Creativity Tips newsletter

The Newsletter of Lifespace Coaching ™
Volume 1, No. 2, April 9, 2004

Published every other Friday. To manage your subscription, see the end of this message.

CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
>>Jazz it Up in Poet Boot Camp
>>Article: Let Your Creativity Prosper...with Quiet Mind
>>Feeling Stuck? Experience Coaching in a Free TeleGathering
>>TIP: Spark Your Creativity with an Artist's Date
>>The Artist's Prompt
>>Quotable Quote
>>Copyright and Subscribe/Unsubscribe

Get your imagination rolling and connect with other writers no matter where you live. During camp, which takes place partly over a weekend, you'll create five new poems in five days and receive critiques to help you with your writing. You'll have the support of other writers who are working as hard as you are to create poems despite busy lives. This course takes place online. All you need is email and the desire to learn!

Monkey mind happens when chatter overtakes our brains... Have you experienced thoughts running wild before? You're driving to the store and you think of the reports you need to work on tomorrow and whether your son will get to soccer practice on time and about that pile of laundry in the basement that needs to be washed. Whew!

The voices can be overwhelming, and our minds will chatter on if we let them. The other day, I wondered how creativity can prosper in a mind running wild with worry and uncontrolled thoughts. With some practice, we can replace Monkey Mind with Quiet Mind…

How do you find your Quiet Mind so your creativity can prosper?

CONSIDER: Involve your body in quieting your mind. When we use movement to quiet the body, the mind follows suit. The mind is like the younger sibling, always wanting to do what the older sibling does.

TRY THIS: Stretch in a way that feels comfortable to you, take a walk, perform yoga moves at your level of comfort. The point is to engage your body in the present, so your mind will follow. What shows up in your body as you engage in the movement? What shows up in your body (and your mind) afterwards?

Are you feeling stuck in life?

Are you ready to make powerful and lasting changes?

Join this free telegathering to experience TWO different coaches in action. Most teleclasses offer one coach; we are offering you the chance to experience TWO coaches and to get your coaching-related questions answered. The only cost is your long distance charge. Once you RSVP, you will receive the phone number and password for the teleconference.

Learn more about Deborah here: http://www.lifespacecoach.com/bio.html

Email: deborah at lifespacecoach.com by April 15, 2004 with your interest.

DATE: April 17, 2004, 12 noon to 12:45 p.m. EST

Coaching calls such as these will be offered monthly. Email to learn more.

In the Artist's Way, Julia Cameron proposes we make an artist's date with ourselves in order to nurture our creativity. A few weeks ago, I took myself on a date. On a sunny Sunday, I visited a vintage shop and tried on 1950s ball gowns. As I looked at myself in a mint-green shimmery dress (and socks!), I smiled and felt myself relax. It had been a while since I had been so silly. What a great change from crouching over a desk in my studio! After I bought a shirt, I went to my favorite Maryland coffee house and wrote for two hours.

Here's an artist date suggestion from Julie Jordan Scott:

Go to the park at dusk and swing on the swings. Close your eyes and carefully feel how your body feels when you swap back and forth and back and forth. Notice your feet, your hands, your belly, your face. Listen for your heartbeat. After you get off the swing, capture the imagery in words or in a drawing.

Julie Jordan Scott is a Life and Creativity Coach who Works with Artists and Entrepreneurs to Bring More Business to Your Art and More Art to Your Business. http://www.5passions.com

Please email me with your artist date suggestion and include a blurb for your business. This newsletter is a place for you to share your ideas and promote your art and your business. deborah@lifespacecoach.com

Challenge yourself creatively. Even if you don't consider yourself a writer, you might surprise yourself with this fun experiment!

Write the words "I remember" on a sheet of paper and then write for 10 minutes. If you get stuck, write the words "I remember" again and keep going. Keep your pen moving across the paper. What happened? How did you surprise yourself? If you work in a medium other than writing, how might you incorporate what you discovered during this exercise into what you do?

When you leap, the net appears.
--Zen saying