Well I’m excited! Today marks the first day of a new column on Creativity Shifts. The column is called The Grounded Wingnut.

Let me explain what Grounded Wingnut is for, and why I’m choosing to call it by that name. I’ll start with the name.

Yes, I admit being just a wingnut by itself might not be such a great ambition. But it’s a little quirky and catchy, and I like it if I add the grounded part to it. Someone called me that once and I took it as a compliment! And that’s how I mean it too.

So here is how I’d define it. You are a Grounded Wingnut if you:

• See your business or career or life as a container through which you express your creativity and grow both personally and professionally.
• Have to be creative and have fun in your business or career or life in order to be fulfilled and happy.
• Listen to and trust your own inner guidance more than you listen to the voices of others.
• Recognize the need for a spiritual purpose to everything you do and at the same time want to be grounded in this world we live in so you can accomplish your vision.
• Have mentors who guide you to your own wisdom and brilliance.
• Don’t have to know every single answer to every single question.
• Have an extraordinary vision and follow your inspiration to take the daily action steps that bring you always closer to it.
• Have a sense that something is longing to express through you.
• Have a longing to bring your greatness to the world even when you’re not totally clear what that is yet.
• Recognize that each individual is a part of All That Is.

So now that it’s defined, let me tell you how I’m going to use The Grounded Wingnut.

I’m going to give you information about practical resources, tips, and tools that you can use as a vehicle to bring creativity, a spiritually-based purpose, and vision to what you want to build and offer the world.

Watch for it!

Today’s intention was influenced by a portion of a book by Ernest Holmes.

Unity with Life makes my thought creative. My thought is creative not because I will it, or wish it, or long for it, but because is its nature to be creative.

The Alchemical Process ~ An Allegory

(Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.)

That night she dreamed. In the morning, not remembering the story of the dream but remembering the meaning, she understood.

“I see now. I had to make the plate first because it was necessary to have the foundation, a container to provide the boundaries for my creations.

With both the plate and the bread, sometimes I had to work very hard; sometimes I had to be patient and wait.

There were stages over which I had control, but I couldn’t always control the outcome.

Things didn’t always turn out the way I wanted but still there was always something good to be gleaned from my mistakes.

It was meaningful to me to be able to share my creation with others.

And now that I’ve made the foundation on which I can build my creations, the possibilities are endless.

What am I going to create next?”

So…..what will be next?

For the past two weeks a particular friend of mine who lives far away has come to my mind frequently. Today I could ignore that inner voice no longer and I emailed her to reconnect. I share with you an intention I created from this experience.

I am always connected in spirit to friends both far and near. I respond to the prompting of my inner voice by reaching out to them.

The Alchemical Process ~ An Allegory Part 2 (Part 1 here.)

What was the plate meant to hold? All day she thought about it. That night she dreamed again. In the morning, not remembering the story of the dream but remembering the meaning, she knew what she had to do.

She took grain and with her own hands ground it into flour. She took yeast and fresh milk and butter and with those ingredients she made dough.

She worked the dough over and over, kneading it with her hands until it was smooth and elastic. When she was satisfied with the texture of the dough, she formed it into a oval and placed it in a clean bowl.

Covering the bowl with a clean cloth, she left the dough to rise in a warm place. She knew that the dough wouldn’t rise if the temperature wasn’t just right so she chose the place very carefully.

Patiently she checked the dough several times before she decided that it had increased in size just the right amount. With her fist she punched the dough in the middle, turned it over and then left it to rise again.

When it was ready to form into loaves, she kneaded it with her hands working it until it was smooth and elastic, and then formed it into smaller sections. When she had shaped it into loaves she placed them into pans, covered them and again left them to rise.

When they were almost ready she turned the oven on. She knew that the loaves had to be left in the oven for the right amount of time and at the right temperature. She didn’t want to burn them. She didn’t want them to be underdone. Finally when the loaves were ready and the oven was hot, she put the loaves into the oven.

When the bread was ready she took the loaves out of the oven. While one of the loaves had fallen while it was baking and was lopsided and smaller than the others, two of the loaves were round and golden and beautiful.

When the loaves were cooled she took a knife and cut a slice of the lop sided loaf and ate it. Even though it looked funny it tasted delicious.

She looked at the three loaves and wondered. What made the difference in the loaf that was lopsided? She didn’t know. She thought about how some of the things she’d made from clay hadn’t worked well either. She realized that even when things didn’t work out the way she wanted them to she could appreciate something about them.

She placed another of the loaves on the beautiful plate and admired it. She invited some of her friends to come and break bread with her.

Watch for A Creativity Story Part 3 Final

The Alchemical Process ~ An Allegory

One night she dreamed. In the morning, not remembering the story of the dream, but remembering the meaning, she knew what she had to do.

She found clay, rich from the earth. In her hands the clay became many things. She ’saw’ into the clay and knew the form within each piece. It seemed to her that the clay breathed as a living thing.

Some of the things she made she crushed back down into clay to use again. Some things she made did not survive the firing. But she kept working with the clay.

One day she began to make a plate. It was a large plate and when she had finished, she realized she was very tired. She knew her work was very good but it was just beginning. She set the plate aside to dry and rested.

A few days later, she returned to the plate and found that it was ready for the firing. Carefully she tuned the oven to the right temperature and placed the hardened clay inside. Knowing she had done all she could, she closed the door and left the plate to be tempered by the fire of the kiln.

When the oven had cooled she found that the plate had survived the heat of the oven. She took it out and ran her hands over it. The clay had hardened to bisque and was dry and rough to the touch.

She began to experiment with her glazes. She wanted this plate to have the colours of the living earth, colours of the elements, deep and rich. Finally she was ready to glaze the plate.

She used her tools to smooth the raw bisque as well as she could and then she began to pour the glazes over the plate. The colours of the glaze appeared chalky and dull but she knew that would change when the plate went through its second alchemical process.

Once more she tuned the oven, placed the plate inside and closed the door. While she waited she imagined what the plate might look like but she knew there was no knowing until the firing was done.

When the oven had cooled and she opened the door, she found to her delight that the plate was exquisitely beautiful even beyond her imagining. She set it out where she could admire it.

But something was wrong. She looked at it again and again to try to figure out what was missing. I know what it is, she thought finally. I am not finished yet. This plate was not meant to be empty. But what is it meant to hold?

Watch for Part 2 in an upcoming post.

In a recent conversation with a friend she told me how she’d made a pact with herself to stop complaining for 30 days in row. Frustrated after spending many days not getting past Day 1, she decided to change her focus to one that came from a place of more ease. She gave me permission to share it for today’s weekly intention.

My communication in all relationships uplifts and inspires.