Assignment from the Beyond

Hello, fellow feisty Artist Wayfarers. Here is a knock on the door from Ann Hampton Callaway, singer/songwriter/optimist/diva-on-the-go. What a fun start you are off to! Ever since the brilliant and delightful Ann Hogsett seduced me into joining this group, I have done absolutely nada to participate except feel some fun ann-ticipation about what is going on and some curiosity bubbling about how I can make this part of my very busy lifestyle.

I read "The Artist's Way" several years ago and have given countless copies to friends because I believe in is empowering principles. What was funny about the book is that I have naturally been doing a lot of what she says to do much of my life. But in the last few years, as I travel more and more and spend much of my time connecting with people on the internet, I have noticed that my personal writing and journaling has dwindled. Part of the problem was that I was involved with someone who thought nothing of reading my journal so I began to stop my life long habit, out of a deepening need for privacy. So, now, three years after the end of that relationship, I am re-examining my habits and my need to connect creatively with my depths.

I put a beautiful writing table in our bedroom for the purpose of journaling and writing poems, etc. No computer allowed. It comforts me. No daily practice as of yet, but definitely patches of progress.

I have been doing automatic writing ever since I read Bob Dylan's free association novel "Tarantula" at the age of 13 or 14. It blew my mind that someone could write so freely and brilliantly so I began trying it out and over time, struck gold. The liberation it has unleashed in me has had enormous consequences. My intuition has expanded greatly and I am compelled to put myself in creative situations that many people would probably be afraid to tread. I've discovered that I do my best thinking when I'm not thinking. Years of this writing live in various books and countless songs I have written as a result of this abandon I have, over time, learned. Crazy as it sounds, I may be one of the only people in the world who will make up songs on the spot anywhere and anytime, fearlessly rhyming about any given theme in front of my audiences in jazz clubs, theaters and concert halls across the world. Those pages each day that you are writing can lead to this sort of freedom so I hope you are excited. Thanks to Ann's tap on our shoulders, I want to delve deeper once more into this daily practice that Julia Cameron proposes.

I had an amazing experience last week- the most unexpected writing assignment. I lost my beloved father John Callaway, legendary Chicago journalist, last year on June 23rd. It has been the most heart wrenching loss of my life and I have been struggling on many levels to deal with it. So I consented to have a session with a new friend of mine who is a medium/author named Tina Naughton. In our one hour session, my father emerged in spirit form and said he would like to write a book together. It could be using writings of his that were never published and adding my own thoughts but it could also involve me channeling him. Can you imagine? I am very intrigued and excited about the prospect.

During the session, my dad conveyed to me that he was trying to find ways to connect and that he has and would continue to appear to me in rainbows. (Last week, on a treacherous drive from San Francisco to Palm Springs, I saw three rainbows.) I was told that when the session was over and I went to the beach after, there would be a sign from him. so, there we were walking to the beach on a perfectly sunny day and what should appear above but a small round rainbow in the sky! It almost looked like a radiant beach ball. And above the ocean, there was a small cloud floating in the perfect shape of a heart. My father always loved to make his point and since he had just done so in such a dramatically gorgeous way, I immediately sat down and put pen to paper, inviting him to speak through me. As waves lapped near my feet, over one page of "dictation" unfolded which was mysterious and thought provoking. I'm looking forward to dedicating many more encounters with this energy. I will let you know how this book idea progresses.

So, my fellow adventurers, just wanted to say hello and wish you all a splendid time on this path we are sharing. I look forward to reading your words and sharing our revelations together.