Gong Jae Ok’s story is the one in which she taps her unique creative mind that converges into Soul Breather.
Gong Jae Ok’s Search for Meaning and Belonging
Born in Pusan, South Korea in 1980 and abandoned as an infant, Gong Jae Ok’s journey began with nothing but a blank page. She was found by a police officer and brought to an orphanage, where nuns named her Gong Jae Ok. Growing up in Sweden, she then struggled with the emotional wound of abandonment, devoting herself in writing and creative endeavors to cope with her pain.
Her journey has been shaped by inner conflicts and creative breakthroughs, often navigating a path filled with self-doubt, as well as, profound revelations.
After enduring the heartbreak of multiple IVF treatments, pregnancies, and miscarriages, she decided to devote herself and the losses that her body carried as a part of a healing process.
She is dedicated to figuring out how to reach new heights in her writing and creative process. With this renewal- re-birth, she pursues a sustainable and creative lifestyle, mastering the process of turning intense life events into words that help others feel and heal their own emotions, scares and scars.
Gong’s creative process, which she calls TIDERA, flows like the tide—an ebb and flow of spiritual awakenings and challenges. Embracing this rhythm, she nowadays leans into the unknown and unburdened. In other words, she embodies herself as a lightship in which creativity flows freely through her.
With a deep focus on what is yet to unfold rather than what her past revealed, Gong describes her experience as “Disruptive Time,” a balance between the need for structure and chaos in her creative journey. As a highly intuitive writer, Gong sees the world differently, perceiving colors, shapes, and details that others might miss.
The Struggles of a Highly Creative Mind
Gong’s narrative deals with the tension between an intense, often overwhelming mind and the desire for balance, peace and relentless need to inhabit her body. Her mind operates at a speed that she describes as “twice or thrice faster than the average mind,” which has led to both external achievements but also personal suffering.
Gong confesses that her mind’s rapid acceleration has repeatedly taken a toll on her physical body, heart, and soul. She also reveals that she has found a way to process everything by deliberately slowing things down. This is how her wordy wording ‘Pace Down’ came to her. https://gongjaeok.org/2024/03/03/pace-down-2/
Through the chaos, Gong has discovered the necessity of creative expression, viewing writing as a vital outlet for maintaining her mental health and emotional well-being. Writing, through a form of liberation, has become both a source of peace and a force that disrupts her sense of stability. The challenge is how to channel these creative outbursts without losing herself in the process.
“I’d rather be happy not writing,” Gong admits. “But since the writing in itself makes me inhabit my body, I simply cannot rule it out.”
Finding Solace in Disruptive Time
One of the themes in Gong’s story is the concept of “Disruptive Time,” a concept that emerged during her meditation back in 2020. She initially struggled with its message, unsure whether it referred to creative interruptions or periods of forced creativity. However, as Gong began to reflect on this, the definition of Disruptive Time evolved into something more profound, a necessary disruption that fuels her creative outlet.
Through meditation, Gong, accidentally, stumbled upon transcendental meditation in which Her Creative Selves appeared. For some inexplicable reason, Divine Interventions chose her to be the voice for those who still hadn’t found theirs yet.
She never asked for any of it and yet it seemed to have been written in poetry long before she was born into this world. Initially, she repeatedly threw this gift away but it kept coming back to her in multitude volumes. This is how ODD JADE Chapbook emerged https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Viveka-Jae-Ok-Hansson/dp/9180971792
Her last poem in that chapbook came to her through ODD JADE Chapbook.
Disruptive Time, then, is not merely an interruption, it is an essential part of her creative process, providing necessary space, insight and not to mention keys for reflection and growth.
Embracing the Chaos
Gong’s creative journey has been one of surrenderance and acceptance. Rather than forcing productivity or structure, she is learning to allow her mind to flow freely, embracing space, moments and nudges where words are breathlessly whispered into her being.
“I surrendered to the fact that I didn’t have all the answers,” Gong shares. “When I let myself to simply be, trying my best, preparing myself for what was yet to come, my entire life became a whole lot easier.”
“I realized that trying to control every outcome was the root of my stress. I had to let go, and in doing so, I allowed myself the freedom to explore what was truly within me,” Gong adds.
This surrender was not just a passive acceptance but a profound moment of awakening for Gong. She began to understand that her constant battle with perfection and the weight of unrealistic expectations were only holding her back. This changed perspective has allowed her to move past fear and resistance of “not being ready” and has opened the door to profound creative breakthroughs.
This newfound sense of awakening rippled to a breakthrough enabling herself stepping into her Creative Selves. The epiphany was that the pressure of perfection and the fear of failure limited her growth potential. By releasing control and trusting the process, Gong has found a new sense of freedom in her intuitive writing. This freedom, however, is not the absence of disruption but the embrace of it. In accepting that disruption is part of her creative rhythm, Gong has discovered that it is through this chaos that her work comes ALIVE and ALOVE.
A Unique Approach to the Creative Process
What sets Gong apart is her deep understanding of the connection between a highly intense mind and creativity. Although her process is fast-paced, and intuitive, and despite the struggles, she has learned to harness her abilities to create profound and insightful writing in her own melody creating symphonies no one previously has set eyes on.
“I intuitively knew that I wouldn’t last going the traditional way,” Gong reflects. Recognizing this, she sought alternative methods for a sustainable, authentic creative lifestyle. She is, these days, committed to communities and a fierce believer in the female peers in them.
The Power of Vulnerability
Gong’s message is clear: vulnerability is not a weakness but a necessity honoring a life fully lived in awe and admiration for the wonders of being ALIVE and doing ALOVE. Her creative approach is deeply intertwined with her emotional and spiritual well-being. By embracing her vulnerabilities, Gong has allowed her work to flourish in ways that are not just professional but deeply personal and transformative.
In the early days of her journey, Gong admits that “fear and resistance have been rooted in my body, being, and doing for as long as I can remember.” She recalls the overwhelming feeling of paralysis that often held her back. “I witnessed myself sitting in the chair and doing nothing but planning. I was unable to do anything else than updating my calendar. I was so scared.” This was back in 2020, a time when she struggled with the weight of expectation and the fear of failure.
Disruptive Time: A Blessing in Disguise
Ultimately, Gong’s story is a testament to the power of Disruptive Time. It is through these fragments that creativity flows freely and effortlessly, where her most significant creative breakthroughs occur. “Life and disruption are going to be your two greatest blessings in disguise when it comes to leading a creative lifestyle and tuning into what your heart desires,” her GONG states.
As Gong continues her journey, she is learning to trust that her path is unfolding, accordingly. She is no longer afraid of the disruptions. Rather, she embraces them, understanding that they are the force that will lead her to the next stage of her creative awakening.
Embrace Your Own Creative Disruption
Gong Jae Ok’s story reminds us that we have everything we need to find our purpose—not just for ourselves, but also to inspire others. Creativity is not a straight path; it’s filled with uncertainty, struggle, and disruptive moments. But it’s through these disruptions that emotional growth happens. Gong’s message is simple: trust the process, embrace chaos, and let transformation unfold. If you’re ready to explore your own creative journey, reflect on what disruption might look like for you and embrace it—it can ripple into infinite possibilities.
Learn more about Gong Jae Ok’s creative journey by visiting her website https://gongjaeok.org/ or listening to her poetry podcast https://vhhansson.podbean.com/.
Explore how you can embrace the beauty of disruptive time in your own creative process, self and being.
