This is a guest post by Louise Armstrong. Read more about Louise here.
With an eye to the future the only thing we can be sure of is change. We are living in a world of flux and often, without us even realising, this alters the way we lead our lives.
I’m excited about the opportunities that lie ahead, but at times it feels like everything I once knew and expected, and the assumptions I had about how my life would play out, are gradually being erased.
Lately I have been reading a fascinating book called ‘Open’ by David Price OBE (interviewed recently on the DWYL blog here). It’s all about ‘how we will live, work and learn in the future’ and looks at how the world is changing faster than governments and big corporations are prepared for or want to believe. It shows how the middle man is being removed from so many traditional equations, and how people power has come alive since the advent of Twitter and other platforms which allow instant global communication, often for free so accessible to nearly everyone.
Some of it is scary – just contemplating the rate of change of technology in the past few years and what that means for our children literally makes your mind boggle – but most of it is inspiring and full of hope. ‘Open’ tells the story of a future which is anybody’s and everybody’s; a future where we openly share our gifts, knowledge and expertise for the greater good, and receive so much more in return. It demonstrates how this is already happening with so many huge educational institutes like the Open University, many Ivy League colleges and huge online learning sites such as Coursera, but also how we have just scratched the surface of where things are going in the future.
This is a guest post by Ben Keene. You can find out more about Ben here.
My first experience of a ‘school for life’ was as a volunteer gap year student in 1999 at Glengarry — a spectacular outdoor campus set in the sumptuous Kangaroo Valley, Australia. Yes, there were a lot of kangaroos.
Since then I’ve followed and been involved with a number of innovative education projects. It is interesting how strong the sense of ‘mission’ the leaders of such projects are. I admire them hugely. So, here are my ten favourite ‘schools for life’.
Last week I had the pleasure of interviewing the lovely Jessica Swift for one of our upcoming design courses, and among the many fascinating things she talked about, one thing really stuck with me. I asked her where her paintings and designs – particularly those that feature words – come from, and she said “Actually, they tend to reflect things that I need to hear at that time. And because they come from a very true place, they seem to connect strongly with other people who also need to hear those things.”
This made me think a lot about the things we share, do, guide and teach here at Do What You Love. Our upcoming flagship course ‘Do What You Love’ is based on many years of pushing boundaries, taking risks, challenging norms and creating a mindset of possibility, combined with making conscious choices and taking action. That really comes from a place of experience, having made lots of mistakes and unexpected turns along the way. But even with something which is at the very heart of who I am, what I believe and how I live my life, every single time we run the course, something in it reminds me of something I need to hear at that very moment.
Today we’re excited to bring you a Q&A with one of Do What You Love’s new guest bloggers, Lara Tabatznik. Lara is the Founder of 42 Acres, a modern rustic retreat centre, set deep in the hills of Somerset, England. 42 Acres opens in April this year and Lara will curate retreats which focus on healing and transformation. Her unique approach to self-development combines inner and outer work and she hopes it will become a model for social change.
A new year brings a sense of new beginnings, of possibility, of the chance to start afresh. So what kind of a year will you make it this year?
What if 2015 was the year that you became a happier version of yourself? What would that look like, and what would be different? What would have to change to become that version of yourself?
In our community of tens of thousands of people spread across the world, this is a question that has been asked many, many times. Often the answer lies in a few small but important decisions.
If there is one thing nearly all of us could do with more of, it is confidence. Science tells us that few are born confident, so that means confident people have learnt to be confident. Which means you can too. It just takes effort, practice, and more practice.
Here are some tips:
‘New year, new you’ must be the most over-used phrase in the world of magazine headlines, but there is a very good reason for that. The beginning of a new year can be a watershed. ‘Next year’ becomes ‘this year’. The time is now. If you had a bad year, that is now in the past. If you had a great year, you can step it up a level and make this one even better.
A new year is like a gift. It’s a chance to start again, and to tell yourself you have the power to decide how this year pans out. What will you do? Where will you go? Who will you spend time with? Who will you avoid? How will you behave differently so things work out differently? What different choices will you make? What will you tell yourself about what could be possible for you? And what steps will you take to make that happen?
Today we are delighted to bring you an interview with yoga teacher and spiritual bathing practitioner, Jan Scott.
I was blessed to meet Jan at one of her idyllic retreats in southwest France. It was perfect. I spent the week savouring local food and wine, shopping at flea markets and brocantes, cycling around sunflower fields and beautiful countryside, doing art, making new friends, expanding my yoga practice, rediscovering my senses and reconnecting with my soul. However one thing I’ll never forget was the spiritual bath I had. I booked this experience with Jan because it sounded intriguing and I was keen to cleanse my body, mind and soul. I had no idea what to expect and I was incredibly touched by the time, thought, energy, love and intention that Jan put into every part of the process. My healing treatment was extraordinary – magical, spiritual, and completely transformative. If you ever get the chance to have one yourself, I can highly recommend it. – Rachel
Do you have a secret dream to write a book? Or publish a blog? Or pitch to write for a magazine? Or do you simply want to get into regular writing in your journal, or create poetry, for fun? Then join our FREE Winter Writing Workshop with seven days of prompts and inspiration to help you to discover your inner writer!
Here in England the time between Christmas and New Year is often quiet, after the hustle and bustle of preparations and the chaos of the festivities. It is also cold and dark, so we thought this would be the perfect time to get cosy next to a roaring fire, journal in hand, to write. We invite you to join us, whether you are a seasoned writer or just starting out. (And if you live somewhere hot then of course you are still welcome – perhaps you will sit out in the sun writing?)
We have teamed up with Frances Booth, author of The Distraction Trap, to bring you seven days’ worth of writing exercises, so by the end of the week you will have made real progress on whatever piece of writing you choose to commit to.
Each day you will be emailed a short note from professional writer Frances, along with those daily writing prompts, writer development exercises and some special tips from well known writers. At the end of the series you will also receive a PDF of 100 writing prompts to keep you writing all year long.
The workshop runs over the New Year period, from December 29 – Jan 4 and is the perfect way to kick start your writing for 2015.
It is completely free, and is our Christmas gift to you!
See https://dev.dowhatyouloveforlife.com/www for more details and to book your place. Please tell all your friends too!
Beth and team