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What Altars Can Tell You About Where You're At

7/16/2015

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by Deborah Globus
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Transition.  

A time that isn’t one thing or the other.  The in between.

 That’s where I’m at, and it’s okay.


 See, it’s been a very busy couple of weeks but you know that because you’ve been along for the ride.  The website (re)launch, then a wonderful 8 days in the Big Easy with my family and then home to plan a Bar Mitzvah – start to finish.

 (I know.  The Bar Mitzvah seems not to fit with the whole non-denominational minister thing, but it really does!)
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Anyway, it’s all been wonderful and rich and very very full.  

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The Practice of Keeping Your Eyes Open for Silver Linings

7/8/2015

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An Interview with El Edwards of Youier.com

Tell us about your practice. 

I love to smile and I find it really easy to see the best in all things (whether that be people or situations) and so now, while I often times do it without even thinking about it, if the day is feeling cranky or a bit off, I take a deep breath, remind myself that I’m the queen of silver linings, and then look for the silver lining (or the silly thing to smile about!) in whatever situation I’m in.


What’s your favorite part of this practice?
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“My name’s El Edwards and I’m here with stories and inspiration to help you smile every day while being completely and unapologetically, wholly and totally you.”

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The Practice of Nerd Holidays

5/21/2015

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by Deborah Globus
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How To Stay Focused on A Long-Term Project

12/15/2014

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by Deborah Globus
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Often I undertake projects that call for extended work –
  • a writing project that will unfold over any number of days or weeks 
  • a business planning retreat
  • a class I’m taking over a number of weeks 

There is a threat (a nerve-wracking, energy-sapping threat) of losing focus, of not being able to follow through and see it through to the end.

Sheer will power is not a strong point of mine.

I stumbled upon a solution many years ago.

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The Magic of Assessment - Bookstore Edition

5/8/2014

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by Deborah Globus
OR How to Assess Where You’re At in a Bookstore
(Without Spending  A Dime)
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I know what it’s like to have to save up to buy a book – I still have the book of Earth Prayers I waited weeks to purchase in college.  

I know the pain of putting coveted books back on the shelves.  These days I know the agony of having no more livable space for another book (at least until I cull…)

So I came up with a little trick... 
It's a sweet little practice that allows me to wander joyously through a bookstore randomly pulling books into my arms and savoring them and their potential and learning…without actually needing to spend a fortune on all that loveliness!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • An hour or two of uninterrupted time
  • A journal and writing implement
  • A place to sit with your ill-gotten gains
  • A cuppa (optional, although it will allow you to sit, guilt-free, in a chair in the café so there’s that!)


Begin with your intention of assessment.  Going in with the idea that this is your intention triggers the subconscious (and your intuition) and keeps it clear that you don’t mean to by every (or any) book you pull.

Wander.  Gather.  Pull books into your arms.  Look through ‘em first.  Or don’t.  Go to your favorite sections.  Go to new-to-you sections.  Allow yourself to be lead.

When you can’t carry any more find someplace to sit.  

Make a tidy pile of your books, spines facing you.  Open your journal and write down the titles.  

See any themes?  Commonalities?  Look back at your books – are there similarities in the colors used or maybe in the fonts?

Once you’ve explored this track, pick up the first book that calls to you.  Peruse it.  Ponder it.  Write down anything from inside it that captures your attention.  

Play along: if this book had a message for you, what would it be?

Now think about the essence of this book.  Why did you pick it?  What did you hope to get from it?  What is the secret (or not so secret) yearning behind the book?  What (if anything) is the perceived lack?  

(For example:  when I end up in the Writer’s Reference section I’m often feeling called back to my long-term writing project but fear that I don’t have the time to commit to it that it deserves so “Let me at least read a little to further my craft and my know-how…”  Then I know to ask the question “Is that really true or would I be better served to just GO and WRITE?”)

Repeat for your other books.

When you’re done, bid your books a fond farewell and thank them, heartily, for their wisdom.  Take time to review what you’ve written and keep the thoughts and learnings fresh.
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The Practice of Napping

4/14/2014

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by Deborah Globus, Milo & Sammy
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A friend on FB challenged my advice that cat naps are good for you. (Well, I think it’s less a challenge and more of a “YES, PLEASE! Make this happen!!”)  So, Lara, this one’s for you!

I live for napping. 

 I do.  

From the early days in HS when I went to bed too late and still needed to get through my shift at the local Waldbaum’s.  

To college – I could and did nap anywhere, as the puddles on the library tables will testify.  (Yes.  I drooled.)
Then there were babies – a tough time!  

Creative solutions for keeping naps going (until they were 5!) were a mandatory addition.  

  • They would nap in my bed.  
  • The littler one napped in his sister’s bed, thereby causing confusion about whether he wanted a big boy bed (no!) or a “big GIRL” bed.  
  • Then there was the “cozy corner” of blankets and stuffed animals and flowers painted on the walls.


They’ve outgrown naps, now, but I still live by them.  Sometimes I’ll catch a twenty minute nap on the couch in my home office right before the kids get home.  (It’s easier to get up when you have someone to get up for!)

Sometimes I’ll curl up next to my honey and snooze an afternoon away with the promise of late-night movie viewing together.

Sometimes, like after a night in Brooklyn with my Brooklyn Crew (my women’s circle) I need to make up for the lack of sleep and I’ll crawl under the covers for a two hour snooze. (Note: Earlier in the day is better so I don’t mess up my bed time.)  

The price I pay if I don’t nap  is irritability and everyone in the house is miserable.

And sometimes, if I’m working on something – a writing project, a work thing or most likely processing something on an emotional level – I’ll “cocoon.”  

I’ll curl up under the covers with the thing that I’m working on that’s stuck, with the intention of letting my subconscious have at it for a little while.  Most days I’ll have to turn over and take notes.  Once in a while I get nothing more than a little extra rest during a trying time.

Napping is a tool in my pack.  


There’s plenty of ways that I go about it but no matter what approach I take I know one thing for sure.    I am not, and have never been, someone for whom “powering through” works effectively.  Sure I can do it, but the payback is a bitch and if it’s a creative endeavor it always suffers.

Better to take the gentle approach.  Rest.  Sleep.  Give my body what it needs.  

I learned this the hard way – I can fight how sleepy I am or I can go with it.   Cat napping.  It’s good for THIS soul.  What about you?
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The Magic of Assessment

4/7/2014

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by Deborah Globus
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The last two weeks have been all about assessing.

I hadn’t planned it that way.  

It just kinda snuck in, took up residency and won’t be on its way until it’s run its course.  A little like the flu but less unpleasant, though just as unexpected.

I shouldn’t be surprised, though.  Assessment is the first step in many of my practices.  


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The Practice of "Sacrifice" 

3/7/2014

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by Deborah Globus
Sacrifice as a spiritual practice had always been one that confused me.  

I would think of the Temple in Jerusalem and wonder why they were wasting all that perfectly good food; God certainly didn’t need it.

It began to dawn on me that I might be taking the practice too literally.  


Sacrifice is done as a ritual act and as such, is a symbol of something else.  But what?
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Sacrifice is a letting go of something, but who wants to let go of what they love? 


In the new age circles, sacrificing what was no longer useful or what we didn’t want became the go-to thing but that isn’t how the original practice went.

What would it mean to me to give away something of value, something that meant something to me?  

I explored this idea the year I turned 29 and decided it was high time I had a coming of age ceremony.  I had been exploring my teenage years in my journal and had healed many of the hurts, while at the same time recognizing the destructive patterns I was still following that grew out of those hurts.

I had decided it was time to put my angsty teenage years aside and embrace this thing called adulthood.

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Lost in the Woods - A Photographic Journey

12/6/2013

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by Deborah Globus
This week I feel lost in the woods…
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How to Navigate that First Weekend Back From College

9/3/2013

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by Deborah Globus
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My niece is home from college for the very first time this weekend and it’s got me thinking about transitions.

I remember that first time home from Oneonta. 


I remember the intense relief of seeing my loved ones as much as the awkwardness of sensing that things had changed in my scant month away without being able to put a finger on just what those changes were. 

I remember being disappointed in the way we were together without having any idea of how to be any different.

I had a similar problem with a close friend of mine who had moved away. 

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    Author

    My name is Deborah Globus and I am La Padre.  With me you'll find the support you need to uncover practical, do-able spiritual practices that work for you.  I offer new perspectives on old practices like journaling and ritual, with a side of compassion and a healthy dose of humor, just to keep it down-to-earth and real!

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