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favourites
This is where you can
find out about some of the things that are important in my life at the moment
and which I am willing to share with visitors to my site. doing
what makes you passionate
Predictably, I'll start with my sister site,
www.genderquake.com,
the website about my company, Genderquake Limited, and our activities. This is
important because it brings in the bread and butter to keep my creativity alive
and is a cause related consultancy focussing on issues that I am passionate about.
I hope you visit and sign up to receive our new monthly newsletter, Genderquake
Bytes. (drive to sample first newsletter ion the Genderquake site and then say
to receive this newsletter you need to be registered with genderquake.com)
Next there's
www.hagsharlotsheroines.com, the story telling site about pioneering
women from history - or should I say 'herstory', which I co-founded with my sister,
Laura and a friend, Becky. If you visit this site, you can enjoy a host of inspiring
writing and tales about hags, harlots and heroines, as well as benefitting from
articles, features, book reviews and information about new products in our Writer's
Toolkit. You also receive a monthly newsletter about our activities, competitions
and events and you'll find a wide range of other links to other creative writing
sites, and other useful tips.
So visit www.hagsharlotsheroines.com
- register and tell your friends and colleagues about us! brain
power
Ever felt like your head might be telling you one thing and your
heart is saying another. Or that what you want to achieve is being sabotaged by
your sub-conscious or by unhelpful inner talk? Well, I have - on lots of
things - from the personal to the professional - and I have also learnt that change
- personal, professional, and cultural - even when you think you are embracing
it, is challenging and difficult. If any of this resonates, then I recommend
you visit www.innertalk.co.uk.
Using patented technology to access and embed new ideas, and intentions in your
sub-conscious, their CDs will enable you to tackle the habits of the mind which
hold you back from realising your potential. Whether it's writing creatively,
manifesting your vision, or anything else you care to think of, their website
can cater to your every need - there is even a CD which promises to wire your
sub-conscious to reach enlightenment. I jest not! I have used some of their
CDs (oh bliss is me!) - and we review the creative writing CD on
www.hagsharlotsheroines.com. I definitely
think they are worth a try. Now you have no excuse for not doing what Mahatma
Gandhi talked about all those years ago - Be the change you want to be. Inner
Talk will certainly give you a helping hand. be
magnetic
Apart from New Age CDs, I have also become interested in magnetic
wellness technology and products and have tried and tested out some of these.
If you want to find out more about magnetic technology, please visit,
www.Nikken.co.uk, and find out a bit about
their product range. Then please contact me to discuss their products further,
as I am a Nikken distributor and can tell you more about their products, and philosophy.
live life in the present moment
In the last few years, I have started to meditate regularly and become interested
in Buddhism. Actually this interest goes back to 1997 when I was living in the
States and tried to meditate, and read a few books about Buddhism there. But it
only really moved into focus for me, after a visit to the London Buddhist Centre
on one of my Artists Dates, encouraged by the Artists Way At Work in Spring 2003
(Hopefully you are now getting a picture of how my ideas and experiences synchronistically
feed off one another!).
I now regularly visit, and take part in the courses,
events, and retreats held at the London Buddhist Centre,
www.lbc.org.uk and
the experience and the friends and people I have met has really enriched my life
for the better.
The LBC is a friendly hospitable place to learn meditation.
They also run an excellent range of courses including a de-stress workshop on
Saturday mornings beginning in 2005, which I am a volunteer for, and in 2004 began
to hold some inaugural courses on Meditation for Depression (which have been sell
outs) and in 2005 will be continuing these alongside a pioneering Meditation and
Addiction course.
Find out more by visiting, www.lbc.org.uk.
Close to the LBC, there is also a small entrepreneurial cluster of Buddhist right
livelihood businesses, which are genuine social enterprises including, the Wild
Cherry café, Evolution gift shop and also Friends Organic, many of which
were founded in the 1970s before the word social enterprise had even been born
or claimed by the think tank gurus - a classic case of practice feeding policy.
The LBC is a stone's throw from where I live in the East End on the infamous
Roman Road, but it's also close to Bethnal Green tube, and the Central Line so
there's no excuse wherever you are in London. The LBC is part of the Friends of
the Western Buddist Order, www.FWBO.org.uk
which has bases in lots of other cities and towns in Britain. It is just one branch
of Buddhism to explore - there are many more. the
mind body connection
It's taken me a long time to learn this one,
but another crucial aspect of work-life balance, and living creatively is ensuring
that the mind-body connection is nurtured. In 2004, I have become interested in
a wide range of challenging physical activities including long distance open water
swimming. In April 2004, I could not even swim two lengths of crawl in a 33 metre
pool, and can now at the year's end swim for 6km in one stretch. (albeit at a
snail's pace!).
I went on my first open water swimming holiday in September
2004, swimming day by day between a small cluster of islands off the coast of
Croatia. It's a great way to get fit and a novel activity holiday, and if you're
a singleton like me a great way of enjoying company in a relaxed informal way.
The company which runs these holidays claims to be the only swimming adventure
holiday in Europe. You definitely feel that you're in safe hands. On my trip,
we were accompanied by two swimming guides, one of whom had swum the English Channel,
and the other was an ex Marine!. Visit their website, www.swimtrek.com.
The sequel to The Art of Swimming is The Art of Running. In October 2004,
I decided my next challenge would be to start some long distance runs, with a
plan to run the marathon in New York in Autumn of next year for the charity, Mind,
www.mind.org.uk.
So watch this space! Mind is the mental health advocacy charity, and is
in 2005 going to be my charity of choice, as I plan to add running to my health
portfolio, and start running long distance. When one in four people suffer depression
at some point in their lives, and when many of us know someone who has, Mind is
an excellent charity to support. For me, there is also a personal motivation -
I have suffered depression and I firmly believe that the medication culture we
have is not tackling the root causes. For me, exercise is a crucial element of
my mental as well as physical health, and somehow naming 2005 as my year of running
feels right. keeping in touch with your inner
child
In my experience a crucial part of keeping creative, and the
ideas flowing is to have a playful attitude to life. One way of nurturing your
inner child is keeping the connection going with children. This does not just
mean being a parent, but it means keeping in touch with the way in which children's
lives are changing and what appeals to them. My nephews Morgan and Cameron keep
me on my toes but I connect in other ways.
My other favourite charity, and
one with which I have a long standing relationship is 4Children, www.4Childen.org.uk,
formerly Kids Clubs Network. 4Children has been my charity of choice since 1999
when I joined its Board as a trustee. I was an executive member of the Board and
its membership secretary for 4 years until I resigned in Spring 2003 to provide
strategy consultancy, and interim management to the organisation. I worked as
a change management and organisational consultant to 4Children, between Spring
2003-Spring 2004 working internally and preparing the organisation for its name
change, and positioning it to maximise the service and policy opportunities opening
up in the wake of the push towards integrated children's services.
4Children
continues to be one of my personal favourites, because it is a charity that punches
well above its weight and continues to be dynamic, fast moving and entrepreneurial.
It also has a great team of people and I hope to continue my connection with it
in the future. Genderquake Limited is a member of the charity, and if you like
what it stands for you too can join up so visit www.4Children.org.uk
and check it out.
I am sure my favourites will change as my interests adapt
and change. But this should give you some fruitful avenues to explore. And I hope
you have enjoyed visiting this site and will visit my other sister sites:
www.genderquake.com
www.hagsharlotsheroines.com Enjoy!
Best Wishes, | 
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