Discovering a Sense of Momentum

We are not human beings trying to be spiritual. We are spiritual beings trying to be human. ~ Jacquelyn Small

Week 7 – Discovering a Sense of Momentum
(excerpt from Walking in this World by Julia Cameron)

Easy Does It, But Do It: Flow

“Whenever you feel stymied, stuck, or frantic, remind yourself, this is the result of having too many good ideas – even if it feels like you have no good ideas at all.”

Go clean the closet, bake a cake, etc. if you are having trouble thinking straight. You will be surprised how creative you feel after you have done some daily chores.

Your productivity speeds up when you slow down.


Breakthroughs

“As artists, we ‘see things differently.’ In part, that is because we are looking. When we are willing to look – and willing to see what we see – we open ourselves to losing comfortable assumptions about the nature of ‘things.’ Those things may be creative – we paint a chair at skewed angles because that seems more ‘chair’ to us suddenly – and this new viewing may apply to our human relationships as well. Suddenly and unexpectedly, we may apprehend them in a new and startling light. Sometimes such breakthroughs are frightening. When they are, we might call them ‘strobe-light clarity.’ When this strobe-light clarity hits, it is harsh but distorted. We get a quick and terrifying glimpse of an unfamiliar truth that has the same disorienting effect as a strobe light flashed across the dance floor – everything jerks into new positions without our seeing the transitions. It can be tempting – in the flash of strobe-light clarity – to dismiss our former work or our former understanding as false. It is not false. It is simply outmoded. The way we used to paint was fine for then.”

Courage – fear that has said its prayers. ~ Dorothy Bernard

“When we have such dramatic breakthroughs in our creative and personal reality, we must take care to integrate and absorb their meaning before acting on them.”

Life was meant to be lived and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

“Breakthroughs are not breakdowns. They just feel that way. Remember, you, too, are breakable. Be gentle with yourself while you grow accustomed to your new mental and emotional terrain.”


Finish Something

If you are like me, I have a lot of unfinished projects lying around. FINISH SOMETHING! When I finish a project, I get a boost of creative energy. I usually start a new piece the same day I finish one. Then it sits awhile. That’s why I have a lot of unfinished pieces. LOL Anyway, the point I am getting at is what Julia Cameron states, “I do not know why hemming the droopy pant legs gives you the juice to get to the easel, but it does. I cannot tell you what it is about detoxing the mud closet that makes you see more clearly how to end a short story – or start one – but it does.”