NEW POEM . . ."Beach House Dream"

I have been busy doing design work, and my post-it notes with thoughts for stories and poems have reached critical mass.  Let's not talk about what's on the micro-recorder!

I can mark one off the list now. That collection of stuck together post-its which I transcribed today to a single sheet of notepaper before I lost any of the thoughts.  This was a dream I had.  I woke up knowing it was a poem.

I have been told that dreams with water indicate great emotions.  This one was ultra vivid: the driftwood natural gray of the beach house, the vibrant carpet of pebbles, the amazing variety of waves. I wonder what this one meant, with its great rushes of water in and out of the cove?

Beach House Dream

By Judith Cullen

(c) 2015

Eyes blinking shut, in the cool

Silent, grey quiet of a Sunday.

Mists cradling a mind, morning

Drifting into solace.

A cove, fringed with beach houses

A place we’ve never been before.

In a house fully steeped in 

My grandfather’s craft.

NEW HABITS - Starting 2015 On the "Write" Path

Well, here we are.  It's a new year and the air is thick with good intentions!

I spent time leading up to January 1 reading articles and posts on creativity and writing rituals.  It all can sound very mystic, but I understand the truth of this.  For years, when I design, there are certain things I must do before I begin.  The drafting table must be clean (not just cleared) and all my templates and rules must also likewise be ritually bathed.  Yes, I still use a pencil!  Sue me!

I found this post by picture book writer Marcie Colleen to be among the most interesting that I read, and I am definitely going to look into Twyla Tharp's book The Creative Habit.

So, I got a candle (shown above with my new minion Stuart) and I began to craft my own ritual.  An odd coincidence, I got a book of inspirational word-finds in my stocking at Christmas.  I thought it was a mistake. Word-finds are my Mom's province.  On a whim I started lighting the candle and doing the word-find for ten minutes before I began writing.  It seems to work really well at focusing my brain.  So, we'll see how it goes - this might just be the start of a pattern.

Here is the first found fruit on this new path.  I am not sure what the form is, except it is the form this needed to be in.  It is TOTALLY inspired by the act of lighting the candle, which also ignited memories of trying to learn meditation.  It is something I have yet to master - I always end up putting myself to sleep.  So much for the power of the conscious mind!  Enjoy and Happy New Year:

Learning to Meditate – Hymn to a desired spirituality

By Judith Cullen

(c) 2015

Focus on the inner flame

Breathe deep and capture, exhale, release.

Clear your thoughts and simply be.

Wisdom of creation, waiting for me.