Mindful Minute

Mindful Minute: Take 10 minutes to answer these 6 self-coaching prompts to ground and center yourself, so you can launch your day with mindfulness, purpose and gratitude.

Gratitude: List one thing you're grateful for

Intention: How do you want to be today? Focused? Spontaneous? Light?

 Priorities: What are the 3 most important things your want to do today?

 Progress: What progress, however small, have you already made towards your goals?

 Opportunity: Every day can be an opportunity: What's yours today?

 Request: Ask for what you need--from yourself, your family and the universe!

Let me know how your days are when you take a minute to get mindful! Post your stories as a comment below:

Go Write Past It!: The Power of Journaling

Go Write Past it! : The Power of Journaling  

"Keeping your Inner Critic under wraps

does not keep him under control,

it keeps him in control!"---Captain Creative

 

Your Inner Critic loves nothing more than to keep your fears larger than life and stuck in your head. That's because keeping you ignorant of your dreams, desires, and inner power keeps him comfortably in control of your life.

Go Write Past it! is the Kryptonite that ousts your Inner Critic and restores sovereignty to your Inner Hero--first and foremost by getting to know that amazing person--the one you've forgotten you are!

Not every day of your journaling practice will be earth-shattering or even memorable. In fact, most of them won't be. However, simply by stopping to do your pages each day, you create space for that possibility. I'm talking about the possibility of passion, joy, forgiveness, creativity, laughter and all the other fruits of a deeply loving and authentic relationship--the one you have with yourself!

It's no accident that the people who know you the best and love you the most are the ones that you see everyday. Simply put, if you want to have more than just a long-distance relationship with yourself, you've got to start showing up regularly. A daily journaling practice is one of the easiest and most effective ways to simultaneously spark your creativity, put you back into your life, and kick your Inner Critic out!

  



Collage your life's memorabilia into your journal

 Don't Repress, Express!

Like a child wanting the attention of his mother, your thoughts and emotions won't stop tugging at you until they are heard. Ignore them at your peril!

Repressed inner voices don't disappear--oh no! Instead, they throw tantrums and, if regularly shunned, turn into self-sabotaging Inner Critics!

Writing down your wants, needs and doubts--whatever is demanding your attention--simultaneously does two critical things: it acknowledges them and relives them of the burden of trying to get your attention.

So quit berating yourself for eating ice cream in front of the TV rather than painting--instead pull out your journal and write down the voices you've been ignoring. Simply validating the committee in your head is often all it takes to get them shut up long enough for you to set down the spoon, get off the couch, and get back to your easel!

 

Objectify Your Fears

Getting what's in your head down on paper objectifies it--literally pulling  it out of the ether and into an object you can look at--more, well, objectively! Writing down your fears, no matter how terrifying they feel, inevitably makes them smaller. Whatever you're afraid to feel, express or do, write it down, let it out, and you can begin to let it go--along with of the vice-grip your Inner Critic holds on your heart!

Don't limit yourself! Think (and doodle) outside the box!

  

Expanding your journaling practice beyond just writing opens up incredible avenues for fun, expression, and self discovery.

Inner Critic Alert: you'll need to give yourself permission to play! Without your snooty Inner Art Critic peering over your shoulder, you can doodle, color, finger-paint, or do whatever strikes your inner hero's fancy.

Unlock the Playroom



Give yourself a little kindergarten every day and your creativity will get stronger, braver, and more present in your life. Visual journaling gives you back what we usually only afford young children: an unconditionally loving playroom for your creativity to emerge.



Who says you have to write in a journal?



Come as You Are

There is huge value in just doing "your pages" even when you think you don't have time, don't feel inspired, and think you have nothing to say.

Resist the urge to make your journaling a big deal. Ask yourself instead "What you can I do in five or ten minutes that's meaningful to me?"

If nothing else, you can brainstorm ways to give yourself more time tomorrow. Or you can take 10 minutes to do the Mindfulness Journal exercise below. It's short, sweet, and has the power to change your whole day! 

Just Do It!

Get yourself a blank book today (or dust one off from the shelf) and fill three pages--in any way you want. Come back tomorrow and do it again. Rinse and Repeat!

For journaling inspiration check out Journal Juice on my blog

How has journaling helped you outwit your Inner Critc? share your succees stories by commenting below.

Guerrilla Journaling

Don’t think you have to always be alone or at home when you journal. As you are out and about this summer--whether its around the corner or around the world--take your journal with you! Throw your stuff in a bag and you can take your journal practice anywhere. I recommend having a dedicated journal bag with all your stuff for spontaneous outings.

I've always loved "guerrilla" sketching--drawing people out in public places without them even knowing it.You can do this in a coffee shop, on a park bench, and even at the movies. (Yes! You can draw the people in the row in front of you, do quick gestures of film characters, or just make inspired doodles. This works especially well with animated movies.)



Guerrilla Journaling: People to sketch are all around you!



I even took my journal to my own group coaching meeting the other night. (my turn to get coached, not be the coach). I had plenty of time while each person talked to sketch them.

Since everyone sat relatively still for a while I had time to get more details of fabric and faces than I usually can in a guerrilla sketch.

I love words as much as pictures--and combining the two the best of all. So I just added important words from the conversation that resonated with me right into the drawing as they came up.

Where do you like to do guerrilla journaling? What are the delights and pitfalls you have found? Share your experiences in a comment below.

Journal Cover: Florentine Paper Travel Journal

Normally I like hard cover journals, but when I travel I like soft covers because they are lighter -- like this moleskine. I made this cover at one of my Creative Sparks Gathering in 2009. I was teaching people about collage and started using my journal as an example.  I choose a pile of Italian papers (because this was to be my Italian Journal). On their own each paper was too strong. I wanted to find a way to add them to the collage without any one pattern taking over the journal. I just started tearing the papers and sticking them on. I like tearing as a collage technique because it's spontaneous, freeing, and my inner toddler loves the sound of ripping paper! Later while traveling in Italy, I cut out the windows. 

This summer while you are traveling (or dreaming of traveling), how can you bring that feeling of ease, fun, and adventure into your journal? Your cover is a great place to start and showcase your intention! 

Check out my Journal Juice Gallery for Ideas. 

Where to Journal?

Do you have a special place you journal? Do you like to journal in public? In your room? In the park? On the moon?

Share your journaling hot spots by commenting.

My favorite place to journal is in bed on a Saturday morning.....

When to Journal?

There is no "right" time to journal. Whatever works for you is perfect--which may change from day to day or season to season. My favorite time to journal is first thing in the morning--that way no one and nothing can take it away--and I start my day in a fun, mindful way.

When do you journal? in the morning? before bed? while waiting for a meeting?

Share your favorite journal time by commenting!

Maps are Free Coloring Pages



Maps are for coloring



Color outside the lines--or just make  up your own lines



As an art teacher, I used to look down on coloring books. Then my kids reminded me how fun they are. With my Art Snob Inner Critic out of the way, I could admit that I LOVE coloring! It's so soothing and meditative--and dare I say--creative!

Open up your mind and see how many things you can find to color. This map from a fishing trip today made the ride back home a creative playdate. What can you find to color in today?

My December Journal Cover

I went camping with my kids after Christmas to get away from the house, the wrapping paper, and the post-gift grouchies. We rented a cabin in Bastrop. I loved the brass key for the cabin. It inspired me for the cover decorations. 

This cover evolved over a couple of days. I felt like stitching- one of my favorite Journal Juice ideas. I was feeling bold and didn't want to hide my stitching inside. So, I pulled out my awl and started poking holes in the cover. I had no image in mind, so I decided to create a mandala. It's a great design "easy button" because you don't have to know where it's going to get started. 

The other elements of the cover are a whittled stick from Bastrop and a paper tag (another fave). The final touch was a leaf my lovely assistant Sara brought back from her travels in South America. Welcome back Sara! (you can tell she's back because I'm actually posting blogs) 

Why Journal?

Why do you Journal?

Wanna start journaling? Wish you did? Want to juice up your journal? Check out my Visual Journal class starting next Friday Jan 28, 2011.
Click here for more information.  

Coffee Shop Art: "Perfunctory" pages

I asked myself this morning:

"If I already know what I want to do today and I am rearing to go, what use is there in doing my pages?

Is there really any point in whipping out 3 perfunctory pages of nothing just to say I did?"

What the heck, I said to myself, I'll just do something and then get on to the "real" stuff ......

Coffee Shop Art: Ticket Bird

Coffee Shop Art: Sweet Sun

 Here's what I wrote on the rays of Sweet Sun: 

....play 

....use what you have

....do what makes you smile

...don't worry who's lookin'! (they probably want to play too!)

...go ahead: waste something in the name of art (the sugar packets!)

...can't think of words? pick a color...

...when in doubt, turn the page

...just start!

Wow! I'm so glad I took the time to be "perfunctory".....How about you?

I'll Tag it Journal Juice

I love journaling! Search for the tag "journal juice" for journaling ideas, or check out the Journal Juice page for a list of journal ideas I'll keep adding to. 

Project Idea: Stitched Journal Cover

To make my stitched journal cover, I simply poked holes (with an awl-probably anything sharp and pointy would do) through the cover at regular internals and then proceeded to do some basic embroidery down the side (blanket stitch). So simple, and yet so fun-must be breaking the old taboo of poking holes in a book that was so thrilling! It would be fun to do this with wire and beads or ribbons......give it a try and let me know what you create!