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‘judithwould’!

July 25, 2011 by vetivera24

After a whirlwind trip to Hollywood, I can say that I learned a lot about myself and who I could be.
The best part of my trip apart from the business end was meeting with some awesome folks who have done similar things to what I have done, who feel the same anxiety and insecurity about putting out their life’s work, but who did it anyway!

Wow!.. I have been to LA before, thanks to my dearest friend who passed away in 2005. We had a great time on Rodeo Dr., in Malibu and just taking in the sights and sounds of the legendary city. This time I went to fulfill a childhood dream, because the opportunity was presented to me. My hotel was located on The Avenue of Stars surrounded by MGM, Century Fox, etc. You get the idea.

I don’t know how many times I have told my clients that spending time with other people who are sharing your experience builds your own confidence and gives you support. The truth of my words came back to haunt me in the nicest way. Strangely, the concept of shared anxiety and excitement was echoed in my choice of flight movie, Love and Other Drugs with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.   Please see it.

So, one hundred and fifty or so aspiring authors from across Canada and US got together with reps from the industry. Our goal was to sell our compelling stories to the arts media. The ages ranged from 15 to 90+ years. Some of the stories put out were fascinating to me, others less so but what was most compelling was the individual’s own journey into authorship and their belief in the rightness of what they were doing. I was inspired.

I commend the organizers for keeping anxiety to a low level hum, while helping all of us to put our best foot forward in selling our stories. I will write a little more about this journey in the days to come but for now I can ‘chill down’ and think about my next move.

I remember when my second son passed his driver’s test. He walked down the road towards me but didn’t see me immediately. When he did, he jumped up in the air and pumped his fist in utter relief and release for that small challenge met. I am too old to jump and too conservative to do fist pumping but I sure can relate to what he felt that day.

 

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Why I write fanfiction stories

July 2, 2011 by vetivera24

Writing, or rather story telling has always been a love of mine. Being a hopeless romantic, most of the stories I create will define my ideal of falling in love and overcoming life’s challenges to make it work. This fantasy fiction writing is a little different from the usual romance stories which I love to write. I have found that adding a little adventure and mystery helps me to enjoy the crafting of a story.

I am an old TV baby, growing up in the 50’s. I can remember when we didn’t have TV and the excitmement of getting our first black and white screen back in 1954. Serialized stories were still a big part of radio and early television. I have loved the ‘cliff hanger’ ever since. It allows the imagination to run wild while waiting for the sequel.

I have been a big fan of Beauty and The Beast since the inception of the TV show in 1987. The recent release of the DVD’s was instrumental in motivating me to write into the present time to give Jacob his mother back. The story line was inspired by a friend who took a similar journey. I hope I have done her justice while remaining true to the characters in her life and those of BATB. The concept of lost and found has a great deal of resonance for me. I believe that in birth we lose something of our connection to a greater world and our time spent on earth consists of a yearning to reconnect either with people who drive our life story or a desire to find a higher energy power which to some is known as ‘God’. I did not have the heart to rewrite what others have done in the past. We can’t alter history but we can refashion the future from our vast store of knowledge.

When the show first aired, I was so taken with the love story, it pushed me to fulfill a life long dream of writing my own book. I find it strange that the book was not published for twenty years. I put down the manuscript when the show ended. When I was able to sit and soak up the BATB stories on DVD, I was again inspired to refine and complete that book. At the same time, I felt an obligation to create online BATB stories of my own using some characters from the past as well as new ones who invade my dreams asking for release.

Last year, I was able to publish my book, The Will to be True/In the Shadow of the Blackbird. It is also crafted as a complex love story and set locally in Southern Ontario.

July/2011 update My new novel, Suspect, Love published in May 2011 is also now available from Authorhouse.com or Amazon.com.

 

 

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Healing through meditative practice

June 21, 2011 by vetivera24

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter in a dream nearly 15 years in the making. As a child I was profoundly affected by the way in which Sunday morning televised church services used to hold my interest. It wasn’t the message although that came through but it was the way in which several ministers, particularily Oral Roberts used the power of ‘laying on hands’ to heal the sick. I know that some of that may have been made for TV style but at heart I also believed in the power of prayer and a strong personal belief to affect cures. I think I have spent a lifetime trying to understand how to help people through the worst times of their lives using as little as possible from modern medicine.  I recognize the value of medicine to work its own kind of science but there have been times when only prayer has made the difference.
After getting my degree in Divinity, I worked with my partners to establish a community organization which would provide the kind of healing support which falls between active medical care and the end of life. In my experience, only prayer and more prayer or meditative practice can bridge the gap.
Healing is an individual process which can be helped by support from others. Today the healing ministry which was started with such high hopes so many years ago, comes back to life. We will welcome all to our serivces. The title of our opening song, written by Dan Fogelberg’ is, ‘There’s a magic every moment, and goes on to say that ‘there’s a miracle each day.’ I sincerely believe this to be true. I don’t think we will rise to the level of Oral Roberts in our size and scope for our little place in Creemore is limited but we hope to make change in the lives of those who share in our vision for wellness and healing.

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New novel – Suspect: Love

June 13, 2011 by vetivera24

On the 26th of May, 2011, AuthorHouse published my second book, Suspect: Love, A Profound Prophecy.  I am very excited about its release.  Like The Will to be True/In the Shadow of the Blackbird, it was written some time ago.  The draft of it sat for years on the shelf waiting, like Cinderella,  for the right time to be turned into a soft cover novel.  I received my first copy in the mail last week and with its completion, I feel that I have fulfilled a promise to a couple of  people who were  instrumental  in encouraging me to write stories from my heart.  They have both passed away now but their spirits were guiding me all along.

What took me so long?  I don’t know.  I love both the stories and I hope that readers will too.  I am thankful to my brother-in-law Bryan Davies for providing me with lovely photographs of Italy which grace the front and back cover.  He has an extraordinary talent for capturing the right moment, or the right spirit, or both, in everything he photographs.  I am also grateful to my family and several close friends who have been very supportive and of course my sister Gertrude who helps me to edit all my work.

A couple of quotes from Suspect: Love….

‘Rosanna knew her thoughts were unworthy, but fear of an unknown circumsatnce flickered along nerve endings, sending a clear signal that, if she continued, her life would never be the same again.  Fate and free will warred witin her.  In a heartbeat, fate had taken over.  The elevator landed with a soft whirr on the ground floor ending any thought of retreat.’

‘Love can remove many boundaries, including and especially those built by fear.’

Here is a synopsis of the story.

Rosanna, a highly educated, professional nurse in her mid-thirties is hoping for a promotion from a dead-end supervisory night job.  She is on the shelf as far as her old fashioned Italian family is concerned.

During a crisis, she ‘meets’ Angus Howard, a dedicated pediatric specialist who leads a dynamic research project close to her heart.
Stepping outside of her comfort zone, she spends a passion-filled weekend with him, engaged in some unexpected research into her own long dormant feelings.  Before the relationship gets off the ground, a long awaited promotion comes through.  It is the opportunity of a lifetime!  As part of her new duties, she is appointed, as a lone female, to participate on a powerful hospital executive committee whose mandate is to investigate a charge of fraud by the very man who has already engaged her heart.  Her sudden defection from his life leaves a trail of pain and suspicion in which he believes she used him to further her career. 

Their large and remarkable families try to intervene and help save the relationship but Rosanna knows that she has no choice but to fight to preserve the integrity of his career.  Her decision only serves to keep them apart.

The title will soon be available for purchase at AuthorHouse or any of the other online book sellers.  I keep thinking that I will not write another book but since I decided to get cracking and finish these two books, I have written 9 full length adventures for Fanfiction.  Online stories count.  I thank the many people around the world who enjoy the Beauty and the Beast series and encourage me to keep finding challenges for the characters in an updated version of the original 1987 TV show.

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Almost famous!

June 1, 2011 by vetivera24

I don’t know about anyone else but I have always thought about the 15 minutes of fame.  How would that happen?  I definitely wanted that 15 minutes.  Would I be a character in a movie?  How about a part on TV or even my own show?  Write a book? Deliver the keynote address at a large function?  Take a walk and have everyone pass me and say hi because they know me?

All of those things happened.  Sure I was almost famous but the excitement which I thought would come with any one of the above activities was nothing compared to the excitement I felt at having a coffee name after me.

My local coffee bistro was a godsend when I moved away from the fast paced city of Toronto.  I was such a faithful customer to certain coffee shops that I never actually had to order.  My morning Starbucks Vente Latte, 140* with extra foam was started  as soon as I stepped off the streetcar across the road from the coffee shop.  By the time I got to cash, it was done and waiting for me.  Great service!

My evening latte was made by a young man who made the perfect 142* extra foamy at Second cup in Dufferin Mall.  Yum….

When I needed to reduce my milk intake, the owner/manager, at the on-site  Second cup located in my hospital,  helped  me decided on the big switch to the Americano.   I learned that it was a drink made originally  for Americans in Italy.  Don’t quote me here but I think that Americans couldn’t handle the taste of the espresso.  Water was added to the single or double shots to tone it down.  I admit that I never liked the  short  espresso straight but I love it now if it has two shots dumped in hot water with a little half and half cream added.  Not too much caffeine and good taste.  It turned out to be the perfect drink for me.  I only had one problem.  I needed kick-ass taste and punted caffeine. 

 I can tell you that moving to a small town which didn’t seem to have a coffee shop open 16 hours a day was almost frightening.  Where would I get my coffee?  I bought several machines.  I even thought of going back to my original loves, Kenya or Caramelo coffee. The machines were only meant to be a stop gap until I could scout out an espresso bar.  Found it!   

Over the next four years, with the help of the owner-barista, we worked out a great espresso taste once I got used the difference  in beans.  Where the beans are bought and roasted makes a huge difference in taste. Groundswell has a terrific roaster.

Now, instead of running the water through short, it is run through long, extra long, so long that I don’t even need to add water to a large cup.  Voila, it is the perfect coffee for me and apparently others.  My barista informed me this week that someone called in and ordered a ‘judith’.  I felt an excitement akin to the day when a client called me the ‘breast whisperer’ for my work with breastfeeding mothers.  I knew that delightful lady and her little baby.  I took her words as a compliment to my work as a lactation consultant. 

 The lady who ordered the espresso has never met me.  Now I feel ‘almost famous’.

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With regret

May 21, 2011 by vetivera24

Today as I walked around the boxes which contain artifacts and treasures from the past ten years of my life, I reflected on the sadness which loss always brings, even as I look with anticipation towards the future.
I have never been one to dwell on negatives but I often think about the difference between losing a loved one and losing a dream.
Our family and close friends are tied into the plans we make for our future but a dream is born of ourselves and represents the creative forces which drive our soul forward to its life lessons.
Women have traditionally had this creative force  realized with the conception and birth of a child. What of women who never conceive?  What do they have to drive their lives forward?  It has always been a question in my head and a reason why I celebrate all women on Mother’s day.  I was once told that the ability to create is not confined to procreation but all things which are born of our desire.

I have been lucky to have children and a strong creative drive. I thank my teachers past and present for their input.

Many years ago, I realized a dream to become an interfaith minister.  My hope was to establish and operate a small church or sanctuary which would be the home base of  services geared towards women affected by a challenging history.  The Sanctuary at Hestia’s Hearth became a reality. The loss of my business partner and best friend just after our opening didn’t derail the program and services,  but the energy needed to sustain it.
Five years after her death, I finally acknowledged the realization that the dream was not to be fulfilled in the way it was first envisioned. With a few prayers, I found a loving couple, or rather they found me and chose to live in the home attached to the Sanctuary.

As I survey the boxes  filled with treasures and collectables which had been chosen to grace the walls and tables and corners of the sanctuary, I have come to understand that they represent nothing unless I choose to make them the symbols of a failed enterprise.  They are not the dream nor are they  attached to the dream.  The dream is with me and dies when I die unless I allow it fall by the wayside of self defeat.

So I have said my goodbye to the dear friend who taught me much about life.  I will say my goodbyes to the building, the things, the space and even the person I was ten years ago and move on to a future whose enterprise is yet to be realized but whose dream is alive and well.

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Wise Women’s Circle

May 16, 2011 by vetivera24

Art by PCS

For the past three years, our organization has hosted a women’s group called the Wise Women’s Circle. It is an opportunity for women of all ages, from the community, to gather and talk and learn. The goal is to help each other open up to new possibilities. The group is small but faithful to the process.
Last year, as I noted here, we worked on the idea of a vision board which would detail any aspect of our lives that we wanted to highlight. The project was meant to open a personal door and capturing unfulfilled goals or finding new ones. The six month long project was a fun exercise in learning more about our strengths.
We have also spent a good deal of time studying the art and beauty contained in Tarot cards as well as the healing aspects of music and aromatherapy scents.  The art work is a drawing by Pamela Coleman Smith the illustrator of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck.
As a group leader, it fills my need to find a creative self as well as  supporting the efforts of women who walk the path of  wise elders who came before us.
I cherish this aspect of my community life and look forward to participating in this years activities.
Note to self: Never ask anyone else to do something which you wouldn’t do.

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Plodding on

May 13, 2011 by vetivera24

I can’t believe how single minded I was in getting my first book published.  Definitely not my usual character which embraces many forms of  procrastination.  I just can’t apply myself in a steadfast way to stuff which doesn’t interest me.  My second book does.  I loved the story line and embraced the characters.  Why the big slowdown? 

Unlike the last time when I had to make a neverending series of costly corrections, I decided this time to be absolutely sure that the finished product was definitely finished.  However what I learned is that reader fatigue comes with practiced work.  After all this time, the words flow in my vision and I hardly have to read the pages.   I have seen each one of the 65,000 words many times.  I have written them, pondered them and applied them to paper so many times that even when the mind knows change is necessary, it can’t do it.  I just don’t see it!

So I set my book aside.  I immersed myself in writing another book for the online fanfic series which is almost done. Then  and only then did I decide to review book II.  Really, it was like looking at a new story.  Not so many errors this time. 

Making hard copies is useful for me.  Perhaps that’s not true for  everyone born of  the computer generation but I grew up reading and hard copies make me feel secure.

So the final copy is off to the publishers.  I look forward to getting the ‘hard copy’ from them.  Nothing ever happens in isolation.  My sister is a wonderful help in editing.  She questions threads which don’t connect.  Her new husband is an extraordinary photographer.  His work is on the front and back cover. 

Because I am writing here, I think excitement is beginning to thread through my veins.

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Getting back to basics

March 31, 2011 by vetivera24

It is amazing how we allow important gifts of nature to lose ground in our lives. Recent events in my life have brought me back to the simple and curative properties of herbs.
What I learned, quite a few years ago, was the incredible properties of herbs available in so many different format. Just eating small meals frequently, juicing fresh veggies and fruits, using herbal teas and living well can make such a difference in your life, as it did in mine.

I suppose the easy way out- for example, take a pill and sleep when you have insomnia- makes sense in the moment but truthfully, covering up on-going issues with a short term solution just creates and perpetuates a chronic problem.

I am all for melding modern and ancient remedies when they work synergistically. Caring for our body’s day to day health is worth it.  Take a little time to see how adding a few simple herbal products to your daily routine will help.  Use the services of a trained practitioner if you are unsure.
Sometimes the miracle is found directly from the earth!

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Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor

March 24, 2011 by vetivera24

Rest in peace my childhood hero.

         You taught my generation about career, growing up, beauty, passion and humanitarian works.   This is my favourite picture of you…imagine!

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