Posted by: catalystonline on: February 5, 2010
Being anxious about creating anything is very natural because anxiety is an emotional condition and producing something from your inner self, the most deep and private part of you is both highly emotional, and often challenging.
But just what brings up that anxiety? One theory was that was caused by a chemical imbalance or distorted thinking, but new evidence seems to show it is caused by having a creative intellect.
In general this means having the mental facility to generate, both consciously and subconsciously, complex scenarios in the creative area of the brain. It seems that every anxiety sufferer has this mental resource which can be utilized consciously to produce creative ability or subconsciously by the autonomic nervous system to identify potential risks and initiates the flight or fight response if needed.
This means that under stress anxiety levels rise the anxiety response releases a series of thought processes which provide a ‘risk assessment’ asking ‘what if?’ and uses the sensory organs to collect data and respond with the appropriate course of action. When we are anxious we have physical signs such as breathlessness, or ‘butterflies’ for actors it manifests as stage fright, for writers it can be seen in writer’s block or displacement activity.
My suggestion is you embrace the anxiety and see it as a validation of how creative you are and choose to use that energy in a productive way. When I talk about stress I use the example of fear and excitement having the same physical responses in the body. You are going to experience the same symptoms, so choose to be excited and use it to inspire you to create.
Let me know if this works for you and what you created out of it.
Posted by: catalystonline on: January 21, 2010
It’s Valentines Day in less than a month, so how about thinking of a creative way to express your feelings rather than the traditional card, flowers, chocolate scenario? This is an exercise about listening, rather than writing, and was inspired by something as mundane as a meal.
There is also a very nice tea, appropriately called Love from organic tea company Pukka. It contains rose, chamomile, limeflower, elderflower, marigold, liquorice and lavender so you could brew a pot of that while you are thinking – more information at www.pukkaherbs.com
Posted by: catalystonline on: January 11, 2010
I read a wonderful interview this week with Daniel Barenboim. His life is an example of using creativity to overcome adversity; first losing his wife Jacqueline du Pre to MS and the devastation he felt over that, and secondly his anger and frustration over Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians. The latter led him to found the Divan Orchestra which united musicians from both the Arab and Israeli side of the divide. They have brought great pleasure to audiences worldwide and a comment he made in the interview really struck a chord with me, and I wanted to share it with you.
He said “When I was younger I was more concerned with hope. Now I think it’s a waste of time and energy. You have to do what you can do. Hope is not something you can aspire to. It’s something you have to create.”
At the age of 67, Barenboim has a different view on hope from when he was younger. I absolutely believe in hope; it’s the light at the end of the tunnel that draws us forward, but he’s right about creating it. If you sit in the dark and despair you will not see the light. If you look forward in hope your intention will create a beacon to light the way, but what ignites it is you stepping forward and taking action.
At the risk of sounding like my old English teacher, discuss – and let me know what you think!
Posted by: catalystonline on: January 6, 2010
I am afraid I don’t know the origin of this and if you do I would love you to tell me. It came into my inbox and it’s a good thought and hope to hold over the festive period!
“May today there be peace within.
May you trust that you are exactly where
you are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are
born of faith in yourself and others.
May you use the gifts that you have
received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.
It is there for each and every one of us.”
Posted by: catalystonline on: December 15, 2009
Sadly I have been unable to find the author of the following poem. It has resided in my ‘useful thoughts’ file for a while but a diligent search has failed to turn up who wrote it. I offer it here as reflection for this time of year and to pose the question what is your life too short for?
“Life is too short to wake up with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right.
Love the ones who don’t just because you can.
Believe everything happens for a reason.
If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.
If it changes your life, let it.
Kiss slowly. Forgive quickly.
God never said life would be easy.
S/He just promised it would be worth it.
If you know who originally wrote this, please let me know.
Posted by: catalystonline on: December 2, 2009
If you are a short story writer, then any opportunity to get your work out there is to be welcomed as it is one of the hardest areas in which to get published.
Short Story Radio was founded in 2006 by Ian Skillicorn as an online showcase for writers and to broadcast quality recordings of short stories to an international audience via the website. Since its launch Short Story Radio has had close to 200,000 visitors and has showcased the work of best selling novelists and acclaimed television scriptwriters, as well as previously unpublished writers.
They also have links with many literary organisations and writers, including the New Writing Partnership, and have collaborated with award winning short story writer Sue Moorcroft to produce a series of short stories specifically for over 20 hospital radio stations around the UK.
This year they were awarded a grant from the Arts Council to record twenty new short stories for the website and podcast. Five of these stories are already online, with more becoming available in the coming months.
To listen to short stories go to www.shortstoryradio.com and if you are planning on submitting to them, remember that not all short stories work well as spoken pieces.
Posted by: catalystonline on: November 13, 2009
Poetry can throw us a lifeline and provoke thoughts and feelings that we don’t access every day. Until this week I hadn’t known there was actually an organisation that promotes poetry as a healing force, not until I came across the Poetic Medicine website that is.
John Fox is a certified poetry therapist, author, and associate professor at the California Institute for Integral Studies and in early 2005, he formed The Institute for Poetic Medicine, a non organization dedicated to healing body, mind and spirit through the creative and therapeutic process of hearing and writing poetry. You will find their site interesting and well worth a visit so pop over to http://www.poeticmedicine.com/ but not before you have read this lovely poem of John Fox’s about the power of deep listening – which is the basis of any good therapy, or indeed any relationship.
Finding What You Didn’t Lose – John Fox
When someone deeply listens to you
it is like holding out a dented cup
you’ve had since childhood
and watching it fill up with cold, fresh water.
When it balances on top of the brim, you are understood.
When it overflows and touches your skin, you are loved.
When someone deeply listens to you, the room where you stay
starts a new life and the place where you wrote your first poem
begins to glow in your mind’s eye.
It is as if gold has been discovered!
When someone deeply listens to you,
your bare feet are on the earth and
a beloved land that seemed distant is
now at home within you.
Posted by: catalystonline on: September 23, 2009
I know that title sounds a bit flip, but I mean itin all seriousness as I came across a truly startling statistic this week. According to the World Health Organisation, around 1 million people die of suicide every year, the tenth largest cause of death globally. Awful enough, but what startled me was that more die by suicide than by any other type of violence, including armed conflict.
Every day on average there are 3,000 people who cannot find a sufficient reason for going on with their lives. That figure just refers to the ‘successful’ suicides because for every person who dies there are at least 20 or more who make the attempt.
No culture is exempt though it seems that indigenous communities, particularly in developed countries, are disproportionately affected by suicides. The highest risk group is men over age 85, most frequently widowers, because they often have no social support.
What makes people take that final step? It is hard to hold on to life when you can see no future, or not one that seems to offer hope and comfort. Our belief in ourselves and our ability to make our future what we want it to be gets impaired. Low self esteem, poor sense of our value to ourselves and to others all come into play of course but for me it seems the overwhelming thing that strikes me is a lack of belief in the future.
We are living in challenging times, when perhaps you would think the suicide rate would rise but in fact people commit suicide less during major crises like economic meltdown and war. Why? Is it because the circumstances force an external reason for living that seems to overwhelm our own private concerns?
Certainly one factor that has been shown to increase the numbers is sensational media reports on suicide. Apparently, there is a tendency for increased suicides within the following weeks by people who identify with the victim who got publicized for the act.
What are they identifying with? A life that is similar to their own, or seeing a way out that perhaps they had not considered? I am asking a lot of questions here and of course we all have our own personal answers.
One of the things I learned when I studied with Eric Maisel to be a creativity coach was that life has to have meaning. No dissent there, but what I found harder to reconcile was his view that the meaning in your life is the meaning you give it. You are the one who takes that decision, not external factors or the views of your friends or family though too often we rely on what others tell us about ourselves rather than taking the more difficult route of looking into the mirror and seeing the person who is really there. Not the image we present, but the reality at a soul level of what we stand for, what we hope for and what we want to create in our life.
It’s about asking ourselves the difficult questions:
What do I contribute to my life and to others?
When am I willing to live all of me to the full?
Who am I in the deepest moments of my soul?
It reminds me of that phrase which I believe is from the Gnostic Gospels (and please tell me if you know the exact source) that so resonated with me when first read it that I could only see it through a veil of my own disappointed tears:
“If you bring out that which is in you, that which is in you will save you.
If you do not bring out that which is in you, that which is in you will destroy you.”
I feel that suicide is the ultimate way of deciding not to bring out the glory and talent that lies within all of us.
What do you think?
Posted by: catalystonline on: September 17, 2009
Have you heard of K.I.S.S? It’s much used in business and particularly in training, and it stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. Now I agree with ke K.I.S.S PROCRASTINATION GOODBYE! Have you heard of K.I.S.S? It’s much used in business and particularly in training, and it stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.
Now I agree with keeping it simple in principle – but calling me stupid isn’t going to help tackle procrastination. I prefer a much kinder, and more effective way of thinking of it thmental problems that procrastinators face – that of being overwhelmed – so that is what I use:
Keep
Implementing
Small
Steps
Every part of that is an essential tool to dealing with procrastination. Whatever it is you are procrastinating about, I promise it will be easier to tackle if you just follow those four simple instructions. Whatever the issue, if you can look at it as a series of small, achievable, actions you are on the way to overcoming your procrastination.
Keep is the first part and what does it mean? Well it means keep going, or keep repeating an action. Do something to move your project forward, and keep on doing it. No stopping after just one attempt, by all means rest and recoup if it has proved difficult but the key lies in consistently addressing yourself to the problem.
Implementing is straightforward enough; thinking of how to overcome your procrastination is all very well but it is action that will move you forward. I know how easy it is to get seduced into thinking over your options and debating what you ought to do. That’s great, but you actually have to do it! To quote the immortal Elvis ‘a little less talk and a lot more action’ needs to be your motto.
Small is another key word that will help you be successful in tackling procrastination. Not actions that are so huge you can’t get them done in one session, or are so numerous you get exhausted just thinking about which one to do first.
I will let you into a secret; it doesn’t matter which action you decide to do first, as long as it is small, manageable and you do it. Most procrastinators tend to see the project as a giant mountain they have to move in one go; reality is if you take a shovelful at a time it will get moved. Yes, it takes longer, but not nearly as long as if you never start to move that earth.
Steps are where you catch up with Keep; in other words one step at a time will get you there and you keep on making them! The simplest way to do this is to write a checklist of the actions that need to be done, and put “Write checklist” down as the first item and keep it limited to items you can do on that day. When you have done your list cross that line out because you have done it! You are already on your way and taken action.
Even the longest and most difficult task only consists of a series of smaller tasks, which if you see them as small steps will be are easily achievable. They may be small steps individually, but they are a giant step for a procrastinator!
Self Publishing – Is it For You?
Today there are many options available to writers. The traditional publishers face challenges from self-published books, e-publishing and the web. You need to decide what is best for you, and your work. Once you have written something, you usually want other people to read it, whether that is just friends and family or a wider market. Finding the right place for your work means doing some initial research. These notes apply to all writers, both fiction and non-fiction and if you want to self-publish these are the key questions to ask yourself:
Why do I want to do this?
Is it for the money, to promote my business, to improve my credibility or public profile or to share information?
Do I already have a ready market?
Is there a current mailing list, network established, website sales or a client group or niche market that you have targeted?
How much work am I willing to do?
There is a total input versus cost ratio and the less you want to do, the more it will cost you. Self-publishing involves many different stages and the more you do yourself the more cost-effective it will be.
What form do I want my book to be?
An adobe downloadable file, posted to a website, a printed book that you will distribute and if so how many copies do you want printing? One at a time or do you want to hold stock?
Once you have asked and answered those questions, then it’s time to look at what your options really are, and I will look at those in my next post. l
