I ride my bike all over New York City.

It’s an instant mood changer and it has given me an intimate relationship with the weather, carrying groceries on my back, traffic, rhythm, balance, and mortality. All good things from my perspective!

Overall, it’s boosted my creative thoughts tenfold because I am relaxed, focused, silent, and alone.

I thought it would be good to talk to Tammy, an amazing minimalist and an all around awesome friend. She rides her bike everywhere because she doesn’t own a car and because she is deeply committed to a lifestyle that is in my opinion, simple, evolved and spacious.

Check her out at rowdykittens.com

 

Bindu: How does riding your bike cultivate one’s creativity?

Tammy: Biking gets me places quickly, but not so fast that I don’t notice the color of the leaves or the birds in the trees. Riding my bike is always an adventure and it seems like I have a story to tell after each ride. For me telling stories is the key to creativity.

Bindu: There’s a synchronization of body and mind that one experiences when riding a bike. What would you say is the relationship between a synchronized state of mind and taking photographs and writing?

Tammy: The details; really noticing your environment and being present in the moment. Being present requires me to be vulnerable and my authentic self. In a lot of ways, riding my bike has taught me to be a better person, writer and photographer.

For example, the process of writing my print book has brought me a lot of joy and happiness. It’s also been incredibly challenging and at times it’s made me extremely grumpy, fearful, and I’ve questioned how vulnerable I want to be in my writing. But, that doesn’t deter me from writing. Over the years, I’ve found that happiness, vulnerability, and curiosity go hand in hand with challenging projects. Without a challenge, my creativity seems to dry up and my focus seems to wane.

Interestingly, I’ve also learned that too much focus can be a bad thing. I’ve found that when I’m zoomed in on writing I’m not as present as I should be. For example, a few months ago I left my knitting circle and headed to a coffee shop to work. The hours flew by and before I knew it, it was time to go. I wandered out to my bike and discovered that it was unlocked. I’d been so consumed with thoughts about my book and editing that my bike was propped up by a two-hour parking sign for way too long without a lock. I can’t believe that it didn’t get stolen!

As a result, I learned to be more attuned to the present moment. As William James once said, “The education of attention would be an education par excellence.”

Bindu: What has riding your bike shown you about the necessity of vulnerability, authenticity, and courage in your creative work?

Tammy: That it’s okay to be myself. I know that sounds incredibly cheesy, but it’s true. Riding my bike has taught me to love my body and my true self. By focusing on being myself, vulnerably, authenticity and courage seems to shine through in my creative work.

Bindu: What advice can you give people who spend a lot of time in their cars and find being in the car unavoidable?

Tammy: If you have to spend a lot of time in your car, I would encourage you to use that time to your advantage. For example, I love reading and at one point in my life I spent two hours commuting to and from a corporate job. So I started listening to books on tape because I didn’t have enough time in the evening to read. Listening to books helped me get through my commute without going totally crazy.

I also focused on breathing. When I felt the urge to yell at the driver in front of me, I took a big breath instead. Doing that helped me calm my nerves.

Bindu: How does slowing down lend itself to the creative flow and the creative process?

Tammy: Slowly down has forced me to think and be present in the world. If I’m constantly running from meeting to meeting, I don’t have time to think about creative ideas and experiment.

Bindu: What could people do with the cold and snow to keep getting out there on their bikes?
Tammy: First off, make sure you have appropriate gear. Also, consider safety; that means making sure your bike is tuned up, that you have appropriate lighting, etc. Those are two guiding principles that I incorporate into my daily routine regardless of the season.
Also, look for inspiration around you. When I don’t want to get on my bike on a cold day, I visit Let’s Go Ride a Bike. These lovely ladies bike year round and they live in Chicago! Burrr.
Remember, do your research, get appropriate clothing and be safe. Remember biking is supposed to be fun!

Bindu: What is your favorite flavor of jam? 

Tammy: Raspberry.

The Righteous Risk of Creativity

by Bindu Wiles on January 12, 2012

It’s impossible to be creative without taking tremendous risk.

Creativity is born of doing things that are outside our comfort zone.

Most people like stay inside their comfort zones and create from there. True creativity is to do things and express things that you never have before.

The bravery of the open daring leap into the unknown is one of the hallmarks of the artist.

Sometimes fro me it’s not so much a daring leap as it is a bloody knees sort of crawl to the next moment or next effort.

I’m carrying a weight of tremendous self-doubt and regret. We all have our personal burdens. Making things and taking creative risks is the only antidote to these burdens of mine. I would humbly suggest they could be the panacea for your burdens also.

I got this email below this week about my new photo course that people are mostly afraid of for a variety of reasons. At least that’s what the emails coming in have told me.

I thought it was such an inspiring view and wanted to share it with you. I hope it encourages you to take a risk creatively about something you dismissed as “not for you.”

Hi Bindu,

This decision has been very interesting for me.

I REALLY loved the idea of your first photo program. LOVED it. Was  a little disappointed when you weren’t offering it live but I thought I’d just sit and see.

Then I saw the second level. Originally I wasn’t very interested. Taking pix of people? Yikes? I like the metaphor of things…signs…objects…nature not people.   Black & White. Not inspiring to me.

Then today I was writing about it in my journal (on my new ipad – I’m in love).

And I realized that Black and White photos have never inspired me, moved me. They don’t feel creative enough to me.

And, taking photos of people….brought up all kinds of sh*t.

Well, it’s not “right” taking photos if they don’t know it. If they know it, then they’ll want to see it….and it won’t be good enough. It put pressure on me. Then I’d have to have conversations with strangers. Or listen to my family say it’s “oh, it’s ok”.

So, while sitting in the café, I clandestinely used my ipad to take a photo of a random guy at the next table.

I easily and quickly put it into the photo editor, quick crop.Wow…it made it more intimate.

Then I turned the effect to Black & White – and I got TEARY.

Where did that come from?  It looked like a cool photo of “a day in the life”.  Again, it wasn’t about it being perfect…but just doing it…brought down some sort of barrier for me.

Very unexpected.

So, my long story answer is YES. I am signing up for the course!

Even though I feel scared that I won’t be good enough…letting that feeling wash down the shower drain………

You can still sign up for the photo essay course which i mistakenly called LEVEL 2, but I really should have called it PART 2, because that’s all it really is—just another subject matter (people) and it’s black and white. There is going to be lots of instruction and inspiration.

It starts this Monday Jan 16th.

The Buddha Walks Into A Bar.

by Bindu Wiles on January 10, 2012

This is a guest post from my friend Lodro Rinzler.

Lodro and I will be teaching together at the Shambhala Center of  NYC a 4-week course starting March 15th, 2012 called The Buddha Walks Into A Bar: A Radical Roadmap to Life with the iPhone in Hand.

Please email me if you are interested (even if you aren’t in NYC!) binduwiles@gmail.com

His book is being released today and is especially geared toward non-Buddhists.

Earlier today Bindu asked me to write a bit about my experience launching my first book, The Buddha Walks into a Bar: A Guide to Life for a New Generation. *

Within this book I explore how we can take the basic principles of mindfulness and compassion and apply them directly to everything we engage in our life, including going out on a Saturday night with friends, feeling frustrated at work, and of course dating and relationships.

It’s an interesting thing releasing a book.

You slave over your keyboard, churning out chapters, at times doubting if what you’re writing is relevant to anyone but you, wanting to offer early drafts to people, feeling worried as to whether they’ll like it, and in general going along a tremendously personal rollercoaster within which you see every neurotic tendency you have come to the forefront of your mind and, eventually, wash over you and fade away. At least that is my experience.

Then you send in your pages, and there are edits, and you then your manuscript is accepted. It disappears from your mind because as the author, you did your piece.

The publisher might consult you on the cover, who to ask for blurbs, etc but at this point you breathe deep and relax. I loved that part of the process. Don’t get me wrong, I loved writing every word of my book but that day when I was told we were done was fantastic.

Only here’s the thing: I wasn’t done. I remember getting an advance copy of my book a few weeks back. It was real.

And I freaked out.

Not in a major way. I doubt anyone noticed something different about me. But all of a sudden I saw myself wrapped up in what is traditionally referred to in Buddhism as the Eight Worldly Concerns.

They are:
- The hope for praise and the fear of blame
- The hope for gain and the fear of loss
- The hope for fame and fear of insignificance
- The hope for happiness and the fear of suffering

In some sense, these are all-encompassing enough that the vast majority of us could say, “Oh yeah, what I usually think about falls into one of those.” Yet for me, I had gotten on a new rollercoaster, that of the ride of hope and fear, and I had fastened myself in tight.

For example, I would sit there hoping that the book would reach people, and help them, but was afraid of some of the negative things people would say. I would fantasize about being a guest on Jon Stewart then worry no one would show up for the book launch party.

Over the years I have been meditating, I have been training in noticing when my mind drifts into thoughts and fantasies and coming back to the physical sensation of my breath.

In other words, I have been training in being present with what is going on right now.

So thankfully this rollercoaster was pretty easy to recognize.

At a certain point just the simple act of noticing how I kept falling into this pattern cut the hold the pattern had on me.

I started to see how silly the whole thing is.

My book will do what it will do.

I can help promote it, I can aspire that it helps people, but to continuously ride the rollercoaster of hope and fear served no one, myself especially.

At some point you have to hop off the ride and allow yourself the experience of equanimity.

As soon as I jumped off this ride, I found that I could relax again.

In the last few weeks I’ve started volunteering more at the Reciprocity Foundation, a wonderful homeless aide organization based in New York City; I’ve reconnected with old friends, and have generally enjoyed my life a lot more.

Meanwhile, everything I hoped and feared has come to pass in one way or another.

I’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers who have read advance copies and said it touched them deeply.

The other day someone posted a review on Amazon and wrote that the book, “…essentially broke down all the efforts I make to being a good person to the core, but has at the same time challenged me to a be a better person, to be more reflective, more compassionate, and overall more thoughtful about myself and the world around me.”

Mission accomplished!

At the same time, other people have said that they find it horrifying that I would write about drinking and sex in a Buddhist book. I understand their point of view, and respect it, but it doesn’t mean the sting of their words hurts any less.

The day this piece goes live the book will just have hit bookstores. It’s the official launch date.

I can spend the entire day lost in scenarios of hope and fear. I could wallow in the Eight Worldly Concerns. However, I’m going to choose to meditate a great deal and hopefully spend the day giving myself the gift of equanimity.

Lodro Rinzler is the author of The Buddha Walks into a Bar: A Guide to Life for a New Generation (available now on Amazon). Over the last decade he has taught numerous workshops at meditation centers and college campuses throughout the United States. Lodro’s column, What Would Sid Do, appears regularly on the Huffington Post. Lodro writes from his apartment in the East Village of New York City.

* I am not an affiliate for this book.

My photo course WHICH IS ALSO FOR BEGINNERS! begins on Monday. Please join us! click here to register

Want to get unstuck? Want support to radically move your creativity and life forward? Email me to set up a free 20 minute coaching consulation!! binduwiles@gmail.com

 

How To Be More Creative In 2012

January 3, 2012

Contrary to what many of us think, our brains are NOT filing cabinets. As we sit on the edge of 2012, with our bright shiny goals and aspirations before us, I think we need two main things in our toolbox: Creativity and Systems. Our brains are meant for thinking and creating. What our brains are [...]

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My Swan Song to 2011 and My Beginning to 2012.

December 31, 2011

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Photography and The Plague of Identities

December 29, 2011

Here’s a small slice of video of Roshi Joan Halifax and Jonas Elrod from his film Wake Up discussing who we really are ( the video is at the bottom of the post). In The Photo Essay Project Level 2, we will spend 4 weeks photographing: + those we know and love, + ourselves, + strangers. [...]

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How To Start Off 2012.

December 28, 2011

This week between Christmas and New Years, is for me, one of reflection, intention and power. I am deliriously happy to see 2011 go. For the first time in about 5+ years, I feel unencumbered by the misalignments of relationships that I have played out over and over again in my life. I’m done convincing [...]

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A Holiday Non-Gift Gift! My New Multi-Media Photography Product

December 9, 2011

Stumped on what to get you or your loved ones for Christmas or Hannukah? Announcing The Photo Essay Self-Guided Course Level 1. If you missed out on The Photo Essay Course either because you have a Droid or because you heard about it after the fact, good news has arrived! For a limited time only, [...]

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Re-branding, Re-launching, Re-focusing.

November 1, 2011

One of my favorite sayings of my root teacher, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche is “You can always take a fresh start.” That no matter where you are at any point in life, you can simply just begin again in a fresh way.  I’m doing that here with my business. I’ve been working with an incredible business [...]

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My Birthday Post

October 27, 2011

Today I’m completing my 46th year and beginning my 47th, and I am reflective. I’m thinking of my mother, my father, my siblings, I’m thinking of loss, I’m thinking of my livelihood, I’m thinking of my finances, I’m thinking of the ways I keep backing away from myself, keeping myself away from my greatness. I’m [...]

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