I have an exciting announcement! I’m writing a book! It’s called “Vitalize Your Creative Life.” It will be available in February, but I will be giving you bits and pieces of it through my blog until then… like the video shown below. This is the first of six videos designed to Continue reading
Last week, seven ravens suddenly flew into my tree in the back yard. They squawked and prattled with each other and created a huge cacophony of sound. (I’ve always wanted to use the word cacophony, especially in relation to ravens, so thank you for this indulgence). I was just relaxing with my thoughts and my cat as the evening sun was growing low and golden when this raucous bunch totally caught me off-guard. My cat and I both just froze with amazement as they engaged in their noisy business. They had our full attention and my cat bravely tried to mimic their calls, but she was completely ignored. Apparently, she doesn’t speak Raven very well, and neither do I, because I’m still trying to completely decipher their message. After a few minutes, they finished their noisy chatter and flew off, one by one, in a line and out of sight.
Over the past week, I have meditated on the message of the Ravens. The number seven and the time of day also seemed significant, and I have been getting a lot of related messages about the sun and that golden yellow color. Just like me, as you learn to create your experience in life, you will begin to notice Continue reading
Today I want to share with you a Creating Exercise designed to help you gain confidence in your inner wisdom. This is an especially helpful exercise if you feel like your life is not moving in the direction you would like or had envisioned it would. Perhaps, it feels as if you are experiencing a spell of unfortunate luck. Things you have hoped for are not panning out, or projects you have been spending a lot of time and effort on are not having the effect you were hoping for. When these feelings of uncertainty begin to preoccupy your thoughts, you can begin to feel less grounded in the world. It’s as if you are floating through life, unsure of your place in it. You can feel that your purpose is unclear or slipping away from you, and you begin to question if you are truly on the right path or not.
How have I just perfectly described what you are going through? Well, because, I am going through it as well. I have been posting on my blog for a year now. It has not been generating the results I was hoping for. Even, as I post this, I can hear the faint din of crickets… Thoughts begin to creep in beneath my seemingly impenetrable shield of creative confidence. Thoughts come in the form of questions such as:
Will anyone read this?
Does anyone care about what I have to share?
Is this a valuable way to spend my time?
What is the point of self-published writing anyway?
I would like to share with you where these valid questions have led me today. A time such as this, as uncomfortable as it can feel, can actually provide you with an important opportunity for growth… as long as you take advantage of it and resist shying away from the feelings you are experiencing. Continue reading
Welcome to the Last Quarter Moon phase. How did your “share” go? Who did you talk to about your reveal? More importantly, how did you inspire them? Through sharing, you are given the opportunity to sort through important details. When you told your story, which part of the story did you get really excited about? What part did you rush through because it was too boring? Yadda, yadda, yadda… What part made you take a moment to pause and reflect? And at what part did you see your listener’s jaw drop open?
Sharing your story and your creative process helps you to identify the “magic” bits and pieces. Important cues are being delivered to you through the energetic exchange of conversation. It is your job to pay attention, record, and contemplate this valuable feedback. Keep in mind that feedback is not limited to how the other person responds. How you provide yourself with feedback through your feelings as you experience the sharing process is just as valuable.
… and so goes the Waning Moon phase. The Waning phase from the Full Moon through to the next New Moon is all about clarification. This is the time to edit, to refine, to tie up any loose ends. It’s time to do what needs to be done in order to put a project to rest. Especially at the Last Quarter, the energetic nature is about change, possible conflict, and ultimately a significant shift of some kind. Continue reading
Welcome to the Waxing Gibbous Moon phase! Hey, we’re getting close to the Full Moon now! So much closer… but not quite there yet! That’s how it feels when you’re growing. I welcome growth in my life, because it is through my growth experiences that I evolve. I understand that I am not just evolving for my own soul’s benefit, but I am evolving for my entire species! This excites me. I am a growth junkie, really. It’s why I spend my days creating stuff to share with you. You think it’s about you? Well, it is, but it’s also about me. Everything I create for you I have tested on myself first. I’m my own best lab rat. This moon phase is extra special to me, because I was born under a Waxing Gibbous Moon. So, basically, growth is part of my lunar nature.
(If you want to look up the lunar phase at the time of your birth, you can use this moon phase calculator: https://stardate.org/nightsky/moon)
So, back to you and your growth… How did it go over the past few days? Now is the time for some reflection, under the light of the Waxing Gibbous Moon. You took an exciting action recently that tossed you outside of your comfort zone. Ask yourself these questions in regard to the results of the action, but remember not to be Continue reading
What were you thinking when you first read Chapter 7 in Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland? That chapter is titled “A Mad Tea Party.” I remember being so disturbed. I had never heard a conversation like that before. I remember feeling like I wanted to stop reading. (Even now when I read it, I get all itchy feeling). I wanted for Alice to run away. I was worried for the Doormouse! I didn’t like the Hatter and I was beginning to not like the Hare very much either. When that chapter was over, I was so relieved. This is how I feel so many conversations seem to go these days. They can be full of conflict, misperceptions, and plain old rudeness. In contrast, I was fascinated by the conversations in Jane Austen’s novels. There is such a careful selection of words in order to convey the most accurate meaning. Perhaps exceedingly cautious and overstated at times, but still better exchanges than those provided by the nasty old Hatter!
If you feel the same way, here are 10 simple suggestions to help improve the quality of your conversations. This week is Better Conversation Week, so what better time to put these tips into action! Just in time for Thanksgiving, too, when many of us will be spending some quality time with friends and family engaging in the fine old art of conversation. Try a few of these suggestions out and watch your experience of life improve today… Continue reading
One of the best ways to revitalize your creative life is to reconnect to nature. Spending some quiet reflective time in a natural setting can expand your creative thoughts almost instantaneously. I am so fortunate to live in a place where that wide-open nature is so easily accessible. Hiking was never really a part of my life growing up, but I discovered it as an adult and once I did, I knew that something significant had shifted inside of me. I found a way to connect to my spirit through nature.
Today is National Take A Hike Day! To help celebrate it, your challenge for today is to make a date with nature. If you can’t run outside right now, set a time when you can and keep the date! No cancelling, no postponing… this is really important! Getting connected to nature is the best way to clear your thoughts of the man-made clutter that we are constantly bombarding ourselves with. Once you get out there, here are three tips to make your experience worth the trip. Continue reading
The US Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
November 7th begins National Pursuit of Happiness Week.
Are you enjoying your unalienable rights?
I believe your Creativity is an unalienable right. There is nothing that can take it away from you or deny you access to it. It is every one’s birthright and something I so often see neglected, unappreciated, and undervalued. Today I want to share a family story with you about this very topic. This right to your creativity is very tied to your life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, because you need to allow yourself the freedom to explore it without fear of judgment or criticism. When you pursue your creative life you are pursuing something that will bring infinite happiness to you. That is just the nature of it. If you feel your creative life is not bringing you happiness, then it’s probably time to look at it from a different perspective.
This is a very personal story and one that will explain perfectly why I do what I do. It’s also a story that reveals part of the truth about who I am as a creator. It is my intention to only promote healing by sharing this story, and to stress to you how important it is for you to nurture your creative life before the empty hole there begins to devour all your happiness.
About nine years ago, I chose to change my life plan. I was in the midst of my informal self-study graduate program of exploring the world. I had been traveling for a few years, collecting experiences, and living my ultimate dream of a completely free life. All of a sudden it seemed, I wanted to create… Continue reading
It’s November now and the beginning of Family Stories Month. Yay! I’m so excited about this… Today is November 1st and National Author’s Day. I’d like to celebrate today with you, by sharing a family story about a very special up and coming author I know.
My five year old son is in Kindergarten and he’s learning to read and write. I don’t remember learning to read until maybe the third grade, but now, everyone seems to be in a real hurry to achieve greatness. Although I am a firm believer that every one of us has greatness resonating inside of us, I also firmly believe that we each run on our own timetable for this greatness to manifest. It’s not something that can be rushed through. It requires patience. It requires the delicate nurturing of your creative life. It can’t be demanded, expected and measured across the board. Despite what some institutions think, there is no educational standard for it. Each person will come to their greatness in their own time and in their own way. There will be a lot of challenges along the way and a lot of lessons to be learned. It will require a strong understanding of and belief in yourself. It will take some hard work, a bit of luck, and a good dose of openness to receiving it. Continue reading
Bonnie Kelso - Author & Illustrator 