I used to get a form of writer’s block in which I’d write a few sentences or paragraphs, maybe even half a page, then I’d re-read what I’d written and start editing, revising, chopping and changing. That created a loop in which I’d get hung up on the sounds of the words, the alliteration, small details that I’d feel compelled to ’sort out’ before I could move on.

I figured out what I was doing, then worked out my [internal] strategy for going with the flow.

Indeed, I’m running a workshop in August for people with writer’s block, and also have a Meetup group on that very topic (free to join). http://www.meetup.com/Crafty-Creativity/

On the matter of ThinkType, I worked with a bright 13 year old who was having and causing problems at school, in particular around writing.

He complained that, “I have the words in my head, but they won’t travel down my arm into my fingers and onto the page!”

That comment immediately suggested a solution to his problem, which was, via the magic of NLP and EFT, easily implemented with immediate and beneficial effects.

Go well
Michael

Hey again Michael! Great points – I reckon you must have the same skill I am blessed/cursed with, the ability to ThinkType, that is, channel your thoughts straight down through your fingers in a coherent fashion. (I say cursed cos sometimes I think people get overwhelmed by my casually tossed out 1500 word emails)

There neither a written nor conceptualised agenda. No case-studies and no role-plays.

I hardly let anyone talk about anyone who is not in the room, and, to discourage whinging, both during and after the training event, I offer the alternative of ‘Complaints With Recommendations’.

This ‘lack’ of rules/ structure/ familiarity, etc., is so disconcerting for some people that they get visibly and verbally agitated.

So, given all that isn’t there; what’s left?
Well, the Here and Now energy in the room, the anxieties and aspirations, the fears and fantasies, and covert or overt antagonism perhaps.

Also, I have an unshakable belief in the innate goodness of human beings. I choose to believe that all of us have an infinite capacity for loving connections, for creative and zestfull impact on the world. Our loving potential may be, and often is, obscured by the sadness, fear and anger that lurks beneath a carapace of hate.

I remain convinced that we can find good in the worst of us as well as bad in the best of us. And that is what I set out to find in the unstructured, rule-free ‘chaos’ of my workshops and training.

Anyway, I have warmed myself up by writing this post, so I will now return to my other writing.

Go well

I am also impressed with the length of Michael’s comment.

Longest. Comment. Ever.

Perhaps they’ll be our own ‘rules’, designed to hold up or to bring down what the Gurus present as Universal Truths, tablets of stone, tickets to Heaven, Nirvana, Shangri-La, happy ever-after.

Breaking the rules by gain-saying the guru, may give us an impression (illusion?) of independence, but rebelliousness does not make us free-spirits! As long as we are reacting – for or against – the guru, we are influenced, maybe even determined by the rules that, or people who, tell us how we should think, feel and act.

As an example, I have worked with teens who’ve been kicked out of school and students who’ve dropped out of Uni because, as they put it, “I wanted to do for myself what my parents wanted me to do, but if I did, they’d think I did it because THEY wanted me to!”

I believe that a truly independent person would not sacrifice their own needs and aspirations to prevent other people [parents] from getting pleasure or satisfaction.

Evan’s right; it is tricky not to get sucked into the game, and Andrew’s comment about the need for constant adjustment to constant change resonates with me.

My work involves helping people to make those adjustments in ways that are more likely to be self-affirming and life-enhancing.

How do I know what will be ‘right’ for the families, teams, individuals, teachers, parents, professionals who come to me?

Well, on the one hand I don’t – after all, although it is fairly predictable in terms of most people’s pattern and habits, the future is not written, so no advice, coaching, guidance offers any guarantees!

On the other hand, I work on the assumption that people are not only resilient and resourceful, but also have answers within themselves (on in the family, love-affair, team, classroom, etc.), that they may not know how to access without some input from others.

So, probabilities, yes! Guarantees? Absolutely none. And, like changes, an infinite number of possibilities.

In short, I agree with the notion that you are, I am, we are the guru!

Go well