Lots of laughter, powerful PLAY, attitude adjustment, accessing artist selves, lively

WNBA-SF Coaxing Creativity participants at work on vision boards

conversation, sharing, and wonderful connections were made at the Coaxing Creativity Decide, Design & Declare Your Writing Life for 2010 Workshop. I am so inspired by all the creativity demonstrated by everyone in the room. Congratulations to all of you for Deciding to show up for yourself, Declaring how/what you wanted to achieve in your writing life in 2010 , and Designing such amazing works of collage art as a visual representation of your journey. Thank you wonderful writers for attending this workshop, and thank you WNBA-SF for inviting me to facilitate this vision board workshop. I can’t wait to see what happens next…

12 writers benefited from WNBA-SF’s Coaxing Creativity Vision Board Workshop led by Mentor Mary E. Knippel.  “Decide, Declare & Design Your Writing Life for 2010,” said Mary Knippel.  “P.L.A.Y.  Pause. Love. Access your Artist/Adjust your Attitude.  YES to You.”

This post invites every writer at the workshop to submit her comments and declare a goal. Click on the title  [12 Writers Benefited from . . . ] to see the entire post; scroll down to comment boxes and key in your name, your email address, your website URL compose your comment; click SUBMIT button.

Thank you, Creativity Mentor Mary Knippel!

Visit Mary’s website for calendar of workshops: http://openuptoyourcreativity.com/

Mary Knippel & 12 writers showing their vision boards

Have you ever set a goal and been disappointed when you didn’t meet that goal? Well, attending the WNBA-SF sponsored Coaxing Creativity Vision Board Workshop is a step in the right direction! By creating a vision board and a plan with simple steps on how to achieve that goal, you are set up to succeed in 2010. This is the year your intentions become your reality! It’s not too late to sign up and join us on Jan. 30, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. in Half Moon Bay. It’s a bargain for a day of purposeful play at $30/WNBA-SF members and $45/non-members. Register now at wnba-sfchapter.org.

January is International Creativity Month – a whole month dedicated to Creativity!  Many will start the New Year off making resolutions and creating lists of ambitions and goals to accomplish before the end of 2010.  Sometimes the list will include vows to:  lose weight, exercise regularly, write that book, contribute to savings, limit spending, work less & play more, spend time with the family… (fill in the resolution I’m missing). You get the point, these things are well and good, but will they really happen?

Did you know that according to the latest statistics, 40% of us will make New Years resolutions? Those who make resolutions are more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions. Most of those folks probably took a pen and made a list, or they sat down at their computer screen. The act of writing something down is a powerful way to make your thoughts tangible. The act of making a Vision Board (or collage) with pictures illustrating the written list of your hopes, dreams, intentions and resolutions for 2010 can take your projections from possibilities to reality.

The Vision Board is part magic and part puzzle. If you’d like help getting started, Mary E. Knippel (Creativity Mentor and immediate past president of WNBA-SF) is facilitating a workshop on Jan 30 on the San Mateo Coastside. The workshop is sponsored by the Women’s National Book Assn-San Francisco Chapter and a member benefit to promote professional development.  It will be a day of goal setting, brain storming, writing, laughter and plenty of sharing. It’s a bargain too $30 for WNBA-SF members and $45 for non-members. 

Start 2010 off on a creative note and sign up today at www.wnba-sfchapter.org.

Versions and Visions of Mary

Whether it’s a new concept, or an annual ritual, vision boards perform powerful magic in helping us manifest our dreams. They are a staple at inspirational retreats I’ve attended and if you saw the DVD “The Secret,” you know it played a significant part. The Law of Attraction directs us to envision success as if it is in the present and has already happened. The more detail you bring into the mental image, the better. The vision board brings life to the mental image.

A vision board may also be called a Treasure Map, or Creativity Collage. Using simple raw materials of paper and glue, a dash of whimsy along with a generous amount of your own imagination, the final result is the birth of a physical expression of your inner most hopes and dreams. The word collage comes from the French “to stick.” It is a work of visual art made from an assemblage of different forms (images from magazines, jazzy junk mail, ribbon, photo copies of favorite pictures, and sometimes handwritten quotes); creating a new whole.

This is an opportunity to have fun envisioning the 2010 you’d like to experience. We’re not just playing around. We’re Playing with Purpose!  The idea is that when you surround yourself with images of who you want to become, what you want to have, where you want to live, or where you want to vacation, your life changes to match those images and those desires.

Ready to create your vision board?

Want to do it with the support and encouragement of friends?

Sign up for the WNBA-SF sponsored Coaxing Creativity Workshop – Decide, Declare, Design Your writing life for 2010 on Jan 30, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on the beautiful San Mateo coastside. We’ll do some writing, create a vision board, brainstorm about goals and ways to achieve them, play, and have FUN!