September 27, 2008 at 4:32 pm ·
What a privilege that it is “my turn at last” to host the magical, practical, life-changing and unable to be categorised book “Life Is A Verb” as it tours the world!
After much anticipation, Patti Digh’s masterpiece began showing up in mailboxes at the end of August and officially launched on 2 September. Since then readers around the world have been called to Action, and this is how we’ll change the world – one intentional day at a time.
Patti didn’t set out to write a bestseller. She wasn’t filled with grand visions for saving the planet, or being famous. She doesn’t pretend that her life is perfect, and that she has the answers to the “big” questions. Patti writes about the detail of her day that for many of us in the hustle and bustle of busy lives goes by unnoticed. She shares her life with her readers from a place of humour, joy and love and invites us to feel into our hearts to discover the richness of our own lives.
Patti’s intention was to write her stories for her daughters so they could live their lives fully – she wanted them to know what to care about, how to treat others, what to stand up for and why they should tell stories and listen to the stories of others. You don’t just read this book – you soak it in, eat it up, drink it deeply. It is designed to move you. It does.
I have been reading Patti’s blog for almost two years, which I discovered at a time in my life where I was needing a huge reminder to Say Yes, to Be Generous, to Speak Up, to Love More, to Trust Myself and to Slow Down. These six practices are the essence of Life Is A Verb, and Patti shows us how to embrace them instantly in the day we are living right now!
With essay titles like “Dance in Your Car”, “Carry a Small Grape”, “Consider the Flea”, “Polish Your Mud Balls”, “Bust your Toast Rules”, “Save a Grocery List” “Go See the Tiny Ninjas”, this unique work can’t be explained in words on this page.
Order your copy today. Order fifty copies and give them to everyone you know.
Start doing this book! You don’t have a minute to waste.
What would you be doing today if you only had 37 days to live?
What will you say Yes to?
Who will you share your time with?
What are you waiting for?
Filed under Communication, Values, Different Thinking, Guest contributors/p
December 16, 2007 at 9:19 pm ·
I just love the way H B Gelatt thinks - and presents his ideas. He often puts into words just what I’m thinking, and he generously gave me permission to reproduce this thought-provoking article:
Beware of Your Dogma - by H B Gelatt
The truth is that we cannot avoid uncertainty. This not-knowing is part of the adventure. It is also what makes us afraid. Pema Chodron
Niels Bohr, one of the founding fathers of quantum physics, tells a story about a young student attending three lectures by a very famous rabbi. The student said the first lecture was very good — he understood everything. The second lecture was much better — the student didn’t understand it but the rabbi understood everything. The third lecture was the best of all — it was so good that even the rabbi didn’t understand it. Bohr tells this story because he says he never understood quantum physics, even though he helped create it.
I think this story illustrates that what we are learning about the world nowadays is “so good” that nobody really understands it all. This is the certainty of uncertainty. In fact here is the opinion of the “new sciences:” Reality may not be structured in any way the human mind objectively discern.
This article is part of my Process of Illumination, creating a collective worldview that is open and inclusive. The basic premise is that uncertainty is certain and the illumination strategy is: Beware of your dogma. I probably should say that I don’t really understand everything I am writing about in this article. But I will say that I am certainly uncertain.
Say Hello and Goodbye to Your Dogma
Absolute certainty is dogma. I believe dogma is a major deterrent to growth, development and learning … and to a collective worldview that is open and inclusive. However, as Swami Beyondananda puts it: Dogma is truly man’s best friend. This is because certainty feels so good … yet you can’t grow clinging to the status quo.
However, there seems to be an emerging collective worldview that acknowledges the uncertainty of our reality and the reality of uncertainty. This comes from Niels Bohr’s and Werner Heisenberg’s quantum physics, and from the cybernetics, and constructionist work of Gregory Bateson and Heinz von Foerster, among others. And from some of the “old” eastern philosophies. Yet some of us, at times, still reject the possibility of uncertainty.
If you are certain about the security of your current job or certain that your country will always protect your freedom, it might be dangerous because you may not pay attention to signs that your job is becoming obsolete or that your personal freedom is being restricted. Are there someareas of your personal life where you are so comfortable with knowing for sure that you might be unable to “see” beyond your sureness? The answer is probably yes. Recognizing it and its dangers is the beginning of illumination.
Years ago Emile Chartier warned us, Nothing is more dangerous than an idea, when it is the only one you have. Today I would say that nothing is more dangerous that a dogmatic belief, no matter how many you have. Get acquainted with your dogma and then say goodbye. Mark Twain points out a problem with such sureness. It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble; it’s what you know for sure that ain’t so. How do you live without certainty? Here are two suggested illumination methods. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under Leadership, Communication, Different Thinking, Guest contributors/p
What a privilege that it is “my turn at last” to host the magical, practical, life-changing and unable to be categorised book “Life Is A Verb” as it tours the world! 
