thank you obsessive mind

thank you universe for this obsessive mind — which can lead me into the darkest of shadow valleys AND make me a relentless seeker of truth, wisdom, beauty, knowledge, and passion. this is how I fall into the mysterious mazes of my wonderland — because I can lose myself in a passion / pursuit / project / person / poem / place (all the Ps) and forget who I am. merge with anything. transform it. and make it mine.

this is how I write, make art, dance tango, throw pottery, start a business. this is how I teach myself anything and everything — by allowing myself to get obsessed. this is also how I make myself miserable.

the secret I’ve discovered this year is to find the place of “obsession” without the overthinking “mind” — that mind which is afraid of failure and uncertainty, which thinks in circles and is unable to act, create, put into practice. the secret is to find the addiction to a pursuit — without any of the anxiety. find the wormhole in time that allows you to flow, write, create, make — for hours and hours, without hesitation, self-consciousness, and second guessing.

to become the do-er, and not the thinker.

the obsessive being and doing and feeling, rather than the obsessive thinking.

how? a few simple suggestions —

• find one thing that feels good, and do it everyday.

• make obsessions into “spaces” that you can enter >> physical space, ambient space, time-space, psychic space. associate it with pleasurable things. for example, when I write, I always play Chopin and drink coffee. when I throw pottery, I always listen to a X artist, and drink Y tea.

• organize and nurture obsessions >> keep ongoing notebooks with ideas, inspirations, all the incubatory things relating to that obsession. you are feeding an entire world here.