Gearing back up for the Artists Way Class...

Sharing my little email with you all that I sent out to my class, just in case some of you are working the artists way book too.   We meet in person  but longer then the 12 weeks...hard as it is to keep it all going I think the group has made a great connection with each other so I'm looking forward to the next 6 weeks....then my little chickadees are on their own to spring new Creative Clusters to their liking.   Good to have supportive people around. 

Happy New Year to all,

Hope your holiday happens have refilled you with new hopes and inspiration.

We will be meeting Jan 6th at 9:30, am  Mayslake Peabody Estate.

I know there will be a need to reconnect so we will all try to keep it short, think about what you would like to share.  I'm going to try and give a recap of where we have been with the book.  If you've taking a break with the Morning Pages, try your hardest to jump back on and do them...If you need to refresh yourself with the chapters again and read the basic principles page 3 and affirmation on page 36.   I find most of the time when I read them they help me center into the safe mode again and begin the re-connection to the Good Orderly Direction,

Recap

Week 1  Recovering a Sense of Safety

This week had us look at things and start to open our hearts. Touching base on circling thoughts or blurts as Julia like to call them.  When sitting with our morning page we have to learn to combat those blurts with positive twists of faith and use gentle loving care with ourselves.

Ex: I don't know what direction to go in and I'm feeling like I can't get it done and there's too much to do so I'll just not even start.  

Ex: A new year has started and with that new ideas of change have fallen upon me and excited my aspirations, it’s an exciting spot to be in...Know that you won't be able to do it all in one day but taking things and breaking them down you can make progress. 

This actually was in my morning page this morning...it's not a jab to the heart as some of the blurts can be but I've learned to counter that with a quick affirmation style. 

Just for fun and to open possibility 5 imagination lives, 1. a creative writer 2. a big snow plow driver 3.a fair boat driver 4.forest preserve guide 5. small town coffee shop owner.

Week 2 Recovering a sense of Identity

This week we were to identify the crazy makers and toxic relationship we seem to hang onto and use to block our creative selves. Watching out for the drama that seems to circle around them zap the life right out of us. Too much of this behavior will feed self-doubt, guilt and boat load of other feelings creative ones can start believing which aren't true.  As Julia's Grandmother shared, survival lies in sanity, and sanity lies in paying attention.   Paying attention is how the healing begins.

Read the Rules of the Road page 55 in my book.  and how's your life pie going...pull it out and get familiar with it again even if you just look at it.

Week 3 Recovering a Sense of Power

Oh Anger...that funny way to light a fire under our bottoms.... Anger says: it's time to take your own ideas seriously enough to treat them well. This week you might have had more experience with synchronicity and may still do...or because of the holidays we might have had to pull our attention into different directions. But after saying this....Once you begin your creative recovery you may be startled to find it cropping up everywhere.  Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it. - Goethe.

Any criticism being heard needs to be sorted out. 

Ex: with the weather colder the husband has been home more, being he works out side.  Well he's notice my activity on the computer, (mind you all I really would rather not but it's a part of the communication now with all the connection and job stuff.)  But he said I've notice that you do a lot of sitting at the computer....and right away I wanted to defend myself and spout out some words...because he really doesn't know what I do on the computer.....but I didn't and I let it be an observation and the truth is I would much rather have someone else do all the computer / paper work... but I do have a secret thing about typing and expressing myself...well there' more to it but the practice of not reaction right away and looking at the real truth gives me some direction to take with the criticism. There might be some truth to it...one of those things I use instead of getting the action going in other areas.

This week we were also asked to experiment with solitude...and being kind to ourselves.  Exercises in growth.

Week 4 Recovery Sense of integrity

The love /hate week... as I call it...I hate not being able to read when I want to and I love what happens with me when I don't use reading to easily stop me from making progress in small steps somewhere else in my life...The Just do it saying from Nike comes into play with this week...Just go clean out a drawer, cook something that fills the house with great smells.. fill the time with living a more active life, active on the things you like to do...  it might be a good thing to try again these next couple of days before we get back together if you can.

Be prepared for this;  Task 1 on Monday Jan 6  in a small paragraph write out you ideal  environment, share the town, season, and what you’re doing in it...

Example:  I'm hopping into my old truck after breakfast with the husband, dogs sitting on the seat of the old truck ready for the drive down the road a ways to the studio.  When we get there I let the dogs out and I go in and light the wood burning stove and start the tea pot of hot water for some wonderful green tea I just received.  I let the dogs in and pull off the large cover on the piece of art I'm working on.  I look at it with my cup of tea and find myself staring past out the window looking at the lake and the moose that is just walking up to the water’s edge.    Give you a sense of personal integrity doesn’t it..?   Come prepared to class with a paragraph of you Ideal environment. 

Week 5 Recovering a sense of Possibility

This was a week that we might have been thinking about some really change. The understand of the good orderly direction in our lives and the abundance of that presence only can let the doors of possibility be at our finger tips. By listening to the creator within, we are led to our right path. On that path, we find friends, lovers, money and meaningful work. We must learn to let the flow manifest itself where it will-not where we will it. I've found personal....I have to make some adjustments with the path....now and then...and the flow starts to open up better.

This week also we were asked to experiment with this two-step process, ask for answers in the evening; listen for answers in the morning. Be open to all help.

Recovery is the process of finding the river and saying yes to its flow, rapids and all.

Be aware of self-destructive behavior on your part....

We were asked to fill in the....I wish.....list       how's that going? 

 This task will also be an assignment for Monday to share:

One of the tasks was to list 10 ways that we're mean to ourselves....though this isn't  positive to do we do need to see it for what it is and sort through and be honest.

Week 6 Recovering Sense of Abundance

Money has been a big creative blocker for some and this week we were to look at that and keep track of our spending....not to be critical but to be aware. I know it was leading into the holiday time so it might have been difficult for us to really understand this all.  But we were also asked to write about the God-Good Orderly Direction in our life in our morning pages. 

What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us....

What is it we really want to do?  This question I personal can ask every morning....

This week we also touch base on the Luxury in our lives....what this said here is, A little authentic luxury can go a long way.  For me at the time I shared the "Cutie oranges" with the class, the smell and how they peeled and the joy they brought everywhere they're brought was a simple but an authentic luxury for me to share and enjoy personally. 

Looking forward to Week 7 Recovering a Sense of Connection.