Writing for Healing

Writing For Healing

 

This week I have taken the week off because quite frankly it was time for a holiday. What’s more, I completed The Ocean Callings edits on audio and one needs to celebrate with a little time away. So how does this relate to writing and healing then? Well when I complete work I take time off and I make sure that I make space for healing and personal writing. One has to make the space to re-consider, re-evaluate and re-direct. It is so easy to be busy all the time jumping from one goal to the next. Yet there is time for relaxation and there is time for action. These are all necessary parts of growth. What’s more, there is time for progression and time for reflection. I feel it is necessary to take the time to notice how you have progressed and learn from what you have achieved. Is there a better way? What worked? What wouldn’t you do again? This applies to life too and that is why a journal is a powerful tool. Do you have a journal? Do you ever ask yourself how you really feel or what you really want? Do you ever consider how you have done? What in your life works? What can you do to increase what works? Or are you spending your time dwelling on what life is lacking or on the shyte? I have mentioned before, in a couple of my books, if you shine your torch on a turd then that is what you will see fully illuminated. I look at the mind as a light house and where you rotate that light beam is what becomes illuminated. Where would you choose to focus a spotlight in your life if you had the choice? Which parts of your life would you want the world to see and which other parts would you prefer remained private? Now, that is why one can use writing for healing. You can purge yourself of what you really think, what you dislike and what you love. How else do you find out what is going on in the unconscious when the conscious mind is full of mental tittle tattle?

 

Anyway today is the day where I would like to share with you three prompts that may or may not catalyse healing. This is up to you to do and the results can only come from you. The prompts are just suggestions and you can tailor them to the areas of your life you would like to work on. In my opinion it is only when you write something out then you learn what is really going on in the churning mental background.

 

·         I feel that I have achieved…. And this is what worked… And this is how I would do it differently.

·         The thing I would most like to change… With all resources were available to me then this is how I would go about it…

·         The strongest feeling I experience is…. And I would like to…

I hope this inspires you…

If you have any prompts that work for you or may work for others then please share in the comments below…

 

You can find my books at the following link: Ruby Allure books on Audible:

http://www.audible.com/search/ref=a_hp_tseft?advsearchKeywords=Ruby+allure&filterby=field-keywords&x=0&y=0

 

 

 

AUDIBLE BOOK AVAILABLE HERE:

 

LINK TO BUY ON AUDIBLE:

http://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/A-Short-Course-In-Creative-Writing-Audiobook/B012OVUKE8/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1443260320&sr=1-1

 

LINK TO PAPERBACK ON AMAZON.COM

A Short Course in Creative Writing
by Ms Ruby Allure
Link: http://amzn.com/1517234832

 

 

Coming into Being

Coming Into Being

 

Over the last couple of days I have had some time to reflect and have read numerous healing posts about all the things we need to do to 'fix' ourselves. I have also just read a book called The Untethered Soul, which is an absolutely awesome book. At the same time I have been witnessing numerous people working through their 'stuff'. Now what I find fascinating is what is this 'stuff?' that one has to work through? For some it is repeat patterns, for others it is suppressed emotions and for others it attempting to unite the fragments of a shattered self. For so many it is no easy task; however, why does it have to be so hard? Why do we feel that we are broken and need to be fixed? There must be an easy way...

What I find  most fascinating is people are attempting to fix themselves without a model of what works. How will you know when you are fixed? Do you really expect a luminous moment where the heavens open and you are given a gold star? What's more, there are so many iconic personalities that are suggested role models; however, many of them are broken or have been broken and it is their imperfections that have driven them. Also have you noticed how many ways you can be fixed? There are so many people lined up offering solutions in exchange for cash. Your flaws are a financial money making machine for others. At the same time these fixers are suggesting they have the secret to inner unison. Some of these are helpful but the expert on you is you. There are people who can apply models of theory to you to help you wade through what you are not aware of. Yet again you go to someone saying you are broken and you need help to be fixed. Often this 'fixing' opens a can of multi-headed fixing worms.

So you may wonder where this is going. Well I have been watching numerous people struggle with themselves, to fix, to eradicate, to let go of.  They seem to be desperate to change who they are. Yet their personality is who they are. The irony is they are perfect as they are. Yet they chase an invisible ideal that is unattainable and people keep making money from them with offerings of insights. What makes it worse is they will be fixed in the future - when something changes. You are never fixed now. This is what gets me about it... Why indulge in years of endless turmoil to determine what is wrong with you? It is wonderful to be reflective, it is excellent to address your fears and walk through your inner fire but when does it stop? There seems to be a new development within the healing realm where people actively indulge in an inner struggle to be spiritually superior to others. I have waded through more than you... I have dealt with more shit than you... Who cares? What you are is what you are. Live your precious life and appreciate it.

Now admittedly there are layers to the person and we do not get to experience all of who we are. Also there are parts of ourselves that we do not like such as the archetypes of the prostitute, the deviant, the victim or the thief and those parts of ourselves become suppressed and sit in dark mental vaults gaining power. They are like neglected children and attention seek in whatever way they can to draw your attention. To unite these parts they need to be accepted and recognised. This comes through self love and lack of judgement and sitting in a space with them. They do not need to be fixed they just need to be recognised, accepted and loved. It is the same with emotions. Allow yourself time to feel and process the emotions. Sit with the emotions, feel them accept them and allow them to be recognised. Once you essentially realise these are parts of the layers of self you can then move into the 'you space' and this is the calm observer who sits beyond your thoughts. The real you.  It is an expansive space of calm. When you move into this space you are able to observe the inner chatter and commentary. There is a deep silence beyond the thoughts, the mind and the chatter. That is the real you.  When you find this silence you have the capacity to come into being. To be rather than fixing. It is in this state that you realise that nothing really matters other than living your life. Mastery is loving the life you have and allowing it to unfold. Every experience is simply an experience whether it is positive or negative. What's more, you realise how trivial all our struggles are when you realise we will all die. When you accept that you are walking into life half way through the show and you will be leaving before it is complete then your decision making is quite different. How would you behave if you knew this was your last week on the planet? I don't think that you would be so terribly concerned by trivialities would you? You wouldn't be desperately trying to fix yourself. You would be focused on living every perfect moment!

Well I hope this gives you some perspective and helps you come into being.

With What's Happening in the World...

 

COURAGE + LOVE => CHANGE

 

I don't know about you but I feel of late that the world has gone mad. With everything that happened in Paris, the migration of so many Syrians and fellow human beings being in peril, it makes me wonder how on earth humanity has lasted this long. Yet with the constant bombardment of media showing us fear, torment and suffering something has transformed in many. With such crisis there has developed unity, a unity where courageous souls have addressed the killers of their loved ones and stated they will continue to love. They will not be tormented by fear, control and the evils within the world. Instead they will move beyond that and continue life with an open heart, albeit suffering loss and grief. For me this is an inspiration. It is a true representation of the courageous soul, one who has lost yet will stare into the face of the enemy and not demonstrate hatred, rage or retaliation but instead an empathy for a twisted creature whose anger and rage resorted in them killing fellow human beings.

 

It is the power of empathy and courage I wish to focus on instead of the cruelty, the terror and the rage. I do not wish to focus on conflict, war and the harming of others; instead I desire to see more courage, more love and true authenticity. I love that man whose bravery and wisdom inspired the world on the BBC and Facebook. I am astounded by the true inspiration he evoked in a time of utter despair for him. I love that man unconditionally for showing the world a vulnerable and masculine man who can rise above the cruelty of others and move others to unite in their hearts. For me this is the way forward - to love others unconditionally, to demonstrate vulnerability, love and courage in the face of adversity. If more people opened their hearts instead of residing behind the armours of fear, defense, hatred and rage we could raise humanity to the next phase and progress into a peaceful and united state. It is the anger, the hatred and the damage that drive people to kill others in vengeance. People who love, experience kindness and tranquillity do not have the desire to harm others. So why aren't we working towards our own personal healing rather than fear and terror?

I may well be an idealist; but that is why I write. I write to make suggestions, to reach people and share the inner workings of a complex interior world. Maybe something I will write will inspire others to become the best they can be because I want you to know, that even though I never met you, I am your friend because I, like you, am human. I am vulnerable and have the courage to be authentic. I hope you feel inspired you and that your inspiration will inspire others.
Ruby

Money and Your Value as a Human Being...

What inanimate object can determine your life decisions, your attitude to yourself and how you relate to others? What object can evoke, fear, worry and a sense of feeling controlled?

 

 

 

Answer: Money.

If you think about it most of our life's decisions are based on the Money concept. Can we do this or that because we have the money? Do we have a enough money to buy the house, the clothes, pay the bills or the buy the car? The unfortunate truth is the money concept carries a value and that value merges with your 'self.' Money correlates to freedom and experience. Consider this - what if money were shells. Would you care how many shells were sitting in a pile? Would you work yourself to the extreme to accumulate a shell? Would you desperately need to show off your shells to others? When you shift the object of value then you realise how ridiculous the illusion is that we have been persuaded with. Yes money makes the world go round but that is because we believe that is so.

 

With the above in mind: If money is how you value yourself then how can you value yourself more without money as the gauge? How can you demonstrate your true value to yourself? What makes you feel rich inside? Well these are some questions that have crossed my mind since writing Money Farm and having it turned into an audio book by the brilliant Helen Lloyd. The thing that I have realised is that so many people often feel that their  intrinsic value is directly proportionate to how much money is sitting in their bank account. Those that are in debt often experience a sense of financial shame. They feel worthless because they are stuck in financial ruts that they can see no way out of. When I was researching the debt figures related to Money Farm I heard the expression 'Nillionaire' - someone who has little or no money. That expression, albeit amusing, made me think of how many Nillionaires there are in the world. Can you imagine someone saying that person over there is a Nillionaire? How many would be proud of that title instead the tar of shame would be coated upon them.

Whilst writing Money Farm I looked at other systems of exchange and it dawned on me, in times gone past, when we had to eat we went out to hunt. We caught food and ate it - we cut out the 'money' as a middle man. When we needed other forms of food we traded. Values were applied to grain, cloth and other goods. I wondered how the world would exist without actual money and looked at alternative spheres of exchange and how values were applied. It was all so fascinating yet the truth is culture and civilisation need an exchange mechanism. We can't all take to the forests and hunt or forage. The truth is we need that exchange concept, although that exchange mechanism does not need to be intrinsic to the person. Money is not the extension of self, instead, it is simply a tool that can be invested, accumulated or spent. Once emotion and attachment is removed from the financial equation then there is a sense of liberation. Once you stop being your money and your money stops being you then that is where the fun begins. I am not saying stop earning money, what I am saying is that you are more than your money. You are a phenomenal person existing in time and space. I am sure that if you asked your soul what you were worth then it would not determine it in terms of money.


With that in mind, I will ask the question: how you can you value yourself without having money as a device for your self value? How can you demonstrate your own vast value to yourself without applying the concept of money? Finally how can you feel rich inside so that is shines into the world?
Enjoy:)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B010BJOYFQ 

The Beauty of Audio Books

There is such talent in a person who can bring a book to life through voice. I had never really considered it before because I create through written word. The words construct according to my mental landscape and fly out onto the page. Sometimes I write at 90 words a minute and find that I am not consciously thinking anymore. That is what I do. Yet lately the world of story has expanded onto audible. Being able to hear the story is wonderful and imagine a book you have written being interpreted by an actor or actress with an engaging voice. That actor or actress 'gets' everything you thought and provides a tone of passion which makes the hairs on your head stand on end. I had never realised it was possible. However, it is such a joy. To be able to listen to a story is something I have always loved since being a child and now my dream is being realised in the form of audio books. I cannot express the feelings of enthusiasm that I feel. This is the equivalent - imagine doing a headstand whilst riding a huge wave on a longboard! Or learning that a mysterious person had paid off your mortgage. I guess that comes close... What I will say is that I am more than grateful that three extremely talented actresses have arrived in my life to take The Money Farm, Labyrinthine and A Short Course in Creative Writing to a whole new level. I hope these audio books to be completed by the end of June because I honestly cannot wait for the world to hear how these women tell stories. Excited???? I am practically leaping around the room. The thing is I had better get back to my film script writing... You might notice there is a hint of bloggin' procrastination going on here.

Incidentally if you have a good book that would work on audible have a look at amazon ACX. They have been amazing so far!

I just need to say:

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXICITED!!!!

THESE ARE THE BOOKS:

 

http://amzn.com/B00SA83ZQU

http://amzn.com/B008Y65FWU

http://amzn.com/B00TZWLRL0

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ruby-Allure/e/B00M9Y4GAA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Why write a book?

Why write a book?

Do you really want to a write a book? The idea has been buzzing around your head like an aggravating fly. Snatches of scenes keep popping up and your find yourself writing down snippets on random pieces of paper, even loo paper. The characters turn up in dreams or you find yourself drifting off at work and engaging in imaginary conversations with characters and how their day has gone…  Oh and that is just the beginning.

Those who are not of the literary stance will read the above an interpret it as madness and in truth, maybe it is. The thing is the desire and the compulsion to write has to be accompanied with a reason ‘WHY’. Otherwise why else would you sit alone at a desk for hours tapping a keyboard? That is the reality - you are sitting alone imagining and transforming that image in your mind into words in hope that someone will read it. Maybe someone will read it, maybe they won’t – so if no one reads it then what is your WHY?

The WHY could be anything. For me, my why, is that I am able to step into my own inner fantastical world where there are no limits. I can imagine anything I like and push my characters beyond their boundaries rather than have to experience the situations myself. Admittedly, Love Hunt, is based on reality and I would rather have imagined the scenarios rather than experience them in reality.

So once you have your WHY you have your fuel to remind you what you are writing for. Many of the WHY’s from my students have been quite amusing. ‘I want to put characters in some of the weirdest situations and see what happens.’ Some say they want to be the next bestseller (you can’t dismiss someone else’s why by the way). In the memoirs class my students wanted to use writing their life story as a catharsis/healing or for their family to read in future generations.

Something I will mention is that often when there is a WHY outside of yourself motivating yourself to write becomes easier. The WHYs that don’t work are usually based on money. One student once said I want to write to become rich. Well, that why is never guaranteed and there are more ways to make money which are time efficient. I think my favourite WHY came from a girl who wrote some brilliantly humorous pieces ‘I want to make space and time to sit and laugh hysterically at my own jokes while I write.’ Of course the sense of enjoyment she achieved through writing and simply enjoying resulted in her completing numerous books and drove her to make sales. Her infectious enthusiasm and humour shone from her novels.

So my advice: before you begin writing work out your WHY. It will be there to remind you when you are cleaning the toilet to avoid writing that you have a reason why you chose to write a book.

 

Link: http://amzn.com/B00TZWLRL0

Money Farm - Opening chapters

The Money Farm

by

RUBY ALLURE

 

Copyright RUBY ALLURE

(on behalf of the author.)

 

When did you buy into buying?

How did debt become a viable option?

 

CHAPTER - 0

Truth: everyone is connected through money.

What would happen if money ceased to exist overnight?

What would you do?

How would you survive?

Three years from now: at one minute past midnight, on the first day of the year, the financial plague would be activated.

The M.O.N.E.Y. farm digitally sneezed and infected all accounts. Since trillions of dollars-worth of financial digital money messages move around the globe in a day, within three years every account on the planet would be infected. That was the plan. It was just a matter of time before the whole world would recognise the viral symptoms and at that point it would be too late.

With one month until financial detonation, the M.O.N.E.Y. farm withdrew its bridges, sailed its financial platforms to a remote area close to Iceland and waited. All manner of simulated chaos had been anticipated. It was just a matter of waiting for the world to be ready to listen to M.O.N.E.Y. and the new Financial World Order. In the meantime, it continued to self-sufficiently do business as usual, knowing that every financial pillar in the world would collapse. At least, that was what it intended.

 

CHAPTER 1

A BROKEN SYSTEM

Three sentences - the catalyst for complete change.

If money was the root of all evil then what did that make those partaking in the system? Were we all unwittingly evil or was the money concept evil? What was the alternative? Where was the choice?

The principal coughed and shattered my churning thoughts. He turned from his archaic filing cabinet, trudged across the brown leathered room and then plonked down on his worn seat. He studied me for a short while and arranged some official looking papers. He carried the aroma of ‘old man’s musty aftershave’ and lemon.

“Gillian I am going say this as best as I can… I’m sorry but the government funding for your lecturing post has dried up. The paper you wrote on Reactance, Resistance, Reflexivity and Reversal in times of financial and social hardship didn’t go down well… at all… with anyone… on the board.” The principal paused, stared at the papers and sucked his lip through his teeth. He sounded like an emptying plughole. “So… we are going to have let you go.” He shuffled paper, re-aligned silver pens, and peered over his black-rimmed spectacles.

The sound of my clawing nails over leather filled the stagnant atmosphere. The heat of the blush accompanied by stunned silence and gritted teeth was enough. What could I say? He had always reminded me of an elephant seal with glasses. I glared at the ceiling spotlights shining on his heart-shaped bald patch. My fists clenched, my stomach folded and I scrutinized the five stunted hairs traversing his scalp combed from left to right. Thirty-two illuminated specks of dandruff sat in the curve of his pinstriped lapel. Twenty-seven hairs poked from the top of his crisp white shirt. There were two shaving accidents on the left side of his face, one half-healed. I distracted myself with patterns when the reality was that the institution had taken for-granted all my years of hard work. The paper was a warning of what was to come. Were they oblivious or were they caught in the mass persuasion mania? Who actually wanted to face they were the product of their conditioning? Who wanted their life value equated to figures in a bank account? That paper was not written for approval from a board of grey people who talked with haughty taught accents! It was inspired by a vision and evidenced by research. Obviously they did not know about the latter because one could never rationalized inspiration or intuition. That was for mad people.

The sound of a diver’s ventilator filled the atmosphere. My deep breaths were punctured by the aroma of dark wood and lacquer. I could hear my heart pounding in my throat yet I couldn’t say a thing.

He stared. Waiting.

Three sentences had ended an era. My silk-lined rut intended to eject me into the unknown during a time of financial unrest. I stood silently to leave. My throat was fully constricted. What was there to say? They would soon find out that intuition combined with true analysis resulted in unpopular findings. Unfortunately no one wanted to hear or acknowledge what was inevitable. The preservative imbued bread and elaborate digital circuses kept the mass hypnotized, fascinated them with subliminal messaging and towing the indebted line. Time was running out.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00SA83ZQU

 

Self-awareness and perceptions of self.

Self-awareness and perceptions of self.

Have you ever thought ‘this person seems to think I completely different to who I am?’

Or have you ever been grouped with people who are ‘said’ to have the same characteristics as you?

Well this is what happened to me. I was psychometrically tested and joined with a group who were supposed to be like me. Imagine, you do a test and are placed with people just like you – or are supposed to be just like you? Do you think that you would like them? What do you think they would be like to work with? Are you more likely to consider their good traits or find their faults? If you are noticing them, they will be noticing these in same qualities in you. So, I looked at this group of individuals who were highly ambitious, focused, motivated, competitive and leaders and thought ‘my goodness’ do I really come across like this? I looked across the room at the ‘the nice friendly section’ – the people who were reliable, methodical people who were loyal and nice. I liked that group best and wanted to wander across the room and hang out with them rather than with a group of leaders who were trying to out-lead each other.

The next group were introverts who simply got on with work, they did not need recognition. They were perfectionist who simply produced what was needed. They were slower but did things well. They were the ants that built the ant farm. I liked these people too. They got on with things. There was no competition, they could be utilised to their best ability to build and progress projects. Once you had set them on a course or a project they would continue until completion. Brilliant.

The final group were the detail group. Who asked endless questions.  They are the type that go through everything with a fine-tooth comb and again are quite introverted and take an enormous amount of time to make sure everything is absolutely correct. They often lack confidence to let a piece of work go because they need to check and re-check to make sure it is right.

After this grouping took place, I wondered how many people were truly aware of themselves and how they came across in general. Sometimes we are not aware of how we come across or how people see us until someone gets us complete wrong (according to our self-perception). We think we are a type inside, yet our actions and behaviours can be interpreted in other ways.

So the question – how can we be truly aware of ourselves?

Try this:

Write down the qualities that you really like in people.

Now write the qualities you dislike.

What is it that you like about each quality and what you don’t like?

Who do the qualities remind you of?

The parts that you don’t like in others – why is that?

This is quite a shocking process to realise the things you like in others are often the parts you like about yourself and the same with the parts you dislike. Now this is where it becomes a little more complex. We can only know in others what we know of ourselves. The parts of ourselves that we don’t know will be invisible in others because we have not recognised those parts… Think about it. We can’t know what we don’t know. So this is why I believe that people can get people so wrong. They use others as a mirror to themselves and sometimes see themselves in others. What I realised is that one never needs to take people’s interpretations personally because they are simply seeing themselves. Now with this in mind, have you noticed in your friendship group that you have different friends that bring out different aspects of you? Well I believe there is reason for this too. Having a variety of friends with different qualities enables you to know and see more of yourself.

So… if ultimately the goal is to really know yourself then how do we do this?

A big question – yet one of the most effective way is to journal and consider the three selves.

Try a bit of automatic writing, this is where you write fast without conscious thought. You take the question and simply write.

Write rapidly the answer to this: Who am I as my ultimate self? What would I be doing if I lived without limitation?

Who am I with my current self?  What is my usual approach to life?

Who am I as my most frightened self? What do I stop myself doing through fear?

These are big questions and will take time to digest. This little exercise will provide quite an insight into how removed we can be from our ultimate self and how we hinder ourselves through fear and take the middle road rather than take the risk and aspire to be the ultimate self.

 

Link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008Y65FWU