Receiving Ideas

By Kerri Williams

Receiving Ideas

by Kerri Williams

I don’t know exactly where ideas come from, but when I’m working well ideas just appear. I’ve heard other people say similar things – so it’s one of the ways I know there’s help and guidance out there. It’s just a matter of our figuring out how to receive the ideas or information that are waiting to be heard. – Jim Henson

I often think about how I receive my ideas. Some days they come barreling through (I call it the Mad Rush) and other days it’s dead inside. While I love the Mad Rush, it’s the dead days that terrify me.

Dead days aren’t really about being without ideas. Ideas are there, they’re always there. Dead days are about listening. Listening to what’s going on around us that are keeping the ideas hidden.

I think about my dead days and most often I’m extremely tired (of course, this then opens the Mad Rush as I’m drifting off to sleep) or I might be overly worried about something. I might be stressed from work or overwhelmed by the things that aren’t getting done because I’ve been catering to the Mad Rush.

Basically, I’m not listening. Therefore, I try to create my own ideas, mold something into something that has no meaning or depth to me, then work tirelessly trying to make something out of nothing.

And of course, the more we worry about the lack of ideas shooting invisibly through the air, the less likely we are to grab hold of them.

There might be a little bit of madness to receiving ideas. No strict set of rules, a smidgen of timing, maybe. It’s a matter of making the invisible visible.

• Go wash dishes. Cut the grass. Clean the house. Not because you have to. That sets you back into stress and being overwhelmed. Do this simply because it’s there. It’s mundane. It relaxes your mind to allow a small opening for ideas to creep in and bloom into thought.
• Turn some music on. Sing along, loudly. Dance if the mood strikes you. Get out of your own head for once and let someone else in. When you free your mind from the internal nagging that constantly consumes your brain, you just might hear a whisper of thought that will spark the fire you’ve been looking for.
• Watch TV. I actually cringe telling you to do that, but depending what you decide to view, the ideas might channel themselves. I’ve often caught my self watching the idiot box paying attention to how something was shot (gets my mind thinking about my photography) or I get excited about the way a script was written or I meticulously watch how an action flows (gets my mind back to the writing). There may be ways that your creativity can open up by observing that of others.
• And speaking of observing that of others, check out something in your field of creativity. Art museums, plays, concerts. You know the drill. Just being around it can open the dam and let the ideas flow. I look at photos every day. I read every day. Those are my creative ventures and they keep me moving forward.
• When all else fails, take a walk. It might work, clear your head to receive the ideas you’re looking for, and if not at least you’re getting some fresh air and hopefully clearing out the cobwebs.

There’s no magic to ideas. They’re there. They’re in the air, surrounding you like those cartoon birds. But the birds are just going to keep tweeting and circling until you learn how to capture them.

Everybody has their own way of doing. How do you receive your idea?
Peace on your journey – Kerri

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