|
|
|
SGL Notes Newsletters>
SGL Notes - vol. XIII
May 28, 2004
Solid Ground Learning Notes – vol. XIII
Hi Everyone,
I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to
lie low for the last few weeks whilst recovering from
surgery. I wasn’t pressured to clean house (I am not
allowed to vacuum or lift anything heavy). I didn’t feel
guilty about ‘not working’ (I am supposed to rest). And I
had time to myself, without distractions and people needing
my attention (my daughters were at school and my husband
was at work). What an opportunity to be creative!
If you are feeling the need to explore this unique side of
yourself, let me give you some pointers.
#1 Just do it.
At some point, between your work, school, family, home,
etc. you need to ‘steal’ time for creativity.
#2 Find quiet time so that you can experience inspiration.
Take a ‘daydreaming break’. Don’t do it when you’re tired
– you’ll fall asleep. Don’t do it when you have a
deadline, or at work, or under stress. Your mind wants to
stay on the task and will demand attention thus making you
feel guilty. And don’t try to daydream when you are
hungry. I get my inspiration while driving, resting,
bathing, exercising or walking. (Feel free to contact me
about my Magical Mystery Tours.)
#3 Tap into your subconscious.
EVERYTHING that you experience is stored in your memory.
Your brain is rich in perceptions, awareness, sounds,
feelings, events and things that you are not paying
attention to. They are taken in and put . . . somewhere
(like that junk drawer in your kitchen). They are not
coded and filed so they can take some time to recover. One
of the best ways of accessing these ideas is to start a
dream diary and/or a daily journal. Do this by keeping a
notebook and pencil by your bed, in your car, in your gym
bag, and anywhere else where you might get a flash of
brilliance and need to jot it down.
#4 Play.
No matter how foolish you feel, keep in mind that in order
to become creative you must re-establish contact with the
child inside you. Give yourself permission to be playful
about serious things. My dear friend, Colleen Stewart,
suggested that you eat dessert first or that you wear your
clothes backwards or that you have breakfast food for
supper. Try having a rainy day picnic on the floor of the
living room.
#5 Keep and use your sense of humor.
I collect funny creatures that make me laugh and name them
after antidepressants. My favorite is a papier mache rat
doing Pilates. His name is Zoloft.
#6 Exercise or walk at least three times a week.
Exercise oxygenates brain cells and also increases the
serotonin levels (the happy chemicals in your brain) which
will in turn make you less self-conscious about stepping
outside of your comfort zone.
Here is some homework to get you started. Take an object,
any object, and use it in a way that it would not normally
be used.
For example,
• In my home an ornate bedcover has become a swag curtain
in the doorway to the sunroom. (Value Village is a
wonderful resource.)
• I took the skill saw to the kitchen interior wall and put
in two barn windows to let more light into the kitchen.
(Hint – it is a good idea to know where the electric wires
are before you tackle this on your own. I learned this
through experience.)
• My fridge was covered with my favorite recipes. I cut
them out of my cookbooks and polyurethaned them into a
patchwork. As a result, I freed up cupboard space and
covered up an ugly appliance. I have since given my fridge
to my good friend, Marie Klaude. The problem is that now
when I need the Broccoli Buffet Salad recipe I have to get
her to read it to me off her fridge.
• Try putting a large, empty picture frame on an easel in
your yard so that you see a ‘picture’ of your garden
through the frame.
• Much to my husband’s . . . ‘surprise’ . . . I used his
golf clubs as rods for side panel curtains. He is learning
to hide ‘his stuff’.
• Need a bigger table? We use an old door (door handle
removed) as our kitchen table.
• A battery operated toy biplane makes a unique kitchen
fan.
• When is a crawl space not a crawl space? When it is
opened up to become a children’s play area.
• OSB (particle board) makes great flooring when cut into
4’ x 4’ tiles and lath is used as the grouting. Diamond
Finish Polyurethane makes it very durable.
• And so it goes on . . .
• If you need more inspiration, or you want a good laugh,
private tours are available upon request.
Quote for the Day:
“Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making
something out of it after it is found.”
-James Russell Lowell (US
poet, critic, editor & diplomat)
All the best to you and yours,
Jennifer Sackley
SOI Practitioner
Solid Ground Learning
www.solidgroundlearning.com
solid.ground@shaw.ca
1 604 819 0834
If you do not wish to receive my monthly newsletters,
please advise me and I will immediately remove you from my
address book.
|
|
