Inside Creativity with Mike Barden, i minus i : Part 2 Inside Creativity

SHOW NOTES (FOR PART 2 OF 2)



Part 2 holds its own as a stand alone episode ... dive in and enJOY!
If you'd like to listen to Part 1 now ... or later ... click here!



In this two part episode, I’m so honored to be hosting Atmospheric Instrumental Music Creator Composer, Mike Barden, creating under the artist name, i minus i!
He’s the perfect guest to show us the bridge to an expanded awareness within the realms of creativity, because he’s experiencing it first hand.
Our conversation was so full and rich that we’ve chosen to deliver it to your ears, minds and hearts in two parts!



Mike is super gifted musically, his technical musicianship is off the charts (he studied music theory and jazz piano and went on to get his masters degree in composition, he records and produces his own & other musicians music, he’s played with many well known bands and has worked with some legendary greats. (For Mike’s full professional bio, scroll below)



If you’re landing on this page, you’re here for Part 2, where we take an even deeper dive with Mike to explore beyond the surface realm of creativity as many relate with it, to the magical realms of creativity as energy that lies within us all.



Part 2 is jam-packed with deep insights and palpable pondering ... with an in the moment deep dive Inside Creativity music experience from Mike right in the middle of it all!

During Part 2, we talk more about what Mike refers to as Stream of Consciousness Creativity. We’ll get to hear all about Mike’s latest improvisational composition, Emergence (an apt title!), and how it came to be, purely by way of allowing, trusting, and being receptive beyond the context of technical rules and thought/mind constructs. (Emergence is the beautiful track you hear at the beginning and end of both Part 1 & 2.)
I ask Mike what happens during the creative process when his 'i' self enters and attempts to distract, judge, doubt or impart feelings of inadequacy or fear of failure when he's in creation mode ... how to accept, embrace and send it all higher.
We talk about being in the moment ... trusting ... listening ... and responding ... from the space of Presence.
The difference between thinking and feeling perception and processing gets some attention ...
We discuss ego ... what it really means ... how it can get a bad rap, but can really become our ally with aligned awareness.
It's not about negating, or bypassing ... it's about merging and integrating!
It's somewhere around this space where Mike turns the interview table and asks me what 'i minus i' means, to me!
We also talk about how the language of music transcends and unites and is exempt to no one.
There’s an extra special listening treat in Part 2! I’ll guide everyone into a calm space of Presence, opening the space for Mike to offer us an in the moment, completely improvised, in the moment, stream of consciousness musical experience.
This is followed by some reflection conversation on the improvisation, leading into a deeper exploration of Presence/Infinite Nature and person/finite nature, relative to Mike’s concept name i minus i and beyond.



This has been a treasured experience for me as the host of Inside Creativity. May Mike’s path ahead be filled with charmed success as he continues to expand into his creative limitless expression!



In Part 1 (in case you missed it, click here to listen!), we start at the beginning, with Mike’s early years of discovering his natural ear and curiosity for music, certain charmed experiences that offered confirmation to his path, and how that grew into a lifelong passion and study. Throughout the conversation, Mike returns to his knowing that he’s always felt a leaning toward using his creative force toward something meaningful, that could really make a positive difference to life.
We talk about some pivotal times when Mike started consciously recognizing creativity in flow in his life through his formative and young adult yea