Pandemic Anxiety Busters~

Here is a lovely and needed post from Cindy Knoke!

In the last two posts we started filling our anxiety busting toolbox and we are now down to our final three tools.*

Thank you to all the bloggers who added their own personal tools that work. They are most helpful and are incorporated into our toolbox. Choose any tool(s) that might work for you, and discard any/all that are not a good fit. Add more of your own resources that work. Adapt your toolbox to suit yourself. The most important thing, regardless of the specific tools, is to have tools in your awareness, to improve your mood, and ease your anxiety, when bad things happen.

Here is our toolbox:

ANXIETY TOOLBOX:

Self Talk Reframing (Cognitive Therapy)

Guided Imagination/Visualization

Exposure Management

Progressive Relaxation

Distraction in Action

Self Soothing

Second Voice

Spiritual Meditation/Prayer

Exercise, Diet & Good Health Practices

SECOND VOICE

Carl Jung emphasized the importance of paying attention to our inward…

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Blog Post 3:Maledicus Reaction

Here is one of my students’ blog on my book: Maledicus: The Investigative Paranormal Society Book I.

Bryce Erdman's Blog

I have to admit, coming into this class I was worried about the focus on gothic and horror. I have never been a fan of horror movies and books, and I was not looking forward to reading them. However, I am very glad I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed reading Maledicus. For me it was one of those books that forces you to keep turning the page, and that was for a few reasons.

The most important of these reasons was the characters. Each and every character got a thorough background which helped me connect with them. Each member of the Investigative Paranormal Society (IPS) has a very tragic background. From traumatizing wartime experiences to equally traumatizing experiences at home, it is hard not to root for the success and well being of the IPS. The same is true for Helena and her late mother and father. Overall, the…

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Thank You To All Medical Professionals

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Today is National Doctors’ Day, and I want to thank physicians for all they do and are doing to help us in this pandemic.

I also want to  extend the day to thank all of the other health care professionals, from nurses, aides, technicians, emts, and to anyone else I may have forgotten to include.

You are our contemporary heroes.

I humbly thank you.

Charles F. French

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Keep On Writing!

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Hello to all the writers out there!

This is a difficult and very trying time in which we all find ourselves. One thing you can be sure of, in this period of great uncertainty, is that you are writers.

Believe in yourselves!

Believe in your writing!

Keep writing!

 

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Why Britain’s Footpaths are important

Here is an excellent post from John Bainbridge!

Walking the Old Ways

The paths will still be there when we can walk properly again. And congratulations to the “Don’t Lose Your Way” Team at The Ramblers who have now completed the first stage of their important campaign to get lost paths back on the map. Well done to everyone who participated. The piece below is from my forthcoming book – a revised and expanded new edition of The Compleat Trespasser, out in May.

We all use paths to access the countryside, whether we consider ourselves ramblers or just use them as somewhere to walk the dog. Or sometimes as a short-cut, the easiest way to get from one place to another. We may well notice our surroundings, the places we walk through, but how many of us consider just why the path is there, why it even exists?

People in this country are fortunate to have a splendid network of public…

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10 Books That Influenced Me

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After doing a post about the 10 most influential books to literature,  I wanted to create a post about the 10 books I consider the most influential books to  me.  I am open to all suggestions.

Hamlet. William Shakespeare.

The Iliad. Homer.

Le Morte d’ Arthur. Sir Thomas Malory.

The Lord Of The Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien.

Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury.

The Stand. Stephen King.

The Shadow of the Wind. Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Don Quixote. Miguel de Cervantes.

Frankenstein. Mary Shelley.

Dracula.  Bram Stoker.

What are some of the most influential books for you?

10 Most Influential Books

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I recently had a request from a man who is my cousin but much more–my brother–about what books I consider to be the most influential, in terms of literature.

As a professor, I could not simply answer without considering several possibilities. Today I will post what I consider to be the ten most influential texts to the world of literature. Of course, this is my opinion and open to debate.

Here they are, in no particular order:

The Collected Works of Shakespeare. William Shakespeare.

The Illiad and The Odyssey. Homer.

The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer.

Le Morte d’ Arthur. Sir Thomas Malory.

Don Quixote. Miguel de Cervantes.

Frankenstein. Mary Shelley.

To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee.

Beloved. Toni Morrison.

Moby Dick. Herman Melville.

1984. George Orwell.

What do you think of this selection?

In another post,  I will offer ten books that have been personally influential.