Instead of eating, you discover what’s eating you.
–Julia Cameron
Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, found herself 50 pounds heavier after being placed on a new medication. What to do?
She found the answer in her own work after noticing that students taking her 12-week course in writing often left the class thinner than when they began the course. She wrote the book, The Writing Diet, once she made this connection. You can read a Newsweek magazine interview with Julia by clicking here.
Tarcher Talks feature several of Julia Cameron’s books. To see the video featuring her book about writing for weight loss, click here.
Tags: healing · writing · writing practice
Every writer I know swears that chocolate is one of the best antidotes for deadline stress.
Now there may be proof of their assertions from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. To read an overview of the study, click here.
Tags: stress management · writing
Our bodies consist of billions of molecules. Stories, on the other hand, weave the fabric of our life.
Do you know what your story is? What shapes meaning and drive in your life? Many of us do not know but we can learn through the use of a personal writing practice, just 15 minutes a day three times a week.
To learn more about writing to know your story, please visit a previous post on this topic by clicking here.
Tags: healing · writing · writing practice
Just 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week
We teach what we need to learn,
We preach what we need to do, and
We write what we need to know.
–Ellen Taliaferro, MD
Did you know that medical research now validates what many writers have asserted for years: writing heals?
Most of the research studies ask participants to write 15 minutes a day three times a week about traumatic or emotionally-charged events in their lives. These participants are compared to other study participants who are told to “just write” about anything for the same time and frequency. Many of the subjects writing about past trauma or emotionally-charged events perform and feel better than the “control” subjects.
Future posts will explore writing as a therapeutic, self-help activity.
For now please take a moment to read about The Writing Practice Prescription.
Then stay tuned. To be notified automatically when new posts are added to this website, please sign up for this blog by entering your email address in the upper right-hand area of this website.
Tags: writing
by Maureen Minnehan Jones
Some see a hopeless end, while others see an endless hope. ~ Author unknown
Is there enough vaccine to prevent and stop the swine flu (H1N1) or an epidemic in the future? Right now the pharmaceutical heaven is wavering! So how can we keep it from spreading? By learning from history and our experiences with the Spanish Flu and addressing what the swine flu has come to teach our world. Learning from the wisdom of history is a great tool, and if a pandemic comes along in the future, we will be ahead of the game.
The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 was possibly the most devastating epidemic in recorded history, and especially deadly for those between 20 and 40 years of age. Why were people in their prime more vulnerable than others?
Let’s look at happenings in the world at the time. In the fall of 1918, World War I was winding down in Europe. The young people fighting in the war endured extremely brutal conditions, leading to feelings of futility. Almost by definition, we know that war generates hate and intolerance. It weakens our common bond as fellow human beings—a bond that provides the foundation of life on this planet. Yet war results in the loss of fathers, mothers, children, family members, and friends, and the smashing of that bond. The enormity of the loss in WW I set the framework for a huge hopeless, helpless feeling among the populace and especially among those young people involved. Devastated, people couldn’t find a solution to the massive horrors they experienced. This conflicted mightily with what humans have been born to learn—living lives of unconditional love.
What’s Really Wrong
Hate, intolerance, and loss from this era may have spread exponentially throughout generations, allowing feelings of injustice or victimhood to become embedded in our collective cells. On a physical level, hate and intolerance weaken the heart chakra and lungs. So when we live through wars and devastating events such as 9/11, an individual body’s cell memory can react to the “victimhood” set up and elicit hopeless, helpless feelings. In turn, these feelings may cause respiratory weaknesses that collapse the immune system and allow a virus to attack.
In part, swine flu might attack people in their prime because of the situation currently embracing our world. We’re still at war, the economy is a mess, and millions have lost half or more of their savings and retirement funds. Are these negative events breeding hate, intolerance, feelings of loss, and powerlessness?
Perhaps swine flu is a gift also because, as a society, we have chosen to rely on medication instead of learning to cope with health issues in self-contained ways. We’ve become a population that hasn’t been taught to cope with life’s problems, a situation handed down from generation to generation with no fault or blame attached.
A standard way for helping people who feel hopeless and helpless has been to put them on antidepressants—the second largest class of prescription drugs, exceeded only by heart medication. Out of a population of 300 million . . . “overall use of antidepressants continues to grow, with nearly 190 million prescriptions dispersed in the United States last year, according to IMS Health, a health care information company.” (Reported by Melissa McNamara in CBS Evening News on December 13, 2006. Her piece “A Look at Antidepressants” is available at
http://cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/13/fyi/main2255769.shtml)
How do antidepressants work? They increase the serotonin level in the brain, creating a false sense of joy or ability to cope. Antidepressants are necessary for some but if the underlying problem is also addressed there is a better chance of healing.
Similarly, learning to cope creates a support that can release natural serotonin so we feel naturally happy and joyful. Then the hopeless, helpless feeling disappears. Fine-tuning our coping skills helps us to take control and feel happy so that we can manage our lives well. We gain a sense of strength and confidence when we know we have choices and don’t feel trapped. This creates a strong immune system that can more easily ward off viruses. The energy of feeling happy is more powerful than food or drugs.
If there is another pandemic flu virus, it will be because, as a society, we have never addressed the underlying cause of any condition or disease. Masking diseases and conditions with medications has been a dangerous solution. Today, due to an absence of a swine flu vaccine, we’re forced to look at flu in a new way and address the underlying cause—futility and hopeless, helpless feelings.
How Does This Apply to Disease of All Kinds?
At the base of every disease, not only flu, is a situation that weakens a person’s immune system. This could stem from a difficult circumstance at work or home, a troublesome situation with children, loss of a loved through death, divorce or a breakup, severe financial difficulties. If we examine what went on before the onset of disease, it can usually be linked to something that disturbed or stressed us. When the stress gets too great, one thing tends to put us “over the top.” That’s when the immune system collapses.
As an example, Bill decides he has to stay stuck in a hated job so he can pay family bills. His “stuckness” triggers feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Over time, this situation builds resentment and anger. Then an adverse event happens—he loses his parents—and the grief he feels puts him “over the top.” His immune system gets compromised.
What could Bill do to avoid contracting a disease? Having an awareness that a situation like this could compromise his health, Bill could proactively identify and seek several options. Doing this shows he believes that a solution exists for every situation. Because of that belief, he doesn’t allow himself to sink into a hopeless, helpless state.
One solution could be seeking professional help such as life coaching or therapeutic counseling to assist him in moving forward in life. The process could help him find a greater purpose or passion in his work. In that way, he could draw a fresh roadmap to help him manifest exactly what he desires.
Another option is using the MO Technique that, in effect, reprograms the subconscious, super conscious, and conscious minds. This technique first gets him to release any “stuckness” out of his subconscious mind so he can move forward. How does he do that? By imaging his feelings of stuckness, locating negative energy in his body related to feeling stuck, and releasing that energy out of the area where it hangs out. Then he would reprogram his super conscious mind by looking at and accepting options that come from his higher self. He replaces all the negative energy he’s identified with positive energy and “instills” it into his body. How can he reprogram his conscious mind to accomplish this? By repeating an appropriate affirmation for 40 days. His affirmation might be something like this: “From this moment forward, I make all decisions based on knowing that I’m moving forward in life with ease. All doors are now open for manifesting the future I desire.”
Reprogramming all three minds makes lasting change possible. And by increasing his awareness, Bill might see doors open for a new job that he hadn’t noticed before. Even if he needs to stay in his job, he can now regard it with a new perspective—one that could give him greater satisfaction than ever before.
Let’s say your seven-year-old daughter Mollie comes down with the flu. As a parent, you have the knowledge that the flu is caused by a situation that has led to a hopeless, helpless feeling. Your first question to Mollie is, “Honey, is there something going on at school or at home that’s bothering you?” She replies, “The kids make fun of me all the time.” This may be really taking place, or happening only in her mind, but both are genuine in Mollie’s experience.
You’ve just found out what’s causing these feelings for Mollie and discuss choices with her. She could talk to the teacher, make friends individually, or other possibilities. You then assure Mollie the situation can be resolved. From this experience, she learns how she can feel hopeful by finding a viable, healthy solution to her problem.
Let’s follow the same pattern assuming you have the swine flu (or any disease). What do you do? You examine the situation and determine what’s going on that may have been causing feelings of resentment or powerlessness or anger/rage or hopelessness/helplessness. If you’ve faced emotional setbacks before, you may already know of ways to release the powerlessness, anger/rage out of the body. That’s what you want.
The approach I teach and use is called the MO Technique because it’s based on a person’s modus operandi or internal programming. Using the MO Technique lets you learn to instill self-love in your body, which helps you manifest and reinforce the changes you want to make.
How can you find your MO or modus operandi? By becoming aware of and studying your lifelong programming—that is, the way you usually show up in life. That programming has actually set you up for a specific mode of operating in the world from birth. As you progress through life, you may realize you have soul discoveries to uncover. The truth is, you’ve signed up to learn from them in this lifetime.
My book Modus Operandi: Wisdom to Wellness discusses 23 diseases related to the MO of the individual who has one or more of these diseases. Each disease brings with it a soul discovery. Your MO, combined with what your soul came to learn, determines the risk you have for contracting a certain disease.
Learning about emotional root causes of specific diseases helps you see how you have been programmed. For example, those who develop Multiple Sclerosis likely share a common modus operandi that’s reflected in a “I have to” way of thinking. The “have to” belief gets programmed at a young age and becomes an MO throughout life. This pattern sets up rigidity and tissue hardening of the brain and spinal column. Not surprisingly, at the end stages of MS, the hardened thought process results in a highly rigid body. The soul discovery or lesson to be learned is about becoming free and flexible, living in the moment, and feeling one’s emotions more deeply.
In my client work, I’ve found that using the MO Technique can increase a MS person’s flexibility and ease of flow with life, realizing that nothing is an absolute “have to.” Changing programming and understanding what soul discoveries teach can actually prevent disease as well as help overcome it.
Is Swine Flu a Wakeup Call for Humanity?
Traumatic situations can set up powerlessness, hopeless, helpless feelings, even rage and anger. Those who understand that a viable solution exists for every problem and have life skills to cope aren’t as likely to get caught up in this problem as those who don’t. In contrast, when people feel trapped with no solution in sight, many turn to antidepressants or other unhealthy solutions to cope.
Suppose swine flu invades the United States and the vaccine is not the answer. Fear sets in that lives will be lost, creating a massive feeling of hopelessness and helplessness. Look around. Many have reason to feel hopeless and helpless in numerous ways—the type of situation ripe for a superbug to invade.
Are we being set up for a perceived pending pandemic?
To learn from the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, we’d have to ask why it reached pandemic proportions. Remember, World War I engendered hate, intolerance, and loss on a gargantuan scale. Anything to do with intolerance and hate violates our collective purpose and may be lethal to our bodies. If we don’t learn to replace these deadly feelings with unconditional love, we may be faced with something as devastating as a flu that’s uncontrollable.
On 9/11/2001, terrorists struck New York’s Twin Towers—buildings that represent power, money, and possibly even greed. Can we trace today’s “bust” economy back to greed? The swine flu represents the pig, which could be interpreted as being piggy or greedy. This may sound far out, but the Universe keeps sending us messages, begging us to pick up on them and change our ways.
This grave lesson from greed, hate, and intolerance that sets up the hopeless, helpless feeling doesn’t have to become an uncontrollable flu for us to get the lesson. People can learn to cope and gain control over their lives, choosing unconditional love instead of hate and intolerance. It will be the only way to create peace and harmony in the world.
How Do We Prevent a Pandemic?
Right now, we can take positive action. We can each determine our own modus operandi and learn to cope with life’s demands, possibly seeking professional help. Our MO includes our programmed emotional beliefs and our emotional roots. We can release any hopeless, helpless feeling out of cellular memory using the powerful MO (Modus Operandi) Technique. Those who deal with depression can get the help they need to feel powerful again. Those who already know the Technique can help others learn to cope.
All problems have solutions without turning to drugs or vaccines. Building a system of support that addresses the underlying causes of disease will teach us not only to cope but to feel genuinely happy. This message is freedom from all viruses. Then we’d be able to create a much more powerful—and certainly healthier—nation and world.
~ Maureen Minnehan Jones, a holistic healer, has tested her Modus Operandi Theory and MO Technique on hundreds of clients over the last 12 years. Her book Modus Operandi: Wisdom to Wellness (to be released in 2010) details how and why disease is sparked in the body. It includes her powerful MO Technique for reprogramming the subconscious, super conscious and conscious mind for lasting change. Modus Operandi also features discussions on how and why Alzheimer’s developed in Ronald Reagan, cancer in Lance Armstrong, Parkinson’s in Michael J. Fox, ALS in Lou Gehrig, and how and why 15 other incurable diseases develop.
Maureen is a holistic healer who helps individuals prevent disease by using her MO Technique. Maureen can be reached at Maureen@healing-gifts.com and 209-845-8141. Visit her website at www.healing-gifts.com
Tags: Uncategorized
September 14th, 2009 · No Comments
By Barbara McNichol
Recently I learned what a hot topic grammatical errors can be when one of my favorite blogs, Article Writing and Marketing Insights from Ezine Articles, took a subject close to my heart and made it relevant to everyone who writes.
Within 24 hours of posting “Avoiding the (6) Common Grammatical Errors That Make Authors Look Du…Unprofessional,” the blog received 776 views and 93 comments. That’s evidence of how “hot” the topic of incorrect grammar can be!
The blog post started:
in these days of txting, iming and all low caps, its easy to take shortcuts to writing
However, even though we now use our keyboards as we once did our phones, what most people do not understand is how unprofessional the improper use of the English language can make an article, and its author, look. Look at the sentence above again. Does it look professionally written to you?
Now, I’m not saying you need to go back to 9th grade English class and try and figure out where your participles are dangling, but making sure you have a command of the basics is essential.
The post went on to list six common errors that make authors look unprofessional. Five of them are what I call Word Trippers—a pair of similar words with different meanings and spellings that can trip people up: loose/lose, affect/effect, it’s/its, their/there, than/then. (The sixth addressed misuse of semicolons, something that riled writer Jeff Rubin so much, he established September 24 as National Punctuation Day.)
Among the blog comments, the most philosophic came from a subscriber named Jenny who wrote, “I am always amazed at how many who consider themselves writers make these mistakes — which are so easily avoided if one is paying attention. Personally, I think they just don’t care. Thanks for a provocative post that is a very good starting point in dealing with a problem that is unfortunately much bigger than those six examples!”
Do They Care?
As an editor who deals with mistakes like these in articles and manuscripts, I endorse Jenny’s observation that the problem is bigger than six examples. But I challenge her statement, “I think they just don’t care.”
Rather, I see three factors at play here:
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People tend to write in a stream-of-consciousness manner, eager to get ideas down (that’s how I approach drafting of my ezine and the initial piece is downright sloppy). In this creative mode, fine tuning isn’t the first priority.
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“Instant messaging” is just that! People seem to be hurrying to move on to the next thing, feeling good about “getting that done” and prematurely declaring the piece complete. They don’t make sure what they’ve written comes across exactly the way they wanted to say it.
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Writers often lack the desire, discipline, or dedication to revisit their prose with a fresh eye, a clear mind, and breathing space to think it through.
Half-Baked Prose
I call the result of this propensity to write fast, move on, and never look back “half-baked.” After all, you wouldn’t eat a loaf of bread that’s half-baked. Why would you send out a written piece that isn’t fully “cooked” either?
The solution? Take time to put your writing “back in the oven” and question the key elements: the validity of the thoughts, the logical thread of persuasion, and the correct use of each word.
Yes, gremlins such as incorrect grammar and punctuation still get through unintentionally. So do unclear transitions and inexact word choice. Because of these, reviewing your written piece only once simply isn’t enough.
Three Steps to Perfection
I suggest if you habitually add these simple steps, you can “bake” your piece close to perfection:
(1) Print your piece and then go to another area to read it aloud as if a 10 year old needed to
understand it. You’ll recognize unclear passages quickly that way.
(2) Question each word for its meaning, spelling, and role in the sentence, then take time to look up what you suspect isn’t correct. Don’t rely on memory alone; it can be shaky. Instead, access easy-to-use resources that will make your writing life easier.
(3) Revise, reread, revise, reread . . . until you’re satisfied.
Above all, slow down and think about your readers, be they 10 years old or 100. No one wants to eat half-baked bread; nor do they want to read partly polished prose. Flavor your writing until it’s “cooked” just right!
##
Barbara McNichol edits the gremlins out of nonfiction articles and books, and helps authors avoid the pitfalls of half-baked prose. She created Word Trippers: The Ultimate Choice for Choosing the Right Word When It Really Matters as a resource that keeps writers on a professional path. Visit www.barbaramcnichol.com to sign up for her free Word Tripper of the Week ezine or contact her at 520-615-7910.
Tags: writing
My colleague Barbara McNichol has just published her new ebook titled Word Trippers. If you do any type of writing this is a must-have resource which features 300+ Word Trippers compiled by Barbara who started acing grammar and spelling in the 4th grade.
If you ever have trouble with with the notoriously difficult English language, this ebook clearly explains whether to use peak or peek — lay vs. lie — clinch vs. clench, etc. It is the ultimate source for making sure you choose the right word in any instance.
Save your professional image now and check out Word Trippers.
Dr. T
Tags: writing
by
Ellen Taliaferro, MD
The May issue of the journal of psychology publishes an article that looks at expressive writing as a preventive tool.[1] Many studies have demonstrated a benefit on the use of expressive writing” regarding a past or ongoing stressful experience results in a wide range of beneficial effects, including physical health and cognitive functioning.”
This article, Effects of expressive writing on standardized graduate entrance exam performance and physical health functioning, differs in that it looks forward and not backwards. The authors looked at the impact of expressive writing to prepare for a stressful examination.
Findings? The students who used expressive writing to prep for the upcoming examination produced a mean exam score significantly higher (19 percentile points) than the control group of students. Of note, the students in the experimental group who wrote on 3 or more occasions experienced the greatest benefits.
Click here to see the article abstract.
[1] J Psychol. 2009 May;143(3):279-92.
Tags: stress management · writing · writing practice
by
Ellen Taliaferro
Healing rests on a foundation supported by the four cornerstones of:
- Physical health
- Mental health
- Spiritual health
- Social health
Writers using their writing as a tool to heal sometimes seek to move beyond personal expressive writing to the arena of writing to help others. At this point in time, a writing group can help build social health for the lonely wordsmith toiling away to find just the right words to tell their tale. When this happens, the writer needs to take care that writing group activity provides good medicine and not poison.
Writing groups provide support, fellowship, and encouragement. They also offer suggestions, some good and some bad. Too many suggestions can set the stage for groupthinking which can hijack your work.
Before you accept every suggestion that comes your way, think about the phrase “going to Abilene.” This phrase comes from Charles Smiley, who described its meaning in his article, The Abilene Paradox (Managing Agreement: The Abilene Paradox), Charles W Smiley, Community Development Journal, Vol. 17, #1, 1982.
Here’s the story:
It was July in Coleman, Texas. The summer heat was brutal, 105 in the shade. The relentless West Texas wind was blowing fine-grained topsoil through the air. However, the afternoon was bearable, even potentially enjoyable. The air-conditioning was working. There was cold lemonade and beer, and a baseball game on television. It had the makings of an agreeable day.
Then my father-in-law suddenly said, “Let’s get in the car, and go to Abilene. We can have dinner at the new restaurant.” My first thought was, “Why? It’s over 50 miles to Abilene. It’s insane to drive in this dust and heat. His car doesn’t have air conditioning.”
However, my wife chimed in with, “Great idea. I’d like to go. How about you, Chuck?” Since my own desires were obviously out of step, I replied, “Sounds good to me,” and then I added, “I hope your mother wants to go.” “Of course I want to go,” said my mother-in-law. “I haven’t been to Abilene in weeks.”
We proceeded to get into my father-in-law’s car and drive to Abilene, My first and worst thoughts were confirmed. The heat was death in the afternoon. We were soon covered with a fine layer of dust that was, in turn, covered with a layer of sweat. The food was atrocious and the service terrible.
Four hours later we returned to Coleman; hot, exhausted and miserable. We sat in the front room for a long time in silence. Then, to be sociable, and break the silence, I said, “Great trip, wasn’t it?” The three of them stared at me with hostility. Finally, with considerable irritation, my mother-in-law said, “Well, to tell you the truth, I hated the trip. I went along because the three of you. seemed so enthusiastic. I would have stayed home if you hadn’t pressured me into going.”
My wife looked shocked. “Don’t blame me. I went along to be accommodating. We were crazy to leave the house in this heat.” My father-in-law entered the conversation abruptly: “Listen, I never wanted to go to Abilene. I thought you might be bored. You visit so seldom I wanted you to enjoy yourself. I usually watch the ball game.”
After this outburst of honesty and recrimination we all sat back in silence. Here we were, four intelligent people who, by choice, had taken a 100-mile trip across a forsaken desert in a furnace-like temperature through a cloud-like dust storm to eat unpalatable food at a second-rate restaurant. None of us had wanted to go. It didn’t make any sense.
The Abilene paradox occurs in organizations as well as families. It occurs when organizations take action that is in contradiction to what the individuals in the organization really want collectively to do. This action usually defeats the goals the organization is trying to achieve. The Abilene paradox results from the inability to manage agreement.
Every writer wants his or her work to be the very best. But remember to be true to yourself and your story. It’s your story, not the writing group’s. When you come home from a writing group, revisit your original outline or plot and then look at the suggested revisions offered up by the group. If you accept all the suggestions, is it still your story? If not, offer a word of silent thanks to your friends in the group and let the suggestion slip away back into the universe.
I know of one writer who had a screeplay set in Dallas. When the writer returned home from a four-day writing retreat, the plot had changed so much that the only resemblance to the original screenplay was that both screenplays were set in Dallas. But the author had “gone to Abilene.” When I last checked in, she was still trying to get back to Dallas.
Please note: My thanks to Paul Schumann from The Innovation Road Map for this rendition of “The Abilene Paradox.” If you wish to use any or all of this article, please email me at DrTSpeaks@gmail.com.
Tags: writing
Yes. This post is a recommendation for you to check out Linda Lee and her work as soon as you need a website or feel the need to do a website make over.
The Health After Trauma website is undergoing a make over right now. Much of the fun and enthusiasm I have had in this process is discovering and working with Linda Lee a fellow author who knows how to design and build websites that get traffic.
Linda is a cheerful, available, and helpful webmaster who will help you build or retool your writing platform. Her website at www.askmepc.com gives you a complete blueprint on how you can get ready for building your website. Follow her steps and to make maximum use of your time and effort to create and maintain a beautiful and effective website.
Linda understands and has mastered the Wordpress blogging format. What this means for you is the ability to have your own up-to-date content and information up and running at all times without waiting for and paying a busy webmaster to do the work.
Click here to see what others have to say about Linda’s magic in helping authors and speakers.
Tags: writing
Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, found herself 50 pounds heavier after being placed on a new medication. What to do?