Creativity Is Your Birthright: A Message from Your Authentic Self

Posted on March 26, 2026

Deep within your meditation in the Theta brainwave state, you have entered into the field of inspiration, intuition, and creativity.

–M. C. Cannon, The Meditation Toolbox

By Celeste Smucker

Did you ever feel like something inside of you, something deeply authentic and mysterious, had a message for you?

It may have awakened you in the middle of the night, appeared during a meditation, or a long morning walk. Or perhaps you were doing laundry, out on a lake fishing, cleaning your house, doing an intense workout, or putting gas in your car.

Regardless, intuitions like this are almost always messages from the real you, your authentic (higher) self.

Often called creative sparks, these messages signal your inner creativity at work.

To recognize them, though, you need to be aware and pay attention.

Here's how to do that.

Your Well of Creativity

Your inner well of creativity is boundless and takes many forms.

It is not restricted to art projects or an ability to design gorgeous floral arrangements, compelling graphics, a workshop for your hobbies, or trendy living spaces.

Some examples could include:

Discovering innovative ways to up your communication skills so you can enjoy more fulfilling relationships.
Uncovering ideas that nudge you towards imagining a fun and profitable business even if you had never ever thought of yourself as an entrepreneur.
Receiving insights about yourself and others that free you from stress and anxiety.
Getting advice from an unexpected source on how to enjoy a deeper meditation.
Finding new ways to organize your workplace, workshop or kitchen for greater efficiency.

How to Recognize Creative Sparks

Creative sparks, your messengers from deep within, are often subtle, making them easy to overlook or miss altogether. They may be described in a variety of different ways such as:

A sudden hunch
An unexpected glimmer of awareness
An intuitive urge
A flash of insight

Sometimes they are random thoughts that pass through your mind when you least expect them.

You may have had similar thoughts in the past but this time the context is different, or they are presented in a new way, grabbing your attention.

Maybe, instead, you find an interesting idea on a YouTube channel, in a book or magazine. It’s not a source you usually read or watch, but you were bored waiting for a medical appointment and decided to check it out.

Or perhaps it takes a book falling off a shelf and hitting you in the head to get your attention. (Yes, that happened to me once.)

What to Do When Creativity Strikes

Creative ideas can arrive at any time and any place.

When you feel very relaxed or in the middle of the night when you are deep asleep are common times for new ideas to emerge. You tell yourself you'll remember them in the morning, but you rarely do.

In the book Big Magic (which is all about creativity) the author describes a dramatic example of a friend who suddenly and unexpectedly receives fully written poems.

When they arrive they move quickly through her mind.

So she drops everything and rushes to record them, because if she doesn't, they are gone for good.

While most people's intuitions don't make such a dramatic entrance (and departure) it's still a good idea to capture them quickly so you don't forget them.

Here are some ways:

Make a note on your phone
Send yourself a text or email.
Keep paper and pen readily available in every room in your house for those times when your phone is lost, turned off, or buried under piles of paper on your desk.

Recognizing Genuine Creativity

How do you know if the creative spark is for real, a genuine messenger?

Think of a time when you were totally absorbed in a project or task.

Maybe you were experimenting with new and efficient ways to build more endurance, creating a new and interesting website or weeding your garden.

You were so absorbed in your project that time passed quickly.

Hours later you still felt energized and alert.

By observing and acting on creative sparks, you align yourself with what is most meaningful for you as their origin is the deep well of creativity that comes from your authentic self.

You can, of course, ignore them and make choices based on alternative sources of advice like social media influencers, or people close to you such as friends and family.

If the alternatives don’t align with the real you, though, you may begin to feel like you are paddling upstream against the natural flow of life, an energy sapping strategy.

If you feel tired a lot, this could be a contributing factor.

How to Consistently Access Your Well of Creativity

We have all made choices based on the gentle nudge of a creative spark and can point to the positive outcomes.

Now imagine if you could increase your awareness enough to make choices like this consistently, noticing and capturing creative sparks as they arrive. What would you have to do to make this a reality?

Perhaps one of the best pathways to increased awareness is daily meditation.

Meditation is a powerful tool that balances the noise, confusion and stress of daily life offering a sea of calm, peace and serenity in exchange.

Another path to balance, one that also supports your meditation practice, is The Holistic Lifestyle ®. When you adopt it you commit to creating balance in your physical body, emotions and mind.

Your body is a foundation for the other two as it is difficult to maintain positive thoughts and balanced emotions when you are ill or not feeling your physical best.

However, don't ignore your mind and emotions.

The stress of conditions such as depression or anxiety can compromise your health by weakening your immune system and promoting physical illness.

In a 2017 study based on nearly 1,000 people, researchers found anxiety associated with heart disease and depression associated with asthma.

People with both conditions often also suffered from coughing, hypertension and digestive tract issues.

Commitment to achieving balance in your three primary dimensions can help in a number of ways:

It supports your meditation practice, allowing for a deeper, more consistent experience.
You will experience your awareness expanding, increasing your ability to notice and capture creative sparks when they flit quickly through your mind.
You will enjoy an increased ability to live in the present moment rather than being bogged down by past mistakes or future worries.
You can more easily access your subtle dimensions. Characterized by inner stillness and harmony, the subtle dimensions give access to your well of creativity.

Beware of How You Slow Your Flow of Creativity

Genuine creativity flows from deep within, but the choices you make can slow or even stop it.

Some possible culprits include:

Other people's opinions. Your excitement about a new idea seems to attract people who, out of their own fear, try to discourage you.

Be careful who you listen to making sure they have your best interests at heart.

When you receive advice, beware of any tendency you may have to follow it out of a need to be a people pleaser.

Self-doubt. Feeling an increased awareness of the flow of creative ideas can be scary. You wonder if the ideas are genuine.

Test your intuition on low risk outcomes. If you get an urge to take an umbrella on a sunny day, do so. If it doesn't rain you haven't lost anything. If it does, it strengthens your belief in your inner wisdom.

As your faith in your intuition deepens you will feel safer taking bigger risks.

Staying constantly busy and stressed out due to overcommitting and being afraid to say "No."
Escaping through books, movies, doomscrolling and addictive substances.