New Location for Gatherings

A big THANK YOU to Vince and Carolyn Butera of Butera the Florist for opening their beautiful flower filled shop for our Gatherings! This is very exciting to have a large space to accommodate our growing group of creative spiritual writers. But the best part is the quiet we'll have. Panera Bread is wonderful but a bit noisy for a writing group (we found that out last Gathering).

Google Map for directions or follow my directions: If you are heading West towards I-83 on Leaders Heights Road, their shop is on the left right before reaching I-83. Enter the strip mall's main entrance, go to the right towards the flower shop then park out front. Our Gathering will be after store hours so if you are running late take note that the doors may be locked. If you think you'll run late, please let me know so we can watch for you.

Since this is only our second Gathering - if you are planning to attend, would you please email ReflectiveSouls@gmail.com so I am sure to have enough handouts for everyone. I'll have extras too so if you have a friend who'd like to come at the last minute, bring her!

I hope you are having a nice May so far-I can't believe how fast time is flying by. See you soon!
~deAnn

Writing Exercise::Part One

I'm reading this great book (well, I'm reading some great books!) and it's inspiring me in several ways. I wanted to share an exercise with you. It's about "seeing" something with more than just your eyes.

Pick an object of interest (curling iron, wooden spoon, coffee maker, vase, lit candle, whatever.)
Sit with it, quietly and alone. Look at it - study it with your eyes. What color is it, not just "blue" but describe the shade of blue. Notice it's beauty or functionality. What is it's shape? What's it used for? Does it have a shine to it or is it matte? ~ But don't stop there. Run your finger tips over it - is it smooth, rough, cold, sticky? If it fits, how does it feel in your hand? Does it make any sounds? If so, is the sounds sharp and scary or welcoming? Smell it. Maybe it has no smell ~ note that too. No need to lick it, unless you really want to - I don't want anyone getting sick or injuring themselves.

The idea here is to slow down from your busy life and take notice of everyday objects that you take for granted. Really notice them. Now, take a few minutes, take a deep breath, relax and write what you see, feel, smell, hear, taste. Take time to fully describe this item.

You could be surprised at how much you could write about this item! Yeah, this may seem silly. But really, it's very helpful to engage your creative mind (which will be the second part of this exercise and will be posted next week.) Take a moment, slow down and really appreciate this item for what it means to you. As a suggestion, place this writing in a notebook that you can return to next week when we do part two.

The more we pay attention to little things around us, the more we see our world. In order for our creativity to emerge we have to be in tune with what's around us. This means we must quiet ourselves, be aware and allow our minds to engage with the simple things of life.

Oh, it's important to remember that you are not writing for anyone. This exercise is for you and only your eyes to see. So be open, be free, be honest with your writing!!! Let it all out! And more importantly ~ have fun!

News Flash!

Hello there - can't believe I figured it out, but I did...(woo-hoo!). Readers can now subscribe to the Reflective Souls blog and receive email updates of new posts. I'm so excited! On the left side bar you'll see a place to enter your email ~ try it and lets see what happens!

Creative Quotes - Love This One

"The monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. " Albert Einstein

Highlights From Our Gathering

Monday, May 7th was our first official Reflective Souls gathering. There were nine of us there and the synergy, as I expected, was amazing! What a blessing to be with other creative female minds who desire to develop their writing and in the process - unleash the artist within! Here is a little recap of our time together...

We decided that the main Reflective Souls blog is to be a resource ~ a hub of communication for the group. It will be a place of encouragement, motivation, links, gathering news, noted reading projects and the like.

We highly suggest that everyone start YOUR very own blog with blogger.com. (You must set up a Gmail.com account first.) Your blog will be a place for you to maintain and post your writing projects. Other group members will read your blog and make comments on your posts (encouraging suggestions, comments, and feedback). Also, if you seek out one or two individuals from our group who you’d specifically like their feedback regarding a post, you can send the post to them via email right from your blog.

Your blog will be linked from the Reflective Souls main blog. (Check out the links on the sidebar.) We will help you set it up if needed – it is easy and FUN! (I’ve become a blogaholic). If you are scared out of your mind about blogging. Let’s talk. We could come up with other solutions.

Our first Project is to write about how you experience or see God in the ordinary moments of your life. You can use metaphors, comparisons or what ever you choose.

I've created a blog called "Book Talk" and you see the link on the side bar. This is a place where you can post or comment on certain chapters of the book we are reading. If you weren't at the Monday gathering and need the username/pw - contact me at deann2@comcast.net.

Future Gatherings: We will offer experiential exercises that are sure to awaken your mind and allow the creative juice to flow from your soul into your hand and on to the paper. Our goal is that you'll be encouraged and excited to write more and more. But to do this well, we can’t meet in Panera with its noisy atmosphere. Therefore, we have a few other places in mind and will post the location on the Reflective Souls main blog before the gathering.

Quite honestly, Reflective Souls is for you, for all of us – so your input regarding your needs, ideas, thoughts and suggestions are incredibly valuable. Again, we want to reiterate that we are not professional writers with perfect grammar and spelling. We are simply a creative group of women who desire to deepen our relationship with God and with each other – and work the process of releasing & encouraging the writer within.

I am excited to be on this artistic adventure together!

~deAnn