Artists suffer because they are slowly becoming aware of the fact that their little ego doesnt have the capabilities to create the art they can so clearly envision. 
The journey of a succesful artist is the journey towards ego death. And then art is just created out of love. Its the hero's journey. The greatest art requires the greatest sacrifice. 
You see, looking at it from a non-dual perspective... life is art. In the same way life is created out of itself, so is art. Completely groundless. So of course an artist will suffer. Any artist that realises this, knows that to create his best art, he has to become groundless himself. How? Dissolve completely.
The thing is, most artists (that take art this serious) have no idea about this. They'll just keep fighting an ego for the entirety of their lifes. Unable to express that masterpiece that they know is with them all the time. 
The plot twist in the end of course, is that this journey itself was the greatest of art. Gods search for himself.
Were all artists. And the best artist is no artist at all.  
So... im not sure If that is a good way to motivate you haha. But you specifically mentioned the words "great artist."  This is what Ive encountered. Great art isnt an easy thing. But then again, our culture doesnt even recognise great art most of the time. Do it for the sake of doing it. 

@Mount Bananas I highly urge you too  This is a really interesting subject. I think if you find anyone else who has had their "cloud clearing experience" and has found music or art is their path, they too will tell you this truth. Watch any interview of the people above (maybe not VM or BS because they're egos are THROUGH THE ROOF, but that's what happens when you sell out young and have a life full of ego ego ego and aren't stable enough in your self and authenticity.) Look at John Mayer! haha! What a perfect example! He himself calls himself a "recovering narcissist."
For people who have made it and aren't egotistical:
Glen Hansard, Damion Rice, Amos Lee, The Barr Brothers, John Butler (Trio), Lisa Hannigan, Hozier (believe it or not... He made his album then went on tour, then ghost... Moved back to his hometown and hasn't made a move (with the exception of the Tarzan song but that was at the tail end of his tour so thats an exception) since.), Alison Brown...
In the pop world, it's really hard to do this because this scene of ego ego ego can be so consuming and if you aren't stable in yourself then you go down the shitter. 

@Joseph Maynor  And why they're called plant medicines ... It's kind of like ingesting your own shrink. While life is good here, and there's no feeling of lack, and amazing lucid trips in the dreamtime, it seems the plant medicines are much more specifically focused, in terms of the message. And getting it vicariously is close to useless. Challenge here is finding a trusted source -- and someone experienced to trip with, which seems like a good idea, at least initially -- without having to go lurking around, like someone's parent at a university campus, or travel to Amsterdam. But if I wait until it's legalized, I may already have taken the death trip (don't expect any reports back).

Really well written. I never liked the “dormant serpent” description because it has never felt like that. I have always felt it in my entire body, in the beginning legs especially, and saying it’s just gonna rise up your spine just didnt sound like it at all!
Thats why I like that Sadhguru was able to stay away from usual kundalini dogma.
If I were to add something to his description I would say that shakti/kundalini is a feminine kind of awakening, (nothing to do with gender). That is why in kundalini, eventhough everyone talks about the root chakra, what is really important is to awaken the heart. 
Feminine awakening as opposed to masculine (mind, non-duality, pure awareness teachings) is all inclusive and brings total healing. - Shadow work, bodY work, energy work, relationships.
 
Why are you asking? 
If youre interested in kundalini adapt a very feminine approach to your spiritual growth of nurturing your ego, loving it and caring for it as never before.
And as always I’ll mention 
Matt Kahn - Whatever arises love that.

Anyone else see the irony in a "rant" about peace?
It doesn't really seem like you have this "peace" you speak of yourself otherwise you wouldn't be so disturbed by what people write in a forum on the internet. Take a deep breath, let go of expectations and desire so you may attain an inner peace and cease to suffer what others are doing.
Besides, how do you know what everyone is seeking?

@zunnyman
This is what I was thinking too. I have done multiple week solo retreats with a couple trips mixed in, in cities and alone in the deep woods. So, I’m excited for you, forgive me for being ‘advicy’........Eat as clean as possible starting now, you’ll get deeper in the trips and med’s. (You may already eat ‘clean’ idk) Also, from now till then, be letting every thought go. When the “realness” of your life’s ongoings happen, take that little moment first, right away, and let the reactions and thoughts go (you may already be here ) Empty the cup out and those 2 weeks can fill it and change everything. Everything! (I don’t mean to imply you or your life need changing, - I am not referring to your life, I mean everything... literally)
My advice, and I really hope you do this, is to write or type (print it though!) a few pages out ( before the 2 weeks starts) about how you see things in terms of yourself, your family, friends, coworkers perhaps....the ‘world’ stuff; economics, society, history, science, neurology, biology, whatever reality is, whatever God is, whatever else you think of in terms of your views and perspectives. 
In that 2 weeks, you’re going to go through some serious change in your understanding of all those things. It’s likely (if you’ve done your research and play it smart trip wise) that you will be in a state where you can not imagine ever needing to write any of it down. The insight / epiphanies / revelations will have an obviousness to them that is currently unimaginable. Again, there will be a strong being-ness of “I see it now, how could I ever possibly forget”. THAT, is essentially the message I’m trying to communicate. “It’s so amazing, how could I ever not see this?”. 
But we get back to our ‘lives’, and we start thinking about our stuff to do, and it can fade a little.  All part of the process / path, all is well. It can fade a little, and it can even slip just far enough away for us to struggle sometimes to grasp.
 
But there’s a hell of a trail of breadcrumbs available, if you lay them. For example, if after those 2 weeks, you were to look at your first posts on actualized, or maybe stories or poems you wrote, or anything like that, you will instantly become aware of and realize  REAL-IZE the difference in your consciousness. It may be a way of circumventing the “forgetting & remembering, forgetting & remembering” process the majority of us seekers go through - I assume....I did at least...and I see it as a theme on the forum. I suggest it could expedite your expansion, saving you months years, or even decades.
After the 2 weeks, look at what you wrote about your world - your life, and all of your worldly views. I bet you have never laughed so hard or felt such a release in your life as when you read what you wrote. It will bring the ‘trip’ right back to you - the insights, etc. 
 
You could be a clear ‘before & after’ on actualized.org. That could potentially help millions of people to come, in a most unique, precise and significant way. You could write all that I suggested in a post, and then after your trips / retreat, write your perspective on all the same things. I think doing that is perhaps the fastest possible growth you could gift to yourself. You will Real-I’ve it more, and so many people will see not only is it possible, they will get to read how & why. 
Godspeed and enjoy every minute of it you lucky sob!!!! ?