The Writer's Connection, SM
a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach SM


"The Creative Process of Writing is a Liberating and Therapeutic

Experience"

www.virtualwritingcoach.com

May, 2010

In This Issue:

1. Preview
2. Publisher's Note
3. Kitchen Table Wisdom
4. Helpful Hints

1. Preview

The Writer's Connection explores the creative process of writing and the interplay between thoughts, feelings, and actions. We are an interactive community of authors and readers who share ideas to enhance our knowledge, skills, and experiences in writing fiction
in any genre, but our emphasis remains mystery and suspense hrillers.

Published monthly, the Newsletter offers writing tips for authors, coaching suggestions, editing, and marketing information.

Topics are presented from the perspective of Keith Barton and represent only his ideas on producing your first manuscript, and are provided to the general public. Because we are an interactive community of writers, other viewpoints are welcomed and may be
printed in future monthly newsletters with permission from Keith Barton.

2. Publisher's Note

May, 2010

Dear Writer's Connection Subscriber,

This month features the popular mind - body spirit award winning book of 1997, Kitchen Talble Wisdom by Naomi Remen.

3. Kitchen Table Wisdom

It’s been fourteen years since its publication but Rachel Naomi Remen’s book on “stories that heal” remains a must read for anyone in the helping professions. Remen is an MD and deals with life and
death daily. Her stories are from her patients and her
compassionate commentaries were taught to her by her grandfather sitting around their kitchen table when she was a young schoolgirl.

Her chapters will remind you of the recent popular bestseller, The Secret, but Kitchen Table Wisdom is much more than the “mystery of life.” It is about living within a life force, not pre - judging others, grace, freedom, opening the heart, embracing life, helping others, knowing God, mystery and awe.

Remen entered the study of humanistic medicine during a time when mind - body - spirit connections were popular in California. Her calling was to educate other physicians about a psychological

approach to people with life - threatening illnesses and to educate doctors about their patients’ needs. She was the recipient of the Mind, Body, Spirit Book award in 1997 and the Wilbur Award for her excellence in communicating religious issues, values, and themes.
he has been featured on Bill Moyer’s PBS special on Healing and the Mind and is Clinical Professor at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine.

Many eastern and western religions use meditation to visualize that which we are yet to experience. Lightness signals strength and healing while darkness signals endings. But this dichotomy is too simplistic because we were born out of darkness; in John Chapter
1:1 “In the beginning there was the Word and the Word was God.”

“Endbeginnings,”a term coined by Remen, speaks to the universality and wholeness of life and death as not just end points on a continuum, but occupying the same space within another fourth dimension of time and space. It begs the question of when life begins and ends; for some endings represent darkness and “nothingness;” for others, eternal life.

In studies of how people cope with terminal illnesses there comes a time when people finally let go of their determination to breathe oxygen and upon their last exhale move to a state beyond which much is written and debated. But there seems to be little debate that
most people know when their time is up after fighting a long terminal illness and all the prayers and handholding only helps to give the people remaining hope. For the newly deceased, they’re already at peace. Many prepare their own funerals and life
celebrations while alive. We remember loved ones by how they touched us personally.

In her final chapter, entitled appropriately, “The Final Lesson,” Remen tells the story of an elderly, never - married male physician of fifty years who was fighting lung cancer. Thomas was a non - believer and loner his entire life, except for his patients. He talked about “shepherding his flock until the last lamb was saved, a reference to David in Psalms before his Kingdom in Judah. After Thomas took his final breath, Remen left the hospital, fumbling for
her car keys when she heard the church bells ring. She stopped, confused. “Could they be ringing for Thomas? And then she remembered. It was midnight and the Shepherd had come.”

Helpful Hints:

1. Read any book on death and dying. What universal truths do you gain? What if you were tuned in only to body and mind? Does hope still exist for you and why or why not? Does it even matter to you?

2. Near - death experiences (NDEs) are similar accounts of a phenomenon that has been explained spiritually and neurologically. Which do you believe?

3. Read Don Piper and Cecil Murphey’s Ninety Minutes in Heaven. How can you explain Don’s living on earth and in heaven simultaneously for ninety minutes?


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Contact Information

Keith Barton, Ph.D.
Voice: 281 - 583 - 5005
Fax: 281.583 - 5008
Web: http://www.virtualwritingcoach.com
E - Mail: keith@virtualwritingcoach.com
(c) Copyright 2003 A. Keith Barton, Ph.D.
All rights reserved.

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Republication of The Writer's Connection SM in paper media is encouraged and permitted by individuals, organizations and associations, as long as the issue is reprinted in its entirety, without change, and includes the contact information.

With advance permission, we are happy to edit an issue to fit your space requirements. Republication also is encouraged under other circumstances. However, the advance permission of A. Keith Barton, Ph.D. must be obtained in the event that changes in the text are
desired.

The Writer's Connection SM Mission:

The Writer's Connection SM is dedicated to helping first - time authors create their first manuscript for publication and to offer an exchange of ideas and opinions from our readers who might be interested in becoming authors.

The Writer's Connection™ is a publication of The Virtual Writing Coach and Keith Barton, Ph.D. and a registered trademark. We would like The Writer's Connection SM to be as interactive as possible. If you have feedback, comments, topics you would like addressed, or can suggest additional resources to benefit us all, please email us at any time. Send your e - mail to keith@virtualwritingcoach.com.

Please forward this issue to anyone you think would find The Writer's Connection SM interesting and beneficial. Your recommendation helps us keep growing, and ensures an excellent exchange of information and techniques.

Archives

You can read previous issues of The Writer's Connection SM in our archive section which is located at the top right section of this page.

About Keith Barton, Ph.D.

Dr. Barton received his Ph.D. in 1972 from the University of Texas at Austin and has been a practicing therapist for over thirty years. He is currently enrolled in MentorCoach and is accepting new
clients. He has been an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina, consultant to Fortune 500 companies in executive development, founded and managed Texas Community Living Ventures, Inc., in 1986 for providing group home services to persons with
mental retardation, and for the past 13 years founded and runs a clinical practice in Northwest Houston. He writes part - time with the goal of completing one novel a year. His desire to coach others derives from his passionate interest in helping others become
attuned to their creative powers of storytelling.

Dr. Barton has training in coaching, cognitive and family therapy and health psychology. He has published articles, made presentations and conducted workshops about:

Anxiety and achievement
Stress management
Self - esteem
Communication skills
Marital/relationship enrichment
Wellness issues
The relationship between psychology and spirituality

Copyright by Virtual Writing Coach (SM) and Keith Barton,

2001 - 2008.