Like many people, we’re always trying to find ways to increase productivity without stressing ourselves out. We’ve discovered that along with the idea of being more productive and in control comes the pressure to accomplish things. I can have the effect of making us “look over the fence at other people’s greener grass” and be…
Read Moreif brainstorming doesn’t work, what does?
(Video link here.) We’re getting a little tired of pat ideas about how creativity works, based on “research”. Take Jonah Lehrer’s quick little film debunking the practice of brainstorming: getting a group of people in a room to throw out ideas without have their ideas criticized. The gist is that RESEARCH has shown that every…
Read Morecreative process: doing this-or-that ‘in your head’
We really love Maira Kalman‘s picture of her worn, old-fashioned boots and it’s simple, insightful, refreshingly real-life annotation. It affirms something we practice many times daily: imagining, fantasizing, trying-on scenarios in our heads that we ultimately will never do because the reality is, well, something we don’t really want to deal with, or can’t deal with.…
Read More‘improvised life’s emergency pantry
The wind has picked up in the huge trees in the park across the way. TV news is reporting mandatory evacuations around the city, as the confluence of full moon, the jet stream and hurricane Sandy’s massive size threatens major flooding and power outages. The sky is straight our of a Ghostbuster’s movie; we’re waiting…
Read More“build or destroy” (patrick martinez’ neon signage)
Patrick Martinez’s neon sign made us think. We believe strongly in building… …but if you aren’t building… are you destroying? OR…
Read Moregoing on retreat (back next week)
The practice of making a retreat – taking oneself OUT of everyday life to withdraw and reflect – has been around for eons. It is part of many spiritual traditions, and to our thinking, should be a requirement for everyone (and paid for by insurance – ha) , so filled as our lives are with…
Read Moredealing with uncertainty, from zen habits + maira kalman
Zen Habits recently published the very useful Finding Peace with Uncertainty, one of our favorite subjects. It made us go back and leaf through the great Maira Kalman’s wonderful book, The Principles of Uncertainty. We clipped this image of her crossed-out musings thinking, for sure, she naturally applies Zen Habits’ 8 practices… Try something…
Read Moremoment of ocean and pink sky gif
The forecast for today: a wondrous pink sky and an ocean full of ideas… via 40licks Related posts: an evening gif: gratitude… practice makes! what have you been making today? peep show gif: funny, risqué, slightly x-rated color/pattern meditation break gif-inspiration: devise, invent, create…try something new
Read Morecolor inspiration: pink, acid yellow + a blue geometry
We always have our eyes for ideas we could use at home, office, spaces we need to support us and lift our spirits. The right color can do that. Since we’re not being entirely comfortable picking colors on our own, we look to ways other people have done it for inspiration and guidance. First we…
Read Morewhitehead’s 2012 paralympic 200m gold: breathtaking
(Video link here.) Richard Whitehead’s come-from-behind whirlwind completely defies the words ‘disabled”. The race is breathtaking, and a big reminder of just what’s possible if you set your mind to it, and work and practice, and are willing to not have things be be perfect, until suddenly they become just that. “I am living proof,…
Read Moredanny macaskill’s new video: what he thinks as he rides
(Video link here.) The latest video from cyclist Danny MacAskill has an added feature: insight into MacAskill’s thinking and interior approach to his challenging stunts and excursions: JOYRIDE. Related posts: joy ride: practice makes wondrous perfection danny macaskill’s joy ride danny macaskill’s bike lesson (setbacks + difficulties + perseverance = mastery) gifts + inspiration for bikers…
Read Morean open door: gif for an improvised life
We LOVE gifs because they’re animated visions seem like magic. Among our favorite new gif-makers is 40licks. We can’t help seeing this lovely gif as a perfect image of improvisation: an open door to possibility. Related posts: an evening gif: gratitude… practice makes! what have you been making today? peep show gif: funny, risqué, slightly…
Read More2 minute miracle: 88 women ‘flying’
(Video link here.) The 88 member ‘Pearls of Russia’ women’s skydiving team pulloff a stunning flower formation jump. Daring, breathtaking, wondrous… via Core 77 Related posts: ‘tiny wings’: more on the theme of flying fly around the earth! do you want to fly? skateboard in style! (1974) practice flying (via the uganda skateboard union)
Read Morethe healing powers of ipads…laptops…computers…
Our friend Jody Lotito Levine sent us an email filled with images, some of them really wondrous. With them came this message: …from my former boss and dear friend recovering from pancreatic cancer: he says his ipad has been so healing and connective – We mention it on the heels of our post about disconnecting…
Read Morevacation (or weekend) mental prep
This recent New Yorker cover by Mark Ulriksen called “Capturing the Memories” is, curiously, the perfect illustration the New York Times article Call Waiting: It’s Me, Your Vacation: Eight Rules for Getting the Most Out of Your Time Off that appeared a week before. Matt Richtel outlines “Vacation Mental Prep” for people who have a hard time letting go…
Read Moremental health break: riding teahupo’o waves in slo-mo
(Video link here.) A writer we know confessed her method to us: when she was blocked, she just lay down and read something completely unrelated until she fell asleep. It’s like shutting down a computer. When she woke up, she’d usually be able to continue her work. OMG, we do that too! We were SO…
Read Moremorning haiku: christopher walken via jim meskimen
(Video link here.) Over the past few months, we’ve made much of our practice of reading poetry in the morning, rather than jumping to the computer. We especially love haiku, the ancient Japanese form of poetry that follows a rigorous formula: three lines of five syllables, then seven, then five again. Haiku tend to be brief,…
Read Morecolor inspirations all around us
Our friend Maria Robledo sent this photo with the words “Color inspiration”. It was a two-fer gift: a virtual bunch of flowers AND a color combo we couldn’t imagine otherwise (for wall or floor or…) …that has us looking around…
Read Moreunexpected shift of view (look around!)
Two photos from Magical and Otherwise reminded us of the complete shift of view that can come when we open our eyes to what’s hiding-in-plain-sight all around us.
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