Autumn lends itself to creative dreaming. As the days turn wet and windy and the nights grow chilly, the darkness colludes with those of us who are of a creative turn of mind. It's time to draw the curtains, light some scented candles, play soft music and work at your own special project. That might be oil painting or sketching; tapestry or knitting; music or writing...or all of the above!
Creativity induces a dreamy state of mind, as the brainwaves go into the alpha state associated with day-dreaming, which is why a creative project is so good for reducing your stress levels.
As the rain battered the window panes today, I spent time working through my creative to-do list. First I needed to work on my portfolio for the university application. This is going quite well and I think I have included all the work that they need to see. So all I need to do now is write the personal statement essay and fill out the form. It's quite a relief to have the bulk of this portfolio completed, as it means that I should definitely get my application in later this month. I'm excited about that.
Then I spent time creating a new portfolio for my psychotherapy columns. I made one of these back in February, for all my columns with Spirit&Destiny magazine. It took me hours to put eight years of my work onto construction card and into the poly-pockets of a ring binder!
So I've decided to make things easier on myself this time round and I'm going cut out each of my psychotherapy columns as they are published, creating this new portfolio of my work as I go, rather than leaving it for years on end. Although it is still a newly launched column it's looking good so far. It is such a welcome departure from my Wiccan work. The new psychotherapy column has a completely different vibe, but it's still my voice. I love the way it's coming together. It's great to see all my columns thus far, presented in a professional portfolio that showcases my work in this genre. It's certainly a sign that I've moved on in my writing.
Once that was done, I decided to write some poetry. I have missed the poetry aspect of Mind, Body, Spirit writing and I realised that I haven't written any in a few months. Poetry has been the staple of my writing career so far and it will always be a medium of writing that I enjoy creating. I studied poetry some years back - which you can read about here - and it is one of my favourite ways to express myself. I also realised how many finished poems I have saved on my computer that need to be printed out and added to my poetry portfolio, but that's a job for another day!
Today I just enjoyed playing with words; pondering on the page until I had come up with something that resonated with me. I've written hundreds of poems over the years. Some are of the moment and are meant to be destroyed as soon as I finish writing them. I call them my medicinal poems, because they are written to serve a purpose - to express something difficult or painful, which I don't need to be holding on to. So I write it out, let it go and move on. Other poems I write because I want to hold onto the feeling or memory they express. These get put into my poetry portfolio, which is divided into categories such as poems from my books, unpublished poems, blog poems, song lyrics and so on.
Poetry and song-writing is probably the truest form of creative dreaming, because they allow the mind to meander along and the structure comes about naturally, with the flow of words. I never know what kind of poem or song I will write until I actually begin and the process takes over. It is a work of alchemy and one that I deeply enjoy creating.
So it has been a very productive day of creativity and I've got a few jobs ticked off my to-do list. Now I plan to reward myself with an hour or so of art therapy, using this stunning therapy book, which is very in keeping with the season. Whatever type of creative endeavour you enjoy, remember to make time for it in your life, because no-one else will ever give you permission to spend a day colouring in! That is something you must do for yourself. Enjoy!
xxx
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