During the “week-in-between,” the proverbial waiting room for a new calendar year, I have been reflecting on my practice and the highlights of this past year.
A story is a way to say something that can’t be said any other way, and it takes every word in the story to say what the meaning is.
Flannery O’Connor
Braveheart, I compile online visual journals (like this post with field notes, my Ko-fi posts and my private Instagram accounts), and offline (in my right brain planners: altered books, journals and dated planners) because I believe meaning (energy and vital lessons) is Divinely woven within the moments of our dailies (of our stories).
This is my [why], the motivation that fuels my practice and my resiliency.
These on- and offline spaces are where I process whatever I am experiencing; where I get clarity and chronicle notes of discovery and revelation.
Something inside you is always telling a story. I believe that every single thing you see and hear is talking to you.
Jim Carrey
Part of my practice includes compiling resources reflective of what I am seeing (reading) and hearing (learning and observing).
The theme for 2023 resources for my Ko-fi patrons has been focused on emotional alchemy; holding space with whatever we are feeling + living from our wild heart rather than our weary hurt.
Ko-fi resources for 2024 will focus on habits and routine, data and mark-making.
As we unravel the webs of meaning woven into our emotional habits, a sense of compassion for ourselves can naturally emerge, along with the insights this work reveals.
Tara Bennett-Golemanave
The other essential part of my practice includes being involved with kindred communities; space where I celebrate belonging, speaking freely, along with experiencing comfort and affirmation as we share support and inspiration. ♥
As our stories unfold it is to our benefit to tune in and be active participants within our wild and precious lives and in community.
“We perceive, filter, and collect data, then curate an experience for ourselves and others based on this information set” (Rick Rubin). Being active in a community clarifies and enhances this information.
One of the groups I belong to is local and we meet monthly for a book discussion. We are currently focusing on the book, The Creative Habit by Rick Rubin.
The upside of 2020’s quarantines and adventures was the beginning of a growing willingness and ease of coming together online to offer support and encouragement, to witness one another — and to be reminded that together we are stronger.
- This marked the beginning of me hosting two communities and a monthly book discussion group that continue to foster meaningful conversations and kindred friendships.
- It also led to other online discussions with friends focused on various topics, but also just for fun and fostering our friendships. ♥
Our common bond when we began was right brain planning, but as we gathered regularly and cycled like the moon through the highs and lows of our lives, it now fosters an intimate bond.
Braveheart, being involved with a kindred community helps us to feel less alone, to exhale from the rapid pace of our living and be reminded that we belong, and are seen and supported.
Marking milestones and reflecting on my progress are cornerstones of my practice.
2023 has been a place of fertile emptiness and long-awaited fruition. I was guided and healed within my practice of visual journaling and verbal processing.
I am more hopeful than I have been in decades — and I credit that to my right brain planning practice (self-compassion + creative expression) and my friendships.
My partner and I have experienced an empowering shift regarding our wellness and physical capacities. We celebrated 33 years of devotion and a mutual willingness to remain in-partnership amidst the good, the bad and the ugly.
Crisis, change, all the myriad upheavals that blister the spirit and leave us groping—they aren’t voices simply of pain but also creativity [beckoning us]…to the place of fertile emptiness.
Sue Monk Kidd
Right brain planning has helped me to remain curious and open when circumstances popped up unexpectedly, and when there were situations that needed to be reframed and lived differently.
Within my various monthly sequences and practices I “connect with myself” [ground and stabilize my thinking, being and doing].
Giving my time and energies to these various tasks and practices is actually an investment [the “cost” faithfully offers me returns of peace and clarity].
- Are you tracking your progress?
- What are you noticing about your progress?
- What are you hoping for in the future?
Listening (in various forms) will be the focus of the January download for my Ko-fi patrons.
Listening is peace and clarity; listening [literally or figuratively] enables us to know ourselves:
- What we want (and don’t want) + it gives our minds something to [process] and devote attention to.
Thank you kindly for your presence here, Braveheart.
I appreciate your interest and support.
~love & good wishes~
2024 Right Brain Planner® Kit | field notes | Right Brain Planner® FAQ
2024 Right Brain Planner® Kit [Theme] Kaleidoscope Perspectives ✨ [Focus] — Noticing Beauty (within the kaleidoscope of your living: the ongoing, ever-changing “formations” of color and meaning)
❤️ Braveheart, as the Creator/Artist of Right Brain Planner® I am ever-grateful to have the opportunity to share my creative work online + support other creators since 2008! 🎉 This is possible, in part, by {you} and your presence here. But also because of the support of my Ko-fi patrons and the other other member/subscriber communities I host (via their presence, input and subscriptions).
P.S. I have been devoting more time to writing here about my creative practice. 😊 I hope you will join me here, Braveheart. 🎉
There is no substitute for observation + trial and error experimenting with what works for you as a right brain planner.
- This site, and the concept of right brain planning, is not about how-to’s — merely ideas and prompts provided for your interpretation, Braveheart.