Gossip Gone Wild!

First I would like to say how grateful I am for those who see me as a trusted source to process some of life's messiest situations. I think I should also clarify immediately at the fore front of this blog that this is in no way directed at you reading this. This is for you reading this. If you think this is about you specifically in any way and at any point, just finish reading this, call me and we'll hopefully just clear that mess right up.

Let’s talk about gossip.

What's the difference between-

 

the destructive and energy draining forms of gossip, running our mouths, or self-seeking behaviors that put others down so someone else can move up 

vs .

the creative processing of what's going on in our lives with another human being?

 

My daughter often thinks I don't understand or remember what life is like as a teenager. This topic is something that happens quite frequently at her younger age. What's most unfortunate is that this behavior I'm discussing is hard to forget because it can continue way into adult life if we do not cultivate different ways to resolve situations we face.

Whether I am working with someone or speaking with someone that is a friend or part of my family, I make sure it is a completely open forum for this person to let it all out. They can share their perspective no matter how on or off point it is or seems to be. Let it flow and let it go. This is often an important part of the process for healing. Allowing someone to be authentic and honest with themselves and talking out situation with another human being can be extremely helpful.

What happens next is what determines whether this conversation is going to remain destructive or transform into a creative and beautiful process that changes everyone involved for the better. The most important and defining difference in the conversation of the gossip and someone who wants to process a situation, is the action. This is where creativity gets to come in, and I love me some creativity!

For the sake of this blog I am going to use my book  Embracing The Spark  and the chart found in Chapter 10, “Making the Most of Your Actions: Getting Creative.” Using this chart I can easily find words in the destructive column that align with the act of gossiping or self-seeking. On quick review of the list, here are some that could work in the destructive column:

Unsettle, Disempower, Invalidate, Ruin, and Misunderstand.

Whether the rumors are about you, or someone else, the negative talk could be affecting one or more people in the situation in sat least one or several of these ways mentioned above. Trust me, there were more. I chose to stop at five actions.

If we then look to the creative action on the opposite side of the list that correlates to each of these words we will find the words:
 

Establish, Inspire, Dream, Devise, and Conceive.

(Wow, do those words already sound and feel better or what??)

When we engage in a conversation about a rumor, speaking negatively about someone who may have hurt us directly or indirectly, or talking about someone who did this or that to someone other than us, we are acting more in alignment with destructive behaviors. These behaviors naturally develop into less favorable transition points for our energy, feelings, and thoughts. Our relationships with others can now become negatively impacted whether we are involved or not in the situation from this space forward.

Although we can’t always avoid a conversation like this, we can however find a creative solution and action that leaves us with a more favorable transition point for forward movement. Just because we are looking for a creative solution, doesn’t mean we are trying to control or manipulate an outcome. It means we are choosing to stop the ball the negative behavior from rolling down the metaphorical hill and transmuting it into a more sustainable form of energy for ourselves.

Let’s look at the creative words I found earlier with the chart and ways we can use them.

 

·         Devise- You may have already recognized that by Devising a plan of creative action is already pulling us out of the destructive behavior into a constructive one.

·         Conceive- You may want to contemplate the actions of the “offender” by trying to understand or Conceive where they were coming from when the “offense” occured.

·         Establish- If we don’t have any idea how to understand where that person was coming from, and the relationship in distress is a valued one, we may want to Establish a dialogue with the person to stop the rumor or gossip in its path.

·         Dream- Rather than letting the rumors invalidate you or your work or whatever the situation may be, keep Dreaming. A lot of haters show up when you start pursuing your dreams and self-seeking of others will show right up.

·         Inspire- Let the gossip Inspire you to be a better human being or let go of the people in your life that aren’t kind or care enough about you to Establish the dialogue with you. Let them be a reflection of what you'd rather not be.

Whatever you choose to do with your creativity, don’t worry about how the other person may or may not react. This is a gift you are giving yourself. You are choosing more favorable transition points for your energy and well-being moving forward. As we change, heal and love ourselves, we do this for the world. This is how we end gossip, self-seeking, and disempowering talk between us and those around us.

If at the end of the dialogue with your trusted companion, you find absolutely no creative action is necessary for you to make because what you’re talking about is really not yours to get involved in, try this-   

 

Establish a connection with your top and bottom lip

by shutting your mouth.

 

Oh, yes- creativity is always an option and it always works!

 

So much love and blessings to all of you creative souls!

-jodi

 

 

Here's the link to my website if you would like to purchase a copy of the  book! http://www.jodilynnlamure.com/book.html
 
 
 
 
 

 

There's Someone With A Gift For You

A small girl, no older than eight years old, stands among a dusty plain. Her hair is golden beneath the ash and dirt that has painted the top of her head, like snow flurries grasping to the edge of a rocky cliff. Her dress was once blue, the color of a sunlit sky, and there is an embroidered collar adorning the neck of the dress that has begun to fall off and dangle underneath her hair.

There is a man standing next to her that appears to be angrily screaming in her face. His gray hair is wild like the snakes that grew from Medusa’s head. His suit that was once black and neatly pressed, has begun to look more like the continued fading that his age and rage have brought unto his wrinkled face.

Behind the girl, an explosion has erupted from the dusty earth as a result of rocketing hatred from forces unseen. The warmth of the fire that has torn away its capsuled metal home can be felt scorching her back and the left side of her face. It lights up the sky brighter than the sun, and yet she stands there unwavering and embracing its warmth.

Tanks are driving up behind her, and what seems like hundreds of men, woman, and children are being dragged by their arms by one another, running from the terror occurring around her. The screams and the ear ringing brought on by nearby explosives have drowned out the birds chirping and the winds whisper, and yet it looks as if she can hear their songs.

The sky has gone beige from the dust and smoke in the air. It appears to swirl around this calamitous scene with its very own mission of devastation. Like an evil apparition that has broken free from the  violent cracks in the earth, it is adding to the madness surrounding all who are present on the plain with wild and whipping gusts of dirt and rock.

But here is this little girl, still unwavering. Her eyes have closed and her lips have formed a gentle smile. She holds a flower between both of her hands that she harvested this morning near the river bank when she went to gather water. The look on her face is of pure peacefulness and gratitude just as when she picked it.

She seems unaware to everything that surrounds her at the moment, and yet we know that is impossible. How does she do it, continue to stand in the middle of the chaos and remain filled with peace? How does she maintain a smile, when pain surrounds her? How does she hold on to the flower, when the sky rains ash around her? How does she find her strength, this small child, when everything around her seems much larger than she is?

She trusts. She holds on to a vibration of joy and focuses on the flower, rather than the falling sky. Her courage is great because she knows she is much larger than she appears. She is part of something infinite, and right now her purpose is love just as it was yesterday, and just as it will be tomorrow. She doesn’t forget. That is all she needs to do.

For those of us, who have stopped running, and taken time to notice the girl, she has captivated our attention. It becomes much easier to focus on the love radiating from her than the chaos surrounding her. A bit of peace begins to course through our veins that was absent a moment ago.

We embrace this way she has shared with us, and find ourselves closing our eyes. Our mouths begin to turn into gentle smiles as we can't help but picture the girl in our minds. She is no longer one little girl holding a flower. She has become many little girls holding a flower by touching our hearts with her light. Now, as we carry her light within each of us, we can carry the gift to share with others.

Now close your eyes and see this little girl, then receive the gift she is offering all of us.

And so it is.

 

Embracing Vulnerability

 

It has been a while since I've written a post, but the essence of this one took a while to develop, and I am so grateful it has because it's a big one for me.

An old friend reappeared in my life for a brief moment, if only to awaken awareness within me. I could tell something profound was about to occur, but I couldn't figure it out until it happened. This recent experience brought about an awareness of two different types of vulnerability.

The first type of vulnerability is when we are willing to reveal ourselves to another human being without holding back for any personal reasoning. This can occur because of a fear or insecurity of some kind, or the holding back can occur for selfish and manipulative reasons.

The other type of vulnerability is the willingness to open our hearts enough to get to know another person. I don’t just mean get to know them by listening to them and the words coming out of their mouths. I mean really feel them and their story.

Some may refer to this second type as being present or compassionate, and yes it is both these things. However, it is deeper than that. It is completely unfiltered and unprotected presence and compassion. It is devoid of fear that caring for another human being may in some way end up causing you pain. It is in this exchange, the care and the concern for another person in which we enter relationship with can flourish, and it applies to friendships, romantic relationships, and yes, this can even be in a business relationship.

Let’s imagine we have two people standing in a room with a brick wall dividing them. There are two different types of bricks in this wall, each kind of brick representing one of the two types of vulnerability, and each person is responsible for half of the bricks. As with any brick wall there is mortar between the bricks to keep the wall strong and in place. We’ll say the mortar is made of fear.

If those two people choose to get rid of the wall, so they can engage in some sort of relationship, first they have to weaken the wall by addressing any fears. The willingness to walk through any fear takes care of the mortar, and makes the wall brittle, but we are still left with all the bricks stacked on top of one another. Now we have to become vulnerable to get rid of them.

If we start by only removing one set of the bricks or one type of vulnerability, it may end up looking like the end of a game of Jenga, where only certain pieces have been removed from a giant tower of blocks that has now fallen over and there is still a huge mess in front of us. Even if the two people wanted to get to one another, one of them would need to climb over an unstable pile. Needless to say, there is one person having to do all the work.

It is only when both people work on both types of vulnerability within themselves, does the path open completely by removing all of the bricks. Then the two people can engage fully in the type of relationship that is desired by them coming together. 

When this little metaphor showed up in my life to reveal to me my own personal patterns with vulnerability, like any good spiritual student, I had to ask myself why I manifested this into the way it was revealing itself and here is what came up for me. 

In the past, I have had a fear to be vulnerable enough to be seen due to perceived flaws or imperfections. I’m not just talking about physical imperfections. I am referring to feeling inferior or insecure because of the many details that can arise for a person. This could be my lack of education based on what society tells us is necessary, I am one of the few in my spiritual community that still smokes cigarettes knowing how harmful it is to my body, because my art lacks in areas of realism and speed when necessary, or even that I have written a book that says one thing, and then as time passes by, I shift and grow with its message, so a fear arises that maybe the writing is becoming or already obsolete. Blah, blah, blah. Many things can arise within my mind to tell me it’s not safe to be vulnerable enough to let myself be seen.

Then, because Spirit is so giving, protecting, and loving, and it wants me to have everything I am comfortable receiving, it will give me exactly what I wanted. Spirit has been providing everything I wanted in life while keeping me safe from being seen. I have work I love that lets me hide away as long as I’d like without asking much of me, many relationships that come in only to serve the other person so I can easily disappear when I prefer because I am no longer needed, and enough solid friendships that I’m not required to reach out and make new acquaintances if I don’t want to. However, that path is not exactly acting in alignment with divine will or the service that has been asked of me by my higher guidance, it’s the path based on my will.

The good news is, I’m not running the show, and so the greatest trick Spirit has to offer us all is to give us more and more of the same old thing through different scenarios until you can think to yourself, “hey, I’m not sure I want any more of this sh―. I think I’m good. Yep! I’ve had enough.”  Spirit wants each of us to have a fuller life, but we need to be asking for it, not resisting the heck out of it. Life will continually manifest a similar experience over and over based on our fears and desires until we can recognize that it’s not working for our highest and best interest.

This recent experience provided just this. It helped me recognize perhaps not being seen, and staying under the radar, may not be what I wanted, or needed, at all. It was actually quite annoying, but in looking at my own patterns, I could recognize, I was being given EXACTLY what I had been asking for. Spirit is extremely clever to reveal the gifts in this magnificent way! I am so extremely grateful for the gift I needed to move forward with my life purpose, to be revealed through a big, strong, and attention-grabbing man!

The bottom line is I can’t do what Spirit has brought me here to do and hide behind the wall anymore. I’ve known what I’ve been divinely asked to do, but I wasn’t quite sure how I was supposed to do it. It felt like something wasn’t clicking or part of the equation was missing. I had to get out of my way, my fears, and my wants, and remove both types of bricks of vulnerability. Only then, can Spirit start providing me with a different option. I have to do it, not because there’s another person on the other side of the wall―

―but because all of life  is on the other side of the wall.

What does that means if there really isn’t a person on the other side of that wall?

It means all of the bricks are my own!

So be bold, reveal yourself, and let others into your heart! Let go, be vulnerable and allow life to fully integrate into your being by getting rid of the wall that stands between you and all of the future’s possibilities! There really is nothing to lose except for the same ol’ story you’ve been asking for.

Much love and gratitude for all of you.

Many blessings,

jodi

 

 

 

 

 

20 creative challenges to make this week Shine!

I recently released a book on embracing a new perspective on creativity called Embracing The Spark: A Simple Guide for Using Creativity to Live Brilliantly.

Soon, I will be holding a couple workshops to play with some of the tools in the book so that people can start implementing some amazing and joyful changes in their lives. The first workshop will be in Ft. Myers, Florida at The Mystical Moon this Sunday, April 12th, 2015 at 1pm. The second one is being held in Naples at Goddess I Am on Saturday, May 23rd, 2015 at 1pm. Hopefully one of these days will work for those who would like to attend. I will have books with me and be doing book signing on these days as well. Feel free to print out one of the flyers from the images at the bottom of this blog.

Tonight, I was sitting here making a list of creative challenges I could give myself for the week, based on teachings of applying creativity the way it is explained in the book and other classes I am currently exploring. That's when I had the idea to share that list with all of you. Feel free to use this list to lighten up your week as well and share anything exciting that may come up for you! You know as I travel my path, anything that comes up worth sharing with you, I share, and will do so in more of the blogs to come! Happy Creating!

1. Discover something new about yourself!

2. Concoct insanely good compliments to give to people-- Because of my reluctance to receive compliments, I often withhold giving them in fear to make other people feel the way I feel when I get them. That ends now.

3. Share a dessert or meal with a friend or loved one.

4. Give a person a hug you don't normally embrace that way.

5. Imagine you are having a conversation with your heart and say something loving to it.

6. Nurture your inner child by doing something you used to do when you were younger. Color, dance, play hide and seek, a board or card game or a game of twister.

7. Journal about something going on in your life, whether it's just a word document in your computer or a specific journal you use. It can even be a voice recording in your phone. Make sure to date it. You may want to know when it was later.

8. Pick a character from a movie or a book and act like them during a conversation with a friend. Who doesn't like talking like a pirate? Hee hee.

9. Devise a sneak attack "Boo!" on someone close to you. Please do not do this to someone with a heart condition or anywhere near ice or stairs. Just keep it simple, clean fun.

10. Visit sunset and build something like a sandcastle or bury a friend in the sand.

11. Listen to a new perspective of a belief you have and try to conceive something within the perspective rather than disagree, correct, or change it.

12. Dance- listen to music that moves you and dance standing up, sitting down, or use your imagination.

13. Embark on a journey, even if it is the neighboring town or even only a couple of hours, and do one thing for each aspect of your emotional, physical and spiritual selves while on that journey. (Three actions total.)

14. Initiate a conversation with a stranger. Hint- you can start by giving one of those insanely good compliments from earlier. Double creativity points!

15. Day-dream about some form of abundance coming to you. This doesn't have to be financial, but can be abundance in any form such as chocolate!

16. Love more.

17. Set in motion a dream you have had. Remember even baby steps move forward!

18. Make your favorite meal.

19. Organize one area in your house that makes you even slightly uncomfortable. Is it just me, or do I have many of these, like books piling up the wrong way on bookshelves, or craft supplies that are overflowing onto the floor from my spur of the moment rummaging. How about the old bills I never know what to do with once they're paid-- save or shred??

20. Start by doing just one of these creative deeds or making a list of you own inspired by these!

I'm looking forward to finalizing the class preparation for this weekend among taking on as many of these other ideas as I go along. I should be able to incorporate at least one. No pressure these days, if I do one this week with the intent to be more creative for the sake of all, I've done better than last week, and that is good. 

If these are too basic for any of you, feel free to flow where your heart leads you. These are definitely specific ones I would like to work on for myself, but explore the more if you so desire! Have fun. Be playful. Life is too short to go through the motions of the same ol' day after day routine. Playing with any of these ideas will raise your vibration, no doubt and bring you a little more laughter, a few more smiles, and a lot more joy.

from my heart to yours,
jodi

Hope to see you all soon! Possibly one of the workshops! Here are the flyers below.

Changing Directions

Well, I got some news last week that could've been pretty disappointing. I put a lot of work into a project that didn’t result in the outcome a person who went through all the work should want.

It’s as if I were running a marathon and just as I got to the finish line, I stopped to tie my shoe and decide if I really even wanted to cross the finish line. After watching several people pass by me, I finish the race, but really only to congratulate the winners because while I was tying my shoe, I realized it wasn’t what I even wanted when I began running. Somewhere over the miles, the direction changed. As I watched the crowd surround the winners, feelings of relief and freedom were what surrounded me.

I realize have been writing a lot more lately. Everything around me seems to inspire me. The topics are finding me. All I have been doing is acting on the inspirations.

It is easy to complicate the heck out of life and overlook the subtle turns the journey takes you. Once we have made a decision about a goal or direction, it’s easy to keep working toward outdated ideals and desires. We can travel far beyond the turn we were being guided to take if we become too fixated on an outcome versus the journey.

About a week before the news came in, a new direction for my journey appeared. Over the next several days I wondered if the two directions could really work together, or if I would in fact find the fork in the road and a decision to make. Well, a clue to the answer lies in the last sentence. Two directions can’t in fact be the same direction. We can bring aspects of the one direction into the new direction, but we can’t walk in two directions, scattering and separating our energy.

I didn’t need to make the decision alone. It kinda took care of itself it seems. I now know without doubt the direction I am being guided to take. What was really amazing, is I got to feel the difference between the two paths as they presented themselves. I was given the opportunity to feel the excitement and inspiration behind the right path versus the path that wasn’t really for me to travel at this time. This new opportunity that presented itself felt meaningful beyond any selfish desires. The original direction wasn’t bad, but it would have removed me from being a part of the process and would have forced me to focus more on the destination.

As I’ve said before, the destination is not a fun place for the artist. As a creator, I want to be the paint not the purchase. I want to sweep across the canvas, dance like music notes on the lines that lead me, spin on the wheel in the hands of creation, and feel the warmth and peace of the sunset in the photograph. This is what living creatively feels like to me!

I am so grateful I don’t have to do the decision making on my own.  I am also grateful to have had the opportunity to feel the difference between the two options for use in future decision making! It’s supposed to feel good― really good, and bigger than I am capable of imagining. Then all I have to do is trust and go with it. Let it lead me where I need to go, even though it may never be what it started out to be or where I thought I was going. I've realized I'm not taking the longer route by changing direction right before the finish line. I'm taking the creative route, that's always changing, dreaming, exploring, discovering and always building.

Namasté.

 

 

Is Bigger Necessarily Better When It Comes To Creativity

Have you noticed everything has grown bigger over the past few decades: bigger T.V.s, bigger ideas, bigger fitness plans, bigger bank accounts, bigger houses, etc. Better, better, more, more!

Creative ideas come in and we judge them immediately. Is it perfect? Is it great? Is it going to make me rich? Is the idea enough? Am I enough? Will it make a difference? Will it be easy? Will it be worth it? Do I have the time for that? I couldn’t do that. Could I?

Whoa! Let’s stop.

Take a deep breath-

Allow yourself to stop for a moment and breathe.

 

We are constantly viewing in social media pictures with famous, brilliant quotes that are meant to inspire us, healthy lifestyle movements whether food or fitness, technology changing into bigger and better versions of itself, or simply hearing new music on the radio. We have the world at our fingertips at any moment. This can be a very powerful tool when used properly, but what if it’s stunting our ability to be creative. What if it’s all the great and better around us that is causing us to judge the subtle and the tiny nudges of the creative source within. The good news is once you realize it may be affecting you, the awareness stops the destructive backfire of the process.

Maybe the next creative idea or action you feel inspired to initiate won’t be better than Einstein’s ideas and discoveries. Maybe it won’t be what gets you the bigger house. Maybe the idea won’t get you fame. But acting on it, no matter how small, does change your world. It will change our world.

Allow yourself to begin remembering that all ideas and acts of creativity, no matter how small, are significant. Each inspired idea comes from a place within you, connected to your heart and soul and interpreted through the imagination. These ideas are guiding you and building the bigger picture of your journey.

By listening to these gentle nudges, you open the door for them to come through more frequently and consistently. You align your energy with the creative source you are made of by acting creatively. This naturally raises your vibration, energy, and vitality, giving you the ability to share this with the world around you. By sharing this with the world around you, this is what reveals itself in the reflection of the reality you see around you.

So the next time you rip out that recipe, make it. The next time you’re driving to a restaurant for dinner and see a new one you haven’t tried before, go there. The next time you feel you need a little nap, take it. Missing the sunshine? Just step outside for five minutes, close your eyes and feel it. If it’s cloudy, just pretend it’s sunny and use the imagination to see it and/or feel it.

Your imagination is here to help you shift your frequency! It is not something you only needed as a child. Use it! It is holding hands with your inner child, missing you, staring at you from within, waiting for the next tea party or fort building. As an adult these tea parties may be coffee with a friend or building the fort may feel more like the inspiration to paint the bathroom the color of the ocean. The energies of these are all the same if we embrace them with the same excitement.

Creativity isn’t only for the known genius. It is connected to the genius within. Creativity isn’t a thing for kids. It is a tool for living life and every moment fully.

Creativity is infinite! How much bigger can you get?

The secret is it may be getting overlooked in the tiniest of places!