As promised, here is “Getting into the ‘Write’ Headspace,” part two. Last month, Cheryl started her blog post by sharing a piece of experience about a recent trip to Florida, with insights about how her expectations had interfered with her initial writing efforts. I hope you have been able to practice the centering exercise she offered at that time, known as the “five senses question.” This month, she expands on that concept further.
1. Creating Ritual
We can create a more centered environment whenever we want to, by tapping into this “five senses question” I mentioned last month. Or, if we don’t find ourselves responding particularly well to the answers that appear in our environment at a particular time, then we can easily seek to change it by adapting the “sensation” stimulation that is around us.
For example, we can choose our favourite music, burn our favourite scent, sit in our favourite chair, eat our favourite food, feast our eyes upon our favourite images, and so on. Making these adaptations is fairly simple if we choose. This ritualistic routine has become a part of my writing on a regular basis. For me, it involves relaxation music (Marlon Gibbons, Jennifer Braezen, and Merlin’s Magic are some I love); a glass of cold sparkling lime Perrier; the burning of “Nag Champa” incense, or if not, a combination of cedar and sage; sitting in my preferred lounger outdoors or my favoured recliner indoors; and setting my eyes on the view outside my window no matter what the time of year. Ten or fifteen minutes of this focus, along with some gentle deep breathing, easily shifts my daily headspace into my writer’s headspace.
We can also draw on our strong sense of imagination to create our environment for us. For example, should I wish to return to sensations I experienced in Florida, with a few breaths I can visualize that moment in my mind and bring myself to it. In this way, imagination and visualization become key players in strengthening our writing experience. We can use them to create our atmosphere for the writing exercise before we ever use them to actually assist in the writing itself.
On a cellular level, it is important to recognize that repeated use of the same soothing stimuli over and over, will be most helpful in getting into the “write” headspace that we seek. We are cellular beings, with memory on every level, and the mind/body will respond to repeated exposure, bringing about a faster, centered response each time. This is not really any different from the long known psychological experiment referred to as “Pavlov’s dog.” We can be trained to respond to stimuli, both positive and negative, in many ways. If we seek to get into a creative space quickly, we must come to know ourselves deeply and know what will work for us (and perhaps also what will not work for us) in this way. Find your ritualistic routine and use it regularly!
2. Permission and Forgiveness
Ultimately, we must let go of the expectations from which we first began and give ourselves permission to be human. So I scrutinize my own experience in Florida. I am perhaps my most critical judge, as we all are. I feel silly for allowing my external environment to so easily distract me from my purpose. I feel guilty for allowing the breaking down of the air conditioner, so much a First World problem, to take me away from my learnings in Africa about the beauty found in the simplicity of life. Creating space can really be quite simple. But for just a wee while, I forgot. So I had to find a way to be gentle with myself. I gave myself permission to be human, to have my reactions, to accept that I will be off course from time to time. Then I had to breathe. Breathe into what I knew. Breathe into the smells, the sounds, the sights outside my window, the taste of lingering satisfaction on my tongue, and breathe into the comfort of the earth beneath my feet. It took me about four days to settle into a sense of comfort during my Florida holiday. I had to acknowledge that not every day is a writing day, and that is okay. I had to allow time for the reality around me to shift before I could fall back on the use of the tools that I knew. Sometimes we have to trust that efforts are not meant to be forced.
3. Ask for Help
Finally, we must remember that we are not alone in our creative pursuits. All genuine artists, in response to their greatest achievements, acknowledge the inspiration that is gifted to them from something that comes from beyond them. So, as part of your ritual … whatever wording resonates with you … remember to include a thought, a prayer, an intention, a calling … and ask for help to aid you in entering into your inspired state!
Cheryl Moore is a valued member of the I C Publishing editing and coaching team, with social worker, healer, and entrepreneur, to her credit as well. She has a gift for creating meaningful relationships and rapport through writing.
Let the writing continue!
Most of our posts are intended to bring morsels of knowledge and inspiration to a pretty wide audience; however, if you are a business owner or entrepreneur, you will especially enjoy our next one, launching the I C Publishing’s Summer Blog Tour 2015. Our goal with the tour is to share with you a wealth of wisdom and powerful insights on creating everything from great content, new workshops, writing blogs and books, to a level of meaningful success you’ve always dreamed of. How are we going to do this? By inviting an inspired and seasoned group of professionals to share their experiences and best advice, ultimately creating a mini-masterpiece of motivation and real-life support, much like we did in last year’s blog tour which reached hundreds of individuals internationally within a few short summer months…
Here’s to your success!
Sheri and the I C Publishing Team
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