Every day we have millions of thoughts floating through our heads like movies. More often than not many of these thoughts repeat themselves over and over. They often are accompanied by sounds, pictures and other sensory input. We may feel that we don’t have much control over these thoughts. However regardless of whether we are controlling these thoughts or not, those that we dwell on most frequently, with an accompanying emotion, become embedded in our subconscious, some time later manifesting in our lives.
We are all constantly manifesting. The question remains, if I’m not enjoying my current reality, how can I change that? This is where mind movies come in. Many of you may have heard of the concept of Vision Boards as a way to manifest what you want in your lives. Mind movies is that concept taken one step further. Recently released onto the market, is a new tool called Mind Movies. What it does; using a drag and drop interface it allows you to make your own movies about your ideal life. You can add your own images, affirmations and sound track, or pick from their libraries. They give suggestions for different areas of your life; audacious goals, career/business, relationships, cars/toys, health, etc. This is then made into a movie clip for you and you can download it to your desk top. It’s easy to insert and remove images and captions. Once you have downloaded your movie you can watch it whenever you want. You can make as many movies as you like.
Here is an award wining example of a mind movie created by LilaSakura to give you an idea of the kind of things you can create with Mind Movies.
The really cool part is that you can download an apps, which then plays your movie on your computer so it can be seen underneath whatever program you are running. You control the volume and opacity to be more or less intrusive on what you are doing. This means you can be constantly reaffirming your dreams throughout the day. I had so much fun making my first movie I stayed up most of the night doing it! What I found amazing was that once I started, new ideas of things I would love to do just kept popping into my head. I can’t wait now till I make my next movie. Its such a buzz to watch, makes you feel so positive about your life and really helps you clarify what you want. I found that as I watched the first movie, I realized some of the captions need changing or other pictures needed adding. It is an on going delicious process.
Finally I want to say thank you to Ryan and Natalie for sharing their vision and passion with the rest of us in creating this wonderful product.
I have spoken before about art being a partnership between the viewer and the artist.
As you know I spent the last few weeks doing Alyson Stanfield’s ‘Cultivate Collectors course’. One thing Alyson’s course did for me was to make me really appreciate the people I’m connected to, especially my mavens. I realized that I need to do something special for my mavens just to let them know how much I really do appreciate their support. This was not something that had really occurred to me before for two reasons:
In my ignorance I hadn’t really identified that I had any mavens – special appreciators and promoters of my work
Secondly, failing to recognize that I had mavens, of course I had never given them any special treatment!
So what might we do for our mavens? Thanks to Alyson here are a couple of suggestions -
Honour them at our events – treat them like the VIPs they are – give them preferential treatment, acknowledgement and recognition.
Teach them about art – specifically your art, what makes it unique
Take them to exhibitions with you, let them share in your life – they will love you for it
Who are your mavens? Have you identified them? How well are you treating them and what might you do for them? Please share any ideas you might have so we can all help our mavens.
And to honour my greatest maven, supporter and loving stick holder (sometimes when she thinks I need it ) I’d like to share a drawing I did of her. My one and only sister! Thank you Stan.
I love this statement! Whenever I am balking at something, I just have to remind myself of it. Somehow I then get inspired to move past my own objections. It seems to take the fear out of asking because if I don’t ask, it means – I’ve alreadygiven myself a NO. So really I’ve nothing to lose if someone else gives me a NO and there’s always the chance they might say YES.
Your work habits are an important part of studio practices. I am going to address specifics to visual artists however, if you are from another discipline, consider whether any of these ideas apply to you or not and what might apply for your circumstances. Make a list. This is about increasing our own awareness of how you operate and what you can do to support yourself more effectively.
Firstly do you pay any attention to your physical work habits? For example if you work at an easel, do you always adjust the height of your work to suit your posture? I notice time and again that this is something my students totally ignore. They will be bending down at a ridiculous angle working on the bottom of a painting and wonder why they have a sore back or neck at the end of it!
Do you protect your body from toxic substances – for example, if you use a lead white primer on your canvas do you wear protective gloves when applying it? Do you ventilate your studio well enough when using spray fixatives etc?
How often do you take a break? If you work at a computer – what is your posture like? Do you get up and stretch every half hour, are you hunching over the keyboard or table easel, do you use an ergonomic chair?
Get Up And Stretch
Most of us fail to appreciate that our body is the most marvelous instrument and like all machinery it needs proper maintenance and care. This includes, working in good light, getting enough sleep, exercise and nutrient rich food.
Getting Enough Sleep?
Another aspect we also tend to neglect is the power of our own breath. Breath can energize us and focus our attention. Next time you are struggling to stay awake, stand up and do some deep breathing. When you breathe deeply you increase the oxygen getting to your brain cells, which in turns promotes clarity of thought. Nurture you own body, look after it and it will serve you well, faithfully and efficiently for longer.
