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Catalyst News and Views from AnnA
19 September, 2008
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It's time to start thinking about the best way
to creatively use your time, and I have a couple
of suggestions for how you might do that. I think
this is a good time also to be a little more
contemplative and start thinking about what we
have manifested in our life, and how we are using
it. Best wishes for your continuing love of life,
creativity, and all the gifts your life brings
you - AnnA
IN THIS ISSUE:
- BEWARE OF WHAT YOU WISH FOR
- WHAT KIND OF EMAIL RESPONDER ARE YOU?
- THE SIX PILLARS OF SELF ESTEEM
- NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING COMPETITION
- CREATIVITY COFFEE BREAK
BEWARE OF WHAT YOU WISH FOR
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I am sure you have heard that before haven't you,
but it is often in a negative context. As if we
ought not to dream big and if we do - and we get
that dream - that it won't turn out to be exactly
what we wanted it to be, or we can't cope with it.
I would like to suggest a new, very old, way of
looking at it which has it's roots in ancient China.
Confucius was a philosopher who died in from 479 BC,
but whose wisdom has proved timeless - not least
if you ever watched the TV series Kung Fu starring
David Carradine as a would-be shaolin monk in the
1970's! Confucius's work was brought to the west by
the Jesuits, and opened up a different way of
perceiving life and its problems. From fragments
of his work that appeared many years after his
death is this particular piece of wisdom that I
want to share with you, and invite you think
inside and outside of it:
"I asked for strength .. and was given difficulties
to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom .. and was given problems to solve
I asked for prosperity .. and was given brain and
brawn to work
I asked for courage .. and was given danger to overcome
I asked for love .. and was given troubled people to
help
I asked for favours .. and was given opportunities
I received nothing I wanted .. I received everything
I needed."
These are difficult times for many, pressure in so
many directions and fears and concerns about finances,
how to cope in a confusing and fast-changing world.
Maybe meditating on the above could help, let me know
how it has impacted for you.
WHAT KIND OF EMAIL RESPONDER ARE YOU?
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Emails are a fact of modern life, you can learn how
to handle them, but you can't be unaffected by them.
New research shows that how fast you respond is not
a measure of how efficient you are, but could reveal
if you are relaxed, stressed or even have low self-esteem.
The best option is relaxed, to treat emails as just
another task and don't feel the need to compulsively
reply immediately. That way of dealing with them could
put you into the stressed category - though personally,
I think it shows you just want to get rid of the darn
things as fast as possible, but I may be fooling myself
and I need to re-read my own stress book!
For many of us it is the sheer pressure of the number
of daily emails that is the problem, but I must also
hold my hand up and say they are also a good form of
procrastination which I have solved by designating
only specific times when I check them; first thing
in the morning, lunchtime and at 6pm, if you are
interested. One of the reasons I did that was that
I realized how much time I wasted just responding
to each email as it comes in, and this is true for
many employees in large companies who this latest
research has revealed will stop what they are doing
on their computer to view their emails as many as
30 or 40 times an hour. From hearing that 'ping' of
you have new mail they responded between 6 seconds
and 1.45 minutes, quicker than they did to a ringing
phone.
So what's the problem?
Well, the problem is that by responding that fast you
are breaking off what you are doing, lose your continuity
and your train of thought so that you are actually less
efficient. You remember last week's piece on multi-tasking?
It actually tires your poor old brain to keep switching
away to check your emails because the continual distraction
leads to tiredness, and lower productivity - and it takes
an average of 64 seconds to recover your train of thought
after interruption by email.
Doesn't sound like much, but it means that if you are
compulsively checking email every five minutes you will
lose an entire working day over a week - a total of 8.5
hours a week. Now I would far rather put that time to
something pleasurable, productive, and creative -
wouldn't you?
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The remark about low self esteem when responding to
emails reminded me to mention the best book on the
subject I have ever come across. It is a classic in
the field and to my mind never been bettered. It's
called The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem by Nathaniel
Branden, an American psychologist and was first
published in 1994. It is so well written, easy to
understand and full of compassionate and practical
insights that I recommend it to anyone who wants to
get more insight into their own behaviour.
The six pillars he talks about are what he calls
practices and are:
1 the practice of living consciously
2 the practice of self-acceptance
3 the practice of self-responsibility
4 the practice of self-assertiveness
5 the practice of living purposefully
6 the practice of personal integrity
Low self-esteem can affect anyone, and at any time,
and it can be one of the biggest hurdles we place in
our own way. It can be seen in so many different types
of behaviour, from holding yourself back from living
to your true potential by never rising to the challenge
of who you really are, to being overtly successful and
needing to continually tell people how good, rich,
successful you are because you are the one person who
at heart doesn't believe it.
This is not a book to sit down and read in one go,
but to work steadily through at a pace you are
comfortable with, and you will see definite shifts
and changes in your perception of yourself. It's still
available on Amazon if you want to have a look go to
this link, or do a book title search on their site -
http://snipurl.com/3rs6a
NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING COMPETITION
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If you follow the email advice, then you could free
up an hour a day so I am just flagging up that on 1st
October the great US National Novel Writing Annual
Competition will launch it's website for this year's
full month of you putting pen to paper and launching
your masterpiece on the world.
The competition runs from 1-30 November, so you have
time to think up that great idea and it's a great way
to kick start yourself on your novel. You get twice
weekly emails to keep your spirits up and inspiring
pep talks from the 50 most requested authors from last
year's competition. I will remind you nearer the date,
but I will be going for it myself, and am currently
testing out a new programme for writers from Nick Daws
that requires 7 hours a week over a month to write a
novel - just about what I am saving on emails! I found
his previous programme on writing a non-fiction book in
28 days very valuable, (it's on the www.catalystonline.co.uk
website if you want to have a look at it) and I will report
back when I have worked the fiction version throughfor
myself, but if you can't wait that long have a look at it
at http://www.novelinamonth.com/?afl=20968
CREATIVITY COFFEE BREAK
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When you are going to be creative, do you have any
habits that must be observed before you can start?
Do you clean your desk - make a coffee - put on some
appropriate music? All these things form part of a
ritual, and many creative people underestimate why
they are so important as part of your creative practice.
It is at the very beginning of the process that you
need to have some kind of preparation ritual to keep
you anchored in the desire to create. When we begin
any creative processwe are at our most vulnerable and
ritual helps us establish a pattern of behaviour that
says 'here I am, ready to begin' and so we are less
likely to give in to our doubts and fears about beginning
a new project, or to talk ourselves out of it altogether.
My personal ritual is to put on a piece of music that
I find inspiring, depending on what I am writing. I have
a beautiful set of meditation music if I am writing about
spirituality or personal development and music appropriate
to the period if I am writing parts of my life story -
I am still writing about my life in the 1960's and am
getting a bit concerned that I love the music so much,
I don't want to leave it! Candles, a particular drink,
a comfortable piece of clothing - it doesn't matter what
your ritual consists of because it only has to work
for you, and no one else.
What do you currently - habitually - do before you start
a creative project? Is it effective or do you still shy
away from beginning, or completing something? If it's
working well, then great, but if you have not considered
using one at all then ask yourself what you could do? You
want to be inspired, so keep your ritual simple, short
and something that allows you to move naturally into your
creative project. Experiment and see how you feel with
trying different approaches and if something makes it
easier for you to work, be more productive, and feel great
aboutthe process - then it's working, so keep it up.
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Any questions, comments or criticisms? Please do contact me
either via my website: http://www.catalystonline.co.uk/ or
email to anna@creativecatalyst.co.uk
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Catalyst News and Views from AnnA
5 September, 2008
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I thought I had done enough on my issues with my multi-tasking,
but it's just like buses because this week another idea on
the subject comes hot on its heels. I love finding new
sources of inspiration to share with you, and listening to
new ideas and reflections is a way for us to see another side
of life so I am introducing you to a new resource to help you
do that. Forgetful or just worried you are not as 'on the ball'
as you used to be? Me too, so again a couple of thoughts on
how to help keep your mind as fit and active as your body so
it can entertain and enrich you for the rest of your life -
and you don't have to join a gym to do it!
Best wishes for your continuing love of life, creativity,
and all the gifts your life brings you - AnnA
IN THIS ISSUE:
- HOLISTIC RADIO
- MULTI TASKING - OFF THE HOOK?
- BRAIN TRAINING FOR THE OVER 50'S
- PLAYING SPORT IMPROVES YOUR THINKING
- CREATIVITY COFFEE BREAK
HOLISTIC RADIO
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If you are into personal development, then one of the
publishing houses you will be familiar with is Hay House.
Best known, probably, for being the 'home' of self-esteem
guru Louise Hay whose best-selling book 'You Can Heal Your
Life' practically started the whole growth of the personal
healing book market. Now, Hay House have now got an extra
arm to their business that you might find useful, and it's
free! I came across it by chance, and it's a web-based radio
station where you can click onto a number of talks, interviews
and even conferences where the best known speakers in the
personal development world are right there on tap. You can
either listen live, which is free, or select the 'listen
again' button to hear it at a time that best suits you
though for that you have to become a member for $4 a month
but you get plenty of inspirational extras for that.
Called 'radio for your soul' it is a chance to hear some
great talks and this week a couple of featured items
included Denise Lynn talking about her book 'Shamanism 101:
Finding Your True Spiritual Name' where she talks about
discovering the mystical power in your name and explains
how the meaning of your birth name affects your life.
Airing for the first time on September 3rd is 'Flowdreaming
Projects: Large and Small' gives you a different take on
planning a project. Whether you usually sketch it on paper,
write a "to do" list, or just have a hazy idea in your head
of the steps to get it done you are - probably unknowingly -
also laying down a kind of energetic level that if done
right will help your project get done much more easily and
creatively. This is something that painters call "primer"
and a builder would call it the "foundation", but whatever
analogy you use, it means aligning your idea, focus and
energy to really get that project moving.
If you want to 'tune in' on a different way of seeing
things, then visit http://www.hayhouseradio.com or to
see their range of books just go to www.hayhouse.com
MULTI TASKING - OFF THE HOOK?
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Well wouldn't you know it, as soon as I report on evidence
to support multi-tasking as inefficient - to my own
personal distress - than I come across another piece of
research that seems to say it's ok, but there are times
when it is better to do it than others - and the research
may help in the study of Parkinson's disease. Read on....
This time we are off to hear the views of a cognitive
neuroscientist at Yale University who has used a new
brain imaging study to see if there are optimal times
when we are better suited to multitask. Andrew Leber,
an assistant professor of psychology who led the study,
has the interesting notion that the brain can act as a
crystal ball to predict when people are efficient
multitaskers, and when they are not.
His team monitored the brain activity of subjects
multitasking by using functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI). The research confirmed that multitasking
is, on average, inefficient, BUT the brain scans allowed
the researchers to predict when people would be poor
multitaskers and optimal multitaskers. They could do
this by seeing dramatic changes in the participants'
brain activity patterns. Higher levels of activity in
brain regions such as the basal ganglia, anterior
cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, and parietal
cortex corresponded to better multitasking performance.
But before you get too excited, unless you are able to
carry an fMRI machine around with you, it is not possible
to yet to identify your own brain wave patterns. I will
go with the old fashioned method of 'being in flow, or
in the zone', or in other words when it feels easy and
things go smoothly you probably are in the right state
to multitask - if you start stirring the phone and
speaking into the soup pan they you are probably not.
When not in 'flow' you are best off doing simple
repetitive tasks consecutively - back to the vegetable
chopping, one carrot at a time.
Nevertheless, there may be an immediate benefit to his
research in terms of scientists' understanding of
neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease,
which is marked by degeneration of the basal ganglia.
Multitasking suffers when the physical makeup of the
basal ganglia degenerates over time, as in Parkinson's
disease, but what this current study shows is that even
in healthy adults, short-term changes in the basal
gangliaalso impact multitasking.
Read the last issue and this one together and then make
up your own minds!
BRAIN TRAINING FOR THE OVER 50'S
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I am in the lucky position of being sent lots of
interesting books to review, and currently I am
looking at a great work on self-esteem and a new
programme to help you write your novel. I am working
through both of them before I give you my opinion,
but I have just finished one book that I think you
will enjoy.
Called 'Training Your Brain' it is aimed at the over
50's, but would be valuable for anyone looking to
keep their mind sharp - whatever your age. One of
things I liked about it is that they reinforce the
view that scientists have now come to, which is that
older can often mean smarter. You don't have to
resign yourself to being less creative or intelligent
as the years advance, but can use the amazing amount
of puzzles in this book to stretch and grow - and to
do that you need to stimulate your brain and encourage
your curiosity. It might have killed the cat, but it
could help you live to a longer, more vital old age.
It's not just puzzles and mind-benders of course,
there is highly valuable information and real insight
into the process of ageing and how best to combat it.
Oh and if you think you are a bit of a Victor Meldrew,
take heart, because you are not alone and probably
have good reasons to be grumpy. I know I do!
It's part of the teach yourself range of books and
if you can't find it in your bookstore, then try an
online bookstore like Amazon at www.amazon.co.uk
JUST WATCHING SPORT CAN IMPROVE YOUR THINKING
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While on the subject of improving your mind, believe
it or not sport can play a part in developing more
than your muscles. The University of Chicago did
some research and found that hockey players as well
as fans use a portion of their brain not usually
associated with language development when they discuss
the sport. Brain imaging revealed that when hockey
players and fans listen to language about hockey,
they show activity in the brain regions usually used
to plan and select well-learned physical actions.
That area is not activated, however, among non-fans
when asked about the sport, so now you can improve
your language skills while enjoying watching Match
of the Day - course how wide that vocabulary might
be could be open to debate.
Apparently just talking about your favourite sport
helps in this area because parts of the brain usually
involved in playing sports are instead used to
understand sport language. The region of the brain
usually associated with planning and controlling
actions is activated when players and fans listen
to conversations about their sport and this boost
to the brain changes the neural networks and helps
athletes and fans have a better understanding of
information about their sport. It shows that the
brain may be more flexible in adulthood than
previously thought - so you are not just watching
a game, you are engaged in lifelong learning - who
would have thought it?
CREATIVITY COFFEE BREAK
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Poetry is the way we can access our deeper feelings
and thoughts, and it's not necessary to be a poet
in order to do that. For this issue, I have reproduced
a poem by Rumi, a Sufi mystic and poet, that I
encourage you to read several times and then write
your own reflections on who the 'guests' are that
you regularly invite in - and which ones you keep
the door firmly closed against.
THE GUEST HOUSE, by RUMI
This being human is a guesthouse -
Every morning a new arrival
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome & entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
Who violently sweep your house empty of its' furniture,
Still, treat each guest honourably -
He may be cleaning you out
For some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
Meet them at the door laughing,
And invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
Because each has been sent
As a guide from beyond.
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Any questions, comments or criticisms?
Please do contact me either via my website:
http://www.catalystonline.co.uk/ or email to
anna@creativecatalyst.co.uk
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