The Syncreate Podcast: Empowering Creativity

In this installment of our Creative Spark series of bite-size, mini-episodes, Melinda & Charlotte discuss the importance of giving back to our creative communities. This could take the form of mentoring or guiding others, or just simply lending a helping hand with someone’s creative work or process. Helping others can also help us out of our own creative ruts. We might not think we have anything insightful to share, but we probably have more wisdom than we realize; what might seem obvious or second-nature to us, could actually be a revelation to someone else. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, includes insights and prompts from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.For our Creativity Pro-Tip, ask yourself: what's one way you can share your knowledge with others and/or give back to your creative community? Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 20: The Syncreate Model of Play, Plan & Produce, Episode 31: The Power of Collaboration, and Episode 35: Navigating the Creative Wilderness. At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!

Picking up where we left off in Part 1 (Episode 34), we continue the conversation about creativity and transpersonal psychology with Marina Smirnova, Ph.D., head of the Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health specialization within the Humanistic Psychology program at Saybrook University, and a professor of transpersonal psychology, or the psychology of spirituality. We explore questions of meaning-making, integration, and expanded states of consciousness, as well as learning to trust ourselves and to honor our own intuitive guidance with respect to our creative and professional work. Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 10: Imagination and Creativity with Psychologist and Creativity Coach Dr. Diana Rivera, Episode 23: The Corporate Mystic with Stephanie Crain, and Episode 34: Creativity and Transpersonal Psychology Part 1.At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: Marina’s Faculty Profile at Saybrook UniversityDr. Stanislav GrofChristina GrofArticle: Spiritual Emergency: The Understanding and Treatment of Spiritual Crises by Cristina Grof and Stanislav GrofCarl JungJoseph CampbellDr. John Edward MackShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing CoachMelinda Joy Music Website

In this episode of our Creative Spark series, we explore the creative call to adventure and subsequent journey through the wilderness. We often start our creative projects with a sense of inspiration and excitement, only to flounder along the way, or plunge into self-doubt. Never fear - this is actually part of the process, and if we can learn to navigate this wilderness, our work can actually benefit from it. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, includes insights and prompts from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to listen to the creative call to adventure, and to heed it, even if the way feels scary or uncertain. Sometimes following the call can change our wok and our lives in ways we never imagined.  Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 20: The Syncreate Model of Play, Plan & Produce, Episode 22: Creative Play, and Episode 33: Incubation & The Power of Time Away. At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: The Syncreate BookCharlotte Gullick’s WebsiteDocumentary - Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain Institute of American Indian ArtsInternal Family Systems TherapyShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing CoachMelinda Joy Music Website

Where do our creative ideas and inspirations come from? For many of us, our creativity is deeply intertwined with questions of meaning, consciousness, and spirituality. Our guest today is Marina Smirnova, Ph.D., head of the Consciousness, Spirituality, and Integrative Health specialization within the Humanistic Psychology program at Saybrook University, and a professor of transpersonal psychology, or the psychology of spirituality. Our conversation explores our own early childhood experiences of the transpersonal, as well as how landscape and environment affect our lives, and how we understand creativity as a meaning-making process. Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 16: Creativity, Innovation & Leadership with Robert Cleve, PhD, and Episode 21: The Walk of Faith and Courage with Shakespearean Actor Warren "Ren" Jackson, and Episode 32: Creativity & Synchronicity with Dr. Steven Pritzker.At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: Marina’s Faculty Profile at Saybrook UniversityArticle: The Practice of Transpersonal PsychologyBook: The Soul’s Code by James HillmanDr. Stanislav GrofDr. Joseph Campbell and The Hero’s JourneyShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing CoachMelinda Joy Music Website

 In this episode of our Creative Spark series, Melinda and Charlotte emphasize the importance of creative incubation, and of stepping away from our work at key moments in order to gain the perspective to move forward in a productive way. This is not the same as procrastination or avoidance; it is a strategic move in the creative process that allows us to return to the work with fresh eyes. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, includes insights and prompts from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to consider how you might meaningfully embrace creative incubation, or step away from a work in progress, whether for a day, a week, or more, in order for to gain the perspective or insight needed to return to it with a sense of freshness and renewed purpose.  Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 20: The Syncreate Model of Play, Plan & Produce, Episode 29: Iteration, and Episode 31: The Power of Collaboration.At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: The Syncreate BookCharlotte Gullick’s WebsiteShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing CoachMelinda Joy Music Website

How does synchronicity shape a creative life? In this episode, we explore how a shared connection, a chance meeting, or a risk taken can lead to opportunities we may never have imagined possible. Our guest is Dr. Steven Pritzker, Co-Editor of the The Encyclopedia of Creativity, Professor of Creativity Studies at Saybrook University, and a renowned television writer for Emmy-winning shows Room 222 and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as well as writer/producer on a number of shows including Breaking Away, The Partridge Family, The Loveboat, and many more. We also discuss what it means to live a creative life. For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to find ways to embrace and express your own unique creativity, to seize creative opportunities that arise, and to live a life that is fully engaged, whatever that looks like for you. Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 9: Music and Psychology: "The Pocket" Experience with Dr. Jeff Mims, Episode 10: Imagination and Creativity with Psychologist and Creativity Coach Dr. Diana Rivera, and Episode 16: Creativity, Innovation & Leadership with Robert Cleve, PhDAt Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: Dr. Steven Pritzker’s Saybrook University ProfileRoom 222 (TV Show)The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Encyclopedia of CreativityThe Creativity, Innovation, and Leadership Program at Saybrook UniversityShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing CoachMelinda Joy Music Website

In this episode of our Creative Spark series, Melinda and Charlotte discuss the power of collaboration. It’s in our name, Syncreate: synergy and co-creation. We can accomplish so much more through collaboration than we can on our own. We describe own experiences of collaboration, and how you can harness the power of collaboration in your own creative work. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, includes insights and prompts from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to go on a walk in nature, observe the world around you, and all the ways you draw inspiration from your surroundings, which is also a form of collaboration. Alternatively, find and connect with a collaborator who complements your strengths so that you’re each bringing something different to the table in a creative synergy.Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 7: The Syncreate Story, Episode 20: The Syncreate Model of Play, Plan & Produce, Episode 22: Creative Play, and Episode 29: Iteration.At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: The Syncreate BookCharlotte Gullick’s WebsiteColors of Love Music ShowSyncreate Podcast Episode 3: Creative Polymathy with Michael WalkerCreative Mornings AustinSyncreate Podcast Episode 30: Creative Mornings AustinDavid Whyte Poem: Everything is Waiting for YouShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing CoachMelinda Joy Music Website

Ben Thoma and Brian Thompson are the Co-Founders of Creative Mornings Austin, a local chapter of Creative Mornings, a monthly creative gathering in cities around the world. Described as “church for creatives,” Creative Mornings includes coffee and breakfast, a musical guest, and a presentation by a member of the local community, in a different location each month. The mantra of Creative Mornings Austin is “Everyone is creative, and everyone is welcome.” Our conversation explores the nature of creativity, the importance of creative community, the notion of “genius,” and tips for sparking your own creativity. For our Creativity Pro-Tip, try giving yourself a creative prompt, along the lines of an advertising brief, with specific constraints. It’s hard to stare at a blank page or a blank canvas, so give yourself some parameters, a “box” to start within and work your way out from. For examples, you can find many prompts in our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 10: Imagination and Creativity with Psychologist and Creativity Coach Dr. Diana Rivera, Episode 17: Creative Collaboration with Syncreate Podcast Producer Mike Osborne, and Episode 28: The Spirit of Collaboration with Attorney & Musician Randy Langford.. At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube @ Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: Creative Mornings GlobalCreative Mornings AustinElizabeth Gilbert on GeniusAustin Kleon - Author of Steal Like an Artist + Show Your WorkBen Thoma on LinkedInBrian Thomas’ Website - brandwriter.comShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing Coach

In this episode of our Creative Spark series, Melinda and Charlotte describe the process of iteration, where we revise, refine, rehearse, and otherwise fine-tune and polish up our creative work to bring it to completion. Sometimes iteration requires radical cutting, editing, and reworking. We liken this process to pruning, which actually allows a tree or bush to grow and thrive more fully. It can be painful, but it’s often necessary to bring a piece of work to its final form. This episode, like the mini-episodes that preceded it, includes insights and prompts from our book, Syncreate: A Guide to Navigating the Creative Process for Individuals, Teams, and Communities.For our Creativity Pro-Tip, take a piece of your creative work that’s in progress, and try editing it, radically re-working it, or starting it over in a completely new way. How might you tell the story differently? What needs cutting? What if you changed the tempo of the song? Notice how the project evolves as a result of this iteration. Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 7: The Syncreate Story, Episode 20: The Syncreate Model of Play, Plan & Produce, Episode 22: Creative Play, Episode 24: Creative Planning, and Episode 26: Produce!. At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in July. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram & TikTok under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: The Syncreate BookCharlotte Gullick’s WebsiteAuthor: Katherine Anne PorterSyncreate Podcast Episode 14: Anatomy of a Song with Singer/Songwriter George McCormackShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInSyncreate YouTubeMelinda Rothouse WebsiteAustin Writing CoachMelinda Joy Music Website

How do we move from healing to wholeness in body, mind, and spirit? How can we communicate and create from a place of deep integrity? We explore these questions with podcaster, workshop facilitator & former NFL player Eben Britton. After 7 years in the NFL, Eben has embarked on a journey of healing and wellness, which he shares via his podcast, workshops, and retreats. His work includes restorative practices such as yoga, meditation, and breath work, as well as practices to enhance communication, relationships, and authenticity. We discuss Eben’s journey from healing to wholeness, as well as the psychology of wellness, intuition, and individuation. For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to take some time for retreat, whatever that means for you, in order to rest and rejuvenate. That could mean signing up for a formal retreat, or simply taking some time off the busyness of life to rest and refocus on what’s really important.Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.If you enjoy this episode and want to learn more about the creative process, you might also like our conversations in Episode 2: Embodiment and Creativity with Thais Bicalho Silva, Episode 4: Stewarding Change with Wellness Coach and Personal Trainer Reem Khashou & Episode 15: Leadership, Burnout & Personal Sustainability with Dr. Katherine Semler. At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors, so please reach out to us for 1x1 coaching or join our Syncreate 2024 Coaching Group, starting in April. You can find more information on our website, syncreate.org, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!Episode-specific hyperlinks: Eben’s WebsiteEben’s InstagramThe Eben Flow PodcastHeal & Flow Event March 23-24 in Wimberley, TXBook: The Way of the Superior Man by David DeidaBook: Iron John by Robert BlyBook: Wild at Heart by John & Stasi EldridgeDave MeltzerBook: Women Who Run with the Wolves by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola EstésShow / permanent hyperlinks: The Syncreate PodcastSyncreate WebsiteSyncreate YouTubeSyncreate InstagramSyncreate FacebookSyncreate LinkedInMelinda Rothouse Website