Creative Zen Transitions

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An important part of garden care is weeding. Weeds are continually
popping up. If you spend a little time every day, you can keep them
under control; if you ignore them, pretty soon they will have taken
over your garden!

The real problem with weeds is not that they are coexisting
peacefully in your garden, but that they are stealing nutrients,
crowding out your plants, and eventually stunting their growth.
Your plants cannot produce a bountiful harvest under these
conditions. 

It's an easy matter to remove weeds when they are small, before
their root systems are established -- a simple pluck and they're
gone. You can even put them on the compost pile, so long as they're
not blooming, and get those nutrients back.

In your creative garden, the weeds that pop up are those negative
thoughts that start taking over, stealing nutrients, and crowding
your creative projects out of your life with uncertainty and doubt. 

If you get a chance at these thoughts when they're new and not yet
established, they are easier to remove. 

Problem is, a lot of these weedy thoughts have been growing with us
our whole lives, and they've got pretty big root systems! Like with
a weed, we may have whacked off the top part many times over the
years, only to see them grow back from the roots. Don't be
discouraged that it takes awhile to get rid of them. 

Your best tool for making progress in this area is cultivating an
awareness of these thoughts, and understanding that they are not
reality. Be gentle with yourself in your thoughts in everything,
including frustrations you have getting rid of negative thoughts!

There are several ways to try dealing with negative thoughts. One
way to work with them is to spend a few minutes each day
visualizing these weedy thoughts, and pulling them up. Maybe you
see the words as part of the weed, maybe you hear the thought in
your head. Either way, work with this process, and see if it is
helpful.

Another technique is meditation. Your mind may naturally go to
those negative thoughts, and you can gently steer it back to your
breath. This is a way of disempowering those thoughts.

You can also try affirmations. Make sure you select a phrase that
you can absolutely believe in. Don't use an affirmation that you
are an award-winning writer if you can barely imagine finishing a
short story. Create a phrase that you can fully commit to, such as:
I am becoming a short story writer. Also, be sure to state your
affirmations in the positive. "I'm becoming a less horrible writer"
is not going to inspire!

It takes time and consistent action to change negative thoughts and
the beliefs behind them. They're very tenacious.

Rather than trying to get rid of negative thoughts, another useful
perspective is to just notice them, without trying to change them,
and then go on about your creative work. This is what is
recommended by Richard Carson in his book Taming Your Gremlin. You
might enjoy reading the book to get a different point of view.

Or, you can use a combination of noticing and continuing, while
still working with some of the other techniques. This allows you to
be able to move forward on your creative project, while also
offering the opportunity for long term thought change. 

Another technique that works is to use physical exercise to simply
create a feeling of empowerment that makes it difficult for
negative thoughts to speak up. Use that time when you are still
feeling up from the exercise to work on your creative project.

A few words of warning: Don't wait until these negative thoughts
are gone to begin creating! And don't allow the focus of your time
and energy to become getting rid of negative thoughts! These are
both traps that will prevent you from creating, and they're traps
you can be in for a very long time! The truth is that no matter how
hard you work at it, some negative thoughts may not ever shift. At
that point, noticing and moving ahead anyway may be your best
option. 

Remember that negative thinking is partly a habit you engage in at
the present time, and partly a set of very old beliefs that you've
carried around for years. Changing how you think in the present
will help, but some of those old thoughts take time and persistence
to minimize or eliminate. Be patient and persistent!
~~~~~~~~~

Creativity Spark

Start developing an awareness of negative thoughts in the moment.

Sometimes you can catch them as an actual phrase, sometimes they
just show up as an attitude. Realize that they have nothing to do
with the reality of the present moment. 

When you catch a negative thought, counter it with a new phrase: It
used to be that way! That's not true! Or just acknowledge its
presence. Oh, that thought again!

Try working with one of the more long term change techniques listed
above. Try spending a few minutes a day with one of them, and see
if that brings results. 

What would it be like if you didn't have to struggle with negative
thoughts each day?

What would be possible creatively if you could free up that energy?


~~~~~~~~~

About Caroline ...
Caroline coaches people who want to incorporate creativity into
their daily lives. By working on our creative projects, we are able
to transform our lives, and bring about a sense of peace and joy.
Creativity is also a wonderful way to navigate life's transitions.
For more information on individual and group coaching programs,
live and virtual retreats, and more resources to help you get going
on your creative projects with comfort and sustainability, please
visit our website at www.creativezentransitions.com

For insights on creativity and life in general, please visit the
blog at http://www.creativezentransitions.typepad.com/

Zenspiration!
Caroline's podcast of creativity meditations will get you in the
right frame of mind to begin creating. They change every week, and
provide focused inspiration related to the current newsletter topic
... usually! Click on the link to listen ...
http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WgZccT84