Bliss State

This morning I woke up in a state close to bliss: I was alert, eager, looking forward to my day, and already thinking about what I've titled my Flow Project. I thought, "I've got my groove on." 

Then I thought, the word flow might be limiting me, because it's associated with accomplishing tasks. What I'm aiming for is a daily flow, or maybe a bliss-flow state, that I can ride through each day, with equanimity, resilience, and hope.

A search for "Bliss-flow" led me to a book called Bliss Flow: The Ultimate Energy Journal: Unstoppable Success In 90 Days, by Chelle Clarke. "Chelle is a modern day witch, energy and crystal healer and all round spiritual junkie and gets her creative outlet fulfilling her stationery addiction by designing high vibe and super cute notebooks right here on Amazon under her brand, Journal Junkie."

Oops.

Back to my Flow Project: I've made a backwards calendar, with the first steps I need to take for my big Flow Project, and I expect that more will be revealed as I progress. Today's steps are:

Agenda:

1. Define the hope component

2. Creative self-care intention

1. Define the hope component:

Hope provides emotional stability, anchoring us in meaning rather than outcomes. By combining flow and hope I can build resilience in times of unpredictability. But how do I do that?

I found a great post called Creativity Connects us to Hope by writer & host of the "Let the Verse Flow" podcast, Jill Hodge.

Jill says that creativity is a building block of hope. "From my experience, people who are fulfilled (people who have enjoyed expressing their true selves) have a better chance of being more positive, more giving, more compassionate and empathetic. We can’t help but want to share our voices and our creative expressions when we feel so good. When we feel good down to our bones."

This month I will explore how to use what Jill calls "creative self-care" to build a hopeful flow that will anchor me, build my resilience, and help me to impact the world. 

"Our dynamic world does and should impact our outlook and our mood, but that’s why these creative self-care activities are so important. They are fun and based in our spirit, and we long to do them – when we bring them into our lives, we grow our hope. We fill the bucket of hope."

She defines creative self-care as any way in which I take good care of myself by engaging in creative activities, especially anything that aids in self-growth by releasing tension, growing a spiritual connection, clarifying my priorities, and engaging me with my family and friends. She stresses that I should set intentions and protect my creative time, practice getting into a creative flow state, and hold grace for myself rather than judgment.

2. Creative self-care intention:

So: I intend to choose fun and engaging hands-on projects each week that explore some theme of self-growth and spend at least one hour on it 2-3 times a week, because creative self-care will build a hopeful flow that anchors me, builds my resilience, and helps me to impact the world.

Some ideas:

• Flow sign
• Seed charms
• Caterpillar sanctuary sign