Day 1

DAY 1 of 31 days to Know You

Stillness.

That's the key to finding you. You've got voices all around you: music that replays in your head, conversations you had earlier in the day, a random word twenty years ago that you carry with you, the way that lady looked at you in the grocery store, that thing the teacher said to you in first grade. You've got no way to get to the stillness.

If you could get to where the Essence You lives, you'd know who you are.

TRY THIS: Sit still with a paper and pen nearby (not your computer -- you'll want to surf, read blogs, check e-mails --use paper and pen). Don't try to still your mind, instead listen to it. Let your thoughts wander. After awhile, pick up your pen and notebook and write as much as you can about what you were thinking.

Or THIS: Take your notebook and pen and write WHILE you think. Write as fast as you can and don't think about what you're writing. You can find this technique in WRITING DOWN THE BONES by Natalie Goldberg and in THE ARTISTS WAY by Julia Cameron.

You are not yet writing who you are, but you are beginning to find out who you think you are. This is day one -- and this enough for now. Keep this exercise going. Keep that journal separate and write it in at least ten minutes every day, more if possible. Don't let anyone read it. Don't let you read it, yet. You'll come back to it later.

Day 2