“Creativity comes from the heart, soul, and mind:”A Creative Contemplative Interview with Annelise Lords

On finding creative inspiration in every waking moment

I have long been inspired by contemplative practices and how they intersect with the creative process. I am excited to introduce Annelise Lords, as the second guest in my most recent series, The Creative Contemplative Interviews.

Learn more about the Creative Contemplative Interviews here:

Welcome, Annelise!

Please take a moment to introduce yourself.

I am Annelise Lords, and I am a Jamaican who loves to think, write, create, walk, cook and take photographs of our world. Survival Intention, available on Etsy, is a brand of mostly t-shirts and yoga-art wear created by nature and art. I am the designer and creator of all of the images I post on various social media platforms. The models are provided by Kin Custom.

I am shy and don’t feel comfortable talking about myself. But my art and stories will tell you more about who I am.

What are your favorite contemplative practices?

I didn’t even know how I lived my life; this was its name. But I like to think, and I learn from life and the actions, choices, and decisions of everyone I know and read about. You and life became my teacher. I learned early that my life is better when I think about what is facing me. I don’t like pain, and life taught me how to avoid the things that pain follows. Learning mode is never off, and my awareness is off the chart. Everything I do is carefully thought out and carefully planned. I have backup plans for my backup plans. Life showed me that if I do the right thing, I don’t have to redo it.

I take the time to know myself because I believe if I know myself, then no one can tell me who I am.

How often do you practice?

Every second of the day. Wisdom taught me that the truth is never at the surface, and to find it I must think deeper. I am able to go beyond myself and use creativity to gain better understanding. I am not rich in money but in wisdom, commonsense, awareness, knowledge, understanding, love, patience, kindness, strength, creativity, and whatever I need to improve me, you, and our world. I study myself, my brain, and my actions. I must go deep within myself daily to understand the actions, choices and decisions of myself and humanity. For me to survive, I must understand life, humans, and our world.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 says, “For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence, but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.”

God had been so good to me. I don’t have a good life, but I live a good one. I don’t move by strength. I move by will.

I walk a lot, and it fuels my imagination. I love to watch the sunsets. The strength and power aren’t in the sun’s destination — it is in its journey. As a human, my strength is in my journey, not where I am.

What is your personal history with contemplative practices?

I grew up in a religious country. Attended religious schools five days per week and church on Sundays. So, the presence of God was in my life six days per week. Being spiritual left me with no choice. I learn wisdom, gratitude, empathy, discretion, understanding, and much more from life, how others treat me and everyone else. Spirituality taught me the kindness and appreciation of life. Being born poor pulls me closer to my creator, and he is always with me. I hate poverty and the treatment of the poor. Being creative is one of the tools I use to fight poverty.

How did you come to discover these practices?

I would have to say they discovered me. I wasn’t born from love. But somehow, love found me. Living in a poor country and being able to taste, feel and live in poverty, it’s a pain for me. So, I study how everyone lives their lives and the rewards and consequences of their actions. Then I learn from them. Life can be so simple if more humans take the time to think about their lives and what they add to it.

What do you like to create?

I really don’t have a choice because life always gives me a reason through a crisis that it throws my way. My creativity is used to fix, mend, improve, create, understand, communicate, heal, and help myself and anyone who asks. Life showed me that I am left with almost no regrets when I do things for a reason.

How do you define creativity?

Creativity is more than art, more than designs, more than taking a pen or pencil to create something. Creativity comes from the heart, soul, and mind. It comes from a thought, idea, hatred, love, cruelty, kindness, forgiveness, understanding, patience, knowledge, ignorance, wisdom, etc. It comes from many places deep within us that we can’t go on our own. Something had to lead us there. Creativity isn’t just art. It’s life.

What is your personal history with the act of creativity/ creation?

I started by creating the life I wanted for myself. I learn to think economically through creativity, allowing me to be debt-free. Life is my teacher, and creativity is a solution to many of life’s problems I face daily. I was always creative as a child. No one knew or cared. I am happiest when creating, and thanks to humanity and how they live their lives, I will never run out of ideas. I use creativity to read the minds of others through their actions, choices, and decisions. Mind reading isn’t as hard as many of us think. I can also read and understand emotions too. Through my ability to create, I can put myself in everyone’s shoes and understand all situations they are going through and make the right decisions from that. I don’t have to experience and feel your pain to understand what you are experiencing.

Would you like to share some of your creations with us?

Oh yes. This yoga art was created from a cup of chocolate tea of Swiss Miss, Vanilla Soy powered milk and Molasses.

What are you most proud of?

I would say my most outstanding achievement is this Sweet Sop/ Sugar Apple tree I planted. It grew and is feeding humans and animals, including birds and ants. It provides a cool breeze and shade from the sun as many people often sit under it. It also helps to provide oxygen to the earth.

How do these practices overlap with other creative aspects of your life?

My creativity doesn’t always stem from an image or a story. It also comes from ideas I use to solve problems that affect my life daily. I use creativity to solve some of life’s most difficult issues.

How do these practices support your creative process?

Being grateful, kind, considerate, understanding forgiving, honest, etc., does bring me pain because many humans don’t know the actual value of love. But it makes my life better because I am happier and almost problem-free. The few problems life tosses my way is to teach me something new that always makes me stronger. The more I am able to create, the happier I am. Being optimistic, I can share more and give more.

What advice or insights can you offer to others who are seeking creative support?

John 4:44 in the Bible Jesus testified, “a prophet hath no honor in his own country.’ Not everyone will be happy for you and are willing to support your creative energy.

From them, I learn that Positivity Empowers and Negativity Devours.

The less support I get, the more my creativity expands.

Learning mode is never off, so I learn from everyone and everything. The ones who share negativity with me, if they knew that what they are doing is actually helping me, they would stop and share kindness instead. Then they would be helping themselves. I am not afraid of the truth because it heals and improves me. Not everyone supported Jesus, but that didn’t stop him from saving us.

Don’t seek anyone’s support. Your creativity will do the work for you.

On my many walks, I notice plants growing out of rocks, and I wondered how they manage to survive in such a challenging and hostile environment with no soil. If it doesn’t rain, they don’t get fed. Jesus is a rock and in him there are minerals that humans need. #Iintend2survive was born. If these plants can survive growing out of rocks, so can I. I don’t depend on the rock, but the one who created the rock, my creator. I use Spiritually to feed my creation.

This plant is actually growing out of this wall that someone painted.

Thank you for this opportunity to share me and probably heal and encourage a creative heart.

Thank YOU, Annelise!

This was truly inspiring. Once again, deep gratitude to Annelise Lords for sharing her practices with us. Please visit her on Twitter, FB, Instagram, and Medium.

Many thanks to Ellie Jacobson and Flint & Steel for hosting her here.

You can read the first Creative Contemplative Interview with award-winning poet, K.E. Ogden, here:

If you are interested in being considered for The Creative Contemplative Interviews, please complete this form. I look forward to learning from you and sharing your practices with others.

E. Katherine Kottaras the writer, voice, and co-creator of Yoga with Eleonora on PillowFortTV and the co-writer with Vanitha Swaminathan of the forthcoming picture book, A RAINBOW INSIDE MY BODY, illustrated by Holly Hatam (Viking 2024). She holds an M.A. in English and an M.S. in Kinesiology with a focus on Integrative Wellness, and she is a contemplative writer and holistic teacher, having worked at the K-12 and community college levels for over two decades. She is a yoga teacher, personal trainer, and health coach while also living with invisible illnesses and neurodivergence, and as such, she is passionate about mindfulness, bodily self-determination, and health equity. As the queer daughter of an immigrant, Katherine believes that holistic and inclusive approaches to expression, healing, and growth should be accessible to all.

Connect with Katherine on the social medias: IG, YouTube, FB, LinkedIn, or at katherinekottaras.com. Check out Katherine’s new series, Yoga with Eleonora on PillowfortTV/YouTube, which helps kids of all ages calm their minds and bodies so they can respond to and communicate their feelings in healthy ways.

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