Learn + Explore + Share

Meet Heart's Path Explorer Lynn Fisher

Reading about another person who follows her heart's true path can be inspiring, encouraging and informational. Meet freelance writer and journal keeper Lynn Fisher. Images courtesy Lynn Fisher.

What activities make your heart happy and your life full of meaning and purpose?

Connections and their creation, that's what makes my life full of meaning and purpose. Whether that is through writing a story about someone that inspires people, or making a collage that, on the face of it seems simplistic, but helps move me out of stagnation in my writing or just helps me get out of my own creative way. Also, doing things for and with my elderly parents and staying in touch with my dear friends. It's all about connection.

 

How did you discover your heart's true path? How do you continue to discern what is true to your heart?

I discovered my heart's true path as a writer years ago in high school, when it became known to me that having a conversation with someone, highlighting the good parts, putting it down in a sort of order, set me on a path. The fact that I could be paid for it was a bonus. I was so secure in the notion that I could write, that I felt I should major in something else besides writing in college as a sort of balance. That other interest was Design. As it turned out, I now have an injury that kept me from pursuing a career in design so I became a freelance writer, and relegate my love of art to my journals…sometimes opting instead for photography.

 

How did you discover your heart's true path? How do you continue to discern what is true to your heart?

I continue to discern what is true to my heart by continuing to create. I am always writing, using collage, or art journaling. I try to remember to step outside my normal activities and create whenever I can. 

 

What rituals do you practice that help you listen to and honor your heart?

There is no ritual like the work itself, but I do get up early enough that I can spend a little time writing, usually on pages in my journal I’ve prepared throughout the week…or on blank pages. When I don’t journal I feel as though something is missing in my life...I suppose what is missing is me. 

Think about a time when you got off track. What did you do that helped you return to your heart's true path?

Everyone gets off-track, myself included. I had wanted to begin a book…fiction, and let’s just say that dream was a while ago. Dreams swim along in the wake of Life, and sometimes life pulls them under. I’ve learned that the best way to obtain goals is by the handful.

Are there tools (e.g., vision boards, to-do lists, mind maps) that help you stay on track?

I use Vision Boards (sometimes called Treasure Maps) once or twice a year, to keep me on track, fill in what is missing, make a new discovery, and make the part of me that is in charge all the time…sit back and relax.

 

Tell us about your heart's community: Who are your supporters? How have you found people who believe in you, accept you and cheer you on through your journey?

I have many lovely friends and family members that have been so supportive. Many years ago I answered an ad in an Art Center Newsletter, asking for group involvement in going through The Artist's Way book by Julia Cameron. At first we were a room full, and over time we have whittled down to four wonderful, creative friends, who still meet to talk about creative challenges and breakthroughs. 

Finding other like minds is a challenge. For a while I had a journal group that met once a month…I enjoyed it, but often it was only myself and one other person who were journaling. I became frustrated and eventually joined a larger group downtown. They were mostly sketchers…I can sketch but not that often…and I love writing and need to make time for that, so that’s not entirely a good fit either. At the moment I am enjoying the immediacy of a limited number of friends on Flickr and Instagram…fun sharing visual pages or photos, but I don’t have to if I’m busy writing. Perfect.

 

What is a book, song, artist or quote that inspires you?

I love the work of and highly recommend Natalie Goldberg’s book Writing Down the Bones, and her newest work The True Secret of Writing. Natalie is both a painter and a writer and has never felt the need to describe herself as one or the other. I like that in a person.

_______________

Connect with Lynn here: web site | blog | Central Minnesota Women Magazine

 

Learn: "How" vs. "Why"

In reading Patti Digh's Creative Is a Verb, I flagged this passage—not so much because I planned to do the exercise but because it seemed important:

What "how" questions do you have? How can I learn a foreign language, how can I make the perfect soufflé? How can I be more creative? How can I improve my soldering technique? List them. Now turn each one into a "why" question instead.

In last weekend's Heart's Path Discovery Session, I admitted that I wasn't yet sure how it fit into the scheme of things when I added "how?" onto a diagram marked with these words: without, outside, disconnected, compare, busyness, public self.  I placed "why?" on the side of the diagram with these concepts: mindfulness, inside, within, connected, fullness, essential self.

Verbally sharing "how" vs. "why" with course participants helped me begin to grasp the concept's role in the map of discovering and living one's heart's true path … but its full meaning still felt elusive.

The "aha" emerged on my morning run.

The beginning of my run was pleasant: full of singing birds, blue skies, budding trees and cheerful greetings amongst others I met enjoying the finally-spring-in-Minnesota weather. As I neared my goal, my focus began to shift: I began anticipating the future (being done with this dang run!) instead of being mindful in the present moment. With intention, I began directing my thoughts toward mindfulness, remembering another time when mindfulness helped energize my run (Share: Mindfulness in Action).

And that's when I sprung on the significance of "how" vs. "why." Eureka!

How I run is simply one foot in front of the other: sometimes on a treadmill and sometimes outside, sometimes with music and sometimes hearing nature's symphony, sometimes with a feeling of lightness and sometimes feeling like a load of lard.

But considering why I run tells a different story. I run because I enjoy challenging myself to reach new goals. I run because I value fitness and want to maintain my figure. I run because of the simplicity of this exercise that depends solely on the effort and energy of my body’s own power.

There is depth in the "why."

There is mindfulness in the "why."

The "why" comes from within me and is the same whether I'm on a treadmill or outside, whether I'm plugged into my iTunes or not, whether I'm running efficiently or feel like I'm lumbering. The "why" lends to the fullness of my life and is part of my essential self. The "why" is running's purpose and meaning for me.

Our "Whys" Are the Roots of Our Purpose & Meaning

In exploring the "how" vs. "why" concept further, I listened to this podcast interview with life coach Lisa Alessi, who describes a person’s "why" as: the motivation for doing what one does; internal direction and focus; the source of greater meaning and purpose. The "how," on the other hand, says Alessi, focuses externally; is a means to an end; is role-based or a talent, skill, expertise or job. Alessi's description of "how" fits with the superficial, public-self side of the diagram I sketched with Heart's Path Explorers on Saturday, while "why" belongs with the mindfulness, fullness and connectedness of the essential (or authentic) self.

Now I fully grasp the exercise Patti Digh puts forth in her book.

What "how" questions do you have? … List them. Now turn each one into a "why" question instead.

What wisdom does your inner, authentic self reveal through the "whys"? Share your "why" vs. "how" experiences at our community Facebook page or via twitter.

Comments are temporarily turned off while Typepad updates its spam filter system.

 

Learn: Becoming Truly Me & Claiming It

"How might you break free of your own limits?"

Just over a year ago, I posed this question to blog readers, challenging them to stop stalling and get creative.

Everything I've written about creativity applies to life in general: Stop stalling and start living your heart’s true path.

No one holds us back the way we limit ourselves. In Creative Is a Verb, the book I referenced in last week's post (Explore: What Is my Role in Becoming Me?), Patti Digh asks readers to consider the stories we tell ourselves: "I'm too shy. " " I'm not talented (enough). " "I don't know how to ____ (perfectly). "

The truth is:
How do I really know unless I try? Unless I practice?

When one of my kids gives me that type of not-enough story, I don't accept her story because I know she is capable of more than she realizes—that she is more talented, more creative, smarter, stronger, faster, funnier than she knows.

When we leave our nests, we insulate ourselves from that vulnerability so that we don't allow anyone to encourage us—we don't invite or welcome the messages that we are more capable, more talented, smarter, stronger, faster or funnier than we think we are. We fence ourselves in and tell ourselves that we will go this far and no further. We don't check in often—if at all—with our friends and family who know we can be better, who know we have the potential to be awesome.

In her recent blog post, photographer and life coach Andrea Scher writes about being ready to begin telling herself a new story, "One that’s still true but makes me feel empowered + hopeful."

What is your truth? What are your hopes? Are you ready to start breaking free of your own limits and living your truth? To start living your heart’s true path?

I am.

That doesn't mean I'm not afraid. It doesn't mean I'm not in resistance. It just means I’m ready to become truly me and to claim my ME-ness.

I'm stepping nervously yet boldly into my new role as teacher. I am listening to my heart, and my heart is telling me that this is my path. This is the path that's leading me to become truly me.

Are you listening to your heart? What is your heart telling you? Are you ready to act on your heart's wisdom and claim your YOU-ness? Share your story—how your story is changing—in a comment here, at our community Facebook page or via twitter.

________________________

If you are ready to discover your heart's true path, it's not too late to register for the Minneapolis-area Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions! 

Join an intimate group of heart's path explorers for the 3-week in-person Heart's Path Discovery Sessions that begin May 4 in the Fridley. Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions offer a set of guideposts for discovering and living your heart's true path, a strategy for finding what activities you love and then living with intention and with a greater sense of meaning.

 

Explore: What Is my Role in Becoming Me?

Over the past week or so, I've been soaking up Patti Digh's wise words in her book Creative Is a Verb.

In the chapter entitled "Be Ordinary: Put Down Your Clever," Digh writes about the value of being ourselves. Referencing Maslow's heirarchy of needs, Digh simplifies self-actualization with the label "I'm me." Digh describes that at the peak of self-actualization perches "the instinctual need of humans to make the most of their unique abilities." 

Digh goes on:

... As Maslow described it ... "What a man can be, he must be."

What must I be? What must you? And if we aren't those things, how do we feel? How do we even know it, just as knowing about labor pains really requires being in the throes of them?

Evidently, Maslow tells us, these needs make themselves felt in signs of restlessness. "If a person is hungry, unsafe, not loved or accepted, or lacking self-esteem, it's easy to know what the person is restless about. It's not always clear what a person wants when there's a need for self-actualization."

Ain't that the truth.

Reading these paragraphs has led me to ponder some Big Questions:

Are we indeed meant to be something specific?

Is it reasonable to expect that self-actualization—becoming ourselves—will happen naturally on its own?

What role do we play in our own self-actualization—our "becoming ourselves?"

Consider an experience visiting the top-most rated restaurant in the world. Just having the desire to visit the peak restaurant (the peak of self-actualization) won't bring me there. I must make arrangements to get there via reservations and transportation. I choose who will accompany me. Once I'm there, my own actions and attitudes determine the quality of the experience. The restaurant staff (people in my life) don't read my mind and deliver my favorite vittles; I choose from the menu based on my preferences and choose what portion I will consume. The restaurant exists; my experience ultimately depends on my choices and the role I play as a patron.

How, then, can I expect to "become me" without taking an active role in choosing, based on my unique preferences, from what the world (the restaurant) has to offer?

What do you think?

What does "being me" means to you?

Has there been a time when you have recognized a shift in your understanding of what it takes to "be you?"

Let's have a discussion: in comments below, via twitter, or at our community Facebook page.  

 

______________

There's still a spot for you in the upcoming 
Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions! 

If you’re seeking your heart’s true path, join me for the 3-week in-person Heart's Path Discovery Sessions that begin May 4 in the Minneapolis area. Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions offer a set of guideposts for discovering and living your heart's true path, a strategy for finding what activities you love and then living with intention and with a greater sense of meaning.

Meet Heart's Path Explorer Noelle Rollins

Reading about another person who follows her heart's true path can be inspiring, encouraging and informational. Meet Noelle Rollins, an artist who, through her artwork and giftware, aims to  support others on the journey to an authentic, soulful life. 
Photos courtesy Noelle Rollins.

What activities make your heart happy and your life full of meaning and purpose?

The 3 things that make my heart skip a beat are my family, art and traveling. I feel so blessed to have grown up in a fun, bold, creative family that supported me in my dreams and affirmed who I am. Now as an adult I help nurture that same environment in my own family. I really aim to make our home a safe, loving place that after we have all spent our days out in the world carving our paths, we can come home together, let our guard down and know we are loved and accepted.

I've been creating artwork since I can remember. I'll never forget selling my first logo to a traveling volleyball club when I was 14. It made me realize that I was an artist and that I could make money doing it. My dad was an entrepreneur and I loved that life that he created for us all from a business where he created the rules. I've always known that this is my professional path.

Lastly, I love to travel. Say "road trip" and I'm in. I love learning about new places, observing the different ways people live, talk, interact, decorate, etc. I have no doubt that having both lived in different places and also traveling has made me a more well rounded, open-minded person. We are currently planning our summer road trip out to Glacier National Park, Seattle, Vancouver and Portland. It'll be fun mixture of camping, hiking, hotels and family bonding. I always feel like I come after a vacation more in touch with my spirit. Next year I'll be going to Israel with a group of women to help bring together Palestinian and Israeli women in a spirit of peace and sisterhood. I am beyond excited to get to be a part of this project. You can read more here.

How did you discover your heart's true path? How do you continue to discern what is true to your heart?

Although I have always been an artist, I had to dig really deep to find the truest part of my hearts path. It came from the most painful experience of my life; losing my mother unexpectedly at the age of 57. I watched this amazing woman raise 5 kids, and be there for everyone, support us all in our dreams, then be not sure where she fit in once we were all grown. It was heartbreaking to see this incredibly talented, loving women feel so disconnected from all that she had to offer. She passed of pancreatitus 4 years ago, since that time I've made it my mission to help women connect with themselves and live their most authentic, creative and inspired lives.

What rituals do you practice that help you listen to and honor your heart?

I am a big believer in journaling. I also really try to fill my brain up first with the good stuff, then sometimes the more fun stuff. I spend my time listening to books on CD, hayhouse online radio, Wayne Dyer, replaying past e-courses, music that makes me feel good. This keeps my head in a good place. I'm the person that went to be every night in high school listening to a cassette tape of Anthony Robbins that my dad has given me. I feel good and I know that when the tougher things have come my way I've handled them so much better because I had an arsenal of good resources loaded into my brain to help me work through them.

Think about a time when you got off track. What did you do that helped you return to your heart's true path?

Nine years ago I moved back to Minnesota while going through my divorce. I ended up working for my dad, it was great and I learned a lot. However, I ended up staying at his company for a few years too long. I realized I was using it as a buffer so I didn't have to focus on my own dreams. Once I finally stepped up and put my own business as the priority things turned around quickly. Not only professionally but as I set better boundaries in that area I started craving better boundaries in other areas of my life too. This was vital; I now encourage everyone I talk with to set healthy boundaries with others in their lives.

Are there tools (e.g., vision boards, to-do lists, mind maps) that help you stay on track? 

My business to do list is different every day, so I have a 5 subject notebook with me. I use each section for something different. The first section is used for my weekly to-do lists. This helps me get everything on paper so I can stop having it all swim around in my head. Since my job requires me to be in a good creative space I find it vital to not get bogged down by the numerous little tasks, if they are written down then I can just check them off and it makes it easier. I'm also a big believer in dream boards, I'm a dreamer. I love to imagine the biggest most impossible things I want in my life and imagine them as reality. I do this for my work but we also do this as a family, places we want to go, things we want in our lives, etc all go on a board that we can see.

Tell us about your heart's community: Who are your supporters? How have you found people who believe in you, accept you and cheer you on through your journey?

This has been an interesting ride the last few years. As I said earlier as I grew up everyone who knew me knew that I wanted to be an artist, my family got me art lessons and I felt completely supported by all of the people in my life. Just the last few years have I had a few people in my life who have put me down for it or secretly behind my back thought I should just get a real job. It really hurt at first, I took it so personal. Then I chose to look at like this: On some subconscious level I chose these people to be in my life. They were making me fight for what I believe in and making me have a little tougher skin. I then made a mental note that they are not my tribe, I don't get my advice from them. I have also made better boundaries now, I'm a bit more protective of what I share with them. On the positive side, a little over a year ago I took my first online course, it was for business for creative people. I met 300 women from around the world, this was my first real experience of finding my creative tribe. To this day we still cheer each other on, it has been life changing for me.

What is a book, song, artist or quote that inspires you?

A few years ago I heard "Blackbird" by the Beatles for the first time. I really listened to the words; I was going through a time of tremendous change, and that song really made me feel like the past was not something to be ashamed of, it just hadn't been my time to fly until now.

My favorite poem, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

_______________

Connect with Noelle here: web site | facebook

If you're in the Twin Cities, stop by and meet Noelle in person at her studio
April 28 and 29! Find details here. (On April 28 from 4:30 to 5:30, I will be there 
talking about gratitude. Drop in and say hi!)

______________

There's still a spot for you in the upcoming 
Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions! 

And a week full of family activities means I've extended
Early Bird Rates through April 21st! 

If you’re seeking your heart’s true path, join me for the 3-week in-person Heart's Path Discovery Sessions that begin May 4 in the Minneapolis area. Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions offer a set of guideposts for discovering and living your heart's true path, a strategy for finding what activities you love and then living with intention and with a greater sense of meaning.

Share: A Video! (Heart's Path Discovery Sessions)

This little video is something I've been meaning to create for months, and I finally got brave enough to go for it!

 

In the video I share a little bit about what brought me to writing about discovering and living my heart's true path. I also briefly outline the five guideposts (mindfulness, listening, studying, mapping and connecting) we'll cover in the Heart's Path Discovery Sessions.  

 

Read more about Heart's Path Discovery Sessions and registration here. Click here to subscribe to notifications of future online or in-person Heart's Path Discovery Sessions.

If you have questions or comments, chime in below, at the community Facebook page or via twitter, or contact me via email (hkoshiol-at-gmail-dot-com).

 

 

Explore: Do you ask yourself what you should be doing with your life?

Do you feel envious of people who have always known what they wanted to be/do?

Do you want more fulfillment, meaning and joy in your life?

If you're nodding "yes," then keep reading.

Do you spend time each week doing something you feel you were "meant to do?"

Do you know what activities can help pull you out of a funk?

Do you have a community of people who share with, support and encourage you
in your activities?

If you're answering "no," then you're in the right place.

 

I know these questions well.

These questions used to keep me awake at night.

These questions are the ones I tossed around for years before I discovered my own heart's true path.

These questions, I know, distress plenty of other women who believe there's more to life than their current day-to-day grind. These questions are why I have developed the Heart's Path Discovery Sessions. 

To discover my own heart's true path, I let go of these unhelpful outside-of-me questions and started listening within, to my own heart. I recorded what I was uncovering within my heart. I studied my heart's patterns. I connected with others whose hearts are similar to mine.

Because my own journey has made such a huge difference in my life, I want others to experience their own journeys to discovering and living their own hearts' true paths. I want to share what I know with you.

Your unique answers abide in your own heart.

You are in charge of deciding to set out toward your heart's true path.

You are the only one who can discover what you are "meant to do."

You are the one who can learn what activities can help pull you out of a funk.

You can create greater fulfillment and more meaning and joy in your own life.

You're invited to begin your own journey.

If you're a local Minnesotan, consider joining other Heart's Path Explorers in the upcoming in-person Heart's Path Discovery Sessions, which begin May 4. Learn more here. And if you're interested in receiving notifications about future online or in-person Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions, click here.

Join us! Make the most of your life!

What is missing from many of our days is a true sense that we are enjoying the lives we are living. It is difficult to experience moments of happiness if we are not aware of what it is we genuinely love.

—Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance

Questions or comments? Comment below or connect with me via twitter or
on the community Facebook page.

 

Learn: Self Care as a Selfless Act

My friends and family want me—need me—to take time for myself.

The people around me depend on me to care for myself so that I am whole enough to share my life with them. And, in that way, self care is more selfless than selfish.

Long before I discovered and began living my heart's true path, I was burning out in a full-time job from which I went home utterly empty each evening. I had nothing left to give to my little kids, my husband  or myself. I knew I couldn't continue living that way for long.

Eventually, I recognized that my priorities were upside-down. My first step in turning my life right-side-up again was committing to a weekly yoga class. No matter what.

For years after that upside-down time in my life, I would tell people how yoga saved me. But now I know that what really saved me from a downward spiral was making self care a priority.

What Self Care Can Do 

The list of self-care benefits I jotted down all begin with the prefix 're-.' This seems fitting, given the definition here of 're-' itself:

"indicating return to a previous condition, restoration, withdrawal, etc.; indicating repetition of an action."

Taking time for oneself allows a person to:

• refresh
• rejuvenate
• recenter
• release
• refill

'Re-.' Return to a previous condition.
Restore. Withdraw. Repeat.

How to Practice Self Care

The key to practicing self care is making it a regular part of your routine. Usually, I do a pretty good job with self care. Last night, though, I could feel I was near empty and that I needed some quiet alone time. My journal and I left the house for just an hour, and I returned with more patience, more love for my family and more energy.

Self care can take many forms, depending on what my heart needs at any particular time. Sometimes I need a walk in a park with my camera or to saunter through an art museum. Other times I need a good, exhausting workout or a challenging bike ride. Or pampering might be what my heart yearns for—for someone else to care for my face or my feet or hands with a gentle facial, manicure or pedicure.

Think of a time when caring for yourself has returned you to wholeness. What could you do more regularly to experience restoration, rejuvenation, recentering? Share your experience in a comment here, on the community Facebook page or via twitter.

___________________

Are you ready to discover and live your heart's true path? 

The next Minneapolis-area Heart's Path Discovery Session begins in May. Click here to learn more!

 

 

Share: Change Your Life in 15 Minutes a Day

The other day, someone asked me what I've learned from discovering and living my heart's true path.

What advice, she basically asked, could I impart in 5 minutes or less?

Don't wait, I responded. Don't wait for the bills to be paid, the house to be clean, the kids to be out of school before you begin discovering and living your heart's true path. Carve out little chunks of time each day to do what you love, and you'll begin to feel whole.

I'm not the only one imparting this advice.

Earlier this week, I read this blog post from self-described human sparkler Liv Lane. Part-time dream-chasing works, she pronounces. Liv writes, "[A] funny thing happens when we pursue our passions and chase our dreams part-time: we invite joy to be present full-time." 

Life coach and bestselling author Martha Beck says the same thing in this 2-minute video. It's not one or the other (not your current life or your dream life, for example). Dedicating just 15 minutes a day to your passion, Martha exhorts, can shift your life's direction. 

Finally, watch (and listen!) to this short TEDx talk (which I found here). Will Hewett shares his story of committing to sing just 15 minutes each day for a year. I love how he describes that his whole day centered on these 15 minutes. "Time bows to authentic commitment," he attests, "and it stretches to accommodate it."  

 

What will you do with your 15 minutes a day? Are you ready for your life to change? Your comments and experiences are welcome here, at the community Facebook page or via twitter.

______________

Join the Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions

If you’re seeking your heart’s true path, join me for the 3-week in-person Heart's Path Discovery Sessions that begin May 4 in the Minneapolis area. Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions offer a set of guideposts for discovering and living your heart's true path, a strategy for finding what activities you love and then living with intention and with a greater sense of meaning.

 

Learn: Back Mapping

In past posts, I've mentioned creating a Heart Map (see Explore: Your Heart), a mind-mapped to-do list. Centered on my Word-of-the-Year, each Heart Map map branches out to my Heart Ventures, activities I most love to do.

Heart Map, October 2011

Usually, I use these to-do maps to plan my days or my weeks. For the past several weeks, though, I haven't taken time to create a Heart Map. I've been following a "map" that's in my mind, but I don't have anything down on paper. When I notice I'm moving along without a Heart Map, sometimes I stop and jot down what I call a "back map."

Creating  a Back Map

Back mapping simply involves reviewing where I've been. In my journal, I ask myself how I've been living my Heart Ventures (which include connecting, creating, exploring, learning and moving). I write down "I've been connecting ..." then I list how I've connected with people in recent days. I continue this review for each of my Heart Ventures.

What a Back Map Reveals

When I've finished back mapping, I can see where I've been spending my energy. I can also see whether I'm on my heart's true path. If I don't have anything or many activities listed under one Heart Venture, I can see the area where I'm neglecting my heart or where I'm off track. This gives me a chance to correct my route and redistribute my energy so I'm fully living my heart's true path.

 

How do you evaluate your route through life? How do you keep yourself on track? Share your tips in a comment below, at the community Facebook page or via twitter.

___________________

 

If you’re seeking your heart’s true path, sign up to receive information about a future in-person Heart's Path Discovery Session. Heart’s Path Discovery Sessions offer a set of guideposts for discovering and living your heart's true path, a strategy for finding what activities you love and then living with intention and with a greater sense of meaning.