Month: November 2019

Attachment, inspiration, mindfulness, Personal Development, Personal growth

Appetite

Adele Satori

apetite

When things come to me, I try to get it into a notebook, but sometimes I grab any scrap of paper handy. This one resurfaced today. In case you can’t read my scribbles, it says “Appetite is not the genuine desire of the soul.”

I’m not sure if it was something I was reading, or listening to, or if it found its way to my brain through the aether!

So timely for this season, which for many of us is one of eating and acquisition.

Appetite is a curious thing. It can be easily awakened by external stimuli. We smell good food, hear a bottle open, catch a certain look from a person, see an ad for some new thing or other we never knew we wanted, but now do.

There is, I feel, nearly always a deeper, more true desire beyond the initial appetite. Maybe even clues to what creates meaning and defines who we are in our lives.
Satisfying corporeal desires in a surface way may indicate a deeper need for comfort, security, and love. For what are we truly hungering?

In acquiring objects, we might feel we are making a show of success, status, safety, avoidance of living in a place of scarcity. Of even existing.

By being aware of the first tickles of an appetite for something, sitting with it a minute and asking “is this what I want, or would I rather be…” without overthinking! I’ve been finding I will often choose something else, that in the end, is more gratifying and meaningful to me.

Wants vs. needs

And sometimes I just want that piece of cake/kiss/shiny new thing. The good old “everything in moderation, even moderation!”

My invitation to you this week, is to at least once, when you think “I want” to then ask yourself “what do I need?” And see if a more genuine desire of the soul appears.
Share in the comments below if you like.

creative block, Creativity, focus, inspiration, Personal Development, Personal growth

We All Suck at Something

Adele Satori

IMG_8941
Image from the ‘net.  If you know whose it is, I will attributed it to them.

I’m not feeling so deeply inspired today. I have a shoulder that’s persistently reminding me I’m human today.

But.

This is a more.. erm.. contemporary way to ask one to consider approaching things with a beginner’s mind. Very rarely, at least for most of us, are we good at something new the moment we try it.

I invite you this week to try something new. For me, working in an unfamiliar medium will often unlock a stuck spot for something I’m working on. When you try something new, you haven’t formed any rules for how to do it yet.

Use the “what if I tried…” as a jumping off point, rather than a wall of fear and stalling. See how this willingness to let curiosity lead your exploring something new might be applied to something you already do. How might you look at something, or do something, in a fresh way?

If you can’t think of anything. Do something you usually do with your nondominant hand. I would love to hear what you try, and what you discover!

Creativity, focus, inspiration, mindfulness, Personal growth, spirituality

Sources of Inspiration

Adele Satori
“Bond” Alex Grey, 2004

Alex Grey shared this image and quote from his book “The Mission of Art” on his Instagram feed this morning. This book, and quote in particular, have played a huge role in my vision for Crafting the Spirit.

“I”m going to go out on a limb and say that there is a lot of good for anybody in making almost any kind of art. Just as each of us benefits from physical exercise and meditation, even though we may not become professional athletes or enlightened yogis, making art is intensely cathartic and healing, and should be enjoyed by everyone, even those who don’t think they will become the next T.S. Eliot, or Picasso. The at of drawing, or painting, writing poetry, dancing, or making music brings us into personal contact with the creative spirit, and that has inestimable value for enjoyment and self-discovery. The health of the soul depends on whether we can express our creative energy freely of reel we must keep it hidden and suppressed.”

Adventure, Creativity, goal setting, mindfulness, Personal Development, Personal growth

Adventure…..Someday

Adele Satori
“You never know what you will discover, once you decide to do something, rather than dream about it.”

What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you think of adventure? Months of planning? Death defying feats? Taking a sabbatical from life? Do you then sigh and then tuck it way on a bucket list somewhere? Yeah. Me too.


And then there’s the someday list, usually beginning with “I’ve always wanted to “ or “someday I will”. On my list, these are smaller, more obtainable. And still, they get set aside.



But.

What if…..



You shift your perspective a little?



I remember doing some home improvement projects before selling a house years ago, and they were much more enjoyable, and not nearly as troublesome as my procrastination let me to believe.



The other day, I decided to go somewhere I hadn’t yet.. on my someday list, and chose to take a back roads way. On twisty mountain roads. Past random bee yards. “Eggs for Sale” signs. Where cars coming the other way slowed down to see who I was because they didn’t recognize my car. 

I took a hike on one of the mountains, and turned back when it started feeling too “snakey”. There was no phone reception, and I didn’t have a walking/whacking stick. As it turned out I was right about the snakes, according to a local.


All within 15 miles of home, and one of the largest cities in the nation! I came home feeling I’d had a mini-adventure, and also had done something on my someday list.



A few years back, I felt lonely on a holiday, and went on a hike in a park near me. I wondered how I’d managed to live here over ten years and not done the hike? It changed my life, and now I go out searching for parks near me to go hiking on a regular basis.

What is on your someday list? What are you willing to do on that list this week? Today? Even the smallest of adventures can be life-changing. You never know what you will discover once you decide to do something, rather than dream about it. Now get out there and make it happen. Let me know how it went!
Creativity, focus, mindfulness, Personal Development, Personal growth

Mindfulness, ver. 1.0

Adele Satori

This week’s topic is mindfulness. It’s showing up everywhere.. being taught in schools, as workshop and retreat topics. There’s even an organization called the Mindful Leadership Network. If you are in a leadership role of any capacity, I highly recommend it. https://www.mindfulleader.org/

Beyond it being a buzzword and a catch phrase to fill workshop seats though, what does it mean to be mindful? It’s more than a form of meditation to me; it’s a way of being.

To me it means to be in a state of active attention to the present. Not scrolling through social media while listening to a podcast and eating. Not replaying over and over what you wish you had or hadn’t said earlier in the day. Not having FOMO about some event you are not attending. Not taking a picture every few steps of your hike. Being fully and completely engaged in the moment you are in, breath by breath. As Consciousness observing the experience that your corporeal body is having.

I have two invitations for you this week.

For the first one, turn off your devices, and pour yourself a glass of water. Observe the glass or cup you chose for the water. Really look at it. All its variations. Is it smooth? Rough? Hand or machine made? Notice and appreciate everything about this container, and how water takes the shape of whatever container it’s in.

Next observe the water. Is it flat or bubbly? Clear? A little cloudy? Are there reflections in it? Is it warm, cold, hot?

And finally, drink the water. Do you drink it all in one go? Bit by bit? How does it taste? How does it feel in your mouth, going down.. can you feel your body taking on the hydration? Did it make you more aware of your mouth- your tongue, your lips, your teeth?

An alternative would be to take something like a single raisin or an almond, observe all its textures and colours. Smell it. Squish it if you like (hehe), and then eat it, slowly, fully experiencing how it feels in your mouth. How it tastes. So often we grab a drink or something to eat and consume it without experiencing and savoring it.

For the second exercise, get outside! For the good old 15 minutes, at the very least. Again turn off your device. Fully experience being outside. What does it smell like out there? What do your footsteps, bike, or wheels sound like. Is there a breeze? How does it feel? or the sun? or the fog? Do you hear other people, birds, animals? I find getting outside for even just a couple of minutes can revitalize me and reset my brain.

This all can translate to any creative practice- to any interaction with living beings.

If you sit down to create music, how does the instrument feel? Are there worn spots where your hands have traveled for years? If you write, consider the feel of pen on paper, or how the words flow from your brain to your hands to your keyboard. How does it feel when you squeeze that tube of paint? Chop the garlic? Put the spade into the earth, present your ideas to a committee? And so on.

There’s much more to mindfulness and mindfulness practice than all this, certainly. Shifting one’s perspective to be more fully present as one experiences the day can be a most satisfying part of it.

I invite you to create your own version of a mindfulness practice this week, and let me know how it goes!