Speaking Mindfully – by guest blogger Cecily Paterson
Interview
Speaking mindfully I think about words a lot, and it’s not just because I’m a writer and editor. Mostly it’s because of my children. My seven year-old son has autistic spectrum disorder. His mind is kind of like a computer – what you put in, you get out. Some days everything that comes out of his mouth is bossy, critical and rude. Those are the days when I have to take a step back and think about how I have been speaking to him. When I’m rushed, or angry or annoyed, the words that come from my heart are destructive and unhelpful. And then I get them right back at me!
During a fight with my nearly teenage daughter last year, she yelled, “I hate you, Mum,” in the heat of the moment, and then went quiet. The words echoed between us in the car. Later she apologised. She knew that words were powerful. Now she tries to say exactly what she means, whether that is, “I’m tired and I don’t want to talk to you,” or “I’m feeling really frustrated right now.”
Speaking mindfully may be the hardest thing any of us can do. But it may also be the most important. Once words are out there for all to see or hear, it’s hard to take them back.
I’ve become annoying in my quest for accuracy with my words. My poor husband puts up with me asking things like “do you really mean that? Are you sure that’s the issue here? Perhaps you’d be better to say this or that?” as we try to have an argument. But it helps. When we can mindfully talk about the real issues without inflaming each other with thoughtless words, we do a lot better with each other.
Whether it’s in relationships, business or advertising, using words mindfully benefits ourselves, our families and our customers. The old, tried and true wisdom that my mother taught me was, “Think before you speak, for heaven’s sake!” In business, it can be translated as, “Get someone who knows what they’re doing to edit, rewrite and check your words for you.”
Cecily is a ‘pen for hire’, ghost-writer and sub-editor. She has authored three books, contributed to a fourth, and is awaiting publication of a fifth – a memoir about living with autism – this year. At the moment, she’s working on a fiction manuscript for young teen girls. www.cecilypaterson.squarespace.com
Image: Mindfully crafted ligature loop and stem poster. Click here to read more about the poster.
Mindful guest bloggers
Interview
During the month of March, in the lead-up and early onsale period for our Autumn edition, we are making the SOHI blog a local creative community platform. You can be guest blogger and in exchange for your insights, you can give your own product or service a plug! Email us for guidelines. The simplest thing you can do, an especially good idea if you are time-poor, is just email us your idea and if it’s very ‘SOHI’, we’ll give it the nod. You can then email the blog post to us with a few pics and we can format them so that they look pretty and neat and away we go.
So if you have an idea for a post which can be angled to complement our Autumn theme of mindfulness, get in touch. To give you some ideas, our definition of mindfulness encompasses mindful consumerism (embracing fair labour, organics, shopping locally, decreasing food miles, or lowering our energy use) and runs right through to mindfulness of the mind and spirit. We are even open to publishing some observational poetry about the local area. Observations of beauty are the simplest form of mindfulness!
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Laser 101 with Angela Lee
Good Reviews
We have been skimming the pages of Vogue Italia and wondering how we can refine our features to look as amazing as these incredible real women shot by Paolo Roversi. We asked Angela Lee of Skin Revival for some answers. She didn’t have them all, bone structure being one of those unchangeable things, but she certainly gave us the downlow on laser – a cost-efficient way to get results you can SEE. She is passionate about skin and in our interview you will find some tips that are accessible to everyone.
What are three reasons clients get last treatment? Photo-rejuvenation/pigmentation, broken capillaries (very popular, especially with the guys), and hair reduction.
Does it hurt? Pain is subjective so there is an individual response, generally there is minimal discomfort. Pre and post treatment cooling with a sapphire tip chilled to 5 degrees ensures safety and comfort.
Is there any downtime? It always depends on the type of treatment being done as well as the type of skin and amount of work required. Many clients are not in a position to have any downtime due to (work, social commitments ect) so treatments can certainly be customised to address this without sacrificing a great result.
What are your top three skin care tips? 1: Start your day by protecting your skin with a topical antioxidant then cover with a sun protector containing 20% zinc. 2: Feed your skin with great nutrition, include alpha lipoic acid, vitamin C and most of all Essential fatty acids supplements washed down with alkalised water. 3: Be kind to your skin! throw away your scrubs and toners there are now more effective ways to exfoliate the skin without damaging it.
What are the advantages of the Cutera machine? Where do I start? I LOVE my Cutera, having worked with many different machines this is my favourite. It is American made medical grade 4, its all about delivering the best possible outcome for each individual in the SAFEST possible way. The system offers such flexibilities with treatment parameters that I can customise settings for each individual client thus delivering the best results.
Angela operates from Bare Beauty in Nowra and many other South Coast locations: as far south as Bateman’s Bay and as far north as Wollongong. Check her site for details.
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Lisa Madigan at Loft
SOHI Calendar
One of our favourite local artists is showing at Loft Gallery very soon. It is her 11th solo exhibition, entitled Aphrodisia. Knowing what we already know of Lisa’s work, we are very excited. Her work is really so sensual it makes us blush! The Loft shows openings are a fab way to gossip away an afternoon in Bowral. Keep an eye out for Lisa’s styling work in the Autumn issue of SOHI.
Opens Saturday 26th February 2.30pm and continues 26th March 2011.
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Harriet Goodall’s Basket Weaving Workshop
Craft
By endless request, Harriet Goodall is sharing her gift with the world (or the world south of Sydney.) Hurrah! Her beautiful milking-shed-cum-workshop was featured on the cover of our second ever issue if you are unfamiliar with Harriet and her wonderful work. And she and her husband Mat were featured in the fashion story in our Spring issue.
Harriet has a few places left in a Random Weaving course on Thursday 24th March 10am – 3pm. Participants will look briefly at the history of basket-making, learn about harvesting and collecting suitable materials from nature and make a sculptural random weave basket. Some materials may also be taken home to continue practice. Places are limited to 10 people so everyone can have individual attention.
Workshops are being held at a beautiful private property “Woollybutt”, Wilde’s Meadow (15 minutes from Bowral, 2 hours from Sydney, 2 hours from Canberra). The cost is $100 for the day and includes notes, materials, tea/coffee and lunch.
Note: Harriet now has a website. For course enquiries, click here.
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