In today’s conversation, we explore creativity as a spiritual practice—not something reserved for artists, but a way of living.
Our guests are Lisa Valentine Clark, a comedian, actor, and host of The Lisa Show, and James Rees—artist, educator, researcher, and passionate advocate for the arts.
Both Lisa and James have spent their lives creating—in front of audiences on stages, in studios, in classrooms—and they’ve come to see that creativity does sacred work inside us. It gives form to what we’re wrestling with. It helps us clarify what we think and feel. It helps us metabolize the unexpected. It draws us into deeper presence.
For Lisa, these insights became intensely practical. She shares the foundational rule of improv, “yes, and”: accept what’s given and build from it. This principle became a discipline that helped carry her through the hardest season of her life.
Throughout the episode, we return again and again to the role of vulnerability—the courage to begin before you feel ready, to quiet the inner critic, and to let something take shape before you judge it. It’s this openness that makes growth possible.
We hope this conversation expands the way you think about creativity and moves you to notice the ways you’re already being invited to practice it.
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18. Band of brothers (Genesis 35-45)
Genesis 45:4 And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother. (KJV)
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NEW EPISODE OF SANCTUARY
SUBMIT YOUR ARTWORK
The Compass Gallery invites artists of all faiths and spiritual traditions to submit work for a special interfaith feature at the Salt Lake Art Show this May. Share art that explores belief, devotion, mystery, or the search for meaning across traditions and perspectives. Submissions are due April 15 — we can’t wait to see what you bring to the conversation!
