Writing in the “ZONE” – Part II

by Minda Burr

In my last entry, I talked about the difference between the right and left brain and how important it is to give the RIGHT BRAIN FULL REIGN in the first draft of anything because it’s where our intuition, imagination and creative impulses come from! And today we’re going to talk about how you can enhance and stimulate the right brain to allow yourself a more brilliant and joy-filled writing experience. But allow me to digress for a moment for an important reason:

We are all born with “playful” spirits… It’s the ESSENCE of who we are when we come into this world. We don’t even start to develop our critical mind, as well as logic and reason until we are about seven years old. That’s why children’s imaginations are so HUGE and they have so much freedom to play and create. It’s also why they believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy and the Easter rabbit because it tickles their imaginations and lets them live in a world of WONDER.

What’s important to be reminded is that our playful spirits never leave! They don’t abandon us when we turn 30 and say, “See you later sucker!” No, they STAY with us for the rest of our lives. But unfortunately, here’s what happens: we start to get conditioned by society’s left brained “logic and reason” and our playful spirits get pushed down with all the “shoulds” and “have tos” of life. We are forced to make responsible, sensible and often times money-making (rather than creatively satisfying) decisions. Then we eventually become hostages of our own left brain -. the so-called logical, rational part of our brain. You know the part of us – who wants to make smart decisions. And our spontaneity gets suppressed, then our playful natures get suppressed, then our imaginations get suppressed and our creative genius gets pushed even further down into our psyche.

And when that happens, it gets pissed. We can literally feel the tension and stress in our bodies because our playful spirit – which is the essence of who we are when we’re born – has been moved to the back of the bus and it is NOT happy. The worst part is, our playful spirits are our IMAGINATIONS greatest ally! They are the best of comrades because they fuel each other… We know nothing works well when we are constricted – not work, not relationships, not sex and most certainly not the “creative process” – whether it’s acting, painting, dancing or writing – you name it.

I am a big believer in Source energy… I believe that we are all conduits of the Creative Intelligence of the Universe, and we are either open conduits or we are painfully CLOSED. Which one has the better chance of accessing brilliance? Which one has a better chance of ENJOYING the process along the way?

So, it’s very important to cultivate being an OPEN VESSEL for the creative energy to FLOW brilliantly to and through us. And when that happens, it is so delicious. And you might ask, what about some of the tortured artists like Hemingway who created such brilliant classics? My answer to that is, he was DRUNK most of the time! His critical mind was out of the way! He let go of his resistance when he was fueled with alcohol. Unfortunately, he probably woke up with a hangover every day. But Hemingway was also a big adventurer and life LIVER. He was a world traveler, lived by his own rules, didn’t give a damn what anybody thought and was a hedonist of the highest order. He had great PASSION for life and women and FUN — all great fuel for freedom of expression.

I am in no way suggesting that we should be drunk when we write, but it leads me to one of the best ways that we can stimulate our right brain: Delighting in our senses is at the top of the list. We literally experience the world through our five senses and they are all right brain stimulators. How can we invite a reader into a vivid story of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touch – as well as deep feelings – if we are not present with and delighting in our own five senses? How can we immerse anyone into a world we are creating if we can’t even immerse ourselves?

So, how do we do that?? Delighting in your senses means to be fully “present” with them and GRATEFUL for them, whether you’re savoring delicious food, listening to great music, laughing your ass off at something funny, touching and being touched by people you feel love and affection for, singing, dancing, allowing yourself to be in awe of the beauty of nature. Getting out in nature, moving your bodies and paying attention to all there is to experience and enjoy in life. Watch how your creative channels open up, the more you feel ONE with Life… Meditation is also a great right brain stimulator, as well as other creative endeavors. I am also a jewelry designer and I truly believe creativity begets more creativity. Amen.