As an alumni of TeachNow, I’ve registered again …

… and am absolutely LOVING the nourishing support provided in the Modules and on the Q&A calls! I encourage YOU to check it out if you long to share what you’re passionate about with others in sustainable ways … earning a living by teaching what you know to those who long to learn and you can save $100 if you register before January 18th.

If you long to teach – or to renew your passion for teaching, or to stoke the profitability of the way you teach, TeachNow is the best course ever.

Click to hear me read this piece now:

Many of you know me as a ‘happily retired’ teacher and writer who feels called to share a unique Labyrinth Writing process with others. What’s been fascinating for me to realize is just how hesitant I am to jump in and ACT on that impulse after eleven years of retirement. Of course I have the skills and the knowledge. Methinks I’m more afraid of being overwhelmed by success than encountering failure and believe Marianne Williamson was right when she wrote the following:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

So … I relish the support, encouragement, information, and authentic ‘modeling’ of Jen & Michele as they teach this program again and again. It gets richer all the time and what they’ve created at Rizuku is a wonderful community of teachers that I’m delighted to be a part of. If you’re a teacher already and would like to enhance your skills … or if you’d LIKE to be more comfortable sharing what you know with others … this program is definitely worth checking out as soon as possible because you save $100 off until January 18th — the course is currently $298.

TeachNow is a digital, self-led program for anyone who longs to share their passions – whether you’re an established teacher or simply would love to teach one day. Michele and Jen expertly weave interviews with master teachers – Natalie Goldberg, Sharon Salzberg, Christina Baldwin, Elizabeth Lesser, Mark Nepo, Parker Palmer and many more – together with the nuts and bolts of teaching. More importantly, they address the heart and soul of teaching: the inner work that makes your teaching powerful and effective. I listen to, am inspired by, and learn from these amazing interviews over and over again.

Jen Louden wrote a bestseller when she was 29. Michele Lisenbury Christensen was a prodigy at 23. In the many years since then, they’ve taught and taught. Oh, and suffered. Now, to help you teach in less-expensive, more sustainable ways, they’ve created TeachNow, including interviewing more than three dozen revered teachers. I initially signed up for the interviews, but now I love the whole program so much I’ve registered as an alumni! I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read about it so you can see if the program is a ‘fit’ for you.

Thought for Today

“The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”

Kahlil Gibran
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The Wolf You Feed …

Thanks to Tracy Brooks
for finding & sharing this wolf photo at Facebook
which reminded me of the Native American story
told by a grandfather to his grandson
and Pema Chodron’s book, Taking the Leap
inspiring this morning’s labyrinth writing
and this long overdue post.

Click play to listen to me read this piece now:

Click play to listen to me read this piece now:

“As human beings we have the potential to disentangle ourselves from old habits, and the potential to love and care about each other. We have the capacity to wake up and live consciously, but … we also have a strong inclination to stay asleep. It’s as if we are always at a crossroad, continuously choosing which way to go. Moment by moment we can choose to go toward further clarity and happiness or toward confusion and pain.”

Pema Chodron, Taking the Leap
Posted in Labyrinth Writing, Stories, Writing the Labyrinth | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Opening the mind …

Click on the image to ’embiggen’ it
and on ‘play’ to listen to me read this piece.

Brief Update:
It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything here or at Giraffe Journal, but I’ve put my ‘virtual hiatus’ to effective use and am delighted to announce that my first journal Writing the Labyrinth with Virginia is published and available for sale on this site.

Click here for details.

I have continued to write the labyrinth daily so I’ve created lots of pieces and accumulated many stories to share in the days, weeks, and months ahead .   I’ll be publishing with more regularity on both sites from now on.

One of these days I’ll figure out how to use Aweber to add an Opt In Box to the site so I can better get acquainted with site visitors. In the meantime, you can stay connected by anonymously subscribing to my RSS feed, send me email at

labyrinthjournal@gmail.com

and ask to be added to my list, or watch for links at Facebook and Twitter when I publish something new.

I plan to schedule teleclasses teaching more about the Labyrinth Writing process in the very near future and hope you’ll want to participate.

Thought for Today

“A quotation at the right moment is like bread in a famine.”

Talmud
Posted in Divine Dialogues, Labyrinth Writing, Writing the Labyrinth | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Purpose, passion, practice and possibility …

Although I wrote these pieces on Sunday and intended to publish them immediately, the week took on a life of its own. So it is that I find myself recording them to share on Friday afternoon instead. Better late than never, right? Click the play buttons to listen to me read these pieces.

I’d love to know your reactions to these pieces if you’d be willing to share in comments or email. For the curious I did publish two updates at Giraffe Journal:
Monday, June 6th What an AMAZING day!
Friday, June 9th Synchronicity abounds and the beat goes on …

Thought for Today

“Never act until you have clearly answered the question: “What happens if I do nothing?”

Robert Brault

 

Posted in Writing the Labyrinth | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Clearing the way to my ideal audience …

What follows are six labyrinth pieces I wrote early this morning … one right after the other.
Click to listen to me read this piece:

As is so often the case for me, I’m engaged in a variety of challenging activities to help me move forward, including but not limited to the following:

The perfectionist in me really wants to revise the labyrinth pieces … especially the ones with mistakes and inconsistencies (especially shifting time frames and tenses between ‘she’ and ‘me’ … 22 years ago and today), but I’ve already spent more time than intended creating the audio files and the scans … so I’m publishing ‘as is’ even though it feels uncomfortable for me to do so.

That acknowledged … as I’ve indicated in previous posts, I’m looking for feedback and interaction so I’d appreciate your ideas, observations, reactions, and thoughts in comments below or in email (virginia at labyrinthjournal.com) if you prefer.

Thought for Today

“I took a deep breath and listened to the old bray of my heart: I am, I am, I am.”

Sylvia Plath

 

Posted in Writing the Labyrinth | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Clarifying Conversations …

What I wrote this morning at 3:54am …

Click the play button to listen to me read the following labyrinth piece.

Thought for Today

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

Victor Frankl

 

Posted in Labyrinth Writing | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

What I’ve come to know recently …

… through my daily journal writing and (more specifically) from listening to Christine Kloser’s Transformational Author Experience series of calls and responding to the ‘3 Whys’ and a 4th question posed by Christine early on:

Why this book?
Why me?
Why now?
Who’s it for?

What follows are 4 labyrinth pieces I wrote two days ago with these questions in mind that capture the essence of my answers for now. FYI –  The black ink words wandering the page comes before the blue ‘aha’ revelations

So … after writing the labyrinth I believe with certainly and clarity (at least for now):
My book is about having fun while finding your voice, rediscovering your inner connection with the Divine, and breaking free of limits to live your dreams joyfully for the good of all concerned!

I don’t have all the answers, but I’m more comfortable with the questions and I do know what’s next for me. This book is ready to be birthed and shared. Prayers are always answered, though not always in predictable or expected ways. Synchronicity abounds! Help shows up with consistent abundance when I ask clearly with an open heart and surrender to surprise! Then all I need do is say, thank you so much and get out of my own way … allowing others to assist as needed while trusting myself to decide my next steps. It’s cRaZiLy pErFeCt and iMpErFeCt all at the same time. Nothing’s ‘either-or’ for me any more, but rather ‘inclusively’ encompassing everything … and then some.

My intention is to share here (as regularly as possible) some of what emerges on my personal journal pages labyrinth style. In addition, at Giraffe Journal I plan to publish an on-going ‘narrative’ about my journey … writing about processes (in and out of the flow) and discoveries along the way as I’ve done for some time now and updated just yesterday in Living and Learning … rowing gently down the stream.

I invite your engagement and feedback in both places for I believe that together we know so much more than any of us knows alone and I need your help.

  • Please respond to what I publish.
  • Ask questions of your own and share them here!
  • Tell me what you think … what you agree with and don’t!
  • Write from your heart about your own experience and sense of truth!
  • Let me get to know YOU as I risk letting you know me through what I write, for I don’t wish to write in a vacuum.

Let’s build a community here together where we each share our authentic voice with gratitude, compassion, and grace so that all might benefit.
Namaste

Thought for Today

“Trust your own instinct. Your mistakes might as well be your own, instead of someone else’s.”

Billy Wilder

 

Posted in Divine Dialogues, Labyrinth Writing | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Labyrinth Elevator Message

Midway through a 4-day live ‘Boot Camp’ marketing event with Adam Urbanski at the Hyatt Hotel on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach this week, I created the following and have decided to share … just because. I’d love your feedback (here or on my public Facebook page, Writing the Labyrinth to Access Inner Wisdom) since I suspect revisions will be forth coming as the training progresses.

Click the play button to listen to me read this labyrinth piece.

 After thoughts on 4-19-11
The specific audience identified in this piece feels small because I sense that my message is for many types of people … including, but not limited to, smart capable women. I understand that ‘current wisdom’ suggests identifying a ‘narrowly defined target market’ wanting to ‘accomplish a specific goal’ is the way to create success and make money quickly within a clearly defined ‘niche’ … but I’m not at all sure it’s what I’m on earth to do.

Addendum added 5-31-11
It took me a while, but I’ve expanded and clarified my focus and shared four labyrinth pieces in the next post in answer to four questions posed by Christine Kloser in the Transformational Authors Experience series. After working with the Soundbite Shaman, Isabel Parlett over the past couple of weeks. I’m learning to think ‘stragetically’ to balance my ‘expressive’ writing and will have new offerings here very soon … so check this link for more specifics, let me know what you think, and stay tuned for more here and at Giraffe Journal.

Thought for Today

“Every time you don’t follow your inner guidance, you feel a loss of energy, loss of power, a sense of spiritual deadness.”

Shakti Gawain

 

Posted in Addendum, Labyrinth Writing, Writing the Labyrinth | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Forgiveness, compassion, gratitude and speaking our truth


Once again I’m sharing the second of three labyrinth pieces from this morning because I feel drawn to do so. I notice that in the first piece I explore ‘yesterday’s residue’ and ‘today’s concerns’ in specific terms … freeing up myself to allow a bit of insight or wisdom to come through me in the second piece … and following up in the third piece where I set some goals for myself. I have no idea how long this pattern might last, but it worked yesterday so I’m sticking with it today.

Click the play button to listen to me read this piece:



If you missed the first labyrinth piece I shared here yesterday, you’ll find it here:

Synchronicity and Truth

Thought for Today

“Truth only reveals itself when one gives up all preconceived ideas.”

Shoseki

 

Posted in Quotes, Writing the Labyrinth | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Writing the Labyrinth – Synchronicity and Truth


What follows is the second of three labyrinth pieces that I wrote in my journal this morning … the one I feel drawn to share here today. I’ve recorded it as an audio file so you can listen as you look because I realize trying to read these pieces online is more than challenging. I hope you’ll find it of interest and share your thoughts in the comments section below … or in email if you prefer. If you feel so inclined, may I suggest you sit with a blank page in front of you and experiment with labyrinth writing yourself. I’ve included some more specific directions at the bottom of the page to assist if needed, but trusting your inner wisdom always takes precedence. All that’s needed is a bit of uninterrupted time and a little willingness to experiment.

Press play to listen to me read this piece now:


Suggested Practice:
Take a few moments to sit quietly focusing on the natural outflow and inflow of your breath until you feel relaxed. Draw a line randomly on the page in an amorphous squiggle of some sort or just start writing whatever comes to mind anywhere … and rotate the page whenever you feel the need. Keep your pencil moving without thinking about anything at all … repeat words if necessary until a new word shows up … and if you run out of line before you’re finished, use the empty space to continue wandering with words until the piece feels complete. If you need additional pages to finish feel free. Just write without worry. Give yourself permission to write without thought or judgment … trusting the process to see what happens.


If you’d like more information, you’ll find it here: Writing to Learn. If you’re willing to share after writing, please feel free to use the comment area for that purpose, send me email at labyrinthjournal@gmail.com … share with a friend or loved one, publish on your own blog (with a link back here perhaps) or keep your writing private. Whatever feels right to you is perfect, but I’d love to read whatever writing and/or feedback you’re willing to share.

Thought for Today

“And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.”

Sylvia Plath
Posted in Suggested Practice, Writing the Labyrinth | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments