The Intentions We Set...
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Hello friends, Since the solstice, I've been starting every morning by lighting candles and stating my intentions. Then I meditate and make a cup of tea. I'm really enjoying this pattern, and am using it to carry me through to the next calendar year. As a matter of fact, I just ordered a Moleskin daily diary as a gift to myself. I plan to write three daily intentions down each morning, plus my writing plans and business tasks for the day as a way to focus both my attention and my intention. I just got the notice that the diary will arrive on December 31st. That's New Years Eve, for those of us on the Gregorian calendar. Perfect. Now, paper planners like the one I snapped a photo of don't work for me, and never have. Yeah, that's one I bought years ago. See how empty it is? Also I haven't kept a journal in decades. But this new, simple, daily diary plan? Something in the idea appeals. Partially because my work causes me to spend so much time on screens, especially now that I read novels on a tablet. The only books I read in print anymore are non-fiction. I crave the tangible of a good pen, a sturdy diary, and smooth paper the way I crave the daily walks that get me out of the little office nook in my home. In my digital-first life, I need a direct connection to the physical. My theory is that our subconscious is best tapped through the physical world. It has a direct line to our animal nature that comprehends things like candle lighting and walks in the rain or snow. So, increasing my engagement with physicality is another of my intentions, New Years Eve rapidly approaching or not. We all need the physical—especially those of us who don't have physically oriented jobs—as our screen time trackers will likely show us. So, as we close out one calendar year and prepare to enter another, are you evaluating your life patterns and intentions? And how will you include your relationship to the physical world? Best wishes - Thorn This is the last week to get Bookshop Witch for free, either direct from me or on your favorite retailer! You can also request it at your library.
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T. Thorn Coyle
Hello friends, It’s the full moon today, which is a time I like to pause and reset my focus. After a rough few days because of the state of cruelty in the world—including the minor personal annoyance of dealing with a sudden mass of deeply unhappy and toxic trolls because one of my photos went viral on Facebook—last night, I did some cleansing and recentered before bed. This morning, after lighting my candles and making my prayers, I decided once again that today I would focus on the things I...
Hello friends, While walking in downtown Portland, Oregon, I was waiting at a crosswalk for the light to change. I glanced left, and there was a tiny piece of art affixed to a parking sign. It was a portrait of a person with peachy skin and long dark hair, among city lights, and it made me smile. Now, I know nothing about this artist. Perhaps they have paintings hung in galleries. Perhaps they sell art full time from their online store, or at weekend craft fairs. Who knows, maybe their work...
Hello friends, On one of my recent walks, I saw a sign stapled to the utility pole which read: “This is not a time for disbelief. This is a time for new beliefs, a time to remake the impossible.” Yes, indeed. It is also a time to take stock of what we do believe. What are our ethics? What are our core values? How do we wish to live? When we focus only on what we do not want, we tilt the world in that direction. Our thoughts and emotions become consumed, our bodies and actions dragged into the...