yhd for 2011

yhd ... aka your heart's desire. as i have done in the past as part of transitioning into a new year, i yhd. this is my yhd2011. and because of december's reverb10 experience, yhd2011 feels a bit more streamlined compared to past years -- not surprising given my decision to spend 31 mornings of stream-of-consciousness writing on reflecting and manifesting.

author sonia choquette's your heart's desire: instructions for creating the life you really want is a workbook of sorts with 9 principles. back in 1999, a dear friend, deb, recommended yhd to me because of several life-stuff going on in my life - and when dear friends recommend something, i am going to give it a whirl. for me, i consider this a woo-woo book - a kind of spiritual and law of attraction thing. as stated on choquette's website -

"There are metaphysical laws at work in the universe that bring to us both what we want and what we don't want, depending on our habits of thought and behavior."

9 principles ... deb mentioned the book was like a workbook. (did someone say "workbook"? i'm in.) each chapter includes exercises as part of learning the 9 principles presented by choquette. the principles (in order) include ...

1. focus your desire (bring your dream into focus)
   
2. send clear messages to your subconscious mind. repeat them and make sure they are positive (gain the support of your subconscious mind)
   
3. deeply imagine realizing your goal ~ do it in detail (imagine your heart's desire)
   
4. establish order in your physical environment (eliminate your obstacles)
   
5. open yourself to your intuition ~become aware of synchronicity, etc. (be open to intuitive guidance)
   
6. rein in impulsive behavior (choose to support your dream with love)
   
7. honor the power of your words ~ say what you mean (surrender control)
   
8. persist in your dream (claim your dream)
   
9. surrender to divine power and allow the universe to do the rest (stay true to your dream)

side bar: woo-woo + non-woo-woo = shirlnutkin ... so here is the deal with yhd and me - it has been my downtime when i regroup and a good companion to other non-woo-woo forecasting activities. when i ran my own business for 13 years, i did the non-woo-woo strategic planing, scopes of work, annual meetings, quarterly tax stuff, monthly billings, weekly meetings, project management, and lots of other blah-blah outputs - no nonsense tangibles. then i recall it during the 2000-2001 transition, i co-mingled yhd & non-woo-woo. (it was similar to tyler's how to write your biography 40years earlier, but without the pie and gantt charts. and note to self: blog about my "red book and crazy papers.") co-mingling results? 2001 was a banner year - and i mean MAJOR BANNER YEAR! then 2002, 2003, etc. followed suit. however, since being part of cubeopolis starting in late 2007, i have pretty much been more non-woo-woo with just a few sprinkles of woo-woo. banner is dormant but bubbling. i have decided - it's time for recapturing that banner year feeling!

4Q2010 knocking at yhd2011 ... the last 3 months of 2010 were filled with quite a bit of activity. nutshells for october, november, and december remind me of several highlights - more writing, more reading, healthier decisions and activities, reconnecting, new friends, (re)cubeopolis, shoring up home stuff, and on & on. i discovered (or rediscovered) advanced riskology, reverb10, lessons of a laptop dancer, AONC, healthmonth, CYCCYL, 7habits, cliffieland, projectrungay, and on & on. after finishing up december's nutshell, i realized i was rounding the corner to prep for yhd2011.

initial yhd2011 take ... with that said, below are the 10 areas (as part of choquette's little workbook) to look at in one's life - and here's my initial yhd2011 in order as they appeared for 2010 along with this year's relative ranking ...

• 1_health & body ... this means the sphere of physical health and well-being, including weight loss or gain, beauty, exercise, sport, and recovery from illness
  (past years' ranks - '10 @2, '09 @2, '08 @1, and '99 @8)
  • mindset - be free of health management meds, get more fresh air, eat more organic, mindful of perimenopause, seek more locavore, reverb10 day 18 try (see also creative expression)
    
  • tools - myfitnesspal, president's challenge, healthmonth, yoga, cardio-kickboxing, home cooking, chiropractor, massages, go red betterU, race around the regions, on-line resources, like-minded people
    
    
• 2_finances ... this includes the sphere of income, savings, debt payoff, and money for purchases, adventures, and indulgences
  (past years' ranks - '10 @1, '09 @1, '08 @3, and '99 @5)
  
  • mindset - complete taxes on time, suze orman-ing, eye toward retirement, invest in environmental-related options, be philanthropic, have reliable accountant, reverb10 day 20 beyond avoidance, take weekend get-away retreats (see also work, home)
  • tools - bookkeeper/accountant, eeba, kim foote, the prosperity game, uboc, books, on-line resources, friends/financial advice
    
    
• 3_creative expression ... this includes singing, dancing, painting, writing, healing, intuiting, inventing, building, designing, photographing, acting, producing, filiming, cooking, gardening, sculpting
  (past year's rank - '10 @7, '09 @6, '08 @6, and '99 @4)
  
  • mindset - write short stories, blog with a message (or two), promote and support other writers and bloggers, hone skills for storytelling and improv, cook meals for friends, transform mom's vhs to dvd, participate in the love project, use the watercolors karen gave me, reverb10 day 2 writing, day 6 make, day 28 achieve (see also spiritual)
  • tools - guerilla influence formula, love2011, improv class, mac/apple tools ilife, art class, music, books, on-line resources
    
    
• 4_relationships ... this includes the sphere of love, romance, marriage, divorce, children, parents, relatives, friends, neighbors, partners, and pets
  (past years' ranks - '10 @3, '09 @3, '08 @2, and '99 @6)
  
  • mindset - reconnect with friends, attend family gatherings, long-term/committed relationship with a man, let go of some relationships, time for a house pet, reverb10 day 6 community, day 9 party, day 16 friendship, day 24 everything's o.k., day 27 ordinary joy, day 25 photo, day 14 appreciate, day 15 5 minutes, involvement in/writing about local community, do photo journal type activities, seek like-minded people to support creative expressions yhd (see also creative expression, travel & adventure)
  • tools - facebook, love2011, on-line dating, p2p, race around the regions, 7habits, CYCCYL, other social networks and on-line resources, city's dispatch, paddy's coffee shop, favorite foodie stop-offs, like-minded people
    
    
• 5_work ... this includes where you want to work, what you want to do, how much you want it to pay, whom you want to work with, the environment you want to work in, the rewards you want to receive, the amount of independence you want, and the contribution to the world you want to make
  (past years' ranks - '10 @4, 09 @'4, '08 @4, and '99 @1)
  
  • mindset - reconnect with mission|vision|values, (re)cubeopolis, express creativity, lead a cultural transformation, renew a mission|vision|values from 7habits, help create refinements to internship program, be part of external activities, reverb 10 day 29 defining moment, support aapi activities, discover how/what/where i want to work, feel seamless between life and work activities (see also creative expression, relationships, finances)
  • tools - p2p, 7habits, race around the regions, internal connections network tool, internship program, new employee orientation workgroup, apac, external environmental groups' activities
    
    
• 6_spiritual ... this includes the sphere of personal discovery, healing old wounds, recovering personal power, expanding intuitive awareness, discovering new dimensions, remembering your true spiritual identity
  (past years' ranks - '10 @5, '09 @8; '08 @8, and '99 @7)
  • mindset - practice intuitive awareness, restart reiki, acknowledge synchronicity and signs, be grateful, reverb 10 day 5 letting go, day 10 wisdom, day 11 eleven things, day 12 body integration, day 17 lesson learned, day 24 everything's o.k., day 1 one word, day 2 moment, day 4 wonder, day 8 beautifully different, day 31 core story (see also health & body, special intentions)
  • tools - reiki, meditate, journaling, on-line resources, like-minded people
    
    
• 7_special intentions ... this includes anything not directly covered in the above
  (past years' ranks - '10 @10, '09 @10, '08 @10, and '99 @2)
  
  • mindset - stay in touch with jengyee's family and friends, re-engage in keeping jengyee's memory alive, express through my actions - reverb10 (incl.day 13 action, day 19 healing, day 21 future self) the four agreements, the paradoxical commandments, the paradoxical commandments for government, and the ten rules for being human. (see also spiritual, creative expression)
  • tools - blogging, on-line resources, like-minded people, journaling

• 8_travel and adventures ... this includes travel, sports, recreation, retreat, world exploration, psychic exploration, and new experiences of every kind
  (past years' ranks - '10 @9, '09 @7, '08 @7, and '99 @9)
  
  • mindset - see reverb10 day 22 travel, day 28 achieve, day 25 photo, re-establish reiki to heal others, visit friends in u.s., travel where a passport is required, visit california's nature locales, continue hiking, try two new sports or recreation activities, take weekend retreats, travel to visit/meet like-minded people (see also health & body, finances, creative expression)
  • tools - passport, on-line resources, luggage, journal
    

• 9_home ... this includes buying, selling, renting, remodeling, building, moving, acquiring roommates, decorating, and designing where you live
  (past year's rank - '10 @6, '09 @5, '08, @7, and '99 @3)
  
  • mindset - create and maintain an inviting home to entertain family and friends, create personal space for meditation and reiki, redecorate, garden, reduce number of (simplify) home possessions (see also finances, creative expression)
    
  • tools - books on home decor/creating space, cyccyl, shed, on-line resources
    
    
• 10_possessions ... this includes any and all physical objects and property that may make your daily life more joyous, more pleasurable, more comfortable, more practical, and more fun
  (past years' ranks - '10 @8, '09 @9, '08 @9, and '99 @10)
  
  • mindset - learn how to use mac's multi-media apps, continue auto upkeep, enjoy blogging, honor my journals, reverb10 day 30 gift, day 26 soul food, create a vibrant kitchen/cooking area, have on-the-go-travel items (see also travel, home)
    
  • tools - mac's programs, kitchen utensils, electronic gadgets
    
    

CREATE
vision board
journal cubby
hall of awesomeness
in-home retreat space
game plan for reverb10 day 28 achieve
and
get my GLEE GUM

2012 mash-up goals

mash-up? ... yup! mashing up yhd + my 3 words + scanner tendencies + 3 tiny habits (upcoming) for being in 2012. it is all part of my continual effort to pursue my curious discoveries.

what does it all mean? ... it's just how i "australian-shepherd" (aka herd) what's swirling around in my head AND my heart AND my hands. the beginning of the year is simply a convenient time, however, there's readjusting throughout the year.

overview mash-up ingredients  ... the following lists a little about each of the mash-up tidbits.

 

yhd ... or your heart's desire is something i started in 1999 (more detail over here for yhd2011), thanks to my friend, debbie. author sonia choquette's your heart's desire: instructions for creating the life you really want is a workbook of sorts with 9 principles. i consider this a woo-woo book - a kind of spiritual and law of attraction thing. as stated on choquette's website -

"There are metaphysical laws at work in the universe that bring to us both what we want and what we don't want, depending on our habits of thought and behavior."

9 principles ... each chapter includes exercises as part of learning the 9 principles presented by choquette. the principles (in order) include ...

1. focus your desire (bring your dream into focus)
2. send clear messages to your subconscious mind. repeat them and make sure they are positive (gain the support of your subconscious mind)
3. deeply imagine realizing your goal ~ do it in detail (imagine your heart's desire)
4. establish order in your physical environment (eliminate your obstacles)
5. open yourself to your intuition ~become aware of synchronicity, etc. (be open to intuitive guidance)
6. rein in impulsive behavior (choose to support your dream with love)
7. honor the power of your words ~ say what you mean (surrender control)
8. persist in your dream (claim your dream)
9. surrender to divine power and allow the universe to do the rest (stay true to your dream)

ten categories ... there are 10 categories one can touch upon. i identified tools and put forth a mindset for each category, and as part of my own journaling and personal reflection, revisited each regularly. the 10 categories are (here, listed in order of my yhd2011):

• health & body, 
• finances, 
• creative expression, 
• relationships, 
• spiritual, 
• work, 
• special intentions, 
• travel & adventure, 
• home, and 
• possessions. 

my yhd2012 ... although i will be mashing up for 2012, the yhd categories will continue to serve as my basic framework because i have become quite accustomed to my yhd process for being mindful.

 

my 3 words ... i mentioned my 3 words for 2012 last week over here - believe, foresight, expression. a little bit more about chris brogan's my 3 words is that it includes a #12in12 (from over here), which is basically accomplishing something each month. 

my friend, yvette, wrote an article last year for pick the brain over here about monthly habits. as a side note, yvette (her blog) - also boulder examiner's dating advice columnist - suggests another creative idea of using the alphabet throughout the year over here - every week, just move on to the next letter in the alphabet. (and yes, it's not just for dating.)

3 tiny habits ... i learned about this through health month. bj fogg (on web, twitter) states  -

My expertise is creating systems to change human behavior. I call this “Behavior Design.”

- and 3 tiny habits is explained a little more over here on shareable. although i won't be starting yet, i have signed up; i received health month has been a great similar approach. this is actually a bit akin to the health month fun i also mentioned last week over here.

yup, this is how i am herding

my 2012 swirls!

#healthmonth - starting 2012

@healthmonth ... with team CDWL at edi over here is still up and running with a mix of folks that varies monthly. 

a year in review ... overall, looking back at my months and rules i've chosen, habits have formed and a few i'm continuing to develop. i've had my share of being consistent and not so consistent with my health month activities. i missed one month of not registering our team; lesson learned! and i didn't finish out a several months, but that's okay. overall, the monthly self-awareness (and no-guilt) and support from my team members and
others also playing with health month is great.

visit health month

what's health month? ... it's easy and fun and up to you to choose your habit-forming rules. try it out over here for free and just let me know if you're interested in giving it a whirl; here's a bit more about the origin and how to play.

habits ... it has been nice to have habits formed (and forming) through 2011. i like the motivation tidbits that health month's buster benson shared as january 2012 approach - A Compact Guide to Creating the Fitness Habit, by Leo Babauta and 3 Tiny Habits, by BJ Fogg. (i will be signing up for 3 tiny habits!) i've tried a variety of health month rules, as well as maintaining a few familiar rules every month. through 2011, i have tried out a rules in all categories - diet, exercise, mental - and at different frequencies and goals. overall, my 2011 has resulted in ...

• modified and/or reduced my intake of ... dairy, alcohol, pasta, fried foods, red meat, snacks, white rice (yes, really!), soda.   
• increased my activities of ... tracking meals, eating fruits, eating greens, eating local foods, bringing lunch to work, cooking dinner, eating organic, being social, drinking enough water, exercising, meditating, eating more nuts-beans-seeds, eating whole grains. 
• tried out or revisited a few things here and there that sometimes sticks (or not so much sticks) ... eating bright vegetables, yoga (iyengar), limiting gluten, limiting processed food, tracking dreams.

starting out for 2012 ... for the beginning of the year, i decided to go with several familiar rules at achievable levels, especially because i welcomed 2012 with sniffles and antibiotics. there are a few "stretch" rules, but to cheer myself on, i kept extreme rules limited for january. i'll ramp up in february.

coupling health month with my 3 words ... for february, i will be adding some custom rules to dovetail with some of my 3 words for 2012 activities.

thank you, buster, 

for health month!

my 3 words ...

for 2012 ... thanks @chrisbrogan (on web, twitter) for a nifty start to 2012.  he shared his 3 words for 2012 over here - temple. untangle. practice.

my turn ... as an incentive to reflect and ponder, my 3 words for 2012* are -

believe. 
foresight.
expressive.

believe ... i believe wholeheartedly - in myself, in others, and in my core spirit. this is not a "religious" thing for me; it's about having my own understanding and being clear about the creativity that swirls around in my head. swirling in my head are many memories, reflections, ideas, possibilities, wonderment, emotions, and just plain thoughts. in october, i shared about humility over here, which included a little tidbit about The Belief System™ - excerpted here -

"basically says that when it comes to motivation, what a person believes is often more important that what really is. ... believe they can make the change ... believe there will be an outcome or consequence if they make the change ... be something they want ... Belief 1 - Confidence, Belief 2 - Trust, and Belief 3 - Satisfaction ... much more to the The Belief System™ ... basics will be enough to show how the concept applies to behavioral change."

- and with a train the brain four steps of self-assessment, motivation, practice, and feedback.

my swirls are sometimes jotted in my moleskine, on my springpad, or on my blog. mind maps. voice recordings. journaling. swirls everywhere. and among the swirls - where my many strong beliefs already reside - there are the occasional blips, tidbits, bruises, and speed bump thoughts -"what if ...?" blips, "huh? no really?!" tidbits (e.g., where rigid science does not plainly explain things like reiki), "but why not?" bruises, and "o.k. ... soon" speed bumps. so for 2012, i'll gather my swirls and enjoy gaining clarity in, being clear about, and engaging in my beliefs.

foresight ... i choose living with foresight. inspired by servant leadership coursework with the greenleaf academy, the topic of foresight was part of required readings. robert greenleaf once stated, "the failure (or refusal) of a leader to foresee may be viewed as an ethical failure. ..." from this, in daniel kim's "foresight as the central ethic of leadership" (an adapted version referenced over here), kim takes a "deeper look" at greenleaf's statement, and presents his thoughts about the power of choice. kim also shares, "in the end, foresight is about being able to see all things that are important to our future." and although this was presented within the context of transforming organizations, this has value for personal foresight. so for 2012, i'll be mindful of connecting my activities to my core values and identity within the context of foresight.

expressive ... i am creatively expressive. writing and speaking are the basic go-to for expressing thoughts, ideas, and other things swirling in my head; seeking opportunities to write and speak more will be part of 2012's express-yourself moments. and 2012 also will include seeking and learning new forms of and venues for expression. back in late january 2011, i tried out improv classes over here and continued throughout 2011; 2012 will see more improv moments! i'm going to give cartooning a whirl per ivan brunetti's cartooning: philosophy and practice. (check out this little promo over here)




why cartooning? well, i've never tried it, so why not?! so for 2012, i'll look forward to surprising myself (and others) using different forms of expression.

believe. foresight. expressive. 

* finally feeling much better

to sit propped up in front of my computer

to post my 3 words for 2012. phew!

f|break: friday morn

design ... creativity. this morning, i thought of my friend, tanya (founder of artefact), then i remembered i had posted a little about my design fix some time last year, which included a tidbit about my little crush on ...

risd (rhode island school of design) ... for obvious reasons (over here). and the president of risd, john maeda, is tweeting @johnmaeda, and he blogs at creative leadership (over here).

... so i decided to just do a quick visit of his tweets and found one of his presentations at TED (about TED over here) on his thoughts on simplicity. (note: some may find this quite a random walk & talk.)

enjoy a little chat-at-you fiber break with john maeda (over here)

for ~17+ min at TED on simplicity

the laws of simplicity ... from his book (on mit press), he shared ten laws and 3 keys.

Law 1: REDUCE. The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction.
Law 2: ORGANIZE. Organization makes a system of many appear fewer.
Law 3: TIME. Savings in time feel like simplicity.
Law 4: LEARN. Knowledge makes everything simpler.
Law 5: DIFFERENCES. Simplicity and complexity need each other.
Law 6: CONTEXT. What lies in the periphery of simplicity is definitely not peripheral.
Law 7: EMOTION. More emotions are better than less.
Law 8: TRUST. In simplicity we trust.
Law 9: FAILURE. Some things can never be made simple.
Law 10: THE ONE. Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful.

Three Keys
Key 1: AWAY. More appears like less simply by moving it far, far away.
Key 2: OPEN. Openness simplifies complexity.
Key 3: POWER. Use less, gain more.

time to ponder simplicity in cubeopolis

my intro on saturday morn

speak to me ... the audio of last saturday's class is available. i decided to relive the moments for four reasons -

• to share on this blog what i said as part of introductions to the class and why i'm taking the course,
• to remind myself of my classmates' reasons for taking the course,
  
• to listen for other learnings, and
  
• to inspire me some more as i answer several of the questions posed for our first class assignment - questions about don frick's robert k. greenleaf: a life of servant leadership
  

and although i am still reading the book (even while taking this week's u-turn detour to the central valley via harris ranch and avenal), i do have answers to several of the questions - answers of which i will share some of them here on this blog, while others may be in more detail as part of my class journal (public or private versions). and there are existing posts that are, in fact, responsive in part or in whole, for my classwork that are even responsive, so i'll incorporate that into the discussion.

oopsie, more than a minute ... we were asked to share with others a little about ourselves and about our taking the class. the following (without sprinkled "uhms") is the ~ 3:38 minutes (from 33:15 to 36:52) introduction i shared with my fellow servant leadership class mates -

i came across servant leadership as a recommendation from a colleague of mine back in the early 90s ... i work in the environmental arena ... i used to have my own consulting practice for 13 years. and when i was talking to a colleague of mine, he had mentioned that when their consulting team was being contracted with (a large corporation) when they were thinking of rolling out energy/environmental, like clean air energy, they were given a pile of books to read, and alot of the books effectively dealt with servant leadership. so that was back in the late '90s, actually.

and i guess i want to say, i want to try to figure out how to do this more - not as much as stream of consciousness - but i'm taking this class as a result of some stream of consciousness writing that i did in december. each day i was participating in an on-line blogging exercise. and what came out of that was me reconnecting with something that i had done back in 1994.

i left the corporate structure, a utility down in san diego, because i had this idea that i wanted to have a different affect on the consulting world as it supported the air quality and environmental and energy arena. and mainly that people didn't seem to work with each other in a particularly respectful or mindful or ... just the manner - it used to break my heart just to see corporations and regulators and non-profits just really labeling people based on that. and so when i stepped out, i just started pursuing a different way of doing my consulting practice, which was just a solo practice. and ultimately by the time i met this gentleman he said, "hey! it looks like you're kind of doing some of this servant leadership...".

so fast forward to this stream of consciousness piece - for whatever reason over the past maybe 4 or 5 months, i've just been reconnecting with what affected me back in 1994, in a different setting ... it is extremely bureaucratic ... it breaks my heart to see people who are so interested in the environment - i'm sorry i'm getting emotional but - and i feel like for some reason when servant leadership popped back into my life, it just really warmed my heart. and i feel very compelled to create a way to help people better interact in the workplace.

i'm a staff level person, so having come from 13 years of owning and business and managing contractors and mentoring people, it's a much different role. so i'm looking forward to seeing how i can bring this class, this coursework, and learn from the people who are on the phone, their experiences, how to make that come alive. and ultimately, i feel like there is some sort of blog that i want to write or a book or some speaking, i don't know yet, but that's where i'm at.

stream of consciousness in december ... the daily december blogging i mentioned was through reverb10, with links to my 31 posts over here. from a different perspective on my reverb10 responses, i revisited reverb10 in february and grouped my reverb posts that related to manifestations (13 posts) and relationships and connections (9 posts). of the 22 posts, i chose my "top 10" posts. THEN of the top 10, i chose my "top 3" posts which are -

• future self (vision board, authenticity, cubeopolis, fair, forthright, self-aware),
• friendship (silver lining friendships, preferred)
• defining moment (on cubeopolis, with recap of related reverb10 prompts)

1994, back in the day ... the first prompt of reverb10 (on dec 1) was one word. this is where i shared a little about my epiphany at the time, which, included in the post, came with my take on mission, vision, values statements.

why i chose to re-enter cubeopolis ... back in november, i expressed interest in a position. i wrote a cover memo pretty much from stream of consciousness (particularly given the limited time i had to submit my paper work). the contents of the cover memo is over here. i share this because in the last 2 paragraphs of that content - My personal Mission, Vision, and Values Statements - i express the importance of my mission, vision, values. AND i remind myself not to be affected by dream zappers.

2 weeks after re-entering cubeopolis ... on the bureaucracy - here are my thoughts after 2 weeks. i can see that i will be revisiting this as part of my class work.

thank you for letting me share

the day after ...

april 9 ... yesterday with @greenleafcenter (first saturday of each month), i started - foundations of servant leadership with several others around the globe who are interested in and/or living the servant-leader philosophy.

isabel lopez (over here as course faculty and her web) is our instructor, and dolores jones (over here) is our program coordinator. as stated for the course, we must -

• Read all assigned required material on listening and developing your colleagues
• Undertake a project during which the participant uses listening skills or survey instruments to learn about and report on the needs of colleagues or customers
• Write a short paper (8-12 pages reflecting learning, knowledge and insights that merit the certificate)
• Participate in telephone conference calls (approx. 5 telephone conference calls lasting 1.5 hours each) with faculty members and other participants
• Participate in discussions using the Wiki

yesterday's class ... what a treat to have don frick, the author of robert k. greenleaf's biography, as part of our first class. admittedly, i shared with the class that i had not yet finished our reading assignment and specifically was at the "LSD" part of greenleaf's biography. yes - THAT is part of greenleaf's life. so amidst the many moved-to-tears, heartfelt moments, i must say i am enjoying the many life experiences that don has had the wonderful opportunity to explore and share.

journal for our class ... as part of writing our paper, the following questions are prompts for our keeping a journal as we go through our class over the next several months -

• What are concepts that speak to you... that cause you struggles... that create questions for you?
• How does Greenleaf's work make meaning for you?
• There is a reason you took this class, what are your hopes for yourself in this class?
• What can you use from your readings and discussions today to help you chart your life course?
  

therefore, as part of my classwork journal which is part of a class wiki, i will have blog posts that relate to class. or in a case like this, i am sharing what i have written in my class journal. because our wiki is restricted to class members, there are links in my copied journal posts that will not be accessible from this blog. oh well.

FOR YOU reading any of my journal entries ... Thank you in advance for taking the time to do so, and do feel free to comment, or if there is information I share that you would like to edit (presuming you may have edit privileges), share/edit away!

JUST SHARING THOUGHTS with class - I am trying out our wiki for journaling. As suggested for writing the Final Paper and as encouraged by Isabel for us to share thoughts with our class, a dedicated place in our wiki will certainly be convenient for me. I will make sure to use links for any "cross-cutting" comments I may contribute.

If you would like to do something similar in this wiki for your journal and need some help or a little kick-start, I'm not an expert, but I certainly am willing to help you out. Just let me know.

Overview of intended folder contents ... I have created this folder - Shirley - Journal - with the intention of including pages that are related to our class work and discussions -

• my random thoughts and ah-ha moments,
• answers to questions posed for our reflection,
• additional thoughts on class discussions/meetings or comments I may share with others on a different part of this wiki, and
• other resources for which I come across that may be of interest to others.

I have only used a wiki once, so I am looking forward to learning more of this format. In fact, I am using this page to explore some of the features.

About "Entries and Overview" ... Over the course of the next 5 months, I expect this folder will be populated with several pages. Therefore, I will include links to subsequent journal entries as a sort of "table of contents" of my Shirley-Journal folder for ease of navigation and reference. I also may include links to others' comments/entries as part of my journal.

On journaling ... I started journaling a bit more formally many years ago in the '90s when someone introduced me to J.Cameron's The Artist's Way. For those of you familiar with this book, although I have not kept up my morning pages, perhaps blogging has been a bit of a surrogate, along with other writing practices I have developed through the years that serve a somewhat similar purpose - however, admittedly, nothing as powerful as my experiences when I wrote my 3-4 pages each morning back in the day. For those unfamiliar with this book and interested in journaling, I feel Cameron has an interesting perspective of sparking and tapping into creativity through her approach.

[NOTE: I have come across several on-line journal resources. I will make sure to write a blog post about those at a later time and include a link as part of journal.]

What I typically do when I journal ... Typically, I am always with a method to "capture" my thoughts (or as I've often refer - "the voices in my head, chills up my spine, tilt of the head, tingling or knot in my stomach") that often will morph into a personal journal entry. I capture my thoughts either on paper or electronically - always with me are a purse-size moleskine, an action runner notepad (mainly for moving forward my "ah-ha" moments), and my droid (presuming batteries charged) where i keep my springpad app, which syncs to the on-line version. (I'm including some images and links (when you press the image) as examples and NOT as endorsements. Some people may prefer visuals/examples.)

(my home page on springpad)

[NOTE: Just a little note about springpad - I have NOT yet used the springpad app to its potential. A few friends of mine use or have talked about evernote. If you use or intend to use a tool like springpad or evernote, I certainly am interested in your opinion about what features/benefits you like (and don't like).]

On blogging ... I've not been blogging as regularly and frequently during the past month, however, as a complement to this journal, I also will share thoughts on my blog, which serves as a typical, "personal life observed/experienced" blog - girl nutkin in the BA. To keep things a bit more orderly, I am using on my blog the label/tag greenleaf for class-related entries, so one does not have to search around the blog for class-related posts. It's likely my classwork journal entries may be inspired by a blog entry or vice-verse. My blog entries likely will reflect more thoughts beyond what I write in my class journal entries or perhaps a blog entry will be verbatim from my journal entry. Also, my blog entries may be a little more free-form and cheeky, however, I will do my best to make sure that any blog entries I reference in my journal are relevant.

thanks for letting me share -
the voices in my head,
chills up my spine,
tilt of the head,
tingling or knot in my stomach

yhd2011: time to recommit

the daily love ... i love #TDL over here, here on twitter, and here on facebook - created by mastin kipp (on twitter).

last year when i first got on twitter, my friend, reggie, shared TDL with me, and i've been hooked. i'd often retweet TDL or find myself saying something - or better yet - doing something that was shared through or inspired by TDL.


lately, it has been a mix of saying/doing and checking out the website. time to just get my TDL email. get yours, too!

thanks for the reminder, the daily love!

recommitting to 2011 goals ... yesterday's post, it's march 2011! time to recommit to your goals! was a fun quick reminder. mastin shared -

"So, 2 months have swept by and we have 10 full months left. This is a great time to look back at your New Year’s resolutions, check in with your intentions, review your goals and see where you are.

Have you kept your promise to yourself? Are you keeping a high standard for your goals, intentions and resolutions?"

and i shared my thoughts about this in a comment. (mastin mentions about his recommitting to his health goals, so needless to say, i shared about health month.)

recommitting and revisiting yhd2011 ... this immediately reminded me of my little tradition with your heart's desire. and this year, i'm approaching yhd a little differently - keeping some traditions, adding a twist, or adding something new altogether.

(tradition) i have a table with each of the 10 areas listed. this year, (a twist) i've gone back to my crazy paper-tracing paper (a few steps short of napkin-planning) and (new things) am using little apps on my phone - mind mapping with thinking space and taking notes and some journaling on springpad. (admittedly, i am not as consistent with springpad; note to self - get on it!) and with the pick the brain share of monthly goals, (new thing) this month's goal will be recommitting to yhd.

yhd check-in ... (tradition) i will do a quarterly check-in of my yhd2011 just to see where i'm at in the 10 areas - a qualitative check. with TDL's recent post, (a twist) i am going to switch it up and check-in sooner throughout the coming weeks. (tradition) half-way through (in june or july), i'll revisit yhd a little more formally. (new thing) however, i also will incorporate a little of the reverb11. sounds anal and structured, but for me, its' actually a more creative and fun process, especially with self-reflection from reverb11 (via reverb10). plus, with the many thoughts, goals, and dreams going on in my head that will see the light of day, it's necessary just to sit still with my yhd.

what goals are you recommitting?
what goals are you fine-tuning?
how are you celebrating your commitment?

thanks TDL for the reminder!

(by the way, i'm doing pretty well with my yhd2011,
HOWEVER, i do have to step up reverb10 beyond avoidance,
which happens to be my #1 yhd2011 (and achilles heel) - ah taxes!)

hipmtfn: reverbin' in 2011

#reverb11 ... just as with the december 2010 reverb10's reflecting and manifesting, there is a monthly reverb11 -

"Happy February! We're excited to be reconnecting with the Reverb community. At the beginning of each month, Reverb HQ will send one prompt, several reflect/manifest tools, and any other creative, useful things we come across. We're also back on Twitter, so you can follow us @reverb10. ... Like #reverb10, you may respond to this prompt as-is or remix it to suit your needs. Write, blog, photograph, draw or respond however you'd like. Tag on Twitter or Flickr with the hashtag "#reverb11" to share with others!"

this means there will be a monthly, thought-provoking question. and so it begins ...

february '11 prompt ... One month into 2011, what question(s) are you living? Are there any prompts/questions that arose during #reverb10 that are still resonating in your life? Are you living new questions?


the reflect & manifest tools shared ...

• Tara Sophia Mohr's The Real Life poems
• 20 Questions That Could Change Your Life
• FutureMe.org
• Creative Every Day Challenge

my thoughts - your heart's desire 2011 ... for me, questions that i am living are a product of activities, goals, and dreams with your heart's desire (yhd) as the framework. annually since the last '90s, i've checked-in on my annual yhd, with yhd2011 being no different. this year, goal statements came in the form of mindset, along with support (or tools) to move through a yhd.

"Are there any prompts/questions that arose during #reverb10 that are still resonating in your life?" ... there certainly are several that continue to resonate in my life, particularly those intentions for manifesting in 2011. also, several are inter-related with some common themes -

• 2011 manifestions ... i am mindful of those prompts with manifestation type statements or prospective actions -
  
  • one word (enthusiasm),
  • community (to be part of/create) (apprentern, ignorance and knowledge, environmental professional development),
  • 11 (eleven) things (to eliminate) (paper stuff, dream zappers, extra journals, eating habits, impatience, exercise excuses, fridge cemetary, listening to harmful gossip, time suck shiny pennies, over-analyzing when decisiom-making, retail therapy),
  • action (related to apprenternship),
    
  • try (cross-fit),
    
  • healing (enthusiasm),
  • beyond avoidance (finances),
    
  • future self (vision board, authenticity, cubeopolis, fair, forthright, self-aware),
    
  • travel (domestic, abroad, family, friends, food, shoes - local, chicago, vermont, oregon, nyc, boston, d.c., spain, vancouver),
  • everything's o.k. (exploring how i can contribute to the issues of ignorance, etc.),
    
  • achieve (be speechless - fun variety of things),
    
  • defining moment (includes a recap at end of cubeopolis-related reverb10 reflections), and
  • core story (family, friends, lists, mindmapping, reflection, introspection, writing).
• relationships and connections ... i found myself reflecting on events that are shaping my actions and behaviors to relate and connect with a variety of people, while also being with that tribe (as in how seth godin has shared with wired.com and here at TED) - so about relationships -
  
  • moment (on being true to one's self)
  • wonder (asking questions - who, what, where, when, how, why, and why not)
  • letting go (creating space to connect with others and to serve)
  • party (small group, food-centered social fun, esp. breaksfast buds/brunch)
  • appreciate (importance of friends like shiny penny andy)
  • friendship (silver lining friendships, preferred)
  • lesson learned (on being forthright)
  • ordinary joy (importance of friends like sci-fi guy)
  • defining moment (on cubeopolis, with recap of related reverb10 prompts)
    

prompts that stand out ... of the more than 20 above, i'd say the top 10 that are currently most shaping where i am now include - one word, community (to be part of/create), 11 (eleven) things (to eliminate), action, future self, beyond avoidance, everything's o.k., wonder, friendship, and defining moment. and if i had to just narrow it down to the top 3 - future self, friendship, and defining moment. these top 3 have the most common roots with my responses to the other top 20+ reverb10 prompts/questions.

"Are you living new questions?" ... indeed, after coming out of reverb10 with a little bit (well, maybe more like LOTS) of withdrawal, i am excited about evolving with healthier habits as health month is part of that, learning more about love in life with the love project (as part of more thoughts on community and blogger bosom buddies), and creating a community inspired (oddly enough) by the defining moment with an excuse to add to cubealabras and share cubeopolis tales. AND in yhd2011 words - these touch upon health & body, creative expression, and relationships.

oh future self ...
it's time to work on my vision board and
a website (in the making)!