The World Needs Creatives with Rachael Sardelich
The World Needs Creatives is hosted by Rachael Sardelich, Vedic Meditation Teacher and Consultant to Creatives. Rachael has spent over two decades working at the confluence of creativity and spirituality and now leads her clients to explore, germinate and birth their creative visions into the world. During this weekly podcast, Rachael shares wise and inspired conversations to expand our creative consciousness.
Join Rachael in a space where the deeper questions are always asked and learn exactly what has shaped the humans behind remarkable ideas, cultural movements and visionary art in all of its forms.
Within you’ll find stories on embracing darkness and finding wholeness, the blurred boundaries between human and nature, breaking limitations and building legacies, rich inner-landscapes that hold untapped potential, and prophecies that will open portals of possibility within you.
These conversations are regenerative moments of incubation, creation and renewal. They won’t ask you to sit still and play nice. They will awaken your senses, wildly inspire the muse within and remind you: the world needs what you’ve got.
The World Needs Creatives with Rachael Sardelich
19. Mia Taninaka on Expanding Beyond What You Think is Possible.
Today we enter into the wise and mystical world of Mia Taninaka, a multidisciplinary artist whose work invites us to peer beyond the veil into the heart of the imaginative consciousness.
In this conversation, Mia opens up about navigating the internal battle between creating for yourself and creating for others—a struggle familiar to so many artists. We explore the archetype of the "starving artist" and how it blocks our reclamation of the artist’s role as a conduit of something greater. Mia shares her wisdom on trusting your own creative flavour, the power of saying no, and surrendering to the process—especially when self-doubt creeps in.
We delve into the alchemical nature of art-making, where even the darkest moments of frustration with a piece can be transmuted into breakthroughs, offering a richer depth to both the work and the artist. Mia’s practice of Vedic meditation and kriya yoga has deepened her connection to her creative process, allowing her to channel energy from her lineage-based spiritual practices directly into her work. Through her spiritual practices she has learned to cultivate and trust the energy that fuels her artistic evolution.
Mia reminds us that part of this process is embracing the chaos and dialogue that unfolds between the artist and the canvas, even when it feels like you might have to burn the piece. It's about surrendering, taking space, and returning with new eyes.
This episode is an invitation to dance with the unseen forces that shape our creative lives, to trust, to surrender, and to level up as we lean into our deepest artistic selves.
The key juicy ideas we deepen into today are:
- How to unveil the depths of imaginative consciousness
- Overcoming the starving artist stereotype
- Balancing personal creativity with external expectations
- Cultivating the confidence to say no and embrace your unique essence
- Emphasizing trust and surrender within the creative journey
- Redefining self-doubt as an inherent aspect of artistic growth
- Incorporating dark times into the creative process
- Understanding how ancient spiritual practices unlock imaginative potential
- Enhancing creative expression through Vedic meditation
- Leveraging ancestral myths to enrich artistic pursuits
- Inviting your inner genius into your creative space
- Utilising different spiritual practices at different stages of the creative process
- Catapulting your evolution through Kriya and Himalayan breath-work
KEY EPISODE LINKS:
Learn more about Rachael's 1:1 Creative Partnership 2025
Explore Mia's website
Explore Mia's instagram
Elizabeth Gilbert's Ted Talk
Follow Rachael -
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/rachaelsardelich/
Website - www.rachaelsardelich.com
The original painted work in the show design was hand painted by artist Sarah Darling.
Episode editing, engineering and the creation of our original musical score was created by Camilla Rose Sullivan.