Tapping Into the Universe

How I gained access to an unending stream of creative ideas — and the ongoing struggle to honor that gift.

Whenever I see articles like “Can’t think what to write about?” or “How to overcome writer’s block” I have to suppress a part of me that wants to have a little chuckle. Because I now have the opposite problem — too much to write about, and too little time to do it!

But I know it would be disingenuous to amuse myself in such a manner. In short, because I know how this feels. I know that this is a problem for many. I have sympathy because I’ve been in the situation of feeling like I need to write a post or create a video, and can’t think of a single topic. Or at least not one that is worthy.

But here’s a dirty little secret:

Every topic is worthy. Just like every person — every Child of God is worthy.

All that matters is the Love back of it.

And if you write out of need, (“I need to post something”, “I need to establish a presence on social media”) instead of joy, the pure joy of expressing what is in your soul, that will ultimately be reflected in your creation. And consequently, your creation will be devoid of value. It will be nothing — like all other creations of the ego.

But I digress:

So why am I writing this?

My goal in writing this, (essay? post? article? story? — I never know what to call these compositions) is not only to share my struggles but to help you, the person stuck in a corporate job that pays the bills but doesn’t allow for the exploration of your passion, to be inspired to create great content — the amazing, unforgettable content I know you are capable of. I want you to have access to the same creative mind that I do. And I want to be able to act with confidence and not be overwhelmed when the floodgates open!

Are you ready? Here we go!

Just so you know that I’m being sincere, I wanted to show you something.

This is a list of writing topics I keep in a database on Notion. (which, if you don’t already use it, is a godsend for writers, business owners, influencers, students and really just about everyone)

As you can see, there are dozens of ideas that I want to write about. All are equally worthy of examination. All are near and dear to my heart.

I have one almost as big devoted entirely to poetry and song lyrics as well.

Some are just random thoughts, with maybe a sentence or two added as a beginning (I strive not to do this anymore, as I’ll discuss later). Some have a paragraph or two that I can start from. While others all fully developed rough drafts only in need of editing and minor expansion.

Also on Notion, I have:

two…

three…

four…

five book ideas that I have started working on. (It changes daily!)

So how did I get to this point, with more ideas than I could write about in a month of Tuesdays? How did I start getting handfuls of ideas every day? Read on to discover my “secret”.

I Had No Idea

Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself

— Carl Jung

First, a bit about me.

I’ve always loved reading.

From reading all 14 of the books in Baum’s tales of “The Wizard of Oz” and Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” in Fourth Grade, books have always held a special place in my heart.

My mother would read to me from “A Child’s Garden of Verses” and “Where the Sidewalk Ends”, and I remember loving many of those poems, especially ones with interesting rhythms and wordplay.

But until a year ago, I had no idea I wanted to be a writer or even had any inclination towards it.

I suffered through English classes in high school. I looked with disdain at writing creatively or in poetic form, preferring to stick to the cut-and-dry world of math and science. I looked at my own life as dull and uninteresting — something no one else would care about in the slightest. I took English comp in college — and failed it. (Primarily because I nearly crushed my feet in a weight training incident involving a leg press machine, and missed a class — but that’s a story for another day).

I would stare at the blank page or screen in front of me in absolute terror of putting myself onto it. Laying my faults, my shyness, my insecurities, my difficulty in expressing myself out there for all to see.

But then something happened.

In my rather ill-fated quest to become a full-time health coach, I was offered the opportunity to collaborate on a book. The very book you will find if you go check my profile. And as I began working on that, Writing weekly newsletters to my followers and customers, and posting more on Social Media to enhance my “online presence”, I began to warm up to the idea of writing.

Then I started reading the works of people like Napoleon Hill, Wallace Wattles, Florence Scovell Shinn, Emerson, and many others in the area of new thought. When I took those lessons to heart, I began to understand the concept of universal intelligence and how your mind is a creative powerhouse. And with that, my creativity exploded!

I also made the shocking realization that poetry was just another form of mathematics and puzzling. and my mind soon discovered joy in solving this style of puzzle!

I realized that, while Health Coaching might not be the answer I was searching for, writing, especially writing poetry and writing about my spiritual journey, was the perfect outlet to express what is in my heart.

Healing the Blocks

Now, it’s not easy to shift you are mindset from one of lack to one of abundance.

To create in yourself the beliefs that:

• You are a Divine Son (Child) of God — and you are already worthy of EVERYTHING
• the universe is abundant — no could never be any lack in anything whatsoever
• God (or Universal Intelligence) is the source of all creativity. You can’t (and do not need) to create anything by yourself
• Fear is not real — Love is all there is, and fear and all associated emotions, simply reflect the absence of Love.

Unfortunately, you are not ready to accept these yet. And the change required is a process — one that doesn’t necessarily happen overnight. But it is simple.

It simply takes a miracle.

And fortunately, we are miracle workers!

In the classic work “A Course in Miracles”, we are told that a miracle is not magic. And it is not an occurrence that is seemingly supernatural — like the parting of a sea, or raising the dead. (though it could be). It is simply a shift in perception. A shift in consciousness. A shift from fear to love.

And we make this shift by removing the blocks to the awareness of Love’s presence.

Now If you’ve happened to see the documentary on Twin Flames Universe now streaming on Netflix (definitely recommended), and hearing the phrase “removing the blocks” makes you think of “Mirror Exercises” and castigation and beating yourself up, rest assured that I’m speaking on nothing of the kind. This is the worst form of ego gratification and has nothing to do with actual healing.

The best way that I know to heal yourself and gain the ability to heal others is to study “The Course”.

The are other ways, other great books by the authors I’ve mentioned above that can help you. But nothing is nearly as powerful as the course of study prescribed by this work of great significance in the lives of so many.

As The Course says in its introduction:

This is a required course. Only the time in which you take it is your choice.

You will learn these lessons one way or another. Either by your own choice or by force of crushing pain in your soul.

I suggest you choose to start your education now.

My greatest sources of new ideas

I find that three practices give me more ideas for writing than any other.

Audiobooks. I am almost constantly listening to audiobooks, primarily because I struggle to read printed books for more than a few minutes a day (These are the minutes I devote to my ongoing study of “A Course in Miracles”). As I listen, I will make clips on Audible, and add notes for them. This works well, as I can go back and listen to the clip, and it jogs my memory as to what I was thinking about.

Meditation. Now for me, this can take the form of strength training, walking, stretching, a pickleball game, or the more traditional form of sitting quietly and observing your thoughts. Contrary to what many think, I believe all of these can be meditation. It all depends on your mindset going into them. If you resolve to be mindful, you can form a powerful connection to Universal Intelligence.

After a session of one of these, or more often during it, an idea or two will invariably pop up. This is even more true for the forms involving movement. I can’t even tell you how many ideas have occurred to me during my weekly strength training sessions!

Conscious awareness of the events of my daily life. Everyone has interesting things happening in their life. If you note them down and review them later, you can always find a tie between that event and your genre, to a specific point you want to make. Always. It’s there, you just need to find it.

Again this comes down entirely to being mindful. It depends on looking at life with an attitude of opportunity and gratitude. Not bemoaning the inconveniences, delays, and unfortunate circumstances, but instead embracing the opportunities they give for growth and enlightenment.

The Curse

All these ideas that I can now access are amazing and are absolutely a blessing. But the constant influx of ideas can also be a curse.

As I still have a career in the corporate world, I can’t devote more than a couple of hours each day to my newfound love. At least not while I retain my sanity — and protect my relationship with my wife.

I did attempt to extend myself in this manner for several years — and essentially went nowhere. Aside from losing a whole bunch of money and nearly tearing apart my family in the process.

So as I slowly whittle away at my list of topics, and as I add more and more to the backlog of ideas, my stress level threatens to rise with every entry. But with the work I am doing on myself, I am getting better and better at not being stressed out by that growing list.

I know that I have time to do everything that needs to be done — and that calms my soul and gives me peace.

“Everything works out in the end, and if it didn’t work out, it is not the end”

— Fernando Sabino (translated from Portuguese)

The Eternal Conundrum — What to Write About Next

As a parent, we are sometimes asked, directly or indirectly, which is our favorite. And we reply “Oh I could never choose a favorite. They are all precious in their own unique way”.

And I’ve come to realize, it is this way with our thoughts and ideas. Every one is your personal creation. Every one is your own child, just as you are a child of God. And each one is precious in its own way.

When you pick one to work on, to pay attention to, it feels like you are playing favorites. Like you are neglecting the others. To give an idea of how this has played out for me, the idea for this article came to me over a month ago. (hence the changes in the previous section in the number of book ideas I have!)

What we have to come to grips with is that this is an inevitability of life. This is true of family. This is true of friends. And it is no less true of creative ideas. No matter how much you try, you can only give your attention to one thing at a time. By accepting this, you realize the best you can do is to give your full attention to that which is before you. And in so doing, you honor those people and those creations.

The Subtext is Crucial!

One mistake I’ve made repeatedly is not giving myself enough subtext to write meaningfully. I’ve done it not only for story ideas but also for videos. I’ll just jot down a sentence, and think “This is a great idea — I have so much to write about it” But then a week later, when I revisit it, I’ll have no idea where I was wanting to go with it.

I’m working on making sure to add at least a sentence or two to give a starting point. And this works much better. I still struggle to do this every single time. But I’m improving!

In closing, dear friend, I hope that sharing my journey blesses you with the ability to push aside the fear that has been holding you back. That it helps you transcend the fear that has locked away your greatness. That it lets you see the divine light of truth.

My wish is that light brings calm to your soul and you come to know the Peace of God.

Thanks for Reading!!