37days

Not a self-help book, but a soul-help book.

"Damn, girl. You write good." -Lee Hancock, Dallas Morning News

My newest book, LIFE IS A VERB, is now available!

Seeing again.

One summer night, out on a flat headland, all but surrounded by the waters of the bay, the horizons were remote and distant rims on the edge of space.  Millions of stars blazed in darkness, and on the far shore a few lights burned in cottages.  Otherwise there was no reminder of human life.  My companion and I were alone with the stars:  the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright and clear, a blazing planet low on the horizon.  It occurred to me that if this were a sight that could be seen only once in a century, this little headland would be thronged with spectators.  But it can be see many scores of nights in any year, and so the lights burned in the cottages and the inhabitants probably gave not a thought to the beauty overhead; and because they could see it almost any night, perhaps they never will.  -Rachel Carson

Freedom is a verb.

Don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression.  -Gerard K. O'Neill

Global barn raising!

I am delighted that the story of the art in Life is a Verb--and some of the artwork itself--is featured on the wonderful blog, Wandering Educators, this month! Enjoy the show!

And if you're interested in submitting art for my next book in September, I'd love that! Let me know by filling out the form below:

Name:
Email Address:
Country:
You can submit art for up to four essays (to be randomly assigned to you). How many essays would you like to submit for?	One essay will keep me nice and busy! Two is a nice round number! Three will spark my artistic genius! Four essays will nearly kill me but I'd enjoy trying!

Me in five parts.

I was interviewed recently for a series of short articles that have appeared this week on "Another Step Forward." I thought you might enjoy this journey:

Part One - There’s a great quote: “A writer is someone who longs to say something.” That’s a true description of who I am.

Part Two - I said to my business partner David at one point, “David, how would you approach your art if you truly believed that your art could provide everything that you ever needed or wanted?”

Part Three - What I find most interesting in all this is that so often we expect friendship relies on language or a shared history and it doesn’t.

Part Four - I was doing what I was good at, not what I really wanted to do. It’s very, very easy to get seduced by something you do really well.

Part Five - I think our mistakes are sort of a pentimento inside of us—an echo or shadow of who we are and who we can become.

My thanks to Rick Cecil for the interview. I learned a lot from what he took from our conversation. How about holding a conversation with yourself? What would you ask? What would you answer?

Book reading and signing added in Portland, Oregon, on July 23rd!

Hi everyone! As I mentioned earlier, I'll teach in Portland in mid-July. While on the left coast, a few book events are in the works:

JULY 16 - MANZANITA
Evening - There will be a book event in Manzanita on the Oregon coast on Thursday, July 16th (details forthcoming from the host!)

JULY 23 - PORTLAND (just added!)
8-9pm Book reading and signing at Reed College in Portland, Oregon (location on campus to be determined - will be announced here, or sign up below for direct notification)

JULY 25 - BEND
5-6pm - Book reading and signing in Bend, Oregon, on Saturday, July 25th

I hope you'll mark your calendar and join me for one of those events in Oregon next month. No, THIS MONTH. Later this month (Oh, my. How on earth is it already July?)

Do you have friends or relatives in Oregon? Your high school biology teacher? I'd love it if you forwarded this announcement to them. My thanks!

Name:
Email Address:
In which event are you most interested? (you can click more than one if you'd like):	July 16 - Manzanita, Oregon July 23 - Portland, Oregon July 25 - Bend, Oregon

Let's raise another barn together!

When art started pouring in for Life is a Verb, I was knocked down by the love and generosity of all the people who contributed. Beautiful, gorgeous, meaningful art from around the world. My friend Mike Wagner said it was like watching a literary and artistic barn raising. It was magic. Here's a reminder of how that all happened. Now, my friends, it's time to create another work of art masquerading as a book.

Yesterday I signed a contract with Globe Pequot Press for another book, this one focused on how we can live more creative, artful lives--whether we consider ourselves artists or not (and whether we consider our lives a work of art, or not). Tentatively entitled Creative is a Verb, it will be out next summer. (Got good title ideas? Let me know! I thought Johnny is a Verb might be a good choice, but--oddly--I don't think the publisher will agree.)

This new book - like Life is a Verb - isn't to be illustrated only by those of you who already identify as artists, but also by kids and teachers and electricians and moms and bankers and Sufi mystics masquerading as computer technicians--and by those of us who shrink from saying "I'm a writer" or "I'm an artist." If you are alive, you are an artist. Your life? The canvas, the potter's wheel, the studio.

If you'd like to receive the "official call for art" that will be sent out in early September, let me know by filling out the form below. In the meantime, here's to making every single day a work of art (even the ones filled with travel or homework or laundry or children having fits because you have the audacity to ask them to sleep):

Name:
Email Address:
Country:
You can submit art for up to four essays (to be randomly assigned to you). How many essays would you like to submit for?	One essay will keep me nice and busy! Two is a nice round number! Three will spark my artistic genius! Four essays will nearly kill me but I'd enjoy trying!

Oregon, here I come!

Every summer I migrate to Portland for a few weeks to teach (and to escape to the Oregon coast a few times because it is INSANELY GORGEOUS. See photographic proof accompanying this post).

This year, in addition to a class on experiential learning on the campus of Reed College for a week, I'll do a book event in Manzanita on Oregon's coast on July 16th and at Camalli Book Company in Bend, Oregon, at 5pm on July 25th.

I'd love to see you there if you're in those areas. If you'd like more info as it is finalized, leave your name and email and I'll let you know!

Alternatively, if you might like to meet up in Portland sometime between July 20-25 for a cup of coffee (I hear they have coffee in Portland) or a microbrew (I hear they have those, too), let me know by using the form below!

Name:
Email Address:
In which event are you most interested? (you can click more than one if you'd like):	Manzanita, Oregon Bend, Oregon Portland, Oregon (informal meet-up, not a reading)

Holy Batphone, that was some telephony fun!

Imagine yourself in a wonderful bed and breakfast in Lincoln, Nebraska, you in one Victorian bedroom and your friend in another, hosting a call with folks on the phone about what blocks us and keeps us out of intention. (Isn't the phone a marvelous invention? Let's hear it for the phone!)

Add some exciting technological challenges, lots of beeps as people kept joining the call, emails and tweets flooding in as we talked, and folks in adjoining rooms in that B&B likely wondering what on earth we were talking about so excitedly, and you've captured a bit of what our first ever free teleseminar was like on Wednesday night!

We talked about three primary "blocks":

1) False comparisons with Others
2) False expectations of Self
3) False investment in "The Story"

Here's some of the feedback we've received:

"Patti and David understand what holds people back, their firsthand stories will sound so familiar to people who doubt themselves and their gifts. More than this, they understand what it takes to get beyond those doubts and do their own true work and make a difference in the world. Their compassion, commitment and true wisdom will give you the tools and the courage to do the same!" -Terri, Rochester NY

"This introductory class was well worth the hour of time I invested. Patti and David clearly love what they do and are excited about offering their learning to others. It is evident that they are real people who will work as guides not gurus." - Linda McLyman, Syracuse NY

"I signed up for the PLAYING WITH BLOCKS tele-seminar in June 09 thinking "let's just hear what they have to say". As a fan of Patti's book, LIFE IS A VERB: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally .. I expected it to be good. ONE HOUR on the phone with these two powerful, filled-with-good-intention "teachers", and I was convinced that I could use a 6-mo commitment to myself & to the Seminar to CLEAR MY BLOCKS - my fears of moving ahead with the life I so want to live. Thank you!" - Anonymous

This call was a brief preview of our upcoming 6-month Telecoaching Class, LIVE YOUR WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE NOW!, which will begin July 7th. Folks from around the world are joining us for that coaching journey toward a more intentional, mindful life - and we'd love to have you join us! Go here to find out more and to register!

If you'd like access to the free recording of the hour-long teleseminar, PLAYING WITH BLOCKS, complete this form and you'll receive it automatically!

Name:
Email Address:

Looking forward to talking with you tonight!

WOW! So many people from around the world signed up for our free teleseminar tonight that we had to get another phone line to accommodate the learning community that will form! That means there is plenty of room for you!

I hope you'll join us and/or send this information along to others -

PLAYING WITH BLOCKS: what keeps us out of intention?
A free one-hour teleseminar
Wednesday, June 17th, at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern

Go here to get more info and to register!

We'll be talking to you from a fantastic bed and breakfast in Lincoln, Nebraska - where will you be? Let's talk!

Go to Hastings

I wonder if you can find me in this photo, me wearing THE MINISCULE BLUE JEANS in "Burn Those Jeans"....

I'm going to Hastings, Nebraska, tomorrow to work for a few days with educators (my favorite gig!) and community members, one of whom is the girl in the pea coat in this photo with me from Freedom High School.

I love it when life is circular like that.