Story Whispers ~ Dave Ursillo (and a giveaway)

I find myself eager for settling in with a cup of tea or glass of wine with those whom I admire and hearing their story whispers. I crave these stories and voices.

The magic inside of the words, the treat of the truth and that moment of ‘yes, me too’ are why we must keep sharing our stories. I am making an effort to hear stories in person and through connection as well as tell my stories in whatever ways the words wish to flow out.

Go listen to the story whispers all around you and make sure to tell some of your own.

 

Today I welcome Dave Ursillo and his gorgeous ability to weave words that make you feel, move, create and desire. Dave sent me a tweet a little over a year ago saying he too lived in RI and I was pumped to find a kindred writer in my state. Then he told me he was moving to NY. Dude! But when Dave is in RI we get the chance to co-work together in my secret coffee shop location and end up talking about writing, freedom and marketing for hours. While we work of course!

Words deliver magic. Dave and I meet at that place where every word is part of the passion for living. And inside of that passion for living there are no rules; you use your breath, your heart, your hands.

Giveaway Time!!!

Dave recently launched The Literati Writer's Group a place of juicy goodness for writers at any stage. I have had some inside glances into what he has created and I am overjoyed to share it with you. I believe in it so deeply that I want to offer a 3 month gift to one of my readers. Just leave a comment at the bottom and share with me a favorite quote from a book or poem. I'll draw a random winner next Thursday!

Please welcome Dave...

Take us through your gorgeous life in terms of your senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, sound and any others that you possess.

It's the taste of like rich, slow-brewed coffee cascading off of the first glimmers of morning. The first breaths after of a day, metabolizing possibility into reality. It's the smell of a deep salt breeze whisking through your lungs from over the bay; it sounds like car horns and city bustle of the East Village; it's the feel of four-hundred eyes fixated upon you on stage; it's the passing looks of the faces of one million strangers bobbing like a river as you walk down the street. 

Life itself is a thing of artistry, and every facet of the journey should be treated as such. That's how I work, how I create, and how I live.

 

In many ways, I want my work, my writing, to both mimic artistry and inspire it: to be art in itself, and evoke artistry in whoever might come across it. For each sentence to be inhaled like a blessing of the clean, warm breeze over the bay. For every revelation to ring out like a car horn's blast, awakening all the senses to reality; a sudden awareness of what's always been hiding in plain sight. And then there are the faces. Both in writing and in life, I hope to look into one million of them, and inspire one million smiles.

The moment you knew you had found your thing, the one that would propel you forward because you can’t not do it.

The moment feels eternally present: stitches in time, one-hundred little memories rolling in a slow boil to the surface before, finally, in October of 2008, when the lid blew off. I stand on my apartment balcony, it's 1:00 AM in Washington D.C. The morning hour is cold and dry. A fountain churns across the street and cars buzz down Connecticut Avenue. Dimly lit clouds of red hover between the glistening stars. It's a rare night when sleep will not come, and a tenseness, a frustration, an anxiety in my gut forces me out of bed and to my journal to write -- long before I considered myself anything of a writer, at all. And within moments, from difficult questions asked, a flurry of answers are spilled onto paper. I'm left with a revelation. Less what to do, or how to do it, but why to do anything at all: because what we choose is what we are capable of. And to choose ourselves is truly Divine.

How do you want to feel when you are inside of your creative life?

Free. Unencumbered and light, but grounded and rock-solid. Unshakable  Unapologetic. Like no one owns, restricts, forbids or denies any part of me and what I believe and what I choose to say, do, dare or dream. From that freedom, from that space, comes great responsibility. I want the responsibility of that freedom. I want others to have it, too. We have to trust one another to be self-determinant.

Magical moments: what are they to you and how do you open to receiving them?

My magical moments usually dawn just beyond a long pause of deep anxiety: tenseness, reluctance, outright fear. It's my passion, it's my brazen, it's my tenacity that carries me through the fear and unknown to reach the other side. The fear is how I know it's worth it. And on the other side of the uncertainty, there is joy. Total, shoulder-melting gratitude. It's how it feels when the message writes itself. When I spend hours on end with a friend, new or old or a total stranger, experiencing life and stories and conversation -- true moments, true presence. It's when I stand to teach new faces, or riff on an idea that matters to the listener. It's any advice I can muster, it's saying I care, it's showing up and proving it, and proving it, and proving it, and proving it.

Ritual that you start your day with.

I'm not a very ritual person, outside of my morning coffee. And yet I try to ease into every day from the early morning to find the day's flow. To find the flow of the day usually requires a bit of exploring, bending and tweaking: it depends on factors both outside and inside of myself, like the weather, the energy of the place or people around me, how I'm feeling myself, what priorities are about me and what my wants are in that moment. It's like tuning a guitar. Find the flow. Find the tune. Play.

Favorite part of you, physical or otherwise, tell us why you love it?

My heart. Unflinchingly strong. A powerhouse for good. It is a best friend, confidant and teacher -- one that has never asked for anything in return. My heart is the strongest thing about me. And I love that, by its nature, the heart is physically untouchable -- but can be felt by all.

Favorite quote:

This is a new favorite I came across while re-reading Walden by Henry David Thoreau, namely for its eerily similar sentiment of something I had been writing months prior: "A written word is the choicest of relics. It is something at once more intimate with us and more universal than any other work of art. It is the work of art nearest to life itself. It may be translated into every language, and not only be read but actually breathed from human lips; not be represented on canvas or in marble only, but be carved out of the breath of life itself."

A mantra or affirmation that guides you:

Lead Without Followers. Live from Within.

Your guiding word/s for the year:

Endeavor. {And, within that shell, to explore boldly; to experience deeply; to adventure widely. With total gratitude.}

 

Wanna win 3 months in The Literati Writer's Group? I know right??

Leave a comment down below, share a favorite quote from a book or poem with us. Us writer's love to collect quotes!

 

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Dave Ursillo Jr. is an author and entrepreneur who inspires change-makers for a living. A multi-published writer, passionate leader and life-explorer, Ursillo is the founder and CEO of The Literati Writers, a premium-membership writing community that helps writers create personal freedom, inspire change and craft lasting legacies of love through their art. He can be read at DaveUrsillo.com.

Story Whispers ~ Sas Petherick

I find myself eager for settling in with a cup of tea or glass of wine with those who I admire and hearing their story whispers. I crave these stories and voices.

The magic inside of the words, the treat of the truth and that moment of ‘yes, me too’ are why we must keep sharing our stories. I am making an effort to hear stories in person and through connection as well as tell my stories in whatever ways the words wish to flow out.

Today I welcome Sas Petherick in all of her fierce softness. I first saw Sas' face in an Instagram picture through a comment she left on someone's picture. I fell hard, the glowing red hair and that smile. So I did what any true stalker does and I followed her and said hello; she is now totally in my heart. 

Sas and I believe in that moment of time in your life when you are no longer willing to accept what is and you know that you, only you, are in control of this beautiful life. I am so deeply honored to invite her to share her story whispers with you.

Sas recently let soar into the world a treasury of wisdom called The Body Stories. It is an ebook, it is free, it is divine. Please make sure to get your copy and be forever touched and changed from the words and images that are inside.

Take us through your gorgeous life in terms of your senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, sound and any others that you possess.

I am woken each morning by BBC Radio 4 filled with world happenings. This is closely followed by purring nudges against my hand, from either Rex or Badger, requiring ear scratches.

I love the feeling of hot water teaming down my body while my mind dances (I have my best ideas in the shower); adorning my body with natural fibres in tones of chocolate brown, red, teal, purple, dark green, feathers and jewels.

Our home smells of rose essential oil or Nag Champa incense, and Arabica coffee beans grinding out the black magic. I adore the Bach cello suites of Yo-Yo Ma, and my husband is a massive jazz fan and so our home is filled with the sound of Monk, Coltrane, Davis: the greats.

Living in London I am surrounded by the great soup of humanity: it’s noisy and dirty and often overwhelming; but I will always be grateful to this place as somehow the harsh anonymity of it gave me permission to be myself.

The moment you knew you had found your thing, the one that would propel you forward because you can’t not do it?

I didn’t realise it at the time, but there was a moment when everything shifted for me. I was feeling sad, disconnected, my mind was scattered; mostly I was furious with myself, the universe and everything.

I went outside, and looked up and I was struck by an utterly overwhelming sense of being so vast, so enormously beyond comprehension, as though I was part of the star-filled night sky. I still can’t explain it.

After that moment, I felt compelled to change some things in my life, and it seemed the universe was conspiring with me. I started walking towards what I really wanted: I looked for ways to use my powers for good!

It has been a long winding road to here, but as the fabulously juicy age of 40 winks at me from around the corner, I am starting to make sense of the path that led me here. And it feels magical.

Feeling phrase: how do you want to feel when you are inside of your creative life?

Ripe, present, intuitive, energetic, and as though there are five baby rabbits doing flips in my belly.

Magical moments: what are they to you and how do you open to receiving them?

Roald Dahl said “those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” I love this quote! There is such magic in noticing your own life. Just being aware of frosty air on your face, the first bite of sea-salt chocolate, the sound of a baby giggling; these moments are tiny miracles. 

For me, magic shows up as synchronicity in words, numbers. And ladybugs: I will often hear the same phrase spoken by different people in the same day. And the number nine appears to be following me around.

My beloved Mum passed away ten years ago and I notice ladybugs (even in the freezing cold of winter) seem to be around whenever I really need her.

Ritual that you start your day with.

I love the few quiet moments standing in the kitchen waiting for the coffee, where I can stretch and take a breath.  

I often meditate in the morning (usually on a crowded tube). Just 20 minutes of stillness connects me to what is important.

Favorite part of your body, tell us why you love it.

My belly. It’s soft and a little squishy and I feel sad that for most of my life I have actively hated it. If only I had known how much it had to teach me! My belly is where my intuition lives; it is where I connect my body, mind, emotions and spirit together. My belly is where I am harnessed to my consciousness.

Favorite quote:

‘Nothing good gets away’ ~ John Steinbeck

A mantra or affirmation that guides you:

‘I am unlimited and abundant’

One of the things I have come to know is that I really don’t need much: just Mr P, our cats Rex and Badger, my tribe, and my inner guidance. (Okay, and my MacBook). The days I spend with them are the ones filled with magic, and this reaffirms that I am living and constantly co-creating a magnificent life.

The cosmic joke of being unlimited and abundant while actually needing very little is not lost on me.

Your guiding word/s for the year:

‘Amplify’.

For me this means living my whole life - feeling the full spectrum of emotions, being aware of and awake to possibility, and living in tune with what matters to me. I have a sense that 2013 is going to be pretty awesome.

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Sas Petherick is a writer, coach and Life Transformer for people who want an Amplified Life full of WOO HOO! moments. Sas believes nothing good gets away – it’s never too late to choose a new story for yourself.

Sas spent almost twenty years helping thousands of people navigate change in their place of work, before a combination of loss and grief prompted my own transformation path. She is a CTI trained Co-active Coach, and is thrilled to be joining Martha Beck’s Life Coach training in 2013.

Sas is currently coaching 1 on 1, as well as putting the final touches on emBODYment: a juicy online programme for women who want to change their body story and can be found at her beautiful new website : http://www.saspetherick.com/.