This morning, as usual, I took my dog out for a walk. I take him on the same route most mornings. When I got back to the house and closed the door behind me, I suddenly realised that I’d “sleep-walked” the whole way. It was like I was walking a memory of a walk, my body had been walking but my head was elsewhere ~ not really paying attention, not really present, not really fully aware of my surroundings.
So, for today’s adventure, I turned right around and headed back out to walk the route again. This time with my eyes open . This time opening my awareness right up and waiting for something to catch my attention.
Watch today’s video to see what happened! (I took some photographs of the things that caught my attention : you’ll find more images below the video 🙂 ).
On today’s show, I’m talking to my friend, Leslie Marsh, about all things shamanic. If you’ve ever wondered what shamanism is or wondered how someone gets “called” to be a shaman, then this show is for you! Leslie describes the tools of a shaman in a really accessible way and gives us insights into how shamanic practices can support a journey of healing and transformation.
You can watch the playback of today’s show below and find out about upcoming live shows and guests here.
Woo hoo! We did it 🙂 . I’m just fresh in from today’s adventure : hosting the first episode of my own live TV series. Today’s episode was all about finding your purpose in life.
You can watch me talking to my brilliant friend, Flemming Funch on the playback below. To find out about other episodes (and to watch them using the live viewers) just pop over to Jane Talbot TV.
Today I woke up with a cosmic adventure in mind! For my 105th adventure, I watched the live-streaming of the total lunar eclipse. At 08.45am UK time, I watched the eclipse pass into the “totality” phase. This morning I saw my first “live” blood moon. This morning I saw red hot dragon’s breath enveloping the moon. This morning I shared the celebrations, and awe, of those watching live in the Griffith observatory in California. This morning I welcomed our moon safely back home. This morning I felt connected to this small, wondrous corner of our universe. This morning I felt connected to all the people watching this celestial event. This morning I felt connected to it all. (I have the feeling that my adventuring is waking me up to the aliveness of my experiences. In fact, I am feeling more alive!)
You can hear more about my experiences, and my thoughts on the benefits of adventuring, in today’s video. You can also watch a time-lapse version of today’s eclipse on CNN here. I have also popped a copy of an Adventure Report from 2012 (talking about the Venus transit) below the video ~ I think it may make you smile 🙂 .
Adventure Report June 2012 ~ Stalking The Venus Transit
Can anyone remember all that kerfuffle at the beginning of June 2012 about the Venus transit? Sky-watchers around the world were excited about witnessing a cosmic spectacle : this was an extremely rare opportunity since only six Venus transits have been observed since the invention of the telescope more than 400 years ago.
Transits happen when a planet crosses between Earth and the sun. After 2012, we won’t see another transit of Venus until 2117. If you are reading this, it means that the transit on the 5/6th June 2012 was your last chance! And that’s what I thought when I heard about it – this is my chance to witness something that I’ll never have the chance to witness again. And the really magic thing about the whole transit was this : the very last place on Earth it would be visible would be Northern Ireland (where I live!).
Morphing myself rapidly into a cosmic geek, I trawled the internet for information. I found out where the transit would be visible, I made sure I knew precisely at what time the sun would rise (the time at which the transit would be visible), I researched how to view the transit safely and I got myself rather excited about the prospect of getting up at 3:45am.
When the alarm went off, I felt like Indiana Jones. With adventure practically boiling in my blood, I leapt (okay, it may have looked like crawling to the untrained eye) into our van, hauling my half-asleep partner with me. Wooly hats firmly on, flasks of tea brewed and all cosmic tracking equipment stowed safely, we set off for Murlough Bay (one of the recommended viewing sights).
As we drove towards the coast, we could see the glimmer of dawn in the sky. Nervous anticipation built the closer we got to the sea ~ a Starsky and Hutch-style evacuation of the van ensued as we hurried not to miss our chance. Ian put up the projector screen and unpacked a set of 1950s binoculars. We were to hold up the large end of the binoculars to the sun and watch the transit on the screen.
Secretly I was thrilled about the fact that no-one else was there ~ that we had this beautiful place all to ourselves. Eventually the glimmer of light grew into the glare of dawn : it was the most awe-inspiring sight you could imagine. Still waters, a clear view over to the Mull of Kintyre, Ailsa Craig and right around to Islay and the Paps of Jura. Scotland looked a pebble’s throw away and the force of the cosmos felt like it was growing under my feet.
Eyes fixed firmly on the projector screen, we saw nothing .No transit. Just the passing of a few clouds. And yet there was no disappointment. Why? Because I felt that I had fully seized the day; I had embraced the moment that the day had presented and I had enjoyed the excitement of the whole experience. I had felt like an intrepid explorer.
We packed away our equipment and stored this experience with all the other “glad we gave it a go”experiences.
Funny thing is ~ it turned out we were 24 hours early for the cosmic event! We would never have seen it on the day we went : we did get up and do the same thing the next day but it was white-out conditions with nothing to be seen at all (and not half as exciting as the previous day’s experience).
The lesson this adventure taught me was this : it’s not just important to seize special opportunities ~ it’s important to seize every opportunity, to seize every day. In the act of seizing, you can experience life in its fullest force (regardless of what is happening). Venus transits maybe special but they are not a patch on the possibility that every day brings to us humans. Every day holds life-affirming adventure for all of us : now go and find it J
As my TV adventure is starting on Wednesday, I thought I’d have another go at making a trailer but with a new twist! This time I am trying my hand at making a video with a voice over.
This adventure involved a fair bit of intensive fiddling and experimenting with Windows Movie-Maker . I know all this modern tech is supposed to be “intuitive” : the only conclusion I draw is that, at some stage, my intuition must have been removed! In the absence of the obvious, I resorted to my normal “push-any-random-button-and-see-what-happens” approach.
This is what I came up with after 10 minutes of playing 🙂 .
For today’s adventure, I decided to overcome my fear of the words “Advanced Settings”. I used to think that if I pressed any button marked in this way that it could only lead to technological disaster (and, possibly, the end of the world 😛 ) .
Find out what happens when I summon the courage to press the “Advanced Settings” button on my YouTube channel in the video below. You can see the effects of my geekery here ~ I’m actually quite pleased with myself!
It seems that when your dream-makers know that you’re listening, they really get weaving! Watch what happens as the communication channel between me and my “dream team” opens right up 🙂 .
I am just going outside (or inside, in this case 😛 ) and may be some time.
It’s day 6 of the Prosperity Game and things are really on the move now! Today I move closer to something that seems to have been there all the time. What reveals itself to me feels very familiar.
Here’s what happened today ~ and I’ve put some relevant links below the video. Even typing the words “link” makes me smile because, at some level, I think I’m actually creating neurological links that may be helping me to make really helpful changes.
(Just while I remember, I’m not going to be able to blog until next Tuesday but I will be continuing with my adventures. I’ll still be uploading videos to my YouTube channel everyday so you can watch how things are going there!)
You can find out how to select the right publisher here and you can see one of my potential publishers here 🙂 .
The title of this blog post probably brings the next line of this nursery rhyme straight to mind : “How does your garden grow?” And since yesterday’s round of the Prosperity Game , not only have lots of insights about my relationship with money come straight to mind, I’ve also made a new connection which I think is causing things to shift in surprising ways (just a small clue, it does involve gardening 😛 ).
So here’s what happened on day 4 🙂 . As usual, I’ve posted links to my “purchases” below the video.
You can see my expedition rowboat here and my recumbent tricycle (including trailer and accessories) here .
This morning, as usual, I took my dog out for a walk. I take him on the same route most mornings. When I got back to the house and closed the door behind me, I suddenly realised that I’d “sleep-walked” the whole way. It was like I was walking a memory of a walk, my body had been walking but my head was elsewhere ~ not really paying attention, not really present, not really fully aware of my surroundings.
Humans Resourced 