"The mind is an amazing thing...and it will take you wherever you want it to go with a little imagination and creativity".
- Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego
Dr. Lisa Ortigara Crego is an Addiction Psychologist/Clinical Psychotherapist/
Professor and a dear friend of mine. She wrote a post on "Finding Serenity" and one's ability to self-hypnotize and meditate. According to her, your mind can go wherever you want it to and you can "visualize" where you want to be in the future. She also says that "...hypnosis is the training of your mind. To be able to get to a relaxed state and redirect your thinking". The key is to find a place in your mind that gives you serenity, "a place that is peaceful and safe".
Just the sound of the word "serenity" is soothing to me. As a writer, my mind works best when I am at peace with myself and my surroundings. However, I do not live in a bubble and life happens. I am looking for a way to find a place within myself that gives me serenity, without the interference of outside forces. I know that for me this is a key element in my ability to write freely, allowing my imagination and creativity to soar, and not letting anyone or anything get in the way. (Including myself)
How and where do you find serenity?
Flickr photo: avrdreamer
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11 comments:
Serenity is valuable to me. With a busy house full of active kids, I have to take my serene moments when I get the chance! Sometimes, I can find serenity as I read quietly with one of my kids. Often, I try and sit on my deck and just take in all the beauty around me. When I think of some many classic writers and poets, I remember how nature brought peace and inspiration to them. We have such a busy world with so much distraction. It is good for the soul, creatively and spiritually, to step away and work towards reaching serenity in our day.
Yes, it is like we have to catch our breath after the day's activities and reconnect with yourself. I find that looking out the window and seeing the trees can give me serenity, even with the noise outside. I used to live in a place that had a lake in the back. I loved it because I find looking at water calming and peaceful.
I'm never serene. Serenity is my ultimate existential goal. Always looking for it.
I've been thinking a lot about the impetus to write, or to create, and how it relates to pain and suffering. In many ways, for me, the inclination to write is almost overpowering after a traumatic or emotional experience, and I think that inclination is a means of finding serenity. I think, in a way, visualization comes into play here, too, because ultimately the writing is the writer's vision.
It's a head space thing for me. No real place on earth can offer what I find between the pages of the Bible.
Lori, is there a place that you can go to find serenity? Perhaps this might be affecting your writing a bit. You might want to try self-hypnosis like my friend mentioned in her post, it might help you find serenity within yourself, so that you do not even have to physically go elsewhere for it. Finding serenity is always a work in progress for me.
e - you are right that you can find serenity in your writing, especially in the most traumatic moments. This in itself, brings you peace, because you are writing about what you are feeling. Writing is definitely the writer's vision because only he/she knows what is inside their mind. What I have been trying to do is to write without always doing it because I feel a certain way. That is why serenity is important to me, I can go to a calm place in my mind, no matter what is going on, so that I can write creatively all the time.
T. Anne - I like what you wrote and you are right. I am finding that out myself. I recently, through a friend of mine who suggested, have begun to read the bible on a daily basis, the first thing in the morning, before I start my day. I have noticed that this has helped me and it is comforting to read the bible and find serenity in this way too.
I agree, even the word "serenity" sounds peaceful, doesn't it?
Like Ana, I also find looking at water to be very serene. Yet, for me, there are two types of serenity: 1. The kind where I need to settle down and become peaceful--for that I love looking at calm water, like in a small lake or pond.
2. The kind where I need to become serene about something so that I can spring into action regarding it--for that I need rushing water such as in waterfalls or white rapids.
I also find Bible reading very calming. My son asks me to read the scriptures every night before bed. It helps him wind down and helps me to remember what is important in life.
I think I find it in the shower before my day starts. No one to bug me, just nice, hot water.
Lynnette Labelle
http://lynnettelabelle.blogspot.com
I love that quote in the post
" The mind is an amazing thing..."
Serenity is an unexpected guest in our life...apparently!
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