This week, Week 4 of my journey of creative rediscovery, was pretty dramatic as far as I'm concerned. First and foremost it was Reading Deprivation week. Cameron comments, pretty astutely, that "For most blocked creatives, reading is an addiction", and argues that instead of investigating your own feelings or ideas, it seems easier/preferable, to explore those of other people.
I think she has a point. I know only too well how much I default to other people's ideas, instead of recognising that my own view-point could be valuable and/or interesting. The commitment of deciding what it is that YOU think, instead of reading about what someone else thinks, is incredibly challenging.
Nonetheless, as much as I wholeheartedly agreed with the premise of no-reading week, the reality was that after at least a year of consideration, I had finally ordered a Kindle e-reader, and of course, it arrived this week. I don't think I have ever left something new in it's packaging for that long. This was an exercise in self-restraint on multiple levels!
This week was also the week that I experienced a Kriya... I think. Cameron uses the Sanskrit word to describe what is basically a physiological melt-down, triggered by one or more emotional events. In all honesty, I can't say for certain that this was what happened to me, but given that she discusses the idea in this week's chapter, and I'm honing in on synchronous events at the moment, I think it's reasonable to make the connection.
Essentially, after weeks of waiting, weeks of conversations, brainstorming, and general chatter, all kinds of things started becoming concrete, and good things started coming my way. I won an exciting new strategy project. I was lined up for a couple more. I connected with, and impressed, people who I had only ever read about in magazines… and then I crashed and burned. First migraine ever, three days of feeling run-down and unwell, and no real explanation other than "Lizzie, you're exhausted!". So I've called it my Kriya, and I hope it's out of my system!
Much of this week's chapter has explored the connection and relevance of writing Morning Pages - those three pages of stream-of-consciousness writing (that this week have suffered considerably because I felt so horrible) - and the behavioural and emotional changes that may have started to appear as a result. Cameron suggests that you might have stronger preferences about what you do and don't like. Or find the urge to clean, and get rid of things that don't work for you anymore. I can definitely check that box. Two bags of old clothes are currently waiting to go to the charity shop.
Week 5 is all about opening yourself up to new possibilities, and challenging yourself with what the pay-off actually is, if you choose to stay stuck.
To avoid this, I challenge you with one of the Week 4 tasks:
- List five hobbies that sound fun
- List five skills that would be fun to have
- List five things that you used to enjoy doing
- List five silly things that you would like to try once
(Let’s just say that now I have “DJ a party” and “Learn to make a proper Flat White” on my to-do list!)
Lizzie Shupak
Wok+Wine - The World's Most Delicious Social Network
Global Lifestyle Project - A Global Experiment in Lifestyle Design
Thank you so much for your updates about the Artist's Way. Reading about your experiences inspired me to try the book myself, and I have been seeing great improvements in my own life. I look forward to hearing the next update.
Posted by: Amy Beth | September 26, 2011 at 03:14 PM