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As the World Skips – January 2008
**The Latest
**You Tube Links to Skipping Interviews
**That’s All Folks
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THE LATEST
It is almost impossible for me to believe nearly two years has passed since the last time I wrote an “As the World Skips.” Amazing. Truly amazing. The farther away the last one got in the rear view mirror, the harder it was to sit down to actually start writing. So feeling the words finally beginning to flow feels fabulous. I hope some of you old time skippers are still out there (and that you’ll reply and say hi)….and apologize to those of you who subscribed a while ago and are just hearing from me now. J

Iskip.com is still skipping nearly nine years after its original conception in May of 1999. Even though I haven’t been as actively coordinating the head skipper/organized group skips part of the site, it has been an interesting couple of years. Here are a few of the highlights…

• I have been maintaining a skipping blog at http://www.iskip.blogspot.com where I share the latest and greatest skipping stuff, links to You Tube videos of tv segments about the skipping movement, and other random musings.
• An interesting subset of skippers who practice the art of EXTREME SKIPPING formed inspired by cool guy named Extreme Gene who extreme skipped his way onto a segment in Warren Miller’s coveted film Higher Ground http://extremeskipping.com/
• Author Christopher Nixon wrote extensively about the skipping movement in his fabulous new book Rejuvenile: Kickball, Cartons, Cupcakes, and the Reinvention of the American Grown-up
• Ashrita Furman set the first ever world skipping record by skipping the fastest 5K…and he did it in Thailand with tiger.

So the skip goes on. As for me, I’m looking forward to all that 2008 has in store. In January last year, I moved out of the magical studio apartment I had in San Francisco for 10 years. I am now living in lovely Marin County, which is North of the Golden Gate Bridge and surrounded by nature and wildlife. It’s a totally different world up here, and it really suits me!

I love to go on long solo skips in the nature preserve behind my house. I often think back to my more evangelical city skipping days and marvel at the perfect combination of timing, grace and passion that made that time the magical adventure that it was. While I have been settling into a quieter, more inner skipping space lately… I sometimes still wonder if the perfect storm of synchronicity, magic, and positive energy that first inspired the skipping movement will come again…and like to imagine what it will look and feel like when/if it does.

I’ve been doing most of my skipping through Nia lately. Nia is a super fun exercise class that combines dance, yoga, and martial arts. The choreographed routines offer a perfect balance of happy, joyful, free-spirited skipping energy and the grounded, determined, focused energy of martial arts, etc. Its guiding principle is JOY in movement…and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Check out http://www.nianow.com for more info and to see if there is a call in your area.

Let’s see…what else. I’ve been slowly but surely working on the manuscript based on my skipping experience I’ve been writing in various forms for what feels like forever. I anticipate getting my draft of the current version to a point where it is ready for feedback from editors/publishers by the end of the year, which is and exciting and scary all at once (especially since it didn’t go so well last time.) I am definitely approaching a major crossroads.

But regardless of how the publishing path unfolds, I have to say that documenting the mountain top highs and the valley lows of my skipping experience…and mining and defining the lessons I have learned about following my heart along the way… has been quite an experience in and of itself thus far…So even though I hope with all of my heart that my dream of publishing a book about my skipping adventure finally comes true, it’s good to be able to see and feel deep down in my belly that the process I have been going through and the journey I have been on will have been worth it no matter what. Skip on!
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SKIPPING VIDEOS
Here are link to some of my favorite skipping interviews I recently posted on You Tube:

Evening Magazine – San Francisco, CA - http://youtube.com/watch?v=XpRy1iu__3Y

Donny & Marie Interview: http://youtube.com/watch?v=885fwrjBQNI

Mornings on 2 that I overslept for: http://youtube.com/watch?v=XwIG8QaRD7I
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THAT’S ALL FOLKS
Well, that’s it for the first “As the World Skips” of 2008….One of my new years intentions is to put my focus back on connecting skippers around the world when/if my book is ready for publication! But first things first, I have to finish writing the thing. Definitely stay tuned….and as always, please send your skipping stories, sightings, and general thoughts about life to kimskips@peoplepc.com (or just reply to this email). I’d love to hear from you. Skip on!

Happy New Year!!!

I returned to work today after a wonderful ten day break for the holidays! New World Library (the publisher I work for) closes between Christmas and New Year's...Something every employer should do in my opinion! I returned to work feeling rested and ready to create lots of magic for the books and authors I am promoting this season. 2008 is going to be great!!!

Another fabulous thing that New World Library does at the end of each year is provide a percentage of our profits to each employee to donate to a charity of their choice! Again, just think what a better place the world would be if all companies gave back in this way! I divided my money between two non-profits...a new healing center in San Francisco called the Artemis Center where one of my sheros Karen Junker is starting a new program called Sunday School for Grown-ups....and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation because one of my best friends in the whole world has CF and I want her to be around for as long as possible!

I spent Christmas in Indiana with my family and had a wonderful time. Santa was quite good to me....and getting to spend quality time with my family, especially my nieces and nephews, is truly priceless! I love them all so much.

Instead of making New Year's Resolutions, I choose to set New Year's intentions instead...and I thought I would share some of them here:

*I intend to complete my manuscript this year.

*I intend to appreciate life as the magical adventure it is with grace and a sense of adventure in my heart.

*I intend to joyfully embrace self-discpline through meditation and regular physical exercise...which means more skipping of course!

*I intend to devote my God given talents and personal power - mentally, spiritually, and physically - to the greater good.

And so it is! Here's hoping that 2008 brings us all a big step closer to the realization of our wildest dreams. Skip on!

I spent my day today at the beautiful Spirit Rock Meditation Center at a daylong workshop about perfect timing, syncronicity, and dreams. This was my first visit to Spirit Rock since moving to Marin County a year ago...but it definitely won't be my last. What a beautiful, sacred place.

The teacher for the day was David Richo, a psychotherapist and author who combines Jungian, transpersonal, and mythic perspectives in his work.

I took pages of notes and thought I'd share a few of the highlights here..

**Synchronicity = Coincidence with meaning. It's when chance and meaning come together...It offers us a message that has to do with the fulfillment of self and the contribution we are meant to make.

**Whenever we become controlling, we get in the way of synchronicity. When we let go of ego, we hear the messages more fully.

**Fear is the ego's first name.

**My role as a free being is to say YES to the love that my ego is afraid of but that the Self is made of.

**When fear stands in your way, use the AAA approach...(1) Admit you are afraid (2) Allow the feeling fully (3) Act as if the fear could not stop you

**Fear of grieving is at the heart of all fear.

**Love makes meaning visible. Trust its power.

And so it is! Skip on!

I'm one of those people that loves to underline concepts and phrases that stand out for me in the books I read. I thought this would be a great place to share a few from time to time. I found these while doing research for the manuscript I am writing about my skipping adventure. They're from a book called Dark Nights of the Soul by Thomas Moore....

"It takes a strong heart, a steady intelligence, and a visionary imagination to go in the direction of life."

"It's all right to have grand and eccentric longings. It's all right to be afraid. Only by embracing these two emotional pillars will you glimpse the nature of your soul, which is the ground of your existence."

"Compared to surface life, the mysteries of the heart unfold within a different time scheme. The soul reveals itself in cycles and timeless circles of experience."

"Unconsciousness is like junk food. It's an easy way to go through life, but it doesn't give you the nourishment you need."

“A dark night of the soul is dark because it doesn’t give us any assurance that what is happening makes sense and will ultimately be beneficial. We can’t understand what is happening to us, and if we are in the habit of always wanting to know what is going on, this aspect of the dark night will be maddening. We can find meaning in these times of change, but we have to think differently about our lives, be less psychological in our approach, and more philosophical and spiritual.”

"You may not avoid tragedy, but you have the opportunity for a recovery of soul. Everything depends on how the dark night is handled: Will you try to overcome it and run away from it, or will you let it transform you and, "in solution," give you new life?"

Here's a lovely skipping story I recently received that I just love....

As I recently walked home through the MIT campus, I had a small skipping adventure that I thought you might enjoy.

As I headed east on Massachusetts Avenue, a father with young son approached holding hands. The boy started to skip, tugging at his dad's arm to join him, but Dad was much too sophisticated and was resisting. So I, a white-haired, 60-year old man, began blithely skipping toward them. Sure enough, dad loosened up a bit and joined in the fun. I didn't turn around to see how long the skipping continued, but am hoping it will be a little easier for the father next time the boy wants to do some skipping.

I love it! Skip on! And be sure to send me a note whenever you have an interesting skipping encounter of your own!

My world and Paris Hilton's world have been colliding lately!

That's because the book she is reading while she is in the pokey, along with the Holy Bible and The Secret, is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle which is New World Library's bestseller ever. That's the amazing publishing company where I feel truly honored to be a book publicist.

We've been getting all kinds of calls this week from tabloids like OK Magazine and Life & Style to national media like TV Guide to The Early Show wanting to interview the author to learn what his book might help Paris discover while she is behind bars.

Eckhart Tolle is not your every day author, though. While most authors would leap at the chance to talk about their book in the national media, not Eckhart. He truly practices what he preaches and is not swept away by the energetic rush that the media whirlwind so often creates in our culture. Explaining this to producers and editors is its own unique callenge as a publicist.

Whatever he's doing, it's hard to deny it is working! His book is a New York Times Bestseller that week after week tops our weekly sales charts. I personally love his way...How detached from it all he is...and how he really and truly stays deeply in the present moment, even in the face of great success.

Since Eckhart's media appearances are so few and far (especially between compared to the authors of The Secret), I thought I'd share the following excerpts from a companion book we publish also by him called Practicing the Power of Now. It will give you an idea what The Power of Now is all about...Not to mention a glimpse into what is keeping Ms. Hilton busy in her cell.

**The present moment holds the key to liberation. But you cannot find the present moment as long as you are in your mind. Enlightenment means rising above thought.

**Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old audiotapes that have been playing in your head for many years.

**Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the now the primary focus of your life.

**Make it a habit to ask yourself: What's going on inside me at this moment? The question will point you in the right direction.

**Presence is the key to freedom, so you can only be free now.

**Forget about your life situation for a while and pay attention to your life.

I'm very excited to announce that Positive Thinking Magazine did a lovely feature about my skipping dream in their May/June issue. They even sent a professional photographer out to take a photo of me skipping with my New World Library coworkers! We had such a fun time and the picture really captures it.

The article is pretty accurate, except I never actually had a book DEAL...I just had a literary agent that was trying to help me secure one..

It started simply enough: One night in 1997, Kim Corbin was out on the town with friends when someone suggested they all start skipping. "I immediately got the idea that I was going to start a huge national skipping movement and get the whole country to start skipping for recreation," says Kim.

In 1999, she launched the website iskip.com and began organizing public skipping events near her home in San Francisco. The events drew hundreds of participants as well as national media coverage and an offer for a book deal. "I quit my job and took on the role of Head Skipper," she says.

Kim traveled around the country to spread the word about skipping. "As adults, we're conditioned to conform and worry about what other people think," she says. "When you skip, you get in touch with the side of yourself that doesn't care abotu all that."

Groups formed in other cities, and the members seemed to agree with Kim's idea that "skipping is a way for people to connect in a happy way, to feel like kids again." But after a while, Kim started feeling too much like a kid. Being Head Skipper didn't pay much, and her finances slipped. Then the book deal fell through. "I got carried away," she admits, "I put all my eggs in one basket, and things didn't pan out like I thought they would."

Kim learned to balance passion with responsiblity, finding that she could make a living and still living joyfully. Now she works as a publicist for a publisher and organizes large skipping events just a few times a year. She still skips daily and recommends it as a workout for both body and soul. "Skipping is a way to connect with myself," Kim says. "I remind myself that life has its hills and valleys and eventually you come out on the other side."

A while back, I was contacted by the web mistress of a great site called the Quote Garden. She said, "My site has been around for nearly a decade and has many tens of thousands of quotations spanning hundreds of subjects. Skipping happens to be one of those subjects, not to mention an activity that I love very much."

She wrote to ask if she could incorporate some quotes from iskip.com on her site and to also share the quotes about skipping that she had already collected over the years.

I thought it would be fun to share some of the skipping quotes here...

"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." ~James M. Barrie, Peter Pan

"It's only a matter of inches, but skipping gets me just that much closer to heaven." ~Jessi Lane Adams

"I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things... I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind." ~Leo F. Buscaglia

"I don't think it's possible to skip with a frown on your face.... I'd like to see the world's governing and terrorist leaders on a skipping tour through the Middle East and across the subcontinent and China to Korea." ~Sue Irwin

"If I had time for only two exercises, I would choose yoga and skipping." ~Astrid Alauda

If you have one to share, email it to me and I'll be sure to share it with Terri at The Quote Garden!

There are about 1,000 acres of undeveloped land behind where I live that leads to the edge of the bay. I've walked/skipped the path several times now, but today I was inspired to take my bike out for my first spin. I'm not much of a biker and I have certainly never gone off roading in wilderness, so the adventure was especially fun.

My heart couldn't have been more full of joy as I glided down the dirt path with my ipod blasting, "Ooooh, child, things are gonna get easier. Oooh child, things'll get brighter." When I came up on a happy couple who stepped to the side so I could pass. They said somethnig I couldn't hear, but I took note of their big smiles and positive energy as I went by.

I wasn't more than ten feet ahead of them when it happened. My wheel got stuck in some loose dirt and my bike slid out from under me. It felt like I was moving in slow motion as I flew over the handle bars. As time stood still, something told me I was going to be alright. I landed as softly as could be expected with my hands outstretched out in front of me.

I didn't realize the couple had witnessed the whole thing until I saw their smiling faces rushing toward me. I laughed outloud as I removed my headphones. The man congratulated me on a beautiful and dramatic fall! He said it was very smooth and that he too could tell as it happened that I wouldn't be hurt. The three of us spent several laughter filled minutes and I marveled at what funny moment with a thankfully happy ending we had shared.

Further along my happy jaunt towards the bay, I couldn't help but recognize the energetic similarity in my bicycle tumble and the fall I experienced when I quit my job to follow my skipping dream. Something that was also witnessed - online by all of the positive energy people who made the national skipping movement and my dream what it was. Even though it certainly wasn't pretty, it feels good to be able to recognize and acknowledge the grace that has been with me all the way through. And so it is! Onward and upward!

I had a great skipping moment at the gym this afternoon.

As usual, after I did the elipical machine, I headed to the group exercise room with my yoga mat and ipod in tow. I set up my mat, cued up a particularly happy song on my ipd, and was about to start skipping when a woman (whose name I would later discover was Ann) walked into the room. She asked if the yoga mat was mine because it was in the spot she normally set up the spinning bike she was about to ride.

I told her I'd be happy to move the mat. That it wasn't a problem. Then I asked her if it would bother her if I skipped around the room a little bit. She said it wouldn't bother her, but I might look a little silly....and I told her I was actually alright with that.

A moment later she said, "You know, there are a group of people out there who are really into skipping." I smiled as I told her that iskip.com was my website and she confirmed that she had heard of it before. She is a physical therapist by trade and mentioned that she wondered how much of the core muscle group skipping works out. I told her about the warm reception my skipping idea received from the fitness community...and she said that as long as something inspires people to keep moving, she was all for it.

She went on to tell me about her personal passion/dream which is the creation of a new website for Buff Babes over 50! She talked about how powerful it can be for older women to truly realize their body's strength and power. I could tell by the way she talked about it, that her project will be a great success!

As she pedaled away and I skipped around the room while listening to that great old song that goes, "I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, and the only explanation I can find..." ...I felt a surge of gratitude and appreciation for having discovered my very unique calling of skipping through life! I also felt excitement for Ann's blossoming dream....and was filled with a sense of hope that ever increasing numbers of people out there are finding and living the unique contribution they are born to make in this lifetime. Yes! And so it is! Skip on!