Creativity: Never Worry. Wonder. Wander.

John Lennon said he wrote the song, "Because" by playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" backwards.

Kevin Popovic, founder of ZIP Idea Lab, part of the Zahn Innovation Platform at San Diego State University says, “From the individual standpoint, there’s a sense of empowerment that comes from creativity. It’s a self-fulfilling positive feedback loop because the more practice we get being creative, the more confidence we have.” San Diego State University requires students to develop a “problem statement” - How might we?

Team exercises at the Foster school of Business involve role-playing where leaders ask the team to find 10 new uses for a product.  “No idea is a bad idea” is the mantra.

Questions to ignite team creativity ask students to discover ways to attach/combine other objects to an item to give it a new use. How does the shape of the item resemble other common shapes? The exercise encourages team members to free their minds so they might run into an amazement.

The University of Nevada Innevation Center, intentionally spells innevation to take the “no” out of innovation.

The interdisciplinary approach at the University of Oregon melds different backgrounds. At the College of Design, students learn about materials, the manufacturing process, design influences, and entrepreneurship. They discover how creativity is enhanced by acquiring interdisciplinary knowledge, making connections that are not obvious, and by applying these strategies to navigate around constraints. 

Professor Kiersten Muenchinger in product design says, “If the round hole is bigger, the square peg might fit. We want to develop people who are inspired by constraints.”

Consider a creative strategy for today.

What could you do in reverse to develop a novelty or new product?

Invert an approach to study new ways of doing things.

Is there an idea to turn upside-down or inside-out to awaken a new perspective?

Ask how nature might solve it?

Approach the day in myriad ways.

Playfulness and humor become the starting points to launch creativity.

Create the Day

"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'l meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase 'each other' don't make any sense."  - Rumi

What happens when one becomes so engaged in an experience that time has no meaning?

Discover a different self as you try on a new attitude, approach, or fresh outlook.

Imagine an immersion in the tangerine, green, and aubergine.

Breathe in the scents of floral varieties.



Notice how blossoms sway and rock in the breezes.

Find the outlines and textures of nature's art.

Jump into a field of wonder. 

Build on ideas to create the day.

Hibernation

When animals hibernate, their metabolism slows. They grow more underfur or feathers and some add extra fat. To conserve heat they often huddle with each other.

Find ways to engage in behaviors that resemble hibernation.

Slow down mind and body with breathing.

Think deep thoughts and deep feelings.

Seek extra cuddles and hugs.

Get satisfying food and sleep.


What else might appeal to your desire to drop out of fast-paced world rhythm?


Super charge your mental batteries.

Relationships

"In every relationship," said Stella. "There's a flower and a gardener. One who does the work and one who displays." 

"A lifetime of conversations. And silence. Knowing when to be silent above all knowing when to laugh."        
                              - Bernard MacLaverty from the novel, Midwinter Break.


"We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.  - Thich Nhat Hanh

How would you define relationships in a metaphor like the one above?


What are your needs?


What do you offer?

Tortoise Philosophy

Harriet, the tortoise, lived for 176 years. She lived at the Brisbane-area zoo in Australia for 18 years. Legend indicates that Charles Darwin carried her away during his visit to the Galapagos Islands in 1835.

Zoo staff marked her birthdays with a pink hibiscus flower cake. 

Zoo officials said Harriet showed no sign of physical decline before the heart attack that ended her life. 

She benefitted from a strict fitness regimen. In the morning, she went outside and warmed up. When she had enough sun, she retreated to the shade. 

With Harriet as inspiration, consider:

In what ways can your future benefit from the past?

Is there a gift or behavior from an ancestor you have not yet claimed?

What can you do to remain in good health into advanced age?

The Lion's Beard

In Southern African Tsonga language, I malebvu ya nghala means - It's a lion's beard. This indicates something is not so frightening as it looks.

This philosophy challenges individuals to confront risk or danger head on, especially for personal gain. It comes from a proverb where a shepherd, David, hunts a lion that stole his lamb. He grabs the lion by the beard and kills it.

Even if a risk taken does not turn out as planned, if one does not face it and, " beard the lion in his den, " one will never achieve the success truly desired.

What if you did not meet first impressions with a fear reaction?  

Consider the reverse of initial apprehensions.  

Be open to probe deeper than instincts might advise.

Discover ways to conquer fear.

Become the lion and roar!

Playfulness, Grace, and Humor

The bird in the forest or the fox on the hill have no such opportunity to forgo the important for the trivial. Habit, for these, is also the garment they wear, and indeed the very structure of their body life. It’s now or never for all their vitalities — bonding, nest building, raising a family, migrating or putting on the deeper coat of winter — all is done on time and with devoted care, even if events contain also playfulness, grace, and humor, those inseparable spirits of vitality. Neither does the tree hold back its leaves but lets them flow open or glide away when the time is right. Neither does water make its own decision about freezing or not; that moment rests with the rule of temperatures. 
                                                                 - Mary Oliver



Wrestle away from Worry. Wander and seek Wonder. Find what Works.

Where do habits take you? Which do you fight and need to fling away? Embrace and develop those that energize the spirit, mind, and body. Nourish your gifts.

Discover playfulness, grace, and humor each day.

In what ways does nature portray strategies for living successfully?

Ponder the Meaning of Loss


During childhood we lose our primary teeth and receive rewards from the tooth fairy. Our parents complain of our hearing loss when we make our own choices. We lose eye lashes and grow new ones along with toe and finger nails that break. The body sheds skin and rebuilds.  

Nature's cycles focus on loss and renewal. Why does loss feel negative rather than natural? What's found as a result?  We find pennies on the street. Sea birds drop feathers for our safekeeping. We misplace keys and jackets then find them. Our socks get lost in the wash. Some return, some don't.  We discover them later hiding in a pillow case. They sneak into our underwear. Reciprocity surrounds us.

Other loses challenge us. We lose athletic events or card games. A pet gets lost and never returns or it dies. We deal with inklings of impermanence when puppy love ends. Friends may get lost or don't write and call. Our relationships alter and we reinvent them. Often we think we've lost our minds or marbles but usually it's just a metaphor for human nature.

Parents and family members age and pass away; words that indicate a "floating" to soften the blow. We think about what they've left behind and dwell in memories. People tell us they're sorry for our loss and use more euphemisms. When calamities strike others, we feel grateful for our well-bring.

At these times of  frustration, it helps to become lost in writing or reading. Pushing the keys or pen helps us lose our fears or shunt them away for awhile.  Our imaginations permit us to let loose and  re-arrange words to bring up a better way to think about lost - Turn it into lots.  Re-arranged letters of lose create sole. Our soul requires nurture.

How do we move into those areas of wildness and live at the edges of the mysterious? How do we extend the boundaries of the self? Creativity and the resulting writing require the permission to be lost. 

In A Field Guide to Getting Lost,Rebecca Solnit writes,"One does not get lost but loses oneself, with the implication that it is a conscious choice, chosen surrender, a psychic state achievable through geography." She continues, "That thing the nature of which is totally unknown is usually what you need to find, and finding it is a matter of getting lost." 

If we let our inner rhythm take over and feel the flow of nature's way, we will sustain ourselves and discover survival skills to turn loss into the next stage for renewal.  We need to collect coins and bird feathers.  

Mysteries remain when we happen upon the loss of one shoe. Did these single soles find a connection?

Ponder the many meanings of loss in your life. Do a freewrite and see where the word takes you.

Concrete poetry and Abstract Art

Do not copy nature too much. Art is an abstraction. - Paul Gauguin

For successful communication, poetry and visual art seek a difference in the nuances of abstraction and concrete imagery.

Poetry that focuses on concepts like love, joy, and fear requires imagery to communicate the details. What do these emotions look, feel and sound like? Writers reveal ways scent and taste add to expression. The sound of sadness has color and texture. As a result, word sad does not need to appear in the writing.

When shown details, the reader will enter the poem with experience, make connections, and understand what the poet means.

In visual art, the break from the realism of nature nurtures the viewer's ability to create along with the artist and move the mind to new perspectives. Nature assists by revealing shapes that tickle the imagination. In the first photograph, a seal or whale's tail offer potential. Petals shape an elephant above.

Describe an emotion with imagery. Use abstraction in art. 

Draw or paint the emotion to express it in a visual way.

Write about the experiences of creating concrete poetry and abstract art.

Technological Overload

During final poses in yoga class, a woman on a cell phone started her rant outside our studio. I decided it’s only energy and continued to breathe and focus on my poses. I inhaled the room’s scent of jasmine and picked up sounds of passing cars like ocean waves. Even the brakes of a bus sssushing to a halt across the street turned to pure energy in my mind.

I use these images during times of disruption. The ability to return to my core strength and use the breath, mind and body will assist in future situations.

We absorb so much stimulation with cell phones, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, Blogs and Web-t.v.

In one day we receive the effects of communication that took individuals a year to experience during the 1900’s.

Do we have attention deficit issues because the human body rebels from the technological stimulation we absorb in our lives?





Nearly four decades ago, Alvin Toffler warned about information overload in Future Shock and The Third Wave. John Naisbitt questions where technology lures us in  High Tech. High Touch.

Writing by hand will help us return to simple. Take time each day to interrupt your technological bonding. Remove the earbuds and listen to the songs of birds and search for a rustle of leaves. Crush leaves and inhale their scents. Feel the wind across your arms and day dream with  hand written pages instead of texting on cell phones and computers. Take a notepad for a walk and record the world outside.

Breathe in nature’s refreshment and free your imagination. You will gain more emotional energy when you connect with the basic elements of natural energy patterns.

After a break and an immersion in nature, write a story about returning home to discover all your devices have disappeared. How will you communicate?

To Honor Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others." 

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Born in 1929, Martin Luther King Jr attended Moorehouse College and completed graduate work at Boston University in 1955. Influenced by Mahatma Ghandi, King promoted non-violent actions. He urged sit-ins during the challenges of the civil rights movement. 

King delivered his, "I have a Dream Speech" during the August 1963 March on Washington. This speech defined his aspirations for nonviolent protest in the fight against racial injustice. He truly believed in his line: “I have a dream my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” 

Young people in King’s time hoped that they too would one day live in that world, and everyone today might reflect on how the world has changed since the civil rights movement.

In his speeches and writings, King emphasized the importance of the small: “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way,” or, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.” 

Explore King's life and the power of his words in his book, Why We Can't Wait. He reflects on moments of his life including the events leading up to the civil rights movement, his philosophy on the nonviolent revolution and the "I have a Dream" speech. His peaceful nature, spirituality, and vitality shine throughout the book.

King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. 

On April 4th, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated while walking on his balcony.

Let us honor his legacy. We have the power to make a difference.

Sunday Night's Super Wolf Blood Moon

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The term "super" refers to the placement of the moon. This month, the moon will be at its closest point to Earth’s orbit, making it appear larger than normal. The "wolf" derives from the Native American nickname for January's full moon and the wolves who "howled in hunger outside the villages," according to the Farmer's Almanac.

Use of "blood" comes from the way the sun’s light bends and refracts off the Earth's atmosphere and onto the moon’s surface, making it appear red or copper at times. Called "Rayleigh scattering," it also causes the myriad colors of sunrises and sunsets as well as what makes the sky look blue. Clouds, dust, ash and organic matter in Earth’s atmosphere may change the expected color of a super wolf blood moon.

"We’re not sure what color it will turn. It really depends on the earth’s atmosphere, whether we’ve had storms, volcanic eruptions, all sorts of things," explained Dr. David Reitzel, an astronomer and lecturer at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles."Sometimes you can even get a turquoise color to it. Sometimes the light that goes through the very top part of our atmosphere, it can bend and hit the moon, [making it appear turquoise]," he added. "Look for this phenomenon at the beginning and end of totality."

Unlike a solar eclipse, a lunar eclipse can we viewed with the naked eye. Experts recommend binoculars and telescopes to enhance the experience though.

If the skies are clear, the eclipse will be visible from anywhere in North America, according to the Griffith Observatory. Viewers in Europe, Africa and the central Pacific may also be able to take in the total eclipse expected to last roughly 62 minutes (the entire eclipse process will last roughly three hours and 17 minutes.)

On the East Coast, the event will begin at 9:36 p.m. ET Sunday. The edge of the moon will start to dim, considered a "partial" eclipse at this point. In another two-and-a-half hours until 12:12 a.m. ET, the total eclipse will be at its peak.

Get ready to howl at the moon.

Writing with Musicality

There are moments in our lives, there are moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond the usual — become clairvoyant. We reach then into reality. Such are the moments of our greatest happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest vision. - Robert Henri

Henri called these levels the “song from within.”  We have a tune inside that catches our attention and fluffs us with wonder. Learning to listen takes moving into a space of marvel. Our rational mind often steps in and grabs us to return to the ordinary. 

Select three types of your favorite music. Choose one for lyrics, another for melody, and the third for a variety of rhythm and changes.

Begin writing to the first selection by adding color: magenta, tangerine, azure. Let words arrive where colors and sounds blend.

For the second choice, write into flavors or scents: cinnamon and vanilla yogurt, apples, toast, leaves in autumn, grass, gardenias.

Shift again to writing out sounds to the music: bump, rattle, sizzle, clack.

Discover where listening to music and combining imagery leads. Let the words flow with the notes in an in experience writing with musicality.

Rest in Love, Mary Oliver 1935-2019

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your wild and precious life?"

                         - Mary Oliver from A Summer Day

Messenger

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird -

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums,

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

                               

It is what I was born for -

to look, to listen,

to lose myself

inside this soft world -

to instruct myself over and over . . .    

Declaring Walt Whitman her hero and the brother she never had, Mary Oliver longed to know and become one with what she saw. Awed by the singing of goldfinches or, as in the poem "White Flowers," overcome by a long nap in a field, she believed in an "attitude of noticing." When she opened her senses, nature revealed its details.

With over 20 poetry books, Ms Oliver received a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for her collection, "American Primitive." She won a National Book Award in 1992 for "New and Selected Poems."

We have her poems to remind us of Mary Oliver's gratitude and adoration of nature.

"Never in my life
had I felt myself so near
that porous line
where my own body was done with
and the roots and the stems and the flowers
began."

"Six a.m. - 

the small pond turtle 

lifts its head 

into the air 

like a green toe. 

It looks around. 

What it sees 

is the whole world 

swirling back from darkness."


"Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting - -
Over and over announcing your place in the family of things."

"The luna moth, who lives but a few days, sometimes only a few hours, has a pale green wing whose rim is like a musical notation."

"When it is over I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms."