Month: October 2014

Adventure 279 ~ Reach Out For Book Review Help

/ intrepidjane

haiku book invitationIf you’ve been following my adventures, you’ll probably know that I’m getting ready to embark on a self-publishing adventure. My haiku poetry collection is nearly complete, and I’m just about to pull the whole project together to make it ready for publishing.

It’s more than just a poetry collection. The book is also a process of personal discovery and personal development. It’s geared towards helping the reader reap the rewards of the haiku-writing process for themselves.

Through my haiku adventures I’ve become more present to the outside world (particularly to nature) and more present to myself (and my own nature). I have felt the world slow down, I have felt more alive. I have gained a clarity about what life really means to me by engaging with the world through the haiku form.  I am more productive. I am less hassled. I feel more creative : I’m generating new solutions to old problems. Problems seem smaller. I have a different perspective. I am remembering who I really am. I am remembering my place in the world.

I’ve put the month of October to one side so that I can spend the time putting the finishing touches to my book . As my book moves towards completion, it will be peer-reviewed by people from the mindfulness community, by people from the therapeutic/coaching community, by other writers and poets, and by people with a strong connection to nature (who work with nature to facilitate healing).

And this is where you come in! (Yes, you 🙂 ). For today’s adventure, I’m reaching out to you. I’m looking for 2 people to read my book and to work through the processes I have included in my book. You’ll get to learn about the structure and purpose of haiku poems; you’ll get to learn how to connect with the world around you (and with yourself); you’ll get to learn how to explore the essences of the natural world (and the essence of you); you’ll get to learn how to develop exquisite levels of presence; you’ll get to write poetry; and you’ll get to reflect on your experiences.

If you’re feeling a little disconnected from the world and yourself right now, this opportunity could be for you! If you’re feeling a little burned out and world-weary, this could be for you! If you’ve forgotten the beauty of the everyday, this could be for you! If you’re stuck in the past or you’re busy worrying about the future, this could be for you! Oh – and if you’ve always wanted to write poetry (but you didn’t think you could), this is definitely for you!

If you’re interested in trying my process out (and reading my book), please contact me by email in the first instance and we’ll take it from there. It’s completely FREE – all I ask is that you give me your honest feedback 🙂 .

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 278 ~ Create A Poll For My Audio Download Cover

/ intrepidjane

Today I thought I’d have a bit of  fun learning how to insert an opinion poll into my blog! So, I’ve created 4 images that are in the running for being the cover for the audio download of my original Irish faerie story, The Faerie Thorn. All you have to do is to tell me which of the images works best for you (or if none of them works for you, that’s okay too!). If you have any additional comments or thoughts that may help me to craft an image that is attractive to you, just drop me a note in the comments box!

Click on each of the images to enlarge them 🙂  and then check the appropriate “button” in the poll box below.

Image 1

Image 1

Image 2

Image 2

Image 3

Image 3

Image 4

Image 4

 

 

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 277 ~ Write A Collection Of Haiku Poems [29]

/ intrepidjane

acornToday, I returned to Portglenone Forest with my dog. The floor was damp with mulching leaves; the fallen acorns had been ravaged by local predators; and the beech nuts had been squelched open by heavy-footed walkers. I had the sense that Time had picked up its pace, like a runner in a race that had caught sight of the finishing line : the Winter threshold is almost visible,

There’s a part of me that’s quite sad that my haiku adventures are coming to an end. I planned to write 30 for my self-publishing adventure, and today is haiku 29. The process of writing haikus has brought me closer to the outside world and brought me closer to my inner world. I feel more present, more aware and more connected. I’m noticing much more and I’m appreciating much more. And I’ve slowed right down.

The writing process has helped me to explore, and realise,  my creative potential, and it’s encouraged a sense of growing confidence in some capabilities that I’d forgotten I possessed! Haikus have woken me up. That’s the best way of putting, I think. Haikus rouse you from the sleep of remembering and bring you into the aliveness of presence. I didn’t realise that 17 syllables could have such power!

I’ve chosen to write a haiku about the acorn today – its associations with potential and growth seem fitting for this part of my haiku journey. You can read my poem here, and I read it out loud on today’s video blog too.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 276 ~ Write A Collection Of Haiku Poems [28]

/ intrepidjane

rain haikuToday’s been a really grey and wet day here in Northern Ireland. When I took the dog out for his walk this morning, I looked up the sky, but it didn’t look far away at all : it was like it was nose-close. It was like it was threatening me! And it wasn’t just “one rain” :  rain, it seems, is a powerful collective, capable of synchronous action. It’s more of a “they” than an “it”.

It didn’t take long for the rain(s) to start. It wasn’t heavy but it was persistent enough to feel oppressive, to feel like it was playing with me, to feel like it was letting me know that it was in charge. That they were in charge.

It’s the kind of weather that would give you a headache, you know? The strangest thing of all though is that when you’re inside , the sound of falling rain is actually quite comforting!

What I’m learning through writing these haiku poems is that it’s the more familiar things (like rain) which I’m finding difficult to capture or “edge closer” too. To touch the nerve of the thing I’m describing, I’m having to cut through swathes of preconceptions and memories. I want to make sure that I’m describing the rain I experienced today, rather than old memories of rain, if that makes sense?

So today’s haiku is called Rain and you can read it here. You can also listen to me read it out loud on today’s video blog.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 275 ~ Learn Some Basic Welsh Phrases

/ intrepidjane

Welsh dragonGoodness knows where the impulse for today’s adventure came from! If you’ve been following my adventures, you’ll know that I don’t plan ahead, I just wait for an impulse to arise every day. When the impulses arises, I follow it.  The impulse to learn some Welsh took me by surprise, but I followed the impulse and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

In my attempt to learn some basic phrases, I stumbled across a guy called Jingle Jeff on YouTube. I thought he was fabulous – even though his show is obviously meant for toddlers, it was perfect for me!

You can see how I got on in today’s video blog.

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT

Adventure 274 ~ Prepare Elder Seeds For Sowing

/ intrepidjane

elderberriesI’ll tell you something : I was actually looking forward to an elderberry wine-making adventure. I’d found a recipe and done all the research about equipment. I was hearing reports of bumper crops in Scotland and in Northern Ireland too. I was all set.

Only thing is though, the elders on the farm are in really exposed spots and didn’t even yield enough to make a sherry-glass of wine, let alone a bottle or two.

So, for today’s adventure, I decided to make an investment for future generations, should they wish to make their own wine 🙂 . Today, I learned how to prepare elder seeds for sowing at the end of Winter. This way, my grandchildren may be able to produce something lovely from the “wine trees” that I planted for them today!

Using my “Tree Bible”, Tree Planting And Aftercare, I learned that the flesh of an elderberry is filled with chemicals which inhibit germination. So stage one of the preparation is to either let the flesh rot off (by keeping the berries in a plastic bag) or to use a blender to help the natural separation process along.

The blender method was surprisingly straight-forward. I placed the blended mix in water and this helped to separate the flesh from the seed : the seeds floated to the top and the flesh sank to the bottom.  Once I had cleaned the seeds, I was  ready to mix the seeds with moist sand and place them in a stone-lined pot. I covered the pot with protective mesh, as I did for the oak, beech and horse chestnut seeds. This mixing of seed with sand and then leaving outside is called “stratification”.

As Winter progresses, I’ll keep my eye on the seeds. As soon as I observe chitting or splitting of the seeds, I’ll knowing they’re ready for sowing!

I am just going outside and may be some time.

JT