MARCH 2018

HAPPY SPRING!

"You can cut all the flowers, but you cannot keep spring from coming."
~ Pablo Neruda

 


Spring is a great time for transformation and new beginnings. It's also a time for your mind to bloom. For those living in cold climates, the winter months are often spent inside, in a self-protection mode. Spring is a time to shed all your layers. In order to facilitate transformation and new beginnings, we need let go of old, unhealthy patterns, and embrace new and positive energy. 

During my childhood, spring meant the blossoming of the cherry blossom tree that sat on our front lawn. I have vivid memories of sitting on the falling blossoms and feeling the wonder. It also meant shedding my winter coat, gloves, and hat, and getting on my bike and riding around the neighborhood. Spring meant freedom. It was also a time when my parents did their annual ritual of spring cleaning. My mother's rule was to give away anything we hadn't used in one year. My mother was definitely not a hoarder. She was a minimalist and still is.

So what will your story be this spring? What would you like to transform in your life? 

May the energy of spring give you strength and the power for transformation, as well as the strength to stay open to all possibilities.


Creatively yours,
March Writing Prompts 
  • Write about when you feel most safe.
  • Write about something nobody knows about you.
  • What is your best memory of spring?
  • If you could plant a garden, what would be in it?

 

Recently Published Work s 
 

"Five Kitchen Poems" (poem).  Poets Unlimited. February 8, 2018.
 
"What Death Teaches Us About Dying" (article).  Ruminate Magazine. February 8, 2018.

"How Certain Events Can Be Life-Changing"  (article).  Elephant Journal . February 14, 2018.
 
"The Secret of Platonic Relationships"  (blog). Psychology Today. February 14, 2018 
 
"One with You" (poem).  Poets Unlimited.  February 14, 2018.
 
"Mudslides, Musings, and Survivor's Guilt: Five Weeks Later" (article).  Montecito Journal . February 15, 2018.
 
"How Resilient Are You?" (article). Thrive Global. February 22, 2018. 
 
"Biopsy My Thoughts"  (poem).  The Literary Nest.  2018.

  "Living Fearlessly and Courageously" (blog). Psychology Today. February 27, 2018.
 
Workshops + Appearances


March 25, 2018
3:00p.m. -5:30p.m.
"WRITING FOR BLISS: The Sacred Journey to Telling Your Story"
Sacred Space
Summerland, CA
Check here for upcoming date: http://www.sacredspace.us/home.html

~~~~~

June 17-22, 2018
"Memoir Writing" (Workshop)
Santa Barbara Writers Conference
Santa Barbara, CA

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June 30, 2018
"Writing for Bliss: Finding Joy Through Personal Writing" (Workshop)
Open Center
22 E. 30th Street
New York, NY
To register:  Click here
INTERVIEWS / VIDEOS


"Writing for Bliss and Healing."  (interview).  Empowerment Radio with Dr. Friedemann Schaub. January 17, 2018.

SUGGESTED READING 


The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying U by Marie Kondo (nonfiction). This is a wonderful guide on how to declutter your home and change your way of thinking, told in a simple and organized fashion. Kondo says that many people declutter, but within a short time, they find that their homes become cluttered once again. 

Kondo helps teach readers how to declutter and how to reorganize their spaces and keep them that way. An interesting part of the process, she says, is that when her clients declutter, they find themselves happier and transformed in the process. When we only keep those things that bring us joy, then we are joyful. "I have time to experience bliss in my quiet space, sip herbal tea while I reflect on my day," (p. 31) she says. Kondo concludes that tidying up is just a matter of mind-set. She calls this "the magic of tidying," and what better way to kick off spring! Highly recommended and very transformative!


 

Diana blogs for:

Elephant Journal

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