Walking to Infinity

by Barbara Martin

in Try This

I’ve mentioned how I “pace” by walking in a pattern to trace out the shape of a figure 8. I do it to relax and settle my mind when puzzling through a knotty problem or when I begin to panic am scrambling for last-minute inspiration on a deadline. Turn it on its side and this […]

Get this week’s all new “free, quick and easy” creativity tip now! I just updated the tip line with this week’s creativity experiment and I hope you will listen to it. It introduces another simple yet surprisingly powerful creativity-enhancing exercise; this week’s activity is based on the age-old practice of walking the labyrinth. As always, […]

Earlier this month I spent an agreeable day attending a hand made journal making workshop with Lisa Sonora Beam — you may recognize her as author of the excellent visually-oriented creative business primer, The Creative Entrepreneur.  If you aren’t familiar with her work, read on because you might want to experiment with making a journal or two of your […]

A Sweet Path to Habit Change

by Barbara Martin

in Try This

I have been working on a new habit. As a coach, of course I am familiar with theories about how to change habits, or how to stop doing one thing and start doing something else. Unfortunately, in defiance of all logic, my mind generally refuses to play “those games” so progress can be difficult at best.  Like many creative people, […]

  The more I read and experience and observe creative people, the more I notice how we get in our own way and limit our creativity by imposing rules about the conditions we require in order to create. We might be convinced we can only create using specific tools or in a certain setting or […]

I sometimes write in a coffee shop. I might go there because the peeps at home are driving me nuts, sometimes because I am feeling uninspired and hope a short stroll and change of scenery will help jolt my creativity, sometimes because I am away from home and just plain need a pit stop with […]

Do you think clutter provides a richly stimulating environment for creativity or does it cause confusion in your mind? Some people insist that a neat and tidy environment is a prerequisite for getting down to productive work. I’m not so sure. Neat and Tidy is Productive In her MyAmericanArtist.com blog post Clutter Causes Confusion, Lori […]

In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron points out that creativity is a full bodied, sensual experience to be celebrated. Heightening or intensifying the physical effects of your immediate environment to enrich the sensory experience will help honor, affirm and trigger your creativity. Your Creativity is Worthy of a Special Place Setting aside a specific room […]

Julia Cameron urges us to devise a personal creative haven, complete with an altar to our creativity, plus creativity rituals. This “safe zone” offers a tangible physical connection to our creativity and rituals keep us spiritually centered, grounded, palpably linked to our creativity. It is important to note that the full title for Julia Cameron’s […]