​This week's challenge: a week of Internet, TV, and/or reading deprivation 

"We are always doing something, talking, reading, listening to the radio, planning what's next. The mind is kept naggingly busy on some easy, unimportant external thing all day." – Brenda Ueland

What would it be like to go without some of our external stimulation for a week? Especially the kind that doesn't feel our souls? In "The Artist's Way," Julia Cameron suggests a week without reading. These days, I think the harder challenge would be no internet. How many of us check email and Facebook twice or more daily? It gives us certain benefits, I know - staying in touch with people, finding out stuff that's not in the mainstream news, watching fun and inspiring videos, etc. For some of us, email is essential for work. But it can also be ONE BIG DISTRACTION from being in touch with our selves or being creative. 

And what about TV/Movies/Netflix? True confessions: I watch 1/2 hour - 2 hours a night! I think I need that TV time to chill out, relax. If I have too much pain of some kind, and I can't feel it all the time, it's a much needed distraction for a while. Or maybe it's a kind of company - while folding laundry, sorting papers, or some other half-brain task. I'm interested to see how I do without it, though.

Benefits
There are five benefits I can think of right away:
 
1. It helps strengthen the discipline muscle. You make a commitment, you stick to it. It's not a huge time commitment per day, either, so it's not a difficult commitment to keep.
 
2. It helps with a feeling of success. Do you know that feeling of, "I'm not writing! (Substitute your art here). What is wrong with me? I am a failure as a writer." All of a sudden, you're doing it! You can make a plan, and stick to it, and do the artwork that you choose. You actually are that sort of person.
 
3. It helps let go of perfectionism. You're creating so many things, and in such a short amount of time, how could you be attached to each small thing you make? Part of this process is to make something, then put it aside and make something new the next day. You're not welcoming in the judge or critic, who spends time revising, editing, crossing out, crumpling up and throwing away. You don't have time for that, you must move on.
 
4. It helps with creative flow and inspiration. This month is about generating stuff, not about completing and publishing/showing/performing. It's a time to put those anxieties aside, to get into the creative flow, to feel that excitement and inspiration bubble up inside. To say, "Go for it! What have I got to lose?"
 
5. You can practice “switching.” This means you can quickly switch from your busy mind, involved with practical details (usually called left brain), to your creative mind, which is more open and fluidic (usually called right brain).  Many times we might feel like we’re not in the mood to create, or we need to have a long chunk of time to get in the right frame of mind to create. That’s not necessarily true. This useful skill allows you to drop right into creative mode for a limited amount of time.

Start your own!
If all that sounds up your alley, you can start your own group of daily creators for a month. Call it whatever you like. The group part is important, because there's a sense of community effort, you are accountable to more than yourself, and you can hear how it's going for others. You can set up a website that's easy to invite people in, who can write and respond to each other. (I recommend using a wiki, available from pbworks.com.) It may be fun or hard, and you may find other benefits that I didn't mention. If you think of it as an experiment, you can hold it lightly and not get too attached to outcomes. If you do try it, I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a line at lisapont@mindspring.com. Thanks!