Author: halmartin

  • Finding Hope — Ways to See Life in a Brighter Light

    Finding Hope — Ways to See Life in a Brighter Light

    “It is hope which makes the shipwrecked sailor strike out with his arms in the midst of the sea, though no land is in sight.”

    OVID

    Finding Hope is a rare gem, a book that makes a difference. I personally have gifted Finding Hope to more than 300 people. The book Finding Hope is big enough to change a life and small enough to travel with you everywhere. Finding Hope is useful for both the hopeful and the hope challenged. The book plants seeds of hopefulness even in those whose situations invite despair.

    With gentle invitations, thoughtful reflections, and compelling images, Jevne & Miller invite us to new understandings about hope including how to foster hope in our own lives and how to invite others to do the same. Every page offers relevant, achievable strategies for finding and practicing hope.

     

    Finding Hope is a great resource for students, patients, health care providers, caregivers, educators, and clergy. It is well received by individuals and great as a resource for short term group interventions.

    Sharon L. Moore, PhD, RN, R. Psych.
    Professor, Faculty of Health Disciplines
    Athabasca University

    Buy@amazon.ca

    Buy@amazon.com

  • Words can change the world – Annual Young Writers Contest

     

    Sponsored by The Prairie Wind Writing Centre

    Words can change the world

    Categories, Guidelines & Prizes

    You may write a story, an essay, a poem, or submit something that is creative but doesn’t fit the other three categories. Entry is free! All entries will be judged on originality and style, including grammar and spelling.

    Short Stories

    A short story must be no longer than 1,500 words.

    Poems

    Poems must be no longer than 36 lines Write your poem in any form

    (sonnet, ode, haiku, free-style, etc).

    Essays

    Essays must be no longer than 1,000 words, but can be either a ‘persuasive’ or an ‘informative’ essay.

    Creative Writing

    Creative writing submissions must be no longer than 1,000 words and may include images. Submitted posters, graphics, or photos will not be returned.

    Prizes: $150 gift certificate in each category.

    Rules for Entrants

    • Entrants must be enrolled in school and within the defined age range.
    • All submissions must be the author’s original work and unpublished elsewhere.
    • The competition is limited to one submission per contestant.
    • The author’s name must not appear anywhere on the submission. Instead, the submission should be identified below the title by the distinct registration number found on the bottom of the individual’s registration form.
    • Submissions should be typed and double spaced on 8½ x 11″ pages, complete with page numbers, if multiple pages are required.
    • Authors should include an original title representing the subject of the submission.
    • Do not illustrate your story, poem, or essay. Submissions for the creative writing category may include an image or graphic.
    • All entries must be submitted by the designated date.
    • Entries will neither be returned to the authors, nor critiqued for the authors.
    • Please keep a duplicate personal copy of your original submission.
    • The authors with retain full ownership of their submissions to this contest, and no one other than the author may use any of the written material without the expressed written permission of the author.

     

  • Guiding Client Writing

    Guiding Client Writing

    Watch for this soon-to-be-released title.

    Ronna has presented nationally and internationally on how to guide client writing. She is now gathering her thoughts from years of experience into a sourcebook for practitioners.

    Guiding Client Writing is intended for skilled mental health providers. It addresses: evidence of the benefits of reflective writing, schools of thought about reflecting writing, ethical considerations including how to structure sessions, multiple writing strategies, and client scenarios.

    A separate section addresses the use of reflective writing for practitioners themselves.

    For purchase information please contact the author
    Ronna Jevne

  • Websites

    Finding strength and peace through reflection   —Dr. Ronna Jevne Phd.—ronnajevne.ca

    National Association for Poetry Therapy   https://poetrytherapy.org

    International Women’s Writer’s Guild   https://www.iwwg.org

    Writing to Heal and Grow   —Sue Reynolds—https://goforwords.com

    Progoff Journalling  https://www.intensivejournal.org

    How About Writing   —Gillie Bolton—https://www.gilliebolton.com/

    Hope Foundation   https://sites.google.com/a/ualberta.ca/hope-studies/

    Words and History   —Fay Holt—http://www.wordsandhistory.ca/

    Journal Therapy—Kathleen Adams

    Free Fall Writing—Barbara Turner Vessalago

    Published Works (Poetry)—Deena Metzger

  • Photography for the Inner Me: I Can See Clearly Now

    Explore how you see the world. Learn that the lens points both directions. As we look out into the world, we are looking into ourselves. Combine improving your photographic skills with learning about and nourishing your inner me. In some instances, we blend writing with photography to add depth to the understanding our inner life being revealed through image. When we see clearly, our lives are more satisfying. How though do we learn to “see clearly?”

    Engage in short, fun assignments that invite your eye to learn to focus. Enjoy how perspective can deepen with a camera in your hand. Learn how the principles of photography can help you “see” your life in a different light. Your “eye” can help you enjoy your inner “I”.

    Date, time, place: TBA

    Facilitators: Ronna Jevne & Hal Martin

    FEE: including lunch and workshop materials

     

     

    PHOTO

    Register for the “Photography for the Inner Me” Workshop:

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  • Writing as healing

     

    Ask readers, “What helped you through your divorce, or through the loss of a loved one, or what inspired you to go for your dream?” Commonly, they will tell you about something they have read. The self-help section of a bookstore is a well-browsed array of advice written by distant healers. Say to a writer, “You are a distance healer” and the response would likely be a puzzled frown.

    What have you read that spoke to you at a deep level? It could as easily have been a poem as a novel, an essay, or a play. What touched you may have been in a book, in a magazine, or on a poster. It might have been fiction or non-fiction. Literature can touch our souls. As a young person, Dr. Hudson’s Secret Journal was the impetus for me to start the life-long practice of journaling. I am sure that Lloyd Douglas had no idea that he would change my life.

    (more…)

  • Taking time to reflect

    Photo by P. Jevne

    A reflective life takes time but so does repeating the stupid moments of our lives. New tears inform. Tears of repeated errors torment. If life is a series of teachable moments, I prefer new lessons.

    When I am 80, I want to feel 80. I want to have earned the wrinkles, enjoyed the peace, known what my life was about. I want to be endeared to my errors and unrepentant for the adventures that went wrong. The stories I tell will have morsels of wisdom and an abundance of humor. The characters will be complex and their motives, on occasion, still puzzling. Those who read my memoirs will be perplexed at how little of me they knew, and I will delight in them being mystified.

    (more…)

  • Celebrating Sixty: Impulsive Meditations on more than Six Decades

    Celebrating Sixty: Impulsive Meditations on more than Six Decades

    Celebrating Sixty is a compelling collection of personal essays on deeply important topics such as, but not limited to, friendship and family, spirituality and abundance. The author shares a series of honest conversations about what she has navigated, created, survived, and loved. Using the lens of gratitude, we see the potential for challenge to join grace, curiosity and passion to craft a life of depth, a life of gratitude. There is no Pollyanna here, no glossing over the pain and perplexing moments. In the encounters of the author’s life, we see the kernel for celebration, not only in her life, but perhaps in our own. The insight and humour in her thoughts and reflections, interpretations and comparatives, would be richly valuable to those from any age cohort. Reading Celebrating Sixty will leave you asking questions about your own life.

    buy @ amazon.ca

    buy@amazon.com

  • Living Life as a Writer

    Living Life as a Writer

    Living Life as a Writer is a collection of more than sixty, 300-400 words reflections on being a writer. Each is accompanied by a photograph. Others are complemented by image. Some are serious. Some are light. Each essay addresses some aspect of the day to day experience of the writing life. These real life practical observations leave you asking questions about your own challenges, quirks and passions as a writer.

    buy @ amazon.ca

    buy@amazon.com

     

    Living Life as a Writer transports you to the heart and soul of the experience of living a writer’s life. Jevne skillfully creates captivating snapshots of the joys and challenges of writing, through poignant personal reflections, vivid imagery, and practical suggestions. This book will resonate with all writers who are passionate about honing their craft – an inspiring requisite companion to a writer’s life.”

    ~ Cheryl Nekolaichuk, experienced professional and reflective writer

  • Tea for the Inner Me: Blending Tea with Reflection

    Tea for the Inner Me: Blending Tea with Reflection

    Tea for the Inner Me is an invitation to find that quiet and wise place within yourself by blending the time-honored ritual of tea and the practice of journaling. Jevne weaves the story of her early experiences of tea with the need for reflection time and with scientific evidence of the value of journaling. The author assures us we needn’t love tea or be enthusiastic about writing.

    After reading a convincing argument for the need for tea for the inner me, enjoy “reflections on tea”, reflections and suggestions for journal writing and a suggestion for three conversations with yourself. Seven photographs assist the reader by being accompanied with an essential guiding question. Tea for the Inner Me will help you to turn off the radio or television, to sit quietly, and to take time for tea while you pose questions to yourself and your world with pen in hand.

    “Tea for the Inner Me has changed my entire life. Taking moments of reflection for myself while sipping tea and journalling, has helped me to better understand myself and others. This has led me to a happier life.” ~ Krishna Gupta

    Tea for the Inner Me makes a great gift for that special friend.

    Available soon on Amazon

    Price: $15.95 CAD
    Shipping: $8 CAD
    For purchase please contact the author
    Ronna Jevne