A book for Grandma Mary FIRST BLOG POST!

Dear readers, supporters and fans!

Thank you:

The process of kicking off this crowdfunding site has been so utterly honoring. I realized through the process of making the video and the crowdfunding site that there is so much I have yet to learn and so many angels surrounding me to help make sure that this happens!

People have encouraged me to bare my heart, to share my strength and truth and to carry onward toward the life of my dreams.  I have been reminded that grief is a journey and that we don't find our way through in one giant leap, we find our way through each and every heart hiccupping moment.  I have been given beautiful permission to cry and to reach out to my Grandma in this state of grief. I have been honored with the suggestion that I settle in and surrender my needs with the faith that they will be taken care of while I am grieving. I needed to hear each and every one of these things!  Thank you for each of your heartfelt embraces! Here is a spring flower for you, in gratitude! I think we could all use a bit of spring can't we?

Spring flower of gratitude for my readers: 

Free Writing Healing Activity:

I said I would share my grief journey and the ways I work to stay sane and on an even keel.  Today as I start writing the book, I wanted to share with you a writing method  that I sometimes use when I don't know where to begin.  It is a very self soothing activity and very freeing. It is called 'free writing' and it can be a very good healing tool.   Here is how it works:

1. Set yourself up with the most ideal working condition you can provide for yourself. Set the mood in special ways that you find soothing.  Depending on your mood this might involve:
1. getting super comfy
2. lighting candles
3. lighting incense
4. spritzing the air with your favorite scented spray
5. setting a nice drink or snack nearby
6. wrap yourself in a nice coat, blanket or something comfy
7. turning off distractions like TV or internet pages that are demanding
1. Open your writing pad or word processing tool open, fresh and ready to go.
2. Once you are comfortable with the space, take a small scrap of paper, or notepad page and set write out an intention about the time you are going to spend writing. Setting an intention means choosing what you want to accomplish. Sometimes an intention can be as simple as 'I intend to soul search' or 'I intend to pour out my emotions'.  It can also be as complex as 'I intend to search for clues about the meaning of life'
3. Now set aside the intention and forget it. Try to truly suspend all judgment of yourself from hereon and literally write whatever comes to mind moment to moment. The right things will come if you let them and if you get stuck admit that in the writing.
1. Warm up to the writing process if you were rambling to a very willing and compassionate friend or kindred spirit there to witness your every thought, feeling and need.
2. If you find you are rambling, ranting, writing nonsense or repeated words this is ok. Stick with it.
3. Eventually you will rant, trip up and ramble your way through what is often an early frenetic and fussy phase.
4. Eventually if you give yourself time often your heart will open up.  Once this happens, allow your thoughts, opinions, feelings and emotions to flow earnestly and without boundary of expectation. If it suits you to write rhyming poetry, lists of things to remember or free flowing writing..it is all good.  Trust that whatever comes is meant to emerge during this time and in this space.
5. This is your time to be 'free' to share and express and emote whatever you need.
4. When you finish, sit with what you wrote and reread it empathetically and without judging. What does it say about you and your journey? 
1. Return to your original intention and see how your writing answered this original desire.
2. Are there unexpected things that were revealed in this process?
5. Sift through the work and find the gems and jewels, the beauty and the agony.  If you want to part this work out into segments that feed other projects you have going you can pick it apart if this feels right. Otherwise, just keep it as is...a documentation of who you truly are today in this very moment. 
6. Appreciate yourself for giving your spirit this open, free and unjudging space to reflect and create.

I hope that this activity is a blessing to you today! I will share the results of some of my free writing about the book, in the next post! Thank you for witnessing and blessing me along this journey!