Your Whispering Heart creativity book on World Book Day
On this World Book Day, I introduce to you my new book, “Your Whispering Heart: An Inner Guide to Creativity.”
As I wrote yesterday on my blog, this is a book that helps readers unlock their creative power, turn dreams into reality and live with joy.
It will be out this spring 2025. You can pre-order it from Toronto Education Press at: https://torontoeducationpress.com/products/your-whispering-heart-a-guide-to-creativity
More locations where you can purchase the book will be announced soon.
My New Book
I have a new book coming out.
“Your Whispering Heart: An Inner Guide to Creativity” is an inspiring life-guidance book that will transform your life.
The book will be out this Spring 2025.
Pre-sales are available via the publisher, Toronto Education Press. Pre-order your copy here.
“Your Whispering Heart: An Inner Guide to Creativity” is filled with practical advice and wisdom on how best to unlock one’s creative power and a terrific life guidance book. It explores a range of topics, from overcoming the obstacles in the way of maximizing our creative potential, such as self-doubt, fear, guilt and resentment, to finding inspiration, vitality and the courage to act on manifesting one’s creative dreams – whether it is writing a book, making a movie, painting, starting a new business or growing a luscious garden.
The key to unlocking our creative power, says the author, is listening to the whisper of the heart because it offers the wisdom and guidance to make your heart’s desires come alive – and experiencing the joy that comes with it.
If you wish to unlock your creative power, make your dreams a reality, and live with joy and meaning, this inspiring book provides the practical tools to help get you there. The whisper of your heart is your inner guide to creativity and joy. Your job is to listen.
THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU IF:
- You feel stuck in your job and desire something more creative.
- Self-doubt holds you back from taking risks.
- You dream of earning a living by doing what you love.
- You want to make better creative decisions in business.
- You want a life filled with joy and meaning.
Learn to ask quality questions
Madeira
The quality of questions you ask yourself determines the quality of your life.
Newton is said to have discovered gravity by observing an apple falling from a branch of a tree while at the same time noticing the moon hanging in the sky. He wondered why the apple fell and not the moon. A remarkable question that lead to a greater understanding of our universe.
Okay, so not everyone is Newton asking questions that will help us understand universal laws, but we can learn to ask quality questions to do something that inspires us, get ourselves out of a pickle – or transform our lives and ultimately live an extraordinary life.
The difference between a quality question and a regular question lies in where it comes from: your heart. Zeroing-in on what is truly important in your heart to create, whether it is personal, business or other, is the first step. Then you ask yourself questions that are derived from or connected to your values.
We all live with a set of values. Some of those values are more important than others. For instance, an entrepreneur will have a high value on business and will spend a lot of time learning and growing in that area. A health expert will have a high value on wellness and will spend considerable time focussed on having a healthy lifestyle, whatever that takes. A mom will have a high value on her children, and she will put much time and energy into raising her kids, such as their education, food and clothing. An investor will put an enormous time and energy into understanding finances, the markets, etc.
For me, I have a high value in higher learning, travel, writing and media. There are other areas that are important to me, such as health and relationships, of course, and the priorities change, depending on what is going on in my life and the world around me. Right now, travel is not possible, so that area has been replaced by learning in other subjects that interest me, and other things.
One thing I know for certain that to live an extraordinary life begins with a) getting clear on your values and then b) asking quality questions.
Here are some examples of how you can turn a general question into a quality question:
- How can I earn more money?
Quality question: How can I make more money than every by doing what I love and getting paid handsomely for it?
- How do I stop making the same mistake?
Quality question: How is this (fill in the blank) helping me get what I deeply desire?
- Why am I failing at xx?
Quality question: How is this setback helping me reach my goals in the bigger picture?
The bottomline is to link your questions with your highest values and turn the question into a way of moving you forward and finding answers that will inspire you, help with clarity, and overall living a quality life.
The quality of questions you ask yourself determines the quality of your life. So ask quality questions – of yourself and of others.
*Photo: Madeira beach
**This blog post is an excerpt from my book, The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity. All rights reserved. No copying or reuse permitted.
This is the second part of my How to live an extraordinary life series.
Shannon Skinner is a broadcaster, speaker, writer and author of The Whispering Heart, Your Inner Guide to Creativity and host/producer of ExtraordinaryWomenTV.com. She speaks around the world about her message: follow your heart, not matter what.
How to unlock your creative power and manifest your dreams
Each one of us has the power to create whatever we desire, whether it is a relationship, dream career or starting a new hobby. We can all make our dreams come true if we know the secret: unlocking our creative power. When we unlock our power, we can begin to create the life we want – one that brings us joy and fulfilment.
“While many people think there is such a thing as a ‘creative type,’ that is nothing more than a myth,” says Shannon Skinner, author of The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity, a practical guide to unlocking your creative power, turning dreams into reality and living with joy. “We are all born creative and we use our creativity in our day-to-day lives, whether it’s developing a business plan, planting a garden or simply deciding what recipe to make for a family dinner.”
Ms. Skinner provides seven ways that you can unlock your creative power:
1.Ignite Inspiration – Inspiration is the gasoline of life. Discover what inspires you for it fuels the drive to dream up ideas and new ways of experiencing life.
2. Be an Inspiring Person – When you are inspiring, others will become inspired. It’s catchy! Here’s how you can be inspiring: live with an open heart by finding more and more gratitude; and believe in yourself by increasing self-worth.
3. Surround Yourself with Challengers and Champions – Look around you at the people you surround yourself with. What is their energy like? To unlock your creative power, it is good to be surrounded by people who support and/or challenge you – but stay away from Fire-Breathing Dragons, who are negative, and Energy Vampires that will suck the energy right out of you.
4. Give Your Life a Shake – Change is good for us, we grow. Sometimes we need to turn life on its ear in order to be more creative. Here are some ways to shake up your life: be open to change; mix up your daily routine now and again; and pack a bag and travel.
5. Live with Courage, Take Risks – No risk, no reward. Risk-taking is directly linked to our self-worth and courage.
6. Increase Vitality – Pay attention to your vitality and health. The more vitality you have, the more your can swing your dreams into action. Here are some ways to do that: reduce stress; get a balanced perspective; exercise regularly; pay attention to diet; and get some sleep.
7. It’s All a Learning Experience – There is no such thing as mistakes, there are only lessons. Let go of the fear of making a mistake, and adopt the perspective that everything we do is a lesson in life.
*Theses are excerpts from Shannon Skinner’s book, The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity.
Copyright Shannon Skinner 2004-2020. All rights reserved. NO COPYING PERMITTED.
edited: July 29, 2020
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Shannon Skinner is a Toronto-based writer, broadcaster, international speaker and author of The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity. Watch her interviews with extraordinary women: ExtraordinaryWomenTV.com.
Trust the creative process
In 2005, I wrote a book titled The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity. Following a few years of exploring what creativity is, I decided to actually put it down in writing. Something I learned in the process, is that trusting the creative process is actually part of the creative process.
Let me explain.
Fear and/or self-doubt inevitably pop-up during the process of creating…anything. Part of the creative process is to transcend fear and self-doubt. Unless you do, your creation won’t see the light of day. But it takes trust.
Learning to enjoy the creative process is part of the process. It takes trust.
No matter what you do, no matter what the end result is, there is much to learn as you go through the process and about the process itself. Trust is required.
If a project goes off the rails, such as a book deal falling through, a business failure, a painting doesn’t work out, what is important is what you learned and discovered through the process. It takes trust.
There are no mistakes, only lessons. If we only ever count on the end-result, we would miss most of life.
It takes trust.
Edison tried 9,000 experiments to perfect the light bulb. That’s 8,999 lessons before he got it right. That is a lot of trust.
* partial excerpt from my book The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity.
*photo of Stained Glass Path of Farinet in Valais, Switzerland, created by local Swiss artists. Read about the art and my adventure here.
Act on what you love
I go in and out of inspiration. First, I get infatuated with a creative idea. Sometimes I act, sometimes I don’t. When I act, sometimes the inspiration lasts a while, and sometimes it is fleeting. It is not possible in time and space to create everything all at once, so I believe this is one of the reasons this happens. But one thing I know for certain is that creation begins with infatuation and it is the inspiration that is like jet fuel – and that inspiration is founded in love. So, do something you love, because then you have a good chance not only at success, but more importantly, fulfillment.
So how do you know whether to act on what you love to do- or let it go? Here are some action steps
1. Decide – what would I love to do in my life from today-forward?
2. How can I get paid to do what I love?
3. What are the top action steps that I can take to get me achieving this?
4. Think through what the challenges will be and come up with a way of mitigating.
5. Be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses, because that determines where you will have success.
For me, travel and meeting extraordinary people are high on my values, as is writing and speaking to share stories of love and wisdom. These are things I act on without outside motivation.
What is it that you would LOVE to do in life – and what steps are you taking to make it happen? I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment below or tweet to me at @Shannon_Skinner.
Shannon Skinner is a Toronto-based, award-winning television and radio show host, international speaker, author and creator of ExtraordinaryWomenTV.com. For information on her speaking engagements and interviews, visit: www.ShannonSkinner.com and www.ExtrarodinaryWomenTV.com. Tweet to her at @Shannon_Skinner.
Visit these water sites to get your creative juices flowing
Water has a profound impact on us. The human body is mostly made of water, about 70 per cent, and we cannot survive more than than a few days without it. Coincidently, 70 per cent of the earth is covered with water. A large portion of the population lives on a waterfront. Tourists travel all over the earth to see or bathe in bodies of water.
photo courtesy @VisitBritain
Water has many benefits. It impacts our mood. It is cathartic and healing. We meditate and reflect next to it. We play and exercise along beaches and shorelines. We sail and cruise on big bodies of water. There are sacred, holy rivers that appear in religious texts, and are used for rites of passage, such as baptism and spreading ashes after death.
Poets write about it; consider R.W. Emerson’s brilliant poem, Water. It is a recurring theme in literature (e.g.) Avalon. In mythology and folklore, holy wells or sacred springs are entrances to other worlds. The fantastical “Fountain of Youth” for centuries has had believers thinking we can stop the aging process – if only!
What’s more, water boosts our creativity and inspiration. When we are inspired and feel invigorated, we can unleash our creative genius. This is key to following our heart’s desires and having a fulfilling life.
As a traveller, I like to seek out places near magical water sites where I can recharge my energy and get inspired for my creative work. It especially helps me get out of a rut. I’m not a beach bum, though. Mostly, I like to walk near the water, and meditate and reflect as I go. This kind of meditate walk has been the most effective way for me to dig deep into my creative reservoir.
Lake Geneva in Geneva at early dawn
If you are in a rut or want to find your creative juices again, consider travelling to a place near water where many others have found inspiration, and tap into that energy. Here are some ideas:
- Ganges River, India: the sacred and holy Ganges River is India’s longest river and has great importance in Hinduism. Millions of Hindus come here annually to bathe in the water to wash away their sins, and be freed from the death-rebirth cycle. The sacred, historical city of Varanasi along the Ganges banks is impressive, and people visit from all over to practice yoga and visit temples that are centuries old. It has inspired many creative works.
- Lake Geneva, Switzerland: Geneva, Switzerland, the “capital of peace,” sits on Lake Geneva, which is snuggled in the Alps and shared between Switzerland and France, Lake Geneva has a long history of inspiring artists. Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein got its inspiration here. Deep Purple’s song “Smoke on the Water” was sparked when a hotel on the lake caught fire. Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn and David Bowie lived nearby, and today singer/songwriter Shania Twain owns a castle in the area. Geneva’s promenade offers a pleasant experience to stroll and meditate.
- River Thames, London: the longest river in the U.K., the banks of the Thames in London, particularly, has for centuries drawn many artists, has rich history and, of course, is popular for rowing. There is something magical about walking along London’s riverbanks, where one can soak in the amazing historical architecture. When I lived in London in the late ‘80s, every Sunday morning, my ritual was to walk along the banks to meditate and reflect – a time I treasure.
- Lake Ontario, Toronto: For those who either cannot or would rather not travel to get the creative inspiration that water offers, we have, of course, a fabulous lake in our own backyard. Best of all, it is free.
Lake Geneva harbour during the day
Shannon Skinner is a Toronto-based, award-winning television and radio show host, inspirational speaker, author, and occasionally writes travel articles. For information on her speaking engagements and interviews, visit: www.ShannonSkinner.com and www.ExtrarodinaryWomenTV.com. Tweet to her at @Shannon_Skinner.
Photo credit: River Thames courtesy @VisitBritain. Lake Geneva photos are courtesy my Canon.
This article was originally published in Toronto Waterfront Magazine (winter 2017)
Travel the world through all your senses
Ever since I was the age of 20, when after graduating from university and moving to the U.K., I have had perpetual wanderlust. My father once called me a rolling stone (as in a rolling stone gathers no moss) and a dear friend refers to me as a tumbleweed, though I’m not sure that sticks. What keeps me interested in seeing more of the world is that travel enables me to experience life through all of my senses, and I believe this has made me a well-rounded, better person.
Drummers perform at Rongali Bihu festival in Assam ’15. Yep, I’m a groupie.
Our lives are enriched by experiencing the sights, sounds, tastes, scents and textures of other cultures, as well as our own. Food, drink, music, dance, sports are all ways we can experience culture. By experiencing different cultures, we build bridges to connect and understand one another. We can only appreciate different cultures when we make a choice to experience them.
From my travels around the world, I have danced with the tribes in northeastern India (Assam) and saw living root bridges, remarkable natural architecture in the jungle, which was like stepping into a science fiction movie. I learned how to make tasty chocolate pots in Geneva, Switzerland. In Scotland, I traced my Stewart family roots, from the line of the noble Stewarts, which took me across the country to see castles, estates and farms.
I recall the pungent spices bellowing from the food stalls in Bangkok, and the salty sea air brushing my nose in the Caribbean. The image of the blue sea against crisp white buildings of Greece keeps me longing to return. In Venice, the taste of Italian ice cream while sitting in the piazza and watching beautiful people pass by. In Prague, the enchanting classical music in palaces and churches. The sweet voices of tribal children in northern Thailand as performed a traditional song and dance around a campfire. The roar of chants and cheers of passionate soccer fans in a stadium in England. The touch of the delicate woolen sweaters in the shops of Dublin, and the coolness of the stone wall of the oldest church in Scandinavia.
I remember swimming in salty springs in Turkey and dancing like a maniac in the clubs of Tenerife, and savouring the taste of fresh dates in Morocco. And hearing the monkeys playing in the trees in the earning mornings in Costa Rica gave me a case of the giggles.
Traveling the world has truly enriched my life. How has it enriched yours? I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or tweet to me at @Shannon_Skinner.
Read more about my travels at Shannon’s Travel Bag.
Some of this article is a re-purposed short excerpt from my book, “The Whispering Heart: Your Inner Guide to Creativity.”
Shannon Skinner is on a journey of following her heart and creating change in the world. She is a broadcaster, inspirational speaker, author and writer on the subjects of change and travel. Her inspiring keynotes are uplifting and transforming lives around the globe. To book her as a speaker for your next conference or professional development day, contact shannon (at) shannonskinner.com. Watch her interviews with extraordinary women at www.ExtraordinaryWomenTV.com.
Follow me on Twitter: @Shannon_Skinner
Instagram: shannon.skinner
Web: www.ShannonSkinner.com
Got the February blahs? Try these.
Canadians know how challenging the month of February is. March is not much better. After months of low light, shoveling snow and enduring frigid temperatures (unless you live in Vancouver, in that case, stick it!), we start to get cabin fever from hibernating.
Something I have noticed in my own life is that after hanging up my downhill skiis more than a decade ago, I stopped enjoying winter. I tend to stay in more and by the end of February I’m going squirrelly. For exercise, I do walk my dog several times a day and jog on the days when my lungs and face won’t hurt, but it is not enough. Going outside is a big effort. By now, I need an attitude adjustment. My guess is that others do, too.
Here are some ways to get over the February blahs and cabin fever, as we go into the last stretch of winter.
- When it’s cold outside, be warm and sunny from the inside: Go into your heart more. Do the things that warm your heart and make your light shine and radiate. Maybe it is helping out at a soup kitchen, or cooking a meal for your elderly neighbours, or a random act of kindness.
- Create an inspiring space: Our environment directly impacts our creativity and productivity. Low light tends to create lower moods. So brighten up your interior, both literally and figuratively. Create an inspiring space where you do your creative work. Colour plays a huge role. Paint your walls vibrant colours such as red, yellow or orange – or calming ones like baby blue. Enhance your space in a way that is inspiring to you — and maybe it will inspire others.
- Buy new art: If you already collect art, take stock of what you have. Consider trading or buy new art. Start a new collection of artifacts or other items that have meaning to you and place them in your creative space. Perhaps it is from your travels. Or make your own art to hang on the wall.
- Listen to music to lift your spirits: Listen to the kinds of music that pick up your energy, spirit and mood. Music impacts our energy level. I personally love opera and, this weekend I, fought the snow to see the Canadian Opera Company’s production Don Giovanni, at the Four Seasons Centre. The way the music made me feel was worth fighting the snow to get there.
- Get outside to play: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em! I write this at the risk of being pelted with snowballs…Even if you are not athletic, get outside to play as much as possible. Go for walks, even if they are short. Play winter sports. Go tobogganing. Remember the fun you had as a kid and try to re-create that feeling.
- Take a class: As a forever student, I am always taking a course of some sort. Taking courses forces us to get out of our spaces, meet new people, we learn something new – and it keeps us engaged. Consider taking a photography, cooking or language course.
- Get some sunshine: We all crave fleeing from the Canadian cold into warmer, sunnier climates. So find a travel deal and go somewhere new, whether it is basking on a beach or a wellness retreat, or taking a course, such as Spanish, in a place that inspires you.
Photo credit: Andreas Krappweis
Shannon Skinner is an award-winning inspirational speaker, writer, and host and producer of the television and online series www.ExtraordinaryWomenTV.com.
This article was originally published at HuffingtonPost.com.
Do you have burnout? Listen to your heart.
So you had passion for your work. Now, you feel stressed, overwhelmed and a lack of joy you once felt for your job, career or business. The bounce in your step has turned into a drag. Your creative juices are no longer flowing and you have stopped creating all together, and all you think about is what stresses you. When you wake up in the morning, you dread at worst, or are indifferent at best, for what the day will bring.
You might even be feeling powerless to continue on the path of making your dreams come true.
If this sounds familiar, know you are not alone.
The past week has been abuzz with discussions about the growing rise of depression and the stigma of mental illness. Also on the rise is job burnout, which, according to the renowned Mayo Clinic, is described as “a special type of job stress – a state of physical, emotional or mental exhaustion combined with doubts about your competence and the value of your work.” In fact, a Stats Canada survey in 2010 had identified that 1 in 4 workers report being stressed, and, more telling, 6 in 10 highly stressed workers identify work as their main source of stress.
While I am not a medical expert or an authority on job burnout (full disclosure here), I do know this from my own life experience: when you’ve lost that lovin’ feeling for your work, you may have a creative block. When we get blocked, we stop creating – and our dreams may seem like they are slipping away. When are dreams are not coming true, we can get depressed.
I know. I’ve been there.
Anyone who is in a creative field or in the artistic world is intuitively tapped into their creativity. They “get it.” In the corporate world, creativity is often looked at as something frivolous. How many companies do what it takes to develop and nurture their employees’ creativity? This is not something to mess with. Creativity is a key to happiness and success.
Creative energy is like electricity: it flows effortlessly. But when the plug is pulled on your creative power, it means you have run into an obstacle, otherwise known as a creative block. Most likely, that obstacle is an emotion – fear, resentment or anger – that stops you from connecting with your heart’s desires. When we are flooded with these negative emotions, self-doubt creeps in and we can no longer hear the whispers of our heart. Self-doubt is the biggest killer of creativity. It takes on a life of its own, quashes your creative spirit, sabotaging your dreams and desires along its path of destruction.
The only way out of this vicious cycle is to return to creating from the heart. The way to do that is to release negative emotions, and discover how they benefit you and how they help you get where you want to go. For example, perhaps you are stressed from the grind of owning a small business. How does that stress benefit you? Or if you have a tense relationship with your boss, how does that tension benefit you?
Once you let go of the negativity and self-doubt, the heart’s whispers will become louder, once again.
Then, take action. You might need to leave your job or change your career, or sell or close-down your business.
Perhaps easier said than done, you might be thinking, but what other choice do you have? We can give-up our power and joy to negativity and continue doing something we loathe, and let it eat us up in something we call burnout. Or we can turn negativity on its head, kick it around like a football, and return to the heart — and get back that lovin’ feeling for what we do in our work.
If you have had job burnout and experienced a creative block, I’d love to hear from you about your experience.
Photo credit: Carl Dwyer
This article is cross-posted at www.HuffingtonPost.ca.
