I try to shake loose my mind, so something fresh can fall out… This process acts like a sifter—sand falls through and bright nuggets come to light. –Natalie Goldberg, Thunder and Lightning In my last post I wrote about the struggle I was having with a particular essay. Every tweak made it seem even more … Continue reading A Path to Publication, pt 15: An editor is your friend
intuition
The W.O.R.D.S. Project: Calling (Or, how do I know my bliss?)
The W.O.R.D.S. Project (Words Open Resonating Depths of the Sacred): A weekly alphabetical search for questions.* Can you hear the calling of your soul? And are you really listening? Listen, listen with your heart, Listen with your breathing In, and your breathing out. Notice how your body feels when Guiding words vibrate within. "It was … Continue reading The W.O.R.D.S. Project: Calling (Or, how do I know my bliss?)
Authentic Voice Project: Y is for Yes!
For redefinition, I was thrown back to myself, to my inner knowing… Marilyn Sewell, Cries of the Spirit The Authentic Voice Project: Week 26 (Full Moon) Y is for Yes! This is the last post of the year-long Authentic Voice Project. I didn't always stay on schedule but I did make it through the whole … Continue reading Authentic Voice Project: Y is for Yes!
Authentic Voice Project: C is for Christ
I realized with discomfort that my last Authentic Voice Project post was in itself Inauthentic. I chose a safe word to explore. I shied away from tackling a true "trigger" word. I again silenced my voice out of fear of rocking the boat. I realized the hypocrisy of this and now I must fix it … Continue reading Authentic Voice Project: C is for Christ
Do you need a map or a box of chocolates?
I have to thank Mark Matousek, with whom I took a class at the Therapeutic Writing Institute, for his insightful article in Psychology Today: What's Your Metaphor? Shifting Shapes In The New Year. This post is my response. Having never asked myself what word or phrase I consider my life metaphor, and how it affects … Continue reading Do you need a map or a box of chocolates?
An open letter to those who are human
C.P. Estes (author of Women Who Run With the Wolves) always addresses her readers as "Dear Brave Souls." I do not know her exact reasoning for this but I can guess that she knows how much courage it takes to live in this world, to face the pains and heartbreaks, unknowns and setbacks. But even … Continue reading An open letter to those who are human
The Word vs. my words
You know that feeling when a connection suddenly clicks in your mind? It is enlightening, almost joyful. I have even experienced it to be mind-boggling. Connections can be and are made all the time, connections that weave our world and those in it together. Connections - like the strands of a spider's web - bond … Continue reading The Word vs. my words
Resume the Stability of Tension
This is a post from a couple of years ago. I am re-posting it because this phrase - Resume the Stability of Tension - keeps popping back into my mind lately. Although I am in a completely different life situation now (I left my job very soon after this post and started grad school a … Continue reading Resume the Stability of Tension
When opportunity knocks… and hands you a gift
Yesterday I received a card through the mail. Inside was a magnet that read: "When opportunity knocks don't be the one who says, 'Can somebody get that?'" This gift was from Kay Adams, founder and director of the Center for Journal Therapy, and it represents a bigger gift which she gave me when she called out … Continue reading When opportunity knocks… and hands you a gift
Trust the process, part 4 (The Crash)
In the middle of the week of my MA residency at Goddard College I attended a workshop named "Wild Research" with Ellie Epp. The description sounded fascinating: "Move only along the line of your love." Stan Brakhage Transdisciplinary work is thrilling, like travel without a map. Working across disciplinary lines also is nerve-wracking: we parachute … Continue reading Trust the process, part 4 (The Crash)
joanna tebbs young 