Gratitude

Something I treasure in these days 'between the years' (which is what the week between Christmas and New Year is called in German speaking countries), is reflecting on the year just past, and filling up a couple of pages with things I am grateful for: time with children and grandchildren, health, the Canadian medical system, the newly formed Wild Salmon Circle which I co-founded; the celebratory launch of my new book and the heartwarming praise readers have bestowed on it; for the many positive directions Obama has taken the country and the world...

Then, after basking in this richness, for gratitude is indeed transformative, I enjoy creating a list of goals -- actually more like intentions -- for the coming year. At this point, I like to review last year's lists, and see which intentions have manifested, which are no longer relevant, which I might like to recommit to. For the notes I make at year end do not comprise a 'should' list, but rather are an invitation to the universe, and a declaration of my openness to move in these directions. I don't really look at them as the year unfolds, but find it helpful and interesting to peruse them as I create next year's.

I love this reflective process, this opening to a deeper place, a quiet self, settling in to a receptive mode... simply being...

As we cozy in for some more weeks of short days, and at the same time celebrate the return of the light and the coming of the new year, I offer this shared wish for you: "May the increased sunlight each day help you prepare for the coming year... And throughout the new year may you have new opportunities to love and be loved, to do good for others, and to find happiness in your life." Quote from Jane's brother, Steve :-)

Giving Peace

It can be overwhelming, this season of giving, especially when the issues that face us, economically and environmentally seem as dark as the days.

Clarissa Pinkola Estes says, “Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach.”

As I let that sink in, I find that it invites both relief and responsibility, in matters large and small, personal and universal. One author says she believes "world peace is achieved and sustained by each one of us taking responsibility for the quality of what happens within a five foot radius of our own bodies, in our own lives. If there is peace in my radius and yours and his and hers and theirs—then there is peace in all of ours." (Cited on C. Baldwin's Storycatcher blog)

May this holiday season be filled with joy -- contagious, delicious, bubbling joy; peace -- a peace that resides inside us and radiates luminously to touch all those we meet; and gratitude -- the kind that has no source, but seems to arise from the universal mystery. May these be yours to taste and savor, and to share with ever widening circles. May there be peace on earth and let it begin in and with each of us.

Joy and celebration are life-giving. Shall We Dance?

Not long ago I heard a CBC program that focussed on the importance of celebrations -- music, dance, both alone and together. My heart smiled! Ecstatic dancing has actually been a way communities have helped their members out of depression -- dark periods of withdrawal, melancholy.

Several of the essays in BECOMING explore metaphors for life and living. Shall We Dance? suggests that many of us, consciously or unconsciously, experience and regard life as a struggle. What would happen if we shifted, lifted, and began to experience life as a dance?

Here a brief excerpt from the essay, and a link to the YouTube reading at the book launch:

"Life for me is, on good days, a wild and gently rhythmic dance. Moreover, I believe we are danced by life and are not, as we often pridefully assume, the directors of the dance.

I haven’t always seen it this way. One evening, over twenty years ago, it was getting dark as I was driving home from a workshop with Robert, an acquaintance and fellow student. That drive became a turning point in my life.

The sky was ragged—ominous, black clouds were scudding across the heavens, matching my state of mind. I was talking about my relationship, the communication challenges, the misunderstandings, the hurt. Robert was driving, and without even turning to look at me, said “You see life as a struggle, don’t you, Jill.”

Robert’s words startled me, and I realized that yes, of course, that was often the way I saw and experienced difficult times, and more generally, life itself: as a struggle, a battle, a fight. It seemed obvious to me, and I had never questioned it. Life as a struggle implied working hard, trying your best to survive, to come out on top.

So when Robert said “You can also experience life as a dance, you know, Jill,” something cracked, and through the fracture I could see a pale light.

Driving home with Robert that day, it was still dark, and would get darker, but there was a golden sliver of luminosity on the horizon that evening in Germany: life can be experienced as a dance, rather than a struggle."

Here's how to order BECOMING

Perfect for groups and circles!

Do you belong to a discussion group of any kind -- spiritual, women's, church, book, study, support? Consider Becoming as your next book or topic. The topics touch us all.

it's nice to read by yourself, but the larger potential of the book emerges in groups. Deepening connections, broadening, even therapeutic insights, good fun, laughs and tears -- these can all occur when a group chooses Becoming as its focus. The format, short 3-5 page essays, and the questions for reflection mean it is optimal for your group, and just right, ready to use.

Becoming is available in several convenient modes, on line or in person. Your bookstore may also be able to order the copies for your group.

Check my website for the ordering options. I'd be pleased to hear your comments if your group chooses Becoming for its focus.

Search inside this book :-)

Have you noticed, BECOMING is now available internationally on Amazon, and also at Barnes and Noble? An additional, helpful feature newly on line is that you can 'look inside the book '-- view the back cover, the table of contents, and even page through an essay or two.

What's more, it's now possible to order BECOMING for your local bookstore -- many distributors can supply it. So have a look, then invite your favorite bookstore to order some copies...

I say some copies, because comments and reviews are coming in that BECOMING works splendidly for reading circles, discussion groups, women's or spiritual gatherings...

"Without leaving my home, I know the whole universe." Lau-Tsu

"Could a greater miracle take place than for us to
look through each other's eyes for an instant." Henry Thoreau

This Saturday is International Day of Climate Action. October 24, 2009. Let's all join in and show we care, and that climate change matters to us all. Lily Tomlin said "We're all in this alone, together." Right! Check this site to find an action near you, or do your own thing."

Be inspired by Christina Baldwin's new blogpost on the topic: 350: this number is hugely important for our times.

Reader's comment

Dear friends, spiritual adventurers, fellow travelers on life's journey,

Here is the most recent reader's review of BECOMING. I hope it might pique your interest in delving into the volume!

"Quite wonderful, really. Your style is easy, engaging, alluring. Your language is clean and precise, your form masterfully simple.

It's not easy to use the first person, especially regarding spirituality, without distracting or annoying the reader with traces of ego or pedantry. Your reader is invited to share the journey, and willingly does so, sensing both the truth of the path, and the unconditional invitation. You present yourself as a seeker rather than a master, thus welcoming and disarming other potentially hesitant seekers, and encouraging them by admitting your all-too-frail humanity. All of which is underscored with a deep abiding wisdom. Even famous spiritual leaders may have their writings rejected by publishers; your success with this book is both well-deserved, and all the more outstanding.

As you touch others, as their eyes open, more light spills out, making your own path both more blessed, and all the more easy to follow."

Apropos of touching others, and light spilling out -- you might also like to check out Carla Rieger's blog and Christina Baldwin's Storycatcher. Both authors offer richness, inspiration, and address the possibilities of the transformation through story and circle. You are a story worth telling!

Blessings on you and your journey.

BECOMING is now available on line at Amazon in the US , Canada, and in the UK. Barnes and Nobel carries BECOMING as well.

Inspiration, insights, connections

Last week I was invited to a women's group which had chosen my book, BECOMING, for their evening discussion. It was a rich and beautiful inquiry and sharing, leading to individual insights, provocative questions, warm connections. Such a gathering and format is a perfect place for the book to be useful, provocative and inspiring.

If you know are part of any such gathering, please keep BECOMING in mind!

The book is very easy to get now because it is available on-line: at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and in the UK.

Want to be inspired? Check out this posting about women, writers, activists gathering with synergy and dynamism: Christina Baldwin's Storycatcher blog Read about her conversations with Gloria Steinem, Isabel Allende, Helen Thomas, and dozens of incredible leaders doing great work in the feminist world.

In these challenging times, "Let us try to remember the precious nature of each day." The 14th Dalai Lama.

Where We Want To Go -- We are already there!

"The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is 'look under foot.' You are always nearer the divine and the true sources of your power than you think." John Burroughs

"If we are not totally blind, that which we are seeking is already here. This is it." Alan Watts

One essay in BECOMING is entitled 'Look Where You Want to Go.' It addresses our tendency to focus on what we don't want. We don't accept what is and stay present with the challenging situation or experience -- No. We rarely do that! Rather we get stuck in our thinking mind and we obsess about the difficulty: we ruminate, brood, wallow, criticize ourselves...

This is not the only way! We can drop into our Being, become aware of what is, breathe consciously, notice what is, create space, and bring a whole different person to the challenge.

Check out the section on 'Breathing Space,' in the book, Mindful Way Through Depression, which, by the way, is not just about depression, but about 'freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness.' Jon Kabat-Zinn and others teach a practical and transformational path that leads in this direction.

BECOMING addresses these themes as well, in a personal yet universal manner. BECOMING is now available on line, at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble , and in the UK Check it out and tell your friends!

Birthdays and challenges

Today, August 4, is President Obama's birthday. As we wish Happy Birthday to Barack, we may remember how the world stopped to watch him step into this office... What an overwhelming job he's tackled. He needs us, those people– those many among us– who are willing to help slay the dragons, yet we cannot slay them if we (or he) are consumed by them or protecting them! Our and his work is cut out, no doubt. Read more at Christina Baldwin's site: http://storycatcher.net/wordpress

But just what is this work that is cut out for us?

One essay in Becoming is called 'Universe Unfolding,' and it tackles the seeming contradiction Shunryu Suzuki addresses in his quote 'Each one of you is perfect as you are. And you all could use a little bit of improvement!' This paradox surely applies to the world as well.

How do you feel about the perfection of the universe confounded with the turmoil on the planet? What happens as you try to consider both simultaneously? What is appropriate 'work' in your life and worlds at the present time?

Becoming considers these questions and helps us move to personal and universal responses to the juxtaposition of consternation and celebration, greed and grace, apathy and awareness, jousting and joy...

Join the dialogue at Becoming; Journeying Toward Authenticity

Passion, Risk, and Adventure

Themes addressed in Becoming include transformation, reinventing ourselves, control and surrender.

Sara Lawrence Lightfoot talks about these topics as well in her new book THE THIRD CHAPTER: PASSION, RISK, AND ADVENTURE IN THE 25 YEARS AFTER 50.

"All of us at this point, to some degree, are on a search for meaningfulness, for purposefulness," she says. Listen to Lightfoot's interview with Bill Moyers and be inspired to become yourself. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05082009/profile2.html

There comes a time, and that time is now, when we have a degree of freedom to become who we have always wanted to be.

Becoming: Journey Toward Authenticity is an aid to finding ourselves, recognizing, seeing, freeing, and moving on. Explore these and other themes, purchase Becoming, on our new website.

"The lesson which life repeats and constantly enforces is 'look underfoot.' You are always nearer the divine and the true sources of your power than you think." John Burroughs

How many of us took a moment today to 'look underfoot' for the divine? Was it a smile, a flower, a deep breath? BECOMING: Journeying Toward Authenticity is an invitation to the possibilities and opportunities for transformation, how to use our life stories to grow, to become, to live our lives more fully.

Breaking news:

• BECOMING is now available at Banyen Books in Vancouver, a leading new age bookstore. Go in and check it out!

• BECOMING will soon be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and in the UK. Stay tuned!

"If we are not totally blind, that which we are seeking is already here. This is it." Alan Watts

Warmhearted praise.. add your voice? That would be lovely!

"We're all in this together -- by ourselves.:  Lily Tomlin

People reading my new book, Becoming, are warm in their enthusiasm and praise, which leads me to have the courage to spread the word.  I think you would enjoy the read.   I invite you to check it out!

Becoming is available at Duthie Books   http://www.duthiebooks.com/  2239 West Fourth Avenue, Vancouver.  

And also on line at The Write Room, easy as pie. 

You may also contact me directly to arrange a meeting and have a look at the book.  I'd love that :-)   A portion of all proceeds goes to the Canadian organization, Families for Children -- http://www.familiesforchildren.ca/

Need a gift for a friend? Becoming might be perfect.  Have a look.

If you missed the launch of Becoming, and would like to get the flavo(u)r, and hear a reading, check our YouTube posting: Shall We Dance? :-)

You can also taste a little bit of the Launch itself.

Soon the book will be available on Amazon, but for now, please go to The Write Room and order there.

Also, psssst, tell your friends!

Telling our Stories Part 2

If you'd like to order Becoming now, just go to The Write Room New Titles. You won't regret it!

Telling our stories: Part 2

We are continually choosing filters and frames for our lives, whether we know and acknowledge it or not.

Don’t make the mistake of underestimating or minimizing the power of stories: they resonate throughout our whole being. A story is something active, even if it is unconscious. It works in and on us. The way we frame our life--the stories we tell--affect the way we hold our past, how we live the present, how we respond in the future.

And our stories themselves provide a vehicle that can help us appreciate and learn from our part in the flow of life. Telling them can shed light on times, places and events that perhaps existed only vaguely, shrouded in the mists of our memories. They can provide insights, epiphanies, evoke laughter and tears. They can give meaning and allow us to put our lives into radically new and unexpected perspectives.

By reflecting on who we were, we begin a process of discovering who we have become through our life experiences. We can move toward presence and authenticity in part by becoming cognizant of our stories, the filters and frames we use to tell them, by learning from them and beginning to detach from them. We can let go of the accounts per se, because we have been able to extract the nutrients, and we can let them nourish us today, now, here, in present time on our own personal journey.

In Becoming: Journeying Toward Authenticity, you will find 40 some life stories, about a variety of unisersal, human themes. Each essay contains related readings and questions for reflection to invite you into your own stories.

Reflections: Tell your life story, highlighting key segments, in the form of two separate tales, one with your glass ‘half full,’ the other where your glass is seen as ‘half empty.’ What feelings do you have, what happens inside your body as you feel into each piece? What experiences have you digested and which ones are still in process? What stands out that you might like to explore more deeply?

Find out more about Becoming on the ChangeEverything website. Order your copy at http://www.thewriteroom.net/newtitles.html

Related reading:
Almaas, A. H. (1988). The Pearl Beyond Price: Integration of personality into Being: An object relations approach. Berkeley: Diamond Books
Baldwin, Christina (1991). Life’s Companion: Journal writing as a spiritual quest. NY: Bantam Books
Davis, John (1999). The Diamond Approach: An introduction to the teachings of A. H. Almaas. Boston: Shambhala
King, Stephen (2000). On Writing: A memoir of the craft. NY: Simon & Schuster
Remen, Rachel Naomi (2006). Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that heal. NY: Penguin Books

Telling our stories: why and how it matters

“Words are how we think: story is how we link.

Memory is the story of what happened and is where the meaning resides.

Story is a map: the map that got one person through gets the next person through." (Christina Baldwin)

We are continually choosing filters and frames for our lives, whether we know and acknowledge it or not. These then become our life stories, and we have the option, if we are conscious, to choose filters that contribute to our growth and maturation.

Becoming: Journeying Toward Authenticity, contains some 40 some life stories, about a variety of unisersal, human themes. Each essay contains related readings and questions for reflection to invite you into your own stories.

Order Becoming now: http://www.thewriteroom.net/newtitles.html

Here is what several authors say about the potential in stories:

Christina Baldwin, author of Storycatcher: Making Sense of our Lives through the Power and Practice of Story writes

“Through story, we learn from each other’s experiences and pass along huge amounts of common wisdom…. Story is the heart of language. Story emotionally moves us to love and hate and can motivate us to change the whole course of our lives. Story can lift us beyond the borders of our individuality to imagine realities of other people, times, and places. Storytelling -- both oral tradition and written word -- is the foundation of being human."

Check out Storycatcher and join the Storycatcher Network at http://www.storycatcher.net/storycatcher_book.html

Carla Rieger, author of the spellbinding new book, The Change Artist writes,

“It's healing for people to lose themselves in a good story. There is evidence that retelling a story can help people reflect and extract lessons from those situations, which allows their "back brain" to release the trauma and thus integrate the learning. If you don't integrate the learning, you can tend to circle around and repeat your mistakes.” Review and order The Change Artist at http://www.thechangeartistbook.com/

Gary Harper, fellow traveler and author of The Joy of Conflict Resolution http://www.joyofconflict.com/ Reviewers write about his book:

“With the creative use of story and metaphor, the book lays out the changing roles of victim, villain, and hero, and how identification of these roles leads to conflict resolution. … In an accessible, engaging and light-hearted style that uses stories and humor to explore potentially emotionally charged situations, it provides proven and practical skills to move beyond confrontation to resolve conflicts collaboratively.”

Resolving conflict collaboratively can change our stories dramatically!

About the launch and Becoming:

It was great to have the opportunity to witness the launch of your book. I enjoyed every moment of it.   

I wanted to tell you how lovely the book launch was. You did a marvellous job. I really enjoyed everyone who spoke and was deeply touched by both you and your brother. There was much 'authenticity' in how everyone spoke.

Fantastic event yesterday, Jill.

Thank you so much for a really touching afternoon. When you read your chapter I realized how my perception of life is exactly like yours was: life is a struggle. It was the same "aha" moment for me. I will try to dance with life and let life dance me! Thank you for that. I am looking forward to more new insights with each chapter.

 

Jill, what a wonderful, heart-filled book launch, and what a lovely book. I came home last night intending to go to an old friend's 60th birthday party and ended up sinking into your book instead. I'm reading it slowly, but am already a third of the way through and shall be savouring it  over the next days and weeks. Just wanted to let you know how much I'm enjoying it. The candour and humour are truly engaging, the rhythm lively, and the stories make me want more! Congratulations again!

TO ORDER BECOMING: contact me directly or go to http://www.thewriteroom.net/newtitles.html to order on line with PayPal.

LOCAL NEW INDEPENDENT PRESS LAUNCHES FIRST TITLE

The Write Room Press, a local independent and non-fiction publishing press will launch its first title this Saturday, May 9, at 4:00 p.m. at the YWCA Hotel downtown Vancouver.

Vancouver resident Jill Schroder is the author of the Write Room Press’ first title, Becoming. John Davis, Professor at Naropa University says, 
"This book gleans nuggets from many teachings and makes them personally accessible. This is benefit enough to recommend it. More than this, though, it invites us into our own experiences. And after all, it is here – in the intimacy of our own experience – that these stories come true and unfold. These stories are doorways, opening us to our own journeys. This is a book to read over and over."

The book launch will feature speakers, readings by the author, book signing, and ample opportunity to speak with the author as well as Press representatives. The event is free and open to the public. Becoming is available at Vancouver’s independent bookstore Duthie Books, and online at http://www.thewriteroom.net/newtitles.html.

An offshoot of a writing and editing company, the Write Room, the Write Room Press publishes non-fiction and academic manuscripts for specialized audiences, as well as manuscripts that challenge popular norms or ideas. In short, the new independent publisher publishes works that may not be interesting or profitable enough for large corporate publishers.

Introducing Becoming

The book I have been working on for the past couple of years (it's my first), is fresh back from the printer! It's called Becoming: Journeying toward Authenticity and creating it has been a rich and rewarding project. It is published by a new, independent, Vancouver publisher: The Write Room Press.

I invite you to have a look at the book and read some reviews by going to http://www.thewriteroom.net/newtitles.html voila! It can be ordered there as well. Or you can contact me directly jill.schroder AT gmail.com (substitute @ for " AT "). A portion of the proceeds will go to Families For Children a fine non-profit, non-sectarian organization helping the poorest of women and children.

The book itself is a set of personal essays, which, as one reviewer has said, "... glean nuggets from many teachings and makes them personally accessible. This is benefit enough to recommend it. More than this, though, it invites us into our own experiences. And after all, it is here – in the intimacy of our own experience – that these stories come true and unfold. These stories are doorways, opening us to our own journeys. This is a book to read over and over."

Each essay begins with two provocative quotations which set the tone, and concludes with references to related reading to deepen the exploration of the theme. As well, each essay offers a set of questions which invite the reader to reflect on her/his own life in the areas addressed in that essay.

The essays themselves, and the questions that follow, are intended to be a stepping stone for the reader's own personal reflection and self-discovery. Becoming is an invitation for each of us to delve into our own lives and stories, to reflect and share, broaden and deepen. Essentially the essays are about exploring key moments in our lives, the possibilities for personal transformation, and for being here -- now -- in an authentic way.

The section headings are

Why me? Why now? What about you?
Growing Up
Metaphors and Worldviews
People and Places
Purpose and Meaning
Shadows and Ambiguities
Control and Surrender

Perhaps this piques your interest :-)

In future posts, you'll find material on some of the book's themes, as well as links to related topics. This will get us started:

Authenticity is a rich topic. What does it actually mean, Authenticity? One definition suggests that authenticity is "a particular way of dealing with the external world, being faithful to internal rather than external ideas." This is in sync with the tone of the book but barely begins to scratch the surface. What does authenticity mean to you?

One of the essays in Becoming is called "Work and/or Play." Check out this TED talk by Stuart Brown on "Why Play Is Vital," which relates directly to the essay. Get ready to smile!

Welcome to the Becoming blog. I hope we enjoy a fruitful connection. Please post a comment and give me your feedback and ideas.