Jim Downton PhD

 

Words About Living

 

"When you don't resist what life serves up,
you're never disappointed with the meal."

 

"Remember, you are a miracle living within the miracle of life."

 

"Life offers the best opportunity to be ourselves."

 

"We forget that humans are just animals wearing clothes."

"Life is sloppy. Wear rubber boots."

"Life is not as dangerous as we imagine or as safe as we wish.
That's why we call it an adventure."

"To keep a positive attitude while facing life's difficulties is heroic."

"To be on the side of angels, aspire to help others
while trying to achieve success."

 

Words to Inspire Creativity

 

"We become who we say we are. To become more creative,
make "creative" the first thing you say about yourself."

"Instead of thinking of yourself as a melodrama,
consider yourself a comic book."

 

"Imagine your life is a playground, not a proving ground!"

"Imagine that you have the power of a bulldozer to clear away
any obstacles in your creative path."

 

"Imagine that you are an artist with a full palette of colors
who can't wait to get started. Imagine that you are
the colors longing to be used."

 

"What can a physicist learn from a clown about black holes?
What can a clown learn from a physicist about clowning?
Imagine what you would learn from a clown and a physicist about creativity?"

 

"Imagine that you had no imagination. If you had no imagination,
how could you have imagined that?"

"If you think you have no imagination, look at your fears."

 

"One day, two five-year-old girls were playing a game of imagination.
First girl: "Let's pretend to be serious, worried, and uptight."
Second girl: "Oh, good, we get to play grown ups!"

 

Imagine that your mind is a children's story book, a runaway train, a flashing light,
or an empty can? What creative ideas would those images inspire?"

 

To read other thoughts by Jim, go to www.lifegardening.com. On the home page,
click on Words to Inspire Change.

There are two good avenues to learn about my work.

The first avenue is my website: www.lifegardening.com. My books are featured there, but there are other important parts of the site.

Don't miss "Daily Awakenings", which are thoughts and nature photographs that change each day. "Words to Inspire Change" encourages personal change, creativity, and creative teaching. "Fund-raising Project for 'I Have A Dream' Foundation" shows how I'm trying to raise funds for a great cause, including creating posters.

"Woo Master Wisdom" is an important place to hear Kiro the Woo Master Gardener answer questions about life. "Movies of the Mind" is a novel way to change negative thought patterns into positive ones.

"Poems in Little Boxes" are haiku written about nature and life. "Art Gallery" is a place where you can view my paintings, sculptures, computer art, and calligraphy.

The second avenue to learn about my work? Read my self-help books.

Why Am I So DAMN Unhappy? This book is written by an imaginary character named "Dr. Bob". He's a former stand-up comedian who became a happiness coach. Using humor and honesty, Bob wakes people up to what's making them unhappy and then he shows them what to do about it. For example, he helps them understand how to quit taking guilt trips and how to untie the knots of fear in their minds. This book is fun to read and it has many important insights about how to become happier. Blooming: Teachings of a Woo Master This book is the account of my accidental meeting with Kiro, a Woo Master Gardener and how he taught me simple lessons for living a good life.

The Woo Way: A New Way of Living and Being This book deals with four issues: What runs human beings in automatic ways and how to put a stop to it; how to quit telling stories that cause misery; how to create relationships of understanding, kindness, and love; and how to attain balance and wholeness. The book draws together the ideas of Carl G. Jung and eastern thought, especially Taoism.

Playful Mind: Bringing Creativity to Life This book goes to the core of what makes a person more creative. It covers identity, imagination, creative thinking, creative planning, and a variety of other novel techniques to free the mind so it can play. This is a must for individuals and organizations wanting to push their creative limits.

Awakening Minds: The Power of Creativity in Teaching This book is transformative for secondary public school teachers and college educators. It shifts teachers from conventional ways of teaching to innovative ones. It shows how to engage students in active learning, how to create motivation and participation, how to coach students effectively, how to lead discussions and ask questions that engage the minds of students, and how to communicate effectively with "Nightmare Students."