Amotisse week nineteen

Random words,
streams of consciousness and
​top ten questions.

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Find a book
open randomly
write down the first word you see
repeat this 8 times
write a poem using these nine words



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Julia Cameron refers to free writing as her morning pages and recommends writing 3 pages every morning, for Leonardo it was stream of consciousness, for Zohab Zee Kahn, it's a brain dump. Whatever you call it and however you do it, free writing is a release. Writing is a release! Creating and making is a release! Let's map it out.
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I love using mind maps to sort out my thoughts and ideas. It's like brainstorming on paper, you can even make it pretty and colourful. With the energy of the full moon above us, write the word RELEASE in the middle of your page and circle it. What gives you release? Is there something or someone you need to release? Branching out, write all the associations that come to mind from this word...release yourself!

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​Last week I introduced Leo’s Curiosita from the book How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci by Michael Gelb.  Did you manage to write your 100 questions?  I am still looking for which notebook I wrote mine in!
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Here are the next steps; 
Review your list of a hundred questions. Choose the ten that seem most significant. Then rank them in importance from one to ten. (Of course, you can add new questions or change the order at any time.) Do not attempt to answer them right now; you’ve done enough just putting them in writing in a place where you can easily find them.
 
Ten Power Questions
The following questions are drawn from different people’s “top ten.”  These questions are powerful catalysts to personal growth and fulfilment.
Copy them in your notebook for contemplation:
When am I most naturally myself?
What people, places, and activities allow me to feel most fully myself?
What is one thing I could stop doing, or start doing, or do differently, starting today that would most improve the quality of my life?
What is my greatest talent?
How can I be paid for doing what I love?
Who are my most inspiring role models?
How can I best be of service to others?
What is my heart’s deepest desire?
How am I perceived by: my closest friend, my worst enemy, my boss, my children, my co- workers, etc.?
What are the blessings of my life?
What legacy would I like to leave?
 
How Does a Bird Fly?
 
Choose one of the following topics inspired by Da Vinci’s passionate questioning: a bird in flight, flowing water, the human body, a landscape, reflected light, a knot or braid. In your journal, ask at least ten questions about it. Again, there’s no need to write answers; in Curiosità, we focus on the questions. For example:
 
How does a bird fly?
Why does it have two wings?
Why does it have feathers?
How does it “take off”?
How does it slowdown?
How does it accelerate?
How high can it fly?
When does it sleep?
How good is its eyesight?
What does it eat?
 
Then choose a topic from your personal or professional life and do the same exercise — ask ten questions about your career, your relationship, your health. Record the questions in your journal—no answers yet, just questions.
 



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