Comfort is the foundation for creativity and creativity is the flower
that gives off the fragrance of service.

Dear Life Organizers,

One of the challenges of running a business for me (which for me means taking effective action over time to support being of service) is that I have a lot of ideas, and I tend to move onto my new ideas without giving my previous project the love and attention it needs to thrive. In the past, this pattern has left me feeling like an empty husk and a pity party failure, believing the story that I need to do something different with my life because my idea/book/product didn't change the world/sell millions of copies/generate a huge response (whatever "huge" might be).

I realized last week that this is happening with my precious new book, The Life Organizer. I'm off to new ideas, Freedom From Self-Improvement Day, teaching new retreats like Writing Naked on the Beach and Wild Prayers (oh what a truly perfect weekend we had--see my blog post and I'm neglecting the care and feeding of the Life Organizer. This neglect is so stupidlicious because I'm using it every day and loving the changes it's fostering in me. I also adore reading about the changes it's supporting in women at our Comfort Community:

"I've been working with The Life Organizer the past four weeks (doing each set of questions weekly as laid out--I'm anal that way) and it's really been helping me to see that I do have a life outside of my work. I've always allowed my career to define who I am, but I'm trying to define myself more as who I am outside of work. And I'm seeing that I squander time--time that could be better used in my hobbies." Alice

Sarah wrote beautifully about learning Greek/Persian/Turkish food cooking as a new passion and her post ended with, "If you had told me 6 months ago that cooking would be my new hobby/passion, I would have laughed at you. How did I discover this passion? I just asked "Want wants to happen here?" and "What do I want more of in my life?" and "What do I want to do" and this is what came forward. I knew all along -- I just wasn't listening to me. This is why I love the life planner. Who knows what is next? I'm sure it'll be perfect for me."

Faye shared "After spending time on a weekly basis with the Life Organizer Calendar from 2006, which has a specific space for weekly yearnings and intentions, I realized that one of my strong yearnings was to reacquaint myself with my much loved hobby of counted thread embroidery...I couldn't wait to get off from work today and straddle my frame across my lap and stitch, stitch, stitch! I am finding that when I put these yearnings in writing, I feel obligated to act on these things. This is the second yearning in the past month that I have acted on. The other was to start a book club for the summer!"

So how do I stay with talking and teaching about this process and tool without getting bored or sounding like a hack (As in, "Buy my book and get a set of ginzu knives 100% fr*ee and if you order before 12 midnight tonight, we'll include, absolutely without cost, that's right, no cost to you whatsoever, your very own Chia pet!!")? Even writing this is making my heart pound because I'm making a commitment in front of all of you... what if I don't keep it? Then I'll be a hack and a flake!

My first thoughts on staying committed:

• Take time to connect with the heart of the book so I'm in the present moment with it; thus it can't be boring.
• Don't assume others know as much about the process as I do; I lived with it for years.
• Ask myself, "Who needs this book most?" and find a way to get them the book or CD.
• Spend time in gratitude for the women (and men) who are using the process and making it their own.
• Blog more about how I'm using the book myself and post pictures of my weekly life planner.

Can you relate to not giving your projects and ideas enough attention to flourish in the world? What else would you do or have you done to keep nurturing an offspring of yours? Comment at my blog! Don't know how? Ask Deb@jenniferlouden.com.

Committedly,

The Wild Prayers weekend was incredibly wonderfully awesomely amazing! My hugest heartfelt gratitude hallelujahs to everyone who participated. If you want to hear some of the music played by our flutist, the incomparable Maria Kostelas, visit her website http://www.flutesoftheworld.com.

Have you or someone you know made a comfort connection?
Spring Air Comfort Connection Awards

Comfort Wishes
I wish for you and me with infinite tenderness (like we did this weekend at the retreat)
to
stand still.
You are not lost.
How can we be lost when we are each the One?
How can we be lost when we see through the eyes of God?
So stand still.
Connect your feet to the ground
Feel your heart's mind through the grace of a loving feeling
Inquire, "What do I yearn for in this moment?"
Allow Spirit to exhale into the ear of your inner guru
Apply with liberal blessing and grace what you now know
Stand still.
You can never be lost.

• FRE* Teleclass: Nurturing the Muse on May 8th. Sign up at !link_muse
  
  
• Mother's Day at Bellevue First Congregational Church UCC, Bellevue, WA - May 13, 2007
  
  
• Live Your Healthiest Life! Day Retreat for Women to Recharge, Renew, and Rebalance, Chattanooga, TN - May 26, 2007
  
  
• The Luscious, Creative Self-Care Retreat at Kripalu Retreat Center, Lenox, Mass. - June 22-24, 2007
  
  
• Writing Naked on the Beach: Romancing your creative genius, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, July 19-21, 2007

Further details at !link_whatsnew

Self-Care Minder
See more info on the four moods of self-care.

Depleted. It's a paradox: The very urges that tickle our fancy, tempting us to tackle every new project under the sun, from raising orchids to learning Russian, can result in our feeling scattered, drained, and ineffective. The constant desire to grab onto the latest and greatest passion can lead to emotional ADD. What's the solution? One idea: Use the Life Organizer (link) to track your passions and make a note of what your heart yearns to do next. When you capture these urges and flights of fancy in a concrete fashion, you loosen the bond it has on you to get to it right now. You have the heart of the desire recorded, so your brain (and time!) will be free to focus on the project at hand.

Resource: "Refuse to Choose!: Use All of Your Interests, Passions, and Hobbies to Create the Life and Career of Your Dreams" by Barbara Sher.

Tapas/Heat. The conversation lately on the Comfort Community Yahoo! Group has circled around hobbies--the need to have one (or more!), the difficulty in choosing one, the challenges of finding time. Alice wrote:

I've been working with The Life Organizer the past four weeks (doing each set of questions weekly as laid out--I'm anal that way) and it's really been helping me to see that I do have a life outside of my work. I've always allowed my career to define who I am, but I'm trying to define myself more as who I am outside of work. And I'm seeing that I squander time--time that could be better used in my hobbies.

What a gentle and compassionate way to find time for your interests! Instead of beating yourself up for not running four miles every morning and training for a marathon, see where you are spending your time. Maybe your interests aren't what you've been telling yourself. Consider this quote from la Rochefoucauld:

If we resist our passions it is more from their weakness than from our strength.

In other words, maybe the reason we just can't seem to find the time for harp lessons is that we'd really rather be banging on a set of drums!

When you review your day, look for less "juicy" pursuits that you can trim in order to make time for what will bring energy and fulfillment to your life.

Resource: Want to see where your time is REALLY going? Track one day in fifteen-minute increments. For a free Excel template, click here.

Joyful Desire. Authentic living comes not from constant striving, but from gentle acceptance. We look at where we are now, see how it feels, and let our heart lead us forward--or not.

I am a firm believer--because of my experiences tell me so--in the power of compassion, of honest evaluation, of being in the here and now--pulling our energy and focus back to our bodies, as if we were reining in a kite that is flying too high, hand over hand, gently reeling the line to bring it back to our sight. Yank too hard and the silken thread will break and the kite will be lost; instead, a gentle yet firm hand is needed.

If you feel something is not quite right in your life, that there is an absence in your heart you cannot quite identify, start with the here and now. And remember: There is nothing wrong with you.

Resources: Join the fun with our first annual international Freedom From Self-Improvement Day on May 15! A week of inspiration, acceptance, and come-as-you-are rejoicing.

We've already started a blog of what people are thinking about doing. Why not comment about how you will celebrate Freedom From Self-Improvement Day?

Effortless Service. We've all heard about how finding a group to support your efforts--whether it's training for a triathlon or writing a science fiction novel--is key to keeping on the path to completion. What successes have you experienced--relocating to your dream destination, adopting a child from Africa, raising money for the town library--can you share with others to help them reach their goals? We often underplay our own wisdom and lessons learned, sure that our knowledge and thoughts don't "count" in the cosmic sense.

Not true! Just think how you could have benefited from someone holding your hand when you tackled that last big life change. Having a mentor or sounding board or even a similarly lost partner to muddle along with is a blessing.

Where can you offer your wisdom to someone a bit behind you on the path? Think about your church or synagogue, senior home, high school, museum, town council, your next-door neighbor, or someone in your own family!

Resources: Being a mentor - unofficial or not - can seem intimidating! Let Mentoring help you navigate the ins and outs of mentoring a child.

More mentoring resources here and here, from a readiness test to a list of books and articles.

The Life Organizer Bracelet - Mindful Jewelry to Beautifully Balance
Jewelry and life organizing? Who would have thought...? But when artist Deborah Moskowitz gifted me with this bracelet at a recent book signing, I knew I had to share it with the whole community.

This handcrafted sterling silver bangle bracelet is more than just a gorgeous fashion accessory -- it's a reminder of how to live a connected, soul-centered life. Imprinted with the five steps of the life organizing process -- Connect - Feel - Inquire - Allow - Apply -- the limited-edition bracelet will prompt you to check in with your soul.

!link_bracelet

You can also pick up Jen's newest book, The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to a Mindful Year and the companion CD at ComfortQueen.com.
!link_lo

The LoudenMouth Podcast feed is available through iTunes. Subscribe. You can also do a search on Jennifer Louden or LoudenMouth using iTunes. Or if you are using an RSS feed to keep up with the Podcast, the click for the feed. If you need further info check out our Podcast 101.