I love my job as a book publicist at New World Library because it connects me with so many like-minded people who are changing our world for the better. It feels really good to help my authors get their work out into the world via radio, tv, newspaper, and magazines.

One of my authors this season is a nationally recognized psychic named Darrin Owens whose book Reader of Hearts: The Life and Teachings of a Reluctant Psychic is releasing this week!

Darrin believes there are thousands upon thousands of Americans with untapped psychic and spiritual abilities. That's why his psychic readings are designed not only to give his clients a vision for their future, but also to help them develop their own psychic and spiritual gifts.

Darrin knows all too well how challenging living with misunderstood psychic and spiritual abilities can be having grown up in the bible belt of Arkansas. In addition to telling his inspiring story, Reader of Hearts offers all of us the insight and encouragement we need to deepen our own spiritual connection and to realize our psychic gifts.

Not only is Darrin a psychic, he's also a skipper as evidenced by this excerpt from a blog entry he did this week...

On Sunday I took my darling pup Tobey out for a hike in the woods. It was beautiful! As I was walking down the wooded path, the breeze flowing gently through the trees, birds singing me their songs, I suddenly, out of nowhere, was hit with a skipping fit! I acted as if Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz possessed me and Tobey became Toto and of we both skipped down the imaginary yellow brick road. I loved it!!!

Skip on Darrin! I love it too! Darrin will be doing quite a bit of traveling in the coming months to promote his book...Including a trip to San Francisco to skip with me! Check out his website for his travel schedule and/or to learn more about the readings he does both on the phone and in-person.

Skipping on the treadmill has to be one of the most fun things you can possibly do at the gym.

I feel like I am finally over the hump as far as getting myself to workout before work. I've gone the past two mornings and that is all it takes for me to remember how great it makes me feel. I've been thinking and talking a good talk about getting back into a regular exercise routine for a few weeks now...So it feels good to finally be in action around those intentions.

The thing I love most about skipping on the treadmill is the sharp energetic contrast between my skipping and that of the runners next to me. I feel so playful and free. At first, I worried my skipping rhythm might throw the runners off, but most of them are so in the zone they hardly seem to notice I'm skipping. I play a happy song on my ipod and completely get lost in my joy. This morning the song of choice was Cool Change by the Little River Band.

Why not give skipping a try the next time you are on a treadmill? I usually start by setting the speed to a brisk walking pace... Try 4.2...I walk for a couple of minutes then warm up by mixing about 10 skipping steps in every so often. Eventually I work up to skipping for several minutes at a time with a minute walking breaks in between sets.

Of course, it's good to practice skipping a lot on solid ground before moving to the treadmill! It's much more challenging to skip on a moving object. So skip safely and skip on!

The skipping movement has felt Divinely inspired from the very start. I believe there is a unique way each of us is called to contribute our gifts to the world and promoting the joy and freedom of skipping (as unusual as I know that sounds) is a big part of what I was born to do.

Since it is Easter, it seems like the perfect time to tell you about a skipper namd Peter in Florida who started skipping after researching references to exercise in the bible. He found numerous references to skipping and became so inspired he started doing it himself. He also wrote and self-published a book called King Solomon Skipped. When Peter found iskip.com and wrote to tell me about his skipping findings, it strengthened my Faith in the skipping movement in a fun and powerful way.

Here are a few of the references that inspired him to start skipping:

**In the Songs of Solomon, chapter 2, verse 8 says, "Behold he comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills".

**In the book of Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament), in the
last chapter referring to the last days it says, "But for you who fear
my name, there will arise the sun of justice with healing in his
wings; and you will gambol like calves out of the stall." (Webster's
new international dictionary defines gambol as a skipping or leaping
about in play: a frolicking movement.

***Luke 1:41....When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby skipped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

**In Acts 3:1-8 is speaks of how Peter and John went up to the temple
to pray. They met a man begging for alms who had been lame since birth.
Peter said to him, "silver and gold have I none; but such as I have
give I to you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and
walk. .and leaping up he stood and walked, and entered with them into
the temple, walking, leaping, and praising God.

** Luke 6:22,23 speaks of leaping for joy. The first definition for
this word leaping in the Greek- English dictionary is to skip.

Of all of the people who have written to share their moments of skipping inspiration, I must say Peter's story ranks right up there as one of the most unique! Amen Peter! Blessed be! Skip on!

I had what had to be one of the most fun commutes to work in the history of the world today!

It has been raining here for weeks on end. This morning the sun was shining bright as I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge with my ears flapping in the wind. People waved and honked and smiled and laughed. What a wonderful way to start the day. Happy Easter! Skip on!

Tonight I skipped down to Citizen Cupcake inside Virgin Records to hear my friend Zanne Mack play an unplugged set. Another long time friend of mine Andrea manages the cafe and brings in live music every Wednesday night!

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the poster for Jack Black's new movie at the store. Is it me, or is Jack striking a super skipper pose!? Skip on Jack Black!

The SKIP ON! image on my postcard was taken by the amazingly talented Margot Duane back in 2000 in the early skipping days. She took me up to the Marin Headlands and said, "You are the skipping Queen and you can do anything! Now let me see you skip girlfriend!"

I bring SKIP ON postcards everywhere I go so it has become quite the skipping calling card! I also love to send them to kindred spirits I meet through iskip.com. If you email me and share a skipping story and your mailing address, I'd be happy to send you one too.

If it's a Jack Black poster you are after instead, I found one for sale on a website called Poster World. Skip on!

I went for an amazing skip on Monday night! I live near a very steep hill in San Francisco where the cable car runs. I started at the top and skipped all the way down through the financial district. I skipped for quite a distance before walking the rest of the way home.

It's amazing to realize it has been exactly seven years since I started skipping and created iskip.com. While the 15+ minutes of fame I experienced were great, I must say I have been enjoying my skipping anonymity even more. Instead of a media whirlwind, skipping has become more of a spiritual practice for me. My love affair with it continues.

My intention for this spring is to get out and about and skip like that a lot more often. It's such a great way to see the city and to connect with life. Otherwise I spend way too much time curled up on my new couch. :-)

Yet another inspired skipper found iskip.com this week. I am sharing her email and my response to hopefully paint a clearer picture of how you too might be able to get involved in the skipping movement! Email me if you are interested in starting a skipping club in your area!

I love the idea of skipping. I used to do it all the time. My best friend and I still do on occasion when we are being silly. Just thinking about it makes me smile. Thanks for starting this movement. I am going to start the movement in my area! --Amy in Anchorage, Alaska

Amy, I would love to support your local skipping efforts on iskip.com! If you organize a group skip or a skipping club, etc. we can work together to create an Anchorage page on the website.

Tell me more about what you want to create! There are so many different ways to get people together to skip. Are you looking for people to skip for serious fitness? For fun? To raise awareness about something positive? To spread positive energy?

Skipping Clubs have taken many forms...A fundraising skip for a cause where you get kids and parents involved... A one time group skipping event in a public place... Regular walking/skipping groups that meet in the mornings....Individuals who skip long distances for a cause....One or two people who go out with the simple intention of promoting skipping...Etc!

Getting people to do group skips can be more challenging than you might think! But it sure is fun trying! The quality of people that come to the skip is amazing. Almost by definition, people have to be willing to tap into their free spirited, positive energy side in order to participate! Don't know about you, but I want as many people like that in my life as possible right now.

My best advice if you want to start a local skipping club/movement is (1) get out there and start skipping as much as you can yourself and talk to as many people about your skipping plans as you can (2) work with me to create an iskip.com/anchorage page on the website that introduces you as the skipping club president and shares your vision for a local "movement" (3) prepare for magic to happen, enjoy the ride, and see what happens!!

Let me know if you want to create your own skipping chapter webpage and I'll send you some profile questions to get you started. I'd also need at least one picture of you skipping. Skip on Soul Sister!

Becki in Florida is totally inspiring me with her commitment to skip every day! As those of you who are regular readers know, i did my own 21-day experiment a few weeks ago....But I ended up doing very little actual skipping. My intention (as soon as it stops raining here in San Francisco) is to get out there and start skipping at least a couple times a week. It is soooo good for my soul. I don't know why I don't do it all the time!

Here's the latest update I received from Becki..... Her atittude about getting people to join her skipping club is perfect! Group skips are all about quality and not quantity....It is simply too confronting for most adults to skip down the street! I find that reality incredibly sad....which is why my life mission is inspiring more and more people to start skipping...and to invite as many people as possible to join them! If you are a skipping spirit, SKIP ON and don't let yourself be deterred by people who don't get it! The world needs your positive skipping energy now more than ever!! Now, here's Becky.....

By the way, I'm 13 days I think into my experiment. Cutting out the coffee was no problem, Skipping is a little different. I think I'm over the hump. I'm finding that my inner skip is the little voice in my head that says, "You can do it! Go for it! Get out there!" I'm not afraid of what people think for the most part. Once in a while I cringe when I see someone that I deem "important". Then a few seconds later I say, "C'mon! Skip with me!" Some join in, some say, "not for me". I'm able to skip longer distances now. I get a lot of ribbing from my circle of my hubby's friends. I think they want to skip, they're just timid. I always leave an open invitation anywhere I go and I leave a little skipping card (business card) that has the time and date of the next group skip. I'm not worried about people joining the club, I just want them to skip or come skip with me. SOme one told me this weekend that he thinks I'm like an alcoholic that doesn't want to drink alone, he wants people to drink with him. I'm like a skipper that doesn't want to skip alone. I don't know if I agree with that. Some days I like to skip alone. It's cleansing to my soul. I do want people to experience what I'm experiencing with my skipping journey. I feel like I have found something fun, healthy and therapeutic and of course I want to share it with everyone.

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!