A little bubble of excitement is sitting in my chest as my new site is taking shape. I really think that everything in my life has led me to this point. I feel incredibly honoured to be on the brink of sharing life affirming writing and inspirational creativity. I have always been interested in bartering and the potential for a moneyless society. Earlier in the year I was inspired by Mark Boyle's book The Moneyless Manifesto and I have taken his principles into my new site. I am attempting to establish an innovative approach to the sponsorship of this site where as little money as possible changes hands. I am offering my considerable readership reach in exchange for all sorts of engaging ideas for sponsorship and have already the bare bones of four agreements in place. I am passionate about small businesses and believe that they are the bedrock of our economy. I want to use this site as a way of promoting small businesses and the work of inspirational individuals. I am, however, acutely aware of the limited funds available in small businesses so the idea of bartering becomes appealing. I am offering short and long term sponsorship and will consider the longer term commitments as partners rather than sponsors. This opens up the possibility of joint projects in the future and that is very exciting. If you know of an individual and/or individual who might be interested do get in touch. In time the same opportunities will become available with the new site for Scottish island mum early in 2014.
So, two days work has pushed the project on and I feel nicely 'caught up after my holiday. I have also been responding to writing that has been coming in from students on my Meditation through Writing course. It has been a joy to see the writing develop through the course and some of the latest pieces are, in my view, publishable. That is deeply rewarding for a first offering of the course. Meditation opens and trains the mind and this can be recognised in our writing which grows in depth and authenticity. You know when you have read a piece of authentic writing because it comes back to you again and again. It is important not to confuse truth or fact with the concept of authentic writing. Authentic writing can be completely fictional but the characters, setting and plot must feel real; they must connect with each other and with you, the reader. For me the most authentic book I have ever read was To Kill a Mockingbird. This book speaks to readers in ways that I wasn't sure was possible before I read it. Harper Lee takes you on a journey where your views, opinions and values are silently tested and, at the end, your conclusions can be drawn.
There have been other books that have traced authentic stories and The Colour Purple springs to mind instantly. This books opens a window through which to view a lifestyle that was beyond challenging with deep moments of despair. The characters say and do what you understand them capable of doing and, thus, offer you an authentic reading experience. My course Meditation through Writing aims to break down writing into its simplest form and encourages students to stop focusing on flowery descriptions. The aim is to be clear about the message(s) being conveyed and let the language speak for itself. If there is no flow peppered with moments of staccato there is no authenticity.
So, I am thrilled that writing of such quality is emerging but I am also pleased to see how far the students have come with their meditative practice. We rather delude ourselves if we think that controlling our mind is easy. Mindfulness training teaches you just how big the challenge is before slowly and steadily teaching the tools to start an internal dialogue with your mind. It is this dialogue that starts to shape our thinking and takes us into our subconscious mind and there lies the scope. By bringing meditation and writing together I believe I have created a unique opportunity and the feedback from students has been incredibly humbling. I am busy making slight modifications in time for the next delivery of the course in the new year. Do message me if you are interested in joining the next group.
This afternoon I went for an amble with a new walking pal and her lovely dog. It was a gentle stroll through the woods and it was incredibly relaxing. We swapped stories and got to know each other better and parted with the promise of another walk asap. I have a number of walking pals set up which means I have lots of opportunities to walk. Excellent. The leaves are on the turn in the woods on the island and there isn't a better time to walk among the trees.
I haven't forgotten that I owe you a second account of my forest walking in Herefordshire and I will try and post that in the next few days. Suffice to say that the second encounter was a natural set for the Merlin series so it is shrouded with magical cloaks and mythical adventures. If any of you manage to get out to the woods over the next few weeks perhaps you could take your camera? I am currently collecting photographs of autumn for my new site and always give full credit to the person who took the picture.
Pete has just returned to announce that, while we have been away, the squirrels have taken all our hazelnuts. Gorgeous red squirrels 1 - Doubleday family 0!
Until tomorrow. xx
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