http://www.goodbonfire.com be a good bonfire and have a great day. Mon, 23 Aug 2010 17:47:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I recently did a 'time audit', investigating on the audio book advice of William Holden, if I've skipped a meal, stayed late, multi-tasked while driving or on the phone, skipped something that I've declared essential for my well being at another time. I often pull off three tasks in addition to ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=114 I was sitting under some blossoming cherry trees in the Arboretum a few weeks ago, one of my all time favorite circumstances in life, and have a few thoughts from that moment to share. Already, the blooms have given way to young leaves. Looking at these incredibly loaded trees, there's ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=105 Comparison: to weigh and measure two things to see how they are different and alike, seems like such a rational thing. And yet, comparison is the henchman of self doubt and insecurity. All one has to do is run across a friend on a beautiful day and ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=84 When I was a teenager, the adults I tended to trust were the ones who were able to say 'I don't know.'   In honor of those before me, these days I'm opting to play dumb. On a good day, I forgo the response 'I know' for 'Wait, actually, what ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=47 When you accomplish something small, like getting an important form in the mail on time, don't forget to celebrate in a ridiculous and exaggerated way. My personal favorite way to do so is to hum a few bars of Pomp and Circumstance or the Rocky theme song, while in ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=38 My imagined future generally used to involve scenarios of lateness, inflexible meter maids, and dry boiled kettles. I had no idea that I was living with those images born of anxiety on my back, but they were ruling my present moment, every day, for oh about the first thirty ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=26 As we know, music gets into every crevice, can conjure a musty memory or feeling, or blow out the cobwebs of a disorienting nap.  So why don't we tap in more often? Here's a simple 30 minute means of rebalancing this season, to resume enjoyment when the vultures of doom begin ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=19 Good Bonfire is a reference to the book Zen Mind Beginner's Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki. To paraphrase it for now, the message is Whatever you do, burn yourself up completely in it, like a good bonfire. In other words, leave no trace. In other words, don't leave ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=13 There are moments when you walk into a room and the air is unlike the rooms you've just come from.  When you shake someone's hand and walk away thinking about the conversation you had, or the simple quality of the exchange.  'Thinking about' is the wrong term here.  Sensing is ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=8 to you from Hannah Burr In a recent session, a client of mine described sitting down and creating something she'd thought about doing for years.  It had seemed daunting and complicated.  It took her ten minutes.  It was a true outward success, and deeply satisfying.  When we looked into it, a ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=1 It's New Year's Eve!  The last of the decade, never to be repeated.  I will spare you my own, 'Hannah's year-in-review.'  However, it was a wonderful way to while away the snowy morning - scrawling it down, luxuriating in the recollections of my own life after a banner holiday season ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=34 At the Holidays, whatever is happening, it's also shifting.  The best way to use this guide is to scan and read whichever item feels most relevant, and spend five minutes with it when you're feeling in a fog, tangle, or in overdrive. 1.  Routine is grounding. Flossing, if that's your thing, ... http://www.goodbonfire.com/?p=31