Last fall, Shakti Gawain’s independent publishing firm New World Library released a handsome gift edition of Creative Visualization: Use the Power of Your Imagination to Create What You Want in Your Life complete with a slipcase, ribbon marker and a CD, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the spiritual and creative classic. The CD features Shakti describing the principles of creative visualization in guided meditations, exercises and affirmations that are also featured in her book.

I recently spoke with the inspirational Shakti Gawain by phone from her California home about her first book, penned in 1978 (at the age of 30, half her lifetime ago) and her perspective on the ensuing journey.

TP: You have been called a spiritual teacher and pioneer of personal development and consciousness. How do you view yourself?

SG: In terms of my role in the world? I would have to say I consider myself a teacher of consciousness. People often use the term spiritual teacher. I don’t feel like I’m a spiritual teacher because to me that wouldn’t include enough. The spiritual part of ourselves is one very important part but we have many other parts as well. What I have found fascinating, and necessary in my own life, is to really embrace all aspects of ourselves and become more conscious of how we’re living our lives on all levels – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. To me that’s what my life has been about. Learning how to make my life fuller and deeper and more meaningful and to be able to contribute as much as possible toward making change in the world.  I love it when I can learn something myself and put it into action in my life and then seeing how it can help others. Watching that process happen for people, how they take something new in, learn it and use it. Becoming more conscious is my path and my work is sharing with others what I have learned. I happen to be a pretty good writer and am good at explaining things. The feedback I have gotten is that people think I can make things understandable.

TP: Can you describe the sensation you have had of realizing your writing was coming from a higher source within you?

SG:  As I really was getting into the process of writing I discovered there were thoughts and ideas coming to me that I didn’t plan. In kind of a spontaneous way, things would come to me and as I would write, more things would come. It’s also especially true with speaking, during talks and lectures, and teaching workshops. I feel each of us has a deep connection to our inner wisdom and when we can get connected to that, it’s really like life is blowing through us and life is guiding us. My second book Living in the Light is all about learning to get in touch with your inner guidance.

TP: Speaking of anniversaries, this summer marked the 40th anniversary of Woodstock and Americans walking on the moon. Where were you in the summer of 1969, were you by any chance at Woodstock?

SG: No I wasn’t. I was on the West coast but I was very much involved in that whole era and everything that was happening at that time. I was actually living near San Francisco.

TP: This period we are in now has often been compared to the sixties. What parallels do you see between what that generation was trying to accomplish and the phase that we are in now?

SG: I was actually thinking about this the other day. I think what happened was the sixties were a breakthrough. We were, in the forties and fifties, and of course after the war (World War Two) wound down, we were breaking though a time that had gotten very uptight, prim and proper in a way. I think a lot was being expressed through the music. I know if really affected me. I have always been very deeply connected to music. I think the music was reflective of what was happening during those times. A great time of exploration and trying new things. I feel like I was definitely part of that. Call me a hippie for sure.

TP: What might we need to do differently now than we did in the sixties?

SG: I feel in the sixties we opened up a lot and took chances and tried new things. At the time it was fun, exciting and fascinating. We were discovering a lot of things. But eventually things went underground or we collectively tried to figure out how to integrate things. We learn things but then we have to integrate them. Learning something isn’t enough, you then have to integrate it into your life. I think with some of the influences from the Eastern spiritual tradition mixing with a lot of new ideas in the psychological realm, at least for me, it was a combination of all that. And it was exciting and fun but eventually it began to – like with the drug issue, psychedelic type drugs I think helped people open up on another level. But then it was time to let that go and find a path that didn’t depend on drugs. And I think we’ve been working on that and I think in the process, especially now within this new (Obama) administration and with people beginning to understand about climate change and so forth, I think we’re coming around to that cycle again but we have to integrate more. And we have to look at everything that we’ve swept under the rug or denied or disowned both in ourselves and in our culture. I definitely think Obama represents this visionary who also knows how to get things accomplished in the world. I think there is a lot of old stuff there that needs to come out and it is. We’re actually looking at becoming much more conscious of how things are being run and handled in our world and we want to do it differently.

TP: When you talk about things in the culture being swept under the rug are you also making a parallel about the shadow part of ourselves on a personal level?

SG: Yes, it’s both what is happening to each of us individually and our collective culture. I feel we’re always operating collectively and individually.  To me it feels like a lot is being revealed about how this world has functioned and how our culture has functioned or hasn’t.  It’s kind of shocking to see how huge corporations run things. So anyway, I think it’s a time of sort of circling back and reconnecting with some of the idealism that we had before that we couldn’t go any further with until we did some more work.

TP: How are you incorporating the shadow work you talk about?

SG: Well interesting that you would ask that because that’s certainly what’s been happening.  I have always been pretty strong. I’ve been comfortable with power and been an innovator. But what’s happened in my life I have been getting messages that it’s time to pay more attention to myself and my own needs in my own life. I’ve had an amazing life. I mean my life has been absolutely blessed with the work I have been able to do, not only helping others but also because its been fascinating to me. And especially that part about finding out about the disowned parts of ourselves, the shadow side of ourselves. That’s so crucial because if we don’t embrace those aspects of ourselves, they turn into something difficult to deal with. In my case I have had some health issues come up which has not been my path before. I’ve always been super healthy. I believe it’s part of my process right now to keep me from continuing to do so much. And learning to acknowledge my own emotional and physical needs more because I have had to.

TP: Are you teaching right now?

SG: Not right now. I’ve actually taken a break for a couple of years from writing and teaching. I’m doing more inward process.

TP: So you are not working on another book?

SG: Actually I’m kind of working on one a little bit. We’ll see if it happens.

TP: When you first wrote Creative Visualization in 1978, you said that you were not an expert but a student of the process. I wondered how you feel about that today and what you might be learning now in life? And I was wondering if you still consider yourself a student?

SG: I will always consider myself a student because you never get to a place in life when you know it all. And if you do then you better watch out because you’re in dangerous waters.

TP: Is there something new you’re learning?

SG: Overall, what I’m learning is how to embrace every part of myself, especially some of the parts of myself that haven’t been so easy to embrace. The disowned parts of ourselves are always difficult. So that’s a constant in my life, to see what’s going on with me. Seeing what parts of myself I may have been disowning and learning how to embrace them more. And in that process I have been guided into various things. And actually, one of the most fun things for me and the most powerful processes that I’ve been doing for the last few years is singing. The interesting thing is I’m not a really good singer, I don’t have a great voice or anything. But I love it so much! It makes me happier than almost anything, to be able to sing. So I’ve gone through a lot of process around what it was to have that great desire to do something and not have a great gift but still do it anyway. I’m used to being good at everything I do so there’s a vulnerability in that for me. Do you know what I mean? So that’s where my creative challenge comes in and where I have a lot of fun.

In our next issue I will continue my conversation with Shakti Gawain sharing ideas on fun, starting your spiritual journey and being our own Guru. Be Well and Walk in Peace, until then... Visit Shakti Gawain online at www.shaktigawain.com or get information on her books at www.newworldlibrary.com.

Teresa Piccari is a writer and teacher living in coastal Maine. She is the proprietor of The Village Scribe, a writing and editing business located at The Wellness Center, 71 Elm, in Camden. She runs The Ducktrap Writers Roundtable. She teaches writing workshops including Creative Writing, Mythic Structure, Writing & Healing and Memoir. Correspond with her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 207.344.7070.