So… the Hero’s Journey Summer Book Adventure begins and I enter into the unknown world …

As a first step, I need to recommit to my rhythmic structure.  it helps me stay focused, productive, and allows my creativity to emerge as the psyche/muse does its magic. 

So I started this morning.  As it turns out, I wasted 20 minutes looking for that nearly-blank journal for my morning pages and ended up cleaning off my desk instead of getting started. (just noticing, and trying not to judge) So my first morning page entry is doing double duty as this blog entry… with my musings about the importance of rhythmic structure.

Rhythmic structure is important.

For me, I need to start with elements that calm my mind chatter… with 30 minutes of meditation and at least two binder-size pages of stream-of-consciousness writing, though I realize Julia Cameron of The Artist’s Way suggest 3 pages.  (It’s my structure, I can do what I need to. )

Here is what I am putting in place as a daily structure:

• Wake up early, have a cup of tea
• Meditate 30 min
• Exercise–movement every day, vigorous exercise 4 days/week  (30 min)
• Healthy Breakfast
• Morning pages
• 1 hour of working on this program and my book
• break., shower etc
• Go to work.

I need to arise at 5:00 am to get all this in.  That means bed at 9pm.  *sigh*  no more strolling around facebook until 11pm.

Thoughts on resistance…
If you haven’t read it, Stephen Pressfield’s The War of Art is a very good read about overcoming resistance in doing ones work (in my case–writing).  Pressfield comes at it from a masculine perspective–with many “war” metaphors of course… but he has a point.

Resistance takes a variety of forms.  Perfectionism, the self critic, procrastination, distraction, worry about what others think, indecision….  it’s all here.  He offers many strategies–including just persevering and putting in the time, whether or not it turns out to be a productive day.  We are here to do our work.  Do the work.  That’s what pro’s do.  (I assume that you need to “go pro” if you expect someone to pay you for what you write.)

Rhythmic structure is vital strategy for me in overcoming resistance and getting quality writing out into the world.

That said, there is a more feminine approach to creativity–it is more like cultivating a garden.  I start by preparing the soil and then I plant seeds…  and then I feed what I want to grow.

Rhythmic structure is preparing the soil, pure and simple.