Present Moments
Thoughts
from Susie Ascott -
on living your Perfect Life
Welcome to April 2007 Issue of Present Moments !
Present
Moments includes tips for living your perfect life, an update on what I’ve been
up to and news of upcoming events.
If you would prefer not to receive these (infrequent!) newsletters,
then please let me know, susie_coach@bigpond.com
In this issue:
Feature – You don’t
have to wait until you are in the mood
What’s
been happening?
I’m loving teaching Yoga and starting to build up a great group
of loyal students. This is an open class, catering for all levels of fitness
and experience, if you are free on a Tuesday morning, I’d love you to come and
join us ! see Events Coming Up,
My
daughter, Nicki, has started her first year at
University, studying for a degree in Exercise and Health Science. She is also
keeping up her culinary skills working in a local café, with a French pastry
chef for inspiration. I might need to
start watching my waistline!
Just for
an experiment, we are both on a gluten free diet, starting with a 4 week trial.
Just a few days into it now and we are both feeling lighter and more
energized…. Watch this space for updates on how we go…
I extend
my gratitude and admiration to all at Sir Charles Gairdner
hospital for bringing my Mother back from death’s door. She is now back home, enjoying her garden and I hope to encourage her
to return to her easel and produce more paintings. Not too many more, though,
there’s not a lot of wall hanging space left in her house !
The
Weekend Getaway in March was a great success for us all. 13 of us stayed at
Hilltop Farm in Wooraloo. We ate yummy food, created vision boards,
painted glass bottles for our daily 2 litre water
intake, watched movies, practiced Yoga and meditation in the most wonderful
Dome structure, enjoyed each others support and company and sunshine and came
away inspired. There’s a getaway scheduled for July (13th 14th,15th), and another planned for October this
year. See Events
Coming Up, below for details.
I have
booked in to a 9 day Creativity Workshop in
Our
household has increased by 3…3 goldfish are now installed in a small pond which
I built in the backyard, and I distinctly heard a frog out there this evening.
The
oranges are ripening on the tree, and we are harvesting the chillis,
I love the late summer/autumn weather.
Feature – You don’t have to wait until you are in the mood
I looked in my diary this morning, and there,
nestled innocently amongst activities for the day, was “Write the article for
the Newsletter. “
“But I don’t feel like
writing today”, I complained in a
whiny voice.
“Too bad, it’s in your diary, Get on with it,” I replied.
“SHAN’T!” I shouted back (in capital letters), pouting
and mentally stamping my feet.
And off I went to scrub the bath and clean the
toilets and do all those chores that can’t possibly wait (?), and as my body
got on with cleaning, my mind had a quiet chat with itself.
“You know you’re
pretty pathetic; acting like a petulant child, and just procrastinating?”
“Yes, I know, but you’re not helping. You wouldn’t
talk to a client that way; why are you talking to me like that? It doesn’t
help.”
“You’re so right.
What would I say?”
“Well, first of all you’d acknowledge that I don’t
feel like writing. You wouldn’t make me wrong for having feelings. You’d
acknowledge that life isn’t meant to be a struggle,
and remind me that my mantra is “if it ain’t fun, I don’t do it”….. You’d probably talk about how
Motivation pushes you forward and Inspiration pulls you forward. Inspire,
in-breath, In Spirit.
“There is a theory that says that people fall into
2 broad categories, those who are motivated away from pain, and those who are
motivated towards pleasure”
“Yes,
I think we are all probably a bit of both types. Which is going to work best
for us often varies depending on the situation we are in. “
“I’m going to feel bad if I can’t tick this off my
do-list. I won’t be able to send the
newsletter out, and the longer I leave it the harder it will get. That’s the
“pain” factor.
If I do it, then hopefully it will bring some
useful information or inspiration to others, that’s the “pleasure” factor. “ ..and, of course, there’s the immense satisfaction of ticking
it off on the do-list. You know me, I thrive so much
on acknowledgement that I even add things to my do-list AFTER I’ve already done
them, just for the joy of ticking them off.
“Yes, Done Lists are a
great way to acknowledge ourselves !
There’s
some other resistance isn’t there? Is there any pleasure associated with NOT
writing it? Or pain associated with having got it finished?”
“Well, yes, I’m worried that what I’m going to
write will be pretty ordinary, people will think it is pretty third rate.”
“And
that matters to you? What people think?”
“I guess it sounds like I think everyone is hanging
out to read my words of wisdom, like they imagine I’m some kind of super-guru,
who knows everything and never has off-days!! (wry grin), But I would like to write
something useful, after all I’m asking them to put in some of their time to
read it….. I just don’t feel very inspired, so how do I write something
inspirational?”
“Yes,
Inspiration is best for us of course, but we don’t always feel inspired all of
the time, do we? What was it “Julia Cameron said in “Right to Write” ....
"being in the mood to write, like being in the mood to make
love, is a luxury that isn't necessary in a long-term relationship. Just as the
first caress can lead to a change of heart, the first sentence, however
tentative and awkward, can lead to a desire to go just a little further.... “
“Hmmmm”
“You
ENJOY writing, don’t you? Look at all
the journals and scraps of paper and notebooks you produce, just for the
pleasure of the process.”
And along comes the Yeah-but, monster …”Yeah, but, that’s the point, it’s for the pleasure of the
process…no-one is going to read my journal and scribbles. “
“So, writing is
easy and fun for you, when you write for the pleasure of the process. We need
to find some way to make writing this article fun for you.”
“Right now, cleaning this toilet is more fun than
the prospect of writing an article to meet a self-imposed deadline”
“Would
you like to try the “Acting as-if” technique?”
This is where you act as if you already are what you’d like to become.
How
do you behave when you do feel like writing?”
“Well, I just write, wherever I am, on whatever
paper I can find. I don’t really think. I just keep going till I have emptied
out what’s inside, then I get up and wander around a bit, maybe do some weeding
or washing up and let my mind wander, then I come back and write some more.”
“So,
even when you feel like writing you behave in ways that others might see as
procrastination…wandering around doing fairly mindless tasks.”
“Yes, it might look as tho’
I’m not getting on with it, but actually this is an important part of the
process for me. Almost like I’m tuning in to “receive the next episode” “
“What you are doing right now,
cleaning the toilet and chatting to me, might actually be part of the process
of writing, not pathetic procrastination after all!
“That feels good”
“Do
you know what you are going to write before you start?”
“Well, I usually know what I am going to write
ABOUT, but not exactly what I am going to write, and I guess I often end up
writing about something completely different.”
“Do
you edit as you go?”
“No. That comes later.”
“What
happens if the phone rings or you suddenly remember something you’ve got to
do?”
“I usually let the phone go to the answering
machine, I have a separate sheet of paper next to me
and if I think of something else I scribble a note to myself for later.”
“And how do you
feel?”
“Well, I feel full of energy, I feel great, I feel focused.”
“Tell
me about how your body behaves”
“Hmmm, when I’m in the wandering around phase, I
move confidently, I breathe well, I smile. When I’m writing, I press quite
deeply with my pen or pencil and my handwriting is quite big and
confident. Sometimes I pace around, I
must look as if I’m on some kind of a mission, I circle around and then pounce
on the page for a sentence or two, and then go off to pace around again. Sounds pretty silly doesn’t it ?”
“So, let’s
pretend that right now you are in your wandering about stage. Take a breath, smile, be happy that the toilet is now clean. You can add it
to your Done list ! Ready to give Acting
As-if a try?
“How
do you start?”
“I often start with a quote, or copying down
something, like a warm-up, to get the hand and arm moving, to enjoy making the
shapes on the page.
“Go
and act as if you are inspired to write, start by copying down a quote, just see what happens”
………………….
…………………
“OK!
That’s enough, you can stop now”
“But, this is Fun! I’m enjoying myself, do I have
to stop?”
I’d love to hear your feedback on
this. Will you drop me an email susie_coach@bigpond.com ?
Recommended
Web Sites that I have enjoyed visiting:
“Each year a
Girls on Top team take an exploration of Earth & culture, compassion
& capability. We discover what it takes to make a difference to ourselves
& others using the world's great mountain ranges as a workshop of self
discovery, contribution & connectivity. Girls on
Top's voluntary, fundraising expeditions embrace the spirit of adventure &
the power of women to inspire & support change. We hope to inspire people
like you to join in, contribute & celebrate our
wonderful world”.
A magazine which is “Gutsy,
original, determined, irreverent, creative, funny, opinionated”
Books I have enjoyed reading over the last 3 months:
The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield
"Silence is not a natural environment for
stories. They need words. Without them they grow pale, sicken
and die. And then they haunt you."
Brew a cup of tea and prepare to lose yourself in one of the most engrossing
reads of the year -- an expertly rendered modern-day gothic novel, complete
with richly drawn characters, hulking houses in the English countryside, and an
irresistible mystery. Our narrator is Margaret Lea, the daughter of a
rare-books dealer, who lives a quiet life helping her father and occasionally
writing short pieces on obscure literary figures. Summoned by the famously
mysterious writer Vida Winter, Margaret is proposed as her biographer.
Flattered, Margaret agrees, enticed by the writer's desire to lay bare the
details of her past. But as Margaret churns up the ghosts of Miss Winter's
past, she will end up confronting her own ghosts as well.
Setterfield's interest is in relationships -- the
emotions, history, and scars that connect us to each other and make it
impossible to escape who we are and where we've come from. But while her time
frame is the present, the world she creates in The Thirteenth Tale is
haunting, romantic, and very, very English. Come to think of it, make that a
pot of tea, since once you start reading, you won't be getting up anytime soon.
(
Carlos Ruiz Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind “is an ambitious literary thriller; perhaps too ambitious.
Much of it reads like a standard Victorian potboiler, but it's set mainly in
Franco Spain (allowing for political under- and over-tones), and there's a
strong literary (and bibliophile) cast to it too. The narrator, Daniel, is the
son of a
Events calendar
Weekend Getaways
·
Beautiful
countryside – Fresh air, views, peace, approx 1 hour drive from Perth CBD
·
Your own
bedroom
·
Healthy
Gourmet meals
·
Your chosen
balance of solitude and company of a small group (max 12 places available)
·
Plenty of
time to read, chat, draw, write, walk in the countryside, listen to music or just veg out!
·
Optional
facilitated activities
eg
Yoga, Meditation, Guided Relaxation, Journal writing, Creating a Vision Board,
Group Coaching Conversations
Dates:
Price $275 to
include all meals and own room
To register your interest and receive
updates on details, please drop me an email susie_coach@bigpond.com
Yoga
Classes
·
Hatha Yoga is
Relaxing and Rejuvenating
·
Classes
are suitable for all levels of yoga experience and fitness
·
Friends
in Yoga (FiNY) Qualified Instructor
·
Comfortable,
Air Conditioned Venue
Venue:
Dates: Tuesday
morning
Cost: $15 casual
class
$130 for 10 classes (to be used
within 10 weeks)
Oil
Painting for Fun
- my objective is not to teach you to paint, but to
- provide the opportunity, inspiration and
encouragement for you to discover or rediscover that you enjoy painting.
- I provide the environment, (easels, oil paints,
canvas etc) and some basic instruction to get you started.
- It’s all about the process, not the product
(but you might just surprise yourself and produce a painting you love)
Cost: $30 for 3 hour workshop (includes
materials), bring your own materials and cost is $15
Dates: Sat
afternoons or Sunday afternoons held every 4 to 6 weeks.
Next scheduled :
Sunday 29th April,
Live
the Life You Really Want - Introductory Course
- Identify what really matters to you and enjoy your life more NOW
- Find ways to simplify your life and have more time and less stress
- Identify some new habits and achieve ongoing success
for yourself with less struggle
Cost: $120 * for 4 hour workshop
Law of Attraction – Introductory Course
- The Law of Attraction states that we attract people, situations and opportunities to us. At some level, we
are influencing the experiences and results of our lives
- Create your own plan to attract what you want into your life instead
of searching or struggling
- Learn how easy life is when you stop drifting or struggling upstream
and relax into
the flow.
Cost: $120* for 4 hour workshop
Creating
a Vision Board
- In this ½ day workshop you will create a visual picture of your
hearts desire using paint, crayon, collage
Cost: $20* for a ½ day of Fun and
Inspiration
*
If you organise a group (minimum of 4 people, maximum of 8 people)
and a venue, then we can run the workshop for your group at a total cost of $300
($80 for the Dream Book workshop). The cost per person works out to between
$37.50 and $75 depending on number of attendees.
Thanks for
Smiles
Susie