November 2008

Sometime last year, I wrote a goal-setting post as part of one of those annoying viral meme things.  Recently, Reg of Elemental Truths revived it, and I thought…. what the heck.   We’ll pull the idea out of storage, polish it up, and become annoyingly viral again!!  

Memes are pretty popular in the blogosphere, both because they make for good blog filler, and because they are great for networking and traffic building.

But about THIS meme…  

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Update: Chris says the offer is only good for the first 150 people; official details are available here:  DIY Themes Black Friday Sale  - judging by the Twittering going on about it, this won’t last long unless Chris has a change of heart about the limit.

Ok, no more excuses for that dull outdated blog layout you’re using.     The awesomeness that is Chris Pearson’s  "Thesis"  wordpress theme is on sale for 20% off until midnight, Black Friday.     Just go to DIYThemes and enter coupon code:   20D03977D0

  Seriously.  Just do it. 

Why?

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Yesterday, the author of the "LiteMind" blog contacted me with a  personal invite to participate in his latest collaborative project/contest. 

When I say "personal invite" I don’t mean one of those generic mass e-mails with my name  filled in by bot-script.   Nope.    Luciano Passuello (isn’t that a cool name?) went beyond the usual generic stuff, adding remarks that made it clear that not only had he actually been to my blog, but that he’d paid attention, and found a way to relate to me.

Hi Tori,

I recently found out about your blog and I like it very much! I think it has a lot to do with mine, actually (I once thought about making the logo a blue brain, too… REALLY!)

The reason I contact you is to invite you to join a new collaborative project I’ve put together….

By making his invite *actually* personal (rather than pretend personal) Luciano’s effort turned a potentially cold and impersonal blog contact into the beginnings of a relationship, and he upped the likelihood that I’d submit an entry for in his "Personal Excellence" project.

Which brings me to my own tip for personal excellence: 

Make Personal Excellence… personal

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As most of you know by now, I’m pretty excited about the possibilities of brainwave entrainment. Oh, I know it sounds a bit flaky, and yes, sure, my first exposure to it was in new age music during the 90s.

And although the core theory behind entrainment (exposure to specifically applied frequencies of sound and light can temporarily shift the state of most people’s brainwaves - and thereby temporarily affect their state of awareness - ie, awake, daydreamy, or sleepy) is pretty well accepted, a lot of the claims out there are not so… um.. accepted.

But like hypnosis, meditation, brain-games and other mind-training techniques, the loose definitions and early stages of applied research leaves it open to a lot of marketing hoopla and woo.

Here are a few of my favorites:

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Really. I’m not writing this. I mean it! I’ve declared this year’s NaNoWriMo  an epic FAIL - one worthy of full LOLCat status. But if I were writing… the title would be:

Bell, Book and Bones

Overarching Theme:  Rebirth from the bones - an archetypal initiatory concept in which the initiate is stripped to the bones, disassembled, and then rebuilt and rebirthed, a new being. 

Summary:

When  freelance writer Darcy Tillman reluctantly accepts a contract for a book  on the history of a little known pagan sect,  she has no idea that she is about to tumble through-the-looking-glass, discovering uncomfortable truths about human nature, magic,  and miracles -  as well as a sinister intent behind the book project.

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