Stream of Consciousness

Let me tell you some truth right now.  Writing is the radness.

My BF and I started doing this dope exercise in the morning where you write three pages longhand of whatever spills out of your head.  My ADDness loves this because my brain is filled with chatter perpetually.  I live in world of shiny things...everything catches my eye!  So, when the time to focus is NOW, I usually can't because of all the shiny, chattery things.

My newfound skill of stream of consciousness writing seems to be the answer.  Right about, oh, now, when Marcus is sleeping and Alexandria is perpetually asking for snacks and I really want to make some phonecalls or whatever, the brain chatter starts.  I begin panicking about everything that I need to get done that isn't getting done that probably won't get done.  So I do something I know I can do in the midst of the chaos and it's not what I needed to do.  The thing I needed to do is still left undone, and guess what?  It's more of the same tomorrow.  However, whenever I write down the thing that distracts me (like a trigger for a migraine), that seems to end it.  I've been able to refocus on what I need to do, and I approach the task with a clear head.

What that was right there, was stream of consciousness, but edited.  It might have included "I'm really hungry but I'm not sure what to eat.  Alexandria seems like she needs attention, but we've spent the entire morning together, and I just need some quiet.  Marcus is not sleeping.  He's squeaking.  He is, for some reason, not interested in napping these days.  I don't know why.  He napped last week, and that was heaven.  I still need lunch, but nothing sounds appealing.  I keep getting heartburn.  I feel like I'm pregnant but I'm so not pregnant.  Ever."

Writing seems to clear my head, like an eraser over a chalkboard.  The morning pages are like Harry Potter and the Pensieve.  It sort of gets pulled out of my brain.  Dorks will get it.  My peeps.  Anyway, that's part of the explosion of intensity that's happening.

If you're interested in the exercise, it's from a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, and it's amazing.  More to come, for sure.