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~ For people who are passionate about respecting the earth, walking in nature, observing wildlife, local diet, making do, repurposing, organic gardening, foraging for wild plants and fungi, natural health, scrumptious healthy cooking, renovations, DIY, crafting, raising children simply and mindfully, taking time for stillness, and living in harmony with the seasons.

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Category Archives: mindfulness

journalling… and a special creativity journal

09 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by Delena Rose in make it, mindfulness, play, wild women, write

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

collage, creativity journal, images, inner work, inspiring words, journal, postcards, quotes, writing

journalsI have kept a journal for most of my life and have found it of great benefit in clarifying my thoughts and articulating my dreams and goals as they have emerged and evolved over the years. In my teenage years, I chose pretty blank journals and used a fountain pen with various colors of ink, loving the way the ink flowed from pen to paper in elegant lines and arches. For the last decade, I made the switch to mechanical pencil with a fine .5 mm tip. I am very picky about my writing tools: the pencil must be comfortable enough to hold for long periods of writing, the journal must feel good in the hand, lie open nicely, and have high quality pages.

As a writer, I also had an inclination toward meditation and reclusiveness, and so have maintained for most of my life a decent balance. ~Francis Mayes, Bella Tuscany

There is something very therapeutic about writing long-hand, even more so, I find, than typing on a computer. Some writers write all of their novels, poems or plays long-hand in spiral notebooks or on yellow legal pads. They say it has something to do with how writing by hand slows the mind processes down enough to fully capture the richness of their thoughts. Whatever it does, journaling and writing by hand has always helped me ‘go deep’ within myself. It also keeps me honest and allows me to be my own best friend as I can vent and complain and giggle and whisper and dream silently into the pages of my journals. The insights that come to me, often unexpectedly, as I write turns the monologue into an interesting and lively dialogue, with burning questions answered and endless more curiosities opened up.

creativity journal

We must be free to follow our muse, and often that means what amuses us… Carl Jung has remarked that creativity is the imagination at play with the things that it loves… ~Julia Cameron

This is my creativity journal. It is unique in that it features the thoughts, ideas and images produced by others. I used to collect photos, postcards, cut-outs from magazines and newspapers and brochures; just anything that caught my attention. For many years, I kept these visual treasures in a small box until the box became too full to hold anymore. Instead of hiding them away any longer, I thought it would be a great idea to put all of these images into a journal so that I could have easier access to them and enjoy them more regularly. I started by choosing a sturdy blank journal.

DSC01276I spread out all of the pictures and grouped them intuitively, not by theme or content, but by color and texture. (This was about eight years ago.) Then I took each grouping and arranged them in my journal, using double-sided tape to hold them in place. There was still some blank spaces on each page and I decided that I would use the space to record some of my favorite quotes. I normally underline favorite passages in the books I read but every once in a while I would come across an incredibly juicy, startling or brilliant phrase that I just had to record somewhere safe so that I would never lose it.

The storm came up out of the southwest like a fiend, stalking its prey on legs of lightening. ~Clive Barker, Abarat

It took another six years of slowly gathering more images and filling the empty spaces with inspiring words, interesting stickers and vintage rubber stamp images, until one day, the journal was full and could not hold anything more.

creativity journal8The passages are written in different colored inks, pencil crayon, calligraphy inks, even watercolor paint. Everything was done intuitively, from the arrangement of the images, to the placement of the quotes, to the color and size of the hand-writing. I once heard an artist explain that this type of intuitive creative expression is a mirror of our subconscious. I like to think that if someone took a walk inside my mind, that this is exactly what they would find. A gallery of ideas, colors and words…

Make thy books thy companions. Let thy cases and shelves be thy pleasure ground and gardens. ~Judah ibn-Tibbon

creativity journal7

When I first started writing poetry, I kept what I call an ‘image bank’; a photo album I stuffed with museum post cards of paintings, photos, typed lists of words I liked, anything that struck me as co-related with the writing process… Traveling, I’m especially aware of storing what I experience and see. ~Francis Mayes, Bella Tuscany

creativity journal6

I used to pack this journal along with me on trips and I would read it, cover to cover, like a novel. Now, the binding is getting old and the cover quite frayed, so I keep in it a drawer next to my bed and sometimes enjoy the last quiet moments of my evening enjoying the creativity journal. Many ideas for projects have come out of this ongoing process…

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world. But a few do not. JOIN THEM. ~Arthur Shopenhauer & R. Sharma

creativity journal5

When you meet a person who has inner authentic presence, you find he (she) has an overwhelming genuineness, which might be somewhat frightening because it is so true and honest and real. You experience a sense of command radiating from the person of inner authentic presence. This is not just charisma. The person with inner authentic presence has worked on himself (herself) and made a thorough and proper journey. He (she) has earned authentic presence by letting go, and by giving up personal comfort and fixed mind. ~Chogyan Trungpa Rinpoche

creativity journal4

I dreamed a limitless book, a book unbound, its leaves scattered in fantastic abundance. On every line there was a new horizon drawn, new heavens supposed; new states, new souls. One of these souls, dazing through some imagined afternoon, dreamed these words. and needing a hand to set them down, made mine. ~Clive Barker, Abarat

creativity journal3

… if you follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. When you can see that, you begin to meet people who are in the field of your bliss, and they open the doors for you. I say, follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be. ~Joseph Campbell

creativity journal2

Chamdi and Guddi wait for the carriage to pass and then they both run behind it. There is a hutch in the back, small enough for them to fit in, and Guddii gets on and sits down. She faces him now and stretches her arms out for him, and Chamdi tells himself that he does not want to get on that carriage, no, he will spend his entire life running behind this girl because the moment he steps into the carriage her arms will no longer be outstretched. No one has ever done this for him, stretched out their arms, although he has dreamed of this moment many times, but in his dreams it has been his mother and father coming to the orphanage as he runs into their arms. He has never pictured a girl his own age with brown hair and yellow teeth, but this is better, so much better. He does not realize that the carriage is moving farther and farther away from him, and he does not care. All he wants is to carry this image in his brain for the rest of his life. ~Anosh Ikani, The Son of Kahunsha

creativity journal1This creativity journal, which took years to fill up, is deeply personal and filled-to-overflowing with images and words that inspire and delight me. When asked, “If your home was ever on fire and you could only take one thing, one object, what would it be?” My answer is always the same with no hesitation: my creativity journal. This collection is invaluable to me.

As you may have guessed, I have already started on a second creativity journal. I always seem to pick up treasures as I go about my day. Sometimes they are smooth stones, bits of drift wood or feathers… Sometimes they are experiences, such as a fleeting glance of a silver fox in the light of a full moon… And sometimes they are in the form of a thought-provoking image or a snatch of delicious poetry. Capturing these in a creativity journal allows me to spend time savoring them again and again, to grow old with these thoughts and ideas, and to respond to them with my own creative expressions by seeing what emerges from this ever-evolving, playful process.

We all have to do our own interior work. It’s our highest responsibility. To examine yourself and get to know the real you- your true self- and all you are as a human being is the central aim of life. To know more about yourself so you can be more for the world is the ultimate journey. Genuine success in life is an inside job. ~R. Sharma

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the gift of good conversation with Marg Sanders of Mindsprings

07 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by Delena Rose in buy local, healing, mindfulness, Pigeon Lake

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

coaching, coaching conversations, conversation, ECOcafe, good conversation, Hugh Sanders, Marg Sanders, Mindsprings, share stories

Mindsprings ‘magic’ happens when ideas spring from mind to mind in conversation.

Yesterday, it was my privilege and pleasure to spend part of an afternoon with a diverse group of women at the ECOcafe (located at the Village on Pigeon Lake). We had all come in response to an invitation by Marg Sanders of Mindsprings to ‘Remember and Be Remembered at Christmas: Receiving the Gift of Good Conversation’. I had met Marg and her husband, Hugh, last winter at another ECOcafe event and was really looking forward to see her in action.

The event was fun and very meaningful to all who participated. It was refreshing to share my own Christmas story and then hear the personal stories of others. Before we began, Marg gave us time to reflect on a few questions. Then she coached us on active, intentional, nonjudgmental listening– truly a rare quality found in people and a gift that we can give ourselves and others! By the end of the session, each one of us felt enriched by the time we had shared in creative expression and good conversation.

Marg and Hugh of Mindsprings offer conversational coaching, both for individuals as well as for groups. For example, individuals seeking personal growth, or for work groups as team-building or thinking about challenges in new ways, or even at family gatherings to focus on the gifts that each member brings to the group. There are many other applications for coaching conversations and their website is full of information. Both Marg and Hugh are skilled at helping you discover:

  • exactly who you are as an individual or organization – your purpose, talents and objectives
  • clarity about what you want to achieve
  • your power and capacity to move forward
  • a do-able and sustainable action plan

Upcoming Events at Mindsprings:

Weaving and Writing Our Way Through a Good Book

“A unique book club experience that invites story telling and personal journalling into the reading of a good book.”

Making Sense of Our Lives, Story by Story

mindsprings salons

“…good people, good food, and good conversation in a skillfully guided environment at Mindspring’s unique lakeside setting.”
If you would like more information on Mindsprings, or would like to invite a conversation in your area, you can contact marg at: marg@mindsprings.ca or visit their website at www.mindsprings.ca or call 780.586.2551.

We believe that the knowledge you need to achieve your goals is hidden and waiting to be uncovered within you, both as an individual and as an organization.

Even in this short time spent with Marg I have learned (and remembered) so much. During this holiday season, I would like to be remembered as giving the people in my life the gift of good conversation…

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a final farewell to Autumn

14 Monday Nov 2011

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, mindfulness

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Autumn, decaying leaves, leaves, lichen, moss, peace, stillness, trees, wild flower

As I write this the wind is blowing fiercely outside my window and there is two inches of fresh snow on the ground. The forecast for this week calls for sub-zero temperatures and more snow tonight. (Yay!) Lucy and I walked the trails today but tomorrow I will start breaking in my ski trail. I am lucky that they groom over 4 kilometers of trails out back for cross country skiers, but that won’t start until we have a good base of snow for the grooming tractor to have something to work with. Until then, I get a little extra exercise!

With the ‘white stuff’ finally here, I thought I would dedicate this post to a final farewell to Autumn and share some pictures taken in the last few weeks around here. These are my favorites as they seem to evoke a sense of stillness and peace…

As of late, all I like

  is quiet.

Far from my mind

  the vanity of things.

Stripped of all resources,

  what I have left is the joy

Of hanging around again

  in my forest.

~Wang Wei

Empty mountain,

  not a soul to be seen.

Only echoes of voices

  sounding in the distance.

Ray of of setting sun

  in the deep woods:

On the moss

  a final burst of light: green.

~Wang Wei


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the gift of attention

04 Tuesday Oct 2011

Posted by Delena Rose in appreciate the seasons, mindfulness

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

attention, black-eyed susan, gratitude, respite, rest, self-care, stillness

When we give our lives the gift of attention, our consciousness blossoms. Attention is an act of love, and act of connection. Like a child in a good home, our art responds to a nurturing atmosphere. Ideas nudge their way to the fore. It is as if we are being trusted with new insights, trusted because we have shown our capacity for attention. ~Julia Cameron

Today was a day for much-needed rest and respite, for solitude and self-care. Slower walks, looking at my surroundings more closely, appreciating the gentle falling of leaves outside my study window, sitting still out on the deck, reading, light but nourishing meals, hot relaxing bath, calming tea and then finally, some gentle yoga. After being productive and busy for the past few weeks (harvest) it was lovely to take a day for myself and put my attention inward for a while… on my direction in life, my dreams, hopes, wishes and vision. It was a day for ideas emerging, new plans made and profound gratitude.

Peace.

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