{"id":15504,"date":"2017-09-26T23:01:50","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T04:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisatener.local\/?p=15504"},"modified":"2024-09-30T08:58:26","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T12:58:26","slug":"turtle-day-creativity-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/2017\/09\/turtle-day-creativity-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"A Turtle Day for Creativity and Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"creativity
A burst of creativity in front of the Contemporary Theater Company, beside the Saugatucket River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How’s your creativity and writing practice?<\/p>\n

Could you use a bit of inspiration?<\/p>\n

I’ve been kinda quiet on my blogs, I know. I’ve been a bit more protective of my creative time while working on a personal writing project.<\/p>\n

Gotta take my own advice! I hope this post inspires you to do the same.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”Slowing Down in Nature Creates Space for Creativity” username=”LisaTener”]<\/h2>\n

Do you ever have trouble accessing your creative source\u2014your muse, as I call it\u2014when you’ve been running around “accomplishing” all day (or, perhaps worse, sitting at a computer all day typing)?<\/p>\n

\"turtles
My blurry phone camera sometimes makes for interesting photo effects, like the pink light reflections on the river. Can you make out the turtles on their favorite branch?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few days ago, running late for qigong class at the YMCA, I decided to take my qigong practice to the Saugatucket River in Wakefield, rather than arrive late. As I crossed the bridge to Sari’s Sanctuary, a large gazebo that overhangs the river, I kept my eye out for my turtle brethren.<\/p>\n

It took a while but I spotted one swimming under the water among the lily pads, a bit of natural debris and a Wise potato chip bag. Two almost flourescent yellow dots mimicked eyes in the back of its head. Another turtle displayed the boxy design and yellow dots of a painted turtle, I believe.<\/p>\n

I watched them awhile, then turned my attention to the red and yellow underbelly of the painted turtles sunning on a branch that sticks out of the water\u2014a favorite of the turtles on the Saugatucket. One seemed different from the rest\u2014no designs on his back and a steeper carapace. Something about him suggested a snapping turtle\u2014perhaps, his snap!<\/p>\n

From the gazebo, I looked for more signs of turtles swimming under the water, searching for telltale ripples.<\/p>\n

As I watched the turtles swim, I found myself becoming less engrossed in thoughts and ideas and more just being present and watching, sensing the turtle energy. I felt watery, swimly, as if my mind submerged below the surface of my life, sunk deeper, exploring.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”Water Stimulates Creativity\u2014and Writing!” username=”LisaTener”]<\/h3>\n
\"water
Can you find the turtle?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the Indian systems of yoga and Ayurveda, as well as Chinese traditional medicine, water is considered the element of creativity. I can see why, as we allow ourselves to sink into the water we connect with our creative wellspring. Do you ever experience that feeling around water?<\/p>\n

I wrote poems\u2014a luxury I hadn’t enjoyed in many months\u2014and the words flowed pleasurefully. I wrote about a shifting cloud of blackbirds, some territorial dragonflies, and, of course, my turtle friends.<\/p>\n

Slowing down, standing still, writing poetry must have cleared some internal communication hub! I found myself taking dictation as more poems and then business ideas surfaced, ideas which I dutifully recorded.<\/p>\n

And then I practiced qigong.<\/p>\n

The day went completely differently from my plan. I loved the spontaneity, the creativity, the feeling of flow. I felt nourished in a way that I don’t when I spend the entire day at my computer.<\/p>\n

As I then asked questions about the book I’m co-authoring, the answers came easily. I’d already done the work by not working, just being, on the river.<\/p>\n

At a time when I’m counting on my creativity for a writing project, this kind of slow-down-see-where-I-am-led time is so vital.<\/p>\n

I see in my writing how much it supports the process.<\/p>\n

Being Your Book (stimulate your creativity and writing)<\/h2>\n

\"\"A few days later, I used my signature “Meet Your Muse<\/a>” guided visualization to help me conceptualize the new writing project and develop some creative and fun features for a topic that can sometimes overwhelm people.<\/p>\n

My muse’s directive? “Be the Book.”<\/p>\n

“I am the book. It’s fun to be the book. It’s a good book.” I enjoyed the playfulness of the idea. It made it feel easy, too.<\/p>\n

Once I tapped into the essence of the book, it felt easy to go there any time and mine the wisdom about the book already contained within me.<\/p>\n

I know it may sound a little “airy fairy” but this kind of thing works. I do it with my clients all the time and then we see how it shifts the work from challenging or overwhelming to more intuitive, more of a flow.<\/p>\n

Try It! Be Your Book!<\/p>\n

How do you tap into your creativity and a sense of flow? Please share your comments below. And speaking of sharing, social shares are appreciated as well!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Have you been giving your creativity the space it deserves? Here are a few observations of mine. Do they resonate for you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How’s your creativity and writing practice? Could you use a bit of inspiration? I’ve been kinda quiet on my blogs, I know. I’ve been a bit more protective of my creative time while working on a personal writing project. Gotta take my own advice! I hope this post inspires you to do the same. [bctt…  Read more<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15509,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[121,1968,148,1970,1967,1969,1682],"class_list":{"0":"post-15504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-more","8":"tag-book-writing","9":"tag-contemporary-theater","10":"tag-creativity-2","11":"tag-saugatucket-river","12":"tag-turtles","13":"tag-wakefield","14":"tag-writing","15":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":278948,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15504\/revisions\/278948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}