What happens when life changes, the house grows quiet, and we find ourselves alone with who we really are?

In this episode of The Spiritual Artist Podcast, CJ Miller welcomes harpist, composer, author, and Episcopal priest April Stace for a heartfelt conversation about solitude, creativity, presence, and personal transformation.

Following a divorce and her only child leaving for college, April found herself living alone for the first time. What initially felt overwhelming gradually became an unexpected invitation to rediscover herself. Through music, journaling, gardening, and a solitary train journey across the country, she began exploring the freedom of listening to her own desires.

April shares how these experiences inspired her seventh studio album, Aphelion, a musical memoir exploring solitude, loss, and the surprising ways distance can bring us home.

Together, CJ and April explore the difference between loneliness and solitude, the sacred practice of listening, and how creativity emerges when we stop forcing outcomes and become fully present. They also discuss April's experiences as a hospital chaplain, the transformative power of compassionate attention, and the importance of allowing ourselves to change.

About April Stace

April Stace is a harpist, composer, writer, Episcopal priest, and Associate Professor of Practical Theology at The General Theological Seminary in New York City. A lifelong musician, April has released seven studio albums, including Aphelion, an original solo harp album exploring solitude, loss, creativity, and renewal. She is also the author of several books, including White Knuckle Love: A Memoir of Holding, which draws upon her experiences as a hospital chaplain. Across her music, writing, teaching, and ministry, April explores how art can open us to mystery, deepen our attention, and help us feel less alone.

Explore April's music, books, and creative work:

https://www.aprilstace.com

Learn more about Aphelion:

https://www.aprilstace.com/aphelion

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

What if becoming a better artist isn't about taking more classes, mastering more techniques, or learning all the rules? What if the most important thing you can do is simply keep creating?

In this Spiritual Artist pep talk, CJMiller shares a realization that came to him while painting: creativity naturally evolves when we give ourselves permission to explore. Through the story of another artist's journey and his own experience of feeling creatively stuck, CJ explores how frustration, experimentation, and even boredom can lead to unexpected breakthroughs.

Discover why your creative voice emerges through practice, why you don't need to know everything before you begin, and how trusting the Creative Field of Intelligence can help you move beyond judgment and rediscover the joy of making art.

Whether you paint, draw, sculpt, or simply want to reconnect with your creativity, this is your reminder: You don't have to get it right. You just have to keep going.

Learn more about CJ's Spiritual Artist retreats and workshops at https://www.spiritualartisttoday.com

Explore The Spiritual Artist by CJMiller, available on Amazon.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.

Where does your creative voice come from—and how do you learn to trust it?

Playwright Drew Larimore joins CJ Miller for a conversation about intuition, spiritual guidance, and the mysterious process of bringing creative work into form. Drew shares how experiences with past-life regression helped him see writing as a thread running through his life and how he works with spiritual guides, meditation, and intuition as part of his creative practice.

CJ and Drew explore what it feels like to move beyond the analytical mind and into a more receptive creative state. They discuss the difference between channeling and automatic writing, how to discern which ideas are worth pursuing, the anxiety that can accompany the creative process, and why an artist's unique voice must first be embraced by the artist.

Ultimately, their conversation arrives at a larger idea: creativity isn't a frivolous pursuit. It can be a sacred journey.

About Drew Larimore

Drew Larimore is a playwright whose work explores family, identity, relationships, and the American South. His play Cannibals of McGower County premiered at TheaterWorks Hartford as the first work in his Southern Trilogy. His play Upstate was a Blue Ink Award finalist and winner of the Oxford Script Competition, and he is a former Artist in Residence at The Studios of Key West.

Drew is currently developing the next work in his Southern Trilogy, The Sterling Sparkler Savior, with actress Gates McFadden. He also writes about spirituality, intuition, and the creative process through his Substack, Made Manifest: On Creating.

Learn more about Drew and his work at DrewLarimore.com.

Want to learn more about CJ Miller? Check out his Spiritual Artist Retreats, 1:1 Personal Coaching, and Speaking Engagements at www.spiritualartisttoday.com. His retreats are designed to help you reconnect with your Creative Intelligence and express your true artistic voice. You can also find his upcoming schedule there, and his book, The Spiritual Artist, is available on Amazon.