The Great Lie About Desiring Perfection and How It Holds Us Back

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It’s “Connect with Others” Week The second week of each month this year will focus on “Connect with Others.” Let me start by telling you a true story. The last month has been, for me, a time of introspection and tough questions. What am I really trying to accomplish here at Heartspoken? Does it really [...]

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Goodbye to Baby Jesus

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As a life-long Episcopalian, I recognize today, January 6, as The Feast of Epiphany, the end of the twelve days of Christmas and  a celebration of the revelation of God to mankind in human form, in the person of Jesus Christ. It coincides with the Jewish Feast of Lights and shares some of its symbolism. [...]

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3 Words To Frame My Year (2012)

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The first week of every month during 2012 will feature a post about Connecting with Self. This first week of the first month of the year is the perfect time to be more introspective than usual. I am not at all inclined to introspection, but as I grow older, I am realizing how important it [...]

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Struggling with your life’s purpose? Read this book.

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BOOK REVIEW Finding Your Way in a Wild New World: Reclaiming Your True Nature  by Martha Beck New Release December 27, 2011 “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” is a truth that will manifest itself over and over as this exciting new book is read and shared and read again.  The number [...]

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Don’t Make These Gift-Giving Mistakes!

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GIFTS THAT CONNECT Series: This is the first in a series of posts that will turn your gift-giving into a joy-filled connection experience. ______________________________ Gift myths busted in recent research… “Five studies show that gift recipients are more appreciative of gifts they explicitly request than those they do not.” This is the startling conclusion reported [...]

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Beware the Digital Grinch!

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Note: This article was originally written for my Facebook Group, “Revive the art of personal note-writing!” Steve Leveen is doing his best to keep the flame of personal note writing alive in his article from The Huffington Post: “The Digital Grinch has Stolen our Christmas Cards.” Steve is one of my favorite writers. He blogs at [...]

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Farewell to My Insecurity…

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Heartspoken’s Connection Messenger, Cyndi Briggs, has done it again. Her post on The Sophia Project this morning entitled “I Write a Farewell Letter to My Insecurity” is a powerful manifesto to anyone who has allowed low self-esteem, their inner critic, insecurity, and judgment to paralyze them or deprive them of their full potential. She writes [...]

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Thanksgiving and the Ultimate Prize

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I have two short connection messages today. Here in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, and my heart is full as I count my blessings. My husband and I will step on an airplane in the morning to visit our son and his wife in Texas. I haven’t seen them since last Thanksgiving! [...]

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Art as Connection

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I am inspired this morning by my friend and artist Kelly Walker’s blog post entitled “Art Matters.” Kelly is a “working artist.” She works to hone her innate talent. She works at her shop, Delilah’s Gallery, to offer beautiful pieces for sale. She works to share her love and appreciation for painting and art of all [...]

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Journeys That Connect: A Book Review

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Book Review of Lisa Mikitarian’s Her Safari: Snapshots Along the Way What makes good fiction? The answer, of course, is completely subjective, but the fiction I most enjoy includes one or more of the following criteria: It entertains, thrills, or fascinates. It offers unusual vividness of language or imagery. It reflects noteworthy insight into human [...]

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From Papyrus to Paper…a Journey Through History

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Part of the joy of writing personal notes is the enticing array of beautiful handmade papers available from artists and stationers. In my writing, I’ve explored connection from lots of angles, but a recent online acquaintance has helped me connect with the earliest history of paper. I “met” John Gaudet on Google+. I happened to [...]

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Music Connects Us All

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Today I was happily  reminded that some things have the power to connect us across boundaries of culture, race, age, and geographical distance. The famous ”Hallelujah Chorus” from  Messiah, by George Frideric Handel , has been performed thousands of times. The English-language oratorio was composed in 1741 and first performed in Dublin in 1742, with a premiere in [...]

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Consider This: Connecting With Our Best Self One Radio Show At A Time

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Introducing Connection Messenger Annette Petrick, writer and narrator of the popular radio show Consider This.  Don’t you just love people who embrace life and live it to its fullest, regardless of their age or their circumstances? With few exceptions, these folks have a positive attitude, an appreciation for the good things around them, and a [...]

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Four Very Cool Note Writing Connection Tips

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NOTE: This article has been adapted from one that originally appeared on my Facebook Group page: “Revive the Art of Personal Note Writing!” Happy October to each of you! I have four unrelated—and very cool—tidbits to inspire you to write more personal notes and improve your personal note writing skills: Receiving a personal notes touches [...]

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Joyful Giving: Connecting With God’s Purposes

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This was one of a series of articles I wrote for the parish newsletter of my Episcopal church in Shenandoah County, VA, as part of our annual “Joyful Giving” campaign. Our leadership group is called the Vestry, and the regional organization of the church to which we belong is called The Diocese. I share it [...]

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September’s Gold in the Shenandoah Valley

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Guest post by Julie Burner Gochenour, published originally in the August/September 1998 issue of Shenandoah Seasons: A Country Kitchen Journal (out of print).  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * There’s goldenrod on my morning walks now, along with the Queen Anne’s lace and sky blue chicory that’s peppered the road banks all summer, [...]

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Jason Wright is singing my song…in perfect harmony!

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http://youtu.be/e2ad-fJK1Ik

Introducing Connection Messenger, Jason F. Wright How cool is it to be Facebook friends with New York Times bestselling author Jason Wright…cooler yet that he lives right down the road (by country standards) and is an active part of our community here in Shenandoah County!  Jason is a quintessential Connection Messenger. He believes in the [...]

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Introducing the “Our Wisdom Spoken” Project

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If you could pass on your most treasured or meaningful wisdom or advice to someone you love, what would it be?  About the Project How often have you learned things (often the hard way) that you wish you could teach others? Or perhaps you’ve had an experience that resulted in a life-changing insight. Maybe you’ve just [...]

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Sympathy Notes Pep Talk

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NOTE: A shorter version of this article originally appeared on my Facebook Group page: “Revive the Art of Personal Note Writing!”  Next to Thank You Notes, Sympathy Notes are perhaps the ones we are called on to write the most often, yet for most of us, they are the hardest to do. What do you [...]

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Lest We Forget…

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Can it really be ten years since the terrible attacks on American soil that took place on September 11, 2001? We all remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we first heard about it, and that whole day was surreal. For thousands, the nightmare has not ended because of everything from [...]

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