Review: Yin Yoga & Havi’s Non Sucky Yoga

This is a review, and I’ll try to keep it short, for the yoga package from the Fluent Self. I wanted to review it because it helped me get back to doing yoga after many years, and also spoiled me to almost any other kind of yoga media. What do I mean? Well, I really [...]

Tagged as: review, woo-woo, yoga

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December in November – What if I fail miserably?

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There are two goals in this year’s plan that I didn’t meet, and I doubt I’ll make good in what remains of the year. I missed them for two different reasons, so there are two different lessons to learn here. 1. Victory conditions. My goal for the category “learning things” was: get curious again. Seems [...]

Tagged as: map making

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December in November: Looking Back

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This week I’m looking back at the plan I did last year, to see how it made my year better. Some of the things I asked for happened, some did not. This post is about the ones that did. To be honest, part of the reason I plan is simply the feeling of control and [...]

Tagged as: map making

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Monster Journals

I interrupt my own series on yearly plans to tell you about something exciting going on at one of my other websites. A while ago I teamed up with Alexia Petrakos to make special monster journals, using my illustrations and her magic book binding skills. Have a look at what we’ve been working on: And [...]

Tagged as: monsters, video

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December in November – On Picking Goals

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When it comes to setting goals, I do believe there is a right way to do it and a wrong way, that is to say, there’s a lot you can do when setting your goals to make it more likely you’ll meet them. I like this rather short post by Chris Brogan. He chooses three [...]

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December in November – my method

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Here’s what I do for my plan. Again, this isn’t to say you should do this, you can do it any way you like. this is an example rather than a how-to, because planning is a very personal thing. I got my method from Lisa Sonora Beam. You can read the first post of her [...]

Tagged as: December in November, map making

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December in November

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It’s nearly the end of the year. Well, pretty nearly, I suppose there’s one sixth left, but the last bit always goes fastest, doesn’t it? Last year, the Communicatrix decided to have December in January, and so did I. She didn’t have time in December to do all the tying of loose ends and planning [...]

Tagged as: December in November, map making

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Looking for a Skeleton

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We think of skeletons as creepy, but we all have one, and they’re rather useful. Our bones are hard and solid individually, but they allow for all our movements* by giving our muscles anchors to hang to and levers to pull. *Except for bowel movements. And some other ones. It struck me that what I’m [...]

Tagged as: Habits, Productivity

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Why can’t you be More Compassionate, Dammit!

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Ever asked yourself that question? Yep. Me too. Don’t deny it. The funniest thing about it is that the question answers itself. You can’t make yourself into a nicer person by yelling at yourself. You can’t be kind by being unkind. So the question itself is stupid. “Why can’t you be more compassionate, dammit,” is [...]

Tagged as: Compassion, monsters

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Good Should Bad Should

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So should is something of a dirty word around here. Wherever here is. I’m not sure, but you know what I mean, right? There’s an idea that you shouldn’t tell people they should do x or y, including yourself. Perhaps especially yourself. I’ve been having trouble with this because I use the phrase I should [...]

Tagged as: monsters, peace-mongering

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Meditating in the face of Crazy Insane Itchiness

I had a rash on my chest. It was blotchy and angry and red, and I suspect it had something to do with the rub-on salve for cold symptoms I used a few days before. The salve did help me breathe, so that was good, but the itching wasn’t really worth it in retrospect. (Another [...]

Tagged as: difficulties, meditation

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On Non-Accomplishment

Is non-accomplishment a word? Because it should be. It’s at least as challenging a virtue as non-judgement, or non-violence. To me, it’s one of the hardest parts of mindfulness meditation. To accept that, for 5 or 20 or 45 minutes, I’m going to just sit there and accomplish nothing. And have nothing to show for [...]

Tagged as: difficulties, meditation

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Being the Best Girl in the World

There is a member of my family who I don’t see often, but every time I do it strikes me how hard she tries at everything. How much she parents. How alert she is. How she makes up for not seeing us very often by asking about everything and remembering it like there’s going to [...]

Tagged as: Goodwill to all, head architecture, trauma

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Is Mindful Eating for you?

I set up a little survey about Mindful Eating, to help with the thing I’m working on (the thing!) Some interesting results so far: The people who have taken the survey (that would be people who are interested in mindful eating) tend to eat a healthy diet, except for the sugar and fat-laden goodies on [...]

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Guesthouse “Patience”

Guesthouse “Patience” is an imaginary guesthouse. You can find it inside you. All guests are welcome here. When Pain knocks on the door, the door is opened with a smile. “Ah, Pain, you’ve come to stay again. Let me take your bag.” When Frustration rattles his heavy rings against the glass of the front door, [...]

Tagged as: patience, stories

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Update, bits of news

Yes, this blog has been really quiet. Sorry. A lot of stuff has been happening behind the scenes, but I thought I’d better post something so you know I haven’t fallen off the earth. What’s happening behind the scenes: So far, I’ve mostly used this blog to talk about food, and while blogging my mindful [...]

Tagged as: about the blog, monsters

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