Happy Halloween!!

This past Saturday night I attended an event called SPIRAL DANCE for the first time. It's organized by bestselling author Starhawk and celebrates the day of the dead. There was an altar where you could write the name of people you know who have died....and another that celebrates the birth of new babies. Apparently during this time of year, the veil between the living and dead is thinner than normal, so this is a powerful time to connect with all things spiritual.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of people there. We sang a lot of songs and watched dancers perform while we waited for the Spiral Dance itself to happen. During the Spiral Dance, everyone holds hands to create a huge line of people that spiral and weave around the big open space of the pavillion where the event was held. There were a couple of different things you could sing... One went, "Let it begin with each step we take. Let it begin with each change we make. Let it begin with each chain we break. Let it begin every time we awake" or you could sing rounds of "Let it begin now. Let it begin now" or rounds of "We are alive. We are alive."

As the chain of people weaved around the floor, we all looked into each others eyes as we sang the song of our choice in harmony. It was an incredibly moving and powerful experience. So many people gathered with the intention of sending healing, positive energy to the earth and our world! I just love partipating in these kinds of events. It feels great to focus my energy and thoughts toward my desire of making the world a happier place.

I recently wrote an entry about a NYC super skipper named Extreme Gene who is making a supercharged, extreme contribution to the skipping movement. He is truly taking skipping to its outer edge! I love it!

Well, Extreme Gene just wrote to let me know that Warren Miller is including a segment about Extreme Skipping in his latest Higher Ground film! Wow! I skipped on over to Warren Miller's website right away and here's the description of Extreme Gene's segment in the film...

In a Warren Miller first, urban skipper “Extreme Gene” shares his love, intensity and enthusiasm for this adventurous new sport. In this hilarious segment, Gene emphasizes the three main aspects that factor into exceptional skipping; rebellion, freedom of expression and style.

If you haven't already, you simply shouldn't skip the short film on Extreme Gene's website that explains what Extreme Skipping is all about. I guarantee you've never seen someone skip quite like Extreme Gene does. He has turned it into an art form. Check it! Yeee-haw Extreme Gene..... SKIP ON !

This weekend I spent a lot of time curled up with Marianne Williamson's latest book called The Gift Of Change. Like The Translucent Revolution which I wrote about recently, she talks about the shift in consciousness that is gradually happening in our world. I was so inspired by this passage that I felt moved to share it here...

An underground revolution is sweeping the hearts and minds of the people of the world, and it is happening despite the wars and terror that confront us. This revolution is a fundamental change of worldview, and it carries with it the potential to reorganize the structure of human civilization. It brings a basic shift in the thoughts that dominate the world. It wages a peace that will end all war. It is a global phenomenon that will change the cellular structure of the human race. To those who are part of it, and feel called to it, its reality is a growing if not obvious truth. To still others, it's a lofty but ridiculous notion, a preposterous and sill idea.

Yet no social revolution of any import emerged because everybody woke up one day saying, "I get it! I get it!" Such revolutions emerged instead from what anthropologist Margaret Mead described as "a small group of concerned citizens." Not only are such groups capable of changing the world, according to Mead, but in fact, they're the only thing that ever has. And they are doing it now.

A spiritually attuned counterculture is already in our midst. It is marked not by clothes or music, drugs or sex, as was the counterculture of the sixties, but by the internal attitude of those who perceive it. They make suggestions and comments that are just a little bit wiser; they bring new insights into areas previously locked down by the status quo. They see some star in the sky that no everyone is seeing. And in their presence, we start to see it too. --From The Gift of Change: Spiritual Guidance for a Radically New Life by Marianne Williamson (Harper San Francisco)

Ohhhhhh, I LOVE reading those words...I love feeling like I get to contribute to the revolution she describes by promoting New World Library's amazing authors. I love celebrating my freedom by skipping down the street and not worrying about people who might thing I'm crazy for doing so...I love how it makes me feel like I am doing my tiny part to make the world around me a little more happy and free!

Onward! Upward! Together we CAN change the world!

Ever since I created iskip.com in 1999, I've wanted to write a book. As someone who worked in the book publishing industry, it seemed like the natural thing to do to get my skipping message out there...Only I didn't realize how hard writing a book and getting it published really is!

When People Magazine did an article on my skipping efforts, a top literary agent inquired about representing me. Back then the working title of my project was SKIP ON! A Guide for Following Your Bliss ... All of my financial eggs were riding in my book project's basket and when my manuscript fell short with publishers, they were smashed into a billion little bits. Financially and creatively I was completley out of gas.

I went back to working at a full time job and it felt like my dream of writing a book and promoting skipping full time was dead. I couldn't feel it at the time, but am happy to report that the inspiration and hope it would take for me to eventually skip back to the drawing board on my book project was still in there....It just took three years for me to find it again....and that time is now!

Working on the book again is helping me realize that every aspect of my experience so far--from the highest high to the lowest low--are all extremely valuable parts of my story. It was impossible for me to write my book before going through the most challenging part of my journey...Now I see my ability to survive the dark times and to come out skipping on the other end is ultimately what the book is all about!

Writing a book is definitely the most challenging thing I have ever tried to do in my life...So please send me positive thoughts... Imagine my fingers happily skipping across the keyboard with lightness and ease! I can use all of the positive energy support I can get on this project!! Thanks! Skip on!!

This past weekend my skipping friend Tania and I had another fun adventure!

A couple weeks ago I got a call from another skipper named Dina who had been on one of the groups skips I used to lead in Golden Gate Park. She said she was making a documentary on depression and wanted to include something about skipping.

So Tania and I met up with Dina and her lovely camera person (whose name I don't know how to spell) in Golden Gate Park on Saturday to get some skipping footage and to be interviewed about the benefits of skipping. There was a drumming circle by the conservatory of flowers and we skipped to their magical beat. Little kids skipped with us. The three of us held hands and skipped all around. It was another grand skipping experience.

Skipping (the kind without a rope...just leaping happily down the street like we all used to do as kids) is great exercise for the body AND the spirit! It burns twice as many calories as walking and has less impact on the body than running does. Another interesting way to look at it is that running is based out of our fight or flight reflex. Animals run to get away from something...But skipping is like an animal frolicing freely in a field...The energy of skipping is playful and fun....I think that's what makes it my favorite form of exercise! (I should also say that I'm also pro-running and am not saying that PEOPLE who run are escaping.) Skip on!

This email from a skipper in Florida made me smile...

I love to skip and get friends skipping when we're walking somewhere in a group. I will now do it more often. In fact, I will add skipping to my daily spiritual practice! I want to read more on your website since I am admittedly an infrequent skipper. One holdback being I "think" I should only do it when wearing a bra... not to scare onlookers *smile* luckily if I am walking in a group with others, we're usually out in public in a parking lot on our way somewhere so I have one on anyway :)

Ladies, it is true that bouncing boobs can be a skipping hazard! When I did a lot of radio interviews about my quest to make skipping a more acceptable thing for adults to do, the morning disc jockeys used to love to ask me about this very topic! I told them that I'm such a bouncey skipper that I often double bag em' by wearing a sports bra and a regular bra! :-) That always got a laugh!

It is really fun to invite a group of people you are walking with to join you for a skip. That's actually how I first started skipping. I was out on a Friday night with my friend's Todd and Rudy when Rudy broke into a skip and said, "let's go!" Todd and I didn't miss a beat and before I knew it the three of us were skipping, laughing, and having a ball.

I hadn't skipped since I was a kid and an entire vision of starting a national skipping movement flashed through my mind. I thought about how much fun I was having, how it had to be great exercise, and how I could start skipping groups in San Francisco and tell the media about it!

I didn't take action on my vision for two more years after that first skip, but when i did, it came true! What a long strange skip it has been.

I'd like to encoruage you to invite someone else to skip with you the next time you are out for a walk! When you do write me at kimskips@peoplepc.com and tell me all about it! Skip on!

One of the books I am working on right now is called The Real Meaning of Life. It's one of those books that makes you laugh and makes you cry. But most importantly, it makes you stop and think about what exactly it is we are all doing here on this adventure called life.

The book is written by a sophomore at NYU named David Seaman. When he was a freshman, he typed "What is the meaning of life?" into an online forum and was overwhelmed by all of the responses he received. So much so that he created a website thats purpose was to ask the same question. Now some 50,000 hits and 2,000 answers later he's compiled the best answers he received into a book.

Here are a couple of the entries....

If you see a big ring of fire ahead of you and it scares you half to death, jump through it! It is only our fears that veil our true identity. Conquer these and you’ll find what’s left of you is love, a love so brilliant that ten thousand suns would not be your equal. We are all searching for truth, we all want happiness. Learn to love yourself and these gifts will follow. Stop looking outward...the answers lie within. And for God’s sake, stop grazing in the fields of chaos and fear that the media is cultivating for you. Fear sells, and we’re buyin’. You are more powerful than you know. Enjoy. — Jack Dempsey Boyd

Life is a cocktail. It consists of various measures of family, relationships, play, and work. Our quest, should we be prepared to accept it, is to find our unique mix. Every decision we make alters this mix. Learning from our choices and making corrections as necessary will enable each of us to find our perfect cocktail. — “Sir Percival Blakeney”

Beer, ribs, professional sports, and Miles Davis. — Mike Barber

I’m a twenty-year-old, so my view on life is still somewhat...hazy. I need to live more. I don’t know if I’m being original — if I’m not, at least I arrived at this on my own — but I think that the real meaning of life is “to look for the meaning of life.” It’s not a circular definition — I’m just saying that the generalization of something this profound is wrong.

Six billion people in the world, all different from the inside out, might have something in common, but the meaning of life? It should be more like “what’s the meaning of your life?” What are you? Why are you here? What are you looking for?

I’m still looking for my purpose, and I believe that’s the meaning of life: to look for it. — David Yim

Today's skipping email comes from an enthusiastic 22-year-old skipper....

I spent a year off in college, and skipped everywhere on campus. I actually had to start wearing more jewelry with jingle so I wouldn't scare people as I came barreling around the corners! I'm so glad to see that I'm not the only one out there with a passion for skipping. Which makes me wonder if there's anyone out there that loves jumping up and clicking their heels, and frolicing as much as I do... May you always have love in your heart, and a hand to hold as you skip!

Amanda, thanks for your peppy email...Your energy leaps right out of the computer screen! Hey, perhaps you should make a website called iclickmyheels.com! Skip on soul sister. Thanks for the email!

I've really been getting my blogging groove on lately...I am proud of myself for doing a post every day this week! Wow!

Today I have another skipping email I'd like to share....This one from Pam in Raleigh, NC.....

Kim; I loved to skip as a child and have been reading your newsletter for a while now. A friend from local church singles commited suicide this summer and the pastor who spoke at her memorial service challenged family and friends to do something ourselves that would honor her life. I signed up to walk in a Run for Life race that benefits a local home for pregnant teens since my friend loved children but never had any of her own. I have never run in a race as I have bad ankles. So I decided to skip as much as possible which I felt would make my friend smile. I took third in the 19 and up age range. I am 52. Not too bad for a first attempt. I am encouraged to skip on! If you need a head skipper in the Triangle area, I'm your gal!

Pam, what a touching skipping story...Thank you for sharing it. Isn't it fun to skip in walk/run events! It really spices things up.

As for being a head skipper, I definitely encourage you to skip loud and skip proud in Raleigh and would love to do a profile about your love of skipping on iskip.com. At the moment, there is not a unified head skipper contingent. However, I am slowly but surely working on a book about skipping and am collecting email addresses of skippers around the country who want to help create a national skipping day once it is published. I will add your email to the list...and in the meantime, SKIP ON girlfriend! :-)

I am a book publicist for a wonderful company called New World Library in Novato, California. I have worked there since March and can't tell you how great it feels to finally have a job I love with all of my heart.

When the skipping movement was at its height, I quit my book publishing job to focus on getting the word out about skipping full time. I naively assumed that if I leapt, the financial net would magically follow! Not! I basically skipped myself into financial ruin....and getting back on the beaten path once I skipped off wasn't easy!

Before finding my work home here at New World, I had some pretty crazy employment experiences, including getting fired on the day before Christmas by my 73-year-old bodybuilder boss. It wasn't pretty and I am so grateful that part of my life adventure has come and gone! Good riddance.

New World Library publishes amazing books that are dedicated to changing people's lives. On days when I don't have much skipping news, I thought it might be cool to share a quote or small exceprt from one of our books!

One that I am particularly passionate about is called The Translucent Revolution: How People Just Like You are Waking Up and Changing the World. The book's author Arjuna Ardagh examines the shift in consciousness that is gradually happening in our world and explains it in a way that isn't too new agey or out there. As someone who wants more than anything to do my part to make the world a better place, I love the book.

Here's a brief quote from The Translucent Revolution that recently appeared in O Magazine...

"We constantly resist not only our grief, but also our wild passion and sexuality, our anger, even our exuberance and joy, repressing their free expression. Big feelings overwhelm us. They can easily upset the fragile equillibrium of our lives. We keep a lid on ourselves, till we periodically explode. We don't realize that any deep feeling, pleasurable or painful, can be a wave we surf home into ourselves, into love."

So here's to feeling big .... dreaming big.... living big.... and skipping big! Skip on Arjuna Ardagh...Thanks for writing such a great book.

I recently got this email from someone named Madeline and wanted to share....

Hi, I live in Winter Springs, a suburb in Orlando...I don't actually skip, but, hey, there's a spring in my step & I have a very bouncy personality. Does that count?

Absolutely that counts!! In fact, that is what it is all about! Iskip is more about being a positive energy kind of person with a spring in her/his step than the actual physical act of skipping! There are so many different ways the energy of skipping shows up in our lives.... Blowing bubbles.. Playing with little kids... Dancing... Laughing... Singing.... There are unlimited ways to bounce through life! What counts is having enough courage to be true to yourself so your inner light shines as brightly as possible. Let it shine! Let it shine! Let it shine!

On Saturday night, I participated in an all night Mayan prayer ritual called Mitotes with a group with 10 other women. My intention going into the experience was to find the willingness to believe in myself enough to write the book my heart has been calling me to write. I went in to the experience hoping to find enough inspiration that the scared little kid in me can once again have the courage to skip couragously through my life.

We divided into three groups and took turns singing/chanting a song/prayer that goes, "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. Each group of women sang for 20 minutes at a time before waking up the next group whose turn it was to sing.

The sweet sound of singing women's voices filled the room from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. In between my group's turns, I drifted in and out of sleep until it was time to sit up and sing again. At certain times throughout the night, I felt myself throwing little hissy fits...I questioned why I had signed up for this. I was tried of singing and just wanted to sleep...But the part of me that was totally engaged and excited to be there was MUCH stronger and clearer than the part of me that wanted to be a brat.

It felt really good to just sing through the patches of resistance as I powefully invited the spirit in more and more. It's really quite perfect since what was at stake for me was the WILLINGNESS to move in the direction of my dreams and to not let my fear get in the way anymore. My mitotes experience gave me the opportunity to see how it feels to move past my stubborn childlike will and inner critic in a gentle powerful and feminine way! Through song!

We slept from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. and I had amazing dreams. Then several of us went to Glide's 9 a.m. service. (Glide is a very open minded church in San Francisco where EVERYONE is welcome... Christians, Jews, Muslims, Agnostics, and even Atheists come together to celebrate life.) I skipped around the church as the choir sang "It's time for a miracle!" and it felt great. I was soooo high and full of the spirit!

I went home and slept soundly for four hours and then got up and worked on the introduction for my book. I spent several hours putzing around with it and am feeling really excited about the direction it is taking.

Onward and upward! Spirit of the living God move afresh in me.

Blowing bubbles ranks right up there with skipping as far as my favorite ways to bring more joy and positive energy to every day life!

When I go out in the city on Friday nights, I often bring a bottle of bubbles with me. It is great fun to stand on a street corner blowing bubbles and watching how they bring out the kid in the people that pass by. Bubble lovers respond by chasing after them....or trying to pop them...or by saying, "BUBBLES!!" in an enthusiastic childlike voice. It's great fun.

Saturday before last, I attended the Love Parade in San Francisco and blew bubbles as the floats and dancers went by. A man I didn't know started taking pictures of me, and I asked him to email them if any of them turned out. I was so happy when he actually did! The picture above is from that fun, magical, love filled day! There are more fun pictures from the Love Parade on the photographer Mikhail Rezhepp's website. Skip on! Bubble on!

I just loved this email I got from an enthusiastic skipper named Gail. It does a great job of capturing the pure joy and natural high that skipping creates. Get out there and try it for yourself. Skip on Gail!

Hi Kim! I kinda discovvered skipping by accident. I am 48, and an avid hiker. I try to hike local peaks here in San Luis Obispo County, California several times a week. When I hike I am listenig to my iPod with all kinds of great tunes. After reaching the top and taking in views, I start down the trail. All that is normal, but one day, a really great song came on and I started to sort of dance down the trail and fell naturally into a skip.

The feeling was elation; when the trail is steep or rocky, I take short sideways tiny skips...kinda like skiing. And when the trail is flatter, (and maybe it snakes through shrubbery) I skip really big and fast. And the amazing thing is, it really cracks me up! I laugh out loud because it is so much fun! And I love to hold my arms out and flap them like a bird.... and I love to catch "air" ......and I love to bounce off the sides of the trail if it is slanted on one side.....and I love to leap off of rocks.

I simply smile if I pass people who stare... or maybe they see me laugh...I don't care...I 'll bet some folks wonder what drug I've taken! But it has made my hiking experience immensely richer and delightful; I crave the experience and look forward to it. And it is fantastic exercise. When I get to the bottom of the trail, I am drenched in sweat and riding high on endorphins from exercise plus laughter. Had to tell you. -Gail

There's been something special about Wednesdays lately. It was Wednesday last week when Tania and I had our random fireworks skipping experience and tonight I had another truly magical skipping moment.

After work, I met my friend Karen to walk the labyrinth at Grace Cathedral. The labyrinth is a meditative, spiritual tool that pre-dates Christianity....It really helps me quiet my mind enough to get a big picture perspective on what is going on in my life.

Karen and I shared about the intense changes we are each experiencing right now....Me needing to go deeply inward so I can write the book I feel called to write....and her feeling powerfully inspired to step even more fully into her role as an ordained minister. We talked for quite some time and then quietly walked the labyrinth. It felt great to breath it all in.

As I walked to my apartment after saying goodbye to Karen. I heard the voice of a little boy behind me. I thought he was saying, "I got a balloon! I got a balloon!" But then I heard his Dad say, "That's not a balloon, that's a backpack." That was when I realized the little boy was talking to me.

For the past six years, I have carried a bright yellow smiley face back pack nearly everywhere I go. This little boy was mesmerized by it. I asked him if he liked smiley faces and he said that he did. Then he proudly announced, "I have a boo boo." I asked him where it was and he pointed to his knee. Then he stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and pulled up his pant leg to show me. He said it happened at his Mama's house.

I ooed and aahed at the boo boo and asked him how old he was. He proudly said "two" and then he started galloping down the sidewalk as he looked back at me. His Dad said, "He wants you to run with him!" before quickly stopping him because a car was coming.

After the car passed, he told the little boy to take his hand while they crossed the street. The little boy held out his other hand innocently signaling to me to hold it. The three of us held hands as we crossed the street, then the little boy was off and running down the sidewalk. His Dad laughed as he started jogging behind him. I naturally broke into a skip. His Dad was clearly a skipper too because he immediately joined me when he realized I was skipping. The little boy was too young to know how to literally skip, but he knew the most important part which was that the three of us were sharing a delightfully playful experience.

Before turning off on my street, I gave the little boy one of my iskip.com stickers and told him I wished there were more people in the world exactly like him! His Dad enthusiastically agreed and said, "Yes, wouldn't it be wonderful!?" Then we were waving goodbye and they were gone.

Random skipping encounters like I experienced tonight are one of my favorite things in the entire world! I hope I don't have to wait until next Wednesday for the next one! :-) Skip on!

There is a skipper in New York named Extreme Gene who has created a short film about his own personal approach to skipping. It's called EXTREME SKIPPING and it isn't for the faint of heart!

I personally tend to be your standard run of the mill skipper (if there is such a thing.) I occasionally throw in a twirl here or a backwards skip there...but for the most part I leap happily from point A to point B and call it a day. Not Extreme Gene. Think skateboarding without the board. Think jumps and other tricks. This dude is extreme.

If you are in the New York area and would like to check out what Extreme Skipping is all about, here's some info about the world premier of Extreme Gene's short film....

EXTREME SKIPPING WORLD PREMIERE

What has people Extreme Skipping from Dayton to Denver? What is behind 150,000 hits, a movie trailer and a groundswell of gremmies sticking 180 Degree Lizzies from Calcutta to Coney Island? What the heck is a 180 degree Lizzie anyway?

Spend an evening with the father and creator of the Extreme Skipping Phenomena, Extreme Gene. There is no better place to learn about it than at The Intrepid Air and Space Museum ( 46th and 12th) on September 27th at 8p.m. Watch a short film that gives us a glimpse into a great American underground extreme sports hero. From "Brand Evangilists" to major motion picture companies, people are starting to pay attention to Extreme Gene. Come and see why for yourself.... "CHECK IT!"

If you can't make it to the event, you can also watch a trailer of the film on Extreme Gene's website. Skip on Extreme Gene! Thanks for all you are doing to spread the good skipping word!

I just had the most magical San Francisco skipping experience and felt moved to share as soon as I got home!

Tonight I went to dinner with a fun group of people who were my coworkers when I worked at The Learning Annex. Five of us had a fun dinner and then my friend Tania offered to drive me home.

Tania is a skip chic extraordinaire...When I first started working at the Annex, the skip had practically left my step...But Tania just so happened to be an enthusiastic skipper herself....She had even emailed me through iskip.com long before I started working there! For her birthday she organized a group skip across the Golden Gate Bridge (The picture above is of Tania and her husband Jason on that day)....This girl inspires me and has totally helped me get my skip back.

As Tania and I walked to her car tonight, we both started skipping which was incredibly fun in and of itself...and then out of nowhere, a huge fireworks show started happening over the Bay, so we rushed over to watch. The fireworks were huge! Bigger than the fourth of July! We oooed and aaahed and hooped and hollered. We noticed that everyone else who walked by seemed unphased by the miraculous show...But not us...We were enthusiastic enough for the lot of them.

A guy on a bike who rode by us cheered and we were happy to have found a kindred spirit. He ended up coming over and introducing himself. His name was Charlie. After we chatted for a while, I pulled an iskip.com sticker out of my purse and handed it to him. His face lit up as he told us how much he loved to skip. Suddenly the three of us were joyously skipping all about as bright, colorful, explosive fireworks filled the sky!! Wow!

It felt like the fireworks show lasted forever. When it was done, Tania and I skipped back to the car. A cop stopped traffic and waved us on, "Only for you Skippers," he said with a smile. The next man we passed beamed from ear to ear....A woman in a large group waiting to board a bus nodded in approval.....It was city skipping at its best!

I am feeling wildly inspired by tonight! I invited Tania to go skipping with me on a weekend day in the city sometime soon so we can create more skipping magic like we experienced tonight. I can hardly wait. Skip on!

Last night I received this email from a skipper in the Midwest. Wow! Talk about a powerful testimony about how skipping can uplift our spirits and change our lives for the better.

I did a websearch for the term: "if I could find just one" .... and somehow found your page. I'm a 49 year old business man, and yes I do skip. Several years ago one of my brothers committed suicide and I went into depression.

After losing nearly everything I once owned because life didn't seem worth striving for, I decided I wasn't going to do myself in the way my brother had and I was too physically healthy to think I might be lucky enough to die soon, so I chose life.I began skipping to force myself up out of the depression I was in, even if it made me look ridiculous to observers. Well, I had nothing really left to lose at the time so it really didn't matter what observers thought or even said.

I want to share that I have done a pretty darn good job of rebuilding my life, and now that I even own a farm I still skip and there are no observers to laugh. I own a construction company and everyone in the local area knows that I work daylight to dark, but what they don't know is that at 5:30 a.m. I am outside skipping, jogging and singing to help to give me the stamina to make it through the frustrations of the day. Well, thanks for your webpage, it means something.

Thank God for answered prayer! I'm back from my 9th Burning Man and am definitely feeling more inspired about my book project and mission of sharing the joy of skipping with the world than before I left.

My experience in the desert this year was a lot more about tears, anger, and emotional upheaval than the glitter, bliss, and euphoria of past years. It began with all of the costumes I had created for the event blowing out of the top of the truck on the way there...and ended with an intense and painful relationship drama that broke my heart wide open.

While the majority of people were taking drugs and going wild out there, I was riding my bike alone in the open desert saying this prayer over and over, "Spirit of the living God work afresh in me. Spirit of the living God work afresh in me. Melt me. Mold me. Fill me. Use me. Spirit of the living God work afresh in me." I guess I shouldn't be surprised that things in my world got shaken up a bit, now should I?!

As I read my pre-burning man post, I can begin to see some method to all of the madness I experienced...Before my intense and trying experience, I was feeling emotionally blocked and like I couldn't access the deepest part of me that I need to write my book and tell my story in a powerful way. I most definitely reconnected with that part of me through all of the emotional intensity of my Burning Man experience...It wasn't pretty or fun.... But it did the trick. Now I am left looking forward to the future with hope and anticipating for what comes next.

This morning I got my butt out of bed early and went to the gym before work. It felt great to start my day with a power skip on the treadmill... and it feels great to be exercising my writing voice through this post. I can feel myself getting my skipping groove back and it feels great...With everything that is happening in New Orleans, my desire to do good in this world is huge....So onward and upward....I can't wait to see what the Universe has in store for me next. SKIP ON!

Tomorrow morning I am leaving for my annual Burning Man adventure (this year makes 9 in a row!) Here is my special prayer/intention for my experience...

Dear God/Goddess/Spirit/Higher Power:

I give my Burning Man 2005 experience to you....I am tired of being blocked on my book project...I am tried of being too scared to move forward with it....I am tired of letting my self-dobut and self-disgust dominate this part of my life.

I want to feel as free and inspired and full of joy as I did when you first called me to start skipping. Thank you for how you are speaking to me and for how I know deep in my heart that documenting my journey in writiing is what you are asking me to do with my life. What a blessing that I can hear your instructions so clearly.

Even though I know it doesn't help, I have been extremely disappointed in myself for being too afraid to manifest my dream. I recognize my childlike will that is digging in her heels and wanting to stay right where she is. That part of me is terrified of fully putting herself out there again. I give that part of me to you. Please fill my being with so much passion and inspiration that my story effortlessly flows out onto the page. Wake me up in the middle of the night so excited about my project that I can't help but get up and write, write, write!

Let every breath I take and every step I make out there in the beautiful desert be a powerful prayer to you. Melt me. Mold me. Fil me. Use me.

With love, gratitude, and enthusiastic anticipation...

Skipper Kim

One of the most rewarding parts about having the iskip.com website are all of the amazing kindred spirits I have met throughout my skipping adventure. One such person is a man named Daniel Decker who has an amazing website called The Gift Of Kindness. His initative is devoted to encouraging people, from all walks of life, to develop habits of kindness and compassion toward their fellow man.

The coolest thing about Daniel is that he completely walks (or skips?) his talk...This week he gave the skipping movement an incredible gift of kindness. He took the video tapes I have from a couple of the TV interviews I did back in 2000 when the skipping movement was starting to sweep the nation.

If you have a high speed connection on a PC, you can now watch clips of a great piece that KVOR-TV in Sacramento, CA did on the skipping movement. You also can watch yours truly skipping with Donny Osmond on national TV! Check it out!

Also be sure to check out Daniel's website. It's sure to bring a smile to your face and to put an extra skip in your step! Give a gift of kindess today....It's worth more than money can buy.

I apologize for letting so much time skip by between entries. It seems that life is moving extraordinarily quickly these days.

I had to do a quick post after I read about the nun who was reprimanded for dancing wildly at World Youth Day in Germany. I loved the picture of the nun busting a move with a young missionary!

The story reminded me of my previous post about my experience skipping with a nun while working a trade show in the Midwest. The skipping nun's superiors asked that I not post the picture that was taken of us skipping on the web. At first I didn't understand why...But now I wonder if they were nervous about the potential for national media!

I have great respect for women who dedicate their lives to service....I will pray for the day that the holy spirit can move freely enough within them that dancing and skipping become a perfectly acceptable thing for them to do! After all, both dancing and skipping are glorious ways to celebrate life!

Keep the emails and comments coming. It makes my day to get emails like this one from a 13-year-old skipper named Kristi...

I skip therefore I am. Or do I? Oh yes... yes, I defintely skip. I also leap and bound. My sister also is a spinning enthusiast but this unfortunately makes me much too dizzy... ugh. Oh well. It isn't exactly the skipping aditude to get too worked up about things, is it? After all, us skippers are the sorta people that sing in public. :-)

Funny that you should mention spinning, Kristi...The other day I was playing a very casual game of volleyball with some friends and I started spinning around in a circle while the server on the other side ran after the ball. I spun and I spun until I was so dizzy I could hardly see!

Unfortunately, the server got the ball and hit it over to our side just as I stopped spinning! Happily my team mates are also fun loving spirits because I was so dizzy that I missed the ball. They didn't get mad...Instead they said, "What's next Kim, are you going to make a website called ispin.com!?" Skip on! Spin on!

Last weekend I got a message on the skipper phone from a skipper who lives in Northern California. He left me a message saying he is a 14-year-old sophomore who loves to skip. So much so that one day he skipped throughout the halls of Amador High School singing John Lennon's Imagine and handing out little peace signs!

I loved hearing his story....I love to imagine a world where every community has one bright light like this skipper who finds joy through spreading a message of peace and love! Skipping is such a powerful way to add positive energy to the world around you.

Gandhi said, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world." I believe with all of my heart that when we can find the courage and inner strength to skip through life, we are being the kind of change our world desperately needs. Skip on!

This is pretty cool. I recently was contacted by a woman named Gina Goff who was writing a piece for City Search about unique places to workout in San Francisco. She had discovered iskip in her research and was inspired about including it in her write-up. The only problem was that I'm not currently leading regular skips in the city. So there wasn't a location for her to link skipping to.

Gina was determined to let people know that there are skippers in San Francisco. So she went ahead and added us as a fun way to workout in Golden Gate Park. (When I do lead group skips, that's where it happens!) We couldn't get prime placement in the article since we aren't tied to a gym, but she put us at the tip top of the "More Spots to Work Out" section. Pretty cool. Skip on, Gina!! :-)

The other night I worked late so didn't feel like going to the gym on the way home. I told myself I'd go out for a long walk/skip....But before I knew it most of the evening had skipped away from me.

I decided to order take out Sushi from a restaurant that is several blocks from my apartment so I could pick up dinner AND get a little exercise. I put on a pair of sweatpants and put my credit card in my pocket....and then I decided to wear something else...Only I forgot to take my card out of the pocket!

I walked all the way to the restaurant before I realized that my credit card was still at home in my sweat pants! I had to go all the way home and back again! I laughed as I realized that I was getting a good workout after all! I skipped all the way back to my apartment.

It feels so great to skip freely down the sidewalk...One guy that I passed smiled widely and said, "I see you...Skipping along...Skipping along!" I skipped by my local video store and waved to the guy behind the counter. I thought about the email I had just gotten from Donna about how she couldn't help but skip because she was enjoying the sky and the sun. I skipped by the cable car on Powell Street and felt incredibly lucky to live in a city as magical as San Francisco.

By the time I got home with my Sushi, I felt great! Skipping rocks my world.

Just got this email from a kindred skipping spirit and wanted to share...

I am a skipper and was just introduced to your website! I was skipping out at the Bayshore in Palo Alto last week, much to the humor of passersby. But I was enjoying the sun and blue sky, the birds and the wind and the bay, so skipping was required! Plus it's such a great workout! - Donna

Skip on Donna! Like you, I love how skipping throws us into the moment and helps us appreciate the simpler things....It's hard to be stressed about bills or problems when you are gleefully bounding down the street!!

Skipping burns twice as many calories as walking does...So for you walkers out there, try skipping a block every now and then and you will get a double bang for your caloric buck.

If you are someone who loves to skip, I'd love to hear from you! Write to me at kimskips@peoplepc.com and tellme your skipping story! Skip on!

I loved getting this email from a skipper named Jenny. It's good to know I'm not the only one who likes to skip in stores....

I have many skipping stories, but this one is the best. I was skipping through Best Buy (yes I know what you're thinking) and a salesman saw me and told me, "ma'am, skipping is not allowed in the store." I could not believe it and I got mad at that guy. He did not know who he was messing with. He later told me he was just kidding and followed me around the store asking if I needed help with the Cd's. geez! He annoyed me but it was pretty funny.

Skip on Jenny! One of my favorite places to skip is at the grocery store. There's something incredibly free and a little rebellious for me about skipping there especially. If you aren't a skipper, this might sound a little strange. But don't knock it until you try it. It's a great rush...and while people might give you a bit of a hard time...As long as you are skipping with the right intention, it's hard for them to take it all too seriously. Skip on!

Back when I was focusing on the skipping movement full time, there were 70+ skippers where there was an official "head skipper" who was helping to spread the skipping message in their home town! When I went back to working in the book publishing biz, those people hopefully kept skipping, but head skippers were no longer an active part of iskip.com.

Just last week, I completed a proposal for a book that I hope to write about the benefits of skipping to the beat of your own drummer. If all goes well, the book could potentially be out in Fall of 2006. My plan is to start collecting the names and email addresses of skippers around the world who are interested in organizing skipping events and groups in conjunction with the book's release.

I recently got this great email from a skipping couple asking how they can get more involved in the skipping movement....

Hi there, I found this website a few days ago and just love it. I have been skipping for three years. I just started one day during my walking activity and alternated for awhile. Now I just can't get enough of it. My wife is skipping also during her 4 mile walks. We live in Arkansas, so you can imagine the looks we receive. During deer season, we have to be extreeeeemly careful. Hunters think we are deer bounding about as we do. I am 51 years old, a custodian, part time music teacher, full time kid. My wife is 53, a teacher, and part time kid. Let me know how we can become more actively involved.

I love getting emails like this...and if you are someone who loves to skip, I invite you to please email me at kimskips@peoplepc.com to introduce yourself. I am starting a new email list of people who are interested in being "head skippers" and would love to add you to the list. Skip on!

As a proud promoter of positive energy, I am a huge fan of the smiley face! So much so that I carry a smiley face backpack everywhere I go. I also recently painted smiley faces on the hub caps of my 1990 Acura Legend...and have an entire smiley face shrine in my cozy San Francisco studio apartment.

Because I love the smiley so much, I was saddened to read about Kentucky's negative reaction to their Mr. Smiley license plate that was decorated with a smiling sun. Apparently, Mr. Smiley was just too cheery for some drivers...and he is being replaced with a new campaign called "The Unbridled Spirit".

The unbridled spirit...Wow! If Mr. Smiley has to go, I'm happy that they came up with such an inspiring replacement concept! The unbridled spirit makes me want to get out there and skip! It also inspires me not to let some people's negative feelings about the smiley face deter me from sharing the smiley face love wherever I go!