What’s the easiest way to stimulate a conversation?

Ask a provocative question!

Over the next few days, I am posing questions to our Motivational Magic Facebook Group to encourage communication and inspire conversation.  So far we’ve discussed our favourite swear word and whether you believe sex before marriage is appropriate and if so what age is ok to start having sex.  It’s like having a magical discussion of the dinner table with people who really think about things.

The sex topic is a really good one to ask about as there are a lot of different directions to explore.  My intention is to find something equally stimulating about Religion and maybe about Politics, although I know almost nothing about politics!

I really enJOY asking those types of questions which challenge people and maybe even push their buttons!

… realising that you have learned a LOT over the years because when a crisis hits you manage it better

… rediscovering a passion and finding it even easier to indulge

… becoming clear about what works, in your life, and what doesn’t

… having the courage to move on from those things which don’t serve you well, any longer

… noticing that you have ‘become wise’.

Lovely Kate visited, last week, and we had a stampin’ session.  It was the first time Kate had stamped and she was really excited!  I loved spending time doing something I really enJOY, with someone new to the process ~ it’s like being excited by that first card, all over again!  Kels was home, too, so we had a girls’ morning of being creative and indulging in decadent muffins & cakes.

What a JOY!

All Stampin’ Up! product used.

… down time!

Pyjama Day with Movies.

All day on the couch.

What a Gift!

Today is the culmination of a week exploring past lives … my workshop!  And, just 2 more weeks of the school term left so only two more weeks to get part 1 of my book edited (that was the goal I set after Easter).

I am ABSOLUTLEY loving the journey!

I began researching past lives out of a desire to understand, and gather, the Pieces of Me.  Just in the last couple of weeks I’ve found lots of new ‘pieces’ and I am looking forward to working out how they fit into the jigsaw of ‘Michelle’.

I also enJOY sharing the journey with others, as they find their own past life selves.

We begin as single entities.  We explore memories and experiences.  We notice the supposedly random thoughts which cross our minds as we are exploring.  We make notes – lots of them!  Then we gather and collate our scribblings … we notice patterns and themes.  We discover a keyhole or a window into another world, another time.

We may just find ourselves, again, and realise that we are one Soul but many, many bodies.

What is the connection (of the most interesting past life person I’ve met this month) to my life today? Thank you, Lovely Beverly, for this fabulous question, a continuation of the question from a day or so ago.

I discovered “Beatrice Margaret” through the editing of my book.  My intention has been to work on part 1 of the book I began writing in November 2010 and get the story clear, edited and the past lives I’ve experienced added in for clarification.  When I was writing the book, initially, I found it a challenge to write my story and access my past lives at the same time.  So, I got on with writing and left the past lives until another session.

Over the last couple of months, I have been rereading the story and have found that everyso often a word or phrase kind of jumps out at me.  It’s like seeing those words suddenly ‘glow’ or increase in size or awareness.  That’s my cue for adding in a past life experience.

I was writing about feeling like I “wasn’t being heard”, when I was young, and as I read that line, my mental image was of a child covering her ears … and we were off!  I explored where that image had come from, found several lives (a bit like flicking through a picture book) and chose the one which resonated with me most strongly.

It says a lot about “Beatrice’s” personality that I have found out so much about her.  She has a strength and tenacity that I haven’t ‘felt’ as strongly in other lives that I’ve explored and she tends to ‘appear’ in my awareness often and at random times.

My sense is that she is here for a couple of reasons: firstly, because she ‘wants to be noticed (heard!!)’!  I imagine she is looking through a window from her time to mine, can see what I’m doing, and realises that she can feel valued and appreciated and heard in a way that wasn’t possible in her own time.  I also sense that she is here to remind me of tenacity – to be tenacious in all I do, to not let up and to absolutely reach out for what it is I want.  I guess it’s a bit like she is my mentor.

Thank you, Beverly, for a wonderful journey with this fabulous question!  I have really enJOYed the experience!

good friends who help you stay focused and keep you accountable

good friends who ask you for your wisdom, listen to your thoughts, and appreciate your efforts

good friends who are happy to travel with you to places you are unsure about and buy you coffee along the way!

good friends who willingly tell you what it is you don’t want to hear

good friends who step forward courageously in the face of adversity

good friends who love sharing their JOY with you

good friends who make sure you ‘look your best’ before leaving the house, the car, the bathroom …

good friends who celebrate your special occasions with you

JOY Is … A Good Friend.

Who is the Most Interesting ‘Past Life’ Person you have met this month and why?

Thank you to Lovely Beverly for this question!

I’ve met a couple of delightful past life characters during the last couple of weeks but the one who stands out the most is “Beatrice Margaret”.  It seems like she just appears around me, at the oddest of moments, all the time.  Since connecting with the Ear Trumpet and discovering ‘Beatrice’ was holding it, I have learned a lot about this formidable woman.  In fact, there appears to be a direct connection with another past life self, “Mariette”, who lived around the same time but on another continent.

Both women were strong and intelligent and definitely living in the ‘wrong’ century!  I think that it was a little easier, in some ways, for ‘Beatrice’ because she was a ‘difficult’ woman.  Her hearing challenges meant that she missed a lot of nuances of conversation and was ‘uneducated’ in a lot of the courtesies of the times because her hearing was damaged as a child.  I know her nieces and nephews kept their distance as much as possible because of Beatrice’s inconsistent, and often volatile, behaviour.  But, as I have been ‘hanging out’ with Beatrice quite a bit I realise that she is really a diamond in the rough.  She spoke her truth, as she saw it, and ‘being mindful’ of other people’s perceptions was pretty much beyond her awareness (or interest).  So, even though my first description of her was “a bitter spinster”, I have actually developed quite a fondness for Beatrice. 

Having explored the ‘I can’t hear you’ issue and met “Beatrice Margaret” I then ‘looked’ into her life to see what else I could discover.  The image which crossed my awareness was of lace, or what appeared to be lace, and a crochet-hook.  Upon discussion with Lovely Lee, we found an image which was just like the one I ‘saw’ and was an example of “tatting”.

One more point to explore: the crochet hook.  I was excited to find an article which had been reproduced from a Ladies Journal in the mid-1800s of a style of tatting which used a crochet hook.  YAY!

So, ‘Beatrice Margaret’ has been a great source of knowledge and education, so far.  I am looking forward to getting to know her MUCH better.

I think she has been the most interesting past life character because she is really ‘present’ in my awareness.  It’s like she is reaching out from ‘her’ world to connect with me in my world.  I have been able to look below the surface and find a strong, intelligent woman of many skills who survived in a very unforgiving world.  It kind of makes me think that maybe I am stronger than I realise and also that all challenges can be met, and overcome.

Thank You, Beatrice!

Thank You, Beverly!

My day began like this.

And, this.

I walked with David.

I went back to bed.

I watched a favourite TV program with Kels.

I slept some more.

I changed all the plans for the day to Doing Nothing.

My room is filled with Jonquils ~ I LOVE Jonquils!

I’ve had presents ~ I’m wearing my NEW Toe Socks from Josh and listening to The Voice: The Final 24.

Takeaway Thai is en route to our house.

Flowers, chocolate, music, family, sleep … the perfect recipe for a wonderful birthday.

Thank You.

I think the Art of Asking Questions may be dying.

I say this because it seems to me that I am the last of the Interested Conversationalists.

This week, I have had numerous interactions with a variety of people and very few of them Ask ME about ‘me’.  I love getting to know the person I’m chatting with, especially if it’s someone new.  I love finding out about their passions and their plans and about their lives.

I met a wonderful woman, last weekend, who was passionate about Tupperware.  After her demonstration and placing my order, I had a chance to ask her about her journey with Tupperware and about why she is so passionate about it.  Interestingly, she had a Trainee Demonstrator with her, and at the end of our conversation the Trainee said that she felt even better about ‘signing up’ with Tupperware after hearing her Manager’s comments.

If I hadn’t asked, she wouldn’t have been inspired.

The week progressed from there with lots of interesting people happily sharing their news, happenings, passions, problems … but there was very little ‘asking’ in return.

Why?

I want to be asked about my passions.  I want to be asked about my goals.  I want to be asked, “how is the past life journey going, Michelle?” and “are you meeting your goals with your book editing?”

I want to be asked about WHY I’m passionate about Past Lives rather than just being asked “what’s my past life?”

I want to be asked interesting, thought-provoking, conversation-stimulating questions like “do you want to be cremated or buried?” and “what would it take for you to ….” and “how do you feel about …”

The art of conversation seems to be dying.   Aren’t you interested in what I have to share or what I feel or what might have been happening in my world, today?

Ask Me.