Transference, Monotype of the Day #232

When Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century abbess and mystic, first had visions that she should leave her nunnery to start her own abbey, she refused to share them. The earliest account of her life tells that this made her so sick she could not even be lifted from her bed. The moment she started to share what she saw, she was healed. She left to start her own abbey and went on to become one of the most influential women of her time, writing letters to the pope, authoring the first book of medicine by a woman, composing sublime music, and more. When the creative force comes through to transform your life, it’s often uncomfortable but stoppering its flow causes unwanted problems. An artist must learn to embrace uncertainty and discomfort to receive and communicate at high levels.