A few days ago I read an article about time management, goal setting and other practical things. My left brain sat up in her schoolhouse chair and raised her hand, eager to become teacher’s pet. Again. Even in the heat of summer when she’s the only one in class.

My right brain and my awareness in my NOW bubble had a good chuckle.

Logic and goals and planning are great, but they’re only tools. They can’t usurp the power of higher knowing, presence and following the flow.

I know, however, why my left brain was sitting in that classroom. My summer flow has taken me places I didn’t expect.

Logically, I thought I’d continue editing my nonfiction book – and start teaching the material, which excites me no end. Or, I thought I’d move right into recording a free video series on a related project that’s aching to be born.

Instead, flow spiraled me back to one of my screenplays that I started turning into a novel a few years ago. It’s a fun, silly, magical realism story that follows a spoiled politician’s daughter, two naïve cowboys and an extinct bird on a road trip from God.

With flow behind it, I’m stunned at how quickly the writing is going and how much fun I’m having. And since July is Camp Nanowrimo (an international writing challenge), it’s the perfect time to play with this story.

I’ve also spiraled back to another of my passions: crystals and stones. Right now, I’m setting up a store on Etsy. As a few of you know, I used to operate an online store where I sold crystals, stones and jewelry I made. I shut that store down for many reasons. Rather than get rid of all the incredible stones and beads I still had, I packed them away. I invited them to play in other dimensions and have a nice long siesta here. Well, they’re awake now and clamoring to find their new homes. Many beauties in my large personal collection will be joining them as well.

My left brain is scratching its side of my head, thinking: hmmm….isn’t this all a distraction from the main book? Especially the store since it doesn’t have much to do with writing?

In other words, that beloved, overachieving part of me is questioning the flow. And yes, it desperately wants to control the flow because it would feel a lot safer if I would stick to “the plan.” Whatever that was!

I generally prefer that all my body parts be happy, but I can’t let them pull me out of alignment or the NOW bubble. Because I want my left brain to be happier in a new, higher way, I took this question into meditation this morning:

Is the store a distraction?

In meditation I was met by my inner shopkeeper, aptly named Crystal. She has a little boutique shop near the center of what I call my Creative Boom Town. The shop had changed since the last time I saw it. It’s become a shop + café + vast mountain meadow. I felt Gaia’s presence within the meadow. I felt, with tremendous gratitude, how she’s supporting me, the shop and all the stones that will be traveling to their new homes.

While Crystal puttered in her shop, I pulled back. I looked at my Creative Boom Town as a whole. In the center, I saw the usual huge crystal cluster that is both a power generator and my place of presence and power within the town. Today, all my various projects were arranged like spokes on a wheel around that center power point. My novel was one spoke, the nonfiction book another. And the crystal shop had its own arm. Various sub-spokes branched out from all the spokes in all directions. (Yes, I have a ton of ideas!)

The palpable energy of this arrangement showed me (and my left brain) that the whole is energized. All of it. Not just one spoke or two. Everything is interconnected and pulsing and ready. When I work on one thing, it feeds the whole. Nothing is a distraction. At the physical level, once again my only real job is to feel for the flow of the moment and stay in my bubble. And play within whichever spoke feels right in that moment.

 All that said, after I send this post, I’ll pull out my planner calendar and look at some things I might like to accomplish this week. It does feel good to have things written down. But as an old friend used to say, “make plans, then do what happens.”

I wonder, what will happen next? And what might happen if I fully untether that question from my to-do list and let the Universe take me by the hand?

I will have great fun finding out! And I’d love it if you planned along too.

Enjoy the spiral ride of summer!

Barbara

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