Making time for divine free play, flow state, entering The Void, Quantum Manifestation and executive dysfunction. 6 minute read.
 In the heart of my ceramics practice, I've discovered the power of free play and the flow state. This journey has taken me to the ocean's edge, where its influence has touched my creativity in unexpected ways. The ocean has crept in to my creative play not in a literal way but it’s being has impacted my being in a direct line to my creativity.
The Ocean's Whisper
With my focus on perfecting my mugs my time was spent on a lot of non-expressive repetitive work and I was faced with time-consuming challenges which led to burn out. Despite their popularity, I found myself doubting whether production work was right for me. My partner's recent absence gave me the chance to spend more time with my dogs, taking them for daily runs on the beach. This new routine led me to rediscover the beauty of the ocean's rhythm and its ever-changing landscape. The beach would be quiet so I felt free to wander aimlessly in between throwing a ball as I rarely had to take notice of any other people or dogs around. There were many shells washed up. I meandered around all the alien treasures that could have been from another world. Took notice of how it changed each day. Noticed the ephemeral. The changing light. The water flowing. The light through water. Experienced salt water therapy. Sunlight entering my cells. Earthing. The power of walking barefoot. How it does something to your mind when you walk in a meditative state and the ground hits your feet in a rhythm only you feel. Skin to earth the remembering begins. I found shells and held them to the sunlight. I examined everything. I found solace in the simplicity of collecting shells and observing the shifting tides.
It was the reset and feeling of vast freedom that was inspiring me.Â
Healing Moments
These peaceful moments offered me a much-needed reset, the ocean imbued an inspiring a sense of vast freedom that fueled my creativity. I realised that combining play with structure brought balance to my work, allowing me to enjoy both the journey and the final product. It’s not that I don’t normally do these activities but in these weeks of being alone and putting so much pressure on myself and feeling the burnout, that’s when I was hit with how important and healing this little moment each day is. I would go home and let myself continue in this feeling in the studio and form clay with no outcome needed. My hands take a walk along the clay.
 Structured Play
Through reflection, I recognised the importance of a framework to guide my days. While I initially resisted structure, I've learned to embrace it as a means to unlock my creativity. By scheduling playtime and incorporating free play into my daily routine, I've found new ways to approach my work. I’m not sure if I’m neurodivergent but I do feel like I might be. I struggle with routine changes, transitions, life changes and executive dysfunction. I get overwhelmed and anxious just figuring out how to manage my time and the order of things each day but I have learnt how to reverse engineer a few of these obstacles. During these weeks was when I learned the relationship between routine, frameworks and play. I learnt that play can happen more freely within a framework and that I must schedule PLAY alongside other tasks in my planner.
  The Divine Dance of Flow
In my exploration of free play, I had a conversation with a friend and she told me about the book ‘Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art’ by Stephen Nachmanovitch. I encountered the concept of LILA—divine play—and the flow state, where I can tap into a space of pure creativity. Lila is a Sanskrit word meaning divine play and encompasses the becoming and passing away of the cosmos, the play of the gods. It is the essence of creativity.
In free play, there is nothing to gain and nothing to lose.
True free play cannot occur without a framework. Play within structure might at first sound like it's not really free but when we have a framework to move within we are not caught up in the overwhelm of too many options. Like the first blank page of a new journal. Like how when you cook a meal out of whatever is left. It’s more creative using a few ingredients on hand than having to completely think of something new. It becomes fearless. Only choices to be made. How can we be judged when all we had to work with is what was laid out in front of us? It is divine play. A portal to let go of all possible outcomes and enter flow state to access the void. Where there is no past or future. No right or wrong. It is in this void that we access our ability to create our reality.
‘Flow’ is a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. It is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter. And in this Flow state void we are also in touch with our optimum self, our higher self, the frequency where law of attraction, manifestation and timeline jumping can be possible. We make wishes while in this state and WE make them materialise in our present reality.
For me there are 2 moments I enter this state: 1) while in Divine Free Play with my hands in clay. 2) riding as a passenger on the back of my partner’s motorbike. I would say the first is an Active Flow State but the 2nd is a Passive Flow State. In Passive Flow State I do not need to focus on anything because a person I trust with my life is in control. My mind is free to day dream because I am not able to multi task. One night I was aware of this while on the back and I tested it. I closed my eyes and let my body relax in to a balance of fear and trust and I realised this is the void and so I made my wishes and set intentions for a timeline jump and within a few hrs of returning home they came true. I tried it again a couple of weeks later and the same thing happened. I let the universe know what I want and that I am ready to receive and it materialised.
Whether I'm sculpting clay or riding on the back of my partner's motorbike, these moments bring me closer to my higher self and open the door to quantum manifestation. Embracing the balance of structure and free play has revolutionised my ceramics practice. By allowing myself to flow freely within a framework, I've discovered a path to divine creativity that transforms my art and my life.Â
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LILA CANDLE
These candle holders were formed from a strong need for divine free play. Between being burnt out from making mugs and taking time to reset while walking along the ocean I began to allow time for free form play with my clay. What started as offcuts from mugs has been carefully folded, scrunched & squished. Each movement carefully considered to ensure the sculpture is balanced while completely being unattached to the outcome. Play within structure. Like a flowing river held by the banks that guide it as it meanders through the landscape. Forms hold us.
The folds, crevasses and ledges catch the dripping wax and it becomes an ever changing sculpture as the layers build over time. Each layer a story of the moment you lit it. A rainy day morning at home. A bath alone. Journaling one evening. Meals shared with loved ones.Â
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You can find the LILA Candle Holders Here
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xx Zyanya