CreativeMornings - 🌤 Lull yourself into reverie

May 25, 2023

Illustration of a business person kicking their feet up while on the phone, with a thought bubble populated by a unicorn, a paintbrush, a planet and stars, a rocketship kite, a person climbing a ladder to a bowl of ice cream, a sailing boat, and a pig with wings

June's Theme is Reverie

When your gaze softens around the edges, where does your mind travel? What thoughts arise unbidden? Reverie beckons us to dream while awake, spinning loose associations that seem to emerge from somewhere not entirely inside or outside of you. Our woolgathering summons past memories and nascent fantasies. We turn them over and over, like smooth stones in our hand, making meaning.

Neuroscientists have found that daydreaming ignites your brain’s default mode network. Counterintuitively, this unfocused part of the mind is where many creative breakthroughs take place — think Archimedes‘ fluid mechanics in a bathtub and Newton’s gravity under the apple tree. When you’re not preoccupied with solving a problem and chaining yourself to your desk in a fit of productivity, your mind is free to drift, roaming for the pieces that might complete the puzzle unexpectedly.

Pay attention to what lulls you into reverie. What conditions disarm your focus? Let your thoughts float and not settle on anything, but drift like a cloud, or a child skipping across a sidewalk on a hot summer day.

Our Omaha chapter chose this month’s exploration of Reverie and Eduardo Gardea illustrated the theme.

Explore upcoming events

The hashtags of the month are #CMReverie | #CreativeMornings

Did you know you can attend some of our chapter events virtually? Tomorrow, stream into Indianapolis' and Phoenix's events on May 26! The following week, you can join Vancouver's event on June 2.

Organizational strategy: what is it and why you need one

When you pull off a teamwide accomplishment, it's more likely than not that you agreed on a goal, laid out a plan, and mapped people’s time and resources to execute that plan. You might not have realized it at the time, but you used an organizational strategy. These are critical to ensuring a smooth path to success — especially when you’re involved in multiple projects.

Learn more about what an organizational strategy is, why it’s important, and how to implement one for your business, from our friends at Harvest.

(Brought to you by our content partner Harvest)

Fun Stuff to Click On
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🪄 FEATURED FIELDTRIP: Learn to lead a creative meeting at your 9-5 next Thursday!

Not sure how to use video for your business? Here are 15 ideas to get you started.*

Ten infrequently asked questions, as illustrated through Venn diagrams and other charts.**

Four stress-reducing Google Calendar settings you didn't know you needed.

Will A.I. become the new McKinsey?**

Some questions and reflections from Alex Elle as you wrap up the month of May.

This artist’s work raises awareness for Bipolar disorder.

Yellowstone’s seismic vibrations sound beautiful on flute.

Seven tips for making museum visits fun with kids.

Animals made out of clothes on a clothesline.

A dancer does the moonwalk underwater.

Reasons you need a reset.

* This content is curated by us, brought to you by our sponsors.
** Thanks to Jake Kahana and Peter Cellier for the link inspiration.

🌤 Moments of Reverie

Meet our Reverie illustrator, Eduardo Gardea! Eduardo is a first-generation genderqueer Mexican American painter, sculptor, muralist, and author. He’s called Omaha home for 12 years and grew up in rural Northeast Nebraska. Prior to exclusively pursuing his art practice, Eduardo focused his efforts on assisting the population of Nebraska impacted by the justice system through a local nonprofit. Using a range of mediums, Eduardo’s work seeks to update the narrative of those who have been denied involvement in mainstream economic, political, cultural, and social activities. Explore more of Eduardo’s favorite works.

Damini Rathore kept a daily travel journal when he stayed in the Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh, India. “I found plenty of moments sitting down gazing at the sunset, spotting satellites passing us by in the night, observing the first morning rays making the Dhauladhar mountain ranges glow in hues of reds, oranges and yellows, making friends for life, and sharing moments filled with reverie.” Flip through Damini’s journal pages and revel in more moments of Reverie, shared by your fellow readers.

Animated illustration of a horizontal line of a piece of notebook paper turning into the undulating blue crest of a surfer's wave

Thank you, THANK YOU, for the sweet, delightful notes after last week’s issue! You make writing lines across a page feel bracing and alive, like riding a wave.

🏄‍♀️ Waving,
Annie Yi, CreativeMornings HQ

GIF by @samomo