This painting is the 4th part of the “Journey” collection, where thus far you’ve found the strength to move forward with your life from any setback.

But just as life is full of ups and downs, your mind will have thoughts that will bring you up and take you down.

Stop and breathe, don’t think of anything.

Stay in that gap in between thoughts.

Sure, that takes practice, but when you can do it, and for longer periods of time, you’ll find a sense of calm, and at the same time more ideas coming to you.

Perhaps because while your mind is not busy feeding you thoughts, it has time to organize ideas in the background. I don’t know, but it works for me.

Deepak Chopra says the gap between your thoughts is your “pure consciousness”.

Wayne Dyer says, “…it’s a space that allows us to build, create, imagine, and manifest all that we’re capable of creating with those thoughts.”

I think they’re saying the same thing because pure consciousness is where you can do everything Wayne Dyer said.

I feel this is analogous to saying, that when you’re stress-free, i.e., not focused on negative thoughts, then your mind is free to start building, creating, and manifesting, as Wayne Dyer said.

Having the strength to move on as represented in the Rise artwork is important, but having the resilience to keep moving on is just as crucial because negative thoughts can discourage you from continuing to move forward.

Moreover, if you feel stuck after a while of moving forward in your life, then getting in the gap, i.e. the space in between your thoughts, can help you find creative ideas to help you get unstuck.

This has helped me, and it couldn’t hurt to try. Although, it does take practice.

Other than in some of my meditations, I also try to get and stay in the gap when I’m doing things that don’t require thinking, like washing dishes, and I have found myself coming up with new creative projects.

To me, this is a part of self-care, and self-care is important to me because it helps you connect to yourself, which is what I want my poetry and art to accomplish for you. Because when you connect to your true self, that’s when you can continue on your journey with your best life.

• 24” x 36”

• Acrylic paint, Foam Modeling Clay, Digital

• Acid-free, PH-neutral, poly-cotton base

• 20.5 mil (0.5 mm) thick canvas

• Canvas fabric weight: 13.9 oz/yd² (470 g/m²)

• Mounting brackets included

• Hand-glued solid wood stretcher bars

• 1.5″ (3.81 cm) deep