December Issue 2003
NEWSLETTER
December 2003 issue
Copyright © 2003 Claire Krulikowski
Written by author, Claire Krulikowski.
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Table of Contents:
-- Moving Magic: Tales of a Writer on the Lam
-- Spiritual Cinema: Asking the Questions
-- Rapture Now Available Through Barnes & Noble
-- New Feature Being Added to website: "Discussions"
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MOVING MAGIC -- Tales of a Writer on the Lam:
“Ashland, where forth art thou…”
(excerpted from a 5-part series written for a local publication in September 2003):
Imagination is a potent force. Shakespeare’s imaginative creations continue to entertain us, while Einstein deduced imagination to be more important than knowledge. Now I’m feeling my life ruled by my imaginings, and I’ve wandered where my wonderings have led. To Ashland!
Seattle radio host Brenda Michaels had turned my compass point towards Ashland months before during a pre-interview chat. Hearing me voice despair at working for companies that failed to nourish my soul, learning of my desire to live amongst “a creative community of like-minded, peaceful people” she’d said, “I can see you in Ashland in a minute.”
“Where’s Ashland?,” I asked.
Getting Here
Now I’m here, enjoying a cold beer at Stone Ground Brewing Company, and if the record-breaking September heat weren’t burning my innards to ash, it might feel like I was home in damp, cool, overcast Issaquah. Ashland’s nestled at the base of the green landscaped Siskiyou foothills as Issaquah had been nudged into the valley floor with towering Squak and Tiger Mountains as its backdrop. I-5 slices the farmlands here much as I-90 cuts through Washington.
Changing your life’s not easy. I’d said I wanted to move for a long time. I just couldn’t seem to go, and I didn’t know where to head. My house had been on the market for a year. I’d sent resumes everywhere, including Europe. No buyers, no employers. Writing jobs were disappearing. The universe seemed non-cooperate. Now though, internet-fed visions of Ashland tantalized me, and I dreamt about this cultural hamlet.
A couple days later, trapped inside my cubicle at a telecommunications job, a clump of my brain cells that hadn’t yet shriveled sparked alive and posed a question to me: “What would happen if Sisyphus simply stopped pushing that boulder?” (If you’re not prone to pondering ancient myths, perhaps the question, “Is this all there is” rings a bell?).
I could’ve shrugged off such musings or pondered it only briefly before squashing its vibrant life. Instead, I played with that question, imagined the painful, purposeless existence that former King had been sentenced to by Zeus – to push a boulder up a mountaintop throughout eternity. Each time the task seemed accomplished at the mountain’s peak, the boulder would fall from the grasp of Sisyphus and cascade down the hillside. Back at the base, he’d put his shoulder to the grindstone and commence pushing again.
I could draw parallels between his life and mine (Can’t you?). I’m a writer and published author trapped into the prescribes of corporate America and credit card debt, working “regular” jobs that burden me so heavily I’ve been feeling too weary to write.
Now though, I’d recognized that Sisyphus was only bound to his fate by his acceptance of the beliefs, the traditions, and powers-that-(seemingly)-be. What if he chose to believe differently one day? What if we all did? What if he stepped away from the rock and looked around? What might he see and feel and what new directions, adventures, and choices might he decide?
I wrote an article about the necessity of freeing ourselves from traditional beliefs that shackle us and no longer serve us. Filled with intent, I purchased a candle whose label stated it good for creating “Financial Independence,” and began meditating with it. Two days later I got laid off! While that seemed appropriate given my imaginings, finding myself now “Independent of Finances” rather than “Financially Independent,” I considered that the “Prosperity” candle might have been the better purchase.
Temp jobs relieved a nibble of my financial strain, and I felt compelled to read travel books at a fever pitch. I’d written one years before, but these authors I now enjoyed had more adventure-filled tales. They traveled with a pack on their back, visiting foreign lands and bedding down in fields, hostels, or being taken into the homes of friendly citizens.
Then, more imaginings bubbled aware as I pondered the necessity of crossing the boundaries we set for ourselves. I wrote another article proposing that it was at the hardest moments, at moments when the habits of our upbringing, our fears, the “shoulds” and the rules of others warn us not to go that we absolutely MUST. Travel, I proposed, allows us to remember our Selves and imagine new beginnings in unfamiliar circumstances.
You guessed it – My house sold! For list price!
That seemed appropriate, too. It was time for me to cross borders and unburden my life. “Ashland, here I come!” I vowed.
Departure Myths & Realizations
Myth #1: “It will be so easy to turn my back on it all.” Realization: In 10 years of owning my 5-bedroom home I’d accumulated tons of useless items plus furnishings now unnecessary. Despite my desire for it to all simply disappear, it was up to me to sell, trash, or store it. The daily physical labor of unburdening my life seemed to never end.
Myth #2: “I’ll write while on the road even while seeking empowering employment and prosperity.” Realization: Writers write, communicate, promote, and research with things. Things like computers, printers, internet/email, files and cabinets for all those files, chairs, paper, disks, paper, and more paper. Firms would require resumes and work samples. My writing required email promotion, updating my website, arranging direct sales, and setting up readings. So, in the midst of trashing and packing I ordered more stuff – a mail order $1100.00 Dell laptop (Name not changed because they're not innocent).
Myth #3: “Dell delivers.” Realization: Not!! More on that another day. However, fyi, I'm typing this on a Toshiba Satellite Pro.
Myth #4: I’d be heading out with “only a pack on my back” Realization: Who was I kidding? My chiropractor would kill me! Besides, how do I pack travel and interview attire into a backpack? And, where would I stash that new laptop? The printer? Instead, I pulled out four suitcases, stuffed them full and loaded them and camping gear into my (tiny) Toyota Echo.
Myth #5: “As soon as the escrow closes, I’m outa here!” Realization: My life is more complicated than I’d ever imagined, and if I didn’t want to be hounded by collection agencies or Homeland Security, I’d better settle my past accounts, change addresses, check the car, the bank, etc. I thought it would take 3 hours to make all the calls. Instead, it took four days of being on terminal hold and more cell phone free airtime minutes than my plan allowed me in order to accomplish everything that needed doing.
Myth #6: “Blood is thicker than water.” Realization: Friends are forever. The delays kept me from leaving town, so friends offered the comfort of bed and hearth. They never questioning my sanity. My East Coast family thought I was nuts!
So, I’m here, but what now?
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SPIRITUAL CINEMA: ASKING THE QUESTIONS
Within two weeks of moving to Ashland, I met a wonderful man, Hollywood Producer and Ashland resident Stephen Simon (Somewhere in Time; What Dreams May Come; the soon-to-be-released Indigo, among other films) who was offering a presentation entitled "The Force Is With You."
Simon is committed to giving foundational (and fund-ational) legitimacy to a genre of film-making that's existed on the fringe for far too long -- the genre of spiritual film.
What is "spiritual filmaking?"
It consists of films which, as talked about by Simon and members of the newly-formed Spiritual Cinema Community, allow viewers an opportunity to deal with three important questions: "Who am I?; What is my purpose?; What am I to do?"
As such, they can be comedic, dark(er), action-adventure, suspenseful, as well as dramatic. Their spoken dialogue doesn't need to address spiritual subjects specifically, nor can they be simply lumped into films that offer "positive and uplifting" messages. Often, they can make you quite uncomfortable; often the "spiritual" aspect isn't even recognized as such. There's just those buttons that make you start questioning (or changing) realities/concepts/beliefs/etc.
Interested in learning more? Two suggestions - First, check out Simon's website at http://www.movingmessagesmedia.com/; Second, Stephen Simon's book is entitled The Force is Within You: Mystical Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives" (Hampton Roads Publishing; 2002).
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RAPTURE Now Available Through Barnes & Noble
"...Pressed between these sheets, the poetry of such whispered moments reflect and acknowledge a sacred romance and God's greater desire for personal intimacy with each person willing 'become other than we have been hitherto...' "
---from the Introduction to Rapture
Rapture; The First Word Publishing; 2003; ISBN #0-9708590-5-8; List price $12.95.
As of today, 11/27/03, Barnes & Noble is offering Rapture at $11.65 (10% discount) and ground shipping is free on book orders totalling $25.00 or more. (SUGGESTION: The book is easier to find on their site by adding my name to your search criteria.)
Reverend Terry Hershey (author of Soul Gardening: Cultivating the Good Life, and other books)describes Rapture as: "beautiful...
sensitive...semi-heretical...and I love it."
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New Website Feature
A new "Discussion Page" feature has been added to my website (www.clairekrulikowski.com ). This will allow readers to dialogue topic issues or Q&A. Check it out soon!
Wishing you ease in sharing happiness with others...
Peace Prevails!
Claire
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