Improvisation, Creativity, and Living in the Moment

“The key to improvisation is motion—you keep going forward, fearful or not, living from moment to moment.” ~ Bobby McFerrin

It’s no secret I idolize the great Bobby McFerrin, vocalist and most famous for his song “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” Aside from being a huge fan of his music, I am also a fan of his philosophies about life, fun, and improvisation. There’s a lot to be learned in how he creates music, taps into creativity, and goes with the flow. Learn more for yourself by reading an interview with Bobby as he shares some of his wisdom.

And just in case you don’t know the magic of Bobby, check out this video, just ONE of many amazing performances illustrating his wicked talent.

11 Ways to Crush Your Creativity

While inspiration may be fickle, there are certainly things that can help it, and things that can hurt it. Over the years, I’ve become intimately familiar with things that get in the way of my own creativity, as well as things that seem to help it flourish.

But this is not your typical “how to” list. Hold onto your hats for the lighter side – as humor is actually something that HELPS. Enjoy. And if you have any other ideas for what NOT to do to help your creativity, please post a comment below.

1. Act serious all the time. No silliness, playing, smiling, or laughing…ever!
2. Let hours and hours go by without taking breaks, eating, drinking water, or moving from one spot.
3. Always err on the side of caution and avoid taking any risks.
4. Do the same things every day, day in and day out, without variation.
5. Let other people make decisions for you.
6. Work in a job that requires not much more of you than showing up and being physically present.
7. Skip vacations and weekend getaways to do extra work.
8. Avoid fresh air and being in nature.
9. Listen to that inner voice that criticizes everything you do, think, and feel.
10. Stay away from all physical activity.
11. Delay going to bed until you’re about to pass out from exhaustion.

Remember, this is a list of what NOT to do if you want to boost your creative spirits. Any other ideas? Leave a comment below.

Review: Journey Through the Chakras

Being in the present moment is a cornerstone to good healing work. Therapists, counselors, coaches, lightworkers, and alternative healing practitioners all talk about being able to get in touch with the here and now. But this can be easier said that done, as we live in a society that is goal-driven and focused more on the future.

While we can learn to get centered and be in the present moment on our own through practice, attending workshops, taking classes, etc., I find that the more tools I have at my fingertips, the easier it is to practice being in the present (or any skill for that matter).

One of my favorite tools for getting in the moment is Colette Baron-Reid’s “Journey Through the Chakras” CD, filled with 7 meditations set to music as well as her song “Love is the Answer.” These chakra meditations are powerful, as they combine Baron-Reid’s soothing voice guiding you through an experience, along with the added elements of color (associated with each chakra), visualization, and music. She helps draw you in with different senses – sight, sound, and touch. When I use these meditations, I notice myself able to slow down, focus on my breath, and get to a more centered place. And that feeling seems to last me throughout the day, helping me balance the ups and downs of day to day life.

When I have time, I listen to each of the 7 meditations consecutively, traveling from the root chakra at the base of my spine to the crown chakra at the top of my head.  But that only works if I have 35+ minutes to spare, which I don’t most of the time. I also pick and choose based on what chakra I’d like to focus on. Each meditation lasts from 4 to 6 minutes, a much easier, bite-sized chunk of time to spare.

For help in choosing which chakra meditation to focus on in your spare time, here’s a guide:

• Chakra 1: associated with self preservation and survival
• Chakra 2: associated with sexuality and creativity
• Chakra 3: associated with personal power, identity, and individuation
• Chakra 4: associated with compassion, love, and healing
• Chakra 5: associated with self expression and communication
• Chakra 6: associated with psychic perception, imagination, and intuition
• Chakra 7: associated with consciousness and spirituality

Enjoy your journey through the chakras.

Can He Really Take Away Your Pain?

I got the music in me not only as a songwriter but also as a dancer. And I am a HUGE fan of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” There’s a handful of dancers who have created a big impact on me. Each season there’s one or two performances that really stand out as cutting down to the heart of things. Not even out of the auditions yet, this season is not disappointing. Check out this one audition from a young man who claims he can take away your pain through his dancing. You’ll have to decide for yourself if he can do that or not. But he certainly has some mad talent. Enjoy what he calls his “exorcist style” dance…

From Complaining to Inspiration

“If you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” ~Anthony J. D’Angelo, The College Blue Book

It’s always amazing to me where I find inspiration. From driving around, to a story in the news, to the own inner workings of my mind, ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. Yet, having the time to do anything with that inspiration is another story. Or, shall I say making the time to do something with that inspiration…

After succumbing to some of the stresses of my life over the last few weeks, I realized I haven’t been doing as much with my inspiration lately as I would like. I found myself griping about all the “shoulds” and “have to’s” on my to-do list, and lamenting the days when I had time to let an idea just unfold, whether it was working on an article, book, song, etc. A while ago, when I was having a long pity party, my son looked at me and simply said “if it’s that important to you, you should spend at least two hours a week doing it.” Out of the mouths of babes. Why didn’t I think of that? Truth is, I had, but rather than just acting on it, I was spending time stuck in all the things keeping me from what I wanted to do. Does that ever happen to you?

Do you ever notice that it seems to take much more energy complaining than it does doing something to change the situation? I know it does for me. Yet it is easy to fall into the illusion that complaining is helping. That is not to say that venting about a difficult situation isn’t helpful. It sure can be to alleviate some of the pent up feelings. But when venting becomes frequent and is just a rehashing of the same things, it can become destructive and unhealthy.

The trick is to get yourself out of that stuck place and into the space where inspiration lives again. Although it can seem like a monumental task (which is another illusion), it may simply be a matter of changing your mind.

Here’s some things to try that may help you jump start your inspiration and get out of that stuck place:

1. Use seemingly wasted time, like waiting in the doctor’s office, to do something you want to do, like read a book, listen to music, meditate, or write a letter. Be prepared by always carrying a bag of things you want to do.
2. Identify someone who is supportive of you and meet them for coffee or lunch to discuss what you want to do (not what you don’t).
3. Change your scenery. Go to the park, the zoo, or somewhere you don’t go to very often (especially in nature). Sometimes a simple change of surroundings can shift your energy and mood and get you back in touch with what is important to you.
4. Tell your stress to take a vacation. Declare a specific amount of time, 5 minutes to start, as “no-stress” time. Dare to dream, hope, visualize, etc. the life you want for yourself.
5. Remember this is your life. Not your employer’s life, not the economy’s life, not your parents’ or partner’s life. If you don’t own it, someone or something else will.

Instead of spending your precious time and energy focused on what you don’t want, make an effort to focus on what you want. I bet you’ll notice a difference. And I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below.

Photo: Light Bulb © by olga.belobaba

Tips on Having it All

Are you overraught with BBD Syndrome? (That’s Bigger Better Deal). Always looking for what’s next? Or more? Or something to fill you up and make you feel complete and whole? Ever feel like you’re on a never-ending search, spinning your wheels and never really ending up where you want? If you are,  you are not alone.

Our society perpetuates the myth that we must HAVE stuff in order to feel better and BE happy. Advertisers and marketers count on us to believe this myth so that we will keep buying stuff to fill whatever void we have. But all it does is create this vicious cycle of acquiring stuff we think will make us happy.

The truth is happiness must come from within. And once we can BE happy with whatever circumstances we’re facing, the stuff we desire will follow. I’m not necessarily talking stuff as in things (like material possessions), but stuff as in what we want our life to look like.

If you’ve heard of the law of attraction, this should all sound at least vaguley familiar. The law of attraction (brought to main stream popularity by the movie “The Secret”) is about creating the conditions for living the life you want. It’s about connecting to the feelings of having the life you want as if it were already true. It’s about BEING (i.e. feeling) in the PRESENT MOMENT in order to attract that which you want into your life. Sounds simple. But if it were simple, we’d all have figured it out by now, right?

So, what gets in the way of us being able to attract what we want? It might be easier (and a shorter list) to ask what DOESN’T get in the way. Any obstacle you can think of (time, money, obligations, etc.) can get in the way. But instead of tackling all those obstacles, there’s a little shortcut to tapping into the power of our emotions and ulttimately the power of attraction. And that is to be present, in the here and now – a task that seems so difficult and challenging for most of us to practice on the regular. Difficult and challenging, I think, only because it’s not what we’re used to.

To get into the present moment, here’s some tips you can try:

1. Turn off distractions such as TV, cell phones, and other noises. Sit in a chair, feet flat on the floor, hands in your lap. Close your eyes. Then just notice your breath. Then take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Notice any changes in your body as you breathe in and out.
2. Stop and take notice of any sounds around you. Close your eyes and begin to focus on all the different sounds you can hear. Then pick just one sound to focus on and let the other sounds fade away into the background.
3. Find a piece of music you find relaxing. Put some headphones on and just listen to it without doing anything else. You might close your eyes to tune out visual distractions. Listen to the various parts of the song – different instruments, tempos, themes, words, etc. Notice how your body feels as you listen.

The first step to any good healing work is awareness, which involves being able to get into the present moment. We often are so overrun by distractions we forget to stop and notice what’s going on around us.

For more tips on how to get out of the HAVE-BE cycle, please, please join me for my next monthly FREE Telseminar, “Being Vs. Doing: Relax Your Way to Greater Productivity.” Simply go to the REGISTRATION page at https://krylyn.com/free-teleseminars/being-vs-doing, and enter your name and email to get signed up. Even if you can’t attend the live call, you will get access to the recording of the call, but only if you register.

Photo: Sales Bags © by I See Modern Britain