All articles, tagged with “creativity”

We’re excited to announce that “Water FIlms” are now available on DVD! This two-DVD set contains over 2.5 hours of relaxing and inspiring content.

The first DVD, “Creative Inspiration,” provides a calm and focused atmosphere that’s conducive for creativity, performance or a calm, focused start to your day. “Peaceful Contemplation,” the second DVD, allows you to meditate with your eyes gently scanning tranquil yet spectacular images of nature from all over North America.

Whole Foods Cedar Center already has copies available, but you can also get the DVD at Amazon and CDBaby.

Here’s the promotional video for the DVD set . . .

You can also watch it directly on YouTube.

Peace.

Yeah, I know, anything with “Ultimate” in it sounds like a huge promise. But we’ve come across a new way to help our students and anyone else who wants to achieve new levels of success. Those who are already using this plan are getting huge results!

Rather than trying to remember the details of the plan, print out this page so you can follow the steps.

We all know that consistency, focus and plans for action are keys to getting results from our creative practice, right? Our state of mind when we create plays an even larger role.

The “Ultimate Practice Guide” builds on these ideas with the following steps:

1. At the beginning of each week, write down a statement of intention on paper.

We recommend that you get a notebook that you’ll continue to use for tracking your practice process. Here’s an example of a statement of intention for practicing that’s short and simple:

“I intend to practice 6 days this week and my practice time for my first practice is 8:30 am.”

Setting a time is important because you’re less likely to put it off if you plan around your practice time. The time may change from day to day, but it’s still a good idea to write down the intended time. Note that everything is written in present tense, not future tense.

In addition, write out the specifics of your first day of practice. It’s preferable to do this the day before you practice. Why? Because you will process the plans in your subconscious mind while you sleep, making it much more likely that you’ll follow through the next day!

2. Begin every practice session with these short, but powerful steps:

a) Do a deep breathing exercise that allows you to clear your mind and body of any distracting thoughts and emotions before you engage in practice. After all, effective practice requires your undivided attention. (If you need ideas about breathing exercises, feel free to write to us at Greg@GCCreativeStudio.com)
b) turn off all electronic distractions in your practice space — TV, cell phone, computer, etc.
c) Look over your written practice plans for the day. Because you already wrote out the details of your practice, the plans are clear and you’re many times more likely to follow through with your intention.

3. Follow through with the plans you wrote down on paper. Experience supercharged creativity in your practice.

Here is the part of the plan in which you create or practice. Notice how it’s couched in the middle of all these supportive processes.

4. Put a check mark next to each item you complete from your written plans.

5. At the end of the day’s practice time, write out your plans for the next day.

If you want further fuel for this idea about writing out your plans the day before you actually practice, remember this quote from Jim Fannin, who is a coach of many world class athletes:

“Champions walk into the arena having already won. Others walk in and try to figure out how to win.”

Yes, we’re talking about a creative process, and the sports analogy is a good one. Why? Champions find time to practice in any field. Most people never get around to consistent practicing or creating. Life “gets in the way.” Also, many well-meaning people don’t actually conceive detailed plans about what they want to do or how they intend to do it. So, if you think this process seems too regimented for creative activity, give it a try first and see which creative pathways you open up for yourself.

Step 5 definitely helps you to “win” before you begin, but the final step takes the entire process to a higher level…

6. Visualize tomorrow’s practice session right before you go to sleep.

This is the crown jewel in the process, folks. Just before you go to sleep, your thoughts in that last hour of the day are processed in your subconscious many more times than everything that took place throughout the day. If you go to bed worrying, you will likely wake up not feeling very refreshed (and the worry from the night before will resume the next morning).

But imagine going to sleep visualizing your creative plans and your success with that process. You are then using your greatest ally, the subconscious mind, which will help you fulfill the success that you visualize with effortless ease. Creative visualization also makes you a more creative person.

Don’t just take our word for it. We’re not asking you to believe in this process without giving it a try. For maximum results, plan to use these ideas for three weeks. You will be amazed at what you can do in just 21 days!

Good luck and much success to you!

We hope you got a chance to enjoy Part One. Here’s Part Two of our Western National Parks trip in an RV.

Some awesome images of Yellowstone National Park, including Old Faithful and multiple groups of bison are followed by some cool Wyoming images and Mt. Rushmore.

Enjoy!

Watch it on YouTube in HD here.

Here’s Part One of our Western National Parks trip in an RV. Part Two is coming in the next blog post.

Enjoy the scenery and the adventure!

All of the music is available on our website.

You can also watch the video in HD on YouTube.

Are you looking for ways to sharpen your strategies for a creative project or a new skill? We gave these ten powerful tips to our piano students this year. Give them a try!

1. Establish a consistent practice time each day

• a consistent daily time turns your practice into an automatic success mechanism
• it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a new habit

2. Prepare your mind before you begin

• breathing exercise: inhale slowly for 4 counts, hold breath for 7 and exhale for 8 (repeat this cycle three times)
• close your eyes and visualize putting your distractions on a rolling table that you can push out of the way while you practice
• read something that puts you in a good mood or look at relaxing images (this is why we created “Water Films”)

3. Write out your practice plans and goals in a notebook

• you may also use this notebook as a practice journal to keep track of your progress

4. Do it until you believe it

• with repetition comes confidence and clarity
• by strengthening your belief about the quality of your practice routine and your creative skills, you eliminate excuses (which are talking about or thinking about things you don’t want)

5. Transform distraction into focus

• use your practice time as an exercise to practice being fully in the present
• if you learn the skill of how to focus while distractions are present, you become more consistent (in the case of music, you become a better performer)

6. Prioritize your day

• plan your upcoming day the night before and include creative practice in your plans
• planning your day makes your goals easy to accomplish with minimal effort – the more you do this, the more effective you become

7. Silence the inner critic

• “easy” always wins out over “struggle”
• affirm: “I approve of myself, no matter what anyone else thinks” multiple times every day
• celebrate your victories and focus on your strengths
• overcome insecurity by making an effective practice routine habitual and by fully engaging in each task at hand before moving on to the next task (in practice and in life)

8. Detailed in practice, free and easy in performance

• develop such an effective practice routine that you “trust” your process
• during a performance, job review or evaluation, “there is no evaluating [yourself]. There is no judging. There is no anticipating the result. There is only trust and acceptance.&rdquo
– Bob Rotella, The Golfer’s Mind

9. Enjoy the process more than the product

• “perfection” is both unattainable and stress inducing
• you benefit more by improving your process than simply learning how to get through one creative task (i.e., a single piece of music) in an effort to be “finished”
• accept partial successes and remember that you are on a journey

10. Let go of Fear

• fear is simply your mind giving attention to something that creates anxiety, and you have no guarantee that this object of your focus will come to pass
• talk or think about your life as you want it to be
• focus completely on the task at hand to engage your mind constructively

“The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.”
– Wayne Dyer

I had a birthday this weekend and my family had a little get together. I decided it would be fun to capture those birthday party elements that so many of us liked as kids — a fun group activity and gifts for everyone in attendance to take home.

Like many family gatherings, talking is the main event. When many people gather, many people talk…at the same time. I’m sure you know what I mean.

So, I brought this miniature djembe (African drum) to the party because I had an idea for a different kind of talking activity. We all gathered in a circle. Whoever was holding the drum was given the floor, so to speak. The drum holder was given the opportunity to talk about something good that’s happened to them recently while everyone else just listened.

It was amazing to hear about all the cool things that had recently transpired for everyone in the room. The energy was high and it was a fantastic way to share with one another. I don’t think we’ve ever done that!

The conversation that unfolded after that activity seemed more relaxed because there was no competition to be heard.

Nice.

The take-home gift was simply this:

Everyone was given a blank sheet of paper upon which they were to write their name. Then, everyone passed the paper to the right and each person wrote something that they appreciated about the person whose name was on top of the paper. What an enlightening exercise.

If you’re looking for ways to raise the creative energy of your next family get together, give one of these activities a try.