July 10
Cuddling a snoring pussy-cat The Berkshires Farmer John
Year: 2009
Diva Do Over
The Letter
The phone rings. My daughter is calling from California. Not unusual – but imagine my surprise when she excitedly informs that she secretly nominated me for a Diva Do-Over at Body & Soul in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It’s a six-session program for women fifty years old and over.
Well, bless my soul. Here I am – a decrepit old lady – and I’m being offered an opportunity like this!
Samantha emails me the letter she wrote to nominate me:
Dreams – recalling them backwards
Try this exercise every day this week: write down a dream. Many people say they can’t remember any dreams, but if you do this exercise for just the next seven days you’ll discover something interesting: You DO start remembering them. Have a notebook right by your bed. While still in your hypnopompic state, write down Read more about Dreams – recalling them backwards[…]
Stimulating memory
Stimulating memory is similar to stimulating dream life. By tapping into deeply subconscious realms, we release thoughts and feelings we may be hardly aware we even have. Writing about dreams and memories is like a magic key to a kingdom. Here’s the first key: Write your very first memory in the third person. Try to Read more about Stimulating memory[…]
5 Paragraphs – Backwards
The Five Paragraph Essay – BACKWARDS If you’re having a hard time feeling the flow and confidence that mastering the five-paragraph essay offers, try doing it another way: start from Act V and move backwards to the introductory paragraph of Act I. Act V: The Resolution or Conclusion. This paragraph resolves the story, the experiment, Read more about 5 Paragraphs – Backwards[…]
Practice: 5 paragraphs
The 5-Paragraph Essay Fun writing exercises are … FUN. And everyone knows that mastering the five paragraph essay is essential to solid, coherent writing skills. Sometimes it’s been so painstakingly drilled into kids that college educators plead with high school teachers not to wear out students with the clichéd, boring style that permeates all their Read more about Practice: 5 paragraphs[…]
Chess Pieces
Chess Pieces From the time I was eight years old till I was well into my teens I played chess with my father practically every evening. Over the years, each chess piece became imbued with characteristics that brought each game to vivid life. Bishops tended to be pretty conservative. You knew as soon as one Read more about Chess Pieces[…]
Letter Writing
Writing a Letter Here’s a practice that’s practically obsolete: letter-writing. That’s okay – pretend you’re living during the last century when letter-writing was pretty commonplace. Here’s the basic block structure for a letter: Address Date Dear Friend, Body of text. Sincerely, Your name Now write a letter to a fictional friend: You’ve just arrived in Read more about Letter Writing[…]