Steal like an Artist- tips for being proactively creative

Why I need to write 1^st thing in the morning:

  If I don’t I am so easily distracted by everything!!!

Having said that, I read this great book today called “Steal like an Artist” by Austin Kleon.  It is a small book with a lot of good ideas for cultivating one’s creativity.  I found it to be delightfully inclusive, and I related to a lot of what he has to say. One point that makes me rethink how I approach things was regarding the internet.  I do not have a great presence  on the internet, especially shy on facebook, as I find it a huge sink hole of time. But I recognize  one of the truths that Austin (I hope he doesn’t mind if I call him by his first name, though we have not met) maintains; the internet holds the key to a huge world of like-minded folks, fellowship as he refers to it, especially if you live in a small town and are not that social, which is in fact, my plight.  I have a busy life, mother, artist and entrepreneur and I do value my time, I actually demand a bit of solitude, as Betty Davis would say, “I want to be alone”, in order to be ready to create as much as I do. But I like to share ideas and learn- another thing he felt was so important- to always be learning. Hear, hear!!!  I am all about learning new things.

In the book he also suggested that one keep a calendar so that you can check off the boxes daily as you commit yourself to a project- writing a page a day and in 365 you may have a novel or as Jerry Seinfeld used the system, whom Austin stole the idea, write a joke a day.  As you check the boxes every day, you create a chain and you don’t want to break the chain so you do the work.  Brilliant!!! For me it gave me an excuse to create a new notebook with graph paper so I can color in the boxes and get in my 10 minutes of daily writing!!!!

Now this book is one that needs to be read over a few times, and it goes along side “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfeild and Art and Fear by David Bayles, Ted Orland, both of which I need read again.

Waking up and paying attention

  May 24, 2012

Write for 10 min.

Today I want to share something my 12 year old daughter wrote for her class:

Surviving 6^th Grade

To some sixth grade is a piece of cake, but to others it’s as hard as a rock. Either way, it’s best to be prepared for the unexpected, so here are some guidelines to success.

First, be prepared. Preparation is key to success and not just in the sixth grade. Being prepared is a life skill and can be used in almost any situation.  It is what you need to get the job done.

Next, always be organized, even if it’s not in class. Again it’s a life skill, and can help you be more efficient.  If you’re not organized, you could lose valuable work for class, and excuses like, “my dog ate my homework” won’t be sufficient.

Lastly, always PAT ATTENTION IN CLASS!!!! Once again, it’s a life skill, and if you don’t you could lose important information that won’t be available again. Not paying attention wastes your time, not to mention you and your teacher’s time, and could be a big distraction to others around you.

In conclusion, be prepared, be organized, and ALWAYS pay attention, in or out of class. All of these are vital to surviving not only the sixth grade, but the demands of the adult world too.

By Ruth Kemp March 30, 2012

I read this and said to myself, as I often do regarding my daughter, “How old is she?”  Ruth is someone who knows herself and has a few clues about how to make her mark in the world.  I can take what she says a step farther, as is my tendency, to include the realm of your inner life and guidance system. 

 

Preparation is a key element to hearing the guidance of your life- you must free up time, even if it is only 5 minutes, to breathe deep and BE STILL.  Ask what you need and listen for the answer- it may come as a still small voice or it can be a feeling , a word said, or something that catches your eye, such as a book or article being read by the person across from you, but until you are prepared- open to and conscious of the opportunity, you will not receive the subtle messages you are receiving constantly from Source energy.

Organization plays a role in that you need to have an organized structure to your energetic health.  Daily routines that include energetic clearing and raising of vibrations, as well as affirmations that keep you in a positive frame of mind  are beneficial as well as tools to help you when your emotional  buttons are being pushed or you find yourself in a stressful situation.

And as Ruth stressed in her essay, paying attention is paramount to navigating the illusion of Maya- you are the creator of your life, pay attention to how you energetically form that world. Every thought, word and deed is supercharged with intention and that intention is what creates your world.

“The greatest secret in life is that reality is nothing more than an illusion. The physical
world does not exist outside our own belief system and the filter of our mind.
 
We are, in fact, sub-particles of God experiencing creation itself.

But as sub-particles of God, we also have sway over these creations.
 
Everything you experience in life, every event, occurrence, object, person –
is nothing more than a figment of your own thoughts, beliefs and words.
 
Life is thus like a lucid dream. We have total control.
 
The problem is...
 
Most of us are still asleep.
 
When you understand this ,your entire world shifts, and you come to realize the true meaning of life.”

I am not sure who said this but I acquired it from an email sent to me from The Chakra Team at FinerMinds- it fit perfectly into this blog post.

With love and blessings, Carol

Operating instructions- 100% responsibility

 Write for 10 Min.

How to be a human when you are truly an infinite being

Imagine If you were born with instructions- each and every baby would emerge from his or her mother’s womb with a little tag on its toe that read:

Instructions for my care

1.       Love me with all of your heart

2.       Refer to me as the infinite being that I am

3.       Regard the huge ball of light that emanates from me- my energy system

4.       Read energy system instructions

5.       Remind me constantly that I am an infinite being and that I know all and am all that is as I am connected to the source that is ALL THAT IS

6.       Remind me to always ask for help, that I was given free will, but all I need do is ask and it will be given unto me

Surely life would be much simpler if we all had some instructions, but part of our journey is to re-member our truth, that indeed we are an expression of ALL THAT IS, or SOURCE or GOD if you will.

Having said that let us begin to unravel the mystery that is within us, that makes us so unique.  You , I am sure have heard of the great Bard- Will Shakespeare  and his famous poem

All the world is a stage

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,

This is not such a far-fetched idea.  If one were to view their life from this vantage point then they could direct the play in a much more pleasing manner.  Of course this would mean one would have to own one’s personal behavior, meaning all of the drama that one causes would have to be carefully scrutinized, a task which, if one is honest is much more difficult then it seems, because it would mean, dear friend that one would have to take full responsibility for everything that happened and happens in your life.  This is not a new concept, and certainly this is not the first essay to address any of these concepts.  This is a book that presents the information in another way.  Much like math is taught in many ways by many teachers, this is but one more way to present these ideas.

I know what you are thinking, “why on earth would I create such a dreadful situation in my life, with the suffering I must endure from ( you choose the drama that fits) cancer, abuse, lying, cheating and war, starvation….  The list is endless and because time is endless (though just a construct of man, therefore a projection onto consciousness) the drama could seemingly go on and on.

But we as a people, we who inhabit Earth and this collective consciousness that we are experiencing now, have an opportunity to stop the insanity now.  More and more people are coming to this realization, a consciousness is growing and evolving which has been growing and evolving t since the beginning (which poses another topic of discussion as time is just a creation of mind and therefore there is no beginning and no end).  Have I begun to scramble your mind yet?  I hope so because only then can you begin to allow for a new view of how things really are, the truth of who you are and the connection you have to everyone of your brothers and sisters- and yes that includes vegetation and rocks as well as trees.  We are all a beautiful collection of energy sparks that create everything that we feel, and envision.  We live in the ultimate game- the game of life, and we get to BE whatever it is that we want to BE.  And, as you will find as you continue to read this, that which you want to BE you already are.