The brain is wider than the sky.
Emily
Dickinson
There is something that happens when the heart and mind collide and then consciously choose, to collaborate. Late last night I spoke with a dear friend. I implored him, saying as I put my hand on his head, above his ears, “Would you please get out of here all the time?”
He tortures himself by replaying the past, especially past mistakes.
My thoughts are about how to enjoy the sunset tomorrow while he is thinking about an error in judgment twenty-five years ago that is completely unfixable now.
Who do you suppose has a more satisfying life?
“We are so different,” I laughed to myself and cried a bit to him.
These words of Emily Dickinson speak to me of this: “The brain is wider than the sky.”
It is like our bodies climb on a magic carpet and cannot even begin to fathom the wonder that is within our brains, the power of the creative process that longs to be accessed freely every hour of every day.
It wants to look at sunrises with you.
It wants to discover a new solution to a compelling right now not ten years ago or with people who are long gone or thousands of miles away but right now“ problem.”
It wants to help you remember names of that person you worked with at the county thirteen years ago and you just re-met and it wants you to remember the names of those committee members you only see once a month but are so important to your future.
This magical, wider than the sky brain deserves a bit of reverence, though, and doesn’t often collaborate until we quiet the unconscious meanderings of our amygdala, also known as the emotional center of our brains and also quite a knee-jerk sort of response place.
I would rather look down from my magic carpet and hug my amygdala and allow it to do its work in a conscious, centered, thoughtful way instead of blowing up like a volcano whenever I bump into a barrier, especially those which are self created due to the past or the future which remember, we can not control.
Instead focus on what you can control: your thoughts and the direction they take.
1. The moment you notice your thoughts have slid off the magic carpet, tune into where you are standing. "I am standing at my desk in my home office. I feel the soles of my feet inside my walking shoes. I smell the cookies baking for the funeral later today. I feel a slight chill from the window to my left." Be where you are, completely.
2. It may sound trite, but think happy or grateful thoughts. This requires authenticity and please let go of comparison to others. Saying "I am grateful I am not a girl child in the wilderness in Afghanistan" doesn't count. Saying, "I am grateful for water coming out of my faucet, clear and drinkable. I am grateful for the way a freshly laundered sweatshirt feels against my skin. I am grateful I took the time to create some art yesterday." These fit. If you pay attention, you will physically feel the difference in your body.
3. Recreate the ruts in your brain by changing your thoughts before your nasty-brain-chemicals have a chance to shoo you into your habitual way of responding. Immediately upon noticing, list and think of 5 anythings. "Winnie-the-Pooh, Belle, Pollyanna, Tigger, Tinkerbell" (five characters from Disney Movies) "Deck the Halls, Silent Night, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Oh, Holy Night, Jingle Bell Rock" five Christmas carols. These are not five bests or worst, they are random fives. Five midwest states. Five sorts of soups. Five places you have visited. Anything. It takes your mind instantly off and helps you climb back on your magic carpet.
Where is your magic carpet mind taking you today, right now?
Follow me on Twitter: @juliejordanscot
Be sure to "Like" WritingCampwithJJS on Facebook (THANK YOU!)
© 2012 by Julie Jordan Scott
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & next year she will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoy this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
