An Interview with Beth Barany,
Award-Winning Novelist & Creativity Coach for Writers
BETH: Who are you and what inspires you to write?
I’m Rahima Warren, a psychotherapist (MFT), now retired, and the author of The Star Seer’s Prophecy trilogy. I had no plan to write any such thing, but Kyr, the hero of my trilogy, had other ideas. He haunted my dreams for many years. Then one day, I wrote a very short story about him in my journal, hoping... Read More
Once upon a time, I was a psychotherapist in private practice seeing my clients and minding my own business. Then one day in December 1999, I wrote a little story in my journal. The idea was to write down this inner character’s story so he’d stop pestering me. Ha!
That little story opened the floodgates. Eighteen years later, I’ve retired from my practice, and, much to my surprise, have written The Star Seer’s Prophecy, a fantasy trilogy of sacrifice and... Read More
In my last post, we explored the power of expressive arts for opening to greater creativity and inner harmony, and in this post, I’ll share another highly effective method for accessing your inner wisdom and guidance: dreamwork.
With expressive arts, you allow yourself to freely express yourself through any form of art—without concern for the end-product, or for what others or your inner critic may say about your creation. This helps you come closer to your true self or soul... Read More
Are You a Squid or Jellyfish?
Resistance and Surrender in Life and Creativity
“It’s only when there is complete surrender to the now, to what is, that liberation is possible. I do not believe that a (spiritual) practice will take you to complete surrender. (That) usually happens through living. Your very life is the ground where that happens. ……the willingness to let go is surrender. That remains the key. Without that, no amount of practice or even spiritual experiences will... Read More
“An artist’s job is to risk everything
on the present moment.
To jump into the unknown
and bring back a record of the journey.
This is where all art begins.
Without this spirit there would be no art.”
~ Author Unknown even to Google ~
Jumping into the Unknown
Exactly! Every time I start a new painting, there I am facing the unknown in the form of a blank sheet of paper. Because I am an intuitive painter, I never... Read More
When looking for something to read, what does your soul long for?
Something juicy, freeing, or inspiring?
Something that leads you deeper into the mystery of life?
That opens your heart and thrills you with wondrous possibilities?
The best fantasy novels offer all this wrapped up in a fascinating story with strong characters and lyrical writing. At the least, they offer an escape into worlds of imagination where we can go on adventures beyond the confines of so-called reality.
In... Read More
July 10, 2015
RWarren
Dark Innocence, Fierce Blessings, Writing
abuse, Compassion, creativity, darkness, forgiveness, healing, transformation, trauma, writing
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Writing from Darkness:
How The Star-Seer’s Prophecy Trilogy was Born
Rahima Warren
When I first began receiving and writing this story of wounding and healing, evil and redemption, suffering and forgiveness, I had no plan or purpose to write any such thing. But the story came through me in a dark, wild, creative rush, and I did not resist. It was a process of writing from darkness… from the unknown… from the fertile void.
Through my own inner work, I... Read More
Staying Safe or Surrendering: Facing a Dilemma in Creativity and Spirituality
Many years ago, I had an awe-inspiring glimpse of the Flow of Divine Creativity. It appeared to me as a cosmic Fountain of Creativity, endlessly flowing upward with an outrageous infinitude of vivid, colorful images: trees, cartoons, volcanoes, tulips, cars, babies, tigers, paintings, skyscrapers, movies, soldiers, roses, stars, drums—everything tumbling upward forever!
I saw that what we human creators do is tap into this infinite Fountain, and channel one... Read More
Redefining Success: Reflections on my First Blog Tour
My first and possibly last blog tour is almost over. I’ve written 27 different posts for as many blogs, each one written to suit the particular blogger’s interests or focus, while also sharing something about my experience writing my book, and/or about my book. In addition, I’ve been doing a lot of social media outreach on Twitter, FaceBook, etc. It’s been an intense experience! It was fun to find that my energy... Read More
Perhaps you have noticed that I haven’t posted anything here for a while. I’ve been busy writing posts for a blog tour, which started May 13 and runs through June 21. It’s been fun – and a lot of work!
What’s a blog tour? Well, I’m writing guests posts for other blogs (seventeen, so far) on various topics, ranging from Flowers As Healers, to how I ended up writing a fantasy trilogy. See Calendar below.
For the duration of the... Read More