REDONDOWRITER'S SACRED ORDINARY

Progoff's Intersections: Roads Taken and Not Taken in a Nutshell

A friend of mine recently asked me to describe an exercise in The National Intensive Journal, Dr. Ira Progoff's method of journal keeping in the section called "Intersections: Roads Taken and Not Taken." It follows in a nutshell. 

From Ira Progoff, Ph.D., “At A Journal Workshop” (pages 102-122)

When writing in a journal, Frances Heussenstamm  taught me long ago to, “No judgments, no comparisons, and give up your need to understand.” This is the key to depth journal work.

For those of you who may not know, Ira Progoff’s National Intensive Journal is an integrated system of writing exercises broken into more than 20 sections in a notebook journal. He developed the method in the late 1960s and it continues to be used and taught to this day. It's much more than a diary. Most serious journal keepers take at least one Progoff workshop in their lifetimes because it lays the groundwork for most other journal and diary methods that have followed it. Though I am certified to teach the Progoff method, periodically I will take a workshop because his carefully thought out method helps me to refocus my life.  In the journal I keep daily and the journal workshops I currently offer, I incorporate many of Dr. Progoff's techniques, and those of other journal teachers. But, I always "think" Progoff when I'm writing. 

Intersections is a section in the journal that Dr. Progoff called time stretching. The Life History Log is also part of this section. It is part of a series of exercises designed to help us reconstruct our autobiography over time.

It helps us to place ourselves back in those experiences that brought us to a point of transition, to an intersection in our lives, where a change of some kind became inevitable.

Basic to the exercises of this section is the image of the road. Our life is like a road that passes through many environments. As conditions change, it varies its style of movement. But it remains the one road of our life. It takes detours.

Three kinds of life situations lend themselves to writing in Intersections.

1.     Roads or paths that were intersections in our lives that we did follow, either by personal choice or because of life situations.

2.     Roads we could have taken but for some reason did not. Dr. Progoff called these unlived possibilities, but are often important to explore.

3.     Roads we are considering taking at this very point in our lives.

Progoff uses a term called Steppingstones and in the book he recommends that we make lists of major turning points in our lives to date. It’s a form of list. These usually do not exceed 12 and would comprise the choices that were actually made on the road of our life.

Another list of choices that we could have made but didn’t is compiled. Each item can comprise a few sentences to jog your memory.

The third set of steppingstones are those of some choices or possibilities we are currently exploring and will want to either let go or make a choice to follow.

Creating the steppingstones lays the groundwork for Intersections, but there is no reason you can’t move back and forth in your life without the requisite lists. Dr. Progoff recommended that we always begin these kinds of writing exercises with what he called twilight imagery. Personally, I take quiet time and ask Spirit to give me the right intention for the work ahead.

The exercises are always written in the first person. You are actually placing yourself back at the time when the choice was made by you or for you and living it. “I am now---.” I usually set a timer for approximately 15 minutes and just let my life unfold because of that choice--or explore choices not made, or yet to be made.

An Example: A Road Taken

Say I choose an intersection from my life (or steppingstones) I did take. My wedding day and subsequent 27-year marriage for example. “I was married to Ray P. on Sept. 6, 1958—and then—and then—and then.” No rights, no wrongs. Just write.

An Example: A Road Not Taken

“I stayed in my journalism program at San Jose State University and graduated with a B.A. in 1959. And then—and then—and then.”

 An Example: A Road I’m Exporing Taking

Here I am, 71-years-old and still the same old human doing, still working, still volunteering, still trying to keep the pace of a 50 year old. I think I might want to stop all my activity and move nearer my son and his family in Port Angeles, WA. "I sold Villa Redondo, packed my earthly belongings and Cookie and I are renting a room in a house near Lake Dawn while I decide what to do next. And then--and then." 

In my teaching over the years, I have seen remarkable breakthroughs for some people, particularly in the Road Not Taken option. Many people continue to carry regret about people, situations and circumstances they chose not to follow. Just writing about it, reading it aloud to yourself, tape recording it, or reading it to another person can make all the difference in the richness of life.

If you have questions, e-mail me and I'll try to explain things more clearly. 

 

 

Mannequins: How I Distracted Myself on Black Monday

Those of you who follow me regularly know I love to create art from the female form, face and feminine spirituality. Or at least I have a plan to do so. So imagine my delight on the weekend when I found two female full body mannequins at a business closing sale at a price I could afford. The former owners of the vintage business, who have closed their doors because of the economy, helped me load the two ladies in pieces into my car where they remained until today. Here they are partially reconstructed in my TV room:

This morning I went to visit a friend of mine who is leaving to return to the UK in November after 27 years of being an architect in the U.S. Again, the economy. The delightful part of Terri's departure is that she is giving me some of her art supplies she doesn't want to ship, along with books and household items for the library sales. What I don't use or donate, I will put on Freecycle. 

When we went to load the things in my car, there were these two mannequins--one in the back seat and one in the trunk, totally dismanted in their individual parts. Both of us cracked up at the bizarre site. 

This afternoon I began dragging their parts up the stairs and did manage to get one of them together so far. They will also be used at the Redondo Beach Art Groups Power of Art vintage fashion show held on the weekend of our October art sale. So, now the TV room has one cardboard cutout of James Dean and these two women. 

Imagine my delight when Terri e-mailed me this afternoon with the Tate Museum's nominees for the Turner Prize from today's Daily Telegraph.

Below is a close up of one of the mannequins by Glasgow artist Cathy Wilkes; she uses shop mannequins in her installations. Her shortlisted piece, 'I Give You All My Money' features a supermarket checkout and a female mannequin sitting on a toilet with left-over bits of dried porridge at her feet.

Below you will see the full installation and then a close-up of the mannequin on the toilet. I can do this, or at least I think I can. 

And here is the face of one close-up. Do you have any suggestions for my mannequins? For instance, I actually looked like this once way back when. Can we warn our young people what happens when you get older--and when an artist gets hold of you? And then I found Stephanna's website. Or Pleasant Morning's Buzz. Or Fine Art America.

My new career awaits. Suggestions anyone? I may have lost my retirement funds today, but hey, it's all an illusion anyway, right? 

 

GoodReads--and Books I've Read Since June 15

Are you on GoodReads yet? Ever since I learned to read, I have had a love affair with books. Since 2005, I have kept track in Excel of the books I’ve read, along with a review because I have a mind like a sieve and sometimes check out books only to find I've already read them. Then some friends told me about Good Reads. It’s a website, if you don’t know, where you keep track of what you’ve read and organize your books lists into shelves. You rate them from 1 to 5 stars. You can invite friends to share what they’ve read and I guess there are discussion groups online. For the past year I’ve used it to keep track of books I’ve read or listened to on tape—and I also keep a list of what I’m reading and I want to read. I've also started adding into some of my favorites I've read in the past. Check it out, if you don’t belong already know about GoodReads.

I had been lazy about adding my Excel spreadsheet books from June until now, so this is what I’ve added to Good Reads tonight. Though I read primarily fiction, now and again I read other kinds of literature. 

There are few books I’ve met that I haven’t learned something from or enjoyed in the moment. The ones I've listed in blue are the ones I gave 5s to at GoodReads. Isaacs Storm and Embers were my book club's choices. 

• Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History, Erik Larson.
  
• The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, Joshilynn Jackson.
  
• The Third Angel, Alice Hoffman.
  
• Embers, Sandor Marai.
  
• To Bless the Space Between Us, John O’Donohue
  
• The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully , Joan Chittister
• Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA, Kris Radish
• A Dangerous Age, Ellen Gilchrist
• The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity, William P. Young.
• Milk Glass Moon, Adriana Trigiani,
• Salvation, Lucia Nevai.
• Long Time No See, Susan Isaacs.
• Trouble the Water, Nicole Seitz.
• The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry
• The Tall Pine Polka, Lorna Landvik.
• Requiem, Mass., John Dufresne
• Last Post, Robert Barnard.
• Swim to Me, Betsy Carter.
• The Sand Castle, Rita Mae Brown. 

 

 

 

 

 

Birthday Wishes to My Grandson Fritz

That's my grandson Fritz on the right who turns four tomorrow and his brother Henry, 5. Below you will see a photo of Fritz on the day after his birth in 2004. He was eight weeks early and we barely got back from my eldest son Joe's wedding to Laura in Washington. We were reminiscing tonight at Fritz's party. 

Tony, Fritz and Henry's dad, my son, was on business in Marin County in the morning and got back home that afternoon only about 1 1/2 hours before Gretchen gave birth to Fritz by emergency C-section. 

Henry was born at 30 weeks and Fritz at 32--and look at what strapping little boys they are now. 

Modern medicine is a miracle. Tony, Gretchen, Henry and Fritz, what a wonderful you are!

Love Grandma

BOY IN PORTLAND MEDITATING

This past week has felt chaotic to me with the turmoil in the economy, the volatile political strategies, tonight's debates, illnesses of friends, and an attempt to juggle too many things simultaneously.  

My mind flashed back to this photo I took in Portland when I was visiting there this summer. We went to several garage and estate sales and in the front of one of the sales, this little guy sat there meditating. I asked his parents if I could take a photo and they said yes. The garage sale was chaotic--stuff all over and people pawing through it, including us. Very young he was taught how to get back to the center of things. 

Just looking at him makes me feel calmer right now. 

Vision Board Bloggers Project?

Creative visualization and collaging our visions is nothing new, but thanks to some of the guests on Oprah’s show post-The Secret., Vision Boards have now become very widely known as a tool for manifesting what we intentionally visualize. 

Vision Boards are just another way of creating what Shakti Gawain called Treasure Maps in her 1978 book, “Creative Visualization.” Louise Hay of Hay House has long been a strong proponent of this technique, as has been journal expert Kay Adams at the Center for Journal Therapy.  I personally have many specific instances of manifesting what I’ve visualized with my Treasure Maps and practicing creative visualization in my quiet times. Up until now, I've created my Treasure Maps for the following year the last week of the current year. They are hung on the first day of the new year.

On my writer’s listserv, Roz of Autumn Cottage suggested that some of us might want to create Vision Boards starting right now—and I was delighted to say yes. This way gives a new twist on an old tool I've really had fun creating and benefited me besides. 

If you Google Vision Boards, you will find that numerous life coaches use this technique but I thought Christine Kane’s “how to”  on her blog was most beneficial.

But, the sky is the limit. I went to Michaels to explore something beside poster board and ended up buying an Elmer’s project board. I see these in kids' science projects all the time. I’m hanging my Vision Board vertically on the wall I see from my bed. These quotes are on the top:

“Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope.You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility.”

 “A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.”

Anybody else want to create a Vision Board or Treasure Map or share your experiences of what you’ve manifested through creative visualization? 

 

 

 

New Wine for Seniors

Like everyone, I get a lot of e-mail forwarded to me, but I just couldn't resist passing this one on to you. It came via my niece whose brother sent it to her.

This is what I needed tonight. I've been reading all the different opinions on what the heck John McCain is trying to accomplish and there just has to be more to this than meets the eye. I'm watching the debates on Friday night whether McCain comes or not. And you?

In the meantime, U.S. seniors, we must unite as one coalition for a new wine just for us. We have to stay focused on what is important--not let ourselves be distracted by political shenanigans. 

 

---

 

New Wine for Seniors  California vintners in the Napa Valley area, which primarily produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio wines, have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic.  It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night.  The new wine will be marketed as  PINO MORE  I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE I just could not help it.  That's funny , I don't care who ya are.

Link Lists for the Masses: Kudos to Those Who Compile Them

In the world of Internet communications, sometimes you just don’t have the “right” photo to accompany whatever it is you are writing about. Because my blog is considered more of a personal journal, I almost always use my own photos because photography is one of my passions.

But, I was recently searching for photos of the Los Angeles skyline and the California courts for another project, and nothing I had resident was working although I did find some things on the major photosharing sites like Flickr, Shutterfly, SmugMug and Picasa.

Then I tripped across this article at Arcagility entitled “100 Legal Sources for Free Stock Images. Laura Milligan lists them as follows:

• Most Popular
• Community Powered Content
• Artists Welcome
• Less is Sometimes More
• Stock Images Plus
• Miscellaneous
• General

I absolutely love it when someone has such a comprehensive site with links that would take us days to find on our own. I personally maintain a list of all Apple/Macintosh sites so I can keep up with the news I write for my user group's monthly newsletter which I'll share sometime if anyone is interested. What comprehensive lists do you have that you would be willing to share? 

 This photo of the Los Angeles skyline on Flickr was taken by Fort Ogden 

This is the landing flight path at LAX looking toward downtown L.A., the city I was born in and love unashamedly. It is about six miles from my home and each time I fly home from somewhere, I get teary-eyed when I see this--and then the passover of the San Diego freeway. I'm almost home. 

Safe in the Hands of Her Godparents

I am always struck by the innocence of a newly baptized child. This is Ryan, who I guess is my great great niece. She is my nephew and niece's first grandchild. Jeff and Jen are her parents. She was baptized yesterday and at the reception afterwards, we celebrated her first birthday at a big family gathering. One of the great joys of elderhood is the privilege of watching the family grow. Isn't Ryan beautiful? And, of course, I was tossed into memories of when I was baptized (at 21), my kids baptisms, and my eldest grandkids Whitney and Anthony. Now 21 and 20, they were baptized in St. Lawrence Martyr like Ryan was. When my own fears get the best of me, which is usually during the night when I am tossing and turning all alone, I think of being tightly held by my parents, or my sisters, when I was little like this. What safety. But, like A Course in Miracles says, "In my defenseless, my safety lies." I intellectually know this, but even at 71 I long for my mommy and daddy to keep me safe. And you?

Sometimes Hearts Just Need to Rest

Yes, I'm a human doing; I admit it. Because of my overdoing my "doingness," my heart and my soul are resting until I get a burst of energy. That includes limiting my time here and on the Internet. I'm plum tuckered out! 

This heart is a piece of art from Redondo Beach artist Silvia Peluso whose home, billed as "Sunny Palm Beach," was part of yesterday's Art and Architecture Tour sponsored by the Redondo Beach Art Group. This is a very large piece of art she created to hang beneath a skylight window. 

I'll share more about the tour over the next days, including the Towering Magic Castle complete with a well-known magician; a Spanish Revival Artisan house, and a Classic Craftsman. Three of the houses had art studios and all the artists were there talking about their techniques. It was so inspiring. 

Lately I am aware that I talk too much--and that I write too much. I'm working on communicating more with less, if that makes any sense.

Have a great week, wherever you are.