One of my most favorite things about life, writing, and learning is finding connections. Even when I find that a connection I made was wrong, it just means I’m closer to the correct connection. I’m human so sometimes it brings me down to find that things I thought would work out, don’t. But even still, I never lose hope on finding connections. This is true for both research and relationships. Ah ha’s and those moments when you find someone who really gets it. My goodness, that sentence itself brings a smile to my face.
It’s hot. I appreciate this summer with my family but I’m ready for fall. I’m ready for women to be respected without having to fight for it. I’m ready for blankets and sweatshirts. I’m ready for right now. I’m ready for tomorrow and yesterday. I’m ready for my spirit to rise like the sun and the moon. I’m ready to touch the stars with my words and my heart.
What are you ready for?
And a quote to leave you with
Don’t wait until you are ready to take action. Instead, take action to be ready.”
Deepak Chopra and Leonardo da Vinci on spirit and art
Meditation is the progressive quieting of our mind, until we reach the source of thought, which in wisdom traditions are the realm of our soul and spirit. In this domain of awareness there is infinite creativity, synchronicity, the power of intention, and freedom from limitations.
Is the source of thought the realm of soul and spirit. Is the well is also considered the source of thought which is the realm of soul and spirit? Furthermore in this context, is it a spiritual journey for artists to seek the well? So is writers block not just the inability to write? Is is a disconnection from soul and spirit, from source of thought?
Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.
Leonardo da Vinci speaks on how the spirit must work with the hand in order to create art. So could we say that da Vinci would call the process of creating art a spiritual act?
When I create sometimes I’m working to get it done. But the most rewarding times are when I feel connected to my art in a deep way. Not just because my art represents personal parts of me. I’m connected in a deep way because it feels like I’m not alone in my work. That’s when my work is transformed from simply getting it done, to becoming a safe place for those who are willing to travel its depths.
Yesterday I asked if the source of thought are the realm of soul and spirit. I wondered if the well is also considered the source of thought which are the realm of soul and spirit and if in this context was it a spiritual journey to seek the well. So I then wondered if writers block was not just the inability to write but is a disconnection from soul and spirit.
Today, I found this quote from Leonardo da Vinci speaking on how the spirit must work with the hand in order to create art. And so could we say that da Vinci would call the process of art a spiritual act?
Meditation is the progressive quieting of our mind, until we reach the source of thought, which in wisdom traditions are the realm of our soul and spirit. In this domain of awareness there is infinite creativity, synchronicity, the power of intention, and freedom from limitations.
The realm of our soul and spirit? The well? Is it spiritual to find it? When we can’t is that what we call writers block? Or is it something deeper than that?
I was thinking through one of my character arches and I wanted to define what GREATNESS is internally in comparison to what we can be shown it is from the outside.
On one side we have greatness lower case which is simply external greatness On the other side we have GREATNESS uppercase which is internal greatness
What first comes to mind when you hear greatness?
For me Martin Luther King Jr came to mind and Buddhist monks which is ironic because they don’t strive for greatness.
How would the Characteristics for greatness look?
For me, the three terms that first came to mind about greatness were Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise. So I decided to look at these from the two different forms of greatness that we’re discussing here.
greatness
healthy- physically fit, nice body, nice hair
Wealthy- large amounts of financial wealth
Wise- knowledgeable in niche, book smart, street smart
GREATNESS
Healthy- Good relationship with physical appearance. Good relationship with food. Appreciates and listens to their mind and body
Wealthy- wealthy in spirit. The bible defines the fruits of the spirit as Love Joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self control- we’d know a wealthy spirit by these.
Wise- Knows and continues to learn themselves
Now GREATNESS isn’t limited to that list. GREATNESS can possess both lists while greatness lower case is limited to only their list. For example a GREAT man can have both a wealthy spirit and financial wealth and both a great physical appearance and great relationship with food.
Healthy Wealthy and wise are not all there is to greatness or GREATNESS
I think someone to who is considered great or GREAT would impact their world and be hard to compete with.
Those with lower case greatness would impact the world with no purpose other than possibly financial gain and would use cut throat tactics to rise and to stay on top.
while
Those with GREATNESS in them would impact their world with intention and purpose to uplift the spirits of those near and far. They may be hard to compete with but they are GREAT people who welcome others to be GREAT along side them
“You have to follow your own voice. You have to be yourself when you write. In effect, you have to announce, ‘This is me, this is what I stand for, this is what you get when you read me. I’m doing the best I can—buy me or not—but this is who I am as a writer.”
All things weird- I like to think of myself as unique with the ability to adapt. I’m always kinda weird though. I like weird things.
Women- I always want it to be clear that I stand for women their freedom growth empowerment
Family- My family makes my heart swell.
When I was younger all I wanted was to save to mama and then when I got older, my grandma. And now, myself. So with my focus on the trials and tribulations that the ladies in life went through, it’s only natural that I’d find the root to a lot of reasons they suffered through things they didn’t have to. When I went to college a lot of my psychology work confirmed it but also helped me see them in a more human way. They not women that need saving, they are women who need to be loved and accepted exactly where they are.
I love my family and my home and I want to ensure that I place value on all things good and bad when it comes to living with those we love.
And I can’t help being weird. I like weird things. I like things that use creativity and are not the norm.
Today I want to invite The Good Shepherd and the Good Leaders into my life and allow all the faith hope and love they bring to overflow into the lives of those around me.
So today I’m going to speak about The Good Shepherd in a way that invites and congratulates good leadership.
What can we affirm here? In what way can we celebrate the Good Leaders in our life.
I’ll tell you one thing I’ve learned over the years (and from many bible stories) is that the Good Shepherds aka Good Leaders are rarely the elders in our lives. When you’re looking for guidance (or when we’re not) God will not hesitate to use a child, a stow away, a woman, our enemy whatever he deems best to be the Good Shepherd in our lives. I welcome that.
I am grateful that the Good Lord will lead us to quiet waters. I’m grateful that the good lord will use whatever it takes for us to listen to get us there. I welcome Good Shepherds in my life whether it be man, spirit, or the good word written from ancient times. Thank you to those of you in leadership who are completely themselves leading the way to more authentic life styles.
I will continue to rely on the fact that the Good Shepherd within me will always lead the way.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
John 10:11
Shepherd aka Leader
A good leader lays down his life to keep his flock. If one sheep strays he leaves the 99 to save that one sheep. (Matt 18:12) We aren’t Jesus but we should strive everyday to be like the leaders in our lives who inspire us.
What does it look like to lay down your life for your sheep? Fight off the predator, not the sheep right? So as a good leader what does this look like? It looks like putting yourself and your community at risk in order to understand those who are wandering. It means taking a risk by stepping away from the crowd in order to reconnect with the wanderer. We’re not fighting off literal wolves but we are expected to sacrifice ourselves for the community. When I say sacrifice I don’t necessarily mean take a bullet though that time could come, I mean sacrificing your reputation, your pride, and your fears.
According to this parable good leaders willingly sacrifice themselves to see their community thrive. And if that means stepping away from the community to find a wandering soul who is vulnerable to the darkness in this world, a good leader will do it.
Creative freedom is a gift we have as humans beings. It liberates us from a world that would be just fine seeing us lose our life so that we can fit into their box. I started writing my For the Conscious Writer posts in 2020 with the intention of having it lead into a mentoring program. (I created a link in case you want to check out some of those posts on Medium.) I let fear and uncertainty knock me off track. I didn’t want to do it alone. I also didn’t want to make a fool of myself while developing a program that I care about so much. But no more! I’m not going to let fear keep me from being exactly who I want to be and who I’m excited to be.
Let’s break free!
Today I wanna bring up freedom to grow.
Freedom to grow, what does that even mean?
Freedom to grow as a writer is allowing yourself to expand into new places and spaces that will give you more experience, wisdom, and knowledge.
Why do we need freedom to grow?
Referring back to the definition, allowing ourselves freedom to grow gives us more experience, wisdom, and knowledge. As a bonus when we combine experience, wisdom, and knowledge with time to self-reflect and grow inward it naturally gives us power behind our message, confidence in our craft, and the strength to keep going when all seems lost. One of the most beautiful things that comes with allowing ourselves the freedom to grow is the ability to shine our light for others to see in the darkness. So many people are on their way to a path similar to yours. They don’t need to see your art to copy you (though getting copied might happen) they need to see your art so that they feel less alone. It can curb all sorts of ailments; depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts… So now we see the value of your freedom to grow extending from yourself to others, people you may never know.
Jayne.press 