Leah Lamb Tells Medicine Stories

Medicine stories by Leah Lamb

Wouldn’t It Be Great If You Could Rewrite, Reclaim and Recreate the Story of Your Life? This is the question posed by storyteller and activist Leah Lamb. She is launching a new old kind of storytelling project this week at www.medicinestories.com. According to the website, “A medicine story is a one-of-a-kind story designed to bring […] Read more »

Review of Brown Girl in the Ring, by Nalo Hopkinson

Serving the Spirits In this near future, post-apocalyptic Toronto, the wealthy live in the suburbs. In the inner city, government and social structures have disintegrated after a series of riots. “The ones who couldn’t or wouldn’t get out,” use a system of barter, and live under the shadow of crime-lord Rudy and his posse. Ti-Jeanne, […] Read more »

Give Your Creative Self a Gift

Give Your Creative Self a Gift

Birthdays, The Daily Show, and Books of the Future It’s my birthday this week, and let me say this right off: I’m not one of those self-effacing, ‘aw shucks, doing nothing special’ types. That’s something else we could learn from 4-year olds. Bring on the cake! Bring on the Party! Pin the tail on the […] Read more »

Creating Our Dream Life – What We Can Learn from 4-Year-Olds

Creating Your Dream Life, by Melanie Lamaga, The Metaphysical Circus

Creativity and Change… Because I Want To As anyone who has been around kids knows, at a certain point around four years old their favorite phrase becomes, “Because I want to.” It got me wondering, when do we stop believing that this is reason enough? For example, a friend or family member asks you to […] Read more »

Creative Thanks Giving, Reclaim Your Holiday

illustration of article by Melanie Lamaga Creative ThanksGiving, Reclaim Your Holiday

How is Creativity Like a Turkey? Thanksgiving, gratitude comes from feeling of abundance– that you have enough and some to spare. But American culture has always been about striving to improve ourselves, which too often devolves into a bottomless desire for more, more, more. It makes me wonder if Thanksgiving is really about gratitude, or […] Read more »

Traveling with Joy

 Boost Creativity and Productivity through Bliss Last week I wrote about the book Get High Now (without drugs) and, somewhat coincidentally, this week I find myself blissed out to an extent I haven’t felt in quite a while, and as a result, my creativity is humming. I know it’s probably foolish to analyze this. The […] Read more »

Get High… Creatively

Stoke Your Creative Fire with Visual Cartwheels, Mood Altering Sounds, and More Brain Candy Get High Now (Without Drugs), by James Nestor is a reference book of techniques for shifting your consciousness. Some are more advisable than others (you won’t catch me staring at the vomit vectors), but I applaud the range of options offered. […] Read more »

Bitchy Boss, Rebellious Employee (or both)?

Learning to Love (and Leave) Deadlines Many creatives and entrepreneurs, especially in the early part of their careers, are working for themselves, in every sense. They are working without the benefit of anyone else’s expectations; they are working without the benefit of pay; they are working for their future or for love for the craft. […] Read more »

Labor Day and The Pursuit of Happiness

Ahh, Labor Day, the day where we do as little as possible. Grilling food, drinking beer, playing frisbee, hanging out… Is that all we strive for the other 250-260 working days per year? As the decades pass, do we comfort ourselves with the vision of retirement, when presumably every day will be like Labor Day? […] Read more »

Create Your Creative Space

Where Sexy Genius Meets Muse If you’re a writer or an artist, you probably have an office, studio or a favorite spot where you sit down and make magic. But if you don’t (or if your space is less than inspiring) it’s time to make some changes. Macho or girly, practical or romantic, hippie or […] Read more »