Mindfulness and Poetry: Delicious Word Awareness
Everyone's a poet.
Of course, everyone's a critic, too! This means that there are plenty of opportunities to heighten our awareness of words and how we use them.
Words create pictures, and just as a painter uses a combination of colors and strokes to express a concept, we offer an artisticrendering of thoughts through carefully chosen words.
Our linguistic intelligence is what allows us to both recognize and generate vivid word vignettes. Whether you enjoy novels, biographies, mysteries, sonnets, haiku, song lyrics, conversations, soliloquies, or newspaper stories, you can develop greater word awareness by focusing on descriptive phrases.
In our everyday speech, we tend to speak in phrases and punctuate these with expressions, pauses, gestures, or laughter. Although the words themselves convey meaning, the total picture we create is a combination of inflection, context, juxtaposition, and even eye contact.
Don't think you have your own personal poetry style? Think again. You use words in your own way, and it's likely that, given an assignment to express a particular concept, your version would have recognizable elements.
Try this test: describe a birthday cake.
There's a good chance that you would use words to express the shape, flavor, color, decoration, ingredients, size, and presentation of a cake, and that the precise way you do that would be unique when compared to others' descriptions. In addition, you're likely to come up with a different description if asked to do so a month from now.
You can easily and enjoyably boost your word awareness by
1) selecting a particular cue word as a trigger for mindfulness, or
2) focusing on phrases used in specific settings.
Better yet, try both!
By using a particular word as a mindfulness trigger, you can watch how others create poetic representations of the same element.
Ready for your secret food awareness word? Here it is: morsel.
Listening for a specific word will develop your ability to make distinctions in the way it is used and allow you to watch for subtle variations. Does "morsel" refer to something creamy or chewy? Is it savory or sweet?
To play with poetry and mindfulness at the same time, notice phrases used to describe food. Listen to them with an ear for rhythm, and picture them as lines of a poem.
Read menu descriptions, food articles or cookbooks and be aware of the adjectives most likely to get your mouth watering. Sensual words like "succulent" and "luscious" elicit physiological responses. Pay attention to those, and listen for the phrases you hear that create especially vivid sense experiences.
Linking word pictures with taste helps us anchor our linguistic intelligence with our bodily intelligence, and this makes our mouths very happy indeed.
Delectable words,
Delicious poetry. Mmmm--
True taste sensation.
Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse in Portland, Oregon. Through her company, Real-World Mindfulness Training, she teaches fun and effective eyes-wide-open alternatives to meditation. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, please visit http://www.MassageYourMind.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Are Sleepless Parents More Creative? New York Times I ran the question by R. Keith Sawyer, an associate professor at Washington University in St. Louis, and the author of Explaining Creativity: The Science of ... |
 Earthtimes (press release) | RESET: The Final Jury for the 2010 International ANDY Awards Announced CNNMoney.com (press release) After six weeks of voting across five continents, the passionate campaign that engaged the finest minds in creativity and digital media resulted in the ... Andy Awards' 'Crowdsourced' Jury Is Revealed |
Part of a Creative Powerhouse Behind Ephemeral Artworks Wall Street Journal Adding to the vision of two artists merging their creativity was the fact they shared the same birthday. Jeanne-Claude took the lead in raising funds for ... |
Williams says creativity will beat economy's woes Norwich Bulletin Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, encouraged Eastern Connecticut residents and government to show grit and creativity. “We ought to ratchet it up,” ... |
 Destructoid | Unleashing creativity with PS3-exclusive ModNation Racers Destructoid If you're familiar with Forza Motorsports' deep customization options, and the kind of stuff you can do with a little creativity, you're on the right track. ... |
OSU student group seeks creative solutions Stillwater NewsPress A team of graduate students working through Oklahoma State University's School of Entrepreneurship in conjunction with the Creativity Initiative have ... |
Aspiration Women try Veg Jewellery items to showcase their creativity PunjabNewsline.com Out of the eight groups on Thursday, three were selected as winners for their best creativity in molding vegetables into fine jewellery items. ... |
Trading companies' creativity needed towards recovery China Daily "In combating trade protectionism, companies' creative solutions and ideas are highly valued. Experience sharing will inspire creativity," Zhong Qing, ... |
Franco family's 'Metamorphosis: Junior Year' San Francisco Chronicle For the Francos, creativity is a family affair that plays out in the pages of books and the making of art. It recently spilled out into late-night ... |
Freedom, Creativity -- and Systems? Dynamic Chiropractic If you've ever gone to a seminars on practice growth, taken any courses on the topic, or even talked to people who have, then you know the ... |
Creativity and Communication Lessons from Crossing the Street
Spring is in full bloom, which means it's 'get back in shape time!' For me, that means strapping on the sneakers and going for a run (well, at this stage it's more of a slow loping jog..
Who Wants To Be A Creative Genius?
Can You Learn Creativity?Have you ever watched Robin Williams do a stand-up routine? Could so much creativity and spontaneity result from a highly organized approach? Definitely. Wild and funny thoughts don't come from nowhere.
Top Five Journal Exercises
Keeping a journal is a form of creative expression that enhances the creativity coaching process. Keeping a journal develops emotional awareness, reinforces self-esteem and aids in problem-solving.
Rejuvenate & Re-Fuel Your Inner Drive
I believe that as solo-entrepreneurs, business owners, and executives we all need a pat on the back. Give yourself commendation.
How To Discover Hidden Talents Within You And Begin Appyling Them In Your Life Now
Have you decided it may be time to start creating some newexcitement in your life? If you are now retired, soon to be retired, or just now reaching those "golden years" do you feel your life has become a little dull? Uneventful? Maybe even a little discouraging?After all, when you reach this period in your life, yourroutine may have changed, your energy may have dwindled and even your drive may have simply slowed down a bit. So if you are not happy with this situation what do you do about it? Well here's something to think about that could just change the whole picture.
Creativity Management - Finding Your Voice
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
Business Innovation - Personal Creativity
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
Drawing On Creativity: How To Trick Your Brain
Can you draw?Your answer to that question reveals a surprising amount about your brain and the way you integrate your right and left hemispheres. (In this article, the left side will be referred to as the dominant one, which is by far the most likely scenario.
Creativity Management - Measurement, Benchmarking, and Improvement
Contrary to common perception, creativity can be made tangible, measurable and useable. In terms of measurement, benchmarking and improvement, the first step is to decide on definitions, the second is to decide on methods of measurement and finally, to monitor each measurement for improvement.
Being Creative is Essential for Online Success
Do you have a strategy that ensures your online business stands out from the crowd?If your answer to the above is NO then you need to address this issue, because if you don't, it is unlikely that your online presence will even be noticed.With there being so much competition in every field on the internet it is essential that you offer your target market something different than your competitors.
Three Ways Journaling Can Boost Your Creativity and Your Business
I have a friend who has struggled with her creativity for a long time. She's extremely uncomfortable thinking of herself as "creative.
Creativity, Innovation, and Market Performance
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
Creativity: The Key To Getting More Done In Less Time
If your to-do list seems as long at the end of the day as it did at the start (or worse yet, longer!) then you could definitely use an injection of creativity in your work day.Here are five simple ways of using your creativity to improve the quality of your day:1) Stop banging your head against the wall -- A good chunk of the time people waste in a day is due to stressing over the same problems that face them day after day.
We Tend To Make Up Our Own Truths: What Stories Are You Making Up?
Someone once said that man keeps looking for truth that fits his reality. Oddly, more often than looking for truth, we tend to make up our own truths.
Story and Screenplay Structure
Structure is beneficial to creative output in a number of ways. There are at least two types of structure, work processes and frameworks:a) Work processes such as incremental production produce more output than a "do your best" approach.
Make Yourself Creative: Two Easy Idea-Generating Methods
Here are a couple of exercises to force yourself to come up with some brand new ideas. These methods can be used to give your business an edge, to overcome creative blocks, or just for fun - to prove to yourself that you can have some great ideas.
Creativity Management - Overcoming Blocks
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
Creativity Management - Finish What You Start
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be defined as consisting of a number of ideas, a number of diverse ideas and a number of novel ideas.
Dancing On Your Brain: The Cha-Cha Effect
My grandmother used to say that the secret to living a good life is maintaining a flexible spine and a flexible mind. Whether we're talking about joints or brains, there's just no room for rigidity.
Fear & Creativity
My fears are most powerful when they're simmering just under the surface of my awareness. I'm resistant to a new idea, I'm defensive about holding on to my old ways, I feel excited and panicked at the same time - these are sure-fire signs that there's some fear under there.
