6 tips to make the most of your poetry practice

6-tips-to-make-the-most-of-poetry

Do you remember your first time writing a poem? That feeling of possibility of written word acting like a bridge between your ordinary world and other limitless realities?…We can revive those moments each time we commit to writing or reading poetry, to have that freshness we are looking for in sometimes routine and monotones practice.

Here I will share few tips that I’ve found to work for me, each time I start to lose that feeling of connectedness and intimate conversation I need in order to make ‘poetry work for me’.

While writing:

  1. Always bring intention forward

This is one of the ways to shut down that judgmental part of mind and simply surrender yourself to words. Be open to whatever comes up – no matter how silly or unfocused it might sound. Instead of trying to control your thoughts, bring your intention to poem – let your poem take over and simply capture that true moment of your life. That kind of release can give you an emotional upheaval and leave you feel lighter and regenerated.

  1. Engage all your senses

You have your senses for a reason and use them to adequately express what ever you are experiencing in that moment. Your eyes, your mouth, your ears, your nose and your skin can tell the story – let them help you in your writing practice. The more details you put in describing that moment, the more authenticity your poem gets and portraits better experience to your reader. Poem takes a life on its own and reader  becomes the part of your world. In this way you are practicing also your objectivity, focus and ability to stay mindful.

  1. Entwine emotion in your writing

Often we fall into trap of writing about emotion, describing feelings and sensations instead of letting out words to translate our immersion into emotion. To have that internal satisfaction with your writing you need to write while reliving that particular feeling. It will make presented experience believable for your reader. Writing good poem is not always about using better technique, fancy words and adjectives. Sometimes is quite the opposite. Turning off that analytical side of mind and simply  diving deep into your subconsciousness is a creation of poem where you’ve just found that raw, unpolished diamond – valuable but one that needs right words to shine through.

  1. Proactively read poetry

It is well known fact that writers must read in order to  grow. But you can take some simple steps to make more of your reading time. One of the things I like to do is to rewrite in separate notebook poems I particularly like. Instead of having them in separate poetry collections or computer files in this way I can refer to them in one place whenever I like. Writing down poems by hand has another benefit for me as it allows me to more easily follow the rhythm of poem and simply feel it through my hand. It helps me also to remember phrases and words I would like to incorporate in my writing. As it is suggested in this article you can make lists of words you like, your own ‘poetry stacks’ that you can refer to as a resource for inspiration and writing prompts. I’ve been entertaining this idea for some time now and I think is worth a try.

5. Support poetry

in different creative ways by listening to it, reciting it, buying it and most importantly by sharing your own work. Submit and publish whenever opportunity presents itself – it’s a sure way towards impact and contribution we want to make. And as plus you improve your writing skills!

6.Find other interesting ways to incorporate more poetry in your life

That can be through studying, journaling, mindfulness practice…you can use it for brainstorming creative solutions to problems or simply to create an intimate and sincere gift for your loved one. Possibilities are endless, but the more you engage in this practice the more world around you will start to match your new found perspectives – don’t miss that beauty.


If you liked this post, please share. And, if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

Poetic inspiration: Creative expression

creativity_expression

This is a quick, weekend reminder that you are creative person and writing is one of the simplest, yet powerful ways to express it.

It’s an inseparable part of you and never reject it – you might be surprised where it takes you.


If you liked this post, please share. And, if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

Aphrodite

aphrodite

Come closer, look at the mirror.

I want you to see beyond those freckles

on your face, those little wrinkles around your eyes,

that grey hair above your left ear,

beyond those curvy heaps and shrunk shoulders.

You are beauty in all its appearances, shapes and forms.

You are light and love.

You are here to accept and give tremendous gift

of your pure divine, sensual, imperfect and unique

self.

Be you and the world seduced with the fragrance

of your truth will crawl under your feet.

Maja S. Todorovic


If you liked this post, please share! And if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

Spirituality, poetry and inner growth – how they are connected?

gita_poetry

Did you know that we can trace origins of word ‘spiritual’ back to the ancient times and it comes from latin word spirare which means to breath and in larger sense it can relate to life itself and living energy force? Taking from these meanings, than anything connected to the pure act of breathing has a spiritual connection, and so does poetry.

A self-actualized spirituality in the most broaden sense might be an acquired integrity, a Self that is truly aware of here and now, and takes actions with compassion and kindness.

For me personally, spirituality also means accepting life and the change that comes with it, learning to navigate with the flow and with the given resources and knowledge make the best of any given moment. It also means dropping the guards of ego-driven principles and having trust in uncertainty, unpredictability of life. Instead of I there is also we and they; there is no scarcity – only abundance for each uniqueness we represent; experience and appreciation for any moment and emotion instead of burdening myself with material stuff.

And finally it is also about connectedness, being true and open to yourself and learning to trust your own honesty.

All these integral parts can be experienced through poetry and let it be our vehicle for learning and growth. Starting from that vantage point of how life should be we work through all that is happening to us – we observe and feel, until we get to an understanding that our perceived reality is as it is.

This whole process of spiritual awakening, poetess Jane Hirshfield so finely portrayed in this essay:

The moon in Japanese poetry is always the moon; often it is also the image of Buddhist awakening.

Although the wind
blows terribly here,
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house.

Izumi Shikibu (Japan, 974?-1034?) [translated by Jane Hirshfield with Mariko Aratani]
This poem reminds that if a house is walled so tightly that it lets in no wind or rain, if a life is walled so tightly that it lets in no pain, grief, anger, or longing, it will also be closed to the entrance of what is most wanted.

Ant that openness to life is our first gate and allowing we give ourselves to enter the spiritual growth.

On a branch
floating downriver
a cricket, singing.

Issa (Japan, 1763-1827) [translated by Jane Hirshfield]
Issa’s singing cricket is Cavafy’s “great Yes” in action. The haiku offers a portrait of the circumstances of all our lives. Carried by capricious currents, certain to die, we nonetheless fully live.

Nature always knows the best way to express itself and in the most difficult circumstances finds a tiny sun beam and a drop of water to carry on life. We all have that knowing in ourselves, but in the process of making a living we forgot to live.

And what I most like about poetry is it reminds me, teaches me and supports me in this process of learning to live again.


If you liked this post, please share! And if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

3 reasons why anything you write has value

quote_writingvalue

Probably you have encountered yourself thinking that what you wrote was not good enough, that nobody would like to read it, ext. And as writers we all have that moments. It’s so easy to let that moment overpower us – just let it flood us with self-loathing about our own skills and capabilities. But today I want to offer you a different perspective on your writing and tell that anything, any word you write has value and it’s not your waste of time.

I so immensely believe in the power of written words, our own words we spill on pages that I’m quite confident in the following statements I’m about to make:

  1. Your writing has value because it’s inevitable part of your own self-exploration and the way to know yourself better.

Each writing session is actually part of something much bigger, a pattern, a recorded reflection of you in particular moment in time. It doesn’t matter do you write a novel, an article, or purely stating your opinion and commenting on someone else’s work – it’s part of you. And anything that is coming from your own sincerity and open heart has value.

What you write at this moment doesn’t have to be perfect. Probably this exact information you are reading can be written in better style, using better words (especially concerning that English is not my mother tongue), but still you can understand the encouragement I want to give you here. And that is what counts, the message and intention behind it.

But this moment me writing this, leads to another writing moment, another blog post, another poem and inevitably we become more comfortable and confident in our writing, which reveals my second reason:

  1. Your writing has value because it’s part of the process where you improve your writing skill and you ‘calibrate’ your writing voice.

As long as you trust your authenticity your writing is original. The way you select and arrange words – especially in poetic writing which is so sophisticated, each time you write poem you are discovering your specific writing expression. It’s unique just as your finger print – you learn to use the words to best express your nature, personality, opinions, belief system and anything you stand for.

  1. Your writing has value as it teaches you to be more mindful of your thinking and stay present in the writing moment.

Each poem or paragraph you write doesn’t have to be approved by editors, experts or published in high impact journals in order to be of value. You write what is true and real for you in that exact moment. While we progress with writing, as it changes so do we. At the beginning of my writing practice I used to write long prose-poems, where I needed a lot of space and words to express myself. As mindfulness begins to dominate my writing lines, so my writing becomes simple and clear. You probably also can relate to this: compare your early works with something you recently wrote and you will see how your poems/writing is more coherent, straight to the point and purposeful.

These are my top 3 reasons why you should keep writing, each time you start to doubt and feel discouraged. There is no word, minute or paper wasted.

And probably the 4th and most obvious (and important) reason that I didn’t list above it’s because it simply brings you joy and fulfillment. Yet, I focused on another crucial elements that most people don’t recognize and easily overlook. These are my three reasons giving me that push I sometimes need to write and commit myself to get the words out there.

Trust your yourself – your writing has value.

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcott


If you liked this post, please share! And if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

Autumn

For some reason autumn has always been my favorite time of the year. Dark green, yellow and deep red are colors that always reminded me of maturity, contentment and that satisfying feeling of carrying enough knowledge and experience into the colder and darker days…

For the first official day of autumn let us enjoy these simple yet mindful words by Amy Lowell:

A photo by davide ragusa. unsplash.com/photos/4jcFu1byopQ


If you liked this post, please share! And if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

INFOGRAPHIC: 9 benefits of reading poetry

As opposed to the most popular post on this blog ‘Why people don’t like poetry’, I have compiled according to my so far done research a little, simple (yet cute, you have to admit 🙂 ) infographic about beneficial aspects of reading poetry.  Many of us do like reading/writing poetry and we all know that it goes beyond pure use of certain words and language functions.

infographic_benefits_reading_poetry

I think this is especially interesting to the newcomers to this blog and how they are not that much acquainted with the previous work done, here are also links of the specific posts leading to creation of this infographic.

How poetry can stimulate creativity?

Poetry and Creativity: crucial blocks in building leadership qualities

Can poetry help you become a better strategist?

Are you a ‘deep reader’? 3 reasons why you should nurture this habit

How important is tacit knowledge for your creativity and one simple way to get more of it

Develop your own mindfulness practice for more patience and joy at work

Diversity at workplace: how to use poetry for improving communication and intercultural differences

Raise your emotional intelligence for creative entrepreneurial leadership- part I

Raise your emotional intelligence for a creative entrepreneurial leadership – part II

Are you an introvert? Poetry can help you access your inner treasures

Please, feel free to share this info as we together can inspire more people to make poetry essential part of their lives.


If you liked this post, please share! And if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

Making Peace by Denise Levertov

As today we are celebrating a World Peace Day, I thought of sharing this beautiful words by Denise Levertov, “Making Peace” and through poetry take opportunity to first find peace within ourselves and simply let that energy transcend further, around us:

peace_poetry


If you liked this post, please share! And if you are interested in getting more inspiration for your creativity, sign up for our free monthly newsletter.

If only

If only I could be a river

a river that goes, flows to the mouth of giant

whale, joining other watery hands to handshake in

the rhythm of waves, rejoicing drop by drop in the

eternity of an ocean;

 

If only I could be a wind, that carries my breath

collides white clouds, like a spider’s net catches every word

has the strengths to rearrange desserts

and knows how to surrender

in the eye of storm;

 

 

If only I could be a tree,

a tree that knows its place under the sun,

how to befriend soil and welcome rain

a tree that accepts its roots – broken sinews

too tired to grow:

 

I would congratulate myself,

I would sing the song only I hear,

I would visit places only I knew exist

I would finally be who I am.

 

Maja S. Todorovic