Catching up

I haven't written here for a long time but now I'm thinking about using it as a place to work out ideas as well as post book reviews and recipes and random thoughts.

I have been using my journal for that and I have been writing for 30 minutes every night. I haven't produced anything other than a letter, one poem, and some meditations on colors (more on that later). Yet it's a good exercise for my mind and spirit. I haven't been sitting down and writing for so long that it felt like I actually rusty, as if my fingers and my mind would squeak as it tried to come to life again.

I do have projects I started. I should write some more short stories. I need to find a press to publish at least some of my stories so I can develop a track record. All I want to do is just write and not think about publishing. However I will do that.

I have some book reviews to catch up on as well. I am finishing Joel Salatin's "Folks, This Ain't Normal," about the changes of farming and food in this country. I don't agree with him politically at all (I have a great deal of issues with libertarians) but as far as farming, food, regulations that benefit big ag processors and ruin small local farmers I'm with him all the way. It's a common sense book and will have you nodding your head at many points in agreement.

I haven't started Michael Pollan's book "Cooked" yet but I have it checked out from the library.

Perhaps the most important thing I've done lately is to begin a 100-day Gong. This is a practice that is meant to change one's life by changing one's neural pathways through changing habits. It takes 100 days to make a new habit or pathway. Here's one place to read about it: Taoist Path

I have chosen to do 15 minutes of yoga a day, 15 minutes of meditation, 30 minutes of writing, and eat AIP (autoimmune protocol) Paleo and walk the dogs. So far it has been a good experience; I'm on day 7. I have, however, only been doing gentle calming yoga. Tomorrow I want to go back to doing Iyengar, flow, and Ashtanga yoga, all of which are more demanding. And today I woke up with my back hurting. I'm hoping I can even do the gentle yoga tonight. But I did take the dogs for a walk and made sure I was outside at the very moment of the winter solstice, 4:03 p.m. MST.

This is a place that I must return to, at least once or twice per week to write. I have many things to write and this blog needs to serve as an important place to write some of these. Book reviews, my gong, philosophy--all of that is appropriate fodder for this blog.

Saying that, I will sign off and go and try to do yoga with my stuff and painful back (hoping that it helps to loosen and soothe).