It helps when someone does what they say they are going to do; when they are who they say they are.  Consistency; honesty; straightforwardness...being in their integrity.

New Year's Eve I had a ball - no, wait, I was at a ball...

For the first time in a very long time "Grace" showed up...she's my alter ego, and she's a bit of a tart, and mouthy.  Doc didn't like her very much - she is very playful, and over the top, sometimes...

I went to the community New Year celebration where a DJ played a lot of familiar tunes, and I hung out with some friends - our table was the loudest and raunchiest - and I know we had more fun than anyone else there!  We joked, danced, laughed a LOT, and played.  Yes, there was alcohol present, and for a couple of us maybe too much down the hatch.  No one got out of hand, though, or was totally out of control.  Myself, I was conservative, but to see some of the pictures taken, you would think that maybe I really was over the top!

Anyway, it was a good thing.  I didn't care about being respectable, or liked, or 'out of line' in another's view.   It was just plain fun.

And today I was cutting up in another way - and remembering the joy of creating a project.  The community photo club is sponsoring a photo contest in about a week.  The deadline for submission was today.  So I put together a 'presentation' - crude as it was...and I had a good time doing it.  Measuring the poster board, and cutting out the opening to frame my photo was fun.  I hadn't done anything like it since I was in grad school, in the architecture studio in 1995.  I used my drawing tools, my scale, my Xacto knife...oh how good it felt!  I'm a novice at creating prints of photos - I have a lot to learn.  I'm not thrilled with how the printer applied the color to my photo paper.  Never-the-less I decided to participate in something I enjoy,and I put forth the effort to submit a favorite photo - one that I'm proud of.  Again, it doesn't matter whether I get a vote or not, whether someone else likes the photo or not.  It was something I created, and gave to the community, just because.

Note:  The image is the photo I mounted for the exhibit.  It was taken in October while I was on a camping trip near Patagonia, AZ - taken in the morning as the sun backlit the web, next to my truck.  I call it WWW (Web Within Web).

I am trained in hypnotherapy - I have my credentials, and they are current.  I am qualified in the state of Arizona, as well as registered in Colorado. 

Where I live I decided to offer my knowledge to the community by writing an announcement for the community newsletter that I wanted to give a workshop on self-hypnosis to those who might be interested.

Not that I was totally surprised, but I was advised that I might not be able to conduct that workshop for 'liability' reasons; specifically that someone could hold the park responsible for a bad outcome.  Fear...fear abounds...The fact that if I take a 'sanctioned' class for learning how to wrap wire around a stone, and I might cut a finger, and therefore come to the park for remuneration of my doctor's bills, is not an issue.  Somehow, learning self-hypnosis creates a liability issue for the park. 

I just wanted to put a sign-up sheet in the activity office to see who might be interested.  I guess that anyone who might be interested is prohibited by 'park policy' from learning self-hypnosis in a group setting, but I can offer it on my site...(in my little trailer).   Hmmm.

Now I am wondering how I can present information about the healing effects of hypnosis in a way that is not so threatening.  There is a lot of need for education about this tool for finding solutions to our problems. 

The deadline for the newsletter is tomorrow, so I am asking for guidance about 1) whether to continue to pursue the idea of a workshop, and 2) how I can create a workshop that is less threatening, but provides growth for those who seek it.