The Spiritual Artist Podcast

Podcast host CJMiller chats with artist and author Sharon J. Burton about affirmations and her upcoming book release, "Creative Sparks: 21 Affirmations and Inspiration for Creativity at Midlife."

Sharon believes that many people from her generation have been suppressed from being creative, and when they arrive at midlife, they often have time and money to be creative but encounter blocks. Sharon shares her story of rediscovering her art side and describes her book as a love letter to others, saying, "You can do this."

Each chapter shares her personal story and presents a starting affirmation. The reader can adopt that affirmation or create one more specific to their needs. An affirmation should be written in the present tense. She encourages artists to pivot negative beliefs into positive language that begins a new thought pattern.

The author shares how she selects a new affirmation each day based on her intentions for that day. Before she journals, she writes an affirmation seven times. This ritual puts her in the right frame of mind before beginning the creative process. She also suggests putting your affirmations where you see them in your studio throughout the day. CJ places his affirmation on his mirror to read every morning.

Each chapter deals with issues often faced by artists. CJ and Sharon discuss an issue artists deal with imposter syndrome. Sharon asks the listener to locate where the feeling came from; did someone say something, or was it a voice in your head? Then, write the opposite in an affirmative statement. Write who you truly are.

She cautions that affirmations are a good tool but not a magic pill. Sometimes, we encounter blocks that require professional help. Affirmations are just tools that are part of your arsenal for being a creative person.

The artist concludes the podcast by encouraging everyone to celebrate and embrace their creativity.

Sharon J. Burton is an artist, art curator, poet, teaching artist, yoga nidra guide, certified creativity coach, and founder of Spark Your Creative based in the Washington, DC, area.

She is also the host of Spark Your Creative Podcast, which features artists and other creatives using their unique talents to create more mindful communities and a safer world.

She is the author of Creative Sparks: 21 Affirmations and Inspiration for Creativity at Midlife, published by Swiner Publishing Company, which will be released on May 14, 2024.

• The book launches on May 14 with a sale on the ebook Kindle version (let's not share the price)
• A Virtual Launch Party will start at 7 pm ET on the Spark Your Creative Facebook and YouTube page. There will be book and swag giveaways, a reading from the book by me, and interviews with two artists who contributed to the book.
• To learn more about the book, people can visit https://www.sparkyourcreative.com/book.html.

More information about CJ, can be found at https//www.spiritualartisttoday.com

Podcast Host CJMiller sits down with SUNY Old Westbury Assistant Professor and Mixed Media Artist Fred Fleisher to discuss symbolism in art.

Fred talks about creating art that deals with duality issues and the perceived separateness of each other. The imaginative artist shares his process and expanding practice in maintaining presence and flow when creating his 2-dimensional paintings and sculptural installations. Fred incorporates humor, cynicism, and satire into his work by combining symbolistic elements from our everyday social fabric. In essence, the artist uses humor in art to "get through the day" and deal with society's current challenges.

His process includes surrounding himself with a studio full of iconic "parts," entering a flow state and combining different elements to express himself. He discovers an idea for something, works it out, and then allows some freewheeling while sketching the image.

Fred uses his phone and iPad to set up his rough composition. From there, he goes to his canvas, where the idea progresses and emerges. "I allow energy to unfold and see what happens when I put disparate things together," he said.

His creations include assemblage art as well as 2-dimensional surfaces. Fred sources " Spiritual Moderns: Twentieth-Century American Artists and Religion" by Erica Doss and "The Spiritual Artist" by Christopher J. Miller as inspired sources.

In conversation, Fred ponders whether symbolism can stop us from spiritually communicating something more significant, while CJ ponders the opposite. As CJ prepares for an upcoming show, he struggles with not adding symbolic elements.

CJ shares how many of us try to qualify our spiritual worth by whether our art is successful. We are not trying to validate our worth when we create art. Both agree that we shouldn't let our perceived identities stop us from connecting to Spirit.

CJ and Fred also discussed the writing process. CJ encourages writers to get their thoughts down quickly and edit later. Fred references "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield.

According to Fred, creating art is a way to stop the mind chatter, the thoughts of duality, and practice presence. The podcast concludes with Fred sharing how communication, both verbally and through art, is the key to personal growth. For more information and samples of Fred's work, visit https://www.fredfleisher.net.

Fred Fleisher is originally from Pennsylvania and has lived in the New York metropolitan area for over twenty-five years. After enlisting in the Army, he earned an MFA from Queens College, CUNY, a BFA in Painting & Drawing, and a BS in Art Education from Penn State University. Both nationally and internationally, Galleries have represented his work, and he has had recent solo exhibitions in Brooklyn and New York City. He has been included in several exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions while working with curators in the art world. He also organizes and curates exhibitions and is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Old Westbury.

For more information on CJ and his art retreats, visit www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His book, "The Spiritual Artist," is available on Amazon.

In this episode, host CJ Miller questions Peace and Human Rights Activist Hadi Jawad on ways each of us can promote peace in our communities. How does someone promote Human rights and Peace on an individual scale? Hadi encourages the listener to familiarize themselves with the 30 principles of the Univeral Declaration of Human Rights and begin looking at news articles through the Human Rights lens.

Podcast Host CJMiller met Hadi Jawad while serving on an Interfaith Panel with a diverse group of Christians, Muslims, and Jews and quickly became friends. According to Hadi, it is ingrained in the human spirit to love and be kind to each other.

Hadi is a Dallas peace, justice, and human rights activist. He is a follower of the principles of non-violent resistance, as exemplified by the Reverend Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, and he opposes militarism and war. He served on the board of the Dallas Peace Center as an organizer from 1997 to 2015, chairing their Middle East Peace Committee and media spokesperson. He led efforts to organize protests against the US invasion of Iraq that culminated in the largest anti-war demonstration in Dallas history on February 15, 2003.

Hadi comes from a culture steeped in oral tradition and values the importance of storytelling and shares a story from his youth playing in his neighborhood. A wandering Sufi walked by and engaged him. The Sufi was dressed in traditional clothes and holding a begging bowl. At the end of the conversation, the Sufi stabs the dirt with his stick and picks something up. He motions for Hadi to put it in his mouth. In his memory, Hadi tasted the sweetest candy that he had ever had in the whole world and recognized the mysticism of the world.

The future activist was always gravitating to finding the good and miraculous in relationships. While Hadi was passionate about mathematics, he didn't want to enter the arms industry as an engineer, and instead, he pursued managing and owning a forklift business. Only years later did he listen to his true calling and decide to be an advocate for Peace and nonviolence.

According to Hadi, Judaism is the root of a tree, the trunk and the branches are Christianity, and Islam/Sufism is the foliage. Hadi explains some principles of Sufism. Sufis believe that anything material and non-material is one being, regardless of the question: Love is the answer. He defines this as the unity of being.

How do you stay in the centeredness of Peace:

1. When you're heart is being pierced, feel the pain and stay true to yourself. We are connected through our suffering.
2. Reach out to others.
3. Express gratitude for being alive.

Hadi is drawn to helping the underserved. He tends to look for opportunities to help those who have fallen through the cracks, and he believes that comes from his mystical side. He's drawn to mysticism and mystical thought and believes that love is mysticism.

According to Hadi, mystics understand that many of our desires are counterfeit coins and that mystics know where to find the real gold. Hadi shares a story about a villager who demands a diamond from a mystic. The diamond is represented as a rock, and the villager returns it the next day and says, "Give me the wealth that made it so easy for you to give the largest diamond in the world away."

Hadi believes that mystics know where the wealth is. It's not in your car. It's not in your relationships. It's not in a mansion. It's in our hearts. It's in love.

Hadi is working with Rick Halpern, Director of the Human Rights Program at SMU, to make the City of Dallas a Human Rights City that supports the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document is uploaded to the Spiritual Artist Today website and can be found in the practice guides section.

He concludes the inter