May 25, 2004

Another bare bones issue of The Creative Pops Newsletter.

I'm very excited this week because I found a marvelous new website that looks promising, came up with new bonus offers for my gardening book, and had pleasant thoughts about you and our mutual search for creativity!

Shall we begin?

VKP
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Guest Article: Unconscious Creativity by Deanna Mascle

One of the most powerful tools in my creative arsenal is what I call unconscious creativity.

No, I do not ask someone to brain me with a hammer and I don't even need to be actually unconscious. This is when I simply allow my unconscious to do all the heavy lifting for me creatively. It is the use of this method that has allowed me to write quickly when working as a newspaper reporter and to generate several books while also working a demanding full-time job and going to school.

This method falls back on the age-old advice to "sleep on a problem". Have you ever been worried about a decision or struggled to remember something important before bedtime only to wake up the next morning with the answer sharp and clear in your mind as if it was a gift from the gods? It is a gift of sort, but no outside agency delivered it to you. The answer was supplied to you by your greatest creative ally-your subconscious.

Unconscious creativity uses the power of the unconscious mind. The simplest technique is incubation, where after thinking about the challenge consciously for some time, it is put to one side and left for a while. Often a solution will pop into your mind unbidden, as your mind continues to work on the problem below your level of awareness.

The human brain is a beautiful, highly-functional instrument and yet we utilize so little of its power. Our unconscious does amazing things for us. It helps with our daily coordination needed for useful tasks such as walking, eating, breathing,
driving. It stores memories for us, it keeps a check on those things that are
truly important to us (our values), it reminds us what we believe. Most of the
time it does these things (and a myriad more) without us even having to
consciously think about it - that's why it's called the unconscious, by the way!

However, it does something even more wonderful: it is able to sift and sort vast quantities of data (things we have seen, heard, said, felt, smelt, tasted) and recognize patterns and generate ways of responding. It sometimes does this in wonderfully creative ways. We often overlook the potential of our unconscious mind and instead let it worry about such trivia as our dental hygienist's name and whether or not we remembered to buy peanut butter. However, it doesn't have to be that way. Using the unconscious as a creative tool is very simple.

Spend some time consciously thinking about your writing task or challenge. What are the parameters of the project? What are the special requirements? What ideas do you have already? What specific questions do you need to work on further? Sometimes even spending some time jotting down the ideas you have is a good idea. Don't work on shaping or organizing them. Just record them on paper or computer file. You may not even need them later, but the process of recording them can be a helpful way to prepare your subconscious for its task.

Then forget about it! That's right. Move on with your life and consciously think about something else. Revise another project. Read something for education or pleasure.

The incubation time varies according to your creative personality and of course the size of the project at hand. I've found a few days usually works best although even giving myself a few hours can be beneficial. Doing something physical is often helpful during the incubation period and sometimes this is the only time I really get my gardening or housework accomplished!

When I am working on a novel I allow my subconscious to work scene by scene through the book and often when I sit down at the computer I find the words just flow throw me as the scene plays itself in my head almost like a movie. I have heard of several authors who are able to program their dreams so they are literally writing in their sleep. Dreams can be as vivid as a painting, as resonant as music, and as symbolic as poetry. Using this method I can often write a scene a day (sometimes in less than an hour) which is fairly decent progress while simultaneously working full-time and maintaining a life.

While it is often frightening to think about trusting something as important as the writing project of your heart to your subconscious, it might help to remember that your brain is a muscle of sorts. Your unconscious mind controls many muscle functions for you all the time (try thinking about the way that you walk while you actually walk. I always trip when I think too much about the action of walking and yet I don't trip when I'm not thinking about it.)

The same is true for great athletes. They talk about being in the zone. The zone is simply the place where they can act and react without consciously thinking about what needs to be done. The body and unconscious mind handle all the details. Thinking too hard can actually interfere with the zone and this is true of writing as well. Interestingly, a recent study of professional and amateur golfers showed that the amateur golfers had significantly more conscious activity when playing a shot than did the professionals. I would bet something similar would result if experienced and novice writers were studied.

So give unconscious creativity a try and see how far it takes you. Simply program your subconscious and then leave it alone to incubate for a while. It may take some time to find the method of tapping into your subconscious after your incubation period. For some freewriting or journaling serve to unlock the fruits of your unconscious labor. Usually, I sit myself down and begin the task at hand. It is often slow-going at first but I force myself forward and at some point my subconscious kicks in and the words start flowing and the keyboard starts clicking away.




Deanna Mascle is the publisher of Word-Craft and owner of http://Word-Craft.Info. She teaches College English, has published three novels, and currently publishes 8 Ezines and 3 Newsletters.

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Fr^e Offer From Creative Pops: The Truth About Assertiveness by Victor K. Pryles

Assertiveness has gotten a bad name. Is it really so politically incorrect that you should mouse around and not fully express your inate creativity?

This article sets the record straight and opens the door to freedom. Get your fr^e copy now by sending a blank e-mail to:

mailto:assert@creativepops.com


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Take your time
And worrry no more,
Rushing around
Won't settle the score.
The voice within
Knows what you should do,
Just listen to it
And follow through.

Michael Dooly

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It's May and gardening month! My book "The Weekend Gardener"- The Busy Person's Guide To A Beautiful Backyard Garden now boasts some really fantastic BONUS REPORTS.

http://creativepops.com/garden.index/


Purchase "The Weekend Gardener"- The Busy Person's Guide To A Beautiful Backyard Garden right now and get instant access to all of these BONUS REPORTS:

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Bonus # 3 Guide To Buying Trees & Shrubs by Leonard P. Perry, Extension Professor University of Vermont.

If you're buying trees and shrubs this report helps you shop for success and make wise choices. Inside you learn which is the right plant for your site and how to choose a healthy one. What's the difference between your local garden center shop and catalogue choices? You'll find the answer, and so much more in this free report!




Bonus # 4 Garden Shopping Savvy by Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension professor University of Vermont.

If you love gardening then you'll love this report. Make those spring trips to your full service garden center, nursery or greenhouse ---prepared! Professor Perry shows you what the right times to go shopping are, and prepares you to take advantage of special bargains and opportunities that make your gardening more productive and pleasant. You'll love this time saving, money saving and thrifty free report!




Bonus #4 Interpreting The Seed Packet

Of course, the colorful pictures and fanciful names on a seed packet at your garden center entice you to buy. But this report saves you from getting carried away and selecting more varieties than you have space to plant. It shows you how to read and interpret those seed packets. Now you can make wise choices and get the real insider knowledge to interpret the contents! Why fly blind? This marvelous report will make you an instant expert!





Bonus # 5 Dividing Perennials & Other May Gardening Tips by Charlie Nadozzi, Vermont Botanical Garden and Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor, University of Vermont.

May is a very busy month in gardening. Dividing perennials is an art! In this free report you get a knowledge packed resource about both! If left undivided many plants become unproductive and overcrowded. Do you want to learn from the experts? You will really get the skinny on how to make the remarkable month of May truly productive and easy and how to best divide your perennials with this bonus!





Let's re-cap what you receive when you decide to own your copy of "The Weekend Gardener"- The Busy Person's Guide To A Beautiful Backyard Garden:

v 60 days of garden tips from the author. (And a way to expand these to nearly 1000 garden tips).

v Getting To Know The Fabulous World Of Orchids.

v Guide To Buying Trees & Shrubs

v Garden Shopping Savvy

v Interpreting The Seed Packet

v Dividing Perennials & Other May Gardening Tips

Along with the most comprehensive eBook, "The Weekend Gardener", in circulation today!

But we're still not done.

If you order your copy today inside you get TWO additional bonus offers!

The Year-Long Gardening Calendar that shows you exactly what to do every month of the year! It guides you to having a productive, joy-filled garden experience even in the middle of January!


Did you know weekend gardening could be a year- long event, not just for springtime? Well, with this yearly calendar you'll have plenty of delightful projects lined up year round!



Plus:



In the back of your book you will find the US Horticultural Temperate Zone Map that shows you exactly where you should plant for success! It clearly lays out the weather zones that are vital to knowing which plants thrive in which parts of North America. And if you don't live in the USA, no problem, you have a resource that shows you where to find out which zones work best around the world!



Get instant access to these remarkable, in-depth special reports.

You can buy "The Weekend Gardener at my Authors Den for just $17.00 Visit today:

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As soon as I get your order I will forward all the bonus reports mentioned above directly to your e-mail inbox.

In these marvelous, detailed and useful fr^e bonus reports you will get all the knowledge you need to expand on the weekend gardening experience. Make your decision right now to become a member of the gardening class and discover the joy of having your own beautiful backyard garden and the time to do it all!

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Thanks so much for joining me this week! If you love someone who loves to create why not send them a copy of this newsletter?

Make it a creative week---

Best wishes,

Victor K. Pryles