July 31, 2022 Post
Lately I have been spending a lot of time thinking about where I am in my life currently and where I want to be.
Years ago when a friend passed away, at her memorial service she had a message that she wished to be imparted to all of us in attendance.
It was "Are you living your life or are you just existing?" I always find myself coming back to this and asking myself
that question. Too often, I have to say, mine is the latter. I'm just existing. Not that there's anything wrong with that but it just
isn't what I wanted to be doing with my life. Just living day-to-day waiting for the weekend to come. As a friend of mine has said to me I am
wishing my life away. Although I am grateful for what I do have, I have just been thinking what would it mean for me to be truly living my life?
I believe we can manifest into our life what we want as there is an abundance out there that we just need
to tap into. So often we don't due to our self-limiting thoughts, doubts, etc. Recently I started rereading a book that came out
in 2001 called How to Survive Spiritually in Our Time by Harold Klemp. I find the wisdom imparted in this book certainly
applies today.
In a couple of chapters in the book the author talks about focusing on a goal. He refers to the “fifteen times exercise”
whereby you not only come up with an affirmation for your goal to focus on it but you write it 15 times a day and continue to do so for as
long as you feel you should. You should also take it into contemplation. Contemplation is a more active form of meditation wherein
you use your imagination. You should also do it with the “as if” principal which is simply you live your life as if your affirmation will
come to pass.
He suggests starting off with a very simple, but I think profound, affirmation of “I am healthy happy wise and free.”
When you think about it, that literally means to me, that if truly are these things, all aspects of your life should fall into place in
accordance with the affirmation.
Years ago I had run across this technique and had faithfully practiced it but in this book he added something to
it that was lacking before. Basically what he recommended was change up how you write it. For example, if you normally write very neatly,
scribble. Right it on anything such as a paper bag or whatever. Don't worry about correct punctuation. The whole point was just to have fun
with it. As he put it “what you are doing is opening up the windows of your world”. That really caught my attention as I could definitely
benefit from throwing open some new windows in my world.
Back to the affirmation itself, I really liked the use of that last word "free."
For me, that encompassed so many things such as free from worry, free from self-limiting thoughts, free from negativity,
free from debt, free to reinvent myself if that's what I so desire, free to pursue the things I love, and so much more. In fact,
while pondering further upon the word "free," the Southwest Airlines slogan popped into my head that was in those commercials several years
ago “you are now free to move about the country.” But I changed it up to mean I am now free to to completely move out of my old habits,
self-doubts, self-limiting thoughts, etc. once and for all. All those things that I have allowed to hold me back whether consciously or
subconsciously, I can finally and permanently release them and get on with living my life!
Therefore, I wish for any and all who may read this post the same, to be healthy happy wise and free. Actually it's
always been my belief that you should wish for others what you wish for yourself. Again, I believe there is no limit to abundance, so why
should I only wish for good things just for myself. Instead I should wish it for others as well as myself. So let's all go out there and
open some new windows!!!!
May 14, 2022 Post
In this post I wish to announce an interview I did on a video podcast that is now on YouTube.
View My Interview on YouTube
The video podcast is part of a series that is called COURAGEOUS CREATIVE CONQUERORS by Jean Voice Dart, MS, RMT, CCF.
She is a certified expressive arts grief and trauma coach/therapist/teacher/author.
In fact, if you are interested, her series of video podcasts are all out on YouTube. Just search on “courageous creative conquerors” to find them.
Her interviews with these other individuals are certainly inspiring.
Also, if you are so inclined, you may wish to check the Courageous Creative Conquerors Group
on Facebook.
In this video podcast interview it focused on all of my areas of creativity: digital photography, jewelry making and my book. This was in regards to how they were, and still
are, outlets for dealing with chronic pain as well as a past emotionally traumatic relationship. Luckily, for me, this past relationship was a short-lived one but it did still involve abuse
nonetheless. This story is also a chapter in my book. I should mention that this chapter is the only story in the book of this nature. The other chapters mostly cover my dating and relationship
stories that are more humorous in nature. Overall, as I stated in the previous post and in my book, theses stories are all about them being a part of my life's lessons.
As I mentioned in the previous post, writing the book was definitely cathartic. But it also was a means of sharing these dating and relationship stories in the hope
they might possibly be of benefit to others.
Please check out my interview if you get the chance.
March 13, 2022 Post
The focus of this post is my book, I Have Been Dumped More Times Than Toxic Waste (And Darned Glad I Was).
As I mentioned in my previous post, the inspiration for the title
actually came from a visit to a psychologist several year ago. I had felt the need for some relationship/dating counseling after the ending of my latest relationship at that time. Upon me describing to her my
latest relationship that had just ended, she indicated to me that this relationship had been of a toxic nature. At that moment, as she was saying the word "toxic", a funny thought popped into my head that
based on some of my dating fiascoes and less than stellar relationships so far, I had certainly felt like I was dumped like toxic waste.
Later when I got home, I got on my computer and began writing about some of these experiences, including the latest one that had led me to that session with the psychologist. But I set it aside,
thinking I would come back to it when I felt more comfortable with actually pursuing this idea of a book. Over the ensuing years I would pull up the "book" document I had started and add more to it.
Some times, several years would pass before I would re-visit the book. It wasn't until in the last year or two that I began to feel like I really should pursue this book.
Several years ago, it was mentioned to me a few times under different circumstances, that I should pursue writing. That led me to not only continuing to add to that original book idea subsequent
dating/relationship stories but also, I got the idea for another book. This other book was based on my one trip to Ireland and a few other trips to Scotland. In this book I was focusing on some of the
incredible experiences I had during those travels abroad.
So in the last couple of years when I began to feel the inner "nudge" to once again puruse writing, I first thought I should do so with the book about my travels. I admit it was because I was
more comfortable with writing about those experiences than I was with the thought of a book about my dating and relationship experiences. It wasn't until last summer when, in a conversation with a dear
friend, somehow the subject of writing came up. I jokingly mentioned that I had started a book years ago titled, I Have Been Dumped More Times Than Toxic Waste (And Darned Glad I Was).
My friend burst into laughter and told me I should really do that book. My friend even offered to read it over if I wanted someone to take a look at it. At first, I was thinking no way would I really
do it. But in the next day or so after that phone call, in thinking back over the rest of the conversation we had about this idea, I began to toy with the idea of doing it for real.
So I pulled up the document and went to work on it in earnest over the next few weeks. Finally, when I felt I had something worth sharing, I decided to just do it - to send it to my friend to read.
Luckily, my friend really liked it and encouraged me to go further and submit it to a publisher. All I can say is those series of spontaneous actions, starting with just jokingly
mentioning the book to my friend, sitting down and writing the book in earnest, and then sending it to my friend to read - ultimately resulted in this, my first published book!
As I mention in the book, the stories are about my life's lessons in the relationship area. About how one, in my opinion, is destined to
repeat these life's lessons (no matter what part of one's life they affect) until you learn the lessons. Believe me, I certainly repeated these lessons, as evidenced in my book! I realized that as I felt
I had learned so much from these lessons, the time was finally right for writing the book. Writing this book was also, for me, a form of catharsis. I felt I had taken a very spiritual step forward as well.
I further realized there was a part of me that hadn't fully acknowledged what I had learned from these lessons. I was able to look back on these lessons and feel I could finally move on from them.
Now I could look back in humor and laugh at myself, which was so important for me to do.
February 20, 2022 post
My orignal outlets were through music, singing in choirs for example, and my love of art. I always took all the art classes
I could in school. Later in life I discovered digital photography, jewelry making and my most recent creative outlet, writing.
In fact, I just recently had my first book published!
Later in life I discovered my love of photography, specifically digital photography. It gave me the perfect outlet for expressing myself through the images of the incredible landscapes,
endearing animals and beauty and simplicity of flowers and nature that I constantly saw around me. More especially the landscapes, flora and fauna I encountered through traveling.
I have travelled extensively in Scotland as well as some in England and Ireland. I love trying to capture the sense of history and overall atmosphere that I felt when visiting the historic sites.
At first, I was doing the photography to record what I saw. After my first trip abroad, which was actually to Ireland - the southern areas of Cork and Kinsale - I realized photography could be more than
just for documenting my travels. I had been bemoaning the fact I didn't really do any art, painting, etc. After giving a slideshow presentation to close friends on my trip to Ireland, one of my friends
looked at me and said "I think this is your medium, digital photography."
Thus began my pursuit of digital photography as my artistic medium. It became the first of my side businesses.
Another favorite creative outlet of mine is jewelry making. It arose out of my love of color and my desire to always color coordinate my outfits. So I often made my own jewelry to match.
Some might say my love of color coordination is an obsession. I, on the other hand, just find it to be fun and relaxing to apply myself to coming up with creative designs that are in colors that
either match or compliment my clothing. By extension that led me to wanting to do it for others so it too became another side business.
My latest outlet for creativity stemmed from many years ago it had been suggested that I should pursue writing. I put it off for several years but eventually I began to think on it more and more.
I first considered writing about some of the things I had experienced during my travels but I had also started writing about many of my experiences in the dating and relationship area too. I started compiling
various stories about my dating and relationship experiences that had happened so far. I had infused them with humor. So that, combined with my belief in the healing power of laughter and how it is just
great for your overall health, led me to recently choosing this subject matter for my first book. It seemed only right that this be the subject matter of my first foray into the realm of writing.
The inspiration for the title actually came from a visit to a psychologist several year ago. I had felt the need for some relationship/dating counseling after the ending of my latest relationship.
Upon me describing to her my latest relationship that had just ended, she indicated to me that this relationship had been of a toxic nature. At that moment, as she was saying the word "toxic", a funny
thought popped into my head that based on some of my dating fiascoes and less than stellar relationships so far, I had certainly felt like I was dumped like toxic waste.
Blog Intro - January 2022
I have always loved expressing myself creatively. I work in an area that is IT that is all logic so I really
need my creative outlets to add the balance in my life. As it is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day events
in life that lead to stress, worry, anxiety, etc., that's why it is so important to me to find those things that help
lead to lifting me up out of the day-to-day events. To me, putting my focus on things that help lift me up instead of
those things that bring me down are essential to my well-being. Being able to express myself creatively helps me to achieve
that upliftment. It is also my hope that in sharing through my various creative outlets it may, even if only in some small way,
do so for others.
Please continue to check back as more to come on my creative outlets and certainly about my book.
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