INGER BROWN - You Are Creative

In this episode, I sit down with Inger Brown and we riff on creativity, how it is innate in each of us, how it differs from being artistic, and how creative blocks can serve as a mirror for us to look inward in order to discover more about the fullness of who we are.

Inger is an herbalist, writer, poet, artist, and teacher who has found healing in the natural world and with plant medicine. She writes, “Having such life affirming experiences with herbs, I wanted to help others find their own healing so studied herbalism on my own and with teachers and mentors. It was beautiful to see the softening of nervousness that milky oats could bring, how yarrow could both help move stagnant blood and stop excessive bleeding, and how Solomon’s seal and rose could assuage grief.

One day as I sat with a client we came face to face with their deepest resistance.  They showed up to appointments and left ready to implement lifestyle changes and use the herbs I suggested yet came back each time having been unable to take action between sessions. It was demoralizing and baffling for us both and I didn’t have strategies or resources to draw from to help them get past this block so the herbs could do their profound work.

At the same time I experienced my own creative dry spell and was stuck for months, unable to be present to things that bring me joy or take action toward the things I knew might make a difference. Since then I’ve learned new maps to help me understand where and why we tend to get stuck and continue to do my own inner work to be able to meet myself and my clients where they are—helping them move beyond protective patterns to experience greater flow and feeling in their own lives.”

If you would like to connect with Inger you can find her via her website: apothecaryoftherose.com

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COVID-19 Support: The wonderful team of therapists at Mindful Counseling GR are able to accept new clients for Video Counseling during this time for Michigan residents. If you are not in Michigan and could use some additional support during this season, please locate a therapist in your area by doing a simple Google search. Most therapists across the country are now able to conduct therapy via video and telehealth options.

Bryan Nixon is a psychotherapist and the founder and clinical director of Mindful Counseling GR in Grand Rapids, MI. He is also a teacher and facilitator in Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy, a post-grad continuing education program for therapists.