Sanskrit, slumps and prolific creativity
Last October I fell into a slump. I was burned out. Exhausted emotionally, physically and mentally.
I kept up with client work but I had NOTHING left for Heartlines.
October is usually the worst month of the year for me (story for another day) so I wasn’t completely surprised + 2020 = ‘nough said.
But the days stretched into weeks and by mid-November, I still felt STUCK. Plus, once you’re silent for a while it becomes harder and harder to show up and start talking again.
I looked at what others had accomplished in 2020
-learning a new language
-making and releasing 2 new albums like Taylor Swift
-launching a business
-writing and releasing a book
and I thought — DAYUM I’ve done nothing.
Now, comparison is basically always a bad idea and fuels all kinds of unhelpful-not-good-enough stories but this time, it led to a different thought — I want to be creatively prolific.
That’s a fine thing to want but how do you actually do that remained to be seen.
The one morning (Nov 19, 2020 to be exact) I listened to a meditation on creating abundance.
The mantra was Om Bhavum Namah (which means I’m pure potentiality), as in I can create anything, anywhere, anytime.
What if I could simply choose to be prolific? What if it was that easy? I’m nothing if not famous for overthinking, overcomplicating and generally making things waaaaay harder than necessary. So this seemed like a revolutionary approach.
So I began to create some new thoughts (which I hoped would lead to new behaviours and habits). I grabbed a fresh journal and at the top of each page I would write
Om Bhavum Namah
I am pure potentiality.
I can create anything, anywhere, anytime.
Then I wrote out a list of what I wanted my life to be. How I wanted to be. Every sentence began with either,
I choose to create…
I choose to heal…
I choose…
I am…
(because, free will)
Things like…
I choose more joy.
I choose to be creativity prolific, inspired and positively recognized for my work.
I choose to be a patient, loving and boundaried parent who seeks first to listen and understand.
And on and on and on ’cause I’m not short on dreams.
And I wrote those statements out every single day because new thoughts need practice to gain traction.
By December (11 days later) I had outlined the content for Heartlines for all of 2021 inspired by a single sentence from another entrepreneur.
By the end of December I had turned that outline into reality — regularly writing 2 or 3 weeks of content in a single day.
I chose to be inspired and prolific -> then I became inspired and prolific.
Has everything on my list manifested? Nope. Am I gonna promise this will work for you? Nope. But it might be worth giving it a shot. What have you got to lose but a little ink and a few pages from your journal?
BONUS: I now hear the choices I’ve made on paper throughout my day…like when my kid is freaking out “I choose to be patient” pops into my head. Thoughts first — behaviour follows.
If you try this, please let me know how it goes.
