October 23, 2010
NaNoWriMo, here I come
In November 2008, my colleague, Nathan Everett, was spreading the word about his participation in NaNoWriMo, which is short for National Novel Writing Month which begins November 1st. As part of the Microsoft Giving Campaign to help the United Way, Nathan auctioned off the opportunity to name a character in his NaNoWriMo novel. My bid won the auction and then I freaked because I had to come up with a name for a character.
As the name was germinating, I started daydreaming about a character for my own novel. I wasn’t expecting that but I moved forward and developed a synopsis but then, I allowed writers block to overtake me. I did not participate in NaNo 2008 but the novel idea stayed with me, emerging again this year even stronger than before.
I need to prepare because the goal is to write 1700 words a day for 30 days so by the end of the month, you’d have 50,000 words, enough for a novel.
Since I decided to participate this year, I figured I need the inspiration of fellow novel writers. I’ll be attending a Pre Nano Meet Up event at the Redmond Panera on Thursday, October 28th and then on Sunday, I’ll attend Nathan’s 7th annual HalloNaNoWeen:
- HalloNaNoWeen Event in Belleuve
EEEEEEEEEEEEEK! Guess I better get cracking on an outline, some narrative, characters, background info, et cetera.
All I will say about the novel right now is that it is about Selah Volk, a gypsy from Moldavia, who is known as The Page Turner. It will be a mix of genres: historical fiction, suspense, and fantasy.
The NaNoWriMo word count validator will open for business on November 25. From then until November 30, I’ll paste my 50,000-word novel into the validator to have it counted, and have myself declared an official NaNoWriMo winner. I’ll share my novel with the world on November 30th.
NaNoWriMo, here I come!
To prove that I’m participating and to hold myself accountable, here is my profile on the NaNoWriMo website:
October 9, 2010
Yes! Personal and Professional Success with Performance Velocity
Last year, over a 3-month period, I was very fortunate to work with Lisa Niederman, CEO of Performance Velocity. Lisa’s background in the business world and her keen sense of understanding her client’s needs, sometimes better than they understand themselves, makes her a terrific asset for any company or any individual interested in achieving fast, measurable results.
In fact, Lisa pioneered a breakthrough system of identifying the core of what you want to accomplish and then, moving through one’s goals in a quick, yet satisfying, succession. Lisa’s system is based on ETA = Results™, a trademarked formula of energy + thought + action equals results. Dr. Pat Bacili of The Dr. Pat Show interviewed Lisa this year, during which, in a series of podcasts, Dr. Pat brings the profound insights of Lisa’s work into the program for the benefit of her audience.
The foundation of the program begins with energy, more specifically, Energy Intelligence™. The origins of this formula* are actually quite ancient although scientists are now coming around to understanding it, albeit from a scientific point of view. Science is beginning to see energy as information. Information is energy; energy is information; because the whole life energy is information.
Lisa’s formula makes sense to me in so many ways. Fifteen or twenty years ago, using affirmations was the buzz word or technique du jour for making yourself feel good so you could take action in your life. I, like many people, eventually figured out that affirmations alone do not work because they don’t carry enough ’umph’ to make a difference long term. For almost 2 decades, I had also read copious quantities of self-help books and attended plenty of workshops in the hopes of finding some technique that had staying power for both personal and professional growth. I finally found what I was looking for with Lisa’s proven human performance techniques.
I already had an understanding that the fundamental basis of results comes when you learn to operate from a position of positive energy. However, Lisa’s unique set of self-improvement techniques helped me to feel more empowered faster and therefore, I was able to change my limiting beliefs quite rapidly and develop wider-ranging goals beyond what I thought I was capable of.
I’d like to share a couple of stories of how working with Lisa and her Energy Intelligence™ system and ETA=Results™ helped me in both my personal and professional life. When I sat down to plan what I wanted to work on with Lisa over the course of 3 months, it was all about next steps on my career path that I felt I needed to take. Well, so much for that. Right away, Lisa zeroed in on the grief I was carrying regarding the recent death of my father and how this grief needed to be looked at before we moved on. It surprised me that we would start there especially since I was already working with a counselor on that issue. From her extensive past experience as a practicing psychologist and her work with executives to achieve peak performance, Lisa was able to help me move through my grief and surrounding personal issues in weeks rather than the months it would have taken me in traditional counseling.
Taking care of the personal issues, I was now ready to tackle my professional life. Part of what I wanted to do was to move into a new role that was better suited to my leadership abilities. Lisa helped me identify my strengths, reduce limiting beliefs, and encouraged me to dream big. In less than a month, I developed a new leadership idea, contacted others in my company who will help me realize the leadership idea into a workable program, received an invitation to participate on the advisory board of a local university, and been accepted as a weekly columnist for Examiner.com, a premier online brand for local information and events, whose circulation is rivaling the Wall Street Journal. That path served me well then. This year, much has changed for me at work and I’ve taken a step back, again using the principles I learned from Lisa. I was able to evaluate what was more important for me overall, not just in my work life, and shift my energy to bring more creativity into my life.
I still have much to learn, yet I’ve come far in grasping what this energy intelligence can do for me. I intend to pay-it-forward and passionately use what I learned to help others. Learn more from my interview with Lisa.
Thank you, Lisa, for your wisdom and patience in steering me in the direction of highest good and a most benevolent outcome in my human performance thus far. My personal and professional life have been deeply affected and it is all good.
* Those who want to research further into the origins of this energy intelligence would do well to spend some time delving into the power behind the Golden Proportion.
White Buffalo Woman: Then and Now
I’ve been so fortunate to call Eve Kerwin, my friend and mentor. Her book is a mere glimpse into the fascinating and often challenging life she has experienced as the White Buffalo Woman.
I learned so much about spirituality, shamanism, the legend of the white buffalo, walk in phenomena, personal growth in spite of diversity, and walking the road less traveled regardless of family pressure and societal norms. The Awakening encompasses all these aspects and much much more. Truly a revelation of a book that honestly details the life of a modern mystic, working shaman, loving mother/daughter/sister, generous friend, and an all-around extraordinarily talented and gifted woman. You will find that The Awakening engages you on many levels. A riveting read. I can’t wait for the sequel to learn and understand the depth of Eve’s life and work.
Here’s how it all started:
On the 10th of August 1994 in Janesville, Wisconsin, a momentous birth occurred.
This birth was heralded as the fulfillment of a 17-generation-old Lakota Sioux prophecy. A female white buffalo calf was born on a bison farm owned by the Hieder family. The calf was pure white, not an albino. This was genetically remote, later predicted by geneticists as one in hundreds of millions. The day after its birth, before news reached the press, a Lakota Sioux medicine man mysteriously appears on the Hieder’s doorstep, saying that he received a vision that a white buffalo was born and needed to travel to it. He was guided to their farm by Spirit to acknowledge the event that his nation had been prayerfully anticipating for hundreds of years.
The significance of the white buffalo for the Sioux Nation begins centuries ago on the Great Plains. A number of tribes had joined together on the banks of a river. These seven clans were cooperating out of necessity, as times were very hard. Game was scarce and they tired of warring on one another for resources. They agreed to coexist under the tutelage of one chief.
They prayed that he would lead them back to abundance and prosperity. One day, the Chief Standing Tall instructed two of his best scouts to try and locate a herd of buffalo. One located find and the subsequent hunt could lay up provisions for the entire tribe for a year. The two scouts departed camp and headed for parts infrequently visited in search of game.
After some time, scouting the horizon from a hilltop, one of the scouts noticed a strange apparition in the distance. A white globe was floating a scant few feet above the grasslands, moving slowly toward them. Their first inclination was to run, but they were riveted by the vision. As the glowing globe got closer, they could see the form of a strikingly beautiful woman within. This woman had long black flowing hair and was covered in white buckskin. She carried a bundle in her arms. The scout, who first witnessed her, recognized that she was not of this earthly domain and this was a message from The Great Spirit and he was humbled.
The second was drawn to her by her shining and pristine radiance and lusted for her physical bounty. As he approached her, suddenly a swirling cloud engulfed the scout and the vision and together, they spun wildly as if being sucked up into a summer funnel cloud. When the torrent ended, she remained floating over a pile of bones. She spoke to the remaining scout and asked that he not be afraid. For the first had improperly misinterpreted her purpose. He should return to the tribe and tell them to prepare a lodge for her as she had gifts to bestow from Spirit. He hurtled himself across the plains and returned to camp to the amazement of the elders. But they all acknowledged that this was the answer to their prayers and made preparations.
The entire tribe was assembled as they saw the same white globe of light appear on the horizon and float towards their encampment. The chief greeted the apparition and welcomed the emissary from Spirit.
She spoke, “I am the White Buffalo Woman”, and then held out her arms as she passed the bundle she was carrying to the chief. She explained the first of seven ceremonies that would provide them with a process of right action and deeds as the chief unwrapped the cloth to expose two items. A stem made of cottonwood and a bowl shaped from red stone. The stem represented the male and the bowl, the female. When joined together, and only joined when praying, the smoke of the pipe would carry their prayers directly to The Great Spirit. As long as they honored this gift and six other ceremonies that she would reveal in the subsequent few days, their peoples would live in abundance and peace.
As the White Buffalo Woman bade her good-byes to the tribe, she floated from the camp and then the same funnel cloud again appeared only this time as its winds abated, a white buffalo appeared and stood before them. It laid down, turned around, and stood up, only the color of its coat had changed to black, then again, it changed to red, then once again as it changed to yellow and finally, back to white. The bison strode off and the voice of White Buffalo Woman could be heard by all, saying that she would return one day, when the world was at peace. Her owners named the white buffalo calf born in 1994, Miracle. Thousands have visited Miracle. Amongst them, many Native American elders, and even the Dalai Llama have physically witnessed her and acknowledged this prescient message to mankind.
After Miracle’s birth, the essences of White Buffalo Woman began to intertwine with the energies of Eve Kerwin, a former cosmetics model from Stamford, CT. When White Buffalo Woman speaks, Eve becomes the conduit for different spiritual guides who come through and assist her in this healing work. The sum total of all these energies is The Holy Spirit. In the beginning of each session, what people experience coming through Eve is a coded, vibrational, energetic dialect: a Universal Telepathic Core Language. Eve believes that the work of the White Buffalo Woman, the true gift that comes through her, is for many people to consciously understand their mission here and their life’s purpose. The process is an awakening and unlocking of Universal Truths, that when applied to their life, balances their bodies: mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual. This new and fresh perspective has life-altering potential, not only in interactions with others, but their physical circumstances as well. While Miracle fulfilled the physical aspect of the prophecy of the White Buffalo Woman, Eve Kerwin, through the shamanic tradition, is carrying on the spiritual aspect to truly complete the work of this wisdom teacher.
alottamusings 