Photo by Elizabeth Halt
Photo by Elizabeth Halt

30 days of (something) – want to join me?

August 29, 2011

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my 30 days of (shiva nata) practice back in june was made even better because of everyone who joined in with their own particular practice. since september has 30 days, i’ve decided to do another 30 day practice. you are all invited to join me.

this time, i want to do morning pages. if you’ve read the artist’s way, by julia cameron, you’re probably familiar with the idea. in case you’re not – it’s three pages of writing, every morning, anything that comes to your mind. i am forgoing the written word, however, in order to use 750words.com. i am much more likely to type than i am to write. plus, i am a speedy typer.

in june, i also set an intention (or theme) for the month: permission. i think i want to set an intention for september as well, but i just cannot decide on one. the current top contenders are permission (yes, again), pleasure, flow, and joy. good thing i still have some time.

anyway, that’s the plan – 30 days of morning pages, starting september 1.

if you want to join me, i would love to have the company. maybe you have something you want to focus on for 30 days and could use the support? maybe it’s a practice? maybe it’s a theme? maybe it’s something you want to eliminate from your life? the options are endless.

i’ll plan to check in on mondays again in case you decide to join me and want to share how it’s going.

here’s to the joy of practice!

13 comments... (add a comment)

  1. Ha, synchronicity! I just signed up yesterday for the 30 day September challenge on 750words. Mutual cheering on!
    x

  2. Helen

    I want to join in! Hmm, not sure what I should do..maybe shiva nata again, since I didn’t keep it up the last time. Or else something else..I’ll decide soon and let you know:)
    And I’m excited to see the September set of prints! :)

  3. Yes! Definitely want to join you. Right now I have three different ideas for what I want to do, so thanks for giving me a little time to decide :)

  4. steph

    Yes, I would love to join you! Thank you so much for the invitation. :)
    I’ll need to give some thought to what thing (or things) I want to prioritize/focus on/commit to, because there are several vying for attention right now.
    Ooh, yay! I’m so looking forward to having this container again. Thank you!

  5. elizabeth @ retinal perspectives

    @steph: yay! welcome aboard!
    @briana: yay! i’ll be curious what you decide on now. :)
    @helen: didn’t i tell you what they were? weird. i thought i did. glad you’re joining in!
    @reba: i signed up the other day too! (hee. i figured it would be an easy “win” since i was doing it for my 30-day practice. 😉 mutual cheerings indeed!

  6. I haven’t written morning pages in a long time! Maybe I should dig out my copy of Artist’s Way and get with it!

  7. oh I MIGHT just be able to commit to this one! I was doing good with Morning Pages at the beginning of the year but then kind of fizzled off. So maybe if I feel connected/supported/committed to someone else it will give me the motivation to continue them. Actually, I have another daily practice that I’d like to start…but I’m not going to jinx it by telling you what it is this time. :) Here’s to September!

  8. Helen

    Yes, Elizabeth, you told me what they were, but I still want to see them:)

  9. tammy

    i’m late to the game here… have been on a trip to the high desert country in the enchanted state. the mountain top was cool and fresh! no more 105 degrees in the shade.
    well… actually i’m back in ok and it is still in the 100’s but i’m renewed from the little break i had. just knowing that SOMEWHERE it’s cooler! and autumn is near.
    i’m in for the morning pages! thanks e.
    don’t know yet if i want to focus on something or just free-write and see what comes. exciting!
    xo
    tammy j

  10. Through poking around on 750words.com, I found healthmonth.com and thought it might be interesting for playful trackers such as we.
    There’s a free version which goes like this:
    -You choose up to three things you’d like to track for the duration of the month.
    -You can choose from a list or invent your own.
    -You can edit details such as how many days a week you want to do the thing, length of time (for things like meditation, Shiva Nata, novel-reading, etc).
    -You log in each day to note whether you did the thing(s) or not.
    And my favourite thing:
    ‘How this works:
    Design your own rules to follow for a month, choose-your-own-adventure-style. Be as extreme or moderate as you want. For some, big change is what motivates. For others, small incremental change over a long period is what works. What are you like? If you’re not sure, this is the place to experiment and find out. Life is long—try different things until something works.’
    Choose-you-own-adventure! Permission to experiment and find out! Using it as a way to learn more about yourself! Oh, I am in love with the essence of this site.
    Oh, and you can make teams! Where you cheer each other on and such! We could have a team!
    Apologies for the super-long comment, I just got all excited about this.
    Love, Reba x

  11. OK, I think everyone participating should come to my “Creative Practice” retreat in November and share their experiences – how fun that would be!! I have kind of re-instituted morning pages too. Gave them up for the most part when I started my blog, but have been doing them lately, although I don’t exactly follow the rules (never have been very good at that!!)

  12. I’m going to join in this time! Just yesterday I was thinking about how much I’d like to make meditation a daily thing instead of a when-I-think-of-it thing. This will be especially interesting for me, as I’m traveling for half of the month. I suspect it will be fascinating to add this thread of continuity to an otherwise very mobile 30 days.
    I’m going to aim to meditate (seated) every day, even if that only means 5 minutes. I’m thinking I might make celebration my intention. Wahoo! (I’m starting early.) ;o)

  13. elizabeth @ retinal perspectives

    @sherron: you’d have lots of company!
    @kate: ha. i won’t ask, even though you got me all curious. 😉
    @tammy: yay! another morning pages person! glad you’re joining in! (and welcome back. :)
    @reba: that is so cool! i love the essence of it. it feels like a bit much for september, but i will definitely check it out!
    @patty: i am not always good at following them either. i have been doing two versions: a morning longhand version and an afternoon (or evening) typewritten version. we’ll see how long that lasts. (that would be fun to come and share!)
    @kylie: hurrah! it also feels like you’re adding a thread of grounding, which might also be fascinating. wahoo! (celebrating with you :)

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