Turn down the noise

Turn down the noise

by | Jan 30, 2020 | Sunday Muse

Turn down the noise!

Before you start running on the treadmill of a new year, have you explored deep enough to determine what you truly want for yourself in 2020? If you’re not 100% sure yet, read on. Today we will be exploring ways of tapping into the richness of your inner cave where clarity and creativity are waiting for you!  

A cave is not just a physical space. It can also be a metaphor for your mind, or your creative center. This other sanctuary, like the cave you created in your home, is inside and beneath the surface. The physical cave is a kind of host…it is the external environment that nurtures pathways to your inner world, and that is where the real creativity happens. It’s easy enough to enter a room. But how do we get to the inner cave?  

One of the most essential components in accessing your inner cave is reducing noise – quieting down that loud cacophony of external and internal messages and pressures in order to make room for creative thoughts. Noise can be defined as anything that interferes with our clarity of mind. Achieving this clarity can be challenging. We are accustomed to being on autopilot, performing tasks all the time, being inundated with distractions…and the noise doesn’t stop until we either drown it out with something else, or learn how to turn down the volume. Let’s explore a few noise-reduction strategies.  

8 ways to lower the volume  

Here are some of my go-to favorites for turning down the noise and opening up channels to my inner cave:  

1 – Take a warm bath by candlelight with a soothing cup of herbal tea, such as chamomile. I consciously recognize and put aside any stressful, circular thoughts for another time when I am better equipped to deal with them (think of the song Mojo…’why do today what can be put off till tomorrow’). Let all toxic thoughts drain out with the bathwater. Works like a charm.  

2 – Fire up the tealights when the sun goes down for home beautification and relaxation. Turn off all overhead lights. This is utterly transformative – an everyday ritual for me – and sets the tone for entering my cave  

space. The rest is mine to create.  

3 – Cook dinner with my partner and unwind from the day (after firing up the tealights, of course). This is a relationship-builder too. Don’t forget the relaxing music. It’s a great way to shut off the noise and soften the landscape of your inner world.  

4 – Eliminate the use of back-lighted electronic devices shortly after dark (TVs, cellphones, computers, etc). They emit “blue” light that interferes with the brain’s ability to produce melatonin, a hormone that makes us restful. Rest  – in particular, sleep – is essential for boosting mood, energy and creativity. Do your online work, texting and TV watching early – set yourself a cutoff time and honor it. Tell friends and family that you are offline at a certain time. This establishes good boundaries with people as well as devices, and models (instead of preaches) healthy patterns for those you love.  

5 – Get thee to the cave. Our Brumbylon Cave is the fun room. Just going there immediately connects me to my inner world because the space is set up as a creative ‘engine room.’ What is essential is to block off an hour or more – make a time commitment for creativity to emerge and take form. Steep a warm cup of tea and hang out in your newly-created cave. Once you have settled in you will begin to feel peaceful and open, the portal to your creative center.  

6 – Meditate for 15-30 minutes (there are countless meditations to explore, but in winter I really like yoga nidra). Sometimes I just sit in silence and focus on the movement of my breath. This is effective for clearing away excess internal chatter. Sometimes, if I’m in a real funk, I do some yoga stretches first to work out the tensions of the day.  

7 – Maintain a gratitude journal. In particular when I’m feeling depressed or depleted I write down everything that I am grateful for. I spare no details. Gratitude increases the production of feel-good hormones (like endorphins and serotonin) and clears away negativity. Sometimes I also process what is troubling me by writing. Once I have identified the true nature of a problem, I consider that I have made a breakthrough, and my thoughts begin to run clear again. If writing isn’t your thing, find a source of inspirational gratitude quotes and connect them to your life. There is so much to be thankful for if we only choose to notice.  

8 – Chill with the cats. Animals can teach us so much…and cats are inherently good at all things chill! It is wonderful to stop and enjoy the simple pleasures, like connecting with other gentle beings (the rodents in our neighborhood may disagree on this point!). Pets offer unconditional love. Feel the stress drain away – it can be a gateway to your creative process.  

Can YOU envision other ways for opening the channels to your inner cave? I’d love to hear about them!  

…What’s NEXT?  

I’d like to share one more thing…a BIG one: I will be climbing a new mountain in 2020! I plan to work toward this goal from January through July – a six month commitment!  

Would you like to JOIN ME on this challenging adventure? Soon I will be sharing with you an exciting idea that I’m hatching! In the meantime, here is a bit of homework to help prepare you for what’s next. Go into your cave and ponder this question:  

What is MY mountain in 2020?  

Thanks for hanging out with me – have a great week!  

~ Lisa  

  

 

“The seed that grows toward the light begins in darkness.”

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What’s Your Creative Space?

What’s Your Creative Space?

by | Jan 30, 2020 | Sunday Muse

What SPACE makes you most creative? 

Did you make the commitment to slow down and block off a bit of unbroken time for yourself last week? Perhaps now you’d like to explore some fresh, seasonal changes that foster personal growth and creativity. New year resolutions – the ones that really serve us – originate in our creative center. They provide us the opportunity to begin tending those seeds that we planted in the dark. NOW is the time to enter the cave. 

Cave (n.): a hollow or natural passage under or into the earth, especially one with an opening to the surface; a natural opening in the earth large enough for human exploration.  

What is key in this definition is “under the earth.” Metaphorically, this can be translated as beneath the surface. Inside. An enclosed, private space where you can explore. Sounds a lot like the Brumbylon Cave! Do you see the connection? Are you ready to design your cave? Let’s get rolling. 

Feng Shui is the way to go 

I love making seasonal changes in our home. It’s a lot of fun to transform an interior room into a beautiful space. Take some time to create this space because it’s YOURS and you will want to spend time there. 

First you want to choose the location. Then, very importantly, you will need to clean the space: dust out corners and disturb anything that feels stagnant or stuck…or worse yet, causes anxiety or other emotional discomfort. You are about to engage in the practice of Feng Shui (pronounced fung shway). This is the Chinese art of creating harmonious surroundings that enhance the balance of yin and yang. This is really powerful stuff. Small changes can make a big impact on how a room affects you psychologically, spiritually and emotionally. 

  

Five FUN ways to Feng Shui your cave 

#1 – Place objects you love into the room. Be very intentional about this. Plants are always a wonderful choice because they bring fresh air and nature inside when all the outside plants are in their dormant stage. 

#2 – Sound therapy. Consider purchasing a small circulating water fountain. The soft sound of flowing water is universally regarded as peaceful…like a babbling brook. It must have brought great comfort to our ancestors to be near a source of clean water. Music can also create mood. What makes you happy to listen to? Be super-conscious about the vibe you want to create before you introduce it into the space. 

#3 – Shape matters. Move furniture and objects into the corners facing out toward the center to round out the room. Round is a cave shape worth considering because it can have a profound effect on the psyche. Round softens hard edges. Our lives are surrounded by hard surfaces and square spaces – yang. You want to introduce some yin here. Remember, it’s all about balance. 

  

#4 – Lose the overhead lights. Dim, peaceful, indirect lighting in the corner areas is much kinder. How many caves are brightly lit? If your cave has windows, bright natural light is glorious during the day. After dark, however, you will want to soften up any harsh lighting. I like to cover lampshades with colored cloth to create ambiance and to reduce brightness.

Choose the colors and patterns that make you happy. Place lamps on the floor, perhaps even behind furniture. Tealights and candles are a great choice. Metaphorically, think firelight. 

#5 – Focus on both form and function. Beauty is essential, just be sure to include a comfortable chair, sofa or pillow to rest on, and an area where you can write, meditate or read. Comfort is key. 

Look around when you are finished and assess what you have just created. Walk out of the room for a few minutes, and then enter the space again. Does this room make you feel good? Does it invite you to spend time inside? If the answer is yes, you have created your very own cave. Bravo! 

In next Sunday’s post we will explore the inner cave, and examine strategies to help you tap into your creative center. This is the best piece! Stay tuned! 

  

Thanks for hanging out with me – have a great week!

~ Lisa 

  

 

“The seed that grows toward the light begins in darkness.”

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Now is the time for creativity

Now is the time for creativity

by | Jan 30, 2020 | Sunday Muse

NOW is the time for creativity. 

Do you thrive in the winter or are you like me? Anyone who knows me could tell you that I am not a winter creature. It is my worst season. It’s dark. It’s cold. I want to crawl into a cave and hibernate until spring. And yet, strangely enough, that is exactly what makes this the perfect time to tap into creativity. 

Creativity is important. It connects us to what we truly desire, and allows us to troubleshoot and make changes when we get stuck. It is the essence of our personal power. When was the last time you felt the full might of your creativity? Do you get stuck like me during the winter months? 

In any season, our lives are driven by external forces (like work or family pressures) that cause us to run, run, run. And after the frenzy we often collapse from exhaustion, or perhaps indulge in creature comforts (which may not serve us) until we jump onto the next hamster wheel and start running again. There is also plenty of internal running …the constant chatter of voices inside the mind that muddles our clarity of thought. It’s daunting. The question is how can we break through all of this internal and external noise in order to tap into our creativity? 

  

Here’s one way: SLOW. DOWN. Winter is the season when our internal clock signals us to conserve a little – even take some time to completely stop for a while. It is a time of tea lights at 5 pm, and spending quiet hours in front of an evening fire, allowing the pace to shift into a slower rhythm. It is a time to journal, to process what has transpired over the year that is ending, and to think about what plants (or plans) we want to nurture come spring… I am already getting my annual seed catalogs in the mail! 

  

The Creativity Connection 

  

Slowing down does not mean stagnation – au contraire. In our Brumbylon Cave, we go within to the quiet dark place where creativity awaits us, and the frenetic world outside disappears for a while. A “cave” can exist in any busy life – it can start with a decision, one that can be supported by your personal choices and commitment. The cave invites us to choose operating in a slower vibration, thereby allowing ideas and fresh inspiration to be dropped into the mind like seeds.  Just as the body rests and repairs itself during sleep, slowing the frenzy of our conscious waking hours even for a few minutes every day can open the channels to creativity and personal growth. 

The cave is not just for artists. Do you need a cave of your own? Are you ready to make this commitment to yourself? If so, consider doing this bit of homework: 

#1 – Set aside a block of unbroken time when you can slow down, and stick to it. No interruptions, no exceptions. Look ahead at the week and book it. During that alone time, allow yourself to just BE. Pay attention to what comes up for you…allow your own thoughts to emerge. Relax into the space. 

#2 – Take some of this time to brainstorm on these themes: What do I truly desire? What would I like to see happen in 2020? Write them down. This can be a long or a short list. There is no formula. Just do it. 

#3 – Optional: Place your list where you can see it every day. 

In Sunday’s post, I will share a variety of creative ways to make YOUR OWN cave space, where you can tap into your creativity. 

Thanks for hanging out with me – have a great week! 

~ Lisa 

  

 

“The seed that grows toward the light begins in darkness.”

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