A DECLARATION OF CREATIVE INDEPENDENCE©

Image of Einstein created by QUOTABLE NOTABLES from The Philosopher's Guild

The Unanimous Declaration of all Museologists,
Penned by Royce Addington


When, in the course of Creative Events, it becomes necessary for one Creative to dissolve unhealthy Perfectionism, Creative Paralysis, Fear of Failure, and Self-Sabotage which have disconnected them from their imagination, inspiration and expression…the Creative must declare the Causes which impel them to action.

We, The Muses of The World, hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Luminescent Souls are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Imagination and Inspiration, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Creative Expression and Happiness.

That to secure these Rights, Muses are directed to enlighten a Creative; that whenever any Form of unhealthy Perfectionism, Paralysis, Fear of Failure or Self-Sabotage becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the Creative to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Awareness, Thinking, Rituals, Structures and Habits, laying the Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Creative Expression and Happiness.

Passion indeed, will dictate that Creatives long established, should embrace Change for light and illuminating Causes; and accordingly all Experiences hath shown, that Creatives are more disposed to suffer, while Creative Abuses are sufferable, Creatives must right themselves by abolishing the Forms of unhealthy Perfectionism, Paralysis, Fear of Failure and Self-Sabotage they are accustomed. It is a Creative’s Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Shackles, and to provide new Guards for their future Creative Security, Expression and Happiness!

We, therefore, the Muses of the Infinite Universe, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Creative Spirit for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good and gifted, solemnly Publish and Declare, That all Creatives are, and of Right ought to be, FREE and INDEPENDENT, that they are absolved from all unhealthy Perfectionism, Paralysis, Fear of Failure and Self-Sabotage; Creatives have full power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT CREATIVES may of right do. We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our Sacred Honor!


HOW TO GET ALONG WITH ANYONE - Part 1

THANK YOU to ELISA LEVY for permission to reprint her article.

Note To Reader:
This is an excellent article that deserves thoughtful reading.
Because of its length, we have posted it in three parts.

Part 1
Building relationships with people who really matter to you...

The most important relationships in our lives can also be the ones that bring us the most pain. Conflict with a spouse, a family member or a long-time friend can feel unbearable. The more we care, the deeper we hurt; and most of the time these aren’t relationships we are willing or able to give up.

There are some relationships that truly can’t get better, so how do you know if there’s even a possibility for the relationship to improve? Start by asking yourself a few key questions:

What’s my part in the problem? A relationship is a dynamic between two people and most of the time, both parties must take ownership. If you find that you can’t communicate with your teen-aged child, or your spouse, ask yourself what you are doing or not doing to contribute to that problem.

Remember that the behavior that bothers the other person may work well for you in other relationships. For example, you may have a blunt style of speaking and while some people appreciate that about you, others will not. Figuring out your part of the problem doesn’t mean you are doing something bad or wrong; it just means that it doesn’t work in this particular relationship.

Is there anything I could do differently to change the dynamic?
Use this as an opportunity to brainstorm ideas. Think about other relationships that this person has in which the dynamic is positive. Ask yourself what’s different about it, and if you could change some of your behaviors to meet their needs.

This exercise can be tricky because most of us don’t feel like we should have to change for others. The blunt person might think, “I’m not going to tiptoe around that person. She’ll just have to deal with me the way I am.” If you catch yourself thinking that way, go to question Number Three.

HOW TO GET ALONG WITH ANYONE - Part 2

“No…no…no, now wait a minute. The answer is no. NO! Doggone it! I won’t work for you at any price. You sit around here and spin your little web and think the whole world revolves around you and your money. Well, it doesn’t, Mr. Potter! In the…in the whole vast configuration of things, I’d say you were nothing but a scurvy little spider. You…”

**Photo and Dialogue from the classic movie IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

Part 2
Building relationships with people who really matter to you...


Do I want to be right or happy? In most conflicts, the issue of who is objectively right is irrelevant. Modifying behaviors to improve a relationship that matters to you isn’t giving in or being passive; it’s empathetic and smart. That said, if the change required makes you feel like you are compromising your integrity or your sense of who you are, don’t do it. That brings us to question Number Four.

If you changed your behavior, would it impact the relationship? The premise of behavior modification is that when you give a little, the other person is likely to reciprocate. There are, however, times when it really doesn’t matter what you do because the other person doesn’t want the relationship to improve. Holding on to anger can be empowering, and to some people, that feeling is better than remorse and more comfortable than change.

HOW TO GET ALONG WITH ANYONE - Part 3

Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around it leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he? You see, George, you really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to throw it all away?”

**Photo and dialogue from the classic movie IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE


Part 3
Building relationships with people who really matter to you...

There are two ways you can determine whether it’s possible to improve the relationship:

#1:
Look at the other relationships in this person’s life. If a similar dynamic exists in most of their significant relationships, chances are the problem isn’t you and there isn’t much you can do.

#2: Experiment with changes. Try different behaviors to see if you receive a new response. This requires patience and some level of vulnerability, but when you have a breakthrough it’s all worth while. If nothing you do makes a difference, chances are nothing ever will.

In the end, the best that we can do is find that delicate balance between trying to change things and accepting them as they are. The consolation may come in knowing that you tried, but that ultimately the situation is not in your control. While that idea may not improve the relationship; it can, at least, bring you a sense of peace.

Postscript: Elisa Levy conducts seminars on conflict resolution and anger management. For more information, contact her at 305.296.5437 or visit http://www.elisalevy.com/.

THE WOLF WITHIN

Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crows
Photographed in 1907-08 by Norman A. Forsyth

Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crows, lovingly smiled at the expectant faces of the children; their cheeks flushed from the warmth of the sacred fire that crackled and sparked throwing great shafts of amber light into the night. Plenty Coups looked deeply into the golden crystal flames as he spoke from his Heart Power:

Yesterday, I saw a wolf watching us intently from the cover of the great forest. Did you know he was there?”

The children silently answered with positive nods of their heads. The wise Chief continued,

A fight goes on inside me. It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, racism, sexism, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.

The other wolf is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and belief.

The same fight is going on inside of you as well as inside the white man and every other person you will meet in your lifetime.”

The children thought about this for a moment and then the smallest child, granddaughter of the great chief respectfully asked, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?”

Plenty Coups simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Postscript: Plenty Coups was called “Chief of Chiefs” by his people. He was one of the last traditional chiefs and their first modern leader. A Montana state park is named in his honour.

The Angels Want Us To Dance

Photo by Jean Cather, snjm & Mary Alice Hein, snjm
San Francisco, California

Sometimes the angels weep not because we have died but because we didn’t live. Recently, a long forgotten file appeared in the studio labeled “E-mail keepers”. I was about to throw it in the trash but something stopped me. A little voice said, “Take five minutes and make sure there’s nothing in there worth keeping.” I have learned to listen to that little voice.

In March of 1999 we received this e-mail from a brilliant woman named Lucy who, at the time, was a "jewel in the crown" of the event planning/fund raising department at the University of Missouri in Rolla. Her e-mail speaks to us today just as clearly as it did eight years ago! We're sure this message, in some form or another, continues to circulate through cyberspace (at least we hope it does). You’ve heard it all before but it’s worth the two minutes to read it again…your Guardian Angel just might be watching.

“We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we’ll be more content when they are. After that we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our partner gets his or her act together or when we get the promotion. When we get a nicer car or are able to go on a nice vacation or when we retire.

The truth is, there’s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway. A favorite quote comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said,

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin, real life, but there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first; some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.”

This perspective helps us see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you loose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until your parents approve, until you get married, until you make a lot of money, until you’re famous, until you have kids, until you get a new home or a new car, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until the first or fifteenth, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you die.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

Work like you don’t need money.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
And dance like no one’s watching. “

THE POWER OF IMAGINATION

This is an extraordinary version of IMAGINATION made real! You are looking at the seventy person cast of Le Reve during a performance named for Picasso’s Le Reve (The Dream). This aerial and aquatic spectacular was born from the imagination of Franco Dragone, creator of numerous Cirque du Soleil extravaganzas.

A few weeks ago, Mike Dooley’s inspirational online subscription TUT addressed the power of imagination. He said,

There’s a name for the magic that transforms lives, connects dots, moves mountains and orchestrates coincidences that shock and astound…
IMAGINATION!
And…there’s a name for all that stops you in your tracks, stirs fear, spins wheels and leaves one wondering, “Hey, what’s up with that?”…
IMAGINATION!
Careful where you point that thing.”
--The Universe—

Einstein understood this concept, in spades, when he shared with the world his belief that,
IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE.”

Postscript For Thought:
OUR IMAGINATION IS A POWERFUL ENERGY SOURCE.
Use it wisely.

THE CREATIVITY BOAT

Welcome Aboard! Our CREATIVITY is an all-inclusive, around the world, perpetual “cruise of imagination” which continues to entice, energize and excite. That doesn’t mean we don’t suffer from nauseating bouts of “see” sickness from time to time. For example, “See…,you sorry excuse for a writer…an artist…a sculptor…a cutting edge business person…a parent...who do you think you’re kidding?” I could go on with a repertoire of negative self talk that afflicts, but you get the idea. Once the malady hits, it seems to overwhelm exponentially, rockin’ our creativity boat to the point of anticipating a Poseidon Adventure! (Unfortunately, Dramamine doesn't aid in soothing painful and poisonous mental vomit.)

All this THINKING! The push and pull polarities we are capable of…well, they amaze.
Fear and Resistance the repellant. Hope and Desire the attractant.
So much expended ENERGY!

As an exercise to re-ignite our wavering or lost desire or to short-circuit the first symptoms of self sabotage; join us on the El Nino Deck and rumba towards a FUN and EFFFECTIVE remedy. In their wit and wisdom “Sub-Kid-Tion series; Jill Badonsky (www.themuseisin.com) and Marney Makridakis (www.artellawordsandart.com) included powerful questions which we can use in our Creativity “restart rituals”. Write these down. Print them out. Make them BIG. Use color and doodles to draw your attention. Post them everywhere (for you Perfectionists out there, we know this sounds “messy”…but just try it.) The idea is to relax and have some FUN:

What if I had ten times the amount of courage and self-love (belief) I have now for my CREATIVITY…what would be the effect?”

“If nothing could stop me, the CREATIVE adventure I really would take is…?”

What is the highest wish for my CREATIVITY?”

“If there were no limits on time, money, resources; how would I like to experience my CREATIVE life?”

Add to these inquiries a deep breath infusion. Spend no more than thirty seconds consciously “breathing in” and “feeling” authentic self-love, belief and courage circulating in your body. You may just find this to be one of the most effective antidotes for creative inertia and paralysis discovered to date. This antidote…deep breathing while focused on authentic self-love, bodacious belief and audacious courage…is the “heart energy” with which we create our “ceremony”…our ability to transform the process of CREATIVITY into a memorable, exciting, personal event that promotes self-respect and the actual achievement of taking ACTION.

The freedom of imagination is a beautiful flowing sea of crystal clear creative ideas rushing through our being, carrying us away in its current…free from our conditioned selves, our manipulations, our expectations and our skewed victimizations.

Even if this “flow” only lasts for a few seconds…a few minutes…or, joy of joys, for an hour or two; the “feeling” it leaves in its wake is mesmerizing. You feel fully, completely and creatively ALIVE…AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY THAT IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN.

This “feeling”…this experience of energetic creative “flow” is seductive.
Our hearts beat faster.
Our five senses are splendidly enhanced.
Our minds become super-novas of experiential ideas and emotional contradictions exploding in all directions. We willingly become lost in this ultimate experience of emotional and physical excitement.

Your CREATIVITY is the cruise of a lifetime.
Don’t miss the Boat.
Bon Voyage.

Postscript: Please feel free to replace the word CREATIVITY with a word that speaks to your current challenge or ambition. For example: LOVE, RELATIONSHIP, DREAM, CAREER, EDUCATION, TRAVEL, ACTION….this is a limitless exercise. If you actually take five minutes and try it…you may be astounded at what you find out! We dare you!!

LIVING A GOOD LIFE...ART FOR AUCTION

BLUE DOG
Art and Article by Patricia J. Mosca


"At the close of life the question will be not how much have you got, but how much have you given; not how much have you won, but how much have you done; not how much have you saved, but how much have you sacrificed; how much have you loved and served, not how much were you honored."" - Nathan C. Schaeffer

I found this quote today, and just had to share it with all of you because this is an article that lives this quote to the fullest extent!

"LIVING A GOOD LIFE" is a painting I did in honor of a dog named Blue, that my son rescued from an abusive home. We all so love our pets, but there are people who do not treat them as the beautiful spirits that they are. So what could an artist from upstate New York do about this? And what can you do?

One day while surfing the net (you know those times when you click and click and click!). I was directed to a wonderful site called A Place To Bark. It was here that I was introduced to an artist named Bernie Berlin!

Well, it tugged on my heart so much because of the amazing work this woman is doing to rescue animals. She works non-stop in her effort to save animals along with her husband and friends. The number of animals she has taken in grows and grows. She moved to Tennessee in December of 2005 and has taken care of, housed,transported and found homes for over 300 animals. The sad thing is, that since moving she has seen too many animals being needlessly put down.

Bernie and her husband live on 20 acres and have dreams of building a shelter to help foster the animals and keep her passion of saving them alive. So she put out the call for Artists to share their gifts of art to help save the lives of these beloved creatures. She offers the donated art up on ebay auctions to help underwrite some of the out of pocket expenses she incures doing this work.

So I HAD to donate! I had to help spread the word to others! Sometimes we think that one person cannot do anything to change how the world is. But Bernie is proving this wrong! She is an amazing spirit with a heart that is pure love for these animals.

So what can you do?? Run your fingers over this link and go to the auction! Get a great piece of art and support a woman's efforts to make the world a better place!
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZaplace2bark
If you want to do MORE!! Well, Bernie and her animals can always use things that we have or can send. Old towels, blankets, baby blankets, toys, collars, leashes, food, microscope slides, muzzels, cat litter. Every little bit helps!

Learn more about Bernie and the work that she is doing. By going to:
http://aplacetobark.blogspot.com
I dare your heart strings not to be pulled! As for me...I am off to create something to honor Bernie and her work. I am feeling good today, that I was able to help in my small artistic way a cause that is bigger than me. But, before I do that I am going to kiss the top of all my kitties, whisper in their ears how much I adore and love them, and thank them for being such a big part of my life!
Artfully Yours,
Pattie

JUST BEGIN...AGAIN!

Art By Susannah Eloyse Prinz


Our Studio is abuzz with amazement that 91 days of 2007 have come…and gone. It seems that we blinked and have arrived in April! This reality motivates us to pause and consider or reconsider what it is we hope to accomplish during the balance of 2007. Thinking of it this way is TOO BIG A PIECE OF THE TIME PIE! We are compelled to direct your attention to the KaizenMuse concept of taking ridiculously small baby steps as the most effective means of achieving goals. (See Jill Badonsky’s www.themuseisin.com and Robert Mauer's book ONE SMALL STEP CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE to learn more about this).

Today... we will diligently but gently focus on the next 91 days of 2007.

April 2nd to July 1st! This “reflection” may bring (it does for us) a mixture of "feelings"…satisfaction with what has been achieved in the last 91 days and the stirrings of frustration or disappointment with the original (still alive and kick’in) goals and dreams that are playing “hard to get”. What to do about reframing and turning around these niggling negative energies into positive, creative reinforcements? JUST BEGIN…AGAIN!

The most Sacred Place dwells within our Heart
Where Dreams are born and Secrets sleep
A mystical refuge of Darkness and Light
Fear and Conquest
Adventure and Discovery
Challenge and Transformation
Our Heart speaks for our Soul
Every moment while we are alive
Listen…as the whispering beat repeats
Be…gin Be...gin Be…gin
It’s really that simple
Just Begin Again
--Royce Addington--

Postscript:
In 2007, we have 274 more chances to JUST BEGIN AGAIN.
This morning in our Studio, the coffee was flowing causing caffeine-induced philosophical debate of the highest order. The most enlightened among us said
"TODAY IS THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE.”