Interview by Mary Mckeone
‘We are all creators in our lives,’ Mary Ann Somerville says. Mary Ann, who as an Insight facilitator based in the US, has for the past thirty years, been serving Insight, an international non-profit organisation which helps people improve the quality of their lives through connecting with the intuition of their hearts. ‘I was inspired,’ she says, ‘to do this work because to this day, witnessing the profound transformation of people touches my heart.’
Creativity and inspiration are very real for Mary Ann in her life. She takes a broad view of creativity. For her, creativity is wider than the traditional notion of artist or writer and can include just about anything: parenting solutions, cooking or even simple conversations. However, we don’t, always, consider creativity in that way, she says. Nor are we, always, aware that as well as creating positively, we can create negatively. Self-awareness is crucial. Because with self-awareness we can decide what type of vision we want for ourselves, for our lives and take action in that direction. This, Mary Ann says is very powerful. What is more, if we are self-aware, we get to track physically, mentally, and emotionally what is going on for us, where our focus is leading us and get to choose differently if we don’t like it.
Becoming aware of our creativity also creates choices. So often people feel victimised by their circumstances. When they are stressed, they contract rather than applying creative principles preferring to believe they don’t have a choice. And yet, as Mary Ann points out, sometimes reframing a situation, seeing things differently, will create new options. But it is when we get on to talking about inspiration that she becomes particularly animated.
‘Inspiration is my most favourite thing in the world,’ she says. ‘It is for me an inner state of alignment that has a quality beyond my normal way of thinking.’
She goes on to explain that when we are aligned with the three selves, basic, conscious and higher, the higher self has access to solutions and universal information which we don’t normally have in our everyday thinking. We light up with new ideas and often our greatest ideas appear in the shower, show up as a dream, when running, driving or in many other guises. Inspiration can also act as a guide as we move into the unknown of the future. It can provide a sense of perspective and in doing so help lift us out of fear in more challenging times. Accessing her inspiration is, for Mary Ann a lifelong journey of mastery. She has though, a number of tools one of which was given by her mother when she was a little girl. Whenever she had an idea which she didn’t have the answer to, her mother would tell her to put it in the hopper and trust it will come down in perfect time. The hopper is a mid-west term for a grain silo which drops the grain at the perfect time. The hopper has become a symbol for her of the part of ourselves that can access more universal knowledge. Mary Ann says, she still uses this tool to this day with one add on. She gives her basic self a timeline requesting she receive information by such and such a date. She says it’s important that when she receives the information, she then does the discipline of sitting down and acting on it which demonstrates to her inspiration, she is listening. She also has the Insight tools and principles which she applies regularly and reminds me how at the centre of the Insight heart chart there is, ‘I am experiencing self-awareness now,’ that place of natural knowing and how as we go through our day, we can keep checking in whether we are connected to our hearts and that place of inner knowing.
Our time is nearly up, but I must ask Mary Ann one more question. What has Insight given her? She answers with a graciousness which is in keeping with who she is.
‘Insight gave me the opportunity to show up in a personal expression which I would never have believed was possible,’ she says.
If you are interested in learning more about creativity and inspiration, do join Mary Ann’s workshop on the 9th March 2022, where she will be speaking on creativity and inspiration, a subject dear to her heart.
Inspiration and Creativity: Embracing Change and Responding to Challenges in New Dynamic Ways
Mary ann will be one of our facilitators in our upcoming Insight I on 13 – 15 May 2022! To know more about how we can guide you in your personal development journey, click the link below.
Insight I Seminar, 13 – 15 May 2022
FREE EVENTS
We have free events scheduled for the next few weeks and you can find all the details and register for them here.
