Thinking Writing Process
Charlotte Rains Dixon  

Greater Thoughts About Writing

Estock_commonswiki_126921_lI've been thinking a lot about the novel I'm writing lately.  Thinking, not writing, because with the demands of the Emma Jean book release and attendant promotion, there's not been a lot of time to write.  I knew this going in and decided to give myself a free pass on working on the novel this month. 

The thinking is going well, thank you.  Just yesterday I uncovered a major issue with the novel and starting figuring out ways to fix it.   This is all going on in my head.  Well, there's a little bit of process writing around it, but no official work on the actual novel.

Along with thinking about my novel, I've been thinking about thinking.  For a couple of reasons.

First, I'm taking a class at my church and one of the things I've learned is this: a greater thought always trumps (pretty sure that's not how they put it exactly) a lesser thought.  In other words, if you truly allow a greater thought in to your packed brain, it will ultimately dissolve the lesser thought.

To me, a greater thought is one that speaks to our higher nature and knowledge.  The one that knows you truly are an unlimited being.  The one that connects you to your concept of the divine. So, you can replace I'll never be a published novelist with something like I am happily published now.   Like that.

I know, I know, this is basic stuff, Affirmations 101.  But the twist for me is that you don't have to spend a lifetime uncovering and eradicating all the bad thoughts and limiting beliefs we harbor.  This, for me, is huge, seeing as how there are huge industries built around getting rid of those beliefs.  And a lot of us hold onto a limiting belief that its our limiting beliefs that are holding us back.

But the good news is that you really can change your mind.  You can replace a lesser thought with a greater thought.  And that brings us to Reason #2 that I'm thinking about thinking: I'm reading Deepak Chopra's new book, Super Brain.  In it he and his co-author, Rudy Tanzi, talk about how to maximize the brain's functions, utilizing the huge leaps in our understanding of brain science.   They talk about reshaping the brain, saying, "It means being more mindful of your own thoughts and feelings and becoming more proactive in taking charge of your brain."

Pa dum.

Being mindful of your own thoughts and more proactive about it is exactly what I'm talking about here.  And honestly?  Taking the attitude that I would find and fix the problems with my novel if I just stayed open, rather than grumbling that something was wrong and I probably would never figure it out is exactly why all my brilliant thoughts have occurred.

I'm still working my way through Super Brain, but I really like it so far.  My buddy Deepak (don't know him from Adam, but I follow him on Twitter, so, you know, that means we're friends) is good at equating the science with the spiritual point of view, which, of course, I love. And the overwhelming message of the book is so positive–that we can retrain our brains for maximum performance at any age.

All of my thinking about thinking is still a work in progress, so I'd love your thoughts.  How do you maximize the old noodle?

**And if you would like to buy my published novel, click here.  And thank you so much in advance.

Image by Wyglif.

0 thoughts on “Greater Thoughts About Writing

  1. J.D.

    Super brain? I remember the movie about the brain, where it was in a jar and had all these wires and stuff coming off it. If Deepak can show me how to memorize Pi to 50 places I’ll go down that road, but I’m not sure how much mental gymnastics can add to a book. Michael Connelly’s legal thrillers sometimes have fancy twists, but that’s not why I read them. I read them because I want to see what The Licoln Lawyer is really like….That didn’t make any sense. Okay, Deepak, I’m an open book.

  2. Zan Marie

    Deep thoughts are those that occur when we’re looking the other way. For me, that means going on to some other task and letting the problem rest…At least, the times I can make myself do it. ; )

  3. Charlotte Dixon

    J.D. our buddy Deepak does talk about people who have trained themselves to have super memories.  I think his ideas bear on writing because they show that the brain can be retrained to open itself to new thought patterns–and that's always good for creativity.

  4. Charlotte Dixon

    Zan Marie, I totally agree with you–and sometimes I have the hardest time getting those thoughts out of my head!  I worry on a problem and it won't let loose of me.  But when I do…bam, there's the idea.  I had a moment like that in my journal writing this morning–came up with an obvious idea for my next novel after worrying over it for days.

  5. Sandra Pawula

    You Are Not Your Brain is one of my favorite books. It’s all about retraining the brain. I love this neuroscience stuff and a big fan of a “greater thought”. No wonder we are so aligned. Thanks for telling us about Chopra’s new book and your brain breakthroughs.

  6. Charlotte Dixon

    I agree, Sandra–I love reading anything to do with the brain, especially now that there's so much new research coming out.  It amazes me that it goes hand in hand with my spiritual beliefs.  Very cool!

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