Transcripts
1. Introduction: [MUSIC] Welcome to this class where we'll be exploring how writing can improve creativity and perhaps even your well-being. Somehow, we have always known that writing and expressing ourselves creatively is profoundly important and potentially healing to us as humans. All through evolution, man has made a mark through art and language has kept evolving. We use language both intuitively and consciously. Writing can improve self-esteem. It can deepen a sense of self-control and improve self-awareness. All important aspects of a successful creative life. Hi, I'm Jessica, I live in Sweden with my dog and my two children. I have leaned on words and creativity for my entire working life. I worked as a photographer, I worked as a journalist, and more recently I worked as a psychotherapist. I reflect, I resolve and I seek comfort through words. Mostly I combine my poetry with photography and I have explored this a little further in my other Skillshare class called visual poetry. Please check that out if you're interested. For now, this is all about creative writing. When you have taken this class, you will have tried some fun and perhaps new ways of sparking creative joy. You will also have deepened the connection with yourself through some reflecting and observing in order to put it into words and you will have written at least one poem that you can be proud of and call your own. Next, I'll tell you more about the project you will create so come with me and let's get started [MUSIC].
2. What You Will Create: In this class, you'll be invited to write inspired by all three lessons, the themes are nature, the mindfulness of daily chores, and some deep self-reflection, mainly through journaling. You can choose one of the lessons that speaks to you personally, or you can opt for all of them if that suits you. You use whatever works best for you, pen or paper, smartphone or tablet. You tap away on your computer or you write instead. Whatever works. Me personally, I always go for pen or paper. I love these notebooks. I buy them in heaps. I never use half of them, and I can never keep track of which one I'm using at the moment. It's all over the place, but it's fine. Just as long as you've got something to write on, stick with that. When you have written your poem, you post it in the class forum, preferably as a JPEG image or a PDF. We can all take part of each other's work and be inspired. As an option, you can also share what this poem means to you personally and perhaps the intention you have for us, your audience, your readers. A little more depth to what you're going through, what your reflection was or what your inspiration was when you wrote this poem, where you were, what memories you had, whatever you want to share, we'd be happy to read. That's it. It's really very easy. It's easy because this is something you create from your heart. It can't be wrong, it can't be bad, it's just your creation. What you have in your mind, in your heart, this particular moment, this particular day, and for this process, I think the quote by American writer Anne Lamott is perfect. She says, "Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and the shitty first draft." No matter if you post your shitty first draft or the 10th or the 100th that you feel more comfortable with, we will be so excited and happy to read what you have written. Don't be scared, be excited. This is a lot of fun and it takes courage. Be brave. I will be brave with you, I will be vulnerable with you, and I will share what I have written for these exercises, not something I picked for my drawer that I feel comfortable showing. This is what came up when I sat down with these themes, good or bad, I have no clue. This is just what happened at this particular moment in this particular exercise. Let's get to it and let's start creating. Next up, we'll start with the first lesson. It is about finding words in the stillness of nature. Put your boots on and let's get started.
3. Find Words In the Stillness of Nature: [MUSIC] In this class, you'll explore how to find words in the stillness of nature. The many studies have shown that nature can actually help us increase creativity. Spending time in nature makes us more curious. It helps the brain recharge and it helps us to prepare and create new ideas. It can also increase our ability to focus our attention on a certain task or a certain line of thinking. Time in nature also affects both our body and our psychological well-being in a positive way. It lowers our stress and might make us feel less anxious. These are quite common when it comes to creative work. The more safe and relaxed we feel, the more we can become aware and flexible in our response to inner processes such as thoughts and feelings, and outdoor events such as a fast approaching deadline. Personally, I always cover plenty of time to spend in nature. I go to my favorite spots all the time just to have breakfast in the wee hours of the morning, to watch the seasons change, or just to spend time doing nothing. Even if I don't come away with a light bulb moment all the time, I always know that this will have been time well-spent. For a long time though, I brought pen and paper, but I just couldn't sit down to write. It was like the part of my brain that was used to produce stuff didn't come with me on my hikes. These days I sometimes sit down and I consciously devote time to practicing writing outdoors. Other times, I just accept it for what it is. I know that the creative process will be ongoing no matter what I produce amongst the trees. Now it's time for you to explore, how do you approach nature and make it part of your creative process? This exercise, Let's invite some uncensored words from deep inside. Listen to the sounds of nature. Feel the softness of grass or the sharpness of pines. Close your eyes and listen. Set a timer, a of free write for 5-15 minutes about your sensory experience. Let this be your poetry about the loud stillness of nature, the sounds of the world, leaves caressed by the wind, birds choir while spring arrives, cold rain and foggy mornings, a summer depart. The soft gaze between sleepy lovers. Tender touch from mother to child. Sounds of safety. An unspoken bond of the unconditional. The place, the person, the arms. I call home. You call home. I exhale because you, the person I call home. Did you know that doing your dishes can be poetry? In the next class, we will be looking at the mindfulness in the poetry of everyday chores. Come with me to the next class.
4. The Poetry of Everyday Chores: [MUSIC] In this lesson, we'll be exploring the mindfulness in the poetry of everyday chores. Mindfulness has all kinds of proven effects on levels of stress and our overall well-being by slowing down and immersing yourself in the sensory experience of daily chores, you can increase your awareness and enrich your experience of mundane tasks. Be observant and mindful of how you do the dishes, make the bed, feed the dog, water the plants. There is rarely a shortage of things on our to-do list, but we all tend to do them on autopilot. For this exercise just be mindful and observant of your emotional state, of how you're thinking, how your body is responding to these chores. What sensations do you experience when doing the dishes? How would you describe them? What is the point of it all? We tend to estimate a higher sense of quality of life when we experience a sense of coherence, a sense of purpose. Listen to your purpose of doing the dishes or cleaning the house. Personally, I sometimes dread going to the supermarket, planning family meals everyday, making sure that my family, including myself and the pets, are fed properly. It can all feel a bit overwhelming. I remember sitting in my grandmother's kitchen as a child doing some important five-year-old artwork while she was cooking, baking, brewing strong black coffee. She had her apron on. The radio was making noise in the background. There might have been a stew or some meat balls in the pot on the stove. There are all these scent of cinnamon from the buns she used to bake or the coffee that was somehow always brewing. They became the sense of safety to me. Even to this day, if I'm sad or I need to seek some sensory comfort, I go for coffee and the cinnamon bun. It has now become really important for me and this is my purpose to give my children the same experience as I once had. I keep cooking and I clean and I fill my kitchen to the best of my ability with the sense and the signs of safety and joy. Now it's time for you to explore. Pick one of the emotions that you experience while doing your chores and write a poem about it. Try to describe your internal state using metaphors or visual language. But really, just do what works for you. Coffee and cinnamon saved me, when the world was too big, too cold, too scary. The scent of a better day, of a warm hug of unconditional love swept me way in the waking dream of a distant future where there would be love and laughter, safety, hope. I lived in those dreams. They smelled so good. Next, the final lesson where we will be reflecting rather than running. What does that mean? Well, come with me to the next class and find out. [MUSIC]
5. Reflect Inwards to Express Outwards: Dear diary, journaling is the practice of putting your thoughts on paper and reflecting on yourself, as well as the relationships and events going on in your life, both the current, the past and perhaps the ones you're hoping will come. This form of self-expression is yours to be creative with, and you can write about anything that is currently going on in your life. Journaling encourages both reaching within for some deep self knowledge, but also to capture ideas. These ideas, the mystical muse, often come when least expected. I once got an idea for a visual poem that included a heavy rock while hiking. I found a rock and I carried it for more than five kilometers back to my car. I cursed my stupid idea many times, but had I not acted on it, maybe it would've been forgotten or downplayed to just silly, and I wouldn't have created the image and the poem that I did and that I truly feel proud of. When one of these ideas come when your muse visits, write it down or act on it instantly. Write in a way that makes it enjoyable, be it an advanced digital pen, a sharpie, or a glitter pen. Carve out some uninterrupted time, I would say between 10 and 30 minutes, do what you need to do to make this happen. Even if you write after the kids have gone to bed, you feed your dogs some extra chewy yummy bone. Put some headphones on, switch your phone off, and just sit down to write. Take a moment to reflect on how you're feeling and how your day has been so far. Any meetings you might have had that made an impact on you, any wishes, wants, or even regrets that stayed with you. Ask yourself these questions. What is truly important to me? Who is truly important to me? What does love actually mean to me personally? How do I know if I'm loved? How do I love? What scares me the most? What excites me? Now, these are all quite big questions, so pick one and write a poem telling the story. This is a bit like trying to summarize your life in three minutes. The short form makes it interesting to find out what you include, and maybe even more interesting to see what you leave out and why. Do you know yourself when it comes to these questions? Write in a reflective way for 10-30 minutes. Pick one or if you feel it's appropriate, all of the reflective questions. Then step back, and from your experience of reflecting on this, write a short poem. Whatever the drug of choice, drinking, drugs, absence, it hurt me. Your choice, my pain. Love is deep. Love is true. Love could lift me up high, but the drug, your drug of choice beat me. Took love and left, left me with nothing but your drug, absence.
6. Summary: Congratulations, you made it to the end, and by now hopefully you will have written your very own poem inspired by one of the themes, be it nature, everyday chores, or some reflecting upon yourself. Whether this was your very first poem, or one out of many, this thing with creating from the heart and looking deep within to connect with emotions, memories that sometimes are hidden even from ourselves, its not a small thing. Actually, I find that every time I sit down to write, it's just as big of a deal as it was the first time I wrote my own poem. I think that happened around the age of eight. From the core of my creative soul to yours, thank you for taking this class. Thank you for giving it part of your valuable time, and I hope to see you soon. I can't wait to read what you have written, so please send it and share it with the rest of us, and let's keep creating. [MUSIC]
Jessica Agert, Self Reflection & Slow Productivity
