Note to Self

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Laurie Buchanan

TODAY ONLY — Sat, June 13, 2020 — Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth is the featured eBook deal on BookBub. Grab it on Amazon, Nook, Google Play, or Kobo for 99𝇍.

Winner of six literary honors, including Foreword INDIES Self-Help Book of the Year, Note to Self closes the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

AMAZON
https://www.amazon.com/Note-Self-Seven-Step-Gratitude-Growth-ebook/dp/B01M63I2EM/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1592029065&sr=8-1

NOOK
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/note-to-self-laurie-buchanan-phd/1123466904?ean=9781631521140

GOOGLE PLAY
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Laurie_Buchanan_Note_to_Self?id=SThjDQAAQBAJ

KOBO
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/note-to-self-23

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Thoroughly Used Up

Posted on July 23, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

While walking along the Boise River Greenbelt, I came upon this dead bird. After burying it beside the riverbank, I continued on my journey and thought about Shirley Hershey Showalter’s post, where she shared this quote:

“I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to the future generations.” —George Bernard Shaw

This quote describes what I believe and what want for my own life.

[bctt tweet=”What do you want to hand to future generations?” username=”@TuesWithLaurie”]

What do you want to hand to future generations?

Thyme & Time Again

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

I used to feel like time was getting away from me until I started scheduling self-care into my days—yoga, meditation, long walks, reading, etc.—and honoring those commitments like I would with any other appointment.

I’ve always enjoyed pens, pencils, and paper. So it’s no surprise that I use a physical planner (as opposed to the one on my iPhone), and color code it with highlighters and Washi tape. This way, I can see what’s what in a glance.

I happen to love my Passion Planner. It’s an appointment calendar, goal-setting guide, journal, sketchbook, gratitude log, and has personal and work ta-dah lists all in one notebook.

[bctt tweet=”How do you keep track of your life?” username=”@TuesWithLaurie”]

How do you keep track of your life?

Horsing Around

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

I just returned from the Soulful Prairies Peaceful Retreat in Woodstock, Illinois. This equestrian-intensive location is incredible!

In addition to enjoying time with the horses, we used this window of opportunity to discuss the business of being and living fully.

After our mind-mapping session, we created vision boards to help us close the gap between where we are and where we want to be.

Some of the internal inventory questions we grappled with were:
What does it mean to be human?
What is peace?
What does it mean to BE peace?
How do I show up?
What is it like to be on the receiving end of me?
Is there a difference between being nice and being kind? If yes, what is the difference?
Am I nice or kind?

This was the first of many retreats that I’ll host at Soulful Prairies. I hope to see YOU there next year.

[bctt tweet=”What question are you grappling with?” username=”@TuesWithLaurie”]

What question are you grappling with?

Gardening

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Laurie Buchanan

During our road trip last week, I made a list of the people, places, things, events, and opportunities in my life that aren’t positive, uplifting, constructive, or healing—that don’t support the best version of me.

I’m currently in the process of weeding them out of my internal and external landscape—of making room in my personal garden for vibrant new growth.

[bctt tweet=”How’s your garden coming along?” username=”@TuesWithLaurie”]

How’s your garden coming along?

Soulful Prairies

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

Some of you may already aware of this exciting news, but for those of you who aren’t…

We are fine-tuning the details for our 1st Annual Retreat at SOULFUL PRAIRIES in Woodstock, Illinois. This venue is amazing! You’ll be enlightened just visiting this magical farm.

Please navigate to the SOULFUL PRAIRIES website at SoulfulPrairies.com to feel the transformative energy that you’ll experience with us this summer.

Have you experienced the joyful energy of horses?
Gong in the barn?
Networking with like-minded, passionate people that create a collective, positive impact on our world?

Brief overview, subject to change:

1) Friday, June 28th – Peace Education Workshop 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. This offering includes lunch

2) Friday, June 28th – Overnight accommodations at Soulful Prairies — limited to 11 overnight participants. This offering includes dinner, evening group session, and Saturday breakfast.

3) Saturday, June 29th – Business of Being / Living Fully Workshop 10:00 am – 3:00 pm. This offering includes lunch.

Saturday will offer additional options for one-on-one sessions of Reiki, Equine Therapy, and Reflexology.

When registration opens, you can sign up for 1, 2, or all 3 options. It’s up to you!!

SAVE THE DATE(S) — more details to follow

For Planning Purposes
If you’re interested in the 2018 Build-a-Retreat (or a retreat on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas in January of 2020), please send me an email (laurie buchanan at me dot com) with “I’m interested” in the subject line, and which retreat(s) you’re interested in. Your response does not imply obligation.

Where was the last retreat you attended?

This photo was taken at Soulful Prairies this past summer when I was in Crystal Lake, IL for the picnic-style book launch party for The Business of Being: Soul Purpose In and Out of the Workplace. I can tell you experientially that Soulful Prairies is amazing!

DNA Blueprint

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

Boise, Idaho has a fantastic downtown area with a plethora of incredible signage. One of my favorites is this one for the Idaho Blueprint and Supply Co. I love that it’s three-dimensional, that it doesn’t lay flat against the building.

Every time I pass this sign I think of my blueprint, my DNA. The dictionary defines DNA as follows:

“DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is like a blueprint of biological guidelines that a living organism must follow to exist and remain functional.”

“We’ve been led to believe that the goal of equality is to somehow make differences disappear yet, in reality, it is to be profoundly aware of them and to recognize them as beautiful and valuable and necessary. The virtue is not in ignoring our various distinctions, but in celebrating them; not in pretending as though they don’t exist, but in believing that their existence makes us a better version of humanity as we live together in community.” —JOHN PAVLOVITZ, from his book “A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community”

Have you ever had your DNA tested to discover the breakdown of your ancestry?

Post-Traumatic Enlightenment Summit

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Laurie Buchanan

I believe that post-traumatic growth is the positive change that can happen in the wake of a traumatic event.

Even though adverse life events such as serious illness, accident or injury, abuse, bereavement or relationship breakdown can be a trigger for depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress, people are capable of finding transformation through trauma.

And here’s where the good news gets even better: my friend Jennifer Cunningham is a trauma survivor who got through cancer feeling like her identity had become all about that experience. She decided to be true to herself, take on new challenges and view life from a wider perspective and so she brought together 24 experts, including me, to share our strategies to shift from trauma to enlightenment.

I’d love for you to join us for the Post-Traumatic Enlightenment Summit. Reserve your FREE spot by clicking on this link.

Do you believe in post-traumatic growth?

Training for Warriors

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Laurie Buchanan

I’m fond of the Zen proverb, “The obstacle is the path.” When something blocks my way, it’s an indicator of what my next steps should be. The obstacle is the teacher—the guidepost. Repeatedly encountering the same obstacle bears significance.

Guidepost by Laurie Buchanan at TuesdaysWithLaurie.com

In Paulo Coelho’s book, The Warrior of Light, he writes:

A Warrior of the Light knows that certain moments repeat themselves.

He often finds himself faced by the same problems and situations, and seeing these difficult situations return, he grows depressed, thinking that he is incapable of making any progress in life.

“I’ve been through all this before,” he says to his heart.

“Yes, you have been through all this before,” replies his heart. “But you have never been beyond it.”

Then the Warrior realizes that these repeated experiences have but one aim: to teach him what he does not want to learn.

What do you not want to learn?

A Heavy Load

Posted on January 31, 2017 by Laurie Buchanan

For Note to Self book events, it’s important to find a commonality that levels the playing field and places all of us on the same page. That’s why I typically talk about non-forgiveness. It’s one of the heaviest loads (emotional baggage) we can carry or drag with us. I usually start by saying:

fullsizeoutput_3f98 — Hint #4 — There’s no commuter train service in my sabbatical location.

Every single person in this room, without exception, will need to extend forgiveness to someone at some point in their life for something the other person did or failed to do.

Likewise, every single person in this room, without exception, will need to receive forgiveness from someone at some point in our lives for something we did or failed to do.

Then I read a passage from Note to Self that begins on page 116. If you have a copy, you may want to check it out.

Has extending forgiveness, or the lack thereof, played a role in your health and wellness?

Reminder, the caveat of the Looking for Laurie game stipulates: “The first person to type the accurate city and state of my sabbatical location into the comments section of the Mar 28 post will receive a personalized copy of Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth for themselves or as a gift to someone else.”

Tuesdays with Laurie

"Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing." —Laurie Buchanan

Category Archives: Personal Growth