They will tell you to try to focus.   Screen out all those distracting stimuli so that you can accomplish the task at hand.   Finish your homework!   Ace the SAT!   Make your point!   Maybe you’ve even tried the medications that pour all of your energy into this One Thing and you know what it feels like to Be Productive.  It’s awesome, right?  Nothing like the powerful feeling of accomplishment to make you feel really good about yourself.

There’s just one problem.  You lost the other 95% of your world.  

Some say that the essence of creativity is connection.  In relaxed unfocussed moments, associations reign.  Ungoverned by tasks and todos, the mind wanders into untrodden fields and forests, curious and open, gathering flowers and pebbles, and then, at just the right time, it springs forth.  Because seemingly unrelated stuff can open doors to fresh approaches, innovators often come from outside a narrow field of expertise.

But, I hear you saying, I’m not wandering in fields and forests, I’m glued to the internet, helplessly following links, becoming more and more confused…. Yes, I know, I’ve been there.  I know what it is to be seized by something shiny, something spectacular, only to find  its beauty faded, along with my memory of what I was supposed to be doing instead.   Notice, if you will, that our culture tells us to focus while it profits from grabbing your attention.   Of course the advertisement/tvshow/link/facebook post yanked you away from your task.  They study you.  They know exactly how to do it. 

But you don’t have to go along with their plan.  You can work with your beautiful mind, as it is, to create an environment that enables you to flow.   A client described it this way:  “The walls of my mind are thin.”  Work With It  is method for those of us who want our minds to remain permeable and yet accomplish many things, fun things, useful things.   

I begin here with a few essentials.  As I get feedback, try things out, learn from mistakes and successes, I will add more methods, details, and stories.   If you are especially interested in Work With It, you can use your RSS reader to subscribe to this page only.  

 

 

Monday
Jun182012

From the Inside

DateMonday, June 18, 2012 at 2:26PM

So, we've established that to be masters of our domain, to be masters of the Internet, we need to practice moving in and out, via ERRoR.   I have recommended a timer.  And I have heard you say that you ignore the timer.  Sometimes I do too.  Sometimes I'm sorry, and sometimes I know that it was the right thing to do.  "Rules are made to be broken," said my father the military man.  

But how do you know when you are on a fruitful exploration, and when you are addicted and need an external force to rip you away?  From the inside.  You know by paying attention to your whole being.  It really helps to have a meditation practice, but whether or not you formally meditate, getting to know your body and how it sends signals is the key to wisdom.  And happiness.  Actually, mostly happiness.  Because one of the agonies of modern life is that nagging sense that maybe I should be doing something else.

Click to read more ...

AuthorElena Taurke | CommentPost a Comment | Reference4 References |
Page 1 2