Greetings! Here are a few sample sets of quotes and questions from my guided journal, The Whispering Heart, that you can use to prime the creative pump. You can order the 50-page book by sending your www.paypal.com payment to scleaver@dejazzd.com. Please put the book title and number of copies in the subject line, and your name and shipping address in the "note" box. I'm offering it to my blog readers with free shipping within the US for $15 US. Pennsylvania residents will need to include $0.90 tax per copy. Residents of other countries please email me for shipping details.
Here goes...
Passion!
"Your true passion should feel like breathing; it's that natural." --Oprah Winfrey
What is it that comes this naturally to you? How can you capitalize on this gift?
Creativity
Creativity can be described as letting go of certainties." --Gail Sheehy
What certainties are you willing to let go of?
Rewards
"The Highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it." --John Ruskin
Who are you becoming (because of your art)?
Risk
"We have to go a little beyond the frontier of sensible appearances in order to see the divine." --Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Are you willing to take that risk (for your art)? Why or why not? How can you better prepare yourself to take the risk?
Boldness
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it."
--Goethe
How would your life change if you were twice as bold (with your art) as you are now?
(copyright 2005, Susan Cleaver)
Play around with these and let me know what "aha's" come out of it.
For those of you in the greater Philadelphia, PA, area, email me for details about "April Jewels Day," a day dedicated to women's well-being, being held this Saturday at The Open Door in Douglassville, PA (www.opendoorfitness.com). Hope to see you there!
Blessings,
Susan
Monday, March 27, 2006
Monday, February 13, 2006
Patchwork Creativity
Betsy's comment on my last post addresses a common problem for creatives. She mentioned how daily responsibilities keep from doing her creative work at the time of day that she feels she's at her best. She feels drained by the time she gets to her art. Here's my suggestion: patchwork creativity.
Step One: Before going to sleep at night, set an intention for what you want to create the next day. Be sure to write it down. By doing this, you're sending a message to your subconscious mind, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for its reply. The subconscious is great to have in your employ, because it works tirelessly 24/7. Just before sleep is the best time to jumpstart it.
Step Two: Reread your intention as soon as you wake up, preferably aloud. The subconscious mind is very open to suggestion at this time before you are fully alert.
Step Three: Always carry something with you to jot down or electronically record any bits and pieces that pop up while you are carrying out your other responsibilities. These become your patches for your patchwork creativity.
Step Four: When your time of day to create finally arrives, make it a ritual to sit down and "sew" your patches together. You can create this way even when you feel drained from your other activities, because you've already built a foundation for it in bits and pieces. As "The Artist's Way" author Julia Cameron would say, you have made your creative work into "no big deal." And I know when I'm tired, everything feels like a big deal, so I'd better have my creative goals cut down to size in this way.
My wish for all of you this week is a beautiful piece of patchwork creativity, whatever that means for you. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Or if you have another method that works for you, please tell us about your experiences and results. Thanks!
Blessings,
Susan
P.S. A note to local folks: Last call for the "Design Your Future" workshop on Saturday, February 25, from 1 to 5. The registration deadline is Wednesday, February 15!
Step One: Before going to sleep at night, set an intention for what you want to create the next day. Be sure to write it down. By doing this, you're sending a message to your subconscious mind, along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for its reply. The subconscious is great to have in your employ, because it works tirelessly 24/7. Just before sleep is the best time to jumpstart it.
Step Two: Reread your intention as soon as you wake up, preferably aloud. The subconscious mind is very open to suggestion at this time before you are fully alert.
Step Three: Always carry something with you to jot down or electronically record any bits and pieces that pop up while you are carrying out your other responsibilities. These become your patches for your patchwork creativity.
Step Four: When your time of day to create finally arrives, make it a ritual to sit down and "sew" your patches together. You can create this way even when you feel drained from your other activities, because you've already built a foundation for it in bits and pieces. As "The Artist's Way" author Julia Cameron would say, you have made your creative work into "no big deal." And I know when I'm tired, everything feels like a big deal, so I'd better have my creative goals cut down to size in this way.
My wish for all of you this week is a beautiful piece of patchwork creativity, whatever that means for you. Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Or if you have another method that works for you, please tell us about your experiences and results. Thanks!
Blessings,
Susan
P.S. A note to local folks: Last call for the "Design Your Future" workshop on Saturday, February 25, from 1 to 5. The registration deadline is Wednesday, February 15!
Friday, February 03, 2006
Dumping the Myths Around Inspiration
Thank you, Betsy and J for your comments! You both mentioned inspiration, so let's go there today....
"No matter what our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides." (Author unknown.) So.... Go, Betsy and other artists of every stripe! The world needs what you have to offer. (For more about what Betsy has to offer, go to www.opendoorfitness.com.)
There are a lot of myths around the idea of inspiration. Let's dump 'em! The first myth is that inspiration is going to show up at your doorstep and say, "Congratulations! You have just won the Idea-of-a-Lifetime Sweepstakes!"
Writer Brenda Ueland explains how it really works: "I learned that inspiration does not come like a bolt...but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly...give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness." So don't just do something, sit there! Meditation works great for this, as does journaling.
The second myth to dump is the one that says that artistic souls need to have total freedom in order to create. Not so! Structure is not such a bad word after all.
In her book, "Pencil Dancing," Mari Messer says, "Why impose structure when you don't have to? You do it to make a framework to hang your thoughts on."
Structure doesn't have to be boring! For example, you can create an interesting structure instantly by choosing three words randomly from a book and challenging yourself to use them in the same paragraph. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Blessings,
Susan
P.S. For more info on the guided journal, "The Whispering Heart," that J mentioned in her comment, please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com. Thanks!
"No matter what our attempts to inform, it is our ability to inspire that will turn the tides." (Author unknown.) So.... Go, Betsy and other artists of every stripe! The world needs what you have to offer. (For more about what Betsy has to offer, go to www.opendoorfitness.com.)
There are a lot of myths around the idea of inspiration. Let's dump 'em! The first myth is that inspiration is going to show up at your doorstep and say, "Congratulations! You have just won the Idea-of-a-Lifetime Sweepstakes!"
Writer Brenda Ueland explains how it really works: "I learned that inspiration does not come like a bolt...but it comes to us slowly and quietly and all the time, though we must regularly...give it a little chance to start flowing, prime it with a little solitude and idleness." So don't just do something, sit there! Meditation works great for this, as does journaling.
The second myth to dump is the one that says that artistic souls need to have total freedom in order to create. Not so! Structure is not such a bad word after all.
In her book, "Pencil Dancing," Mari Messer says, "Why impose structure when you don't have to? You do it to make a framework to hang your thoughts on."
Structure doesn't have to be boring! For example, you can create an interesting structure instantly by choosing three words randomly from a book and challenging yourself to use them in the same paragraph. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
Blessings,
Susan
P.S. For more info on the guided journal, "The Whispering Heart," that J mentioned in her comment, please email me at scleaver@dejazzd.com. Thanks!
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Welcome to creative4life!
Through this blog, I envision an ongoing forum about living creatively at work and at play. Please do jump in with your comments and experiences!
In last Sunday's USA WEEKEND, an essay appeared called "Acts of Kindness," by 16-year-old Maria Jose Perez. In it she explains how she started reaching out to the other students at school. She had an ulterior motive, however, which was to get elected into the student government system. Along the way, she discovered how much she valued the resulting friendships. The original goal soon lost its luster for her.
I had a similar experience when I used to write children's fiction. I studied the creative process with the ulterior motive of getting published by "real" publishers. Self-publishing wasn't "good enough" for me then. I wanted my creativity to have a capital "C"!
I had only a smidgen of success in that field, but I fell in love with the creative process, and its cousin, intuition. I write what pleases me, and I shamelessly self-publish my work. I also shamelessly plug it; email me for details about my guided journal, workshops, and tele-coaching!
My wish for you this week is that you will let yourself do something creative with a small "c." Write a letter, make your own soup recipe, solve an everyday problem...anything that brings you satisfaction. Remember that expressing yourself creatively is a vital part of your self-care. Let me know how this experience goes for you.
Blessings,
Susan
In last Sunday's USA WEEKEND, an essay appeared called "Acts of Kindness," by 16-year-old Maria Jose Perez. In it she explains how she started reaching out to the other students at school. She had an ulterior motive, however, which was to get elected into the student government system. Along the way, she discovered how much she valued the resulting friendships. The original goal soon lost its luster for her.
I had a similar experience when I used to write children's fiction. I studied the creative process with the ulterior motive of getting published by "real" publishers. Self-publishing wasn't "good enough" for me then. I wanted my creativity to have a capital "C"!
I had only a smidgen of success in that field, but I fell in love with the creative process, and its cousin, intuition. I write what pleases me, and I shamelessly self-publish my work. I also shamelessly plug it; email me for details about my guided journal, workshops, and tele-coaching!
My wish for you this week is that you will let yourself do something creative with a small "c." Write a letter, make your own soup recipe, solve an everyday problem...anything that brings you satisfaction. Remember that expressing yourself creatively is a vital part of your self-care. Let me know how this experience goes for you.
Blessings,
Susan
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