Josh Langley's Blog, page 11

Lucid Dreaming and other adventures

Fourteen people crowded between the clothes racks of eclectic fashion store 3Ciana on a humid Wednesday night in March, to learn about about Lucid Dreaming and Out of Body Experiences.

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It my first time running such a presentation and I was absolutely thrilled by how many people came and how engaged everyone was for such a ‘out there’ topic. Mind you they had paid to come!

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I discussed my own experiences and give tips based on what I’ve learned from personal experience and from extensive reading of the Lucid Dreams and OBEs over the years.

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I was even privileged to have a trainer from the Monroe Institute come across for the talk and offer guidance and support.

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Big thanks go to Milligan Community and Learning Centre for hosting the event.

If you’d like to be informed of anymore information sessions on the topic or any other presentations I’ll be doing, just email me and I’ll add you to my newsletter. josh@outsidecreative.com.au

 

 

 

There’s a kind of magic

I’m sure you’re like me and don’t see the world the same way everyone else does.

I feel there’s a bit of magic hidden everywhere; tucked behind cheese in the fridge, curled up in the dust under the bed and in the eyes of fellow co-workers 5 minutes before a boring work meeting ends.

I even reckon there’s an interdimensional portal behind the toilet and flowers secretly send love notes to each other when we’re not looking.

And yes, there are fairies at the bottom of the garden who just love to sit gently on our shoulder and listen to our tales of woe and make feel better about things.

 

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I don’t always feel this way though. Sometimes the darkness can come down hard and you can’t even get a glimpse of a stray rainbow ethereally gliding past.

However when I try to see the magic in people, situations and life in general, life seems to make more sense. Everything seems easier, lighter and a little less serious. I guess a little like my drawings and books.

There’s a bit of magic everywhere. And I know you know that too.

 

 

You Don’t Have to Be Happy

This may sound strange, but I’ve never really wanted to be ‘happy’. The idea of sitting comatose on a rocker recliner watching Married at First Sight being content with the world, I don’t find that appealing.

Instead I’d rather be passionate, curious, inspired and question, challenge, learn and grow.

It’s taken me a long time to realise I’d fallen into the same silly idea of what happiness is supposed to be, along with everyone else.

The belief that if you’re not feeling wonderful, then something must be wrong. Or worse still you must work towards being happy. Like it’s some sort of goal.

I’m discovering that you don’t work towards being happy. You simply stop wanting the western idea of it. It’s unhealthy to try and be upbeat and positive all the time. And I don’t want to avoid all the emotions that come up in me because they are deemed ‘negative’ or bad. Sure they’re not always fun to go through, but what could I learn from them? How could be a kinder person or get to know a bit more of how I tick on the inside?

I wouldn’t swap the months of anxiety and stress I had towards the end of my last job for anything. That experience taught me so many things; what anxiety feels like, to know it’s similar to what other people go through, and it showed me how I didn’t want to live my life. I now use my experience to help others. 

I’m learning that when I stop resisting life and just allow it to flow, I’m much happier in my own way and I feel more alive.

When I don’t resist life, life doesn’t resist me. In fact, it nourishes me.

I just have to turn up, show up and be open. It doesn’t always work as I get easily distracted by bright and shiny objects but it’s better than waiting to be happy sometime later on and missing out on world of adventure and learning right here and now. 

I explore these concepts in Frog and the Well: Unconventional Happiness. 

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Can’t find your passion? Don’t worry, try this instead.

I’ve spent many years reading everything there is to know about finding your passion and following your heart (I even wrote a book with that title), and every other motivational thing about doing what you love.

Everyone is meant to know what they’re passionate about. Right? You hear about the woman who wins a major literary prize and says she’s been writing since she was four. Or the boy who started sailing at the age of 8 and went onto reverse circumnavigate the globe in an Esky, twice. Or the Grandma who threw it all in and went to India to start her own orphanage for cats.

But I’m going to share a secret with you. Most of the time those stories left me feeling even more lost and disillusioned than before I read them. It seemed I was missing one vital ingredient that the whole passion thing required.

Passion.

I’d always secretly hoped that finding my passion would help me escape dead end jobs and situations that made me feel trapped and bored. But when I realised I didn’t have a bloody clue what would get my blood racing and inspire me to throw caution to the wind and chase down my dreams, I was left back at square one. In my case an office.

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I’ve never known what I’m passionate about, or what my life purpose was. In fact, I’ve never known what I wanted to do with my life. Ever.

I never planned on being a writer. I never set out to become a children’s author or an illustrator. I never ever thought I’d have a 20 plus year career as a copywriter. I never dreamed I’d run my own business or stand up in front of people and give talks and workshops. I never planned any of it.

I’m so glad it all happened that way though, and I know what the key ingredient was.

It wasn’t passion.

It was curiosity. I followed my curiosity.

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I’d always being curious about the afterlife and the paranormal. So in 2010 I started to document my journey to find personal evidence of life after death. I then wrote two nonfiction books, two illustrated books and then two kids’ books followed in quick succession. The journey led me to discover new insights about life, love and how we live our lives. I found myself visiting primary schools talking about self esteem and resilience, giving talks at writer’s festivals and running workshops about creativity and how to get published.

It started from simply being curious.

Following my curiosity had a sense of lightness about it.

No expectation.

No pressure.

And no sense of urgency.

You too can follow it at your own pace and see where it leads.

Curiosity creates opportunity for adventure, to discover places you’d never thought you would go, and do things you’d never dream of doing. Curiosity leads to discovery.

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For me, passion is about certainty. Knowing what you want and then going for it. However, what if it doesn’t live up to your expectations? What if that orphanage idea turned out to be the worst thing since sailing around the world backwards in an Esky? What if you reach your dreams, then what? What happens next? You set another one and chase that. You spend your life constantly chasing dreams, trying to find your life purpose. Always on the run. It doesn’t leave much room for discovery, wonderment and the magic of trusting not knowing where you’re going. You don’t get to be guided by the mystery of life.

But if that’s your gig, then chase those goddam dreams like your life depended on it.

If you’re like me however and have no idea what your passion is, then follow your curiosity.

What am I curious about?

What piques my interest?

How can I discover more?

What can I learn?

Who can I talk to about it?

Take that first step and trust the journey. I did, and my life is so much richer for it.

But have a I found my passion?

Through the unfolding of my own journey, I’ve discovered one thing I know I’m now passionate about. It’s letting people know, that they are enough, they are loved and they have the right to express yourself creatively.

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What will you discover when you follow your curiosity?

How will your life change? Will you suddenly get the breeze at your back and sail out of that all too safe and boring harbour? I feel an adventure is calling, and I think you can hear it too.

 

Watch me read my new kids book.(Includes spoilers and dancing like a chicken)

In the age old tradition of authors reading their books for YouTube, I thought I’d get in on the act. But I’ve done it my way!! Check it out. Play School here I come!

 

IT’S OK TO FEEL THE WAY YOU DO. COST $15 AUD
AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSTORES THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA.

AUSTRALIAN Online sellers. 

 

[image error]ANGUS AND ROBERTSON 
[image error]    BOOKTOPIA 
[image error]      DYMOCKS

 

INTERNATIONAL (free delivery) 

[image error] BOOK DEPOSITORY. 

 

How to tune into your creative heart

 

We are all creative, we’ve all got amazing talents but most of don’t allow enough time or space in our lives to let the magic to happen. What’s even worse is that we believe we’re not worthy of allowing ourselves to be creative and end up feeling weight down by life and feeling spiritually crushed.

You deserve to express yourself, so here’s 6 steps anyone can take so you can unleash your creative side and tune into your creative heart.

Rest. 

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This could be sleep, cat nap, wander through the garden, meditation, chill out time. It’s important you do this otherwise you won’t get inspiration or ideas or you’ll be too distracted or tired by life and you’ll miss them.

Idea / slight movement.

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You’ll suddenly get a flash of inspiration to do something or create something. Or it could be a slight feeling in the body to move in a particular direction, a nudging from the inside. We have to be aware enough to notice it.

Create it / do it.

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Immerse yourself in the experience of whatever it is. Use your whole body and mind and just be with the creation. This could be even as simple as baking a cake, taking the dog for a walk, writing poetry, dancing, writing another chapter of your novel or finishing a special project.

Step Back / Give thanks.

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Now this is the most important aspect. Trust that what you have created is going  to be ok. It doesn’t need you to keep looking to see what’s going on or prodding it every 5 minutes. Trust the universe knows what its doing and step away, say thank you for the chance to create something and let go of any expectation.

Do something else, something that you love.

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To keep your vibration running high, do something you love doing. This helps avoid getting  in the way of the universe’s natural creative process. Play your favourite CD, have a drink with friends, cook, collect seashells, play with the kids, visit an art gallery. Do whatever ignites your passion, warms your heart and makes your soul sing. AND don’t feel guilty for doing it. Just do it with all of your being and ‘trust’ that everything is going to be all right. If you worry what other people will think of you just remember “what other people think of me is none of my business”.

Now rest again.

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Writing WA review

Writing WA is Western Australia’s biggest and most respected writing organisations and I was honoured to have them review “It’s OK to Feel How You Do’ 

It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do, Josh Langley (Big Sky Publishing)

Author-illustrator Josh Langley has created “a little book with a BIG message” to help children come to terms with their feelings. It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do traverses the myriad of emotions a person feels, explaining them, providing simple and practical approaches for dealing with them when they become too overwhelming, and reassuring the reader that feeling these emotions is normal and okay. The life-affirming, positive text is supported with simple, colourful illustrations that are designed to help you see the positive in every situation. It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do is a wonderful tool to help foster self-esteem in a child. Reading it is like receiving a warm, nurturing hug! You will be happy that you did.

https://www.writingwa.org/booksreviewed/2017-reviews/

 

2017 – an unexpected success

I started 2017 with only one event booked into the calendar. Then it got cancelled. Bugger.

However, by at the end of the year, I’d jammed that calendar so full of wild and crazy experiences and events that I didn’t have any time to scratch my bum. With a little bit of magic and a lot of hard work, 2017 turned into one of my most amazing yet.

Dreams don’t happen by sitting on the couch.

To make it more interesting than me blowing my own trumpet about what I’ve done, I’ll show you a brief ‘what’ and ‘how’ example of how these key events took shape so you can see that anybody can do this stuff.

We rocked our creative agency, Outside Creative

What:

We grew our client base over the year and that includes partnering with a Perth based advertising agency.  We lived and breathed our ‘Outside’ mantra and took the laptops everywhere from Margaret River to Kalgoorlie to write. Our scope of work has expanded dramatically and by creating new contacts and new leads we’ll continue to grow in 2018.

How:

We were willing to try new types of work and expand our skill sets.
We stuck to our ‘good quality at all times’ and 24 hour turnaround policy.
Work smarter not harder (yet not be afraid to put in the hard work)
If you’re going to work hard, you may as well do it at a nice beachside café.
We constantly listened to podcasts such as Unemployable and the Tim Ferriss Show for ideas and inspiration.

I wrote a new kids book.

What:

I started writing It’s OK to Feel the Way You Do’ in late 2016 and submitted the final manuscript to my publisher Big Sky Publishing in June. It was out in the bookshops by September and it’s selling very well. The reviews from industry professionals have been fantastic but better still the feedback from parents and kids has been amazing. The book is making a huge difference.

How:

I worked every spare moment on the project.
I consulted industry professionals and took onboard feedback.
I developed a marketing strategy with the help of my publisher and reached out to many bloggers, reviewers and organisations associated with education and mental health.
I promoted the book far and wide on social media through my author platform and personal pages.

I took #beingyouisenough to more places

What:

I took the #Beingyouisenough show to a heap more schools this year. I went as far south as Denmark and across to the Kalgoorlie for a four-day stint. I even got flown to Leinster to talk to the Kindy, Primary and High school kids. Book Week in August was spent at John XXIII in Perth (my first bookweek gig) and I was part of the Children’s authors line up at the Margaret River Readers and Writers Festival and at Telling Tales Children’s event in Balingup. I finished off the year giving an inspirational graduation speech at the year 6’s at North Beach Primary school.

How:

At the start of the year I emailed a large chunk of schools in regional WA to garner interest in an incursion.
I emailed the Telling Tales Committee to see if I could be part of the line-up. Seeing as I now had a higher profile, they were keen and I ended up running one of the most popular sessions
I kept up a high social media presence as I wanted to bring people along for the ride.

Workshops

What:

An exciting new venue started in Bunbury, Milligan Common, and they were looking to run workshops and presentations on all sort of subjects, so a friend put our names forward. I did a solo talk on Ghosts and the Afterlife based on my non fiction books and a pep talk on creativity. Andy and I teamed up for a workshop on How to Get Published which went down extremely well.

How:

Because giving talks is what I love doing, I actively pursued the opportunity. I pushed all shyness aside and went for it.
I developed the talks and workshops from scratch.

New book on Creativity

What:

I finished the manuscript for a new pocket book on creativity and how to work with your creative muse. I pitched it to a few publishers and was delighted when my current one said they’d love to publish it. The book should be out by mid 2018 and it will be supported by an online workshop.

“It’s a pocket sized book with quick punchy chapters filled with personal insights, musings, slap in the face advice and examples of what other people are doing all designed to empower the reader to feel they can be creative too. Topics include: Get rid of perfectionism, You don’t need talent, You’re going to die, so you may as well make art and You can be happy and be creative.”

How:

There’s no getting past the fact a book doesn’t write itself.
I also spent ages researching publishers, submission guidelines and book proposals.

Creativity and self-expression.

What:

I started painting in my abstract style again after a hiatus of about 10 years, and I dabbled a little more in finger painting work (I know that sounds quite wrong). I also created two short philosophical films. When the muse comes calling, you can’t ignore her.

To Fall Asleep in the Arms of God

 

The Jumping off Point

 

How:

I just did it.

 

From what was initially looking like a quiet year, everything just went mad. I wonder what 2018 will look like?

Let’s do this.

A big thank you to everyone who helped make 2017 bloody awesome.

Readplus Review of OK to Feel The Way You Do

Review Blog
Nov 29 2017
It’s OK to feel the way you do by Josh Langley

Big Sky Publishing, 2017. ISBN 9781925520965

(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. It’s OK to feel the way you do is all about expressing emotions and feelings. It is a beautifully illustrated picture book, covering feelings such as anger, sadness and happiness. Each section explains how the feelings can make us feel and advice is offered for the negative feelings. The coping strategies include remembering happy moments and breathing in and out. This book is a way for children to learn about feelings, to learn how to express and cope. It is a book for children to read with an adult rather than independently so the topics can be discussed. Children could then read it again later.

It’s OK to feel the way you do is an excellent bedtime book or it could be read once a child has calmed after feeling angry or anxious. Families (or classes) could create their own version, recording how they were feeling after different events and what they did to help themselves or their friends feel better. Many children struggle to describe or explain how they feel and this is a lovely way to get a discussion happening when the child is calm and focused. The style of illustrations is aimed at all primary school aged children and the text is aimed at readers aged 7+. Highly recommended for children aged 4+

Kylie Kempster

http://www.readplus.com.au/blog_detail.php?id=8238

IT’S OK TO FEEL THE WAY YOU DO. COST $15 AUD
AVAILABLE AT ALL GOOD BOOKSTORES THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA.

 

AUSTRALIAN Online sellers. 

 

[image error]ANGUS AND ROBERTSON 
[image error]    BOOKTOPIA 
[image error]      DYMOCKS

 

INTERNATIONAL (free delivery) 

[image error] BOOK DEPOSITORY. 

 

Review By Need2Read Bookstore

IT’S OK TO FEEL THE WAY YOU DO, OTHERWISE YOU WOULDN’T BE YOU! by Josh Langley ($14.99)

A fun a quirky book to help kids understand and accept their feelings. Happy feelings, sad feelings, angry feelings, lonely feelings and anxious feelings can all be overwhelming and it is important to have ideas on how to deal with them. For each emotion Langley shows kids how to identify it and suggests ways to help make it manageable.

The bright colours and simple text make this book ideal for 3-7 year old children who might be finding things a bit too much.

Langley offers simple techniques that even a young child can remember and use when feelings like anger or fear emerge – things like counting your breathing or talking to someone.

The most important message is that feelings make us who we are and that by making friends with our feelings we will be able to be happier and enjoy life more.

-Sasha-

Need2Read is a family owned and operated independent bookstore located in Warragul in country Victoria. http://www.need2read.com.au/need2read-reviews