A Picture Worth a Thousand Words

If your life basket spilled out upon the ground, what would it say about your passions and your life? What do you see in this picture? Could you pick out the person from a group by looking at this picture? If you had to create a life picnic moment, what would be in your basket? 

Big Changes

YES! Creative Tidal Wave lives and is taking some might big turns and swirls. I have been raising the bar in life coaching the past few months. Creative Tidal Wave is all about you, bringing creative and life altering techniques from a wide variety of successful sources. As we all know, one size does not fit all. Lots of great new innovative resources from global sources.

I am very excited about adding Points of You to my business. It is unexpected but precise… don’t you just love that? I bring to the table games that will challenge the way you think about everything, including yourself. You know it is good if GOOGLE, INTEL, Cirque, IKEA, and L’Oreal are using it in their business. Some innovative companies are using it as an interview tool as well. Yes, a game can be a tool to explore team building, problem solving, leadership skills… the possibilities are endless. So what kind of game can be used in businesses, life coaching, counseling, schools, and at home? It is a game based up photo therapy with intriguing words, questions, quotes, and stories. You will laugh, ponder, explore, and learn more about yourself and others playing with you. More on the Coaching Game and Punctum in another blog moment.

Due to seeing common trends in clients and disturbing events happening in the US almost weekly, I decided to branch out to provide for veterans, first responders, and government workers who have PTSD and other trauma related challenges. The Green Cross and the Mental Health groups have created Mental Health First Aid. This provides responders to come in and help during crisis, work with people you may know and  suspect have a suicidal risks, and other mental health issues. A First Responder for Mental Health First Aid can refer clients and families to supports and other community groups to help. By September I will be a certified Trauma Professional.

Now for some really great events. I will present a workshop for the 25th  Georgia Mental Health Consumers Conference in St. Simons Island, GA on using photo therapy with clients to encourage communication. Earlier in August, I will present a creative workshop at the Burson Center in Carrollton, GA on stress management. Lots of great things to come as well.

Creative Tidal Wave is a positive forward moving life coaching service. Whatever it takes, it will happen to move you from the deepest oubliette to the dream castle in the sky. Do not let stinking thinking and trauma stop you from living the life you desire. Catch the wave, and ride it to new heights and wonders you dream of. CTW makes life flow.

 

The Positive Impact of The Theater

The arts are healing. They carry the power to influence within a safe environment without taking on a permanent change.

Theater allows words and action of situations to come to life for a brief moment. We get to glimpse into another world from the safe distance of our seats. We are not required to engage at the moment, just listen and watch. We are voyagers privy to a peak into lives and worlds beyond our own. We leave pondering what we have witnessed. Some words and action might impact our lives while others are lost in the mental files of our minds.

What does a theater program offer besides the pleasure of attending? Community and school theater programs offer the opportunity to explore emotions, places and lives not our own. Improv companies allow people to step outside their limited thinking to explore responses to touchy subjects and emotions via comedy. Theater offers opportunities to role play situations before they actually happen in our lives to develop a better understand of our own responses. In some ways, role playing can be an agent for change. We can “walk a mile in someone’s shoes” via the theater. We can step outside of our being to experience a life of pain and sorrow, joy and ridiculous antics, within a safety zone without worry we might be labeled.

A shy child can develop social skills from exposure to the theater. The theater enhances reading skills in dyslexic people. Proof of this? Look how many actors and actresses are coming out about their dyslexia. If you have a change, check out Henry Winkler’s life story dealing with his GIFT of dyslexia. Being involved in plays can help an angry child learn control by being involved in theater games to prep the mind. Theater which includes dancing and singing helps children and adults to develop coordination and lung development in asthmatics. Singing, dancing, and acting, known as the triple threat hosts so many benefits. Theater, beyond the stage has unlimited possibilities for positive outcomes  for business, life and relationships.

You do not have to be an actor to enjoy being involved in the theater. Creatives are what make the performers look good, especially if not the best on stage. Costume designers, set creators, lighting specialist, musicians, make-up artist, dance instructors, voice coaches, graphic designers, technical support, and stage managers can make or break a production. There is a place for everyone in the theater arts. You can learn the trades and ways while actively working on a performance.

Quiet artist come alive while exposed to the actors and others behind the scenes. Lots of laughs and tears to be shed. Lessons learned dealing with deadlines and those sorts called directors, are life long skills we all need. The plus in the theater it is short lived and you can move on all the wiser. I cannot begin to list all the benefits of being involved in the theater arts as a game changer in life.

Support the theater arts in your community and schools. Become involved with local productions. Go see professional productions to gain insight into other worlds an cultures as well as explore emotionally difficult situations from a safe distance. Just go and be involved any way you can.

 

Let’s PLAY!!

Promoting Lively Adventure for Yourself!! Isn’t that what kids do? Play is active. It is adventuresome in nature because the results are often a surprise and challenging. Negative life experiences have often caused us as adults to lose the wild abandonment of wonder and curiosity to escape us. Best of all, play is all about you!

Okay, I am hearing some humbugs out there. No, you are never too old to play. No, it doesn’t require fancy toys or a playground. No, you won’t break bones or have an ER visit if you remember safety rules. No… well, yeah, you might look silly, so what? Is being silly bad? Is laughing until your sides ache harmful? Oh, there are health benefits for play such as cardio and core strengthening, if you laugh long and hard enough.

Why play? let me count the ways…

• It reduces stress. As adults, excessive stress is deadly. Why not find a fun way to kill stress not you?
• Brain stimulation is the result of play. Ever get stuck on a problem at work? Try playing to kick-start it up again. Nothing wrong with pulling out the old yo-yo or the hidden stash of Lego’s for a few minutes of fun.
• Boosting creativity leads to success in business and life. If you keep doing the same thing you will get the same results. Get your play on and discover new ways to tackle old boring habits. Scoring baskets with all the old memos in the corner trash can could lead to a serious break though you have struggled with. Oh, it s important not to hit the boss in the head while doing so. That could be counter productive if he doesn’t have a sense of humor.
• Improves relationships. Group play can bring a team together on work projects. Playing with friends or family can open blocked communication pathways.  This will date me a bit but taking all the video cases from various classrooms and the.. library (no, you really did not read that) creating a domino trail takes team work. Watching the fruits of our labor travel round the classroom and down the hallway was inspiring as well as bonding. Just like when I was a kid, we had to have a lookout. During my early days of teaching, school administrators were not so versed in the act of play among teaching staff as a good thing.
• Promotes youthful feelings and energy. It is true, one is only as old as they feel. Well, at 51 years old, I have days I am feeling 100+. The old wives tale about joints aching on rainy days is no longer a wives tale but a fact for me. On those cold rainy days it is helpful to explore the crayons and color pages to escape reality. I revisited playing jacks the other day. I really suck at it but was once quite good. After a few moments chasing the ball and grabbing air, I managed to get my grab and go reflex back into the swing. I forgot the aches and pains because I was laughing so much.
• Heals emotional wounds. As adults, we carry lots of emotional baggage with us. Playing helps unpack those emotions with laughter and fun in some cases. Jumping in rain puddles is one of my healing childlike past times. Got those yellow rain shoes splashing in some of the biggest puddles I can find. Do I get messy and wet?  Yes, I do. Sometimes messy and wet is fun. I loved it as a child, why can’t I love it as an adult? I can jump in bigger and deeper puddles now that I am taller.

Time to get my play on! Where are those bubbles? Yes, I think it is a bubble blowing kind of day today.

Singing the Blues

I got up this morning.

Couldn’t jump out of bed.

Felt like a ten ton weight, upon my head.                             

The doggies all happy.

And, I’m feeling crappy.

I just need one more,

weekend at the shore.

How to fight the Monday morning blues? Do something creative. This morning, I celebrated the blues. Listened to my beloved “I’m Blue,” by Eiffel 65. Spent a few minutes playing tug-of-war with the waggle tailed mafia. Then made me some, horchata, my new favorite drink. While grabbing the morning nutrition, I messaged my power crew buddies and sent out client positives. To up the fun level because it was not where I needed it to be, I listened to the all time wonderful and motivating, Blue Man Group. By the third song I was ready to tackle my day.

Sometimes you must reprogram the brain to find your happy place. I did fail to mention it was pouring rain and overcast outside. I had a Santa Claus list of things to do while my text message kept pinging sending me more to add by the minute. It could have been a disastrous day but I kept adding powerful mood lifters in a rapid fire until I got my brain in the right mindset. Oh, and I wrote a silly little poem to boot. I know what works for me. Staying in tune to how my body reacts to stimulus helps me add music, power friends, visuals, and sometimes physical activities to my sensory diet of motivators.

This is an activity a life coach can help you create. It isn’t a difficult task but it takes some exploring to find those things which are constant pep-ups. Everyone’s list is different. If you want to try the Creative Tidal Wave method to developing your sensory diet for success, please contact me. I would be glad to help you create yours as well as develop a back up emergency kit as well.

Now, it’s back to dancing my Monday away to Nickelback.

 

 

To INFINITY and beyond!!

Got to love Buzz Lightyear. But this time I am not talking Toy Story, I am talking focus. I know your mind races on an infinite journey to nowhere yet everywhere. Tapping back into my Shark Like Focus work again to give solutions for those moments when you cannot find your focus. Here is a simple solution to help you get your thoughts collected from the vast chaos flowing in your mind. It can be done in a variety of ways. You can even get creative after a while developing your own personal methods, the possibilities are endless or should I say… infinite. So, what is this magic which can help you focus?

      Yes, it is just that simple lazy 8 looking symbol. Ok, so I see puzzled faces. Drawing the infinity sign or a lazy 8 helps trigger balance in the brain by engaging both the left and right brain. There actually is a lot of information and scientific stuff on this but you can “Google that” if you want to know the in-depth details. You can air draw this sign. You can be extra creative and get your whole body in motion to do figure 8s. The best is when you are in a boring meeting and need a focus brain boost. You can use your fingers to draw it on the table top or you can get your pen and paper out and doodle them everywhere. Retracing the sign over and over has a meditative like effect on the brain. It is rather magic.

There is a certain path you need to follow to enhance the power of the 8. in the diagram below you see an X, that is the starting point. Move your pen, finger or whatever you choice to use, up towards the left to complete the first loop. Follow the arrow pattern to complete your first ….TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!!

 

 

From Brain Matter to Conscious Thought

While watching the movie, Words and Pictures, a quote hit me profoundly, “Could it ever be explained, how matter becomes conscious?” by Ian McEwan’s book, Saturday. As gross as this sounds, we can touch and hold a brain. We cannot touch or hold a thought. How do thoughts happen? How do all those electrical impulses in a wet dark environment happen? Because we all know wet and electricity do not mix but some how it does up in our noggin.

After much research and noggin knocking, I have decided there are miracles I will accept as is. But, what I will continue to do is make every effort to help those who get stuck in the translation from physical matter to conscious thought. Ok, so that was a stretch there or maybe not. I am not a brain scientist nor am I some sort of therapist. What I am is a curious creative who enjoys nothing more than helping others get past brain blocks and looping situations. FYI (for your information), working as an special education teacher and as a mom, I have had to deal with such occurrences on a daily basis not only for myself but for the masses. Another reason I developed Creative Tidal Wave, to help unclog the flow and find the magic within all brains.

Did you know you can trigger thoughts and side step other not so pleasant thoughts by simply smelling something? It is true. Citrus smells stimulate alertness as well as minty ones. The smells of apple pie and spices bring about a calming sensation. Yes, aromas mess with the brain a good bit by triggering memories, sensations from past experiences and exciting or calming those weird electrical impulses which go from matter to consciousness. Color can effect us the same way. Music also impacts thought patterns and reasoning. Add a touch of movement in the blend and you can trip out on your own mind games. How it works and triggers is a complicated nightmare of scientific jargon but what I know is it works. Whatever it takes to turn a frown into a smile then that’s what CTW will do for someone via these quirky brain triggers.

Another side note about the movie, Words and Pictures, the war between the English teacher and the Art teacher to prove which has more impact, words or pictures which included the students is well worth the watching. If you are a literary sort or an artist, you will appreciate the battle.

The brain is an amazing thing. Look around your home and office. Everything surrounding you came out of that big hunk of grey mess inside someone’s head via thought. Kind of an amazing thing to ponder isn’t it? And, no one really knows how it happens.

Hi Ya’ll!!

Love Chinese food. My favorite part is the Fortune Cookie. I keep the fortunes as reminders. Some make their way into my art. This is an Artist Trade Card. It is the size of a baseball card. Quick little art pieces I trade with others. Most of the time I hate trading them because I am amazed how awesome they turn out. This little fortune was ironic. I live in the Great Green South. We in Georgia are known for a slow laid back ways and accents. Each area of Georgia has their own flare to the southern ways and sound. But overall, we have this need to gather and laugh at each other. Nothing like on a hot summer’s day to kick back on the porch with a tall glass of sweet tea, some friends, maybe a few guitars or corn hole to pass the time. We are expert story tellers. Nothing like a gathering after a fishing trip. The small bass on the hook will become a life threating experience to reel in the whale out of the local creek. And, heaven forbid you get the privilege to hang out at a family reunion. The stories will flow ! Storytelling is an important part of life. We pass along important information in the form of stories. Life experiences, helpful hints, family histories, and much more find their way into the story telling format. There is nothing better than a great storyteller. I bet you know a few you enjoy listening to when they are around. A great storyteller’s stories will live on in your mind for eternity. What are some of your favorite stories? What stories do you enjoy telling? If you have children, it is important to share stories with them as well as encourage them to create their own. Well, maybe not ones to get out of trouble but some of those are rather comical to parents. There is a difference between lying and storytelling. The art of storytelling is slowly disappearing. Revive it. Bring storytelling back into your daily life. There is a storytelling business model which creates great results. Boring meetings can become lively using this strategy. Believe it or not, the Harry Potter books started as bedtime stories the author told her kids. Big things can happen if you have a great story to tell. Explore the many options and uses of storytelling in your personal life and business environment. “Let me tell you about the time….”

Fill the page… will you pass this challenge?

“Fill the page.” Those were the only words spoken by the professor in the first assignment in my first master’s class. In front of me was one of those manila drawing sheets of paper I remember so well from my elementary school years. Surrounding the paper were an assortment of creative goodies I was told I would need for the class. Of course being at artsy sort I went a wee bit over board. I had colored pencils, crayons, glue sticks and a bottle of glue, PostIt notes in assorted colors and patterns, a regular pencil. markers, and  my beloved gummed eraser. Oh. MY. GOSH. So many decisions and no clue what he wants!

If you asked a child back in 1968 to fill a manila sheet of paper, the child would not hesitate. In fact, the child might jump right to coloring and drawing before ever being told what to do. Creativity and excitement of the manila piece of paper and coloring tools was an invitation to indulge in a fantasy moment of wonder. Asking a child in 2015 to do the same assignment anxiety and an endless string of questions will flow. What happened over time?

It is a sad fact that individualism and creativity has been stifled. As adults we have become a society of pleasers, followers, and suck ups. Our ability to creative and dream without judgment or guidance is a thing of the past. And we wonder, why are so many people frustrated and cannot seem to make decisions.

Manila paper is a thing of the past. Very few adults and fewer children than in the past, have drawing tools such as crayons and markers. But you can draw  with anything, even a stick in the dirt if you must. I challenge you to “fill the page.” Discover what is hiding in that creative mind of yours that so wants to come out and play upon the paper. This is a wonderful exercise if you are at a roadblock in your job or life. It might help if you turn on some music to encourage your creativeness to flow upon the paper. You will never know until you try. Stop by the store and grab some crayons or markers. As an adult, there are no rules. You can even buy those scented ones if you want.

I would love to see your “fill the page” challenge results.

Word Party

Was always a huge fan of word walls as a student. Despite what some might think there are times, mostly in school, I was at a loss for words. Word walls helped me to collect my thoughts to focus on the topic. I still use word walls. Now they say more about my feelings and direction I wish to focus on as I move forward. I metal mess cube sits upon my desk. It is filled with an assortment of magnetic words. I collect them. When I get stuck or hit a road block in thinking I start moving my words around the cube. One side might be negatives while another reflects my current state of mind yet another side filled with aspiring dreams and emotions I want to experience. There are endless possibilities of sorting through the words. It also frees my mind of actually stating the words I feel. Sometimes it is hard to say the words. It is so much easier to pick and chose them to create a visual which reflects that which I cannot admit or say out loud. There is power in the words, even unspoken ones.

What would your word wall say about your thoughts?