Déjà Vu All Over Again

To borrow from Yogi Berra, this has been a week of déjà vu all over again...sort of. Sort of, because although, on the surface it has been a week of reruns, digging a little deeper reveals it to have been more time warp than time travel.

Five years ago this week, like now, I found myself at L.A.'s Conscious Life Expo​, signing books and promoting my coaching services for writers. Five years ago this week, like now, I made a side to trip up to Ojai, in the hills above Ventura. Five years ago this week, like tomorrow, I will be returning to New Mexico via Sedona.

Of course, nothing has been exactly as it was five years ago, nor could it be.

Take my trip to Ojai, for example, which was to have focused on a return visit to Meditation Mount​, where I had such a transformational experience in 2010. Unlike five years ago, the property is now closed to the public on Mondays and Tuesdays, so no Meditation Mount!

The energy of this year's Expo, too, was different for me...although I can't quite touch what that difference was. And if, five years ago, I returned through Sedona to see my daughter, she's now in L.A. and a teenager – a very different parental experience!

Five years ago, my Expo experience sparked a move to L.A. and what I expected to be a powerful outward expansion of my work. Instead, my L.A. experience turned out to be the trigger for a return to New Mexico and a five-year period of personal and creative retreat, one from which I'm only now retreating – just as I find myself in L.A. for another Conscious Life Expo.

What does it all mean? Of course, my mind longs to make sense of the many parallels and synchronicities of the past week or so. And some sense may emerge in the days ahead. Or not.

All I can do is revel in the wonderment of what feels like a new turning point – even if I can't yet know what that turning point – and remember my own Rules #2 and #3 for Living a Creative Life:

Rule #2: Be In The Moment

What works for you today may not work tomorrow or ever again, so you might as well live in the present moment. Focus on now — on the breath you are breathing and the word you are writing. The next will always come if you don’t worry about it.

Rule #3: Listen To Your Heart 

Your heart speaks with the voice of God and the voice of your Muse (or whatever you call that divine/creative/infinite intelligence we all carry within us). Listen and trust that intuitive voice with neither judgment nor censorship. It’s wiser than you are and knows, better than you ever will, both the story you are living and the story you are writing. 

• Read more about my 2010 Conscious Life and Ojai experiences in Acts of Surrender: A Writer's Memoir

• Watch for a new book, still untitled and in its early stages, which will expand on the 13 "Rules" for Creative Living I outline in both The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write and Birthing Your Book...Even If You Don't Know What It's About

Mark David's "Rules" for Living

These so-called rules were for a long time on the home page of my website, inspired by the "rules" for writing I first crafted for my book on writing/creativity, The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.

The two sets of "rules" are intentionally similar because I believe that the same precepts that can guide us to more creative, imaginative, expressive, passion-filled and spontaneous writing and artistry apply equally to living a more creative, imaginative, expressive, passion-filled and spontaneous life.

You'll find the newest version in my newest book for writers, Birthing Your Book...Even If You Don't Know What It's About
.
Rule #1
There are no rules: There is no right way. There is no wrong way. There is only your way...the way that works for you.

Rule #2
What works for you today may not work tomorrow, so you might as well live in the present moment.

Rule #3
Listen to your heart and trust it; it speaks with the voice of God (or whatever you call that divine intelligence or infinite mind we all carry).

Rule #4
Be vulnerable: Share your pain and your passion. That's what makes you human.

Rule #5
Treat yourself as you would your child or best friend: with love, compassion and respect.

Rule #6
Don't live your life according to others' expectations...or according to your own preconceptions. Free yourself to follow the path that is uniquely yours, and surrender to its gifts and surprises.

Rule #7
It's not how often you meditate, it's whether you live your life as a meditation.

Rule #8
Giggle. Smile. Dance. Guffaw. Don't take life too seriously. Just as you don't censor your pain (see Rule #4), don't censor your joy.

Rule #9
It's not how hard you push, it's how fully you surrender.

Rule #10
Find your passion and embrace it. Passionately.

Rule #11
It's not about being perfect, it's about being human.

Rule #12
Empower yourself: This is your life. Don't let anyone else tell you how to live it (or not live it).

Rule #13
There are no rules. None. Never.

From Writer's Block Unblocked: 7 Surefire Ways to Free Up Your Writing and Creative Flow. Be sure to also check out my "rules" for writing.

• Images: "There Are No Rules" by Wharton; "I Choose Joy" from Teri Wilder's CD of the same name

Please "like" these Facebook pages...

• Acts of Surrender Book

• The Q'ntana Trilogy Movies

• The Q'ntana Trilogy Books

• Mark David's "The Call to Write" on Facebook

• Mark David's Fan Page

Please follow Mark David on Pinterest and Google+

Mark David's "Rules" for Writing

These so-called rules, adapted from the ones I crafted for my book on writing/creativity, The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write, are intentionally similar to my other set of "rules," for living.

They're similar because I believe that the same precepts that can guide us to more creative, imaginative, expressive, passion-filled and spontaneous writing and artistry apply equally to living a more creative, imaginative, expressive, passion-filled and spontaneous life.


Rule #1
There are no rules: How can there be when creativity is all about breaking new ground and breaking old rules?

Rule #2
Be in the moment: Focus only on the word you're writing. The next one will come if you don't worry about it.

Rule #3
Trust the voice of your Muse without judgment or censorship. It's smarter than you are and knows the story better than you ever will.

Rule #4
Be vulnerable: Write from a place of powerful emotion, especially the one you'd rather not write about.

Rule #5
Love yourself and your words...every draft.

Rule #6
Don't force your words into the straitjacket of your preconceptions and expectations. Free them to take on the form that is theirs.

Rule #7
If you're feeling stuck, keep your pen  moving (or your fingers dancing across your keyboard). Write anything!

Rule #8
Always go with first thoughts. Second-thoughts are self-censoring thoughts.

Rule #9
You're not in charge, so get out of the way and let your story have its way with you.

Rule #10
Write: Commit to yourself as the writer you are.

Rule #11
Set easy goals and meet them. Set yourself up for success not for failure.

Rule #12
Empower yourself: This is your creative journey. Don't let anyone else take charge of it.

Rule #13
There are no rules. None. Never.

From Writer's Block Unblocked: 7 Surefire Ways to Free Up Your Writing & Creative Flow. Be sure to also check out my "rules" for living. You'll find a slightly different version of my writing rules in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write and on The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Meditations for Writers (CD or MP3 download).

Please "like" these Facebook pages...

• Acts of Surrender Book

• The Q'ntana Trilogy Movies

• The MoonQuest book

• The Voice of the Muse book

• Mark David Gerson

Please follow Mark David on Pinterest and Google+

Mark David's "Rules" for Writing

These so-called rules, adapted from the ones I crafted for my book on writing/creativity, The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write, are intentionally similar to my other set of "rules," for living.

They're similar because I believe that the same precepts that can guide us to more creative, imaginative, expressive, passion-filled and spontaneous writing and artistry apply equally to living a more creative, imaginative, expressive, passion-filled and spontaneous life.


Rule #1
There are no rules: How can there be when creativity is all about breaking new ground and breaking old rules?

Rule #2
Be in the moment: Focus only on the word you're writing. The next one will come if you don't worry about it.

Rule #3
Trust the voice of your Muse without judgment or censorship. It's smarter than you are and knows the story better than you ever will.

Rule #4
Be vulnerable: Write from a place of powerful emotion, especially the one you'd rather not write about.

Rule #5
Love yourself and your words...every draft.

Rule #6
Don't force your words into the straitjacket of your preconceptions and expectations. Free them to take on the form that is theirs.

Rule #7
If you're feeling stuck, keep your pen moving. Write anything!

Rule #8
Always go with first thoughts. Second-thoughts are self-censoring thoughts.

Rule #9
You're not in charge, so get out of the way and let your story have its way with you.

Rule #10
Write: Commit to yourself as the writer you are.

Rule #11
Set easy goals and meet them. Set yourself up for success not for failure.

Rule #12
Empower yourself: This is your creative journey. Don't let anyone else take charge of it.

Rule #13
There are no rules. None. Never.

Click here to read my "rules" for living. You'll find a more detailed version of the writing rules in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write and on The Voice of the Muse Companion: Guided Meditations for Writers.

• Artwork -- #1 Mark David's hand, standing in for that of Old Toshar in the The MoonQuest; #2 The Elderbard's scroll in The MoonQuest book, designed by Angela Farley; #3 The Muse in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write, designed by Richard Crookes.

Mark David's "Rules" for Living

These so-called rules have long been on the home page of my website, inspired by the "rules" for writing I first crafted for my book on writing/creativity, The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write. For now, I offer these "rules" for living on a day when, it seems, a lot of us (including me!) need reminding what it takes to live a creative, passion-fllled life.

Rule #1
There are no rules: There is no right way. There is no wrong way. There is only your way.

Rule #2
What works today may not work tomorrow, so you might as well live in the present moment.

Rule #3
Listen to your heart and trust it; it speaks with the voice of God (or whatever you call that divine intelligence we all carry).

Rule #4
Be vulnerable: Share your pain and your passion. That's what makes you human.

Rule #5
Treat yourself as you would your child or best friend: with love, compassion and respect.

Rule #6
It's not what you do, it's how you live (and love).

Rule #7
It's not how often you meditate, it's whether you live your life as a meditation.

Rule #8
It's not only what you embrace, it's what you shed. It's not only what you shed, it's what you embrace.

Rule #9
It's not how hard you push, it's how fully you surrender.

Rule #10
Find your passion and embrace it. Passionately.

Rule #11
It's not about being perfect, it's about being human.

Rule #12
Empower yourself: This is your life. Don't let anyone else tell you how to live it (or not live it).

Rule #13
There are no rules. None. Never.

To read my "rules" for writing (remarkably similar to these "rules" for living), click here. You'll find a more detailed version in The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write.
• Photos by Mark David Gerson (c) 2011, 2012 -- #1 Supermarket flower, Albuquerque, NM; #2 Butterfly, University of New Mexico; #3 Oceanside Pier, Oceanside, CA. For reprint/sale info, contact Mark David.