Magic Medicine: Exploring the Power of Soul-Led Creative Living with Sam Horton

LINKS and MORE INFO for this episode: https://samhorton.co/blog/ep31

Welcome back to Season 2 of the Soul Led Creative Women podcast!

In this solo episode, your host, Sam Horton, shares her take on a deeply transformative magic medicine—a unique blend of spirituality and creativity that helps heal, empower, and transform lives.

Sam opens up about her personal journey of embracing creativity, letting go of outdated identities, and stepping fully into her purpose. From her transition from the corporate world to claiming the title of "artist" to redefining her relationship with art and creativity, this episode is an inspiring dive into what it means to live a soul-led creative life.

Takeaways:
💗 The importance of discovering your creative essence and expressing it authentically.
💗 The healing and transformative power of combining art, creativity and spirituality.
💗 Why balance between feminine creativity and masculine productivity is essential.
💗 The importance of cultivating a home sanctuary as a foundation for creative and personal growth.
💗 Honest insights into the challenges of living a creative, expansive life.

Highlights:
🌟Art Beyond Identity: Sam discusses how stepping away from what she thought her art should represent allowed her to reclaim art as a soulful expression rather than a means to an end.
🌟Home as Sanctuary: How creating a nurturing home environment supports every facet of life, from creativity to relationships and professional growth.
🌟 The Role of Play: Vulnerability and play are pivotal to connecting with your true self and fostering creative breakthroughs.

LINKS and MORE INFO for this episode: https://samhorton.co/blog/ep31

Transcript

Magic Medicine - Solo Episode - 13 Jan 2025
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​[00:00:00] 

Sam Horton: Welcome to soul led creative women. A podcast for women. passionate about personal growth, seeking bold, brave ways. to navigate life's ups and downs 

So welcome back to season two of the Soul Led Creative Women podcast. In this first episode of 2025, I want to set the scene a little for why this podcast exists and why this work is so important to me. This episode covers a little about my journey and philosophy for life, which can be summarized as soul-led creative living.

I want to find ways to talk to you about this truly magic medicine that I've discovered, which blends the spiritual and the creative and will help you turn your own life into an expansive, empowering journey. This episode is an adapted [00:01:00] version of my Substack post titled magic medicine, which is available at samhortonstudio.

substack. com. So to start, I want to talk to you honestly about what it really has been like for me to claim the title artist and how that even with this newish identity, there are parts that I now need to let go of to really step into my purpose. Sometimes it feels like a bit of a struggle to fully demonstrate what I preach. And I do put a lot of pressure on myself to demonstrate living a soul-led creative life through my art and my art-making practice, and often I feel like I fall short. Art is how I got started on this path, so I'm very attached to the art component of my work. Of course, the inner conflict and torment I put myself through is all totally self [00:02:00] inflicted. No one else is telling me how it needs to be. it's all an internal mental battle, I find myself going around in circles with things like, how can I call myself an artist if I can't demonstrate my entire existence, through my art?

things like, how can I call myself an artist if I don't always enjoy making art to sell it? And, you know, what kind of artist doesn't always love showing up to make art, even if it's just to make content for social media? you know, after all, I'm supposed to love this stuff under every circumstance, 24/7, right?

Anyway, so there are many more of these kinds of unhelpful and ridiculous ideas often that float around in my mind from time to time. And the truth is that my art practice may have led me to first explore the concept of creativity and well-being because of my own personal experiences. And now [00:03:00] finally, I've followed the breadcrumbs enough, to fully, you know, You know, step into what I believe is my expansive purpose-driven work, exploring the spiritual power of creativity as a truly a magic medicine to heal, empower, and transform.

You know, and that took a lot of brave leaps and a lot of trust for me to move into that space. but it really feels good to claim it. I've got to tell you. This way of honouring creativity led by the soul is so much more than my identity as an artist. And let's be honest, it's so much more than your capability or interest to make art as well.

In fact, these ideas are the very things that keep us separate and keep this magic medicine out of reach. A magic medicine that mixes embracing your truthful creative essence and learning how to freely express that into your life and into your work in whatever form [00:04:00] and whatever way feels good to you as you lean into your own spiritual awakening and your own personal growth and evolution. You see, you and me, we're both creative, artist or not.

And we both deserve to live a soul-led creative life that honours our own unique creative essence and is really led by our higher wisdom and our connection to the universe at large. Whilst your unique soul-driven creativity may encompass All manner of creative endeavours. I do believe that the discovery of your creative essence through creative writing and art-making mixed with powerful spiritual concepts, questions, and tools is truly the most powerful personal growth and transformation that you will ever experience.

And this magic medicine, is a powerful catalyst ultimately to really help you start to [00:05:00] intentionally. Cultivate your own unique soul-led creative life. It's a gentle nudge to safely move you forwards if you like. And how do I know all of this? Because I've lived and breathed this magic medicine for more than a decade now.

so I really want to start sharing more about, you know, the down to earth reality of what it really means to choose creativity, to live from the soul, and to honour who we are really deep inside. And I suppose that the fact that I discovered this beautiful way of experiencing life, and healing through my art, uh, it doesn't mean that my art has to dictate how I share this powerful message into the future. And I'd really like to experiment with capturing how I embody all of this in my own life by sharing snippets of my own journey, which, you know, may or may not be the way that I include the joy, healing and empowerment found in my art practice, but it will most definitely include an honest [00:06:00] account of my creative life choices and in all parts of my life, breakthrough by breakthrough led by my heart and soul. So where to begin? and I guess, you know, I've talked a bit about in this podcast before about, you know, the beginning of my creative journey and the catalyst for that, but I guess for now, I want to start with, you know, the beginning of my commitment to art as part of my future. You know, I worked in a professional field for 20-odd years and claimed art as my future identity.

It was a big leap for me, and my journey over the past few years has taken me from thinking that I wanted to paint all day, every day, and to make a living selling my paintings, to feeling really ick about painting for selling at all. And at times it's felt like my creative process was being hijacked by some ulterior motive, you know, like money, fame, success, external validation, and it caused a real conflict within me, and it, [00:07:00] it probably does sound a little bit cliche.

But, you know, was I even chasing these things? After all, all I wanted to do was paint. And did I really think that all of this achievement and the success should really come from my art? And consciously, I don't really think so. I just knew that art needed to be part of my future. So I'm actually not sure at that beginning stage that I ever really sat down and checked in with myself to make sure that I actually wanted those, you know, achievement successes, you know, that I described before and that they were really my heart-centered goals.

And I guess that's the point, you know, this inner soul-led inquiry is at the heart of how I support women moving through their own challenges and inner conflict. And you simply can't skip that part. And what I knew for sure was that my art journey was part of my future and my identity as an accountant, business leader, and quite frankly, employee was over.

and so what did I do? I [00:08:00] stepped fully and completely into the unknown and it has changed me, radically. And a couple of years later, it turns out, you know, I'd gladly swap those cookie cutter life measures for things like abundance, service, freedom, curiosity, you know, deep inner truth, and connection. And a big one for me is, you know, creating a home sanctuary. This has become a really important, theme in my life, you know, and something that I haven't really acknowledged until I've really stepped into my, my power, you know, living a soul-led creative life. And it's a huge shift in perspective ultimately, right?

It's, it's been an amazing journey. And the truth of the matter is, from an art point of view, I don't always have the energy or desire to paint you know, I don't always have the energy to demonstrate art exercises that support inner connection in a sketchbook, 

And that's the reason if I'm honest, I've not really been painting [00:09:00] much. and every attempt to start a new series or sketchbook concept falls flat on its face after a mere couple of weeks because I'm doing it because I think I should, or it seems like the logical route or the path that might make sense to everyone else.

the safe, you know, the small path. And it becomes more of a chore than a playful, curious experiment, that it should be. And this simply keeps me out of alignment. Don't get me wrong, art has brought me great joy, healing and peace, and I'm sure it will continue to for the rest of my life, but it needs to be on my terms.and there's, you know, there's more. Because you see, as my artist journey evolves, the play and the newfound, you know, expression and experimentation that came so easily in the beginning and had such a profound impact, you know, in my own healing and transformation journey, that is now more elusive because I've developed the skills, along the way

And it's leaning into the play and the [00:10:00] vulnerability that comes with that, which is so transformative. this is the piece that really helps you tune into who you really are and at an intuitive level. And without that vulnerability, we're merely following the rules and we stop growing and learning and evolving.

And this is, you know, why I include art-making activities in my coaching work. Because, I do believe that it's a really easy and accessible way to show people how to play. and how to freely express themselves without needing words and logic all the time. it's a really simple, powerful, transformative tool.

And especially, you know, when you don't give yourself permission to get arty or creative often. 

Ultimately, soul-led creative living is about leaning into your playful feminine creative power and learning to value and prioritize this wise inner way of being. I believe this is really important and really that any creative outlet that you [00:11:00] are drawn to will help you lean more deeply into this powerful energy.

The ah ha moment is learning that we need to better balance this gentle, receiving, soft, creative, feminine energy in our lives. with the productive, efficient, get stuff done, action taking, masculine energy that we are conditioned to prioritize. The excuses we carry around that tell us we don't have time for creative pursuits are the very thing that keeps us disconnected and quite frankly exhausted in our busy lives.

Art aside, a big part of my own soul led creative life is about pouring my heart and soul into my home, both aesthetically and from a practical functional point of view.In fact, as I hinted before, cultivating a home sanctuary is one of my core values. And when my home is that true sanctuary, it provides an anchor for me, so that I can serve all areas of my life [00:12:00] fully and abundantly. But that sanctuary needs love, Time, attention, and care, or it gets overgrown, weedy, cluttered, dusty, and things start to break.

I believe from a broken heart. Ultimately, my home sanctuary, when cared for, gives me the time, energy, safety, and love that helps me to thrive. It helps me stay flexible and open to my young daughter. It helps me create an inviting space for connecting with family and friends. It helps me get into the right state of mind to get into creative flow and really honor my art practice.

It helps me serve my clients and support their transformations. Your priorities and values may be completely different. Uh, you may get that same buzz and energy that I'm describing from creatively traveling the scenic route with no fixed address or from long hikes, exploring a trail and getting curious about all nature has to offer.

Or it might be [00:13:00] sustainable, low tox living and growing your own food and having a cut flower garden. For me, creating a home sanctuary has been and will always be vital to my well being. It's not about having a perfect home, it's about having a space that really supports and nurtures you. As this realisation is setting in right now in my life, and I'm noticing all the overgrown weeds in the special place, I've been reflecting on what a home sanctuary really means for me, and it's so many things.

A space to make my art. Time to make things with my hands and decorate or repurpose what I already have. Pots and vases filled with seasonal flowers. A place to play, express, and pour my unique creative essence into whatever project feels good in the moment. Nourishing lunches made from scratch, spent in my tranquil garden, surrounded by nature.

Fresh, homemade sourdough bread. Connection time spent with family and [00:14:00] friends. carefully curated displays of art and sentimental treasures and lovingly selected practical yet stylish furniture pieces and tidy spaces and cupboards and drawers free of clutter and it's also about having an empowering space to grow my business so that I may help many women heal and transform. It's clean sheets, plump pillows, daily bubble baths and comfy slippers. So what's your thing? How will you cultivate your soul led creative life so that you may connect within, let your soul lead, allow your creative essence to shine, nourish yourself, and find new ways to express your inner truth?

Sam Horton: Where are you holding on to old ways of being that are safe, that make sense, that you can justify to others, and what do you really want instead? Thanks for [00:15:00] listening. Take care. Do you ever find yourself questioning yourself? Doubting yourself. And struggling to trust your inner wisdom and your inner voice. I put together the perfect guide for you, which includes seven essential questions. You must ask yourself if you're struggling with any of these things. Hit to Sam horton.co forward slash questions and download your free copy now.