TOOLS WITH HEART NEWSLETTER

Premiere Issue: Holiday Season

www.toolswithheart.com

"What are you doing today? Do you keep a journal?
And so I make my first entry today." - Henry David Thoreau

In This Issue:

~ Welcome from Felice Willat
~ Special Holiday Offers - Gift Suggestions
~ About Tools With Heart
~ Holidaze - Sue Meyn - Journal Coach Extraordinaire
~ On-line Journal Class
~ Who Has the Time?
~ Why Journal? - Honor the Seasons
~ Win free gifts - Journal Entry Contest
~ How to Unsubscribe

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WELCOME

Greetings friends and journalers, and welcome to the premier issue of the Tools With Heart newsletter. Each issue will highlight the latest healing benefits of journal writing, special offers, gift suggestions and new products. We welcome your comments and suggestions as well as offer free gifts for entries on a selected topic. More about Tools With Heart later.

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SPECIAL HOLIDAY OFFERS!

FREE SHIPPING AVAILABLE WITH ALL ORDERS RECEIVED BEFORE DECEMBER 20!!

GIFT SUGGESTION!

Each carefully selected product offered by Tools With Heart will make a very special and personal gift for all the women on your list. Don't know which one to choose?

The beautiful Woman's Book of Changes is a thoughtful and heartfelt gift for all women - mom, daughter, sister, good friend. 'Woman's Book' includes Warm-up Tools, BodyScape Map, Seasonal Changes Log, Reflections on what matters most, Dream Journal, Journal Tips, What to do if you get stuck, and a custom-designed iridescent silk gift bag at no charge.

See all of our journals, writing tools & refills, tools for relaxation and Gifts from the Heart at www.toolswithheart.com.

To get free shipping, be sure to select "newsletter offer" in the SHIP TO field on the order form.

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ABOUT TOOLS WITH HEART

I took my first journal writing workshop in 1978. Although I kept diaries as a teenager and recorded my dreams in journals for years, 1978 was a pivotal year. The weeks following that workshop were the beginning of a new career, home, marriage, family and most importantly, a new outlook. Journaling helped build my self-esteem, refine my values and create more enduring relationships. Journal writing is even at the root of my career. I developed a journal calendar system that evolved into the most popular personal organizer system in the marketplace, selling to over 20 million people over the last 23 years. The Day Runner was a tool that promised to keep us on time and in control when people thought time was the scarcest resource. "These are the days of the time famine," said TIME magazine.

As we sped toward the end of the millennium, it became clear to me that what we needed was a time-out - time out for time in. Tools With Heart was born in 1997 with Woman's Book of Changes, the first organizer journal to help clarify women's lives from the inside out.

Each issue of the Tools With Heart newsletter will invite you to rant, rave and bare your soul, reduce worry lines, soothe your blues away, savor the luscious moments, and renew your passion for what is sacred in your life.

Blessings for your holidays,

Felice Willat

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HOLIDAZE - SUE MEYN, JOURNAL COACH EXTRAORDINAIRE

Sue Meyn believes in Journal Power. The journal, she says, is powerful because the user is powerful.

The journal simply reflects back to us that which we have written. Each of us, Sue believes, has his or her own power, inner resources and gifts, which Sue refers to as individual "magic."

Here is a journal topic to consider for this time of year!

HOLIDAZE

So, how are YOU holding up? Are you one of those who enjoy the season, despite the pushing and shoving of shoppers, tyrannical drivers and rising credit card balances? If you are...congratulations. If not, and you are having trouble enjoying yourself, perhaps you need to settle into some gentle journaling. It's ok...it won't take long. Just give yourself fifteen minutes to breathe, close your eyes, envision a holiday time that brought you joy...I'm serious...Take a deep breath...Another...Another...Now let yourself remember a moment of joy from a past holiday...Can you see it?...How old were you then? Who was there with you?...What made it so special?...Breathe into that time...allow yourself to really be IN it...and pick up the feelings, the magic and the energy of those with whom you shared that time...Feel yourself slowing your breathing and remembering...those descriptive words just rise to the surface...You actually begin to feel transformed by this past joy...

When you have been there long enough, take another gentle breath, open your eyes and set your timer for six minutes--more than enough time to record a holiday full of joy. Let it lead you into a remembrance of what is truly meaningful to you.

When you have completed your journal piece allow yourself to move forward enchanted by your memory. Let's all work together to make our days sacred and special...Happy Days - Sue

ON-LINE JOURNAL WRITING CLASS

"Journal Magic" now is offering month-long Online Journal Writing Classes. The theme for our next group, which will begin on Jan. 5, is "Moving Forward with Faith, Forgiveness and Fun". Each segment of the group will be sent out weekly by email. You can join in at your own speed and pace. Each group member will get a set of "Journal Cards" to use throughout the group as part of the group fee. Registration begins Dec.1. To register or for more information contact Sue@JournalMagic.com.

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WHO HAS THE TIME?

"If one quality defines our technocratic age, it is acceleration. Our computers, our movies, our sex lives, our prayers - all run faster now than ever before. We have become a quick-reflexed, multi-tasking, channel-flipping, fast forwarding species." - James Gleick

How do we find the time to cut out the distraction, walk into the garden, write in our journals - have a moment of silence? You will not likely complete everything on your to-do list today, but if need be, you could start by writing down what's on your mind - things to-do's, calls to make, people to see, places to go. Better it be in your Day Runner than on your mind. Don't forget to include time out for time in. I have found that the most productive and meaningful plans were the result of the journal process. Marjorie Kelly, writing in Business Ethics says, "Perhaps the chaos so many of us feel isn't a problem but an opening, a door onto a new relationship to time, where only half our task is getting life to do what we want it to do. The other half is discovering where life itself wants us to go."

Practice picking up your journal in the middle of the chaos, press the pause button, write down a phrase, take a word picture. Learn what a few minutes of contemplation can do.

"Taking the time to collect our thoughts, like some people collect teaspoons or thimbles from each state, sounds like an old-fashioned activity. Collecting our thoughts seems to come from the era of smelling salts and calling cards, of languid yesterday. It is an utter necessity in our speeding today. Tell your story. Look. Listen. Savor. Dissect. Capture the transience of the moment before it drifts like chiffon in an evening breeze, down the alley and away."- Bob Greene and D.G. Fulford, brother and sister, from Personal Journaling.

"A mind that is fast is sick. A mind that is slow is sound. A mind that is still is divine." - Meher Baba

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WHY JOURNAL?
Honor the Seasons

Each season of the year brings with it unique sensations and influences us with a distinctive tempo and energy. Although you may not realize it, your body and mind are naturally attuned to an eternal cycle of growth, ripening, harvest, and rest. With the arrival of spring, you feel renewed and eager to make a fresh start. When the summer sun shines, you grow more gregarious and lighthearted. When autumn comes, you rededicate yourself to work and get satisfaction from seeing the fruits of your labor. And when the blue silences of winter descend, you may feel quiet and prefer more solitary pursuits. Rhythms of nature affect your mood, your health and your journal writing.

Tools With Heart has developed seasonal journals adapted from Peggy Wynne Borgman's beautiful book Four Seasons of Inner and Outer Beauty, Rituals and Recipes for Well-Being Throughout the Year. They will remind you of the distinct rhythms of each season. As you begin to align yourself with them, you may find that life seems to flow more easily, or that the things that once caused you to feel "stressed out" don't have the same effect. Here is an excerpt from our journal Winter: Season of Stillness.

A Season to Journal - Winter: Season Of Stillness

Winter invites us to rest from the frantic activity of the other seasons and to reflect on what we have accomplished. This is the season of sleep for the earth and many of its creatures, and it is the season of stillness and rest for us. It is the end of the earth's fertile period, a time when we focus energy inward, allowing for the replenishment that is vital to future growth.

Winter is the season of the feminine. In Chinese medicine, yin is associated with water. Yin energy is at high tide during the winter. In most regions, there is rain or snow. The sound of water can be tremendously soothing, like the gentle patter of rain on the roof. It is a season to study - a period in which we are perfectly aligned to absorb nutrition and enjoy quiet companionship.

The Winter Dream Journal

Winter gives us an opportunity to reflect on the previous seasons and assimilate the lessons of our year. Much of this work may happen on an unconscious level during this season if you align yourself with the receptive, observing energy of winter. This is a natural time to pay attention to what's going on in our subconscious. Though winter is an excellent season to begin recording dreams, the practice should continue throughout the seasons of the year.

Tools With Heart Dream Tips

~As you fall asleep, repeat out loud three times: "I will remember my dreams when I awake. I will write them down in the morning."
~If you feel fragile, write, "I will release any feelings of low self-esteem in my early morning dreams" just before you fall asleep.
~Ask for a healing dream, ask for guidance, ask for specific clues to help you take action in your waking life.
~In the morning, immediately write down key phrases, words or even snippets of images.
~Clarify your dream by giving it a title.
~Draw a doodle of anything that seems to ring true. Remember, your dreams speak in pictures, metaphors and symbols.
~Write freely about what that important "something" might mean. Let your pen and mind roam on this one.
~Your dream journal will eventually become a wonderful collection of your personal dream symbols and life lessons. It will reveal your commitment to your deepest inner knowing.

Make a memory elixir to keep by your bedside:

10 drops rosemary essential oil
18 drops lavender essential oil

Combine and place in a ¸ ounce cobalt or amber glass dropper bottle.

Because all essential oils affect the portion of the brain responsible for memory and bypass the mind's cognitive processes, they can help you more freely explore your subconscious dream world.

See all Seasonal Journals as well as Peggy's book and receive free shipping before December 20th!

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WIN FREE GIFTS - JOURNAL ENTRY CONTEST

How has your journal writing helped you with New Year's resolutions? Do you have a technique to finding your purpose and what's most important in your life? Send your submission to Felice. If we use it in our newsletter, take your choice of any calendar for your Woman's Book free. See all the calendars and refills.

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HOW TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM OUR NEWSLETTER

We hope you enjoyed receiving the Tools With Heart newsletter. However, if you'd rather not receive future editions, we will gladly remove your email address from out list. Unsubscribe by replying to this email and typing REMOVE in the subject field.

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REMEMBER

Journaling is not a test.
There are no deadlines.
There are no grades.
No need to sensor your words.
Suspend judgment.
Grammar is not an issue.
Erasing is not necessary.
Spell-check does not exist.
What you write is what needs to be written.
Don't search for meaning. Just write.
Don't worry if you think the paper is too pretty to write on. You're worth it.

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FREE SHIPPING AVAILABLE WITH ALL ORDERS RECEIVED BEFORE DECEMBER 20!!

Felice Willat writes the Tools With Heart newsletter. We encourage you to forward it to your friends and family who may benefit from it. We only request that you keep it intact including our contact and copyright info.