For over six months I slowly read and savored Marianne Williamson’s book “The Gift of Change.” I’d underline and star passages as I went along.
The other week I went back through the book and copied down such passages in my notebook. Here’s what I have now for personal reference:
Last month my brother Luke recommended I read “Mindfulness in Plain English” by Ven. Henepola Gunaratana, a straightforward text that teaches Vipassana (Insight) Meditation. (That link goes to a PDF of the full book, by the way.)
It looked right up my alley, so I made it a focus for February, reading a chapter per day or two. To take the information in more slowly, I took notes by hand in my journal. I did this for myself, to be more intentional about the learning and to have a future reference.
Now that the notes exist, I’m sharing them below—in case anyone is looking for a refresher or is curious about this book. To see any page bigger, right click on the image and select “Open Image in New Tab.” Read more
For a few years now I’ve been sending out a holiday letter to friends and family in December. In 2015 my letter was half-paged, typed, and double-sided. The next year I made a one-page (single-sided) letter, but abandoned the keyboard and wrote it by hand with pen. Last year I made a handwritten letter again, but it ended up being four pages long!
I definitely wanted to handwrite my letter again this year, as I love the look and enjoy the process. After some mind maps and scribbles in my everything-journal near the end of November, I sat down one day in December and used post-its to try out different elements. Read more
