My SARK Adventure

The Sanctuary at Omega

Last weekend I drove to The Omega Institute to attend a writing workshop with the one and only SARK!

It was kind of a long drive (6 hours) to make on my own, but I knew it would be worth it. I stopped at the public library and picked out 6 books on tape to keep me company. I have never listened to a book on tape before and was surprised when I put the first one in and saw it was 13.5 hours long! I didn't finish it during the drive and for the first time in more than a year I miss having a commute - I'm dying to hear how the story ends! (It's The Condition by Jennifer Haigh.)

So the book kept me occupied and the drive was pleasant. The trees were still bursting with brilliant colors. (I was afraid they might be past their peak.) I arrived at Omega around 5pm, checked in, and headed to my cabin. I shared a room with a sweet woman named Neena who showed me pictures of the 6 (!) dogs she and her husband foster. I enjoyed a delicious dinner and then it was time to meet SARK! (Actually, I spotted her in the dining hall during dinner but was nervous to approach her.)

my cabin

SARK had meditated on our names and made us each a name tag with an adjective that came to her as she thought of us. Mine was "Willing Mindy," which I had a tough time interpreting... There were less than 20 people in the group (I was certain there would be hundreds!), mostly women, but two brave men were there as well.

SARK is just as amazingly fabulous as I imagined she would be! All weekend long she told us enchanting stories. She gracefully held the space for our group and supported us on our own transformational journeys.

We were each assigned a mentor for the weekend. Mine was a beautiful soul named Creative Susan and we were definitely a perfect match! We have a lot in common in terms of our backgrounds and our current writing projects.

We actually didn't write very much, which may be surprising because it was a writing workshop (based on SARK's book Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper). We did talk a lot about strategies for writing and how to move forward on our projects.

My top take-aways from the weekend are:

• Work on our Creative Dreams is meant to be delight*full (delight is where the best work happens)
• When teaching a techniques use stories to inspire people
• Action before inspiration (just do it)
• Develop habits of completion
• We all have something fabulous to offer the world (you never know what impact your story might have)
  

The last thing we did as a group was something called Stand and Receive. Each person took turns standing in front of the group and the group called out things they admired and appreciated about the person. I found this to be pretty powerful. I think we should start doing it at birthday parties with the people we love! Just imagine being surrounded by people all calling out fabulous things about you! We definitely need more of that!

I got lost on my way home. But after an entire weekend of SARK talking about transforming our stories, I couldn't bring myself to be annoyed. Instead I focused on the beautiful mountain views, the great book on tape, and the sweet girl at the gas station who gave me perfect directions to get back on track. My intentions for the weekend centered around resting and rejuvenating myself and I definitely returned home feeling like I had pressed the reset button.

What's on your bookshelf?

This week my writing teacher asked me to bring a list of books by my bedside. For years now I have read at least 5-10 books at a time. I read almost exclusively nonfiction so reading many books simultaneously is not a problem like it might be if I was trying to keep straight several plots and characters in fiction books.

Here is what I am reading right now...

• Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach
• The E-Myth by Michael Gerber
• If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
• Style Statement by Carrie McCarthy & Danielle LaPorte
  
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
• Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port
• The Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka
• New Moon by Stephanie Meyer (yup, I am pretty far behind with the books, but don't worry I've seen all the movies... lol)
  
• Reinventing Eve by Kim Chernin

What's on your bookshelf?

Image credit

The Power of Play

Good afternoon darling readers!

I hope you are doing well and enjoying a fabulous Friday!

Let me tell you about my day so far...

I awoke naturally around 8:30am, today being the only day this week I do not have to set an alarm. I wandered downstairs and found the hubby making his coffee, which meant I couldn't make mine (he drinks regular and I am strictly decaf now). So I meandered back upstairs, started checking email and pondering what to do with the day. I worked on my book for a few minutes, but was feeling uninspired so I went back online to browse some blogs.

Eventually, I went back downstairs to make my coffee and chat with the hubby about our most recent renovation project at the wellness center, the grocery list, and other such enticing topics! Finally a bit after 10am I decided to start reading through my visual journal. I used three colored index cards and labeled them "to-do, to-read, to-ponder." My visual journal dates back to March 2010 and it was really interesting to see how my ideas and my business have grown since then. By this time it was about 11am and I started to think "I'm wasting the day away." It is pretty unusual for me to spend that many hours basically doing nothing...

So I hopped in the shower and that is when it happened! I had a gorgeous aha moment!

More to come on that later, but my point here is that all of my idling and "doing nothing" lead me up to that aha!

That moment in the shower reminded me of my theme for this summer -PLAY!

Play is an important part of creating and no matter what you "do" with your life, you are creating something!
Looking back on my index cards from earlier this morning, I see that I jotted "the difference between being lazy and giving myself space" on the To-Ponder card. I think all too often we perceive playtime as laziness, especially those of us who tend to be "doers," but there is immense value in "being" without any goal to be achieved or tangible thing to be produced. Although I schedule in an Artist Date for myself every week and a 30-minute creative mini-retreat nearly daily, I still struggle with idleness - particularly when I am wanting to create something. What am I learning and re-learning is that you can't force creation AND that periods of "doing nothing" are an important and natural part of the process of creating.

So go ahead and take some time to "do nothing" today or over the weekend - you may be surprised by the results!

Random Mid-Week Musings

Bonjour! Comment allez-vous? Aahhh... I have been following Kimberly Wilson's Paris travels - so inspiring! Over the weekend I even picked myself up a sequin beret (featured in the above photo of moi). It is quite fabulous if I do say so myself! I'm actually wearing it right now, just for fun :-)

Things have been super busy here in Niagara Falls! Over the weekend life coach Kim David and I hosted the first Women's Wellness Retreat at Tree of Life Yoga Studio. It was soooo amazing!!!! I could go on and on about it, but for now I will just share one major take-away from the day. One of the things Kim had us do was write down our to-do list for the upcoming days. Then we rated each item on our to-do list from -10 (really not fun) to +10 (completely fabulous). She then challenged us to "better" everything on our list that was not a +10. Kim believes that everything in life should feel as close to a +10 as possible. This felt like a pretty radical idea to me! I'm not sure about you, but I typically just accept that there are some not so +10 feeling things in life that I have to do.

Of course this is true and Kim was not trying to gloss over that fact, but she was challenging us to "better" these things. For example, if you have a stack of bills to pay and that feels like a -5 for you, maybe lighting a candle and pouring yourself a nice glass of wine to enjoy while you pay the bills. I notice that I do this in my life at certain times. For example, when I was writing my dissertation I had special candles that I would light only when I was writing and I would reward myself with simple treats after a work session, like listening to some music or browsing online. Imagine what life would be like if we "bettered" every single thing on our to-do list! It sounds so lovely to me and I am going to give it a try. I'll let you know how it goes!


I have been participating in two amazing weekly conference calls with awe-inspiring ladies such as SARK, Marianne Williamson, and more. These calls are through The Self-Love Studio and Wake-Up Call Coaching. They are both free if you are on the live call and they both offer packages with recorded calls for a reasonable investment. So many take-aways to share from these calls and I promise I will in future posts. In the meantime, maybe you can join in on the fun!

Inspiration was my word for 2009 and I truly have been inspired so much this year! I've already started musing about 2010. Partly because my 2010 Planner Pad arrived!!!!! OMG I LOVE IT!!! I'm not sure what my word for the year will be, but I do have some goals in mind. I'm planning on a major makeover for the blog and website. I would like to paint yoga-inspired murals on the windows at Living Wellness of Niagara. I am going to record for my first yoga practice CD. I want to have a backyard garden. I want to write a book. I hope to hold a Women's Wellness Retreat in some fabulous location like Costa Rica. I know I'm dreaming big for 2010, but hey why not?

I'm going away this weekend for a yoga training. I am so excited for a whole weekend devoted to yoga! And I booked myself a jacuzzi suite for the weekend. Aaahhhh.....

Namaste,


Mindy

Spontaneous Mini-Artist Date

Hello! I hope you are having a fabulous weekend! I wanted to share a spontaneous mini-artist date I squeezed in late last week...

I arrived home after teaching and discovered I had 30 unplanned minutes to myself before dashing off to pick up my favorite girl from the sixth grade! Of course, the to-do list was there waiting and the dirty bathrooms were calling out for some cleaning, but I decided to do something to rejuvenate myself instead!

I had been dying to get outside and take some pictures of the gorgeous fall foliage. It seemed especially urgent since it already feels like winter here in Western New York! Which is kind of gross by the way and means I have to work extra hard not to be grouchy everyday that it is below 50 degrees, which is basically everyday for about the last two weeks. But I digress...

I took about 15 minutes to walk around the neighborhood and capture the autumn scenery. Here are a few of my pictures:



Just about the time my legs were beginning to go numb, I came back home for some peppermint tea and pumpkin bread - yum! I also discovered the newest issue of Real Simple in the mailbox - yay - and spent my last few minutes alone leafing through it and soaking up the splendid images!

I felt wonderfully refreshed after my spontaneous mini-artist date! I highly recommend squeezing in some "me time" wherever and whenever you can! Even five minutes can make a difference in your day.

Some ideas on how to refresh your soul in 5 minutes or less:

• Close your eyes and take 10 deep breaths
• Check your favorite blog
• Listen to an uplifting song
• Do a yoga pose in your chair
• Take out your journal
• Doodle on a sticky-note
• Take a short walk outdoors
• Enjoy a hot cup of tea or coffee

Wishing you many inspiring moments this week,

Mindy

Artist Date at Goat Island

Lately I have been feeling a bit stuck. Things are not happening as quickly or easily as I would like them to and I feel myself becoming irritated with this process. I've been getting caught up in the details and losing sight of my bigger vision, my intention for these businesses. It is easy to do when most of my days right now are filled with the bureaucracy of insurance companies, banks, public agencies, etc. I don't mean to knock these institutions. They are very important and necessary to what the hubby and I are trying to do here. Which is? Transform a more than 100-year old-in-some-places-literally-crumbling building into a sanctuary of peace and inspiration for our community. Anyways....I digress. The point is I have not been feeling so fabulous about the details of my daily life lately!

So, I decided to take myself on an Artist Date. An Artist Date is a solo excursion where one spends an hour simply doing whatever she desires. Sound fabulous? It most definitely is! I have been doing them for more than a year since I first worked through The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron.

Yesterday I chose to pack up my books, journal, and camera and head to Goat Island, a beautiful park here in Niagara Falls. I took along a soy chai latte to keep me warm. I haven't had one in a long time so it felt like a real treat! This Artist Date combined several of my favorite things. Physical movement: I didn't want to pay the $10 for parking so I parked on the city street and walked into the park. I also did quite a bit of hiking around while I was there. Nature: Goat Island is gorgeous and filled with trees and waterfalls and tons of natural eye candy. Reading: I brought along the three books we are using for the creativity circle with Kimberly Wilson: The Artist's Way, Hip Tranquil Chick, and the 12 Secrets of Highly Creative Women. Writing: I spent some time resting beside a tree and writing in my journal.

I had a fabulous time and truly do feel refreshed after those hours spent alone walking, reading, writing, contemplating. In retrospect, I feel like I chose this location for my Artist Date because of all the fast-flowing water. It is in constant flux, always moving, the opposite of being stuck...

What a fabulous day!

I was already feeling especially splendid today, with my licensure test being over and all, and then I opened my email and found this lovely treat! The super sweet Melita gifted me with this one lovely blog award! I'm such a newbie blogger and I am so very flattered by this!

Here are six other things I am completely, obnoxiously happy about today:

1. I went to the library this morning to check out books to read for fun!!!! I got Expecting Adam by Martha Beck and The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd. So excited for some leisurely reading!

2. After the library, I headed over to my daughter's chorus concert. The kids were awesome (and so cute, even though she hates when I say that) and they even sang "I'm holding out for a hero" from Footloose. Does anyone remember that song? I totally had that album when I was younger and I was about to sing along with them. Such a fun start to the day!

3. My amazon order came today. I sent for two work-related books that I am really looking forward to reading this summer: The Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield and The Healing Path of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi.

4. The fact that books about yoga and Buddhist Psychology are actually considered work-related in my world!

5. My husband ate the leftover Chinese food for dinner and let me have the leftover Etouffee.

6. The de-cluttering e-course started on Monday, but I haven't had time to dive in yet so I'm making that a priority for tonight!

Here are some lovely blogs that I would like to pass this award onto:

Goddess Guidebook

I Need a Martini Mom

Boho Girl

Jen Lemen

The Whole Self

Penelope Dullaghan

I'm off to enjoy some reading before bed! Good night!

Inspiration

Have you heard of this idea of picking a word for the year? Sort of like summing up your New Year's resolution in one word? I'm not sure where I came across this idea; I'm thinking it was probably from Kimberly or Kelly Rae...

Anyhow, my word for the year is inspiration. For me, inspiration means many things: waking everyday feeling excited about what lies ahead of me, delighting in everyday things, feeling the urge to create, and more!

This morning I woke up feeling very inspired! I had an amazing dream about wandering around and adoringly inspecting the soon-to-be home of Living Wellness of Niagara (pictured above). We are scheduled to close on the property next Friday - yay!!!! I feel so at home in this space, even though I've only been inside about five times. It just feels so right! I can't wait to get in there and start painting and picking out furniture and decorations :-)

After my few minutes of blissed out daydreaming, I headed to the gym and then came home to (of course) study. After two hours in front of the computer I was feeling anything but inspired... so I took an inspiration break. After journaling for a few minutes and taking a nice hot shower complete with Mango shower gel, I was feeling better!

Some of the other ways I've sought out inspiration this week are: an hour in Starbucks with a soy chai latte, my journal, and these two books, studying in Panera over a yummy veggie sandwich & salad, signing up for Goddess Leonie's new e-course, and an hour browsing in Barnes & Noble and buying myself this treat.

A few of my other sure fire ways to spark inspiration include:

• yoga


• a walk in the sunshine


• writing


• buying fresh flowers


• reviewing my long-term goals


• some time with a good magazine, really like this one


• getting a massage & facial


• painting, coloring, drawing


• meditation


• eating a fresh fruit salad


• reading


• getting a pedicure


• lighting a candle

Wishing you all a day filled with inspiration!