“We’re seeing it all the time when of course political things and things in the environment change, and sometimes they change very very quickly, we can waste valuable time wishing they weren’t happening.  For those of us who think about improvising and are able to engage in it regularly, we know that saying yes to what’s happening around us is, you know, the significant key in really listening.”

“I’ve always been a ‘yes and’ person.. it came easier for me and when I stand in front of a group of corporate engineers that somebody thought it would be a great idea to do a drum circle and movement, they weren’t in it! like WHAT?!? A$&(#*???  I have to remember that what’s comfortable to me is likely not comfortable at all to them and I’m asking them to do something that’s very brave and very scary.”

Billy has taken his natural creativity and deepened it so that he gets the most out of the ideas he generates. His approach captures his own genius along with that of anyone he’s collaborating with, and the consciousness he brings to it is a beautiful example of how extraordinary creativity is within all our reach.

“I’m Jewish and in the Jewish tradition there’s a prayer called the Sh’ma.  Sh’ma, which means listen.  In it’s deeper meaning it means “pay attention.” so you get to this point in the service and you all come in and you hear these prayers and you get to this one point where “shhh” you’re coming in and you say “time for the Sh’ma,  Sh’ma, Listen up, all you people wrestling with this life, it is what it is, and everything’s connected.”

Mairi’s music and performances are steeped in ancient Celtic wisdom of Scotland, and she incorporates that tradition with her own visionary flair to create mesmerizing experiences for her listeners.  This conversation takes you into Mairi’s thought processes around music, creativity and paths through old patterns that no longer serve.

“Sometimes if you just go into your internal system you can get looped in to your own patterns and reemphasize your emotional patterns, and I mean that’s a really interesting area, like our emotional body and what’s going on, the patterns that we find hard to break out of. It does show up very clearly in music, doesn’t it? And sometimes it’s by looking at another body that I’ll suddenly find there’s notes to be played that I wouldn’t normally be playing, but I want to do these ones. and so yeah, how do we break the patterns that we’re used to living in?”

Mark was a successful businessman, but he was troubled by his increasingly unhappy soul. He heard messages from various directions, including from those who cared about him the most.  

But even when he wanted to listen, it was difficult to overcome his resistance to the unknown expansion he was being called to. 

When he finally said yes to the calling to be more of who he really is, things opened up.

“So, in essence, I started using music as this tool to be able to get the energy work that I do out into the world.

...and the beauty of it is that it bypasses that whole left brain critical thinking ego mind stuff that’s the cause of all our troubles in the world today and it allows the ability to create the space for change and transformation without even getting that aspect involved and it allows us to be able to optimize our energy, and we are energetic beings.”

Jim Navé has been teaching people about creativity for an entire career.  He co-created Artists’ Way Creativity Camps with Julia Cameron from 1995-2003, and I can tell you, his creativity workshops are a blast!  I’ve also known him as the coordinator of the poetry slam at the Lake Eden Arts Festival in Black Mountain NC and as a good friend who has supported and guided me along my own creative journey over the past 20 years.

“You can’t make something without really screwing up all along the way because the mistakes are essential for the construction of the project and only after years of practice do you learn how to appreciate your mistakes.”

Gary Phillips is so much more than just a poet, preacher, political activist, former Chatham County Commissioner, longtime land-loving real estate agent (and best man at my wedding!).  Gary and I, along with Carrie Bolton (also a summit speaker) were part of the Chatham Political Reform Group, a multi-racial group of 12-14 which met monthly throughout the 1990’s.  Gary’s wisdom, courage and kindness springing from his deep roots in land and family come through clearly in this interview where we explore authenticity, improvisation and making a positive difference.

“My best self knows that in that moment I need to slow down. Right? So part of what this process has taught me and other poets and other writers, too, is that this is a process where you get to actually listen to your words, not just throw them out onto the universe. And that’s a very, very different process.  It’s a deeper process for everybody.”

Rev. Carrie Bolton was a powerful, inspiring and well-loved member of the Chatham Political Reform Group in the 1990s.

Through the churches she has pastored and the political speeches she has made in the streets and in halls of power, she has motivated many a citizen activist and silenced many who tried to oppose her.

Carrie was an inspiring influence for Dr. William Barber when he was in school and is still a friend.  And John McCain once expressed his reticence at having to follow one of her speeches at a rally on campaign finance reform.  

In this interview, Carrie connects dots, people and power, and her words on the power of music for bringing people together and helping her heal from a stroke are worth pondering.

“Music, music, music is the thing… and Johnny Price who was my musician at the time… he had a way that he could just chime in to wherever I was in terms of my sermons and delivery. He would play the music and he chimed in in a way that made me do what I wouldn’t do, it was really something.”

"Yes, and...": How to orient yourself amidst the unexpected

Hannah Fox has an especially unusual history and an especially unusual gig.  Her parents created Playback Theatre, which is a potent theatrical form that takes input and stories from audience members and “plays it back” then and there.  

Having been in the Asheville Playback Theatre company for over 10 years, I have a deep appreciation for the beauty and transformative capacity of this art form that marries improvisation with honoring deeply the stories shared by audience members.  

Hannah teaches this form, which is not only fun and engaging, but also brings deep healing to participants and observers, to individuals and communities.

“…trusting one’s intuition as you step out into that unknown space which is improvisation because we all can tap into infinite wisdom, it’s right there, and as long as we can get out of our own way, there’s that self-consciousness thing that we need to wrestle with and let go of…”