Taking the Plunge: No media this week

And you're thinking... what as she, nuts?

No, just a procrastinator. In the Artist's way, Cameron directs you to spend one week without the influence or distraction of media of any kind... no books, TV, or anything else you use to distract yourself from your artwork. The goal is to use this time to focus on internal home improvement if you will. It's time you should spend getting to know yourself without the world outside tainting what you see in the mirror.

Okay,, so this is my--um--sixth or maybe eighth week of the Artist's Way, and she urges you to do this in the third or fourth week, but hey, I put out the warning before that me and time management around these sorts of things just don't make good bed fellows. So here I go, better late than never. No facebook or myspace for a week, no TV (I usually only watch it for news or documentaries anyway, but no means no.) No books (this will be by far the hardest for me. No internet browsing to catch up on the latest blog posts from friends or reading newsletters and articles. I will be checking emails and work-related things out of necessity, but that is it.

It's Springtime, and I have spring-cleaning goals for this medialess week, if that is a word, which it's not--but I'm claiming creative license. :-d

First goal: Spring clean and home improvement on the outside. I'll be re-decorating... on a budget. Much as I love snuggling with Kodak, it's getting hot, and the fur is driving me nuts. I know, I know, the dog rules the house and it's called "Fur-niture" for a reason, but, well, we need to compromise a little here. I allow myself one "splurge" per month in this Artist's Way journey. Last month, it was an IPod. This month, it will be a beautiful new ensemble for my bed--mint green, purple and gold with beautiful designs you can run your fingers over, and soft mint green sheets and embroidered pillows. And no dog fur!!! Kodak gets a new bed, too; and I'm actually going to put effort into making him sleep in it!

Hey, cut that out... I hear you snickering as you read this. I'll still spoil the Bear rotten, but he's going to have to find somewhere else to leave his fur, because I'm done sleeping with it! :-d

Right. We'll see how long this lasts. It better last until Kodak makes money of his own... dog claws and fur and nice coverlet for the bed do not go together well.

But I have wanted to decorate since I moved in, and I just have put it off to concentrate on other things, and because my money was going to other more pressing issues. I'm trusting my intuition that this is something I need to do; so I'm going to bribe friends to help me put pictures on the walls, and I'm going thrift shopping... combing through the second-hand Holly wood shops to find those one-of-a-kind treasures that will take this place from a house to a homemade masterpiece. Greens, purples, warm golden and blue tones, and the bathroom in purple, silver and lavender ... plus everything will have exquisite texture. A feast for the senses. I love making my home a place where you can smell good things when you walk in, see beauty, taste wonderful food, touch soft, unique fabrics and elegant artwork, and hear laughter, love, music and godliness. I do love color, even though I can't see it. It's hard to explain. I still have very vivid mental pictures of color, and love mixing and matching shades in my head.

My second goal for this week of no media is to give my internal neighborhood a good clean-up. Intense Yoga, and starting a ten day fasting cleanse will get my body back on track. I have appointments for acupuncture, crystal-therapy, and herbal consulting this week. I'll go spend time serving in the temple, and the only material I'll read this week aside from work-related things will be Scriptures. All that extra time I spend catching up on the news and browsing the internet will be much better spent in Scripture study, and doing Yoga.

i'll post this week and let you know how it's going, but I won't read comments or anything until next week... Who knows what will emerge along the way? I've attained the goals I started the Artist's Way with (a few very big ones), so now it's time to set the bar even higher, and keep moving forward. Hopefully this is the next big step.