We’re just gonna keep riding this wave—from “we’re all artists” to “we’re all poets” to “we’re all creative”—right into famed producer Rick Rubin’s book, “The Creative Act” and his essay on “Awareness.”

How do you feel when you think of yourself as being creative? A fundamental element of being human, creativity is the act of bringing something into the world which didn’t exist before. And the argument posed once again is that we’re all creative and all artists—whether we allow ourselves to see and feel it or not. And as such, we visit yet another reminder of what it’s like when we give ourselves the space to be humans BEing.

The book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717356/the-creative-act-by-rick-rubin/

What do the concepts of today's episode evoke for you? Let me know at https://anchor.fm/unstrucksound — hit the "message" button. Credits: music and photography by me. No affiliate links, just love.

More on the theme of “we’re all artists” —Rewind to 1979, when Natalie is working as a poet in residence at an elementary school, and insists that all children are poets. And whether you want to be a writer or not, or are simply looking for a tiny pocket of joy, we wrap with an “assignment”

The book: https://nataliegoldberg.com/books/wild-mind-living-the-writers-life

What do Mayan lands, a bird, Cate Blanchett, and some polaroids have in common? Mostly, an engaging and provoking photo-and-story book by New York & Mexico City artist Hugo Huerta Marin. Join for a brief blip of an interview with Cate Blanchett and re-imagine going to the theater and how you listen to the world around you. 

Sometimes inspiration simply takes you not looking for it for it to arrive. Thanks Universe. May this inspire you to effort less.

What does this story or poem evoke for you? Let me know at https://anchor.fm/unstrucksound — hit the "message" button.

Credits: conduit of photography and music: me.

Join me as I dig into "being skeptical, but learning to listen"—as the 5th Agreement to follow "The Four Agreements." As synchronicity would have it, I recorded this the morning before starting a four-day workshop that would end up being focused on ... listening. As I would discover in the training, there are many ways to listen—and listening without intent, agenda, or judgment and with an open heart, mind, and connected spirit is hard. Luckily, I went into the training with an extra skip in my step from having enjoyed some extra space. I'm looking forward to revisiting this in the future—and to hearing your perspective and experience. 

The book: The Fifth Agreement: A Practical Guide to Self-Mastery (Toltec Wisdom) — by Don Miguel Angel Ruiz MD, author of The Four Agreements, and his son, Jose Luis Ruiz, and Janet Mills.

_On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fifth-Agreement-Practical-Self-Mastery-Toltec/dp/1878424610

Join me for an extra short and oh-so-sweet reading from a beautifully hand-drawn and written children’s book about unexpected friendship. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy.

In researching for links, I discovered this book has also been produced in color and animated into a short film. I can’t wait to watch it, though I still recommend reading it—to yourself or anyone, any age.

_Books: https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/charliemackesy

What does this story evoke for you? Let me know at https://anchor.fm/unstrucksound — hit the "message" button.

Credits: conduit of photography and music: me. Photograph: my kitty (and best friend) Reeces in 2021.

Join me as I jinx myself—and get distracted talking about distractions … while connecting (or trying to connect) the stars between harmony, mindfulness, and curiosity. Inspired by the 7 steps to Adaptive Intersectional Mindfulness from “Love and Rage, the path of liberation through anger”, by Lama Rob Owens.

The book: Love and Rage, the path of liberation through anger— https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53133204

The author: Lama Rob Owens— https://www.lamarod.com

The video: musicians describing harmony, including Herbie Hancock and Jacob Collier—https://youtu.be/eRkgK4jfi6M

What does this inquiry evoke for you? Let me know at https://anchor.fm/unstrucksound — hit the "message" button.

Credits: conduit of photography and music: me.

Today's prompt for space to BE comes from a book, "Speaking and Listening," a collection of poems and writings revolving around questions of narrative, listening, and improvisation and centered around a long unpublished transcript of a talk poem by David Antin. The writing I am reading from is entitled "Not All Music is Music" by François J. Bonnet.

For the full piece, please check out any of the following links—and remember to dance.

What does this inquiry evoke for you? Let me know at https://anchor.fm/unstrucksound — hit the "message" button.

Credits: photography and music made by me.

Post Update: y'all, another uncanny coincidence! After recording and scheduling this post on 2.1, I received Chani's horoscope on 2.2. In the Moon Phase & Sign section (Gibbous/Cancer): Feel it all. Set boundaries as an act of self-love. Nurture your besties and beloveds and know when to protect your energy too.

Today's prompt for space to BE is a tiny spiral into what we can learn about boundaries from bungees—and a brilliant question from Lindsey Mack's Tarot for the Wild Soul on the 4 of Pentacles.

What does this inquiry evoke for you? Let me know at https://anchor.fm/unstrucksound — hit the "message" button.

Credits: photography and music made by me.

Y'all—as soon as I finished recording this episode, I closed the copy of my Poetry magazine, from which I selected this poem, and wouldn't you guess it... her poem and the line I was obsessed with was *the* highlight on the back cover. The universe just loves to pepper us with fairy dust sometimes.

Today's prompt for space to BE is a poem by Maggie Smith. I don't have any affiliate links, but here's where you can catch more of Smith:

What does this poem evoke for you? Let me know at https://anchor.fm/unstrucksound — hit the "message" button. 

Credits: photography and music made by me.