Phenomenal!

I guess I would call myself a hoarder of books. When I discover an author I like, I buy all his or her books and keep them for reading when I finish whatever it is I‘m reading. But I have also grown old. Many times I forget about the book. When the time comes for me to clean my shelves suddenly I see the books and decide to read them finally.

That’s the story I have with Sarah Ban Breathnach. First I liked her Simple Abundance. The book was divided into twelve chapters like the 12 months of the year and each month had a theme. There was a short essay for each day of the month. So every morning when I got up reading her essay for the day was part of my ritual.

After my stroke my daughter gave me a workbook titled the Illustrated Self-Discovery Journal, also by Sarah Ban Breathnach. That’s where I learned to do collages. You just clip pictures and text that attract you from old magazines and paste them up. Then you look at them and study them and they will tell you things about yourself you did not know about. You don’t have to do the workbook all at one time. I have done mine over a period of at least ten years. There I see my development. I seemed to always be drawn to jewelry and now I actually make good-looking jewelry.

Eons ago I also bought another book by Sarah Ban Breathnach titled Something More. I began reading it but then I had a stroke. Couldn’t read much after that. But I discovered Stem Enhance after six years of not reading and it worked after a year. I could read again. Last year I discovered once more that I had the book Something More and what I thought was an accompanying workbook called The Simple Abundance Companion. It’s a workbook that teaches you how to live well, accept your life and your circumstances, love yourself more and find joy in the everyday things that life brings you whether you live alone or with others, are married, widowed or annulled.

I have found much joy in this workbook too. Since I started reading it many things have happened to me that results in my going out of my house more frequently for exercise and to teach writing at The Sunshine Place.

I love discovering The Sunshine Place. It is perfect for a woman of my age (72) who lives alone and looks for things to do. There I can do Zumba, Yoga and an exercise called chair dancing. There I teach writing. And I am also moved to think of other seminars that I can give. I was thinking of an advanced writing class for my writing students but when we circulated something on it, no one responded. One morning I had an inspiration. Why don’t I give a class that will make people look inside themselves more, love themselves more and find more happiness? That started the wheels rolling Now I have a new seminar called Phenomenal!

Phenomenal! hopes to bring out the best in you through collage and writing. It promises to be a fun class that will help you realize your goals, dreams and ambitions. Take me, for example. These days I take voice lessons because I want to become a lounge singer at age 74. Is that going to happen? I don’t know. I could drop dead before then but at least I have a dream and I’m working towards achieving it. This is also the reason why I’m exercising. A lounge singer needs to be a wee bit sexy, doesn’t she? Yes, of course, even at age 74. Why not?

Phenomenal! has 10 sessions though you don’t have to take the whole course if you find it too expensive. Students can choose anywhere from five to 10 classes that they think they want for their personal development . The classes will be held every Thursday from 2-4 p.m. beginning on July 28. There will be a short lecture for every class. The topics will be Phenomenal You, Catch that Dream, Gratitude, Romancing Your Soul, Finding Courage, Where You Belong, Constant Changes, Revisiting Play, Letting Go and Sacred Connections. You can pay per session – P1,000 for seniors or P1,400 for non-seniors or you can pay for the whole course in advance. The Sunshine Place accepts cash, credit cards, or check payments.

For more information, call The Sunshine Place 856-4144/856-4162, (0917) 515-5656 or email seniorhubjupiter@gmail.com.

Believe me this seminar is going to be a lot of fun. What, after all, can you expect from a constant reader, hoarder, and personal trial of all sorts of books?

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