Walking, yes, but alone. For me, I'm very relational, so if I'm walking with someone I am engaged in what they are saying. Walking alone helps ignite creativity. Folding laundry or washing dishes or taking a shower... where my body is moving, hands are busy but my mouth is quiet. Parking lots too. Pushing a cart back to the corral in the Target lot has produced some good poems.
You've never been taught to think...only told to think. Think about that. 😐
Getting out of your head requires removing the constructs we imitate.
To do that, we need mental models on how the brain processes communication and how the brain loves to learn.
It's what I do.
New to Substack because of Steal Like An Artist, I'm so tickled this was the first post I opened and look forward to eliminating labeling and stratification in the learning space and increasing human potential.
For what it’s worth, I think it (this seemingly “outside the brain” ability to find answers and insights) is a commonplace “inside the brain” ability. It’s that thing that happens when you put away a crossword for an hour or a day and come back to it and words pop out at you. It’s that thing that happens when you are struggling to find a way through a plot or into a passage one day, have a good night’s sleep, and when you address the problem the next day, the words are immediately at hand. It’s the magic that can happen when an artist is improvising. It might be you or it might be a collaborator—lays out a phrase or a riff or some motivating intention—and you respond with something you never thought of before. And it works!
You maintain and build a body of skills and hone your craft; you become adept and building brick walls or solid sentences or interesting collages. You have an ability to create with intention. But then, when the work exceeds your intention in some dimension, that’s the magical thing of which I think we are speaking. A band riffing on a tune; a writer pouring out a sh**ty first draft; children at play; it’s about unblocking, spontaneity and flow—that stuff we categorize broadly, maybe, as art?
The outside stuff—walking, writing morning pages, meditating, listening to music, and much more—that’s whatever works for you to get yourself out of the way of the magical stuff that’s going on inside.
And I love your diagrams in this post, they make the ideas super clear and easy to understand. Going to try the volvelle myself, such a cool “analog” tool! Another one for your series about tools.
Love this edition! It took a day for the info to sink in, but it’ll stay with me for longer.
1. Thank you for sharing the work of Annie Murphy Paul! So true and so real. That book is going on my list.
2. The aspects about the body - sensation & gesture - reminded me of my masters thesis on gesture controls. I learnt a lot from the work of Paul Dourish, who builds on the philosophy of Wittgenstein, about tacit learning in the body & comes up with the notion of “embodied interaction” https://www.dourish.com/embodied/
I started an "art salon", since the Cedar Bar Tavern is not available and I don't go out late to bars anymore. Just to get vulnerable creatives in the same room in a safe space relaxed and give each person 10-15 minutes to show or talk about their work... and sparks fly.
Running is my moving meditation. Early in the morning I’m accompanied by the moon and stars as they change with the seasons. My daylight running takes me on the road and often on the trails. I don’t listen to any music, news or podcasts and that helps me to be in my head thinking about whatever I want and need to; my art, my reading, my work, my family...
Running with friends is a completely different but just as enjoyable experience, a kind of therapy... I find that moving is the way I think best. I do carry my phone for photos and dictation.. so I don’t forget things I want to keep for future use.
I do my own version of morning pages. Every day I sit in front of a blank page with pen in hand and start a timer for 30 minutes. For those 30 minutes, I can write or do nothing. Those are the options. Once in a while, I read entries at least a week old and write down sentences that jump out at me on an index card. I find the “at least a week old” requirement helps me use time as a filter. The writing feels so distant already. Easier to evaluate. Then I end up with a collection of index cards with starting points for further sessions.
Alan Jacobs, yes! He wrote my favorite book about reading: The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Glad to see he has another inspirational book on offer. Will look for it!
Adding water always works for me - bath, shower, rain, sitting by a body of water. Also finding a forest to wander in when I can. If I cannot leave the house I draw repetitive intricate patterns in my sketchbook.
Thanks for this link, Austin. I wonder why I resist the very thing I long for? Routine. Walking, exercising. Doing the same thing the same way. I seem to crave order in order to create chaos, then must sort, toss, organize in order to start creative chaos cycle all over again. If I can just get my shoes tied and out the door for that walk it all goes so much more pleasantly. Resistance is the Betrayer!
“I wonder why I resist the very thing I long for” 😳
I feel very seen! ❤️ I want to walk every day, but do I put on my shoes and go out? I do not! I blame the icy sidewalks, the call of ‘more important’ tasks, anything but actually just doing it. Even though I know that as soon as I go out, everything is better. I long for it, and yet I resist it. I’m going to try and change this mindset. Thank you for articulating it for me. ❤️
Walking, yes, but alone. For me, I'm very relational, so if I'm walking with someone I am engaged in what they are saying. Walking alone helps ignite creativity. Folding laundry or washing dishes or taking a shower... where my body is moving, hands are busy but my mouth is quiet. Parking lots too. Pushing a cart back to the corral in the Target lot has produced some good poems.
You've never been taught to think...only told to think. Think about that. 😐
Getting out of your head requires removing the constructs we imitate.
To do that, we need mental models on how the brain processes communication and how the brain loves to learn.
It's what I do.
New to Substack because of Steal Like An Artist, I'm so tickled this was the first post I opened and look forward to eliminating labeling and stratification in the learning space and increasing human potential.
@Austin, I sent an email too 🙂
For what it’s worth, I think it (this seemingly “outside the brain” ability to find answers and insights) is a commonplace “inside the brain” ability. It’s that thing that happens when you put away a crossword for an hour or a day and come back to it and words pop out at you. It’s that thing that happens when you are struggling to find a way through a plot or into a passage one day, have a good night’s sleep, and when you address the problem the next day, the words are immediately at hand. It’s the magic that can happen when an artist is improvising. It might be you or it might be a collaborator—lays out a phrase or a riff or some motivating intention—and you respond with something you never thought of before. And it works!
You maintain and build a body of skills and hone your craft; you become adept and building brick walls or solid sentences or interesting collages. You have an ability to create with intention. But then, when the work exceeds your intention in some dimension, that’s the magical thing of which I think we are speaking. A band riffing on a tune; a writer pouring out a sh**ty first draft; children at play; it’s about unblocking, spontaneity and flow—that stuff we categorize broadly, maybe, as art?
The outside stuff—walking, writing morning pages, meditating, listening to music, and much more—that’s whatever works for you to get yourself out of the way of the magical stuff that’s going on inside.
Maybe?
Archery. Focus and let go in one.
And I love your diagrams in this post, they make the ideas super clear and easy to understand. Going to try the volvelle myself, such a cool “analog” tool! Another one for your series about tools.
I want to send this to a friend who is focused on focusing.
always feel free to forward these Tuesday emails to a friend!
Love this edition! It took a day for the info to sink in, but it’ll stay with me for longer.
1. Thank you for sharing the work of Annie Murphy Paul! So true and so real. That book is going on my list.
2. The aspects about the body - sensation & gesture - reminded me of my masters thesis on gesture controls. I learnt a lot from the work of Paul Dourish, who builds on the philosophy of Wittgenstein, about tacit learning in the body & comes up with the notion of “embodied interaction” https://www.dourish.com/embodied/
3. Walking & creativity - I used to know a Danish researcher who was working on this https://www.academia.edu/3381025/Walking_for_data_C_and_T_version_. My walks are a source of creativity, ideas & insight generation.
4. People! Yes!
Thank you again ✌🏽
I started an "art salon", since the Cedar Bar Tavern is not available and I don't go out late to bars anymore. Just to get vulnerable creatives in the same room in a safe space relaxed and give each person 10-15 minutes to show or talk about their work... and sparks fly.
Running is my moving meditation. Early in the morning I’m accompanied by the moon and stars as they change with the seasons. My daylight running takes me on the road and often on the trails. I don’t listen to any music, news or podcasts and that helps me to be in my head thinking about whatever I want and need to; my art, my reading, my work, my family...
Running with friends is a completely different but just as enjoyable experience, a kind of therapy... I find that moving is the way I think best. I do carry my phone for photos and dictation.. so I don’t forget things I want to keep for future use.
For the bike lovers here, when you have some time available, I highly recommend this work of science/programming/art https://ciechanow.ski/bicycle/
People keep sending this to me! I gotta make time to get through the whole thing
I do my own version of morning pages. Every day I sit in front of a blank page with pen in hand and start a timer for 30 minutes. For those 30 minutes, I can write or do nothing. Those are the options. Once in a while, I read entries at least a week old and write down sentences that jump out at me on an index card. I find the “at least a week old” requirement helps me use time as a filter. The writing feels so distant already. Easier to evaluate. Then I end up with a collection of index cards with starting points for further sessions.
Playing the piano and sketching
Alan Jacobs, yes! He wrote my favorite book about reading: The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. Glad to see he has another inspirational book on offer. Will look for it!
good friend of mine. PLEASURES is first in a trilogy: HOW TO THINK, and BREAKING BREAD WITH THE DEAD: https://austinkleon.com/2020/09/08/breaking-bread-with-the-dead/
I walk outdoors without headphones.
Adding water always works for me - bath, shower, rain, sitting by a body of water. Also finding a forest to wander in when I can. If I cannot leave the house I draw repetitive intricate patterns in my sketchbook.
Thanks for this link, Austin. I wonder why I resist the very thing I long for? Routine. Walking, exercising. Doing the same thing the same way. I seem to crave order in order to create chaos, then must sort, toss, organize in order to start creative chaos cycle all over again. If I can just get my shoes tied and out the door for that walk it all goes so much more pleasantly. Resistance is the Betrayer!
“I wonder why I resist the very thing I long for” 😳
I feel very seen! ❤️ I want to walk every day, but do I put on my shoes and go out? I do not! I blame the icy sidewalks, the call of ‘more important’ tasks, anything but actually just doing it. Even though I know that as soon as I go out, everything is better. I long for it, and yet I resist it. I’m going to try and change this mindset. Thank you for articulating it for me. ❤️
KatyH, Thank you so much for letting me know I'm not alone in this dilemma. I'm happy to meet you here and hope for more interaction with you. Pam
I’m going out for a walk right now! Are you? ☺️