Intention/Connection – Creative Life Midwife

Not on My Bucket List: Growing from the Unexpected Curves in Your Life’s Journey

February 25, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife 1 Comment

A bucket list on its side asks the question, "What to think about things that aren't on my bucket list?" and yet they may be significant growth experiences.

Today another item I never wanted to have on my bucket list will be quickly added and crossed off.

A needle will be inserted into my chest to withdraw fluid from a mass of unknown origin. I am hoping it is merely an infection. I am hoping it is not Valley fever. I am hoping it can be excised without much trouble. I am hoping.

What happens to items on our bucket list when the unexpected occurrences we never wanted to happen, happen:

I have not been writing much because having something frightening like this tends to silence my words. Even when I have a lot of stories to tell, the fear hovers. It gets stronger the longer I sit and stew even as I want to talk about it and process it with others.

I have wanted to toss it into conversations about completely unrelated topics even when it makes no sense at all.

A spirited discussion of a well written book is overcome by an avalanche of thought in my head that sounds like this: “what if this thing in my chest is cancer? What if this thing in my chest is a danger to my future? What if this thing in my chest is another chapter in my ‘so close but not quite’ which could very well be the title of the movie of my life.“

I miss the discussion that is actually happen and get caught up in my tangled thoughts.

The anti-bucket list item turns into a quickly turning road going nowhere particularly constructive.

I think of making a rag doll to sleep with, a toddler sized one with brown braided hair and blue eyes, a mini-me who might have matching heart scars to mine. Maybe we will both wind up with non-heart-shaped scars over our collective heart space. Maybe that would be cute and sweet and comforting.

This may be absolutely true and how constructive is this path? Creative output does heal – and is this something I really WANT to do with my time right now or is the idea comfort enough?

Maybe this twist in the bucket-list road would be better?

Last night I found myself lying in my bed in a cocoon of pillows like when I was in the hospital, valley fever no one knew I had, sepsis, organ failure, near death. Last night as I settled in the pillows helped it feel so much better than anything else has felt in a long time. It was cloud-like yet solid, so supported I wished I had someone there to read to me. A soothing voice to read from the novel I am reading or to read pages from the book of Julian of Norwich or perhaps even read about how to create supportive loving habits.

For now I don’t have anyone to do that but I do have the pillows. I can recreate soft holding support. Yes! Something I can actually do easily.

The end of the road leads to Ralph Waldo Emerson?

I am reminded of the message I meant to send today, the one inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

A curvy road is much like our concerns when we are facing the unknown. The quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."

Today, even after all I have spoken I can still say I am waking up to the thoughts of Ralph Waldo Emerson, he who wrote “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.”

You might be saying “This does not jive with what you wrote above this fold – you just said you aren’t familiar with the ‘not tragic’ and ‘I never wanted’ and ‘frightening’ how does this add up to “the best day in the year”?

Quite simple, actually.

I am alive. My heart is still beating. I am able to create as I want to create. I have clean water to drink. I have a future in the works. I smelled almond orchards in bloom last night. I walked this morning. I am writing now. I am able to say what I most want to say.

I am awake on this, the best day of my year so far. And tomorrow, I will live the best day of my year so far because I am choosing for that to be how and what it is.

What if every day was a bucket list celebration?

In the meantime, I will be thinking of some other word for “bucket list” because that is focused on death – kicking the bucket – and after two cancers, a couple valley fever episodes, sepsis, kidney failure – I am all about the living and loving and being with whatever is and choosing the best even when it looks like it completely sucks.

It isn’t about the lessons I am learning, it is about the breath I am breathing and the love I am knowing more deeply every single day.

Julie Jordan Scott is the Creator of the Radical Joy of Daily Consistency Course which helps people practice consistency and completion daily in order to experience a more incredible life experience. She also founded the free, private facebook community for writers and creative people at all levels of experience: the Word Love Writing Community. Join us!

Why It May Benefit You To Consider Tree Hugging Now

February 12, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife 6 Comments

Why Hug a Tree?

Remember when we used to be able to hug people without thinking about risking our health?

That’s one reason why hugging trees feels so good right now.

I remember in 2019 regularly attending First Friday, an event in Downtown Bakersfield on the First Friday of every month. Art galleries and businesses downtown would be open and artists would line the streets, performers would be out and “my people” would inevitably either be showing their wares or circulating or performing.

I was guaranteed to hug and be hugged, smile at others and smile back, sing and laugh and play and be silly and for now, anyway.

I don’t have that on the First Friday of every month right now.

What is available is plenty of trees to hug, even in cities.

Yes, what I do have is an abundance of trees to hug.

Trees are in parks, they line many streets and parking lots. They are in my yard and in the yards of friends I can wave to and talk to outdoors from a safe distance.

When I hug a tree, I focus on one thing: feeling and experiencing a hug. On any given day I may also focus on healing for myself,for the rest of the world, the specific tree I am hugging, the neighborhood.

Specific health benefits of tree hugging

When you are tired, you allow yourself to feel the reciprocity the tree offers, just like the reciprocity humans offer. It isn’t exactly the same AND it is powerful in its own right.
You may receive positive energy from the tree, enough of this energy to find myself giddy and laughing.
Cardiovascular health and even obstetrical outcomes are improved when we utilize parks, green spaces, and hugging the trees within as noted in this research from Pennsylvania scientists.

In observing the tree, you will also notice how the branches bend and stretch. These may ignite associations in you like they do for me in my business and my life.
The scents from the trees serve as an up close and personal aromatherapy. You can feel myself relaxing as youhug the tree. Stress relief comes.
Matthew Silverstone noted in his book, Blinded by Science, evidence confirming trees and their healthful benefits includes their effect on mental illnesses, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), concentration levels, reaction times, depression, and the ability to alleviate headaches.
“Nature Deficit Disorder is real! Families need nature in urban areas, reports the New York Times . Tree hugging creates a deep connection point for urban nature, especially during times of Covid.

What I have learned in 52 consecutive days of Tree Hugging:

Since I started hugging trees every day for more than 50 consecutive days, I have never walked away from a tree hugging experience and felt worse. I always felt better.

When I focus on what I can do: I am able to hug trees, even with the pandemic, rather than what I can’t do – I can’t responsibly hug people who aren’t in my household. After hugging a tree, I re-discover joy, I open to what is present in abundance, I tune into what feels better.

How to Hug a Tree Most Easily

There are infinite reasons to hug a tree. What is yours?

Empty Days & Mondays Never Get Me Down

February 9, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife 4 Comments

“I always forget how important the empty days are, how important it may be sometimes not to expect to produce anything, even a few lines in a journal.”

May Sarton

There was a time when I would agree wholeheartedly with May Sarton’s assertion – until I became a person who has been saved by streaks: creating something for consecutive days.

Are Streaks Crutches I Use, To Get Through a Tough Time?

Maybe in the future, I won’t feel compelled by the “crutch” of streaks, but right now in my current situation, streaks sustain me as much as air and water and friends who laugh with me not at me.

I sit with my fingers hovering above the keyboard wondering what to write next, wondering how vulnerable to allow myself to be.

I think of the power of writing for five minutes, free flow style, to allow the words to bring me wisdom rather than me attempting to point myself toward wisdom and bend the words to fit into the directions I am willing them into that particular shape.

So I am choosing to craft a prompt and check in and see what the words want to tell me.

Free Flow Writing Creates a Bridge Between Negative Associations and Truth

With the timer set for five minutes, I write:

The empty days are my friends, long and lean and not holding expectations beyond breath and light and opening my eyes to gaze about, without measure, without need simply because it feels good.

Empty days say “What would you most like to do today?”

Empty days say “Which clothes would feel the best today?”

Empty days say, “The only rules you must follow are the rules that bring you happiness and joy.”

So, Madame Empty Day (my pencil writes) if joy is permitted than I am also allowed to fill this day with – a jot or a line or a walk along the river to the place where there is graffiti under the bridge? It is ok for me to sit and listen and take photos and reach out to my friends to let them know I am connecting to them, even tat this difference, is that ok?

Empty days allow me to make choices, not be barred by rule-tenders.

Naturally, your higher self may ask you to consider deepening your query.

“Like I’ve been doing today?” I pause to ask Madame Empty Day, “Like I’ve been discerning if my choice was less than or my occasionally Anti-Karen-Karen-ness is a story that might not be completely empowering?”

She nodded and smiled, showing I was getting somewhere and moving beyond the first meanings I was making from the initial assessment alone.

That feels good. That feels right. That feels at peace.

I now know the battle is more likely between what I have made a streak mean (a job well done, consistently, is a help-mate and a partner in creativity) versus what if I fail? I can’t do this. This expectation is too high and I am bound to fall flat on my face and that would be another tale for another blogpost.

The Final Word on to Streak or Not to Streak is….

We make our own rules in the end. We are subject and sovereign, ruler and the one who is ruled. Consistency creates strength.

Choosing not to be consistent creates choosing not to be consistent. It isn’t bad on its own. For me, consistency also consistently leads to better.

When I am consistently facing in the direction of courageous action rather than fearful stagnant in action, things turn in the direction of courage and everything that goes with courage.

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Julie Jordan Scott is the Creator of the Radical Joy of Consistency Course which helps people practice consistency and completion daily in order to experience a more incredible life experience. She came to this conclusion after almost dying and coming back to true healing by writing 377 consecutive haiku… and a lot more along her way to building that streak! To find out more about this program, visit this link, here.

5 Simple Tips for Your Intentionally Wonderful Weekend

February 5, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife 5 Comments

A woman is sitting on a sofa, looking relaxed as she is intentionally creating a restorative weekend for herself.

Has it been a long week for you, too?

How to Intentionally Create a Weekend that Will Nurture a Better Next Week

I am sitting on Friday eve as I write this, thinking “please, God, I would love to have a better week next week than this week,” and while prayer is often the best medicine, prayer alone won’t do much if I am not actively collaborating with the Divine.

Before you let go of the Friday workday (or early Saturday morning) there are a few steps you may take to insure a fruitful, restful weekend to be a foundation for a marvelous week-to-come.

5 Do-Able Tips for Weekend Rest & Rejuvenation

Include mindful conversation with people outside your usual circle of companions and co-workers. Pay attention to listening without an agenda – simply listening because it is the foundation of good relationships of all kinds.
When possible, spend time outdoors – even if it is standing outside your front door for five minutes. No matter how cold, it will be invigorating. No matter how warm, you will activate your senses in a new way.
Move your body differently than you’ve done during the week. Take an extra five minutes for playfulness at the end of exercise. Have you wanted to try some new form of fitness? Try it, briefly, and see if it fits for you.
If you have been spending more than four hours watching television or movies, try reading a book instead. Try reading aloud to yourself to see how it changes the experience.
Leave adequate time for “should-free” planning. Look at the week ahead after exercising a bit more, mindfully conversing, re-connecting your senses and unplugging for a bit and notice what shows up differently. Express gratitude for what you have discovered and uncovered. Instead of lamenting the start of the new week, recognize what you would prefer to experience more of and set your plans and intentions accordingly.

This weekend, lay the foundation to start your week off with loving kindness for yourself.

Julie JordanScott enjoying time in nature during a mindful, intentional, wonderful weekend. — Sunday afternoon, in the park, restored by an intentionally wonderful weekend

Subtract Anxiety, Add Peace

February 4, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife 2 Comments

I wrote a poem today.

I wrote into my phone, in the driveway. It is perhaps more a “pre-poetry jot” then a full fledged poem.

It felt good to write no matter what “it” is.

A tall cottonwood behind a chain link fence at sunset. Title is "Learning from Transition Into Dusk. Staying Calm even when it isn't easy)

Last night I took a sunset walk at the Panorama Vista Preserve. I wanted to walk and I wanted to take photos like I used to, just for the joy, and I wanted to experience the transition from light to darkness.

It was during this walking time I wrote bits of a different poem in my head.

Experiencing natural transitions are soothing and make transitions I am experiencing with my health feel more normal as well. The transition from feeling healthy, full speed ahead to “something is going on but I cannot label it or know what’s next” uncomfortableness would very easily drive me into a higher level of anxiety – which isn’t good for my body and healing in any way.

I sat on a bench facing east during sunset, which is strange for me. Usually I stare at the sun as she moves out of sight, but I was enjoying watching birds fly as dusk settled. Birds whose names I don’t know who prefer low to the earth shrubs, a hawk cruising for a meal, and two loud ravens flew past. As the sun disappeared under the horizon, the burned dust smell of the Southern San Joaquin Valley rose once again making me wish I had an adequate way to capture it in words.

I’m still working on holding “scent of dust” or a better way to say it is I am waiting for the words to reveal themselves to me. Even better than that is the scent of dust is working on me rather than me working on it.

As I turned to leave the preserve I thought, “hmm. No rabbits are out yet.” In 2020, rabbits were a nearly constant companion on my walks here.

I also noted the gorgeousness of nightfall with a grand cottonwood tree, fenced into the yard beside the preserve.

It reminded me of my mass (tumor, growth). I can feel it, I can see it on the outside of my body, but I can’t get close enough to my own interior to know the impact it may have on my life.

I didn’t fall into worry or anxiety with these thoughts, I simply admired the cottonwood and with great self love, gave myself more moments of compassion. Stepping back into my car, I smiled softly.

As I drove toward home, a rabbit sat beside the road. She didn’t hop away, didn’t appear scared, she simply sat as I drove past as if to say “We’ve got this. No need to be afraid.”

I wrote to my primary care doctor and received a response. Today my personal challenge is to call the surgeon and check on the referral for the MRI. Keep the energy moving toward healing. Continue to assemble to the team with love rather than fear.

In my mind’s eye and deep in my heart, I will stand with the cottonwood in admiration without the need to get too close yet.

Cultivating Memories that Transform Your Life Experience

January 4, 2021 by jjscreativelifemidwife Leave a Comment

May this be a year for transformational memories:

What are transformational memories?

Memories tend to fall into several different categories: the mundane, the memories we want to forget, the bad memories that are burned into our psyche and the mountaintop memories – or big events we work to remember for later in great detail.

Transformational memories are those every day moments that make a lasting mark on who we were in the moment and who we are becoming, still.

Are transformational memories active gratitude, counting your blessings?

2020 may have many transformational memories for you that are certainly not mountaintop memories and they were mundane yet not. This is evidence of the “unprecedented times” we keep hearing about and experiencing again and again and again.

Now we have crossed the bridge to 2021 and although the calendar has changed, we are still facing many of the challenges from before. This series is to stay focused on what moves us forward.

Building a creative streak to practice successful completion

It is also an example of a small “streak” or container to hold a 31 Day Experiment in Counting My Blessings everyday that also is a method of completion practice.

I am a believer in practices like this because it gives you a daily completion, so you get practice in what it feels like to accomplish something simple to do and significant to do everyday. It is nothing short of magical.

Don’t believe it?
Try this for a week and tell me how you’re feeling.

Three cool things from today:

Samuel started the day shift at his job. No more graveyard. From now on he will work conventional hours and I won’t get to bring his lunch to his bedroom door by special delivery every day. That is a sadness I will just get over.
Katherine got a full-time church job! She will be the Solo Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Sussex, NJ. I told her today I look forward to the day I can travel again and see her in action in her congregation!
I created a bunch of content for the week to come, ahead of time. “Getting ahead” always makes me happy – now I simply need to get better at batching – working on one task theme for a set amount of time. For example. An hour of making graphics. An hour of writing copy, an hour of scrubbing the kitchen.

This process also helps me as a part of my evening writing practice, something I have wanted for a long time. As soon as I am done with this, I will do some writing in my notebook, some meditation and fall asleep.

The TV has been off for 30 minutes and YOU have held my sole focus. It simply feels good!

What are 3 Good Things from your day?

Are you ready to count your blessings? Let us know in the comments!

Julie Jordan Scott is the Creator of the One Small Shift Course which helps people practice consistency and completion daily in order to experience a more incredible life experience. She came to this conclusion after almost dying and coming back to true healing by writing 377 consecutive haiku… and a lot more along her way to building that streak! To find out more about this program, visit this link, here.

She has been a Life Purpose and Creativity Coach since 1999. She has taught workshops in college classrooms, hospitals, teleclasses and webinars with participants across the world.

Shift Happens: Compassion & Being Your Authentic Self

October 26, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 3 Comments

Hands in shape of a heart, showing the shift into compassion. Illustrates the power of authenticity and being real.

I overslept today. I feel like crap when I oversleep. I lecture myself, I think of all the ways I am bad and wrong and not worth the butt that I sit on, but something happened this morning to shift me from that harangue of self hate into a much better place.

I got up and set out on my original path, even though it was much later than I wanted it to be.

Seems natural, doesn’t it?

Eventually I got out of bed. I put my pants on one leg at a time – but what I decided to do that was different is I decided to not make myself quite as wrong for oversleeping. Instead I offered self compassion – eventually.

Self compassion, eventually?

It helped to text my friend Kelly and lament at myself a bit more before I got to compassion.

Nothing like public self-flagellation to complete the cycle.

One of the things Kelly said as I whined and kvetched about my lateness fired me up, perhaps in a way she hadn’t expected. She said “And at the same time you are being REAL.”

When being real & authentic is not a positive thing –

I’m raising my hand and being real when I say I believe sometimes people use the expression, “but I am being my authentic self” when they are making excuses or behaving in ways that aren’t acceptable – for example, using language that would make your grandmother’s skin crawl or being rude, arrogant, the opposite of compassionate or list your “but I am being my authentic self” shortcoming.

I can be my authentic self and stretch myself. I can be my authentic self and be uncomfortable. I can be my authentic self and be lonely.

I can also be my authentic self and do better than I have before. I can also be my authentic self and show compassion towards others AND myself.

I can be real and look amazing, I can be real and go out with unbrushed hair and an outfit that looks like I am on my way to a costume party portraying a very down-on-her-luck person.

Being Real isn’t always what it seems

This morning I didn’t do my usual amount of walking, but I am almost to the number of steps that was average at the end of the day in 2019. This makes me feel some sense of accomplishment.

I have made more progress at working my body than if I had stayed on the bed lamenting about how horrible of a person I am.

Both ways, I am being real, being true to myself. At the same time I have stumbled upon the conversation about how people have taken a well known adage, “Be real” and “Be authentic” and use them for their own shortcomings.

Let’s talk & write about being authentic and being real.

Is it wrong for a person to use “being real” and “being authentic” as a way to make themselves feel better for not doing something?

There are probably as many opinions on this as there are for styles of blue jeans. Remember, Levis’s are “authentic” and Coca-Cola has been called “The Real Thing.”

Now, it is your turn to write: Writing Prompts across genre

Journaling Prompt:

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

Brene Brown

Prompt: If I were to describe my true self, I would say…

“Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.” Coco Chanel

Prompt: When I think about being more real in hard times, what comes up is…

Copy Writer: Make a case for “Coca Cola” being “the Real Thing” or Levi’s jeans being “authentic”. Play with this fictitious copy as if it was for the most important client you’ve ever had. BONUS: write an article for your newsletter or blog using this writing as an example.

Social Media Post: Encourage people to be brave with their authenticity. Be a role model of courage in the post. Ask for input from your audience.

You can find more prompts from a wide array of purposes in the Word Love Writing Community on Facebook. Beyond prompts, there are people who want to see you succeed creatively – what could be better than that?

How would your writing productivity change if you received varied, niche driven writing prompts daily – also fiction, poetry, entrepreneur, copy writing and video prompts are offered, join the Private Word-Love Writing Community on Facebook by clicking here.

We look forward to writing with you!

Julie JordanScott lives in Bakersfield, California in a house too small for quarantine life. She leads discussions on Zoom and is polishing her most recent memoir and some poetry for soon-to-be publication. If you would like her to speak to your group over ZOOM until travel is available again, she would be happy to talk to you about that OR maybe you are looking for a slightly quirky, very open hearted, compassionate and tender Creative Life Coach. She would love to connect with you soon.

Expanding & Exploring Intuition to Increase Your Personal Effectiveness

October 20, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 2 Comments

I can’t remember when I discovered how intuitive I am. I may have been born with an intuitive gift AND I believe intuition is something I have practiced and stretched and grown over the years. I think having a non-verbal only thirteen-months-younger than me brother was extremely helpful in picking up clues from body language and the most tiny changes facial expressions. My empathy factor is also high, probably higher than most people.

That was just the start. Developing the intuition is like developing any skill set. It takes time, effort, commitment and there are times you will “get it” wrong – or not as right as you might like it to be.

For those of you who are intuitive, this exercise and the writing prompts will help you develop your abilities. Some of you who believe yourselves to be absolutely the opposite of intuitive, for today and today only I ask you to allow yourself to open your mind to consider growing your intuitive skills.

Judith Orloff, MD, Professor at UCLA said, “Highly developed intuition is a “secret weapon.” Learning to develop your intuition will make you better at your work, in your relationships and more.

Simple method to practice and develop your intuition now

Take note of hunches you receive. Write them in a note on your phone or in a small notebook. It is important to actually DO this instead of “just remembering.” Jack Canfield explains further “Your intuition might speak to you as a hunch, a thought, or in words. Your intuition may speak to you in physical sensations, such as goose bumps, discomfort in your gut, a feeling of relief, or a sour taste in your mouth.” You may take the notes you make in your phone or notebook one step further by dialoguing with the hunch. Do this by free-flow writing. Don’t plan what you are going to write, just ask the question of your hunch and allow your pencil to move. You might want to start with, “The nudge to call my former friend to talk about reconciling feels uncomfortable and I don’t like it but if I asked the wise old person who lives inside me what they might say is….
Take a specific time daily for quiet time by yourself with the specific intention to tune into your intuition. This may mean taking a 15 minute walk followed by a 5 minute journaling session. This may be meditating for 5 minutes. This may mean yoga followed by singing scales and listening between the notes for ideas.
Look for connections between seemingly disconnected objects in your surroundings to see what they want you to notice or “hear.” Try it now. Pick up three objects, put them in a row and start “riffing” aloud about them.

An example of how to process Intuition Exercise Results

These were the three objects I chose randomly from my environment:

Meyers Clean Day Cleaner; a coffee pot; the seagull reader (a poetry book I am using as a makeshift mouse pad.)

Possibility One: (First Flash insights using intuitive associations, without intellectual associations)

Be awake when I edit my poetry. (mindful and creative instead of seeing editing and revision of my writing as a chore to rush through)

YES!

This is spot on! Lately I have been writing much more which means I am spending more time in revision and editing. I tend to rush through revision and editing because my intellect thinks it isn’t as fun as the drafting process.

Possibility Two: Very practical – Remember to buy hand soap when I run errands later today. (This has to do with cleaning and other people – may not make sense to you but it does to me. And yes, I did remember!)

Possibility Three: For this response, I used both my intellect and my intuition and went deeper. The results are brilliant. I will make a note to myself to put this into action:

Take time to enjoy your morning practices. Allow the “chore” parts of your day be as soulful and inspiring as poetry.

How to discover and use your intuition exercise results:

Gather the items and look at them, loosely. In other words, don’t stare them down and shout “Speak to me, objects!” instead allow yourself to simply be curious.
What associations come up almost immediately? Write them down.
Go about your business and return to the objects later in the day or the next day. Now consider not with solely your intuition, look with your intellect as well. What associations or ideas pop up now?
Take note of anything resonant, especially if it has relevance in your ife right now or for a loved one.
Experiment with the intuitive hits (or messages) from your objects. Repeat as compelled. Remember to have fun with this!

Writing Prompts for further exploration

Social Media Posts: Use one of the intuition prompts offered in the journaling section as a caption to a post. Ask your audience what they think. When they respond, be curious rather than “provide expertise.”

Video Prompt: Do a livestream video about the topic of using intuition in your business. Prepare for this by writing about a time you used intuition in your business and what happened. You may even do the exercise I used above to develop intuition to practice live. (I have done this before – it is very fun!)

Lifestyle Bloggers: Ask your audience to share their stories of intuition with you. Interview one of them, Q and A style and feature it in your blog, Keep the conversation going to gain clarity about your readers in a different way so that you may continue to offer refreshing content.

Poets: Write a poem about a time when you followed your intuition and things did not turn out like you expected.

Copywriters: Freeflow headlines as outrageous as possible. Just start scribbling, even if they make no sense at all. Set them aside for at least a day or two. When you return, use your strongest editing skill – with an open mind – and see what gold nuggets appear.

Journaling Quotes & General Prompts:

“Intuition is seeing with the soul.”

Dean Koontz

Prompt: When I see with my soul, I notice…

“Don’t try to comprehend with your mind. Your minds are very limited. Use your intuition.”

Madeleine L’Engle

Prompt: My intellect likes to take me down a path of…. and my intuition seems to take me down a path of……. and I wonder what would happen if I….

“Insight is not a lightbulb that goes off inside our heads. It is a flickering candle that can easily be snuffed out.”

Malcolm Gladwell

Prompt: If I started to allow myself to trust my insights more….

For Daily prompts & a flourishing writing community – look here:

We look forward to writing with you!

She would love to connect with you soon.

Sunday Story: Warrior II spoke to an Unlikely Warrior, too

October 11, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 4 Comments

Two women are doing the Warrior 2 pose and the Creative Life Midwife has challenges with using "Warrior" or violent words in her writing. This image illustrates her resistance and her willingness to write.

This morning I spent time in the Warrior II Yoga pose. A writing friend suggested it as a “writing invocation” of sorts.

It is a familiar pose and as I have been doing more yoga lately I thought, “Fine, I will try it. Maybe it will strengthen my writing practice.”

I wasn’t immediately convinced.

I resist words that have violence attached, so today, when called upon pose and write “warrior” I felt my way into the meanings ascribed and what a warrior does and feels and is.

I did my best to set my intellect aside.

I have been a protector since my brother was born. I’ve been constantly on high alert, a watchman, a guardian. I have been ready to take on whatever might appear and cause harm. Those skills, those labels are all duties of a warrior.

I have been mastering these skills since Toddler-hood.

I have been mastering these skills since Toddler-hood as my brother was born when I was a mere thirteen months old. I didn’t walk then nor did I have language to translate what I was watching and witnessing.He had down’s syndrome so he was vulnerable. He needed my caretaking. He needed me to protect him, the little Julie believed. We had a telepathic means of communication – partially body language, partially facial expressions, partially spiritual connection.I didn’t question this task, I fulfilled this position with a sense of honor and duty. When he died, my spirit tried to follow him. Once again, the paradox of acting and living as a warrior, too, has repeated in different live circumstances.

I remember when I was helping Estelle, an immigrant who was granted asylum to live in the United States. My task was to get on the plane to Massachusetts to resume her life with her family. After a treacherous long journey from Cameroon to the Unites States she found herself in detention until her asylum case was heard. I visited while she was detained and stood alongside her for weeks. She won her case and all that stood between her and her family was ICE. And Homeland security. And rules about flying without ID, which was taken when she reached the American border and not returned by ICE.

I had spoken at length with the local ICE officers. They had come to know me as a collaborator – as I knew, strategically, being an adversary was not in my loved ones best interest. This was acting as a wise warrior.

This is the same thing I did for my son, Samuel, when I advocated for his education. I entered the “club” by volunteering for the school district, joining committees, contributing, becoming known as a “team player” and an ever ready and helpful resource. This is being a mindful, strategic warrior.

When I waited with Estelle at the airport, the TSA Homeland Security man waved me away. I could not speak for Eunice, she must speak for herself. I paced, I called “my” ICE officer and was sure Mr. TSA Homeland Security man KNEW I was speaking to an ICE officer. It felt like I was in negotiations on the battle field. The risk was great and my mind and heart were intensely focused.

It was scary. My heart was in my throat as I watched the conversation between this young woman I had come to love as a daughter and a representative of TSA/Homeland Security. He went behind a closed door and spoke with someone on the phone, perhaps in Washington, DC. I had researched how this process worked and knew each decision was made both on a local and a centralized level.

What felt like an eternity later, Mr. TSA/Homeland Security came to me and said, still shaking his head no, “We are going to let her get on the flight,” my knees weakened and gratitude flowed from every pore. She got on the flight. She would reach her family. This effervescent young woman who had faced danger for most of her life was about to face her new life.

I was a warrior in those moments and I am a warrior now, though less dramatic. This final example may seem pretty far out, but please keep listening.

Just yesterday I hiked to a spot alongside the river and sat underneath a sycamore tree. I could hear loud children playing nearby like I was once a loud child. I enjoyed their voices.

I watched leaves falling, gently and felt my skin touching the earth. It felt heavenly in every sense. The thing is, I didn’t think I would be able to sit on the ground because I didn’t know if I could get back up. The sycamore tree and I decided to partner on this.

Woman's legs and shoes on the ground in front of a river. It is the writer of the blog, the Creative Life Midwife, practicing how to be a Warrior.

She was strong enough to help me and I so wanted to spend time there with her. This might seem slightly odd, but please keep listening.

A year ago to the day I was in the hospital. I didn’t know it, but Sepsis was about to enter my body and attempt to shut me down. Sitting under that Sycamore tree yesterday was a sort of meditative victory dance.

When I rose back up the tree – I was able to walk up” the tree with my hands and pull with my arms while my weaker knees straightened and I pushed with my thighs to stand straight and keep moving forward. When I went back out on the trail, I became a warrior again. Not someone who fights to kill other people, but a warrior to do the right thing. To be a stand for courage and healing and model vulnerability and love and hope.

I am a warrior, too. How are you a warrior?

Warrior, too prompts are available to the members of a private facebook group in the Word-Love Writing Community. The image showing women in community doing the Yoga Warrior 2 pose illustrates this.

I created some specific writing prompts for the private Word-Love Writing Community. I will share a few here. Every day through the end of 2020 we are sharing niche-based writing prompts based on the same theme. Today’s were especially fun for me to write – and challenging.

Social Media Posts Prompt: Share a photo of yourself in a Yoga Pose. Write about being the embodiment of the pose. Ask questions of your followers regarding what pose they embody. (See also lifestyle blogger prompt below)

Lifestyle Bloggers: Write your thoughts about Yoga. Try Top 5 Yoga poses for _________ (your niche/specialty).

Memoir/Life Writers: Do any of your characters feel like they embody a warrior archetype? How do you make that character more real, less cartoonish?

To receive varied, niche driven writing prompts daily – also fiction, poetry, entrepreneur, copy writing and video prompts are offered, join the Private Word-Love Writing Community on Facebook by clicking here.

Things That Weren’t on My Bucket List that I May Now Add and Cross Off: Part 1

October 5, 2020 by jjscreativelifemidwife 5 Comments

Years ago I attended a conference where I heard Mark Victor Hansen of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” speak. He told us all to make a list of 100 Life Goals. I dutifully made a list. It wasn’t called a Bucket List then because the movie hadn’t been made yet.

This particular item was not on my list of 100 Goals.

I wasn’t expecting it to happen. I don’t know how I could have possibly planned for it.

I was mad, after all, very mad. Angry because the business, the service department where I had purchased my car, obviously didn’t care about its customers, how dare they endanger me. How dare they?

The gentleman told me the usual company line, “We can’t enforce, we can only request.”

I continued pacing and waited as he turned over the paperwork.

Look, this isn’t a joke. This is real.” I said.

“I don’t want to be person #220,000 or whatever the count is now. I’m high risk, I hardly go into any businesses for exactly this reason.”

He nodded and told me I could wait in the indoor waiting room – inside the stuffy, no-air-circulating temporary building or I could wait outside.

I motioned for the outdoor waiting area and added, “And I want to know where I can go next time to get my car serviced. I don’t want to come back here, to this place where people don’t take this seriously.”

I chose to wait outside, even with the temperature in the 90’s

and less than optimal air quality. At least I wasn’t risking my life in the short run. I wrote and I read. I calmed down.

I received a text message informing me I would get another text when my car service was complete and to text my service writer if I had any questions. The message was pleasant enough. I kept my head down and focused on anything but the sweat on my forehead.

The next time I looked up, I thought I saw my car parked and ready to go. I pulled out my phone and texted my service writer, “Is my car finished? I feel foolish because I don’t recognize it yet.” and added a smiley face.

“Yes,” texted the service writer. “I am just finishing the paper work,”

When he approached, he gave me a very thorough report on my car, like a pediatrician would give to a nervous mother. He added, “I also talked to my co-worker about what he did.” I nodded, trying not to be bitter. “He said he was hot…” and I shook my head and probably rolled my eyes.

“And…” he continued, “I wanted to let you know I take this very seriously.

“I take this seriously because… because I lost my brother.”

I looked across the table at him and heard a sound emanate from deep within my gut. “You lost your brother?” I asked, as if I hadn’t heard. “To covid?” His watering eyes and nodding head were met with my disbelief, including the ancient, universal language moan in disbelief. “Oh my God, I am so sorry I am so sorry.” I said as I cried.

We sat outside the service department as if we were in a bubble. I was sobbing, not worried about anyone hearing me say over and over again, “Oh my God, I am so sorry, I am so sorry.”

We had further conversation for only a few moments that felt like an eternity before he got up and went back to work.

He got up and went back to work.

I stayed in the same space, rocking slightly, like I would if I was comforting a baby, continuing to grieve for someone I never knew.

I eventually got up and started driving toward home, but I pulled over to sit, just sit. I received a text. “Thank you for the conversation.”

I cannot say I know why I am put into such situations though I will say I am grateful I was able to give someone space to speak and be heard.

What a risk he took to speak to me.

I am so grateful he took that risk. “I take this very seriously,” he said.

In those moments we became more than service writer to customer, we became fellow members of the human community. We became a place for sacred listening, a family of two.

Space was held for caring and empathy and grief.

My life will never be the same.

Julie JordanScott, the Creative Life Midwife, is a writer, a poet performer, a Creativity Coach, A Social Media Whiz and a Mother of three. One of her greatest joys include loving people into their greatness they just aren’t quite able to realize yet.

Julie is also the Creative Director of the Word Love Writing Community. Join us now to invigorate your writing – no matter what it is you are writing – social media posts, journaling, fiction, memoir – there will be prompts and other people there to support you. Right now, we are finishing out 2020 with 100 Days of Wonderful Words. We look forward to seeing you there.