Have you ever watched “The Iron Chef”. I was just watching it tonight with my 12 year old son and was struck by how the methods they use, can be adapted to fire up your creativity.

For those who have not seen the show, it involves top chefs competing to produce the most tasty, visually exciting and creative dishes in under an hour.

They have on hand top notch cooking equipment, and top quality ingredients. At the beginning of the show, they are given one surprise ingredient which they must incorporate in a central way in their menu.

What they create in an hour is truly astounding. The surprise ingredient forces them to improvise, and the short amount of time, allows them little time to think and plan. They must rely on their right brain to come up with inspiration, and their left brain to very quickly plan. The element of competition adds to the excitement and creative impetus.

So how can this help you creatively?  When you are doing a creative project, whether it be creating a sculpture, writing a poem or book, or doing a drawing, see if you can incorporate some of the elements of “The Iron Chef. Put a crazy deadline so that you are doing it so quickly that your left brain can’t get in the way and  over analyze.  Introduce a surprise ingredient. For example, go to any page of a favorite poetry book and take the first quote you see.  Use it as a central ingredient or theme for your work.

Or bring some friends together and see what is each is able to create in 5 minutes, 10 minutes or an hour.  Or enter one of these competitions where authors or other artists create a literary or visual arts project in an evening or a weekend. So you might not win, but it will get your creative juices racing, and get you out having fun with other artists.

Can’t afford to travel ?  Imagining you are on a vacation or trip, and canceling all your regular home activities can be a fun alternative. By looking at your home turf through the eyes of a visitor, you can have an amazing time.

Do like you would if you were a tourist in your own area. Go to the tourist bureau, or pick up a travel guide.  Start seeing things anew.

Go to that historic site which you’ve been saying you would go to for ages. Or explore a park that you haven’t been in before. Or just take a bus to a part of town that is outside your neighbourhood. Walk and try out the local cafes. Wander into the library. Or take a picnic with you and a bottle of bubbly. Invite a friend.

Go to a local museum, and instead of exhausting yourself trying to see all of it, really take your time in one or two rooms. If you like drawing, take along your sketch pad and draw what you see.

Or bring along a journal and write about your experiences. I find journaling, sketching, or taking photos makes me be more aware, more observant and appreciative of what is around me. I notice the round curves of a plump woman’s body with the artist’s eye seeing the sculptural possibilities. Colours become more vivid. I might stop for awhile and look at what is going on in patch of grass and dirt, see the ants carrying small, bright green leaves on their backs, and notice the white butterfly dipping between the flowers.

Ah, to be aware of the endless interesting things you can explore not just in faraway lands but at home, to be always discovering new territory, to stimulate your senses and imagination, to get out from under the endless to do list, and taste the beauty and fascination of what is all around!

Dr. Alex Loyd just released his book “The Healing Code” today and its heading it’s way up to the top of the Amazon bestsellers list, with a well orchestrated promotion campaign. Let me add my two cents and I won’t go on an on as it’s late at night, and time for bed.

Simply said, go get this book. It can change your life. I know you’ve heard that a thousand times before. but believe me if you use his techniques, they work incredibly effectively. And they are easy to do.

Two months ago, I started using the Healing Codes, and immediately noticed how powerful they were. With just doing them for a little as 15 to 30 minutes a day, some days taking more time, and other days not doing them at all I’ve noticed a huge difference in my stress levels, my moods, and around physical issues like allergies.

I hardly sneeze anymore and I used to all the time, even without a cold. That’s huge for me. I still can’t quite believe it.

People have used this method used to heal all kinds of diseases, emotional and physical. I won’t go over the list.

I haven’t had a chance to read the  Healing Code book yet. But I put my order in today. Do yourself a favour too.

Get a copy. But more importantly try out his methods for a a month or so. I think you will notice big changes in your physical and emotional health.

Well I’m going to bed now. And one of the first things I will do tomorrow, along with the long walk I take in the morning with my dog Canela, is to

take 15 minutes doing the Healing Codes. I am hooked in an altogether positive way!

Thinking about vacations and going somewhere you’ve never been?  As well as talking to friends and acquaintances who may have been there, it’s best to take along a good guidebook.

I highly advise you to pick up one of The Lonely Planet guidebooks.  I could rave on about them for hours. They are my traveler’s bible and have been for the last thirty years or so!

I backpacked across Asia, and Australia visiting visiting such countries, as Indonesia, Thailand, China, the Philippines and Tibet. I’ve traveled throughout Mexico, Honduras,  Guatemala, and Nicaragua, and to Argentina and Brazil. I have never been disappointed with their guides, and found them a godsend, especially when I have been traveling on my own, with no prior knowledge of the country and on a low budget.

The Lonely Planet series provide an excellent source of reliable information on almost any  destination around the world. They have great introductions to the culture, history and language of each country or region they cover, and provide extensive information on hotel, restaurant, and transport options at all price ranges.  As well they are compact in size, and so easy to carry on your adventures.

They are even a good idea for stay-at-home vacations, or for learning about your own country’s or city’s special places and fun, adventurous things to do. And did I mention they also have great pictures!

Do you have a hard time getting down to writing your blog, even though you may enjoy it? Does life somehow get in the way?

It certainly has for me. I started the New Year super motivated and wrote a whole
load of blogs. Then I had to move house, and I had lots of other projects to work on including my book on creativity.

My blog got sorely forgotten. I abandoned it, forgot it, left it unattended, thinking every week, “Got to get back to my blog.”  Every week there was a new excuse.

Well I had one for this week. But I am putting it aside. I am joining the 30 day blogging challenge organized by Jeanette Cates. I am doing it with a good friend, so that adds to my motivation. Apparently there’s already over a hundred people registered.

Want to join me on this venture. It’s free. Go to:

http://JeanetteCates.com/blog-challenge

Then come back here and tell me you’ve signed up.

Hey and if you get blocked about doing the writing check out my blog series  “Creative Flow: A Writer’s 7 Secrets to Stop Hating Writing and Begin To have Fun”

My creative juices are up.   I am enjoying writing like I’ve never enjoyed it before.  This is not just  a one day phenomenon.  It happens almost every time I put pen to paper.

This wasn’t always the case. I used to find writing excruciating. I remember many times during my first years at university, when I would lie on my bed either depressed or in tears about an essay I had to do. I loved the research but hated the writing.

Later I worked as a journalist and editor, and even wrote and published a book.  But most of the time I found the writing process painful.

So I decided to stop until I could find a way to make it fun. I quit my journalist job. I wrote very little for years.

Then I started doing daily pages  as suggested by Julia Cameron’s in “The Artist Way”. I did this on a regular if not daily basis, for several years. Later, I took a few courses in creative writing.

I began to learn how to write without my inner critic having the upper hand.  My writing started to free up, and when I worked in groups where we wrote together, other participants often expressed amazement at how quickly and freely I wrote.  My writing became fresher and more fluid.

Finally after all these years, my efforts to free up the writing process have paid off.  Whenever I write now it’s fun and motivating.

To help you love the writing process too, I’ll be blogging about my experiences in making writing a pleasurable process.  Look out in the next few days as I sum up up the strategies that have worked best. It took years for me to learn this stuff. It doesn’t have to be that way for you!

So here’s the first tip and probably the most important. Write your first draft of anything as fast as you can without editing it at all.  I know its hard but do your best not to judge the quality of what you are writing. It may seem like drivel and like utter nonsense . You may be repeating yourself. But just go on writing. Then leave it for a day or two.  Believe me you’ll be pleasantly surprised when you come back.

You may have heard this tip before. It is deceptively simple, but it works. Look out for my next blog posts where I’ll share more of the ways I’ve found to make writing a pleasure not a pain.