The Non-Linear Creative Path (perfect for moms, musicians and people who can enjoy the scenery during a detour!)

(image by www.MinaLeeStudio.com)

I’ve spent the better part of the last two weekends in the recording studio. We were scheduled to finally embark on the mixing phase of my CD project. (Mixing is when you’ve finished recording all of the instruments and vocals and you’re ready to fiddle with knobs, tweak volume levels and generally make all the sounds in your songs come together in the most pleasing way possible.) It’s exciting! I feel a bit like I’m about to give birth again, albeit this time to a 13 song solo CD rather than a 7 lb. 11 oz. baby, but after some nine months in and out of the studio, the analogy rings true.

I’m anxious, excited, and a little impatient to finish this thing, yet, on the other hand, not quite sure that I’m ready for what comes next - much like I remember feeling just before Riley Anna was born. I’d kind of gotten used to being pregnant after nine plus months, but was not so sure about the whole how-to-be-a-mom thing.

As much as I was looking forward to leaving the studio each day with a few more songs completed, we kept coming up with tasty ideas to try here and there and ended up recording more tracks rather than just mixing. We were all enjoying the process too much to really worry about the fact that we’d gotten a bit off track. (Talk about an oasis - the studio time may be my ultimate Mid-Life Oasis!) I know in my heart that the end result will be much richer, fully realized songs.

I realized this was a perfect example of the non-linearity of the creative process. There’s no scientific formula for creating the ideal song. You have a feeling first, and then an idea and then maybe a memory pops up and says “hey would it be weird or wonderful to put sleigh bells on this part?” – so you try playing some sleight bells and see how that sounds. (BTW - it sounded wonderful)

Being open to the non-linear process has been a blessing. Some songs have changed formation, direction and intonation and songs that we thought were ready to stick a fork in (‘cuz those suckers were done!) – have benefited greatly from – “what if” – what if we add a lower harmony here or change the sound of the bass or add a concertina? Winding down the creative path with this music has been the trip of a lifetime for me and a real-life reinforcement of two powerful creative coaching techniques – being open to the non-linear and asking “what if”.

Just as with my own baby girl (now 10!!!!), I’m sure these songs will be more beautiful, meaningful and exceptional to me than anyone else – and that’s okay, because I also believe that like my amazingly intuitive, empathetic, and loving daughter – these songs will (hopefully) touch people in a positive and profound way, like she does every day.

It’s been such a treat to have my husband, Doug, in the studio co-producing with us. And, although Riley Anna remains our greatest creative collaboration to date, she’s still a work in progress, where as, very soon now I will step out of Pleasantry Lane Studios for the final time and the CD will be complete – 13 songs – fully formed and ready to make their way out into the world. I guess that’s why I’m beginning to play the “what if” game with the next phase – the CD release celebration! Great things are brewing and you’ll be the first to know what they are so stay tuned...

All the best from my creative oasis to yours,
Jill

www.jillallisonbryan.com

Happy Mid-Life to Me! (and you!)

My daughter, Riley Anna, recently turned ten years old. “TEN YEARS OLD!! DOUBLE DIGITS! I’m a TWEEN! Only three years ‘til I’m a TEENAGER!” (The all caps and exclamation points are hers, not mine, I can assure you.) My response to her overzealous excitement at turning ten was more along the lines of a quiet– “Woo-hoo. That’s great.” – followed by a tearful spell locked in the bathroom - every mom’s one sure “alone” place in the house.

Of course, I’m thrilled to watch my daughter as she grows into such a loving, empathetic, fun, entertaining, caring person. But this milestone birthday brought home the fact that a decade is a good chunk of time, and this last chunk whizzed by at a rate that makes my head spin. Given traditional wisdom, the next will fly by with even faster.

So what does this mean? Since I gave birth to Riley Anna at age 34 (I just barely missed “advanced maternal age” – isn’t that a charming medical phrase?) – you do the math. I’m coming up on a milestone birthday of my own and making great strides into this time of life we call “mid”. It seems like a good time to step back and take stock of my life, so I have. And you know what? I wouldn’t go back a decade for all the Botox in Hollywood!

Since turning 40 I’ve experienced some of the best times of my life. I’ve been writing, performing and recording my original music again after years away from it. I’ve made time for meditation almost every morning of the past four years. I’ve been trained and certified as a creativity coach and now have the distinct privilege and pleasure of helping other people create and live their best lives. I’ve taken up running and am loving it, and I’m even training for a half-marathon - something I never would have done as a 20 or 30 year old!

All this to say – if you’re ready for a change – if you’re hoping there’s something more – if you’re experiencing a little trepidation about the prospect of your next birthday – take a page from my daughter’s book. Own your age! LOVE IT! Be thrilled by the possibility of it all! Each new year brings new opportunities to do what we’ve never done, go where we’ve never gone, try what we’ve never tried. Now’s the time to go for it!

As I like to say, “I’m having a Mid-Life Oasis – because it’s to much nicer than a crisis!” Join me, won’t you?

Creating Your Oasis 101 - Teleclass - Sept. 9 @ 1pm central!

Join me for a fun teleclass, "Creating Your Oasis 101" this Wednesday, September, 9, 2009 @ 1pm central/11am pacific time.  This inspirational and motivational call will be a great introduction (or refresher course) in how to make the time and space in your life for creative fulfillment.

What brings your real joy and satisfaction? Whatever it may be - writing, painting, photography, baking, gardening , tap dancing - chances are, you don't get to it as often as you'd like. Whether or not you have kids in school, fall is a wonderful time to delve into your personal oasis and enjoy the mind/body/spirit benefits of making time for you! 

This one hour teleclass will provide effective tips and inspiring prompts to help you reconnect and recommit to the creative pursuits you love in a fun, no-pressure way. 

$15 payable by check or Paypal.  Click here to register!

I look forward to helping you create the time and space for your creative oasis!  See you there!

Musical Movement Musings

My, my, my…music and movement are on my mind this morning! (alliteration too, apparently) Last night I experienced an amazing evening of music by the über-talented Elvis Costello and his latest band of merry men – The Sugarcanes. (Nashville legends Jerry Douglas and Jim Lauderdale and more!) Playing songs from their new CD, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, as well as some Costello classics with new arrangements perfectly suited to the bluegrass sound of his band.

We were literally sitting right beneath Elvis, and it felt like the band was playing in our living room. They’re all stellar musicians and the sound was uplifting, and yet…something was missing. What was it? My husband, Doug, and I discussed this on our drive home and concluded the missing element…there was no drummer on this tour. There was a stand up bass player and the music had rhythm, but there was nothing driving the beat the way a drummer does. No drummer equaled no dancing.  You wanted to tap your foot and clap along in time, but getting up out of your seat and dancing was just not in the picture. Not the norm for an Elvis show. As a Dallas Observer review said, “…the songs lacked a bit of propulsion.”

Isn’t it cool how certain music can really propel you? This summer, my daughter, Riley Anna, and I began compiling a list of songs that absolutely make you dance every time you hear them. (You know - like the happy, Snoopy dance!) The idea began when we watched “Madagascar 2” – and the silly, yet infectious, song “Move It, Move It” had us both dancing around the room as if we had the proverbial ants you know where.  “Wouldn’t it be great to have an entire compilation of these kind of songs?” I thought.  “Songs guaranteed to lift your spirits and get you dancing and smiling when you need a little pick-me-up.”  Songs deliver Instant Oasis Moments – five to ten minute bite-size bonbons of joy! Which songs have the power to levitate you from your chair and get you moving – even on the worst of days? What song always makes you dance? (whether you want to or not!) I’d love to hear your favorites and check them out.

Here’s my short, but growing, list of songs that absolutely make you dance every time you hear them:

Move It Move It by will.i.am

It’s Your Thing – James Brown

Pump It Up – Elvis Costello

Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - C&C Music Factory

Love Shack – B52s

You Drop the Bomb on Me – The Gap Band

A,B,C – The Jackson 5

Most any Putayamo Worldbeat CD

I don’t listen to music as often as I’d like during the day, because my brain will not allow me to read and write and talk on the phone with my coaching clients while listening. I have to sing along, even if only in my head. But, music can be a great motivator in other ways. For example, I “get to” listen to an entire CD as a special treat while I do something like clear my desk or spend time organizing and filing. In fact, I was able to reorganize my mailing list this morning while listening to music and the time flew by!

Listening to good music almost always inspires me to start making some music of my own. So, I’m off to the keyboards right now! Why not treat yourself to an Instant Oasis Moment right now and listen to a song that absolutely makes you dance every time you hear it!

 

Mountain Lesson #3 – Chipmunk Logic

(photo by Christy Cogsdill)

The card with the cute photo of a chipmunk with overstuffed cheeks has been sitting on my desk since my return from Breckenridge, Colorado. He reminds me of the sweet little creatures that feast on sunflower seeds (courtesy of my dad) on our back porch.  They’re adorable to watch as they scamper to and fro. They stuff so many seeds in their mouths that you’re absolutely sure their tiny cheeks will explode if they go for one more, and then somehow, miraculously, they pop in a couple more and do not, in fact, explode.

I’ve kept this card out because I wanted to use it for a blog post, but I just couldn’t seem to find the exact topic the photo conveyed. I’ve been home for almost two weeks now. Still not sure what this little guy was saying to me, I thought to myself, “I’ll just scan the photo and then I’ll have it – just in case.” And that’s when it hit me!

The reason I resonate so much with those hoarding chippies is I can relate to them! They’re stocking up while the gettin’s good "just in case" they show up one morning to find no more seeds.  Well, I too have a bad case of the “just in case” blues. I keep my grandmother’s china just in case I ever want to have a formal dinner party or tea. (I never do.  I’m not the formal type!) I hold onto old toothbrushes just in case I want to scrub tile grout with them. (I never do. I guess I’m not the grout-scrubbing type either.) I stash decades of documents in boxes that overflow out of my office closet, just in case I ever need them. (like I could find them if I did – ha!)

I recently read a great article on the “just in case” mentality, and I’m sure I clipped and stored it somewhere –“just in case” I should ever want to refer to it again. (Like I do today, but can’t, because I don’t have the first clue where it is!)

I have this image in my mind...somewhere in the cosmos there are these enlightened beings watching me scamper around my office with my stacks and stacks of stuff. I can hear them now, “Oh, how cute. She’s bought another book on creativity. Wouldn’t you think she’d have enough by now? Do you think she’ll actually read this one all the way through?”

Having just recently cleaned out and organized my bedroom closet and my daughter’s closet with the help of a wonderful professional organizer (Atta Girl Organizing), I know first-hand the fantastic feeling of letting go of things I really don’t need (give-away totes with ripped handles, sandals I haven’t worn in five years, clothes that don’t fit) and then putting the things I really do need and want in order. Seriously, my closet now brings me a feeling of peace and serenity. Sometimes I just look in it and sigh. It’s like my moment of Zen.

My challenge to myself, and to you, this fall is to practice feeling abundant, knowing that I have plenty, and that things that I’ll need in the future will show up exactly when I need them. I don’t have to hang on to a bunch of stuff “just in case.”

It’s interesting how creating literal space, seems to free up our time as well. Less stuff to deal with (clean, store, repair, manage) more time to create (write, sing, paint, play, run, design). What about you? Anyone have any ideas for making space in your life? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s support each other this fall and enjoy the freedom of the “just in time” mentality, rather than the frenetic “just in case” pace of a squirrel storing food for the winter – which can make us nuts!

P.S. – Here’s a link to that article I was thinking of earlier. It was written by Martha Beck for the April 2009 Oprah Magazine. I found it “just in time”! 

Get Creative in No Time! (okay, in two minutes)

Give yourself two minutes to check out  my latest article published by the always inspiring Creativity-Portal.   I share an instant gratification plan to get back to your creative pursuits, quickly and easily!

http://www.creativity-portal.com/cca/jill-bryan/get-creative-two-minutes.html

Mountain Lesson #2 – Breaking Through Self-imposed Barriers is Fun!

(as featured on MORE.com - the official website of MORE magazine) On Sunday, August 9, 2009, at 9am mountain standard time, I, Jill Allison Bryan, (former non-athlete, former non-runner, former person least likely to engage in any contest relying on physical ability and coordination), ran my first ever 5K race.  Not only my first 5K ever, but on a course which meandered through the mountains of Breckenridge, Colorado at an elevation of  some10,000 feet, with a vertical ascent of over 850 feet on the trail! (an added challenge for a flatlander from Dallas, Texas) My fantastic creativity coach, Jill Badonsky, used to encourage me to toot my own horn now and again and this feels like a most appropriate moment, so…TOOT!!  TOOT!!

Actually, I’m writing about this personal triumph not so much to sing my own praises, as to share with you the notion that breaking through personally imposed barriers can be an absolutely fan-freakin’-tastic experience!  We all have certain labels we’ve taken on or been saddled with by family members, friends, enemies or evil P.E. teachers.  As a child I believed I could write stories, play piano, sing and act, but I also believed that I couldn’t run well, wasn’t athletic and probably never would be.

As an adult, I slowly began to realize that I did have a few athletic abilities after all.  I could play a fair game of tennis.  I actually enjoyed weight training.  I even learned to windsurf when I lived and worked on a sailboat in the Caribbean.  But only recently, in the past two or three years, have I tried running (something that only real athletes do)…on the treadmill at first, and then, only one or two minutes at a time…but running none-the-less.  I was surprised to find that I actually enjoyed the way it made me feel.  When I took my runs outside, I was even more amazed.  I found that not only could I run further and faster than I ever dreamed, I love the mind/body/spirit experience.  I love the meditative feeling of moving my body in my own rhythm, at my own pace, being in nature, and letting my thoughts flow freely.  I love the fact that at 44 years old, I am healthy enough to engage in this new energizing physical practice.  (another Mid-Life Oasis ™ lesson – it’s never too late to begin!)

Though I’ve been running a few times a week for several months now, there’s a difference between running for an hour through my neighborhood, and participating in an actual race.  Although I’ve registered to run a half-marathon in January of 2010 at Disney World (the location makes it seem more feasible and fun somehow) I still had yet to run in an “official” race until this past Sunday. 

I registered on a whim after watching my daughter (who is almost ten) break through a barrier herself.  She was climbing an indoor rock-wall, trepidatious at first…inching up a few footholds, then coming back down.  Finally, after several false starts, she maneuvered her way to the very top of the climbing wall and rang the bell.  She was elated - so proud of herself and rightly so. 

Perhaps it was serendipity that a sign-up sheet for the Breck 150 Father Dyer Mail Run 5K sat right next to the climbing wall.  I felt a sudden surge of possibility and a little bit of “oh, what the hell” - paid my $25 and registered.  (There was also that nice, shiny new SIGG aluminum water bottle that came in the goodie bag – but I like to think that was only a small motivational factor.) 

The weather the day of the race was gorgeous and sunny.  I knew in theory that I could run the 3.1 miles since I had been running almost everyday on trails around town, so my goals were simply to finish and to have fun.  The latter was seriously challenged during the first ten minutes of the race which was extremely vertical.  But after I found my rhythm (run the flat bits, hike the climbs, breathe…breathe…breathe!) and a couple of nice pacing mates, I really enjoyed myself.  I kept thinking  “Wow!  You’re really doing this!” And “Hey, this is pretty fun.”  And occasionally, “Was that a 12 year old who just past me?”

The final ten minutes of the course was downhill and then flat out.  The adrenaline kicked in and I finished at a pretty good clip with the two lovely women I had run with for most of the race.  Once I past the finish line and handed in my ID stub for my time, I felt slightly nauseous and a bit emotional for a few minutes…then pure elation!  I did it!  I rang that bell!  I ran right through a lifelong self-imposed barrier and into the world of “real” athletes. 

If I can do it – so can you!  You can get up and sing at karaoke night!  You can take a dance class – even something dramatic like the tango or salsa or hip-hop!  You can bake a soufflé!  You can do whatever it is that you want to do!  Why wait another day?  Treat yourself to the giddy elation of breaking through a self-imposed barrier now.  Your oasis awaits you!