Schedule a date with your creative side

Daily living requires organization and planning and when all is said and done there seems to be no time for creativity. So trick your organized structure by scheduling a date with your creative side. Set time aside for creativity, just as you would set time aside for meeting with someone. It will be an item on your planner and you have to complete it.

The other side of your brain feels neglected, so make a date with it and pamper it. When it realizes that you care about it, your inner strength will take hold and allow you to flow yourself into the creative venture.

Long before Julia Cameron, there was an author named Dorothea Brande who recommended methods like this. I have been enjoying reading Dorothea Brande's approach to writing. It has allowed me to tap into my inner magic and I have been journaling in my personal journal much more during the last three weeks. Today I thought I would try to do some free writing in this blog.

Dorothea Brande recommends writing one more sentence than you would like to write because you have to reach into your inner thoughts more each time. Once you get used to reach into your inner thoughts and not allow judgement to get in the way of the writing, it becomes easier to become a writer. There is a calming influence of free flowing writing. It is empowering to realized that we can tap into our strengths by resonating with our unconscious thoughts which reveal themselves through our writings.

Laziness or Fear to Think?

When we don't think through a problem completely, is it that we are lazy or that we fear that all the effort will still get us nowhere?

Let's say that it is laziness. If it is laziness, what can be done to overcome the laziness? Examine the benefits of the effort and motivate yourself more. Give yourself more reasons to be thorough.

Let's say it is fear. Courageously press forward, knowing that the effort in itself is the reward. The outcome may depend on factors that are not entirely in our hands.

Expressions of Gratitude

Mother knows best...not father....in this regard anyway. My mother expresses her gratitude for her life every day of her life. She is always aware of the gifts that she has in her life.

I wish I could have the discipline of expressing my gratitude each day for my wonderful life. For it is wonderful indeed. I have been fortunate to be born into a wonderful family and I have been blessed in so many ways. Often I wonder if I deserve my good fortune and it makes me want to give back to this world.

Personal Strengths and Anger

Yesterday I was with the support group at the VA again. Bob had invited me on Monday. I was not sure what to discuss and decided to use a handout that I had created this summer. On side one, I asked them to think about one personal strength. Period.

We went around in the circle and everyone stated one personal strength. Julie, Gloria, Maury, Joe, Bill, Don, Norm, LLew, Bob, Bob, Clarence, and Denise. Somehow, the conversation did turn to anger and I was able to use my other handout where I asked them to list ways to take the "grrr" out of their anger.

I then shared an excerpt from "The Lively Mind" by Jules Willing. I shared that Jules Willing wrote this book when he knew that he had a terminal illness and that he wrote it because he did not want his ideas to get lost with him.

Release the Unease

To focus on something new for 20 seconds, is that realistic? For example, the lyrics of a song. The new words come at you much faster than that. How do some people have the ability to remember lyrics while others don't? Talent? Unconscious competence?

Or do they have the ability to focus so hard on the lyrics that they do not need 20 seconds? Do they remove all other distractions and bring themselves completely into the present? What's their secret? Do they have the ability to release the unease so much that they can fully absorb new information?

Get rid of the hidden unease

Without realizing it, we tend to be in a state of unease. The unease pervades our lives......

On Saturday, I got a professional massage for the first time in my life. As Catz massaged me, I discovered that there were many regions of tightness in my body. She had to work on so many knots of tension. I was amazed at the difference it made to me. She was deliberate and methodical and discovered all the tension spots in my body.

This got me to thinking about how the unconsciousness of unease that is in the body is also in the mind. Hidden unease in the mind prevents us from focus on the present. In my presentations, I talk about the importance of concentration for creating strong memories. I talk about distractions. Perhaps, I should start emphasizing the important of getting rid of the hidden unease. Hidden unease could happen due to grief or anger and I have alluded to these as sources of distraction. But like during a massage, maybe I need to find a way to release the tension in the mind due to the hidden unease. I think that I am successful at doing this already but not in a conscious kind of way.