The Muse is IN Blog

Love What You Do in 2023

 

May you be in love for at least the next 7,000 days ...   and may you start with one small step in 2023.

2023 is on the Launch Pad   Hi ,   "Trajectory: the path followed by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces."   My trajectory is not linear. It weaves and bounces, shimmies and jitterbugs, soars and crashes, then dusts itself off and cartwheels through my dandelion garden. The cats are used to it.     The one thing that remains consistent is an unfettered commitment to taking small steps based on what blows my inner pinwheel into a passionate orbit of love - the given force that makes action enticing.   So when I plan a New Year path, each step is fueled by what I love, value, and am curious about - rather than some boring, high pressured goal or resolution that comes from the kingdom of shoulds where a band of screaming zealots reach goals that temporarily seem impressive but dull with the pressure of sustaining a precarious commitment.  Then the ego admonishes the lack of follow through, or a goal is reached, the ego keeps upping the bar and crankiness ensues.      Nothing is ever good enough when this approach is taken. I don't recommend it no matter how many articles you see that promote it.   The irony is, when we do what we love, value, and are fascinated by, perseverance is easier and perseverance makes dreams happen.      love + perseverance = mastery mastery + dailyish steps = confidence confidence begets courage which becomes freedom to take risks, move beyond the necessary mistakes to ever-new joy. My kind of mathematics.   This is what we teach in Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching along with demonstrating evidence that lowered expectations banish procrastination and avoidance, and again, ironically lead to quality results.      If you want to receive a guided visioning meditation, following by guided writing, guidance from the principles of Modern Day Muses, and more about this more effortless approach, please join me in this discounted 2023 Visioning Workshop coming Wednesday, December 28 - noon pacific/ 3 eastern... Discounted because we  we need the world to come alive with people doing what they love  - it's contagious.  Not free because the exchange of energy makes commitment easier.   $15 Click here to sign-up: A Zoom link will be your Paypal receipt You can also pay by Venmo   KMC3 members free - Please email me for the link     An Interview with Danny Gregory I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Sketchbook Skool guru, Danny Gregory. on the Art for All podcast.   We talk about everything from how creative people hate to be told what to do to when it's appropriate to keep a creative idea a secret. I do a quick coaching session with Danny ... we all could use a little help. Listen to that here or watch it at Art for All on Youtube.  .    By the way, there are spots open for the Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching Certification Training in January 2023. I've gone from offering this twice a year, to once a year to work on my own creative passions. It's a sure what to take your own creativity deeper and if you desire, help others do the same.    Stay safe, Happy Holidays-Are-Almost-Over, Jill

The Rain

“The real world is much smaller
than the imaginary”
~F. Nietzsche 

 

I wrote imaginary stories during the pandemic to make the confinement of the real world a little larger. With the collective exhaustion from the aftermath of Covid,  divisive politics, and climate change - the imagination is still a way to find restoration, refreshment ... and to enjoy the music that is the rain.

 

I'd like to share the healing, wonder, and relaxation of these stories with you. 

 

It's raining right now in San Diego and that's what this first story is about. What if rain played music as it came down? Read the story and hear the music in your imagination or here's the podcast - music is synced to the rain.

 

 

The Rain (from A Muse's Daydream podcast)

 

It’s been a tough day… year, it’s been a tough year. It’s sad and scary and frustrating.

 

So I’m headed up to my writing loft. It’s upstairs.

 

And when I get there, I instantly feel more present to this moment where things are safe and comfortable.

 

There’s a floor to ceiling window looking out into an enchanting little forest of trees, all green and reliable. Inside is the smell of cinnamon clove tea and cedar from the wood, a welcoming red cozy rug, my ballerina mobile is dancing slightly, breeze in the high roof, and my big teddy bear recliner chair, where I write poems and prose and podcasts can almost be heard saying – get over here, sit down, and surrender, so I do. The chair is deep and easy, plush and padded, I sink in and feel taken care of.

 

Breathing in and breathing out, I go deeper.

 

I hear rain against the window.I love the sound of the rain, its percussion, its erratic insistence, and then I listen closely and I do hear the music of rain…the rain becomes music. I close my eyes and imagine rain falling down on me like musical notes falling from stars.  Everywhere the musical notes rain around me, on me, and near me there is a sense of relaxation, I relax in this shelter of imagination, in this daydream. I breathe again.

 

 And then I write this:

 We run between lightning and shudder from thunder while in this world. But the rain doesn’t care, the music still plays just as it did when the sun was out, and stars still send light. The world gives us so much beauty in so many forms that all we can hope to do is welcome it into our daydreams and make it medicine for the days, or the years, that don’t feel so good.

 

We can replenish our clarity so we can see the moments that lead us to creative celebration and believe in the power of daydreams to do just that.

 

Stay safe, Jill

 

The Muse is IN Creativity Prompts

Writing Prompt:  Write a rain or snow haiku or three line story. Then write another one, going outside your usual first response to something more novel or edit the first one until it makes you smile.     Art Prompt:   There may be one person you haven't thought of to send a holiday card to who would love to get one from you. Make a simple one like the bear on the left and surprise them.

 

Upcoming Creative Things:

 

       Tuesdays, January 3- 31, 2023 Wild Abandon

Ror Sketchbook Skool's Spark Program:  Letting loose with sketching and watercolor painting  especially for the intimidated beginner but for all levels wanting to have fun and find an artistic voice.   More information

 

January 23 - May 15, 2023
Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching Certification Training 

A new 17-week training begins January 23, 2023 on Zoom. Something for yourself as well as others. Get trained as a creative catalyst but it's also a sure-fire way to take your own creativity to a new level, especially if you're feeling resistant, overwhelmed, or unsure.  19 years of training.
Check it out here or email me for a chat.

Two unsolicited testimonials from the last training:

"You and your program have changed my life in many wonderful ways. I’m very grateful." ~S
"It’s been such an amazing learning experience …I .have drawn so much from the experience. It’s been deep learning and enriching. With a heart full of gratitude. " ~JW

 

February 21 - May 9, 2023

The Nine-Modern Day Muses Facilitator Training: Meet 10 powerful creative principles in the guise of modern day Muses - they will take your creativity deeper and teach you how to run groups to do the same for others. Based on the book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard). More information and registration here.

 

October 1-6, 2023 Wild Abandon at Omega Institute in NY
Save the date for Omega Institute of Holistic Sciences in the forest at Rhinebeck, NY. I'll be teaching Wild Abandon Creativity. Watch for it in their catalog.