The Bliss Blog

Imagine going to see a doctor who after meeting with you, writes you a prescription that instructs you to sing, dance, make music, drum, draw, write, sculpt, paint, and especially color outside the lines? Would a smile light up your face? I know it would do that for me.

Such is the gift of Neil Tepper, known as ‘The Creativity Doctor’. Living in lushly gorgeous Hawaii, which to me embodies all of the rich flowing juiciness of creative endeavor, Neil has written a book entitled “Prescriptions For Living A Creative Life: Simple Remedies For Common Maladies In Our 24/7 World”. Divided into seven chapters that address common dis-eases such as ‘time anemia’ and ‘mental cholesterol’, the book offers simple to implement suggestions for full out wellness while sparking your creative fire. One of my favorite pages is a “Certificate Of Empowerment” that beckons the reader to: “Explore The Poetry Of My Soul”.

This is a book that would appeal to the left brain, linear logical thinkers, as well as the right brain, creative crafters among us. It contains a plethora of exercises to be done at the reader’s own pace, multiple times as the need arises. Neil offers what he calls ‘The prescription of all prescriptions”- “Be easy on yourself.”. That absolutely appeals to the recovering Type-A in me. It is the ideal companion on vacation and makes great airport reading. I did just that when I trekked to Florida recently. It inspired this writer who lives and breathes creativity to take a deeper look at what inspires me.

Neil has a wide repertoire of experience including working as creative director for Coca Cola, Universal Television and the 1996 Olympics and he hosts his own radio show, called The Creativity Salon.

Dive into your passion and embrace your purpose. These are powerful meds that have no shelf life, but are indeed habit forming.

www.neiltepper.com

Build a life made of love. When we are born, we are sent to this Earth plane with a bag of tools for the purpose of constructing a life. We might think of them as standard issue. The good news is, they can be used as often as needed and they will always be available. They come labeled with name tags that might read

ENTHUSIASM

CREATIVITY

INTELLIGENCE

STRENGTH

FLEXIBILITY

WISDOM

INSIGHT

LOVE

JOY

TALENT

RESPONSIBILITY

SUCCESS

PLAYFULNESS

COMPASSION 

FUN

How, when and where you use them is solely/soul-ly up to you.

Have you looked into your tool bag lately?

One of my favorite inspirational authors and speakers is Joan Borysenko who shared: :”The question is not whether we will die, but how we will live.”  How do you choose to live?

The photo that welcomes the viewer on Barnet Bain’s webpage seems to personify the energy that fairly oozes from a man whose film credits include What Dreams May Come, (starring Robin Williams, Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Annabella Sciora), The Celestine Prophecy, Jesus, as well as The Linda McCartney Story. It portrays someone comfortable in his own skin, encouraging others to join him on a joyful journey. He invites people to “change your story, change your life.”, through his work as a film maker but also as a coach and writer.

Barnet lives his bliss, “First and foremost by stretching my imagination. That is so important to me. I heard a pundit once on television. She could not imagine a world without hunger. She could not even imagine it. I feed my bliss with possibility.” His imagination is clearly well nourished as his movies offer spiritual food for thought.

As a behind the camera producer, Barnet also knows it is his job to produce his own life . “According to my dictionary, a producer is ‘a person responsible for giving being, form or shape to.’ That makes us all producers. Responsibility is the keyword. It is not about control. I don’t pretend that difficulties don’t come up in life because challenges arise all the time. But responsibility fosters confidence. What matters most to me is that I have sufficient tools and wisdom to respond. I am response-able for my life.

His coaching/teaching offerings are available to those who want to take that next leap onto the big screen of their own lives. ” I have made a life’s work of finding deeper meaning and joy for myself, and in the process I have learned some very powerful things about how to assist others who wish to create the same magic in their own lives. I work with individuals who are committed to high-performance, and who are ready to engage in the Great Work of conscious creativity.”

For more information, go to: www.barnetbain.com

People are stressed, short on time and – especially in today’s economy – short of money. Yet many of us still seek fulfillment in giving back, whether through our churches, volunteer organizations or donations.

Technologies and online social media like Facebook and Twitter provide us new means not only to socially connect and motivate people to support causes, but also to give. The Internet and mobile phones can connect widely scattered, loosely related networks of people to make a significant difference through many small contributions.

For example, in the wake of the Haiti earthquake, for example, numerous individuals made $10 donations by texting via mobile phone. These small donations rapidly added up to over $10 million in aid. “Micro-acts,” as a result, is a recently coined term; described as small, altruistic acts that cost little time or money, while creating a worthwhile and positive effect in the world.  
 
The Golden Opportunity Challenge, at www.TGO.tv, is a social experiment created to harness the power of micro-acts. Social media investor and philanthropist Victor Kearney founded TGO in order to ask visitors this question, “What would you do with a free Flip camera and $250?” By offering an opportunity with no strings attached, individuals are provided a means to give back. Each month, TGO awards up to twenty-five Golden Opportunity packages. Winners are selected three different ways: through a sweepstakes for all registered guests, by submitting the “best ideas” as voted on by the TGO community, and during ongoing challenges sponsored by companies, communities and celebrities.
 
TGO winners have already posted a wide spectrum of videos, including Scott, who presented malaria nets to a village in Tanzania; Natalia, who purchased a guitar for a man on the street; and Fernando, who bought a pair of Toms Shoes.  

The Golden Opportunity Team believes that the majority of individuals, given an opportunity, will rise to the occasion and act altruistically.  By providing the tools and platform for sharing these individual contributions, TGO hopes to trigger a ripple effect of meaningful micro-acts. Technology and social media are keys in enabling micro-activism, by giving us new ways to give–even if our means are limited.

-Guest Blog by Aaron Henry