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Receptive Nature of Flow

Find Flow By Being Receptive to Intuition

Learning receptive writing practices can naturally lead to flow. Experimenting with a form of lectio divina, or divine reading, can help build an appreciation for the weight and power of words. The ancient art form is gleaned from holy scriptures or writings by saints. Let’s take that practice for the month of November, and give it a modern twist. All words are sacred utterances. The use of common words as transmitters of inspiration is a way to play along with divinely lead inspiration.

Where to Begin

Two days before I began this take on the Grow Your Flow blog, I took the practice for a test drive. I used my mother-in-law’s Random House  Dictionary of American Language and opened it randomly with eyes closed. I placed my fingertip on one of the pages. It landed on the word, supple. The idea of being pliant and yielding appealed to me. Don’t break or snap. Remain supple. That was the message that came to me as I wrote in my journal. Also, supple has the prefix sup- in it that sounded like street talk from my former high school students: Sup, Ms. M.? The prefix reminded me of other words that begin with those letters like support, suppose, and supersede.

Then, yesterday, I tried the practice again. Opened the book with eyes closed, and placed my finger on – nothing. As I opened my eyes I saw an empty half-page of the words beginning with E. I chuckled to myself. It was Halloween and that word and its spiritual denotations and connotations needed no embellishment. It stood solidly all on it’s own. It shimmers on its own, seemed to be the message.

Fast-forward to this morning in the pre-dawn hours when I again went to the dictionary for guidance. Receptivity was were my finger landed. The message seemed very clear to me: Are you ready to follow? Yes, I am willing to quickly receive knowledge and ideas. I am willing to have a receptive mind.

What to Observe Along the Way

November is associated with gratitude and the holiday of Thanksgiving. It has been overshadowed by the commercial overthrow of the Christmas season, but still exists on the fourth Thursday each year. I am receptive to being grateful for this new practice. I am curious to find out what messages will come up with each word every day. I will be sharing the word and its message with you in the Grow Your Flow blog.

Your Turn

Might you want to try you hand – yes, the pun is intended – at this practice? Give it a go and let me know how it works for you. The gratitude that exudes from this practice is palpable. Words carry weight and power. Seek to find the words you need to guide your creativity to the next level.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

 

 

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Travel Golden Path to Flow

Travel the golden road to flow.

Ease On Down the Road with Flow

Sometimes flow seems elusive. Especially when media is bombarded with images of people enraged by their current situations. And even when we temper the need for social media, the soundtrack in our own minds can be “what’s the use?” In our angst, the lyrics to Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” can begin to sound all too familiar. There are, of course, choices. We can see change simply as something as a natural progression of our lives.

We change, because change is the only constant. Instead of resisting change, why not travel the golden path to flow? It sure beats the virtual superhighways charged with images that can shut down our own internal resources.

Surviving the Storm

When we approach a new path in our lives, we can feel trepidation. What is on the other side of the door? We might have a cyclone of emotions leaving us reeling with unchecked emotions. Change can cause a feeling of disorientation. There in our internal journey we have the ability to self-correct. And, it is free and available to each and every one of us 7/24. And that powerful resource is our attitude.

Recognizing the Resource of Gratitude

Once decide to look for the silver lining in a challenging day, or week, or year, we swing open the door of gratitude very wide and enter a technicolor world of Ozian proportions. We see possibilities. We note options. In short order, we decide to take a step on our very own yellow brick road. So what does this road look like? How we can access it? Does it require some special skill?

Don’t Carry Nothing That Might Be a Load

If we use journal writing to spill our fears  onto a page, we gain courage to move forward with greater ease. One step at a time. One word at a time. And we have a place to count our blessings. In doing so, we begin to travel the path with a lighter spirit. A shift in mindset places our feet firmly on the road to flow.

Your Turn

Decide to step through your black and white (all or nothing) thinking. Open the door to flow. How? Consciously begin to curate what you are grateful for in a journal, notebook, or legal pad. Continue to add to it daily. See if it helps you to be more creative even with a few short steps on the road.

Here’s to Growing YOUR Flow,

Marisa 

 

 

 

 

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Write What You Know to Flow

Writing Familiar Topics Helps Flow

One of the best ways to enter flow – and sustain ongoing attempts – is to write about topics you know. This #write31days challenge about flow is something I’ve worked on since I was 16. It started with my excellent Advanced Biology teacher, Mr. Brightly, who wanted us to do a study using a subject.

To enter flow, write what you know.

Finding a Subject to Study

If you enter flow by writing what you know, the subject often will appear in your path. My subject happened to crawl right into my path! My baby sister, Maribeth, became my subject. She was just learning to talk and a prefect fit for the linguistics study. I measured all of her repeated consonant-vowel combinations like ba, da, ma, ri, among others, for an hour a day noting the frequency. Also, I tried to determine their meaning. The findings I recall were mostly based on family:

  • “ma” was repeated most frequently as an expression for our mother
  • “ri” was second as her truncated version of  my name, “mah-RE-sah”.
  • “da” came in third, as a way to call – an entertain – our dad.

And the Point is?

The point of this illustration is not so much the study itself, but the subject herself. My baby sister was six months old. I already lived with her. We sat around the table – she in a highchair- each night for dinner. I had an assignment that might have been very hard if I hadn’t looked around – and down – to see my subject cruise right by. The observation was for more than a diary entry; it was for coursework. Now it could be used as an essay, a memoir piece, or, you guessed it, a blog post!

Entering Flow from What You Know

Anyone can enter flow by simply writing what they know. It can be for business promotion and advertisement, (Time to make the donuts. I made the donuts, The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup, I am stuck on BandAids brand cause BandAids stuck on me). Using what you know can help you write a winning grant proposal. Your constituents may relate to your funder through something common, say soccer, which has global impact. And you can even write what you know to grab the attention of the committee or department head in a status report. In doing so, you set a friendly tone to a meeting by discussing the upcoming holiday season.

Your Turn…

Difficult subjects break down into essential chunks of friendly information once you approach them from a point of familiarity. Give it a try today. Give that staff memo a personal touch by remembering something special about the week – I’m sure we are ready for some hot apple cider from the Keurig due to the crisp fall air. Thanks, Jan, for bringing in donuts this week, too – and see if that doesn’t align you with additional flow. You will be able to complete the  job with humanistic flare.

Here’s to Growing Your Flow,

Marisa

 

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Define Flow and Watch It Grow

Sometimes you find flow in the dawn of a new day

Growing Flow Through Awareness

Flow, as writers know, is essential in the creation of anything from a few stream-of-conscious journal pages to a blog post to a full-length book. When I define flow for the purposes of this #Write31Days challenge, I define flow as the source from which all ideas stream into our consciousness. Also, as any writer knows, inspiration bubbles up from both the expected, but more interestingly, the unexpected, places. Flow is found both within and outside of ourselves. When we are swept up in it, we experience a dream-like state of creation. Flow is that blissful and sunny state-of-mind that yields us child-like enthusiasm, which when grasped for seems fleeting.

When Flow Feels like a Suspension of Time

In her seminal work, Writing in Flow: Keys to Enhancing Creativity, Dr. Susan K. Perry described her own sense of flow when she was dared by a peer to write a piece of short fiction. Even though she was hesitant, because she was a professional non-fiction writer, she gave it a go:

Then an amazing thing happened to me: time stopped. I was tapping away on the computer, composing, deleting, changing a word or a phrase here and there, losing myself in the life of a character who was a lot like me but who was also completely new, until I came to a stopping place. I looked at the clock on the study wall and was shocked to realize that two hours had passed. And I had actually enjoyed every unnoticed moment of that time. 

Who wouldn’t want to grow – or become more aware of – the places to go to seek more of the same?

Unless you turn on flow, it is left unengaged.

How to Find Flow More Often

It is the aim of this blog to bring about the awareness of coming in contact with and entering into flow and applying it not only to writing, but developing zestful living. It is always around us. And, as my friend, social activist Linda Austin, reminded me: “When we approach each day with a desire instead of need, we move closer to what we want. Neediness is opposite of expansion.”

It is in reading the details of my environment from early in the day until late at night that I find flow. Or the reasons for the lack of it. Sometimes in the simplest of views. For me it can be found simply as lines of clouds and jet fuel emissions waiting to be filled by my inner-poet like this morning at dawn. I took my dog out and looked up at the treeline to see a celestial invitation to write on pink and cream lines of clouds at daybreak.

Or, I could notice some very real reason for not being able to create, such as this hose that has not had the valve handle turned or the nozzle head left untouched, unengaged.

Or the little message I received when trying to make coffee, before taking the dog outside. I pressed the largest cup button, then the middle button repeatedly needing coffee. After I took the dog out and returned to try again, I saw the blue button Add Water blinking. And, fill it I did.

That is what this blog I hope will do, which is to say to fill the cup, quench the thirst, and come back for more.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

 

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Close Observation Creates Better Copy and Content Writing

Take These Three Passes When Observing Subject Matter

We’ve all seen cats observing their vistas. Sitting in windows, their tails twitch with excitement. We, too, can easily write better copy and content by looking at subjects with intense curiosity. Three views we can take on a subject include its physical appearance, its social impact, and its holistic application.

Physical Appearance Drives Most Copy

Want better copy and content writing experiences? Opt for close oberservation.
Close observation of the physical, social, and holistic applications of writing.

As the old adage goes, “you can’t tell a book by its cover.” Yet, much of the writing we create for copy and content is heavy on visual appeal. So if we are already transfixed on how a product or a service appears, then how can we look more closely at it? What we are looking for are the details of the product or service that make it unique or valuable to the consumer.

For example, does a nozzle on a garden hose have new settings for water distribution not found on competitors’ hoses? Or, does a restaurant offering freshly made juice stand apart by using only sustainably produced serving dishes and cutlery? Specific features make a subject stand out from the competition. Beyond the cover or visual aspects are positive societal impacts to entice customers, too.

Describing How a Product Helps Consumers Connect with Others

Enabling consumers to connect with others in a product or service description is another way to add value to a copy and content writing. Going back to the previous example of the hose, a product or service can  appeal to people when they can use it to help others. A long-range flow might help one neighbor water an elderly neighbor’s flowers. Relationship building among potential customers can easily move from copy writing into social media, which are enhanced with photography and video.

Holistic Approach to Subject Observation

The added-value of a holistic observation of a product or service creates brand loyalty. If a customer experiences satisfaction, then he or she is more likely to be a repeat customer. For example, if a particular demographic consists of environmentalists, then they may be more likely to feel good about eating at a restaurant that serves biodegradable service wear. The menu selections may further resonate with such consumers if it contains organic, locally sourced produce and animal products. The restaurant itself may resonate with consumers who prefer a small business over a nationally known eatery. These personal sorts of considerations are viewed as holistic benefits to a product or service.

Observations Increases Value of Subject Matter

Creating catchy copy and content writing benefits from close observation. The physical description brings a subject to life. The social description adds the appeal of altruism to the subject. Finally, the holistic description encourages consumers to relate their personal beliefs to an item’s identity. They are the easiest way to produce thoughtful and enticing wording for any number of products and services.