Category: ELAN Blog
-
What’s the Deal?…
My writing life is shifting from a fun way to spend some time to pinpointing focus to the best book only I can write. It means stacking hours upon hours, to the exclusion of many things. It means to believe so fully there is nothing else I’d rather do. It means to turn off the…
-
Pick a Side…
One of the many things I gleaned from the recent conference I attended was the distinction between those who are bent on destruction and those who champion creativity. It is one of the many catchy dualities into which we love to divide the world. Night owls and morning people; cold-natured, hot-natured; extrovert, introvert; blue or…
-
Just Breathe…
When I am rankled by small everyday disturbances or overcome by world events, I remind myself to breathe. Just breathe. I use it as a prayer or meditation, repeating “Breathe in Peace, Breathe out Love.” Sometimes it takes a few cycles for me to believe it, but eventually the breath slows, my mind relaxes, and…
-
Open to Your Path…
I attend writers’ conferences, online classes and zoom groups to learn layers and layers of craft techniques, and to build community. These time-consuming, money-spending, single-focusing events also connect me to my deep, creative soul. Last week I had one conference goal: to clearly discern my next step(s). In one master class, I was encouraged to…
-
Energy Cords…
When life ebbs and flows, I like to remember it is a natural cycle. I’ve learned to give in to the occasional slowness, recognizing it as fallow time, necessary for rest, rejuvenation, and even regrowth. Beyond our personal ups and downs, we are susceptible to outside forces that jazz or jade, depending on so many…
-
K.I.S.S. …
A friend used to remind herself to K.I.S.S, keep it simple, stupid. I’m not wild about the stupid part, but I do like the easy-to-remember reminder. Especially in today’s complicated world; moving parts butting up against each other; one viewpoint insisting to the death that their values must be followed to the letter of the…
-
It was a Dark and Stormy Night…
Autumn storms turn the afternoons gloomy. We celebrate sugar-coated Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos. We’ll soon bid goodbye to Daylight Savings time; depressing for night owls like me. These are traditions or seasons, but what of news hits that throw blanket after weighted blanket upon our weary souls? Are we ineffective and quivering balls…
-
Be True to Yourself…
It is the only way to be authentic in a world of others. So often we find ourselves living out someone else’s idea of a life. I hope that is not the case for you. May you know exactly what floats your boat and have many opportunities to ride the high seas of your particular…
-
Reframing the Shame of Things Undone…
The Ten Principles of the original ELAN course encourage 3-D Living: Discovering your passion and Developing the tools to turn passive passion into action in order to Deliver it to your world, large or small. Is there one project that drives you to spend extra-curricular hours to its completion? Most likely, many are left to die on…
-
Imperfect Tense…
The definition of the imperfect tense is unfinished…an ongoing action that has not been completed. We are called to perfection, knowing it won’t be achieved. The ongoing progress toward that end is the reward, the journey is the goal, not the destination. Yet our imperfections cause tension; a drive or a need to make a…
Patty Mayeux Blog 