Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Ready to go writing prompts for blog inspiration



Remember when I wrote finding your divine inspiration?
I have promised to eleborate on the sources of inspiration that you could use to write.
Out of blogging ideas? Don't worry, I have your back!
Today I want to inspire you by giving you a bunch of writing prompts.
I used a list of questions that you could ask yourself and surround a post around and made them into concrete writing prompts.
Some of the questions I thought of myself.
So, a little bit of me and little bit of outside inspiration.
This is different than a tag, which goes around the blogs and is passed on.
I've also catogorized them, so you can select a possible niche that suits you.
You will find a prompt and a suggestion that you could use if you wish.



Humor 

  • Write a post about your weirdest petpeeve.
    Suggestion: why does it annoy you? What do you wish you could do to make it stop if there were no consequences?

  • Write a post about the most funny and embarassing moment in your life.
    Suggestion: please gives us a giggle, you know we love it!

  • Share your favourite list of comedy movies with us.
    Suggestion: Your top 5-10. Share the most hilarious moment of the movie.
     
  • Interview a comedian.
    Suggestion: Surround the interview on their perspective of the topic humor.

Travel 
 

  • Write about the best travel adventure you ever had.
    Suggestion: Did you ever get lost? Did you get invited to a Greek wedding? Did your trip take an unexpected turn?

  • Share your all time favourite city with us. 
    Suggestion: Make your post as visual as possible. Take us on a tour, will you? Make us feel like we are there with you.
     
  • Write about the strangest meal you've ever had.
    Suggestion: Think out of the box. Not only the food, but also the situation. Where there any odd people around you? What made the whole picture?

Fashion


  • Write a post telling us one fashion trend you really don't understand.
    Suggestion: I don't understand these sunglasses that look like a big unibrow.

  • Write about your favourite piece of clothing ever!
    Suggestion: Go down memory lane. I'm weird, cause mine is a gala dress.

  • Tell us what your fashion line would look like if you had one.
    Suggestion: Imagine you had unlimited budget. What would you create?

  • Write a post about what absolutely never to wear.
    Suggestion: Think about the perfect outfit for each body shape.

  • Share your last window shopping experience with us.
    Suggestion: Did you know they have windowshopping contest? Yeah, me neither.

Beauty

  • Write about your favourite line for beauty products.
    Suggestion: For me nothing beats rituals, but then again I'm a habit gal. Once I find something I love, I stick with it.

  • Share your beauty hacks for the morning.
    Suggestion: Focus on writing up something that will take 15 minutes maximum and do a step-by-step.

  • Give us a do it yourself beauty tutorial.
    Suggestion: what do you use to make your own lipstick, beauty face mask, or shampoo?

  • Interview a start-up.
    Suggestion: We all love to know what's new and out there. Ask them to give the world a sneak peek.

  • Do a make over and share before and after looks
    Suggestion: Focus on your own at home make-over or go big! 

Foodies

  • Share your favourite herbal teas.
    Suggestion: Tell us what healing qualities these herbals have and talk us through how they taste.

  • Write about a situation where the kitchen exploded.
    Suggestion: Did you ever have your whole wall covered in dough? I most certainly had that happen.

  • Gives us your quick and easy week menu.
    Suggestion: Meals that take no longer than 15-30 min to make and are healthy.

  • Guide us through your meal preps.
    Suggestion: Focus on the steps you take to cut time on your evening cooking, or how your prepare meals for the week ahead.

  • Share your favourite, nostalgic recipes from your childhood.
    Suggestion: Grandma and mother may have some family recipes to share...

Lifestyle

  • Write about the perfect morning ritual.
    Suggestion: Write out 2-3 ideas people can use immediately.

  • Share your way to reach your goals.
    Suggestion: Do you have a special method that you use?

  • Write a post about timemanagement.
    Suggestion: How do you manage your day, and keep enough time to do the things you love?

  • Write the perfect recipe to feel happy.
    Suggestion: A feel good post to lift us up.

  • Tell us how you turn the sour into sweet.
    Suggestion: How do you make sure that you turn a bad situation into a good one?

Personal Development

  • Share affirmations you know people need in their life.
    Suggestion: Select 3 powerful affirmations people could live by.

  • Write about what you do when you are being hard on yourself.
    Suggestion: Offer solutions to step out of negativity.

  • Share your favourite selfhelp programme.
    Suggestion: A book, podcast, or course that changed your life.

  • Write a post about making big life changes.
    Suggestion: Do you have a secret for succes we should know about?

  • Set up an interview with someone you admire.
    Suggestion: Have them share 3 do's and 3 don'ts for life.

Getting to know you


  • Blog about your favourite childhood memory.
    Suggestion: is there something precious that you'll never forget and what made the experience so special?
     

  • Share your  life manifesto with us.
    Suggestion: Your vission, mission and passion in life.
     
  • Write about the work you do.
    Suggestion: Do you have your own company? Tell us about it! Do you have a job your proud of, share it.
     
  • Write a post that lets us in on the coolest thing that ever happened to you.
    Suggestion: Did you meet your fave celebrity? Did you end up making a surprise travel that changed you?
     
  • Share your 5 year plan with us.
    Suggestion: Who would you be? What would you do?

Out of the box.



  • Post about your life as a guru of your special skills.
    Suggestion: The crazier, the better. Who would your followers be?

  • Share with us what you would do with unlimited money.
    Suggestion: Start a theme park, have your own store, help build word peace.

  • Write a post about a superhero quality you'd like to have.
    Suggestion: Tell us why, and how you'd use it.

  • Blog about a weird topic.
    Suggestion: Personally I've never read a post about farts, any takers?

  • Post about how a day would go if you were to say everything you thought.
  • Suggestion: For inspiration watch liar liar.

I hope these ready to go writing prompts inspired you to get your blogging mojo back!
Which one would you consider using? Do you have a writing prompt for me you'd like to see me use?
You may use any of these, and I'd greatly appreciate a mention on your blog or Twitter when you do.
Have fun writing, my lovelies!


Love and blessings,
Rainbow


Sunday, May 27, 2018

Unlimited dreaming - Magical meditations

As a creative writer, there's this dream I've had for a few years now.
That is to write and record my own meditations. I've written out beautiful angel meditations, and also those who take you through an enchanted forest. Do you like fairies, mermaids, unicorns and all other magical creatures? Great! That means you would like my work.
There is so much more inspiration coming to mind. I think after doing this post, I will sit down and mindmap my way through new ideas. My creativity is itching.

I became inspired by The Honest Guys a few years ago. They are two men on you tube who have written and recorded awesome visualisations and meditations. They, I believe, became inspired by Lord Of The Ring in the first place. That's right, they recreated the world through their own words and make you a part of a journey to the elves or hobbit shire. 


Everyone seems a little scared of the wordt meditation. I think many associate it with forcing yourself in an uncomfortable position and humming a mantra.
Others might get scared being overwhelmed by your own brain. When in silence, a lot may come up.
You don't have to be scared of the word though, because there are many ways to meditate. If the mantra, or silence doesn't suit you in your life right now, you can try other things. Even active meditation, such as mandala coloring.
I certainly get a lot pleasure in listening to a story I am being taken through. It's relaxing and fun.
If you want to know more about meditation, you can find my beginners guide here.



So, why do I have this dream?
Here's why I'd like to share my work with all of you:
 

1. Meditation is inspiring
One of the many benefits that meditation gives is artistic inspiration. You allow your imagination to unfold things for you.

2. Meditation is relaxing
Do you know that meditation is more 3 times more effective than a power nap? It doesn't mess up your day-night mojo either. I'd like to get more people meditating in their busy lives and feel the benefits.
3. Meditation will enhance your focus
And we creatives need that. I've experienced my mind being more able to focus on the important stuff on the day. If you are a full time blogger, you know you need it to. It will help you stay focused on all your goals.
4. Meditation is fun
That is a good reason. Do you remember how much you liked it when a book was being read to you as a small child? Your imagination would make you feel like you were inside the story. That is the experience that will be recreated. I don't know how about you, but I love it! 


What I need for this dream to work out is my a good microphone, a recording program and some beautiful background music.

Have you ever practiced meditation? Perhaps you have a favourite one to share?
Make sure to leave it in the comments below.


Love,
Rainbow




Wednesday, May 23, 2018

What would your favourite superhero do?




On this episode of Wednesday Wisdom series, that revolves around finding your artistic inspiration, I am here to surprise you with yet another great way to get it on.
This is an incredible and unique way of gaining inspiration.
A special brainstorm technique that I would like to spend a whole blog post on.
It is asking yourself the question: What would your favourite superhero do?
To use this question we need a problem.
Let's say that our problem is a writers block/artist block.
How would your favourite superhero tackle this problem?


Let's look at mine: Buffy the vampire slayer
I think I may have watched this show about at least 5 times, and I could still watch it!
That means I know my superhero extremely well.

Now just write down the qualities and strategies that your hero uses.
 

An example:

First of all Buffy would fight to find inspiration by herself. She is one that truly believes in her own strength, creativity and power. She's confident and sassy. Always looking for word jokes, even in dangerous situations. She's a provoker and doesn't step back from offering an unpopular opinion. 
She is not much of a sit-down-in-books kind of girl. But because she's fashionable, she will probably find inspiration in magazines.
Other than that she would actively go out in to the world and be inspired by what she sees there.

If she fails to tackle this problem by herself, that is where she calls in her 'scoobies'.

In the first seasons of the show this would come down mainly to her best friends.
She will ask for their help, because they each have unique talents. Willow is very geeky and knowledgeable, and Xander has a lot of humor. So, Willow will probably point out inspiration from books, whilst Xander would inspire her with funny and sarcastic comments. 

Later on we meet queen bee Cordelia who unlikely joins this group. Cordelia will most likely inspire her in a more negative way. Let's imagine my superhero is a blogger. She would write a: 'How not to be a bitch' tutorial, that Cordelia may have triggered her into doing.
Her watcher which is like her guardian, would oversee the whole process.

Finally remember that she is a vampire slayer. So any negativity coming her way, will not be tolerated and dealt with head on. She will not let herself be trolled by other




Another way you could do this is ask what your favourite superhero would write about. What would their niche be if they had any? Could this inspire you to get some inspiration?
Do you see yourself using this technique? If so, I would love for you to share the results with me.
Finally: do not forget to leave your links in the comments below, and I will return any love given.

Love and blessings,
Rainbow





Monday, May 21, 2018

'But you are good like this...'




I think many girls and also guys can relate to the topic of being very conscious of their body image.
We live in a world where it's always hot topic. 

Either we judge people that are underweight or people that are overweight. When we are a healthy weight we may not be happy, because media does still not show a realistic image of people.
And the topic is a very sensitive one. 


Meghan Trainor attempted to make a 'love your body' song with the: All about that bass.
Which pissed a friend of mine of who has been struggling with anorexia most of her life now.
I also heard a story from someone I know who's a model.

Somebody had come up to her in the street and had told her off for being so thin. 
"Why don't you eat like a normal person?" She responded to this with an angry Facebook post, venting about how this 'fat bitch' had dared to body shame her and used the hastag #nothingtastesasgoodasskinnyfeelslike
I understood that she was angry, but failed to understand why she responding with such hate.
I have seen heartbreaking printscreens that go around Twitter where people are openly being shamed for being either one of the two. Or for being neither of the two. Just for the sake of shaming. It's sickening really.


For the people who have  insecurities about their body: I feel you. I have such compassion for you. It is not easy. I know that. I have felt that. 
I have thought all of these harsh things about myself.
But not anymore.
 

To me it is clear that many of us struggle to love and accept ourselves and no matter if we are a normal healthy weight, overweight or underweight that struggle with body image is real. It's how people experience themselves. And it is not OK to judge it harshly in any way.
I am writing this post to gain awareness of that.
 

As somebody who has been going up and down in weight for more than half of my life I would like to share something. 
I have been trying to just get down to a healthy weight.
I have been diagnosed with an eating disorder in my early twenties. I had no idea what a healthy day of eating looked like, because I never learned. I was also an emotional eater.
These days I am doing lots better and I'm making real steps to achieve a long term healthy weight. 

It is a journey that I've come to like, because I am discovering so much.
Through failing that journey before, I exactly know what to do and what not to do.
I am doing this to be healthy. Not because I hate the way my body looks. In my family there's heart diseases and diabetes. So, I am very realistic when I say that I want to drop that weight.
I've tried to gain understanding from people around me about that. I always have to explain myself and listen to word vomit. But there have been a few people that really want to support me. It's a handful, but I feel really happy that I have those! 

As I am only 157 cm/5 ft 1, my perfect weight would be around 59 kg/118 pounds. I would still have playroom to gain a little bit and not be overweight.
Never judge anybody's journey.
And here is a list of things just never to say. Ever. OK? 


These are real reactions I've come across.  


  • 'You may be a bit fat but at least you look good'
  • 'I couldn't picture you any other way. If you got thin, that just wouldn't suit you'
  • 'Just go to the gym a little bit more and work on your body'
  • 'But you don't have to lose weight. You are good like this'
  • 'Let me give you some advice. Try to avoid carbs'
  • 'When offered a snack, you just say no'
  • *After starving myself for two days* 'I can already see that you lost some weight'
  • 'You are just going to have to stick with your diet.' 
  • A 'friend' after reading psychology magazine 'Emotional eating is not a real thing according to this magazine'

How do you make sure that your relationship with your body changes in a positive way?
Do you recognize any of the issues that I've mentioned?
I invite you to start the conversation.
In case you need help or support, do not hesitate to contact me. I will support you! 


Love,
Rainbow

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Unlimited dreaming - The documentary



My Sunday series is about unlimited dreaming. The kind of dreams that I have in life, and that I would really love to make a reality. When you dream big, and you set your intentions who knows what may happen?
This episode I will talk about making a documentary.

The dream

I've always loved the idea of being able to make a film or documentary.

And my documentary would be a special one.
It would capture all kinds of different human beings. From all over the world. With different nationalities, and different religions.
We live in difficult times where there is so many hate, attacks and distinction going on.
With my project I am looking to build bridges again. Make people out there realize that we are not so different in the essence of being human beings. Focusing on the positive aspects of cultures, upbringing and lessons in love and kindness.
How?


I would interview people from different cultures about the positive aspects of their culture and upbringing. I have challenged myself to find between 20 - 100 people to participate in this. With documenting them, I want to conclude my documentary (or maybe even series) with showing that we can build these bridges if we are open to it. 
I want to bring about the positivity. 

My hope is that it will expand people's horizon. 
That they will take a different perspective or view. 
That somehow my project might touch them.
There is love all over the world. No matter what we think.
And i really want to just capture that and share it with the world in order to bring hope back around where it is most needed.
Remember that you do have and influence. You can spread kindness every day and be compassionate to the ones you know that need it because they might be in pain.





The future 

I am getting more serious in investing in the things that I need to make this happen. The other day I had a look at pc that can take video editing.
I have also made a list of what I need to do in other to achieve this.


  • Get my pc
  • Get a good quality video camera 
  • Find participants through my network of friends, acquaintances, and possible online sources, travel more. 
  • Set up interviews
  • Get the help of people who know their way with a camera and editing programmes
  • Share it with the world once it's done 
What is your way to contribute to pain that the world is in right now?
Do you have any great kindness projects that you want to? 


All my love,
Rainbow


Wednesday, May 16, 2018

3 effective brainstorm techniques to keep your inpiration turned on


I promised you a Wednesday wisdom inspiration series.
This is a response to bloggers and artists that might feel stuck and without any inspiration.
I wrote about this last week in: Finding your divine inspiration. 

This post talks about why we get stuck and how to make sure that you unblock your creativity block.
Today I want to dive a bit deeper into the way that you can use brainstorming to get inspired. So, I am going to give you: 3 effective brainstorm techniques to keep your inspiration turned on
These are actually really fun and simple to do.
There is only one rule to brainstorming though:
Do not shoot down any of your ideas! 

Brainstorming is all about it letting it flow. When you start to think about the outcome of the idea too much, you are just blocking yourself again. 

So here is a basic one and a fun fact is that this was created by Jung.
It's the flower association 

You put your theme of brainstorm in the middle and you associate around it. 
Like so: 
As you can see from mine my ideas range from my niche, to my style, to my wish to do themes and also generally what is important in blogging.

The next one I am going to share with you is the mindmap technique. 
This eleborates more on the basic flower association.


Now I allowed to myself to brainstorm from my sub themes.
I thought it would be fun to use the tree mindmap that is very common. The thicker branches represent a sub theme and the thinner ones are the ideas that I have around this theme. Notice that my mindmap is far from perfect. The point for is not the perfection of them mindmap itself and how it looks, but it's about generating more ideas. I did have a little fun with aquarel crayons to create that pretty background. It just adds a little to the inspiration itself in my opinion.

The final brainstorm technique I want to share with you today is the idea of reversed brainstorm.
This is incredibly fun to do! It will probably make you laugh a lot, because it's about getting a bit silly.
You take a problem or theme and you write down all the things you can think of for it to be a failure.
When you look at what you've written down, and reverse that back to positive you may get a good idea of the things that are actually essential to do.
So from the list below a few examples when you reverse it back to positive
-Do not pester others to read your blog
-Write consistently
-Care about what you write 




Thanks for visiting my post about brainstorming.
Now what are brainstorming techniques that inspire you? Do you use any different ones?
As you know, I will return the love given on my blog. All you have to do is make sure to leave your link in the comment and I will hop on over to your blog. 


Love,
Rainbow



Tuesday, May 15, 2018

The jar of wishes





To be quite honest I came up with this idea several years ago. But I was thinking that it may possibly inspire more people.
 

That is why I am sharing this idea with you today.
 

What is a jar of wishes?
 

In this jar -mine is technically a vase- you collect things you want to do. Things to get you out of your comfort zone. Things you don't normally do. It's nice to expand your horizon like that.
These wishes range from simple things to more advanced ones. I bought this vase and bunch of little cute and colorful notes. 


On these notes I wrote my wishes.
A few examples:
 

  • Do karaoke
  • Redecorate your house
  • Buy yourself flowers
  • Visit a ballet show
  • Book a trip and travel alone
  • Take a mermaid swimming class
  • Learn how to do stand up comedy and perform
  • Take yourself out on a date.  

I even invited some friends to do it for me. To get outside inspiration. I was just curious to see what they would come up with for me. I challenged them to do a jar of wishes as well. The idea is that you take a note out once in a while and work towards whatever is on the little piece of paper

I folded the notes and put them in my jar of wishes. I gave them a good toss with my hands to mix them up.
I call them my wish notes. 
 




It is such a simple idea, but I really love it. I just dusted off my vase and took out a note.
And guess what? It couldn't be more perfect!



It says: Today do something that you can do well, and enjoy it fully!

Let's say that today my day is going to be about writing and gathering more inspiration.
I really hope that you enjoyed this post of mine.

Would you conisder keeping a jar of wishes?
If so, I would love to hear from you and for you to share your jar of wishes with me.
Remember that I'll return any love given on my blog. Just leave your links below in the comment section.

Love and blessings,

Rainbow

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Unlimited dreaming - writing a book



Unlimited dreaming is my Sunday morning series. It's about the big dreams that I would love to be a reality. I think many people have forgotten how nice it is to dream. Rainbow's dreamy cloud wouldn't do it's name honor without this unlimited daydreaming. So here it is.

My dream: writing a fictional book.

The past

I've cherished this dream ever since I was a 10 year old. I had found my talent for writing and enjoyed writing stories. That the stories had no real beginning, middle or end and were only limited to the other the subject of another dream: owning a horse stable with a 100 horses didn't matter. It was writing. And I wrote about the life on this fantasy horse stable with characters and mostly lots of drama.
A few years later I discovered a television show about Robin Hood. The whole story fascinated me so much that I would continue to write about that. From that point on I would also begin to make up stories with a beginning, middle and end. I wrote a story about an unlucky flower that brought misfortune to the lives of those who picked it. I got into a writers flow and entered stories into competitions at my young age. Which I would win and would celebrate that win by more writing.
Writing has always been one of my first loves.
Then eventually when I turned 17 and started college, I lost that part of me. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the idea of having to become an adult and going into the world. My flow got blocked and at one point I had no idea how I had ever found the courage to start and end a story. I think it's mostly the perfectionist in my head, and some hard critics online that made that combination for me.


The present

As you see I have never fully left writing. About a few years ago, I had started to write again. There were some poems, and the writing of quotes.
From that point I found the courage to start a blog. I wanted to write about lifestyle, creativity, inspiration and one of my other love's cooking. I realize I am a human being with lots of passions that I all want to embrace as much as I can.
There were a few moments that I actually sat down with the idea of a story floating in my mind, but as soon as I sat down and opened my writing program, all the cursor would do was wink at me as I struggled with my empty page.
I become inspired by people like J.K Rowling and am full of wonderment. She didn't only create a story. She created a whole world around it. The stories must have lingered and lived in her for such a long time. Even before writing Harry Potter.
Through the practice of creative visualization I often open up doors to such worlds in my own imagination. This is where my book characters linger and beg me to write their story.

And I tell them: 'I'm sorry guys, you are just going to have to wait'
I found the courage the share my view of my life, the way I get inspired, and others that inspired me by writing on this blog. That is actually a huge start for me.
I think when it comes to actual fiction I should allow myself to do more unlimited dreaming. 

There is that 10 year old in me that also still wants me to write like I used to. To become one with that creative flow and inspired fantasy.
It is the 10 year old girl that wants me to make that dream of writing a book become a reality one day.

The future

Before I wrap this I cannot forget to draw up a future intention.
The other day I found a little book in which I wrote my intention to find my perfect house.
I wrote the requirments my house would meet in the future. Trust me that it is quite eerie that my house actually meets those requirements as I had forgotten all about what I'd written down by the time I actually found it. This is why I work with intentions.


My book
will have a catching start that will draw you right into my story. You will want to know more about what is going on. You will feel as if you are a bystander in my story. One that cannot be noticed by the characters that are in it. The main character is a person that is one that has yet to discover her or his hidden talents and who is suddenly faced with a situation in which he/she is challenged to the limit. We also need someone to work against our maincharacter. I would like a bit of a bit of an incompetent villian who needs the help of allies to stop our anti hero from reaching their goal in the story.
The story will have elements of bizarre and humorous situations that will trigger your senses and will appeal to the imagination. If our anti hero will succeed? Well, that is the big question isn't it? Expect nailbiting cliffhangers and even a hint of romance. Because love is everything as we all know.


Concluded

One thing is for sure. I would never abandon my love of writing and will always keep doing it. If I sit down again, and allow myself to just write. No beginning, no middle, no end; I wonder what I may find. Maybe I will actually get back into that flow.
Because remember? I started to write like this.
Eventually that is how my stories went into full development. 


If you are a writer of stories, and may have any advice concerning starting to write a fictional book, I would love to hear from you.
Don't forget to leave links to your blogs in the comments below and I will return any love shared!

All my love,
Rainbow
 



Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Finding your divine inspiration




This Wednesday wisdom I would like to talk about finding your divine inspiration.
I would like to mention that this is another post that is inspired by Liz Gilbert, who wrote a wonderful book about creative living that is called 'Big Magic'
 

There is a point at which many writers may arrive that we all fear and it's a writers block. 
You seem to be out of ideas and no matter how you dig you cannot come up with your next best idea for a post, a project, or anything. We feel stuck.
At which point we get scared that we may never get a great idea again.
 

Here is my theory on inspiration. It's a little bit of Liz and a little bit of myself.
 

Let me start by introducing the following idea of Liz to you:
Imagine inspiration being an energy that knocks on your door and says: hey, I am this wonderful idea that needs to be worked out. 

So we receive this idea and if we make the decision to be open to the inspiration and actually work it out, we may answer to inspiration. 

But let's say the writer block happens and we answer it with fear. Fear is as Liz points out the voice that will shoot each and every idea down. This is a little what the voice of fear may sound like: 

-'It's all been done before' 
-'People will think I'm stupid'
-'This may not be interesting enough.'
-'People will think I'm a copy cat'
-'I may never be succesful'

-'It's not perfect yet'

And best believe that is how you find yourself stuck and empty! 


I believe that fear is what will block or inspiration from ever reaching us. So, that this spark of inspiration cannot reach us. It's because we reject it through fear. When I wrote my post last Wednesday on why to continue blogging even when you are frustrated, I already pointed out that there's no one like you. You are authentic. This is something to keep in mind!

One important thing to realize about fear is the following it has a function to keep us safe and alive. But it doesn't know the difference between actual life danger: 'don't go down that dark alley'  and when there is no real danger.
Liz says: "Respect your fear, thank it for keeping you safe. Just never let it make decisions when you are doing something creative. It does not get to be in the drivers seat" 


I believe there is an important key to respecting fear in order to unblock it.
So here's something that you could do. You could imagine fear being a person or figure. Just allow an image to pop up in your head. Mine looks a little like a little hairy, black fluffy monster. Say: "Thank you for wanting to keep me safe. However it doesn't help when you are mingling in my creativity. So, please move to the background." and watch it stepping back.
this is a trick that is actually used by psychology. It sounds silly, but works wonders!
Now that we've dealt with fear, let's move on to the next step.


So, how do we draw inspiration back to us like a magnet? Well, after our rejection we are going to have to seduce it a little eh?
This is by the way also what Liz suggests. First of all, get out of those comfy pants and put on something decent. Suit up, sisters and brothers!
Unless you get most inspired  by being in your comfy pants, or plan to blog about it. In which both cases please stay in by all means.

Here's some ideas to get you going:
(which I will work out in the next few Wednesdays for you, so be sure to come back. This will now be another series.)


Have a little brainstorm session with yourself. 
Allowing any idea to run freely. That is really the only rule to brainstorm. You don't block anything that comes to mind, even if it sounds bonkers. You know what the mad hatter would say: 'we're all mad here'. Put the words: my blog in the middle and put words around it that associate. From those words, more words will come to mind. You may even build it out into a mindmap. 

Get inspired by others
I was inspired by the book Big magic and miss Gilbert's wonderful fresh vibes to write this. 
Does that make me a copy cat? NO! I wrote it in my very own style. Read other bloggers, read an interesting interview, or watch a video by somebody that inspires you. 

Use the outside world to get inspired 
Go take a walk and tell us what you find. Your fave coffee house, the atmosphere of the neighbourhood, that awesome vintage store. You name it!

Ask others to help
Ask a friend what to blog about next. Hey, sometimes we need some help.


What would your favourite superhero do?
Ask yourself how your favourite superhero would tackle this search for inspiration.
An out of the box technique that will deliver some interesting results, I promise.


Find a questionnaire and surround a blog post around one of the questions.
Generally the more crazy the question is, the better. I like having something unusual to read.


Now that I've shared some inspiration sources, I am very curious about yours.
What do you use to get inspired? Do you have a number 1 rule that always has success?
Happy creating, my lovelies!


Love and blessings,
Rainbow














Sunday, May 6, 2018

Unlimited dreaming - The cooking club for kids



I was thinking of doing a little series about my dreams.
Things in life that I really would like to do and achieve. Rainbow's dreamy cloud is not only about a colorful lifestyle, but also about dreaming big.

In this first episode I will introduce you to this dream of mine to start a cooking club with kids professionally.

Why?
 

I love cooking. I was working with kids for a good deal of years. In the last place I worked I introduced 'my kids' to my little cooking club. With limited materials such as only one pit to cook on, and a few tiny pots I wanted to shift the idea of that we would always have to make things from a sugary baking pack. Sure, making cupcakes is a bunch of fun, but I was going for meeting the company's requirements in that we would offer more healthy food.
 

How did I do it?

I did this with kids above the age of 8.
I brought some fresh herbs, stock, tomato's, carrots, onions, and garlic and explained the kids that we were going to make tomato soup that doesn't come from a pack. I walked them through my golden rules:


1. Protect your hand when you cut by tucking in your fingers.
2. You never go near an oven or stove without adult supervision.
3. You can always add spices. But once they are in, they cannot be taken out.
4. Taste before serving. 

After I introduced them to the ingredients of the soup. We talked about them, sniffed the fresh basil. "Hmmm doesn't this smell amazing to start with?" I asked the kids about the basil. Now, I don't know whether they were trying to give me an answer I wanted to hear but they all agreed. I explained that the herbs are what makes whatever you cook magical. I then asked them about the garlic. They thought the smell was too strong. I then continued to say that this garlic is in a lot of things they eat and it's one of those 'herbs' that just smells fantastic once it's in a dish combined with other things. 

I walked them through the combination of the carrot, onion, garlic as a base for our soup. I left out celery this time because it can be a thing kids respond strongly to. To be honest I would actually put it in the soup if they weren't looking and blend the soup so well that they wouldn't know at first that it was in. A little parenting tip from me: anything that's hidden in a dish, they will be more likely to at least try to eat it.
I then divided the cutting tasks between the kids. I asked who was brave enough to cut the onions and a few boys raised their hand. I grinned a little bit to be honest, because they have not been introduced yet to the veggie that makes you cry.

I had written the recipe out for them, and supervised while they were cooking it.
I believe in giving kids as much freedom as they can handle and to offer support where needed. I would never leave them alone with a sharp knife or near a stove. But I will let them use the sharp knife and keep guiding them through using it safely.

I let them make the base of the soup, put in the stock, and had them add a can of tomato's and the fresh herbs. One kid decided that it may work with dried herbs as well and put in a little bit of Italian spice mix and salt and pepper. Like I said they did pretty much everything, but under my supervision. Before serving I gave all the kids a spoon and asked if they were satisfied with the taste. One kid opted that a few basil leaves should be added and so we did. The results were beautiful.

















And guess what? They all loved this tomato soup. Even the kids that told me they didn't like tomato soup.
So why would you reckon this happens? It's because when you involve kids in the complete process of preparing the food you make and have them help they will appreciate it more. I believe in introducing them to fresh ingredients that go in our food and bringing it with a great deal of enthusiasm.
Trust me that this helps. The kids started asking me pretty much every week if we were going to do more cooking.
Following up: I would ask the kids what we were going to make the next week. I had them look for a recipe, make a shopping list, took them to the supermarket and we would get our cooking on.

The future dream

Here's my vision. Since I stopped working with children there's this burning desire to go back and do it all over again.
I know really going back is not an option, so I would like to have this place that has all the materials I need to bring my vision alive. Such as big working surfaces, enough cooking pits, pots and pans, kitchen machine, blender, mixer and of course a pantry full of necessities.


My mission in a nutshell:
- Get kids involved with the food they eat.
- Make them proud of accomplishing something they see as a task for adults. By giving them freedom, but under the supervision of an adult.

- Help them to be familiar with all sorts of fresh ingredients.
- Introduce cooking as something magical where you create.
- Having them understand and appreciate the foods they consume.
- My hope: that kids that have a mixed relationship with body image versus food will enjoy healthy and homemade food.

I would work with a group of maximum 8-10 kids. I would adjust my lessons to the age group of course.
And I would like to work with a theme related workshop. Think about making the sauces that kids love from scratch. A home made ketchup? Yes! Garlic sauce? Yum!
I would prepare food with them that goes well with their homemade things.
We could also do a the theme: unfamiliar foods. Things that you just don't eat every day and discovering new veggies and fruits.
I think food and cooking is a big part of the upbringing. If you teach kids to expand their horizon on one level you can also bring this as a little life lesson. Just like trying new foods, we try new things in life generally.
 

So there it is: my big dream
A cooking club with kids. I hope you enjoyed the first episode of my series - unlimited dreams. 


What is a dream that you would like to achieve? 
Don't be afraid to dream out that vision. Show it to me! 

Love and blessings,
Rainbow





Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Why to continue blogging even when you are frustrated





When I was thinking of doing my post for the wednesday I realized for the first time that I didn't know right away what I wanted to write about.
I am used to ideas that just keep coming into my mind. I am barely ever without inspiration.
When I stopped to think about why this was occuring, I think that it was probably the stress of the last week that has caused me to come to a temporarily pause.
Then I remembered seeing a few tweets from fellow bloggers about the frustration that occurs when they feel like nobody's reading you.
For those of you who feel that, I have only request: please keep blogging
 

Here's why I want you to continue:



You have an authenticity that needs to be shared. 

Nobody can write about a topic in exactly your style. Forget about the: it's all been done before. Choose what you want to write about and do it with love and care. Like Liz Gilbert points out: 'Do you think Shakespear was original? No, he totally stole from older stories' 

Your blog is your space

And why would you want to give that up? It is your stage to share whatever you feel needs to be shared. You can write whatever it is that soars your soul. How wonderful to even have that space.

Your writing will improve


Thinking about words and which you choose is an incredibly powerful things. If you compare your blog to when you just started, you may find yourself a whole different writer. That does not only come in handy for your blog, but it also is a practical skill to have to daily life. You may need it for a job, school, or your own business.
Embrace the writing! Oh yes...

It changes your relationship with inspiration and creativity.


Our creativity develops. We human beings are all creative, because we create.
When I speak of creativity I do not just mean the ability to paint, dance, write. It is so much more than that. It is being open and full of wonder. Looking at the same thing from all kinds of angles and discovering something new about that same thing each and every time. This is how you invite inspiration to come in. Being open to all sorts of perspectives.

Self reflection

I think most bloggers have done at least one of these posts. The other day I stumbled across Corinne's blog who did a self-reflection in time travel style. So, cool!

I am a fan of the time travel theme so that piece of creative reflection really spoke to me.
The other day I did a reflection on the things I learned from having my jobs.
It was a big eye opener for me. I didn't even realize before the post that I'd come so far.

Meeting lovely and supportive people

Come on, let's face it. You are meeting beautiful people in the community. I am sure there's some drama, (which I completely ignore, because so not worth my time and energy!) but overall I am enjoying myself so much. I am getting this lovely feedback, and I am amazed by other's creativity. What a heck of a reason to continue eh?
Here's some of the people I enjoy for you.
Eena writes about her travels. She has an amazing writing style and really takes you on the trip with her.
Bexa has such lovely and fresh vibes. She is a supporter of small businesses and I enjoy her positive spirits.

Lena is an incredible artist and blogs so many of these feel-good and self-love articles. We really need those, don't we gals & pals?
Envy is me fellow Dutchie! She has incredible authenticity and a wicked sense of humor. What are you waiting for? Go read her blog!
Andrea blogs books. The best thing is that her reviews are spoiler free. Nobody like's a spoiler. She seriously made me want to read more books. Ok. ok. I haven't gotten around to the fictional ones yet, but right now I'm devouring a fair amount of books on the topics of creativity. I just love learning more!
Han inspires people with her personal anonymouse letters blog. A safe space to share what needs to be shared. Her writing is brave and bold and I very much applaud it.

Hey and you know what? If you need some encouragement, you can always drop me a line.
I like to be part of the supportive bunch.
I hope I may have inspired you to keep that blogging on!
What are your reasons to stay here and blog? Share the love and inspiration.
People will thank you for it.


Mucho love, 


Rainbow