Friday, June 5, 2009

Wreck this journal...day 1

Well, it's day one of the "wreck this journal" journey. I'm still not sure about the direct link thing so I'm going to post and deal with figuring all the technical stuff out as I go (I hope by tomorrow!).

To be honest, I got off to a slow start. I kept looking through the book trying to find the most nonthreatening place to begin! I'm not really a book wrecker, but after a bit of hesitation, I chose the "drip something here-close the book and make a print" page. I drew a funny face with a marker, squished a wet tea bag onto the page--and closed the book tight with the bag inside--and then sprinkled the page with some fire ash.

It didn't so much smear as bleed through to the pages before and after it. I think I'm going to add some paint in as well. It seems to need some color and I don't feel like I'm really done with this page! I think this is going to be fun!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

“Life should unfold as a celebration for every being, allowing the Soma [or] ‘nectar of grace’ to flow through all times and all seasons.” Yogini Shambhavi

My years of practicing yoga have led me to question many things, but my practice has also allowed me to relax into the process of finding my answers. When we allow ourselves to become quiet enough and comfortable enough in our own skin, if only for a few moments a day, we begin to find our way, we begin to explore the many possibilities open to us.

One such possibility for exploration presented itself last month when I had the opportunity to take Dawn Wrobel’s Vision Board workshop, and since then I have been bitten by the creativity bug! I highly recommend the workshop and would encourage anyone who is interested in diving deeper within in order to uncover their dreams and what fuels their soul to20seek it out! That being said, I am now devouring books on creativity. I am currently reading two (because one is just never enough): “The Twelve Secrets of Highly Creative Women” by Gail McMeekin and “Taking Flight: Inspiration and Techniques to Give Your Creative Spirit Wings,” by Kelly Rae Roberts.

In “Twelve Secrets,” McMeekin provides us with tools to outwit our inner critic and silence those pesky naysayers who stifle our creative juices. McMeekin believes women need to reclaim creativity as a vital force and weaves interviews with 45 very successful women into her three part plan for the reclamation process. As the stories of these very interesting women unfold we are given insight as to how we too can tap into our own potential as well as questions to ponder that will light, or relight, the spark of creativity.

“Taking Flight” is a beautifully presented book on mixed media art that I find just delightful. Projects are laid out clearly with step-by-step directions and you can tell that Ms. Roberts truly wants you to spread your artistic wings and fly! You’re never too old to play in paint, that’s my theory, and my upcoming vacation is going to be layered with paint, collage, paper, clay and glue! What fun!

All of these forays into creativity have come back full circle to my yoga mat. I’m playing more. I’m exploring asanas or poses that I thought I wasn’t capable of. My ability to twist myself into different shapes, however, isn’t really the point. What matters, is that the potential for growth is being explored and put into action. What are you exploring this month?

Monday, June 1, 2009

Starting fresh and Wrecking a Journal

Do I even comment about how long it has been since I visited this blog? That's obvious, so let's just say that I'm starting fresh and to kick things off I am also participating in a group exploration of the book, "Wreck This Journal." We begin this Friday, which is June 5th and I'm kind of excited about it. I thumbed through the book a bit, and I can't say that I'm too keen on the smearing of food page, but I'm trying to come up with some legitimate/creative way around that! Other than my aversion to food smearing, it seems like it might be a bit liberating to smoosh, goosh, and squash a journal!

I'm going to try to post a badge for Wreck This Journal, but "I'm new" at this stuff so patience is essential.