Calisthenics for the Mind,  Exercise I   Exercise I   The Stretch  This will help to open your mind.    WARNING:  This may tune right into your creativity - - -> Go With It!   Set I   Think of:      a word _______________________.                      a colour _______________________.                         a time _______________________.                     a feeling _______________________.                      a scent/odor ___________________.   The Visualization Relax.  Read the choices you made for the above.  Re-arrange the order of the words you chose.   Look at them often, let them speak to you.   Description Now you are ready to take your visualization and write out a short story using those chosen words.  The story can be in narrative form (prose), like a paragraph or two.  Or it can present as a poem or a lyric to the sounds you hear in the background.   Do not re-read it.  Do not edit it. Move on to the Next Set.     Set II   an adjective ____________.  a sound ___________.  a day of the week _____________. a memory ______________________.  a scene _________________________________.    Visualize, going over those words, scenes, feelings, sounds. Write your description. Move on to the Next Set.     Set III   Open a book, pick five (5) random words. Visualize them. Describe them.     Set IV (if you're not wiped-out)   Choose a different book. Pick five different words. Repeat Visualization and Description.     THE COOL DOWN    It is okay to read your stories now. What have you noticed... has the length grown from the first set to the last one you wrote?  It should... this exercise is working!  Congratulations!!! ************************************************************************   Let me show you what I wrote.  I uncovered these only three days ago and was shocked, I don't remember writing them.  When they were written on September 23rd, 1987, was the last time I saw them.   Set I word - proceed colour - blue, seablue time - now, night, autumn skies feeling - the kind of security in a warm & loving hug scent - firewood burning   after his warm and loving hug, she felt a security within herself.  a contented feeling as if it will be like this forever.  like the blueness of the ocean, taken for granted that it will be that seablue always.  it was evening.  an autumn sky above and the smell of firewood burning aroma'd the air - they were just sitting on the floor, silent to the ear, but their constant gaze to one-another said everything they wanted to hear.  their eyes could not let go.  their eyes did not want to.  as the night grew darker, they proceeded to grow closer into the darkness of each other.  discoveries of loving.     Set II restless footsteps as a child, playing alone, singing a raining day, the power's out, they greyness stagnates in the house it's Saturday     Woke-up early, it's Saturday and there is so much to do.  Her first day off in over a week.  As she sat down to read the paper and eat breakfast, the storm rolled in.     It suddenly became grey inside, the power went out and a chill came over her.  She sat for a while wondering what she'll get done now that there was no electricity.  As she sipped her coffee, she slowly became involved in playing on the playground - putting sand in the pail, adding water and carefully turning the sandpail upside-down.  She's alone, it's a sunny day, all the reasons to be singing nonsensicle songs and making castles.     Within her silence and playfulness, the realization came to her that this was not happening, but it was the sound of footsteps that stirred her up and out of her seat to the kitchen window.  It was pouring and darker than before.  Who'd be outside, walking that slowly in such a downpour?, she thought to herself.  She started to worry and became restless, unnerved.  She paced from window to window, seeing not a soul.     It was another rainy day and she was again very much alone.     Set III random words - prearranged, command, dignified, silhouetted, significance.       A dignified stance was silhouetted through the window from the light of the street lamp.  The person just stood there, with barely a movement.  I watched intently, I was somehow intrigued by this person.  After a while, I said to myself, "OK, now it'll move", as if on silent, wishful command.  Of course, no movement occurred.  I began to wonder who this person was and why he/she stood in front of my window.  Was there some significance here, am I to find a reason, should I already know?        I was not frightened, only curious.       And in the instance of my sneeze, the figure was gone.  As if prearranged by my imagination.   The figure was put there, then taken for me to always wonder why.   Continue to Page 2