Category: Articles
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Consciousness And Health
As the years have gone by, I’ve noticed more and more that there’s a serious problem with health in the US. It is a systemic problem. This is something I’ve become aware of in little bursts over the years, like a blurry image slowly coming into focus. It makes sense, junk food is big, profitable…
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Trying to Detoxify The Products I Use
-This is a WIP as products are always changing-It can be difficult to find alternatives as they aren’t always available I have already been going through this process with food for many years, but for the longest time I didn’t pay attention to the ingredients in the products I’m using every day. Looking back, that…
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The Zen of Health Problems
Things are never what you think they are. This definitely applies to health issues. What you imagine something is like, is very different from actually going through it. There is something Zen about the experience. There is a stillness that arises. There’s a calm that I could never have imagined. Having an injury or health…
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The Importance of Not Giving AF What People Think
-This is extremely difficult because our brains are wired to be tribal and society enforces it. -It helps to think logically about this and requires constant reinforcement. – It gets easier as you get older Note: I don’t mean this in an @sshole way. I believe in being kind and pleasant with all people, when…
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When Is It Enough?
I recently read the book Simple Plan by Scott Smith. It was a very good read, couldn’t put it down and I finished it in a few days. But it got me thinking again about the trap of money and how greed can spiral out of control. We all know money is a necessity, but…
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The Thing You Don’t See Coming
I’ve always been a planner. I don’t regret it, as it’s saved me a lot of problems and hassle. Unfortunately, you can’t plan for everything as I recently found out. I don’t like to talk about very personal things, but this needs to be mentioned. I’ve been having some digestive symptoms, but it’s things I…
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Celebrating Being an Introvert
For the longest time I felt that extroversion was something forced upon me. I always loved being alone, but often felt this pressure to go and socialize. I think society is set up like this for a reason – because certain people / institutions benefit from social controls. The more social, the more time you…
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The Artist Illusion
The idea of being an artist is filled with illusions and romanticizing. I loved the idea, the image presented to me of what it ‘meant’ to be an artist. I used to think being an artist was a destination, a place you eventually get to and everything would be perfect. LOL. That was back when…
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A Commonplace Journal Is Life Changing
I don’t know how I functioned without a commonplace journal! Especially as a creative. A few years ago, I found a video on my favorite YouTube channel (Actualized.org), by Leo Gura, How To Keep The Ultimate Journal and I was so inspired by it. I’ve been keeping journals and various notebooks all my life, but this was the thing I…
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Dance & My Knee Injury Story
This is a cautionary story about finding a passion that ends in tragedy and also my ‘discovery’ of the meniscus. I used to be a wallflower. Even though I have always very much loved music, I felt way too self conscious to dance at social events. What a freaking waste. This was the situation until…
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Timed Paintings
I recently re-read the book Daily Painting by Carol Marine and it really inspired me. I am the kind of person who can spend endless time on a painting trying to make it perfect. But after a time, it really takes the joy out of painting and isn’t helpful. So I sat down and did…
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New Year
I love this time of year. It feels like a blank slate, a new start. I’ve done most of my year end cleaning and am ready for the new year. For New Year’s Eve, I wanted to try DIY Teppanyaki. It turned out really good, but it took a while to cook enough for everyone.…
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Dealing with Loss
My cat recently died and while I knew it was coming because she had an illness – it’s still, of course, really sad. It’s amazing what a difference a pet can make in your life and I really miss her. It’s so sad to come home and not see her there when I open the…
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Take Back Your Attention
Are you happy with your life? Do you feel like you are in control of your life? Are you pursuing what you’re passionate about? This is very relevant for creatives. Because where you place your attention can drain or replenish your creativity. I think many people feel a lack and then need to cover it…
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Wonder of the Seas Cruise
We just got back from a nice cruise with some family. The Wonder of the Seas was a beautiful ship. And it was huge! I’ve been cruising for 20 years and I can’t believe how large these ships have gotten. A big part of cruising is the food😂 Unfortunately, I can’t eat all that much…
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The Crazy Right Hemisphere
Being a creative can feel kind of crazy. I want to paint. No, I want to master painting. And drawing. Maybe music as well. I love to sing. I love to play piano. And I do, on a regular basis. I really want to make writing my own songs a priority as well. I’ve got…
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My Favorite Time Of Year
I know it’s early, but I’m getting out the Halloween decorations 😆 I like to maximize the time I have for seasonal decorations. The time from Sept – February 14 is my favorite time of the year. The weather gets cooler here, but never really cold so any change is nice. Also, this time period…
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A Recent Ethical Dilemma
Every now and then something comes up and I think about morality and how moral are we as human beings, really? Of course everyone wants to think of themselves as good (and moral). What’s good, though? Because despite our ideas and romantic notions, we always have to consider our survival first. From observing people all…
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Why Writing Is Worth Spending Time On
I’ve always loved to write, so I never really needed a reason. I love notebooks and pens and have always had them laying around. Typing is easier and faster, so that may work better for some people. My handwriting is terrible because I’m impatient and it is so slow to hand write. If you have…
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The Joy Of Music
This is a bit of a mini fantasy rant. I’m biased here, music is a passion for me, one of my great loves. But I really wish more people got into it. When I was in Germany, I noticed how most houses I visited had a piano. I had an image in my mind of people…
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The Problem with the Talent Label
For a large part of my life, I have been under a misconception about talent. It is presented in such a way that after someone has worked hard for years and is successful, that’s when we see them. That’s when they appear on TV or in the media. And often they are labeled talented or…
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Why Consciousness is Worth Developing For A Good Life
Consciousness Definition -“the quality or state of being aware especially of something within oneself” -“the upper level of mental life of which the person is aware as contrasted with unconscious processes” Twenty years ago, I began to realize something. It was a tiny light in a sea of darkness. At the time, I couldn’t even…
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How To Motivate Yourself (To Keep Creating)
Some years ago when I started to really focus on painting and began painting 15-20 hours per week, I had endless motivation. I thought it would last forever. But recently, out of nowhere, I have started feeling resistance. It shows up mostly as boredom and tiredness. I think it might even be in the aches…
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An Unintentional Experiment With Social Media
I recently got a new phone and while I have Instagram on my old phone, something pushed me to not include it on my new phone. Now I’ve been realizing, without Instagram on my new phone I really don’t even think about it – let alone want to use it. I still post and look…
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The Mysterious Process of Songwriting
I have been writing songs for a long time. At first, it seemed to me a kind of poetry, but then it slowly became more and more musical. Now, I’m not a professional. I do this for fun, because I love music and want to create my own, so keep that in mind. I’m not…
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Focus Is A Super Power
I have wanted to write about this for a long time and it just fades into the background, forgotten. The ability to focus is so significant, yet it is easy to forget about. So much of our lives are automatic and unconscious, especially as busy adults. Focus needs consciousness. It needs intentionality. But this one thing is life changing for…
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Reflecting Back on my 30s | 10 Things I Learned
I will be 40 this year and I can’t believe it! I used to dread getting ‘old’ and often resisted revealing my age. It was as if I was embarrassed to be over 30. How ridiculous! But now that I’m at a place that I used to think was ancient, I no longer feel that way : ) For me,…
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Why You Need A ‘Crappy’ Sketchbook
About two years ago, I started a sketchbook. This one was different, because it was going to be a place specifically for practice and experimentation. Some might say ‘isn’t that the whole point of a sketchbook anyway? Informal practice?’ You’d think so, right? But doing that, for me, really required a mindset shift. I wanted…
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Art and Personal Development Go Together
Despite the stereotype of artists being a complete mess, consumed by addictions, having no discipline, I’m going to argue that actually pursuing art requires mastery of the mind and basically being on a path of personal development. I hate that artist stereotype… for many years it turned me off to art completely. Which maybe is…
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Tips For Starting In Art
Why does art seem so overwhelming at first? It’s supposed to be fun, right? It’s definitely not something you do because you have to. The first thing to be aware of is that there are the elements of art : color – the hues used and how well they go together value – how light…
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How I Decluttered My Life
You can declutter a home, which is very helpful in how it feels to be in a space. Having a lot of stuff around, isn’t conducive to creativity or relaxing, at least for me. You can also declutter your life, the things you spend time on. This has been life changing for me. It was…
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The Joy Of Vacations
I’ve recently returned from a 16 day Hawaii cruise and it was wonderful. The cruise itself was great, I love cruising in general. The food is delicious and you really get to relax. But the benefits of vacations go far beyond the trips themselves. Sometimes you just need to reset. You need a break from…
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What learning to play the piano taught me
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since I started learning to play the piano. At that time, I was a different person. Playing the piano has changed me. It’s given me more than I could have even imagined. Back then, I simply fell in love with it. I think I always loved…
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Never Allow Anyone To Tell You What’s Possible
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my life is to never allow others to tell me what’s possible for myself. When we are young, other people greatly influence our thinking and we have no control over this. I’ve heard multiple times that from age 0-7, we just absorb information without question. Though…
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Life In Your 30s
I remember when I was a teenager, I thought 30 was so old. At age 14 or so, a friend and I were in a windsurfing class and a man (who was 29) in the class came to talk to us. I actually remember thinking or even saying to my friend ‘why is this old…
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Reality VS Illusion
Are you living life or just living in your mind? I’m a huge fan of self actualization. I define self actualization as mastery of the self, becoming the person you were meant to be and reaching your highest potential. It’s the lifelong process that gets you from the imagined life in the mind to actually…
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The Benefits of Meditation and How it Changed My Life
I’ll never be able to describe completely how meditation has changed my life, but I’ll try anyway. Most people have probably heard this word, and maybe it doesn’t mean much to them. I used to picture a monk, in a far away temple on a mountain whenever I heard the word meditation. At first I…
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Journaling For Creatives
I’ve been journaling for a long time. I started as a teenager, mostly because I love notebooks. I don’t know why, but I’ve always just loved them. I love the feeling of holding a notebook in my hands and opening it to see all the blank pages. I want to buy one even if I…
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From Accounting to Programming to Art
You don’t need anyone to tell you who you really are. Deep down, you just know. Unfortunately, that can get completely lost in the process of growing up. For some, it’s easier to maintain their inner truth, and they don’t wander too far off track. But for me, well, I literally went 180 degrees in…