Breaking Through Creative Blocks

I've received hundreds of letters over the years from readers who broke through creative blocks simply by writing with their non-dominant hand. They have discovered a poet within, an inner artist, an inventor, an adventurer and more. Some individuals, like artist Mona Brookes, didn't have a creative block as most people would define it, but she did have a fear of traveling.

After drawing and writing with her non-dominant hand, Mona experienced a chain reaction of creative breakthroughs in all areas of her life. She also did written dialogues using both hands. Many blocks vanished with a speed that is truly amazing. This is not to say that right/left hand writing was solely responsible for the changes in Mona's life. However, she feels it was a big catalyst for these changes.

One of Mona's most immobilizing blocks was a "travel phobia". She had just turned 45 but had never traveled because she was afraid of getting lost, missing planes, or entering new environments. Shortly after she started doing left-hand writing and drawing she worked up the courage to take a car trip from Los Angeles to Santa Fe, New Mexico with a friend. There were many complications on this trip serving to test Mona's "travel phobia." However, in the end, she had a wonderful time. "It was the first vacation I ever enjoyed," she recalled with a big smile. She has since become a confirmed traveler.

One of the rewards of removing blocks is that it builds self-confidence. The breakthrough of the travel experience gave Mona the confidence to overcome other obstacles. She gained faith in her ability to play the piano. She accelerated the dance studies she had recently embarked upon. At first she was extremely self-conscious and shy about dancing in front of others. She later danced with professionals and appeared in a dance-movement video.

Mona also took on new challenges in business. Before founding her own school, called MonArt, she had been a public servant. "I never saw myself as a businesswoman," she said. "I never dreamed that I was capable of going into business for myself. But after doing all these other things I thought I couldn't do, I started expanding my classes and trained many more instructors in my method." Within two years of being introduced to her non-dominant hand, Mona had developed programs in public schools and expanded from three hundred and fifty to more than five thousand students. She later trained teachers from all over the world to establish MonArt schools in their communities. This involved traveling globally to visit her MonArt instructors, proving that her fear of traveling and also of being a businesswoman had been conquered.





Mona's story appears in Chapter Four - Hand in Hand. There are many block buster exercises in The Power of Your Other Hand. No matter what area of your life you feel blocked or stagnant in, there are tools in the book for breaking through to the other side.

Mona is the author of two books featuring her MonArt method:

Drawing With Children: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too

Drawing for Older Children & Teens: A Creative Method for Adult Beginners, Too

Lucia

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