Butterfly wings and wood nymphs…hello FREEDOM!

Years ago, when I was leaving a full-time corporate job for the second time in my life to pursue unknown endeavors, a colleague gave me an inspiration stone with the word FREEDOM engraved on it. Even though I thought I knew what it meant at the time, today I have developed a very intimate relationship with the word.

As I coach myself and others through transition, I’ve learned that the most important part of change goes on in the mind. How we see ourselves and what we believe affects everything. I’ve noticed that most of us don’t have a great opinion of who we are and have little faith in turning things around. That’s ok. Because there are many tools to remedy this malady. And one of the best ones is the use of visuals. Guided imagery, vision boards, visualization exercises, expressive painting. While I practice all of these methods, I’ve discovered yet another transformative visual tool that’s worked wonders for me through my own personal evolution. Engaging with a camera.

I was blessed with a boyfriend who is a talented photographer and Photoshop expert. Before I met him, I had never loved being in front of a camera. In fact, I had trouble smiling, and I still hate the first picture he ever took of me—my smile looks forced and I look a little annoyed (which I’m pretty sure I was). But Jim kept taking pictures. And all of a sudden, I was able to let loose. At the Botanical Gardens in Atlanta, I was suddenly a butterfly. In the woods of Dahlonega, I became a wood nymph. And for my birthday, Jim gave me a DVD of pictures of me set to music. Some he had taken, some were from before we met. I cried when I saw it. He had captured me, my true essence, and given it to me as a gift.

The name of the piano piece he used as background music was Stanton Lanier’s Freedom. And I looked free, completely full of love and free. Many people in my life were under the impression that I had always been free—that I did what I wanted when I wanted, had no fears at all. But I knew better. I knew what my real fears were and they were real. I was terrified of pursuing my true passions for fear of becoming penniless, homeless and, worst of all, dependent on others. But seeing those pictures of me were amazing. I could see who I was, who I wanted to be and who I could be.

Practicing some type of visualization helps us change our perceptions of what is, gives us a better understanding of ourselves and can transform self-doubt into self-confidence. “We believe what we see,” my expressive art teacher used to tell her students. But more than that, if we actively engage with the visual, then it becomes even more powerful—a form of mind sculpting.

Try whatever visual method works best for you. Create a vision board of the life you’ve always wanted (there are many cool ways to create vision boards these days) or take 30 seconds to visualize yourself being who you want to be. But if you’d like to try engaging with a camera and are afraid, here are some ideas that might work for you…

• Play with striking different poses when you’re alone. Pretend you’re different characters and feel the difference between them and you.
• When you feel comfortable with that, do them in front of the mirror.
• If you don’t feel comfortable having a friend take pictures of you, practice playing with your camera’s self-timer. Remember no one ever has to see these photos but you.
• If you feel more courageous, create a DVD of photos of yourself or consider having a vision photo made.

Whatever you choose to do, remember to capture the essence of what you desire for yourself. Is it freedom, self-confidence, a life full of wonder? Chances are you already have some of this already in your life, and it might be living right inside of you. You just may not be able to see it. Bringing it out into your visual consciousness will make it easier to see, grasp and believe it is possible.

Today, I don’t feel like I need someone else to show me my own inner beauty (although I will purr happily if I receive a great compliment). But I still have days full of doubts, when I feel fear creeping in to settle in on its old stomping grounds. On those days, I look at the picture of the wood nymph hanging on my wall. I see her looking straight at the camera with complete confidence, free of any worry or concern. I dare you, she seems to say to FEAR. And I remember she lives inside of me. That I can find her and let her out whenever I want to. That her strength and courage is who I’ve always been. And continue to be. FREEDOM at last!

Different types of visual tools:

• Vision board – typically collages that depict your dreams. Some people use 4x6 index cards for mini boards that show one theme each, so they can carry them with them as visual reminders. Contact me if you’d like to join a vision boarding group. I’d be happy to lead one.
• Mind movies – pre-made movies you can download with different inspirational messages: http://www.mindmovies.com/DownloadPreMades.html
• Altars – a physical space that depicts your wishes, desires and prayers. Check out Emiella Kaufman’s altars http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=103254&id=631655469&l=42f09
• Expressive painting – intuitive painting technique that sometimes includes dialoguing with and embodying elements of your work. Aviva Gold wrote Painting from the Source and holds many workshops and trainings: http://paintingfromthesource.com/
• Mind sculpting – a type of guided imagery that involves all of the senses (often used by professional athletes). Dr. Robert Mauer’s book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life describes mind sculpting really well.
• Custom inspirational DVDs and vision photos – compilation of photos of yourself set to music or a photo of yourself photoshopped into a setting that depicts your true essence. Check out Jim Sichinolfi’s work: http://www.essephoto.com/
• Guided imagery – Sanaya Roman has great guided imageries in her book Spiritual Growth. She also has a number of audio meditations you can purchase on her website: http://www.orindaben.com/. Jill Badonsky also sells a guided imagery CD: http://www.themuseisin.com/muse_store.html

Hop, skip and jump through change. My interview with Jill Badonsky, author of Awe-Manac.

I had been searching for a coaching training program for a long time when I came across Jill Badonsky’s website. I was in the midst of my own major life transition, dropping my MFA program after leaving my marketing career behind. Now what? I had always wanted to coach others. But I needed to learn to coach myself first. When I spoke to Jill over the phone, I knew she understood exactly what we all go through when we’re trying to make any type of change—even if it’s writing that great children’s book that’s been living inside of you since you were six. You want to do it, but somehow you end up watching Project Runway instead.

I signed up for Jill’s Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching program and learned to overcome the overwhelming feelings that kept blocking me. Just like me, Jill is a corporate drop-out, and she’s now a successful author, coach and artist. During my training, I got to read her first book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard). Now she’s just completed her second—The Awe-Manac, A Daily Dose of Wonder. And she’s taken the time to answer some of my questions about it. Both of Jill’s books are fun, inspiring and give us simple tools that help us adopt more nurturing, compassionate and playful ways to handle whatever we’re facing—because that’s really the only way to keep hopping excitedly through change, make the jump over to the other side and continue skipping happily along.

Interview with Jill

Rita: One of my favorite quotes in your book is by Mark Twain: “Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.” So many of us don’t allow ourselves to play and, all of a sudden, our creative projects, and life itself, become way too serious. Did you always find it easy to connect with your child self and if not, what was that process like for you and how did it affect your creativity?

Jill: That's one of my favorite quotes too!
Playing has always been easy for me as a result of a screwed up childhood where my parents forgot I was there so I just decided to vanish into a world of my own making. I just recently came out of it with a harsh awakening at age 49 but by then the whole style of play, fun, and not getting too serious about ANYTHING was already installed. I have to thank my talented and negligent parents for this gift. It has served me in many ways namely my life is fun most of the time despite what's happening around me… except for those occasional inconvenient things like grieving, taxes, and keeping track of my keys.

I needed to make both of my books fun in order for me to write them. All my programs, services and publications have an element of humor which I believe contributes to their effectiveness.

I included a tool called KidStuff in the Kaizen-Muse creativity coaching curriculum I teach… which you just became certified in, because it's so important to our success in the creative process.

Rita: The Awe-Manac is so playful and fun, yet so powerful in its undertaking. By encouraging us to celebrate the things we’re not normally conditioned to celebrate, it helps us shift our thinking from those negative voices we all hear to gratitude, creativity, lightness and laughter. What inspired you to write this book?

Jill: Thank you! I was inspired by having the need to shift my thinking from the negative voices we all hear to gratitude, creativity, lightness and laughter … I wrote the book for myself as I slipped into a rough time in my life, knowing that I'm not so special that what would help me wouldn't help others as well.

Plus it was a hell of a lot of fun doing the research, inventing the potions, creating illustrations and basing it on a take-off of The Farmer's Almanac. It became a festive game of filling in the blanks once I had the structure.

Rita: How do you think the Awe-Manac can help people who are going through life transition or change?

Jill: Life transition and change are times of overwhelm where we can easily lose sight of the joy there is in small moments because we are caught up in stress. Having only a page to read daily breaks down a program of inspiration in doable doses that can over time keep someone grounded in a clear and relaxing place. The prompts and quotes suggest lightness of thought and I know that's what I need during life transitions.

Rita: What things did you do or say to yourself that helped you the most when you were transitioning from your corporate career to a creative life?

Jill: Great question.

1. "Thanks for sharing but I'm doing this anyway," (said to voices of fear that were there daily for a few years)
2. I never want to work for someone else again (said in a stubborn voice like a bratty child).
3. I just looked at the small step in front of me and trusted that if I completed it, my intuition would lead me to the next step. That said, I needed to learn that the process is so not linear and to accept and welcome detours, lapses, bridge trolls, flying monkeys, dead-ends masquerading as opportunities and eventual, thorough-ways filled with the blessings inherent in taking risks in the name of a higher purpose.
   

Rita: I know you believe there is a strong connection between spirituality and creativity. Can you explain your thoughts on this?

Jill: To me: being a creator, listening to and expressing an inner call from a higher purpose, using some of the talents with which I was born, being immersed in a process that results in me being a better person, and sharing inspiration, humor, and wisdom are all both spiritual and creative.

Thank you Jill!

Expose your belly even if, even when…

I find those little dogs with the loud barks to be really funny. Every time I see one, I’m tempted to say, “Dude, the bark isn’t working for you. You’re still little.” So of course I loved the story that Rama Berch, founder of Svaroopa yoga, told a room full of yogis one weekend. Whenever her poodle saw people walking on the sidewalk in front of Rama’s house, the dog ran out to them, and instead of barking, she lay down and exposed her belly. “No one could ever resist giving her exactly what she wanted. Old and young, men and women would stop to scratch that belly.”

The story reminded me of one of my coaching clients, who recently let go of her bark in favor of exposing her belly. When I first met Anna, she said she felt paralyzed and overwhelmed. She’d created a wonderful non-profit but didn’t know how to take it or herself to the next level—the work ahead was daunting. And the fear of disappointing those who relied on her prevented Anna from taking the actions needed to grow the organization beyond a one-woman show. “I feel like I’m running in place,” she told me on our introductory call. “I don’t feel like the organization can function without me, and I’m just one person doing it all. That’s just not enough.” Her voice tense and her speech rapid, I could almost hear the anxiety marching back and forth in her head.

More than anything, Anna wanted to develop the resources and platform needed to realize the vision for her non-profit: creating a healing place for the community. But Anna was also terrified of anyone seeing her as less than perfect and fully competent at all times. She had imprisoned herself in the image of strength she had created, and the amount of pressure was paralyzing.

On our third session together, Anna blew me away. She had started to open up and rely on others. During the time we worked together, Anna was invited to present two grant proposals. Instead of writing the same type of grant proposal she was used to presenting, she decided to start from scratch, asking her board members for input. “It was liberating and powerful,” she said, “to invite others in.”

For her second grant, the sponsoring foundation invited non-profit participants to meet with its executives and openly discuss proposals face-to-face, in order to increase the likelihood of acceptance. Nobody signed up, except Anna. “For the first time in my life,” she told me the day before her meeting, “I’m going in there without my perfect grant proposal already written. Instead, I’m going to ask questions on how to do this the best way for my organization.”

So what transpired between coaching sessions one and three? Anna had been working on shifting her thinking to begin honoring and valuing herself and all that she’d been able to accomplish. From that new place of self-worth, she was able to put her ego aside for the sake of her bigger vision to help others. “I decided I didn’t want to run a personality-driven organization. I started acting in the best interest of the people I serve by being honest about what I can do and what I need help with. And I’m letting people know that I’m only one person, instead of letting them think that I’m running a huge organization.” Anna now sounded confident and relaxed as she described her work.

I was awed, inspired and energized by Anna’s change. Because I knew that what I had witnessed was human potential at its best. Despite our full-grown human bodies, many of us tend to behave as if we are five-inch-tall yappy dogs. And I know that at times I can be the smallest and yappiest of them all. Because we feel so small in a big, scary world, we use an insistent bark as our shield. The bark is the familiar ego, and too many of us get stuck living from there. Rather than making us look big and strong, it keeps us from letting go and allowing our creative projects, visions and dreams to unfold.

Anna and I haven’t had our last session together yet, but I did get an email saying that the grant meeting was “AWESOME.” I tend to believe that this is just the first of many wonderful moments and milestones. The more honest and open we are about who we really are and what we’re trying to do, the more things we wish for come easily and happily along. And the greater peace we feel inside. Thank you, Anna, for proving that the best things happen to us when we expose our bellies to other six-foot humans…even when we may feel five inches tall inside.

Say yes chipmunk! Say yes!

Unlike other hibernating animals, chipmunks do not develop a layer of fat to provide them with energy during their dormant periods. Instead, they store large caches of food underground for use during winter. Those cute little cheeks of theirs have internal patches that let them carry food.

If you’re anything like me, you’re a chipmunk too. Really. I’ve recently started coaching people going through transitions and I’ve noticed that we all do, in fact, exhibit some chipmunk behavior. We go through life acquiring all sorts of experiences. We store them somewhere in the underground of our minds. But unlike the chipmunk, when winter comes we look in our empty cheeks and find nothing. We ask ourselves, how in the world can I start my own business, write a book or take on a new position when I’ve never done it before? If we look a little deeper, we’ll be amazed by the large caches of experience we’ve stored.

I distinctly remember that turning point for me. Earlier this year, before I completed my coach training, I decided to develop a website to begin promoting my creativity workshops and coaching services. I didn’t have a Masters in Fine Arts or coaching certification. But what did I have? I started digging. I slowly began finding the nuts. I started by remembering every single art, creativity and writing class and workshop I’d ever taken. I was surprised at how many there were and how much I’d learned. More nuts: the number of writers I’d managed, pieces I’d written and painted, people I’d coached, personal and business transitions I’d successfully mastered over the years. This is what made me qualified to do what I wanted to do. And this is what gave me the confidence to take the leap forward.

How many times have you said no to a job or project because you didn’t think you had enough experience? How many times have you seen someone with a fraction of your talent and knowledge say yes and fumble along? I can remember several times in my own career. The only difference between that person and us is that he or she had the confidence and audacity to say, “Yes I can do it!” If you don’t have that audacity built into your genes—and most of us don’t—find your inner chipmunk and start looking for those nuts. I promise they’re there. You may not have done the same exact project or job before, but you may have done something similar. Remember that all of our skills are transferable.

Moving towards our dreams means saying yes with confidence. It’s definitely scary at times. But the more you say yes, the easier it gets and the more confidence you amass. Start with the nuts, chipmunk, and before you know it, winter will be over and you’ll be running around in the sunny days of your new life.

It’s all in the blankets.

“Everything started changing for you when you started doing that yoga you do.” It was remarkable that my best friend of 30 years (we met in the crib) could pinpoint the moment when things started shifting for me—about a year and a half ago. When I was too afraid to fully pursue my passion for writing, hadn’t had a long-term relationship in 12 years and wasn’t even sure where I was going to live. My stuff was living in San Francisco; my body was lodging in Atlanta.

I stumbled upon “that yoga” my friend was referring to when another friend invited me to go with her to a class. “It’s really relaxing,” she said. And I thought, “Yeah I’ve done restorative yoga before. That’s cool.” My friend didn’t know that I had been living with unrelenting pain in my shoulder blade for over a year. I had come to think of it as an unpleasant, noisy squatter. Harmless enough, it created enough havoc to make it impossible for me to sleep through the night. I was just happy that the intensity of the noise had eased over time—even though it did refuse to stop. And I had tried everything: a sadistic chiropractor, acupuncture needles, homeopathic remedies, physical therapy sessions, all types of yoga and the very unknown Bowen technique. They all seemed to get rid of the pain for about a minute before it returned to its comfortable lodging place.

When I walked into class for the first time, I saw plaid blankets everywhere. No yoga mats, just blankets. Blankets to lay on, rolled up blankets, blankets folded into thirds, blankets folded into halves. Oh yeah, and a couple of blocks. I had been doing Iyengar, Vinyasa, Hatha and other types of yoga for years and I’d never seen anything like this. “Ok,” I thought, “why not?”

Jody, the instructor, helped me settle in on the floor, propping my legs up on several folded and rolled up blankets. We started with shevasana, a relaxation pose I was used to do doing at the end of class. So I knew right away that this was going to be different. And it was. Each pose was a gentler variation of the traditional yoga pose I was so familiar with. Each used a blanket or blocks so that I could actually relax into the pose without any effort at all. We didn’t even get to downward dog. I felt new spaces in my body I didn’t know existed, my muscles let tension slide away, my mind fell into a meditative stupor.

After class, I spoke with Jody. When I told her about my pain and how I had been giving up on yoga little by little, she smiled. “You’ve stumbled into the right place and you don’t even know it. Svaroopa yoga focuses on opening the spine,” she explained. Jody used to be a personal trainer. Then she developed herniated discs. “Going from weight training to Svaroopa was quite a switch for me. But you’ll see the change is remarkable. My discs healed.”

I was skeptical. I’d gotten my hopes up so many times before. But after a few classes and a couple of individual yoga therapy sessions, the change was miraculous. The squatter was not only evicted, but I felt better than I had ever felt before. I felt like I was experiencing my body for the first time. My shoulders, usually uneven due to scoliosis, now looked even in the mirror. I felt happier than ever, giddy. And the pain never returned.

But there was more. Something had shifted internally as well. I’d been on an emotional and spiritual growth path for a long time, but Svaroopa got me to new levels much faster. By helping me reach deep inside of myself and let go.

I now know that those crazy Svaroopa blankets provide external support so we can discover the internal strength that exists inside of each one of us—physically, mentally, and spiritually. And as we release the tensions in the muscles wrapped around our spine, we also release the stories that live in our bodies and color our perceptions. Those old stories from our past that make us react in a very certain way to brand new situations. Those pesky illusions that keep us stuck in the same behavior we’re so sick of even when we don’t realize we’re doing it and even when we don’t know we’re sick of doing it. By releasing all of that, Svaroopa yoga brings us closer to our true essence, to who we really are.

That’s what happened to me. In retrospect, I can now see how stuck I’d been. Just as stuck as that pain had been in my shoulder. I had reached a certain level of happiness and success. And my life had taken up residence on that mesa for so long, that I couldn’t find my way to the higher mesas around me. Internal release gave me the gentle boost I needed to move upward.

Soon after I started Svaroopa, I began working towards realizing my greatest desires. I applied to an MFA program in creative writing, I began visualizing the love of my life, and decided that I would pursue a creative career despite nearly immobilizing fears around money. And I finally moved my things to Atlanta. Those were just a few steps in a journey I never could have imagined at the time. One that’s brought me more joy and growth than I could have ever conceived. Now I’m a writer, artist and creativity coach with the love of my life by my side. And I continue to practice Svaroopa every day. To make sure no squatters ever return. But how could they? There’s too much power in a bunch of Svaroopa blankets.

If you live in the Atlanta area, you can try Svaroopa at Jody's studio.
To find a Svaroopa teacher near you, click here.

In the sane asylum, I learned I was an African queen.

I was moving on tip toes, lifting one bent leg, thrusting it to the right and squatting down. My arms came down to the floor and swooped up, springing my body back on tip toes. I twirled myself around and around, my arms outstretched to the sides. I began running like a ballerina would, legs turned out and feet landing lightly at an angle. My arms made outward swimming strokes to push the brush out of the way. I was deep in the jungles of Africa. And as I ran, I could see the others. One woman stomping her feet, waving arms in the air, head bent forward, thrusting from side to side. Her black hair covered her entire face.

It was a Saturday morning in the Candler Park neighborhood of Atlanta. We were in Joan Toder’s expressive movement class, which she calls Dance Meditation. Like all expressive arts, the concept is simple. You let the art form take over, letting it get deep inside of you and pull out some amazing bits from your deepest core. All of a sudden, you’re a dancer, a writer, a painter and you’re learning from those very bits that the art form has brought to light. In Joan’s class, you simply listen to music and move. However, wherever you want. As others in the class do the same.

For the first part of the class, I danced in a corner of the room, not wanting to stray too close to others, focusing on myself and whatever movement came out of me. I heard hooting, grunting and whooping come out of the other participants. Some rolled on the floor, others danced. I couldn’t help but take in some of the energy in the room. Liberation, freedom. It entered my body and made me giggle. It reminded me of Paulo Coelho’s book, Veronika Decides to Die, in which sane people decide to remain in a mental institution because it’s the only place that’s acceptable and easy to be non-conformists. Was this what Coelho’s sane asylum was like? Full of freedom and joy?

After 45 minutes of this, Joan asked us to move intentionally close to others while continuing our own dances. The group gathered in the center of the room and began to move. Now I had no choice. I had to get close to others. At first, I danced on the outskirts of the group, around those on the outer edges. Sometimes it was difficult to maneuver around a person, especially if arms were flailing about. But as I continued to focus on my own dance, I let it take me through the middle of the circle when it was time. The same fast-tempo salsa tune elicited some to move slowly, others to move quickly. So many ways to interpret one song.

And then my favorite and most challenging part of the class. While we danced our own dance, we touched others lightly as we moved by them. Remaining unaffected by their movement. Some people danced together for a bit while their hands touched, each moving in their own world. I saw them connect for a second and then move on.

Joan’s class was such a beautiful metaphor for living a creative life. How we each have our own very distinct dance. How we need to trust it to take us where we need to go. And remain focused on it even while other energies swirl around us. Hopefully, we can. Hopefully, in the bliss of our own dance, we can accept another’s touch. Hopefully, we can offer one to someone else. This is the meaning of true freedom.

Years ago, I would have been too shy to come into a class like this. But now, I look forward to seeing what different art forms can bring out of me and what I’ll learn about myself in the process. If I hadn’t tried the sane asylum of expressive movement, I never would have known that an African queen lived inside of me. Though I did suspect it.

Something to consider:
During times of transition, it’s important to try out lots of new things that push you outside of your comfort zone, like different art forms. Expressive arts not only bring creativity into your life in the least intimidating way, but they teach you about yourself. Things come out of you that you didn’t think you had in you, and those who didn’t think they were creative may be surprised to find they had a writer, painter or African dancer queen living right inside them all along.

Mindless writing 101: permission to play, have fun and be an artist.

My mind got very pissed off the other day. It was finally settling into its favorite lavender-scented bubble bath when it heard an awful thing. So awful that it got out of the tub and started jumping up and down and yelling in outrage. Until I agreed to sit down and write this article.

I was at an art show where my boyfriend and I fell in love with a particular artist’s work. When I saw the way the artist had mastered the use of acrylics in the way I wanted to, I approached the guy standing in the booth and asked if I could take classes.

“No,” he said. “The artist is very busy and very shy. But she’ll tell you that, as an artist, you have to just give yourself permission to play, try different things out and see what works.”

“Yeah, I understand. I’m a writer and it’s the same thing in writing or any art form really,” I said.

“Well no. I come from a big family of writers and I know that when it comes to writing, it’s all about character development.”

That’s when my mind got out of the tub and when my boyfriend gave me a look that said, “I can just imagine what’s going on in your head right about now.”

After taking oodles of writing, art and creativity classes, workshops and trainings over the last 20 years, I’ve come to realize that somehow writing has been involved in a terrible PR campaign that has created a scary, unapproachable and painful image of this sweet art form. Talk to any writer and you’ll inevitably hear about the difficulties of writing. I used to be one of them. Now, I’m determined to put a stop to it.

The following myths around writing are a disservice to writers, potential writers and the art of writing. Hearing these things over and over again from respected authors, directors of MFA programs and emerging writers creates a reality where writing is difficult and people are scared of trying it. It’s time to deconstruct the old PR campaign, because everyone has something to say and it can actually be really fun to write.

Old myth: The writing process is difficult, full of struggle and painful.
New reality: The writing process can be easy, fun, joyful and blissful if we let it.
Whether you’re painting, writing or creating any type of art, the creative process has two distinct parts to it: a flow that comes from quieting the mind and letting the art travel through us, and the craft in which we apply particular techniques to create a polished, finished product. There are zillions of classes on the craft of writing, where we learn about character development and scene creation and narrative arc—all important things that tame the writing and make it go deeper. But if we apply too much focus on the craft, the real organic beauty of our words can easily get squashed. And the process can become difficult, even joyless. Reveling in the mindless, organic part of the process and honoring it as an important part of creativity makes writing joyful and fun.

Old myth: Writing is cerebral.
New reality: The best writing comes from the body and senses and our childlike ability to play.
In the writing workshop I developed, I use practical techniques that disengage the mind, and instead, engage the entire body and senses where our words live. We also practice playing, which is an important part of all creativity, including writing. I recently trialed the workshop with a group that included a couple of writers whose writing I’m familiar with. And some of the words that came out during the workshop were the best I’d ever seen from them. Fresh and different and passionate. By disengaging the mind, you let the writing take you to places you never even thought of going. The writing writes you.

Old myth: The writer often faces a blank page, which causes writer’s block.
New reality: There is no blank page.
I’m not sure if this is an American invention or not but when I visited Cuba this year, I spoke with various writers who insisted there is no such thing as a blank page. “The page is never blank. Even if it appears so. The writer is always full of experiences and ideas. They are already on the page of a different form—in our minds,” one writer told me. Applying organic methods throughout the writing process can create an easy flow from our minds right onto the page.

Old myth: Writers are introverts, and the art of writing is a solitary act.
New reality: Writers need a creative community they can be part of, draw support from and get creatively inspired.
The expectation that writers need to be alone with their thoughts makes the process of writing more difficult. Staying inside of one’s head for too long can be unhealthy, cause depression and put a halt to creativity for lots of writers. While there are many art centers where artists can rent studio spaces, there are very few places like this for writers. Yet, writers too need collaborative centers where they can share office space, have a community of support and get out of their heads. Because the creative process is never a solitary act, and ideas only get better around other creatives. [I’m in the process of developing a creativity incubator for artists and writers. Anyone interested in joining me in this project?]

Writing has been separated from other art forms for far too long by the myths that claim it to be a solitary, cerebral and painful experience. Everyday, I work towards creating this new reality for myself and other writers: a joyful, collaborative world that lets us tap into our deepest writing in the gentlest of ways. To create this new world, I believe that the organic, mindless part of the writing process needs more attention. It needs to be part of every writing program. So we can let our minds go on vacation and soak in the tub as long as they want. While we have some real fun—letting our best words flow onto the page.