Posts Tagged ‘happiness’

Beauty as a Core Value

Tuesday, March 8th, 2016
Krista Tippett, who is the host of NPR’s OnBeing speaks to this aspiration in her new and resoundingly inspirational book Becoming Wise An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living. She states the book’s purpose as offering “a grounded and fiercely hopeful vision of humanity for this century—of personal growth but also renewed public […]

Tip# 4: Power Your Creative Thinking with a Walk

Sunday, February 21st, 2016
“If you can’t think, walk. If you’re thinking too much, walk. If you are thinking bad thoughts, keep walking.”  —Pierre Helaine, founder of Arche shoes. One of the biggest impediments to creative productivity is the mental block, or rut—sometimes brief, sometimes prolonged.  A great and easily-accessible-to-all way to jump-start your thinking and shift your mindset […]

Reclaiming Beauty

Tuesday, October 13th, 2015
I recently came across a tagline for an interior design business which captures an idea I’ve been pondering for some time now. It read, simply, Creating beauty, Changing lives. Of course the reference to the very commercial enterprise of marketing home furnishings is blatant, but it also speaks to the idea that the presence of […]

Routine Creativity

Wednesday, October 1st, 2014
One of the most important aspects of Creative productivity is striking a balance between disciplined daily routine and remaining open to new experiences and perspectives—flexible and adaptable—so that we can keep our eyes fresh and energy high. Too much routine can be mind numbing, uninspiring and vortex (tunnel vision) inducing; too little routine reduces the […]

Happy People Embrace Uncertainty

Tuesday, June 25th, 2013
There’s a theory that true creative genius stems from a certain amount of unhappiness. Certainly there is ample evidence in the lives of many tortured artist-souls to support this. Without a doubt some unhappiness fuels the intense self-solving, searching, questioning, and re-interpreting of reality at the root of some of our great art, and certainly […]

Have you used up your future?

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
A few years ago, as I was heading into a period of sabbatical, soul searching and reinvention, I found myself feeling very lost and a little unhinged…..and yet a little excited at the same time.  I realized I had left behind so much that had identified and grounded me to that point—my career, home, friends, […]

Tip #2 Keep an Idea Journal

Tuesday, June 11th, 2013
Keep a notebook/journal for each area of your life. Write down ideas, facts, questions, random thoughts—any information you stumble across throughout the day. There are many planners out there but it’s much more useful, fun and creative to make your own, organizing the information in a way that works best for you. I refer to […]

A Creative Thinking Framework

Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
So it seems there is a formula, a framework for creative thinking. Creativity is different than intelligence. With intelligence, more is better–more thinking, more information, more knowledge. To foster creativity, from the perspective of how the brain works, less is better–less thinking anyway, in the conventional sense. It’s about allowing freer interplay between different areas […]

Seeing Clearly

Friday, October 19th, 2012
Vipassana–a Pali word meaning ‘to see clearly’. Seeing speaks to understanding, illumination, discernment, and wisdom—seeing past stereotypes, cliches and preconceptions. Do you see?  To ’see’ is to look past the obvious, the expected; to take the time, to pay attention. Seeing is more of a right brained (non-verbal, intuitive) activity. Betty Edwards developed a hugely […]

The Texture of Memory

Friday, September 2nd, 2011
I love NPR radio. There was recently an interview with Joshua Foer talking about his fantastic new book Moonwalking With Einstein: the Art and Science of Remembering Everything. The ‘art’ he refers to is based on a set of techniques invented in ancient Greece. The ‘art’ is in creating imagery in your mind that is […]