ALEX NOBLE - WRITING JOURNAL-2015

Time for a Change?

Assignment:  Find a sanctuary and get very still.  Shut down your Monkey Mind and get in touch with whatever your body is feeling. Focus on the idea of a positive change. Ask your God, your Muse, your Angels - whomever you listen to - to tell you about an area of your life where you would benefit from a change. Identify that change with as many specifics as possible. Think about what you need to do to make that change happen, and outline the steps you need to take. Visualize what it will feel like when you have actually made the change, and are in your new chapter. Imagine yourself celebrating. Write Now! GO!

 

 

How to Write a Memoir - William Zinsser

 

 

Be yourself, speak freely, and think small

By William Zinsser

 

One of the saddest sentences I know is “I wish I had asked my mother about that.” Or my father. Or my grandmother. Or my grandfather. As every parent knows, our children are not as fascinated by our fascinating lives as we are. Only when they have children of their own—and feel the first twinges of their own advancing age—do they suddenly want to know more about their family heritage and all its accretions of anecdote and lore. “What exactly were those stories my dad used to tell about coming to America?” “Where exactly was that farm in the Midwest where my mother grew up?”

Writers are the custodians of memory, and that’s what you must become if you want to leave some kind of record of your life and of the family you were born into. That record can take many shapes. It can be a formal memoir—a careful act of literary construction. Or it can be an informal family history, written to tell your children and your grandchildren about the family they were born into. It can be the oral history that you extract by tape recorder from a parent or a grandparent too old or too sick to do any writing. Or it can be anything else you want it to be: some hybrid mixture of history and reminiscence. Whatever it is, it’s an important kind of writing. Too often memories die with their owner, and too often time surprises us by running out.

 

95 Questions to Help You Find Meaning & Happiness

 

Assignment: For the next 95 days, beginning today, answer one of the questions below. Do not skip any of the questions.  Make it a goal to create a "Book of Answers" to these 95 questions, which you can share with friends, and maybe even self-publish.  When you have finished the 95 questions here, make up 5 of your own questions, and answer them, so that you will have a total of 100 questions.  Have fun! Write Now! GO!

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95 Questions to Help You Find Meaning and Happiness

 

 

by Marc

“At the cusp of a new day, week, month or year, most of us take a little time to reflect on our lives by looking back over the past and ahead into the future.  We ponder the successes, failures and standout events that are slowly scripting our life’s story.  This process of self-reflection helps us maintain a conscious awareness of where we’ve been and where we intend to go.  It is pertinent to the organization and preservation of our long-term goals and happiness. The questions below will help you with this process.  Because when it comes to finding meaning in life, asking the right questions is the answer.

   1. In one sentence, who are you?
   2. Why do you matter?
   3. What is your life motto?
   4. What’s something you have that everyone wants?
   5. What is missing in your life?
   6. What’s been on your mind most lately?
   7. Happiness is a ________?
   8. What stands between you and happiness?

How the Power of Forgiveness Can Heal Your Life

 

Assignment: Before reading this essay, think about who you need to forgive, take notes, and decide to forgive them. Write Now!  GO!

 

 

 

By Sandra Musser

The healing power of forgiveness is the key to peace, health and happiness.

So what makes forgiveness so powerful? True forgiveness releases a feeling or emotion we consider negative from our psychic through understanding. Many understand the concept of forgiveness, but don’t incorporate true forgiveness into their lives. They say the words, "I forgive you." But are quick to remind the other person of the atrocity they committed when convenient. This is not forgiveness. True forgiveness has no conditions and is complete.

"...see forgiveness as the natural reaction to distress that rests on error, and thus "calls for help." Forgiveness is the only sane response...Unjustified forgiveness is attack. And this is all the world can ever given. It pardons "sinners" sometimes, but remains aware that they have sinned. And so they do not merit the forgiveness that it gives. This is the false forgiveness which the world employs to keep the sense of sin alive...If you can see your brother merits pardon, you have learned forgiveness is your right as much as his...Forgiveness recognized as merited will heal." A Course in Miracles

Source:  http://www.2012-spiritual-growth-prophecies.com/

 

 

Overcoming Peanut Butter

 

 

Assignment: Think about a compulsive behavior you would like to get rid of, and note this in your journal.  What do you think you can do to start getting rid of this habit? Write Now! GO!

 

Why not just stop it?

Watch Comedian Bob Newhart in this classic video, below...

 

 

 

 

Epiphanies

 

Here are two definitions of "epiphany":

1.

a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

2.

a literary work or section of a work presenting, usually symbolically, such a moment of revelation and insight.

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Assignment:  Read the excerpts below from Richard Wright's novel, "Black Boy," from an article by Chet Raymo.  Let these moments liberate your memory and imagination to create some of your own epiphanies in your journal.  These can stand on their own, or be woven into a poem or short, short story. Write Now! GO!

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"There Was..."
by Chet Raymo

"Richard Wright's classic 1945 memoir "Black Boy" recounts his childhood in the racially charged South of the 1920s. It is a heartbreaking tale of poverty, hunger, prejudice- and triumph against all odds. Several times in the book, Wright breaks the traditional narrative to list, litany-like, remembered epiphanies:

    'There was the delight I caught in seeing long straight rows of red and green vegetables stretching away in the sun to the bright horizon.'

    'There was the faint, cool kiss of sensuality when dew came on to my cheeks and shins as I ran down the wet green garden paths in the early morning.'

    'There was the tantalizing melancholy in the tingling scent of burning hickory wood.'

Tell Your Story!

 

Aboriginal Story Telling

 

 

Assignment:  If you had 15 minutes to write down the 7 most important events of your life, what would they be?  Then, choose one and write a short short story about what happened, and how this affected you.  When did this happen? Who was involved?  How old were you? Where did this take place?  How long did this experience last?  What blessings came from it?  If it was a difficult experience, have you forgiven those involved?  Write Now! GO!

 

Welcome!  We believe that hardly anything is as exciting as living history - especially if it's your family story as told by your own parents or grandparents.

So many of our questions we would like to ask our parents go forever unanswered: Where and how did you meet mum?... What were the challenges you have had in your life?... What was your childhood really like?...

www.tellyourstory.com

Ready for Your Own PERSONAL Satellite?

 

 

Assignment:  Take notes in your journal about all the things you can think of that you would do with your very own satellite in earth orbit?  You could also create a "fleet" of satellites with friends and associates!  Write Now!  GO!

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Would you like to have your own spacecraft in space?

Video at: www.kicksat.org

I’m Zac Manchester, a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. Over the last several years a few collaborators and I have designed, built, and tested a very tiny and inexpensive spacecraft called Sprite that can be built and launched into low Earth orbit for just a few hundred dollars each!

 

KIDS: The Girl Who Silenced the World for 5 Minutes

 

 

 

A young girl from Canada addresses the UN Conference on the environment

in Brazil.

Assignment:  If you had only 5 minutes, and could address a major conference on the environment as she does, what would you say? Write Now! GO!

 

 

Planet Earth - The Most Beautiful Places in the World

 

 

Assignment:  Watch these gorgeous images of our Home Planet, and write a poem, prayer, or meditation on the feelings and memories that these photos bring up for you. Think about the happiest memories you have of being immersed in nature, and feeling at one with all life.  What was it like for you? What did you feel? If you are not feeling poetic, just write a list, and try to capture the magic and beauty of those times.Write Now! GO!

 

 

 

What Would You Take to a Desert Island? (New Yorker)

 

Assignment:  When asked what he would take to a desert island, Playwrite George Bernard Shaw replied: "Seven blank books."  The article below details what a number of folks would take to their island, and is entertaining as well as informative.  This is a most useful thought exercise, and makes for a useful journal entry, as one realizes how one's chosen items may change over time.  So here we go: What would YOU take to a desert island, using, if you wish, the specifications set out in the article below? Write Now!  GO!

 

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Seven Decades of Desert Island Discs

Posted by Judith Thurman

January 30, 2012

 

 

Yesterday morning, as dawn was breaking in Manhattan, and Londoners were enjoying a late Sunday breakfast, I tuned in to BBC Radio 4 to hear the seventieth-anniversary broadcast of “Desert Island Discs,” an hour-long, live interview show that first aired on January 29, 1942.

      For seven decades, “Desert Island Discs” has been introduced by the same theme song, “By the Sleeping Lagoon,” composed in 1930, by Eric Coats, and every week a new “castaway” of distinction is asked to name the eight tracks of music, one luxury item, and one book that he or she would choose to be marooned with. (One also gets the Bible, or its equivalent, and the complete works of Shakespeare.) There are only two longer-running shows in radio history: a British program of religious music, and “The Grand Old Opry.”

 

Think About: Your Choices

 

Assignment: Make a list of the three most important choices you can make right now to add more joy to your life.  On a blank journal page, (use one page for each choice you have selected) write down three headings: PLUS, MINUS & INTERESTING.  Fill in as many thoughts that come to you for each category, and be honest.  Almost always, it is the items in the INTERESTING column which will be the most determinative of the choice you make.  Write Now!  GO!  And make the choice!

 

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Dr. Shad Helmstetter on Choices

1 “No one else can ever make your choices for you. Your choices are yours alone. They are as much a part of you as every breath you will take, every moment of your life.”

2 “You may think that in life, a lot of things happen to you along the way. The truth is, in life, you happen to a lot of things along the way.”

3 “Choosing to live your life by your own choice is the greatest freedom you will ever have.”

4 “It is only when you exercise your right to choose that you can also exercise your right to change.”

More About Choices:

What Is Your True Joy In Life?

 

 

 

 

Assignment:  Today, give some careful thought to what is your true joy in life, and perhaps write out your answer as a poem or a short vignette.  Surprise yourself!  Be honest. Write Now! GO!

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Here is some inspiration for you from George Bernard Shaw:

 

"This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.

Ten Commandments for A Good Life

 

The Ten Commandments for Kids

 

Assignment: Listed below are "10 Commandments for a Good Life."  Before you scroll down and read them, take a few minutes to create your OWN 10 Commandments for a Good Life, and write these in your journal.  This is a most useful, and often surprising exercise.  It will give you an appreciation for the trials faced and victories won, and the wisdom which informs your life practice.  Once you have created your list of 10 (and you may want to work on this for a few days), consider sharing it with friends.Write Now!  GO!

 

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"10 Commandments for a Good Life"
by Marc

MIT Offers 2100 Online Courses - FREE!

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Campus

 

Assignment:  Think about what you would like to learn if you could study at MIT.  Let your imagination loose!  Pretend you are going back to school.  Explore what is available from the MIT online catalogue, and create a curriculum for yourself, or start with just one course that you feel passionate about.  Write Now! GO!

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From: Smart Planet:

The disruption of higher education just got very interesting. It appears that the disruptors — private, online universities — are being disrupted at their own game. One of the pantheons of traditional on-site learning, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has announced it will be launching online courses that will be free and open to the world. And, in the process, plans to offer certificates to students successfully completing the coursework. 

What Is Worth Fighting For?

 

Assignment:  Do you agree with Samwise Gangee's statement, below, that "There's some good in the world, and it's worth fighting for?"  What greater good is calling to you?  What do you care about with your whole life?  What cause or causes do you find irresistible, compelling, and necessary for the fulfillment of what you define as your personal Grail Quest, Heroic Journey, and Soul Mission?  Write Now!  GO!

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Sam: "It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy?

Awaken Your Inner Travel Writer! Discover World Hum

 World Hum: The Best Travel Stories on the Web

 

 

This is D. Mack's All-Purpose Travel Postcard Template.  He's on a campaign to make handwritten postcards and letters cool again, and would love to receive one from you -- for more information, please visit his blog.

 

Writing Assignment:  Awaken your Inner Travel Writer and write a short poem or story about a memorable experience from your travels.  If you are planning a trip, be sure to take your journal and note special experiences, events, and happenings. Write Now!  GO!

For examples of some of the very best contemporary travel writing, take a look at World Hum:

www.worldhum.com

 

Here is an item from World Hum about Pico Iyer's new book:

Write & Share Your Life Stories!

 

Writing Assignment:  From the life-history questions below, choose one and write a short vignette focused on this subject.  Over time, using these questions, you can create a collection which can grow into a full memoir.  Or, you may wish to just create stand-alone life stories in your journal.  Write Now! GO!

Consider: Choose events to write about from your life as it is happening right now - small life stories which can eventually become part of  a memoir.

The questions below are from  Write My Memoirs, a site dedicated to supporting writers who wish to create an autobiography.

Read more at:  http://www.writemymemoirs.com/index/about_us.html

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How many people lived in your family home when you were a child? Did your extended family – grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins -- live under the same roof, or very near by?

Money & Life: The Movie

 

 

Writing Assignment:  Reflect on your sense of abundance, and your relationship with money.  What opportunities may exist to upgrade this relationship in the midst of the current global financial crisis?  Are you finding that there are things you can do without, while at the same time improving your quality of life? Are you finding that you are placing less importance in material wealth, and spending more time cultivating spiritual and creative resources?  Is it possible that as there is less money to work with, you will discover more of what matters most in your life? Are you finding new ways to experience abundance, and share this with others?  Write Now!  GO!

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Can we use the opportunity of the economic crisis to heal our relationship with money and re-discover true wealth?

Alone Together: Why We Expect More of Technology and Less of Each Other

 

 

 

Writing Assignment:  As you watch this video, and read the overview of Alone Together below, reflect on your current relationship to the tsunami of digital technologies that threaten to overwhelm us.  How are all these tools affecting your life? Are they adding to your sense of peace and happiness, or detracting from your quality of life?  Are you wanting more connections via these many options, or are you starting to unplug?  if you are serious about being a writer, or even about being able to think clearly about your life and make intelligent decisions, you will need to create boundaries for yourself in terms of how much time you spend absorbed in the brave new  Orwellian digital world.  Write Now!  GO!

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Sherry Turkle's New Book:

Alone Together: Why We Expect More of Technology and Less of Each Other

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Facebook. Twitter. SecondLife. “Smart” phones. Robotic pets. Robotic lovers. Thirty years ago we asked what we would use computers for. Now the question is what don’t we use them for. Now, through technology, we create, navigate, and perform our emotional lives.

Be On Your Own Side

 

 

Writing Assignment: Take notes on how you might be sabotaging yourself by clinging to outgrown or untrue concepts.  Write Now!  GO!

Source:  www.mindmagicprogram.com

Music for Reflection: On the Road Again - Bob Seeger

 

 

 

Journal Assignment:  Music can be a powerful catalyst to evoke memories, moods and hidden feelings.   I have always loved what I call "Road Songs", which would include the Eagles, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and many others who sing compelling songs of the open road, of freedom, of being out on the long blue highways of the Soul. 

Who Are You? Quotations from Erich Fromm

"If I am what I have, and I lose what I have, who then am I?"

- Erich Fromm

Journal Assignment:  The works of Erich Fromm are filled with inspiring and provocative thoughts, such as the one above. If you need a catalyst for some introspection and reflection, use your journal to write something in response to the quote above, or pick one from  the collection of quotes from Fromm, below.  You might ask yourself: "What am I afraid of losing? What would I be if I lost this thing (or these things) that seem so important?"   What if a forest fire was approaching your home, and you had to walk out and leave everything? Who would you be if it all turned to ashes?  What would be left?

Poet Antonio Machado writes that "What the poet seeks is the deep YOU."  What is the 'deep you'?

Spend a few minutes writing a poem or passage which describes what would be left if you lost everything?  Write Now!  GO!

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More wisdom from Erich Fromm:

“Love is a decision, it is a judgment, it is a promise. If love were only a feeling, there would be no basis for the promise to love each other forever. A feeling comes and it may go. How can I judge that it will stay forever, when my act does not involve judgment and decision.”
― Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving

“A person who has not been completely alienated, who has remained sensitive and able to feel, who has not lost the sense of dignity, who is not yet "for sale", who can still suffer over the suffering of others, who has not acquired fully the having mode of existence - briefly, a person who has remained a person and not become a thing - cannot help feeling lonely, powerless, isolated in present-day society. He cannot help doubting himself and his own convictions, if not his sanity. He cannot help suffering, even though he can experience moments of joy and clarity that are absent in the life of his "normal" contemporaries. Not rarely will he suffer from neurosis that results from the situation of a sane man living in an insane society, rather than that of the more conventional neurosis of a sick man trying to adapt himself to a sick society. In the process of going further in his analysis, i.e. of growing to greater independence and productivity,his neurotic symptoms will cure themselves. ”
― Erich Fromm

On Courage and Risk: Afterthoughts to What Should I Do With My Life?

 

Journal Assignment:  As you read the comments from "On Courage and Risk" below, write down the most important risk you can take right now.  If you take this risk, what is the best thing that can happen?  What would be the worst?  Do you have the courage to step into the Unknown, realizing that taking this risk could change your life forever for the better? Write Now! GO!

Po Bronson's book "What Should I Do With My Life?" is a classic - transformational, inspiring, and highly recommended if you are feeling stuck, lost, or trapped.  It is filled with encouraging stories of courageous people who woke up and demanded better for themselves, reminding us that we can demand better as well, and get it.

 

From Po Bronson: Afterthoughts to the Book: What Should I Do With My Life?

www.pobronson.com

Excerpt:

If there is a message to the book, I hope it's the message that's never stated but present in every single chapter. So often, people feel stuck. They feel trapped by inertia or by financial constraints or by a lack of experience, or the simple shortage of hours in the day. In traveling across both oceans, being welcomed into the lives of strangers, investigating so many domains I had absolutely no prior experience with, I was demonstrating that the world is a far more open book that we usually imagine it to be. The world is full of incredible, rich opportunities. If you strengthen your curiosity as you would a muscle, by exercising it regularly -- if you can empathize with the lives of others, if you are willing to see a potential friend in the face of every stranger, if you are willing to suffer some embarrassment and discomfort, and if you are patient -- you will not be stuck forever.  

 

On Courage and Risk

You can make decisions to pad your wallet. You can make decisions to maintain proper appearances. You can make decisions because they're safe or predictable. You can make decisions because it'll keep your parents off your back. You can make decisions simply to delay making harder decisions. I began this book because I was drawn, artistically, to those who've made decisions to serve none of those ends. I was interested in people who resisted those pressures and made a decision simply because it was good, or right, or true to their nature - and were willing to be challenged by the consequences. 

As I wrote in the introduction, "Nothing seemed more brave to me than facing up to one's own identity, and filtering out the chatter that tells us to be someone we're not." 

Change Your Words, Change Your World, Shape Your Future

 

Journal Assignment:  Make list of 10 words which are holding you back from greater happiness and success.  For each word, change it to a dynamic, positive word.  Review this list often, and see how much better you feel when you use the transformed words!  Try it!  Write Now!

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From Joel Osteen:

It's Time to Use Our Words to Declare Good Things

I once read an article about doctors who incorporated "talk therapy" to treat patients suffering with depression. Instead of medicating the problem, the doctors instructed the patients to start making positive declarations over their lives, saying such things as: "I have a bright future. People like to be around me. Good things are in store."

 

Waking Up: The Enterprise... Is Exploration Into God

Claude Monet - Les Glacons - The Ice Floes

 

 

Dark and cold we may be, but this

Is no winter now. The frozen misery

Of centuries breaks, cracks, begins to move;

The thunder is the thunder of the floes,

The thaw, the flood, the upstart Spring.

Thank God our time is now when wrong

Comes up to face us everywhere,

Never to leave us till we take

The longest stride of soul we ever took.

Affairs are now soul size.

The enterprise

Is exploration into God.

Where are you making for? It takes

So many thousand years to wake,

But will you wake for pity's sake!

 

  Christopher Fry

From "A Sleep of Prisoners"

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Alex Noble:  If ever there was a year to "wake up," this is it. Though we may feel we have insurmountable challenges, though we may look all around us and see nothing but a vast wasteland, though suddenly we may feel alone in a way we have never quite felt alone before, though dreams we had cherished for years may have fallen through or vanished like phantoms, though friends may betray and enemies slander, though we may feel as though we have lost everything and and have to start all over again...

 

Made for Goodness: Bishop Desmond Tutu

 

Journal Assignment:  Commit at least one act of random kindness and beauty today, and take notes on what you did, what reaction you got, and how you felt.  GO!

 

Excerpt:

Derreck, Patricia and Bruno are the tip of the iceberg among people across the world engaging in goodness, love and compassion. Their stories invite each of us to consider how we participate in making good news every day.

In becoming part of the good news of the human story, you remind us all that we are made for oneness as a human family. You become a birth-giver of hope. God smiles on you with every piece of good news that you contribute to.

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We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths. Congratulations to Arianna Huffington and The Huffington Post for offering a new way to celebrate these truths with the launch of Good News! The world needs your acts and compassionate loving goodness.

In the darkest days of the struggle to end apartheid, it was possible for some to succumb to the endless bad news of violence and torture systematically directed against people because of the color of their skin or those who had a vision of our oneness as people. But we were always upheld and strengthened by the good news of those whose actions reminded us that we are each God's partners in a love and justice that includes all.

The God who existed before any religion counts on you to make the oneness of the human family known and celebrated. You do this as you respond to the invitation found in the news of the day to make a difference. Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value.

Life Lessons: What Have Your Learned? What Can You Share?

 

 

Alex Noble:  It is a useful exercise, from time to time, to write out short, one sentence "life lessons" - things you have learned that you wish to pass along to others.

We do not suffer without gaining wisdom, we do not fail without becoming tougher, we do not succeed without realizing how much better we can be, we do not pass through fire without learning that we can, after all, survive. 

From our trials, as well as our achievements, we can harvest treasures of insight and transformation.

What life lessons do you have to share? 

See if you can write 10, 40 or even 50 0f these. 

Use this writing practice to create something of value you can share with your friends, family, and even your larger network.

Why not give the gift of your experience?

Have fun!  Write Now!

Once you have written as many life lessons as you can (and use short sentences), take a look at the provocative list below, from Regina Brett.

And if you need some inspiration, it is OK to take a look at hers anytime.  But more fun if you do your own first! GO!

 

The Mayan Calendar, 2012 & Our Window of Opportunity - Gregg Braden

 

 

 

Watch this video, and ask yourself: Am I ready for something better?

How can I live a life of greatest service?

Your journal awaits!

GO!

Dare to Change and Feel Alive Again!

 

Alex Noble: Are you ready to make bold, radical changes in your life? Or maybe even modest ones, which nevertheless challenge entrenched patterns which have become boring and which stifle your inner genius and Divine Being? 

Can you see clearly where your old patterns tend to undermine and sabotage innovation and exploration?  Open up your journal, and with pen or pencil in hand, set a timer, and write fast for 15 minutes about changes you can make immediately to liberate yourself from an outgrown past and from toxic and dysfunctional ways of being. 

Closing Cycles - Paolo Coelho

A useful reflection at the beginning of a new year is to become aware of what cycles in your life are closing, what is now outgrown, what has served its purpose and is no longer needed. It is healing to be conscious of endings, as well as new beginnings, and honor the endings with gratitude so that one may move on, liberated and lighter in spirit, leaving the past behind where it belongs.

What cycles are closing in your life?  What work might you need to do to finalize these closures? Your journal is a good place to take notes on this subject.  Endings are excellent material for poems. Be honest!  GO!

You may find it helpful to read Paolo Coelho's excellent essay below on this subject, or at least an essay, attributed to him, which he has adopted and edited.

I am also including one of my own poems, The Clean Break, which was originally written as a journal entry.

2012 & Why the World Doesn't End - Michael Meade

 

 

Michael Meade is a Storyteller and Mythologist, and Founder

of the Mosaic Multi - Cultural Foundation

http://www.mosaicvoices.org/

 

In your journal: What is your story?  What golden thread of purpose has given meaning to your life? What new story do you need to write for yourself?  GO!

 

Michael Meade: The Growing Chaos and the New Year

January takes its name from Janus, the old Roman god of gates, doorways, and thresholds. Depictions of Janus show two faces looking in opposite directions; past and future, old and new, outer darkness and inner light. As ruler of all endings and beginnings, Janus was invoked at the onset of any change in the course of life. Janus was especially present at the end of the calendar, in the long, dark nights that give birth to each New Year.

The Origin & Significance of Our New Story

 

 

The Origin and Significance of the New Story - About Thomas Berry

Berry's ideas on the New Story began in the early 1970s as he pondered the magnitude of the social, political, and economic problems we were facing in the human community. His articulation of the need for a new orientation and direction was motivated by his deep concern for the almost suicidal path of humans in their destruction of the earth and in their violence and indifference to one another. The need for a New Story or a functional cosmology, then, arose not as an abstract idea, but as a response to the sufferings of humans in a universe where they saw themselves as deeply alienated(20). This alienation was, no doubt, a particular experience of the west in the post war years as expressed in existentialist philosophy, the death of God theology, and the theater of the absurd. Nonetheless, the spirit of disaffection, ennui, and alienation has spread to other parts of the world due to western cultural influences. Berry's New Story provides an important antidote to this disillusionment and despair. It creates, above all, a new context for connection, for purpose, for action. It is an idea with direct implications for providing the human energy needed for positive social, political, and economic change.

We Are Between Stories - Judith Thompson

 

The Torus

 

We are between stories.  We need a new, compelling vision of who we are, why we are here, and what our heroic journey as individuals and as a species must now be.  We need Storytellers, Guides, Mythmakers, Visioneers, Paradigm Shifters, Social Healers.  If this whole matter of a new story for humanity is of interest to you, give yourself 15 minutes (set a timer!) and write some notes for a new myth that would open the way to a positive future here on Earth.  What set of values would be acceptable to all cultures and spiritual traditions? What symbols, metaphors and memes will serve to create a new culture?  What kind of new heroes and heroines will win the hearts of people worldwide?  Just write!  GO!

 

We Are Between Stories
by Judith Thompson

We live in an exciting time. As cultural historian, Thomas Berry put it: “We are between stories.” The old story — bracketed on the one side by reductionist scientific materialism, and on the other by institutional religious dogmas — is no longer able to guide us toward human or planetary flourishing. Instead, the chasms created by both science and religion, and the various social philosophies they spawned, are implicated in pushing us toward the precipitous edge upon which we now stand. At this edge we see both breakdowns and breakthroughs.

Choices

 

 

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

 

WRITE NOW! Reflect on Being Fully Alive!

 

 

 

Questions:  Are you feeling fully alive right now? Do you have a sense of joyful celebration about the New Year?  What are you looking forward to? What do you plan to do to bring more joy into your life and the lives of others?  What are your thoughts about being alive, on this planet, at this time in history? Are you excited about your goals and plans for 2012? Are you expecting Angels and Miracles to appear in your life to support your journey and success?  Are wonderful things happening for you? Are you grateful for the opportunities that are presenting themselves to you?

Imagine That a Stranger Asks You Three Questions

 

"Questions Before Dark"

"Day ends, and before sleep
when the sky dies down, consider
your altered state: has this day
changed you? Are the corners
sharper or rounded off? Did you
live with death? Make decisions
that quieted? Find one clear word
that fit? At the sun's midpoint
did you notice a pitch of absence,
bewilderment that invites
the possible? What did you learn
from things you dropped and picked up
and dropped again? Did you set a straw
parallel to the river, let the flow
carry you downstream?"

- Jeanne Lohmann
from "The Light of Invisible Bodies"

*******

 

Inviting Synchronicities

A  Scarab Beetle - See story about Jung, below

 

Inviting Synchronicities

“Nature loves courage. You make the commitment and nature will respond to that commitment by removing impossible obstacles. Dream the impossible dream and the world will not grind you under, it will lift you up. This is the trick. This is what all these teachers and philosophers who really counted, who really touched the alchemical gold, this is what they understood. This is the shamanic dance in the waterfall. This is how magic is done. By hurling yourself into the abyss and discovering its a feather bed."

- Terence McKenna

 

Many who are studying predictions for the coming year, 2012, have stated that we should not be surprised to notice an increase of synchronicities, or “meaningful coincidences” in our lives. One definition says that a synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner. The concept of synchronicity was first described  by Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist, in the 1920s. (Wikipedia) 

What would I attempt to do if I knew that I could not fail?

 

What Would I Attempt to Do If I Knew I Could Not Fail?

Fear of failure is built into our culture.  We are brought up with an ingrained fear of being “wrong.”  Drawing on the Aristotelian and Medieval Monk traditions, upon which our Western Civilization is built, we are not taught to be fearless, experimental, innovative, adventurous or wild.  Instead, timid conservatism is applauded and rewarded in terms of being “right.” Everything is right or wrong, black or white, with no room for “maybe” or “interesting.”

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.

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.

 

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."

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.

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.