Head to my Rummage Sale page. This one is wrong. 😀
Category: Class/Workshop
Sorry, You’ve Got It All Wrong!
Why your vision of your perfect day is patently false.
Part of my practice is to draw a card each day. Recently one of the cards reminded me that you are all wrong. That none of you know what a perfect day is. That none of you have any concept of a truly ideal day. How do I know? Well let me tell you what a perfect day is. Then you’ll know.
A perfect day is slightly overcast. There’s a brisk wind coming in that carries just a bit of cool with it so the ambient temperature is around 68. There might even be the scent of rain on that wind. The sky is just a bit gray. The sun is definitely not bright and shining. The wind is the key for the perfect day. It must lift skirts, fluff hair and generally flutter things.
WHAT? Not your perfect day?
Okay. Close your eyes. Tell me what your perfect day looks like. Place yourself right into that scene.
Betcha it’s different from mine in most cases.
Betcha your perfect day is perfect for you.
Now try this. Picture your perfect person. Not yourself. Not your lover. Just your perfect person. What do they say? What do they do? How do they act? What makes them a perfect person to you? Is it what they wear? Is it the color of their hair? Their skin? What about their weight? Did you think about how much they weigh when you were deciding what perfection in a person meant to you? Did you worry about their eye color or their footwear?
Betcha the key things were more internal than external.
Betcha the important stuff was what they say and what they do rather than what they wear or who they know.
So why worry about what others think about the external you, darling? Why worry at all? It’s what’s inside that is important to you. Why should anyone else be different? They are worried about the same things. We all are concerned that we won’t be accepted for this thing or for that thing.
Me? What is my worry?
Being seen as weird.
I worry that I will be seen as weird and not a real business woman because I use Tarot. Because my coaching business uses Tarot to help others seek joy. Because I teach Tarot for a living.
Silly, right? I agree. So I remind myself to co-opt the Austin, TX and Portland, OR. Keep Arwen Weird. And let my freak flag fly! That’s perfect for me. It helps me stay mindful for those of you who practice mindfulness.
So my perfect day, my perfect person and my perfect motto aren’t yours. It’s all good, darling. That means we have room to wiggle and to grow. Room to find our own perfect spot.
Not sure how to find your wise inner self? I can help. Let’s have a conversation using the Tarot as our tools to set your feet on the joy seeking path today.
Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.
Oh by the way? Lisa Hunt and I worked on a Lenormand deck called Fairy Tale Lenormand. Just released 9/1/16. If you want to learn how to read Tarot my way, check out my upcoming class Trust Your Gut Intuitive Tarot.
Crap, Change + Truth
That’s like touching a paper cut over and over to remember that it hurt. Of course it hurts if you keep touching it, honey. You poke and prod so much you re-injure yourself.
Today’s card is one I love. First, I love the way the artist has chosen to depict it as if we are looking through a lens. Some parts are fuzzy, can’t-be-seen-clearly bits. Others are crystal clear.
Facing Change (big C, y’all) is like that. Often we can easily see the big pieces. It’s the small, out-of-focus ones that escape us.
Letting go of the past–pain, hurt, sadness?
Then do it. Don’t dwell on it. Don’t revisit it by saying, “Oh I’m working on getting over that breakup.”
That’s like touching a paper cut over and over to remember that it hurt. Of course it hurts if you keep touching it, honey. You poke and prod so much you re-injure yourself.
Yeah. You. Not anyone else. YOU RE-INJURE YOURSELF.
Ouch, right? But it’s the truth. Big ugly events happen. They bring pain and suffering and a whole host of other craptastic things.
Time moves us past those events.
Our minds hold us there.
You are transforming. Let go of the past. Embrace the light and joy of this new day. ~Jody Bergsma
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
#NaNoWriMo folks, how’s it going? Day six is here. Don’t worry if you aren’t far enough or whatever enough. Days one through five are in the past. Let them go. Embrace today by writing forward. Write with joy, y’all. Holly Lisle signs her emails that way. Write with joy.
So let’s do it! Change happens. Shit happens. We move forward. We transform.
Change, Magical Times Empowerment cards, U.S. Games Systems Inc
Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.
Please do check out my eCourse for writers. It is designed to help beginners and long-time published alike by delineating the Hero’s Journey. You can finish the book.
Perserverance, Finishing + Now
You can’t stop now. You must just roll over those bumps and plot holes and “what the hell did my character just say” moments. This isn’t about editing.
Today’s card is a reminder of keeping at it. If you are doing any of the month events–be it knitting or writing or hooping or what have you, perseverance is key.
In today’s Wisdom News from Lissa Coffey, I pulled this nugget of fabulous!
Perseverance is stick-to-it-iveness! It’s having that vision that success is not only possible, it is inevitable. It’s having the fortitude to navigate the bumps in the road, and not let those bumps become road blocks.
-Lissa Coffey (www.coffeytalk.com)
And isn’t that the truth. Anyone who is doing #NaNoWriMo knows that the key is to keep writing. You can’t stop now. You must just roll over those bumps and plot holes and “what the hell did my character just say” moments. This isn’t about editing. No, not now. This is about writing.
And I have something that can help you. It’s a thirty three day eCourse. That means it comes to your inbox. You get to read it, work through it, tackle it on your time.
Use my years of writing experience (eight books as Marilu Mann with two more under contract) to help you get your book finished.
Ready to start? Are you a NaNoWriMo 2013 participant? Learn how you can use Tarot to finish your book in 33 days.
Mapping the Hero’s Journey will deliver thirty three days of lessons, handouts and motivational journal prompts. Stay on track by working through the point-by-point steps of the Hero’s Journey. Using Joseph Campbell, Christopher Vogler and my years of experience, you can finish your book.
With over eight books (written as Marilu Mann), I can show you how to turn my success into yours. Let your imagination run wild while guiding your voice down the path of the Hero’s Journey.
You will receive handouts that include many original spreads designed by me to use in developing your character and story.
This 40,000+ word eCourse is a combination of two workshops I’ve taught for many years. Instead of paying over $100 to be in one of ten seats when I teach this yearly workshop, you can grab it for only $33 (yes, the proverbial dollar-a-day).
Is it time to set your book free? 0Let’s get started.
8 of Disks, Mary-El Tarot, Schiffer Books
TarotBlogHop: Samhain 2013
Tarot, for me, is such a gift for writing. Because Tarot for Writers is less about traditional interpretation and more about creative opening, it’s really the perfect tool.
This Tarot Blog Hop theme is LOVE. Just love. No question to answer. This round’s Blog Hop Mistress Alison Cross just said love.
I have to admit that it was really really really did I mention REALLY difficult for me to come up with a blog topic. I am not sure why except that it is really not a subject I think about this time of year. But then I realized that there is something I love about this time of year.
This time of year!
You see this is my favorite of all the seasons. Nothing beats rainy days, crackling fires, hot cider and cool days. I can’t think of anything I love more than fall. Crisp leaves, hints of wet earth and so much more make this a season I adore.
It’s also the time of NaNoWriMo. Do you know that I’ve never done a NaNoWriMo? It’s true. I haven’t. But I have taught a workshop for the past 5 or 6 years called the Hero’s Journey. It’s one of my Tarot for Writers workshops. Connecting creative minds with one more tool to help them create is a joy to me. But I have to admit that the workshops were very draining. And I could only take so many people at a time. Limits. It had so many limits that I began to dread offering it.
Then it hit me. I could take my love of teaching and offer it in another way. I hooked up with the Amazing Biz + Life Academy (click that link to sign up for some free goodies) where I met other heart-led entrepeneurs who were bringing what they loved to others. Because of the Business Goddess course, I got the idea to offer my Hero’s Journey as an eCourse.
Now anyone can take my workshop at any time. I think it’s brills, as my friends across the pond might say. No one is tied to my schedule. They can sign up when they like and get thirty three emails over as many days. It’s over forty thousand words geared towards teaching folks how to utilize their own voice, their own creativity and the Hero’s Journey. Tarot is the vehicle and each student chooses how fast they drive.
Tarot, for me, is such a gift for writing. Because Tarot for Writers is less about traditional interpretation and more about creative opening, it’s really the perfect tool. Here’s a peek at one of the spreads I offer in my eCourse.
Cocktail Spread
Next let’s examine a spread I do for my characters to deepen them. Often our characters are sketchy at first. We might know one or two things about them like caped crusader who fights crime. But we need more. We need to know what makes them stand out at the League of Justice company picnics. When this happens, I pretend I’m going to a cocktail party with my hero as my guest.
Cocktail parties are designed to be free-flowing and you need a quick introduction. For those in the writing business, you can think of this as your Elevator Pitch only for your character. You will draw three cards. The first card is what your character does for a living. The next is why your character does that for a living. And the last card is a personality quirk.
- Your Character’s Job
- Your Character’s Personality
- A Quirk
For me, the most important card here is the quirk. Let’s say your hero’s job is saving Metropolis from criminals (Knight of Swords). His personality is the strong, silent type (Emperor). But his quirk? His quirk is that he has this thing for a woman but she doesn’t know about his secret identity (Page of Pentacles.) I’m most interested in what makes him unusual, aren’t you?
So what about you? What do you love most about Fall?
Thanks for stopping by during this Tarot Blog Hop. Remember that comments are a great way of letting me know you were here. If you are a fellow writer, take a peek at my eCourse. NaNoWriMo does start tomorrow.
Seeking, Learning, Teaching
Today’s card reminds me that learning and sharing help me grow. Without doing both, I stagnate. This is not good. 😀 Here are two upcoming events you might be interested in.
Toronto’s own James Wells will be offering an online course to help you deepen your reading skills. He and Joanna Powell Colbert, creatrix of the lovely Gaian Tarot shown here, have joined forces. Look out world! Visit here for more info! There’s free stuff.
And don’t forget to sign up for the Spiritual Path of Tarot Telesummit. This online event features one speaker per card (I’m doing Judgment) with two per week day from 9/16-10/1. It’s free to listen! And you can get your own copies to listen to later if you sign up for that. Get more info here and sign up for notifications for the schedule.
Eight of Air, Gaian Tarot, Joanna Powell Colbert
Seek joy, y’all! Pass it on.
Take advantage of me, please!
Oh boy! I goofed! You can take advantage of my mistake! Continue reading “Take advantage of me, please!”
WORKSHOP: Tarot For Writers 3 Wk Online Class
The Writer’s Tarot Coach is ready to show you how Tarot can help you with your writing!
- Afraid your story sucks?
- Are you worried that your plot isn’t twisted enough or is too twisted?
- Do you wonder if any editor or agent will ever be WOWED by your voice?
- Afraid that you will never finish that book?
If you can identify with these fears, you are at the right spot!
The fabulous news is Continue reading “WORKSHOP: Tarot For Writers 3 Wk Online Class”
NaNoWriMo Workshop Special Pricing
Tomorrow is the very last day to sign up for the Tarot for Writers: Hero’s Journey and still make the early bird special pricing. If you are doing the NaNoWriMo writing challenge, I’ve scheduled this to start on 11/1 so you can use the workshop to help you hit your 50,000 word goal.
Here’s part of the first lesson to help you on your journey even if you can’t take the workshop now.
The Hero’s Journey is a monomyth. This is a description of a basic pattern found in many narratives from around the world. To learn more about how and why Joseph Campbell came up with this, you should Continue reading “NaNoWriMo Workshop Special Pricing”
WORKSHOP: Hero’s Journey for NaNoWriMo
- Fool (World Spirit Tarot)
It’s Baaaaaack!
NaNoWriMo starts in about a month. Are you signed up? Are you thinking about it? If you are, I have some tools for you to help you get started layering 3-D characters, creating believable worlds, structuring compelling plots and more.
Don’t know what NaNoWriMo is? From the NaNoWriMo site:
National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.
If you want to take part in this crazy, intensive month where you can find support for your insanity, Continue reading “WORKSHOP: Hero’s Journey for NaNoWriMo”
