Creating Your Sacred Space

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Patti Clark

“Visualization works if you work hard”

― Jim Carrey

Shakti Gawain describes creative visualization as:

The technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life. There is nothing at all new, strange or unusal about creative visualization. You are already using it every day, every minute in fact. It is your natural power of imagination, the basic creative energy of the universe, which you use constantly, whether or not you are aware of it.

We do this everyday, so we may as well do it consciously. I have found that the best and most effective way to do creative visualization is to first create a sacred space to work from.

Creating that sacred space is the first visualization exercise from my book This Way Up: Seven Tools for Unleashing Your Creative Self and Transforming Your Life – from Part Two – The Workbook – Week Two, Day Three.

In my book, I have written out the words for the exercise, but for ease and simplicity, I have made a video to aid in the process.

You will find all of the exercises and visualizations from This Way Up on my You Tube Channel and also on my website: www.thiswayupbook.com

A huge thank you to my son Devin for his amazing music. Devin composed and performed and uploaded this original music for my visualizations. The music is absolutely mesmerizing!

Please give yourself 20 minutes to complete this visualization; and I suggest you take time to journal about it afterwards, making note of anything that might have stood out for you – a color, an unusual image, etc. This is the same sacred space that you will go to for all future visualizations from my book, so take the time to create the perfect space for yourself. The more you practice, the easier it is to do. Enjoy!

I would love to hear any feedback about how this visualization was for you; I always love hearing about people’s experience with creative visualization. And as always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.

Giving Voice to Your Courage

Posted on March 18, 2016 by Patti Clark

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”

– Maya Angelou

Giving voice to our courage. Such a wonderful concept. Thank you Dorit Sasson for the oportunity to be on your Blog Talk Radio Show.

What a wild ride I am currently on! It is taking a helluva lot of courage at the moment as I navigate my way toward my publishing date. I am doing new things every day, facing new challenges and learning as I go. This journey is not for the faint of heart, that’s for sure.

It is taking a courage I did not know I had – planning events, marketing myself, learning new things about how to use technology. Phew! Thank goodness for my team behind me, helping me along the way. Thank God for my sons – teaching me about technology and guiding me as I learn. And thank you to people like Dorit that help me to get the word out about my book.

Thank you again to my son Lukas for getting my website set up – This Way Up Book. On that site I will be listing events as they come up and I’ll be posting interviews as they happen.

Thank you to my son Devin for writing some music for me to use on my YouTube Page; and to both Lukas and Devin for helping me get that page set up. Watch this space as it evolves.

It’s all coming together, slowly but surely . . . running as fast as I can to keep up.

It’s a wild ride – but to be honest, I am having a blast!

I’m going to close today in a slightly different way. Instead of a You Tube Clip from someone else, I’m going to close with the Blog Talk Radio Interview with ME! Feels surreal!

Please take the time to listen:

Giving Voice to Your Courage with Author Patti Clark

I’d love any feedback you have, and as always thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

What is the solution? . . . We can Love.

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Patti Clark

“What can we do in the face of all this madness and chaos?

What is the solution? . . . We can Love”

– Prince Ea

My son Devin showed me this video tonight and I had to post it immediately, to share it with as many people as possible.

Prince Ea – where did you come from? You are my new hero!

In this powerful video Prince Ea declares that the average person watches 5 hours of TV a day – tuning out, not paying attention. Instead of tuning out though, he has a suggestion:

We can perform an act of kindness because that is contageous. We can be mindful during every interaction, planting seeds of goodness, showing a little more compassion.

Instead of trying to change others, We can change ourselves.

Once we truly love, we will meet anger with sympathy; hatred with compassion; cruelty with kindness.

Love is the most powerful weapon on Earth.

I’d love to hear what you thought of this video. Please share it with people. Such a powerful message.

And as always, thank you for taking the time to visit. I appreciate it.

Look Up . . .

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Patti Clark

“It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.”

It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alberteins133182.html#cRzVZOHjpM8tGpjB.99

It is strange to be known so universally and yet to be so lonely.

– Albert Einstein

Thank you so much Devin for sharing this incredible video with me. In an age of “sharing” everything and being “known” universally, I believe that as a species, we have never been so lonely. Such a fine line, all this social media, and yet such isolation.

“We’re a generation of idiots, smart phones and dumb people”

Let’s all choose to pay attention, to be present, to take in our surroundings and make the most of today.

It only takes five minutes. Please take the time to watch this video . . .

“Disconnect from the need to be heard and defined, go out in the world, leave distractions behind. Look up from your phone, shut down that display . . .”

Then go out into the world and connect with someone, eye to eye.

Please let me know what you thought of this video, I’d love to hear from you. And as always, thank you for taking the time to visit. I appreciate it.

Parenthood – Truly Understanding Love

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Patti Clark

“What it’s like to be a parent: It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do but in exchange it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love.”

― Nicholas Sparks

What better lesson of real love than parenting?

I have just had an incredible two weeks with my husband Jeff. Reconnecting and being together has been wonderful. I have loved every minute of it! But honestly, the most gratifying part for me was being able to parent together again. Watching my partner, my children’s father, be together with our children again was truly the best part of our time together. Two weeks was not long enough. However the time that Jeff spent walking on the beach with our boys, playing guitar with our boys and having conversations and connecting as a family again was priceless. The time flew by much too quickly, but it was rich and so heart-warming.

What can anyone say about parenting that hasn’t already been said? It is the most rewarding thing anyone can do. It is hard and painful at times, and the most joyous thing that one can experience. It is Love in action.

In this moving TED Talk, Andrew Solomon explores parenting on a different level:

“What is it like to raise a child who’s different from you in some fundamental way (like a prodigy, or a differently abled kid, or a criminal)? In this quietly moving talk, writer Andrew Solomon shares what he learned from talking to dozens of parents — asking them: What’s the line between unconditional love and unconditional acceptance?”

Please take the time to watch this wonderful TED talk. I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. And as always, thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it.

Be Kind Now!

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Patti Clark

”Our lives are not our own. We are bound to others, past and present, and by each crime and every kindness we birth our future.”

– David Mitchell (Cloud Atas)

I watched an amazing movie last night with my sons, Lukas and Devin. The movie is called Cloud Atlas – if you get a chance, it is well worth watching. It’s a long, ambitious film – it has to be – since it’s based on the tome by David Mitchell. Check out the trailer, even that is pretty epic! At times it is confusing, but the main point comes through loud and clear – as our lives intersect, karma prevails, and one way or another our kindnesses or our cruelty come back to us. It is a bold and creative book/movie about karma, unity and connection.

I love the concept to Pay it Forward (another wonderful movie if you haven’t already seen it.) Practicing random acts of kindness makes such perfect sense to me. And even if we really don’t reincarnate, and even if karma does not prevail, paying it forward and being kind just feels good. So how about we all just Be Kind Now! And with that in mind, I want to close with a wonderful video clip about paying it forward. Enjoy!

I’d love to hear any stories of how you’ve experienced kindness being paid forward. And as always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.

It makes my heart sing!

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Patti Clark

“To change the world, we need to combine Ancient Wisdom with new technologies”

– Paulo Coelho

I had an interesting talk with a participant on one of my workshops the other day. She asked me what I liked about facilitating workshops, and I answered that when we have a good workshop It makes my heart sing and it nourishes my soul. Then I stopped and laughed when I heard my words. And I realized how my words so described which “brains” I use when I facilitate workshops. And when I later thought about how I feel when I teach a class, I realized that the words I would use to describe that experience would be more intellectually stimulating. Which of course brought to mind mBraining. For those of you who missed my post on this wonderful book and website, check out Trusting Your Gut!

The idea that we have 3 brains is exciting, but also a challenge in a way. It’s our challenge to integrate these 3 brains, and to pay attention how they work together. Anil K Rajvanshi, a writer in India puts it this way:

To produce deep thought which helps in improving the wellbeing of a person, the gut and heart brains must work together with the main brain. When all work harmoniously, it creates a healthy body and a powerful mind.

I think one way to start to meet that challenge of integration is to pay attention to our words. How do we describe things and experiences. Language is a wonderful way to hear where we are experiencing things in our body. Do you speak of heart ache, do you live in your head, do you listen to your gut instincts? Do you have butterflies in the stomach – which is as Michael Mosley points out:

The brain in the stomach talking to the brain in your head. As we get nervous or fearful, blood gets diverted from our gut to our muscles and this is the stomach’s way of protesting.

I’d like to close with a fascinating TED Talk that my son Devin showed me the other day. It’s not really tied into the 3 brains, except that it made my heart sing, it was intellectually stimulating and nourished my soul. Enjoy!

I’d love to hear what makes your heart sing and how you integrate your three brains. And as always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.

What would you regret?

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Patti Clark

“Remorse is the poison of life.”

– CHARLOTTE BRONTE

I was having a rich conversation the other night with a friend about regret. She asked me, if you died right now, what would you regret most? And honestly, I don’t think I would have many regrets. I did some stupid things in my life, but nothing horrific, and most of the stupid stuff actually made me who I am. And now at 55 years old, I like my life and I feel like I’m pretty much living according to my values. And that feels really good. The most important thing to me is my connection to people – to my sons, to my husband, to my sister and my niece, to my friends. And I feel like I work hard to keep those connections. I feel like I’ve worked hard to connect with my authentic self, and to not give myself away anymore.

And in terms of regrets for what I haven’t done yet – well I have done most of the things that I have really wanted to do in this lifetime – I have a wonderful family and two amazing children, I have a home that I love, I have travelled a lot – I feel very blessed . . . although sigh, to be honest if I was dying before my book got published, that would be a regret.

We were having the conversation after she had sent me this article in The Guardian:

The Top Five Regrets of the Dying

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

The top regrets seem to reflect remorse over a life where people did not honor their authentic selves, where they let the pressure of others and of expectations rule how they lived. I think it is a good question to ask a friend, or oneself – If this were your last day of life, what would you regret? Am I living my life in line with my authentic self? Do I have the courage to truly be myself and live my life according to my highest values?

The same day that I had that conversation with my friend, another friend sent me an email with this link for THE OVERVIEW EFFECT. And although at first it seemed unrelated to the conversation about regrets, after watching it, I realized it is deeply connected. It is about unity and compassion and caring. And what greater regret could any of us have than to regret destroying our home, this beautiful planet.

What would you regret? Are you living a life true to yourself? Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.

What makes life worthwhile?

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Patti Clark

“Why are we so obsessed and focused with Gross Domestic Product? Why don’t we care more about Gross National Happiness?”

– King Jigme Singye Wangchuck

My birthday is tomorrow, I will turn 55 years old. I was thinking about when I was my sons’ ages, 16 and 19. I used to think anyone over 50 was ancient. I couldn’t imagine even living that long. But now, at that ancient age, instead of thinking about how long I’m going to live, I am thinking about how I live. What makes life worth living? What makes life worthwhile? What is it that people pursue and long for? And for me, the only answer is happiness and love. It sounds trite, but for me it is the truth.

I was at my friend Jan’s daughter’s wedding this past weekend. It was a wonderful celebration, an event that had taken over a year to plan and organize. It was heart-warming to be a part of such a celebration of love. Because to me, those milestones are the keys to what makes life worthwhile, being surrounded by friends and family.

I was at my happiest recently in Borneo. Not because I was in Borneo per se, but because I was surrounded by my family – with my sister and my neice, my husband and my sons. Being in Borneo was cool, don’t get me wrong. I loved the travel – it was fun and an adventure. But the bottom line was the love I felt being there with the people I love. Had I just been travelling in Borneo alone, it would have been fun and interesting, but it wouldn’t have been what makes life worthwhile for me.

I want to close with an interesting TED Talk by Chip Conley asking us all to think about What Makes Life Worthwhile?

I’d love to hear about what makes your life worthwhile? And are you spending your time pursuing that which makes you happiest? As always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it.

Giving Thanks

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Patti Clark

“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”

– Maya Angelou

I am so incredibly grateful and feel so blessed! I had the most amazingly wonderful day yesterday! First thing in the morning, I woke up to an email from my agent, Owen Burnham. He wrote to tell me that he has two publishers interested in publishing my book, A Woman’s Guide to Transformation! He and I will discuss the contracts and decide on the best publisher soon. I will have a contract and a publisher before the end of the year. What an awesome way to start the day! Especially wonderful because yesterday was the day that I hosted our annual Thanksgiving Celebration here in NZ. I had 25 friends over for a sit down dinner, turkey and all the trimmings, sitting outside by the stream, under our spectacular Pohutukawa Tree. A glorious setting to celebrate life and express our gratitude. We did a Gratitude Circle first with everyone contributing (we even had Jeff in the circle via Skype!) and I was able to announce to my close friends that my agent has found me a publisher. What a fantastic way to share my news. It was a beautiful afternoon and evening. I felt so loved and so grateful. Truly a day to be thankful.

This video clip is especially fitting, titled simply: Gratitude. Enjoy!