Thursday, November 8, 2012

Time to Move....

It's been a while, hasn't it?

At least a week and a half since my last post.  I'm finding I'm posting here less and less lately as I get my new site off the ground.  For that reason, I'm just giving everyone a heads-up that I'm going to start posting from shanwatts.com exclusively once I launch my Tech Magic subscription service, which will be the first week in December.

I love this blog - I love it's name, I love that it's always stood for the type of life I've always envisaged creating for myself since moving to the Valley, but it's time to stop merely envisaging and start actively creating, which is one of the reasons shanwatts.com exists. I won't be closing it down completely - I may keep it more as a ritual-recording blog and cross post to shanwatts every now and again as a result, but it certainly won't be very active any more.  My new adventure calls.

I'd love if it you'd join me.  While shanwatts is a business site, I also aim for it to be so much more.  Full of info and free stuff about how to create more connection in your life with the things that really speak to your heart, as well as my usual ramblings about what's going on in my life and how it relates to connection.   That's my theme, you see.  Connection - to all that speaks to me.  I'd like to help you be able to do that as well. 

The site is still very new and doesn't have even 1% of what I hope to eventually put up there but I'd love it if you'd join me to be part of it's growth.  It's not an attempt to sell anything at all, but an invitation to come join me at shanwatts.com so we can continue to connect together!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Saturday Morning, All is Well


I finally got sick of working from my bedroom and have moved into the spare room so that I have my own dedicated office.  I've had a glass desk kit sitting in there waiting to be put together for over a month, so yesterday was THE day.  I'm heading off on a silent retreat next weekend and wanted to come home to something much more organised.  I have a lot of cleaning up to do as it *was* the spare bedroom until the bed broke while moving it around - that HAD to have been a sign, right? Now it's MINE!  ALL MINE, I tell ya!  (Except for when we have visitors and then we'll move the sofa bed in the lounge in for them to sleep on)

The serenity I feel while sitting in this space is just glorious.  I can hear birds singing and look on roses and trees. I did in my bedroom as well - every room of this house has beautiful views, but our next door neighbour is into woodwork and his machines made it difficult to focus at times.  I'm one who really likes to only hear nature.  Plus, if people came to visit I was always missing them because my room is at the back of the house.  This one looks onto my front porch.  I really have to look at a Bagua and see what that means in terms of abundance and make corrections if I need to!  I'm no feng shui expert by ANY means!

The revamp of shanwatts.com is coming along.  My trial of Tech Magic continues and so far appears to be a huge success!  As a result, I'll be launching a subscription service to it in early December.  If you'd like to have extremely cheap IT support with a 24 hour turnaround with answers to all the little things that you don't want to pay a fortune for, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter.    There'll be more to come about how Tech Magic works in my November issue.

I originally only logged on to have a look at site traffic and then the mood took me to post.  It's now 2 hours later and my stomach is rumbling!  I need some breakfast and then to get into the housework.  Don't you love it when you feel so much passion for something that when you're involved in it time takes off at the speed of sound?  As you can see, I have much cleaning to do, so it's time to get a move on!

It's Saturday morning, and all is indeed well.  In fact it's spectacular :)

Monday, October 22, 2012

Well, I've Gone and Done it Now......

Finally!  My Tech Magic trial program for new bloggers/business owners has been launched.  It's now available to those who are members of Leonie Dawson's Goddess Circle for free until 25th November, so if you have any niggling little issues that you'd like help with as far as your website or social media, setting up email, etc is concerned please see the this thread in the Business Goddess Circle. 

Please feel welcome to join and ask away to your hearts' content.  The only thing I ask is for a testimonial if you find it helpful so that I can tell more people about how I can be of service to them and ease their learning curves.  I can't WAIT to work with you if it's something that takes your fancy.

If you're not a member of the Goddess Circle and would still like some help, don't worry!  As long as the program is a success, the real thing will be launching during the first week of December on a subscription basis that EVERYONE will be able to afford!

If you'd like to keep informed of how things are progressing, please feel welcome to sign up to my newsletter as I'll be including regular updates in terms of what kind of topics we're covering, the feedback I'm receiving, etc.

Finally, just a short note to let you know that this blog will soon be migrating over to www.shanwatts.com in the not-too-distant future, purely because it has the features I really want in order to create the stuff I'm yearning to share with everyone.


(PS: It's probably really obvious that I'm an avid fan of Leonie - it's true.  I think her courses are amazing, which is why I'm one of her affiliates)

Monday, October 15, 2012

Sometimes.......

....running away to a party to connect with friends you haven't seen for ages is the most refreshing thing in the world for your spirit.

....trying to sleep in the back of your car when it's only a two door is an exercise in futility but you do it for the fun of it anyway and when the leg cramps get too much because you really aren't as short as you thought you were you climb over the seats and sleep in the passenger seat instead because life is for living and it was a choice of either doing that or driving 3 hours home after the party because the party was still going at dawn and you needed to conk out way before then.

....indulging in a little too much alcohol is enough to make you feel relaxed enough to meet a whole swag of new people who are just awesome and who you just know are going to become part of your extended tribe.

....stepping out of your comfort zone opens up the most amazing, wonderful experiences where you connect with people purely because you know you are kindred spirits.

My weekend was awesome, the party rocked, the drive home was filled with amazing scenery and sunshiney goodness and the thrill my heart gave me to see my (adult) daughter again after being away from her for a night was the icing on the cake.  I was going to take photos but I was just too tired to stop on the way home.  Instead the pic below is my beautiful "White Pearl".  She's the land equivalent of Jack Sparrow's "Black Pearl", but man!  She's even shorter than *I* am!

What have you done lately that's pushed you out of your comfort zone and ended up being a fantastic experience that you're so glad you didn't miss out on?

What can you do in the next week that will push you to the edge where you feel a thrill of fear but that presents the opportunity to grow in such a way that you feel so exhilarated that you're willing to step off the edge and fly?  I would SO love to hear of your experiences.  Won't you please share in comments?

Thanks :)


Saturday, October 13, 2012

Running Away Today

Today I'm running away for the day.

I'm sitting here with dye in my hair and need to make this a quick post because the alarm goes off to wash it out in about 5 minutes.  Today I'm running away from my normal Saturday routine and I can't wait!

My friends are having a party - they're very sociable people and do this nearly every month during the warmer weather.  I'm staying the night at their place.  But it's not *just* a party.  It's one of my places of deep connection.  They're like family to me and it thrills me whenever I see them, let alone get the chance to connect with others at their place. There's SO much more I could write about that but that's for another post.

Right now I need to pack - it may be Spring but it's still cold.  There was SNOW at their place the night before last and it looked as though I may very well be driving through snow to get there, too.  That's unusual in our part of the world for this time of year and given that there are going to be a great number of people staying overnight and their parties are renowned for going until dawn, I've elected to sleep in my car rather than pitch a tent.  (They have a farm).

So today is going to be delicious!  I'm calling in to buy some new music to listen to on the way because it's a 3 hour drive. I'm driving through the most magnificent countryside, but during the day so there's less chance of hitting the multitude of wildlife that lives in these parts, and the snow should have melted by now, so it will be less dangerous.  I'm stopping off at an alternative medicine's student clinic along the way to have my first full body massage EVER.  (I might get chicken and just go upper body because I'm self conscious about my weight but whatever happens I'll do what's right for me).  Then I'm going to get to the farm early to help my friends before the hordes descend, party, party - catch up with people I haven't seen for ages and meet new friends, stay the night, have a wonderful brekkie and make my tired but oh so happy way home tomorrow.

So dear friends, if I'm quiet today, you'll understand why!  Ooops - finished just in time - there goes the buzzer!  Time to wash the hair, pack the car and be on my way.....sorry for no pics.  Perhaps tomorrow.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The Power of Putting it out There!

Just a short post about my post on October 4.

I received an email today to say my extension had been approved.  I no longer have to get a gazillion assignments submitted by 13th October.

Thank you Universe!  This allows me breathing space to get my girlfriends' logo finished, the website for my other client finished and my logo submitted for marking so that I can then modify both it and the site to reflect my in-the-process-of-being-created-business!  YAY!

Even while I was composing the application for an extension I was visualising that approval email arriving in my inbox.  And it worked.   Why do I keep being surprised by things like that?!




Monday, October 8, 2012

Productivity and "Work"





Well it's Monday.  Again.  But this Monday is different.  I still have my day job so still need to spend 8 hours a day working for my daytime employers, but my approach is changing.

I'd spent a little time starting to resent the fact that I spend my days working for someone else while my dreams go around and around in my head.  It's not just that I'm working for others - a lot of people do it.  There are a whole heap of other things tied up with it that really aren't appropriate to discuss here.  I've purposely done a whole about-face on that though, and now I'm thankful.  Not just for the money, although I really am very appreciative of it.  But for the following:
  • My employers are flexible if I need to do stuff like drop my daughter down the street to an appointment because she doesn't drive
  • They've been incredibly understanding when she's been in and out of hospital for an incredibly long time in the first part of this year and allowed me to take as much time as I need to provide her with support and make the time up later on
  • I learn HEAPS while working on their businesses that I can apply to my own
  • I have two employers in two different businesses so the tasks I undertake for them are different or coming from a different angle which increases my learning curve
  • I have income to ensure I can pay my bills, put food on the table and have a little extra while my business is taking shape
  • I get to work from home and in this day and age when people are struggling to find work, let alone keep it, I am so very, very blessed to be in such a position
  • I work for others four days a week and am incredibly fortunate to have three whole days where I can do whatever I want to do - laugh, sleep, love, create, eat (not necessarily in that order!)
I've gained a whole new appreciation that "work" is only "work" when it's not something that inspires you, and there is always something that can inspire you while working for others.  Even if that inspiration is that you learn how to get your business skills down pat so that you can pull those particular things off without a hitch when you work for yourself.  I had this approach when I was younger, but somewhere along the way I seem to have lost it.  So now, I'm purposefully cultivating it again.

So I didn't "work" on the weekend.  I was productive.  A client of mine gave me the go ahead last week to create her new website and that's what I've spent 80% of my waking hours on over the weekend.  There was some stuff there that I've never even contemplated doing in the past and the learning curve was steep, but I did it.  I prospered.  I learnt and I felt goooooooooooooooood.   The other 20% I spent at a pub on a cliff overlooking the beach in one of my favourite small towns.  With my daughter, eating lunch and watching for whales.  We didn't see any but I did beat her in a game of pool afterwards!  If you knew how badly I play pool and how good she is at it, you'd understand why I'm so chuffed.

So anyway, it's Monday.  Again. I'm working for my bosses today, again.  But this week?  I'm being so incredibly productive - and it's not "work". 

How could you turn your approach to "work" around so that it's a hallmark of your productivity as opposed to something to be borne and gotten through?  What approaches have you had to work or life in the past that you've let go of and would like to reconnect with?


Thursday, October 4, 2012

Extension Granted!

That's what I hope to find in my inbox soon once my Graphic Design school received my application for an extension.  I'm putting it out there - the earlier part of this year was a bit of a nightmare in terms of getting time to study, so now I'm ready to kick it to the curb and finish Cert III, which is the first part of my Diploma in Commercial Art. 

Mind you, what I want to use it for has changed completely since I first started and I'm currently trying to find time to work on that as well, but baby steps, baby steps - it will all happen when it's meant to.  YAY!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Finally, my mojo is back!

I've been in a bit of a creative slump lately.  A logo I'd been working on for a girlfriend just wasn't turning out right, I was falling behind in my course work for my Graphic Design course and was a bit disheartened about ever reaching my goals.  It seems that change has come with the return of the warmer weather!

I gathered my equipment yesterday and instead of working at my desk in my room (which is the warmest room in the house in Winter months), I ventured out to my dining room which has a beautiful bay window overlooking our yard and proceeded to recreate the logo while sitting at our dining table.  With white sage incense burning and birds singing all around ....... Voila!  It worked!



The final draft of the logo is done and I'm about to start work on it this morning.  My girlfriend returns from overseas the week after next and I want it sitting in her inbox, "just so".  Thank you, Muse, for returning inspiration to me - it's amazing what a change of scenery can do.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

My Manifestation List updated 4th October

Over at the Goddess Circle, Jane started a post in one of the forums detailing 50 things she'd like to get done by the end of the year, motived by Leonie Dawson's 2012 Workbook and Planner. It was so inspiring that others have started posting their lists too.

I already have a list, which is ongoing, as I find I don't stick well to deadlines as day to day life has a way of throwing a spanner in the works. As a result of the wonderful conversations there, I thought I'd post my list here in the hope that others may also find inspiration.

Please let me know if you start or go back to an existing list you have as a result - I'd love to know how far this idea spreads!

Mine is as follows. Purple = done, blue = work in progress, green = ongoing or stuff to be done on a regular basis, brown = no longer applicable
  1. Complete the first instalment of a story I'm writing
  2. Declutter for 15 minutes a day
  3. Have a garage sale once enough has been decluttered
  4. Get down to 70Kg and see how I feel healthwise (I'm in the 80's at the moment but have already lost 10Kg and feel fantastic)
  5. Visit family in Sydney (6 hours' drive away)
  6. Have my car serviced
  7. Apply for the job I really REALLY want until I'm self sufficient (wasn't successful but that just gives me more time to work on my stuff!)
  8. Pay more into my superannuation
  9. Practise being less judgemental
  10. Get the tarot deck that's been in my head for nearly a decade now, out into the world
  11. Create arty notebooks to sell
  12. Create my 2x e-courses that are currently swirling in my brain
  13. Reclaim my side garden along my driveway
  14. Reclaim my veggie garden and give away cuttings, excess herbs, etc This will happen when the plovers currently sitting on eggs in my backyard have moved on
  15. Start focusing on bringing MY house to me instead of renting
  16. Pass Cert III Graphic Design
  17. Pass Cert IV Graphic Design
  18. Pass my Diploma Graphic Design
  19. Have people to dinner every 6 weeks
  20. Give blood
  21. Recommence belly dance on October 19
  22. Participate regularly in Goddess Circle
  23. Set up my home office desk
  24. Art journal regularly
  25. Visit Melbourne
  26. Visit Brisbane
  27. Visit Cairns
  28. Visit Canberra
  29. Do fun stuff with my daughter monthly
  30. Knit from stash
  31. Create my version of a mermaid in my art journal with the mermaid poem in the 30 days of Goddess folder
  32. Set up invoices in Freshbooks
  33. Do website course
  34. Finish Bookkeeping course
  35. Do marketing course
  36. Join more interest groups on social media
  37. Art! Do more whenever possible
  38. Trim bushes along driveway
  39. Take a trip to Brown Bros winery @ Milawa for a meal with someone whose company I enjoy
  40. Check out Social Oomph
  41. Work out a budget and how much I need to earn each month in order to give up one and then both of my day jobs using Leonie's Magic Money Making Kit
  42. Create my free thing to offer people that's also going around in my head
  43. Visit a good friend of mine in Newcastle
  44. Have dinner with a very handsome man who I just met up with again after a decade or so
  45. Search for the purple flower I have in my minds' eye which is my medicine for facing fear and paint it
  46. Paint my "Kali belly"
  47. Paint Kali and I standing on the mountaintop together
  48. Hands painting with Astrology saying
  49. Anticipation - figure out how I paint it and do it
  50. Get started on golf logo
  51. Finish my "Style Statement" exercises
  52. Add a "What I'm reading/listening to" section on my blog http://thewitchofbegavalleyshire.blogspot.com.au/
  53. Get my passport
  54. Do a Nadgee Nature Reserve trek
  55. Catch up with said handsome man again and go camping/stay at his place when he moves in November (beforehand if it's good for him)
  56. Generate passive income
  57. Catch up with family in Sydney
  58. Visit Canberra
  59. Create sunflower and daisies artwork
  60. Create my "solace" artwork after working out how to portray yummy smelly stuff (?incense smoke)
  61. Finish a logo for a friend
  62. Create a friends' weebly website
  63. Blog about why bellydance means so much to me
  64. Develop workshop
  65. Blog about my style statement/personal brand
  66. Record meditations for those I've promised them to
  67. Attract more like-minded people into my life
  68. Read Meet and Grow Rich!
  69. Get my copy of "A Witch Alone" back off a friend
  70. Plant my purple daisies along the drive
  71. Go to the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition at the National Gallery when it arrives
  72. Do the stone sculpture course down in Bendigo in 2013
  73. Learn as much as possible from the silent retreat I'm attending in November and make a concerted effort to put it into practice on a daily basis 
  74. Complete the "How to Start a Blog That Matters" course
  75. Use the Decision Matrix to decide what to commence first as far as my e-biz is concerned
  76. Add Twitter cards to my site/s 
  77. Put "Selling and Marketing Your Art" into action
  78. Complete the "How to Start a Blog That Matters" course
  79. Look into the "Renaissance Business" book by Emilie Wapnick
  80. Explore Rosemary Frythe as an author
  81. Design a Twitter Header image (and perhaps use that as my header in whichever website I decide will be my one and only)
  82. Book into the Stone sculpture workshop I want to do next year
  83. Get my head around "A Marketer's Guide to Nailing Timing and Frequency of Social Media Updates"
  84. Investigate "The 7 Graces Global Community" webring (haven't head of a webring for years and years!)
  85. Think about offering a free sample re: "Flock" (flock.magpie-girl.com)
  86. Do Flock lesson and meditation
  87. Use Synchroblog topics to post if I can't think of anything myself
  88. Add a "must read" list to my blog
  89. Complete the "Triple My Traffic" ebook (print out up to and including p7 first)
  90. Blog about Aileen giving us irises and Astrid connecting with people
  91. Blog about Vicki and knitting group
  92. Check out how to use Pinterest for business
  93. Paint "I Commit to Myself and my Dream"
  94. Contemplate who my muses are.  My Muse of Connecting to others is Astrid
  95. Decide whether the List-A-Palooza Kit is for me
  96. Implement the "How to Use Google Analytics" article
  97. Create glorious stationary for me to use in my planning 
  98. Roots blog post 
  99. Get up enough courage to see if I can interview Kate Swoboda about courage! :D
  100. Look into guest posting on other people's blogs
  101. Blog about not having failed at anything
  102. Blog post about "conventional wisdom"
  103. Create a connection point
  104. Research podcasts
  105. Research Ning and see if it's for me, as well as alternatives
  106. Develop sales pages and FAQ's
  107. Research e-junkie
  108. Develop "Tips" sheet 
  109. Offer trials in return for feedback and testimony
  110. Develop coaching sales page
  111. Explore itty biz
  112. Continue Business Goddess ebook
  113. Look into the Organic Sister program
  114. Set up an affiliate program
  115. Listen to Monday Meditation
  116. Talk to Karie Hill about financial coaching
  117. Jeff and Kane webinar
  118. Adobe Create the Web Online webinar
  119. Get hair done 12th October
  120. Week 1 website development soc
  121. Week 2 website development soc
  122. Week 3 website development soc
  123. Week 4 website development soc
  124. Week 5 website development soc
  125. Week 6 website development soc
  126. Week 7 website development soc
  127. Week 8 website development soc
  128. Week 8 website development soc
  129. Develop individual visualisation stuff
  130. Write ebook 
  131. Develop workshop
  132. Divide Twitter following into lists (or something else useful for tracking.  Might be a good idea to actually learn what lists are and do first!)
  133. Transfer Blogger site to Wordpress and incorporate Weebly site as well
  134. Join in "Big Draw" and upload by 28/10 - blog about it
  135. Contemplate Jeff and Kane stuff in the future if I feel I need it
  136. Check out Easel for prototyping
  137. Nightly exercise
  138. Healthy eating plan
  139. Log fitness progress on Noom daily
  140.  

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Oh belly dance how I've missed you!

I just received a call from my Belly Dance teacher to say she's taking classes again! 

Can't wait to get started. 

My belly dance gear that's been languishing neglected for months now


If anyone local is reading it's being held Friday nights at Tathra Hall from 7:30 to 8:30, commencing Friday 12th October.  The cost is  $15 per casual class.

You don't have to be a flexible, supple young thing - all ages go and it's amazing fun. 
Plus the opportunity to connect with the sacred feminine through dance is a blessing and a half.  Great physical workout too!

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Amazing Week!

What an amazing week it's been - and it's not over yet!

Last Sunday I picked my daughter up from work and we set off for Sydney, 6 hours away.  Our first real stop was to visit friends who live on 30 acres near Canberra, as I hadn't had the chance to connect with them for AGES.  While my daughter contented herself communing with their dog and the many donkeys they own (she's a huge animal lover) we had the chance to share coffee, cake and generally catch up on goings-on.  SUCH a boon - I adore my friends - they're so open and giving and loving and welcoming.  It put a huge smile on both of our faces for the rest of the trip.  Evening saw us arrive at my mother's house and catching up with family, again, it's been WAY too long since we've seen them all and I was overjoyed that we'd be spending the week with them.

Monday saw me commence my day job working from my mother's dining room table.  I started a couple of hours earlier than I usually do so that I had more time to spend with them that evening, and all was fantastic.

Tuesday I did the same and then my daughter and I set off for the southern suburbs where she had an appointment with a new Endocrinologist.  For those of you who aren't aware, my daughter suffers from Type 1 diabetes, Asperger's Syndrome and a few other minor ailments which makes it a little more difficult to be as rigorous with diabetes as necessary.  It's been having a huge impact on both of our lives for quite some time, resulting in huge amounts of time spent in hospital for her.  She's one of the most stoic people I know and often downplays the impact of things on her life, but I know she longs to live life in the same manner that others do.  The Dr was awesome - supportive, optimistic for the future and positive without engendering false hope and laying out exactly what she needs to do in order to be eligible for an Insulin pump, her Learner's permit and being able to fully volunteer with the SES again.    We both came out of there feeling so much lighter and positive and Ast with a renewed sense of purpose and capability as far as control of her diabetes is concerned.  Dr Thornley you're my hero!

Tuesday evening saw me going out to dinner with a man whom I knew in passing many years ago and have recently had the opportunity to connect with.  He is totally, absolutely charming and dinner was something I thoroughly enjoyed.  We went for coffee afterwards and I think I got home about 2am.  We have plans to catch up again, something I am very much looking forward to. 

After collapsing into bed and grabbing as much sleep as I could, I started work early again on Wednesday for my Canberra boss, then took off down south again to my Sydney boss's place.  We then went for lunch at the Royal Motor Yacht Club and indulged in lobster mornay and the spectacular view.  I was supposed to visit a friend in Newcastle last night but by the time I got onto the M5 to come home traffic had built up and I wouldn't have arrived there until midnight, so took a raincheck with my beautiful, understanding friend and spent the night relaxing again with my family.

Tonight again I am meant to meet up with another girlfriend in town but given that we need to drive home tomorrow and the rain has set in I've postponed because I think I planned just a *little* too much this time around.  Given that we'll be back up again soon for another appointment for my daughter, there's plenty of time. 

Home tomorrow.  I hope it's raining all the way down the coast.  My plants will drink it all up and grow big and strong and beautiful so that I can paint them.  It will be good if it stops and everything dries out by Saturday morning though, as I have to get on with trimming the rest of my driveway!  It's majorly overgrown and soon my car won't fit up it unless it gets a good haircut.  To rain, sunshine and the amazingly beautiful rainbow of life and communing with friends, family and humanity in general!

(Pictures to come later!)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

"Stream of Consciousness"

"Stream of Consciousness"  My first ever painting on canvas.  Acrylic paint

Friday, August 24, 2012

The Immediate Past and the Incredibly Bright Future!

Well, I've let the blogging slip a little again, haven't I?  That's because I've been SOOOOO busy!  Life has been incredibly hectic.  In fact, it turned into a bit of a hard slog there for a while but now it's returning to not only what passes as normal here, but into something pretty wonder-filled.

My daughter, who has a couple of medical conditions, had been in and out of hospital for ages.  She still is, but it doesn't seem to be *quite* as bad as it was.  At one stage she'd spend about three days home out of a whole month.  I admire her - she's so brave and so determined to make the very best of everything in her life, but we'd both just about had it by then.  My two employers who I'm still working remotely for were incredibly understanding and allowed me to have a whole HEAP of time off for which they still paid me, with the understanding that I'd work the hours off when I could.  I'm so grateful to them for being so understanding and generous with their time and money.  Seriously, at one stage there I think I owed them both about 30 hours each.

TODAY I FINISHED WORKING THOSE HOURS OFF!  YAY!  

I have my Fridays back!  For me!  To manifest whatever my heart desires!  To work on my Graphic Design course, to continue writing my ebook......

Oh let me tell you about my ebook!  Please!  After I found Effy Wild's Book of Days, I also discovered Leonie Dawson and her Business Goddess program.  She is just amazing!  Like many other people I've always felt that I shouldn't be successful in business because it's impossible to be successful in a materialistic way (i.e. making money) and spiritual.  That if you see yourself as a spiritual being then it's hypocritical if you manage to not only survive but live a pretty pleasant existance as a result of your efforts as well.  I think that may very well be why, in the past, I've given up both a successful Hypnotherapy practice and a successful Locum Medical Secretarial Practice - because I felt like a fake as a spiritual being because I was starting to make too much money.  Well, Leonie is changing my view of all of that.  I've been working through some of her e-courses, looking at hew videos and reading her articles and have decided to let my light shine - in all SORTS of ways!  And one of the ways is to start blogging again - regularly.  So I can keep in touch with my deepest thoughts and feelings because I don't really have anyone of like mind to share them with, and to hopefully inspire others with my work so that they, too, can go out and share their special gifts with the world the way that Leonie does.

But that's not about my ebook, is it?  Sorry, I got off track.  Ever since I moved to the Bega Valley and started working for a not-for-profit who catered for elderly clients, I've been struck by how isolated some of the elders in our community are.  Not just here, but all over the place.  They can't get out because they have mobility and other health problems.  Even if they can, they don't know many people or those they know have passed away and family often live hours and hours away so it's not practical for them to visit all of the time.  As a girly geek from way back I've often thought what a shame it is that more of our elders aren't aware of how much a computer can help you connect with the outside world, make friendships, keep in touch with family, pursue interests, all from the comfort of your own home.  When I sat and did one of Leonie's exercises to discover what gifts I had to offer the world, educating older people about technology and helping them to connect with others as a result was one of the things that immediately popped into my mind!  

So ...... one of my very first projects of my heart (as opposed to my Graphic Design which is also from the heart but for some reason I think of it differently), is to write a series of e-books for people who are perhaps not so computer savvy.  A series that explains what they need, how they can get it cheaply, how to set it up and how they can then connect with the big wide wonderful world of the internet, how to find people on it, how to stay connected with family, how to really start to reconnect and take an interest in people again and have people take an interest in them.  Written in plain, every day English with step by step instructions and pictures.  

One of my employers says it won't work - that you can't make money from old people because they don't have any to spend, but he actually missed the whole reason why I feel compelled to create these books.  When I sit and think about what my heart's desire is, it's to help people.  It's to help as many people as I can in as many ways as I can, but I don't want to help them by doing things *for* them. I want to do it by empowering them, by inspiring them and helping them to reconnect with things that their heart yearns for and what speaks to them and makes them feel alive, vibrant, important.  And what could make you feel more alive, vibrant and important than being able to connect with family, to explore your passions and read about them online even if you find it hard to get out and do them any more.  To connect with likeminded others to discuss those passions and interests and learn and talk and relate past experiences and successes?  Money is hardly the point.  If it's meant to be then it will happen and the money will come as a by-product.

I know that those I want to help most with my book series won't yet be online.  I don't see that as a problem.  Those who want to keep in touch with them or want to inspire people to connect *will* be online and they're the ones I'm counting on to spread the word.  It won't cost a fortune to obtain the book or to set up a computer that can connect with the internet.  There are programs that provide cheap computers to people who are on benefits and limited incomes.  Just imagine if we had a world where people were no longer isolated by illness, age or disability, but could connect with like minded people at the flick of a switch!  Imagine how much companionship could be built, and how it might even spread into the world through visits from other locals and coffee mornings and cups of tea and projects built and shared!  There are resources around that can help that kind of thing happen and I'm very fortunate in that I know what they are or am in a position to find out.  Anyway, that's just one of my dreams.  If you'd like to subscribe to my newsletter so that you can keep track of the ebook series and when the first will be ready for release you can sign up here.

I have a whole heap of other ideas bubbling away in my brain - some ofr older people, some for younger people, some that will appeal to those who are spiritually inclined.  So again, if you'd like to stay informed as I create them, I'd love to stay in touch!  You wouldn't even have to come back to this site unless you wanted to - just use the link above so I can let you know what's going on.

If you'd like to check out Leonie Dawson and her Goddess Circle, as well as the amazing stuff she offers to inspire your creativity and get your own message out into the world, you can learn about her here.

I have so SO much more to blog about including the retreat I'm attending in November, the Whale Watching cruise my daughter and I are going on  in September and the upcoming opportunity to catch up with friends and family - life is really, REALLY looking up and I'm loving every minute of it.  I'd love to keep you informed - I promise I'll blog again soon!  Thanks for reading.

Shân


Monday, June 11, 2012

Well, I haven't posted since forever and so much has changed in my life.  I've let go of a lot of stuff that wasn't serving me, including the relationship with the "friend" with whom I shared such special moments at Wadbilliga and Simon and Garfunkel, the job I had at the time and a whole heap of negativity that was associated with both.

I'm telecommuting in two jobs from home - one for a company based in Canberra and the other based in Sydney.  I'm studying Graphic Design and have just launched my website.  I'd love for it to be generating work but it needs a lot more work done on it and because I'm both studying AND working at present it will instead be a work in progress with a means of getting my name out there.  I tossed up whether I should associate the site with this blog but one of the things I feel called to do more and more in this life is be authentic and true to myself so I'm biting the bullet and doing it.  Whether I actually link from my site back to this one is something I'm yet to determine.

The veggie garden has been dormant for about 12 months now, perhaps more and I need to get back into the garden and sink my feet into the earth again.  I've started exercising and am dropping the weight and feeling really good as a result.

I've also JUST discovered Effy Wild's Book of Days.  If you're looking for inspiration as far as creativity is concerned or a creative means of connecting with yourself, why not go explore?  She's offering her program for only $50 (I think it was about $52 when converted to Aussie dollars at the time of writing) for the rest of the year.  If you like dabbling in arty stuff as I do, it may be worth checking out!  I can't wait to get started but at the moment my house looks like a bomb has hit it and it's getting past lunch, so I'm going to pop some soup on, get into the housework and then sit down to play.  If you'd like to know more, see below!

Click here to visit Book Of Days.
It's actually signing up for her program that has me all inspired again to keep going with this blog and bring more art, joy and fun back into my life!  I also need to let you know that I've joined her affiliate program as well, so I do obtain a small benefit from directing you to sign up with her.  Regardless, I can assure you the content is just amazing.  

I'll be uploading some of my coursework and the stuff that I get up to when dabbling with Book of Days and can't wait to make my blog look a lot better than it has for AGES!

Anyway, I'm off to cook and clean up a storm so I can play!  (And get the house ready for a friend who's travelling north later this week and is gracing me with company overnight - YAY!)