Tag: creativity courses

Creative Flow as a Resource – here is to a great start!

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Just this Wednesday, February 1st, 2017 the course Creative Flow as a Resource hosted by myself and Jennifer Bruder of Brain Dialogues, was set in motion towards the new direction.

It is a new beginning in many ways – participants are starting their own creative journeys and for us – it was the inauguration of the new creative space our Studio has moved in to recently.

We salute to our brave participants, who brought in loads of creative energy and an open mind!

We are setting the stage
We are setting the stage
First creative results on display
First creative results on display
Jennifer is getting ready to introduce herself
Jennifer is getting ready to introduce herself
Anna
Anna
Natalyia and Jennifer
Natalyia and Jennifer
Finding your strengths
Finding your strengths

Although the course has started, we invite you to try something out as well – a simple exercise that you can do once a week, or once a month, for example – a sort of check-in.

Take out your journal if you have one, otherwise a pen and paper, and follow these 4 simple steps:

  1. Ask yourself a question: “Where am I now?” – in terms of physical place, your emotional state, personality-wise, etc. Spend a few moments to reflect. Take your time, but also don’t overthink. When you are ready: Write, color, draw, create, etc.  three answers to this question.
  2. When you are finished, ask yourself: “Where do I want to be?” You set up the time-frame – in can be by the end of the week, in a months, or half a year. When you are ready: Write, color, draw, create, etc. three answers.
  3. These two questions can take you through a big, and rather overwhelming, picture. But every big expedition starts out with a first small step. Examine your answers to the second question and decide on one thing that you can do this week, something that will bring you closer to where you would like to be and do it! Is it time to visit the arts supply shop and buy a canvas and paints?; a travel guide?; to take an online course?; or simply go for a walk?; pick up the phone and call a friend?…
  4. When you have completed steps 1–3, come back to the exercise, and reflect how it felt to move towards your forever-elusive dream, the goal there isn’t time for, or the people you miss. Is there something you want to revise in steps 1–2? Can you continue adding onto step 3?

Here is what one of the participants mentions on the topic:

Natalyia | Creative Time Studio

@creativetimestudio made me really think. I am rather clear about my own #now, but what I want to be, see myself, feel, discover remains to be revealed. There of course will come #lifeprocess surprised – those, hiding under the yellow sticky notes. #personaldevelopment #creativeprocess #thinking

We’d be happy to hear about your own discoveries either in the comments below, through instagram #findingcreativeflow, or facebook Creative Time Studio, Brain Dialogues

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Creative Flow as a Resource – course starting February 1, 2017

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Creative Flow as a Resource is an engaging and personally challenging 4-week course designed to serve as a window for exploring options for creativity and self-improvement in your day-to-day life. Participants meet once a week to learn new skills, create, discover and to share. Throughout the week participants are required to take a few hours just for themselves, away from usual stress, uncertainties, and routines.

Creativity is a Resource: and this course aims to create conditions in which you can find your own path to realize the plans and dreams you have, to nudge you towards what you really want, to refresh, to gain strength and to relieve you from daily stresses. Participants feel revitalized and learn many tools that can be used to continue their creative and personal journeys. It is possible, to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

The course foundations are built upon research in positive psychology, creativity and cognitive science. The aim is to help you to find your passion and improve well-being.

This course is offered by Anna Sircova and Jennifer Bruder. We both have PhD’s in psychology where Anna is an expert in creative processes, well being, psychology of time and so much more. And Jennifer’s focus is in neuro-cognitive psychology and the creative brain.

Feel free to contact either Creative Time Studio if you have any questions.
You can read more about Anna at Creative Time Studio and you can read more about Jennifer at Brain Dialogues.

Practical Info:

This is a 4 week course.
February 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd from 18:00-20:30
Sønder Boulevard 68, 1720, Copenhagen

Please register here

What will you need?

1) 30-60 personal minutes a day: just for you
2) a wish to push yourself to the next level of your personal journey
3) join this kick-off meeting on February 1st at 18.00

Places are limited.

Cost: 1600 dkk

Tea, coffee, snacks and all creative supplies are provided.

Creative Flow as a Resource – week 1

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Just last Sunday, November 13th, me and Jennifer Bruder have started the Creative Flow as a Resource course for those who are looking for a new direction in their daily or professional lives and for those who want to bring in more creativity in the daily lives.

It was a great start with loads of creative energy and flow! We are looking forward to see and hear what our creative participants will do for their creative rendezvous during this week. Follow along or share your ideas on #findingcreativeflow.

Creative Time Studio
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Creative Flow as a Resource – course starting November 13, 2016

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Creative Flow as a Resource is a 4-week course designed to serve as a window into a different reality, a few hours just for yourself, away from usual stress, uncertainties and routines. An opportunity to zoom out, to do something different or something long forgotten, but enjoyable and invigorating.

if you feel like you could use a bit of time for yourself,
if you feel like you’re always running somewhere and now need a pause,
if you feel like you’re stuck and not sure where to go,
if you are longing for more creativity and more inner freedom in your life
if you’re looking for yourself in the midst of the daily routines,

if you wonder how to become more open to different opportunities and let them happen to you,
if you need some time and space to nurture your creative potential,

if you need to discover and recover your resource,
or maybe you just need some energy to realize what you have in mind, but not really sure where to get it –

then this course can help you find answers to these questions.

It is time to create and discover!

This course aims to create conditions in which you can find your own ways to realize the plans and dreams you have, to nudge you towards what you actually want, to refresh, to gain some strength, to relieve from daily stresses and revitalize you and to give you tools with which you can see extraordinary in the ordinary.

The course builds upon research and findings in the positive psychology field, development of creativity and psychology of time and aims at helping out to find your passion, improve well-being and build a balanced time perspective.

The is a 4 week course. We meet on Sundays at 12:00 beginning on Sunday, November 13th and continue on Sunday, November 20th, 27th and December 4th.

What you will need in order to start:
1) a pen
2) a notebook – yep, there will be quite some writing involved
3) 30-60 minutes a day for yourself personally
4) a wish to change some things in your life and stop living on “autopilot” mode
5) join this kick-off meeting on November 13th at 12:00

Places are limited.

Cost: 700 dkk / 175 dkk per session.

Please register here

“10 things I could’ve done, but didn’t” or what to do with the self-blame

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During the last session of Creative Rendezvous I included a prompt from Austin Kleon’s “Steal Like an Artist Journal”: “10 things I could’ve done, but didn’t”. My own immediate reaction was that I couldn’t come up with what to write, and managed to list three things. During our discussion, it became evident that actually this prompt can easily move into self-blame and regrets domain. This got me thinking what would be a more constructive approach instead?

Eventually I managed to complete the list and after analyzing the answers I came up with the following strategy how to deal with it, how to prevent self-blame and have a more positive outlook when evaluating the answers.

Divide your answers into four groups:

1. To celebrate – maybe it was actually good for you that some things on your list did not happen. For example, if you’re working on quitting smoking, then saying “I could’ve smoked a cigarette last night after that beer, but didn’t” is great, it’s an achievement – celebrate that, compliment yourself on it!

2. Still to celebrate (+/-) – the outcome generally is more on the positive side. For example, “I could’ve spend more time and finalize the article, but instead I went to bed early” or “Could’ve taken more photos during the session, but got totally engaged in the moment and forgot”. The issues mentioned in the “I could’ve done” part are “nice to have”, but overall outcome is still positive. The “didn’t” part has a positive quality to it, something positive, energizing, valuable happened instead. The “nice to have” part can be looked into further – is it something that you should work on or it’s ok as it is?

3. To act on – a group of issues that you would like to act upon, for example “I could’ve done more yoga”, “I could’ve listened to those classes I bought on Creative Live” and there is no continuation to it, there was nothing else with the positive outcome that you did instead. First of all, see how many of those you have in relation to the previous groups. Then weigh them. Do those things bring you closer to your dream, to your “true north”? Ask a follow up question: “If I spend some time doing this next week, will it bring me closer to my dream?” If it will, then that’s an item to act upon. And if not – it goes to the last group:

4. Not to pay attention to.

If still not sure where to start and which issue to choose to work with, then answer these questions for each item (inspired by one of the exercises in Julia Cameron’s book “Way of Artist”):

– Does it cost money or is it free?
– Expensive or cheap?
– Alone or with somebody?
– Job related?
– Physical risk?
– Fast-paced or slow?
– Mind, body, or spiritual?

This should help to make a decision – which is the issue that you would like to act on in the nearest future. Evaluate your calendar – how often can it happen, when exactly?

Schedule it in, make it happen and enjoy it!

Creative Rendezvous – February 21, 2016 | Copenhagen

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Creative rendezvous – it is the time for you!

It’s time to get together with your inner creative and a few other like minded people and do something fun and inspiring.
It’s time to discover some of your hidden talents, get in touch with your inner Kandinsky or maybe Hemingway..

It’s time to get into the creative flow and extend the present moment.
It’s time to break free from some of the boundaries we tend to create for ourselves and discover new opportunities.

It’s time to take a break, breathe, be with yourself and dissolve in your dreams and then continue with new energy and focus.It’s time to create and discover!
It’s time to stop waiting for the muse, we’ll start without her, but she’ll join us anyways!

 

Price: 300 DKK
Art supplies, tea / coffee, snacks are provided.

Places are limited. Please book a spot with 50 DKK via eventbrite:

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