Episode 4: Primal Creativity

Original Belonging

In episode four, I reflect on my coming-of-age encounters with that powerful force field of creative energy. As a teen in the 1970s, sewing ushered in an enchanted sense of feminine sovereignty. I’m delighted then to share in conversation with award-winning author and story alchemist, Kristin Kaye, about the sacred avenues of creativity and immersive exploration in nature.

Our first experience with creativity influences how we dream ourselves into the world, which for me began with a love of sports and feeling a sense of play. I recall when my mother gave me “the talk” about menstruation and other activities associated with “young womanhood.” I funneled my desire for independent thinking into sewing, which became an unexpected ticket to liberation, evocative of the era’s feminist movement and the power to design one’s own life.

When I began to work more “serious” career jobs, moving around the country, I lost my early connection to that creative spark. I became an “adult.” Creativity and play felt devalued. During a big life transition decades later, I signed up for a life-changing course, re-igniting the spark around the sovereign expression I had lost.

In my conversation with award-winning author and meditation teacher, Kristin Kaye, we pick up the thread regarding creative play and discovery. Her childhood memories of playing by a creek in her suburban Maryland informed an early sense of freedom and wonder. This combined with memories of a step-grandfather’s nature-immersed, playful poetry and storytelling gifts, inspired her later work in theater and also as an author exploring the ancient secrets of trees and our deepest longings for connection.

Moving to the Pacific Northwest, Kristin shares her grief as a witness to clear-cut forests. This awareness leads to actions of caring stewardship, including organizing community dinners situated in nature and later climbs and sleeps atop a redwood tree for days. We speak about the courage required to belong to the world as a creatively-expressed person and the power of choice to honor nature, wisdom and ancestry.

Topics Covered:

(03:46) Becoming a woman

(13:43) Feminism in the sewing room

(19:40) Rediscovering feminine energy through drawing

(26:05) Play is pure creativity

(32:21) Kristin Kaye joins me in conversation

(33:25) Freedom to play and the wonder of nature

(41:44) Storytelling runs in the family

(46:19) A woman’s connection to her voice

(58:02) Bringing Tree Dreams to life

(1:04:12) Lessons from a redwood tree

Kristin Kaye

• Kristin Kaye | website
• Kristin Kaye | Instagram
• Story Alchemy | website

Stay Connected:

• mauraconlon.com
• @orginalbeloning on Instagram
• Maura Conlon on Facebook

Credit:

• Podcast series production by Media Midwife Ahri Golden
• Podcast series launch by The Wave Podcasting

About:

In this series, I explore how the significant influences and archetypal events experienced in our first 14 years of life set the stage for what is most meaningful throughout our adult years. In times of transition, a voice wonders: who am I at the soul level, at my essence? Our earliest resonant moments of awe–what lit us up–offer direct access into the root system of our original belonging.