letter speaks about creativity, surrender, solitude, spiritual identity, emotional sensitivity, and the longing to create from something deeper than recognition or success. It also reflects on artists like Kandinsky and Georgia O’Keeffe, the pull of New Mexico, and the search for a more meaningful artistic life.

This episode is not polished.
 It’s human.

A conversation about what happens when something you create quietly reaches another person in a profound way.

Sometimes we never know if our words, paintings, podcasts, or presence matter.

And then one day…
 a letter arrives.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.