This is the print-friendly version of the August 2002 Newsletter - Online Issue # 1

August 2002 Newsletter
Online Issue # 1

In this Issue:

• Welcome to my Newsletter Online
• Good Books
• Profile of Virginia Haggart
• Upcoming Calendar
• About the Newsletter / To Subscribe

Welcome to my Newsletter Online:
It’s another Experiment and a new Beginning

I’ve created a newsletter for my clients and students, and other interested readers, since 1994. I wrote the first eleven issues while working with Colleen Convey & Associates in Minneapolis, MN. The next six issues were written after I moved my career counseling practice to my present office in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul, MN in 1998. This 18th issue is the first to be available online at my website. It’s an experiment and a new beginning, so I’m calling it Issue # 1 again.

If you’ve been receiving the paper version of my newsletter in the mail, I hope you’ll make the switch to the online version and enjoy it just as much, or even more. It’s always been a free newsletter and I’ve enjoyed that immensely. By switching to an online format I can continue to send it to you free. The costs of printing and mailing a paper newsletter were becoming prohibitive for a small business owner; but the thought of discontinuing the newsletter altogether didn’t appeal to me. So, I’ll give this a try and I hope you will too! You might even discover that it’s just become easier to share the newsletter with others.

Again, thank you for your support! You have always been, and you still are, the best way for me to meet new clients and students who value the simplicity and the spirit of the life-affirming work I love to offer.

With gratitude,

Laurie Mattila

Good Books

It’s summer and I’m doing another book sampler. This time I decided to share with you the books I’m reading, or looking forward to reading, before summer ends and fall arrives. I’ve narrowed my list down to the following:

When Life Changes or You Wish It Would: How to Survive and Thrive in Uncertain Times
by Carol Adrienne
William Morrow, 2002
hardcover, $24.95

This is a great resource if you’re experiencing or exploring the PROCESS of uncharted change in all its mystery, frustration, confusion and wonder. Carol Adrienne understands the bottom line: Process has a life of its own beyond our planning and control. It involves the stuff that eventually makes perfect sense, but can not be “outlined” or “figured out” in advance. Again and again throughout the book, Adrienne demonstrates the benefit of paying attention to the signs that appear to guide us along. Some readers will recognize her as the author of “The Purpose of Your Life” and its sequel “Find your Purpose, Change Your Life.” She also co-authored several books with James Redfield associated with “The Celestine Prophecy.”

Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future
by Margaret J. Wheatley
Berrett-Koehler, 2002
paperback, $15.95

When I first picked up this book I opened it to a page somewhere in the middle and read the question “Am I becoming someone I respect?” This isn’t a book of trendy conversation starters; it’s a book for soul-searching, life-changing, future-shifting conversation. It’s also a book suited to long road trips and seasonal gatherings where people have enough time to stop the rush and really listen to each other. You might also want to look for the August 2002 issue of the Utne Reader with Margaret Wheatley’s cover story on “The Power of Talk.”

“I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again... Simple, truthful conversation where we each have a chance to speak, we each feel heard, and we each listen well.” --Margaret Wheatley

The Answer to How is Yes: Acting on What Matters
by Peter Block
Berrett-Koehler, 2001
hardcover, $24.95

From the first moment I saw this title, I liked it and I remembered it. I also discovered a helpful way to use it. I found myself saying to myself, “Let’s just try that again. The answer to how is WHAT?” I can actually feel new possibilities creating themselves when I use this simple reframing. So even if I don’t get around to reading Block’s book this summer, I’ll be
benefiting from the title.

“We find ourselves giving in to our doubts, and settling for what we know how to do, or can soon learn how to do, instead of pursuing what most matters to us and living with the adventure and anxiety that this requires.” -- Peter Block

Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity
by David Whyte
Riverhead Books, 2002
paperback, $14.00

You might remember David Whyte as the author of “The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America.” I’m eager to spend time in his company again, savoring the poetry of language and life, while contemplating the unknown and unknowable, crossings and pilgrimage, work and identity. I love not knowing what I’ll encounter, just knowing that I will.

“No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.”

from the poem LOST in “The Heart Aroused” -- David Whyte

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle
New World Library, 1999
hardcover, $21.95

I first encountered the name Eckhart Tolle in a memorable interview in the Fall/Winter 2000 issue of the magazine What is Enlightenment? I saw the same interview reprinted this year in the May and June issues of The Edge. When any book makes repeat appearances in my life, I try to pay attention. Tolle shares an amazing personal story and offers grounded teachings on living NOW, released from our “thought-created problems” of the future. The book uses a question and answer format. If that style doesn’t appeal to you, consider Tolle’s smaller, more accessible follow-up “Practicing the Power of Now: Essential Teachings, Meditations, and Exercises From the Power of Now.”

Profile of Virginia Haggart

A Passion for Theatre • A Heart for Education • A Call to Create

When I was a child my Grandma Virginia often took me to the Fargo / Moorhead Community Theatre. I was active in theatre in high school and decided to attend the University of Utah because of their theatre department. My parents weren't keen on my major, because of the difficulties of making a living, so I tried different ones, but always ended up back as a theatre
major. I obtained a BFA in theatre from Utah in 1980.

I did lots of performing after I graduated and supported myself by waitressing, until I broke my wrist in a rehearsal for a show. That put a real strain on my finances and I ended up doing secretarial work, back in the Theatre Department where I'd just graduated. This was humbling. The flip side, however, was that I heard about auditions and got into several shows that year -- sometimes rehearsing for one show from 1-3, another from 3-5, and performing another in the evening. It was a grueling pace and finances were tight, so I lived on peanut butter sandwiches -- several a day -- but I LOVED performing.

I moved to Minneapolis in July 1982 to try my hand in the theatre there. I landed a 40 hour/week job at Dayton's which gave me nights and weekends free. I also got a part from my first audition at Theatre In The Round playing Regina in Ibsen's GHOSTS. It seemed too easy to get the first thing for which I auditioned, but the struggles would come soon enough. Although I kept auditioning, I had trouble getting into ANYTHING after that. I did get an acting tour in 1987 that was a paid job. After that tour ended I chose to stay close to home to be near the man I'd later marry.

When I became weary of the financial struggles of an artist, I decided to become a teacher. I wanted to teach theatre, but my advisor said secondary jobs were scarce and my chances for employment were better in elementary education. I got my K-6 license from Augsburg Weekend College, thinking I could teach creative dramatics to elementary students AND fulfill my creative needs.

In the fall of 1989 I began teaching at a private school, and then in 1991 got a job in the public schools. I enjoyed teaching Kindergarten, but things began to happen that spoke to my heart on a deep level.

In July 1993 when my husband and I were traveling in Alaska, I met a waiter (a theatre major) and through him reconnected with Lynette, another University of Utah theatre major I hadn’t seen in thirteen years. Lynette was working in a professional theatre company in Juneau and was very happy acting, teaching, directing. Her happiness illuminated for me that I was not
doing what I loved.

In the spring of 1995 something else happened when my husband and I went to see the film BRAVEHEART, directed by and staring Mel Gibson. I was so totally bowled over by the movie's scenery, actors, story and historical significance that I felt I HAD TO CHANGE MY LIFE. I wanted to work with creative people on movies or plays. I cried about the movie for days, and thought about it for weeks, and still when I hear the name, I feel a sense of gratitude for it being a catalyst in changing my life.

I got a part-time position teaching Drama to students in grades K-5. I thought I'd be in heaven, until I began the job and found it was very difficult to maintain any classroom control in this school. I left the supposed “dream job” at midyear to finish my master's in education for which I am immensely proud.

Now what? I went back to teaching Kindergarten because I didn’t know what else to do. A few weeks before school started, I read in the paper that my former theatre professor was hired by the Guthrie Theater. I was in shock. The strong pull that I felt from seeing my professor in the paper was too much to ignore. I ended up calling him to ask him for a job, but he'd
just gotten there himself. Because of fear and duty, I finished out that year as a teacher.

The summer of 1997 I went into a slump watching TV almost all day long. I knew in my heart that I didn't want to go back to teaching full time, but my husband's job was in question so I had to wait to announce my leave of absence. I didn't realize that the TV watching was working on me at a very deep level. I was watching excellent movies, with superb acting, which were speaking to my soul.

During my leave, I dabbled in video production, doing behind the scenes make-up and production assistant duties. It was interesting but I was just fooling myself. I wanted to be acting. I began substitute teaching to pay the bills, and I did like working with students again.

I auditioned at Theatre In The Round in early 1999 (17 years after I'd done GHOSTS) and got called back. I could not believe it. I’d not been in a show since 1987. I didn't get the part, but I began taking two intense acting classes simultaneously, and I began studying voice with Manon Gimlett at MacPhail Center for the Arts. I had a lot of changes at once, but I was still substitute teaching and that provided some financial and emotional stability.

I got into my first show, ROPE, in August 1999 and soon thereafter got into the Guthrie's MARTIN GUERRE. Two years earlier I’d done a writing exercise and imagined myself in a long red gown on the Guthrie stage. That image actually came to fruition when I played a walk-on in MARTIN GUERRE, except the gown was black. After Christmas I began working on BURY THE DEAD which was really difficult. I wondered why the universe called me there,
until I discovered another cast member worked a day job at the Science Museum. He was a presenter/actor of science-related plays and demonstrations. I told him I had auditioned there the year before. He invited me to visit the museum in May 2000. I went and was enthralled with the physical structure of the new museum and with his shows. He was the one to inform me that an actress was leaving and encouraged me to audition for the position.

I GOT THE JOB after much preparation! It was exciting work with a steep learning curve requiring much concentration and effort researching and memorizing lines for several science-related plays and demonstrations. A favorite one-woman show I did was about Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female medical doctor who got her degree in 1849. I was so excited to be there doing 5-6 shows a day, five days a week. I worked at the museum about a
year, and then my husband and I decided to move. The first few months after I left, I was so busy trying to sell our old house, performing in two plays back to back, raising a litter of puppies and moving into our new house that I didn't realize how I missed getting paid to act.

I was then unemployed and trying to get back into reserve teaching, but I wasn't being called. I kept taking voice lessons, took two musical theatre voice workshops and tried to keep moving forward. It was very hard for several months until I began to substitute on a regular basis at my old school. That was a godsend. I began to feel useful again, as if I was making a difference.

When I learned the Science Museum needed someone part-time this summer, I jumped at the chance to work there again. It will be fun to get paid for acting and to be doing something I love.

My principal also wants me to be the building substitute next fall, which means I will go in five days a week. It will be good steady work. I've already spoken to the Community Ed staff about teaching in an after-school drama class a few nights a week. This is a paid job. I will continue to take voice lessons and try out for plays, musicals and operas, and hopefully
sing in my church choir.

I now see myself creating a life with new work that blends my passion for theatre with my heart for education. I want to use drama as a tool to work with inner city youth who are struggling with academic and other issues. I may want to create some historical one-woman shows to try to inspire young women.

I am thankful to many people along the way who have helped me find my path, take the risks needed to stay on it, or when necessary, modify it or create a new one. It is not always easy to follow your heart, but it is the most fulfilling. And it is much HARDER to deny or fight against what your heart wants you to do.

Editor's Note:

If you wish to contact Virginia Haggart after reading her profile, please contact me and I'll be happy to forward your message to her.

Upcoming Calendar

Discovery Writing: Creating A Future^SM

For NEW Students:

Discovery Writing: Creating A Future
This six-session class uses process writing as a way to explore what you truly desire; it is also a path to follow in creating your future.

Fall Schedule 2002

Saturday mornings ( 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. )
September 21, 28 October 12, 19 November 2, 9

Friday mornings ( 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. )
September 27 October 11, 25 November 8, 22 December 6

Monday evenings ( 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. )
September 30 October 14, 28 November 11, 25 December 9

Winter Schedule 2003

Saturday mornings ( 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. )
January 11, 25 February 8, 22 March 8, 22

Wednesday mornings ( 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. )
January 15, 29 February 12, 26 March 12, 26

Monday evenings ( 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. )
January 13, 27 February 10, 24 March 10, 24

More about Discovery Writing: Creating A Future

For FORMER Students:

Discovery Writing Weekend Retreat for Women
The 2002 fall retreat is scheduled for the weekend of October 25-27. Invitations will be mailed in mid August to all of the women who have been in Discovery Writing classes.

Discovery Writing Year-long Groups
In January I’ll begin the 2003 year-long groups for former Discovery Writing students. As before, the groups will meet monthly from January through December. Each section will be limited to eight members who will be asked to make a year-long commitment. All former Discovery Writing students are welcome to participate. Invitations will be mailed in late November.

Intentional Living: Meaningful Work^SM

For New Students:

Intentional Living - Meaningful Work
In 2003 this four-session class will meet every other Tuesday evening from February 4 to March 18. It is being offered again through the Compleat Scholar Program at the University of Minnesota. You can view the course description for Intentional Living - Meaningful Work (# CSch 0666 found in the Career Development category) in the 2003 spring course listings of The Compleat Scholar Program.

Registration for this class only is handled by the Compleat Scholar Program at 612-625-7777 or online at their website.

For Former Students:

Intentional Living Ongoing Group
After the 2003 Intentional Living - Meaningful Work class ends in March, this small group will meet monthly from April through December. Current and former students are welcome to join this group which will be limited to eight members. Contact Laurie Mattila at 651-644-7766 for additional information or to register for the Intentional Living ongoing group.

A New Women’s Retreat

Voicing Inner Wisdom: Cultivating Spiritual Luck
This retreat is open to all women who are interested in hearing their own wisdom and exploring the role of luck in their lives. I plan to begin offering Voicing Inner Wisdom: Cultivating Spiritual Luck in 2003. Please let me know if you are interested so I can send you information when the details are finalized.

About the Newsletter

This newsletter is created several times a year for my clients and students, and anyone else interested in listening to and trusting their own deep knowing. It is designed to support your process of discovery and growth, and to bring you up-to-date about my practice. It offers encouragement, guidance and resources for you.

You will find new issues posted on my website in the months of August, December and April. I hope you add my website to your favorite places and check back when the next issues are scheduled.

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