[Courses] [Spineful Living, lesson 1: Dreams]

[Aneesha Govil]

Hi Carla,

Do we have to post the dream list here, all of it?

Just wondering if it is required to do it like others.

--Aneesha

On 3/31/07, Carla Schroder <carla at bratgrrl.com> wrote:
>
> What do you want?
>
> It's a simple question, but it's one that most women can't answer. In
> general,
> we're not raised to aim high or to think that we can do or have anything
> we
> want, or that we can put our needs and wants first. We're raised to be
> good
> little servants, and to take care of everyone but ourselves. So your first
> homework assignment is to cast off your inhibitions, and ignore all those
> little voices that are continually telling you "no, you can't do that."
> Dream
> as freely and as largely as you can, and write it down. Forget about
> getting
> it "right", which another common Curse of Woman. Nobody but you can tell
> you
> what your real dreams and ambitions are. Even if you think you already
> know
> this stuff, give it a try- you might surprise yourself.
>
> Forget about "what will people think." Anyone who thinks your dreams are
> wrong
> or stupid is a lamer and not worthy of you.
>
> Forget about "I can't do that, it's not possible." That's not the point.
> The
> point is to throw away all the garbage that holds back your thoughts, and
> to
> be 100% self-honest.
>
> Forget about "I don't know what my dreams and ambitions are." They're
> there-
> you just have to sweep away the crud they're buried under. Maybe they are
> modest, like becoming a beekeeper or having a little house with an
> excellent
> garden to putter in, or finding mates for all the single socks in the
> world.
> Maybe they're grand, like working for world peace or traveling in space.
> Maybe they're character-related, like "I want to be more spiritual and not
> so
> obsessed with collecting stompy boots." Whatever they are, your job is to
> figure out what they really are and to put them on paper.
>
> If you need a jumpstart, ask yourself if you're doing the work you really
> want
> to do, or living where you want, or have the kind of family life you want.
>
> If you want, share some of your dreams with the list. It might help other
> people de-rust and start some ideas flowing. But it's not required. The
> idea
> is to practice being 100% honest with yourself, and opening up those
> clogged
> dream-pipes.
>
> Hang on to your dream list, because you're going to need it throughout the
> course.
>
> Your other assignment is to get the book "When I Say No, I Feel Guilty" by
> Manuel J. Smith. It's an excellent book that's been around forever, and
> which
> contains much of the inspiration for this Course.
>
> Another excellent book is "Mastering the Gentle Art of Verbal
> Self-Defense" by
> Suzette Haden Elgin. It excels at teaching how to recognize common verbal
> attacks, especially of the "dang, I think that's an attack but I'm not
> sure
> why," and how to not get sucked into off-topic, defensive, and pointless
> circular arguments.
>
> Lesson 2 will be posted next Friday-ish. In the meantime, feel free to
> discuss
> this lesson on the list. Please preserve the subject line.
>
>
> --
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Carla Schroder
> Linux geek and random computer tamer
> check out my Linux Cookbook!
> http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/linuxckbk/
> best book for sysadmins and power users
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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