Writing or creativity of any kind is a mysterious process, a journey into deep and unchartered waters. What you need is a compass… the Tarot.
In many earth-based spiritual practices, someone who is entering into ritual or leading one for others, will begin by drawing a circle. The purpose of the circle is to create a boundary—”a line marking the limits of an area, territory, etc.” In ritual, the purpose of that boundary is to
Monday’s Tarot Message from the Muse Theme, The Lovers. A Major Arcana card, this card speaks about Spirit, Love, and the integration of opposites–masculine/feminine, spiritual/physical, sacred/secular. Be aware this week of bringing that greater Love into everything you do in your creative work. Manifesting your Love for your ideas, your
God is in the detail. ~ Anonymous The Devil is in the detail. ~ A derivation of the previous quote In a recent weekly video for Monday’s Tarot Message from the Muse, the theme for the week was the 10 of Coins. Coins is the element of Earth and represents
I’ve been writing articles for my newsletter for more than five years now, so you’ll understand if I tell you that some weeks, my inner child throws a tantrum. “No! I don’t want to write another newsletter. You can’t make me. No!” And yet, the deadline draws near. I can’t
Autumn…makes a double demand. It asks that we prepare for the future—that we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go—to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness. ~ Bonaro W. Overstreet The autumn equinox, or Mabon as it is called
We all have our priorities. Think of each priority as a coin you hold. Top on the list of priorities for most of us (unless you are superhuman, in which case you need read no further), are eating and sleeping. So there are two coins. For those with small children,
Monday’s Tarot Message from the Muse, 8/18/2014 Theme, The Star. A Major Arcana card, the Star shines, inspires and heals. So this week, look for opportunities to shine, to inspire and yes, heal others with your creative work. Also be alert to sources of inspiration for you. Focus, 6 of
Once upon a time… A princess took her favorite toy, a golden ball, into the woods. Sitting by a well, she repeatedly tossed her ball up into the air and caught it. After several tosses, she missed the ball which fell into the well, disappearing beneath the water. She began
At the recent Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, Tim Grahl, author and book marketer for well-known authors like Dan Pink, spoke about building platform and connecting authentically with readers. He advised his listeners to not confuse the tools of social media with being the rules. I straightened in my seat when
Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true Deep down inside we want to believe they still do… Carrie Underwood, Ever, Ever After Whenever I attend a writing conference, especially one of the size (2000 attendees) and caliber of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) annual conference, I treasure and am enchanted
The most important thing she’d learned over the years was that there was no way to be a perfect mother and a million ways to be a good one. ~Jill Churchill This past Sunday was Mother’s Day here in the US and I noticed on Facebook the comment from several
Thank you to friend and writing sister, Win Day, for the invitation to participate in this writing blog hop. Win is a writer, a speaker, a strategist, and a geek. Her company, Creative Implementations, offers lifestyle business strategies and WordPress development and technical maintenance services to creatives and heart-centered entrepreneurs.
First there was the corset (now making an interesting comeback), then there was the girdle, and now there is SPANX®. All the ways over the centuries that women have tried to push and pull themselves into a shape that society deems attractive, proper and stylish. Recently, I coached a number
Monday’s Tarot Message from the Muse, 3/31/2014 Theme, The Magician. This Major Arcana card is all about the magic of your creativity, your ability to take ideas and manifest them in physical form. This week, watch all the ways you get to practice your magic. Remember your ability to make
When I was growing up, Santa brought my family a new jigsaw puzzle every Christmas. Later in the day, Dad would set up the card table and parents and siblings would draw up chairs and start turning over puzzle pieces. Hours passed with breaks for snacks and the bathroom. Pieces
Have you ever been to a conference or even just at a party or someplace new and someone comes up to you and asks, “So what do you do?” Do you cringe a little inside? Do you stumble and trip over your tongue, or worse, mumble? Or do you answer,
This week’s post is by guest contributor, Beth Barany. I just got back from a writer’s conference. I love going to them. I love speaking there and helping other authors. But I’m tired. I’m an introvert. As I wade through all the post-conference activities of following up with all the
Emergencies have always been necessary to progress. It was darkness which produced the lamp. It was fog that produced the compass. ~ Victor Hugo I woke the other morning, and saw that the rich gold of autumn leaves was dimmed by a thin layer of fog, a not unusual occurrence
Every time one of our three sons approached his mid-teens—you know, that time when they want to learn to drive, attend late-night parties, and start experimenting with alcohol and other things you don’t want to even imagine—I yearned to install a very tall tower in our backyard and stick that
I gave birth to three sons who ranged in weight from 7 lbs. 14 oz. to 9 lbs. 3 oz. My three favorite creative projects, I birthed them without medication, so I was very aware of the stages and the process. If you’ve given birth or attended someone who has,
On a recent vacation, Bob, his friend, Bill, and Bill’s wife, Patty and I walked into an old building in a run-down area of Indianapolis. It was an antique shop called Audrey’s Place. Walking through the back door where stuff was pile high for loading or unloading, a guy who
When I teach of group of people how to work with their dreams, I ask each of them to remember a recent sleep dream to practice the process on. “What if I don’t remember my dreams?” is a question that always comes up. Every time. “Think of a recent waking
This week is a magical week for me. And I don’t even have to wave a magical wand. Instead, I am waving my purple pen, the color of ink I use when I am writing my book. See, I am on a writer’s retreat in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts
I get it. I really do. Time is short and passes quickly. You are busy with a hundred and one things. And in today’s world of technology where information sharing and business occurs at the speed of nanoseconds, the oft-times snail-like process of creativity can become extremely frustrating. So we
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” ~John Donne Did you watch the Oscars? Or the Grammys? If you did, you know that winners of those statuettes often get up on stage and thank everyone from
The year is almost over; only a little over three months before we celebrate a New Year with new goals. What about this year’s goals? Was one of your goals to write that non-fiction book you’ve had rattling around in your brain forever? Did you get it written? Did you
Many people are inventive, sometimes cleverly so. But real creativity begins with the drive to work on and on and on. ~ Margueritte Harmon Bro, author “I love this story, and I love when it the writing surprises me, but sitting down to write is such hard work!” I complained
If you write only about the things that are safe, about the emotions that are happy and easy, then your story will lack the authenticity and power that readers hunger for. Thursday, I had the privilege and fun of being interviewed by coach, author, colleague and friend, Adela Rubio. I
Here is a great quote for your weekend. If you aren’t a writer, the principle still applies. The Internet has changed publishing. The growing pains are fierce. But they are not your growing pains. Publish however you think best suits you. Don’t rush it. Take your time writing and editing,