I am sooo excited! Becki from Florida emailed me a couple of days ago to show me the Tampax ad shown here that was for sale on ebay and I bought it! I love the image of the woman leading the skipping kids! The ad is from 1969...The same year I was born!! Tampax was ahead of its skipping time. :-)

Becki also included the following skipping update....

My skipping is going well!!! Also I bought a book on getting fit using meditation and I am learning the basics. I really am feeling better and I want to clear the clutter out of my life and be free for real, I tend to skip around pretending like I feel free and have all the self esteem in the world. and I guess that is a start. I'm taking steps to really letting go of the clutter in my mind and heart and house and it is making me truly free. Skipping will set you free! I like the sound of that! It's a very important part of my therapy and I'm thrilled to share it!

Skip on Becki! Onward and upward! Just keep skipping and feeling great about yourself and watch the magic flood your life! You go girl!

Super Skipper Becki in Florida is on fire lately!! She had her first group skip yesterday and sent me the following recap.... It also was cool to learn that Taylor Hicks was skipping on American Idol last night! I love it! Skip on!

There were 4 of us and we decided to skip from stop sign to stop sign. I told them a little about my challenging day while we walked briskly to the first stop sign and then we "skipped it off" instead of shaking it off. Then another person told us something frustrating that happened to her in line at the bank and we skipped it off. After we all skipped out our frustrations, we came up with something that each of us was happy about or grateful for or share something about our challenging situation that could be a silver lining and we skipped for joy for each person. When we were done we all hugged each other and cried and we felt like we had created a bond between us all.

One girl (doesn't want to be named yet) skipped while sucking a lollipop and we called her "Lickety-Skip"... Another girl skips so high in the air we were amazed. I called her a "Sky High Skipper " which we shortened to "Skyper". Everyone dubbed me "Skippy" from the beginning and Sara Beth named herself "Scamper". We had a lot of fun. My husband took me out for dinner afterward and I didn't even want to talk about my bad day, I couldn't stop talking about our skip.

Oh yeah! My fave American Idol contestant Taylor Hicks skipped ALL over the stage last night! It was great! My 3 year old got up and started skipping all over the living room with him! Didja see it? Skipping away with myself... Becki

Skip on Becki! Your energy and enthusiasm for skipping are contagious! It really is true that skipping every day makes finding the silver linings in life's challenges much easier!!! Thank you for sharing yourself so openly! Skip on girl!

I feel inspired to share part of an email I got today from a writer/editor I work with through my publicist job at New World Library. Her name is Michelle and she has a great website where she does monthly book reviews and horoscopes and more!

Michelle just reviewed one of the books I am working on called The World is a Waiting Lover...and we've become friends through our many email exchanges about New World Library authors. When I recently told her about my skipping efforts, she told me she's a swinger...

I love the idea, and reality, of doing what your heart tells you to do...even if it seems crazy to other people, because, just maybe, they will get a clue and start "skipping" too! And what a beautiful world this would be if everyone would just enjoy their lives a bit more and stop being afraid of what other people might think! You are on the right track...giving people permission to live their own lives the way that they want to and not be afraid of what other people's opinions might be! We are all unique souls and our souls naturally want to SKIP! I totally agree with you!

I am not only a "skipper", but I am also a "swinger"...I love to swing on the swings when we are at the park here near our home. I see the kids swinging and I just have to go over there and swing along! I see the other adults thinking, "Gosh, I wish I had the courage to go over there and swing too, but, I am an adult now and what would other people think...but, I really want to." When I see that look in someone's eyes, I say, "Hi...come and swing too...it's a lot of fun...and when will you have the chance again...you are only as old as you "think" you are and besides, you are younger today then you will be tomorrow!" I have actually gotten a few adults (both male and female...most over the age of 50) to come and swing with me. They are always smiling and very happy to have joined in!

Skip on, Michelle!! Swing on, too!! Here's to doing as many things as possible that help us worry less about what other people might think AND reconnect us with the authentic, simple joy of our childhoods at the same time.

This just in from Skipper Susan in Pitttsburgh! It sounds like there is going to be some fantastic skipping happening this spring. Lord knows our world needs it!

I actually talked to my first stranger - a woman running - about skipping. She said she may just take me up on the offer (of joining next time), as she is getting tired of running. Another guy was walking his dog, and I yelled out, as he stared, "It's my new form of exercise - it's fun" to which he replied "I'll bet!" So, I'm overcoming my fear, sashaying on the sidewalks. I keep visualizing leading skips and saying, "Now this is the sideways skip, and this is the skip turn. It's good to vary the steps," etc. Won't be long before real people start to fill out my visions. All hail Spring! See you in the summer in San Fran, I really hope! Susan

I also just heard from Becki in Florida (the skipper from yesterday's post) and she is taking me up on my challenge to skip every day for 21-days! As I've mentioned before, I am working on a book about skipping through life and the 21-day spiritual experiment concept is going to be a major part of it. I am looking for other people who are ready to step up their spiritual/skipping lives by creating their own 21-day experiement...and then sharing their results with me for my book project! If you are interested in learning more, please send me an email.

Every time I have an email exchange like this one, my passion and zest and hope for skipping are reignited! I love imagining increasing numbers of inspired positive energy people skipping thorugh life and beckoning others to join them! Skip on Becki!!

My name is Becki Lake, 38 years old, 3 children, and I live in Windermere FL. That is right outside Orlando. I'm in a very well-to-do area (bordering on "Stepford Wives-Ville") and I have played with the idea of starting a skipping club for some time now. There are a couple of hundred stuck up women who wear $300 jog suits and walk up to the school in "gaggles" to get their children. I skip right past them and have become quite the talk of the town. The amount of eye rolling alone has saved these women thousands in eye lifts.

One day my 16 year old daughter and I were walking around our beautiful sand road neighborhood and I said, "skip with me Bethany!". She looked at me like I was crazy. I skipped the rest of the way to the house and after I nearly passed out on theliving room floor, I asked my husband, "What is the cut-off age for skipping? When are you too old to skip?

I laughed the entire time i was skipping so not only did it give me a great workout, but it strengthened my abs from giggling and it realeased endorphines...(I think)...I felt good anyway." So I came up with a great name for my club and tried to get people to skip with me. No one would. Or they say they will but don't actually go thru with it.

All of a sudden, interest has sparked. I lost an incredible amount of weight and everyone wants to know how I did it. By chance I came across your site. Looked at it for 3 seconds and skipped straight to this email to tell you how excited I am.

Wow Becki!! I loved your email...Your skipping energy just leapt right out of the computer screen and touched my heart in a magical way! Thank you!!

My first piece of advice is not to get frustrated by the fact that you are having trouble getting people to join you. Your best bet is to find one or two inspired friends and to plan a skipping outing with them where you spontaneously get people to join you in the moment...Skipping clubs are more about quality than quantity! It is just too big of a deal for most people to skip still. But people like you and me are slowly doing our part to change that hopefully!!! You also might work on organizing a walking group where you skip from time to time as that is a lot less intimidating. As you learned from your skips, it is much harder work than you might think...so it is good to let potential skippers know your outing will accomodate all fitness levels!

With that said, we have had 50+ skippers skipping at a time here in San Francisco! That was after the San Francisco Chronicle did a big story with the headline "She'd Like to Teach the World to Skip". Most group skips are somewhwere between 3-20 people...and we always invite others to join us for a skip or two along the way.

Some "skipping clubs" have focused on organizing one fundraising event vs. trying to do regular skips....That works out pretty well...and you can get kids involved. After all kids are natural skippers.....and it is great fun to ask for their help getting more adults to skip....All you have to do is ask them if they think the world would be happier if teachers and principals had to skip every day! :-)

Well, I wanted to write back right away since your email made me so happy...It's a beautiful sunny day here in SF so I am going to go out skipping! Let me know as your skipping club comes together. I'd love to profile you on iskip.com. Skip on! Kim

I participate in a regular women's group called Women Praying Dangerously that I love a great deal! The group is led by the wonderful and talented Reverend Karen Junker who is in the process of starting a new church in San Francisco. The idea is to fully invite spirit into our hearts and lives...Giving it permission to take the things that no longer serve us away from us so we can be the best we can be...It's all about boldly opening to and welcoming profound change.

In addition to upping the anti on my prayer life, participating in a group of women in this way has opened my heart and shifted my life in profound ways! I never had much of a structured prayer life before we started meeting about a year ago...and now my prayer life is rich and juicy and deep and daring and bold.

Today I feel inspired to share an excerpt from the book Praying Dangerously which is written by Regina Sara Ryan....and to invite you to take dangerous prayer for a test drive in your own life! Just be sure to hold on! This practice should not be taken lightly. It can really shake things up!

"Deliver us, O God, O Truth, O Love, from quiet prayer
from polite and politically correct language,
from appropriate gesture and form
and whatever else we think we must put forth to invoke or praise You.

Let us instead pray dangerously
Let us not hold back a little portion,
dealing out our lives--our precious minutes and our
energies--like some efficient accountant.

Let us ask for nothing less that the Infinite to ravage us.
Let us ask for nothing less than annihilation in the
Fires of Love

Let us not pray in holy half measures nor walk
the middle path for too long,
but pray madly, foolishly.
Let us be too ecstatic,
let us be undone.

Let us say YES again and again and again
and YES some more.
Let us pray dangerously,
The most dangerous prayer is YES.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Skip on!

Day Twenty-One

Well I made it...I've reached the 21st day of my 21-day experiment. I did manage to get my practice in the last several days...Thursday I meditated...Friday I did yoga...and yesterday and today I skipped!

Yesterday's skipping outing was completely spontaneous. I was shopping in Union Square and the skipping spirit took over. I love skipping on busy San Francisco streets. I don't look at anyone...I just fully and completely get lost in the joy of the skip.

Today's skipping adventure was with two good friends. We were at a party and walked out so I could show them my new car....They were ooing and awing and I said, "I love it!" and spontaeously started skipping...Before I knew it the tree of us were skipping together down the sidewalk...Skipping with friends is even better than skipping solo!!!

In the next day or so I will share some observations from my 21-day experiment and how I feel it has shifted things in my life for the better! Until then, skip on!

Day Seventeen

Once again the past couple of days have been challenging as far as making my spiritual practice a priority. I did a short 12-minute meditation after work yesterday...and still need to do one tonight before bed.

I have a theory that we can only open our hearts so far...and then we need to take a breather and let the growth and wisdom we experience settle a bit. I've heard the process of personal transformation and becoming your true self compared to childbirth and it makes sense. It is a series of contractions and expansions and the best thing we can do is to keep breathing!

The days when it is hard to honor my 21-day experiment commitment are contraction days...and that's definitely where I am today.

Finally, I read an interesting article in a Self Magazine rcently called "Meditation for Beginners" and wanted to share just a bit of it... "A wise Buddhist teacher I know once explained meditation as observing the process of consciousness as distinct from its content. Instead of getting stuck in your story--"Why didn't he call?" or "I hate my job"--you learn how to watch from the sidelines and be a witness to your internal drama.

As with building any muscle, it takes time and practice to train your mind to stay attuned to what's happening in the present. What it doesn't take to meditate is special equipment: no purple-and-gold flecked scarves, no insence, no candles. Just a chair or cushion and a willing ness to stay with tingling feet, angry thoughts or a thumding heart until all the mental noise stops and it's just you and the birds breathing together."

Pretty cool! Skip on! Meditate on!

Day Fifteen

Thank God for yoga! Despite the fact that skipping has been "my thing" for a very long time, yoga has definitely become my practice of choice as far as this 21-day experiment goes. I think because it is convenient and new and less confronting than skipping is! Not to mention that it has been raining in San Francisco for an entire week.

Today during yoga, I had a really hard time turning off my mind! That's because the man next to me was an extremely heavy breather and he was driving me nuts! I knew I should be able to let it go and focus on my own breath and body...But my mind was like a dog that refused to let go of a chew toy! Staying in the room and doing the poses was a practice in and of itself today! Luckily I made it through...But man it took everything I've got. I guess finding and transcending those kinds of edges is what this experiment is all about.

I feel like I need to get out there and skip at some point this week. Hopefully the weather will clear up...and I'll feel inspired! Skipping is still my favorite spiritual practice....It just takes more courage than yoga, or meditating, or the labyrinth does! I'm always glad I did it when I skip...So I am setting my intention of going out for a long skip sometime soon. Skip on!

Day Fourteen

One of the things I love about this spiritual path I am questing to skip down is how often the right book, message, or teacher comes along at precisely the right time.

I "fell off the wagon" the past couple of days as far as my 21-day experiment goes. I haven't written blog entries because I didn't do a practice so didn't want to write anything either.

Friday night after work I pulled everything out of my closet and reorganized it. It was a deep, cathartic process that felt very symbolic emotionally. But by the time I was done I was too tired to meditate or do yoga so I blew it off.

I had every intention of getting right back on the wagon yesterday, but somehow the entire day went by without me doing one of my practices or a blog entry again. When I woke up this morning, I was beating myself up for not keeping my word and was a little worried about being able to get back in my spiritual groove.

This morning I attended a gathering organized by Karen Junker, an inspired minister friend who is starting a new church. It's called "house church" because we are meeting in people's living rooms. Karen gave a powerful sermon and challenged us to intentionally stop at scheduled times during our day to acknowledge spirit. A huge part of her teaching was about forgiving ourselves when we inevitably fail in our spiritual practices!

She read this from A Course in Miracles..."The Holy Spirit is not delayed in His teaching by your mistakes. He can be held back only by your unwillingness to let them go. Let us therefore be determined to be willing to forgive ourselves for our lapses in diligence, and our failures to follow the instructions for practicing the day's idea. This tolerance for weakness will enable us to overlook it, rather than give it power to delay our learning. If we give it power to do this, we are regarding it as strength, and are confusing strength with weakness."

Wow...What a concept...Karen drove the point home when she said,"If we can forgive ourselves for not practicing perfectly we might actually practice!" How perfect is that!? I came home and did Rodney Yee's Power Yoga...and here I am catching up in my blog. Onward and upward! God is good! The 21-day experiment continues.

Day Eleven

I did my 10-minute meditation before bed last night...barely! My mind was wandering and I had a hard time focusing. But I did it and that counts!

Other than saying I did yoga during my lunch hour and my love affair with that practice grows deeper with every class, I'm not going to write about my 21-day experiment today. Instead, I'd like to share part of an email I got from a recently inspired skipper named Susan who lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Susan found iskip.com after her own love for skipping inspired her to want to start her own skipping movement in her area.

I love it that I am not the only person who has been profoundly struck by skipping inspiration. ...My favorite part of having iskip.com is getting to tell the stories of inspired skippers everywhere. People like Extreme Gene and Dave May and Ashrita Furman and Producer Jeff Lester!

Susan has great energy and an inspired vision for skipping in Pittsburgh! She's all geared up to bring spring in with a skip in her step....She's already spreading the word and enjoying the positive reactions that inevitably come with a conversation about skipping....

There is snow on the ground now, but Spring is not too far away. I was at the first meeting of a woman's support group the other night, and at one point I mentioned that I wanted to start skipping with others, and as soon as the word left my lips, this burst of joy just spouted from everyone. It was incredible. One woman said she had just the day before re-discovered skipping. IT IS SOMETHING EVERYONE REALLY LOVES, and you know it! Skip on, my friend, Susan

If you are a skipping spirit who would like to skip with Susan in Pittsburgh this spring, send her an email and introduce yourself! Or if you are an inspired skipper who wants to organize a skipping club in your area, email me and tell me your skipping story!

Day Ten

It's 11 p.m. and I still haven't done my 21-day experiment practice. Honestly, the whole thing pretty much slipped my mind today.

In the past, I have stopped doing my positive practices when things are going really good in my life...and with buying my dream car yesterday...and celebrating my 1 year anniversary working for New World Library today, that's definitely the case right now. I need to remember that the things I do that feed my spirit are what helped me find my happy place in the first place!

I am glad I am keeping this blog to help keep me on track with this experiment. It somehow makes me feel more accountable. Otherwise it would be far too easy not to walk, er skip, my talk as far as following through with my experiment....in good times and in bad.

Speaking of which, it's late and I'm tired...I'm going to do a short meditation from Jack Kornblum's CD and hit the hay. Skip on!

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!

Skipping magic must still be in the air! The wonderful emails keep coming in! Here's the latest...

Good Afternoon, Kim. I'm a first-time visitor to your website and am very interested in joining the national skipping club! :) This looks amazing and in a world that can be very negative, it's so wonderful to find a website that offers positive encouragement (without a price).

My name is Randi and I'm 25 years old. I currently live in Bellevue, Washington. I must admit that it's been too long since my last skip but I can change that. This afternoon, after I'm finished with work and pick up my child from school, we're going to skip, together! What a great way to end a hard day at work, a great way to bond and what a great way to begin tomorrow morning, as well as every morning. I will make it a commitment to skip at least once a day for the next month and see what sort of impact that has not just on me but also those around me! What a fun thing to focus on rather than all of the other things that I'm usually focused on: work, what to fix for dinner, going to the gym, how I look, is that project finished, cleaning, doing laundry... you get the idea.

Since there are numerous links on this website, could you please direct me or encourage me where to go to next. Thank you for your time and positive twist on life! Thank you, Randi

And here's my response...that includes a sneak peak of the fun blog project I mentioned a few postings ago...

Are you seriously going to skip every day for the next month?!? I am getting ready to do a 30 day experiment myself...For 30 days in a row I am either going to do one of the following every day: skip, meditate, do yoga, walk the labyrinth, or take a dance class.....I have no doubt that doing so will change my life in magical ways!! I am going to track my progress on my blog...which also will help me be accountable.

As far as good sections on iskip.com you might want to check out. I'd recommend the Frequently Asked Questions page, The network page where you will find written descriptions of some group skips.... The skipper profile page that introduces individuals who have served as "head skippers", and the weekly skipper page that offers in-depth interviews with a variety of skippers.

It was a pure delight receiving your email! Thank you! You clearly are a skipping spirit! Please keep in touch and keep riding your wave of inspiration. The world needs as many skipping spirits as it can possibly get right now! SKIP ON!!!!!

The skipping magic continues! What a week it has been. This time I got an email from some people who started their own skipping movement in Quebec. Their website went up in 1999, the same year that iskip.com did.

I just love that I am not the only person who has been bitten by the skipping bug. I think it is quite miraculous that so many have been so powerfully inspired by skipping. But I am really not surprised. Skipping has completely changed my life in amazing ways. It is pure magic.....So much so that of course I am not the only one!!

Here's the email I got from the Quebec skippers. If you speak french before sure to skip on over and check out their website!

We are 2 skippers in our mid 20s from Québec. We started a website in january 1999. We actually created a complete story and history of the group, with symbols and characters. It is humor based since in contains everything for it to be a religious group, with leader and all. People are often confused at first, because they are not sure what is true about the website. But everyone figures out in the end that we are just having fun and like to skip. Today, about 1000 people have signed up as members of the group to receive the newsletter. Our largest group of skippers skipping at the same time is 16. We never organised group skipping events! Because of recent media attention, there is a lot of people willing for group action recently and we plan a big event for this spring. Time will tell...

Here is the official story : )

Our leader, Grand Gambadeur (Great Skipper), traveled when he was young and ended up in Burkina Faso where he met Dernier Gambadeur (The Last Skipper). Dernier Gambadeur was the last survivor of a long tradition of skipping. Before he died, he transmited all his knowledge to Grand Gambadeur. Dernier Gambadeur taught him that when enough humans will be skipping at the same time, we will enter the «blooming of skipping joy», an era of universal peace and joy!

Grand Gambadeur came back home with only one goal in mind : to make skipping known! So in 1980, he founded the Mouvement des Gambadeurs et Gambadeuses (Skippers' Movement) to promote skipping and to improve the skippers' quality of life. The Mouvement got online in 1999 and published a 16 pages booklet to inform the public about skipping. Radio, newspapers and television also helped promote the Mouvement and it's goal. For short term, the Mouvement is planning a public event for spring, a new website look and a promotional video.

So that was just a message to introduce ourselves and let you know there is another movement out there that takes care of the skippers who speak french. You are doing great work out there on the west coast and the rest of the english speaking world. We were really happy to discover Iskip and also Extreme Gene. It makes us realize skipping really is universal and it makes us more enthousiastic about it!

Bon gambadage!

Aleikscendre and Freideireik
Mouvement des Gambadeurs et Gambadeuses

Wow! Talk about a creative and irreverant way to bring skipping to the masses! Skip on Aleikscendre and Freideireik you two rock!!! Skip on! Skip on! Skip on!

Woo-hoo! There seems to be skipping magic in the air recently. Here's an inspired email from a new skipper in Pittsburgh...

I can't believe you exist! I live currrently in Pittsburgh, PA and just discovered skipping a few weeks ago. (I had actually thought about it and became jazzed a couple of years ago, but promptly forgot about the insight.) OK, so one day I'm going a few blocks to meet my daughter at the school bus, and I say, "I'm late, I need to get there quickly, I don't like to run, aw heck, I'm just gonna skip!" So I did, covered a lot of ground quickly, realized how absolutely efficient and fun and elating skippping was, and decided right then and there that I was just going to start skipping as an exercise. Then I began thinking, as I felt like I was doing something wrong or sneaky, "WHEN THE HELL DID SKIPPING BECOME "AGAINST THE UNWRITTEN LAW" OF BEING AN ADULT??"

That puzzled me. I mean, it's just not DONE. Why?? There is such a palpable feeling that "everyone is watching me and must think I'm crazy." This then leads to a defiance: "Just let one person stop me and say "what the Hell are you doing?" and I'll let 'em have it..."is there some kind of law against skipping?" Then I started thinking that I would just do it, attract attention, and then in my mind's eye I saw a bunch of us skipping down the sidewalk as a group, blasting convention, throwing caution to the wind, havng child-like fun, eventuially attracting media attention and then the rest would be history. Now, I find out you've already been there, done that (only in California! I actually used to live in the Bay Area...) As you say, people will be happier, healthier, less inhibited (because you break through that initial feeling of being perceived as NUTS, which can be a really deep liberation, as you already know!) I'm so damn excited!

Susan Richter, 49 years old
Pittsburgh, PA

Yes! Another inspired skipper hits the streets. Thank you for your amazing enthusiasm and energy, Susan, it comes leaping through the computer screen. I hope you will keep riding your skipping wave and take it as far as you possibly can...I believe with all of my heart that the world DESPERATELY needs the freedom of skipping right now......Especially here in America land of the free and home of the brave!!!!! Even though we think people will laugh and make fun of us for skipping, the truth is that MOST people are inspired by someone who is able to throw conventional wisdom and unspoken rules to the wind to skip skip skip!

In Monday's posting I shared an email from a new skipper named DeeDee. I got another email from her yesterday that made me SMILE even more! She says.....

I live in Missouri in the very southeastern part of the state, about 7 miles north of Arkansas. I am going to start skipping on a regular basis around my horse pasture where I have about a mile trail around the circumference of my property. I have 7 dogs, 5 of which go with me and they are not quite sure what to make of my "funny hopping run". I will keep you posted on my progress with skipping. People need to do more things for fun and just because it feels good vs. what the latest fashion trends are and the price tag.

The reason I love DeeDee's email so much is that it proves that skipping is NOT just a San Francisco thing! So many times when I tell people about my skipping quest, they say, "Well maybe in San Francisco but not anywhere else!" But that's simply not true! There are adults who love to skip all over the world! Sure, most only do it for fun in the moment and don't think twice about it..... But increasing numbers are realizing the physical fitness benefits.......AND the freedom that comes when we can stop worrying so damn much about what everyone else MIGHT think about us!!!! Skip on DeeDee!!

Here's another email from a relatively new skipper...

I am a recently out-of-the-closet skipper. I'm a distance runner, slow but steady, and a coach I worked with this past fall suggested skipping as a way to be a faster runner. In the process, I re-learned how wonderful skipping feels, the joy of moving through the air like I did when I was a kid. Who knew? (YOU did!!)

It is true that skipping can make you a better runner! When I first started skipping I HATED running! Hated it! Hated it! Hated it! But skipping helped me start experimenting with it a bit more. Now I will walk a block, run a block, walk a block, skip a block, etc. It really spices up my workout and keeps it from getting boring!

I dare you to skip for an entire block the next time you are out for a walk or a run! Then email me and tell me how it goes! Skip on!