Is anybody out there?

Hello my wonderful TJ friends...according to the constant increase to my 'profile view', I can only guess that there are people out there with journals in their lucky little hands. My question is, who are you?!?!?!? The suspense, the anticipation....who will be the first stranger to message us on this blog? Where is journal #1, 2, 3, etc... ??? Where on earth?? Where? Somebody, please share....please....................that's right folks, I am an EXCELLENT beggar!!!!! Ta daaaaaaaaaaa....

So much love,
Claudia :)

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inspiration at 6:30am -- thank you!

I've been waking up supremely early for the past couple of weeks - fyi - and right before I sat down at the computer, I thought, 'hmmm...perhaps I should write in a journal'...and then I got a lovely message from my dear friend LC who lives across the country.

"Claudia I'm SOOOOO proud of you! I just read your blog and WOW! You GO girl! Amazing. I think you are truly amazing. SO creative! I think this is the neatest thing anyone's done in a very long time, congratulations my love! I'm going to sleep now (wonder what *I'll* dream about!)

Dear Journal, I wish I could have taken you to Thailand!

I have the perfect person to write in your journal. His name is Thor and he lives on Koh Chang in Thailand, I didn't talk with him much, but he is a very special person and I know where to find him. Just a thought!"

Now, I'm not just thinking about writing in a journal, I'm WRITING in a journal or two or three... :) Thanks to the lovely message above and the many other messages that I've received from wonderful people all over the place. I am grateful to all of you for reading this blog and for your constant encouragement.

So much love.

c :)

PS: I will gladly send a journal to anyone who asks, but please keep in mind that I have accumulated a long list...so patience...patience I ask of you. :)

This is how it works...

A lot of people have been asking for clarification and how they can get a journal - yay!

Here's da scoop:

1. I purchase a beautiful journal (am getting a journal sponsor, am getting a journal sponsor...)
2. I write an intro and first entry into said journal
3. I pass it on to another person (friend, co-worker, stranger, family member, anyone!), OR mail it to someone OR leave it in a public place for someone to find.

Each journal encourages the recipient to add their own personal entry and pass it on!

Usually I choose to whom or where the next journal will go, but lately a number of people have offered to take journals on their travels - this is cool! If you wish to have your own travelling journal, please email your name, email, mailing address and phone # to cjurt@rogers.com (I will do my best, though I cannot make any guarantees...)

Love,
c :)

www.sixtravellingjournals.com

PS: I am grateful for all of you and all the positive and inspiring messages that I've been receiving.

The Secret Seventh - no longer a secret...

Well, that's not entirely true. The truth is, I gave the 7th journal to dear Katie Lee who brought it from O-town to Barcelona. What makes this journal secret is that it is the only one in which I did not write my last name, phone number, email address or blog address. Only at the very end do I put a mailing address and Claudia J. No last name. So, it's top secret to those who receive it - aside from Katie of course...Anyhow, before passing it on, she wrote her own message and so did her adorable 18month old daughter Mary! Following is Katie's amazing journal story:

"So we thought and thought about who and how to pass it on...Then in Heathrow we saw a group of people wearing shirts that said Charity Challenge on them. We finally stopped one of the men and asked what it was. Basically, Charity Challenge is a company that puts together events to help people raise money for charities. This group of people are all heading to spend 10 days biking across Cuba to raise money for their charity of choice.
Since Ryan was heading here to run a race to raise money for Team D, we thought it would be fitting to send it with others who are raising money for their charities. They were all SUPER excited about it and numerous of them will probably put in an entry. So the book is on it;s way to Cuba (or by now probably there)."

That's awesome!!! Thanks so much Katie & Fam - I'm inspired!

Lots of love,
Claudia :)

Words of Wisdom from Sri Chimnoy

Good morning!

I'm just transferring the following quotes from an old blog (found these lovely cards at my favourite vegetarian restaurant, 'Perfection, Satisfaction, Promise', located next to 'The Garden of Light', where I buy my journals)

Dream, dream, dream!
You will never
Have time to suffer
From despair.

To silence enthusiasm
At any moment
Is absolutely wrong.

Do not blame the world,
Better it. How?
By bettering yourself
At every moment.

Turn your Wishful thoughts into
A powerful
Will-power.

Do not be afraid of tasting
The bitterness of failure.
Be brave!
The sweetness of success
Will before long
Befriend you.

Break your bad habits
By dropping them.
Strengthen your good habits
By treasuring them.

How can one get
The greatest joy?
Not by possessing,
But by sacrificing.

True humility
MeansGiving joy to others.

Truth is in all
But love is all.

To serve
And never be tired
Is love.

By seeing the past
I gain nothing.
By knowing the future
I gain something.
By living in the present
I gain everything.

First be sure
That you know the truth,
Before you talk to others
About the truth.

Be happy.
You will get
What you like most.
You will be
What you like best.

If you do
The right thing,
Eventually
You will inspire others
To do the right thing.

The Ninth One...makes a dramatic exit...

Today was the final day of a four week 'Acting for Film & TV' intensive that I was teaching at St. Lawrence College in Brockville.

Above are five of the ten graduating students in the 3 year Music Theatre Program. Each of the ten students will add their thoughts to journal #9.


This is Jeff - he will be the first one (after me) to write in la lovely journal above...and then, who knows where it will go...

The Sixth One: signed, sealed & delivered!

You can't see me...

This is the last journal of the original six...

...but the second last to be passed on

(still have to finish #4 for Oprah!)

The lovely journal that you see above was given

to my best friend, the raging bull or the bull

who doesn't rage...(just trying to make a 'clever'

connection to the beautiful bull that you see on the back!)

Best friends often get gipped 'cause they are 'the best friend'
(which means that they are unconditionally there for you),

so while she would obviously receive a journal, it didn't

become obvious to me until I experienced a little personal drama.

I have since heard that this journal will be travelling to Mexico!!!

Seeking Journal Sponsorship!!!

My journal writing comes with a price...uck...I just called someone at Paper Blanks (the first six journals happen to be from this company) to see whether or not they'd be interested in sponsoring this fantabulous journal adventure...well...it turns out 'David' (da man in charge of saying 'yay' or 'nay') will be out of the country until Friday or Monday (darn, he could have taken a journal with him)!!! Fingers crossed. Out of journals. Need more. More journals will come my way...they will...

Thanks Universe!

love,
c :)

PS: The most up-to-date info for each journal:

Journal #1. Handed by me to Kate D. & Ben W. -- handed to a woman & her daughter on the NYC Subway by Ben W. -- wonder what the journal is doing now...

Journal #2. Mailed to my mentor in Vancouver, BC -- it arrived at her school yesterday

Journal #3. Mailed to a writing genius in Toronto, ON -- it arrived in his hands yesterday morning
(I only know the above thanks to the Purolator tracking system, ha, ha...but I do wonder about their reactions)

Journal #4. Almost complete -- sending this to Oprah!!! www.oprah.com -- gosh it'll be fun when she reads this, it's a 'Dear Oprah' letter, but in a journal - oh the excitement!

Journal #5. Left at CBC Radio in the studio after my interview on the morning of Feb. 4

Journal #6. Completed - just need to give it to the recipient...stay tuned for that info...dun, dun, dun...

Travelling Journals inspire the Green Party!

Ok, I'm not trying to stir up a political discussion on here...but I believe that whatever our beliefs (aside from those that harm others), we should follow our hearts - see message below...

"I heard your interview on CBC Radio this week and thought your idea for the "travelling Journal" was fabulous.

You made a comment on CBC that you welcome others to try your idea. I thought of a special way to try it, but I would like to ask your permission first.

I'm involved with the Green Party. We just started a process out in Stittsville to talk to ordinary people in small settings to find out what they think about politics in Canada, and what is important to them. We don't have money to do polls, and frankly it's not really our style. We wanted direct interation to make sure we were properly interpreting what the message was, not just processing data.

What I'd like to do is try your idea on a very local scale to allow some people that don't normally feel confident enough to express their opinions on politics to have an opportunity to do that.

We would only circulate a few of them locally in west Ottawa (Kanata, Stittsville, Almonte area), and would be careful to preserve your message and theme of hearing what people have to say, not navigating them with questions. You would of course be welcome to see and hear everything that come out of this, if you wish.

If you would prefer we don't try this we will respect your wishes, and hope you the best with your project." ~ Murray Reeves

Murray,
thank you for your message - I think that's a fantastic idea - one of my points about being creative is NEVER STOP THE CREATIVE FLOW - I don't own this idea - my goal is for these journals to inspire other people - and I'm glad to hear that it's already working!

Best of Luck,
Claudia :)

PS: If anyone is interested in helping out for the above mentioned project, Murray is always looking for volunteers! Just post a message here.

The First One - travels to New York City! The Second One...

On January 24th, 2008 - I woke up at 3:30am to drive Kate & Ben to the airport - they were heading to NEW YORK CITY - (sigh) - all of a sudden it hit me - The First Journal!!! There was not a doubt in my mind that this was it. The first journey of the first journal. So excited. I also felt compelled to place a gift inside 'the gift' for my friends. I stopped somewhere near Kate's house to hastily write my first message - no getting this right - nothing profound - I simply wrote down exactly what was happening in my life at that moment. ie: sorry for being late to pick you up -- then I wrapped the journal in tissue paper and placed it in a beautiful gift bag. Don't worry Ben, it was re-used... I insisted that Ben & Kate wait to open the gift until they got on the plane. I was smiling the whole way home.

This evening, I began writing into The Second One - will send this to a special person in Vancouver.

As I started writing tonight, I realized just how different the personalities of each journal will be.

A Trail of Faith -- I have faith that the journal journeys will end where they began.

So much love.

Claudia :)

The Name of Each Journal

To keep things simple and to the point, the following names have been given to the 'Six Travelling Journals':

The First One
The Second One
The Third One
The Fourth One
The Fifth One
The Sixth One

If and when someone comes upon one of these six, please comment on this blog and refer to the name of the Journal in your hands.

Can't wait to hear from you!

Claudia :)

The Beginning

On January 14, 2008 I had the 'journal dream'. Basically, a journal gets sent all over the world and then back to its original place when it becomes full. Today, I purchased six beautiful journals at a store called 'Garden of Light' in Ottawa, Ontario CANADA - I intend to write an introduction and the first journal entry into each one and then send them to six different places. I'm hopeful that each will enter into the hands of people who will participate in filling the journals with their thoughts, wishes, dreams, feelings, favourite quotes, songs, etc... Anything goes - drawings, photos, diary entries, songs, poetry, scenes, monologues, letters, cd's w/ music, etc... The entries can be anonymous...or not. It's entirely up to the person holding the book. The point is to pass it on to another person, by hand or by mail or simply to leave it in a public place to be found by someone else. Once the journal is full, the final person will mail it back to the one who started it:
Claudia Jurt, 2 Daly Ave. Ottawa, Ontario CANADA K1N 6E2
Anyone, who is happy to have their entries published can email a message with contact info to cjurt@rogers.com and/or call 613.255.4796. Also, feel free to make comments on this blog if you have come upon one of the six journals. It will be interesting (to say the least) to see what ends up happening.

Thanks so much for reading (and writing).

All the very best,
Claudia :)