coaching

Threads of Creativity

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 7 Conversations


Day 24 – Creativity

If you think of your life as a tapestry, what are the threads that have been with you as long as you can remember?

My primary thread has been creativity. The colour of the thread nay have changed over the years as I moved from painting and  printmaking to photography and now writing, but the thread has been consistent.

It’s how I express myself, and what feels most natural to me.

elderly Hispanic woman creating ceramics at Jackalope, New Mexico

Like this woman I came upon at a market in Santa Fe last year, I’m positive I will still be expressing my creativity as I get older. It’s part of who I am.

But how about you?

Do you own and acknowledge your creative gifts?

Or do you believe you are not creative?

Maybe you were told as a child that you were no good at drawing, writing, painting. . .fill in the blank.

 

It’s sad when that happens, when an adult says something that damages a child’s belief in themselves.

What if that adult was wrong?

cre·a·tiv·i·ty

– characterized by originality of thought; having or showing imagination: a creative mind

We are all creative in some way and just because you can’t draw a stick figure to save your life doesn’t make you less so.

Picasso said, “The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.”

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The Search Is Over

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 12 Conversations

 

Druids, seers, wizards, sorcerers, psychics, fortune tellers and gypsies.

I am none of those but I have a crystal ball.

Come closer and look within.

glass ornament hanging in shop window

See a you that is whole and complete.

Unfettered. Untainted. Pure.

No thoughts, no stories,

A perfect blank slate.

You were born this way.

Remember?

“Stop searching here and there, the Jewels are inside you.” – Rumi

 

Maybe not.

Life causes you…

To forget.

To shrink.

To hide your light.

 

But that you, is still there.

Patient, waiting.

It knows…

You already know how to shine.

 

Wake up.

The search is over.

 

 

Quoting Yoda, Trashing Goals & Declaring Intentions

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 22 Conversations

 

The prompt for today was actually the word try, but like Yoda I believe,

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

So I’ve replaced it with the word intend.

intend: to have in mind as something to be done or brought about

Compare it with another word you’re probably more familiar with.

goal: the result or achievement toward which effort is directed

I know which appeals to me more, especially after reading 100 Days with No Goals by Joshua Fields Millburn.

Like many, I used to be very goals oriented. I created all kinds of goal tracking worksheets and action plans and produced some great results. I was perhaps a bit driven.

I’m done with that, have been for a long time and wince when I find myself seduced by the lure of goals.

And then I remind myself of the power of intention. . .

“to have in mind as something to be done or brought about.”

My insides relax, my heartbeat slows down and I feel a spaciousness that chasing goals never once produced.

In my reading about goals and intentions I came across the Hawaiian concept of Ho’ohana and I felt a strong connection.

Ho’ohana is about making your living in a world that provides direction and intention while leaving you much more fulfilled than the familiar, goal-obsessed path.

Intentions or Goals?

I know which I’m choosing.

So, back to the prompt and the creation of 2012.

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Creating Space for the Holidays

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 6 Conversations

 

The Vagabondage Series:  Wherein Elana creates space and lets the holidays in.

 

If you’re reading this, you made it through the recent Black Friday holiday shopping frenzy. Congratulations. If you participated, you have my admiration for surviving it, and if you didn’t, you have my admiration for choosing not to.

Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, or La Posada, the holidays are a busy stretch of rituals, drunk uncles, symbolism, and festivity. Although, in recent years, the winter holiday season has become less synonymous with its original meaning  and more reminiscent of a feverish 30-day shopping extravaganza. Malls and boutiques are crawling with people and lousy with so-called bargains. Advertising and marketing departments spare no tactics or expense with glitzy, over-the-top commercial and print ads featuring the hottest electronics, cosmetics, fashion, food, and all manner of tchotchkes.

But you know that isn’t what it’s all about, right? Continue reading →

How to Live in Astonishment (leaf lesson #3)

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 19 Conversations

 

We all have a dark side; a part of ourselves that we wish were otherwise.

Even the nicest of the nice, they’ve got their shadow side too.

But whatever you call it, however much you try to hide it, there’s something to learn from it if you look.

Just like this leaf, which I’m starting to think of as the leaf that keeps on giving. Weird thing is, when I first chose the leaf I completely missed the big dark spot you’ll see below.

It was hidden from my view.

How could I have missed that big, dark spot?

It was easier than you might think. I was so wrapped up in the colour and size, the majesty of it – I had eyes only for its beauty.

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Turn Up Your Awareness and Come Alive (leaf lesson #2)

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 13 Conversations

 

“All you have to do is to pay attention; lessons always arrive when you are ready, and if you can read the signs, you will learn everything you need to know in order to take the next step.” – Paulo Coehlo

So the question is. . .do you pay attention?

Time after time, I’ve learned that it’s all about awareness. It really is a muscle that you can develop with practice. And when you consciously turn up your awareness (think of it like a dimmer switch) everything zooms into focus.

Solutions become clear, often in abundance.

Next steps open up, right there in front of you.

Confusion fades away.

How do you turn up that awareness then?

The exercise I shared from my retreat is a good way to start. Being with an object (for me this leaf) with no expectations, no judgments, no concerns, created space for my mind to see it (and life) in a new way.

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Lessons Are Everywhere (in which I learn about myself in a most unusual way)

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 18 Conversations

 

Ever notice how anything in life can teach you if you let it?

While on retreat recently, as part of a group exercise I was invited to choose a leaf from a table covered with leaves of all shapes, colours and sizes. The beauty of fall lay before me.

While initially drawn to the intense red of the Japanese Maple, I found my hand reaching out to this leaf.

maple leaf found at Rivendell, Bowen Island

I didn’t question it or try to convince myself otherwise. I simply trusted my intuition, something I sometimes forget in the busyness of life.

The invitation was to notice if the chosen leaf had anything to teach me.

Funny how the oddest things seem perfectly natural when I’m on retreat.

Up in my room, I placed it on the desk where I did my writing.

And so I sat with my leaf.

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Choose Your Path

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 16 Conversations

 

Do you view life as a maze, full of challenges and competition OR as a labyrinth, an opportunity to find yourself along the path?

A maze is designed to confuse you and test your ability to solve the challenge of getting to the centre.

A labyrinth is unicursal, designed with one single path that always leads to the centre.

labyrinth at Rivendell, Bowen Island

The Labyrinth at Rivendell

 

You are not born on one path or the other.

You get to choose your path.

Every single day.

Rational, logical, competitive, pressured ==> You’re in the maze.

Relaxed, present, connected to spirit ==> You’re walking the labyrinth.

Labyrinth thinking takes letting go of societal conditioning to get things done and win at all costs, ie: Who gets to the centre first? It takes letting go of traditional education’s conditioning to do it right and do as your told, ie: Follow the path exactly in order to get a gold star.

Notice your default view.

Maze or Labyrinth.

My work as a coach is not to tell you which path to choose.

It’s not about which path is right, but which path feels right for you.

shadow on Rivendell labyrinth, Bowen Island

If you’re alive you’re on the path.

Which would you rather walk?

 

Be A Waker

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 18 Conversations

 

“A waker is someone who is very good at waking other people up from their metaphorical slumber, temporary or otherwise.” – Hugh MacLeod

So, are you? A waker I mean.

I am.

I look back at my life and remember all the times I just had to rock the boat and wake people up.

Being a waker had me leave the 9-5 world and become a coach, a job that actually pays me to wake people up.

Life’s funny like that.

But being a waker isn’t necessarily an easy path in life.

As Hugh MacLeod says,

“A waker reminds you on a constant basis,  just how alive you really are….And there’s something about their influence that makes you utterly unable to go back to “sleep” ever again, in spite of your best efforts.”

Think about it. . .a lot of people don’t want to be woken up. Waking up takes courage and it’s so much easier to keep your head down and play it safe.

Sometimes. . .not often, but there are moments. . .I wish I could go back to those days of being less conscious, less awake.

But not really. Continue reading →

The Body Never Lies

Posted on by Sandi Amorim 21 Conversations

“Your body has a story to tell you. In order to take better care of your body, you have to find out about its needs. And the best way of discovering what will nourish and nurture you is to simply ask yourself.” – Cigdem Kobu

If you’ve never asked yourself this type of question, you might be surprised at how your body responds, how willing it is to communicate.

Your body has a story to tell. Your job is to listen.

Listening to your body is about letting its messages come through; messages you’ve ignored or avoided, messages overshadowed by the busyness of life.

Not listening has a significant cost to your well-being as I remember so well.

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