Day Nine

Today was a full tilt boogie skipping kind of day! For the first time since my 21-day experiment began, this was the first time skipping was my practice of choice. This morning, I skipped from my apartment all the way to the bank to get a cashier's check to buy my dream car....A 1999 electric blue anniversary edition Mazda Miata...I didn't care that it was raining...This was a victory skip!

I have been longing for a blue Miata for over ten years. I've done all kinds of things to try to bring one into my life...Visualizing how it would feel to drive one...Drawing pictures of myself behind the wheel...Telling everyone in my life how much I wanted one. Most people who know me know it has been a long time dream....and it feels amazingly sweet to finally see it become a reality! Yes!

A very symbolic thing happened on my skip this morning. I was moving pretty quickly down a wet, fairly slippery sidewalk in the financial district. I went to stop in the crosswalk and landed on a wet metal grate instead. My feet slipped out from under me and I went down hard on my bum. I heard the people behind me gasp out loud. I sat on the ground for a breath or two and tried to absorb my shock and embarrassment...As soon as I could I stood up, started skipping full steam ahead, and never looked back.

As I caught my breath and walked in the bank, I saw how poignantly metaphorical my fall was. I skipped full steam ahead in my life for a very long...and ultimately fell flat on my ass when I decided to quit my job to focus on my dream full time. It took some time, but I got back up and kept on skipping...and today I got to fully enjoy the fruits of my labors! Happy days are here again. What a blessing! Skip on!

Day Eight

I have been doing this 21-day spiritual experiment for over a week now. It absolutely and completely has already shifted things in my inner world.

It is getting easier to pay attention to the quality of thoughts I think. I am beginning to notice my inner critic and negative self talk only without the emotional charge. The inner world is a fascinating place. I did yoga as my practice today and felt more calm, inner peace and self-acceptance than I have felt in a very long time.

My powerful prayer experience this weekend inspired me to start writing my prayers in my journal before bed. I feel really connected spiritually right now and am so happy these things have been so easy to do. I feel like I am developing positive habits from this experiment that are going to continue to open my heart and mind in new and exciting directions. Oooh la la!

Day Seven

As usual, the all night prayer ritual was an amazing experience. Since this was the third time I have done it, I knew what to expect so it didn't feel quite as edgy this time. I also had far less resistance inside myself about waking up and singing as previous times....Probably because I have been so focused spiritually recently. I came home this morning at 8, slept deeply for 4 hours, and woke up feeling like I was skipping on air.

The prayer ritual we did is used in the Mayan tradition to do work on the dream plane, so several of the women in our group have had powerful dreams in the couple hours of deep sleep that follow the night of chanting. When I first woke up this morning, my dreams were sitting just off shore in my consciousness. Try as I might I couldn't remember. That is until a cell phone rang as it had in one of my dreams. At that moment, the veil lifted and I vividly remembered a dream I had of a huge butterfly flying in a window and flitting about over my head.

I went to Border's tonight and bought a beautiful book called The Complete Book of Dreams & Dreaming. Here's what it says about the butterfly:

1. On a practical level when seen in dreams, the butterfly represents light-heartedness and freedom
2. Psychologically, the butterfly indicates a lack of ability to settle down or to undertake a protracted task.
3. When seen in dreams or meditation, the butterfly represents the freed soul and immortality. It shows that there is no need for the soul to be trapped by the physical body.

All three definitions ring true for me....1. Skipping and my spiritual quest are all about wanting to feel light and free..... 2. I am slowly but surely working on getting myself to settle down and focus enough to write my book.... and 3. a big part of my intention for last night had to do with staying connected to my Grandmother despite her recent passing!

It seems the butterfly was a perfect messenger for me!

Day Six

Tonight I will be participating in all night prayer ritual with one my women's groups. We will be taking turns singing, "Spirit of the living God move afresh in me. Spirit of the living God move afresh in me. Melt me. Mold Me. Fill me. Use me. Spirit of the Living God move afresh in me" over and over throughout the night.

We will start at 9 pm and end tomorrow morning at 5 am, so I am counting tonight as my 21-day experiment practice for both today and tomorrow.

This is my third time doing this ritual with this group of women. It is a powerful process of boldly inviting the Divine into our lives...The last time I did it, it helped me break through my resistence to writing....I wrote the introduction for my book the next day! So I am excited to see what inner shifts, insights, and inspirations tonight might bring.

Day Five

After work I went to hear Sister Helen Prjean speak about the death penalty at Grace Cathedral. She's the nun who wrote the book Dead Man Walking. Her story is a perfect example of the unique things we can be called to do in this lifetime. She talked a lot about striving to be faithful to the things we are called to do...and the role of grace in that. She encouraged us not to underestimate what one inspired person can accomplish and reminded us that sometimes we are called to do soul sized things! I loved that since skipping definitely feels that way to me.

Since I was already there, I stayed and walked Grace's outdoor labyrinth after the talk. Flashes of wisdom from previous walks flashed through my mind. I got really present to what a sacred place the labyrinth has been for me since I first walked it over seven years ago! It's where I found the inspiration to start the skipping movement after all!

I left Grace tonight feeling optimistic. Sister Helen spoke tonight about how this is an amazing time in history to be alive...She called all of us to get into action in our lives and to keep taking a stand for social justice. Right on Sister Helen! Skip on! :-)

Day Four

I went to yoga at lunchtime again today and get bonus points because I stayed for the practice even though the teacher was out sick.

On the way home I realized that yoga doesn't feel like much of a stretch for me as far as this 21-day experiment goes...probably because I was already doing it regularly before I started. On the other hand, it does give me strength and connects me with the core of who I am...What more could I possibly ask for?!

I got some great insight into what this 21-day experiment is all about for me tonight as I sat on my couch listening to Jack Kornblum's Meditation for Beginners CD. He explained how spiritual partice is about getting to know our own hearts and then living from that place in an open and loving way. Yummy!

Jack's insights helped me realize that is my intention for this 21-day experiment...I am doing this to help me hear my heart more clearly and to hopefully find more strength and courage to follow its lead.

I think it is interesting that I haven't chosen skipping as my daily practice yet....I think because I'm just getting warmed up and skipping takes more spiritual chutzpah and heart than the other practices. Soon, very soon, I'll be off and skipping.

Day Three

For today's 21-day experiment practice I did a yoga class during my lunch hour. I have been hearing others sing yoga's praises for years now and never understood what all the hub bub was about. Of course, I also had never managed to do it more than once or twice in a row.

I started my current yoga practice while I was back home again in Indiana last Christmas. My soul sister Stephanie was on her own 30-day yoga mission at the time and invited me to join her for a class or two. I got hooked and have been doing it ever since. (Thanks Steph!) Ever since New Year's, I've done yoga at least twice a week which was great training for this experiment.

My inner voices of doubt and fear reared their ugly heads a couple times today...Doubting my ability so stick with this 21-day experiment...Doubting that it will make any noticeable difference for me if I do...and even doubting my ability to capture my inner experience in words when/if something does happen.

Thankfully, my heart has been easy to hear as well. I've had glimpses of feeling really good...Moments of gratitude, contentment, and a deep sense of knowing I am on the right path with this 21-day experiment. I'm practicing breathing in that yummy energy and breathing out the fear and doubt. Doing so definitely makes it easier to enjoy the ride!

Day Two

I felt really good the minute I woke up today...which is not normal. By nature, I'm not a morning person so the skip usually doesn't enter my step until well after a hot shower or cup of coffee.

I'm attributing my good cheer to this 21-day experiment I have committed to fulfill. For me, the hardest part in this kind of thing is finding the willingness to get started...and this morning I realized I am over that hump! The wheels of this experiment are officially in motion and I'm already noticing myself beginning to unthaw creatively. Two days down...Nineteen to go.

I went to my writer's group tonight to work on my book so didn't get home until late. I decided to choose meditation as my daily practice. I sat cross legged on my couch and listened to a 30-minute deep relaxation CD and did my best to completely quiet my mind.

Like yesterday, this practice offered nothing earth shattering. But I can already see how powerful the cumulative effect of consciously making spirit a priority in my life for the next three weeks is going to be! Tomorrow is a yoga day...and I'll probably find a few ways to add some skips to my step as well.

Onward and upward!

Day One

Today is the first day of my 21-day spiritual experiment. Back in April of 1999 I did a similar experiment and the end result was a clear vision about starting a national skipping movement and the inspiration to go with it! I am excited to see what happens this time and wil be documenting the process here day by day.

As many of you know, it is been my dream and vision to write a book ever since the skipping movement started. There have been many versions and literary agents along the away, but the timing and my approaches haven't been quite right. As a result, I have been confronting a great deal of writer's block and inner resistence about the project recently. Even though my heart is clearly guiding me to write about my story, my fear and doubt about my ability to produce a marketable book have been standing in my way. That is why I have decided to do this experiment in spirit again

I chose 21-days because I once read it takes 21-days for something to become a habit. The first time I did my experiment, I walked the labyrinth in my neighborhood at Grace Cathedral twice a week for the 21-days. (Pictured above.)

I was curious to see how my life would change with a regular spiritual practice...and change for the better it did! My inner skipper was born and things haven't been the same since.

Because spiritual practices have been a part of my life for the past 7 years now, my experiment will be much more rigorous this time. For the next 21-days I will do at least one of the following and will document my process and experiences here:

**Walk the Labyrinth at Grace Cathedral - The Labyrinth is an archetype, a divine imprint, found in all religious traditions in various forms. It offers a unique way to do a walking meditation. There is a labyrinth locator on Grace Cathedral's site if you want to see if there is one in your area.

**Skip - I will go out with the intention of skipping. Some days this will mean skipping/walking outside for long distances...Other days it will be skipping in crowded/public places...and other days it will mean skipping on the treadmill at the gym.

**Meditate - On days when I only choose to meditate, I will do at least 1/2 hours. I also will meditate for shorter periods on days when I do more than one practice. I will be using Jack Kornfield's Meditation for Beginners and other CDs/guided meditations to help me in this process.

**Do Yoga - I started a yoga practice back in December and am loving it! I will either do yoga classes during my lunch or will use one of the DVDs I have and do it at home.

To start the experiment off, I decided to walk the labyrinth today and ended up spontaneously skipping as well. I was running some errands and listening to my ipod when a new song I just discovered called "Skip Don't Walk" came on! I just so happened to be approaching Union Square when it did, so took it as a sign and skipped all the way through the park. It felt wonderful!

I also skipped several times during my labyrinth walk. As usual, my time there left me grounded and centered, but I didn't come away with any earth shattering insights or anything. That's OK...I trust they will come as my experiment unfolds. I wouldn't expect to see results in a gym after just one day after all.

I look forward to documenting my next 21-days here and am grateful to have this blog to help keep me accountable. I'd also like to invite you to join me by creating your own 21-day spiritual experiment! If you'd like to, just send me an email and tell me what your plan is...and we can check in with each other periodically to see how it is going! Skip on!!

I'm still riding the high of the great group skip we did in San Francisco on Sunday! A good friend of mine named JP took some pictures of our skipping adventure that really capture the fun energy of the day!

It's amazing how rewarding and fun going out into the world with the intention of promoting skipping can be. I can't recommend it highly enough.

One of my favorite parts of the day were the little kids that joined our group of skippers! They were so proud that they knew how to skip and skipped their little hearts out so they could lead the pack. We handed out National Skipping Club membership cards to everyone who skipped with us...Nothing beat the way kids faces would light up when we did.

It had been five years since I last organized a group skip. The biggest difference I noticed between now and then is the support and encouragement from people we passed. They applauded and joined us. It was grand.

If you are interested in putting together a group skip of your own, all it takes is a friend or two, a courageous heart, and an intention to make the world a little bit happier! Paint some signs that that say SKIP ON! or HONK FOR SKIPPING! and then hit the streets or a local park. You'll be amazed at how many people join along or cheer you on! Email me and introduce yourself if you want some tips/suggestions for organizing your own skip!

Today was one of the best days I have had in a very long time. The San Francisco Skipping Club meeting was a smash success....Over 20 passionate skippers in the Bay Area came out to share their love of skipping with the world...and many of us became inspiried to organize more skips in the near future.

We met at the gates of Fort Mason and skipped on the corner of Laguna and Marina with signs that said HONK FOR SKIPPING while we waited for the group to gather. Car after car blared their horns. We encouraged passers by to skip a few steps with us...and gave them Official National Skipping Club Membership cards when they did. Several people even decided to stay and join the skip.

Tania who is the perky president of the San Francisco Chapter of the National Skipping Club led the group in some stretching exercises...and then we were off and skipping!

We went over a big hill and then down a long pier with a panaromaic view of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and Ghiradelli Square. I pulled out my old megaphone and periodically announced, "We are skipping activists who believe the world will be a much happy happier place when skipping becomes a more acceptable thing to do. We don't ask that you skip, just that you are supportive of those of us who love to! Thank you and skip on!"

It was incredible how many people along the route joined the skip. Little kids skipped. Bikers got off their bikes so they could skip a few steps with us...and one inventive young lad made his bike do the skipping. Women skipped. Men skipped. Boys skipped. Girls skipped. A great time was had by all!

The camera crew that was filming us asked each skipper to say what they skipped for. Skippers said things like they skipped for peace, for the future, for their soul, for fun and joy, to make their wife happy, and because they don't have a car! I said, "I skip for FREEDOM!"

Well I just wanted to do a quick blog entry while I am still flying high from the magic of a beautiful, perfect, wonderful day! Stay tuned for news about more upcoming skipping events in SF. Skip on!

Back in the dot come daze, I was a woman possessed! I started skipping for exercise and invited the rest of the world to join me. The national media - from People to Newsweek to the Wall Street Journal - responded to my effots in a miraculous way. I led group skipping events through San Francisco with a megaphone in hand and even skipped on national television with Donny Osmond. What a long strange skip it has been.

That was over five years ago now...and my website and my spirit have managed to somehow skip on through all that has happened since...September 11th...The Bush Administration...The War on Terrorism...Not to mention my own personal trials and tribulations. It definitely hasn't always been easy!

Lately there has been a resurgance in both my spirit and the skipping world...I've been receiving amazing emails from all over (You'll find many posted here)....I've heard from brand new skippers...old time skippers...and even two skippers from Quebec who created their own skipping movement website (in french) the same year iskip.com was created!

I also recently heard from a NYC based production company that is shooting a pilot of a show called "Join the Club". They found iskip.com and asked if we would be a part of it. I explained that the skipping club is more virtual than anything since skippers are naturally free spirits...and anyone who skips is automatically a member whether they know it or not!

They asked if I would be able to organize an in-person meeting for the national skipping club to fit their program's format. So I got to work planning the skip that will happen this coming Sunday February 12th in San Francisco! Several incredible skippers have offered to be officers of the skipping club and it promises it be a memorable and spirit filled day. Because the skip will potentially air on national tv it also offers a unique opportunity for us to get some free spirited SF energy out there during a time when our world really needs to see it.

Here are the details:

Come help the "San Francisco Skipping Club" remind America what freedom looks like in a group skipping event this Sunday February 12th at 2:30 p.m. A NYC based production crew will be there filming the skip for a potential national television show.

We will be meeting at the gates of Fort Mason (It's where Marina intersects Laguna across the street from Marina Safeway) at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday and skipping along the waterfront with the Golden Gate Bridge behind us. We will take lots of breaks to allow for a variety of fitness levels (Really Sister Dana I promise thist time!) Because there will be a television crew there, there will be a lot of starts and stops vs. skipping for long distances at a time. Also, if you know any kids that like to skip, we would love to have them participate!

If you have any questions, need more details, or are planning on attending email Skipper Kim.

We currently have 10 confirmed skippers but would love to have more so please forward this posting far and wide. It's great fun imagining how it would be if skippers unexpectedly turned out in droves! If you are so inclined, please come out and join us for an afternoon of joy, merriment, and skipping magic.

This coming Sunday February 12th there will be a group skipping event in San Francisco! We are still finalizing details on the location... It will be at 3 p.m. either in Golden Gate Park or somewhere near Fort Mason/Pier 39....If you live in the Bsy Area please come out and help us remind America what freedom looks like! There will be a television crew from New York there filming us!!!

Please send me an email and let me know if you want to join us. I will email info later this week as I have it. I also will be posting the info here on my blog. We'll be skipping rain or shine!

Skip on!