In-filling & Outpouring

Writing is an interesting hobby...or career. I think of myself as a writer. I have a career. My first teacher, Natalie Goldberg said to write every day. You can fill an entire spiral notebook and not go back and read it for awhile. Read later...then see how you feel about what you've written. At first, the writing is too raw, too close. It might sound unimportant to you or rote. Your editor, or Monkey Mind could be active, maybe even overly. I asked Natalie what I could do about my yammering Monkey Mind. I said it was so loud, I often stopped creating just to get away from it. She said, "Just keep writing." I took her advice, writing daily sometimes, sometimes a couple times a week. It's all okay...any way we want to do our practice. Ann Rice said she will go months without writing. There are times you just need to digest what you've already written, let it live in your psyche, work inside of you. I guess I agree with this. Especially I notice this with my painting. When I set aside a painting and leave my studio for awhile, I come back seeing everything in a fresh way. This is good, a new perspective...even giving me a new view of the work I've done. There is the quality called "In-filling, outpouring." A therapist told me this once. We need time to infill creatively. That's the function of the artist date. To stir up ideas, to intrigue the muse. So when you're working and you feel burnt out...take yourself on an artist date. I like antique stores or the beach. Beaches have wonderful infilling properties. The scent of water and sand and weed, the curve of sandstone and tree, the glint of light on water. It's truly amazing. In those moments I actually feel the infilling of creativity filling every inch of me, exciting me. What do you do to recharge? What is your creative process? How do you deal with Monkey Mind? Do you think of yourself as a writer? Are you taking yourself seriously? Let me know how it's going.

In writing,
Nancy Canyon