Newsletter Archive: June 2008

 

Text Box:   June 2008 Welcome to the Dare to Blossom newsletter. To sign up for your own copy direct by email every month click here. If you do not wish to receive future editions, please email me to unsubscribe. Everyone who is on the mailing list will be entered into a draw twice a year (at the end of June and the end of December) with a chance to win a prize of six free life coaching sessions. Look out for the announcement of the draw winner for June in the next newsletter! In this issue: - Reflections: procrastination - Other interesting events - Dare to Blossom Workshops: plans for Autumn 2008 and Spring 2009 Reflections: procrastination This week I have had two important pieces of work to get on with, one of them this newsletter. But could I get on with it?! Dear me, I did everything else but to start with. Sorting through papers, gardening, emails, - all very useful jobs in themselves, but not the most urgent ones! Yesterday it was a nice afternoon, and after doing some planting out (that did need doing!), I decided to read and write outside. I took a book from my shelves that I have had for some time but not really looked at – Writing for Self-discovery by Myra Schneider and John Killick, I can highly recommend it. This was partly to help with my other task which is preparing to facilitate a workshop for Lapidus Cornwall as part of a series on ‘Words for Well-being’ in collaboration with Cornwall Libraries to celebrate the National Year of Reading (see more details below).  It contains lots of useful exercises to use by yourself or with groups. So, I decided to practise one of the techniques, ‘flow writing’. This is where you give yourself a specified time, perhaps 10 minutes, to write without stopping, reading or censoring what you write. If you get stuck you just write about that until other thoughts arise. When your time is up you can review what you have written and highlight any phrases that are significant to you. This can be used for personal insight and problem solving. At other times it is used to free up creative thinking when writing poetry or fiction – the highlighted words or phrases may become the basis of a poem or more polished piece of writing. The topic I chose was ‘procrastination’. I wrote about the problems I was having getting down to my jobs, about what I would do if ‘money was no object’. I discovered that the things I love to do most were the ones I was procrastinating over! I asked myself why I was doing this and wrote:   “Not the right time, needed to read, and write on paper first. Need to feel, connect, not force, natural energy, sap rising, growth, life burgeoning all around on a sunny day in May.”   (as you can see I have not edited this flow writing!) I continued:   “Write from the heart. Procrastination (look up definition and derivation) – an ugly word. Caused by not being ready to blossom. When the heart is tired and closed down inspiration doesn’t flow. This type of writing reconnects and liberates, a trickle comes through and grows into a flood of words, thoughts, phrases, can be channelled later into something meaningful for others to read – and for me to reflect on.” I left it there and did some more exercises from the book, which surprised me with some potential treasures of creative writing, more on that another time perhaps. Today when I went back to this newsletter I began by looking up the definition of ‘procrastination’ in the Compact Oxford English Dictionary: Verb: delay or postpone action Origin: Latin procrastinare ‘defer to morning’. I loved the ‘defer to morning’ as it chimes with ‘sleep on it’, which is a proven problem solving method. The answers to issues I am grappling with often resolve themselves over night, especially if I go to sleep expecting this to happen and perhaps with a clear question in my mind for my sub-conscious to work on. It also has much less of a judgemental feel to it for me, in my mind ‘procrastinating’ is something bad that I shouldn’t be doing, whereas deferring to morning sounds simple and practical. I have described my own creative process here and I hope it is useful for you. Here are some questions you could reflect on if you are in the throes of grappling with procrastination too: ¨       Can I revise my ‘to do’ list to fit better with my current energy levels? ¨       Can I write, read or do another activity that will move things on? (walking, running or other physical activities work well) ¨       Does it simply need ‘deferring to morning’? ¨       Does the task need doing at all? Finally, a personal anecdote: I remember when I first started working with Fraser, my life coach, I mentioned procrastination as an issue. I said “I have even bought a tape about how to overcome procrastination, but I haven’t got around to listening to it yet.” Fraser couldn’t help laughing, and so did I when I realised what I had said! Sometimes things can be moved on by not taking ourselves so seriously and giving ourselves a break. Interesting events SMART Women Conference 'Motivating, Inspiring and Empowering Women' For the second year running, the SMART Women Project are holding their pioneering conference, with a programme featuring the South West’s finest experts in the fields of women’s enterprise. Date: 23 June 2008, at Tremough Campus, University of Falmouth, cost £50/£60. To book click here. I will be there with a stand showcasing my services and with signed copies of my book Dare to Blossom: Coaching and Creativity on sale. Words for Wellbeing: Cornwall Libraries and Lapidus Cornwall are offering six “taster” workshops across Cornwall to celebrate the National Year of Reading. They are OPEN TO ALL, all workshops FREE of charge - bring a notebook and something to write with!   The theme is “Mind and Body” and the workshops will offer a chance to experience how reading and writing can promote well-being.  Curious?  Come and try for yourself! (The series of workshops began in May, my apologies for not telling you about them last month, but there is still time to book for one of the June events.) Numbers limited - to book a place phone 01872 322005 St Ives Library Tue 3rd June 10.00 – 12.00 Word Magic with Angela Stoner Launceston Library Wed 11th June 10.30 – 12.30 Reading and writing for health and happiness with Mary Lunnen Newquay Library Wed 11th June 1.30 – 3.30 What are words worth?  With Rebecca Hazzard Creative Writing Retreat there are just five places left on the creative writing retreat to be held at Rainbow Cottage, Branscombe, East Devon on the 27th, 28th 29th June 2008. It will be led by Deirdre Dee, an experienced coach, speaker and event and workshop leader. Dee says “Join us for an inspiring, creative and informative weekend in the heart of East Devon's Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in which you can read your work to other writers, join in brainstorming sessions, write in a stream of consciousness, give and receive feedback, address issues such as writer's block, creating characters, genre, and discussion on agents and publishing  PLUS leave having made a commitment to complete your project within a time scale that you yourself will define during the weekend.” £175.00 per person, sleeping in twin bedded rooms (one bedroom with en suite facilities) £190.00 per person for single room NB There is only one single room so it's first come first served! What’s included? Accommodation in simple, clean rooms at Rainbow Cottage, breakfast and lunch, all coaching, facilitation, exercises and guided walks. Feedback on the York Dare to Blossom workshop I have just returned from the one-day workshop in York, having had a wonderful trip. I loved having time to see the sights of York and the wonderful old buildings. Millers Yard is a fantastic venue to hold a workshop, heartfelt thanks to the owners Claire and Dylan who made the whole process of booking somewhere I could not visit in advance a pleasure. They also looked after us extremely well on the day. They have created a very special atmosphere with lots going on (I loved having coffee in the midst of a ‘bustle’ of small girls in ballet costume with their parents when I called in on the Saturday!) – and I would highly recommend their facilities. As you will see from the feedback below, people enjoyed the day, and also gave me some very constructive comments to help me improve future events, thank you all for your enthusiastic participation. “I liked the creativity of making the badge before the workshop.  Sitting together for lunch helped the group bond.  Phoning everyone afterwards is a nice touch.” Linda, May 2008 “I liked the venue, the size of the group and the relaxed nature of the day with opportunities to contribute and have fun.  Things that could be improved for me include more time to explore the Ten Truths and how they affect me, how they could be used to alter my behaviour/thought processes.” Jill, NHS Manager, May 2008 “Loved the warmth of the group, the variety of people in the room, the way Mary brought us all together, it was inspiring!” Sarah Booth, graphic designer, May 2008 “I found the day very thought-provoking, maybe a bit more discussion and working with different people in the group would have been a good thing.  The meditation was quite freeing.  I now feel more ready to go out and face the world.” Jennie, musician, May 2008 “The day caused me to focus on what I do well and successfully, and what I need to spend time thinking about. I enjoyed the wide range of references that were used to reinforce the central message.” Lizzi Linklater, writer/creative writing tutor, May 2008



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn 2008 and Spring 2009 Dare to Blossom workshop programme

My summer programme of workshops has now ended and I will be developing a new format for the autumn and spring programme.  This will incorporate the most successful elements of previous events woven in with new exercises and activities. As before, the essence of each workshop will be to give you a chance to take a day out for yourself with a supportive and friendly group. We will explore the reasons why we sometimes stop ourselves following our dreams and creating the lives we want for ourselves.  I am exploring the possibility of running events in Cornwall, East Devon, Hampshire, Cambridge, and another event in York.  If you are interested in any of these or would like to suggest a venue in your area, please contact me by email.

 

The theme I am developing at the moment is “Coaching and Creativity at Work”.  This could be at work in an organisation or in your own business.  Or it could be in other ‘work’ that you do for yourself such as art, writing, personal development.  (It could also be interpreted as how coaching and creativity ‘works’!) I will let you have more details once I have a clear plan, hopefully in the next newsletter.

 

I am also happy to provide tailored workshops and talks at conferences, business networking meetings or other events, again please contact me to discuss ideas.

 

Thank you for reading, do email me with any questions, comments or suggestions, or feedback on particular items.  Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think may be interested.

All best wishes, 

 

Mary

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Newsletter Archive

June 2008

 

 

 
Photo of brilliant pink passionflower

 

Picture of Dare to Blossom Workshop Group at Millers Yard, York

 

As you will see from this photo, (kindly taken by Dylan from Millers Yard underneath the wonderfully blossoming hawthorn), we all had a great day. (And I look like the cat that got the cream!)