30 days of (something) – checking in
it's the 30 days of (something)! oh, yay. i'm so glad for your company in this. you all are inspiring me.
i have to say, my morning pages are going well. i am not exactly rolling out of bed and writing, but i have written (i mean typed) every morning. there really is something about clearing the mind in the morning that lets more good stuff in. the thing i have noticed, however, is that i need to write more than three pages in order for my more unconscious thoughts to start bubbling up. around page four or so, if i write that much, something comes out that i didn't expect.
by the way, for those of you who are also doing morning pages, jamie ridler is hosting a regular check-in this month for people doing morning pages. serendipitous timing, i say!
i did finally decide on my intention (or theme) for the month. it's flow. i spent some time with flow earlier this year, but clearly it needs more time and focus. (actually, the sense i am getting right now is that flow needs to be my word for 2012.) right now, i am just trying to notice when i am not in it. this seems to be often.
if you are joining in and want to check in on this post, i would love love love to hear from you. regardless, know that i am happy that we're all in this together, and am cheering you on.
FLOW… that is a great word/theme to for a month! This month I’ve been focusing on dream manifestation and action. I’ve done morning pages off & on for some time, and really enjoy it. For a year or so I’ve been doing a modified morning pages, in that I don’t write every single day, but maybe about 3-4 days per week–very structured sit-down-and-write time…I love it! May the FLOW be with you. ;o) Happy Week, Elizabeth ((HUGS))
i’ve already missed two mornings in helping my friend move! but am not letting that make me feel guilty…
i want to feel free. i’m tired. i want just to be free to breathe to be me to let go of any kind of control. to just be. that will be my mantra.. to remind me when i start trying to “control.”
who are we kidding? we don’t control anything anyway. not really! so flow and freedom it is!
love,
tammy j
I’ve decided to do Shiva Nata every day for 30 days this time. I’ve missed two days so far, too, which has been a bit of a struggle for me not to feel bad/guilty/upset about, but I’m doing pretty good at staying in a compassionate space about it. And I think the struggle is more a symptom of my overall state lately, so I’m usually able to see this as less of a discrete occurrence and more of a general pattern of “right now I’m being harder on myself than I’ve been in years, and this is one more opportunity for me to shift that pattern back to something more comfortable.”
And I think that good challenges goes along pretty well with the brain-exploding goodness of level 2!
Good challenges, in other words.
I am joining you in morning pages as of today. Am looking forward to it…
Wow – 4 pages!! I very rarely even do 3, only when something is really rolling around in my mind. Some days I feel like it’s just not there…. like anything I would write would be the exact same thing I have already said. I hate prompts but sometimes I feel like I need one and usually it is something I have read or seen recently. Anyway, you are an inspiration!!
Elizabeth-
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I’m playing along! I’ve actually been trying to do a whole month of 750words.com since … April? I even tried (and failed) the monthly challenge once.
A thing I discovered about how this practice works for me is that my brain has not yet started working when first I awaken. I discovered that I’m far more likely to complete the pages if I do it mid-way through the day, or right before bed. Though this is the opposite of the concept of “morning pages”, it makes sense because most of these kind of practices work for me only if I do them backward. That’s a pattern I spotted earlier this year. (Probably not at all related to my daily shivanata practice, right?
((hugs))
-case
@casey: what a great noticing! (probably not at all related to daily shiva nata. nope. not at all. 😉
@steph: it sounds like your pattern spotting genius is fully activated! enjoy level 2! i love that one.
@patty: i wonder if that’s ok. maybe sometimes the same thing rolls around in our head in many different ways (i know that’s true for me) and we need to expunge it in as many ways as its there. though that does get pretty dull sometimes. (not that my pages are stellar reading, to be sure. 😉
@jan: yay! welcome aboard!
@tammy: flow and freedom for all of us!
@tracy: it’s prana yoda! hehehe. dream manifestation and action sounds like a very fun thing to focus on.
I’ve never tried morning pages but I’m beginning to think I should give it a try.. my mind is so full of crap first thing.. Sending your flowing energy for your month of it.
I’m doing daily seated meditation. I’m pleasantly shocked that I haven’t skipped a day yet! I’m noticing that it’s much easier for me to “fit in” quiet time when I’m home by myself, as opposed to when my partner is home, too. I haven’t yet settled on an ideal time of day to meditate, but it’s nice to at least have this thing that I do each day. Perhaps as the month goes on a particular time of day will feel right.
My theme for the month is celebration. I like it, though I keep forgetting it. However, it’s interesting to note the theme in my mind, even if I don’t take any actions to mark it in the physical world. I did, however, eat a scrumptious celebratory lemon bar last week, and that pretty much kicked butt.
Elizabeth, I used to worry that someone would read my pages…. now I’m pretty well convinced that even if they could, no one would have the attention or interest to read more than a line or 2!!
I remember noticing the same thing back when I first started morning pages — that it would be all humdrum blahblah and then BAM, something interesting. IF, I kept going long enough. I forgot all about that, thank you for the reminder, might need to draw mine out a little longer.
As for my 30 day experiment, so far so good. Oddly good and free of drama actually. Yes, very odd. I hadn’t chose a specific quality to focus on though, and maybe that would be useful in a complementary way. One thing I’m playing with is receiving, receptivity. So maybe that would work. I’m also playing with the word “generative” as opposed to productive…
@Briana-
“playing with the word “generative” as opposed to productive”
Excellent! When I use “productive” in my “hello day” greetings (when I do them), I noticed my inner 8-year old stomping at the word. Inowanna be productive. But “generative” has her wondering what kind of things she can generate. Thank you!
-case