May23
Posted on May 23 by Ruth Davis
One of my favorite tools I use with coaching clients is re-framing. I ask them to consider a thought, idea, problem, word, from a different perspective. When we get locked into a single way of looking at something, we aren’t open to what else it might be. I’ve been practicing this a lot lately, as my moving plans keep changing and shifting. The day after I sent in my deposit for my “dream house,” I found out the current tenants had decided not to move. After my initial disappointment, I accepted that it just wasn’t meant to be. I called the man with the the backup house but he hasn’t returned my calls. So I’m taking that as a no. Last weekend I saw a furnished studio listed on Craig’s List. It was completely not what I was originally looking for, but I realized that it would give me the time and space and flexibility to more easily make the transition from here to there. I contacted them but they didn’t respond to my emails and then the...
May15
Posted on May 15 by Ruth Davis
On my birthday back in March, I was thrilled to start my day with my Rhythm of Being movement classmates. Before class, I stood in the doorway of another classroom, listening to the senior men of the Phoenix Men’s Choir rehearsing. I so wanted to ask them to sing Happy Birthday to me. But they were deep in the practicing of E flats and A’s, and I didn’t want to interrupt. I told my own teacher my wish and the next thing I knew, our class was walking down to the music room and yes, those fifteen men sang to me. I stood in front of them, beaming, my eyes tearing, feeling so joyous as their strong song, their three part harmonies, their booming voices filled the room, filled my heart. I was so glad that I hadn’t keep my wish to myself. That someone else was able to make it happen for me. It was one of the best happy birthday songs I’ve ever experienced. So often we think we have to do everything for ourselves. We don’t...
Apr25
Posted on Apr 25 by Ruth Davis
I’m participating in Patti Digh’s online writing class, VERBTRIBE:MASTER CLASS. Since February 1 when the first class began, I’ve been writing every day. Not a novel or short stories. Just writing. Every day. Patti gives us prompts, and then more prompts that take us deeper. We only have two days to write and polish and post a piece. This has been the best part for me: writing and letting go of the need to edit it to perfection. Just posting it as it is in that finished moment. Lately we’ve been focusing our attention and our writing on the world within a quarter mile of where we live. As I am packing and finalizing my moving to California plans, the writing has been an opportunity for me to honor and reflect on my time here in this house. Here’s one of the pieces I wrote: Like African Daises I’ve walked this sidewalk every day for three and a half years. Not counting days off when I didn’t have the dogs. Or I put my back out. Or it was...
Apr11
Posted on Apr 11 by Ruth Davis
One of my favorite toys as a kid was the Magic Eight Ball. It was a black plastic ball that looked like an eight ball pool cue. You asked it a YES or NO question, gave it a good shake while you concentrated on the question and magically, an answer appeared in the glass window on the bottom. Sometimes the answer was Yes, Definitely. Sometimes it said My Sources Say No. Sometimes it answered Ask Again Later. Of course, I always re-asked and re-shook the ball until I got the answer I wanted. We use many kinds of oracle-like tools for guidance. We throw the I-Ching coins, pick Runes, read Tarot cards. We are looking for answers, confirmation, proof that we are on the right path. And yet, often when we get an answer, we keep asking again, just to be sure. In a recent coaching group, we were using Deborah Koff-Chapin’s Soul Cards to tap into our subconscious insights. One woman chose a card and laughed out loud. “This is just so perfect,” she said. It was an image...
Mar21
Posted on Mar 21 by Ruth Davis
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we’re powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you NOT to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightening about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~Marianne Williamson Spring is a time of birth and renewal. Things that were dormant all winter are budding and blooming and, with each day, there is more light. On the surface, this means longer, brighter days. Deeper, it can be an opportunity for our own selves to shine brighter. Does that idea scare you? Does the thought of standing in the light push you further into your own...
Mar14
Posted on Mar 14 by Ruth Davis
I absolutely LOVE teaching art classes for kids. The kids are so open. Willing. They are happy to dive into whatever we are making, often without even knowing what the final product will look like. Sometimes I show the kids samples so they can see different interpretations of the process. But not always. Because often the kids will think theirs has to look exactly like the sample. I recently taught a Changing Story book making class. I intentionally didn’t show them what the finished book would look like. Instead, we began by brainstorming nouns and verbs and adjectives. The dry erase board was filled with words like hot dogs, zebra, flowers, puppies and run, play, sweat, dance and smelly, tall, fat, purple. Together, we combined some of the words into silly sentences. Then the kids wrote their own sentences. Once the kids had their content we began on the construction of the actual book. One twelve year old girl kept asking why are we doing this step? What are the lines for? Why do I have to measure this?...
