Years ago, I went to a therapist who used hypnosis. When our sessions were almost over, she would tell me, in her soft voice, to come awake, refreshed and energized, “when you’re ready.” When you’re ready. A simple phrase, but in that altered state of mind, it was powerful. I could, when I was ready, [...]

Cooking is one of the few creative activities that I engage in pretty much everyday. However, I realized recently that somewhere along the line I stopped giving cooking the respect it deserves. I have always enjoyed cooking but I guess my children—over time—with their penchant for the bland and the familiar, ate away at ( [...]

“Mount Desert Dragons” acrylic on canvas 16″ x 20″ © 2007 Tyler Darvintyne; all rights reserved It’s wonderful to think that The PCQ has enough history and pure BULK to it that I can be distracted for so many weeks and still have new and renewable readers drop by everyday. Welcome to you all! Over [...]

Changing Seasons

September 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[process, essay] by Nancy S.M. Waldman Hi everyone. Welcome to September. Summer here in North America is fast waning—even though where I am in Nova Scotia, September is one of the best weather months. I’ve been feeling quite ambivalent about the PCQ over the summer. There are lots of new visitors and subscribers and readers [...]

[-process, essay-] by Nancy S.M. Waldman As we create, we use up media, materials, tools, ideas, time, and our own creative energy. Working from abundance means having a well of resources—more than we need—to create what we want. My son used this expression in a conversation about the new songs he had just recorded. I [...]

[-essay-] by Nancy S.M. Waldman I have a close friend who has compared herself unfavorably to me in terms of creativity ever since we were girls. According to her, I’m creative and she isn’t. But I never bought it. She’s a elementary school teacher and I’ve seen the way she tackles a challenging situation in [...]

[-writing, technique-] by Nancy Waldman “…the successful use of metaphor is a matter of perceiving similarities.” ~ Poetics, Aristotle Metaphors are magic. The right metaphor in the right place transforms a felt hat into a black rabbit, a silk scarf into a flower, solid reality into illusion. In magic, however, tricks can be spoiled if [...]

[-journaling, nature, process-] by Nancy S.M. Waldman 3/1 The crocuses are coming up. Is it early? Is the natural world around you different from the way it was when you were a child? Perhaps it has even changed since you were a young adult. It has for me and I know it is so for [...]

[-essay, self-evolution, process-] by Nancy Waldman I make marks, therefore I am. Durham Dr. & Center St. (Houston, TX) Originally uploaded by Mr. Waldo. Since the days men lived in caves, human beings have demonstrated the need to make their mark on this world. From those cave paintings, to the tick marks on a prison [...]

reNEWals

April 12, 2007 | Leave a Comment

[-commentary, writing, process-] by Nancy S.M. Waldman When I was a child, going to the library was about third on the ‘as good as it gets’ list for an activity that had the chance of coming along often. Only swimming and playing outside after dark could beat the joy of coming home with an armload [...]

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