What do I wish to start....?

Jamie Ridler's Wishcasting Wednesday's question is "What do you wish to start?"

I have stacks of  "startings." Pieces of art. Pages of stories. Notes with ideas. Journals of inventions.
I sit back and just think about them all. I ponder the meaning of "start."

...to begin or set out, as on a journey or activity.

...to appear or come suddenly into action, life, view, etc.; rise or issue suddenly forth.

...to spring, move, or dart suddenly from a position or place.

...to be among the entrants in a race or the initial participants in a game or contest.

...to give a sudden, involuntary jerk, jump, or twitch, as from a shock of surprise, alarm, or pain.

 

I have lots of those. I have set out, suddenly go into action, spring, dart, been in several races, and I have jumped, jerked and twitched.

 

I have a stack of stuff/ideas/art that is languishing. Doubt comes in. Procrastination. Soft addictions. Time consuming distractions.

 

I wish to start...finishing.

I wish to start completing what I started. Art, stories, ideas...round them up. Decide what the next steps are. Even domestic projects. I started to organize my closet - get it done. 

 

I want to start finishing the ideas and dreams. Move. Rise and issue forth. Bring tangible results out from the void. The recipe is "dream and manifest, think and do."

 

Start to finish.

 

If you can dream it, you can do it. 

Walt Disney

 

 

Join in! Check out Jamie's blog here.

If Anything Was Possible...

If anything was possible I would wish for...

Funny how my imagination FLIES with ideas...then stops, "oh noooooo." Then opens again, then closes again. A fantasy begins to form, the POOF! "the voice of reason" makes it disappear.

I get annoyed.

OH, BE QUIET! you naysayer voices inside my head.

So much time is spent in turmoil with the inner-naysayer.
How much freer would I be without it/her/him/them. What would be possible for me if I were free?

And...what would be possible without all those real people out there who seem to always know more than me and make it her/his business to tell me how wrong I am..or how much I don't know...better take this class and get that certificate... THIS is the best book to read and THAT is the best thing to do...I've been doing this for X-many years and therefore....

*sigh*

Why do we create these inner barriers...and why do people become literal barriers?

If anything were possible I would wish for ALL the Naysayers, Critics, and Negative People to ... go away. Join together and have a great time naysaying and criticizing each other...but leave me alone.

I know what I am doing. I am making my own choices for a reason.
If I do not ask, it may mean I am content on my path, EVEN IF it doesn't look right to YOU...it may be the perfect fit for me.

If anything were possible, I would wish for a world (inner and outer) free of Naysayers.

Say I...




(It's Wishcasting Wednesday over at Jamie Ridler Studios!)

Morning Pages - July Kick-off

Jamie Ridler has awakened some of us to the practice of writing 'morning pages' starting today, July 1.

"The Artists' Way" and "Vein of Gold", by Julia Cameron, introduces us to the practice of Morning Pages: to begin your day by writing...BY HAND... three pages of dumping out mind chatter. Ok...that is definitely MY definition!

I did pages for awhile while reading The Artists' Way...then lost the habit. Again, I did morning pages while reading "Vein of Gold"...and dropped the habit. And something here I do not understand. I LOVE doing morning pages, and yet, I keep dropping this activity that I love? What is up with that?

Doing morning pages is a total brain bath. I write everything down. From thinking that the journal I am writing in is 'larger' than most notebooks and maybe a page and a half is the same as three other sorts of pages... LOL. To wondering which bill to pay...to hoping that the next art piece will come together like I see it in my head. I yell at others and myself. I write about when I stop writing to feed the stray cat. I comment on the weather. Anything goes. Anything. It is freeing and enlightening.

Writing my morning pages gets SO MUCH out of my head. Morning pages burns off the crap that seems insistent on building up...and, the best part...morning pages always results in at least, AT LEAST, one nugget of amazing truth.

Yes. Why would I walk away from this delicious habit?

Check out Jamie's blog where she talks about Morning Pages...click here.
Julia Cameron LIVE/The Artists Way blog is wonderful...click here.

My favorite is "Vein of Gold." I have just decided that I'm going to dig that book out and go through it ... again.

What to do while navigating the sea of infinite possibilities

runs with silver platter

"Shadow Dance" Photo by Lisa Kewish

It is ok to talk about yourself.

It is GREAT to talk up your qualities.

It is amazing to hear about your struggles.

Why not be amazed with your human being-ness? Why pretend otherwise?

No need to apologize for.........anything.

"Sorry" should be eliminated.

(true apologies for a real event that needs mending is acceptable)

Being confused about choices is real and also ok. 

Reveal the monsters. Revel in them, even. Why not?

This is called life and the best use of it is to run with it.

If a carrot is dangled - grab!

If a wooden nickel is offered - bite it and move on!

If a bowl of cherries is plunked down in front of you, eat them and have a pit spitting contest!

Of course, you know the lemons-make-a-drink cliche.

Most important...

If a silver platter is handed to you -  run! 

And tell us all about it so that we can cheer, or cry, or fight the fight with you. 

Yes, I am currently influenced by watching "Downton Abbey" and seeing all the rules and regulations that people lived by. Have we really changed all that much? Sometimes I don't feel that we have...

Behavior, propriety, privacy and embarassment. 

Pshaw!

Phooey!

Be pissed.

Be aroused.

Be astounded.

Be negative.

Be positive.

Be full on and luscious.

Be real.

and stop saying "sorry" for it.

Wave the silver platter so that we know to give you a standing ovation.

Noticing the Negative

In Dr. Randy Borum’s article entitled, “Re-Train the Negative Brain” (first appears in Black Belt Magazine, January, 2008, pp. 48-50) he explains that numerous studies have shown that the electrical (or neural) connections in your brain are stronger and faster when they are responding to something unpleasant than when responding to something neutral or pleasant. Since the negativity gets the most ‘juice’, it seems obvious why negativity can become the major orientation. This is a survival tactic from antiquity to insure our survival since our brain needs to evaluate information automatically and often without our conscious participation in order to remain safe. When given the choice of positive, neutral, or negative, it will choose negative almost every time research shows. (From http://optimalperformancetraining.com/can-you-re-train-the-negative-brain/)

I have observed (over the past few years)...
Someone asks, "How are you?" If my answer is , "Good" (or something better)... there is not too much of a continuation of the conversation.
If my answer is anywhere along negative lines...then I get asked out for coffee, lunch, dinner, pedicures, massages, movies, drinks...

I began to notice this when I was very young. My mother would spend Sundays visiting the other church ladies. If one was in a positive space, the visit wasn't very long. If a woman was "going through something", there would be tears and holding and attention and yummy foods eaten. Even though I was "just a kid", I recognized the pattern.

I still see the pattern.
I've decided...to break free.

For I also read about neuroplasticity...and that we can change.
Doesn't even phase me that I'm up against evolution...or am I?

(Ponderings and Photograph by Lisa)