The Resurrection of the Oxford Comma

Reposted from a merry little freak out over at my writing home.

The Oxford Comma - Dead, Now Alive!

The Oxford Comma is Dead.

The Oxford Comma, best known in recent years for confusing the living hell out of college students and pleasing professional writers worldwide, died on June 29, 2011 in the pages of one of the University of Oxford's style guide."

Read my article all about the happy return of the Oxford Comma here.

Jeff Brown: Union from Disharmony.

Jeff Brown at Soulshaping.com is a profound and gorgeous writer. He wrote two pieces that moved me, made me ache, and really made me feel into whatever it is that teaches us about old relationship patterns - with ourselves and with lovers.

He articulates with great beauty, empathy, and intelligence, the masks, images, and divides that we create - and the extent that self-love and understanding can heal the split within. I also feel these essays are relevant, no matter what your sexual orientation is.

Apologies to the Divine Feminine (from a warrior in transition)

Apologies to the Sacred Masculine (the letter this warrior in transition would like to receive)



These are not mine. All copyrights belong to Jeff Brown at Soulshaping.com. I post his links out of gratitude and a desire to share their honesty and bravery.

Why am I moved to post them now? It could be the upcoming New Moon and Eclipse in Cancer, symbolising our own inner change in relation to nurturance and mothering - and the way the cosmos seem to be creating a gameplan to create change and new, daring foundations. It could be that the more I learn about my own disharmonies and inner unions, the more I become curious about ways to heal and/or celebrate them.  And the more I become curious about the ways we can heal each other, through our own self-understanding and love.

Image: Creative Commons

Inspiration

I'm sitting here listening to my friend April Claxton, CEO of The Movement Within being interviewed by Nate Klarfield  about her children's book Goodnight Just the Same (listen below). It's a project that's getting a lot of attention - and one I've very excited to have edited.

Nate Klarfield Interviews my friend April Claxton on Stonewall Live about Goodnight Just the Same

I'm truly inspired right now. I've watched April grow and change throughout the two years I've known her - and this truly speaks to me. Imagine all the ways we can learn to become present - if we allow it.

I'm on the cusp of a large self-change myself. The more I am involved in this work, the more I am starting to realize that - after all - the two worlds of education and intuition are not separate. No "worlds" are separate. They are as united in the world as we are united in ourselves. Nothing is outside of us. I talked to a close friend of mine the other evening about life change. She said "I'm doing what I'm meant to do." How many of us can say that?

Can you say that? Can I?

How deeply can you own yourself? Your sexuality? Your creativity? What makes you YOU?

I own myself today. I own all sides of me and all parts of me - the parts that have worked in corporate, the parts that have worked as a medium and astrologer, and the parts of me that haven't felt united. That's my goal - to accept and not just LOVE myself - but to get excited about what I'm here to do and my life.

That's my dare for all of us this week.

Live your truth. Make it one with yourself. It is WHO YOU ARE. Dance in it. Own it. Do what you came here to do. Period.

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News and  Changes

It's coming!!!!!!!! The August 4th Tricking the Goddess Poetry Reading at Books and Books in Fort Lauderdale is coming! It will be at 6 pm. Mark your calendars. Those who came out to the reading at Hollywood Vine really enjoyed it.

Also, the Goddess Initiative party from June 18 has - due to a space issue - been canceled.

The Radio Shows - both the one on The Movement Within Channel Weds at 6:30 and the one that was meant to start on the Happy Ganesh channel on Monday have (ironically! changes!) been quieted until further notice

But this blog will still offer fantastic astrological, writing and inspirational information. No matter what changes Happy Ganesh undergoes, you can rely on this blog and on the clear, astrological and intuitive readings that I continue to offer.

I'd also like to thank everyone who reads this blog, especially to my clients. Since Happy Ganesh opened in 2009, you've helped us grow and change - and you've held the space for me as much as I've held the space for you.

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Here are some questions to get you inspired.

1) What are you DOING to live your dream?

2) What are your blocks and fears around living your dream? Be specific.

3) What would you do if you were safe?

4) What would happen in your life if you were safe?

5) What is your ultimate goal in your life?

6) Be still and listen to your heart. What does it say?



All my love,

Marissa

CBS Spots and Two HG Radio Shows!

[caption id="attachment_179" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="The Happy Ganesh Radio Spot is UP on CBS RADIO!"][/caption]

The culmination of weeks of hard work is finally ready.

The official Happy Ganesh Radio Spot can be heard on April Claxton's CBS Radio show The Movement Within, Mondays at 6 pm.

*** To hear the CBS Spot, go to about 18 minutes, 7 seconds in.***

Amazing! A special thanks to April Claxton - who interviews Jillian Maas Backman author of Beyond the Pews on this episode. As always, Claxton is fantastic - and the interview with Mass Backman is very interesting!

Speaking of interesting, we've got TWO radio shows coming up!

1)  The Happy Ganesh Show: Starting Wednesday May 18th, The Happy Ganesh Show on blogtalkradio.com's  will air on The Movement Within channel. We'll talk about our two passions - astrology and writing/publishing! Get your astrology/intuitive and creative writing/publishing questions ready for the question portion of the show! Please keep your questions brief as time will be limited.

2) Happy Ganesh Writing and Homework Help on the Happy Ganesh BlogtalkRadio Channel: Starting June 5th, Mondays at 5 pm, join me for homework and writing help! This show will be on the Happy Ganesh Blogtalk Channel! Follow us! I'm a professional educator, writer, and editor, and I've worked in higher education for over a decade. I'll answer questions about APA and MLA style, grammar questions, and college level test prep! This show is geared to both writers and students from middle school age to the doctorate level. Need to know what a comma does? How do you start your paper? What constitutes plagiarism in a research paper? I'll answer these questions for free on air, starting Mondays, June 5th!

I am  grateful to you, the loyal clients and friends who read Happy Ganesh on a regular basis. It is because of you - your willingness to go deeper within your own nature, and your commitment to yourself through exploring writing or intuitive services - that inspires me to deepen my own faith in the universe.

Til next time,

Marissa

Writing Wednesdays (late): The Poetry Reading

[caption id="attachment_203" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tricking the Goddess "][/caption]

Tonight, I read from my soon-to-be-published poetry collection, Tricking the Goddess. I was joined by two other delightful poets, my good friend Dr. Kristin Berkey-Abbott (author of Whistling Past the Graveyard and I Stand Here Shredding Documents) and Shefali Chokski (Frontier Literature).

For those who could not make it out tonight, we'll be reading at Books and Books at the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art on August 4th at 6 pm.

 

[caption id="attachment_202" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Reading from Tricking the Goddess"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_201" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Hollywood Vine (and me)"][/caption]

There's something amazingly rewarding about reading your own work to a crowd of appreciative people.

Tricking the Goddess is on the hunt for a publisher before the August date! When it is due out, I'll post here about it. :)

Here's text from the promo flier, including some blurbs from Edmund Skellings, the Poet Laureate of Florida and Dr. Berkey-Abbott.

 

About Marissa Cohen and Tricking the Goddess



“[Cohen’s work is] powerful, both intellectually and emotionally.”

– Edmund Skellings, Poet Laureate of Florida



“The reader may feel some guilt, because Cohen's poems are so imaginative, such an enjoyable treat, even in the face of such sadness. It's a comfort to know that we have Cohen's poems as a guide to navigating the unfamiliar terrain [of loss].”

--  Kristin Berkey-Abbott, author of I Stand Here Shredding Documents and Whistling Past the Graveyard



In Tricking the Goddess, Cohen writes with dark humor and vulnerability about the aftermath of her mother’s death. In her new life, spirits unexpectedly speak and old friends help her find faith. What will it take to return from “Cancerland”? Cohen explores themes of loss, change, and empowerment in this soon-to-be-published collection.

Marissa Cohen uses her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction to explore women’s creative and spiritual experiences. In 2003, she received the Letters Honorarium from the National League of American Pen Women. She has worked for numerous publications, including the award-winning Bella Books, the Sun-Sentinel, and the Palm Beach Arts Paper. She also regularly contributes to She Magazine with her book review column “On the Shelves.” Also a professional astrologer and intuitive, Cohen is the president and founder of HappyGanesh.com, where she regularly writes about astrology and the transformative power of creative writing. She lives in Florida. For more information about Marissa, please visit www.happyganesh.com

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I'm off to dream of books.

Til next time,

M

Mars in Taurus (and CBS Radio Goodness!)

[caption id="attachment_199" align="aligncenter" width="247" caption="HG's poetry reading -- and a Mars in Taurus are on the way! (The talented Nick Moore over at Clayfootjones.com created this of Ganesh reading a book.)"][/caption]

What with the working on the upcoming poetry reading at Hollywood Vine (5/11, 7 pm) and the upcoming radio show on Blogtalkradio.com (5/18, 6:30 pm), things have been hopping. That's right -- the live Happy Ganesh Blogtalk Show will air May 18 at 6:30 pm on blogtalkradio.com! Get your questions ready! We'll be taking live, on-air questions about publishing, writing, astrology, or intuitive services. Wondering where to go from here in your book -- or in life? Give us a shout during the May 18 kickoff!

Plus, our CBS RADIO SPOT RAN TONIGHT on April Claxton's The Movement Within on over at CBS The Sky Radio. I'll be posting the commercial by itself shortly, but in the meantime, do listen to April's fantastic show. Tonight she interviewed radio personality and author of Beyond the Pews, Jillian Maas Backman.

Mars in Taurus

And we're looking at a Mars in Taurus this week. On May 11, Mars, the planet of motivation and life force moves from direct, passionate Aries into slow, steady Taurus. The things begun quickly with Mars in Aries will have time to grow and florish under the grounding influence of Taurus Taurus grounds. Taurus takes its dear sweet time to get moving - and Taurus plans every step. This is a month long transit.

People will major planets in Taurus (Taurus Sun, Taurus Rising) will feel especially motivated (but in a secure and grounded way).

Where does this hit you and how does it affect your personal chart?

Taurus: If you have Taurus in your 1st house (Taurus Sun or Taurus Rising), expect this next month's Mars in Taurus to make you more confident or get you going. A transiting Mars (Taurus) plugging into your Taurus 1st house lights you up like Times Square.

Aries:  Taurus is in your 2nd house of money and finances. This Mars in Taurus transit  brings action and movement to your second house. This is a great time to move ahead with money negotiations or to apply for a job, or do anything to increase your financial power.

Pisces: Taurus is in your 3rd house of communication. Blaze a Taurus style trail for the next month. Transiting Mars Taurus will set up shop in this part of your chart for the next month. Begone, writer's block!

Aquarius: Taurus is in your 4th house of home. The transiting Taurus Mars will bring movement - and perhaps some disagreement to your 4th house of home and family.

Capricorn:  Taurus is in your 5th house of love and creativity. Yum. Blazing a Taurus-style trail in your creative or romantic love. Relationships with artistic children may surface during this time.

Sagittarius: Taurus is in your 6th house of work. The Mars Taurus transit will blaze and move you through your career.

Scorpio: Taurus in the 7th house of partnerships and open enemies? Hot partnerships (stable ones too, thanks to Taurus) making themselves known, perhaps partnerships that can help you to be financially stable as well. However, watch out for some fighting about money with the "others" in your life.

Libra: Taurus falls in the 8th house of sex, death, and other people's money. A transiting Taurus Mars falling into your 8th house may entwine sex and death and loans with swift movement.

Virgo: Taurus in the 9th house of travel and school brings movement and new growth to educational issues.

Leo: Taurus in your 10th house of career will interact with this Mars Transit by speeding up things to do with your career path. This is a great time to get your career moving because Mars energy will link up with your 10th house.

Cancer: Taurus in your 11th house of friendship and groups will interact with this Mars Transit by producing some blazing good times with good friends.

Gemini: Taurus in your 12th house of secrets and dreams will interact with this transiting Mars in Taurus by, frankly, taking a little bit of a snooze. The 12th house always holds secrets and things held back from your subconcious, so with a transiting Mars sitting in your 12th house, it may feel like an explosion of information or learning secrets that you didn't know were lurking. The good news? You'll be able to use all that to your advantage when Mars moves into Gemini in about a month.

Remember, this is only one slice of the current astrological pie. Do you want to know how the rest of your chart works with this transit? Do you want to book an astrology or intuitive session? How about a creative consulting or editing session?

If you want to read what others have thought about a Happy Ganesh reading, see the rave reviews here.

Or have questions? Contact me. I'd love to help out.

Til next time,

M

Weekend Update: "Happy Ganesh" Coming to Blogtalk!

***This article contains Youtube videos! If you're reading this in an email, please click through to the blog to experience the videos!***

[caption id="attachment_191" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="On 5/18, Happy Ganesh Radio Comes to Blogtalk for the World's First Radio Show All About Astrology - and Writing/Publishing!"][/caption]

Starting Wednesday May 18, 2011 at 6:30 pm, Happy Ganesh comes to Blogtalk Radio! This is the first show on the web to merge the worlds of astrology AND publishing/writing. Love astrology and want to write? Already a writer and curious about astrology? Just plain love both?

Join me for a solid hour as we talk about what's happening astrologically (and intuitively), and what's happening in the publishing world! We'll take questions by email or live in the Blogtalk chat room for the astrology portion of the show! From astrology to writing and back again, join us on Wednesday, May 18th!

The HG Radio show will focus on

• weekly astrological themes


• live audience questions from the chatroom -- about either astrology, intuitive answers, or publishing. This means that I'll answer any question that you have for free.


• writing and how to create


• publishing and what's up in the publishing world


• Expect live interviews with writers and publishers -- and astrologers and intuitives!

AND --- remember that we're also sponsoring The Movement Within on CBS's The Sky Radio on 5/2 at 6 pm!!

Orson Welles Was on The Radio, Too

All this radio talk reminds me of the classic 1938 Halloween "H.G. Wells/War of the Worlds" Broadcast by Hollywood writer, director producer and genius Orson Welles, when Welles and his Mercury Theater company accidentally convinced the entire country  that we were being attacked by aliens from another planet. America didn't realize that they were listening to a radio broadcast based on a classic sci-fi novel, and Welles vastly underestimated the potential hilariousness of the situation.

Of course this would never fly today - like Orson's alien spaceships! Oh, we'll be here all week! Since this was before Youtube, major newspapers in the country reported that we were being attacked by aliens.  Yes, really. I mean, major newspapers. ( Think about that.)

[caption id="attachment_192" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="One Giant Leap for a Sci-Fi Classic, One Hilarious, Anxiety-inducing Panic Attack for America."][/caption]

In the pre-social-networking era of the 30s, Welles single-handedly had the entire country in an uproar and actually had to hold a press conference to, um, let Americas know that we were not about to be killed by an intergalactic war.

The whole point of this little historical tidbit was to promise that Happy Ganesh is not responsible for any similar confusion and will do our best to avoid accidentally creating a national incident. ;-)



However, here's Orson, accidentally making broadcasting history and inciting the country to have a massive, massive panic attack.

 

Happy weekend (and Happy Easter!) all.

- M

Writing Wednesdays: Three Common Writing Myths - and What to Do About Them

[caption id="attachment_30" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Gazing into the world of words. Where to start?"][/caption]

 

Here's three common writing myths. Call them myths or call them fears, sometimes they stop us dead in our tracks.

 

Some of my favorite writing quotes to keep us inspired during the last few days of Retrograde. Did anyone's computer blow up yet? No? Good. Let's keep creating!

Did you miss my last writing post on how to keep going when you just want to strangle your muse? No? Go here. And that's the thing about writing. As Colette said, "Writing creates more writing." In other words, the more you do, the more you want to do.

Writing is like jogging. You swear you'll run again. You really will.

But at 6 am, things are blurry and the outside world is dark and overrated.

But if you can crawl over the prone body of your dog/cat/partner/husband/wife and pull on your shoes and actually get outside in the first place, you're halfway there. 90% of starting is showing up.

Writing is the same. You swear you're a writer. You are. Really. And can I tell you about my story? It's amazing! But the world will never know it if you have it locked inside your head. Just like you'll never be a jogger if you sit on the couch day in and day out, watching Oprah. (Nothing against Oprah. She does wonders for the soul. Her book clubs are great. But no one ever lost weight watching Oprah. No one ever wrote a book watching her, either.)

Here's the thing.

If you want to write you have to

WRITE.

Period. The End.

Three Common Writer's Excuses

1) "I don't have the time. I have kids. I have a job. I have a family."

You drive your kids to softball games that take hours. You go food shopping for your family. I understand. I know, I know. It's a lot. And it's so easy to look at all those words on all those pages and just whine "But look at all of this! And I bet this writer is famous! That's why they have the time!"

Here's the thing. No one starts out famous. Most writers either have day jobs unless you're Stephen King, and even the famous ones have kids. For them, writing is a job. And one day, we'll be there. But for now, consider this.

* You're worth five minutes a day, right? Five minutes. 300 seconds. In five minutes, write whatever comes into your head. Write it anywhere. On a napkin. Inside a small notebook. Anything. This small act will help you get to know yourself. At the end of a month, you will have about 150 minutes worth of writing. Discover your soul and your mind. Write.

2) I don't know enough grammar. I was terrible in my english classes.

Worry about grammar later after your month of daily, five minute writing sessions is up. For now? Just begin. Please. Some of the most amazing writers I've known have been students I met when I taught college level prep classes. My students knew nothing about grammar but they knew how to express themselves. And that's where you begin. Expression.

3) Every writing teacher I ever had said that I should not write how I talk. That's the only way I know!

Then write like YOU write.I have news. Sometimes, teachers lie a little. Some of the best literature comes from directness. Hemmingway wrote short, direct sentences. ("The dog walked down the street.") That's it.

See above. You sit your butt in the computer chair and you don't move a muscle until you have five minutes worth of writing. Just go. Run. Just begin.

Here's some quotes to get you moving.

And if you're not a writer, these wonderful quotes apply to any creative project. We look to others to learn, to follow, to understand. To see how to move along on our own path. To learn how to let go. Here are some of the most inspiring quotes I know. Enjoy, friends.

First, let's start with the Man. Ray Bradbury is currently pushing 100. He's still a one-man powerhouse who started writing in the 50s and never stopped. Best known for Fahrenheit 451, about a totalitarian society in which books are burned (and if you're caught with one, you go to jail), he's also known for Something Wicked This Way Comes, about two childhood friends and a haunted carnival. Most of all, Ray has a ZEST and PASSION for writing that makes me want to sing, dance, and scribble long into the night. All of his below quotes are from the fabulous Zen in the Art of Writing.

The Ray Bradbury Quotes

When honest love speaks, when true admiration begins, when excitement rises, when hate curls like smoke, you need never doubt that creativity will stay with you for a lifetime - Ray Bradbury from Zen in the Art of Writing

Time is there. Love is there. Story is there.

If you are writing without zest, without love, without gusto, you are only half a writer.

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Here's some other great ones.

There is more than enough! - Unknown

Magic Happens -- Unknown

Energy rightly applied and directed can accomplish anything - Nellie Bly

Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds. Shine. - Buddha

At times, it is necessary to go over the top. How else can we get to the other side? - Kobi Yamada

I am here to live out loud. - Emile Zola

You can't lead a calvary charge if you think you look funny on a horse. - John Peers

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Happy writing. Enjoy the time connecting.

Magical Mondays: "Tricking the Goddess" in Poetry on the Vine; The Last Blog

[caption id="attachment_184" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Poetry on the Vine with "Tricking the Goddess"!"][/caption]

Because this is magical. Because women getting together to express their creativity is something to celebrate! Here's some promo posters and write-ups for Poetry on the Vine, a one-night event where I'll be reading selections from my forthcoming book Tricking the Goddess. If you're in the area, come on out!

Poetry On The Vine:   Three Uncommon Varietals

 

Kristin Berkey-Abbott            Shefali Choksi                         Marissa Cohen

Kristin Berkey-Abbott reads from her works: Whistling Past the Graveyard (pudding house – 2004) and I Stand Here Shredding Documents (Forthcoming from Finishing Line Press).

Shefali Choksi reads from her Recently published work, Frontier Literature

Marissa Cohen reads from her forthcoming collection, Tricking the Goddess.

Hollywood Vine

2035 Harrison Street

Hollywood, Florida 33020

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Also, here's a local write up.

Kristin Berkey-Abbott, Shefali Choksi, and Marissa Cohen: Dr. Kristin Berkey-Abbott reads from her latest I Stand Here Shredding Documents, Dr. Shefali Choksi shares pieces from Frontier Literature and Marissa Cohen reads from her forthcoming debut collection Tricking the Goddess. Berkey-Abbott and Choksi teach at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Cohen is the founder of HappyGanesh.com. 7 pm. Hollywood Vine, Hollywood. Call 954-922-2910 or visit www.hvine.com.

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Also, last Friday was my very last co-host gig for Bob's Blazing Tarot Blog. This was a hard decision for me to move on, but its been a wonderful year and a half that I've sat with Bob Decker for ten minutes every Friday, talking about tarot cards and astrology. He's truly one of the best hypnotherapists that I know and a wonderful reader. To learn more about Bob, click here.

All good things must come to an end. Here's our last blog.

 



Photo Credit: Quixote206

Writing Wednesdays (a day late!): How To Keep Going Once You've Begun

[caption id="attachment_152" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="You get to here (published books) by figuring out how to unblock your pen."][/caption]

We missed our Monday and Wednesday post due to some schedule conflicts (heat exhaustion... and the official creation of the CBS RADIO SPOT!) but no worries. My body temperature is back to normal. I've created a radio spot. The day was a success.

All is fine and we're back. And now on to our regularly scheduled, if somewhat late post.

How to Keep Writing Once You've Begun

You're stuck. There's no getting around it.

Your novel/essay/research paper has jelled into a ball. It was flowing and going. And now? It's stopped. Panic sets in.

Similar to Elizabeth Kubler Ross's grief stages, we've got the writing stages.

Stage One: Excitement: You wake up, your heart pounding. Every idea seems golden and will make you a mint (or give you an A).

Stage Two:  Creative Flow: You've been pounding away at your computer or scribbling away in your notebook. It's all moving at an amazing pace. Ideas are flowing from your pen.

Stage Three: The Roadblock: We all hit it. This is the part where your character or plot just winds down. You planned for Little Jane or Johnny to walk to the right. He or she goes to the left. You try a little harder for your character to do what you want. Your book (or paper) rebels. Everything digs its feet into the mud.

Here's where we come in.

How do you get out of Stage 3?

Here's a list of time honored Writing Block Breakers

1. Step away from the computer screen: Sometimes staring anxiously into the monitor just creates more panic. All those words. You're wasting time. Deadline is approaching! Go for a walk. Take twenty minutes and focus on the feeling of your body moving. Relax. Usually, once you've helped your body to relax, your mind will follow suit and you can return to your desk with a fresh perspective.


2. Stretch: Never underestimate the power of movement. Stand up, plant your bare feet and lift your hands above your head. Breathe. Repeat five times. Sit back down.


3. Believe. There is no substitute for straight-up belief. As we talked about here, no one else will take over your body and believe for you. You must believe all on your own. But, I'm here to help with inspiration (for the post on YAWP and self-belief, go here)

Still blocked? Then contact us and set up a writing consultant appointment.

 

 

Fun Fridays: CBS RADIO and "Tricking the Goddess" Poetry Book

[caption id="attachment_179" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="HG is a Proud Sponsor of The Movement Within Radio on CBS RADIO! Hear the HG Radio Spot on CBS, starting May 2"][/caption]

Happy Ganesh is now a proud sponsor of The Movement Within Radio Show on CBS Radio!

Here's what that means for us: HG is now going to have a radio spot that will be heard during The Movement Within Radio Show, starting May 2, Monday Nights at 6 pm on CBS Radio ...AND will stream live on AOL Radio, Yahoo Radio, and on actual HD radio stations in Seattle, Boston, and Detroit.

Here's what that means for YOU

• more services


• more great seminars and one-on-one classes


• the creation of a Happy Ganesh bookstore


• and much much more!

We're very excited!! And a huge congrats to our good friend April Claxton who has worked her tail off on the creation of this show. We're so proud to be a sponsor.

Tricking the Goddess Hits Shelves in May

Plus, the first of two books is coming out in May 2011! My first poetry collection, Tricking the Goddess, hits stores in May, to correspond with the CBS Radio spots! Several years ago, I lost my mother to cancer and thought my life was over. But life is never over and just when my old life ended, I found myself in the middle of an amazing fresh start, from the darkness and into the light. You'll be able to buy it on amazon.com or right here.

But What About "Creative Astrology"? Wasn't That The First Book?

It's coming. Due to some scheduling changes, it looks like the release of "Creative Astrology" will be pushed back a little bit. No worries, though. It's not going anywhere, and we're in a Retrograde, so all good things will come after that, surely. ;-)

Happy Ganesh's Radio Show

Annnnnd.....we're going to have our own radio show. We'll begin sometime in April on blogtalkradio.com and for free, you'll get a full hour of

• astrological happenings


• writing how tos


• author interviews


• author readings


• what astrology means for you, including call ins


• and much, much more!

THANK YOU!

Thank you for being with us! You're the reason we do this at all - because there are people out there who care about Happy Ganesh's twin passions - astrology and books/literature. Because you have a curious and seeking heart and because you want to learn about your world and your life through intuitive readings. Because you understand that the only way out is through and that honest expression is empowerment.

And we could never do this without you.

In gratitude,

Marissa

 

Happy weekend!

- Marissa

Writing Wednesday: The Universe and You

[caption id="attachment_23" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Spirituality is an Intensely Personal Road. "][/caption]

 

(Note: This article contains YouTube videos. If you're reading this entry in an email, please click through to the blog to see the videos!)

In honor of this week's Writing Wednesday, let's talk about the eternal divine within. I believe the sacred is in you, and learning how to connect to our deeply personal and individual spiritualities is, I believe, a lifelong and intensely personal process.

1. Do you believe in a Higher Power? If yes, does it have a name? Do you call it God? Goddess? Jesus? Luck? Chance? Fate?

2. What is your personal sacred code?

3. What does talking to a Higher Power mean to you, if you pray to one? Do you call your communication prayer? Does it have another name?

4. Describe the face of your own inner divine being. What does it look like? What is the feeling associated with it?

5. What is your favorite communication or "prayer" with the divine? Some of my favorites are "I'm lost", "Help", "F-- This!", or "Thank You."

Some book recommendations are

The Feminine Face of God by Sherry Ruth Anderson and Patricia Hopkins: Anderson and Hopkins explore women's views of spirituality, including testimony from nuns, Buddists, pagans, female rabbis, and women of all kinds, creeds, and belief systems. From the questioning stay-at-home mom to the woman leaving her relationship after fifty years, the book delves into our eternal questions: If God is me, what am I doing here? What is meaning? What applies to me?

The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie: Self-help household name Melody Beattie wrote this as a daily book of meditations to help us let go, find health, and trust our inner timing. (Melody Beattie also gave the children's book I edited rave reviews. To learn more about April Claxton's wonderful Goodnight Just the Same, click here.)

The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris: The poet Kathleen Norris went to live with Benedictine monks for two years. "Here, she compresses these years of experience into the diary of one liturgical year, offering observations on subjects ranging from celibacy to dealing with emotions," says Amazon.

Women, Food, and God: Geneen Roth was featured on Oprah for this one and it's fantastic. She connects our intimate relationship to food to our intimate spiritual relationship. Wonderful meditation on the ways that our relationship to food parallels our own abundance or perceived lack of  support from a higher power.

The ways that we feel into - or don't feel into - our individual paths can often make or break us in small ways. Here's to loving and accepting our own personal paths, whatever they look like and whatever questions they pose.

And here's a song, "Universe and You" by KT Tunstall.



For any Gray's Anatomy fans out there, here's the "very special musical episode version" that aired last week.  Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) sings to her partner Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) , now in a coma. (Who was a weepy mess? That would be me.)



Love

Marissa

"Wacky Wednesdays"...Becomes "Writing Wednesdays"

[caption id="attachment_152" align="alignleft" width="300" caption=""Wacky Wednesday" Goes Out to Pasture for "Writing Wednesdays""][/caption]

Into every blog a little transformation must fall.

I try to have a thrice-weekly theme here on Happy Ganesh. Loyal readers have probably noticed them: Manifestation Mondays, Wacky Wednesdays, and Fun Fridays.

 

Well, we're making a change to our HG blog family today. Goodbye "Wacky Wednesdays". You've served us well. Thank you, good luck and enjoy your retirement.

Hello, Writing Wednesdays, where for hump day, I'll blog about writing - the pleasures of it, quotes about it, and how to do it.

Today? Let's talk about how to get started. Just do it, as Nike famously says. In my other offline life, I have worked with students of all ages, most of them struggling with how to write research papers. (When my college students were not texting their friends under their desks while pretending to care about their education, they could be quite charming. Even when they walked into my office, slumped in their chair and looked panicked, some still managed to want to write, even through a haze of college jitters. )

Anyhow, no matter the age or school level of the student (I've worked with nine year olds to post-doc psychologists), these same three questions come up:

1. How do I get started?


2. Is this spelled right? What's a comma do?


3. How do I keep writing? Is this long enough?

The answers to those ever-popular questions are (more or less)

1) Where Do I Begin?: Begin anywhere. It doesn't matter where. Most writers don't actually work from an outline. Some do. Some begin from a rough idea of a plot. Some write entirely from a pre-planned outline and don't deviate from it one bit. Some go until they are done (see #3). Some get a great idea for the One Fantastic Scene and write towards that. It really depends on you. But in order to begin? You have to begin. Just jump in.

2) The Grammar Thing: Google is great for this. Pay attention to grammar and punctuation. Diana Hacker's grammar books are easy to follow and fantastic. Plus, I'm here. And if you ask nicely, I might be convinced to answer a question or two for free - or at least point you in the right direction. (And if you've already written that book and need help, go here.)

Commas are not exactly pauses for breath. While they may sound like that, here's what they actually do

• punctuate a list ("Mary likes apples, carrots, and grapes.")


• go in front of a transition word ("Frankly, I don't give a damn!")


• separate two independent clauses from each other ("The cat drank milk, and the dog drank water.")

Really dying to know more about commas? I know you are. I know you're gagging and dying and writhing to know. Then go here.

There's more of course, but that's enough for now. The gist of that is all to say that - if you really want to write - don't worry about grammar, at least not right (write! ha!) away. Get started. Do a draft. Worry about punctuation later. (Or if you want to learn more, check out Diana Hacker's site)

3) How do I keep writing? How long is long enough?: You keep writing by putting your butt in the chair and putting your hands on the keyboard and moving them around until you produce first letters, then words, then sentences, then entire paragraphs that help you build a story.

It really is that simple. If you do it enough, you will learn how to open up communication with yourself. It's an amazing and wonderful thing.

What's also simple is time. If you want to write, you find the time. It's that simple. If you have to set an alarm, and you write from 5 pm to 5:05 every single day for a week, at the end of seven days, you have 35 minutes worth of writing. 35 entire minutes that belong to you and your story.

For more inspiration, check out my Fiver List blog from a few months back.

Try a few of these questions to get started.

1) A woman is alone on a dirt path. She carries a suitcase. Where is she going?

2) The dog bounds up to you, friendly and wagging his tail. Where did he come from?

3) Your favorite book character shows up at your front door, unannounced, as favorite fictional book characters tend to sometimes do. Who is there? What does he or she say to you?

Happy, happy writing!

See you on Friday, when I'll have more Astro updates. <3

The Debby Connection (and Writing Prompts)

[caption id="attachment_163" align="alignleft" width="231" caption="Pencil Sketch of mom Debby, done by my father in 1976"][/caption]

 

My mother's name was Deborah. When she died of cancer in 2007, she left me some of her precious books, among them Gibran's The Prophet and a well worn copy of Creative Visualization.

Over the years, my dead mother has shown herself to me in odd ways. Every time I do a professional event for the spiritual and intuitive side of Happy Ganesh , always and without fail the first person that I meet is named Debby, usually Deborah.

Always.

(At the last event I did, I found myself talking to two young women who were both "daughters of Debby." Predictably, their mothers spelled their names Deborah. I was not surprised.)

The day I moved into my office space, her favorite song was playing on the radio.

When I questioned a rocky relationship, I opened a book to a handwritten note of mom's, scrawled on an aging yellow sticky note, which read: "It matters how we treat the people we love every day, not just on holidays."

Recently, I wasn't sure how to proceed with certain career goals. I'd been looking for - and found - mom's copy of Creative Visualization, a book published in 1978, years before The Secret and Esther Hicks's work came to fame. Since I teach visualization and manifestation, I'd been looking for that particular book, never dreaming that it survived the book purges to Goodwill. But it had. I was fearful about my career, feeling worried, wondering how I would keep my head above water. And it was in that place of fearfulness that I opened the book, looking again for answers from my mother. Another one of her sticky notes, tumbled to the floor, all the glue long since gone. When I picked it up, it read - in her backhanded, rounded print, "To thine own self be true." Amazingly, she'd drawn a small heart after the words.

When I have questions for her, things that only a mother could answer, she seems to collect herself across the gap between life and death to just show up. It's pretty amazing.

Sleepless a few nights ago, I pulled another book of hers off my shelf. God, Sex, and Women of the Bible by Shoni Labowitz, a feminist rabbi. (My mom was pretty cool, I have to say. I feel lucky to have had a mother who read stuff like this - and who shared it with me!) Sometimes I ask books what I need to know, as if their wisdom will help me find answers. I asked this particular book. I opened at random - of course - to the Deborah chapter.

Color me unsurprised.

I've been wondering about, among other things, career improvement. Crossroads. What do I do? That's what I asked. The book "answered" "Once you have discerned what you want and it feels right in your soul, then ask: What do I need to do to get what I want? Then go for it! Passion moves a woman like nothing else can."

That's her way of reaching me. She knows that books are one of my favorite escapes and it makes me happy to know that she will show up in that favorite place of mine, to give me faith.

Writing Prompts

What gives you unexpected faith?

What phenomenon answers your prayers/wishes/dreams?

Have you had experiences where you believed (or in some cases, flat out knew) that your deceased loved one had come back to help or support you?

 

(Crossposted from happyganeshwriting.blogspot.com)

Fun Fridays: YAWP and Perseverance

[caption id="attachment_152" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Each Book is a Ray of Light. Someone created it."][/caption]I got a rejection letter today - that's two this week. It happens and I've learned that the stack of published stuff outweighs the pile of unpublished. And I love what I do. And I keep going.

Why?

I keep going because I live for the sounds of words, rippling through the air like music. I love words. I love how each word is a poem is like a musical note, and the entire thing forms a symphony. I do this because books, words, novels, and stories are our history. They are proof of our humanity, our shared passions and secrets, our hopes and our ordinary days. When you write a story, even if you are the only person to see it, or if you have a readership of millions, that's your heart, your love, your baby, your truth out there in the world. And your voice, my voice, our voices, our collective voices - they matter.

I began to look for inspiration. Here is what I found.

1) Finding your creative nerve is important. In this fantastic scene from Dead Poets' Society (1989) Mr. Keating (Robin Williams) inspires shy Todd (Ethan Hawke) to find his "barbaric yawp." That's the first step to creating. You have a YAWP, yes you do. Let it out!



"I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world." - Walt Whitman

2)Don't give up. Show your moxie! Rock and roll legend Joan Jett (after she quit the Runaways) was rejected by 23 (that's 23!) record labels before getting picked up. As a reminder, Jett would be the woman who did this.



3) Believe in Magic: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling worked as a temp for eight years and wrote in between making copies and getting coffee for her boss. She was considering taking a job teaching French when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was published. She is now one of the richest women in England, if not the world.



4) Don't Give Up (It's Worth Repeating):Horror megastar Stephen King worked as a English teacher, getting paid a whopping $19,000 a year and  living in a trailer with his wife Tabitha and their first child before his first novel Carrie (1976) was published. Now? He's Stephen King. You've heard of him, right?



5) Follow the Beat of Your Own Drummer: Katherine Hepburn is now seen as an icon of style, strength and women's rights. Yet in the late 30s, she was labeled "box office poison." Then she did The Philadelphia Story and, hello fame. (First she performed on Broadway and bought the rights. Smart!)



6) Be Yourself. There Is Room In The World: Leonardo DiCaprio was told by an agent that his name was too "ethnic" and he would never be famous unless he changed it to something like "Lenny Williams." DiCaprio is now one of the largest names in Hollywood and I assume that agent is slinging hash in a diner somewhere.

Here's Lenny Williams - I mean, Leonardo DiCaprio - in Inception.



Tips and Writing Prompts

1) Keep going.

2) If you love what you do, you're already a success. - my dad (and someone else before him, I'm sure.) What do you love?

3) Keep going some more. Where do you stall? Where do you start?

4) Read about people who did what you are trying to do. You will no doubt find out the several ways that this person was rejected or told by others that he or she couldn't do it/didn't have the chops/wasn't enough. This is only true if YOU accept it.

5) If you're a writer, walk into a bookstore and see every single book in there as one success story. If you're an artist, every painting that you look at for the next week is one ray of light. Don't think about the competition, the economy, or all the "reasons" you have to stop right here and now.

6) Yawp. Loudly. When was the last time you did this?

In the 1977 film Julia, about the life of playwright Lillian Hellman (played by Jane Fonda), her lover, writer Dashiell Hammett (Jason Robards) says to her as she battles writer's block, "It's a great time to stop. No one will ever know that you existed." Ouch. Thanks, Dashiell. (Hammett may have been the hard-drinking granddaddy of hard boiled mysteries such as The Maltese Falcon, but I imagine he was not known for his breathtaking sensitivity.)

Still, what he meant was that no one will come to your door and politely ask you if you are ready to embrace your YAWP, if you are ready to live your honest life, or if you are ready to follow your dreams. YOU have to YAWP. I promise. You must do it. You must find that place inside you that believes with all of your heart that you have something worth saying - and that it is worth it for others to hear. And even if they don't want to hear, you commit to saying it. It is your truth and your choice, always.

It's your move and the world is waiting. More importantly, you are waiting. You are. You are waiting to step into your truth and your creative expression.

7) When was the last time you allowed yourself creative expression? Cooking? Singing? Painting? Acting? Writing? How did it feel? How did your body feel?

Go for it.

I wish us all the loudest and fiercest of YAWPS this weekend.

Love.

Hodgepodge

[caption id="attachment_104" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Happy Halloween!"][/caption]

First of all, a shout-out to all the people who came out to Modern Zen's Round Robin event. You may be reading this because you added your name to my mailing list that night. We had a fantastic time. Intuitive messages get the energy moving and it's a (trick or) treat to meet so many new people.

The four-Monday astrology class goes into its second evening on November 1. We'll be talking about Venus and Mars signs. Local and want to sign up? Contact Modern Zen. To see the class schedule, go here. Want a private astrology session? Contact me.

BOOKS!!

If you like reading fiction or nonfiction books about spirituality, check out our Facebook page to join the new Happy Ganesh Book Discussion Group! The HG Book Discussion Group focuses on fiction or nonfiction books about inner growth, spirituality (of ALL denominations), the creative process, spirituality/travel, intimate relationships, and being more present in life. These are topics that I love to explore.
Right now, The Cloister Walk by American poet Kathleen Norris is a new favorite. Award-winning poet Kathleen Norris lived with monks for a year and in that time, explored her own sense of creativity and the Divine. She discusses in the book her own growth as a poet in the silence and schedule of living within a religious community. She also goes into how this year-long experience helped her to see her marriage in a new light, as well as her relationship with her creative forces. Norris's other books are "Dakota: A Spiritual Geography" and "Amazing Grace".

Have you read this book too? What do you think? Thoughts welcome.

What are you favorite books on these subjects? What books have opened you to new ideas? To joy? To challenging yourself? To creative exploration?

Have a safe and happy halloween.

In friendship,

Marissa,

Happy Ganesh President

Image Credit: lobo235