Journey into Wellness

It's officially happening - I'm embarking on yet another journey. I think I finally have the tools I need to be successful, and God willing, all will be revealed along the way!

To begin with, I start the "Fall Journey to Wellness" tonight. Yoga lead by my friend, Frances, and nutrition accountability. I bought The Mediterranean Zone Diet book and it was delivered this morning. According to the website, here is what I'm getting:

Dr. Sears revolutionized nutrition with his 1995 bestseller, The Zone. In the two decades since its publication, his dietary principles for optimal hormonal balance to control inflammation have become the standard by which all diets are measured.

The Mediterranean Zone takes his principles of anti-inflammatory nutrition to a new level by explaining the key role that polyphenols play in the reduction of inflammatory responses as well as their activation of anti-aging mechanisms embedded in our genes.

This book will also help you understand not only why the American health-care system is rapidly unraveling, but also what you can do to protect yourself and your family from those consequences.

Sounds good, so far!

In addition, I'm going to dive into a 36 week program to motivate and inspire me to finally write a book. (Details to come!) So many of my friends are published authors, and I thought, what the hell am I waiting for? But first - this journey. I will be working on The Artist's Way. I purchased about three year ago, the complete 3-book journey by Julie Cameron. The first 12 weeks (which works perfectly with my 12 weeks of yoga,) will be based on her first book, The Artist's Way, (according to the website,) is the seminal book on the subject of creativity. An international bestseller, millions of readers have found it to be an invaluable guide to living the artist’s life. Still as vital today-or perhaps even more so-than it was when it was first published one decade ago, it is a powerfully provocative and inspiring work. In a new introduction to the book, Julia Cameron reflects upon the impact of The Artist’s Way and describes the work she has done during the last decade and the new insights into the creative process that she has gained. Updated and expanded, this anniversary edition reframes The Artist’s Way for a new century. This program will take 12 weeks to complete. 

Then I will head into Walking in this World. Another 12 week program. In this sequel to her international bestseller The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron presents the next step in her course of discovering and recovering the creative self. Part Two in an amazing journey toward discovering our human potential, this book shows readers how to inhabit the world with a sense of wonder. Full of valuable new strategies and techniques for breaking through difficult creative ground, this is a profoundly inspired work by the leading authority on the subject of creativity.

And finally, I will wrap it up with Finding Water, another 12 week program. This powerful new installment in Julia Cameron’s groundbreaking body of work on the creative process will guide readers to discover enduring inspiration that it will lead them to water.

Finding Water completes Julia Cameron’s bestselling trilogy on the creative process, beginning with The Artist’s Way and Walking in This World to offer guidance on weathering the periods in an artist’s life when inspiration appears to have run dry. This book offers advice and wisdom about tackling the most challenging issues an artist faces, such as:

– making the decision to begin a new project;
– persevering when a new approach to your art does not bear immediate fruit;
– staying focused when other parts of your life threaten to distract you from your art; and
– spotting possibilities for artistic inspiration in the most unlikely places.

This powerful new installment in Cameron’s groundbreaking body of work on the creative process will guide readers to discover enduring inspiration-it will lead them to water.

I would like to invite YOU to join me on this journey. If you are interested, I will leave a few of the ideas I have picked up and anything else that might be useful. You can purchase the books I mentioned from the respective websites or Amazon. If you are a Prime Member, you will get free shipping and two day delivery. 

Right now, I would recommend getting the books, and a notebook and pen. That's it. Start as simple as that. We can do this together! Last night, I read a quote in the Artist's Way that reminded me what I needed to do:

It's now or never. I'm not a stand on the sidelines kind of girl. All of the puzzle pieces have been accounted for, all that is left is me. 

One final thought - I was reading my daily devotional. It is from a book I have had since 1996 called Journey to the Heart by Melody Beattie. Today's thought was "Learn to be Present." She says, "There is a better way to live. One where we keep our hearts open and know what we feel. We take the risk of being vulnerable enough to share who we really are and to allow others to do the same. We become fully present for each moment and each person on our path."

Man... this is an area I really need to work on. My mind wanders a mile a minute, and it is hard to just sit and be in the moment. My hope is tonight, through yoga, I will be able to reconnect with that more spiritual side of who I am. Something.. or rather, someone I lost a long time ago. 

Today as we move forward, Beattie recommends we

Give the gift of presence to yourself and to the world.