Creative Life Midwife

Inspiring Artistic Rebirth

Your Team is Assembling: Welcome Them to Your Infinite Game

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I may look like I am sitting in my living room in Bakersfield, but I am truly I looking down at my feet as I walk down Carteret Street in Glen Ridge, New Jersey in 1972 0r 1973 with my siblings and my father. We are on the way to the park to play softball.

The dread filled my body from the soles of my navy blue canvas sneakered feet to my chest because I knew in moments we were going to become teams with winners and losers and my little ten-or-eleven-year-old self couldn’t deal with the thought of once again being the weakest link and the cause of my teammates losing simply because they were cursed to have me on the team.

My optimistic little self was worried about being the cause of “my team’s loss” due to my ineptitude.

“Can we play with no teams, no winners, no losers, no scoring game?” little optimistic Julie asked hopefully?

I not only heard the gasp and the laughter, I can feel the inevitable rise of red from my chest to my face in my nearly five decades later body. 

The ridiculousness of this assertion was quoted back to me for years. “No points, no winners, no losers” would be enough to make my siblings laugh for years. 

Today, I am reading “The Practice: Shipping Creative Work” by Seth Godin. 

In this book he talks about Simon Sinek, James Carse and “The Infinite Game.”

Two quotes stand out. “Play to keep playing,” is directly from Seth Godin. He is standing in the infinite game which isn’t about the winner’s triumph over the loser. Winner and loser doesn’t compute.

A second quote echoes what I had said so many years ago:

“The infinite game has no winners or losers, no clock or scoreboard. It is simply a chance to trust ourselves enough to participate.”

I remember walking back toward Hawthorne Avenue after the game ended. My little, optimistic self had indeed lived up to my self fulfilling prophecy of the weakest link on whatever team was stuck with me. My head was down, looking at my sneakers again as I fought tears. 

Little did I know there were people who are on the team, like me, who I had no idea existed. 

Listen as these bits and pieces of life experience from 2021 weave together in a cosmic time warp that makes perfect sense.

Recently I heard Quilen Blackwell on Simon Sinek’s podcast, “A Bit of Optimism” In the midst of conversation Quilen said,  “Life is not a solo sport.” He had been telling his story of showing up and trusting the way would find him, complete with collaborators who would offer solutions he might not have considered.

Simon walked him back saying, “I think you may have offered the best definition of faith I’ve ever heard: you’re on a team and you don’t know who is on your team.”

Often we don’t know who our teammates are until we step up to receive our assignment – whether that day it is hugging a tree or going for an MRI or teaching your first webinar or starting a business that seems completely wacky to the rest of the world.

My teammates are my collaborative partners in this wild adventure I call my life in all its ups and downs, dark corners and crevices.

I would say our teammates even appreciate and value us just because we’re collaborating in this infinite game of life we all dedicate ourselves to continue to play. They don’t mind the cracks, dark corners and crevices because they are smart enough to know they have their own, too.

These people who make up our infinite game team.  This is why I keep showing up both out in the “real world” 2021 style or here, on the page with you.

I’ve had bits and pieces of this written since the middle of last week, before I listened to the “A bit of optimism” podcast, proving more teammates will show up precisely when you are at your most needy.

I sat back in my chair just now to feel the mass growing in my chest. It is larger than it was when I had my CT Scan. It will probably be larger when I have the MRI that is scheduled for 2 weeks and 6 days from now. My team is assembling. 

I am choosing to show up and trust, every day, over and over again.

You who are reading are on my team now. I welcome you.

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.

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Worry or Mindfulness: where do you stand?

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I have a history of fear and worry, but in the past few years I have changed into a more mindful, trusting person. Today in my “Good things” assessment, my productivity is thanks to this more mindful me.

For those of you who don’t know, I currently house sit for a friend who primarily lives in the Bay Area. So what that means is my nights are spent away from my house. In the morning, sometimes I am in a rush to get out of here.

I love being here, but there are times when I am discombobulated and in a rush, even though this is where I do much of my grounding and launch my day in a forward direction.

This home is where mindful spiritual practices happen, day in and day out.

Today my daughter Emma asked me for a favor that requited my wallet. I could not say yes because I didn’t have my wallet. I suspected I left it in the home where I house sit, not the house where I spend my day.

What I knew was my wallet was missing, but I couldn’t give my energy to worrying about it – I had important work to get done!  Lives to impact for the greatest good. There was no way I would sacrifice the bigger benefit to fear and worry. If it had been stolen, it had been stolen. If it was safe, it was safe. I couldn’t control the facts, I could control my upset about whether I knew or not.

Bottom Line: Why Worry about Something You Can’t Control?

So I kick off my Good Thing list is….

  1. My wallet was on the bedside table at the house where I am house sitting! I was thrilled I bought a pair of shoes on-line this morning and inadvertently left my wallet here. It is now safely tucked away and there will be no shopping tomorrow.
  2. I am completely enjoying “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett. I want to continue my goal of finishing a book a week AND I have so many great titles in my TBR (to be read) pile… I must be focused and disciplined and most importantly, enjoy the process.
  3. I had a fun, festive gathering with the women in the Coffee and Conversations group. Once again, I happily herded cats – and laughed and learned and connected deeply. 

BONUS! A fantastic phone call with my daughter, Katherine. I am so proud of her and so happy to report new position as the Solo Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Sussex, NJ. I miss being close geographically to her, but I love being close to her emotionally.

Tell me: Do you usually worry or do you mindfully trust?

I have to ask, though – if your wallet was AWOL, would you have interrupted your work flow to chase it down, where you were pretty sure it was safely waiting for you?

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.

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Cultivating Memories that Transform Your Life Experience

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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!
  3. 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.

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3 Good Things Daily in January: 1 January 2020

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My friend Ghia taught me the importance of sharing 3 Good Things at the end of every day. At least until the end of January, I am borrowing her practice.

Here are the 3 Good Things for January 1, 2020

the sun shines over the Kern Canyon wall. This could easily have been one of the 3 good things.
  1. Gave Samuel a waffle batter making lesson. I didn’t realize until I talked through it the variety of nuances there are in putting together a simple recipe. Samuel is very invested in making waffles: he gave our family a fancy waffle maker for Christmas and he also gave his sister and her husband a waffle maker. Next week we’re going to make waffle batter from scratch so he can decide which he prefers. Included in next week’s lesson is talking about a well stocked pantry.
  2. Got over being very cranky this afternoon. I got upset and couldn’t find my way out of it. I was transparent and honest in my sharing rather than covering it up. That felt really good.
  3. I made videos while visiting Kern Canyon today. I was convinced they were messed up but guess what? They’re quirky and perfect but they are definitely not messed up. 

What 3 good things happened in your life today?

Julie Jordan Scott is the Creator of the One Small Shift Course which helps people practice consistency and completion daily. 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.

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Expanding & Exploring Intuition to Increase Your Personal Effectiveness

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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

  1. 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….
  2. 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. 
  3. 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:

  1. 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.
  2. What associations come up almost immediately? Write them down.
  3. 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?
  4. Take note of anything resonant, especially if it has relevance in your ife right now or for a loved one.
  5. Experiment with the intuitive hits (or messages) from your objects. Repeat as compelled. Remember to have fun with this!

Writing Prompts for further exploration

Writing Prompts for Intuition to use in writing and across social media and in business. Profile of a woman with galactic hair - showing a sixth sense of sorts. To access more prompts, visit the Word Love Writing Community

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:

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. Call or text her at 661.444.2735 to schedule an exploratory session.

She would love to connect with you soon.

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Let’s Explore Trust: How to Grow in Trust Every Day

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A sunrise photo with flowers and the title "Growing in Trust, one day at a time."

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I don’t know how to start talking about trust. How can I talk about something I know so little about, if I am completely honest?

At the root or core of my life experience, no single person has been 100% trustworthy. I have not been able to trust myself. While I trust God in the long run, it seems unreasonable to trust God in some of this day-to-day when so many horrific things take place day after-day-after-day. (please note, this is not written to be a theological discussion and in fact, this is an exercise in vulnerability which I believe God appreciates.)

Perhaps this is why I have been so focused on writing haiku for the last two hundred plus days. I can trust one simple action – and now, since July 2, I have been “writing sunrise haiku” because I trust the sun to rise, each and every day.

I can trust that.

I can look up the time of day it will move above the horizon and every day – whether the clouds cover it or it is clear as a whistle, the light comes.

This I trust.

Light through a tree at sunrise with the Maya Angelou quote, "Have enough courage to trust love one more time and always one more time."

I have trusted myself to scribble seventeen syllables each morning as well: not because my boss told me if I didn’t I would be in trouble. I wrote haiku because I thought it would be fun, not because a doctor told me to do so. I contemplated at least one present moment every day because I knew it was good for my spirit and maybe even for the spirit of others – not because of any oath or promise or contract other than the one I made with myself.

For the last 206 days I have proven to myself in this one instance I am trustworthy.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe reminded me this morning, “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”

This morning I shared my sunrise photo and haiku on my facebook page in the same way I have been doing for all these days. Within the first moments, people were enjoying it – and receiving peace simply by looking at the photo and reading the words.

I am slowly gaining trust in myself again and my actions are in alignment with this trust.

When we are open to explore and be authentic with our responses to questions such as these, we will grow in ways unmeasurable. Yes, we will truly know what it is to live.

Note: This essay began as a free-flow writing exercise and as a result has had minimal editing. Sometimes trusting the raw word-flow is what is most important.

Woman writing on the front porch of a brick home,
Write wherever you find yourself.

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 one of the Founders of Bridge to the New Year. Join us now in 2020 in #Refresh2020 to reflect, connect, intend and taking passionate action to create a truly remarkable rest of 2020. Click the graphic below to join the Private Facebook Group to join the conversation!

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Top 10 Self-Care Resources in the Times of Covid19

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A cherry blossom adorns the announcement of an important essay: Top 10 Self Care Resources to help you during Pandemic Times.

Many of us are equally frustrated with hearing terms like “these uncertain times” and also realize – these are not the days of standard operating procedures for most of us.

Self-Care and Personal Wellness are more important now than ever before. Please take a moment to peruse these link. Bookmark this page return when you or someone else you love may find them beneficial. 

  1. CDC Guidance for Stress during the time of Covid19. Includes a lot of links to a lot of places one may get help. Good for reference if not for you, for others.

2. Mental health suggestions from the Mayo Clinic:

3. Brene Brown on Mental Wellness During Covid !9

4. Mental Health – advice from a Psychiatrist on a 60 Minutes Ask Me Anything Episode

5. Especially for Parents:

Self-Care in the Time of Coronavirus

6. Podcasts you may enjoy:

14 Podcasts for Social Distancing from Home Cooking to Homeschooling

Note: there is a podcast meant for upper elementary kids I want to start listening to PLUS a podcast hosted by the writer and co-star of the movie “The Big Sick.”

Writing/Creativity Podcasts:

Rachel Zucker’s independent Commonplace Podcast: In their global role call series they speak with previous guests and listeners to see how people were faring. I appreciated hearing there were others who were struggling to write… and moods were all over the place. The back episodes are great, too.

Tin House Live: Between the Lines

7. Meditations:

The Loving Kindness Meditation: 

A video will guide you through the Loving Kindness Meditation:

Tonglen Meditation:

Pema Chodron opens with “This is how to do Tonglen for a world that is falling apart.”


This is a 4 minute YouTube Video:

Yoga Nidra Meditation:

What I love about Yoga Nidra is the intention setting and the deep relaxation. Some of the videos I found were very legalistic, others less so. You may search on YouTube to find one that suits you. I also listed one for reference.

This first link shares information about the practice itself.

Information about Cord Cutting Meditation (for letting go, especially at sleep)

YouTube Video:

8 Beginning Yoga

This link includes videos for people just starting out with Yoga.

9 Places to Learn online for Free:

Coursera: I took two courses here. Both were good!

Khan Academy: I attempted to take an algebra course here. It was hard. I might get the courage to try again. I really would love to fall in love with math!

10. Anti-Racism and Racism Awareness:

Anti-Asian Racism in the Time of Covid19:

:

 From Self Magazine

Anti Racism Resources from the University of Dayton

Anti Racism Guides for Self Care from Harvard

Guidelines for being strong white allies:

This is a time different from any other we have experienced. Please take good care of yourself. The world needs you, just for being you.

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 one of the Founders of Bridge to the New Year. Join us now in 2020 in #Refresh2020 to reflect, connect, intend and taking passionate action to create a truly remarkable rest of 2020. Click the graphic below to join the Private Facebook Group to join the conversation!

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Discover More than A Title Can Hold: Poetry & Writing Meditation

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Morning writing time: coffee is beside me, a timer is set. All my metaphorical cards are on the table beside a quote, a line of poetry. “It is so near to the heart, an eternal pasture,” from poet, Robert Duncan.

I’ve allotted five minutes to write meditatively so I write. I write free-flow style, not thinking or editing, just allow whatever wants to be heard to be heard without judgment.

The words come from my keyboard and a memory pops up, quite happily and next, a painful memory right on its heels. “What are you thinking, having a good memory? Who do you think you are? You know you aren’t worthy of good memories or happy times or God forbid, nice things! Get off your high horse!”

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Who is running the show here? Is it the smart, funny, woman labeled as brave and capable leader by quite a few people? Is it instead this nasty alternative voice roaming about her head, roping up her truthful, constructive, happy thoughts in attempt to put them in thought quarantine?

My eyes look up and catch a typo. “Heals” in place of “heels” which is precisely what I decided today as I drove home from my daily haiku discovery time.

“That’s it!” I had declared earlier, as I drove home. “I am done with being mean and belittling to myself. It is poison!” Thoughts begin the healing. Actions are the glue which keep the healing together as they begin to build a foundation.

Writing and meditation: Breathe in: you are allowed to be all the goodness and light that is you. Breathe out, More goodness and light for all, please.`

It is so near to the heart, this healing, this lying down and resting time, this peace, this pleasantness, this receiving of grace.

I look up from the keyboard and watch a man walk by my house in a grey and red track suit. It is cold outside today – unusual in Bakersfield at this time of year. I see my sprinkler water, feeding the hungry soil. Another typo – feeding the hungry soul.

Soil and soul, only one letter different.

Today I am being aware of openings, alert to spaces as they speak to me. I am inviting synchronicity and light to tap me on my shoulder or draw me close in a hug, whispering “Look, over here,” as has happened several times today.

I invite you to do the same.

Look at the typos I’ve written as evidence. I wrote heals instead of heels, like high heals on a shoe or heals as in the back of my foot.

I wrote soul as in my interior self versus soil, the place where plants grow.

Truthful, constructive, capable, happy is who I am. God (in whatever name you prefer: nature, love, universe, divinity, creator) is definitely not forbidding me from anything good or right or holy or me being exactly me.

Now – as in the present place I am in, is forever my eternal pasture, near to my heart, when I engage with it like I am this morning.

Does that make sense? Would it be helpful to say more?

Let’s say what I just said, slightly differently.

I invite you to do the same.

Truthful, constructive, capable, happy is who I am. God (in whatever name you prefer: nature, love, universe, divinity, creator) is definitely not forbidding me from anything good or right or holy or me being exactly me, as you are allowed to be all the goodness and light that is you.

You are allowed to be all the goodness and light that is you.

Today's poetry meditation line comes from Robert Duncan's "Often I am Permitted to Return to a Meadow". The line I chose specifically is "It is so near the heart, an eternal pasture." and the view is wildflowers in a pasture, absolutely gorgeous.

I’ll dip back into meditation for a bit – and trust you are choosing not to listen to any nasty, alternative voices and are instead replacing it with the capable, strong, courageous person you know yourself capable of being and becoming, starting here and now.

Coffee cups and flowers with the message "You are invited. Coffee and intentional conversation resumes May 25, 2020. We meet on Zoom at 1:30 PM Pacific time Monday through Saturday in order to keep one another company during this uncertain time and together we build meaningful community."

Before we go – next week I will continue the Monday through Saturday Coffee, Tea & Intentional Conversation Time at 1:30 to 2:30 Pacific time via Zoom. We started when the Sheltering in Place orders started and will continue at least until June 15. You may join us once or as many times as you like. For more information and to register (this is how you get the log in details) visit here. There is no charge, though you will receive emails from me.

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“I wake to listen” – How to Use Poetry to Meditate (Even if you don’t think you’re “good” at either)

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In May, we are blending poetry and meditation to create, make and activate a more mindful, art-rich life. Welcome to that experience.

May is National Meditation Month. Field of Lavender and purple reflect the poetic nature of meditation we are using here in May. Welcome back or welcome for the first time!

Many of you have said, “Meditation and poetry – I am not good at either. And you use writing as meditation? Forget it. I can’t”

Stick around for a couple days so we may wash out those thoughts. 

Here’s how this process goes for me – I invite you to try it this way and feel welcome to make modifications so it may work for you.

Whenever I read Plath, (link to the poem we meditated on today, Morning Song) I hear and feel a hush which may be why this line of her poem attracted me. This poem, “Morning Song” is about mothering a baby. Have you parented a baby?

I remember thinking when I had my son that I couldn’t have a boy. I didn’t know how to mother boys. It took me six weeks to actually agree this relationship as mom-to-boy would work and while it may still be rocky – he is an adolescent now – I know I wouldn’t trade the process for anything.

I invite you to think from your “beginner’s mind” place like I did as a new mom – with an open heart and without leaping inot judgment (like I find myself leaping more times than I would care to admit.) 

Many of you have said, “Meditation and poetry – I am not good at either. And you use writing as meditation? Forget it. I can’t”

Stick around for a couple days so we may wash out those thoughts. 

Here’s how this process goes for me – I invite you to try it this way and feel welcome to make modifications so it may work for you.

a lavender field at sunrise allows us to embrace and accept we may not be good at poetry or meditation now,. we may allow ourselves to come as a complete beginner to both. The sunrise is a metaphor for the new beginnings you may experience when you come from the beginners mindset.

1. First I read the poem to myself several times and choose one line or phrase as a centering line. On my live-streams I ask viewers to choose a line also and direct them to the Poetry Foundation website for the poems I read. All are published there and are easily accessible – which for some people makes it easier to choose a meaningful meditation line.

2. Deep breathe and sit quietly with the poem, sometimes briefly and sometimes – like this time, I meditated before sleep and  as I fell off to sleep. 

3. The next step has differed when I do it, but write for at least 5 minutes, free flow style, stream of consciousness. Sometimes before the live-streams though more often after. Sometimes I write the centering phrase over and over again. What I find it when I trust the process and breathe deeply as I write, other words begin to pop in – you may scoff at this and I invite you to try it.

4. Livestream first on Periscope, often a rougher version – but I enjoy picking up the twitter audience.I will share the livestream from Twitter so you may see it here as well.  I pin the poetry/meditation streams daily with a link to the poem and the graphic (whenever I create it), often afterwards. Livestream second on Instagram  live. Usually a smaller audience but often more engaged in the poem itself. 

5. Sometimes I post here, in my Creative Life Midwife blog – once I even created a second series based on what I wrote during my meditative writing and it blasted more helpful content. Whether or not I post elsewhere, I follow up with discovering the next poem. 

In this case I’ve planned ahead and will next read Kim Adonizzio.

If you have a favorite poem or poet you would like to suggest please do so in the comments. .

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Revisit Your Opinions: Is Your Shadow the Enemy?

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A view of the beach at sunset time frames the quote "There is no light without shadow. Light without shadow, just as there is no happiness without pain." from Isabelle Allende. This begins the article about writing as meditation.

Before you begin to exhale your knowledge about different teacher’s concepts of “The Shadow” or “Shadow Sides” or anything with Shadow in its title that a wise person once said, remember back to childhood.

barefoot child at play in the playground, enjoying his shadow. Children don't see the shadow as a bad thing, but as a good thing.

Remember the wonder of your shadow. I remember my son laughing in delight on the playground, watching his shadow follow his silent command. Where his feet went, his shadow feet went.

This weekend I took a photo and I realized my shadow had the capacity of being a character in the photo that gave it an entirely deeper meaning as object being witnessed.

What would happen if you chose to return to pure enjoyment, without your intellect rushing in to explain?

What if you simply took time to enjoy your shadow?

One of the voice in my head hangovers I have heard since perhaps the moment I was conceived is “Whatever you do, don’t get “it” wrong.” It could be whatever I hold the dearest in that particular moment.

“Don’t fail” and “don’t fail’s” sibling ‘don’t try because if you try and fail…..’ and…. what?

I solved this conundrum in adulthood by holding a tiny bird in the center of my palm saying “There is no right, there is no wrong, there is simply ______” Most of the time I say writing.

I could put almost anything as that final word.

“You can’t get this wrong,” I remember telling my friend Josh when we were cooking dinner together. “It is impossible. With this, there are no wrongs, there are only different version of right.”

Samuel is still angry with me about what ‘could have been’ if I had been braver and allowed him to possibly experience failure.

He is possibly and perhaps probably right and perhaps probably wrong and we will never know.

I recently asked myself, “Would you do it over again?” and I said, “Yes, I would do it over again braver, taking more risks and not allowing fear to overshadow the light within me.”

In fact, I wish I could.

I wish I could get taken up into a science fiction life, step into a different dimension and come out with a who-knows-how different ending.

What I can do today, even without the science fiction ending, is to change my responses that might have swung into fears and whispered long-standing warning shouts of “don’t get it wrong!” today and tomorrow and tomorrow’s tomorrow?

Take some time to create from this question. Don’t rush or push or make it into “I have to do this,” write to it because it feels good to do so.

This writing was borne from Meditation Month of Blending Poetry and Meditation. I meditated on the quote in the graphic from Ursula Le Guin’s poem “Leaves” and this morning, 24 hours later, wrote this brief essay in one “writing as a meditation” swoop.

The poem "Leaves" by Ursula K. Le Guin shares this line, "Might as well say I am the shadow," which I used to center my meditative practice yesterday. The tree is the mulberry in my front yard, where I livestreamed on Instagram Live and Periscope.

Julie JordanScott has been writing since before she was literate by dictating her thoughts to her mother and then copying in thick crayons onto construction paper. She was a pioneer in epublishing and continues to reach readers through her blog, bestselling books, greeting cards and her essays and poems in anthologies. Join her for #5for5BrainDump beginning August 10- to experience the freedom of writing in an online setting. Join the Facebook Group Word-Love Writing Community to meet other writers and explore writing more deeply.

She also hosts or writing circles and a writing for social media program.

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