Today I have the great pleasure of being a host of the Virtual Blog Tour of author Tina M Games whose book Journaling by the Moonlight: A Mother's Path to Self-Discovery (and its accompanying deck of 54 journaling prompt cards) is celebrating its 1st birthday on Amazon on Tuesday May 3, 2011.
Author Tina M Games is certified creativity and life purpose coach. She calls herself the "Moonlight Muse" for women who want to tap into the "full moon within" and claim their authentic self, both personally and professionally. Through her signature coaching programs, based on the phases of the moon, Tina gently guides women from darkness to light as they create an authentic vision filled with purpose, passion and creative expression.
Yesterday, Tina visited Dawn Espelage at http://lifelinesjournaling.blogspot.com/ , where she answered about how this idea took shape, astrology’s role, tapping into intuition and thoughts on living an authentic life.
Today, I'd like to share with you a recent interview I had with Tina when I got to ask her some questions on importance for kids to follow their heart, journaling importance for moms, moon in our lives and Tina’s on learning lesson. I hope you enjoy it.
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Tina M Games: Thank you, Pat, for your interest in my book, Journaling by the Moonlight: A Mother's Path to Self-Discovery and its accompanying deck of 54 journaling prompt cards.
I believe that mothers are a significant part of the "ripple effect" - that will transform the world into a more loving, more nurturing place. Imagine for a moment a "pebble thrown into a pond." It creates a ripple that goes on and on and on.
When a mother is living life with complete authenticity, she's subconsciously giving permission for her kids to do the same. She's truly at her best - creating powerful change for her family, her community, and for the world at large. It's all part of "the ripple."
It's my belief that "a happy mother makes the best mother" - and our kids really do want to see their moms happy!
Pat Montgomery: Why is it important to teach our kids to follow their hearts?
Tina M Games: Wouldn't the world be a much better place if we were all following our hearts? If we could truly live life with passion and purpose, everything would have a richer and deeper meaning. It would create a ripple of positive and loving energy that could literally heal the world.
I believe that mothers are a significant part of the "ripple effect" - that will transform the world into a more loving, more nurturing place. Imagine for a moment a "pebble thrown into a pond." It creates a ripple that goes on and on and on.
When a mother is living life with complete authenticity, she's subconsciously giving permission for her kids to do the same. She's truly at her best - creating powerful change for her family, her community, and for the world at large. It's all part of "the ripple." And if our children could live life in a way that honors who they really are, it would make the ripple even bigger because they would touch lives in a positive way, too - just by living authentically.
Because moms are natural role models, our kids are observing all the time. There's a lot of truth in the saying, "Monkey see, monkey do." In other words, when a mom is modelling the value of following her heart, her kids "get it" - much more than they would if she was just saying it. Kids feel energy. They know when a person is happy and when they're not. So why not be happy - and get the ripple going!
Pat Montgomery: Why is it important for moms to journal—aren’t their days busy enough?
Tina M Games: As a busy Mom myself, I know the value of time. But I also know the value of prioritizing. Moms are at the beginning of the "ripple effect." Each and every one of us has the power to create great change in the world. And this change is most impactful, when we begin with ourselves - looking at the mirror and honoring the person who is staring back at you. This is WHO will create great change in your life. So why not honor yourself with the gift of time?
A journal writing practice can begin with only five or ten minutes a day. One of the techniques that I use with my clients is called a "five minute writing sprint." I invite my clients to close their eyes for a few seconds and ponder a question or a quote. What immediately comes to mind when they think about this question or quote? Then I ask them to open their eyes and begin to write for five full minutes. No censoring, no corrections in spelling - just writing, whatever comes to mind. Then I ask them to go back and read it, paying close attention for little nuggets of wisdom, often hidden in rambling thoughts.
If we can take 30-45 minutes to have a pedicure, we can journal write. I do it all the time. The ladies at my local nail salon know that I will come in with my journal - and I will sit and write while getting a pedicure. They honor my time and they give me the space to "be" with my thoughts while taking care of my desire to have a nice pedicure. And I can't begin to tell you how much wisdom I gain, how many answers I receive, when I slow down and give myself the gift of time.
We all are busy and we all want to get "there" (wherever "there" is) in the fastest way possible. But true wisdom and real clarity only come in the "slowing down" and in the "listening and paying attention." If we're too busy speeding ahead to the next place in life, we're going to miss an awful lot along the way.
Pat Montgomery: You based your book and your advice on the phases of the moon—what is so important about the moon in our lives?
Tina M Games: The moon brings a very feminine energy to our lives. She tugs at our emotions, moving with the ebbs and flows, and mirrors our menstrual cycles (the lunar calendar follows a 28-day cycle just as our bodies do). In astrology, the moon represents our emotional nature. It also shows the type of relationship a woman may have with her own mother as well as the type of mother she may be herself (her style, her demeanor, her strengths, her weaknesses).
My work with the moon phases came out of my own experience of connecting with the moon during a really dark period in my life. Shortly after the birth of my first child, and after making some fairly significant life changes at the same time, I fell into depression - a place that felt so foreign to me, a place where I felt like I had fallen into a black hole with no way out. It was during this time, a period that spanned over two years that I had disconnected from everything that made me happy. Because my son suffered from chronic illnesses related to serious colds and severe ear infections, I made a very difficult choice to give up a successful career in order to care for my son full-time. I hadn't realized until this experience how much of my identity was tied into my career. Without it, I felt very lost and very unhappy.
It was during this time that I fell back on a great passion of mine - journal writing. And as a mom of a baby who did not have a normal sleep schedule, I found myself exhausted and emotional much of the time. So night after night, after I'd get my son settled and after my husband went to bed, I'd grab my journal and retreat to my favorite chair - beside a big bay window where I caught a glimpse of the moon. It was the moon that taught me the meaning of transition. I'd watch this beautiful lunar goddess, night after night, move in and out of her various phases. And before long, I began to connect her phases with my own emotional tides.
I noticed that the moon always began in darkness and gradually, she'd move into full light - and cycle back around again. And I noticed the contrast between dark and light - the darkness of the night sky against the beautiful full moon light. I started connecting to this - as if I was being divinely guided through my own transitions of dark and light. I began to notice the ebbs and flows of my emotions. There were good days and bad days.
So when I came to the point of writing my book, I wanted mothers to realize that every human transition begins in darkness and gradually moves into light, where we get a glimpse of what is possible. And then we retreat, to ponder the many ways we can manifest these possibilities into reality. This requires deep work, where we step into our own truth and into our own power - and where we can emerge in the most authentic way possible. This is what I call the Blue Moon phase - when we finally realize that we are here on this Earth to be WHO we are, to put our personal thumbprint on the world in the most truthful, most authentic, most unique way possible. Each one of us are individuals being divinely guided on our own purposeful path.
Pat Montgomery: What have you learned along the way?
Tina M Games: What really changed things for me was the discovery that my life had a bigger meaning, a bigger purpose - and motherhood was only a part of it. By journal writing through my two-year depression, I began to discover the synchronicities in my life. I started exploring my life story - up until that point.
I began having rich conversations with my mother and learned about the depression that she had battled, trying to raise four kids with very little support. We discussed the importance of having a personal identity - a connection to something deeper within ourselves that was expressed fully in the outside world.
This led to other dialogues with other mothers - and I was fascinated by the similarities in our stories. While we all loved being moms, we all desired "that something else" - that something that connected all the dots, that brought all the life experiences together to create a path toward a bigger purpose.
Here in 2011, I can look back on those two years of my life where I fell in complete darkness, floundering, trying to find my way out - and I can say, it was all part of my life's journey. It's what led me to my life purpose - to empower mothers to step into their greatness. It's a ripple effect. A mother touches so many lives - and when she's down, it affects the flow of the ripple in a significant way. And when she's up, the ripples go on and on and on.
My experience with depression - that feeling of being totally disconnected to myself and the world around me - led me to the pages of my journal. It led me to asking the question, "I'm a Mom, but who am I really?" And by "being" with the truth of the reality and by listening to my intuitive wisdom, I found my voice. I found my bigger purpose in life.
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I hope you enjoyed this interview with Tina M Games and that you’ll check out her book and card deck Journaling by the Moonlight: A Mother's Path to Self-Discovery this month at http://moonlightmomscircle.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.html
Here's why:
FREE 3-DAY PASS
When you visit the page at the link above and request a "launch reminder", you will automatically receive a FREE pass to Tina's 3-day "I’m a Mom… But Who Am I Really? Telesummit" with 11 creative writing moms and grandmothers speaking on how to use intuition, journaling and creativity to explore life purpose. You can listen to the telesummit online in the comfort of your own home, and even ask questions during the broadcast.
This telesummit is a completely free "no purchase necessary"
gift from Tina, to celebrate the 1st birthday of her book.
FREE GIFTS
When you buy Tina's book or the card deck during its birthday celebration on Tuesday May 3, 2011, you can ALSO receive a complete library of beautiful personal development gifts from authors, speakers, coaches and other enlightened professionals from around the globe.
To claim your 3-Day Pass and read about the free gifts, go to: http://moonlightmomscircle.com/book-launch/pages/pre-launch.html
Thanks for reading! As usual, please feel free to share your comments and thoughts below. I love reading your feedback.
AND… be sure to follow Tina tomorrow when the next stop on the Virtual Blog Tour is Andrew Mondia who will be interviewing Tina on inspiration by connecting moon with journaling, personal growth and the intention for readers. To visit that "stop" on the tour, go to http://www.andyinspire.com/?p=315
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