My Big (1,063-foot) Excuse for Dropping the Ball.

While visiting Paris last week (including a trip to the 1,063-ft. Eiffel Tower) I missed sharing a Mid-Week Oasis Moment with you for the first time in two years. I hope you'll forgive me. (Though I can't think of a better or at least more fun excuse, can you?) 

You've heard me talk about "exposure" before...the idea that by spending time with people, places and experiences outside of your normal day-to-day life you can fill your own creative well with fresh, inspiring stimuli.

Well, in my book, travel is the quintessential, king-daddy of exposure possibilities. 

When you immerse yourself in an unfamiliar environment filled with new-to-you culture, character and customs creative inspiration is one of the happy results.

During our week in Paris I found inspiration everywhere I turned. From the museums to the cathedrals to the architecture to the people to the language to the food and drink and even the general pace of life in the beautiful city energized and delighted me.

My creative spirit felt as if it were being rehydrated...a thirst-quenching glass of water on a warm spring day.

I'm sure I'll be processing the "exposure" of my trip for weeks to come and that my photos, observations and inspirations will find their way into more Mid-Week Oasis Moments in the days ahead. 

To help myself hold onto the effervescent feeling of life in Paris now that I'm home, I've used another creative coaching technique: acting "as if." 

For example, yesterday I made myself this lovely lunch to enjoy outside on my patio "as if" I were dining at a sidewalk bistro again. (Two important ingredients missing from most of my real Parisian cafes meals...bread and wine!) 

Nevertheless it was a fun way to recapture the spirit of the many lovely cafe experiences of our trip. I was even able to convince myself that the leaf blower that started up was merely the sound of Vespas cruising down a cobblestone street nearby.  

I invite you to think of ways you might use "exposure" and "acting as if" on your creative journey this week. 

You don't need to travel across the globe to find wonderful exposure opportunities. You can find plenty in your own city...museums, restaurants, parks...and even right in your own home...books...movies...magazines to name a few.

Until next time, all the best from my slightly jet-lagged, but very happy Creative Oasis to yours!

Jill

Jill Allison Bryan

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post please share on Facebook and twitter using the buttons below!  If you'd like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

Have Your Mind Blown

So, yes...I had my mind blown (in a good way) last weekend at the "David Bowie Is" exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. 

Experiencing the exhibit ~ a retrospective of Bowie's career ~ felt a bit like swimming through a magical underwater sea of sounds and sights...or perhaps better to say like floating through an intergalactic dream filled with curious, colorful creations while listening to some of my favorite songs of all time.

Actually, neither of those descriptions does the experience justice.

Perhaps I should just stick with I had my mind blow ~ in the best way imaginable ~ while walking through a multi-media time capsule overflowing with layer upon layer of the wildly imaginative and ground-breaking songs, videos, photographs, sketches, fashion, sculptures, hopes, films and dreams of David Bowie.

Yep...that sounds about right.

This was a deluxe "exposure" experience of the first degree. A chance to step away from my own creative passions, pursuits and dreams and let someone else's creativity wash over me and enjoy the inspiring high of simply soaking it all in.

The experience left me with an ultra-energized feeling of creative possibility...as if I could do, create, share anything I could dream up...as if I could envision, embrace and be anyone I wanted to be...no matter how crazy or out there that might seem to anyone else.

Which, of course, is always true to some degree...but I just needed to be reminded of it. Don't we all?

Since taking a trip to see a once-in-a-lifetime exhibit that will travel to fewer than a dozen cities around the world doesn't happen every day, how can we have our minds blown closer to home? 

A few thoughts come to mind (along with some extremely random examples)...

#1 ~ Movies...a few personal favorites include Koyannisqatsi, Inception, Midnight in Paris, The Prestige (in which David Bowie plays Nikola Tesla), The Illusionist, What the Bleep Do We Know, The Zero Theorem, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Being John Malkovich and The Wizard of Oz. (Come on...admit it...the first time you saw the Emerald City you're mind was blown just a little, wasn't it?)

#2 ~ Books...Almost anything by Tom Robbins (including his recent memoir Tibetan Peach Pie) or Kurt Vonnegut or Margaret Atwood, Ishmael, Naked Lunch, A Wrinkle In Time and The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (two of my childhood favorites, I still love!)

#3 ~ Music... Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, Pink Floyd (pair Dark Side of the Moon with a viewing of The Wizard of Oz for an exceptionally mind blowing effect), the Beatles (Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the White Album perhaps) ~ headphones and incense optional and, of course, David Bowie.

Add to this short list your choice of live music (you haven't lived until you've witnessed Sir Paul McCartney perform Live and Let Die complete with pyrotechnics), performance art (Cirque du Soleil anyone?), theater, museums, planetariums, arboretums...spectacular natural settings and manmade places (a village of Earthships just outside Taos, New Mexico), even a TV show (Cosmos comes to mind) and you start to feel the tremendous potential for having your mind pleasantly blown in a gazillion different ways.

Whether or not these experiences such as these blow your mind, hopefully they'll at least give you a fresh perspective and inspire you to release a few limiting beliefs about what you can and can't do...even if only 5% more than usual.

I'll leave you with a small question and creative challenge...what's one way you might enjoy an experience that will blow away preconceived notions and open your mind to new creative possibilities in the coming week?

All the best from my reenergized Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

P.S. ~ If you enjoyed this post and would like to receive bite-size bonbons of creative inspiration like this in my Mid-Week Oasis Moments plus a free copy of my e-book "Permission to Be Creative 101" join me here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html.

Five Fun Ways to Expose Yourself

If you’ve ever taken a Creative Oasis class or been coached by me, you may remember that “exposure” is when we take time to step away from our own projects, problems and ponderings to experience or “expose” ourselves to the creativity of others.

If not, you may have been mildly horrified by this subject line. (Although clearly curious, because you kept reading, right?)

Here are five fun ways to embrace some easy “exposure” experiences of your own. Of course, the possibilities are endless, but these examples are a good start.

~ Try an ethnic food restaurant that’s new to you.

(Always do Italian? Opt for Ethiopian.)

~ Visit a festival, museum or park you don’t usually frequent.

~ Read a magazine you wouldn't normally pick up. 

(Swap your usual Vanity Fair for a copy of Psychology Today.)

~ Watch a style of movie that’s different from your usual choice. 

(Rather than your go-to romantic comedy, check out a documentary for a change of pace.)

~ Try a new workout on for size. 

(Trade your usual yoga class for kickboxing, or vice-versa.)

By exposing ourselves to new stimuli we energize our own creative impulses and open ourselves up to thinking about things in a new light.

Not to mention the fact that it’s just plain fun to shake things up once in a while!

What’s one small way you might expose yourself to something new and exciting this week?

If you live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area may I suggest visiting the White Rock Lake Artists' Studio Tour? (October 11 & 12, 2014) This free two-day tour is a wonderful opportunity to expose yourself to more than 50 talented creative artists who work in a multitude of mediums as well as five creative arts centers/schools. 

To celebrate my third year as a sponsor of the White Rock Lake Artists’ Studio Tour, I've created a special Creative Inspiration Guide to help participants tap into their own creative spirit before, during and after the tour. 

The free guide includes a 20-page e-book plus three interactive fun sheets in a downloadable pdf format. Anyone may request a complimentary copy by visiting http://tinyurl.com/tourgoodies.

Until next time, all the best from my Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

Creative Bliss in 3 Easy Steps

I have an idea! What if we reframe sunsets as mini-creative workshops? You may be wondering "How in the world would we do that?" and even "Why in the world would we do that?"

Well, sunsets are beautiful to behold, occur daily and they're free. More importantly, taking a few moments to enjoy a sunset happens to be an awesome example of exposure, an extremely important, but often overlooked step in the creative process –  not to mention a wonderful way to increase your personal creative bliss. 

Exposing ourselves to the wonders of nature as well as other people's art, music, writing, recipes, ideas…in fact, all manner of creativity...shifts our focus from our own pursuits (and how much progress we're making…or not making…with them) and helps rev up our creative energy! 

It's so easy to get caught up in measuring the progress of our creative projects that we often neglect our desire to soak up our sponge with creative goodness in other ways. (Plus, it can be so damn fun that we may feel guilty even considering it.) Allow me to help alleviate that guilt for you. 

Consider this…doesn't it make sense that Van Gogh spent a good amount of time simply gazing at the golden beauty of sunflowers before he was able to paint some of his most well-known masterpieces?  That Julia Child sampled copious amounts of buttery sauces before perfecting and sharing her own? That Aretha swayed to the gospel of many a church choir before gracing us with R-E-S-P-E-C-T?

When we stop to appreciate the beauty around us we nourish our creative spirit.

How might you treat yourself to some inspiring exposure this week? 

What if you...

 Listen to the birds outside your window…

Savor your morning cup of coffee or evening glass of wine…

Take flight in a pretend rocket ship to the moon with your niece…

Watch a documentary art film…

Listen to some world-beat music...

Stop to smell the honeysuckle blooming in your backyard…

Listen to the rain on the roof in the middle of the night…

Try out that new Cuban restaurant around the corner...

Can you come up with three ideas to practice exposure that sound good to you? 

I'd love to hear them in the comments section below!

Until next time, all the best from my sunset Creative Oasis to yours,

Jill

P.S. – If you'd like to have Mid-Week Oasis Moments (bite-sized bonbons of creative inspiration) delivered each week please sign up here: http://www.creativeoasiscoaching.com/newsletter.html

You'll also receive a free copy of "Permission to Be Creative 101" – my e-booklet that will help you take the first small steps to make the time and space for creative fulfillment – your Creative Oasis – in  your busy life!