Recognizing Your Creative Self

Adapted from the works of Susan Jeffers, Ph.D

来源: http://www.susanjeffers.com/home/article.cfm

[1] There is so much beautiful art to appreciate. Paintings and images brighten our walls. Music of all types evokes our feelings. Books and movies tell moving stories. Creativity in all forms brings us joy, making the world a better place. Do you ever get the feeling that you are only a spectator of such creativity? That it is not within you? That you simply aren't the ''creative type?'' Look within yourself. Each and every one of us has the potential to be creative. Often we are already perfectly in touch with our creative selves, we just aren’t giving ourselves credit.

[2] Creativity is a part of who we are, part of what makes us human. In today's society, emphasis is put on limiting creativity in service to production. Deadlines, goals, appointments, and ''getting things done'' are stressed. Yet these things serve our Lower Self. When we live only to get things done, fearing what will happen if we don't, then we aren't living our best life. And if we aren't living our best life, we need to take another look at ourselves. We need to find our Higher Self.

appreciate  [ә'pri:ʃieit] vt.  赏识, 鉴别, 为...而感激, 领会, 欣赏
creativity  [,kri:ei'tiviti] n.  创造力, 创造性
spectator  [spek'teitә] n.  观众, 目击者, 旁观者
credit  ['kredit]n.  信用, 荣誉, 贷款, 学分 vt.  归功于, 赞颂, 信任, 相信
emphasis  ['emfәsis] n.  强调, 加强, 重点, 强语气
dwelling  ['dweliŋ] n.  住处
emphasis on （special attention or importance）
　- In Japan there is a lot of emphasis on politeness.
put/place emphasis on sth
　- The course places emphasis on practical work.
Be in touch with: 与..有联系的意思
Give sb. credit是认可某人的意思

[3] The Higher Self is the dwelling place of all good things such as love, power, creativity, joy, satisfaction, and abundance（富足）. Living through our Higher Selves, we can see that creativity is part of every day living. It is not something that only ''artists'' can do. It is something we can all do if we open our hearts and minds to it.

[4] Susan wrote in Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway, ''There is a body of psychologists心理学家who believe in the existence of the Higher Self and the influence it can exert upon the individual. They have proposed that this Higher Self is capable of a high degree of sensitivity敏感度 and attunement协调[ə'tju:nmənt;] to a harmonious flow 冲和 within the universe. It is the container of many sublime virtues崇高品德- creativity, intuition, trust, love, joy, inspiration灵感, aspiration渴望, caring, giving - everything we, in our heart of hearts, would like to experience.''

psychologist  [sai'kɒlәdʒist] n.  心理学家
exert  [ig'zә:t] vt.  发挥, 运用, 施以影响
propose  [prә'pәuz] vt.  计划, 打算, 建议, 提议, 求(婚) vi.  打算, 求婚
sensitivity  [,sensә'tiviti] n.  敏感, 灵敏度
attune  [ә'tju:n] vt.  为乐器调音, 使协调, 使合拍
harmonious  [hɑ:'mәuniәs] a.  和睦的, 调和的, 和谐的, 协调的
sublime  [sә'blaim] a.  高尚的, 壮观的, 卓越的vt/vi.  提高,变高尚, (使)纯化, (使)升华
intuition  [,intju:'iʃәn] n.  直觉, 直觉的知识
inspiration  [,inspә'reiʃәn] n.  灵感, 鼓舞人心的人或物, 妙计, 吸气
aspiration  [,æspә'reiʃәn] n.  热望, 志向, 渴望

dwell居住文学上的用词，口语中通常用live代替，reside 书面用词，指合法的永久性居住，也指在豪华的住宅里居住。
a body of...  大量的...
in our heart of hearts在我们的内心深处：

[5] So many of us seem to be searching for something outside ourselves to make our lives complete. We see artists living their lives through the Higher Self and believe that it is unattainable, something we can't ever experience. We tell ourselves that we don't have any talent. That we have no imagination. That artistry is something other people were born with. None of that is true.

[6] Creativity is more than talent, and we're all born with a connection to it. The Universe grants every person born the same access to the creative. We are all capable of imagination, originality and individuality. We are all innately creative. Most artists who make their living through their creativity will tell you that it takes a lot of hard work to create. They have to really believe in it and be willing to put in the practical hard work to achieve worthwhile art. That intricate soothing sonata was not born in a burst of effortless creative frenzy, but after years of study and practice. The award-winning writer doesn't just sit down one day and write the perfect novel. It takes practice. Hours and hours of thinking, reading, first tries and second tries and sometimes dozens of tries, before that novel takes shape.

unattainable  [,ʌnә'teinәbl] a.  难到达的, 不可得到的
artistry  ['ɑ:tistri] n.  艺术性
grant  [grænt] n.  授予, 授予物, 允许 vt.  允许, 承认, 授与
access  ['ækses] n.  通路,接近, 进入, 使用权, 发作 vt.  访问, 存取, 接近, 使用
originality  [ә,ridʒә'næliti] n.  创意, 新奇, 独创能力, 原始
individuality  ['indi,vidʒu'æliti] n.  个性, 个人, 特征
innately  [ɪneɪtlɪ] adv.  天赋地; 固有地; 内在地
worthwhile  ['wә:θ'hwail] a.  值得花时间的, 值得做的, 有真实价值的
intricate  ['intrikit] a.  复杂的, 错综的, 缠结的, 难懂的
soothing  ['su:ðiŋ] a.  抚慰的, 使人宽心的
sonata  [sә'nɑ:tә] n.  奏鸣曲
frenzy  ['frenzi] n.  疯狂, 狂暴, 狂怒

grant sb sth：给予某人…
The bank finally granted me a £400 loan.
take sth for granted :把某事当作说理所当然的。
the access to: 表示去某地的入口／到达…通道：
The only access to the farmhouse is across the fields.
take shape 成型

[7] Maybe you're not inclined to dedicate your life to making timeless pieces of art, but there is no reason that you can't be in touch with your inner creativity. We're willing to bet that you are far more in tune with the creative side of yourself than you know. Think about the times that you tweaked a recipe, adding a little something extra, to make a dish fabulous. Think about that time at work when you came up with a more efficient way of doing something that cut a lot of time out of your schedule. Or when you were in the store last week and found the perfect throw pillows to complement your couch and curtains.

timeless adj. 永恒的；不受时间影响的；不合时宜的
dedicate  ['dedikeit] vt.  献出, 贡献
tweak  [twi:k] n.  拧, 扭, 调节；调整vt.  扭, 开足马力
bounty  ['baunti] n.  慷慨, 宽大, 礼物
external  [ik'stә:nl] n.  外部, 外面 a.  外部的, 客观的, 表面的
internal  [ɪn'tɜrnl] n.  本质, 本性; 内部器官, 内脏 adj.  内在的; 国内的
vantage  ['væntidʒ] n.  优势, 有利情况
in tune with（与...）一致；（与...）协调
Tweak a recipe改变一下食谱
come up with: 提出，提议：
We weren't able to come up with any new suggestions.
我们提不出任何新建议。
Throw pillow抱枕

[8] There are so many ways each of us is creative in our everyday lives, yet we don't recognize it for what it is. We think of it as ''just the way we are,'' and it's true, but it doesn't mean that it's any less special. By connecting to our Higher Self and the creativity that comes with it, we are fulfilling our purpose(完成使命) to live our lives fully opening our hearts and minds to all the bounty（犒赏，赏金）that is both external and internal.

[9] Susan said it best when she wrote: ''Having experienced life from the vantage point of both the Lower Self and the Higher Self, my choice is the latter. I will do whatever it takes to open myself up more and more to a mind and heart filled with love, joy, creativity, satisfaction, and peace. ''

[10] Connect with your Higher Self. Use your imagination. Find your creativity. And finally, give yourself some credit.

bounty [baunti] n. 慷慨；丰富；奖励金；vt. 发给…奖金等；为…而发给赏金
语法与句型：
there are so many ways each of us is creative in our everyday lives, yet we don’t recognize it for what it is. 这是一个并列句，yet是表示转折的并列连词，表然而。语气比but 要强，表示较强烈的比较或矛盾。
Love is sweet，yet painful.
长难句:by connecting to our higher self and the creativity that comes with it, we are fulfilling our purpose to live our lives fully opening our hearts and minds to all the bounty that is both external and internal. 通过与我们的高我以及存在于高我之内的创造力的连接，我们就可以向一切美好的馈赠敞开心灵，完成生命的使命。
we are fulfilling our purpose …就是主句。那么前面的by connecting to our higher self 是介词短语做方式状语。整句话的结构就是，by doing sth.., we…
By doing something special, anyone can make you happy, but only someone special can make you happy without doing anything. 任何人做一些特别的事情都可以让你开心，但是只有特别的人，他什么也不用做也可以让你开心。

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