Postcards from the Funny Farm

I had an absolute blast this week reading blogosphere posts about the brain and inspiration. Here are some I stumbled along the way. Please stumble them all, they are very deserving.

52 Sunday Evening Meditations on Life | Marc and A...
Great list of 52 “mantras” or meditations. Give ‘em a read.

ALEXEY TITARENKO | PHOTOGRAPHY
This is the kind of picture where you stare it it and it keeps getting weirder and weirder with the possibilities of what you are seeing.

A Blog About The Law of Inspiration: Creating Unli...
I really like and agree with these ideas to keep inspiration flowing.

Drumroll Please
CK is one of the coolest bloggers out there. She dedicates her posts to describing what mental health issues feel like. What a contribution! It so happens she nominated me for an award in this post. I want to recommend her to you.

overeating and anorexia: a dialogue
A very candid and informative dialogue on a therapist’s blog. Archive this one as an excellent, eye-opening resource on anorexia.

Life’s Little Gifts | Growing Happiness
An amazing tip on finding inspiration in the little things. This is an inspiration blog I really recommend.

D’oh! It’s not a comedy cell
I really like how this guy once again describes how the brain is working in ordinary situations, like watching the Simpsons. I can’t promote his blog enough. Did you ver see the episode where he called Chicago personal injury lawyers. Me neither because I don’t think it existed. I saw the one where they showed his brain though :) That’s the kind of fun you get on his site.

I was out by the pool this weekend and spent some time in between swims with my best friend Eric Stefani and my son “flying” on the trampoline.

This was an excellent “exercise in play” and as a result my mind is filled with creative possibilities. Anyway, I picked 8 to post. Just click on the photo to see the album.

If you have a trampoline, you should do a little flying whenever you can. If you’re like me, it will do wonders.

A realistic note on play: We obviously can’t play every day of our lives. For many people, their home office is where they spend the most time. If that’s the case for you, I have an excellent resource to recommend. You can shop on line for the best “most playful” if you like office furniture. In any case, get your environment the way you want it: then play!

I ran across this inspiring photo today at Neurophilosophy, a recent addition to my blogroll. Mo, the author, describes the photo in a post there, but here is an excerpt:

Purkinje cells are the largest cells in the mammalian brain. They have a planar structure with a highly elaborate dendritic tree.

I’ve become inescapably fascinated with the brain in the past decade. I’ve begun to see our thoughts in a new way: organic. Just like fertilizer helps a tomato to grow ripe and delicious, so our brains are in a cyclical process of bloom and wilt all the time. Today I am interested in sharing a theory of creativity with you. Imagine that your creativity is like a tree such as the photo you see above. Now imagine something you’ve been told or imagined you “COULDN’T” do for one reason or another. The best way to conquer such a lie is through the stimulation of creativity, and hence: solutions.

Here’s an example of just one crazy thing you can do:

Is there water by your house you can jump in? Do it. I don’t care if it’s cold and I don’t care if it’s even permissible to swim there. Breaking conventions awakens creativity and stimulates the dendrites. No imagine the tree above thriving and pulsating as you swim through the water. Voila! You are out of your rut. The only limitations on what you can do are in your mind, in an organic way. people have said “mind over matter” for years but really the mind itself is matter. It, and only it, holds the key to true human freedom and possibilities.

I wrote yesterday about how the brain is a fragile instrument that must be cared for. I discussed Phineas Gage and the brain injury he suffered at the hands of an exploding metal rod. One capacity that he lost in the 15 years after the accident was his inhibition. Inhibition is simply a region of our brain. It isn’t the ten commandments or even the voice of your parents you hear saying: “Don’t lie!” Instead, it’s like a fleshy computer hard drive that organizes facts and feelings into a paradigm that controls our every move.

Step out of it to escape your rut, or funk, or whatever malady afflicts you … allow creativity to go crazy. Whether it’s an impromptu swim or grocery go-kart races … the results will amaze you like the glowing photo above. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something you want to do.

What other crazy things could you do to get your creative juices flowing?

Despite the title and picture, this post has nothing to do with off road vehicles. Instead it is meant to give 4 sections with 4 items each discussing writing and inspiration. I just couldn’t help finding a 4×4 grinding a wall for my post. The prompt comes from Confident Writing. Joanna has an excellent site there offering inspiration in writing and in life. Why not try the 4×4 challenge on your blog?

I’ve been writing seriously since my last year as an undergraduate, 1995. I recall that because I actually starting sending things out in the mail that year. Nothing came of it financially but I can say honestly that those rejections were helpful in every publishing I’ve had since then. I haven’t had a huge number but enough to pay for some fun family stuff and to take my wife out once in a while.

As someone who struggles daily to be a better writer with inspiration, I think I’m certainly qualified to take part in this challenge. This is not really the stage of inspiration but it precipitates that. If these things are done, your best writing will follow. Maybe you will use some of these, maybe you’ll find them all ridiculous but I’ve searched my heart and soul and listed them here. Hop in my 4×4 and check out how this dude fosters inspiration for his writing:

1. Physical Well Being and Rest

When you are stressed or sick or just unkempt, it inhibits inspiration.

1. Take a Multi-vitamin before you write with a natural juice (not the sugared kinds).
2. When you know you are headed into a writing situation, make sure you have nice clean comfortable clothes hanging up in the bathroom next to the shower ready for you that day.
3. Breathe deeply after you get all dressed and showered.
4. Make a practice of imagining possibilities before you turn on your computer, or pick up your yellow pad.

2. Harmony and Peace in Your Home

That hillbilly country song “If mamma aint happy, aint nobody happy” is truth like a flood light for writers, especially if you’re a mamma I am sure! ;) Make sure your wife, kids, dog, salesman at the door etc. are all happy and satisfied before you sit down to attempt to write.

1. Play with your kids.
2. Sit next to your spouse and turn off your computer.
3. Talk.
4. Laugh and sing as you do the dishes (some of my best ideas have come doing the dishes).

3. Read Biographies

I will simply mention names … these people’s lives have transformed my life and inspired me as they continue to. I’ve written an article on each of these greats which you’ll find linked in their names.

1. Walt Disney
2. Ray Kroc
3. Rod Serling
4. Dr. Seuss

4. Earn Money at the Craft

As you write and hone your craft, seek out ways to make money. You ought to be paid for the contributions you make. Not always, but at least put your stuff out there. Below are 4 linked articles that show you some ways, for example, how to do this. In all, there are myriads more out there, the only limitation is in your mind:

1. PayPerPost
2. Summary of Many
3. Another Slick List of Blog for Pay Companies
4. Yes, Bloggers Can Make Money Without PageRank

If any of these touched you, I’d love to hear about it.

I was talking to someone the other day and they told me drama was inevitable in their life. I disagreed and made a suggestion that has worked for me during similar pessimistic times:

Make a list of what you want.

It’s great for focusing your own energies on your goals as well as setting an example for your family. I remember making a list like this with my wife several years ago. Many of my “dreams” on that list have since come true. For example, at the time I dabbled in a personal website but had a larger dream of being published. Since then, I’ve become a regular contributor to 3 online publishing platforms and I run 3 other blogs of my own. This has required a lot of patience on my wife’s part and a lot of hours of work on mine. I truly feel though it all started through making and sharing that list.

When making a list like this, one should let ones mind run free. Put on some relaxing music … go sit with a yellow pad under a tree … write it while sipping your favorite hot beverage … whatever. The point is, you shouldn’t let limitations of everyday family life, married life, your job, or other constraints get in the way of what you want. Things you see as impossible can materialize when you start “believing” anything can happen.

Furthermore these dreams can actually make the things you once saw as limitations transform into miracles. Those very limitations (or at least the things you see as limitations) can be the yellow brick road to your “Oz.” I am not into the modern bestseller they call “The Secret” per se, nor do I believe in karma 100%. I say 100% because I do believe in the direction of dreams. I see proof of it in people like Walt Disney, Wrig.... Then there’s me for example, when I see myself as a successful writer there is an energy there that brings things into concert with itself. But unlike the required success of the Secret, even if I don’t turn out being as famous as I’d hoped, I have an amazing experience along the way. When your cause is true, you can’t lose.

I think I’m about due for a new list.

It’s not that my dreams have all come true, but many have. My dream list now is more about simplifying. I want to be able to maintain the projects I’ve been blessed with. To further the writing example (just one of my many dreams): I want to be a great writer that creates images with words for people, like paths to paradise. I want to keep every writing endeavor “holy,” not in the religious sense but in the sense Allen Ginsberg talked about: sacred.

I know that through time my dreams will change, but I will not stop having them and writing them down. One day when my kids read these words, and they will because I’ve made a plan to keep these blogs intact ... hopefully many many years from now, they will know above all else that I was not a coward about dreaming. Their dad sets out to define what he wants and then works to make it happen. They are living proof since all three of them were once my dreams. The list is a good thing, I strongly recommend you make on and then get back to me on this question:

What’s in your book of dreams?

Martin Luther King was asked to head up the protest against the bus system when he was 26 years old. 26. Now if you are younger than 26, as I know at least 2 of my readers are, you don’t think that sounds young. Maybe it isn’t. But when you think of the influence this man had on the world to end racial segregation, you have to agree that he was already aware of what he was doing when most people are still trying to find their “calling.”

This is a message to us all that our lives have influence and if we do the right thing, we can affect change. 

Having a friend who is a superstar (Gwen) and working in a field where I come across famous authors and minds frequently, I live in the “I am Nothing Syndrome” quite a bit. I think there is a way to turn it around though. Instead of lamenting not being as famous and effectual as these people, why not realize that life is fleeting and I need to have some influence as I am as who I am now, today.

MLK takes me out of the “I am Nothing Syndrome.” I feel like if I met him in heaven he might say: “You are worthy, you’re no better or worse than I was. You can change your world by doing what matters come what may.”

There are many more ways, but I was thinking this morning that a process always helps.  Perhaps you can add your own to this list:

1. Wake up on time (alarm clock with a mellow station).
2. Make some good coffee.
3. Have your outfit all picked out the night before (not always possible I know).
4. Train your school-age son(daughter) to make the lunches (LOL).
5. Have a CD picked out with music that inspires you, make sure it is in your car.
6. As you are getting your coffee made and last minute stuff, start your car and turn the heat on full-blast (winter only).
7. As you drive to work, think about the possibilities of the day. Look at struggles and worries as merely “opportunities” to see life a new way and improve yourself.
8. Think about positive things as you listen to your music on the way. Admire the beauty of the desert all around you.
9. Consciously remember to smile at people today, you affect others more than you know.
10. Be ready, for anything … and when anything comes your way, accept it as either a positive or an opportunity.
11. Commit yourself to be 100% in the moment.  This means not worrying about the future or the past.  I have found they both take care of themselves.
12. Create a relevant greeting to use so you don’t get tongue tied in those stressful moments.  When you see someone at work, say: ___________. (examples: Hi, 3 day weekend.  Happy Thursday.  Hang in there,  etc.)
13. Have pictures of your kids on your desk and focus on the reasons you work.
14. Make another CD of your favorite songs and play it in your office area or MP3 player if this is possible in your workspace.  For me, its in my classroom before the kids come in.
15. If you have friends at work that won’t mind, send them a short email letting them know you are thinking of them and that you hope they have a great day.  The replies throughout the day are great to remind you of the same thing.
16. Take time to breathe and do nothing for a few mintes before work.  Meditate, pray, think, be still … etc.
17. If a bunch of stuff has been cluttering somewhere for a while, its probably not crucial.  Put it all out of sight temporarily (a cabinet, a bin, a box etc.).  This will create a clear place in your work area that can help you see possibilities.
18. Structure your day with an agenda by hour and check it off as you go.
19. Say this statement three times out loud when you are alone: “I am fortunate.”
20. Accept that there is something larger than yourself and surrender that you are small in the big scheme of things.  Even if you wanted to be in control of everything, it wouldn’t be possible so be faithful in the small things on your agenda and make it an excellent day.

What do you do to have a good workday?