Category: creative process

creative process, creativity, determination, imagination

Beginning: Thinking Into Being

Christa Avampato

“Our thoughts are forming the world.” ~ Yogi tea bag

Our inner confidence and conviction is more important than we realize. If we see a situation that we want to improve, we do actually have the ability to create the change we wish to see. Our thoughts form companies and organizations; they build programs, products, and services. Everything we touch, see, and experience is the creation of nature or someone’s imagination. Why shouldn’t the world have the gift of your vision, the gift of living up to your expectations?

 

creative process, creativity, yoga

Beginning: A Creative Update On Compass Yoga

Christa Avampato
From http://www.zastavki.com

Despite the rainy weather over the weekend, I was able to focus a lot of my creative energies toward Compass Yoga. The site has been updated and the service and product ideas are flowing! The Board and I have been talking through some new ideas to spread our efforts to a wider audience. Here’s a brief update of how we’re doing:

Board:
The Compass Yoga Board of Directors is in place and in a constant dialogue on how to shape the organization going forward. Check out their bios and personal mission statements here.

Partnerships:
We’re moving ahead on the partnership front with classes. Beginning October 7th, there will be a weekly yoga and mediation class at the VA Hospital in Manhattan for the medical staff. We’re in talks with several other potential partners where we hope to offer classes and programs by the end of the year.

Incorporation:
We are grateful for legal counsel and support from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and the incredible probono attorneys who have volunteered to help us. We will be working closely with them in the coming months on our nonprofit incorporation and tax-exempt status.

Online resources:
In the coming months, Compass Yoga will be releasing a set of online multi-media resources that help to fulfill our mission to “provide yoga to populations who have a specific healthcare need for the therapeutic healing that a yoga practice offers.” There is no shortage to the ways in which we can offer up our teachings, unencumbered by geography and language.

New York Public Library classes:
I am thrilled to announce that Compass Yoga‘s members of Karmi’s Angels are taking over the classes at the Bloomingdale branch of the New York Public Library. As my work on administrative work on Compass ramps up and I turn a good deal of my attention toward our Veteran Program, Sarah and Suzanne offered to divide up the classes at the NYPL. In September, the classes will shift to Thursday evenings from 6:00pm – 6:55pm and will continue to be free and open to all.

Other areas under development:
Compass is currently working on securing PR representation to spread the good word on our good works. We’re also putting together a few potential workshop ideas, scouting out funding resources, and continuing work on the book project for yoga and finance.

Want to get involved?
Join us! Check out the “Get Involved” section of our website and connect with us on Facebook.

commitment, courage, creative process, creativity

Beginning: If You Don’t Like a System, Tear It Down and Start Over

Christa Avampato

“For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.” ~ Sir Thomas More, Utopia, Book 1; English author, courtier, humanist, & saint (1478 – 1535)

My friend, Moya, sent me this quote after reading my last few posts about empowerment and forging our own paths forward. In light of those posts, she thought I’d love the quote above (and I do!) She went on to say, “To me, it’s not about crime but a more general life lesson. If you create a system that encourages a certain outcome, then expect that certain outcome to occur. [If you don’t like a system], tear it down and create a new one – emotionally speaking.” Truer words have never been said.

Helping returning veterans, their families, and caregivers
There are a number of systems that I want to tear up. One of them is the way that we treat, or rather don’t treat, returning veterans. 1/3 of them never receive any kind of care at all, while an additional 1/3 receive inadequate care. Families and caregivers of returning veterans have an even lower rate of care. I’m focusing Compass Yoga‘s efforts on returning vets, their families, and caregivers because of the tremendous need and because I personally understand how PTSD effects an individual and an entire family. I’m not out to help a handful of vets; I’m in this to build an entire system of wellness across the globe for them and the people who love them that provides preventative care and treatment after they return from service.

Traditional yoga studios
Another system that really irks me is the traditional yoga studio model. I’ve written about this pet peeve of mine before, and it’s such a big problem that it’s worthy of repeating. Yoga studio expenses are high and fixed, while the revenue is entirely variable from day-to-day. To compensate for a broken economic model, many studios have started teacher training programs that cost an average of $2500 – $3000. This is the bread and butter of their business. Would-be teachers trustingly hand over that money without full comprehension of how difficult it is to teach yoga as a full-time job, particularly in a city as expensive as New York. The yoga studios know this of course, but most (not all) don’t pass on the information honestly because they don’t want to scare away people from signing up for teacher training. It’s a sick cycle.

In part, this system led me to go in an entirely different direction with Compass Yoga, focusing on its therapeutic application in mental health and incorporating medical research. It also led me to explore nonprofit incorporation and to pursue several other avenues that I’m still doggedly working on. I’m not out to just build a nice little sustainable organization. I’m in this to build out a new business model for delivering wellness for the whole person. This wasn’t the only path I could have taken, though it is the right one for me.

Some things need tearing down
Moya’s thoughts on Sir Thomas More are right on target. If we allow a system to persist, or worse yet – knowingly participate in a busted system, then we are to blame for the disappointing results. System building is difficult work, though the alternative of working in a crummy system with equally crummy results is much harder to live with. Destruction is often the first step in the creative process. Tear down what gives you pain, and start fresh.

creative process, creativity, inspiration, love, New York City, nostalgia

Beginning: Building a Space from Love – Heidi’s House by the Side of the Road

Christa Avampato

Front view of Heidi's
“Here are your waters and your watering place. Drink and be whole again beyond confusion.” ~ Robert Frost, seen on the chalk board over the bar at Heidi’s House by the Side of the Road

I went to Heidi’s House by the Side of the Road last week with a small group of friends. It’s not an actual house but an adorable niche that serves tremendous wine and some of the most delicious food I’ve had in a long time. Every nook and cranny of Heidi’s in jam-packed with love, care, and concern. The attention to detail is extraordinary. Heidi herself made sure of it.

Even the name has a heart-felt meaning. In the bathroom there is a needle point that states, “Let me live in my house by the side of the road and be a friend to a man.” It’s a quote by Sam Walter Foss. I asked Heidi why that quote means so much to her that she’d name her business after it. She told me, “It’s the quote on my father’s grave stone.” Gulp. I got goosebumps.

It got me thinking about how important it is to put love into our endeavors, how much of a difference that makes to the people who get to share in your creation. We taste love in food, we hear it in music, and we see it in art. It has this unmistakable and yet unexplainable quality that is universal.

Take a spin over to Heidi’s and see what I mean. Then get cracking on your own creation of love, and let others share in it the way Heidi does.

career, creative process, creativity

Beginning: 4 Paths to Gaining Constructive Discontent

Christa Avampato

I was digging through the Problogger archives recently and came across this gem of a post: 9 Attitudes of Highly Creative People. I love these kinds fo posts for a few reasons: a) I’m a creativity hound, hence the subtitle of this blog, “Curating a Creative Life” and b) they never go out of style. Creative habits are trendy; they’re truths. What works today will work tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Just like that little black dress or that perfect feel-good pair of jeans. I love a classic.

Of the 9 attitudes that Darren Rowse, a.k.a. Problogger, discusses in this post, my favorite by far is “Constructive Discontent”. Give me the naysayers who have taken the time to come up with a host of better alternatives than the options currently on the table. I will gladly embrace them because I’m one of them. These are the people who turn ideas upside down, create disruptive new products and services, and live by the mantra “why not?” They are rebels with a cause – to make the world better.

4 Paths to Gain Constructive Discontent:
1.) Don’t accept that the way it is will be the way it will always is. In this new-fangled economy there is only one certainty – change, and plenty of it!

2.) Be a Hopeful Pessimist, or a Cynical Optimist. Even if it’s all going to hell at the moment, those with constructive discontent believe in their heart of hearts that it can and will be better in the not-so-distant future.

3.) You’re Part of the Solution. Believing that the choices you make and the positions that you take on a project can make a difference is key. If you have strong convictions, be prepared to back them up with actions.

4.) Be on record. Being on record with a unique p.o.v. can be tough. It takes confidence and courage, and in the end confidence and courage do create a healthier more productive system. Take the long-view.

art, creative process, creativity

Beginning: What I Create and Refuse to Destroy

Christa Avampato

“A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy.” ~ John Sawhill

I’ve been watching the coverage of Egypt with a heavy heart. I’m sure you have, too. An art curator in Egypt was interviewed by one of the networks recently and he talked about his deep concern that the violence could jeopardize so much priceless art in Cairo. I’ve been so focused on the human element of the conflict that I never considered how this could reshape Egypt’s artistic heritage.

This new perspective got me thinking about the creation and destruction we do every day in our lives. What we build, tear down, rearrange, and leave intact says a lot about who we are and what we value. It deserves some reflection time.

My creations:
1.) I’m working on creating more personal art thanks to my Wacom.

2.) I’m building Compass Yoga, a yoga teaching business, with a strong eye on delivering yoga to under-served populations particularly in conjunction with the medical community.

3.) Though my natural inclination is to make my living through working with small organizations, I’m currently a part of a large financial institution that has become a great test lab for me to learn about industrial psychology, mobile technology, and the levers that move the market.

4.) This blog continues to be a big part of my life as I work on other writing projects. My writing is a way for me to reach out, connect, and work through the situations of my life.

What I refuse to destroy:
1.) I used to take a lot of risk in my career. I still value risk though I’ve also learned to better calculate the consequences. As a result my risk taking in recent years has yielded a higher return, personally and financially. My improved analytical skills have helped me build a life of real value and independence – something I would never compromise.

2.) I work hard to create a peaceful life and home, which may sound funny to people who know that my schedule can frequently get packed to the gills. It’s only in the past year or so that I’ve felt any sense of peace, something I always desperately wanted and could never find. Despite a long-lived yoga practice, where I would find moments of peace and well-being, it faded quickly once I got back to real life. What I didn’t realize for a long time is that peace is a daily process and it is actually always with us. The quiet within wants to surface. We just have to slow down enough to let it reveal itself. Every day I carve out time to just sit and be. I have to.

3.) I have a ritual of preparation. Even if I never use a lick of what I prepare, the preparation itself is part of my creation process. Brian and I have been working a lot on my improv skills, my ability to trust my gut so I can show up and just be. I was trained as a preparation junkie, trying to madly cover every possible base. It took me years to realize that every base will never be covered. There will always be unexpected circumstances, thing we could never prepare for because we never even imagined their existence. And while I’m getting much more confident in my trusty gut and my intuition, I’m still preparing. My prep time these days is greatly reduced compared to what I used to do, but it’s still there in some form. I need it. Rituals bring comfort, especially in new situations.

What about you? What are you working on creating, and what are the non-negotiables of your life?

The image above is my latest doodle on my Wacom. It’s how I feel when I’m writing late into the night.

This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.

This blog is also available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

art, creative process, creativity, gifts, teaching, yoga

Beginning: Build from the Heart

Christa Avampato

This post is available as a free podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

“If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing.” ~Marc Chagall

I love Marc Chagall’s windows. I remember walking through building after building in France to see and feel how much beautiful light filters through them. They aren’t something we look at; they are works that we experience. There is so much heart in each tiny space.

I thought about this quote of his as I put together the sequences for my upcoming yoga classes for Compass Yoga. I work with a loose structure when I create classes, starting with an energetic quality and an intention, and then growing from there. That way the poses fit together well and give students a more holistic experience. That’s the method I’ve seen work best for the students I teach. It feels like a more authentic way for me to give.

Sometimes when I begin building a new sequence, I can feel choked up, stuck, as if I have never done a yoga posture before. It’s a manifestation of a form of stage fright that I’ve heard some performers describe – right before they begin a song or a scene their minds go completely blank. When I was a performer, it used to happen to me all the time. It can be unnerving so when that happens I stop and breath and remember that this practice comes much more from the heart than the mind.

To create a class is to create a gift, and the process of its creation is something that makes me even more grateful than the actual end-product. I remember what a treasure it is to be here, on this mat, at this moment, building something for people that will bring them joy and peace and a brief time to self-nurture.

How does the process of creation work for you? When do you feel you’re really building from the heart?

The photo above depicts Chagall’s windows in the Reims Cathedral in Paris.

This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.

choices, creative, creative process, creativity, decision-making, design

Step 334: An Impossible Goal

Christa Avampato

Today I had lunch with General Counsel of the company I work for. I asked her how she fostered creativity among her team and she told an interesting anecdote. One of her teams manages a very large portfolio of patents, and while valuable they are very expensive to obtain and maintain. She challenged her team to devise a solution to cut the cost of the patent program in half, a ridiculously provocative goal (her words, not mine.) While she has a great deal of confidence in the talent of her team, she had serious doubts about being able to reach that goal.

So why did she do it? Why set a team up to “fail”? She wanted them to really get into the problem and find a new way of doing things. If she had set the goal at 10%, they probably could have made a few tweaks here and there, and met the goal. She wanted radical transformation and extreme creativity to come into play. To get at that, she needed to set the bar so high that it seemed out of reach. Even if they didn’t hit it, she was certain that they’d find a new way forward that would be beneficial.

And with the ingenuity of her team operating on all cylinders, they did find a new ways forward and they did hit that crazy goal of a 50% cost reduction. And as an added benefit, they also liked the new system much better because it was much easier to manage.

Impossible goals can be very valuable. They can push us to our edge and then some. They ask us to not tinker, but to go out to the wide open white space of our minds, into areas that we would likely never even approach because our logical minds would get in the way. If we make a goal far out of sight, it ceases to be a roadblock to our creativity. It can actually free us to do our very best work, to imagine a whole new world of possibilities.

choices, creative process, decision-making

Step 322: 5 Ways to Make Complaints Useful

Christa Avampato

“When we complain we are tearing down an undesirable structure in order to make room for something new.” ~ Daily OM

We all complain. You can be the sunniest, most happy-go-lucky type of person, and every once in a while even you will utter a complaint. And you should. Whenever someone is always upbeat, never sad or angry, and never complains, I am immediately suspicious. Pent up anger and frustration is harmful. If you don’t let it out, your body is going to find a way to internalize it. And that can only mean a lot of trouble down the line.

There’s a balance that needs to be struck when it comes to complaining. It has to go somewhere; it has to be of value; it has to lead to a better way forward. I’m all for any and every complaint that accomplishes that. Here are 5 ways to make that happen:

1.) Find a trusted, creative, honest sounding board
This is the first step to a good complaint. We all need someone who can listen to us and help us find our way. The finding our way part is the one that’s tricky. Honest sounding boards, ones who can see us through our complaints, don’t always tell us what we want to hear, but they do tell us what we need to hear. Those are two very different things. A friend or relative who can be both supportive and honest is critical to helping us turn our complaints into assets.

2.) Work it out, literally
I spend a lot of time working out my complaints when I walk Phineas. My yoga practice helps, too. Any kind of activity that stretches your body helps to stretch your mind to imagine new solutions and options – exactly what we need to turn our complaints into actions.

3.) Get quiet
Once we air our complaints, we need to spend some time actively forgetting them. When we twist something over and over in our minds, it becomes difficult to see our way past it. If we can get quiet and look past it, it’s easier for a solution to bubble up. I have a meditation practice that helps me separate myself from my complaints and worries. Getting quiet doesn’t have to be a complicated practice. For 5 minutes every day, close your eyes, sit in a comfortable position, inhale for 4 counts, and exhale for 4 counts. It’s amazing how much creativity shows up when we just remind ourselves to breath.

4.) Find others who share your frustration
I’m not suggesting that you find other people with the same frustration you have so that you can all sit around and wallow. If we can find people who share our concerns, then we can support one another by finding a way to solve the source of the complaint. We’ll also be able to see the source of the complaint from different angles, a key necessity for improving the situation. In the case of resolving complaints, two heads are better than one.

5.) Write it down
Writing out complaints is another way to get them out without saying or doing something we’ll later wish we could take back. I write about frustrations on this blog, but most of my complaints are confined to a little green notebook I have. It holds my pro con lists, my decision tress, and my brainstorms. Most of the material is throw-away, but just the act of writing out my problems really does make them feel less daunting.

What did I miss? What methods help you deal with complaints and frustrations?

celebration, creative process, determination, frustration, work

Step 249: 5 Ways to Bring Great Ideas to Life

Christa Avampato

“Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.” ~ Joseph Joubert, French essayist

The past week I’ve been blown away by all of the opportunity and possibility around us. From new Linked-In and Twitter connections, to chance meetings, to introductions by colleagues, I’m connecting with potential on a new level. After many of these initial connections, I’m getting follow-up requests and invitations for continued conversations about working together on new and exciting projects. After each connection, I’ve been taking time to consider one very critical question: can the project be driven to completion?

By nature, I get tremendously excited about new opportunities and possibilities. New is invigorating. And there are so many new opportunities out there that it would be very easy to constantly be distracted by the next latest, greatest project. Finishing is tough work. It requires determination and plenty of time and effort. So how do we keep that excitement of something new when we’re halfway through? How do we keep our energy up to complete the job?

Here are some ideas that I’ve found helpful:

1.) Remind yourself why the idea was exciting to start with. Having e a mission-based approach to a project can make any mundane tasks for meaningful. Recognize that every project will have some parts (paperwork, etc.) that are not thrilling but absolutely necessary to making the opportunity a reality.

2.) Share the load. Working on a project with others (both on the creative and mundane tasks) will make them go faster and many times can make them more enjoyable. It’s especially important when halfway through a project to connect with others that can keep our energy up while we drive the project to completion. If we can get others to help us with the mundane pieces, then all the better.

3.) Keep mementos of past successes in sight at all times. When we’re halfway through a project it’s important to remember all of our other accomplishments that were made possible by our hard work. Those past successes help us see our current project as another celebration-in-the-making.

4.) Celebrate small victories. We often think of celebrations as endings. Why not make celebration a regular activity that commemorates milestones along the way? Getting each piece of a project done contributes to the whole so we should take a moment to congratulate ourselves on being one step closer to our achievement.

5.) File the new ideas for the future. I had a conversation many years ago with a would-be writer who said he could never complete a book because he always got distracted by his next book idea. He had a trail of unfinished books that he could never get anyone else interested in. New ideas can be a distraction and a way to procrastinate, even if they’re entirely valid. Don’t ignore them – one of them may very well be your next big thing. So jot it down and keep it tucked away in a file of what to do next once the task at hand is complete.

How do you keep going when you’re in the midst of a project?