The Secret of Great Creative People, Einstein & Fairy Godmothers

Feel stuck...unmotivated...less-than-inspired?  

Try asking yourself these 5 questions: 

1. What sparks my curiosity? 

2. What do I find myself googling again and again? 

3. What's my favorite section of a bookstore? (Remember those?)

4. Which pinterest boards (or magazines) could I pore over for hours at a time? 

5. What do I find myself daydreaming about when I "should" be doing something else?

Pondering the answers to these questions can help you tap into the things you're curious about to help you quickly and easily reignite your creative energy! 

In her book, The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard, author Jill Badonsky introduces Albert, the muse of imagination and innovation inspired by Albert Einstein. 

In the Albert chapter Badonsky writes: 

"Curiosity is an attitude that can be cultivated and expanded. Our curious attitude can find new possibilities in anything. Curiosity is a form of wonder ~ being in a state of wonder is being open to all there is still to learn. Being in wonder is to be in love with life. It is a return to childlike expectations, untainted by adult rigidity and cynicism." 

What's one small way you can use your curiosity to tap into the wonders of life and play with new creative possibilities in the coming week? 

Until next time, all the best from my curious 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.

Looking at Life Through Crazy Glasses

The more I look at the photo above, the more I think I look a little crazy. And, I'm okay with that. 

It was taken a couple of summers ago during a super fun getaway weekend in Breckenridge, Colorado (my home away from home) with my dear friend Jane Baldwin. (Check out her wonderful blog here.) 

We came upon these silly sunglasses while shopping around town and snapped a few pics. 

This photo reminds me that it's so important to get away, spend time with a good friend and embrace that "childish enthusiasm" Fellini mentions.

In her book, Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard, Jill Badonsky introduces us to Bea Silly, the Muse of Play, Laughter and Dance. According to Badonsky, Bea Silly is the go-to muse when you need to:

~ Relearn how to play, lighten up, release rigid thinking 

and remember how to make creative expression fun

~ Remember and reawaken to the wonder of being a child 

and know the positive implications this has for your creativity

~ Release resistance towards your creative process because:

   A: You just don't seem to want to do it.

or

   B: You feel a childlike power struggle inside you. 

You want to do something creative, but you never  

        actually do.

Any of this sound familiar to you?

If so, I invite you to join me to put on your crazy glasses and tap into your own childlike wonder and enthusiasm today.

Need help getting started? Here are a few prompts to help with that:

~ Think of a creative activity you loved to do when you were a kid. 

Such as: 

* Coloring in coloring books 

* Dancing

* Playing in a treehouse with friends

~ Ask yourself, "What's one easy way I could enjoy that activity or something similar right now?"

For example: 

* Color in a mandala

* Turn on some music and dance

* Doodle plans for your what your dream treehouse might look like now

~ Then ask yourself, "What if I put on my crazy glasses?"

You might: 

* Draw a huge mural on your driveway with sidewalk chalk 

 * Turn on some music and dance ~ in your front yard!

* Create a space in your home (inside or out) that feels like a tree house 

~ Give yourself permission to spend five or ten minutes enjoying your chosen creative pleasure. 

(Remember that ten minutes is less than 1% of your day 

and you deserve to enjoy some creative fun!)

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

Jill

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.

Revoking My Martyrs-R-Us Membership

I’ll admit that though I try my best to practice what I preach through Creative Oasis Coaching, at times I fall short. Routinely rewarding myself for a job well done is a perfect example. (Feel free to substitute the word creativity, writing, gardening, crafting or whatever you consider your personal Creative Oasis for the word art in the quote above!)

Even though I know what a good idea it is to “treat yo self” (for all you Parks & Rec fans out there) after making headway on a project or crossing something off your to-do list, I often zip right passed this important step and onto the next big thing.

Luckily, last week the stars aligned and I revoked my membership to “Martyrs-R-Us*.” You know, the club where we put off anything mildly enjoyable because we must muddle through with our never-ending have-to-do list! Raise your hand if you’ve ever been a member.

Instead, I enjoyed several wonderfully nurturing experiences as well-deserved rewards to celebrate my one-year anniversary of Mid-Week OasisMoments. 

(Click here to learn how you too can celebrate by joining me for myfree teleclass “Creativity Cubed” on March 19th!)

I treated myself to:

* a fun two-hour catch-up lunch with a dear friend I hadn’t seen in ages

* a transcendent Abhyanga (Ayurvedic full body treatment) with Sweet Ojas

* a fabulous organizing session in my master closet with Make My Life Simplified

* and a full service and car detailing

All of which left me feeling lighter, healthier, happier and filled with renewed energy to get back to my passion of helping people make the time and space in their life for creative fulfillment and fun!

I share this with you as a reminder that though we often feel like taking time for self-care is taking time away from the things we should be doing, the truth is, our productivity, health and happiness (in body, mind and spirit) increases greatly when we nurture ourselves.

* You’ll find lots of wonderful reasons to practice good self-care and revoke your membership to the Martyrs-R-Us club in the Muse Song chapter of The Nine Modern Day Muses and a Bodyguard by Jill Badonsky. For example:

“Stockpiles of guilt, and the fear of being selfish, may prevent you from operating at your full potential because you underestimate the effect that being good to yourself has on others. Taking care of yourself can awaken your higher self. This process has an almost magical quality to it because one of its foundations is the nurturing of our artist’s child. When nurtured, we return the favor with grand displays of creativity.”

(Is it any wonder that she helped me totally transform my life by introducing me to the amazing methods of Kaizen-Muse Creativity Coaching?!)

How might you give yourself permission to enjoy a little (or not so little) reward in the coming week?

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

* Enjoy 10 minutes coloring in a mandala

* Eat lunch outside on your patio 

* Sign up for a creative class or workshop

* Get a chair massage at Whole Foods

* Read a magazine during the day (gasp!)

* Dive in to some guilt-free craft time

* Try a new restaurant for dinner

* Take a nature walk with your camera

* Make a handmade card for a friend

* Write a letter and send it through snail mail

and this small, but oh so delightful reward I just gave myself for writing this Mid-Week Oasis Moment:

* one piece of Adora dark chocolate calcium followed by a ten minute catnap in the sun on my back patio

I guarantee as good as that sounds, it felt even better! 
(Note to self - this is your new favorite small reward!)

What sounds like a good self-care reward to you? I’d love to hear your ideas and better yet how you feel after you’ve given yourself permission to enjoy them!

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

Jill

www.creativeoasiscoaching.com

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!

Ready, Fire, Aim! CD Release Fundraiser – Let’s Do This Thing!

“Only those who risk going too far know how far they can go.” – T.S. Eliot, poet, playwright.

Okay, so I’ve never held a combination CD release-silent auction-fund raiser before. In the wise words of my creative mentor, Jill Badonsky, “So what? I’ll do it anyway!”

In Badonsky’s inspiring book, The Nine Modern Day Muses (and a Bodyguard), Audacity – the Muse of Courage and Uninhibited Uniqueness, might just be my favorite. She’s the muse who acts “as if” she can be who she wants to be and do what she wants to do and urges us to do the same. Several years ago, Audacity helped me get back to writing songs and performing. Then she encouraged me to become a certified creativity coach and start my own business – Creative Oasis Coaching. Throughout the past year, Audacity has helped me to record my first solo CD. (People don’t buy CDs anymore you say? So what – I’ll do it anyway!)

Today she’s helping me as I boldly go where I’ve personally never gone before – to create a fund raising event that combines my passions for creativity, connections, music, philanthropy, performance, and supporting others in their creative and life journeys. Definitely a major moment in my Mid-Life Oasis™!

So what? I’ll do it anyway on Saturday, March 27, 2010 to be precise! (with the help of many wonderful friends!) Thanks to Donna Harris of the always in the know inTown Mix, I’ve found the ideal venue - the dreamy 7 Senses in the Dallas design district. Imagine Moulin Rouge meets Alice in Wonderland meets the inside of Jeannie’s bottle on "I Dream of Jeannie” (where I wanted to live as a little girl!) and you begin to get a sense of the ambiance. (look for an interview with the creative genius behind 7 Senses – Reg Land, in an upcoming blog!)

In my last entry I shared the details of my plan for The Infinite Possibility of Women Helping Women event. Since that entry, I’ve received the first piece of artwork and let me tell you it’s amazing. I’m beginning to think that the most difficult part of this entire process for me is going to be relinquishing the artwork to the silent auction with the proceeds going to benefit Women for Women International. (stay tuned for information about Women for Women and interviews, photos and videos of the artists and their work in the coming months)

I’m looking forward to the adventure that awaits me, and to introducing you to some fabulous artists and amazing humans along the way! So, as we sometimes say in creativity coaching – Ready! Fire! Aim! – which is another way of saying “Let’s get this party started!” – we’ll figure out the details as we go!

p.s. - I was recently interviewed by Molly Childers for The Creativity Portal. Here's a link to the interview. A big thanks to Molly & The Creativity-Portal!