This writing thing....

Muses, and devas and judges, oh my!

I was already planning to write today, about my shifting relationship to writing, going from mainly private, for my eyes only, to writing for others. But then I saw the Thursday thread from Writing in the Dark with Jeannine Ouelletteasking us to write about our writing dream.

Writing dream? I drew a blank with that…I LOVED to read as a girl, and still do. A diary has been my most loyal therapist since age 16. But me, a writer?

Even as I embark on this Substack journey, I am not sure what the dream is. Inviting others to venture outside the box, and see the world with new eyes? Well, that is definitely part of it…but I know there’s more.

For guidance on ‘this writing thing’, I opened up a co-creative session. This is like an energetic conference call with the Devas (beings that are architects of anything that is in form. Writing, Creativity, my house, my garden all have devas I can connect with for guidance. This is a learnable skill btw ).

I also invited my Muse to join the session. My Muse is so happy that I am starting to call her name. She’s been dancing out in the cold for a long time with little recognition and is enjoying the welcoming warmth of being included.

Here we go:

Hello to the Overlighting Deva of Writing!  Hello to my Muse!  Hello to my Writing Dream.

What would you like me to hear today?

“You are swimming in a sea of audiences and purposes for your writing.  You do not have to be absolutely clear on who you are writing to now.  (I don’t?) You can allow the ‘audience’ to find its way to you. (I can?)

See your writing as a conversation, between you and a reader. Some of your readers have known you for a long time, some for years…but mostly you are new to each other and just getting acquainted.

Writing can be a conversation between you and different parts of yourself, between you and Soul, Money, Writing, whatever.

Your “job” is to express, to get it out.  Give yourself permission to express. Teach, write a poem, tell a story through your writing.  Make snarky comments about the world & then invite readers to reimagine.  

And while you’re at it, maybe time to come up with another description or way of seeing writing – after all, from job to joy is only one letter.

The minute you turn something into a task, you don’t want to do it anymore. What if, instead of focusing on writing as a should, have to, but-I-promised, you saw writing (or anything else) as something you GET to do.

Once you committed to writing and publishing regularly…writing became work.

Uh oh!

You’ve “worked” all your life and yes, it feels like time to play.  Can you keep the playfulness in the writing process, even if/as it feels like work?

Time to revisit work and play.

Work means:  Being sedentary and in my mind all day.  It’s hard on the body, tiring and I never feel like I am earning enough, the exchange never feels sufficient.  It’s stressful.  It means being a good girl and sitting still.  Can work include dance and movement, breathing, stretching, taking breaks?

Effort means:  it’s hard, it requires hours of concentration at a time.  I am tired at the end of it.  It rarely pays off.  My old habit is better, but I still lapse into relying on anger, frustration and stuckness, or wanting to ‘get out of here’ as a motivation. Not too sustainable or joy-making.  

Play means: I let the judge retire to her chambers and take the damn black robe off.  She gets to bang that gavel and say:

"Recess! Restrictions dismissed! I declare your freedom to follow impulses, emote, yell, dance, beat your chest, wail with labor, stand up and do your power poses… when alone but ALSO when you’re with others.”

Is play, or rest, an entitlement you only earn after all the work is done?

Whatever you do or don’t do—more self compassion and kindness, less worry, heaviness, projecting negative outcomes will serve you well.

What keeps your vibe high and positive? How do you recharge?

Writing is important for your inner life:

For awareness, touching base and grounding, receiving inspiration and higher guidance, being playful, exploring life in these new frequencies…..that’s the inner ear of writing….

For your life relating to others in the world:

For sharing what matters, shining a light on things and offering fresh perspective, inviting curiosity and what ifs, helping others reimagine,  illuminating and cutting through the bs, touching hearts, opening people to the miracles, care as the new current-see.  Helping people question the status quo. 

Who am I writing to?

The feminine/magnetic way, the way of emergence, means you don’t “decide” who they are, you put out your signal and let them come to you.  Just start somewhere.

But isn’t it ‘too late’ for spaghetti on the wall?

Yes, but you’re not randomly throwing things out there.  You are LISTENING to what wants to come through you.

Could writing be a form of love? Could every action of business, self care, relating be from love….Whoa boy, that seems like a TALL order.

I have totally been taught that love is secondary, not primary. That voice says, “Love is not the important thing. Work, being productive, feeding the machine, that’s what matters. Seriously, feelings?  Happiness? What, you want those to matter more?”

The way out of this mental trap you are in, time tested true ways for YOU:

Stop trying to figure it out. 

Surrender each day, step by step and you will be shown the way.  (An important teaching channeled through my friend Dr. Tianna Conte).

Ask for guidance.

And NOTICE and appreciate it when it comes. 

With choices, FEEL into the energy and what FEELS alive, right….what people and environments feed your aliveness?

Always: Moving your body, being in nature.

Connecting to spirit regularly – automatic writing is great for you.

You got off track with the automatic writing…you don’t trust it because you got outside it, your flow was interrupted.

Re-grounding after disruption is something you have lived many times, and can teach…

Yes, Ellen, teach and write from who you are and how you live. 

Oh shit, that.