37days

2 days! Time to get your intuition on!

Release deadweight.

I release the deadweight of what I hope will happen — and fully-embrace the possibilities of what is happening! I will create a daringly refined {edited; changed; adapted} life! \o/

-Teresa

 

Chains of the past.

I want to let go of the chains of the past, and to create a new chapter in my life where I live fully in the present.

-Lisa 

Movement out of my head, and into my heart.

I want to let go of limiting beliefs my body can't heal from Fibromyalgia. Movement, and exercise are key to help people feel better with FM. Pain, and extreme fatigue, make it challenging to do the very thing my body needs. Movement, even small stretches daily, is my goal for 2012. Movement out of my head, and into my heart. To embrace each beat, and every ache, as gifts that I am still here to experience 37 Days to move forward in creating, believing and achieving freedom of motion. I am currently in bunny slipper camp but now I am hopeful I can hop my way to a boot camp in 2012. Patti, you have inspired me deeply. Thank you.

-Lille Diane

Time to get my intuition on!

I'm letting go of negative.  Negative speech, negative thoughts, negative things....negative.  I'm letting go of doubt...it's time to get my intuition on!

-Amanda

 

Let go of holding on.

I want to let go of holding on. Sometimes I hold onto a bad mood which sounds insane, but I do it anyway. Sometimes I hold onto relationships that have run their course because somewhere along the way I decided relationships are supposed to last forever. I cling to beautiful memories, thus squeezing the life out of them. I hold onto a dream so rigidly it has no ability to flow and leak into the cracks of my life. I want to let go of all that holding and surrender to let Beauty Abound and have her way with me.

-Rebecca Mullen


My own healing.

 Continue to actively participate in my own healing!

-Karlee

 

Let go of stuff.

Let go of excess, "stuff." Create an improved learning environment.

-Jona



Create my own happiness.

 I want to let go of wallowing in the stress brought on by the mistakes of others.  I want to create a healthy body, full of strength.  I also want to create my own happiness, and not rely on others to make me happy.

-Maureen Hoffman-Wehmeier


Be whole.

 I want to let go of feeling that I am not enough just as I am and the fear of rejection if I reach out to others.  I want to create health in body, mind, and spirit throughout the year.

-Karen

________________

What is your answer to this question: What do you want to let go of, and what do you want to create in 2012?

 You can submit it here and I will post several a day as we count down to the launch of my new 37days site on January 5th, 2012 with a free, online party! Come! Just 2 more days until the party! Over 1035 people have RSVP'd so far! I'll be giving away lots of books, 2012 Life is a Verb calendars, and free classes! Bring your own cupcake and I hope to see you there! Lots of exclamation points!

The Week of Inward Looking: Day 7 - On being an artist

January 1, 2012

From: Seth Godin

Question: Has my art been brave enough?

Art is a uniquely human endeavor, and act of genius. Art is what we do when we do something for the first time, do it uniquely, and do it to touch someone else. The generosity is built into the act. Painting might be art, pottery might be art, customer service might be art--but none of them are art if all you're doing is commerce, or phoning it in, or following a manual or a map.

Art is where we expose ourselves, because in addition to being human, we really have no choice but to accept failure. And it's failure (or the potential for failure) that creates art. When we talk about emulating the bodhisattva, we accept the risk that maybe we won't touch anyone, won't shed any light, won't make a difference.

The only way to do art, real art, is to embrace that risk. To do less is to hide.

___________________

Background: Author Susan Piver and I are hosting "The Week of Inward Looking" during this week between Christmas and the New Year. It occured to us that this inbetween week is a time for examination, a time to build a bridge to a peaceful, joyful, creative, and wildly successful 2012--whatever success means to you.

So we invited five extraordinary thinkers to join us in creating a 7-day journey, starting today.

You are welcome to join our Facebook group to connect with others participating in The Week of Inward Looking, or not.

You are welcome to post your answers on that Facebook page, or not.

You are welcome to journal in your private journal, on your blog, anywhere you'd like--the questions are simply put into the universe for you to consider as we move in this week toward 2012. Share as you would like.

Each day will have a different questioner, and a different theme:

Dec 26: Patti Digh - On Bendiness
Dec 27: Ken Robert - On Shadows
Dec 28: Andrew Mellen - On Becoming Organized
Dec 29: Jennifer Louden - On Serving
Dec 30: Jonathan Fields - On Creativity
Dec 31: Susan Piver - On Spirituality
Jan 1:   Seth Godin - On Being an Artist

I hope you'll join us in this exploration. No matter what time of year you stumble upon it. It has been an honor to open space for these important conversations. Perhaps we'll see you next year for another Week of Inward Looking.

[image from here]

To bless the space between us.

At the End Of the Year

The particular mind of the ocean

Filling the coastline's longing

With such brief harvest

Of elegant, vanishing waves

Is like the mind of time

Opening us shapes of days.

 

As this year draws to its end,

We give thanks for the gifts it brought

And how they became inlaid within

Where neither time nor tide can touch them

 

The days when the veil lifted

And the soul could see delight;

When a quiver caressed the heart

In the sheer exuberance of being here.

 

Surprises that came awake

In forgotten corners of old fields

Where expectation seemed to have quenched.

 

The slow, brooding times

When all was awkward

And the wave in the mind

Pierced every sore with salt.

 

The darkened days that stopped

The confidence of the dawn.

 

Days when beloved faces shone brighter

With light from beyond themselves;

And from the granite of some secret sorrow

A stream of buried tears loosened.

 

We bless this year for all we learned,

For all we loved and lost

And for the quiet way it brought us

Nearer to our invisible destination.

 

-John O'Donahue, To Bless the Space Between Us

 

With thanks for the year, for all we loved and lost and learned.

And with many thanks to Pixie Campbell for pointing me to this poem, this blessing of the liminal space in which we find ourselves.

[image from here]

Let 2012 be a year of reading and thinking in community.

Have you had "read more" on your list of things you want to do for a while?

I have. I want to read more. And think more. And read and think in community. And add value to the reading process for others. That's the thinking behind my new 37days Book Club.

If you've had "join a book club" on your list of resolutions for a while, but haven't found one or can't make the time to physically go join one, I hope my virtual Book Club might be of interest. Over 30 amazing people have joined so far--we will read one book a month in 2012 and have online conversations via a private Facebook group as well as a once-a-month online gathering to discuss that month's book. When possible, we'll get the author to come talk to us as well.

Until midnight tonight, it's only $5/month to join and be a Charter Member of the group. I hope you'll take the leap into a rich, diverse reading experience in 2012 with us!

Here are some of the books on our 2012 list!

1st Quarter

1.     Feb 1, 2012 - The Sense of an Ending, Julian Barnes 

2.     March 7, 2012 - Bento's Sketchbook, John Berger

3.     April 4, 2012 - To be voted on by group members

2nd Quarter

4.     May 2, 2012 - Orientation and Other Stories, Daniel Orozco

5.     June 6, 2012 - The Lake, Banana Yoshimoto

6.     July 11, 2012 - To be voted on by group members

Click here for more information!

The Week of Inward Looking: Day 6 - Spirituality

DECEMBER 31 - QUESTION #6

From: Susan Piver
Topic: Spirituality

Question: Where, how, and with whom have my spiritual values manifested in 2011? Where, how, and with whom do I wish to express/manifest/share them in 2012?

The Dalai Lama has famously said, "My religion is simple. My religion is kindness." There are certain qualities that transcend all belief systems and these can be thought of as spiritual values. For me, gentleness (defined as opening to and accepting yourself from moment to moment, feeling what you feel without judgment or agenda), kindness (feeling, knowing, and acting as if all beings are just like me in that they seek love and happiness), and bravery (inviting my fears, confusion, and personal nuttiness as part of the path) are among those values. How about you? How did 2011 meet or defeat your spiritual journey? Where do you long to go in 2012? Use today's question to lead you further along the path.

___________________

Background: Author Susan Piver and I are hosting "The Week of Inward Looking" during this week between Christmas and the New Year. It occured to us that this inbetween week is a time for examination, a time to build a bridge to a peaceful, joyful, creative, and wildly successful 2012--whatever success means to you.

So we invited five extraordinary thinkers to join us in creating a 7-day journey, starting today.

You are welcome to join our Facebook group to connect with others participating in The Week of Inward Looking, or not.

You are welcome to post your answers on that Facebook page, or not.

You are welcome to journal in your private journal, on your blog, anywhere you'd like--the questions are simply put into the universe for you to consider as we move in this week toward 2012. Share as you would like.

Each day will have a different questioner, and a different theme:

Dec 26: Patti Digh - On Bendiness
Dec 27: Ken Robert - On Shadows
Dec 28: Andrew Mellen - On Becoming Organized
Dec 29: Jennifer Louden - On Serving
Dec 30: Jonathan Fields - On Creativity
Dec 31: Susan Piver - On Spirituality
Jan 1:   Seth Godin - On Being an Artist

I hope you'll join us in this exploration.

[image from here]

The Week of Inward Looking: Day 5 - On Creativity

DECEMBER 30 - QUESTION #5

From Jonathan Fields

Topic: Creativity

Question: What have I learned about living the creative life in 2011? And how will it change what and how I create moving forward?

I was somehow delivered into this life with the mad Jones to create, but not the ability to handle the process without a fair amount of anxiety. To do what I'm here to do, I figured, I'd have to suffer. But, I've now come to a different understanding. Action in the face of uncertainty is essential to creation. To life, really. How we experience that walk into the unknown is much more a matter of choice and practice. We can choose to frame and experience it not just as pain, but as elevation. It's not easy, but the question isn't whether it's easy, it's whether it's worth the effort. I'm very much in the beginning of this learning, but so far, the reward has far outpaced the effort. So, as we move into a new year, what would you venture to create if you felt equipped to handle whatever the process brought you?

___________________

Background: Author Susan Piver and I are hosting "The Week of Inward Looking" during this week between Christmas and the New Year. It occured to us that this inbetween week is a time for examination, a time to build a bridge to a peaceful, joyful, creative, and wildly successful 2012--whatever success means to you.

So we invited five extraordinary thinkers to join us in creating a 7-day journey, starting today.

You are welcome to join our Facebook group to connect with others participating in The Week of Inward Looking, or not.

You are welcome to post your answers on that Facebook page, or not.

You are welcome to journal in your private journal, on your blog, anywhere you'd like--the questions are simply put into the universe for you to consider as we move in this week toward 2012. Share as you would like.

Each day will have a different questioner, and a different theme:

Dec 26: Patti Digh - On Bendiness
Dec 27: Ken Robert - On Shadows
Dec 28: Andrew Mellen - On Becoming Organized
Dec 29: Jennifer Louden - On Serving
Dec 30: Jonathan Fields - On Creativity
Dec 31: Susan Piver - On Spirituality
Jan 1:   Seth Godin - On Being an Artist

I hope you'll join us in this exploration.

[image from here]

The Week of Inward Looking: Day 4 - Serving

DECEMBER 29 - QUESTION #4

From Jennifer Louden

Topic: Serving

Question: How did I serve in 2011? Whom did I serve? What aspects of my service brought me alive? What aspects drained me? If I could serve in any way possible in 2012, what would I create? Let your imagination run wild.

Service can sound so dull and feel so heavy, something only really good (cue white toothy smile) people do or something you do to other people for their own good. Yuck. Let's ditch those ideas. Instead, try on the idea that service is your heart's desire made visible. Service is the act of sharing what you most care about for the greater good. It requires no special goodness, thankfully. After our basic needs are met, we all yearn to make a difference and service springs from listening to that yearning - and taking action on it, step by little step.

Service makes you tingle with aliveness like all true acts of intimacy. It's deeply creative, generative, and yes, risky, because it means you share your heart. It's also as natural as breathing, and like breathing, must include giving and receiving.

How will you serve in 2012? I can't wait to hear!

___________________

Background: Author Susan Piver and I are hosting "The Week of Inward Looking" during this week between Christmas and the New Year. It occured to us that this inbetween week is a time for examination, a time to build a bridge to a peaceful, joyful, creative, and wildly successful 2012--whatever success means to you.

So we invited five extraordinary thinkers to join us in creating a 7-day journey, starting today.

You are welcome to join our Facebook group to connect with others participating in The Week of Inward Looking, or not.

You are welcome to post your answers on that Facebook page, or not.

You are welcome to journal in your private journal, on your blog, anywhere you'd like--the questions are simply put into the universe for you to consider as we move in this week toward 2012. Share as you would like.

Each day will have a different questioner, and a different theme:

Dec 26: Patti Digh - On Bendiness
Dec 27: Ken Robert - On Shadows
Dec 28: Andrew Mellen - On Becoming Organized
Dec 29: Jennifer Louden - On Serving
Dec 30: Jonathan Fields - On Creativity
Dec 31: Susan Piver - On Spirituality
Jan 1:   Seth Godin - On Being an Artist

I hope you'll join us in this exploration.

7 days. Create dwelling places for being in this astonishing moment.

I want to let go of lying.

I want to let go of lying.  The half-truths that smother me, the promises I don't keep, the commitments I make and then deny through a lie.  Why do I play this game and come to loathe myself?  I will reflect on this terrible pattern in the new year, welcome it home and then kick it out the door.  Done with the lies!

-Kathy

 

Let go of my poverty mentality.

I need to let go of my poverty mentality: the feeling that I am less than…that I am not enough…that I am missing something…that I am needing to be more…have more…do more. This new year, I want to allow myself to take care of my physical and mental health and wellness.  I want to love myself unconditionally.

-Barbara Burns 

Create dwelling places for being in this astonishing moment. 

I'm pretty good at letting go, at least when forced to. So instead of working on letting go, I want to work on building the sense of enoughness with which I've been blessed.   Create dwelling places for being in this astonishing moment, instead of plotting routes to get to the next one. Like that.

-Chris McLaughlin

 

Exploring what my body can do.

 Not long ago I read about a young ballerina who had just written a young adult book about being a ballerina. When asked why she wanted to write after spending her life perfecting her dance, she said that she had up to now spent her life in her body. Now she wanted to spend it more in her mind.

That comment stopped me in my tracks.

After spending 51 years living mostly in my brain, I am loving exploring what my body can do--and how much of my brain thinks it is doing is actually driven by how my body experiences life.

So I'm letting go of the idea that my brain is driving the bus, and creating a greater awareness of how the physical and mental interact to create what I consider to be reality. This is already so cool I can hardly stand it. Can't wait to see where it goes.

-Sue Pelletier

 

What is your answer to this question: What do you want to let go of, and what do you want to create in 2012?

 You can submit it here and I will post several a day as we count down to the launch of my new 37days site on January 5th, 2012 with a free, online party! Come! Just 7 more days until the party! Over 1025 people have RSVP'd so far! I'll be giving away lots of books, 2012 Life is a Verb calendars, and free classes! Bring your own cupcake and I hope to see you there! Lots of exclamation points!

The Week of Inward Looking: Day 3 - Organization

DECEMBER 28 - QUESTION #3

From Andrew Mellen
Topic: Organization

Question: When I look back over 2011 and think about how time, choices and objects have been organized, do I see harmony and ease? Did I seek out the natural place for things to land and rest? Where did I struggle to force things into literal or figurative containers? Do I recognize the order in the universe and see my life reflected in that order?

Organization is about recognizing what ‘enough’ looks like and feels like; about holding things loosely while learning deep appreciation for the comfort, convenience, beauty and functionality that objects offer. When I clutch, grab, or hold something too closely or tightly, instead of creating a feeling of safety and security, what grows is a sense of anxiety and fear—that the object will break, be lost or assert its impermanence in some other way.

Possession often hastens the outcome I hoped to prevent.

The things I intended/expected to increase the quality of my life begin distracting me from that quality.

What can I do in 2012 to move through time and space more harmoniously, recognizing that everything I need is within easy reach? How best can I release those things that no longer serve me (on any plane) to find new homes more suited to their purpose? How might I increase joy in equal or greater measure to my worldly accumulation?

________

Background: Author Susan Piver and I are hosting "The Week of Inward Looking" during this week between Christmas and the New Year. It occured to us that this inbetween week is a time for examination, a time to build a bridge to a peaceful, joyful, creative, and wildly successful 2012--whatever success means to you.

So we invited five extraordinary thinkers to join us in creating a 7-day journey, starting today.

You are welcome to join our Facebook group to connect with others participating in The Week of Inward Looking, or not.

You are welcome to post your answers on that Facebook page, or not.

You are welcome to journal in your private journal, on your blog, anywhere you'd like--the questions are simply put into the universe for you to consider as we move in this week toward 2012. Share as you would like.

Each day will have a different questioner, and a different theme:

Dec 26: Patti Digh - On Bendiness
Dec 27: Ken Robert - On Shadows
Dec 28: Andrew Mellen - On Becoming Organized
Dec 29: Jennifer Louden - On Serving
Dec 30: Jonathan Fields - On Creativity
Dec 31: Susan Piver - On Spirituality
Jan 1:   Seth Godin - On Being an Artist

I hope you'll join us in this exploration.

[image from NYTimes]

 

The Week of Inward Looking: Day 2 - Shadows

DECEMBER 27 QUESTION #2
From Ken Robert
Topic: Shadows

Question: In what way have I been living in the shadows in 2011? How might my life change if I came out into the light in 2012? What strengths could I discover and share if I gave up hiding my weaknesses?

Sometimes we stay hidden, fearful that others might see our wounds and blemishes. We think we're the only ones who bear them. But I find that when I expose my weaknesses, I give others permission to expose theirs, too. There, beneath the light and in between the blemishes, we find we have strengths we never noticed before. Hiding becomes far less appealing and we're drawn to living instead. In 2011, what were you hiding all year? What could you do to stop hiding in 2012? What treasures will you find when you step out into the light?

________

Background: Author Susan Piver and I are hosting "The Week of Inward Looking" during this week between Christmas and the New Year. It occured to us that this inbetween week is a time for examination, a time to build a bridge to a peaceful, joyful, creative, and wildly successful 2012--whatever success means to you.

So we invited five extraordinary thinkers to join us in creating a 7-day journey, starting today.

You are welcome to join our Facebook group to connect with others participating in The Week of Inward Looking, or not.

You are welcome to post your answers on that Facebook page, or not.

You are welcome to journal in your private journal, on your blog, anywhere you'd like--the questions are simply put into the universe for you to consider as we move in this week toward 2012. Share as you would like.

Each day will have a different questioner, and a different theme. You'll hear from me, Susan Piver, Jonathan Fields, Ken Robert, Andrew Mellen, Jen Louden, and Seth Godin. I hope you'll join us in this exploration.

[image from here]