Failures as Opportunities

  • Failures as Opportunities

    “Life is trying things to see if they work.” — Ray Bradbury

    Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray:

    I recently met a man in line for coffee who works for a company that offers technology for grade schools that allows learning to be personalized to the level of the individual student so each can get the specific support they need. I love hearing about such innovative practices.

    As we talked he mentioned a report about why gaming is so popular among the young. Even though they experience an 85 to 90% failure rate as they play, they learn from their mistakes and get better in the process. “It gives them a safe place to fail” he said.

    I love that idea. “That’s exactly like creativity,” I responded. It’s why as a creativity coach I encourage people to fall in love with the process. Just like the experience of gamers, when we relax and play with the process we learn and grow and that feels really good. It’s also the only way we can create something new, original and authentic.

    Our culture and educational systems teach us that mistakes aren’t okay; that there are real negative consequences to making mistakes; that we actually can fail. Yet the only way we learn is by our willingness to fail, and discover what works and what doesn’t.

    So how do we give ourselves a safe place to fail, when the world around us doesn’t support that. What if our heart and soul know the value of failure. What is the safe place to fail is the love, kindness and encouragement we can extend ourselves from that deeper place of knowing regardless of how the world sees it?

    From my own years of writing I have had countless pages of stories and poems that never really took off and were never finished. I always instinctively knew that this was part of the learning process of being a writer. Enjoying the process without being attached to a particular outcome gave me a safe place to learn and grow. This allowed me to finish pieces that gave me a deep sense of satisfaction.

    I love the story of Steve Jobs, who after being fired from Apple, went to work for Pixar films and entered into one of the most creative times in his life. Rather than seeing it as a failure he saw it as an opportunity. Can we learn to do that for ourselves? What does our safe place to fail look like? How can we create that to ourselves?

    Wishing you the joy of playing with your creativity, Suzanne

    Originally posted on Suzanne’s Blog, Creativity Goes Wild as “Giving Yourself A Safe Place to Fail.”

    Suzanne’s many talents: Creativity Coaching, Writing Process Coaching & EFT Sessions

    THE HEART OF WRITING COACHING

    Do you want to ignite your creativity and show up to your writing on a regular basis or go deeper into the process and craft?

    Suzanne offers online coaching to support you and coach you through any resistance or problems along the way. She holds the space of unconditional acceptance and support to nurturing your unique voice and work on the stories that are important to you.

    The Heart of Writing eBook

    Jumpstart the Process, Find Your Voice, Calm the Inner Critic and Tap the Creative Flow

    CREATIVITY COACHING

    Suzanne offers practical, emotional, and soulful strategies to help you uncover your creative gifts and support you in expressing them.

    EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
    Combining Western psychology with Chinese acupressure, EFT works to rewrite subconscious patterns and limiting beliefs that keep us stuck.

    Marlene C

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  • Your Creative Self is Eager to Explore

    Today’s Guest Spot goes to Suzanne Murray.

    I recently watched a video of a 42-year-old neurosurgeon from California who dances for his patients to cheer them up during their check-ups. He gets them dancing too, including a young woman in a wheelchair seen waving her arms and shimmying her chair. I love that this doctor had found such a creative way to tend his patients spirits as well as their bodies. I imagine it’s a great help to their healing.

    It has me thinking more about how being creative can help heal our world. Creativity allows us to access new ways of looking at a problem and find fresh solutions. We touch expanded capacities and find ourselves capable of more than we think. We connect more to our heart and spirit. We are often surprised and delighted by the unexpected inspirations that arrive. We can learn to bring the creative process into every area of our lives to help ourselves, each other and the world.

    The simplest way to work with this process is to ask a question like “how can I help the world today” or “how can I bring more creativity into my life” or “how can this problem I am having in my life” and then let it go. Don’t try to figure out the answer with your mind. Rather let the response drop in as an awareness or intuition, a flash of insight or an ah..ha moment where you sense you are on to something.

    I do this all the time, especially when I don’t know what to do. Like with this newsletter. A few days before I planned for one, I had no idea what to write about. I felt completely uninspired. I silently asked the question “what’s my topic this month?” and let it go. The next day I saw the video about the dancing doctor. That inspired the subject of how to work with creativity to help each other and the world.

    When faced with the events in the world today and the constant bombardment of information we can easily feel overwhelmed and helpless to affect change. Knowing that our creative self is eager to assist us can help. Ask a question on an issue concerning you, someone or something you care about or the world at large, and see what comes. Then take some kind of action on the awareness, no matter how small. See where it takes you.

    Be willing to step out of your comfort zone. That’s part of being creative. We expand beyond who we think we are into more of who we really are. The rewards are many including an increased sense of empowerment and happiness. Play with this. The world, as you know, needs our gifts and inspirations now more than ever.

    Wishing you the joy of being creative, Suzanne

    Originally published as “Adrift” in the March 2006 of Sun Magazine.

    Suzanne Murray offers many opportunities to tap into your creativity:

    THE HEART OF WRITING COACHING
    Do you want to ignite your creativity and show up to your writing on a regular basis or go deeper into the process and craft? Online coaching to support you with any resistance or problems along the way: daily lessons and assignments hold the space of unconditional acceptance and support to nurturing your unique voice  and work on the stories that are really important to you.

    EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)

    Combining Western psychology with Chinese acupressure, it works to actually rewrite subconscious patterns and limiting beliefs that keep us stuck. I’ve had miraculous results and have been working with EFT in new ways that allow us to laser in on the issue and shift it at the core and change your life from the inside out. We often make significant shifts in a single session.

    Marlene C

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  • Creativity Is A Practice

    Suzanne Murray writes about the rewards of engaging our creativity.

    There is a growing awareness that creativity is a capacity that everyone has, though they may not understand what is involved in accessing it.

    One of the main things that gets in the way of people embracing their creative gifts is a belief that creativity should be easy; that it should just flow out.

    They think they should be good at it immediately. If they are not and it’s not easy, there is a tendency to think there is something wrong with them and it’s never going to work.

    Yet creativity in whatever form you choose to pursue is a complex process that actually asks a lot of us.

    This is why is feels so good to engage since it helps us discover that we are capable of more than we thought possible, including working from expanded abilities. It is a muscle that we need to work with to develop, just like if we decided to run a marathon, we would understand the need to run daily for shorter periods to build up to the full distance.

    Creativity is a practice that you have to stay with even when doubts arise.

    It tends to progress in a stair step fashion. We spend time showing up to the work each day for weeks, maybe months and we don’t seem to be getting any better. Then one day we have crossed a threshold to a new level where we can do things we have been unable to. We will need to work on that plateau for a while before being boosted to the next level.

    Being creative also involves studying our chosen form of expression.

    Long before I wrote my first personal essay, the writing form that almost seemed to choose me, every time I went into a bookstore, I was drawn to the essay section. Those were the only books I read. I was learning to write in that form by reading it.

    So, when I started to write, my creative mind already had a sense of what to do. Sort of.

    I then had to practice, writing pages and pages that never went anywhere but taught me a lot. I learned to trust that things were cooking on the level of my subconscious and super conscious minds.

    The more I showed up to practice, the more I had a sense of what to do and how to work with the material on a conscious level. The more I stayed with it, the more the wonderful, magical state of flow would occur where I was definitely operating in an expanded state.

    Being creative feels like a beautiful dance. Engaging in the process feels good, so I never really thought about all the time and work I had to put in to become an accomplished writer. For me the act of creativity has always been its own reward. That has allowed me to stay with it through the doubts and slow going.
    Now more than ever we need to resist the distractions like social media and the internet that give us a sense of instant gratification, making it more difficult to go the distance with our creativity.

    Keep in mind that you can make great progress with small steps taken day after day.

    Try this: Pick a creative project. Then show up ten minutes a day to play with it.

    I did this recently in a form new to me, nature collage.

    I asked a painter friend about the best materials to use. Then with acrylic paint, glue and objects from nature, I let myself be intuitively guided in what to do. It took a bit before any of them turned out in a way pleasing to me. Yet each one taught me something.

    As you play with your project, resist the urge to judge. Put it away and look at a few days later when the critic has quieted down.

    Keep showing up, ten minutes day after day and see if you don’t feel the deep satisfaction that comes with opening to your creativity.

    Wishing you the deep satisfaction of being creative, Suzanne Murray.

    Suzanne’s website: Creativity Goes Wild

    Suzanne Murray is a gifted creativity and writing coach, soul-based life coach, writer, poet, EFT practitioner and intuitive healer committed to empowering others to find the freedom to ignite their creative fire, unleash their imagination and engage their creative expression in every area of their lives.

    Other posts by Suzanne on The Write Spot Blog:

    Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray and the power of commitment.

    Suzanne Murray: Using imagination for creativity

    Calm Your Brain

    Note from Marlene:  Just Write!

    Marlene C

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  • Imagination and Mentors

    Imagination is everything. It is the preview to life’s coming attractions. – Albert Einstein

    Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray and imagination:

    I’ve been asking myself, how can I best help empower others at this time of great global change.

    The first answer that came in the flash of inspiration was the word imagination.

    Einstein regularly insisted that imagination is more important than knowledge.

    But the thing is, it’s not just for geniuses. It’s for everyone. We have been taught to favor the rational mind at the expenses of capacities that actually can help us in amazing ways. It’s easy to reclaim.

    Years ago, I learned an exercise from Jean Houston, noted author, visionary and one of the founders of the human consciousness movement. It involves working with an imaginary mentor to get advice on any question that we have for any area of our life. Using our imagination and intuitive mind give us access to a deeper wisdom and way of knowing beyond the capabilities of our linear mind.

    I have used this exercise for years in teaching writing and with creativity coaching. I have been amazed and delighted that my students get much better advice than I could have ever given with all my years of experience. Everyone in class could hear the wisdom coming through as we shared our answers.

    Most remarkable is that the answers actually sounded like they were coming from the individual asked. If someone asked Mark Twain, the response would sound like something Mark Twain would write.

    Tapping your imagination and writing in flow can give you access to expanded awareness and better answers you could think up.

    TRY THIS: Pick someone you think would give good advice. It could be Einstein, Plato or your grandmother. Imagine you have written him or her a letter asking a question you have about anything in your life. It helps to be specific.

    Then using the technique of free writing (writing as fast you can without censoring), write the response as if it is coming from your imaginary mentor.

    Really let go on this one. Don’t think. Just let the answer flow out of the pen or the keyboard for at least ten minutes.

    Then read the answer with an open curiosity as if you really have just received this letter in the mail. Be open, be objective. The more you play with this, the stronger the muscle of your imagination grows.

    OR TRY THIS: Go for a walk with your imaginary mentor and have a conversation with them in your imagination. The key is to play and be open. Let go of thinking that you have to figure out everything with your mind.

    Wishing you an abundance of health and creativity, Suzanne

    Suzanne Murray is a gifted creativity and writing coach, soul-based life coach, writer, poet, EFT practitioner and intuitive healer committed to empowering others to find the freedom to ignite their creative fire, unleash their imagination and engage their creative expression in every area of their lives.

    Suzanne’s ebook, The Heart of Writing, will help: Jumpstart  the Process, Find Your Voice, Calm the Inner Critic and Tap the Creative Flow.

    Marlene C

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  • Just Walk!

    Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray suggests walking to inspire creativity.

    WALKING HELPS YOUR CREATIVITY

    When you are engaged in a project and feel the creative inspiration has dried up, take a break.

    Anything that occupies the consciousness mind in a physical way can open you to the flow of fresh ideas and insights. Doing the dishes or taking a shower are good ways. One of my favorites is taking a walk. You could simply stroll around the block or walk deep into nature.

    I have not been alone in my awareness that walking opens creative channels. There is a long list of well known creatives who walked to allow ideas and connections to flow. Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth, Nikola Tesla, Aristotle, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Jefferson, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Beethoven to name but a few.

    Scientific studies have now found that creative problems can indeed be solved by walking, especially in nature. While walking, the brain undergoes physiological changes that lower frustration and stress, increase your awareness and engagement with the world, allow for a natural meditative state and improve your mood. All of this helps you to experience more creative connections and flow.

    Walking on a regular basis has also been shown to be good for your brain. It promotes new connections between brain cells, reduces atrophy of brain tissue that can come with age, increases the volume of the hippocampus, part of the brain important for memory, and stimulates the growth of new neurons.

    Walking also allows you to balance two states that enhance creativity.

    Mindfulness, where you are present in the moment, and mind wandering or daydreaming, where you allow ideas, connections, dreams and visions for the future to come to us from the deeper realms of consciousness.

    Next time you are looking for some creative inspiration, take a walk.

    If you aren’t used to walking or don’t have a lot of time, simply start with a walk around the block.

    Find a park or a trail in nature and see how your muse opens up for you. Your body and health will love it too.

    Suzanne Murray is a writing coach, soul-based life coach, writer, poet, EFT practitioner and intuitive healer committed to empowering others to find the freedom to ignite their creative fire, unleash their imagination and engage their creative expression in every area of their lives.

    She writes about creativity and inspiration on her blog, Creativity Goes Wild.

    “Fall in Love With the Creative Process,” more inspiration from Suzanne on The Write Spot Blog.

    You can follow Suzanne on Twitter at @wildcreativity where she tweets inspirational quotes for creativity and life.
    CREATIVITY COACHING

    Experience the pleasure and joy that comes from adding satisfaction and meaning and a sense of well- being to your life through creative expression. Suzanne offers practical, emotional and soulful strategies to help you fully uncover your creative gifts and support yourself in expressing them. “We will work through the issues that get in the way of your creativity including career concerns, blocks, limiting beliefs, relationship issues and the existential and spiritual questions that can arise from wanting and needing to create.”

    EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)

    Combining Western psychology with Chinese acupressure, EFT works to rewrite subconscious patterns and limiting beliefs that keep us stuck. 


    Marlene C

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  • The Joy of Creativity

    By Suzanne Murray

    Years ago I heard Nobel Prize winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney give a lecture at the University of Washington. In the middle of this very academic speech, he paused, threw up both his hands and said, “Oh, just write for the joy of it” and then dipped back into the lecture.

    I don’t remember anything else from the talk, but Heaney’s sudden burst of inspiration stayed with me because it really captured an essential element in being creative.

    Whether you are cooking a great meal, growing a beautiful garden, writing a poem or singing in the community choir, you likely feel a deep sense of satisfaction and a joyfulness that comes with being creative.

    Creativity draws on the best of human nature: perception, imagination, intellect, inspiration, courage, intuition, and empathy. The urge to create asks us to bask in the experience of the world, to see, feel, taste, hear, and smell the magnificence around us. It allows us to celebrate, with a spirit of gratefulness, every aspect of our lives and the beauty and complexity the world offers.

    It can help us make meaning from our sufferings. Being creative also breaks us free from our ruts and habits allowing us to look at the world anew. We are able to tell a story that touches others, envision a unique way of solving a problem or offer counsel with fresh clarity, even if we have struggled with the same material or ideas a hundred times before. Embracing our creativity allows us to tap a deeper, more insightful way of knowing beyond our conscious mind and thoughts.

    In looking for your own ways of being creative you can start by celebrating your uniqueness. There never was, nor ever will be, anyone exactly like you. In exploring your uniqueness is there a central preoccupation, an interest or passion that runs through your life? There can also be more than one.

    If you can’t name it right now, think of something that you are fascinated by again and again. The possibilities are infinite; from needlework to rock climbing, from bird watching to playing the piano, from English country dancing to writing haiku, from gardening to giving foot massages. Look for what brings you joy and then begin taking actions to embrace your creativity and enjoy the process. One small step a day will set you down the creative path to increased happiness and fulfillment.

    Excerpted from “How Being Creative Makes Us Happy” on Suzanne’s Blog. Please go to Creativity Goes Wild and scroll to June 3, 2022 to read the entire article.

    Suzanne Murray is a gifted creativity and writing coach, soul-based life coach, writer and poet, EFT practitioner and intuitive healer committed to empowering others to find the freedom to ignite their creative fire, unleash their imagination and engage their creative expression in every area of their lives

    Marlene C

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  • Surrender to Creativity

    The Heart of Writing by Suzanne Murray, available at Amazon
     
    Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray encourages creativity by surrendering.  

    SURRENDER IS CRITICAL TO CREATIVITY

    We can’t force creativity. We know this intuitively. If we told a painter that we wanted a masterpiece by five o’clock tomorrow, they would look at us like we were crazy; that we clearly didn’t understand what being creative was all about.

    An important part of being creative is learning to surrender to the flow of the universe, allowing something greater than our everyday self to move through us. It’s not something we can figure out with our linear mind. Of course, if we want to paint we need to learn how to work with our chosen medium and studying the work of the masters can help.

    If we want to write it’s really valuable to read widely and deeply, to show up daily to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and perhaps take a workshop on the form we want to work with. Yet at the heart of being creative is letting go and allowing the ideas, the inspiration to move through us. This is where practice comes in.

    As Flannery O’Connor said of her writing experience, “I show up at my office everyday between 8 am and noon. I’m not sure that anything is going to happen but I want to be there if it does.”
    I recently met a young man in the park who had a set of watercolors laid out on a table and quickly produced a couple of small paintings that were quite lovely. We spoke of creativity and how so many people think you either have it or you don’t.

    “Yeah,” he said, “really it’s a muscle, you’ve got to use.”

    He went on to say “No matter how lousy I feel, if I do even a couple of little paintings I instantly feel better.”

    I feel the same way about writing, even if it’s just a page of free writing where I let the words flow out of the pen. Being creative feels good and lightens our mood because we become more present to the moment, quiet our chattering minds, and allow for the awareness of our heart and knowing to do the work.

    In the surrender we find ourselves in an expanded state of consciousness where we can do things we didn’t think we could. In whatever way creativity calls to you, make a habit of showing up to play with it. Let your self be guided by what excites you. Surrender to what brings you alive.

    Sending you blessings and the wish for creative flow, Suzanne.

    Suzanne Murray is a Creativity Coach, Life Coach, Writing Coach, and EFT practitioner.   She blogs at Creativity Goes Wild.  






    Marlene C

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  • Calm Your Brain

    Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray has this to say:

    With anxiety and fear running high in the world these days, I wanted to share how we can make friends with these feelings and use them to our advantage. Anxiety and fear can prevent us from being creative or living a life we love. To live and create fully, we be must be willing again and again to step out of our old comfortable life and into unknown territory. This always feels scary.

    Many years ago I read the self-help book Feel the Fear, And Do It Anyway which presents the premise that just because we feel a sense of fear about a project or moving in a new direction in our lives doesn’t mean we are supposed to stop ourselves from proceeding.

    More recently I’ve been fine-tuning my understanding of what this really means and feels like, how to best use it in my life and creative work, and how it fits the idea of following my internal guidance of my intuition and heart to bring my soul and creative gifts into the world. Any time I stretch in a new direction in my writing or my personal and professional life I have to step out of my comfort zone which gives rise to a feeling of anxiety.

    I’ve found it’s important to learn to distinguish between the kind of anxiety that represents our bodily intuition signaling a real threat (like don’t walk down that dark alley or that new relationship really isn’t good for you or that’s really not the best art project for you to pursue) versus the kind of anxiety we feel when we step out of our comfort zone in a way that stretches our capacities, capabilities and sense of self. The anxiety that is genuinely trying to warn us off feels heavy with fear whereas the anxiety that simply marks stepping out of our comfort zone has a sense of exhilaration to it.

    When I’m at my desk writing and I start to feel a lot of resistance, if I make myself sit in the chair and keep writing, (even when I desperately want to get up and make phone calls or clean the refrigerator), I find that I will usually move through the anxiety into what I really want to say and find myself very excited by the work that results. The same is true every time I do anything new in my life that feels like a stretch. I feel nervous and excited whenever I push past the feeling of fear and take action to make the new idea or vision happen.

    When you are trying to decide what the fear or anxiety is trying to tell you, just take some deep breaths and get clear on the exact quality of the feeling in your body: whether you feel contracted or expanded by the thought of what you desire. If you feel expanded then you need to “feel the fear” that comes with it and begin to take action however small toward achieving your desire. Also new neuroscience shows that the simple act of naming or labeling a negative emotion like fear calms the brain which makes it easier to get clear on what to do.

    Wishing you many blessings and creative flow, Suzanne

    Check out Suzanne’s coaching opportunities:

    Creativity Coaching, Creative Life Coaching, Writing Process Coaching & EFT Sessions

    EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)

    CREATIVE LIFE COACHING

    CREATIVITY COACHING

    Creativity Goes Wild Blog

    Marlene C

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  • Help Your Creativity Blossom

    Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray shares why freewrites inspire writing:
    I have taught the creative writing process for more than twenty years, working in part with a technique known as “freewriting” where I encourage participants to “just let it rip”. We don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar or whether it is good. We suspend the censor and let our first thoughts spill out onto the page. People new to the class are always nervous about this kind of letting go. Since I write and share my own raw writing with the group, I was rather nervous when I first started teaching the classes but found that by maintaining a safe and sacred atmosphere of unconditional acceptance for whatever wanted to come forth it really calmed the fear for everyone.

    We learn quite early to fear making mistakes. We all have a well-developed censor that confines us within the limiting parameters of being socially acceptable. Neuroscientists have identified a part of the brain, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) that is closely associated with impulse control. It keeps us from embarrassing ourselves or saying the wrong thing to our boss or spouse.

    Young children create so naturally because their censors don’t yet exist. The DLPFC is the last part of the brain to fully develop. Around 4th grade it engages and children lose interest in making art in the classroom. If we are worried about making a mistake, saying the wrong thing or doing something poorly we often end up doing nothing at all. The censor has us holding back our latent talent.

    In a study by a neuroscientist looking at brain activity in jazz musicians engaged in improvisation, research subjects showed increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain associated with self-expression, while at the same time the DLPFC or censor appeared to deactivate. At this point there is a surge of raw material coming forth but rather than being random or chaotic it is organized or structured by the rules of the form. In the case of jazz musicians, they naturally improvised in the right key and tempo.

    I have noticed this tendency in my freewriting workshops. Students bypass the censor yet they also naturally wrote in the form that seemed to most call or appeal to them. Individuals drawn to poetry and who read a lot of poetry had the raw writing take on a poetic quality.

    The same was true with fiction, memoir or non-fiction. It’s why I always tell people that reading the kind of writing you want to do is one of the best things you can do to improve your work because when you let go and let the creativity flow, your brain then has a sense of how to organize it. When we let go, we have access to the vast storehouse of the unconscious mind.

    I really encourage creative play and practice, free from the expectation that we have to produce something, as a way to opening up to our creative gifts and talents. Learning to let go and create an atmosphere of inner permission, acceptance and allowance can really help us more fully express ourselves creatively.

    Now in the time to really let our creativity fly in our own live and the world.

    Wishing you all well. Sending you all lots of love and inspiration,
    Suzanne

    Suzanne Murray is a gifted creativity and writing coach, soul-based life coach, writer, poet, EFT practitioner and intuitive healer committed to empowering others to find the freedom to ignite their creative fire, unleash their imagination and engage their creative expression in every area of their lives.
    Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
    Combining Western psychology with Chinese acupressure, it works to actually rewrite subconscious patterns and limiting beliefs that keep us stuck. I’ve had miraculous results and have been working with EFT in new ways that allow us to laser in on the issue and shift it at the core and change your life from the inside out. We often make significant shifts in a single session. Sessions are available by phone and Skype.

    CREATIVE LIFE COACHING Would you like to live from an expanded place of grace, ease and flow? Would you like to tap the wisdom and power of your heart and soul? We work with soul based ways to let go of limitation and gain clarity of the next steps to living a more joyful, authentic life.

    CREATIVITY COACHING
    Do you want to experience the pleasure and joy that comes from adding satisfaction and meaning and a sense of well being to your life through creative expression. I will offer practical, emotional and soulful strategies to help you fully uncover your creative gifts and support yourself in expressing them. I will provide encouragement and support in understanding of the creative process and its stages and exercises for accessing the wisdom of your imagination. I’ll help you set realistic goals and support you in achieving them. We will work with tools for coaching yourself through the issues that get in the way of your creativity including career concerns, blocks, limiting beliefs, relationship issues and the existential and spiritual questions that can arise from wanting and needing to create. 

    THE HEART OF WRITING COACHING
    Do you want to ignite your creativity and show up to your writing on a regular basis or go deeper into the process and craft? I  offer online coaching to support you and coach you through any resistance or problems along the way. I can send you daily lessons and assignments that cover important aspects of the writing process and information on craft. I hold the space of unconditional acceptance and support to nurturing your unique voice  and work on the stories that are really important to you.  

    The Heart of Writing eBook

    Jumpstart  the Process, Find Your Voice, Calm the Inner Critic and Tap the Creative Flow

    I have been working an exercise a day through your The Heart of Writing eBook. I love it! It’s like being in class again. – Tonya Osinkosky
    Now available on Amazon Kindle! http://amzn.to/1d7oe60
      or still available is a pdf download from my website
    (includes a one hour mp3 interview about writing process)
    https://www.creativitygoeswild.com/the-heart-of-writing/  

    For more detailed information on all my offerings check web site at  https://www.creativitygoeswild.com  or call Suzanne Murray at  707.360.7776  or email  creativitygoeswild@gmail.com . Also check out my Blog at  https://www.creativitygoeswild.com/blog-1/  for ideas on writing, creativity and life coaching.  Follow me on Twitter at @wildcreativity where I tweet inspirational quotes for creativity and life.

    Marlene C

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  • You Can’t Wait For Inspiration


    Today’s Guest Blogger post is about inspiration, by Suzanne Murray.

    Excerpted from Suzanne’s September 5, 2020 Creativity Goes Wild Blog Post.

    “You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.” — Jack London

    Recently a new writing coaching client emailed me to say, “I haven’t been writing. I just don’t feel inspired.”

    I immediately shot a message back, “You can’t wait for inspiration. If you get nothing else out of our coaching together, this awareness will make a huge difference in your creative life.”

    No writer or other artist waits for inspiration before showing up. Painter Chuck Close said, “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.” Flannery O’Connor, the noted Southern writer,
    described her habit of going to her office every day from 8 am to noon, “she wasn’t sure if anything was going to happen but she wanted to be there if it did.” 

    Most writers just start writing and find inspiration along the way. John Steinbeck would always end one day’s writing in the middle of the page, so he could pick up the thread the next day. He insisted that “In writing, habit seems to be a much stronger force than either willpower or inspiration.”

    Research in the neuroscience of the brain shows that creativity is activated when we are in the brain wave states of alpha and theta which are associated with meditation, intuition and information beyond our conscious awareness. This is why a writer often needs to write a page of what feels uninspired in order slow the mind down and hit the zone. 

    This is true of all acts of creativity. We have to show up and begin to play with the process to access the place of inspiration. The more we commit to our creativity through our intentions and actions the more our creativity flows and the more juiced, excited and inspired we feel.

    Now more than ever we need to play with our creativity in whatever way that calls to us and see where it leads. Even small creative acts can help lift our spirits and energy as we face the many challenges we see in our world. Exercising our creative muscles can open us to new possibilities and inspiration.

    Note from Marlene:
    Many writers use a method of freewriting to warm up before embarking on their writing project. You can use a prompt to inspire freewrites. Writing Prompts on The Write Spot Blog.
    Suzanne Murray is a gifted creativity and writing coach, soul-based life coach, writer, poet, EFT practitioner, and intuitive healer committed to empowering others to find the freedom to ignite their creative fire, unleash their imagination, and engage their creative expression in every area of their lives. 

    THE HEART OF WRITING COACHING Do you want to ignite your creativity and show up to your writing on a regular basis or go deeper into the process and craft? Suzanne offers online coaching to support you and coach you through any resistance or problems along the way.   She holds the space of unconditional acceptance and support to nurturing your unique voice and work on the stories that are really important to you.  

    The Heart of Writing eBook   Jumpstart the Process, Find Your Voice, Calm the Inner Critic and Tap the Creative Flow

     * Follow Suzanne on Twitter at @wildcreativity where she tweets inspirational quotes for creativity and life.      

    Marlene C

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