human development – Page 3

October 22, 2011October 31, 2011

Reader Sharing…

In the early 90’s living at the home of Virginia Tech, I remember one afternoon my son came from middle school excited and told me his class was going to do an Internet project. I answered by saying, “What’s the Internet?” And, of course he’s been ahead of me on this technology ever since.

Well, a lot has changed since I asked that question and we now use the internet everyday. The internet began largely as information sharing. So in that spirit, today I want to do something new and ask a Lifeweaving question–Here’s one for the weekend…

Do you have a Gallery of your artwork [or Photoblog such as Flickr]? Or, do you have a Website focused on a specific topic?

If so, feel free to post a brief description and the URL/domain in the Comments below, so we can visit and see your work or website!

Enjoy this beautiful October weekend and see you next week!

October 11, 2011October 19, 2011

Flow~~~

In art, as in life, experiencing a state of flow can be very exciting and great motivation in moving toward one’s goals.

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In Flow

[click to view You-Tube video of Csikszentmihalyi on Creativity, Fulfillment, & Flow.]

~In Flow your activity matches your skill level–mismatches equal boredom if too easy or anxiety and frustration if too difficult.

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Lost in Time

~We lose an awareness of time…our focus and concentration is on the creative process and task at hand.

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Go With the Flow

~It includes patience and an easy, gentle pace…but also the failures, frustrations, impatience, and rebellions! (Make Your Creative Dreams Real, by SARK)

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Optimal Experience

~ In the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi discusses that creativity and being in flow contributes to an optimal human experience. When our activities are balanced between being a challenge but within our skill level, we enjoy a state of concentration and a sense of well-being. I think of it as a chance to test myself––in a fun way!

* Today in the studio I will be quilting a wall-hanging–When do you experience being in Flow?

If you have the time, I’d love to hear your thinking! (To Leave a Comment–click below…) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How To Get Outside Yourself (everydayintensity.com)

October 7, 2011October 11, 2011

Family Fridays–“Goals–Disappointment or Motivation?”

This week there was a theme on my blog-–goals. Earlier this week, I observed that as an artist failing to reach a goal can be disappointing and discouraging. In our families, especially as parents, we may experience a similar thing. Having goals and expectations, along with perhaps being perfectionistic with ourselves and our family members, may lead us to feel stressed if the end results are not always what we want. Can’t this actually present additional stress and add to problems rather than lessen them?

Instead of viewing goals as end results that must be achieved, perhaps goals can be set to use as a guide to help us move in the direction that we would like to go…an aid in seeing a vision of our families that we would like to encourage and strive toward. For example, instead of saying my child must make all A’s on their report card, a parent’s goal might be that their child will learn, develop, and gain confidence in their abilities as they grow as a person. Then, our goals become motivation with positive encouragement, regardless of the specific end results. In the end, this may lessen our disappointment and raise our confidence in meeting life’s challenges along the way.

I have not met all of my goals for the week, but I am working in the direction I’d like to go…How about you?

As the fall colors and warm days are here, enjoy the weekend!