Tag Archive for genuine living

Hearts and Crafts: Chi For Yourself Guests Will Look at Genuine Living Through Creative Energy

May 7, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

 

Wanted to update you on a couple of guest bookings on upcoming editions of Chi For Yourself:

Picture of Eric MaiselEric Maisel is the author of:  Making Your Creative Mark: Nine Keys to Achieving Your Artistic Goal.  Eric has worked with best-selling authors, and Academy Award winners; teenagers who are just starting out; unrecognized painters, writers, and musicians who bring love and commitment to each new project, despite their lack of marketplace success; and creators in every conceivable set of circumstances. He says  “The human beings who come to me not only want to create or perform, but they also hope to do good work that is desired and respected. So much stands in the way of their realizing their dreams, goals, and ambitions!”

If you’ve been less than confident in bringing out your own artistic urge be with us for this interview. The recorded version will air on Friday, May 17th on Blog Talk Radio and our other audio hosts. But, visitors to chiforyourself.com and blog subscribers who’ve opted in via email can be with us on Thursday, May 16th at 1pm Pacific time. The interview will stream on Google+ Hangouts and you can watch on the home page.

 

Then, in June we’ll hear from Maggie Oman Shannon. 

Picture of Maggie Oman Shannon

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie Oman Shannon says stopping to smell the roses is good for us, and that you can literally “craft the crazy away” through beading and crocheting, candle-making, and collaging. In her book Crafting Calm: Projects and Practices for Creativity and Contemplation, Maggie Shannon explores crafts and creativity as a spiritual practice that provides enormous benefits. We’ll look at making mindfulness through such projects as making a desktop shrine or mini-Zen garden, to stringing intention beads and painting personal prayer flags, 

The recorded show will air on Blog Talk Radio Friday June 14th..but you can be with us on Thursday June 13th at 1pm Pacific time for the live session. Again we’ll stream the interview on chiforyourself.com.

That’s it for now..be well!

 

JohnK  5/7/2013

chiforyourself.com home

 

 

 

Out With the Clutter and In With the Good Chi- Post Script

April 19, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

A quick note about the problems with our recent Chi For Yourself postings on Blog Talk Radio. We received this note from BTR and it further explains an earlier mention on this site about the “glitches”:..

 

Dear Valued BlogTalkRadio Host, 

In recent days, your BlogTalkRadio show may have been adversely affected by technical difficulties with the BlogTalkRadio website. It appears that during prime time hours (our busiest on the network), BTR suffered a series of “Distributed Denial of Service” attacks. Unfortunately, DDOS attacks on prominent websites, banks, and government institutions have become quite common. In recent weeks and months, sites such as Amazon, Facebook, and the Washington Post, among others, were hit by DDOS attacks, resulting in temporary outages.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these attacks may have caused you and your listeners. Rest assured that our technical, security and operations teams are working around the clock to ensure that our network, and your shows, remain safe from unwanted hackers and intruders.

Yours Truly,

Alan Levy
CEO, BlogTalkRadio

   

Article: Out With the Clutter and In With the Good Chi- Post Script

 

Just wanted to add a little encouragement for you on this final day of declutter posting. Once you have gained the upper hand on your ‘stuff’ you have to be aware of clutter creeping back into your life. Like so many things it’s easier to do if done on a regular basis.

 

Have a regular system. Look at how you do things and how the junk stacks up. In fact, think about individual systems for most everything,  email, laundry and more. Write down the system in steps and follow as best you can. Don’t fall into the do-it-tomorrow mindset. You’ll keep the hassle to a manageable level if you deal with things right away. Remember: ditch it, donate it, or designate an area for it.

   

John K 4/19/2013
  

Image for overheard

Overheard

Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough.”
                                                       – Charles Warner

 

 

Out With the Clutter and In With the Good Chi- Day One

April 16, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

Okay, it’s time to roll up the sleeves and get going. I’m starting the de-clutter process in my office. No real surprise. I spend lots of time there, and it shows. Stuff on the desk, on the floor, and even stuff on the dining room table. If you want to be more focused AND productive you’ve got to get the clutter out of your work space.

Starting with the desk I take everything off of the desktop and out of the drawers. Here’s your chance to wipe down the desktop- when’s the last time you did that? Now, the stuff on and in the desk can be put on the floor. You’ll want to sort through it and toss everything you really don’t need. I mean, do you really need that mailbox coupon that offers 2 for 1 cheeseburgers at the local greasy spoon eatery? Now, when you’ve parted with the junk you’ve got to sort the saved stuff. I use folders of the kind you get during a 1-cent sale at Staples. Your system may be different, like maybe a filing cabinet setup. It’s a good idea to keep supplies and other items in designated drawers. Put labels on things if you must, but remember to have a dedicated spot for every item you decided to keep and make sure that it stays there, or goes back there when you’re done using it. I get lots of paper coming in every week. Before the papers pile up sort them each day – toss them or file them as you see fit. Just remember that whatever you do with your papers, DO NOT KEEP THEM ON TOP OF YOUR DESK.  All you want on the surface of your desk is your phone, computer, and inbox, and maybe your favorite personal affects along with the documents you are working with at the moment.

Clutter can be a problem on the computer, too. Purge the programs, files and even desktop icons you don’t need. They slow down your machine and they make for visual clutter, too.

Information comes to us from more directions now than ever before. Get on top of it. Cut back on newspaper and magazine subscriptions. Limit your intake of radio and television. How much time are you spending on social networks? They can eat up your whole day. Limit your reading on these sites. No need to become a hermit. Just know when to “say when” and put some boundaries on yourself.

 

JohnK 4/16/2013

 

Image for overheard

Overheard:  “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”

– Confucious

 

 

 

Notes to Start The Week March 17th, 2013

March 18, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

Meditation practitionerVery much enjoyed our Chi For Yourself interview with Ajayan Borys. I hope it dispelled some notions about meditative practice and gave you some ideas to help in your own meditation..

 

 

 

If you didn’t catch Ajayan on the show you can listen here:


..and on a related note, here’s something from Business2community that can give you more encouragement:

Meditation: Making it a Daily Habit For a More Fulfilling Life

Meditation is an excellent habit to add to your daily routine. Not only does it help you relax, but it also helps with almost every other part of your life as well. Read more..

 

We’re enjoying a spell of the kind of weather that Southern California is famous for, and it’s the kind of weather that moves me to start cleaning out the house. Items are making their way out of my house most every week- shirts, pants, shoes, books, even an old computer that dates back to the Reagan administration. Gotta say I’m inspired by the writing of Tammy Strobel. Tammy has written a book called You Can Buy Happiness (and it’s cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too.

Tammy is scheduled to be a guest on Chi For Yourself on April 11th.

Also working to get Polly Campbell on the show. Polly is the author of Imperfect Spirituality: Extraordinary Enlightenment for Ordinary People.

 

Image for overheard

Overheard: “Times change. For the usual person this is very discouraging. You cannot rely on anything. You cannot have anything. And you will see what you don’t want to see. So you [have to] change the foundation of your life. ‘That things change’ is the reason why you suffer in this world and become discouraged. [But] when you change your understanding and your way of living, then you can completely enjoy your life in each moment.”

– Shunryu Suzuki
 

Peace

JohnK  3-18-2013

chiforyourself.com home

 

 

 

 

Fear Strikes Out: Getting Around the Wall of Worry on the Way To a Genuine Life

February 20, 2013 John Uncategorized No comments

Little girl peekingIt’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, much like many along Pacific Coast Highway. Pelicans glide near the surface of the ocean while gulls let out a sort of shrill encouragement nearby. Yet I’m feeling a bit uneasy as I make my way toward my dental appointment. Now, I’m no coward but I’m wondering ‘what if?’ What if this time I’ll need extensive work? It’s happened before. What if that work leaves me with a big bill? Been a while since any work was done. Am I due for a surprise?

Fear. It can stop you cold, give you what athletes call ‘jelly knees’, and steal your ability to make smart decisions. It can rob you of rational thinking and even turn you into a shadow of your real self. And all because of a perceived threat. Feeling threatened is not the same as an actual threat. But how can you tell? Do you face real danger or do you advance confidently?

Fear of uncertainty can leave you too frightened to take the path you really want to take. You can freeze at a bad time and not take to the road you must travel. It can be a helpless feeling and one that could leave you playing the victim.

Fear, real or not, can play a big part in how and if we respond and in who we become. There are countless stories of people who’ve let fear get the upper hand, even if only for a short time. That fear takes on an air of paranoia when their judgement is colored by those who are ‘out to get’ them. It’s a bit over the top but that’s the power of fear brought on only by perception.

Who are you becoming? Who is that person you call your self? My own belief is that the combination of listening to the faint inner voice and thinking rationally can turn back even a natural fear. It may require getting past the perception of whatever you’re facing. This will go a long way toward keeping you on target to living genuinely.

Oh, the dentist appointment? Got a checkup, a cleaning, and a reminder to ‘keep up the good work’.

 

Image for overheard

Overheard: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

– Margaret Mead

 

JohnK 2-20-2013

chiforyourself home page

  Recent Entries »