self expression
“There is tremendous power in putting our ass where our heart wants to be. ”
"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is
... See moredarkness as we go in that territory, again, is the domain of dreaming and It's the domain of image making. It's the domain of mystery and the gestation and the creativity and the incubation, that we need to be able to, to work with.
Otter Voice Meeting Notes
Francis Weller
Tom White on Substack
substack.com
When we speak, we use the breath in our lungs to give our thoughts a physical form. The sounds we make are simultaneously our intentions and our life force.
Ted Chiang • Exhalation: Stories
So much of my writing practice is simply about writing when the urge to write strikes. If I miss that window or assume it will stick around and wait for me to be ‘ready’ (always a poor assumption), I lose the potential energy of that idea forever. It’s not that I’ll never be able to write again, or perhaps even never write an idea *like that* again... See more
Our minds have a vast capacity for healing through images. Whether we’re imagining a scene of forgiveness, comfort, or letting go, or simply visualizing a loved one, images can profoundly settle into our bodies and sink into our minds. In my work, I’ve found that helping people to unearth the image that most resonates with them is the cornerstone o
... See moreMark Wolynn • It Didn't Start with You: How Inherited Family Trauma Shapes Who We Are and How to End the Cycle
Imagery, collage, healing
It is six A.M., and I am working. I am absentminded, reckless, heedless of social obligations, etc. It is as it must be. The tire goes flat, the tooth falls out, there will be a hundred meals without mustard. The poem gets written. I have wrestled with the angel and I am stained with light and I have no shame. Neither do I have guilt. My responsibi... See more
Here are some other techniques people use to access and maintain the zone:
- Introducing a long delay between when you do the work and when it is shown to the world. Annie Ernaux writes about this in A Simple Passion, a memoir about how she becomes obsessed in a banal way with a man who is having an affair with her—the thought that others will read th