ALEX NOBLE - WRITING JOURNAL-2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Get Up and Dance!

 

25 Visionaries Who Are Changing Our World - Utne Reader

WRITE NOW!  Review the list of 25 outstanding visionaries, below, and take journal notes on which ones inspire you. Which of these would you like to study with?  Why?  Which ones open up new horizons for you in terms of personal betterment and positive action in the world?

 

Visionaries don’t always make us comfortable.  Some quit their workaday jobs in disgust and turn to new mediums, like David Simon, who abandoned what he saw as the withering journalist trade for the powerful art form of television. Some publicly criticize their peers, like Alice Dreger, an activist who exposes the questionable practices of genital reconstructive surgeons. Some, like farmer Jim Gerritsen, work within the law to attack the status quo; others, like environmentalist Tim DeChristopher, get arrested for their heartfelt actions.

BOOKS: FREEING CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS: Opening Doors into the Upper Mind, by Bill Harvey

 

 

 

If you just read one book for your Journey this coming year, I recommend Bill Harvey's brilliant classic, FREEING CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS: Opening Doors Into the Upper Mind.  Please see the testimonials, below.

You can order from Bill's website: http://www.mindmagicprogram.com

 

Praise and Testimonials for FREEING CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS: Opening Doors into the Upper Mind.

“If a Presidential library is built
in future years, it can be
placed there.”
- Jimmy Carter

“Mind Magic is a delight. Sets
forth with neat precision just
how to do it (think).”
- Ram Dass, author of
Be Here Now

“Highly recommended...will loosen your moorings and open you
to creative vistas.”
- Dr. Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

“"We need the Microcosmology book. My copy was immediately taken by a friend. Please send a dozen.
- Yoko Ono Lennon, New York City
(The original edition purchased by
John Lennon from the East West bookstore was subtitled
The Science of Microcosmology)

BLOGS: Bill Harvey - Because the Universe is Conscious...

...Everything Happens for a Reason that Makes Sense to Consciousness

We suspect this is what Einstein really meant in his famous quote “God does not play dice with the Universe.”

Think about it for a minute. If you’ve been reading these posts you know what I am saying is that the universe is one infinite field of consciousness at play. The One has sent out parts of Itself to separately experience for a time — that’s us. Everything in the universe is made out of The One’s consciousness. And therefore each part itself is conscious, living The One’s experience through that part’s senses — so looking out our eyes is not who we thought was “me” but actually “ME”.

 

MINDSURFING - Utne Reader's Top Blogs for 2011

http://bit.ly/t0qF9g

(Hat Tip to New Paradigm Digest for this item)

We at Utne Reader sift through 1,500 periodicals, skim hundreds of websites and blogs, and clamber over a mountain of new books to present the best the alternative press has to offer. Unfortunately, the magazine we deliver is only about 100 pages long, so we can’t reprint all of the fresh ideas, deeply-reported journalism, and vivid portraits that we read. Thus, we blog. The following five blogs were your favorites from 2011.

5) “A New Peace Symbol” by David Schimke 

 

Sometimes, short blog posts are the best. That was the case with Editor-in-Chief David Schimke’s hat-tip to the new international symbol for human rights. An excerpt:

“Free as a Man,” created by Serbian artist Predrag Stakic, is the winner of an online competition conducted by the Human Rights Logo Initiative, which is on a mission to make the design an internationally recognized symbol for human rights.

Creating Your Digital Identity - Exploring Web 2.0 Tools

For expanding your "digital identity toolkit" beyond the text only universe, take some time to explore the wide range of Web 2.0 tools now available for creating a multi-media interactive journal. We might call this the "Digital Journal," where you can collect and link various sites and programs to provide a rich ecology of venues for telling your stories.

Current and emerging technologies give Journalers and Storytellers the opportunity to fully explore and express dimensions of personality in ways that have not been possible until now.

Optional:

Use Google Search to find out about the best products  available, and see which ones you feel might be compatible with your personal JOURNAL - 2012 purpose and goals.

The rapidly expanding universe of Web 2.0 tools currently includes, but is not limited to, blogs, wikis, toolkits, googleapps, comics, open office, cloud computing, social networks, youTube, Second Life, and other programs coming along.

 

Digital Storytelling - A New Way to Tell Your Stories

 

Source:  http://www.storycenter.org

 

digital story (dig·i·tal sto·ry)
A short, first person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds.

digital storyteller (dig·i·tal sto·ry·tell·er)
Anyone who has a desire to document life experience, ideas, or feelings through the use of story and digital media. Usually someone with little to no prior experience in the realm of video production but time to spend a few days attending a workshop and developing a story with creative support and technical assistance from compassionate, highly experienced facilitators.

Why Not Put Comics in Your Journal?

Experiment!

Use a simple program for creating comics and create journal posts using a comic format.

Recommended: Comic Life - Watch This Video

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turning Weaknesses Into Strength

"You cannot run away from weakness;
you must some time fight it out or perish;
and if that be so, why not now, and where you stand?"

- Robert Louis Stevenson

Why not commit to turning chronic weaknesses into strengths this coming year, and, as stated in the quotation above, "Why not now and where you stand?"

Write Now!

Identify three weaknesses that you are ready to turn into strengths and note these in your journal. Review often, and make notes on your progress. Use your journal to reflect on how these weaknesses hold you back from optimal performance, and design a plan for what you need to do to transform them into assets. GO!

Tip:

Paste a copy of your journal entry on your refrigerator door, mirror, or put a sticky post on your computer screen.

Are You Ready to Blog?

Hola! Potential Bloggers!

If you do not already have a blog, are you ready to create a blog for your journey through 2012, with excerpts from your journal and other writing you may do?

There are some basic books you must have on your shelf if you are serious about your Blogging Practice.  There is a wealth of material, references, and sources available to help you get a sense of the scale and power of this new digital universe.  Search "Blog" and "Blogging" on Amazon and see which of the many available books speaks to you.  I recommend the latest edition of the DUMMIES book on blogging, just because this series breaks everything down into simple, easy to understand steps.

What is most exciting of all is your potential role in this vast new frontier for positive social change.  Of course, because I view both Blogging and Writing Practice as essentially spiritual disciplines, I recommend that you immediately establish a positive vision, motivating purpose and realistic goals for your work. But right now, surf, sail or fly on over to your nearest bookstore and get ready to explore the ever-expanding frontiers of the Blogosphere! cyber-camp. 

Write Now!

What will be the theme of your blog?  What title will it have?  What is your audience?  How will you make others aware of your blog?  Which blogging service will you use?  (I recommend Typepad, but there are many other good ones.)

 

BOOKS: A Year To Live - Stephen Levine

 

If you only had a year to live, what would you do?

In his work with the dying, author Stephen Levine observed the radical changes people can make in the face of death - how they heal relationships, open up to love, act on plans put off for years, even quit dead-end jobs. Levine challenged himself to live an entire year as if it were his last - and in this revealing narrative he shares what he learned. Through a series of month-by-month practices anyone can do, and including special meditations and exercises, A Year to Live teaches a way to live every day of your life with vivid fullness.

Write Now!

Make a list in your journal of ten changes you would make in your life if you knew that the coming year would be your last and a list of ten things you would want to accomplish.

List everyone whom you need to forgive, and everyone from whom you ask need to ask forgiveness.

 

MIND VALLEY - A Next-Generation Publishing Company for The Next-Generation Author

 

Mindvalley is one of the world’s fastest growing new media publishing companies, and we’re in the business of spreading enlightened ideas.

We take publishing to the next level. We connect personal growth authors with the Internet generation through new media platforms like video, mobile apps and social networks.

What makes us different is the Mindvalley DNA, an optimized marketing process designed to refine and promote an author’s work on the Internet and beyond.

Rumi - Only Breath (Write Now!)

Write Now!  Watch this Rumi video, and write a poem or short reflection on how you see this as it may pertain to your own life and journey.  GO!

 

Write Now! A Prayer of Forgiveness

 

Write Now!  As preparation for the coming year, write a prayer of forgiveness, so that you may release any old baggage, and be free to forgive yourself, and those whom you think, rightly or wrongly, have harmed you. This is an especially powerful journaling exercise if you include names and details in your prayer.

Catalyst:

 "A Buddhist Prayer of Forgiveness"

"If I have harmed anyone in any way
either knowingly or unknowingly
through my own confusions
I ask their forgiveness.
If anyone has harmed me in any way
either knowingly or unknowingly
through their own confusions
I forgive them.
And if there is a situation
I am not yet ready to forgive
I forgive myself for that.
For all the ways that I harm myself,
negate, doubt, belittle myself,
judge or be unkind to myself
through my own confusions
I forgive myself."

Mentors: Wayne Dyer - Quantum Moments & The Shift

 

Awakening: How Are You Preparing for the New Year?

As you prepare for the New Year, consider focusing on the inspiring events happening all over the world and in your own life.

Write Now!

Use the inspiring words below to make a journal entry focused on any awakening you may be experiencing, and the hopeful events that are happening all over the world, especially as you see evidence of positive  transformations happening in your own daily life.

What will you be doing in the coming week to prepare for the coming year?

(Sharing is of course optional.)

The speed at which you are progressing along the path to your awakening is accelerating as more and more people raise up the divine Light they are carrying so that others may see it and do likewise.  The momentum of humanity’s intent to awaken is now so great that, as divinely intended, awakening is inevitable and cannot be prevented or delayed.  It is your glorious destiny, and the moment at which it will occur is rapidly approaching.

Movies: 2012 - The Online Movie UPDATED

 

 

This is NOT Emerich's 2012! FROM in5d: http://www.in5d.com UPDATED DAILY! and http://www.maya12-21-2012.com

Part I -- THE HISTORY BEHIND 2012 -- How time changes consciousness,

 

What to Do When Your Muse Leaves Town - Alex Noble

You want to write. You intend to write. You almost wrote something yesterday, but… You know you have worlds to say. But all you can do is stare at the blank page.  Stare, stare, stare. You feel stuck, empty, useless, unworthy, ridiculous, a pretender in the world of ideas. You feel shame, guilt, despair.  Nothing comes.  If feels as though your Muse has left town for Mozambique, with no forwarding address and her cell phone number is no longer in service. What to do?  There is a name for it, and your condition is called “Writer’s Block.” The good news is that there is a cure. The cure takes willingness, awareness, serious martial-arts level self-discipline, and a heartfelt desire to give the gift of your words to humanity, to God, and even, if you can think this big, to the whole Universe.

Mentors: Elizabeth Gilbert on Nurturing Creativity (TED Talk)

 

Planet: One - Alex Noble

   

"There are many who believe that it was the picture of Earth, seen from the Moon, that launched the global environmental movement and awakened a universal change in perception. This historic shift related to our collective responsibility to take care of this fragile, unique spinning planet that Bucky Fuller called Spaceship Earth. When that beautiful blue, green and white photograph entered the hearts and minds of global humanity, a new era was born. Whenever I see that picture, it is a powerful reminder of where I live,  and that the “third rock from the sun” is deserving of my best efforts, not only for all living beings who share this space with me, but also for its oceans, rivers, forests, and atmosphere.

Books: The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012

The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012 (Synthia & Colin Andrews)

Highly recommended overview...

Series: The Complete Idiot's Guide | Publication Date: October 7, 2008

The final countdown?

On December 21, 2012, the Mayan calendar will complete its thirteenth cycle. According to the Mayan belief system, the world will end. And if you don’t believe the Mayans, you can check in with The Bible Code, The Nostradamus Code, or The Orion Prophecy, all of which predict planet-wide doom. Then again, maybe the year 2012 is just a new opportunity. Could 2012 bring us good things instead of bad? This book gives readers a look at what the Mayan prophecy is all about, what it means to them, and much more.

Write Now!: A Love Poem to Planet Earth

Write Now!  Pretend you are an Astronaut, circling our Home Planet, and looking down on her seas and desert sands, her alps and wildflower-filled valleys, her clouds and her swirling storms.  Write  a love poem to Earth, sharing with her what you wish for her future. Use specific imagery, draw on  familiar landscapes that you love, memories of connection and joy, and meditate on your chosen role as a passenger on our big blue space ship.

*******

Catalyst:

 "If the earth were only a few feet in diameter, floating a few feet above a field somewhere, people would come from everywhere to marvel at it. People would walk around it marveling at its big pools of water, its little pools, and the water flowing between the pools. People would marvel at the bumps on it, and the holes in it, and they would marvel at the very thin layer of gas surrounding it and the water suspended in the gas. The people would marvel at all the creatures walking around the surface of the ball and at the creatures in the water. The people would declare it sacred because it was the only one, and they would protect it so that it would not be hurt. The ball would be the greatest wonder known, and people would come to pray to it, to be healed, to gain knowledge, to know beauty, and to wonder how it could be. People would love it and defend it with their lives because they would somehow know that their lives, their own roundness, could be nothing without it. If the Earth were only a few feet in diameter..."

- Joe Miller

Welcome to JOURNAL 2012! Your Journal Writing Fitness Center

Hello Fellow Writers!

Can you believe that the year 2012 is almost with us?

And have you been wondering, as I have, “What can this mean for me as a writer?”

When you joined our Shift writers' group (WRITERS' SHOWCASE)  did you have in mind some special project, perhaps a series of poems, reflections, stories, prayers, meditations, or maybe a novel? Did you actually start any works, only to have them languish in your journal, or files?

And then, as so often happens, did your resolution to create something fall by the wayside, and get lost? (You can be honest! No one is looking over your shoulder…:) )

Well, here’s the good news!  An exciting opportunity is just a few days away, and it is called “The Year 2012.”

Write Now!: A Blessing for My Journey

Write Now!

What does this blessing below call forth in you? Write a blessing for yourself, for your journey ahead, into the Unknown of 2012, in all its mystery and promised changes. Love the things you cannot know. Welcome the Sacred Path, and celebrate your new birth into the cosmos!

*******

Catalyst:

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets' towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you - beyond that next turning of the canyon walls.”

- Edward Abbey, "Benedicto"

Blogs: The Alchemy of Transmuting Feelings Into Right Action - Bill Harvey

From Bill Harvey's Blog:  http://www.mindmagicprogram.com/billharveyblog

(See also Bill Harvey's Classic, FREEING CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS: Doorways into the Upper Mind  ... and link to The Human Effectiveness Institute.)

Experiments you can perform best when alone, such as in shower or tub

Full disclosure: I am an interested party — these experiments will tend to confirm my speculations and hypothesis — and help prove my theories.

On the other hand, you stand to gain a great deal. Your decision making can be made more creative and more effective — by judo-ing your own negative emotions so that they stop hurting you and start helping you.

 

Happy New You!

 

What are your 10 highest priority goals for 2012?

What would be ten times (10X) better than your current situation?

What resources, mentors and allies are available to help you get to 10X better?

It's  time for EVOLUTIONS, rather than just RESOLUTIONS!

 

Happy journey to ten times better in 2012!