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Visualization is a skill fundamental to creative work. An artist visualizes an idea then works to express it in a compelling way. An athlete visualizes an optimal performance in preparation for a competitive event then works to bring it to life. An inventor visualizes how something works then works … [Read more...] about Creative Agility Practice: 3. Visualization

Relaxation is the second core discipline in my creative agility practice. Deep creativity requires a relaxed state of concentration, focus, and discernment. States of mind that inhibit creative work include multi-tasking, false urgency, pessimism, inflexible scheduling, and distraction. Relaxation … [Read more...] about Creative Agility Practice: 2. Relaxation

Creative Agility Practice: 1. Optimal Breathing Breathing is the foundation for a healthy nervous system. Optimal breathing is fundamental to creative work. In contrast, suboptimal breathing stresses the nervous system and inhibits creative work. It is self-evident that optimal breathing is … [Read more...] about Creative Agility Practice: 1. Optimal Breathing

Creativity flows from a mind that is flexible, adaptable, and responsive to context, situation, and circumstance. Creative work is about exploration and discovery, which demands constant improvement, overcoming boundaries and limitations, and consistently working on the outer edges of one’s ability. … [Read more...] about Creative Agility Practice: Introduction

SometimesYou will find yourself in difficult situations,That linger, frustrate, and refuse to relent.As your anxiety intensifiesRumination, frustration, and exhaustionAre sure to follow,And gradually you become something less than yourselfUntil all that remainsIs an unwelcome stranger;An encounter … [Read more...] about On Enduring Difficult Situations

A liminal period arrives as foreboding feelings of uncertainty caused by periods of deep change. It is first felt as a disturbing break from the past in which a familiar way of life has been wholly lost. A key characteristic of liminality is the impossibility of retreat; that is, there is no way … [Read more...] about The Liminal Frontiers of COVID-19

In the beginning, it didn't seem like a serious threat. Early warning cries deteriorated into silence. It seemed too far away for me to be concerned. And then, suddenly, it was too late. With remarkable agility the unseen hitchhiker travelled the globe. My feelings of insecurity intensified as it … [Read more...] about Inside Pandemic Stress

The Covid-19 pandemic conjures strange and unfamiliar forms of stress that destabilize our sense of wellbeing. Our world is immersed in uncertainty. Relationships with family and friends have suffered. Screens mediate participation. Feelings of isolation intensify anxiety. Many suffer unexpected … [Read more...] about What to Remember about Mental Health

We are not meant to live in isolation from one another. Companionship, friendship, and belonging are essential to wellbeing. The experience of isolation conjures haunting feelings of separation, disconnection, and exile; that is, isolation is a state of suffering. In the age of COVID-19, however, … [Read more...] about Isolation: A Faculty for Understanding

You have always felt the tension of its presenceStrugglingWith an opposing forceAn unnamed fearWith its dark ruminationsAs it arises once again from an unseen placeDeep withinTo, once again, take possession of your senses You have journeyed through the frontiers of lifeWith your anxiety as … [Read more...] about Anxiety as Faithful Companion

Now is the time for you to refuse a return to normal. You possess an innate desire for stability. You want the pattern of your life to stay the same. You strive to keep uncertainty confined. You attempt to force the unexpected into submission. You hide yourself from change. Most of all, you avoid … [Read more...] about Refuse a Return to Normal