Right Brain Planner

This is the first in a series of posts by “my Bravehearts” ♥ … Fierce and free young women of The Yes Tribe. Each of us together form a circle of strength … whispering secret messages as we journey in the direction of our dreams. ~stargardener

We always regret the things that we don’t do in life, rather than the things we did. ~Petra Zlatevska

Some questions catch me off guard like the one she asked the other day. Simple words; almost innocent, but not quite. I felt filleted like a fish. I felt heartbeats in my ears as I stammered for an answer.

“I-I don’t know right now,” I said. “Can I get back to you on that?”

Piercing questions are like shovels with microscopes on them. They are for plunging into the alcoves of our soul and probing the intricate labyrinths of ourselves. Who am I? What am I here for? What is my life purpose? Why was I born? When we reward our bravery with honesty, even the honesty of not knowing, or of discontentment, sorrow, anger, or regret, it is then we find the most glorious treasure: our own secret soul map bearing directions for the most beautiful adventure of our lives ~ the art of being alive.

But who has time for adventure? Everyday life can be a roller-coaster of its own. After a long afternoon of kids or pets or errands or traffic, sometimes sagging limp in the shower feels like the richest happily-ever-after, ever. Finally collapsing into bed is exciting enough. Who has the luxury to embark on deep soul adventures?

Let me whisper: Who has the luxury not to?

It’s simple. And you can start right now. You can do this no matter where you are; you already do it every day, without even thinking.

the soul journey
step 1:

Take a deep breath.

That’s it. Breathe deep, as deep as you can, and before you let it out long and slow, I want you to hold your breath. Just for a moment. Hold it for a heartbeat. You can even close your eyes.

That suspension? The quiet place of in-between?

That is where you begin.

Life begins and ends with breath. We forget to breathe and lose our way, but we can always come home to that quiet place. We gain composure and find rest and strength in its steady rhythm. As you breathe, imagine pulling life-nectar up, up out of the deepest parts of your stomach and drawing it, with intention, into your lungs. After you feel your lungs expand, exhale all goodness and healing into the world, and begin again. Breathe without ceasing. Let this become your prayer.

Remember: no matter where you are, you can always begin again with breath.

And this is grace.

the soul journey
step 2:

As you incorporate patterns of slow, deep, and steady breathing, begin to feel yourself rippling outwards, like water, from your center. Your center holds the core of you, your essence. This is where you commune with God. Your energy is rooted here, your intuition and instinct, and your own sacred presence.

With each rippling, ask yourself things like: How do I feel in my body right now? When I breathe, what do I taste in my mouth? What do I see around me? What is happening in my space? You can start with whatever immediately surrounds you, like the way air feels on your bare skin (cold? sharp? gentle? nurturing?) or how your favorite coffee mug feels in your hand (is it earthy, or slim and sleek? Does its smooth porcelain rim invite caressing?) and work outwards. Practicing this awareness is like gently rousing a sleeping loved one. Place a tender hand on your soul, and whisper, arise!

Remember: you can breathe slow, steady rhythms, even in chaos. And as you breathe, become aware of all that surrounds you. This awareness precedes your awakening.

the soul journey
step 3:

Sometimes we don’t know that we’re not awake, and we stumble around in circles fighting the same old things, over and over, for years. It is important to awaken gently. Will you go to a mirror for me right now? As you face your reflection, what do you see?

For this next step, and for the rest of your life, I want you to begin seeing yourself as Soul. You are not what you see in the mirror; your skin and hair and wrinkles and lusciousness ~ the curves that aren’t where they are supposed to be, and the extra curves which don’t belong ~ this is the glorious vehicle which carries your soul as you sojourn on earth.

And the beautiful thing about this? As you ripple, you shimmering soul you, and flow outwards, you will begin to see others as souls, too. Your children? Eternal souls poured into skin that looks like yours, with perhaps a little more energy, but ageless just the same. Your lover? Sacred, multifaceted soul matched to the sacred multi-facets of yours. Your loud neighbor? The alcoholic? The addict?

The world is full of Souls who forget they are.

Remember: breathe, ripple, awaken. Your adventure is to come alive. And your shimmering will cause others to hunger for a life essence like yours; you will ignite and inspire, and through being, you will draw others to life, maybe for the very first time.

the soul journey
step 4:

This labyrinth doesn’t end, really. This means there will always be deep mysteries for the uncovering and places to rest along the way. As you go, keep in mind this secret of mine which will help you make wise choices. You can use this in everything ~ how to feed your body, the vehicle for your soul; what relationships to invite close, how you spend your time.

Breathing deep and being aware, consider the words of Rumi: Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When you can suspend thoughts of condemnation or judgment and be present in your body, you will know what is right for you. In this place of being, ask yourself ~ regarding any situation ~ is this life-bringing for me?

Remember: whatever is right for you, whatever is the way for you, will always bring life and entice your soul to awaken.

Petra Zlatevska wrote, “We always regret the things that we don’t do in life, rather than the things we did.” Take yourself on soul adventure today, my loves. There is a hidden, life-bringing passageway behind that secret door. And maybe the question that made me go, “Wait. What?” and count my heartbeats will be your magical key. Sit with your emotions (and maybe even the initial, sarcastic, duh, oxygen response, *ahem*) and see where it takes you. Because the answer to this question? Find this answer, and you will know everything you need to know.

What is keeping you alive right now?

::: about Rain …

she loves deeply. and is deeply loved. she is grounded and spiritual … nestled in a sacred place of inquiry and discoveries. and she is exploring various expressions of intuitive art.
★ be inspired by her syllables at the sacred life of rain

The adventure begins …

{join us … because you belong}

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:::: flings glitter ::::

ox
~a rebel

Last Sunday morning I was {absolutely} delighted and {oh-so} grateful when I read Tammy’s comment {and post citing my award}… Wow!

I immediately began to compile a handwritten list of my (15) go-to blogs.

And in the midst of the paper piles and the random collage of notes upon my desk, the list was, um, misplaced. It was a busy day that transitioned into a busy week of client meetings and pre-launch work for an art-full, collaborative web site set to go live tomorrow {yippee!!}, accomplished via MS-calibrated working hours …

And accomplished despite my bunny-trail, right-brain, look-something-shiny! thought patterns and popcorn factory of ideas.

I created a second list in my art journal and made mental notes while yoga-ing outside. This process kept prompting remembrances of the many bloggers whose syllables have influenced me and empowered change for me. And, yesterday, I learned that one of my blogger-favs, Less, included me on her list of versatile bloggers. Wow!

I couldn’t decide which way to go with this: how to “pick” bloggers whose words assist me in adapting my dailies to serve my art-full intentions. And I was concerned that I would surely forget someone, since I don’t read blogs every day … But there are certain blogs that strike a cord within me … cuing music to dance to for months.

I know. Just get on with the dang list, right?! Okay … here goes …

I award the Versatile Blogger Award
to the following bloggers:

• Tammy, Daisy Yellow, for inspiring me each and every time I click over to her blog {and for promoting art journaling with simple how-to’s — getting something on a page or even a 3×5 card}.
• Less, Comfortable Shoes Studio, for demonstrating how to do what I only could see in my mind {and for promoting art journaling as a process of trying new themes and techniques}.
• Leah for faithfully providing prompts to be Creative Every Day; I have read her blog for over three years and remain continually inspired by her insights. ♥
• Messy Mandy, who has become a dear friend because of our rebel brand of vulnerable-undauntedness {and whose decision to twitter-list me as an artist was a third-time-charm for me a few years ago, as I struggled with granting myself the title of “artist” … }.
• Traci Bunkers, whose blog never fails to prompt an art-experiment of some kind! Currently working up an understanding of the apps and filters she recommends in her current iPodography series.
• Carlene, who blogs as carlenetaylorsimmons.com and is my google+ make-art reminderer {I love reading about her discoveries}.
• Kira, aka Journal Girl, for being a star {someone who shines brighter in the midst of “darkness” #spoonielife} and for being an inspiration to me to live-fully and in-vibrant-color.
• Seth Apter for creating such a diverse and useful forum for kindred-spirited artists — from the well-knowns to the dabblers and beginners.
• Joanna for her creativity {and affirming me in so many ways} with regard to visual thought and her gifted expertise.
• Julie G. for being so close-in-heart as we share art journaling and holistic syllables {and for inspiring conversations, and secret messages via Instagram — across International time zones!}.
• Julie S. for patiently introducing me to tasty recipes for healthy stuff {and being my Editor and a Collaborative Extraordinaire}
• Julie Fei Fan Balzer for visually promoting daily art journaling and planning as doable {and colorful and fun and eclectic!}.
• Quinn McDonald because I really — really! — like the way she thinks! and journals! as well as her attraction to sparkly Sharpies!
• Michael Nobbs, Sustainably Creative, because his story gives me hope and his writings inspire practicality with regard to purpose and chronic illness.
• artjournaling.ning.com because it was the first art ning I joined. And being there is totally inspiring! ★

Honorable Mentions {since these well-known bloggers continue to play pivotal roles in my business management}:

• Becky McCray, for bein’ one of the most fascinating people I have ever met! And for her Friday Brag Basket — and because her first book was just published!
• Mack Collier, for #blogchat and because of posts like this one {and for being Southern and for personally helping me “get” social media when I first tweeted in 2007}
• Chris Brogan, because he is a prolific writer and right brain thinker … and I enjoy his candor. And he introduced me to the concept of one-word goals/focus.
• Seth Godin for allowing me think about “big” business stuff in “bite-size” ways {and for writing: Tribes and Purple Cow and creating The Domino Project}.

And I am also supposed to list seven things about myself that you might not know … 

1. I started freelancing {cleaning houses, designing greeting cards} when I was 18 years old; and I have been self-employed all but 4-5 years of my career, give or take a few months.
2. I graduated from college with a “get-me-graduated” degree {after six-years!} knowing that I wanted to work in legislative affairs and advocacy. My “shotgun-approach” job search paid off: Staffer for U.S. Senator.
3. I have met three American Presidents, various and a sundry federal and state “bigwigs in suits” and was involved with political campaigning from high school years until 2002; and short stint in 2010.
4. Although I almost moved to Washington, DC and Houston, TX … I have lived in the Great State of Oklahoma since I was very young; and unless I find my dream home on a secluded beach, I always will.
5. After giving up on meeting a man I could trust, I met one. And — I married him three weeks later. That was over 21 years ago!
6. Baby Boom was always a favorite movie of mine … And it turned out to be sorta like my life story {career woman turns mom; goes crazy without career; reinvents career; embraces motherhood}.
7. The Internet has allowed me to know people I “had” to meet in order to live my dreams. All but three of my closest friends are kindreds I met via online activities. ♥

Okay … Now it is your turn! Wow! I would just love to know …

• Who do you enjoy reading? Whose art do you love to see?
• Who inspires you or empowers you in your journey? your art?
• Tell me something about yourself in the comments below.

P.S. The basic rules of the Versatile Blogger Award — if you are so inclined to participate:

• Thank the person who gave you this award.
• Include a link to their blog.
• Select 15 excellent blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly.
• Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award; include a link to the Versatile Blogger site.
• Share 7 things about yourself.

We tend to resist change: altering our habits and intentions, our definitions of who people are and what specific events mean to us. We often use labels and value statements without a thought. Especially when it comes to self-evaluation, self-care and valuing our time and talents.

Life is change.

Every day.

There are contrasts of thoughts and doing, opinions and options. There are choices that ignite our inner cranky. We are familiar with the particulars of our dailies and our relationships … That familiarity numbs us a bit at times. Our discontent and.or dreams are met with internal responses such as: “This is the way it has to be.” or “This is the way it has always been.”

And often our contrasting-baby-steps behavior and action in new directions is met with opposition. The courage and determination of our inner warrior(ess) is challenged by the people in our lives who are used to us being a certain way, because our change is igniting their inner cranky.

Our courage and determination can also be challenged by the our own doubts and perfectionistic expectations.

Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence. ~William Blake

Contraries:

• confirms change
• clarifies our intent
• not a reason to quit.

♥ What would you do {change, dare to be, want-to-do} if you knew you could not fail, Braveheart?

p.s. {on April 1st there will be a new resource to inspire new ideas about journaling … and it will be helpful to you as you dare to do what is in your heart}

Click here for daily clues … Because you will want to know more about this particular {something big}, Braveheart!

The way you relate to your thoughts, that’s what you bring to every relationship you have, including the one with yourself. ~Byron Katie

October of 2011 was a monumental time of declaration for me … A time of retooling {starting over and creating something better}. A time to decide. Thus, freeing up the energy being spent on what-abouts, what-ifs and when-oh-whens!

Decisions and choices felt like “too much” — but at the same time, these elements of change held the promise of what I knew I wanted for my life. But still, it was a challenge to choose. The what-if’s, the unknown how-to’s and the physical limitations of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) offered exit ramps every day, as I journeyed in the direction of my dreams.

When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice. ~William James

My choices were to move deeper into my perrsonal practice — as well as my research and collaborations — pertaining to the benefits of swirling artistic expression with the everyday realities of adapting to personal challenges. And how said artistic expression {all-things-creative} has the ability to empower each of us to overcome challenges and personal limitations.

overcome/

re·ver·ber·a·tion

Sparkly reverberations: peeking back to the past when I can vividly remember how different I always felt from everyone else; reflecting upon how those differences both made me, me but also made me feel like I led a double-life {one for people to see; one safely within to keep me sane and remind me who I was/am} … and a series of echoed reminders of how I will know when I need to know — propelling me onward.

Sometimes knowing is a feeling.

I can feel the energy of reverberations from the past propelling me through this time of planning and multi-faceted choices for Next. I can see that my concerns about making the “wrong” choices are unfounded. I know that despite the stress of busyness {and MS wonky-ness} that there are no rules to accomplish living a life I love, except to do what is in my heart. And that … that part is becoming easier every day!

The right thing to do never requires any subterfuge; it is always simple and direct. ~Calvin Coolidge

{something big awaits …}

♥ Click here for daily clues … Because you will want to know more about this particular {something big}, Braveheart!

Beauty must come back to the useful arts, and the distinction between the fine and the useful arts be forgotten. If history were truly told, if life were nobly spent, it would be no longer easy or possible to distinguish the one from the other. In nature, all is useful, all is beautiful. It is therefore beautiful, because it is alive, moving, reproductive; it is therefore useful, because it is symmetrical and fair. Beauty will not come at the call of a legislature … It will come, as always, unannounced, and spring up between the feet of brave and earnest (wo)men. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What if?

What if we begin to practice this? That the details of our dailies — the sparkly, the mundane, the to-do’s, the simple, the messy stuff, the angst, the flock of birds that soar overhead as we get out of the car — that it is all art.

That our five senses represent five separate palettes or five canvases awaiting beauty, expression … mediation between our wants and our realities.

Last night I was sitting outside this Starbucks with Magic Mandy … Each of us sipping sweet warmth from thick paper cups, cupped in the palms of our hands … Amidst the sounds of late night traffic, and shadowed light from street lights and signage … Feeling fear-less and at-ease, as cool breezes caressed our faces and hands … Breathing deep, both the aroma of coffee and the art of that moment … Savoring the syllables of our personal {and eclectic} and custom-blend of conversation.

Moments of pure art.

Art, because each moment is a custom canvas of vulnerability, with broad strokes of undaunted-will intent upon discovering more … Conversations, that faithfully present raw opportunities to face what we label as a limit. Moments of brave love and friendship that empower us to touch the jagged lines of those limits … Paper-mache-collaging over those lines with joined-courage …

Moments when we dare to step a little further into new “forbidden” territory because of the art we share.

Read before dreaming last night:

The answer to the question “Am I a real artist?” lies in the answer to “Did I make any art today?” ~Julia Cameron

Words of confirmation.

Affirming the dreams Magic Mandy and I conversed about last night … That life is art; that each of us simply needs a companion to inspire our own daring inquiry … and baby steps into Next.

Someone to sit with us in the dark and dimly light places; someone to inquire, “Did you make art today? Because I care about you, and I would love to see what you creatively recorded about your life today.”

{something big awaits …}

♥ Click here for daily clues … Because you will want to know more about this particular {something big}, Braveheart!

Leah Piken Kolidas chose “Mixed-Media” as the theme for March’s Creative Every Day art challenge. The first image of this post is hand-lettered using a Pitt Artist Pen, Inktense Colored Pencils and Yasutomo Pearlescent Watercolors on a square of 100 lb white paper.

Wanna join in? Here are some ideas and prompts.

Never mind searching for who you are.  Search for the person you aspire to be.  ~Robert Brault

One could argue that living includes discovery and work. However, I see discovery as an intention — a focused time of seeking, noting and incorporating what is needed for one’s personal Next. Our wishes.

And certainly work is part of living, but it is also a separate intention: A focused time of task management and innovation {and the mundane} for the purpose of compensation {cash and heart dividends}.

liv·ing/

Living, for me …

Well, it is an entirely separate sector of {capital-L} Life. A swirly blend of all the aspects of life that we long for “more” of … Moments of being and doing that make us smile. Events and occasions we “save the date” for, photograph and document for future memory-lane strolls of the heart. And includes: relationships with self, family and friends, and nature.

Discovery allows us to learn more about what makes us smile:

• abiding with new ideas
• learning new skill sets
• trying new hobbies
• meeting new people.

Work allows us to apply and explore our discoveries; and to pay for our discoveries, our want-to’s … our hope-to-be-someday’s. ♥

I know well what I am fleeing from but not what I am in search of. ~Michel de Montaigne

Getting there

• What do you truly want to be? to do? Who do you want to be with?
• What is one small step you can take in the direction of ONE of those “want-to’s”?
• Will you dare to take that one small step? and another … and another? ♥

Yes? I’d love to know about it!

But there never seems to be enough time
To do the things you want to do once you find them
~Jim Croce, Time in a Bottle ♫♫

• Do you wish for “more” time?
• Bemoan “wasted” time?
• Ever feel like time passes “too fast”?

What good is time saved or “more” time … if we still spend it doing tasks that still steer us away from our dreams? Example: When I have not determined priorities for a day -or- if I have “extra” = non-scheduled time … I have to resist doddling. Followed by resisting the urge to whine about said doddling.

Doddling is not resting.

It is procrastination.

It is avoiding what is next. It is mindless surfing online; reading twaddle; starting tasks but not completing tasks; snacking; random texting, Instagramming or chatting … self-loathing and “listening” to yourself mentally rehearse how lazy and unproductive you are; how you always {fill-in-the-blank} and never {fill-in-the-blank}. Braveheart …

• No one “always.”

• No one “nevers.”

‘Tis true that we have habits, slumps and doddle-times. But self-loathing and shoulding ourselves, um, not productive nor conducive to living a life we love, lovin’ the life with live.

It is important to note that whatever we are doing {or avoiding} reveals important information for us. For example:

The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life. ~Jessica Hische

• What do you typically do when you are procrastinating?
• What does your procrastination reveal about you?
• What are you avoiding?

Dreaming is not doddling.

Napping is not doddling.

Dreaming and napping could be precisely what you need, when you insist of doing {doddling} instead of being. Investing your time in learning about {and doing} what you want to do with your one wild and precious life could also be part of what you need.

What you deserve.

Doddling is the act of denying yourself what you deserve, Braveheart. You are worth so much more … ♥

Leah Piken Kolidas chose “Mixed-Media” as the theme for March’s Creative Every Day art challenge.

Wanna join in? Here are some ideas and prompts.

True bravery and strength come from the continuing investigation of our weaknesses and our fears. If these are not known they cannot be overcome.
~Jacquline Hurlbert

It can be disheartening to observe how much we expect from ourselves every single day. We hope and we wish, we make our plans, get things in order and prepare to “just do it!” … sometimes more desperately than others.

Then the clock ticks away with our expectations. And our hope.

Bravery to live the life we love, to love the life we live — and the strength do move through our challenges — is acquired; it is granted through the process of time.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage. ~Anais Nin

Here are three practices we can employ that will aid us in moving through …

• Filter {or mute} all the words of advice you receive via friends and family, blogs and Facebook. Come on. You know what I mean … Each of us is inundated with verbiage: asked-for {and not-asked-for}, googled-for and clicked-on via our in-person interactions and all the stuff we read online.
• Know what you want to be and do. Schedule some time first minutes of your day {or the last minutes} to write freely about this; list wishes or stuff you know you do NOT want to be and to do.
  
• Do not give up. There are countless opportunities every day to throw our hands up in the air and allow our emotions to annihilate our will. Avoid that. K?

{creative tip}

Courage is like a match I strike on the pages of my art journal pages. When I am twisted in thought, anxiety or in-action, it is my practice to write, collage, doodle or otherwise add-to my journal pages. ♥

We tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to acting upon the plans we make. In a flash of inspiration, we see {it} — our want-to’s, dreams, wishes and goals — working out, nice and neat … And then we sorta stop in our tracks and wonder what the heck we are doin’!

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. ~Mark Twain

Fear — and crazy-what-if’s and when-oh-when’s — strikes in overwhelm. When we are tired or when we have been locked in-action {the good, the bad and the ugly} and booming in Busyness.

Does this sound familiar?

Your Map:

{what is in your heart, head or on paper}

Braveheart, remind yourself that what you are feeling is temporal {it will indeed pass} … And that you are indeed moving in the direction of your dreams. That you will live a life you love, and love the life you live because you are not a quitter. And you will know {learn, define, clarify, discover} as you go.

In the midst of this fight or flight moment, we are tempted to run away.

• to surrender.
  
• to move out of the circle.

Regardless of how you feel … You are precisely where you are supposed to be. That crazy feeling is caused by the busyness {and the fatigue that accompanies it} of your life, and it will pass. I promise.

Been there. Done that.

Will do it again!

Action {and resuming after overwhelm} begins with intention.

• to let go
• to balance
• to try
• to try again

Intentions mean: I will.

And when our “I will’s” don’t happen as fast as we deem appropriate and necessary, the sparkly parts appear dull.

Note: Glitter doesn’t lose its sparkle in the dark! Even when it cannot be seen. The sparkle is still there! Sparkling!

Let’s keep moving. K?

P.S. This morning my heart is brimming with gratitude for conversations during the past three days, across county lines and state lines {and one across a table at Panera}. Syllables exchanged with amazing friends who faithfully sit with me in the dark — kick my butt, as needed — and remind me that I am both equipped and capable of making my dreams happen {with or without MS}. And working on a business plan with two of those friends? Absolutely priceless!

♥ Stay tuned! I will be posting more information very soon!