Archive for the 'Writing, journaling' Category

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Journaling: A Message to All Graduating Students

Published on May 24, 2011 in Author Blog, Bill Clinton, Creativity, graduates, graduation, inspiration, Journaling, Journals, Musings, New York University and Writing, journaling.

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I just returned from New York where I attended my son’s graduation from NYU. It was a week of celebration and festivities with many highlights, one of which was having former President, Bill Clinton, as the keynote speaker for the 179th commencement ceremony at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday, May 18th. I had my journal in my pocket and scribbled down all of his wonderful words of wisdom.

In addition to receiving an honorary doctorate, he had many poignant messages for these students, about to march out into the ‘real world.’ In spite of all the issues facing the world today, he remained positive and offered the students tips on how to navigate the tough terrain. I give him kudos for being able to focus on the positive while addressing the bleak economic and world trends. He stressed the importance of accentuating the positive forces in the world while at the same time diminishing the negative. “We need to find a way to decrease the negative,” he reiterated.

He discussed humanity and equality and summarized that “the borders of the world look more like nets than walls.” He said, “today, 10-year olds can find out something on the internet I had to go to university to learn.”

He stressed the importance of having a passion and enjoying the type of work you choose. He succinctly stated, “Do what you love, work hard at it, and don’t quit….You should strive to find happiness every day and not believe that it comes at the end of the journey and most people are happiest doing what they are good at.” Furthermore, he said, “when pursuing your dreams, you can’t quit when you fail; you can’t quit when you mess up and when life seems to deal you a tough hand.”

He talked about their future and summarized: “You must decide what you want the world to look like when your children are sitting where you are today… believe that the only way to win the planet is to share it and the only way to do it is to think of our grandchildren.”

To hear the speech in its entirety, go to this link:

http://www.nyu.edu/life/events-traditions/commencement/web-cast.html

Congratulations to all graduates, worldwide!!
Diana

Nostalgia – Is it Good or Bad ?

Published on May 2, 2011 in Author Blog, General Information, nostalgia, writer blog and Writing, journaling.

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Lately I have been thinking a lot about nostalgia. Perhaps it was sparked by watching the Royal Wedding and how vividly I remember the day of Princess Diana’s car accident. It was the day my nephew Dylan was born. My motions ran rampant. I did not know whether to be happy or sad. It was also the day of my grandfather Sam’s birthday, but he was born in 1897. Dylan begins college in the Fall. He’s will be attending Rollins College in Orlando, Florida. I love him and am very proud of him.

All these events remind me of the passage of time, but while observing this rapid passage of time, I question whether it is a good idea to focus on it. In other words, is nostalgia valuable or detrimental to our lives? Or should it be done in moderation?

According to The Oxford Dictionary, nostalgia is a “sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.” I view this as a healthy desire, but others believe that too much nostalgia might be pathological. Thus, I decided to journal about my nostalgic sensibilities. I also did some personal research on the subject because I encourage many of my journaling students to write about their pasts and if I am directing them down a pathological path, I should probably know this and suggest other ideas. For example, one of my favorite prompts is to write about your first experience with a bicycle and my students tend to love this one.

In general, fiction, nonfiction and poetry writers are frequently writing about the past. We just cannot help ourselves. Does this mean we are pathological and need psychoanalysis? In fact, numerous magazines call for stories describing situations from our pasts. For example, Nostalgia Magazinehttp://www.nostalgiamagazine.net asks for first person stories that recapture the essence of life and memories we cherish from our younger days. The site talks about reliving “the days when teenage couples sipped milkshakes at the soda fountain, when families gathered around the radio for nightly entertainment, when men wore hats in public and ladies only wore dresses.”

They make nostalgia sound so positive, so why is it considered not healthy to think about our pasts?
For centuries a sense of nostalgia was considered a disease and a form of depression. Soldiers even feared it as homesickness, and thought it could kill them. Dr. Krystine Batcho, a psychology professor who studies nostalgia, has not found any signs that this nostalgia is a deadly disease. In fact, quite the opposite. She says, “It helps remind you who you are in reference to other people.” In fact, Dr. Batcho believes that a good use of nostalgia could be an effective coping mechanism. She adds: “You can’t go back and do it again, but you can relive it in memory. And that’s why I think nostalgia actually exists. To enable us to relive the good times.”

Having been struck with numerous losses and two cancers, I believe that reliving good times can be a critical tool for surviving bad times. Dr. Batcho says, “If right now everything is terrible and bleak, if you’re out of work and you can’t pay your mortgage and you’ve been evicted and you think, ‘there’s nowhere for me to turn,’ it is actually healthy to look to the past and to say, ‘What else have I survived before?’”

The quickest way to trigger nostalgic thoughts is by using the sense of smell and I find I do this frequently. For example, while working on my memoir, Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal (http://www.dianaraab.com/ReginasCloset/regina.html I took intermittent whiffs of my grandmother’s perfume bottle to get a sense of her. Also, when I use my favorite soap, I am reminded of my aunt’s house in New York where I spent many of my childhood weekends.

Studies have shown that those born before 1930 are more likely to remember the smells of nature, such as pine trees, hay, marsh, etc., and those born after 1950 are more likely to describe artificial smells, such as the smell of Crayola crayons and Play Doh.

Whatever you use to trigger your own nostalgia, you might be interested in knowing how nostalgic you really are. You can find out by taking the Nostalgia Inventory Test developed in 1995 by Dr. Krystne Batcho. (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/Batcho_Nostalgia_Inventory.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody).

Let me know how you do. Personally, my results were interesting. I had always thought of my self as quite a nostalgic person, however I only scored 87 out of a possible 180, which makes me just average. In all honesty, I am happy with these results; I was never a person to like extremes!

PS. This blog was written a few days ago before the great news that Bin Laden was killed….I hope his demise provides some peace and closure for all the families of his victims.

Intriguing Ancestors – A Journaling Idea

Published on March 21, 2011 in Author Blog, Journaling, Journals, Memoir, writer blog, writing and Writing, journaling.

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A few weeks ago I was asked to write a blog entry on Red Room about my most intriguing relative. Coming from a family of interesting characters, my choices were many, but I decided to write on my grandmother, Regina. Below is my entry, and I would also like to hear from you. Who is your most intriguing ancestor?

As the daughter in a family who immigrated in the 1930s from Europe, I have a slew of very interesting ancestors. If I had to pick one to highlight, it would be my grandmother, Regina. I actually studied her life in great depth for my memoir, REGINA’S CLOSET: FINDING MY GRANDMOTHER’S SECRET JOURNAL (Beaufort Books, 2007).

At the age of twelve, Regina was orphaned in Poland during World War I. Her mother, who she had to identify on the infirmary’s floor, died of cholera and her father, who could not handle the loss, died shortly thereafter. Regina was left to care for herself and her younger, then ten-year-old sister, as both of her older brothers fled to Austria. Losing both her parents caused Regina to grow up quickly. She continued to go to school while holding down a number of part-time jobs.

She later decided to move to Vienna to be near her brothers. She was able to work part-time in banks but all along her true passion was to become a doctor. However, she did not have the emotional or financial support to get into medical school. While still working at the bank, she decided to attend modeling school. This was where she met her husband, Samuel.

They married, and had one daughter, Eva, my mother. In 1937, just before World War II broke out, the three of them emigrated to the United States. She raised Eva and worked in Sam’s retail store. With her continuing passion for medicine, she decided many years later, in the early 1950s, to write a letter to the NYU Department of Medicine for admission. They immediately turned her away because she was a woman and she did not have any financial support. Regina continued to work at Sam’s retail store while still lacking an intellectual challenge.
At the time of my birth in 1954, she decided she wanted to become my caretaker because my mother wanted to work full-time. When I turned ten and started to show signs of independence, she no longer felt needed. The torments of her childhood were still deeply imbedded in her and these torments, coupled with my independence, resulted in her suicide in 1964.

Many years later and about the time my parents moved out of my childhood home, we discovered her journal. It was a retrospective journal depicting her life in Europe and being orphaned during World War I. This was the basis of Regina’s Closet. While writing the book, I realized the important role she played in my life as a writer. During the time when she took care of me, she taught me to write stories on her Remington typewriter which was perched on the vanity in her room. After reading her journal, I also realized that I had inherited her journaling gene, because for years, journaling has also been my passion. For all this and more I thank my amazing and intriguing grandmother.

Keeping Time : 150 Years of Journaling

Published on February 28, 2011 in Author Blog, autobiographies, breast cancer, Depression, Healing With Words, Health and Wellness, Journaling, Journals, writer blog, writing, Writing for healing and Writing, journaling.

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A few years back I submitted some very personal journal entries to a proposed anthology. I was delighted to hear that Keeping Time: 150 years of Journal Writing edited by Mary Azrael and Kendra Kopelke was recently published. This is a rare collection of journal entries all under one cover. As the editors state in their poignant introduction, “For many people, journal writing is a private activity, spontaneous and revealing, not intended for an audience of strangers.” But these editors did a stellar job of putting together 37 wonderful pieces with subjects ranging from everyday life parental issues, raising children, nature, travel, health and historical events. “Keeping Time,” they go on to say, “stands as witness to the times spanning from our great grandparents to today. It opens a way into our history at its most intimately and sincerely felt, and expands our sense of what a notebook can do to connect us more fully to our lives.”

My submission represented the year 2001, and I have posted it below:

I have been keeping a journal since the age of ten. Over the years, my journal has been my friend and confidant to help me through difficult times. I strongly believe in the powerful healing qualities of the written word.
Today, I teach journaling to breast cancer survivors and high-risk teens. During my breast cancer journey, writing became my lifeline and a way to give voice to my deepest feelings.

The following is an excerpt from my memoir/self-help book, HEALING WITH WORDS: A WRITER’S CANCER JOURNEY.

August 22 (one-day post-op)
I wake up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) today and Simon sits beside me holding my hand. One part of me wants to look down at the hospital gown covering this corset-like gauze bandage around my chest. Yet another part of me is scared out of my mind. The nurse helps me to the bathroom and I avoid the mirror as if it holds the most dreaded secret. I want to rip it off the bathroom wall. I never want to see myself naked. While walking back to bed, I look over at Simon and begin sobbing with no respite. I know in my heart that one day soon I will have to look at my chest. My hope is that my plastic surgeon will make all the necessary explanations. I am happy that the surgery is behind me, but now I must begin preparing to walk down an even more arduous road. I must get used to the new me.

August 23
Today my mood oscillates back and forth. One moment I want to touch my newly-created breast and the next minute I never want to see it. I am pleased that the reconstruction was done immediately following the mastectomy. After breakfast, I pulled the nurse’s cord to help me sit up. I am terribly sore from being in one position. By the time she arrives moments later, I have already changed my mind. I put my hand over my right breast and feel nothing. I do the same on the left. I can only feel the slight pressure of my hand. How will I ever get used to having no sensations. My right nipple had always been more sensitive than and easily stimulated than my left, but now there is a sense of nothingness, numbness, a void.

Today the nurse removed the bandage around my chest. I looked the other way while crying into my pillow. I felt nothing. My plastic surgeon said some sensations might eventually return, but never again could I become sexually aroused on my right side. So, I have two breasts, but really only one. My sensations have been severed forever. Never again would I experience that sublime tingling when Simon runs his fingers over my rather large nipple—never again on that side. Never could I experience the joy and tingles from let-down reflex when my babies sucked for the first time. I loved that sensation which permeated my soul and brought me such joy.

August 27
The books I have read, and my nursing experience warned me that depression is common following many surgeries, particularly breast surgery, because of the huge psychological component of losing a breast. I should be optimistic because my breast surgeon says that the cancer has been removed. He says I am lucky that it did not spread into my lymph nodes. Yes, this is a true blessing, but there are moments when this is not enough to console me. My father taught me to look at the glass half full and not half empty. I’m trying. Really trying. But, this entire event has been surreal. My defenses are stripped. I have no strength left in my body except for the weeping. Tears flow like an endless river. They pour out without warning and dry up without notice.

August 28
I look around me and see all the technology. I think of my husband, an engineer, and how people like himself have made mine and so many others’ survival possible. He is a fixer. On so many other occasions he wants to quickly make everything better for me. His smile and touch are so healing. He has so much power, but he cannot bring my breast back to me. He says he wishes he had a magical wand to make me feel better. I tell him that the wand was discarded the day it brought him into my life. One person cannot be bestowed with any more luck than me. He implores me to think positively.

Sometimes life is not so simple. I don’t want to say this to him because he tries so hard to soothe me. It’s still early in my post-operative period, but I already feel physically and emotionally changed and drained. In some ways it is easier being far from home. My predicament somehow seems clearer and my mind less distracted by familiar surroundings.

September 3
Today I am nearly two weeks post-op. I do not feel any better emotionally than the day they rolled me out of the cold and sterile operating room. My emotional strength is barely returning. I still get teary-eyed for no obvious reason. This morning, the nurses bathed me. They helped me to the chair where I tried reading a magazine, but my mind wandered. Everything makes me cry, even glancing at the latest hairstyles in the magazine. I feel trapped inside this body that I don’t know anymore.

Here’s what I look like. On my right side is a drainage tube tucked into a hole beneath my mastectomy site. On the same side, another tube leads to the incision in my back where they have removed the muscle and tissue to cup my saline implants. The tube leads to this thing that looks like a hand grenade which dangles from my side. This grenade drains the blood from my wounds, but I think it does the same from my heart. It needs to be emptied three times each day. It’s gross and yet another reminder of my missing breast. When we go to dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, the only thing I can wear are baggy men’s shirts to hide my tube and stupid grenade.

Getting up and going to the bathroom is such an ordeal. I need at least ten minutes to prepare for the departure from my bed. Getting all the wires organized is truly a monumental task. I cannot lean on my back; the drainage tube sticks straight out. I cannot lean on my right side—another tube. They hurt like hell. There are no more comfortable positions left for me. Jeannine [mother-in-law] asked if I have been writing. She must be kidding! I have so much to write about, but I cannot focus. My mind wanders beyond belief. Life is fuzzy and not even eyeglasses can help. I am just plain frustrated. I can only muster these few words and even these exhaust all of my energy.

September 4
Today I will go visit my plastic surgeon. It seems as if the past couple of weeks have been surreal. A thick cloud suspends over me. How did I get here? I was diligent about my annual mammograms and check-ups. On the first day of my menstrual cycle I diligently did self-breast exams in the shower. There is no cancer in my family. Why am I lying here all mutilated?

I have never thought much about cancer, but one thing I know is that if cancer is in your body, you better get it out quickly. Having had reconstructive surgery at the same time as my mastectomy has put my mind at ease. Even though I have refrained from looking at myself naked in the mirror, there was a sense of relief to waking up with a mound on my right side, even if it was not my own breast, but just a sack of saline water.

September 6
I’m trying to take the position that cancer is no longer lurking inside of me. I did have cancer, but it is now all gone. All of it. I don’t like the sound of the term ‘breast cancer.’ People equate cancer with death. I refuse to die.
When I first learned about my breast cancer, I wanted to hear everybody else’s escapades and everyone’s medical sagas. It seems that everyone knows someone who has had breast cancer. This is not surprising since the statistics have now risen to one in eight women. Listening to other people’s stories is boring at times, and at other times scary. Sometimes it’s inspiring to learn that others are less fortunate than me. The woman in the corridor told me about her stage III cancer. Okay, she made me feel lucky, but I just don’t want to be surrounded by negative energy.

I am so afraid that the cancer will come back. I cry about losing the breast and also about having to lose my other one. Crying comes so easily. Sometimes the tears last a few minutes, other times an hour. It all depends.

Keeping Time is available from Amazon at the link below, and it is a wonderful read. I surely hope you take the time to order and read it.

http://www.amazon.com/Keeping-Time-Years-Journal-Writing/dp/0963138545/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297999546&sr=8-1

Happy “Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day”

Published on January 17, 2011 in Author Blog, cathartic writing, General Information, Health, New Year, writer blog, Writing for healing and Writing, journaling.

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You might not realize it, but today and every year, January 17th, is officially “Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day,” and this might be one of my favorite holidays next to my birthday and Thanksgiving. My father used to say that New Year’s Resolutions were meant to be broken. For some people making New Year’s resolutions is quite simply an annual habit that they do while sipping on their champagne on New Year’s Eve. For others, it is a good time to commit to a positive change in their lives. If you took my advice of an earlier blog this year, you might have already made your resolution, but now is your chance to break that resolution and celebrate today. In effect, it’s your chance to get out of a completely unrealistic New Year’s Resolution. Furthermore, this year the holiday coincidentally falls on Martin Luther King Day, honoring a wonderful man who was a spokesperson for the civil rights movement. There is something to be said about it being our civil right to ditch our New Year’s Resolution – so I hereby grant you permission!

In summary, there is not much information about this holiday and who initiated it in the first place, but there is some advice for those who have chosen to observe it.

For example, try to celebrate by doing some or all of the following:

1 – Eat a lot of chocolate
2 – Play instead of work
3 – Do what you want instead of what you ‘should’ do
4- Instead of saving money give a donation to someone in need
5 – Call in sick to work or leave a little earlier today

To me this sounds like National Freedom Day!

I would love to hear how about your own celebration…….

Until next time,
Namaste,
Diana

To The New Year

by W.S. Merwin, from Present Company

With what stillness at last
you appear in the valley
your first sunlight reaching down
to touch the tips of a few
high leaves that do not stir
as though they had not noticed
and did not know you at all
then the voice of a dove calls
from far away in itself
to the hush of the morning

so this is the sound of you
here and now whether or not
anyone hears it this is
where we have come with our age
our knowledge such as it is
and our hopes such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible.

New Year Musings

Published on January 3, 2011 in Author Blog, autobiographies, General Information, Health and Wellness, Journaling, Journals, Musings, New Year, Passions, writer blog and Writing, journaling.

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Typically, this is the time of the year when many of us make promises to ourselves that we are unable to keep. Recent studies have shown that only about twelve percent of those who make New Year’s resolutions actually achieve their goals. Some believe that if you share the content of your resolution with someone else, then your chances of success are increased, but there is no guarantee.

Making a New Year’s resolution involves committing oneself to a new habit, breaking an old one or making a personal lifestyle change. Anyway, what can be so wrong with improving ourselves? I have always been curious about the spectrum of New Years’ Resolutions. Recently I researched to see what were the most popular, here are the ten most common from year to year:

1. Spend more time with family and friends
2. Get fit
3. Get slim
4. Quit smoking
5. Quit drinking
6. Enjoy life more
7. Decrease debt
8. Help others
9. Get organized

This year, rather than making a New Year’s Resolution, I have decided to use these and use the suggestions of writer Carolyn Graham who offers the following advice for those she calls, “wicked”:

(http://debramoffitt.wordpress.com/?p=236&preview=true)

1. Create harmless mischief whenever possible. Find a friend who likes to incite you and will share in some mischievous hilarity. If there are no friends available, use your best thinking and mentally engineer an event designed precisely to meet your needs.
2. If someone tells you your bread’s not baked, or you have a loose screw, or your elevator doesn’t go to the top, consider yourself highly complimented and extraordinarily gifted. You have probably shed some of the constricting and restricting bounds of convention.
3. Look in the mirror: acknowledge and celebrate yourself as a masterpiece in progress. All of us are superb examples of a true work of art, an ever developing piece, even if some of the places have shadows.
4, Walk into each day as if you owned the world. Put your head up, your shoulders back, and swagger a bit. Remember, with choices about how you think, you do own your own space…your world.
5. If you can’t believe you’re great, then act like you are! Being great means reaching for a hand when you need one and offering one to others who could use some kindness.
6. Buy a new technical gadget you have been wanting. Explain the purchase by declaring that the intellectually stimulating affects of learning to operate the device enhance the performance of your immune system.
7. If you like dark chocolate, keep some readily available and slowly savor a tiny bit on a regular basis. The given pleasure will probably off set any potentially harmful affects. That’s a risk worth taking!
8. Absolutely DO NOT act your age. Retaining childlike behaviors probably goes a long way toward staying vital, alert, and healthy. If you have supposed that to be true, applaud yourself, dance a bit, and invite a friend for a play date.

Happy New Year to one and all!

Namaste,
Diana

The Fine Art of Storytelling

Published on December 20, 2010 in Author Blog, autobiographies, Creativity, General Information, inspiration, Journaling, Journals, Reading, writer blog and Writing, journaling.

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Lately I have found myself contemplating the fine art of storytelling. Some people are wonderful at it and others just want to make you yawn. The idea of storytelling is the conveying of events in words, images, sounds and embellishments. It is a way to express the emotional power of information. Robert McKee, in his book, Story, says “Stories are equipment for living.” In fact, when a story is told well, the listener is transported on a journey to a new place.

According to John Gardner, “Like other kinds of intelligence, the storyteller is partly natural, partly trained. It is composed of several qualities, most of which, in normal people, are signs of either immaturity or incivility: wit (a tendency to make irreverent connections); obstinacy and a tendency toward churlishness (a refusal to believe what all sensible people know is true); childishness (an apparent lack of mental focus and serious life purpose, a fondness for daydreaming and telling pointless lies, a lack of proper respect, mischievousness, an unseemly propensity for crying over nothing); a marked tendency toward oral or anal fixation or both (the oral manifested by excessive eating, drinking, smoking, and chattering; the anal by nervous cleanliness and neatness coupled with a weird fascination with dirty jokes); remarkable powers of eidetic recall, or visual memory (a usual feature of early adolescence and mental retardation); a strange admixture of shameless playfulness and embarrassing earnestness, the latter often heightened by irrationally intense feelings for or against religion; patience like a cat’s; a criminal streak of cunning; psychological instability; recklessness, impulsiveness, and improvidence; and finally, an inexplicable and incurable addiction to stories, written or oral, bad or good. Not all writers have exactly these same virtues, of course. Occasionally one finds one who is not abnormally improvident.”

The holiday season is a good time to share stories amongst friends and family. Some people are better at verbal storytelling, while others, like myself, prefer to revert to the written word. Many of our preferences and comfort zones reflect back to the patterns of our childhoods. As an only child of working parents, I spent a lot of time reading and writing in my journal. My parents were first generation immigrants and worked very long hours to provide food for our table. Dinners were often rushed with a minimum amount of storytelling unless we had a visitor who probed us. As a result, I was raised with books and paper, but gravitated to friends who were good storytellers because my situation made me a good listener. Things haven’t changed. I am who I am.

Lately, I’ve become good friends with a few great storytellers and I have been captivated, mesmerized and curious about what it is that’s missing for me to tell a good story. I have also done some reading to improve my own verbal storytelling (my family often tells me, I neglect to build up the tension and/or I omit the punch line). Heading into my sixth decade, I plan to improve this. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:

- Before telling your story, you need to know it well and/or memorize it
- Vary the pitch in your voice when telling a story
- Make sure your facial expressions coincide with the story’s mood
- Make sure the sequence of events is correct
- Build up to the story’s climax
- When finished do not go on to another story
- Practice storytelling in front of a mirror

One thing I also read was the importance of putting on a “story hat.” In other words, just before you are to tell a story, put on your story hat which gets you in the mood to tell your story. It is a way to take your mind off your audience, particularly if you are on the shy side.

If you are curious about some more tips in this area, I suggest you check out a great you-tube on the subject, called, “Storytelling: Theory and Practice.”

A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!

This blog will be taking a two-week hiatus.

Namaste,
Diana

Poetry as Medicine

Published on December 13, 2010 in Author Blog, Billy Collins, General Information, Health, Health and Wellness, Journaling, Poetry, Spalding University, writer blog, Writing for healing and Writing, journaling.

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“Poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost…as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.” ~ Mary Oliver

There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the healing power of writing and reading poetry. Once again, I was reminded of this in a newly-released book called, Saved By A Poem: The Transformative Power of Words, by Kim Rosen. In her books, Rosen claims that a poem can be powerful medicine not only for the mind but for the body and soul as well. She has learned by heart more than a hundred poems, which she carries inside of her as teachers, healers and guides.

Rosen was recently interviewed by Alison Luterman in the Sun Magazine (December 2010) and I found it fascinating. She discussed the public’s sensibility about poetry and many of her ideas resonated with me in the sense that many are threatened or afraid of poetry. Part of her motivation for compiling her recent collection was to wake Americans up to the power of poetry as a way to enrich our lives. She talks about poetry as a lantern that shines in dark places within us and refers to poems as powerful medicine for personal transformation.

“To me a good poem is like a sacred mind-altering substance: you take it into your system, and it carries you beyond your ordinary ways of understanding,” she says. “Like a shaman’s drum, the best of a poem can literally entrain the rhythms of your body: your heartbeat, your breath, even your brain waves, altering consciousness.”

Perie Longo, PhD, MFT, Santa Barbara’s former Poet Laureate, who held several board positions for the National Association for Poetry Therapy also wrote a wonderful article on the subject called, “Healing Effects of Poetry.” Longo says that “the focus of poetry for healing is connection to the individual for self-expression and growth, whereas the focus of poetry as art is the poem itself. But both use the same tools and techniques; the end product is often the same.” Longo teaches poetry for healing and in her classes has many tips to help spark the writing process. She suggests to her class to begin with the phrase, “I have the right…”The article is filled with lots of useful information.

http://www.allthingshealing.com/Psychotherapy/Healing-Effects-of-Poetry/6350

As a teen, I wrote poetry inspired by reading the works of Rod McKuen, but really did not return to the genre until my 40s while raising children and feeling some strong emotions pertaining to child-rearing and life in general. What really inspired me to begin again was attending a reading by Billy Collins in 2002 during my MFA in Writing at Spalding University in Louisville, Kentucky. I realized how accessible and funny narrative poetry could be. I laughed and cried listening to Billy read. I went home that night and wrote my first poem about how men love watching women park because they think we don’t know how to drive.

Since then I have incorporated writing poetry into my journaling classes. The holiday season is a wonderful time to bring poetry into your life to help cope with the stresses that accompany it. Try it and I bet you will like itTry it you will like it!

Maintaining Calm in the Chaos

Published on November 29, 2010 in inspiration, Journaling, Journals, Musings, Writing for healing and Writing, journaling.

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Last week I returned from a retreat in Arizona with my daughter, Regine. In addition to the joy of spending some time alone together, we took some amazing classes and were exposed to great strategies for coping with the stress of everyday living. Whether you live in a big city, small town or on a farm, at some time during your life you will be exposed to stress in a way where you need to reach out for strategies. It is hoped that this article will provide you with some necessary tools.

Whether you are a full-time writer, mother, wife, husband, educator, artist, care-provider or businessperson, establishing a sense of calm should be a vital part of your life incorporated in your every day. This can be accomplished by engaging in activities such as yoga, meditation, exercise or reading.

During our recent sojourn in Arizona, we did a lot of meditation and yoga. One of my favorite meditations done close to bedtime, was called, “Loving Kindness Meditation.” It is a 2,500 year-old mediation practice which uses repeated phrases of good will to evoke a feeling of friendliness and kindness towards ourselves and others – another good thing to do during this busy holiday season.

There are many mantras for this meditation, to be directed toward to yourself or a loved one undergoing a difficult time. The idea is to recite the words over and over again. The one I like best is from A Path With Heart by Jack Kornfield. It goes like this:

May I be filled with lovingkindness.
May I be well.
May I be peaceful and at ease.
May I be happy.
May (a person I love) be filled with lovingkindness
May (a person I love) be well….

One of the books I bought at the retreat was called Instant Calm by Paul Wilson, which is an absolute gem. It consists of a collection of strategies to use during stressful times. It is a reference book to be kept on anyone’s shelf because it is packed with healing and calming techniques for every day. The book is divided into four sections —“Stress Versus Calm,’ ‘Instant Calm: The Techniques,’ ‘Longer-Term Calm Solutions ‘ and ‘Crisis.’ The book is basically about crisis control and the author’s impetus for writing the book was aspirin, which is something we all might reach for during difficult times, but really it has a temporary band-aid effect and is not longlastting.

Some people might choose to skip around and read the book as needed, but it is such a fast read that my suggestion would be to read it from beginning to end, because there is something to be gleaned from every page. The book is very well-organized and has fabulous illustrations for each particular calming technique.

In summary, the author believes that to practice calm you should master the techniques before you’re confronted with stress. He emphasizes the importance of breathing and knowing how to automatically access the skills he shares in the book. To do this he says, you must: be prepared, be patient, be positive and be practical.

Here’s a link to purchase the book now:

http://www.amazon.com/Instant-Calm-Easy—Use-Techniques/dp/0452274338/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1290463515&sr=8-8

Enjoy and be calm!

Happy Thanksgiving Week !

Published on November 22, 2010 in Author Blog, Journaling, Journals, Old Journals, writer blog, writing, Writing for healing and Writing, journaling.

3 Comments

Beginning today, I believe we should have ‘Thanksgiving week.’ Thanksgiving has always been my family’s favorite holiday primarily because it is not connected with any religion. It is a day of appreciation and a good excuse to express thankfulness and gratitude to both family and friends.

This is a also good time of year to begin gratitude journaling, particularly in view of the upcoming chaotic holiday season. Expressing gratitude not only provides you with a sense of appreciation, it reduces stress and strengthens your emotional resilience. Journaling also helps put your life into perspective, especially when things are not going well.

Gratitude journaling helps us focus on the positive aspects of life and minimizes focusing on the negatives. After a while, this attitude can spill over into the course of your day and everything else you do.

A good time to begin gratitude journaling is at the end of the day. In fact, some people keep a gratitude journal on their bedside table.

Here are some tips on how to begin:

1) Choose a journal and pen which resonates with you
2) Pick a time when you can write undisturbed for 20 minutes
3) Date the top of your page
4) Think of your day and make a list of fifteen things you are thankful for
5) Choose three items on your list to write about in more depth
6) Choose at least one person, group or organization to express your gratitude toward

Rereading your gratitude journal at a later date can also inspire you and make you smile when you are feeling down or stressed out.

One thing I am doing today to express my gratitude responding to Jim Wales’ appeal and make a donation to Wikipedia because I find the service so useful. If you choose to do the same, here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving

So what are you doing to express your gratitude? I would greatly appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you, my readers for your attention. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Speak with you next week!