A key to a long, productive writing life is finding ways to support that life, emotionally and existentially.
Eric MaiselWhen a thing is not done, continuing to work is the strength; but when it is done, the strength lies in stopping.
Eric MaiselIf we had the consciousness of a cat or a dog, we would have it in us to become perfect Zen masters. We could gnaw on a bone, take a nap, play with a spider until we killed it, get our litter just right, and be innocently and serenely present. Meaning would mean nothing to us, nor would we need it to mean anything. We would be free, and we would be spared. But, we are human beings, and we posses that odd duck – human consciousness.
Eric MaiselAffirmations are not bound up in rules. An affirmation can be long or short, poetic or plain. If you love a phrase and find that it helps you, that is a valid affirmation.
Eric MaiselLove is the spirit that motivates the artist's journey. The love may sublime, raw, obsessive, passionate, awful. or thrilling, but whatever its quality, it's a powerful motive in the artist's life.
Eric MaiselBy 'expecting nothing' you are not 'giving up.' Far from it! You are making a decision to focus on what needs to be done rather than on outcomes.
Eric MaiselLife is too short not to create, not to love, and not to lend a helping hand to our brothers and sisters.
Eric MaiselCreativity requires introspection, self-examination, and a willingness to take risks. Because of this, artists are perhaps more susceptible to self-doubt and despair than those who do not court the creative muses.
Eric MaiselTo create you must quiet your mind. You need a quiet mind so that ideas will have a chance of connecting.
Eric MaiselThe writer loves the fog as it pours in; he loves the sun when the fog pours out. The rest of California is Beach Boys country, but San Francisco has that moody thing going on, those blues notes wrapped in moisture, an atmosphere that tempers California dreaming and makes life more real. The fog brings reality, but it is still a California reality, one spent outdoors the whole year round.
Eric MaiselBecause she favours solitude and indwelling, an artist can live a significantly more claustrophobic life that she had ever intended.
Eric MaiselThe artist's personality, built upon strong desires and compassionate vision, is by its nature prone to depression.
Eric MaiselAbstraction is itself an abstract word and has no single meaning ... Every word in our language is abstract, because it represents something else.
Eric MaiselYou honor your writing space by recovering, if you are an addict. You honor your writing space by becoming an anxiety expert, a real pro at mindfulness and personal calming. You honor your writing space by affirming that you matter, that your writing life matters, and that your current writing project matters. You honor your writing space by entering it with this mantra: “I am ready to work.” You enter, grow quiet, and vanish into your writing.
Eric MaiselAn artist must struggle to accept the shape of this universe - and achieve some important successes.
Eric MaiselAlmost nothing beautiful or brilliant happens unless a person has thought about it a lot.
Eric MaiselYou can sweat by not practicing or you can pick up your clarinet. There's good sweat and there's bad sweat.
Eric MaiselDream, but expect nothing. Desire, but expect nothing. Hope, but expect nothing. Release your need to control and gain real control.
Eric MaiselWhen you consciously decide to breathe more slowly and deeply, you alert your body to the fact that you want it to behave differently. You are not just changing your breathing pattern, you are making a full-body announcement that you are entering into a different relationship with your mind and your body.
Eric Maisel