About Writing

I find myself in a bit of a pickle, a quandary. I’ve always loved to write, and yet never considered myself a writer simply because I’ve never been concerned with studying the craft of writing. I’ve never become obsessed with another writer’s style, or even what my own style is. And I never had the goal of writing a book. But recently, thoughts of creating a book have been swirling around me. I don’t see it happening for a few years at least, but the idea has been tapping me on the shoulder.

When I was young and in school and was required to read all sorts of literature (I don’t even know how something earns the title of “literature”), it was not fun. Especially Hemingway. Holy cow! Those sentences went on for half a page. What was up with that? It wasn’t until I was in my twenties, and living in Key West that I visited one of Hemingway’s homes, bought a book or two, read them, and finally got into them. I couldn’t appreciate The Old Man And The Sea until I had lived where the author had become inspired, and had experienced deep-sea fishing in those waters.

So many classics went right over my head. When symbology of a story had to be explained to me, I didn’t care to read. Especially in my youth. How could I consider myself a writer when I don’t care too much about reading classical literature?

But then again, I loved classes when I could write. As much as I’ve never thought of myself as a writer, there’s something about the process of writing that has always grabbed me. Taking my thoughts and letting them wend their way onto paper (or screen, as the case may be), creating something tangible from the thin air of my brain synapses, has always called to me.

Allowing the cascade of thoughts to materialize, has always been cathartic. There are times when I have to dump the cacophony of ideas in my head, so I can sort them out. To organize and make sense of them, and my life. And when an idea is finally splayed out, with all its tendrils and other bits and pieces in place, I can rest. It can be as satisfying as coming up with the idea for a quilt, going through the process of selecting just the right fabrics, cutting out all of the pieces, and swimming in the accomplishment of the finished product.

When my emotions are on overload, vomiting them into words has always been a huge release for me. Keeping a journal is a fitting receptacle for raw emotions. When things have calmed down and there is something worth sharing, translating feelings into metaphors, and relating them to things others understand, has always been satisfying. Sometimes it’s painting a picture with words, and sometimes it’s using an actual picture to emote and evoke a feeling.

Very recently, I’m becoming more aware of the thoughts that roil around in my head. And when I write, there are times when I’m in the zone and the words just flow. There are times when bits and pieces of ideas click into place, arriving with an epiphany. I’m now recognizing these times as when I’m connecting to something other than just me.

Sometimes when I read other people’s words, they inspire me, either through the topic of what was written, or the way they write. I love to grab onto the thread of that inspiration and hang onto it, shining the thoughts coming from my brain through that new lens. It connects me to something other than myself, bringing through words, thoughts, or information.

I’m recognizing that this is what channeling is. Opening up my head and allowing flows of thoughts and inspiration to pour in. I know that others experience this. It’s when they’re in the zone, when they get so deeply into something they’re doing that they lose track of time and don’t hear the knock on the door. It’s when I’ve been writing for a while, and when I stop, my brain is fuzzy and takes a minute to reconnect to this world.

People channel doing all sorts of things they love or are drawn to, from writing, to cooking, to painting. It’s when attention is focused, their heads are clear and open, and they’re in the zone. It’s when creativity is flowing into and out from them. It’s connecting to inspirational threads that swirl around, waiting to be captured, blended with your own style or color of thread, and spun out into your own new yarn. Several yarns merging into a giant tapestry.

Some people pick up threads of ideas to create systems or objects that will improve people’s lives. While others gather threads spurring them on to please the senses, whether they create with food, music, or sculpture. We all have the ability to tune our antennae to different channels of inspiration.

There are some who can tune their antennae to another level of inspiration, the level where people exist in spirit. Tuning into spirit is where the words inspire and inspiration come from. These people have long been called channels, being seen as a conduit between worlds. They tune into a field of energy that is home for people who exist no longer in a physical form. And into the field of energy that holds that part of us that isn’t busy being a human body: our higher selves.

Hang in there with me. Channeling spirit is actually not any different from being hit with a great new idea, when you’re trying to solve a problem that seems insurmountable. But instead of connecting to a picture in your mind of something new, it’s connecting to a personality.

Where do you think inspirational ideas and solutions come from? It’s all connecting to things that exist in the non-physical: thoughts and consciousness. And from what I’ve learned over the past few years, some of the big (and even smaller) inspirational hits that have flowed into people’s heads (like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity), were downloaded as people were able to tune into the big computer cloud in the sky where all information of everything and everyone, for all time exists. Some people call it the Akashic Record. Even the idea for a machine that could compute, was first an idea that landed in someone’s head.

Many years ago, I read that people, after they pass away, spend their time doing all sorts of things, from playing, to making music, and even performing research. As they come upon solutions in their research, they look for people in our physical world, who are working on solving a similar issue, and give them ideas to reach solutions. Spirit will reach this world through dreams, and coincidences, and even putting thoughts directly into our heads during a time when our monkey minds are quiet. For me it’s when I’m in the shower, washing dishes, or driving a long boring stretch of highway.

About a year after my father passed away, I asked a local channel (a medium) what my dad was up to lately. She said he was doing research. When I asked what type, she said medical. I didn’t get details on exactly what he was working on, but it was fascinating to know that as in life, his focus is still in the world of medicine. And I have no doubt that as he discovers cures or improvements for this or that, he’ll work to inspire a research scientist in our world.

I believe that we have much more assistance in our lives than we even know, with thoughts and ideas presenting to our brains like our own, when they might have been suggested as a whisper into our ear or our dreams. I now know that when I write, it’s like hanging a sign on my door saying open for business. Spirit and inspiration are invited in.

When I write I process my life and world, making connections and having epiphanies. Information threads that have caught my attention are added to and woven into beautiful and useful new tapestries, adding to the fabric of the universe. That’s what creating is all about. Collecting ideas, putting your stamp on them, and sending them out to inspire others.

What are some activities you do that invite inspiration? When are you hit with aha’s and new ideas? During these times, you are channeling.