Here we are 15 days into 2024, and I trust you had a peaceful beginning of the new year. I will not speak about New Year resolutions.
I only felt the need to share again three personal rituals that help and support me whenever I need: writing, gazing at the sky, and self-inquiry
(which you can practice out loud).
1. Whenever I arrive in a new city, I like to seek out and get to know at least one bookstore.
About seven years ago, while in Timișoara, I ended up (at the recommendation of a friend) at the bookstore "La două bufnițe," a warm, welcoming, and special place. At that time, I was looking for
Erich Fromm's book, "The Art of Loving", which I found and bought there (and I highly recommend it). A shelf away from Erich Fromm, hidden among other books, was Julia Cameron's volume,
"The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity". I didn't know who Julia Cameron was back then, but I was drawn to the title and flipped through a few pages right there, over a cup of tea.
I continued exploring the book at home, and since then, I’m recommending Julia's guide to creativity to all friends going through a "life re-design" phase. Julia's book introduced me to "morning pages."
Morning pages are "three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness... They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind— and are meant to be, simply, the act of
moving the hand across the page and writing down whatever comes to mind. Nobody can read your morning pages except you. And you should not read them for the first eight weeks."
Julia recommends practicing this exercise daily for at least twelve weeks.
Morning pages will teach you to stop judging and allow yourself to write freely about anything, even repeating the same sentence until you fill the three pages.
These pages "feed" our artistic brain and can be seen as a morning meditation exercise.
"In the morning pages, we declare what we like, what we don't like, what we want, what we hope for, what we regret, and what we plan."
Brené Brown stated in "Rising Strong" that "The most effective way to move information from your head to your heart is through your hands."
Personally, handwriting helps me connect with a "playful self" and sharpen the creativity I need in what I do.
2. "Throughout life, a person may see at most a thousand full moons, but it is very possible that, reaching the twilight of their life,
they realize they haven't had time to observe any." — Stefano Elio D’Anna, The School for Gods
An aspect we might not have reflected on, too rushed to go through life with our heads down, lost in the worries of the day... the free wonders we overlook too easily.
The sky is one of them! Every day, it "changes" its curtain of colors and shapes for us. But how many of us notice its shades and forms?
There's an increasing talk about mindfulness and various methods to "calm" the mind. I dare to say that, for me, "looking" at the sky represents an extraordinary
technique for managing and training attention and cultivate a state of mindfulness.
3. We are all searching for answers.
In the book "The Art of Asking", Marilee Goldberg says, "A well-formulated question changes the way we think and behave afterward."
And it's so very true!
Therefore, I encourage you to ask yourself questions as often as you can. You will surely find the right context, as we are all searching for answers, I dare to say daily.
Here it’s a simple gift for you: a set of questions I’m using with my coaching clients:
o What do you want to nurture this year?
o In which color do you choose to “paint” your 2024?
o Which is your biggest fear? What gives you courage to listen to that fear and tame it?
o When was the last time when you listened to your intuition? How did you feel doing that?
o Which is your greatest personal gift? When was the last time you manifested it?
o Is there any new ritual you won last year?
o What becomes possible for you when you are in a state of FLOW? When was the last time you were in FLOW?
With the hope that you will introduce at least one of these rituals into your 2024, I wish you a healthy, joyful, abundant year!
** In case you want to schedule a coaching / mentoring session, send me a short note at contact@gabrielablaga.com
and we will take it from there.
** I believe you will find inspiration in some of the books from Hoshin Media publishing house.
Have a look: https://www.hoshinmedia.com
