Create-Today with Beth Buffington

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Aug 2026

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August 13, 202635 min

E139 - How to Train for Life Using Your Creativity | Lisa Murphy, Vibrant Living Coach

She's 60 and Hiking 133 Miles. Here's Her Secret.   What are you training for? Beth welcomes back one of her favorite recurring guests, Lisa Murphy, a Vibrant Living Coach (who helps women in their middle years, through perimenopause, menopause, and beyond) live more vibrantly and take on new adventures. This year Lisa is training for a big one: a nine day, 133 mile through-hike of the Isle of Anglesey coastal path in Wales, in celebration of her 60th birthday. Beth and Lisa use that goal as the starting point for a bigger conversation: what training really means once you take it outside the gym, why momentum beats motivation, and how creativity works as both a break and a reward when you are working toward something hard. They talk through: • Optimism bias• The running shoes method for building any new habit• Why core care, creative care, and community care can create a life that feels vibrant at any age. Discover how you can continue to work with Beth and Lisa by joining Sylva Sessions, an online wellness group that works with women to find more happiness and health by focusing on their Core Care, Creative Care and Community Care. Go to https://www.bdi-create.today/offers/TYb6qQtg/checkout and you can join in the next Sylva Sessions! Timestamp: 0:00 Welcome back and meet Lisa Murphy 1:00 What is a Vibrant Living Coach 2:00 Health and creativity: a hand in glove connection 3:00 Lisa's big goal: 133 miles across Wales for her 60th 4:00 What training actually means 5:00 Turning 60 and finding renewed purpose 7:00 Training is a recipe, not manifestation 8:00 Consistency beats intensity 9:00 The running shoes method for building any habit 11:00 Optimism bias, and why momentum beats motivation 12:00 Two ways Lisa brings creativity into her training 14:00 Finding creativity in an ordinary garden 16:00 Using data and rewards to push through a hard mile 17:00 Creativity as your break and your reward 19:00 Why strength training changes everything after 60 21:00 The one habit that helps you live longer 23:00 Starting slow and finding what works for you 25:00 Momentum, community, and celebrating tiny wins 28:00 Setting goals from a high vibration, not a low one 30:00 Quieting your inner critic 31:00 Do your best, and then go to bed 33:00 What Sylva Sessions really is 34:00 Why core care matters, even for artists 36:00 Your turn: what are you training for? Reach out to Lisa: Get your complimentary session: https://www.lisamurphyllc.com/ Join Beth & Lisa for Sylva Sessions Sylva Sessions is the creative wellness community Beth and Lisa co-host together, covering creative care, core care, and community care. Learn more or register at: https://www.bdi-create.today/offers/TYb6qQtg/checkout Email Beth and let’s chat: beth@bdi-create.today The Create-Today Home Page: https://www.bdi-create.today Subscribe for a new episode of Create-Today every week, and stay creative, my friend!

August 6, 202624 min

E138 - What are you holding onto? Let's explore your creativity

How to increase happiness with a Creative Process that really WORKS! In this episode of Create-Today, you will explore struggles like unfinished projects and creative burnout – and how having a successful creative process helps you bypass these roadblocks. This episode digs deep into Beth’s structured framework: Going FourWords™. This is Beth's own creative process that can also help revitalize your energy and creativity. Join Beth as she discusses the four key phases of Going FourWords™: Revive, Realize, Refine, and Release These four simple words offer a roadmap to transform ideas into tangible masterpieces. In this episode you'll explore the last and very important word “Release” and you will learn how to enhance your productivity, improve the quality of your work, reduce stress, and foster greater innovation. Then… go to www.bdi-create.today and sign up for the “Going FourWords™ Clubhouse! This is the space where you can continue to navigate your creative wellness in each of the four phases – to take you to your great masterpiece! Offerings at BDI Create.Today For only  $1 - Try out the “Going FourWords” Membership  (think of it as a Clubhouse for Creatives!) https://www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership The Create-Today Home Page: https://www.bdi-create.today Time Stamp: 00:00 Introduction to the Creative Process 02:15 The Importance of a Structured Creative Process 04:19 Overview of the Four Phases 05:24 Phase 1: Revive 06:34 Phase 2: Realize 07:55 Phase 3: Refine 10:20 Phase 4: Release 11:56 Benefits of a Creative Process 12:50 Close and Takeaways

July 30, 202627 min

E137 - Neuroscience and Creative Play - The power of creating with your hands

Your Hands Can Fix Brain Fog Ever notice how you feel wired AND tired after a scrolling binge? That foggy, restless feeling has a name, and this episode is about the science-backed fix hiding in your own two hands. In this episode of Create Today, Beth Buffington breaks down why tactile creativity like, painting rocks, crocheting, kneading dough, coloring, and more, calms your nervous system faster than almost anything else you can do. You'll learn about:• The hand-brain connection first mapped by neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield• Why repetitive motion works like active meditation• Why a finished craft feels so different from an endless scroll. • The research on cortisol, dopamine, and oxytocin, • Seven simple ways to bring creative play into your day in as little as five minutes. (No talent and no required.) If digital fog, brain fog, or doomscrolling have been running your days, this episode gives you a real, research-backed alternatives you can start today. Join the Going FourWords™ Clubhouse, $1 for your first month, then $9 a month: https://www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membershipInside the Clubhouse you'll get Beth's Best Books Book Club, the Recipe Exchange, and ongoing creative challenges with quarterly prizes. Learn about more offerings at Create-Today: www.bdi-create.today Mentioned in This Episode Rock painting markers: Click HereAir Dry Clay: Click Here Follow Beth on: Instagram: @b.b.buffington_celebratetoday Facebook: BDIcreatetoday LinkedIn: bbbuffington Pinterest: bdiboss Timestamps 0:00 The digital fog we all know 4:00 Your hands: a remote control for your nervous system 6:00 The science of creative play: the hand-brain connection 11:00 Why repetitive motion works like active meditation 15:00 The effort-driven reward circuit: dopamine vs. oxytocin 18:00 7 ways to play with your hands today 24:00 A word from our sponsor: the Going FourWords™ Clubhouse 27:00 What will you create today? #CreativePlay #HandBrainConnection #StressReliefHobbies #CreateToday

July 23, 202645 min

E136 - What You Need From Your Creativity. Guest, Ezra Vancil, Singer & Songwriter

Artists Have to Live It Before They Can Create It Creativity is not just something you make. For Ezra Vancil, Creativity has been the saving grace that gets him through the hard parts of life, and the gift that keeps handing him back his own confidence. Ezra is a Texas based singer, songwriter, poet, and author whose career spans more than three decades. He is a Kerrville New Folk finalist, a New Song Competition winner, and a South by Southwest showcased artist, and his music has been featured on VH1 and the BBC. These days he lives in an East Texas forest, performs alongside his daughter Cozi, and writes music centered on redemption, resilience, faith, and the pursuit of wholeness over fame. In this conversation, Ezra and Beth talk about what happens when a record deal falls apart and there’s no plan B, why confidence and creativity build on each other in a loop, how decades of scattered attempts eventually turn into something meaningful, and why Ezra’s goal with his creative work is to write his life’s experiences and stories to help others endure the hard parts of life a little easier. If you’ve ever needed your creativity to carry you through something hard, this conversation is for you. Chapters  0:00 Meet Ezra Vancil2:00 Life in the East Texas woods, and why silence fuels the work5:00 Dropped from his label at 21, and why nothing creative goes to waste9:00 Decades spent learning poetry. Learn the rules, then throw them out.13:00 Why “do whatever you want” is a creative's worst nightmare14:00 His unstructured morning practice, and quieting the comparison spiral18:00 The bird analogy. Art as digested truth, given back to the people who need it.23:00 The pressed flower story. Waiting years to get a piece of art back.27:00 Redeeming the past through music, and healing his family through Morning and Midnight31:00 Getting sober, hiring a coach, and rebuilding confidence on stage34:00 Fear as a compass. It always points the wrong way.39:00 “The answer is in the work,” and beating gear acquisition syndrome43:00 Where to find Ezra's music, poetry, and Morning and Midnight Find Ezra Vancil and his musicWebsite: https://ezravancil.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ezravancil/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/53DBJZYKrYOYUGz0co8XLQApple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ezra-vancil/412473491 Find Create Today Website: https://www.bdi-create.today Join the Going FourWords™ Membership: https://www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Create Today Membership: https://www.bdi-create.today/membership_coaching Sylva Sessions: https://www.bdi-create.today/sylva Instagram: @b.b.buffington_celebratetoday   Facebook: BDIcreatetoday   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbbuffington/   Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BDICreateToday/

July 16, 202623 min

E135 - Lost Your Creativity? Four Words Changed My Creative Life

Years ago, Beth thought she'd lost her creativity for good. She was doing the job she'd always dreamed of, but somewhere between the grind of deadlines and hustle, her joy disappeared. In this episode, Beth shares the personal story behind her Going FourWords™ Framework. The four-word creative wellness practice she built to find the way back to her creativity. Listen in as she explains why every one of these four words works better with guidance. Inside this episode you’ll discover: • How to read your creative energy so REVIVE isn't a one-size-fits-all fix • Why REALIZE is about waking back up from autopilot • What actually gets you unstuck in the REFINE stage when a dozen projects are half-finished • How RELEASE teaches you how to let go of things that are holding you back Beth also opens the doors to the Going FourWords™ MembershipHer low-cost, judgment-free space to practice these four words with real guidance with the extra benefit of a creative community behind you. Your first month is just $1, then $9 a month after that. Join here: https://www.bdi-create.today/going-fourwords-membership Chapters: 0:00 Beth's story: when her creativity went quiet 0:07 Why creativity needs guidance, not more willpower 0:08 REVIVE: reading your creative energy 0:10 REALIZE: waking up from autopilot 0:12 REFINE: building the confidence to do the work 0:15 RELEASE: letting go and sharing what you made 0:18 What makes the framework actually become a way of life 0:19 Inside the Going FourWords™ Membership 0:21 Join for $1: to get started today Subscribe for weekly conversations about creativity as a wellness practice, from Beth Buffington at Create Today. www.bdi-create.today  

July 9, 202629 min

E134 The Health Pillar You're Skipping (It's Creative Fitness)

We all know we need eight hours of sleep, regular exercise, and good nutrition. But there's a fourth pillar of health nobody talks about: your creativity. In this episode, Beth breaks down the real, measurable science behind "creative fitness" and maps her Going FourWords framework, Revive, Realize, Refine, Release, onto your actual body: your nervous system, your eyes and brain, your hands, and your heart. Whether you've never picked up a paintbrush, or you create for a living, you're going to walk away with actionable ways to increase your happiness and health by building your Creative Fitness. In This Episode, You'll Discover: 🩺 Why creativity belongs in the same conversation as sleep, movement, and nutrition 🧠 Creative Malnutrition: what's really happening when you keep putting your own creative work last 🫀 The Anatomy of a Healthy Creative: how Revive, Realize, Refine, and Release map onto your anatomy through your nervous system, eyes and brain, hands, and heart ✅ Four Snackable Actions for Your Creative Fitness 💼 Why a creatively fit mind makes for a sharper problem-solver, even outside the studio 🔔 A First Look at What's Coming in July – get on the email list so you're the first to know 💛 Resources from this Creative Fitness episode: Link mentioned to a past episode about micro dosing your creativityE117 Small Creative Deposits, Big Life Returns: The Science of 10-Minute Creativity https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149177831 Get on my email list - so you can Create-Today (and join me in July)! https://www.bdi-create.today/ If this episode spoke to you, please share it with someone who's been treating their own creativity like it needs permission. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington! Timeline: 00:00 Welcome and the Fourth Pillar Nobody Talks About 01:16 Creative Malnutrition Explained 04:00 Introducing Going FourWords 06:45 REVIVE - Rest Your Nervous System 08:45 Try This: The 5-Minute Doodle 11:45 REALIZE - Wake Up Your Eyes and Brain 12:40 Try This: The 5-Minute Noticing Walk 14:35 REFINE - Your Hands and Motor Cortex 16:15 Try This: 15 Minutes of Focused Making 18:20 RELEASE - Building Confidence in Your Heart 20:35 Try This: Share One Piece of Work Today 22:30 How Creative Fitness Changes Your Whole Life 23:55 A Word From Our Sponsor (Me): What's Coming in July 26:20 Your Creative Prescription 27:40 Closing Thoughts

July 2, 202630 min

E133 Finding Joy! The Miracle of Being...Together

Let’s talk about Joy!(...using a story about songs, soccer, and bagpipes.) Is it possible for 50,000 people to descend upon a city to watch soccer — and give the whole city permission to stop worrying and feel good together? The answer is –YES!  That’s what joy inside a community can do.   Today, we're going to talk about why JOY matters for your health, your heart, and your life. In this episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington, we explore the science of shared joy, and what happens in your brain and body when you experience joy – not alone, but inside a community. Come and discover how YOU can find and savor joy starting today. Nuggets of Joy in This Episode: • The spell they cast on Boston (by a community of bagpipes) during the 2026 FIFA World Cup • Why loneliness is as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day (from Episode 132) • Dopamine and oxytocin, and why (together) they create something extraordinary • How shared laughter raises oxytocin levels and why joy is physical, not just emotional • Revive and Realize — the first two words of the Going FourWords™ framework, and how community joy activates both • Seven ways YOU can discover and relish joy when you're in community • Something exciting coming in July — get on the email list so you're first to hear Timestamp:0:00  Hello + the World Cup story you didn't expect2:00  The Tartan Army, Boston, and the spell of joy4:30  What joy in community is (and why it's different from happiness)6:30  The dopamine and oxytocin science: why shared joy hits differently9:00  Going FourWords™: REVIVE, community joy through restoration12:00  Going FourWords™: REALIZE, waking up from autopilot using joy as a tool15:30  The Scottish fan quote that is worth remembering17:00  Mid-roll: Create Today Membership and Sylva Sessions19:30  Seven ways to discover joy in community26:30  Closing: the spell was joy Links Mentioned in this episode E133: Join the email list:  https://www.bdi-create.today Create Today Membership:  https://www.bdi-create.today Sylva Sessions Creative Wellness Membership:  https://www.bdi-create.today/offers/TYb6qQtg/checkout REVIVE episode (E123):  https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149197491 REALIZE episode (E124):  https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149200757 REFINE episode (E125):  https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149203573 RELEASE episode (E126):  https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149205396 The Going FourWords Framework explained:  https://www.bdi-create.today/podcasts/create-today-with-beth-buffington/episodes/2149207250 Create Today with Beth Buffington is the podcast for anyone who wants to use creativity as a wellness practice — for a fuller, happier, healthier life in heart, mind, body, and soul. Subscribe so you don't miss what's coming in July. And if this episode made you think of someone who needs more joy right now — send it to them. That small act of reaching out? That's community too.

June 25, 202631 min

E132 - Being lonely is making you sick. (Here's the Good News...you can fix it!)

When was the last time you were with people who genuinely “get you”? Not acquaintances. Not coworkers you nod to in the hallway. Your people. The ones who have a similar passion, who can laugh with you. Who can cry with you…when needed. If it's been a while, something important has been quietly draining out of you. And this episode is your wake-up call. This week in Create-Today, we explore why community isn't a luxury you earn when the to-do list clears. It's a biological need. The research is remarkable. You’ll discover the science of what actually happens inside your body when you're with your people versus when you're running on empty and going it alone. You’ll see… through the Going FourWords™ framework, how community feeds every stage of your creative life, from reviving your depleted energy to finding the courage to finally release your gifts into the world. Here's what you’ll love in this episode: Why community is as important to your health as anything else you do for your body The longest-running happiness study in history and what it found after 85 years of data How shared-passion community is different from community by proximity (and why it changes everything) The Going FourWords framework: Revive, Realize, Refine, Release and how each phase is strengthened by being with YOUR people Why your creativity is your compass to finding the community you need right now Beth's personal stories from the Create Today Membership, Sylva Sessions, Sylva Solace retreats, and a four-day bike tour on the GAP Trail The dare Beth has for you this week LINKS AND RESOURCES: Create Today Membership:  https://www.bdi-create.today/membership_coaching Join Beth's email list (for info about the new community coming in July): https://www.bdi-create.today/   Discover the offerings at Create-Today: https://www.bdi-create.today/ Sylva Session Creative Wellness Membership: https://www.bdi-create.today/offers/TYb6qQtg/checkout LET'S CONNECT: Instagram: @b.b.buffington_celebratetoday Facebook: BDIcreatetoday LinkedIn: bbbuffington Pinterest: bdiboss If this episode made you think of someone who needs to find their people, share the link and tell them, "I thought of you." That small act of reaching out? That's community, too. Timestamp: 00:00 Opening: When were You Last With Your People? 02:30 Why Community Is a Biological Need, Not a Bonus 04:00 What Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel Says About Social Connection and Your Body 06:00 The Harvard Study: 85 Years, 724 People, One Clear Answer 08:30 Creativity Is Your Compass to Finding Your People 11:00 Community Beth Has Witnessed Firsthand 14:00 The Research on Creative Community and Belonging 16:00 Create Today Membership and What's Coming in July 18:30 Going FourWords with Community: The Framework 19:00 REVIVE: How Community Refills Your Empty Tank 20:30 REALIZE: Community Lifts the Fog 22:30 REFINE: Getting Better (and Braver) Together 24:00 RELEASE: How Community Dismantles the Lies Your Inner Critic Tells You 26:00 Your Dare for This Week 28:00 Closing: Keep Connecting

June 18, 202631 min

E-131 Want to Be Happier? Find your people. Here’s how I did it

One of the most powerful things you can do for your happiness and health (and creativity), has nothing to do with supplements, your routine, or your schedule. Spoiler alert…it’s about adventure, new people and feeling a bit “new” In this episode, Beth Buffington shares how a four-day, 153-mile tandem bike tour stoked and energized her creativity. Not just from sunshine and exercise, but from something that happened to her heart, her mind, and her soul on that trail. She sits down at the mic to tell you all about it – and explain why this story is for YOU, even if you’ve never touched a bike in your life. 🌟 In this episode you’ll discover: • How a group of complete strangers became close friends in just 96 hours • The real science behind why this happens so fast • What synchronized movement (like tandem biking — or dancing, or hiking!) does to your brain chemistry and your relationships • Why biking, hiking, rafting, and other outdoor adventures absolutely count as creative hobbies, and how this perspective will change the way you think about creativity • The awe factor: How shared moments of wonder make you more generous, more connected, and more open • The “third place” concept from sociologist Ray Oldenburg, and why your mental health is craving one right now • How the Going FourWords Framework’s Revive and Realize phases showed up in real life on a trail in Pennsylvania • What volunteers clearing downed trees from a tornado teaches us about community pride and the goodness of people • Why rest isn’t the absence of activity – it’s the absence of stress• The tandem bike as a metaphor for partnership and trust with the people you love • A powerful takeaway invitation: Find YOUR GAP trail – your creative passion, your people, your community Resources mentioned in this episode: Create Today Website: https://www.bdi-create.today Create-Today Membership: https://www.bdi-create.today/membership_coaching Sylva Sessions Membership: https://www.bdi-create.today/offers/TYb6qQtg/checkout Workshops & Events:  https://www.bdi-create.today/workshop-events-calendar Online Courses: https://www.bdi-create.today/courses Wilderness Voyageurs Bike Tours: https://biketours.wilderness-voyageurs.com/ 💕 If this episode moved you, share it with a creative friend who needs to find their people. And leave a review — it means the world and helps other creatives find Create Today! 🚴‍♀️ About the trip: Beth and her husband Tom rode 153 miles of the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP Trail) in Pennsylvania with Wilderness Voyagers, guided by the incredible Chuck Morris and Montana Miller. The night before the tour, tornadoes rolled through the region — and by morning, GAP Trail volunteers had cleared the path with chainsaws. Many of them had no power at home. That is the kind of community this episode is all about. 🧠 Science woven into this episode: Arthur Aron’s research on how shared novel experiences compress time and deepen bondsSynchrony studies — oxytocin, rhythm, and biological connection Dacher Keltner’s awe research from UC Berkeley Dopamine and novelty — why new adventures reactivate your brain’s reward system Ray Oldenburg’s “third places” and why your mental health depends on them

June 11, 202626 min

E-130 Creativity Makes You Happier and Healthier! 10 Ways to Start – Today!

Looking to Change Your Life? 10 Proven Ways Creativity Boosts Your Happiness & Health Are you creative? (Hint: Yes, you absolutely are.) 🎨 In this episode of Create Today with Beth Buffington, we're exploring something that has the power to genuinely transform your life – and it's waiting for you right now. Whether you've never thought of yourself as creative (I can’t draw a stick figure), or you've put your creativity on a someday shelf (someday, I’ll get back to my art), or you're a professional creative who is flat-out burned out...this episode is for you. Beth shares 10 practical and joyful ways to discover, dust off, or reignite your creativity! PLUS you'll discover her Five P's of Creative Transformation framework to help you make YOUR creativity a lasting, meaningful part of your everyday life. In this episode you'll discover: • Why creativity isn't just for artists — it's for everyone • The real reason creativity makes you happier and healthier (science agrees!) • 10 actionable ways to find, revive, or reignite your creative spark • How to go "analog for a day" and why it works • The power of a 30-day creative challenge — and how to start one • Why creative play (without pressure or perfection) is the most important thing • The Five P's of Creative Transformation: Passion, Practice, Permission, Potential & Power • How to protect time for creativity — like a meeting you can't cancel • Why your creative life doesn't require talent — it requires intention Whether you're looking for something brand new, or rekindling an old passion, Beth's warm and practical guidance will have you reaching for your creative tools before the episode is over. 💛 Resources mentioned in this episode: Create Today Website: https://www.bdi-create.today Doodle Meditation Workshop: https://www.bdi-create.today/almost-free-resources Create-Today Membership: https://www.bdi-create.today/membership_coaching Workshops & Events: https://www.bdi-create.today/workshop-events-calendar Online Courses: https://www.bdi-create.today/courses 🕐 Episode Timestamps: 00:00 — Welcome to Create Today with Beth Buffington 00:11 — Unleashing Your Inner Creativity 01:47 — The Importance of Creativity for Happiness and Health 03:49 — Reigniting Your Creative Passion 07:56 — 10 Ways to Discover or Reignite Your Creativity 15:07 — Incorporating Creativity into Daily Life 16:25 — The Five P's of Creative Transformation 22:52 — Join the Create Today Community