“All you need is already within you, only you must approach your self with reverence and love. Self-condemnation and self-distrust are grievous errors. Your constant flight from pain and search for pleasure is a sign of love you bear for your self, all I plead with you is this: make love of your self perfect. Deny yourself nothing — glue your self infinity and eternity and discover that you do not need them; you are beyond.”
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

I believe that an Artist of Possibility is, first and foremost, able to recognize and allow difficult emotional experiences to arise, without judgment. You see, without this capacity to allow ourselves to feel the emotional waves that life throws our way – and that are interwoven with strong patterns of mental conditioning – we would not be able to create any space for those waves to pass and for insights/understandings to arise. Just like the sun comes out to light- up the ocean after a storm, we also need to cultivate the capacity to hold – with compassion and tenderness – our inner storms, so that we can allow clarity to subsequently arise. This clarity can then allow us to access our innate creativity and reignite our inspiration for new possibilities.

Unfortunately, most of us tend to judge ourselves or others when painful emotional waves hit, getting lost in the torment of negative mental narratives that have been calcified over many years. Moreover, if we have experienced trauma in our past, these waves – and the mental stories that accompany them – can feel so intense that we fear we may drown. To be able to let such a storm pass requires an amount of courage and faith that is characteristic of an Artist of Possibility.

Such an Artist will face these storms, albeit imperfectly, in order to come out the other side with a renewed understanding of their ego's mental patterns, a heightened capacity for affect tolerance, an increased compassion for the suffering of others, and a renewed faith in life and love.

For these reasons, it is my belief that an Artist of Possibility is the epitome of bravery. Sure, jumping off a plane is scary, but try sitting with your emotions when feeling submerged by an inner tsunami of pain!

It is important to remember that being an Artist of Possibility is not all glitz and glamour. An Artist of Possibility faces multiple inner battles alone, while holding steadfast to that whisper in their heart reminding them of their inherent belonging and interconnectedness with every element of the universe. An Artist of Possibility finds the humility and self- compassion to get to know their ego intimately, holding it with tenderness and care, so that it may gradually step aside to let Spirit lead the way. An Artist of Possibility is deeply human ? they are vulnerable, messy, perfectly imperfect, and beautifully inspiring.

An Artist of Possibility is you – on your worst day and on your best day – whether you are pushing yourself to go for a walk during a particularly difficult day, or whether you are publishing your sixth book and just booked an interview with Oprah.

An Artist of Possibility is you, whether you have inspired one person throughout your life or have inspired millions.

An Artist of Possibility is you, whether you are blessed with small ripples of karmic habit, or struggle with tsunamis of inner turmoil.

An Artist of Possibility is you, with that sparkle in your eye, who experiences the same Knowing as I – the same call to trust and surrender.

So to all of you reading, I hope that you do not discount yourselves. This journal, and this issue, is for you. Be kind towards yourselves, always, so as to allow the storms to pass and to make space for the Artist in you to bloom.